On this day, Shu Fuyan arrived outside the Marquis of Zhenbei’s manor, waiting with his konghou.
Having not seen Xiao Yi for quite some time, Shu Fuyan could no longer sit still and came to pay a visit under the guise of a musician.
The steward rushed over: “Young Master Shu, the General invites you in.”
Shu Fuyan crinkled his eyes, appearing refined and gentle: “Many thanks, Steward Xiao.”
The steward brushed it off, sending servants to carry the zither for Shu Fuyan while he walked in front to lead the way.
The steward wore a worried expression, not knowing how to warn Shu Fuyan.
Xiao Yi had returned to the manor yesterday with a very grim expression, and today, coinciding with Shu Fuyan’s visit, he feared the General might vent his anger on Shu Fuyan.
“Young Master Shu, why don’t you return first and come back tomorrow?” The steward, moved by compassion, tried to persuade Shu Fuyan to leave.
But Shu Fuyan only had eyes for seeing Xiao Yi.
Let him go back, having made the trip for nothing?
“Steward, if you have something to say, just say it directly.” Shu Fuyan could not fathom Xiao Yi, but he could still detect clues through the micro-expressions of others.
The steward stopped walking and let out a faint sigh: “Young Master Shu, to tell you the truth, the General has been in an unpleasant mood lately; you should come back another day.”
Xiao Yi was unhappy what had happened?
Shu Fuyan felt a tug of anxiety, clutching the steward and asking: “What is wrong with General Xiao? Did someone cause him trouble?”
Could it be the Crown Prince?
No, the Crown Prince’s handle was in his hands, and he had already ordered Xi Zhe to keep the Crown Prince in check. In the short term, the Crown Prince would be too frantic to disturb Xiao Yi.
Then who could it be?
The steward did not know either; Xiao Yi had returned with a cold face and gone to practice swordplay without eating dinner.
And this swordplay, he had practiced for an entire night.
This morning, at the first light of dawn, the steward had seen Xiao Yi standing in the courtyard with a dead-man’s face, as if someone owed him money and hadn’t paid it back.
“If Young Master Shu is truly worried, paying a visit wouldn’t hurt,” the steward said.
Perhaps with company, Xiao Yi might feel a little better, the steward thought to himself.
Shu Fuyan could wait no longer; he only wanted to see Xiao Yi.
Shu Fuyan walked straight past the steward and headed toward the inner courtyard, his footsteps extremely fast, barging in with a sense of disorder.
The steward stared, eyes bulging did he even know the way? He had left him behind!
“Young Master Shu, wait for me.” The steward pursued him.
The wind blew fallen leaves, and the sword blade flashed with a cold light.
Xiao Yi was wildly swinging his sword in the cold wind, his sword techniques fierce and murderous with every step.
The moment Shu Fuyan entered, he saw Xiao Yi shirtless.
At this moment, Xiao Yi was steeped in deep malice, his thick eyebrows raised, his face frozen in a cold, eternal ice that could not be melted.
Xiao Yi obviously saw Shu Fuyan. He withdrew his long sword, turned his back, and sneered: “What are you here for?”
Shu Fuyan was not angry, greeting him with a smile: “This humble one has come to play the zither for General Xiao.”
Xiao Yi tilted his head, adopting a high and mighty posture, keeping people at a distance: “No need, this General is not listening to music today.”
He had no interest in listening, nor did he want to see Shu Fuyan.
Before seeing Shu Fuyan, Xiao Yi had thought he could forget the incident at the Red Pavilion yesterday. But with Shu Fuyan appearing before his eyes, Xiao Yi realized he could not lie to himself.
He cared.
He cared that Shu Fuyan had entered the Red Pavilion, cared that he had sought out a young woman, and cared about the unclear, indefinable obsession deep in his heart.
The steward caught up with the servants.
Seeing the two at a stalemate, the steward gestured with his eyes for the servants to return the konghou to Shu Fuyan.
“General, Young Master Shu, have a good chat,” the steward said cheerfully, pulling the servants away.
Xiao Yi’s displeasure faded slightly. He sheathed his sword and dissipated the cold aura around his body, lest he frighten this scholar.
“Come with me.” Xiao Yi walked forward with an expressionless face, deliberately slowing his pace for fear that Shu Fuyan would not follow.
Shu Fuyan calmly followed behind him, pondering why Xiao Yi was angry.
Once inside, Xiao Yi did not entertain Shu Fuyan, walking straight to the screen to put on his clothes.
The rustling sounds reached Shu Fuyan’s ears, and he could not control his gaze from shifting to the screen, wanting to look through it and see the person behind.
Xiao Yi paid attention to the movement outside while dressing. Although he did not look back, the gaze from behind him was exceptionally scorching, as if it wanted to burn through his back.
Xiao Yi curled his lips in a smile, deliberately lowering his voice: “Shu Fuyan, what are you looking at?”
Shu Fuyan was uncontrollably flustered, immediately lowering his head. The fringe on his forehead obscured the dark, floating light in his eyes. He said, “This humble one is merely concerned for General Xiao; I have no other intentions.” Shu Fuyan explained in a soft, water-like voice, attempting to make Xiao Yi relax his guard and believe him.
“Oh? Concerned for this General, why?” Xiao Yi emerged from behind the screen, holding a black-gold belt in his hand; he pinched the edge of the belt but did not intend to tie it.
“This humble one… admires the General’s demeanor.” Shu Fuyan spoke his heart’s desire without panic.
Xiao Yi walked behind Shu Fuyan, a cold blast of air attacking him, the shadow instantly looming over him; Shu Fuyan’s breathing stalled.
Xiao Yi’s ghostly voice danced by Shu Fuyan’s ear: “Since you admire this General, I shall grant you a favor.” Xiao Yi leaned toward the side of his neck, exhaling hot air, “Come, tie the belt for me.”
Xiao Yi took advantage of his height to press up from behind. He pulled the belt from back to front, long arms brushing and rubbing around Shu Fuyan’s waist, handing the belt to Shu Fuyan’s hands in an intimate posture that was just like an embrace.
“G-General Xiao.” Shu Fuyan stammered, his face blushing deeply.
Xiao Yi had just finished practicing swordplay, and his unique, masculine scent was like a fatal pheromone; once caught, there was no way to avoid it.
“Why, you are unwilling?” Xiao Yi said sarcastically, his arms brushing over Shu Fuyan’s waist intentionally or unintentionally, leaving behind waves of tremors.
“This humble one is willing.” Shu Fuyan rolled his throat, steadied his mind, took the black-gold belt, and turned around slowly.
Once he turned, the two faced each other.
Xiao Yi was standing so close that Shu Fuyan immediately collided with Xiao Yi’s chest upon turning, which felt hard as stone.
“Apologies, General Xiao,” Shu Fuyan said.
Xiao Yi sneered; Shu Fuyan hadn’t even used any force, it didn’t even count as a tickle, so what was he apologizing for?
Shu Fuyan’s heart beat fast; holding the belt, his hands touched Xiao Yi’s waist as if it were a hot potato—no matter where he touched, it felt wrong, and Shu Fuyan was timorous and hesitant.
It was just tying a belt, but Shu Fuyan’s movements were sluggish, slower than a thousand-year-old turtle. This behavior made Xiao Yi incredibly annoyed, mistakenly believing that Shu Fuyan was unwilling to get close to him, did not want to touch him.
After a long while, Xiao Yi yanked apart the belt Shu Fuyan had just tied.
“If you don’t want to tie it, why not say so?” Xiao Yi pointedly remarked.
Shu Fuyan’s heart shrank, his mouth bitter and aggrieved.
Xiao Yi was so cold to him; from entering the door until now, he hadn’t given him a single good look.
Did Xiao Yi hate him now?
Shu Fuyan could not find the reason and could only blame himself for being unlikable and failing to earn Xiao Yi’s affection.
“General Xiao, did this humble one do something wrong?” Shu Fuyan asked weakly.
Compared to suspicion, he wanted to know Xiao Yi’s true feelings.
Xiao Yi had suppressed himself for too long; he had wanted to confront Shu Fuyan last night, but considering he had no status, no stance, and no qualifications, there were many things he could not speak of clearly.
But since Shu Fuyan had delivered himself to his door, he could not blame him.
Xiao Yi began: “You…”
“General, Imperial Physician Shen is here.”
The steward had arrived at an inopportune moment, and Xiao Yi was slightly irritated. A breath stuck in his throat, neither coming out nor going down, suffocatingly uncomfortable.
“Forget it, let’s treat the illness first.” Xiao Yi flicked his sleeve, pushed open the door, and walked out.
He walked two steps and realized Shu Fuyan hadn’t moved, so he turned back to look for him: “Why are you standing there? Come over.”
Shu Fuyan’s intuition told him that Xiao Yi’s words just now were important.
Rashly interrupted by the steward, he did not know if Xiao Yi would bring it up again. Shu Fuyan felt anxious.
Before long, Xiao Yi took Shu Fuyan to the front hall.
After the “teasing” of the previous day, Imperial Physician Shen had a bottom line and deliberately arrived later. If he had to wait, it would be dark in a few hours, and he could return to the Imperial Palace.
What he did not expect was that today, he wouldn’t have to sit on a cold bench at all.
“Shen Chong, have a look at him.” Xiao Yi grabbed Shu Fuyan’s wrist and brought him to the Imperial Physician.
Although Xiao Yi did not use much force, Shu Fuyan felt a sense of sorrow because of his actions.
The General truly seemed to loathe him, avoiding him like a snake or scorpion.
“So it is you.” Imperial Physician Shen suddenly realized.
Shu Fuyan acutely captured a trace of something unusual: “What do you mean?”
Imperial Physician Shen had just wanted to say that coming to the Marquis of Zhenbei’s manor yesterday was to treat Shu Fuyan, but as he opened his mouth, he met Xiao Yi’s dark-as-night pupils, deep enough to be terrifying, secretly warning Imperial Physician Shen not to talk nonsense.
Imperial Physician Shen’s teeth chattered, his mouth clamped shut, and he didn’t say anything more.
Imperial Physician Shen laughed and said: “Nothing. Come, stretch out your hand.”
Imperial Physician Shen opened his medicine kit and took out a pulse pillow to place under Shu Fuyan’s hand.
Shu Fuyan did not move, looking toward Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi, touched by Shu Fuyan’s gaze, moved his eyes away coldly, without a moment’s lingering, even colder than a stranger.
Seeing Shu Fuyan did not move, Imperial Physician Shen took the initiative to pull his hand toward the pulse pillow.
In the short time Imperial Physician Shen was taking his pulse, Shu Fuyan suffered immensely.
He had thought about luring Xiao Yi into the trap, but now it seemed it wouldn’t work.
If the soft approach didn’t work, then he would use the hard one; in any case, he had plenty of methods.
Shu Fuyan lowered his eyes, his expression sinister.
Xiao Yi and power he wanted both.
After taking his pulse, Imperial Physician Shen looked grave. He bent down to flip through his medical books, carefully checked several times, and found no mistake.
The one that was wrong was never the disease, but the heart.
“Young Master, is your cold-syndrome congenital?” Imperial Physician Shen asked.
Hearing this, Xiao Yi cast a sideways glance over.
Shu Fuyan lifted a smile, his voice clear and resonant: “No.”
Imperial Physician Shen stroked his long beard in thought, pondered for a moment, and asked again: “Did the young master fall into water as a child?”
Shu Fuyan did not hide it, first looking at Xiao Yi, and only after receiving no response did he disappointedly tell Imperial Physician Shen that he had.
Having obtained an affirmative answer, Imperial Physician Shen had a rough understanding of Shu Fuyan’s situation.
“As expected, the young master not only fell into water as a child, but also froze for an entire night in the middle of winter, right?” Imperial Physician Shen said it as if he were addressing Shu Fuyan, but it was like conveying a message to Xiao Yi.
Shu Fuyan’s fingertips were numb; he instantly suppressed his upturned corners of his mouth, his tone indifferent: “Imperial Physician Shen has great medical skills.”
Imperial Physician Shen was always confident and naturally accepted the “compliment” from Shu Fuyan: “That is true, otherwise how could I become the head of the Imperial Hospital.” Imperial Physician Shen was smug.
Xiao Yi, upon hearing that Shu Fuyan had fallen into water, blackened his face, and hearing that he had suffered the cold for an entire night in winter, became a contradiction of himself heart-torn for Shu Fuyan, but hindered by his own face, too embarrassed to show concern.
Thus, Xiao Yi walked in front of the two, interrupted Imperial Physician Shen’s boasting, and said in a low voice: “Give me the point, how can the disease be eradicated.”
Imperial Physician Shen rolled his eyes at Xiao Yi secretly; couldn’t he praise him!
“Cold-syndrome, it can be treated. It will just cost some effort and herbs.” Imperial Physician Shen took out a golden needle and flashed it at Shu Fuyan: “After I apply the needles, soaking in medicated wine every so often, and taking the pills I have carefully prepared, within three years, the cold-syndrome will be permanently cured.”
Permanently cured, not suppressed.
Shu Fuyan gripped his fingertips tightly; he could not have imagined this old man truly had some skills, as even a persistent malady that had plagued him for over a decade could be cured.
Once Xiao Yi heard it could be cured, his cold face softened, and his tone became slightly lighter, unconsciously: “Trouble to Imperial Physician Shen.”
Imperial Physician Shen crooked his finger at Shu Fuyan, and turned his head to say to Xiao Yi: “The acupuncture process is somewhat painful; I fear Young Master Shu will move around because of the tender skin, so General Xiao just needs to hold him down, and I will handle the rest.”
Xiao Yi agreed and pressed his rough palms onto Shu Fuyan’s shoulders.
After a pause, Xiao Yi still couldn’t find the heart to be cold toward him, awkward and saying: “Don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt very much.”
Shu Fuyan lifted a pale smile, his gaze calm and deep: “This humble one is not afraid.”
“With General Xiao here, this humble one is afraid of nothing.”
He did not know which sentence had touched Xiao Yi’s heart, locking him in like a shadow. A faint, dull pain came from his heart; that feeling was not painful, but rather moist and dripping, much like how he felt on the day he sacrificed himself for the nation.
Forget it; he was young, liked beauties, and pampered his begonias—all of this was understandable.
Shu Fuyan did not know that after all Xiao Yi’s worries, merely seeing him once had led him to “self-conquer” [psychologically convincing himself to forgive and favor him].
Having suffered through Shu Fuyan’s agony, Xiao Yi secretly resolved not to be angry with him anymore.
After roughly three quarters of an hour, the acupuncture ended, and Shu Fuyan hadn’t made a sound.
Xiao Yi pressing on his shoulders had basically had no effect; perhaps it just provided a sense of peace of mind.
Imperial Physician Shen lit some incense, and Shu Fuyan, having finished the acupuncture, smelled the incense and fell asleep.
Xiao Yi’s gaze was icy, sweeping toward Imperial Physician Shen: “What did you do to him?”
Imperial Physician Shen waved his hands repeatedly, very innocent: “General Xiao, please do not misunderstand; I just wanted Young Master Shu to have a good night’s sleep.”
Knowing that the incense was not a threat to Shu Fuyan, the cold malice in Xiao Yi faded away.
“General Xiao, I have one thing to tell you.”
“Speak.”
Imperial Physician Shen closed his medical book and looked at Shu Fuyan, a glimmer of sympathy flowing in the bottom of his eyes. “Young Master Shu’s cold-syndrome is rooted in falling into water as a child, but the cold-syndrome is not untreatable. I took Young Master Shu’s pulse and discovered that his body is hollow; his internal organs are all heavily injured, and the cold air has penetrated to his bones; I fear he has never been treated at all.”
Imperial Physician Shen let out a heavy sigh; he should have never met someone who didn’t take their own life seriously.
Who in the world doesn’t fear death, yet Shu Fuyan has an illness and doesn’t treat it.
Avoiding the doctor for fear of treatment is a major taboo!
Imperial Physician Shen left the medicinal bath formula and several pills and departed.
Xiao Yi stood rooted to the spot, at a loss for what to do.
So, Shu Fuyan’s illness was not incurable; it was that he did not want to be cured.
Xiao Yi laughed bitterly; some people want to live but cannot. Some are alive but want to die.
Xiao Yi shook his head, picked up Shu Fuyan, and walked toward his own courtyard.