Truly very skilled.
“I will handle the rest,” Mu Yanzhou recovered, taking the remaining bandage and smiling at Song Mingzhi, “My beloved consort should go and change; watch out for catching a cold.”
He did not know if it was his imagination, but Song Mingzhi felt Mu Yanzhou’s tone was a little strange. However, he did not think much of it. Since the injury was treated and the bandage was almost finished, Song Mingzhi nodded and stood up slowly, “Yes, Your Highness.”
He hurried toward the wardrobe.
He did not see that, at this moment, Mu Yanzhou had quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
There was a silk-faced screen separating the two main rooms of Zhuohua Courtyard.
After taking his clothes, Song Mingzhi retreated behind the screen, changed quickly, and dried his dripping long hair. At the same time, Mu Yanzhou’s voice finally sounded again, “The matter of the Feng family was done by me.” His voice had returned to its usual calmness and nonchalance. “My beloved consort is not surprised, right?”
He laughed lightly after speaking.
Song Mingzhi’s movements paused, “Right.”
There was no need to play dumb any longer. Song Mingzhi simply said, “I heard the noise outside while in Zhuohua Courtyard. Chongjing is under lockdown tonight, and Your Highness returned to the residence in blood-stained clothes; it must be related to this.”
He took a towel and began to wipe his hair lightly.
That morning, after Song Mingzhi returned to Zhuohua Courtyard, he had taken out the little cotton ball inside the bell. Now, it was swaying with Song Mingzhi’s movements, emitting a crisp clanging sound.
Mu Yanzhou felt, inexplicably, that it was pleasant to the ears. He leaned against the side of the couch, smiling, and asked Song Mingzhi: “When did my beloved consort guess it?”
Mu Yanzhou’s question sounded confusing at first. Yet, Song Mingzhi understood exactly what he wanted to ask in an instant. Afterward, he spoke the answer he had prepared for a long time: “I never thought Your Highness was some decayed wood or a broken sleeve.”
The corners of Mu Yanzhou’s lips curled up.
Song Mingzhi did not directly mention the Gu poison but hinted, “Your Highness knows, I am from Shulan.” He paused before continuing, “I discovered that Your Highness seemed to have some hidden difficulties, so I guessed that Your Highness was biding his time.”
Mu Yanzhou found that talking to Song Mingzhi was exceptionally effortless. He stood up and walked around the screen. He took the towel from Song Mingzhi’s hand to wipe the other man’s long hair, saying casually, “Then has my beloved consort guessed where the hidden difficulties came from?”
Song Mingzhi’s fingers paused. He was never used to being served by others, not to mention the person wiping his hair now was the future Emperor. Song Mingzhi curled his fingers and said, slightly unnaturally, “I guessed.”
Mu Yanzhou lifted a lock of long hair gently. Finally, he sighed with a smile, “However, I must thank Father…”
Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyes and looked into Song Mingzhi’s eyes through the copper mirror on the side. His words sounded somewhat inexplicable: “If it weren’t for Father, how could I have married my beloved consort? You tell me, right?”
※
Song Mingzhi finished drying his hair at the Hai hour.
He had been nervous all day, and now, sleepiness was rolling over him like a tide. Too many things had happened today. No need to guess, tomorrow morning Chongjing would be exceptionally lively. Sleep had to be early, but tonight, a major problem stood before Song Mingzhi:
There was only one bed in Zhuohua Courtyard.
Song Mingzhi had just confirmed this with Mu Yanzhou. Besides the injury on his collarbone, Mu Yanzhou also had minor external injuries on his legs. The other side of the room was the hot spring pool, where the humidity was slightly high.
Song Mingzhi did not hesitate, taking another quilt from the cabinet and laying it out for himself on the floor by the bed.
It had been raining for a day in Chongjing.
Tonight’s sky was clear as a mirror; the entire galaxy had fallen into people’s eyes.
The Prince of Qi’s residence was always well-stocked with the best wound medicine. Mu Yanzhou’s injury no longer felt painful, leaving only a hint of numbness lingering.
However, Mu Yanzhou could not fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, the scene in the hot spring pool and the sensation of warmth in his arms floated before his eyes for no reason. After several failed attempts to sleep, Mu Yanzhou finally gave up completely. He opened his eyes and turned to look at the ground:
Song Mingzhi’s sleeping posture was exceptionally quiet. He was curled up carefully on the floor, not moving, and even his breathing was without the slightest sound.
The moonlight was like water, pouring into the room like a thin veil covering him.
Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyelids gently.
Since he could remember, Mu Yanzhou had learned how to wear a mask. He had never imagined that one day he would take off this mask—that had long since grown onto his face—in front of an outsider.
There was both the discomfort of being uncovered, and a sense of inexplicable relief and novelty.
Song Mingzhi was the biggest variable he had encountered in these twenty-some years.
The moonlight illuminated those cold tea-colored eyes.
Mu Yanzhou had once thought, if someone were to accidentally see his true face one day, he would surely kill them to silence them for safety’s sake.
Yet today, Mu Yanzhou suddenly felt:
Keeping him seemed not bad at all.
Mu Yanzhou closed his eyes gently. At this moment, he was a bit curious: why was Song Mingzhi willing to take the risk to cooperate with him?
Was it just because of that little incident in his childhood?
And just how far could Song Mingzhi cooperate with him?
That night, the two overslept.
The next morning, Song Mingzhi was awakened by voices outside the door.
“It is already Si hour, have His Highness and the Princess Consort not woken up yet?”
“What should we do about the Feng’an Palace…”
The First Prince had led the Imperial Guards in a search throughout Chongjing all night, only to return empty-handed. The farce at the Prince of Qi’s residence the previous night had reached the Emperor’s ears early. Annoyed, he had issued an imperial edict early in the morning, claiming he would depart ahead of schedule for the palace in the suburbs to celebrate his Longevity Festival.
Mu Yanzhou, as the Prince of Qi, naturally had to accompany him.
With only a few hours left before the departure, the two masters of the residence still showed no signs of getting up. Only a crowd of servants remained outside the door, pacing anxiously.
Song Mingzhi: “…”
Understanding what had happened, he supported himself and sat up slowly. He wasn’t fully awake when he saw that the Prince had woken up at some point; he was now resting his cheek on his hand, lying on his side on the couch, watching him with great interest. He wondered how long he had been watching.
Song Mingzhi was startled: “Your Highness?”
Mu Yanzhou finally stretched lazily and sat up on the couch. Seeing that the Prince was awake but hadn’t called him, Song Mingzhi asked curiously: “Does Your Highness not need to prepare to face the Emperor?”
Mu Yanzhou blinked at Song Mingzhi, saying lazily, “It is fine. If you sleep a little longer today, it will appear normal. Even if we are really late, Father will not say anything.” As if thinking of something, he added, “However, we do have something to prepare well today.”
Song Mingzhi stood up, neatly folded the bedding from the floor, and stuffed it back into the wardrobe. Then, he turned around and asked Mu Yanzhou: “What needs to be prepared?”
Mu Yanzhou stood up, feeling unsatisfied. He lowered his eyes to look into Song Mingzhi’s eyes and said: “Naturally, we need to get used to it before we depart.”
Song Mingzhi murmured: “Get used to…?”
Although he had been a secret guard in the palace his whole life, he had no experience being a Princess Consort. For a moment, Song Mingzhi did not understand what Mu Yanzhou meant.
Mu Yanzhou did not keep Song Mingzhi in suspense. “After last night, in the eyes of outsiders, the relationship between you and me should be different. For example, we should have broken the last layer of window paper, and we should be deeply in love.”
Before he finished speaking, Mu Yanzhou suddenly leaned forward and took Song Mingzhi by surprise, blowing lightly on his eyelashes.
As expected, Song Mingzhi: “!!!”
He immediately took a large step back.
Mu Yanzhou said immediately: “Look, you are not used to it.”
Song Mingzhi reacted immediately: that old, dim-witted Emperor might not have a clue about serious matters, but as someone who drowned in romantic affairs all day, he knew best how two people should interact after developing an extraordinary relationship.
The old, dim-witted Emperor had always been wary of the Prince of Qi. When meeting him, he had to be extremely cautious! His own shocked reaction just now would surely make him suspicious.
Thinking of this, Song Mingzhi admired him: “Your Highness is indeed thoughtful.”
He looked at the other man with burning eyes. If acting was required, the Prince of Qi naturally had no problem. And he could not drag him down!
The sun rose higher, and the sunlight passed through the silk windows into the room. Seeing that the time for the departure to the palace was getting closer, the servants in the residence began to grow anxious.
Outside Zhuohua Courtyard, an attendant was asking Yuan Jiu whether he needed to knock on the door now.
Hearing the commotion outside, Song Mingzhi hurriedly sought advice humbly: “May I ask Your Highness, what do we need to prepare now?”
Unexpectedly, Mu Yanzhou was not the least bit anxious. He sat at the table and poured himself a cup of cold tea. Spinning the teacup casually, he said to Song Mingzhi: “This matter is not urgent, put it aside for now.”
Song Mingzhi asked, puzzled: “Then what now?”
Mu Yanzhou glanced lightly at the couch to the side. Then, turning his head, he let his gaze fall on Song Mingzhi slowly. He got up and walked in front of him, whispering in a slightly hoarse voice: “Now, our primary task is naturally to mess up the bedding on the couch and the room together.”
Song Mingzhi had at least served as a shadow guard in the palace… He shook his head and understood the meaning of Mu Yanzhou’s words after a few seconds.
Compared to other places, the rules in the Prince of Qi’s residence had always been lax. The servants in the residence were likewise slack, and they didn’t know how to keep their mouths shut. Many of the Prince of Qi’s exploits were spread to Chongjing through their mouths. Although there were no spies specifically monitoring Zhuohua Courtyard, there were bound to be servants who couldn’t resist their curiosity and desire to pry. They would come to the room later to sweep and tidy up. If they discovered abnormalities or developed suspicions, or even guessed his true relationship with the Prince of Qi, he feared it would be a small loss leading to a great failure, falling short of success.
This was not worth it at all.
Song Mingzhi realized: “Good, I understand.”
As he spoke, he turned and headed toward the couch, preparing to mess up the bedding on the couch according to Mu Yanzhou’s instructions. However, Song Mingzhi had just bent over, before he could do anything, Mu Yanzhou walked up and gently grasped his wrist.
Mu Yanzhou lowered his eyelids. He looked deeply into Song Mingzhi’s eyes, smiled, and whispered, “Also, leave some marks on Ah Zhi’s body.”
Song Mingzhi’s wrist trembled slightly.
Mu Yanzhou did not let go. Instead, he smiled lightly, held his wrist, and asked him earnestly: “So, does Ah Zhi know what to do?”