With a slightly childish face filled with panic, A-Yao stammered, “I’m sorry, It’s all my fault.”
Not expecting A-Yao to take the blame entirely upon himself, Shi Yue quickly said, “Why are you blaming yourself? I was the one who insisted on coming here in the middle of the night, and then I accidentally slipped and fell.”
A-Yao furrowed his brows deeply.
Reaching out, Shi Yue gently pressed his hand against A-Yao’s brow, as if hoping to smooth away his worries. “It’s fine. Don’t frown; it doesn’t hurt at all.”
A-Yao thought to himself that this person was truly a massive fool. Clearly, his leg was shaking from the pain, yet he was still sitting there trying to comfort him.
Gazing silently at Shi Yue, A-Yao crouched down right in front of him. “I’ll carry you back.”
“Huh?” Shi Yue shook his head hurriedly. “No, I’m too heavy. I’ll tire you out.”
A-Yao pressed his lips together and, ignoring the objection entirely, grabbed Shi Yue’s legs and hoisted him up onto his back.
“You’re too light. You need to eat more.”
Those were the very first words A-Yao spoke the moment he carried him up.
At first, Shi Yue hadn’t wanted to trouble A-Yao, but once he rested against A-Yao’s warm, solid back, all desire to move vanished. He simply thought how wonderful it was to be carried by A-Yao along the moonlit path without anyone else to disturb them.
Burying his face against the crook of A-Yao’s neck, Shi Yue asked, “They say there are demons in the mountains at midnight during the hour of Zi. Do you think that’s true or false? What should we do if we really run into a demon?”
“I will protect you.”
Seeming to feel his voice was a bit too soft and fearing Shi Yue might not hear, A-Yao repeated it, this time with even greater firmness:
“I will definitely protect you.”
A-Yao was always like this, giving him a resolute, reassuring answer every single time.
Shi Yue smiled and wrapped his arms a little tighter around A-Yao’s neck.
Staring at Pei Xuan’s injury, Shi Yue’s thoughts drifted far away into the past.
“What are you thinking about?”
More than once, Pei Xuan had noticed Shi Yue staring blankly at him in a daze.
“Why do you always stare at me like that?” Pei Xuan asked.
“It’s nothing.”
Without missing a beat, Shi Yue pulled his thoughts back and lowered his gaze, picking up the fabric to continue wrapping Pei Xuan’s wound.
“You… did you have any very close friends when you were a child?” Shi Yue asked, keeping his head down and avoiding his eyes.
Pei Xuan couldn’t fathom why he was suddenly asking such a question.
“What? Does serving as your personal attendant require a background check on my ethics and interpersonal relationships?” Pei Xuan put on his familiar, impenetrable, and sarcastic armor.
Finishing the bandage at last, Shi Yue raised his face to look at him. “Just asking out of curiosity. No need to take it to heart.”
Pei Xuan let out a cold snort. “None.”
An entirely expected answer.
Suppressing the emotion rising in his chest, Shi Yue smiled at Pei Xuan. “Alright. Thanks to you tonight, we managed. It’s getting late, let’s head back.”
When the two returned to the estate, Pei Xuan went straight to his quarters, while Shi Yue summoned Shitou.
Woken up in the middle of the night yet again, Shitou felt a surge of grievance he dared not voice. “Second Young Master is something the matter in the middle of the night?”
Shi Yue recognized that dragging someone out of bed in the dead of night wasn’t entirely fair, but fearing he might forget or misremember details of the totem by morning, he had no choice but to disturb Shitou now.
Pulling out a sheet of paper, he sketched the totem and handed the paper to Shitou. “In the next few days, send some men out to investigate what this totem means.”
Glancing at the bizarre drawing, Shitou asked with a puzzled expression, “Second Young Master, where did this mark come from? It’s so strange.”
“I haven’t quite figured it out yet either, which is why we need to look into it. Make it quick.”
Nodding in acknowledgment of the order, Shitou withdrew.
The lingering warmth of departing spring gradually faded, cicadas began to chirp with sharp clarity, and the summer heat steadily surged upward.
As the youngest son of the Marquis of Stability’s estate and an idle good-for-nothing with nothing better to do around the house, the noble duty of purchasing summer garments naturally fell upon Shi Yue’s shoulders.
Sitting inside the carriage and watching the dazzling glare of the sun overhead, Shi Yue felt a thin layer of sweat bead across his smooth forehead. “It’s so hot. It’s only mid-May; why is it already this hot? Even wearing a single layer of unlined clothing feels stifling.”
As he spoke, he vigorously waved the fan in his hand.
Ever since his folding fan had proven utterly useless during the assassination attempt, Shi Yue had switched to an iron fan.
Although it was an iron fan and forged from metal, it remained remarkably light and thin. Simple decorative patterns were carved into its surface, and it could be folded and stowed away just like an ordinary folding fan.
Riding in the carriage alongside him, Pei Xuan was equally irritated by the oppressive weather, and his words came shooting out like rapid-fire artillery without a shred of mercy: “Is the Marquis’s estate so poor they couldn’t spare a footman, leaving you to run errands?”
Shooting him a sidelong glance, Shi Yue retorted, “What do you know? This is recognition of my aesthetic eye! They’ve always felt that the fabrics I pick out are the most attractive!”
Though venomous-tongued, Pei Xuan never spoke falsehoods. “That much is true, your taste isn’t crooked.”
Shi Yue had no desire to converse with someone incapable of uttering a pleasant word.
The carriage swayed leisurely to a halt outside “Brocade Embroidery Pavilion,” currently the most fashionable clothing boutique in the capital, favored by numerous high-ranking officials and nobles.
The moment the proprietor caught sight of the Marquis of Stability’s estate carriage, he hurried forward beaming with smiles. “Ah, it’s the Young Marquis! Please, come right inside!”
“Our shop has just received a fresh batch of new Hangzhou silks. The workmanship is exquisite, making them absolute perfection for summer garments.”
Summoning a shop assistant, the proprietor ordered him to fetch the most comfortable and visually stunning fabrics available.
Shi Yue reached out to stroke the material. The texture was cool, soft, and slick, unquestionably top-tier fabric.
Flipping through various bolts of cloth, Shi Yue finally selected several lengths suitable for his father, his elder brother, and the estate attendants.
Just as Shi Yue was about to settle the bill, his gaze drifted to a bolt of pitch-black fabric. Walking over to inspect it closely, he discovered it was woven with subtle, shimmering white cloud-pattern brocade threads, making it look both mysterious and sumptuously luxurious.
“Pei Xuan!”
Pei Xuan had been leaning lazily against a pillar with nothing to do. Hearing his name, he ambled over at an unhurried pace.
“I’ve decided to use my own money to make you a set of clothes!”
All expenditures and purchases within the marquis’s estate were meticulously logged in the ledgers. Unwilling to let others know he was buying clothes for his personal guard, Shi Yue could only rely on his own private stash of pocket money.
The very first moment Shi Yue had laid eyes on this bolt of fabric, he felt it suited Pei Xuan perfectly. After all, the fellow almost always wore dark, somber hues, much like his very name.
However, the black of this particular cloth differed from ordinary black; it radiated an enigmatic, noble aura, reminiscent of the garments Pei Xuan wore in his past life when he ascended to the pinnacle of power as the Left Chancellor.
Never expecting Shi Yue to commission clothing for him, Pei Xuan shook his head. “I appreciate the Second Young Marquis’s kind intentions, but there’s no need.”
Too lazy to argue, Shi Yue brushed it off. “My buying it is my business; whether you wear it or not is yours. I’m buying it anyway, so what’s it to you?”
Pei Xuan: “…”
Fine, you’re the one with money.
Asking the proprietor for a soft measuring tape, Shi Yue stepped up to Pei Xuan. “Come here. Let’s get your measurements.”
With a wooden expression, Pei Xuan stepped forward and allowed Shi Yue to paw at him, measuring from waist to shoulder. As those wandering hands roamed back and forth across his frame, the tips of his ears slowly turned crimson.
Instructing the assistant to note down the measurements, Shi Yue turned back to look at Pei Xuan and noticed his intensely unnatural expression. “Hey, Pei Xuan. Why are you blushing? Are you that hot?”
Shooting him another glare, resembling an agitated, fluffy dog looking utterly fierce, Pei Xuan snapped, “Nosey.”
Shi Yue felt that the little madman’s thought processes were becoming increasingly impossible to predict.
After agreeing on the collection date with the proprietor, Shi Yue departed the shop accompanied by the “unpredictable” Pei Xuan.
Inside the carriage, Pei Xuan sat as far away from Shi Yue as humanly possible, as if trying to steer clear of some horrifying beast.
“Why are you sitting so far away?”
Unable to fathom what had ruffled the fellow’s feathers this time, surely not just because he bought him a new set of clothes, Shi Yue remained baffled.
Still refusing to speak, Pei Xuan gazed out the window.
Studying Pei Xuan’s profile, Shi Yue probed cautiously, “Do you really not want that outfit? If you don’t, I’ll just give it to Shitou to wear.”
Pei Xuan whipped his head around, his face darkening with displeasure. “What makes you think he gets to wear it? It was clearly bought for me. Would someone as round as him even fit into it?”
A chuckle escaped Shi Yue’s lips as the corners of his mouth curved upward.
Only then did Pei Xuan realize he had been deliberately baited into speaking. Pressing his lips together, he shot Shi Yue a dark, brooding look before turning his face away entirely.
Uh-oh, looks like he’s genuinely ticked off.
Fishing a piece of candy out of his robe, Shi Yue prepared to use sweets to smooth his fur.
Just as he stood up to move closer, the carriage gave a violent lurch.
“Ah!”
Losing his footing inside the rolling compartment, Shi Yue pitched forward uncontrollably and crashed straight into Pei Xuan.
A muffled groan escaped Pei Xuan from the impact, but his hands instinctively moved to steady Shi Yue by the shoulders, preventing him from colliding with anything hard.
“Second Young Marquis! Are you alright? A child suddenly darted out into the street just now, causing the carriage to swerve,” the driver called out anxiously from outside.
Rubbing his bumped head, Shi Yue replied, “I’m fine. Keep going.”
At that moment, Shi Yue’s head rested against Pei Xuan’s chest, while his hand pressed flat against the side of the carriage window.
Pei Xuan’s face turned as dark as spilled ink. “Are you taking advantage of me, Second Young Marquis?”
Completely bewildered, Shi Yue stared at him. He wasn’t a girl, what was the big deal about bumping into him? Why was he guarding his “chastity” so fiercely?
Pouting in annoyance, Shi Yue pushed hard with both hands, preparing to push himself up. But just as he moved, a sharp tug pulled at his hair, yanking him right back down against Pei Xuan’s chest.
“Hiss. It looks like my hair got caught in your collar ornamentation. I can’t get up.”
Pei Xuan: “…”
“I can’t see. Help me out here.”
With no other choice, Pei Xuan reined in his exasperation and lowered his gaze to inspect the point of entanglement.
A stray lock of Shi Yue’s hair had hooked itself securely around a decorative clasp on his collar.
“Hurry up! This posture is really uncomfortable,” Shi Yue urged impatiently.
Unwilling to let anyone else touch him, yet fearing Pei Xuan might throw another temper tantrum if he wasn’t careful, Shi Yue held himself suspended entirely by his arms, creating a deliberate gap so as not to press against Pei Xuan any further.
Remaining silent, Pei Xuan focused entirely on untangling the knot, speeding up his movements.
The weather was already sweltering to begin with, and by now a fresh coat of sweat beaded across Shi Yue’s forehead. Unable to help himself, he shifted slightly to find a more comfortable posture.
“Don’t move.”
Gazing down at Shi Yue, who was squirming restlessly against his chest, Pei Xuan spoke in a cold, icy tone.
Shi Yue instantly froze, obediently holding himself rigid as he waited for Pei Xuan to free his hair.
“Done.”
Hearing those words at last, Shi Yue straightened his back upright. However, having held such an awkward arched posture for so long, the sudden movement sent waves of aching soreness rippling through his lower back.
“Killing me here.”
He muttered complaints while massaging his aching waist.
Watching his disheveled hair and flushed, sweaty face, appearing utterly miserable, Pei Xuan couldn’t help a fleeting, amused twitch of his lips.
Though it lasted merely a split second, Shi Yue caught it. Indignantly, he protested, “You’re still laughing! It’s all your fault for insisting on sitting so far away.”
Utterly humiliated by his disheveled state, the young master lashed out indiscriminately to save face.
Glancing at Shi Yue’s flushed, heat-reddened cheeks, Pei Xuan magnanimously decided not to hold it against him this time.