AYM Chapter 18

Although this boat wasn’t tightly packed with the others, it was still not too far away. Such a loud commotion immediately drew the attention of those nearby, and murmurs of discussion followed.

 

“Hey, is that young master being held hostage?”

 

“That’s a private boat. Just look at how those two are dressed, they’re clearly not ordinary people.”

 

“That tall one is so good-looking. Look at how strong his grip is… I wish he’d hold my waist that tightly…”

 

Laughter rippled across the river, making the two people at the bow simultaneously darken their expressions. The grip around his waist tightened, and Yan Yihuan was directly pulled into the cabin by Li Xuanming. Immediately after, someone closed the door from the outside, shutting out the noise.

 

Yan Yihuan’s heart pounded. As soon as he entered, he anxiously searched for Huai De, but as expected, the cabin was already empty. He quickly took a few steps back to put some distance between himself and Li Xuanming, deciding to take the initiative.

 

“This painted boat was bestowed to me by His Majesty tonight. How did you get on? Get off!”

 

“You’d rather jump into the river than stay with me, huh?”

 

Li Xuanming did not grab him nor hold him down as Yan Yihuan had expected. Instead, he raised his eyes to look at Yan Yihuan, his gaze appearing calm and unruffled, even his tone was as tranquil as water. 

 

Clearly, he didn’t seem angry at all, yet an invisible pressure surged towards Yan Yihuan. His legs went weak, and he instinctively grasped a nearby pillar, half-hiding behind it.

 

Yan Yihuan wanted to say that he had never intended to jump into the river in the first place. If he hadn’t pulled him back, he could have easily leaped back onto the shore. But now, Zhao Chufeng was acting exactly the same as when he had kidnapped him from Fengyue Tower. Weighing his options, Yan Yihuan decided to concede, flashing a fawning smile as he started rambling nonsense.

 

“I don’t think I saw Han Zhen get on the boat, so I just wanted to go back to look for him. I swear, I really didn’t see you coming down the stairs!”

 

“If you had fallen just now, you would have been swept under the boat by the undercurrents created by its hull. By then, even the greatest immortals wouldn’t be able to save you.” Only Li Xuanming himself knew the feeling of cold sweat he had at that moment. If he had been even a second later, this reckless fool really would have jumped. Even now, his heart still raced in fear, unable to calm down.

 

Yan Yihuan had wanted to argue a little more, but after seeing Li Xuanming’s expression, he shut his mouth and obediently went up to the second floor. As soon as he stepped in, his eyes landed on a table that was fixed to the floor, already set with food and wine.

 

In the past few days, Yan Yihuan hadn’t had much of an appetite. More than feeling wronged, he mostly just missed home. But when he stepped closer to the table and got a better look, he froze on the spot.

 

The dishes on the table were all from Linjing, and they were all his favorite foods, especially those pears unique to Linjing. They looked fresh and plump, clearly specially delivered here at high speed.

 

Yan Yihuan felt his heart was suddenly clogged by something. He should have been happy, yet instead, his eyes burned slightly. Lowering his head, he quietly took a seat at the table without saying a word.

 

Li Xuanming, who followed closely behind, gave Yan Yihuan a deep look. Suppressing his earlier hostility, he sat down at the table. Noticing Yan Yihuan’s low spirits, he said,

 

“If you eat properly, I’ll take you out to explore the streets once we disembark.”

 

“Didn’t expect you to remember.” Yan Yihuan still didn’t lift his head. During the month Zhao Chufeng had been in Linjing, he had constantly pestered him to share meals together. At that time, Zhao Chufeng had seemed unwilling, yet he unexpectedly had still remembered his favorite dishes.

 

“But why did you prepare all this?”

 

Li Xuanming was momentarily taken aback. He had expected Yan Yihuan to be overjoyed, and truly hadn’t anticipated this kind of reaction.

 

“You don’t like it?”

 

“Zhao Chufeng, can you tell me the truth?” Yan Yihuan finally lifted his head, his usually smiling eyes now slightly red-rimmed. “Did something happen to the Yan Prince’s manor?”

 

Li Xuanming’s gaze flickered subtly, but his tone remained calm,

 

“If something had really happened, would things still be this calm and peaceful?”

 

He deliberately picked up a few slices of lotus root and placed them on the small plate in front of Yan Yihuan and spoke with a low voice, “If you still refuse to eat, whether or not you’ll be fine later is another matter.”

 

Yan Yihuan now completely can’t stand the sight of anything related to lotus roots. Despite his reluctance, memories of that night still crashed into his mind without restraint.

 

A flush started at Yan Yihuan’s cheeks, gradually spreading to the tips of his ears, then down his neck, and disappearing beneath the folds of his overlapping collar.

 

Seeing this, Li Xuanming’s lips curled into a knowing smile. He picked up a slice of lotus root and brought it to Yan Yihuan’s lips,

 

“You saw it yourself that night, you took it in very well.”

 

The moist lotus root slice touched Yan Yihuan’s lips, its juices wetting his lower lip, making it glisten and shine.

 

“How thick was it again? About the same as this slice, wasn’t it?” The low, suggestive murmur brushed against his ear, and under the gaze of those beautiful eyes, Yan Yihuan’s mind involuntarily replayed that utterly shameful moment.

 

His legs were bent up to his chest as he watched himself take in that massive thing. His head buzzed, and he shoved Li Xuanming’s hand away with a single motion.

 

“No need to feed me! I’ll eat by myself!”

 

These were his hometown dishes to begin with, so after the first bite, Yan Yihuan, who hadn’t eaten properly for several days, felt his appetite surge. Of course, there was another important reason. He remembered how he touched himself while thinking about Zhao Chufeng just this afternoon, which made him even more ashamed and indignant.

 

Seeing Yan Yihuan bury himself in his food, momentarily forgetting his earlier gloom, Zhao Chufeng wisely chose to leave it at that.

 

This was the real Yan Yihuan, the one who lived carefree with no worries, knowing that even if the sky collapsed, someone else would bear the weight for him.

 

But in truth, Yan Yihuan wasn’t entirely focused on his meal. His mind was occupied with thoughts about Zhao Chufeng’s true identity, why did the Emperor always send him to monitor him?

 

Yes, it must be to monitor him.

 

There had been no news from his father to this day. When he asked about the Residence of King Yan, Zhao Chufeng deliberately avoided answering, which means the Emperor must have forbidden him from speaking about it. That meant Zhao Chufeng was certainly no mere minor official of the Censorate[mfn]t/n: sorry for the translation error, 都察院的都事 was previously translated as “superintendent of the Inspectorate”, but after further checking, I figured it was actually a low-ranking official. I’ve changed it in previous chapters. [/mfn]. At the very least, he had to be a Vice Censor-in-Chief.

 

But then again, perhaps he really had been possessed by some spirit, manipulating the palace attendants of the secluded residence. Otherwise, how could he have dared to act so boldly toward him?

 

After eating and drinking his fill, Yan Yihuan took a pear and leaned against the window. Although his eyes were fixed on the magnificent scenery outside, his mind hadn’t rested for even a moment. Regardless of whether the man was a thousand-year-old fox demon or a Vice Censor-in-Chief, the only way for him to protect the Residence of King Yan was to endure humiliation and bear the burden in silence.

 

The thought left a bitter taste in his heart, but at least he had finally pieced things together. He let out a long sigh before sinking his teeth fiercely into the pear.

 

Yan Yihuan didn’t notice that Li Xuanming, who always loved to tease him, had not provoked him for quite some time. Nor did he realize that while he was gazing out the window, Li Xuanming was quietly watching him.

 

At that moment, a painted boat slowly approached from behind, gradually drawing parallel to theirs. This had already happened several times earlier, and Yan Yihuan had even curiously peeked at the revelry on the other boats, feeling envious of their carefree indulgence.

 

But this one was different from the others. Though its windows were all lit, each was tightly shut, making it seem rather dull and uninteresting.

 

Just as Yan Yihuan was about to withdraw his gaze out of boredom, he suddenly noticed a shadow moving behind one of the windows, bobbing up and down in an inexplicable manner.

 

Before he could even process what he was seeing, the window, which might not have been closed properly, seemed unable to withstand the person’s weight and was suddenly flung open.

 

A burly man was holding a completely naked young courtesan in his arms. The two locked eyes with Yan Yihuan in stunned silence. Startled out of his wits, Yan Yihuan dropped the pear in his hands and instinctively stumbled backwards, straight into a solid chest.