Though Yongdu had no curfew, riding horses was forbidden on the main streets at night.
After dinner, Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng walked on foot toward the Yin River Grand Canal on the outskirts of the city.
The long street was bustling with people heading toward the Yin River Grand Canal.
There were also many vendors along both sides, hawking their homemade snacks.
Because the street was so crowded, the distance between Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng grew closer, and as they walked, their fingers would involuntarily brush against each other’s hands.
Busy admiring the street scenery and gazing at distant fireworks, Wen Qingci didn’t notice these occasional touches.
Nor did he see that Xie Bufeng’s gaze had fallen upon him at some point.
“Young Master Su, may I ask what this is?” Catching a sweet fragrance, Wen Qingci couldn’t help but stop and ask Xie Bufeng.
The young man’s gaze followed the direction Wen Qingci was pointing, and after a few moments, he said a word that Wen Qingci didn’t understand.
Then he explained: “It’s a Northern Di snack, made from camel milk.”
“Camel milk?”
“Yes, camels, do you know them?”
Wen Qingci paused, then slowly nodded and said: “I think I heard about them in Songxiu. They’re animals like horses, but taller than horses, with two ‘humps’ on their backs.”
The long street in Yongdu was quite noisy, so Wen Qingci raised his voice and leaned close to Xie Bufeng’s ear to speak.
A warm breath with a faint fragrance gently brushed past Xie Bufeng’s ear.
The two suddenly realized at the same moment-Xie Bufeng’s height had, at some point, become slightly taller than Wen Qingci’s.
The imperial physician in moon-white was stunned for a moment, about to stand slightly on tiptoe.
But at that moment, the young man bent down to listen.
Xie Bufeng said: “Yes, they have long, slender limbs, and nostrils that can open and close to prevent sand. Much of the Northern Di territory is in the desert, and camels are as important to them as horses.”
“Would Qingci like to go try some?” The young man looked toward the stall again.
Wen Qingci smiled and shook his head with some regret: “Not today, I’m already very full from dinner.”
Xie Bufeng slowly straightened up. He saw that a nearby lantern happened to depict the beauty of the great desert.
“…In the future, if there’s an opportunity, would Qingci be willing to go with me to see the northern regions of Wei Dynasty?” He suddenly asked softly.
“Hmm?”
Wen Qingci was stunned for a moment, but before he could answer this question, Xie Bufeng changed the subject: “We can turn right now. Passing through that street will be a shortcut to the outskirts of the city.”
“Alright.” He didn’t think much of it and followed the young man toward another street.
The streets of Yongdu were brightly lit, but the young man’s gaze suddenly became somewhat dim.
Due to pressure from the court, though the Emperor had granted Xie Bufeng his own residence and allowed him to serve as an official at court,
Being wary of the Su family, he naturally wouldn’t let Xie Bufeng stay in Yongdu forever.
Prime Minister Su had learned from a trusted eunuch close to the Emperor that His Majesty already had plans to send Xie Bufeng to his fief.
And the fief the royal family had prepared for him was in the north of Wei Dynasty, bordering the Di territory.
Xie Bufeng didn’t know when he would leave Yongdu.
By rights, a prince going to his fief could bring some people along.
Xie Bufeng privately wanted Wen Qingci to come with him, but reason told him that he absolutely could not bring Wen Qingci to such a cold, troublesome place.
Xie Bufeng was lost in thought at this moment, and the person beside him immediately noticed.
…Why has Your Highness stopped talking?
“Has Young Master Su ever watched the fireworks by the Yin River Grand Canal in previous years?” Thinking the young man had something on his mind, Wen Qingci walked forward while slowly turning to look at Xie Bufeng.
He answered: “I saw them as a child.”
Colored glass lanterns illuminated Yongdu’s night as bright as day.
Spices from the Western Regions, having traveled for years to reach Yongdu, were now being burned somewhere unknown.
The rich fragrance, accompanied by the sound of nomadic flutes, descended from the tall buildings to their noses.
Who knows what was added to the spices, but after smelling them for a while, they were as intoxicating as strong liquor.
Wen Qingci nodded, about to say something more, when he felt a pain in his wrist.
Looking down, he saw that Xie Bufeng had suddenly gripped his left hand tightly.
His expression had also become extremely serious at that moment.
“Young Master Su?”
“Follow me-”
“Huh?” Wen Qingci was stunned for a moment, then nodded, “Alright.”
The moment these words fell, Xie Bufeng pulled his hand and turned to push through the crowd toward the other side of the long street.
“Hey! What’s the rush?”
“What’s going on?”
There were too many people around, and as soon as Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng started running, a chorus of dissatisfied grumbles immediately sounded in their ears.
Wen Qingci had no time to care about the words of those around them; he only knew that Xie Bufeng’s grip on his wrist was rather awkward.
As a physician, Wen Qingci was accustomed to “stillness,” and in his memory, he had never sprinted like this before.
His heartbeat accelerated along with his footsteps.
His breathing also became rapid.
From the corner of his eye, Wen Qingci saw several men in tight-fitting clothes, obviously martial artists, shouting “Stop!” while heading in their direction from the other side of the long street.
Though he hadn’t yet figured out who these people were, or why Xie Bufeng had suddenly started running with him through the streets, Wen Qingci, worried about holding the young man back, instinctively gripped Xie Bufeng’s hand tightly.
At this moment, Yongdu during the Summer Festival became a kaleidoscope of strange sights.
The fireworks on the horizon, the lanterns overhead, and the colorful attire of the revelers all turned into paints, mixing together.
The sounds of breathing, the music from the buildings above, and the shouts of people around them all became indistinct.
Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng couldn’t care about all that; they only knew to run, to keep running forward.
After an unknown amount of time, the two finally stopped.
By now they had left the bustling streets of Yongdu and entered an unknown small alley.
“…Huff, Young Master Su, just now, cough cough… who were those people? Are we, are we in some kind of trouble?” Wen Qingci struggled to regulate his breathing as he finally asked this question.
Unlike Wen Qingci, after running for so long, the young man barely breathed any harder: “I just saw Deputy Minister Gong.”
So that was it…
The people at the Imperial Medical Bureau were quite well-informed, and after spending some time there, Wen Qingci had gained a general understanding of the court.
If he remembered correctly, “Deputy Minister Gong” was one of the current Emperor’s trusted confidants.
If he discovered Xie Bufeng taking him out of the palace to watch fireworks, that would indeed cause some trouble…
Wen Qingci didn’t doubt him.
After the wild sprint, he felt an unfamiliar burning sensation in his chest and lungs.
He even tasted an iron-like flavor in his throat.
Wen Qingci’s face was flushed red from running, and beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.
“Are you still uncomfortable?”
Xie Bufeng gently stroked his back, helping him regulate his breathing.
“…Cough cough, my throat hurts a bit,” after speaking, Wen Qingci looked outside the alley with some concern, “I wonder if we’ve lost them. Why don’t you go first? I’ll rest here for a while, and after I recover, we can meet by the Yin River Grand Canal.”
“No need,” Xie Bufeng shook his head and said, “I checked earlier, they should have lost our trail.”
In truth, if Xie Bufeng wanted, Deputy Minister Gong would never have seen this “young man who resembled the prince.”
He could have even used qinggong to escape early.
But he pretended to fear being discovered, holding Wen Qingci’s hand as they ran wildly through the streets…
Wen Qingci had never been to Yongdu before and didn’t know where they were.
He only knew that unlike the busy main street, this small alley was extremely quiet.
At this moment, all Wen Qingci could hear was his own breathing and the distant, faint sounds of fireworks.
But before he could completely relax, footsteps came from the other end of the alley.
“Young Master Su!” Wen Qingci immediately lowered his voice to warn Xie Bufeng, while holding his breath.
The young man also cooperated by pulling him against the alley wall.
On this summer night, the wall still retained some coolness.
The moment they pressed against it, the coolness penetrated through their not-so-thick clothes to Wen Qingci’s skin.
Having become quite hot from running, he didn’t mind this coolness; in fact, it helped him relax a bit.
Xie Bufeng, standing against the wall beside him, perfectly blocked the alley entrance.
Wen Qingci didn’t know what was happening outside; he only tried to breathe as quietly as possible while instinctively tightening his grip on Xie Bufeng’s hand.
One breath, two breaths… three breaths.
The two remained motionless until the footsteps approached, then receded, and the alley returned to silence.
“It’s fine now,” Xie Bufeng turned to look at Wen Qingci, finally no longer deliberately lowering his voice, “It seems it was just some drunk people.”
“I see, as long as they’re not Deputy Minister Gong’s people.”
Perhaps finding their cautious behavior amusing, after speaking, Wen Qingci couldn’t help but laugh in the alley.
Just at that moment, the fireworks over the Yin River Grand Canal suddenly began to bloom.
Huge fiery peonies shot into the sky, blossoming over the river and all of Yongdu.
Once again, they illuminated Wen Qingci’s cheeks.
They even ignited those jet-black eyes.
Busy admiring the fireworks, Wen Qingci forgot to let go of Xie Bufeng’s hand.
Xie Bufeng took advantage, secretly changing from a simple “grip” to interlocking their fingers.
“It’s so beautiful, Young Master Su,” Wen Qingci murmured while watching the fireworks, “Thank you.”
“Why thank me?” The young man couldn’t help but soften his voice, afraid of disturbing the person beside him.
“If not for you, I probably wouldn’t have come to Yongdu, or even if I had, I wouldn’t have known about such beautiful scenery today… I never realized there was such a vast world beyond Songxiu.”
After saying this, Wen Qingci smiled again. He shifted his gaze from the fireworks to Xie Bufeng.
Then he blinked and answered the question he hadn’t had time to answer earlier: “If there’s an opportunity, please remember to take me to see the northern regions.”
In that instant, fireworks bloomed again.
Those light amber eyes were no longer cold.
Though he had felt nothing during their wild run earlier,
The young man’s heart began to beat heavily at this moment.
Everything around disappeared.
Xie Bufeng forgot the fireworks, forgot the northern regions, and forgot Yongdu.
Seeing the slightly flushed cheeks of the person beside him, and that undisguised smile,
Xie Bufeng suddenly realized at this moment that this childish chase he had orchestrated… wasn’t to fool Deputy Minister Gong, and had nothing whatsoever to do with the Emperor.
…He had simply wanted an excuse to hold the hand of the person beside him.
He liked Wen Qingci, even more than he had imagined.
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