BLPSG Chapter 101

Wen Qingci’s ears began to buzz.

 

In that instant, it seemed as if the wind and snow had hit pause, suspended in mid-air, no longer drifting.

 

Only the cool sensation on the tip of his nose remained, gradually dissipating.

 

Seeing that the two had been standing there motionless for some time, Xie Fuyin finally couldn’t resist peeking through her fingers.

 

Before she could see anything, Wen Qingci suddenly rubbed the snow from his nose onto Xie Bufeng’s shoulder, then immediately turned away, holding the umbrella as he walked forward.

 

The corners of Xie Bufeng’s lips curved into a subtle smile.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Oh, oh… okay!” The little girl clung tightly to her brother’s shoulder, sometimes looking up at him, sometimes sneaking glances at Wen Qingci.

 

Why was Brother Qingci’s face a bit red?

 

The snow on the wilderness grew heavier.

 

Draping everything in white veils.

 

Xie Fuyin, carried in her brother’s arms, only knew that he was now holding her with one arm.

 

What she didn’t know was that Xie Bufeng’s other hand was interlocked with Wen Qingci’s, fingers entwined.

 

Keeping the cold and snow at bay.

 

Their fingertips felt only each other’s warmth.

 

*

 

She Festival, Yi Mountain.

 

After snowing all night, the morning finally cleared.

 

The massive Yi Mountain stood like a white jade sculpture against the horizon.

 

The civil and military officials of the Wei dynasty, along with palace ladies and noble women, all dressed in their finest, stood at the foot of the mountain.

 

Unlike the time they had come to worship heaven years ago.

 

Now, most aristocratic families had been “dealt with” by the deposed emperor.

 

After Xie Bufeng ascended the throne, he continuously reformed the system, gradually resolving the problem of redundant officials. At this time, there were only a few hundred people at the foot of Yi Mountain.

 

But every one of them looked radiant, completely different from before.

 

The ceremonial official struck the massive chime.

 

The sound echoed repeatedly between the clouds and snow of Yi Mountain, ethereal like celestial music.

 

The court officials knelt down slowly, facing Yi Mountain.

 

Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng ascended the long steps toward the high platform on Yi Mountain.

 

As they passed Xie Fuyin, the little girl secretly looked up and waved slightly at the two.

 

The accumulated snow on the stones had been cleared away, with no trace of “wet” or “slippery.”

 

But Xie Bufeng still held Wen Qingci’s hand tightly in his, not letting go until they reached the high platform.

 

The sky overhead was as transparent and blue as a gemstone.

 

Sunlight shone from the other side of Yi Mountain, suddenly illuminating everything.

 

Wen Qingci couldn’t help but look toward the other side of the long steps.

 

The last time he had come to Yi Mountain, he had been there as a physician, staying at the foot of the mountain.

 

So only now did Wen Qingci realize.

 

It turned out that climbing the long steps allowed one to take in the entire view of Yongdu.

 

Sunlight shone from the other side of Yi Mountain, transforming into gold leaf, sprinkling all over Yongdu.

 

Further away, the Yin River Grand Canal also gleamed with phosphorescence.

 

Like a golden silk ribbon, encircling the entire city.

 

Wen Qingci’s steps involuntarily slowed.

 

Noticing this, Xie Bufeng slowly turned and asked, “What are you thinking about, Qingci?”

 

Xie Bufeng had, without anyone noticing, grown a head taller than Wen Qingci.

 

Now Wen Qingci had to tilt his head slightly to look into his eyes.

 

The sound of the chime still lingered.

 

The ceremonial officials were still chanting something below.

 

But to Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng’s ears, only a faint echo remained.

 

Even the people below had become tiny black dots, their faces indistinguishable.

 

In their world, truly, only the two of them remained.

 

Wen Qingci smiled and answered softly, “I just suddenly realized… Your Majesty has grown up.”

 

His voice was as gentle as the sunlight breaking through the snow and wind today, carrying a hint of emotion.

 

Several years ago, on that She Festival, it had also been snowing heavily.

 

Xie Bufeng, still a youth then, had held a lamb, kneeling silently in the snow.

 

-That was the only thing he possessed at that time.

 

Now he owned the wealth of the four seas.

 

That day was also perhaps the first time Wen Qingci realized that Xie Bufeng wasn’t just the all-powerful BOSS from “Fuming Hall,” nor was he a paper character, but an ordinary young man… he was flesh and blood.

 

 

Xie Bufeng narrowed his eyes, his fingers slowly brushing through Wen Qingci’s hair.

 

The cold wind on Yi Mountain carried that familiar bitter fragrance to his nose.

 

Both Xie Bufeng and Wen Qingci recalled the She Festival from that year.

 

“Does Qingci remember that year’s She Festival?” Xie Bufeng asked softly.

 

Today, Wen Qingci was dressed in formal attire, which was rare for him.

 

Layers of moon-white brocade overlapped, embroidered with subtle patterns, emitting a soft glow in the sunlight.

 

Under the jade crown on his head were numerous pearls and jade ornaments.

 

Small sky-blue jade beads swung gently past Wen Qingci’s eyelashes with Xie Bufeng’s movement, making a crisp sound.

 

In the sunlight, they sparkled with tiny fragments of light.

 

“Of course,” he answered.

 

Xie Bufeng’s hand gently touched Wen Qingci’s cheek, brushing past the corner of his eye.

 

His voice was slightly hoarse, and for a moment, the twilight lost focus: “That night, I had a dream,” Xie Bufeng said.

 

“What did Your Majesty dream of?”

 

“I dreamed I returned to Suzhou, and again found a little lamb by the stream outside the mausoleum.”

 

Even after many years, that dream remained clearly imprinted in his mind.

 

Xie Bufeng’s voice unconsciously softened.

 

Wen Qingci, following his words, remembered that little creature Xie Bufeng always held tightly in his arms.

 

“And then?” he couldn’t help but ask.

 

“And then…” Xie Bufeng’s hand slowly slid from Wen Qingci’s cheek.

 

He said: “Then I woke up and realized what I had found wasn’t a lamb at all. It was you…”

 

Xie Bufeng had a fever all night, and when he woke, he discovered that in his delirium, he had been gripping Wen Qingci’s wrist without letting go.

 

And Wen Qingci had simply sat quietly on the ground with him all night.

 

This scene was so incredible to him at that time.

 

“I thought I would never lose the little lamb again.”

 

But in the end, Wen Qingci had still slowly closed his eyes in his arms.

 

Just thinking about it caused a sharp pain in Xie Bufeng’s heart.

 

It had been his nightmare.

 

…He saw himself as that little lamb?

 

Wen Qingci’s fingers trembled in response.

 

At that moment, the ceremonial official finally finished reciting the prepared words.

 

The sound of the chimes gradually stopped.

 

Only an echo remained, lingering in the mountain valley, unwilling to disperse.

 

Xie Bufeng finally lowered his hand from Wen Qingci’s cheek.

 

“Your Majesty,” just as Xie Bufeng was about to turn and look down at Yi Mountain, Wen Qingci suddenly tugged gently at his sleeve and whispered in his ear, “You didn’t find a little lamb.”

 

Xie Bufeng frowned slightly, looking at Wen Qingci.

 

The other first lowered his eyes and smiled, then suddenly looked up into his eyes and said with great sincerity: “You were the little lamb who was brought home.”

 

As he spoke, he took Xie Bufeng’s hand that hung at his side.

 

Wen Qingci’s eyes were curved, with sunlight falling into them, making them shimmer gently.

 

Like ripples spreading across a deep pool when someone throws a pebble at sunrise.

 

Wen Qingci’s tone was still gentle.

 

But the words from his mouth instantly disrupted Xie Bufeng’s composure.

 

…Home?

 

These were once the two most unfamiliar characters to Xie Bufeng.

 

But when they came from Wen Qingci’s mouth, Xie Bufeng felt… that in an instant, he possessed everything.

 

Yes, on that She Festival night, it wasn’t he who had found Wen Qingci.

 

It was Wen Qingci who had brought him, homeless as he was, back home.

 

That small courtyard in the Imperial Medical Bureau, so tiny and unremarkable within the vast Taishu Palace.

 

Yet it was Xie Bufeng’s entire world.

 

At the foot of Yi Mountain, the chimes rang out again.

 

Seeing Xie Bufeng still standing there in a daze, Wen Qingci gently shook his hand and said: “Your Majesty, stop daydreaming, the auspicious time has come.”

 

With that, he finally released Xie Bufeng’s hand and slowly picked up the incense from the golden tray.

 

“All right.”

 

Finally coming to his senses, Xie Bufeng, like Wen Qingci, took three sticks of incense from the golden tray and solemnly held them in his hand.

 

Then he slowly closed his eyes and placed the incense against his forehead.

 

The She Festival was a day for emperors to worship heaven, earth, and the gods of land and grain.

 

With the rhythmic chimes from the foot of the mountain, Xie Bufeng, like emperors throughout history, softly recited the sacrificial text.

 

Peace in the realm, abundant harvests.

 

With each chime, Xie Bufeng recited one line.

 

The massive bronze bell at the foot of Yi Mountain had a history of over a thousand years and weighed more than a ton.

 

Legend had it that the sound of this great bell, called “Gayi,” could reach heaven and earth, directly addressing the gods.

 

Each toll of the bell corresponded to one line of the sacrificial text.

 

Wen Qingci, together with Xie Bufeng and everyone at the foot of the mountain, placed three sticks of incense against his forehead, silently reciting the sacrificial text in his heart.

 

The sound of Gayi echoed between the peaks of Yi Mountain.

 

With the bell tolls, Wen Qingci’s heart began to tremble gently.

 

Wen Qingci remembered that the sacrificial text had five lines.

 

But after those five lines he knew were completed, the massive bronze bell rang out again.

 

…What was happening?

 

The She Festival ceremony had been prepared for months; how could there be a mistake at this moment?

 

The crowd at the foot of Yi Mountain paused, then began to shout in unison with the bell: “Long live, long live, ten thousand years!”

 

Wen Qingci instinctively looked toward Xie Bufeng.

 

-The emperor in black had not yet lowered the incense in his hand.

 

Xie Bufeng held it against his forehead and, along with the crowd at the foot of the mountain, con

 

tinued to speak softly with the bell that could reach heaven and earth: “Sixth, I wish Wen Qingci good health, free from illness and disaster.”

 

“…and with me, grow old together with white hair, forever united in heart, never to be parted in life or death.”

 

His voice was solemn beyond measure.

 

Each word was pronounced with perfect clarity.

 

As if he feared heaven might mishear, missing his prayer.

 

The three sticks of incense burned to his fingertips at the moment his words fell.

 

But he still held them tightly in his hand, unaware even when burned, until the sound of the Gayi bell completely dissipated into the horizon.

 

Only then did Xie Bufeng open his eyes and, with utmost solemnity, insert the incense into the censer.

 

Leaving his wish forever on Yi Mountain.

 

Spring breeze swept across Yi Mountain, scattering fine snow from somewhere unknown.

 

In that hazy moment, Wen Qingci seemed to smell the overwhelming fragrance of magnolia blossoms…

 

It drifted across all of Yongdu, landing on the tip of his nose.

 

——————————

 

Yongdu’s long streets were freshly swept, the official roads covered with flower petals.

 

The common people set aside their work, gathering on both sides of the street to welcome the returning procession.

 

Seeing this, Xie Bufeng deliberately ordered the procession to slow down.

 

It wasn’t until evening that the group returned to Taishu Palace.

 

Wen Qingci had been recuperating in the palace for half a year, but his health was still not good.

 

Though he no longer coughed blood at the slightest provocation as before, he still tired more easily than ordinary people.

 

Calming incense had been lit in the carriage.

 

On the way back to Taishu Palace, Wen Qingci fell into a deep sleep.

 

In the end, he was carried back to his quarters by Xie Bufeng in a daze.

 

By the time he woke again, the sky had completely darkened.

 

“…Your Majesty?” Seeing no one beside him, Wen Qingci paused for a moment, then got up and slowly drew back the bed curtains.

 

He discovered that his clothes had somehow been changed from formal attire to an ordinary cotton robe.

 

In the bedroom of the Imperial Medical Bureau, the brazier burned just right.

 

Neither Wen Qingci nor Xie Bufeng liked having people around them.

 

So this bedroom, unlike other chambers in Taishu Palace, was not tidied by eunuchs or palace maids.

 

On the desk by the window, the medical book Wen Qingci hadn’t finished reading two days ago still lay open.

 

In the small red clay stove beside the desk, a pot of rice wine with osmanthus honey was simmering.

 

The wine had almost no alcohol content, but its fragrance permeated the entire bedroom.

 

After winter began, Xie Bufeng had ordered a thick carpet laid over the wooden floor.

 

So Wen Qingci, just awakened from sleep, didn’t put on shoes or socks but stepped barefoot onto the thick carpet.

 

Unexpectedly, just as Wen Qingci steadied himself, a soft creaking sound came to his ears.

 

Xie Bufeng pushed open the bedroom door and entered.

 

At some point, he had taken off the heavy, elaborate ceremonial robes and changed into ordinary black clothes.

 

No matter how simple his attire, it could not hide the aura of authority that came from long holding power.

 

His gaze suddenly fell to the floor.

 

The skin on Wen Qingci’s feet was exceptionally pale.

 

The bluish-purple veins were thus all the more striking.

 

Wen Qingci instinctively sat back on the edge of the bed, somewhat guiltily trying to hide his bare foot.

 

Though the bedroom had a brazier burning, it was still winter, and Wen Qingci, affected by the toxins in his body, was more sensitive to cold than ordinary people.

 

With his movement, Xie Bufeng saw that Wen Qingci’s toes were slightly reddened from the cold, looking somewhat pitiful.

 

“Why is Qingci barefoot again?”

 

Xie Bufeng frowned slightly and walked around the carpet toward him.

 

“I wanted to find you… ah!”

 

Before Wen Qingci could finish speaking, he saw the young emperor in black slowly kneel on one knee before him.

 

“Your Majesty, what are you doing?” Wen Qingci was startled by Xie Bufeng’s action.

 

“Don’t move,” Xie Bufeng caught Wen Qingci’s foot as it kept shrinking back under the bed out of guilt, then took shoes and socks from the side, intending to put them on for him. “Don’t you know your own health? If you catch cold, you’ll suffer.”

 

Xie Bufeng’s palms were dry and warm.

 

Upon touching Wen Qingci’s cold skin, Xie Bufeng was in no hurry to put on his shoes and socks.

 

Instead, he first extended his hands to warm them.

 

Wen Qingci: !!!

 

Xie Bufeng’s touch was not heavy, but Wen Qingci couldn’t break free.

 

By now his face had turned as red as a cooked shrimp.

 

“There.” Xie Bufeng finally released his hands.

 

“Mmm…”

 

Wen Qingci swore he would never again walk barefoot in the room.

 

This was all too embarrassing…

 

Though lamps were lit in the bedroom, the flickering flames could not compare to daylight.

 

The light in the room was somewhat dim.

 

Making the atmosphere increasingly intimate.

 

Xie Bufeng still knelt on one knee without rising; at some point, he had raised his eyes, gazing deeply at the person beside him.

 

Wen Qingci’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

 

He unconsciously gripped the bedding beneath his hand, turned to look out the window, and suddenly asked as if remembering something: “Your Majesty, where did you go just now?”

 

Xie Bufeng smiled and said softly: “Qingci has been tired all day and hasn’t eaten properly for half the day, so I went to the side room to make some night snacks.”

 

After speaking, he slowly stood up.

 

Seeing this, Wen Qingci finally breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“What did Your Majesty make?”

 

Xie Bufeng paused, looking into Wen Qingci’s eyes and answering softly: “Magnolia flower porridge.”

 

*

 

Wen Qingci changed into thick clothes and walked out of the bedroom.

 

Whether it was because the cloak had been warmed by the brazier for a while, or for some other reason.

 

Even though snow had begun falling outside at some unknown time, he didn’t feel cold at all.

 

Under the huge magnolia tree in the small courtyard, a low table was set.

 

On it was a small clay stove, warming a pot of magnolia flower porridge.

 

Besides this, there was also a small jade-green brocade pouch.

 

-Wen Qingci had discovered in autumn that, whether in this small courtyard or the front courtyard of the Imperial Medical Bureau, these brocade pouches were everywhere.

 

At first, he didn’t know what they contained, but later learned from Song Junran that inside these pouches was the antidote for Tianci poison that Xie Bufeng had obtained from him.

 

Worried that Wen Qingci might suddenly suffer an attack or forget to carry the antidote, Xie Bufeng had placed them all around.

 

“Qingci, try it and see how it tastes,” Xie Bufeng sat across from Wen Qingci, carefully ladling him a bowl.

 

His movements were extremely careful.

 

Completely different from his battlefield persona, where he wielded a heavy sword, killing anyone who stood in his way.

 

When Wen Qingci received it, he found the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right.

 

“Where did Your Majesty learn to make magnolia flower porridge?” After tasting it, Wen Qingci discovered that the porridge Xie Bufeng had made tasted exactly the same as his own.

 

The person sitting across from him shook his head gently and said, “I figured it out myself.”

 

“…Figured it out?”

 

Xie Bufeng slowly lowered his head, gazing at the small stove on the table. “When you left, you left behind a bowl of porridge. I was afraid it would dry out or spoil. I couldn’t bear to eat it or throw it away.”

 

Though now the supreme ruler, at this moment, in Wen Qingci’s eyes, Xie Bufeng seemed like a small dog afraid of being abandoned by its owner.

 

“So, Your Highness learned to make it yourself, is that right?” When Wen Qingci spoke, he realized his voice had somehow taken on an unmistakable thickness.

 

Because of Xie Bufeng’s words, Wen Qingci finally recalled that when he returned to the small courtyard, he had noticed the side room was spotless.

 

The clay stove and purple clay pot were still there, without even a speck of dust.

 

It seemed Xie Bufeng hadn’t just been cleaning them regularly.

 

He had been using the things Wen Qingci left behind all along.

 

“Yes,” Xie Bufeng stood up, walked around the small table, and sat behind Wen Qingci, holding him tightly in his arms. “Only this way could I preserve Qingci’s taste.”

 

Xie Bufeng wasn’t very good at cooking.

 

He could only adjust the ingredients bit by bit, constantly comparing with the taste in his memory, repeating the process of brewing over and over.

 

After speaking, Xie Bufeng couldn’t help but deeply inhale Wen Qingci’s scent from his hair.

 

Finally, he whispered in his ear: “But no matter how I tried, it couldn’t compare to what Qingci makes.”

 

Wen Qingci’s heart suddenly ached with waves of emotion.

 

Then sadness, joy, and even gratitude surged toward him.

 

In this moment, Wen Qingci suddenly thought of the book “Fuming Hall.”

 

With memories of his previous life, he wasn’t afraid of death.

 

Even when he entered the palace, he had been prepared to die.

 

But at this moment, Wen Qingci was incredibly grateful, grateful that he was still alive.

 

“Qingci, are you crying?”

 

Xie Bufeng suddenly felt something cool on the back of his hand.

 

He paused, then realized… those seemed to be Wen Qingci’s tears.

 

“Yes,” Wen Qingci slowly raised his hand, gripping Xie Bufeng’s wrist. “I suddenly feel that being alive… is truly wonderful.”

 

Tonight, not only were the officials given leave, but Xie Bufeng had also given the imperial physicians, palace maids, and eunuchs time off.

 

In Taishu Palace, only the necessary guards remained.

 

All around was quiet.

 

Wen Qingci slowly closed his eyes to listen to the sound of the wind.

 

As they spoke, the rabbit that roamed freely in the small courtyard appeared beside Wen Qingci, hopping about.

 

It even nuzzled against him.

 

Wen Qingci’s tears were scattered by the wind.

 

Xie Bufeng, at a loss, gently wiped them away.

 

He had seen Wen Qingci suffering from poison, seen him injured.

 

But he had never seen… such a vulnerable Wen Qingci.

 

The tears felt especially cold in the wind.

 

Seeing that the tears wouldn’t stop no matter how he wiped them, Xie Bufeng suddenly held Wen Qingci in his arms.

 

Then he pressed his lips firmly against Wen Qingci’s.

 

Their breaths instantly intertwined.

 

Wen Qingci’s brain lacked oxygen, and his thoughts became completely jumbled.

 

He vaguely heard Xie Bufeng say: “There is no poison without an antidote.”

 

“There must be a cure for Tianci, and your hand will surely recover completely.”

 

“After that, I will go with you to Songxiu, to Suzhou, to Changyuan, to travel the mountains and waters, to save lives.”

 

After speaking, Xie Bufeng paused, gently kissing away Wen Qingci’s tears.

 

By now, the lips of the person in his arms were as red as the cinnabar mark on his forehead.

 

Xie Bufeng’s tone was absolutely certain.

 

Wen Qingci paused, then suddenly looked up, gazing deeply at Xie Bufeng.

 

Xie Bufeng’s eyes had, at some point, turned red.

 

“Yes,” Wen Qingci slowly smiled, also reaching up to touch the corner of Xie Bufeng’s eye. “And Shanyu Jian too. You said you would go with me to Shanyu Jian to meet my parents.”

 

As soon as Wen Qingci finished speaking, he was once again engulfed in a kiss.

 

In that hazy moment, he saw-in the distant horizon, fireworks suddenly appeared.

 

Warm yellow meteors rose from the ground, shooting into the night sky.

 

After a few seconds, they burst open, illuminating the entire night sky.

 

The cool night breeze came from somewhere unknown.

 

It rustled the huge magnolia tree, making a soft, whispering sound.

 

It lifted their long hair, tightly intertwining them together.

 

A magnolia blossom, still holding snow, fell heavily onto the table.

 

The next moment, the wind rose again.

 

It made the magnolia blossoms on the ground dance like phosphorescent flames.

 

The fragrance penetrated to the bone.

 

Just like the day they first met.

 

 

Author’s Note:

 

Thank you everyone for your companionship, and for all your suggestions and comments. The main story ends here, and tomorrow I’ll begin updating the extras (we’ll return to the Valley of Divine Physicians together and meet the people there XD). I will continue to work hard~! I hope in the future you’ll see even greater improvements from me. Thank you all! *bows*

 

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T/N : Main story endssss

Thank you all for reading!

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Time for extrassssss~

(๑’ᵕ’๑)⸝*