By the time Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng reached the Yin River Grand Canal, it was already the Hour of the Boar.
Normally at this time, half of Yongdu would have already entered dreamland.
But today, the riverbank was still brightly lit.
Huge fireworks bloomed one after another in the sky, and at the same time, reflected in the canal. In that instant, flowers dazzled and birds circled, creating a magnificent spectacle.
Wen Qingci stood quietly by the river, looking up at the sky.
The evening breeze blew across the canal, lifting his long hair to dance behind him, gently sweeping across his cheeks.
Wen Qingci instinctively raised his hand, wanting to tuck his hair behind his ear, but before he could move, the young man standing beside him turned and slowly arranged the stray strands at his temple.
“Are you cold?” Xie Bufeng asked softly.
Yongdu became quite cool at night, especially now that they were by the water.
Wen Qingci was indeed cold, but he paused, slowly shook his head and said: “It’s fine.”
The next moment, Xie Bufeng stepped half a step back and gently placed his hand on Wen Qingci’s shoulder, warming his arm with the heat of his palm.
A tingling sensation, like vines, instantly grew from Wen Qingci’s arm, enveloping his body.
He belatedly realized that Xie Bufeng, several years younger than himself, was now… seemingly standing behind him in the role of a “protector.”
The young man’s breath drifted from behind, like a small feather brushing across Wen Qingci’s neck.
Bringing an undeniable ticklish sensation.
…The distance between himself and Xie Bufeng seemed excessively close.
He instinctively wanted to step forward, escaping Xie Bufeng’s “control.”
But reason told Wen Qingci that he couldn’t dismiss such good intentions.
After much internal conflict, Wen Qingci could only stand in place, allowing that subtle ambiguity to take root and sprout.
He didn’t know that at this moment, he wasn’t the only one feeling unsettled.
Standing behind Wen Qingci, Xie Bufeng could finally stop pretending to watch the fireworks.
He couldn’t help but look at Wen Qingci’s figure, comparing their heights.
Xie Bufeng had always been someone who neither dwelled on the past nor yearned for the future.
But in this moment, he desperately wished that time would pass more quickly.
He wanted to grow taller, tall enough to shield the person beside him from all storms.
…He also wanted to have more power.
So that this person wouldn’t be endangered because of him.
This year, many significant events occurred in Taishu Palace.
One of them was the birth of a little princess.
In late autumn, Consort Lan gave birth to a daughter.
This pregnancy hadn’t been easy, not to mention her seasickness during the southern tour.
Just after returning to the palace, Consort Lan had not stepped out of Huixin Palace for months due to her pregnancy.
Fortunately, the delivery was relatively smooth.
Upon learning that Consort Lan had given birth to a princess, the Emperor, who had been cold to her for months, actually showed some joy on his face.
He even bestowed the name “Fuyin” upon the little princess in good spirits.
However, this joy didn’t last long.
After giving birth to the princess, Consort Lan became the only consort in the Wei Dynasty palace to have borne two children.
According to custom, rewards couldn’t be withheld.
The Emperor had no choice but to swallow his pride, going against his own wishes, and elevated the Su woman to “Imperial Noble Consort.”
Now she was just one small step away from becoming Empress.
“Why are you back so early?” The imperial physician who was studying medical texts looked up toward the hall entrance and immediately spotted the colleague responsible for delivering medicinal food to the Imperial Noble Consort.
Hearing this, Wen Qingci, who was preparing herbs, also looked up.
The Imperial Noble Consort had just given birth, and her diet and living arrangements were at their most particular.
Every day, besides three meals, she also needed special medicinal food sent from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Delivering medicinal food to the Imperial Noble Consort was a good assignment; she almost always rewarded the physician daily.
The round trip took nearly an hour.
The other physician sighed, putting down his basket.
“The Imperial Noble Consort wasn’t in the mood to eat today, so I left the food and left.”
“Not in the mood?” Another imperial physician couldn’t help but feel puzzled, “Wasn’t it said that the Imperial Noble Consort was quite joyful after giving birth to the princess?”
Wen Qingci usually had no interest in palace gossip.
But today, he unconsciously put down his work and focused all his attention on this conversation.
The Imperial Noble Consort knew of the Emperor’s wariness toward her and the entire Su family.
Upon learning of her pregnancy, she had been very nervous.
She feared that bearing another prince would force the Emperor to accelerate his actions against the Su family, or do something extreme.
Only when the little princess was born did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
…Most importantly, the Imperial Noble Consort rarely showed her emotions.
For her to have no appetite, something significant must have happened.
“Oh my!” The questioner exclaimed softly, then lowered his voice as if remembering something, “Could it be… that rumor is true?”
At this point, Wen Qingci, who had been silent, finally spoke: “What rumor?”
“So Imperial Physician Wen is also interested.” The one who delivered the medicinal food immediately perked up.
He looked back at the small courtyard, slowly closed the main door of the side hall, and quickly walked toward Wen Qingci and the other physician.
“Recently I heard Lord Gong say that His Majesty is about to send the Crown Prince to the northern regions!” the physician said in a lowered voice, “I didn’t believe it at the time… would Prime Minister Su allow his own grandson to go to such a place? But now that the Imperial Noble Consort has lost her appetite, it seems this might really happen.”
“The northern regions?” Though princes being sent to their fiefs after coming of age wasn’t unusual, upon hearing where Xie Bufeng was to go, the physician who had been reading medical texts immediately changed his tone, “This fief is truly… unprecedented.”
Then both of them sighed in unison, their faces filled with concern.
Wen Qingci remembered that these two weren’t close to Xie Bufeng, previously only nodding acquaintances.
Why were they suddenly so worried about Xie Bufeng going to the northern regions?
“Why are you both so worried?” Wen Qingci couldn’t help but ask.
Remembering that Wen Qingci had only joined the Imperial Medical Bureau this year and was still unfamiliar with many matters, the physician who had delivered the medicinal food explained: “Imperial Physician Wen may not know, but according to the customs of the previous dynasty, when a prince goes to his fief, His Majesty always bestows upon him many people and resources to help him establish roots there.”
Wen Qingci paused, then nodded slightly.
Though he hadn’t heard of this before, he wasn’t surprised.
A prince of the nation couldn’t just arrive at his fief alone, could he?
“Alas… besides advisors and soldiers, the prince must also bring imperial physicians with him,” the speaker looked distressed, “Who knows who will be sent there when the time comes.”
“Going elsewhere would be fine, but the key issue is that the northern region doesn’t even have a decent city!”
“Do you think if we visit Chief Physician Yu these days and speak highly of him, we might avoid this matter?”
“That makes sense, it makes sense!”
Beside Wen Qingci, the two colleagues were engrossed in their conversation.
He, however, fell silent, his thoughts drifting far away.
The two assumed Wen Qingci was also worried about this matter, so they didn’t pay much attention to him.
Little did they know that Wen Qingci’s thoughts were completely opposite to theirs.
During the Summer Festival, Xie Bufeng had asked him if, given the opportunity in the future, he would be willing to go with him to see the northern regions of Wei Dynasty.
-Did Xie Bufeng already know then that the Emperor planned to send him to the northern regions?
…
The next day was a rest day, but Wen Qingci didn’t stay home reading as usual.
Instead, he finished washing up before dawn and set out along the long street toward the other side of Yongdu.
It was now late autumn, with heavy morning frost, and the air was permeated with coldness.
By the time Wen Qingci reached the mansion marked “Prince of Suzhou’s Residence,” half of his body was numb and senseless from the cold.
Though both were in Yongdu, unlike Wen Qingci’s small courtyard adjacent to the imperial palace,
This “Prince of Suzhou’s Residence” was located at the very edge of the imperial city.
Standing at the entrance, Wen Qingci didn’t hesitate but directly stepped forward to knock on the main gate.
-The place he had come to wasn’t the main entrance of the Prince of Suzhou’s Residence, and there were no guards outside.
The soft knocking echoed in the silent morning street.
After a few moments, Wen Qingci heard footsteps.
He stepped back half a pace, and just as he steadied himself, the door opened.
A soldier in silver armor walked out from inside.
Seeing it was Wen Qingci, the soldier didn’t ask questions, but bowed to him and immediately invited him in.
“Master Wen, this way please.”
“Alright.”
Wearing a moon-white cloak, Wen Qingci appeared calm on the surface, but was actually quite nervous inside.
Xie Bufeng often visited Wen Qingci’s small courtyard, but this was his first time coming to the Prince of Suzhou’s Residence.
Wen Qingci saw that though Xie Bufeng’s residence wasn’t large, it was heavily guarded everywhere, creating a solemn atmosphere.
Along the way, all soldiers fixed their gaze on him.
…At this moment, he suddenly felt like a lamb that had fallen into a trap, having surrendered the right to decide his fate into the hands of others.
Being in such a situation, Wen Qingci couldn’t help but feel tense.
He unconsciously clenched his palms, focused his attention, and stared at the path beneath his feet.
Passing through corridors and bluestone paths, Wen Qingci couldn’t tell how many doors he had walked through.
Just as he couldn’t resist looking up to observe his surroundings, he suddenly heard a “creaking” sound.
The next moment, a familiar voice reached Wen Qingci’s ears.
“Qingci, why have you come so early?”
Xie Bufeng’s voice inexplicably reassured him.
Wen Qingci finally looked up, took a deep breath, and gazed across.
-The sun had not yet fully risen, and the air around was deep blue.
Xie Bufeng wore a black robe loosely draped over his inner garment, standing by the door and gazing deeply at him.
Perhaps having just awakened, the young man was still squinting slightly.
The loose robe didn’t diminish the young man’s aura at all.
Instead, it made him appear even more languid, even more dangerous.
Whether sensing danger or for some other reason,
Wen Qingci’s heart suddenly began to beat rapidly.
Just as he was about to stop in his tracks, Xie Bufeng standing by the door finally walked forward and, without a word, draped his black outer robe over Wen Qingci.
And in that instant, he was completely enveloped by the young man’s scent.
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That last scene is making me blush hehe ❤️