Chapter 31
At the same time, in the sleeping quarters of the Crown Prince's residence outside the palace, Bai Ren—who Empress Feng hated to the core—was sleeping soundly in Qi Xiao's arms.
Qi Xiao had figured it out by now: as long as he held Bai Ren close and occasionally patted and soothed him, Bai Ren could sleep like he'd been drugged. Qi Xiao sat up, leaning against the small cabinet by the couch, one hand holding a document, the other arm around Bai Ren, occasionally stroking his back in comfort. He found it quite enjoyable.
Bai Ren didn't fully wake until the si hour. He blinked, sitting up in a daze. Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh at his drowsy appearance: "Didn't Young Lord Bai claim he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk? How did a few glasses last night do you in?"
Bai Ren turned to look at Qi Xiao. After a long moment, he finally remembered what had happened the night before and his face flushed red. He forced a dry laugh and mumbled: "Back in Lingnan... I really never got drunk before. I'm not bragging."
Bai Ren only spoke half of that sentence, but Qi Xiao understood immediately. He smiled and said: "You don't dare drink much at home, but you let loose here with me?"
At these words, Bai Ren couldn't help but freeze. Indeed, it was laughable—he had made an unspeakable, shameful transaction with Qi Xiao, yet at Qi Xiao's place, except for sometimes still being afraid of him, he felt more at ease than he did in his own mansion.
At the very least, he didn't have to put on airs and go through all those pretentious formalities, nor did he have to worry that Qi Xiao would seize on some mistake of his to make trouble. Moreover, Qi Xiao ruled his household strictly; the entire Crown Prince's residence was like an iron barrel. Even when Bai Ren was in his own mansion, he wouldn't casually touch the refreshments in the tea room or study, but at Qi Xiao's place, he didn't have to be so guarded— he could even eat the snacks left in the pavilion in the courtyard. Sometimes Bai Ren couldn't help but admire Qi Xiao. These seemed like small matters, but having experienced them himself, he knew how difficult it was to have such a vast estate completely under control.
Seeing Bai Ren lost in thought, Qi Xiao assumed he still wasn't fully awake. He touched Bai Ren's forehead and asked: "Headache? If I'd known you got drunk so easily, I shouldn't have let you get blown by the wind on the pavilion outside."
Bai Ren shook his head and smiled: "I'm not that delicate."
Qi Xiao tossed the document in his hand onto the small table by the couch and stood up, casually tying his hair back. Bai Ren suddenly said in a low voice: "My lord, last night... how did I end up with these nightclothes on?"
Qi Xiao turned to look at Bai Ren, a quiet laugh on his lips: "You don't remember what happened last night?"
Bai Ren's heart sank. He pressed his lips together, forcing himself to remain composed: "I... vaguely remember."
Qi Xiao thought: keep pretending then. He smiled: "Remember? Bai Ren..." Qi Xiao sat back down on the couch, took Bai Ren's hand and examined it. Good—the medicine had been applied in time yesterday, so there was no frostbite. Qi Xiao squeezed Bai Ren's hand, leaned close, and kissed his ear, whispering with a smile: "I never knew before, but your skin... is more delicate than any maiden's..."
Bai Ren's eyes went wide. Qi Xiao laughed and said: "And when you're drunk, you're so obedient. Want to see where? You'll honestly let me look wherever I want. Truly docile. I should encourage you to drink more often in the future..."
Bai Ren had never heard such crude talk before. His face burned bright red. Seeing that Bai Ren couldn't take it, Qi Xiao laughed out loud: "Don't worry. You were so drunk you were completely unconscious. What fun could that be? I only changed your clothes. I didn't do anything else."
Qi Xiao thought this wasn't a big deal, but in Bai Ren's eyes, it was already a very big deal. So when they finished getting dressed and the maids served breakfast, Bai Ren's face was still bright red.
"Tsk, tsk... with such thin skin, how will you ever stand firm in court?" Qi Xiao shook his head in exasperation, as if disappointed, and picked up a small steamed bun for Bai Ren. "Come on, stop reminiscing. Eat first."
Bai Ren was indignant: "Who... who was reminiscing?!"
"Me, me." Qi Xiao couldn't hold back his laughter. "I won't mention it anymore. Just eat your meal properly."
Bai Ren bit into the steamed bun resentfully. After a while, he suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday when Qi Xiao was summoned. He paused and said: "Yesterday... did His Majesty summon you to the palace because of what happened at Maoer Hutong?"
Qi Xiao smiled but didn't answer. Bai Ren felt awkward and smiled: "I shouldn't have asked."
"No." Qi Xiao took Bai Ren's hand and squeezed it, smiling. "I'm happy. In the past, you never asked me about anything, but now you've started to care. That shows you think of me much more highly than before."
Bai Ren hadn't expected that his offhand question would make Qi Xiao explain it this way. He felt even more uncomfortable, turning his head away to drink his porridge without responding. Qi Xiao stopped teasing him and smiled: "Young Lord Bai is as clever as frost and snow. Yes, it was indeed about that."
Bai Ren's heart stirred. He lowered his voice: "Could the Emperor... have found out?"
Qi Xiao gave a mocking smile and nodded. Bai Ren frowned: "Then..."
"It's fine." Qi Xiao said lightly. "He didn't say it to me directly. He's not stupid. There's not a shred of evidence for this matter. If he were to take action against me based on suspicion alone, I might tolerate it, but others wouldn't stand for it either. He only gave me a subtle warning—just telling me to be more discreet. He's been playing the loving father for so many years; why would he want to撕破脸 over something like this?"
Bai Ren nodded: "Then that's good... Does that mean it's over?"
"Over? He suffered such a big loss. He won't be able to let it go without getting some revenge." Qi Xiao told Bai Ren what had happened yesterday, shaking his head with a smile. "My aunt doesn't know about what really happened at Maoer Hutong. She still thinks the Emperor wronged me for no reason and was quite angry. Oh well, I'll make time to go explain to her tomorrow."
Qi Xiao spoke lightly about it, but Bai Ren couldn't help but drift into thought. He had much more experience than Qi Xiao with situations where people used pretexts to reward others while actually harming them. He knew better than anyone how nauseating it all was. He suddenly remembered how he had thought this morning that Qi Xiao's residence was very clean, but he hadn't realized the Emperor had already sent four people here.
Seeing Bai Ren lost in thought, Qi Xiao's heart sank. Unlike others, Qi Xiao always assumed the worst in every situation. He knew the Emperor wanted Bai Ren to return to the palace, and was probably regretting that it hadn't worked out. Qi Xiao coldly smiled to himself. Yes—if Bai Ren moved to the Eastern Palace, it wouldn't be so easy to have him spend the night anymore. He would be under restrictions, while Bai Ren would be much more comfortable.
Qi Xiao was displeased inside, but his face remained as usual. Soon breakfast was finished. After they rinsed their mouths and had tea, Qi Xiao smiled faintly: "Come to the study. Didn't you say you liked plum blossoms a few days ago? As it happens, I have an authentic work by Yin Qiu from the previous dynasty. Come take a look."
Bai Ren nodded and followed Qi Xiao there. As they passed through layers of screens and display cabinets, Bai Ren suddenly said: "My lord... be careful."
Qi Xiao paused, not understanding: "What did you say?"
Bai Ren pressed his lips together and said softly: "The people the Emperor gave... my lord should be careful."
"Maybe I'm overstepping, but I still want to advise my lord one thing." Bai Ren frowned slightly, saying slowly, "Sometimes when others send people to your residence, it isn't necessarily to use them as spies. So no matter how much you厌恶 those few people, don't act rashly and harm them. I was foolish before and suffered a great loss on this account."
Bai Ren had no heart for appreciating the paintings. He lowered his eyes and said softly: "They might deliberately make you misunderstand and think they're spies, then make a big show of searching and turning everything upside down before discovering it's all a misunderstanding... or deliberately provoke you, frustrate you at every turn, secretly waiting for you to act against them... any of these can be used as leverage against you."
Bai Ren looked up at Qi Xiao and, seeing him staring intently, asked in confusion: "My lord... did I say something wrong?"
"No..." Qi Xiao sighed. So that was what Bai Ren had been thinking during his long silence earlier. He had misunderstood, thinking Bai Ren wanted to avoid him. Qi Xiao pulled Bai Ren into his arms, turned his head, and kissed Bai Ren's cheek, saying softly, "What you said was very good. I just didn't expect... that you'd so kindly advise me."
Bai Ren felt embarrassed and smiled: "My lord... you often teach me reasoning too. The words I just said—you probably already knew all of them. I was just being redundant and reminding you."
Qi Xiao shook his head and gently kissed Bai Ren's forehead. Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside. Bai Ren quickly tried to hide, but Qi Xiao smiled lightly: "Don't be afraid. I just asked Jiang Deqing to come find me. It's probably him."
Bai Ren's face flushed slightly. He said softly: "Then my lord should go quickly."
"Not yet." Qi Xiao held Bai Ren and wouldn't let him go, smiling. "He saw something and deliberately stepped out. He's so considerate. If I left you to go find him, wouldn't that辜负 his good intentions?"
Before Bai Ren could speak, Qi Xiao said first: "Bai Ren... besides my aunt, very few people have advised me so kindly. I felt very warmed just now... that's the truth."
One sentence from Qi Xiao struck right at Bai Ren's heart. Qi Xiao saw him stunned and smiled: "To be treated so well by Young Lord Bai—how should this lonely prince repay you? Hm?" Qi Xiao's hand behaved improperly, continuously kneading along Bai Ren's waist. Bai Ren kept retreating, but Qi Xiao let him, only stopping when he had pressed the man against a screen, laughing: "The painting on this screen is by Tang Pei from the previous dynasty. It's the only one left in all of Daxiang. If you keep retreating and break it, there won't be another one in the world."
When Bai Ren heard this, he quickly looked back. But Qi Xiao wouldn't let him move again, smiling: "Would I lie to you?" Qi Xiao smiled and gently kissed Bai Ren's lips. These past few days, the two had been intimate like this often, so Bai Ren didn't push back too hard. But Qi Xiao pushed his luck, his voice becoming hoarse: "Open..."
Bai Ren's face instantly burned red, but Qi Xiao's words from before were still echoing in his heart. Maybe Qi Xiao spoke without meaning anything by it, but Bai Ren, as the listener, took it to heart. That feeling was as if across thousands of mountains and rivers, someone could clearly and completely understand what one was thinking. Bai Ren pressed his lips together and, as if possessed, slightly parted his lips. Qi Xiao's eyes darkened. He lowered his head and kissed him...
On the other side of the screen, Cen Chao Ge stared in shock at the silhouettes of the two people projected through the screen. He could barely believe what he had just heard—was that Bai Ren? Bai Ren... actually let Qi Xiao toy with him so obediently?
Watching the overlapping shadows on the screen, hearing the soft moans that unintentionally escaped Bai Ren's throat, Cen Chao Ge's face went pale. After a long moment, he came back to his senses and stumbled out.
Qi Xiao glanced outside without any change in expression. Heh... back then, Cen Chao Ge and Bai Ren had their secret meeting in the bamboo grove in the palace under similar circumstances. But... Qi Xiao thought mockingly to himself, that person is mine now.
Outside the study, Jiang Deqing hurried over, constantly saying: "That idiot Fuzi—why did he send you to this side? Sigh... Young Master Cen, the travel documents for the accompanying officials are in the outer study. Follow me."
Cen Chao Ge was still reeling from the shock, his voice trembling: "Chief Steward Jiang, that just now was..."
"Shh..." Jiang Deqing looked around carefully, then lowered his voice. "That's the Crown Prince's private study. No one is ever allowed in. Fortunately no one saw. Alright... these staff members, they didn't even take your documents. They almost耽误 the matter..."
Cen Chao Ge couldn't help but look back. His heart was filled with despair.