CH 42

Chapter 42: That Person Will Do Anything With You, Following Your True Feelings.

For a while, Bian Zhonghua was wondering whether he was sick or poisoned with a Gu worm.

He felt uncomfortable all the way back to the Prince’s Residence from the Imperial Palace. First of all, his chest felt as if it were being punched, which made Bian Zhonghua feel stuffy and short of breath.

Then, he remembered that when Empress Dowager Xianyi said ‘I can arrange a marriage between you and the County Princess’, Qi Ci had frozen, but then replied ‘Yes.’

‘Did he really hear what the Empress Dowager said at that time?’

‘How could he agree so hastily?’

The more Bian Zhonghua thought about it, the more depressed he became. But he wasn’t exactly sure what he was so depressed about.

Whether Qi Ci heard clearly or not, in the end, it was a good marriage deal. What was there to be so depressed about?

‘Is it because Qi Ci’s status as Prince is becoming more and more prominent? Which is making me feel alienated?’

Bian Zhonghua couldn’t understand, and he had to temporarily attribute his depression to the great difference in their status.

When Bian Zhonghua finally returned to the Prince’s Residence, inexplicably, he didn’t want to be idle. First, he explored all the corners of the Residence, then, he arranged for the Guards who would patrol day and night for the next dozen days. He did all sorts of small tasks, when suddenly, the Steward of the Prince’s Residence came looking for him.

“Is something wrong?” Bian Zhonghua asked.

The Steward wasn’t vague as he said: “Lord Bian, we have to send someone to pick up the Prince from the Residence of the King of Bei’an County.”

Bian Zhonghua’s pupils dilated slightly: “The Residence of the King of Bei’an County?”

The Steward said: “Yes, the news came from the Palace, saying that after accompanying the Empress Dowager, Prince Chongfeng met the County Princess outside the Imperial Garden. It’s said that the two had an amiable talk, and then went to the Bei’an County King’s Residence. Why is Lord Bian so pale? Are you sick?”

“Ah.” Bian Zhonghua suddenly returned to his senses. As he raised his head, he said: “Oh, I… do feel kind of uncomfortable…”

The Steward kindly said: “Lord Bian, why don’t you go back and rest for the rest of the day? I’ll talk to the Prince for you when he comes back.”

Bian Zhonghua pondered for a long time before nodding: “Alright. Send A-Jia and A-Yi to pick up the Prince. I’ll go back to the Secret Servant Residence for now.”

After saying that, Bian Zhonghua stood up and hurriedly left the Prince’s Residence, going all the way to the Secret Servant Residence.

…

At the Secret Servant Residence, Qin Yicang was sitting in the side Courtyard’s Pavilion, fanning himself as he enjoyed the bamboo scenery while drinking wine. Ever since he came to the Capital for the first time, he had been planting a bamboo forest here, and he took care of it every day. Now, after 20 years, he had finally finished perfecting the forest and wanted to ask Lin Baihu to congratulate him for his hard work. However, Lin Baihu was summoned by State Master Li to discuss business.

Qin Yicang felt so depressed that he had no other choice than to drink wine and enjoy the bamboo forest by himself. Qin Yicang was sitting by the Pavilion pillar, drinking from a thin-necked wine jar, when all of a sudden, a man rushed over. That man pulled Qin Yicang up, scaring him so much that he even dropped his fan.

Bian Zhonghua looked quite worried: “I may have been infected with a Gu worm! Or someone might have poisoned me!”

“What?!” Qin Yicang shouted: “Who could put a Gu worm on you?!”

Bian Zhonghua shook his head: “I don’t know! I think that I must have been set up.”

Qin Yicang became more and more nervous: “You didn’t even notice? Who had the ability to do such a thing? This is serious, but don’t panic. Tell me about the symptoms and I’ll see if I can recognize what kind of Gu worm or poison it is.”

So, Bian Zhonghua told Qin Yicang about his inexplicable distress and depression.

Qin Yicang: “You feel like your chest is stuffy? That you can’t breathe right? As if someone is stabbing your internal organs with a dull knife? Tch, so serious?”

Bian Zhonghua: “Do you know what kind of poison, Gu worm, or any other evil this is?”

Qin Yicang thought hard for a long time before he shook his head: “Think about where you were when you first felt this kind of pain. When were you in pain, and who was beside you?”

Bian Zhonghua thought about it for a while, but he felt that there wasn’t anything special that he hadn’t mentioned before, so he simply told Qin Yicang about what happened in the Imperial Garden, as well as what the Steward told him before. Bian Zhonghua’s memory was quite good, so he repeated every word accurately.

After hearing this, Qin Yicang was so shocked that he dropped the wine jar, which shattered on the ground, and stammered in fear: “N-no, no, no! It can’t be! No, no no! There’s no way, right?!”

After saying that, he dragged Bian Zhonghua towards his own wing room in a frenzy.

When they finally arrived at Qin Yicang’s wing room, Qin Yicang recited a few mantras, unsealed a cabinet, and then opened the cabinet door. After rummaging through the cabinet for a while, he found a finger-wide incense candle, which was sprinkled with gold powder, and emitted a fascinating fragrance.

Right after Qin Yicang found such an item, he was somewhat reluctant to part with it as he weighed it in his hand for a while.

Bian Zhonghua asked: “What’s this?”

Qin Yicang raised his head: “This is the ‘Burning With Love and Passion’ incense. Have you heard of it?”

Bian Zhonghua: “What a stupid name.”

Qin Yicang slammed the table with anger: “This is a precious treasure! I walked into the Painted-Skin1 Cave by mistake and had to withstand the test of twelve demons and monsters to get just one piece! If it were someone else, those demons would’ve sucked up all of their vitality! But I’m completely faithful to my little white bird! My love is stronger than metal, and I’m extremely devoted to him!”

Bian Zhonghua: “Let’s see if you have the courage to say that to Lin Baihu’s face.”

Qin Yicang suddenly shrunk into a pitiful ball as he really said: “I’ve said it many times already….”

Bian Zhonghua: “….”

Bian Zhonghua coughed lightly, covered his smile, and reached out to pat Qin Yicang’s shoulder soothingly.

Qin Yicang threw the incense into Bian Zhonghua’s arms: “You shouldn’t laugh at me too fast. After lighting this incense, maybe you’ll end up being as miserable as me!”

“So, what’s the use of this incense?” Bian Zhonghua picked up the incense and examined it for a while. But after staring at it for so long, he didn’t find anything special in it, except that the aroma it emitted could confuse your mind.

Qin Yicang wrapped his hands around his chest: “This incense can create an illusion for you, so that you can see the person that’s in your heart. In the illusion, that person will do anything with you, following your true feelings.”

When Qin Yicang finished speaking, it seemed that Bian Zhonghua hadn’t understood yet. Qin Yicang was feeling somewhat stressed: “Anything….”

“Anything….?”

“Any…. thing….”

Bian Zhonghua then said straightforwardly: “Ah, so you originally wanted to use this incense to be with Lin Baihu in the illusion….”

Qin Yicang covered Bian Zhonghua’s mouth and hissed out: “Don’t talk nonsense! I’m not that kind of person!!!”

Bian Zhonghua pulled Qin Yicang’s hand away and smiled: “I haven’t said anything yet….”

Qin Yicang was silent for a moment, but then he became angry: “I just feel a little nostalgic, what’s so wrong about it?! And I don’t want to get killed! I, fuck! I haven’t used it yet either! Damn it!!! Can’t I fantasize a bit?!”

Bian Zhonghua rubbed his almost deafened ears: “Alright, alright, alright! You get too excited when you talk about Lin Baihu. Why are you even giving me this incense when you clearly want it so much?”

Qin Yicang went silent as his eyes became a little complicated. Then, he suddenly remembered what had happened many years ago, and he was filled with a lot of emotions. As he looked deeply at Bian Zhonghua, he said: “You just have to try it to know.”

Bian Zhonghua was surprised: “Try it? I don’t have-….”

Qin Yicang interrupted him at once, howling: “Cut the crap and hurry up, or I’ll regret giving it to you.”

“I got it, got it.” Then, Bian Zhonghua took the incense in his hand and lit it. The smoke was ethereal, wrapping around Bian Zhonghua. As it gathered more and more around him, it disturbed his mind and confused his eyes.

Then, the extremely smoky fragrance caused Bian Zhonghua to cough twice. He stretched out his hand to wave away the curl of smoke in front of him, but when he raised his eyes after coughing so hard, he froze in place… because he was no longer inside Qin Yicang’s wing room.