CH 73

ch 73 “don’t tell him.”

a night of cold rain.

entering october, the weather suddenly turned colder. xie chaoling no longer went out, but the preparations for the wedding continued in an orderly manner. without relying on others, he personally handled every detail and even finalized some small details himself.

not to mention that xie chaoyuan had just arrived in xirong and had not yet established himself, so the wedding had to be grand to avoid being looked down upon by others. moreover, no matter what happens in the future, xie chaoling hoped to make the wedding a success, fulfill xie chaoyuan’s wish, and his own dream.

xie chaoyuan was very busy. since arriving in xirong, he had been going out early and returning late every day, dealing with the xirong king, attending various invitations and banquets, and dealing with various people, which was undoubtedly exhausting. xirong was not a happy place. for xie chaoyuan, his situation was actually a hundred times more dangerous and difficult than it was in daliang.

xie chaoling occasionally helped him with ideas, but most of the time, xie chaoyuan did not want to mention these troublesome things in front of him, for fear of bothering him. if xie chaoyuan didn’t say anything, xie chaoling could only pretend not to know.

he would have to leave someday. xie chaoyuan could only rely on himself while he was here.

at the end of the hour of the dog (around 7-9pm), xie chaoling put down the book he had been reading all night and looked out the window. the lights in the courtyard were still on, but xie chaoyuan had changed his clothes and gone out when it was dark, and he still had not returned.

“his highness may not be back for a while. why don’t you rest first?” wang jin whispered to him.

xie chaoling thought for a moment and ordered, “send someone to look outside. if he comes back, report to me.”

without xie chaoyuan, he could not sleep alone.

wang jin left to carry out his order.

half an hour later, someone came to report that they had seen his highness return, and the carriage was two streets away.

xie chaoling put on his cloak and got up to meet him.

as soon as he walked out of the gate, he saw xie chaoyuan’s carriage coming from the end of the street, with servants following behind, holding lamps to light the way. xie chaoling stood still, watching the carriage gradually approach.

the carriage stopped, and xie chaoyuan was helped down from the carriage. he was indeed drunk and couldn’t stand steady. his body leaned forward, and xie chaoling instinctively opened his arms.

the little rascal fell onto his shoulder, and his hands hugged xie chaoling’s waist, laughing in his ear, “i remember, brother did the same thing last time.”

xie chaoling felt a little helpless and raised his hand to pat him on the back. “don’t be so clingy. you’ve had too much to drink.”

the wine favored by the xirong people was strong and pungent, which xie chaoling didn’t like. he had only tried it once at a palace banquet when he first arrived and never touched it again. xie chaoyuan probably couldn’t handle it either, but those people would take advantage of his young age and make sure he drank more than he should. they would even find all sorts of excuses to pour more wine down his throat.

thinking of this, xie chaoling felt slightly unhappy.

“i haven’t had much, but if you want to drink, i can accompany you,” xie chaoyuan said, leaning against him with a smile.

xie chaoling patted his face lightly twice and said, “no more drinking. don’t talk nonsense. let’s go inside.”

then he took his hand and led him inside.

pressing xie chaoyuan to sit on the bed, xie chaoling was about to order someone to bring some honey water to help with the alcohol, but changed his mind and said, “i’ll go myself.”

when xie chaoyuan was drunk, he would act stubborn and refuse to drink honey water if it was too sweet, too light, too hot or too cold. he was always dissatisfied with others’ attempts to make it for him, so it was better to make it himself.

“you sit here and drink some warm water first. i’ll be right back,” xie chaoling said before leaving.

xie chaoyuan held his hand and didn’t let go. xie chaoling felt a little helpless and patted the back of his hand, saying, “be good, let go of me first.”

“where are you going, brother?” xie chaoyuan asked, looking at him with a dazed expression.

“i’m going to make some honey water for you to ease the alcohol. you sit here for a while. i’ll be back soon,” xie chaoling patiently explained.

“will you come back soon?”

“very soon.”

only then did xie chaoyuan let go of his hand and watched him leave.

as xie chaoling’s figure disappeared outside the door, xie chaoyuan slowly lowered his eyes.

wang rang poured a glass of warm water and handed it to him. xie chaoyuan reached for it but suddenly bent over in a fit of coughing before he could touch the glass.

“your highness!” wang rang panicked and knocked over the water cup, hurriedly handing over a handkerchief.

xie chaoyuan took the handkerchief and covered his mouth, still coughing uncontrollably. the handkerchief quickly became stained with blood.

wang rang became anxious, “your highness, let me call for the doctor…”

“no need,” xie chaoyuan interrupted him. when he finally stopped coughing, there was no trace of drunkenness in his eyes. he wiped the blood from his mouth and had wang rang pour him another cup of water. he drank it in one gulp and followed it up with two more cups to dilute the taste of blood in his mouth.

then he ordered in a low voice, “throw away the handkerchief and don’t let anyone see it.”

wang rang asked in a hushed voice, “your highness, why do you have to do this?”

xie chaoyuan closed his eyes and placed one hand on his wrist to check his pulse. he knew a little about medicine, and he didn’t need to call the doctor at this moment. he especially didn’t want xie chaoling to find out.

after concentrating for a moment, xie chaoyuan let go of his hand. his pulse was somewhat irregular, but fortunately, he wasn’t in danger of dying for the time being.

wang rang couldn’t stop worrying and suggested, “your highness, let’s go out tomorrow and see a doctor. we just won’t let the lord find out.”

xie chaoyuan remained silent.

the first time he coughed up blood was when xie chaoling set fire to the imperial mausoleum and insisted on returning to the palace. at that time, doctor hu had told him that he shouldn’t risk his life to nourish the gu with his own blood. the gu was domineering, and it wouldn’t harm the host, but it was easy to backfire on him. later, when he was poisoned, although he was saved and the residual poison was cleared, his heart and lungs had been damaged, making the backfire of the gu more frequent. even though he spent every day and night with xie chaoling, he was already having trouble controlling the gu.

one day, if the gu couldn’t survive in xie chaoling’s body, it would die, and he would die as well.

even the most brilliant doctor was powerless against this, but xie chaoyuan didn’t care. he didn’t believe that his luck would be so bad. xie chaoling was already by his side. how could he die so easily?

“don’t tell him,” xie chaoyuan said.

“but…” wang rang hesitated.

xie chaoyuan raised his eyes, his face darkened, and he sternly repeated, “i said don’t tell him.”

xie chaoling came back with a cup of honey water just as wang rang was leaving. when he saw xie chaoling, wang rang quickly stuffed the dirty handkerchief into his sleeve. xie chaoling noticed and asked, “what are you hiding?”

“it’s nothing important. i was just about to throw it away,” wang rang whispered.

“what is it? let me see.”

“…master, you’d better not look,” wang rang explained awkwardly, “it’s just filth and will dirty your hands.”

xie chaoling paused for a moment and gave a light sneer before entering the room.

xie chaoyuan was half-leaning on the bed with his eyes closed. xie chaoling ordered someone to bring hot water and went to pat his face. “sixth brother, drink some honey water.”

xie chaoyuan made a sound but didn’t move with his eyes still closed.

xie chaoling brought the cup to his mouth. “open up.”

after a lot of effort, he managed to get half a cup down, but as soon as xie chaoyuan reached out his hand, xie chaoling sat on his lap. the little rascal finally opened his eyes and looked at him with a smile in his eyes. “brother has been gone for so long.”

“not that long. what were you doing? why are your people so sneaky?”

“didn’t do anything. brother is overthinking it.” xie chaoyuan shook his head.

xie chaoling didn’t want to say anything anymore and just teased him. “there’s still half a cup left. drink it quickly.”

“brother, feed me.” xie chaoyuan smiled at him.

xie chaoling understood his meaning from his eyes and whispered a curse. he poured the remaining half cup of honey water into his mouth and then leaned over to kiss xie chaoyuan’s lips.

their lips and tongues intertwined, and xie chaoyuan let xie chaoling take the lead, leisurely sucking on the sweet and soft spot until xie chaoling couldn’t breathe and had to back off a bit. their lips still attached, xie chaoyuan chuckled softly, “it’s sweet.”

“are you sober now?” xie chaoling asked softly.

“not yet.”

xie chaoyuan held him tightly and continued to kiss him.

after a moment of ear rubbing, xie chaoyuan’s forehead rested on xie chaoling’s shoulder and he didn’t move anymore.

xie chaoling helped him loosen his long hair and kneaded his head. he then picked up a comb and combed his hair gently. “if you can’t drink so much, then drink less. isn’t the little prince very capable? if you really don’t want to drink, can those people force you?”

“brother, you’re right. i’ll be more careful in the future.” xie chaoyuan obediently admitted his mistake.

xie chaoling was surprised at how obedient he was suddenly. so he didn’t say anything else and continued to comb his hair.

under the candlelight, xie chaoling’s expression was particularly gentle, and xie chaoyuan became increasingly obedient. after that, xie chaoling took a hot towel to wipe his face and hands, and he didn’t move much. xie chaoling asked him to turn his head, and he turned his head. xie chaoling asked him to lift his hand, and he lifted his hand.

he looked like a well-behaved and sensible little brother who didn’t cause any trouble.

“if you can always be so obedient, i’ll be relieved.” xie chaoling joked.

“i am your younger brother, not your son,” xie chaoyuan muttered in a low voice.

“i couldn’t have given birth to such a big son like you,” xie chaoling said with a smile and a sneer. “if i had a son like you, i would be doomed for eight lifetimes.”

xie chaoyuan looked up and said, “brother.”

“hmm?” xie chaoling responded absentmindedly, running his fingers through xie chaoyuan’s long hair. he thought to himself that this little rascal’s hair was surprisingly soft and not at all like his domineering personality.

xie chaoyuan pulled his hand down and squeezed it in his palm, calling out again, “brother.”

xie chaoling chuckled softly, threw the cloth aside, and pulled down the bed curtains.

early the next day, just before xie chaoyuan left, xie chaoling brought out the wedding attire he had custom-made outside and invited xie chaoyuan to try it on together. if it didn’t fit well, there was still time to make adjustments.

there were two sets of wedding attire, one in the style of daliang and the other in the style of xirong. both were a festive flame red color. the daliang-style attire was more elaborate and luxurious, with very particular attention paid to its form, while the attire of the xirong people could be tailored according to personal preferences, without being bound to any one style, each with its own unique characteristics.

xie chaoling put on the former and stood in front of the full-length mirror. xie chaoyuan approached from behind and smiled, looking at the two faces pressed together in the mirror. “brother, you look so handsome in this outfit, like a character from a painting.”

xie chaoling flicked his eyes at him and said softly, “not as good as you qing qing.”

xie chaoyuan continued to smile, his hands wrapped around xie chaoling’s waist as he helped him fasten his belt, his nose rubbing against his cheek.

“do we need any more adjustments?” xie chaoyuan asked.

xie chaoling looked at himself carefully in the mirror again and said, “let’s press it tighter around the waist, it’s a bit loose. yours too.”

it was their only wedding, even if it was just a fleeting moment, he wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

xie chaoyuan had no objections. “whatever you think is good.”

after trying on the wedding attire, wang jin brought out some cakes he had bought outside and placed them on a plate. xie chaoling picked up a piece with his chopsticks and fed it to xie chaoyuan first.

“is it delicious?” he asked.

xie chaoyuan chewed a few times and nodded. “it’s decent.”

xie chaoling smiled. he had eaten this cake before on the street and thought it tasted good. when xie chaoyuan mentioned that he wanted to eat it earlier in the morning, xie chaoling ordered someone to go out and buy it for him.

they had already eaten breakfast earlier, and xie chaoyuan stopped after two pieces, but xie chaoling had a good appetite. he sat on the side of the bed, ate the cakes and drank tea quickly.

xie chaoyuan changed back into his regular clothes and said a few words to xie chaoling before leaving. he reminded him, “come back earlier today and don’t drink again.”

xie chaoyuan smiled and replied, “okay.”

after he left, xie chaoling put down his chopsticks, and the smile on her his disappeared.

wang jin came forward and pulled out the bottommost pancake from the plate. he slowly opened it and took out a thin sheet of paper inside. after carefully wiping it clean, he handed it to xie chaoling. xie chaoling unfolded the paper and quickly read it.

the letter from tebumu said that the news had been sent to the northwest. as for the fake prince in the hands of the xirong king, arrangements had been made to get rid of him in the next few days. tebumu asked him to be patient.

regarding the matter of the gu that xie chaoling had asked about before, the letter said that there was indeed another way to cure it besides the death of the person who placed the gu. as long as the person who was affected by the gu bled out their heart’s blood once within seven days, the gu could be completely cured. however, this method is very painful and causes great damage to the person who was affected by the gu.

tebumu seemed to have guessed that the gu was placed on xie chaoling himself, and repeatedly warned him not to try it lightly in the letter.

wang jin whispered, “if you need specific instructions, i can send them later. but my lord, please think twice.”

xie chaoling closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before tossing the letter into the brazier.