CH 79

a few horsemen quietly left the capital of xirong under the cover of darkness.

after riding for twenty more miles, they arrived at a village where more than twenty people were waiting for them. they were all dressed as xirong people, but they were actually spies planted by daliang in xirong. earlier, when xie chaohui received the letter from xie chaoling, he had these people contact tebumu to escort them back to daliang.

xie chaoling stopped his horse and xie chaoyuan caught up with him, asking, “no carriage?”

tebumu frowned and said, “riding horses is faster. we need to leave the capital area quickly.”

xie chaoyuan said, “no, he’s not feeling well, and it’s too cold at night to ride and expose himself to the cold wind. since you dared to bring him out, you must have made arrangements and won’t be easily intercepted. there’s no need to rush. let him ride in the carriage.”

tebumu looked at xie chaoling, seeing his pale and weak face after only riding for a short while, and his brow furrowed even more tightly. after hesitating for a moment, he ordered someone, “get a carriage.”

xie chaoyuan dismounted first and then reached out to support xie chaoling from his horse. xie chaoling did not refuse and leaned half of his body against xie chaoyuan, allowing him to hold him down to the ground.

tebumu glanced at them and shook his head, walking to the side.

xie chaoyuan held xie chaoling tightly in his arms, without saying a word.

wrapped in the familiar scent, xie chaoling’s fluctuating emotions gradually calmed down throughout the night. he hugged xie chaoyuan back. after tonight, they didn’t know when they would be able to see each other again or if they would have another chance to meet. but at least at this moment, they were still together.

the people soon brought a carriage, and xie chaoyuan got on the carriage with xie chaoling, saying, “let me send my brother a little further. we can’t enter the city now, we’ll wait until the city gates open in the morning.”

upon seeing the reluctance in xie chaoling’s eyes, tebumu swallowed the words he was about to say and ordered the departure.

afterwards, the speed of the carriage slowed down, but it kept moving forward under the cover of the night.

xie chaoling leaned against xie chaoyuan’s chest in the carriage, holding hands with him the whole time. xie chaoyuan lowered his head and kissed him on the forehead, saying, “brother, go to sleep.”

xie chaoling looked at him with open eyes, and xie chaoyuan smiled and asked, “what was the meaning behind cutting your hair and giving it to me?”

“… it’s a marital tradition, i forgot earlier.”

xie chaoyuan’s laughter grew softer, and he touched xie chaoling’s forehead again, saying, “okay, i’ll keep it safe.”

xie chaoling’s heart eased, and he reached out to touch xie chaoyuan’s face, kissing him gently.

there were still regrets. unfortunately, they had just lifted the gu tonight, and they hadn’t had time to consummate their marriage.

after the kiss, xie chaoling buried his head on xie chaoyuan’s shoulder and whispered seriously, “be careful when you stay here alone in the future. don’t be so reckless and impulsive anymore. those people are not good people, and nobody will go easy on you, not even your father, who could take your life at any time. you need to live well, and you are the most important person to yourself.”

“… if you encounter any difficulties, you can write to me. i’ll do my best to help you.”

“be obedient, okay?”

xie chaoyuan stroked his back, saying, “okay.”

he also reminded xie chaoling, “i’ve said it before, i’ll listen to you, and you have to listen to me too. go back to daliang and take good care of your health. don’t risk your life again for anyone. no one is worth risking your life for, not even a small animal like me.”

xie chaoling didn’t want to argue anymore about whether he was worth it or not. he closed his eyes and kissed xie chaoyuan’s face again in the darkness.

later, xie chaoling ate a little something and fell asleep in xie chaoyuan’s embrace. he was too exhausted, and at this point, he couldn’t muster the energy to stay awake. xie chaoyuan didn’t disturb him and quietly held him in the darkness for a while before closing his own eyes.

after midnight, the carriage stopped in a sheltered spot in the forest that they passed by to seek refuge from the wind. tebumu got off the carriage and reminded them, “your highness, it’s already late. rest for the night and we will continue on the journey in the morning.”

xie chaoling didn’t sleep too deeply and woke up as soon as he heard tebumu’s voice. he sat up from xie chaoyuan’s arms, and xie chaoyuan lightly patted his hand, thinking of getting up. xie chaoling thought he was leaving and subconsciously grabbed him.

xie chaoyuan leaned down and kissed him. “rest for a while, i’ll go down and have someone bring you hot water.”

xie chaoling then let go of him.

xie chaoyuan got off the carriage, but tebumu didn’t look at him. after the people went away, xie chaoling whispered from inside the carriage, “little uncle, come up here.”

tebumu got on the carriage and closed the door.

xie chaoling had sat up straight and put away his exposed fragile emotions. he said calmly, “if little uncle has any questions, just ask them directly.”

tebumu didn’t beat around the bush and said, “he put a gu on you. you used the method i gave you to break the gu, which is why your body is so weak?”

xie chaoling didn’t deny it. “little uncle, didn’t you already guess it before?”

“your highness, you weren’t like this before. you should have killed him,” tebumu said with some speechlessness.

“i couldn’t do it. i couldn’t bear to kill him,” xie chaoling shook his head. “little uncle, the matter has already come to this point, so let’s not talk about it anymore.”

tebumu was a little speechless. “after returning to daliang, your highness, what’s your plan?”

“i’ll do what i have to do. little uncle, don’t worry.”

“as long as your highness has a plan, that’s good. i shouldn’t have asked too much from the crown prince. i’m just worried that you’ll have unnecessary burdens from this trip to xirong.”

“i won’t,” xie chaoling said. “little uncle, don’t worry. i know what i’m doing.”

he changed the topic, “you took me away like this. later, when the people of xirong find out that you’re missing, they’ll think that you killed the fake crown prince and the monk. if they react quickly and send troops to chase after us, can we return to daliang safely?”

“your highness, don’t worry,” tebumu’s expression turned slightly cold, “i have made arrangements. i found a corpse to replace me and feign my death at my residence. today at dusk, the xirong king summoned me to the palace, seeming to have become suspicious of me. i decided to take action and kill him. at the latest, by tomorrow morning, someone will discover that he died in his palace. both the monk and the xirong king will have been killed, and chaos will ensue in xirong. the throne alone is enough for them to fight over. even if someone discovers that the dead person was not me, they won’t have time to send pursuers after us.”

xie chaoling was slightly surprised by his words. “you killed the xirong king?”

“yes, he was weak due to drug use, and it was easy to kill him,” tebumu calmly explained.

the death of the xirong king was a good thing for daliang, but xie chaoling was concerned. “today, little uncle used the excuse of searching for the murderer who killed the monk and came to my house. although he did not find anyone, the news will spread tomorrow, and someone will question him. moreover, the xirong king died at such a critical moment. when he just returned, xirong has had consecutive incidents. will he be framed as the scapegoat?”

tebumu lowered his voice. “your highness, don’t worry about that. the ambitious king kunxi has been eyeing the throne of xirong. previously, due to his background, he could only support the xirong king. now that the xirong king is dead, he is likely to take advantage of the situation and replace him. however, the other sons of the xirong king and their backers will not sit idly by and watch king kunxi take the throne. the deaths of the xirong king and the monk will be the cause of mutual accusations between them. blaming the little prince, an outsider without any foundation, won’t benefit anyone. if the little prince is smart, he will choose to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble at this time. he has already made friends with that living buddha. if he can get the help of the living buddha and gradually build up his reputation, he may be able to aspire to greater things in the future.”

“will the living buddha really help him?” xie chaoling asked.

“i heard that the little prince was radical and unbridled in his actions while in daliang, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do. as long as he can help the living buddha, everything will be fine. moreover, he has one big advantage,” tebumu looked up at xie chaoling and said with conviction, “that is your highness. his relationship with the daliang crown prince is the biggest bargaining chip he has to get help from the living buddha of xirong.”

xie chaoling didn’t deny it. he had already told xie chaoyuan that as long as it did not harm the interests of daliang, he would help him if he encountered any difficulties. even if xie chaoyuan used his name to deceive and cheat in xirong, he would turn a blind eye.

tebumu said these things and he himself had already thought of these things, but he was about to part ways with xie chaoyuan, and he was feeling uneasy. he had too many thoughts on his mind, so he cared too much and became distracted.

xie chaoyuan went to talk to wang jinding for a few words, took some hot water and returned to the carriage. tebumu stepped back and reminded xie chaoling to sleep for a while and they will continue to travel after daybreak.

xie chaoyuan sat back in the carriage, fed xie chaoling half a cup of water, helped him wipe his face, and hugged him. “sleep,” he said.

xie chaoling looked up at him. in the darkness, xie chaoyuan’s expression was unclear. “when will you go back?”

“i’ll go back after seeing off my brother at daybreak,” xie chaoyuan said plainly.

xie chaoling looked at him, but the words he wanted to say were hesitant and never came out.

later, xie chaoling slept peacefully in his arms for two hours.

xie chaoyuan didn’t close his eyes all night. he tried to feel xie chaoling’s breath with his fingers several times, feeling the slight warmth there, and then leaned down to kiss him slowly.

when the day was about to dawn, xie chaoyuan carefully put the person in his arms down, got off the carriage, and left.

tebumu had already woken up from a nap and was preparing to leave. xie chaoyuan stopped him and said, “can i talk to you for a moment?”

they walked to the creek not far away, and xie chaoyuan went straight to the point and asked, “who are you?”

tebumu asked, “what does your highness mean by asking this?”

“i need to know who you really are in order to be reassured that you will take the prince away properly.” xie chaoyuan said firmly.

tebumu shook his head and said, “your highness must return to daliang. can you still stop him at this point?”

“if we fight to the death, there may still be a chance. he will always indulge me, it’s just a matter of whether i want to or not.” xie chaoyuan’s words were not polite at all, and the smile on his face was even more piercing.

tebumu’s expression was slightly cold, but after a moment of confrontation with xie chaoyuan’s gaze, he finally told the truth, “my real name is li congyu.”

xie chaoyuan understood, “so you are general li cong, no wonder he trusts you so much.”

“in the future, your highness and you will have no more ties. if his highness doesn’t pursue your actions, please take care of yourself and don’t make things difficult for him again.” tebumu reminded him coldly.

xie chaoyuan shrugged, “he needs to tell me that himself.”

xie chaoling woke up shortly after and was staring blankly when the door was pulled open from the outside. xie chaoyuan was standing outside the carriage and smiling at him, “brother, are you awake? did you sleep well?”

the faint light of dawn could already be seen outside. xie chaoling woke up completely and took the water he handed over.

after a quick wash and a bite to eat, xie chaoyuan stayed by his side until tebumu came over to remind them that it was time to leave.

xie chaoling sent xie chaoyuan off the carriage, helped him pull the horse, and walked a few steps with him until they were close to the edge of the forest. he stopped and said, “this is where we part ways.”

xie chaoyuan looked at him without moving, and xie chaoling said, “you should go back now, take care of yourself.”

xie chaoyuan raised his hand and brushed the hair on his forehead that had been blown by the wind, “we worshipped the heavens and the earth last night, brother, remember that.”

xie chaoling nodded reluctantly, “okay.”

xie chaoyuan whispered with a smile, “just remember. if you dare to marry someone else, i will kill someone again, it won’t be indiscriminate killing anymore, and you can’t blame me anymore.”

“okay.” xie chaoling suddenly grabbed him again and blurted out what he had been thinking all night, “why don’t you come back to daliang with me?”

xie chaoyuan asked, “in what capacity can i go back?”

the smile on his lips faded as he said, “king ke is gone, and if i go back now, it will only add trouble for my brother.”

before xie chaoling could say anything, xie chaoyuan embraced him and whispered in his ear, “since you have promised me, just wait for me. one day i will come to find you.”

as the morning light spread over the mountains and forests, xie chaoyuan mounted his horse and looked back at xie chaoling, who was still standing there in a daze.

xie chaoling pulled himself together and took a step forward, a faint smile appearing on his pale face as he reminded the rider, “don’t keep me waiting too long.”

xie chaoyuan nodded deeply and gazed at him for a moment in silence. then he turned and whipped his horse, galloping away.