After Yong Shan finished his instructions, he continued to walk towards Xiaonuan Pavilion. As he approached the door, he suddenly remembered something and stopped.
The gauze that Imperial Physician Chen had bandaged him was taken off when he came back to clean his face yesterday. He didn’t bother to tell the Imperial Physician to come over to change the gauze for him for such a small injury, and not to mention that the snow was still falling heavily outside, which was why he only applied the wound medicine prepared by the Prince’s Palace.
Yong Shan raised his hand to touch his forehead. He turned back to return to the study, and summoned a servant to come in, “Find some gauze and wrap the wound on my forehead.”
The eunuch was startled, “Your Highness’ body is made of thousand gold, an extremely precious body. This servant has never studied medicine before, so it is better for this servant to find an Imperial Physician…”
“En? Did I say to find an Imperial Physician?”
Yong Shan’s face turned cold, and a rhetorical question frightened the eunuch, almost turning him jelly.
The eunuch hurriedly brought over the gauze, wrapped it around Yong Shan’s wound with great care, and when it was done, he handed the bronze mirror nervously, “Your Highness, it’s wrapped up. Servant doesn’t know how to do this, may Your Highness have mercy…”
Yong Shan took a glance in the mirror, “It’s pretty decent.”
He casually handed a longevity stone paperweight on the corner of the table to him, “I will reward you, and keep your mouth tightly closed. What I hate most is the gossip from one mouth to another. If there is a little bit of wind in today’s affairs leaking out, I will take it as you spread it.”
The eunuch, who was rewarded a treasure, at the same time was also frightened by him to the point that his bones softened, nodded again and again, “This servant won’t dare, this servant won’t dare…”
After Yong Shan had him in control, he touched the gauze on his forehead before standing up to see that hateful Yong Sheng.
Yong Sheng had been waiting impatiently for a long time inside the small warm pavilion while looking around. When he saw Yong Shan coming in through the door in a blink of an eye, he stood up abruptly, gave a small salute, and was extraordinarily affectionate, “Yong Shan Gege has come? I didn’t disturb Gege having a meal, right?”
“It’s alright.” Yong Shan asked him to sit down and asked straight to the point, “On such a heavy snow day, why didn’t you stay inside the Palace Hall, but came to me instead? What’s the urgency?”
As soon as he entered the door, Yong Sheng couldn’t help but stare at the snow-white gauze on his forehead. Hearing this, he sighed with concern, “I heard that Gege went to see the Imperial Father yesterday. I am a type that can’t rest assured if I can’t see with my own eyes, so I went over to ask about the Imperial Father’s illness. Alas, who would have thought that as a flesh and blood of the Heavenly Family, not even a son was there serving a sick father? By the way, I heard that Gege was going to stay with the Imperial Father to take care of him, and even begged him until you bled from your forehead, but the Imperial Father still refused. What’s going on? The Imperial Father has always loved Gege the most.”
Yong Shan looked at his hypocrisy, full of disgust. He really had no idea how this guy could be born from the same father as a likable brother like Yong Qi.
He sneered from the bottom of his heart, but his face showed gratitude, and sighed, “I didn’t expect that the Fifth brother is still caring at this time. These days, I don’t know what I did wrong, maybe what I said was unfortunate, which made the Imperial Father angry. Anyway…forget it, it’s not a big deal, and it’s boring to talk about this. Fifth brother, have you eaten lunch? You rarely come here, so let’s eat with Gege.” He turned his head to call for Chang Defu to prepare a meal.
Yong Sheng quickly waved his hand, “Gege, don’t bother, I’ve already eaten it.”
Yesterday morning, after seeing that Yong Shan was treated equally the same as he and the other brothers by Emperor Yan and was blocked out of the door, exposed to the cold northwest wind together, he already knew something was wrong.
Yong Qi requested Yong Lin to secretly send the letter to the Cold Place, but he intercepted it and did not make it to light.
But how could he let go of the shameful things about Yong Qi and Yong Shan? With Jin Fei pulling some strings, it more or less gave Emperor Yan some bit of wind.
Needless to say, what happened yesterday must have been the poison given by his Jin Fei mother that had taken effect.
It was ridiculous.
Yong Shan looked cunning, but he was actually an idiot. He could make a mistake about anything, but he just had to commit this kind of unethical mess. It seemed the moves about Gong Wuhu dragging him into the water were too flattering. Now that he thought about it, maybe it wasn’t necessary at all.
The new Crown Prince had lost Emperor Yan’s benevolence, even a blind man could see it.
This Second brother, who used to be so proud, was scolded by the Imperial Father for some reason inside his chamber. The wrath of the Son of Heaven must be like a thunderbolt, otherwise, why would he kowtow until his head was dripping blood and wrapped with such a large gauze?
He heard that it was the inflexible Imperial Physician Chen who took pity on him and helped him with the bandage. Whereas it was the Imperial Father who was the one who let his blood drip to the palace.
What pure filial piety of the Crown Prince, willing to kowtow and bleed to request to attend to the Emperor? A story of filial piety between father and son throughout all ages? What a fart!
Yong Sheng looked at Yong Shan, no matter how many times he looked at him, he felt that this brother of his looked more and more depressed than in the past, as if his body was shrouded by bad luck.
The scene was so pleasing to the eye that it almost made him want to hum a little tune.
Yong Sheng secretly summed it up, Yong Qi was the unlucky one, he was abolished and was a burden to others, whoever got close to him would be the worst; Yong Lin was a stupid bull who would only cause trouble; Yong Shan was considered to be somewhat capable, but it was a pity that he had a sin of desire, and not to mention it was a relationship between brothers! In the Imperial Father’s heart, they were completely wiped out.
If Yong Shan was abolished, who else was qualified to sit on the throne?
Counting with fingers, there would only be himself.
The only one to be chosen
The more Yong Sheng thought about it, the happier he became. For fear of not being able to hide the smile on his face, he declined Yong Shan’s invitation to eat, and he did not mention the matter of Gong Wuhui. After comforting Yong Shan, he stood up and said goodbye directly, saying in a very familiar way, “The wound on Gege’s forehead is not yet healed, so please take good care of it. I don’t dare to disturb, so I will go back now. By the way, my mother has good medicine. If you don’t dislike it, I will instruct someone to take it and deliver it after I go back. Don’t worry, Gege, the Imperial Father must have been in a bad mood, and it may not be because Gege did something to offend him. A few days ago, I heard from the Ministers that the Imperial Father wants us brothers to learn from our elder brothers to be prudent. Gege should just relax. “
After Yong Sheng saluted, he did not want Yong Shan to send him off. He strode out the door and walked out of the Prince’s Palace by himself.
Climbing into the warm sedan chair that was waiting outside the door, his heart was scorching hot, and when the sedan chair was far away from the Prince’s Palace, Yong Sheng couldn’t help opening the sedan curtain and ordered the sedan chair to stop.
He ordered the servants who were carrying the sedan chair to distant themselves, then summoned the confidant who accompanied the sedan chair, lowered his voice, and instructed in secret, “Quick, find someone to go out of the Palace to send words to my maternal grandfather and my two uncles, telling them that the Crown Prince has lost his favor, and almost lost his light. They have to quickly think of something.”
Seeing the back of the confidant who was in command rushing out to do his work disappeared into the whiteness of the snow, Yong Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn’t help but glance at the Palace of the Son of Heaven in winter.
Snowflakes were fluttering in the air.
The Palace that was far in the distance was wrapped in red inside and out, looking as beautiful as in a painting.
As expected of a timely snow.
He stood in the snow and laughed.
Good snow!
This snow that was as white as goose feather really gave him a big good sign.
**
After Yong Shan dismissed Yong Sheng, he went back to the room to see Yong Qi.
Yong Qi had just barely eaten half of the dishes in the bowl, and was thinking about how to explain it later. Thinking of Yong Shan’s frivolous remarks before he left, he was embarrassed as well as having a hidden sweetness that he didn’t know what to name it. Hearing footsteps behind him, he thought that Yong Shan had come back, and turned his head to look, “Have you seen Yong Sheng? Oh my!”
His eyes suddenly widened, and he stood up in surprise, “What’s wrong with your forehead?”
Seeing that he was nervous, all the troubles Yong Shan had immediately flew away, and he deliberately said indifferently, “It’s nothing, the Imperial Physician told me to remember to bandage and be careful with scars. When I remembered it just now, I called a eunuch to come over and tie it again.”
“A eunuch? Why didn’t you call the Imperial Physician? Has the wound medicine been given again?”
“It’s so troublesome.” He sat down without much concern about this matter, “Did you eat well? Even if you don’t have an appetite today, you can’t starve your stomach.”
Yong Qi didn’t sit down with him, he stood for a while, stared at him and hesitated. He frowned worriedly, and said in a low voice, “The eunuch is not an Imperial Physician. You are a Crown Prince, how can you let your own body be harmed like this? It’s not a laughing matter if you have a scar on your face. You… it turns out that sometimes you are just like Yong Lin.”
Yong Shan listened to his whispers, and how he unconsciously showed a look of concern, feeling comfortable as if he was in an intoxicated dream.
In the past, when he hid in the dark and secretly stared at this brother, he never dreamed that the two of them would have a day like today.
Yong Shan was eager for Yong Qi to say a few more words, and kept silent, but Yong Qi misunderstood, thinking that he was talking too much, and it was embarrassing to question any further when the door was already closed.
He was also uncomfortable standing, and said embarrassingly, “I shouldn’t have said that, you are the only one who is in charge here.” He turned around and wanted to go back to the bedroom.
Yong Shan hurriedly stood up to stop him and smiled, “Gege is right, I’m just thinking about it. But it was a snowy day and if I called an Imperial Physician over for a minor injury, I don’t know what kind of gossip it caused. Gege knows the difficulty of being a Crown Prince better than anyone else. Anyway, there is a wound medicine here, I can just apply it myself.”
He shouted for Chang Defu to bring the medicine.
He didn’t allow Yong Qi to go, so he forced Yong Qi to sit down together.
Chang Defu came in holding the medicine and flattered, “The other servants are more clumsy than I am, and I will serve Your Highness to apply the medicine in person.”
He went forward and tiptoed to help Yong Shan untie the gauze on his head.
He had already received a wink from Yong Shan, and knew what Yong Shan was up to. When he helped, he pretended to be clumsy and tugged at the gauze with a stone in his heart.
Yong Shan groaned, and his beautiful eyebrows suddenly twitched in pain.
Chang Defu hurriedly knelt down in panic, and repeatedly kowtowed, “This damned servant! This servant’s hands are rough and as stiff as wooden, and hurt Your Highness, this servant should be punished!”
Yong Qi, who was watching from the side, when hearing Yong Shan groan suddenly in pain, as if someone had ripped his guts, he jumped up suddenly, his heart pounding.
He also knew it was ridiculous.
It was as if someone else had pricked the wound, and the pain would be applied to himself.
It was too much…
Yong Shan didn’t blame Chang Defu, he frowned and said, “Get up, your hands are too clumsy. Be careful, it’s just healed up a bit, don’t let it bleed again.”
Chang Defu got up, and when he was about to move forward, Yong Qi finally couldn’t hold it any longer, and said, “I’ll do it.”
The light in Yong Shan’s eyes flashed brightly, lest the little rabbit who took the initiative to come out of the nest would be frightened back, he suppressed his joy, and said lightly, “I dare not let Gege do the work, such a small injury…”
Before he could finish speaking, Yong Qi had already walked over, stood in front of him, lowered his head and groped for the edge of the gauze, earnestly untying the white ball of gauze.
Yong Shan felt his fingers move slightly and dexterously on his forehead, and the intimacy between him and this brother was incredible, so he raised his eyes and glanced at him. Yong Qi’s handsome and graceful face was just above him. He seldom looked up at this brother from the bottom up, and with a sweetness in his heart, he silently appreciated this new intimacy angle.
Yong Qi offered himself up, but he couldn’t walk away now, so he could only let him look at him with piercing eyes. While throwing the gauze he took off to the side, he ordered Chang Defu to bring warm water over. Lowering his thick eyelashes, he asked Yong Shan, “What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”
“Gege is so beautiful.”
“Yong Shan, don’t talk nonsense.”
“Gege.” Yong Shan suddenly called out softly.
“Um?”
“Gege, did you think it was fun to be a Crown Prince?”
Yong Qi’s face darkened slightly, he pondered for a while, then shook his head and said, “It’s very boring. This position has too many thorns, not to prick people, but to prick yourself. You are smarter and more capable than I am, and maybe you are the only one who can get used to it.”
“Gege is too unscrupulous. You are not used to sitting in a thorny seat, and I will be used to it? You are right, it is boring. Being a Crown Prince is boring, and being an Emperor is not interesting.”
Yong Qi was startled and lowered his voice, “Yong Shan, there are ears on the wall, so be careful when you speak.”
After the room fell silent, the sound of footsteps came.
Chang Defu came back with warm water, “Your Highness, warm water is here.”
Yong Shan ordered him to put down the water and sent him out, leaving only two people in the room.
No one said a word.
Yong Qi twisted the clean towel, carefully helped Yong Shan wipe the skin beside the wound, and after cleaning it, he opened the medicine box, dab it a little on his fingertips, and gently helped Yong Shan apply it little by little.
Yong Shan raised his eyes to look at him, and after looking at him for a long time, he called out tentatively in a low voice, “Gege.”
“Un?”
“Being an Emperor is a hard job. It’s all about managing the memorials and the Imperial Concubines and having to get up early every day. Being with you, I’m afraid, is the only happiness in my life.”
Yong Qi was stunned for a while, before he reprimanded in a low voice, “You have learned to talk nonsense now, we are brothers…”
Yong Shan grabbed his wrist where he was helping himself with the medicine, stared at him and gritted his teeth and said, “My temperament has always been a stubborn temper. Now, if my brother doesn’t have me in his heart, I don’t have anything to look forward to.”
Hearing this, Yong Qi’s heart trembled, and he forgot to retract his hand.
Two people, one was standing up, and the other was sitting down, stiffened into two clay sculptures, and their eyes collided directly.
Yong Qi took a deep breath after a long time, and after calming down, he looked away, and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Yong Shan’s intimidating gaze finally disappeared.
He curled his lips and spit out a nonsense answer, “I might be too tired to lose my head, and this snow is really heavy. It’s time for Wang Taifu to arrive, Gege, let’s go to study.”
T/N: chapter 18 should be around next week again.
- 3047 English words translation.
Drifting Wanderer 
Leave a Reply