EHW Ch26part1

Yang Luhai had already sent people to the back gate to receive Gu Fangzhi.

One was a young eunuch, the other an elderly palace matron.

Along the way, the old woman kept giving him a string of meticulous instructions, 

“His Majesty is a light sleeper. Do not turn over unless absolutely necessary.”

 “His Majesty wakes several times during the night. When the weather is cold, make sure to add a layer of clothing.”

“If His Majesty suffers nightmares and talks in his sleep, do not wake him, startling the imperial body is dangerous.”

“If His Majesty says he’s thirsty in the night, offer a cup of warm water. His Majesty dislikes tea.”

Gu Fangzhi had every reason to suspect this woman had once been an instructor for bedchamber attendants from the previous dynasty.

Why? Because she’d already slipped up several times, accidentally saying “attend the bedchamber” instead of “keep vigil.”

The matron frowned as she saw Gu Fangzhi staring off blankly, clearly not listening.
“Lord Gu? Did you remember what I said?”

Gu Fangzhi nodded hurriedly, rattling off, “Yes yes, I remember, His Majesty is a light sleeper, must turn over when necessary; wakes at night, I must add clothing; if he talks in his sleep, I must startle the imperial body; and His Majesty loves to drink tea.”

The matron: “……???”

Gu Fangzhi reloaded and smiled at her with the calmness of a spring breeze. “Yes, I’ve remembered everything.”

The matron’s previously horrified face relaxed a little, and she finally smiled in approval.
“Lord Gu is most thoughtful. This old servant is relieved.”

When Gu Fangzhi arrived, Pei Xin was still in the study meeting with ministers.

The eunuch pointed to a short bed outside the sleeping chamber.

“This will be where Lord Gu rests tonight. The mattress and quilt are new, soft enough to be comfortable. If Lord Gu needs anything else, please just give the word.”

Gu Fangzhi sat down to test it, it wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined.

Though simple in appearance, the pale bedding felt smooth and delicate under his fingertips, clearly fine quality.

He smiled. “No other requests, just that I get cold easily, could you fetch me a hot-water bottle?”

The eunuch agreed and led him to the washroom.

The washroom wasn’t large, merely a place for servants to wash up.

The eunuch prepared fragrant head balm and clean clothes, asking, “Would Lord Gu like me to scrub your back?”

“No need,” Gu Fangzhi said solemnly. “I must preserve my chastity for the mortal realm.”

Eunuch: “?”

Gu Fangzhi reloaded. “No need, I can manage myself.”

He washed up quickly and changed into the clean garments.

The eunuch explained that the clothes came from the palace storeroom, reserved for guests, but since most guests were foreign envoys, they were either much taller or shorter, so none fit Gu Fangzhi perfectly.

When he emerged, Pei Xin had already returned and was being helped by Yang Luhai to change.

Gu Fangzhi, looking every bit the well-mannered houseguest, volunteered, “Your Majesty, is there anything this subject can do for you?”

Pei Xin: “……”

Don’t ask. The one thing you need to do, Gu Fangzhi, is nothing at all.

He was about to tell him to go to sleep when he looked up, and froze.

Gu Fangzhi had just bathed; damp curls clung to his back like dark seaweed.

The robe he wore was a bit too large, the white fabric loose at the collar, revealing a delicate stretch of collarbone. The back gaped open just enough that, from behind, one could glimpse a pale shoulder blade and the line of his spine.

And clever Gu Fangzhi had wrapped himself in a formal robe, as if inviting curiosity rather than modesty.

A seducer. Pei Xin gave a low, derisive hum.

He looked away. “Teacher, you may rest.”

As he spoke, he began unbuttoning the front of his own robe.

Gu Fangzhi instantly lowered his gaze, trying not to look.

Still, that brief glance was enough to catch a glimpse of the scars on Pei Xin’s body, though he couldn’t be sure he hadn’t imagined them.

Curiosity prickled. In the end, he chose to reload.

Pei Xin, just finished changing: “……?”

Where were his clothes? He’d just put them on!

No need to guess who the culprit was.

Pei Xin turned, frowning, to see Gu Fangzhi watching him with a smirk, half his face hidden behind his palm, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Pei Xin: “……”

He’d never been ogled even in the army, bathed beside soldiers countless times, but this was his first time being flirted with.

Face darkening, he covered himself. “Gu Fangzhi!”

Yang Luhai nearly jumped out of his skin, waving his flower-shaped fan as he rushed over to block Gu Fangzhi’s view.

“Lord Gu! Lord Gu, do not look! It is improper!”

Gu Fangzhi, satisfied now that his curiosity was sated, quipped,

“I only looked for a moment. Your Majesty’s figure is quite good, slim in clothes, solid underneath.”

And indeed, he hadn’t been wrong.

Pei Xin bore scars, faint red ones, jagged like tears, running from his lower back down beneath the waistband of his trousers. They looked painfully raw.

Pei Xin: “……”

Where had this shameless rascal come from?

He was beginning to doubt his decision to let Gu Fangzhi into the palace at all.

Before Yang Luhai could intervene, Gu Fangzhi reloaded again, this time behaving properly.

Before Pei Xin even began undressing, Gu Fangzhi had already lowered his eyes, pretending not to see a thing.

Pei Xin, now spared the indignity, merely rolled his eyes in silence.

After his medicinal bath, Pei Xin finally went to bed. Once he lay down on the dragon bed, Gu Fangzhi settled onto his small cot.

The hot-water bottle had already warmed the blankets.

Stretching lazily in the dim candlelight, Gu Fangzhi murmured, “Good night, Your Majesty.”

Pei Xin’s voice came softly through layers of golden gauze.

“Mm.”

After a moment, he added, “Sleep well.”

Gu Fangzhi: “?”

What else was he supposed to do, get up in the middle of the night and dance?

But Pei Xin wasn’t done, he continued like a string of firecrackers:

“Keep your blanket on.”

 “Dry your hair.”

 “Don’t listen to noises outside.”

 “Close the windows.”

 “If the light is too bright, I have an eye mask here.”

He basically repeated, word for word, everything the imperial physician had told him.

Pei Xin wanted Gu Fangzhi to sleep peacefully, because only then could he finally get some sleep himself.

Gu Fangzhi: “……?”

 What was this, his first time sleeping ever?

He never knew Pei Xin could nag like a grandmother.

Thankfully, the emperor quieted after a while.

Gu Fangzhi thought he’d have trouble sleeping, but curled up with the warm hot-water bottle, lulled by the faint sandalwood incense Yang Luhai had lit, he drifted off faster than usual.

He saved a final checkpoint before sleep and turned over contentedly.

Inside the inner hall, Pei Xin lay awake.

He’d been so focused on keeping Gu Fangzhi quiet that he’d forgotten his own insomnia.

Usually, it was Yang Luhai keeping vigil, and Pei Xin had grown accustomed to the steady rhythm of his breathing.

Now, it was replaced by Gu Fangzhi’s light, almost inaudible breaths, like the delicate steps of a cat across snow.

He wasn’t used to it.

Still, exhaustion eventually won. He cast one last wary glance toward Gu Fangzhi, peacefully asleep, and, reassured there’d be no mischief tonight, finally closed his eyes.

And dreamed a nightmare.

Pei Xin’s frustration even carried into his dream, where he was furiously kicking walls.

Gu Fangzhi was awakened by the sounds coming from Pei Xin’s side.

Faint, broken, low groans of pain, quiet, yet impossible to ignore.

The candlelight had dimmed to a mere flicker, trembling weakly.

Through the shadows, Gu Fangzhi groggily sat up and looked toward the dragon bed.

Through the layers of gold gauze, Pei Xin’s back was turned, his body curled tightly, his posture tense with suffering.

Gu Fangzhi remembered the matron’s warning: If His Majesty suffers nightmares, do not wake him.

But…

Could he really just stand by and let Pei Xin suffer like this?

A seventeen-year-old boy, parents and brothers gone, plagued by nightmares every night, with no one even to pat his back.

Watching that proud figure curled in on itself, Gu Fangzhi suddenly felt… a little sorry for him.

He sighed, lifted the blanket, and slipped on his boots.

Inside the quilt was spring warmth, outside, the chill of winter.

He shivered and crossed his arms for warmth as he approached Pei Xin’s bed.

At the bedside, he saved a checkpoint and called softly, “Your Majesty? …Your Majesty?”

No response, Pei Xin was too deep in the nightmare.

Gu Fangzhi reached out and gently touched his shoulder, but the instant his fingers made contact, Pei Xin moved.

A cold hand, strong enough to break bone, seized his wrist. In one swift motion, the world spun, and Gu Fangzhi found himself pinned beneath Pei Xin, a hand at his throat.

So this was why the matron said never to wake him from nightmares!

One touch and he’d get insta-killed!

Gu Fangzhi froze. The hand at his neck tightened, and for a terrifying second, he thought Pei Xin might actually kill him.

 He didn’t dare delay, he had to reload, fast.

But just as his fingers twitched, Pei Xin frowned sharply.

The hand at his throat released, switching instead to clamp down on Gu Fangzhi’s wrist, almost as if he feared the other would make another move.

Now Gu Fangzhi was fully trapped beneath him.

Pei Xin still didn’t seem fully awake, those dark eyes glimmered with cold, instinctive hostility, the gaze of a beast on the verge of attack.

The bitter scent of medicine hung thick around him.

Gu Fangzhi, terrified this was about to turn into a bad ending, shouted louder, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!”

At the sound of his voice, the light finally returned to Pei Xin’s eyes.

He blinked, taking in the scene, the man beneath him, his black curls spread messily across the bed, the oversized robe tugged loose to reveal a pale, slender neck.

Red marks, his own handprints, stood out starkly against the white skin.

Because of how he was holding Gu Fangzhi down, Pei Xin was half-kneeling, his knee wedged between the other’s legs.