EHW Ch26part2

Gu Fangzhi, thinking he was still asleep, kept calling, “Your Majesty? Your Majesty? Damn, still not awake? Your Majesty!”

Pei Xin: “……”

He abruptly released him and sprang back, sitting stiffly at the edge of the bed.

Gu Fangzhi exhaled a long breath of relief.

Pei Xin frowned deeply. “Teacher, what were you doing?”

Rubbing his sore wrist, Gu Fangzhi sat up, coughing.
“I… cough… heard Your Majesty having a nightmare and came to wake you.”

Pei Xin turned his head slightly, looking at him.

The movement had tugged Gu Fangzhi’s collar wider, his left shoulder nearly bare, a strand of dark hair slipping down like a cat’s swaying tail.

Pei Xin looked away, his tone edged with irritation.
“Did Yang Luhai not tell you not to wake Us? If I’d had a weapon in hand just now, you’d already be dead.”

“He did tell me, but I just thought…”

Gu Fangzhi hesitated, but couldn’t bring himself to say ‘You looked pitiful.’

The pain in his right wrist had eased; he started rubbing his left.

Then he asked, “What did Your Majesty dream about?”

Pei Xin was silent.
He never spoke of his dreams, because dreams were where he was most helpless, most human.

Gu Fangzhi sensed the boundary and didn’t press.
Instead, he asked gently, “Has Your Majesty been having nightmares for long?”

Pei Xin replied quietly, “…For years.”

In truth, he’d suffered them since childhood, but they’d worsened after his elder brother’s death.

As the ache in his arms faded, Gu Fangzhi reached up to rub his sore neck.

“Your Majesty, have you tried medicine? Incense? Acupuncture? Essential oils? Baths? Exercise?”

Gu Fangzhi’s stream of suggestions made it sound as though he doubted the imperial physician’s competence.

Pei Xin frowned, displeased. “Naturally.”

Gu Fangzhi sighed.

Resting his chin in one hand, he began to think aloud, completely forgetting how improper it was to sit so casually on the emperor’s bed.

“Your Majesty, how about trying a massage? This subject’s technique is quite good.”

Pei Xin rejected him without even thinking. “No need.”

He disliked physical contact with others, let alone letting someone put their hands on him. Even if that person was Gu Fangzhi, it was still a no.

“Try it,” Gu Fangzhi coaxed. “It might actually help.”

Pei Xin’s tone was firm. “Unnecessary.”

Anyone else would’ve taken the hint after such blunt refusals.

But Pei Xin forgot, Gu Fangzhi was not “anyone else.”

He knelt down right then, both hands on Pei Xin’s shoulders. “Your Majesty, lie down.”

Pei Xin: “……”

Had Gu Fangzhi suddenly forgotten how to understand human language??

He clicked his tongue, just about to push the other away, when Gu Fangzhi sighed softly.
“But if Your Majesty can never sleep well… isn’t that miserable?”

There was gentle concern in his voice, genuine rather than feigned.

Pei Xin’s father had once warned him, after ascending the throne, be wary of everyone, especially honey-tongued courtiers.

But who could resist this kind of honey?

Pei Xin said nothing, but begrudgingly let himself be guided down onto the bed.

A warm hand settled on his shoulder.

A strand of Gu Fangzhi’s dark hair slipped over Pei Xin’s back, dangling and brushing lightly in front of his nose.

The faint, clean sweetness of osmanthus drifted from Gu Fangzhi’s skin.

His soft voice came from above. “Your Majesty, close your eyes. This time, you’ll definitely have a good dream.”

Who wanted to obey a sorcerer’s orders?

Suppressing his irritation, Pei Xin closed his eyes stiffly.

Perhaps he really was exhausted, or perhaps it was the quiet assurance in Gu Fangzhi’s tone.

Sleep crept over him, sweet as that scent of osmanthus, until at some point, he drifted off completely.

***

When Gu Fangzhi noticed Pei Xin’s breathing even out, a warm wave of satisfaction and pride filled his chest.

Moving carefully, he withdrew and returned to his own little cot.

He too soon fell asleep.

When he next opened his eyes, dawn was already breaking.

Yang Luhai was calling softly, “Lord Gu… it’s time to wake… Lord Gu…”

Gu Fangzhi promptly reloaded to the middle of the night and decided to sleep longer.

Meanwhile, Pei Xin, just rising in the inner chamber, was speechless.

Now he finally understood why Gu Fangzhi made such a fuss every morning.

‘So it was all for the sake of sleeping more!’

Shameless.

Still, thanks to Gu Fangzhi, he had indeed slept better than usual last night.

Magnanimously, Pei Xin decided to forgive him, just this once.

He read for a while, and when daylight brightened again, Yang Luhai came to wake Gu Fangzhi a second time.

Gu Fangzhi pulled the blanket over his head and reloaded again.

Pei Xin: “……”

That sleep really must have been too good. Pei Xin magnanimously decided to forgive him, twice.

Half an hour later, Yang Luhai tried again.

That damned Gu Fangzhi still wasn’t done sleeping, his hand moved beneath the covers, tracing invisible runes in midair.

Pei Xin: “……”

He could let Gu Fangzhi off once. He could let him off twice.

But he was not in the business of letting him off forever.

Whatever lingering softness last night’s gratitude had left in Pei Xin’s heart vanished entirely.

Striding over, he caught Gu Fangzhi’s hand mid-motion. “Teacher. Up.”

Gu Fangzhi opened his eyes and found Pei Xin’s face looming close. Startled, he sat up at once, his drowsiness fading.

He groaned, “Alright, alright, I’m up.”

Watching Gu Fangzhi deflate like that, Pei Xin’s lips twitched upward, amusement flickering in his eyes.

***

Yang Luhai had breakfast prepared for Gu Fangzhi. After eating, he headed to the front hall to await morning court.

Yang Luhai, noticing Pei Xin’s unusually good mood, asked cautiously, “How did Your Majesty sleep last night?”

At the question, Pei Xin remembered the night before, the osmanthus fragrance lingering at his nose, and the warmth of hands pressing gently on his back. He couldn’t even recall when he’d fallen asleep.

Of course, he wouldn’t admit any of this aloud.

He merely grunted, “It was fine.”

Yang Luhai, who’d served him for years, knew that “fine” from Pei Xin’s mouth was already the highest of praise.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!” he said joyfully, then asked, “Shall I summon Lord Gu to keep vigil again tonight?”

Pei Xin clicked his tongue. “No need.”

Not because he hadn’t enjoyed the rare good sleep, but if Gu Fangzhi ever found out he’d managed to lull the emperor to sleep, the man would never let him live it down.

No, he would not indulge that sorcerer.

After morning court, Gu Fangzhi and Song Jingzhou went out again for errands.

This time, they carried documents stamped with the Ministry of Rites’ seal, so even in those overpriced stores, they could at least bargain for some discount.

After comparing several vendors, they finally decided on one supplier.

The budget cuts done, both of them felt a weight lift off their shoulders.

Gu Fangzhi asked, “Hungry? Let’s grab a meal.”

Song Jingzhou said, “I’ll treat you, brother.”

“No need. Let’s split the bill, two broke guys shouldn’t be treating anyone.”

“Split… the bill?” Song Jingzhou repeated, puzzled.

Gu Fangzhi had spoken without thinking, he’d forgotten what he said was English. He slapped his forehead, reloaded, and rephrased,
“I mean, we’re both not rich. Best to save money and each pay our own share.”

Song Jingzhou nodded vigorously.

They planned to find a nearby tavern for something simple, but it was right at lunchtime, every place was packed.

“How can this be?” Gu Fangzhi muttered. “Has everyone suddenly got too much money to spend?”

The words had barely left his mouth when something struck him on the head.

…What was that? Bird droppings??

Mortified, he was just about to reload again when something small bounced off his head a second time, landing on his boot and rolling to the ground.

He looked down, and saw… a peanut?

Heavens weren’t raining water, they were raining peanuts!

Looking up in confusion, he saw Qin Xuan leaning out a second-story window, gesturing for them to come up. His lips moved soundlessly, but the words were clear: “Come here.”

Gu Fangzhi and Song Jingzhou exchanged glances.
“General Qin wants us?” Song whispered, wide-eyed. “Did we do something wrong?”

“Don’t worry,” said Gu Fangzhi. “If the sky falls, taller people will hold it up.”

Besides, his instincts said this wasn’t trouble, Qin Xuan had been decent last time they’d spoken about battlefield stories.

Upstairs, Song Jingzhou greeted the general respectfully.

“Does General Qin have business with us?”

“Nothing serious,” Qin Xuan replied. “You two couldn’t find seats, right?”

It took them a moment to realize, Qin Xuan was inviting them to share his table.

Gu Fangzhi caught on faster and bowed cheerfully.

“Many thanks, General.”

Qin Xuan grunted softly in response.

He had noticed the two wandering below, circling the street in vain; calling them up with a peanut toss wasn’t purely kindness.

He still found Gu Fangzhi suspicious.

How could a man’s temperament change so drastically overnight?
Yet when he’d mentioned it to Pei Xin before, the emperor, usually so distrustful, hadn’t seemed to doubt Gu Fangzhi at all.

Might as well take this chance to observe him himself.

As Qin Xuan studied Gu Fangzhi, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

“What happened to your hand?”

He was referring to the faint finger-shaped bruises Pei Xin had left the night before.

The marks on Gu Fangzhi’s neck could be hidden, but the ones on his wrist were harder to conceal. He’d already been asked about them several times today, and always gave the same answer:  “I nearly fell yesterday, His Majesty caught me in time.”

Usually that explanation satisfied people, even making them think the marks were some sort of imperial favor.

But Qin Xuan frowned.

As a man trained in combat, he could tell, the grip wasn’t that of someone catching but pressing down.

He also knew Gu Fangzhi had been on night watch last night, which in itself was strange, Pei Xin was never the type to let anyone near his bedside.

Suspicion deepened.

Qin Xuan tapped a finger against the table, lost in thought, when he noticed something else:

A faint red mark along Gu Fangzhi’s neck.

He couldn’t see it clearly, only that it was flushed and unmistakably there.

In the army, one of his comrades used to return from trysts with the same kind of mark.

So… was that a kiss mark?

Pei Xin… and Gu Fangzhi??