EHW Ch34

Afraid Gu Fangzhi might suspect something, Pei Xin closed his eyes briefly and shook his head.

When he opened them again, his mind was still a blur, but at least his expression had returned to normal.

In a low voice he said, “Sleep.”

He took a few steps toward the bed, then paused. “There’s no need to massage me tonight.”

Gu Fangzhi, already sleepy from the long day, felt a rush of relief.

He smiled. “Very well. I’ll stand watch outside. If Your Majesty needs anything during the night, just call, I’ll come right away.”

Pei Xin’s face stiffened. “…Why would I need anything in the middle of the night? Just go to sleep.”

Gu Fangzhi answered cheerfully, adjusted the candlelight, and lay down on the small couch outside the screen.

Pei Xin too settled in.

It was Gu Fangzhi’s bed, though the bedding and pillows had been replaced with fresh ones from the palace. Yet the moment Pei Xin lay down, he still caught the scent of osmanthus that lingered faintly from Gu Fangzhi.

It was too strong, no matter how he tried to ignore it, it crept into his nose. Stronger even than when his face had been pressed against Gu Fangzhi’s clothes the night before.

He frowned and pulled the blanket up over his nose until the fragrance was finally blocked out.

‘A grown man, why would he make himself smell this sweet?’

That thought flashed across Pei Xin’s mind, and immediately, the answer came to him.

He remembered what he’d just seen.

That blue-bound book, its pages well-worn, had fallen open to an illustration of two men entwined in an impossible position.

Pei Xin: “……”

Stop.

Don’t think about it.

Whatever Gu Fangzhi liked to read was his own business.

Nothing to do with him.

Pei Xin squeezed his eyes shut, trying to clear his thoughts.

But his brain refused to obey. Words began to form on their own, one by one, 

‘So… Gu Fangzhi likes… men?’

Stop. Don’t think about it.

‘Then… when that scoundrel suddenly turned loyal and earnest toward me, was it because he liked me?’

‘So… that strange feeling when he uses his sorcery, is it because he was captivated by me the first time he saw me in court?’

Enough!

Pei Xin was so furious with his own imagination that he flipped over violently.

The movement was loud enough to disturb the quiet.

On the other side of the screen, Gu Fangzhi, already asleep, made a faint, drowsy sound of protest in his nose.

Pei Xin froze.

Not because he feared waking him, but because if Gu Fangzhi did wake up and couldn’t fall back asleep, he might use his witchcraft to rewind time and make Pei Xin relive that mortifying scene again.

Pei Xin exhaled silently, forcing his eyes shut.

Late at night.

Gu Fangzhi was awakened by a sound from Pei Xin’s room.

The still-immature emperor, who wasn’t even old enough to read an erotic book, let alone fight a war, was having another nightmare.

Through the screen, Gu Fangzhi heard the muffled, strained groans of pain.

The sound was low and rough, like the growl of a beast trapped in a cage, painful to hear in the deep silence of the night.

Unable to ignore it, Gu Fangzhi rose and quietly circled the screen.

Pei Xin was lying on his side, facing him. Moonlight filtered through the lattice window, spilling over the bed, and let Gu Fangzhi see the emperor’s face clearly.

He looked paler than usual, brows tightly furrowed, his forehead damp with cold sweat.
Strands of black hair clung messily to his skin; his lips were slightly parted, as if he were trying to speak but could only let out broken, breathless whimpers.

Drawing closer, Gu Fangzhi saw his chest heaving violently, breath rapid, long fingers clutching the sheets so hard the knuckles had gone white.

In a soft, steady voice, Gu Fangzhi called to him, “Your Majesty… Your Majesty…”

No response.

He thought about patting Pei Xin’s back, but knowing the emperor had a habit of attacking people even in dreams, he hesitated.

He saved a checkpoint just in case. “Your Majesty, I’m going to touch you now, don’t strangle me this time.”

Then, holding his hand like someone lighting a firecracker, he gingerly poked Pei Xin’s shoulder.

The emperor’s body tensed instantly.

Gu Fangzhi jumped back two steps.

But Pei Xin didn’t wake. Perhaps he was in too deep a sleep, or maybe Gu Fangzhi’s words had somehow worked, he stayed still, not shooting upright to grab his throat like last time.

Gu Fangzhi exhaled in relief and crept closer again, gently laying a hand on Pei Xin’s shoulder.

Still no reaction.

At last reassured, he sat down at the bedside and began softly patting Pei Xin’s back.

To soothe him further, he even hummed a quiet tune.

***

An hour earlier, after much struggle to clear his thoughts, Pei Xin had finally drifted off, only to dream again.

In the dream, he stood in the middle of a battlefield thick with the stench of blood.

All around him came the shouts of soldiers, the clang of weapons.

He raised his spear, but no matter how he fought, he couldn’t break free of the enemy’s encirclement.

Blood pooled beneath his feet, rising past his ankles, then his knees.

His face and armor were splattered red.

His men fell one after another, each crying his name in hoarse despair before dying.

Pei Xin reached out, but the world was swallowed by flames.

Cold seeped into his bones.

Then, suddenly, something warm touched his back.

He froze for a moment, instinctively knowing, it was Gu Fangzhi.

Gu Fangzhi, with his strange magic, if he were here, even wounds could be undone, time itself reversed.

Realizing that Gu Fangzhi was beside him, Pei Xin’s tense mind eased.

Amid the chaos and filth of the battlefield, he sat down.

The warmth on his back grew clearer, a hand, slowly, gently stroking and patting, as though lulling a child to sleep.

The blood receded from his knees, the monstrous enemies faded one by one.

And Pei Xin’s dream finally turned calm.

The only flaw in the otherwise peaceful night was that, for some reason, Pei Xin kept hearing someone singing.

‘It was terrible.’

The lyrics were just as bad, something like “Love isn’t something you can buy…”

Pei Xin: “……”

His eyes flew open.

Gu Fangzhi had been watching him carefully, worried the emperor might suddenly grab him by the throat like last time.

To be fair, the kid had an incredible grip, his wrists and neck still hadn’t fully healed from those bruises. He really didn’t want to add another set tonight.

When Pei Xin opened his eyes, Gu Fangzhi immediately stood up and backed away two steps, saving a checkpoint in his mind and ready for a boss fight at any moment.

But Pei Xin didn’t attack him this time. He actually looked calm.

Gu Fangzhi breathed out in relief.

Pei Xin glanced at Gu Fangzhi, thin, lightly dressed, standing in the pale moonlight and suddenly said, “Teacher.”

Pei Xin asked, “Why isn’t Gu Yunchuan married yet?”

Gu Fangzhi: “…………?”

…Huh?

Was that really the first thing to say after waking from a nightmare?

Now he was dying to know what Pei Xin had been dreaming about.

But Pei Xin’s logic was quite simple.

Just moments ago, as he woke from his nightmare, his eyes had landed on Gu Fangzhi and, unbidden, that image of the spring manual that had fallen from the bed flashed through his mind.

He wanted to test Gu Fangzhi, see if the man truly liked men… and if he, perhaps, liked him.

→ But asking directly if Gu Fangzhi liked men would be too abrupt, and might make him suspicious. If Gu Fangzhi realized Pei Xin knew about his witchcraft, that would be troublesome.

→ And if he simply asked why Gu Fangzhi wasn’t married, the man might deflect with, “My elder brother hasn’t married yet,” as an excuse.

→ So it was better to ask about the elder brother first, to set the trap one step ahead.

Gu Fangzhi blinked, completely lost, and answered honestly, “Perhaps my elder brother just hasn’t met someone he likes yet.”

Pei Xin asked, “And what kind of person does he like?”

Gu Fangzhi: “?”

Even stranger now.

‘Does His Majesty really care about my brother’s love life?’

Looking even more confused, Gu Fangzhi replied, “I’ve never heard him mention it… But if Your Majesty is truly curious, I could ask him.”

Pei Xin merely grunted, “Mm,” and pushed himself up on his elbows.

His gaze slid casually toward Gu Fangzhi’s face. “And you? What type do you like?”

Gu Fangzhi said, “I do have a type.”

Pei Xin’s breath caught.

Gu Fangzhi continued, “The kind I like is entirely golden-yellow—smooth and glossy, firm yet supple.”

Pei Xin: “……”

 …What kind of type was that supposed to be?

Did Gu Fangzhi like people with jaundice?

Truly a… unique taste.

But at least that meant his preferences didn’t include him.

Pei Xin frowned slightly, an odd, faint irritation rising in his chest.

Just then, Gu Fangzhi sighed dramatically and said, “Ah, gold ingots, I’ll love you all my life.”

Pei Xin: “…………”

He was speechless.

Nearly laughing out of sheer disbelief, his vision suddenly darkened—Gu Fangzhi had used his time-reversal trick, sending the moment back to before the question.

This time, Gu Fangzhi straightened up with a solemn expression. “This minister lives only for the nation and the throne, to plan and labor day and night for Your Majesty’s sake. In my heart there is room only for the emperor and Great Qi itself—nothing else.”

Pei Xin: “……”

‘So fake. So sugary. It’s nauseating.’

Seeing there was no point pressing further, Pei Xin decided to let it go and was about to dismiss him—when Gu Fangzhi suddenly asked, “And Your Majesty? What kind of person do you like?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Gu Fangzhi’s heart leapt into his throat.

He half-expected the “game” to flash a warning—something like [Forbidden topic: minors and romance → BAD END]—but thankfully, nothing happened.

Relieved, he looked eagerly at Pei Xin, genuinely curious about what kind of person the young emperor might fancy.

Pei Xin frowned, silent for a long while.

Apparently, he wasn’t going to answer.

Gu Fangzhi sighed in disappointment and was about to stand when Pei Xin suddenly spoke.

“Someone younger than me. Someone who respects me, fears me.”

“A personality that’s bright and bold, not the sort to scheme in the dark. A clean face, no moles. And…”

Pei Xin gritted his teeth. “Hair that’s straight and smooth, not a single curl allowed.”

—In short, the complete opposite of Gu Fangzhi.
After all, one troublesome “father figure” in his life was more than enough.