EHW Ch39

Thinking about it carefully, the dish actually tasted quite good.

There was no real reason to forbid the imperial kitchen from ever making it again just because it had a bit of osmanthus fragrance.

That was unnecessary.

With that thought, Pei Xin reached out and scooped up another crystal dumpling.

Yang Luhai, standing beside him, watched as Pei Xin’s face shifted between stern and faintly smiling expressions.

Not daring to ask what was going on, he simply looked up at the sky and pretended that tonight’s stars were fascinating.

Pei Xin: “…Ahem.”

A bit awkward.

He should’ve brought Snowball along.

That crazy dog’s presence would’ve been enough to distract everyone so no one would notice him smiling secretly at a dumpling.

Meanwhile.

Gu Fangzhi was carefully focused on shelling crabs.

Autumn crabs were never the fattest, but the palace always got the best ones, full of rich golden roe and tender meat.

He ate one crab and somehow ended up with twenty-four legs in total.

The feeling of free buffet was amazing, though, strangely enough, it still felt like he hadn’t eaten anything.

Still, he couldn’t shake the sensation that someone was staring daggers at him.

Just as he was about to try another dish, he saw someone approaching.

The man was tall and lean, features sharply handsome, Qin Xuan.

He carried a wine cup already filled to the brim.

Gu Yunchuan froze, then slowly stood.

Though it was their first time meeting, he’d heard much about Qin Xuan and held deep respect for him.

And in Qin Xuan’s eyes, he saw that same respect, along with regret over his severed arm.

Qin Xuan raised his cup with both hands toward Gu Yunchuan, then tilted his head back and drank it all in one go.

Gu Yunchuan raised his own cup with his left hand and emptied it as well.
He said sincerely,

“General, you march to the distant borders and shoulder a great responsibility. May your resolve be as solid as stone, and may your thousand-li journey be safe and sound.”

Gu Fangzhi lifted his own cup. “Add me to that.”

Qin Xuan: “…?”

Gu Fangzhi reloaded. “I mean, I also wish the General good health.”

Then he downed his drink in one gulp.

Ever since realizing that his body had zero tolerance for ancient liquor, Gu Fangzhi had been very cautious about drinking.

But tonight was special, and with Gu Yunchuan and Gu Huaiyu beside him, he relaxed a bit.
After Qin Xuan left, he had two more cups.

As it turned out, he had overestimated himself.

A few gusts of cold wind later, his head began to spin.

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

He’d overdrunk.

Thankfully, he’d been cautious enough to save beforehand. He quickly opened the save menu.

But oddly, even after reloading, his dizziness persisted.

Gu Fangzhi: “?”

What was going on?

He’d never experienced this before, where even after loading a different branch, the result stayed exactly the same.

Was the save file corrupted? Or was something else wrong?

Heart pounding, he switched between several saves, but every time he reached a specific point in time, the dizziness returned no matter what he’d done differently.

He panicked.

Then calmed down again.

It wasn’t a bug, it was just the cold wind. He’d caught a chill.

A relief! Truly a relief!

Later that night, after the banquet ended—

Pei Xin returned to the palace. Since he still had lessons scheduled, Gu Fangzhi followed along to the imperial study to “audit” the class.

The first half of the lesson went fine, but in the latter half, Pei Xin had to memorize passages.
The entire room grew so quiet that Gu Fangzhi, dizzy and heavy-headed, began to nod off.

He toppled forward four times—

twice bumping into Pei Xin’s back, once catching himself on the chair, and once falling flat on the floor, accidentally triggering a bad ending.

Luckily, he managed to reload before anything serious happened.

Meanwhile, Pei Xin watched his own handwriting disappear from the page again and again:

“……”

The tutor, noticing the emperor’s shifting expression, nervously asked,
“Your Majesty… is there a character you’ve forgotten how to write?”

Pei Xin: “……”

He had written one with three strokes and three with nine strokes.

Such diligence, only to be mistaken for illiteracy.

How humiliating.

He shot a cold glare at Gu Fangzhi, but the man was half-asleep and completely missed it.

That night, when Gu Fangzhi stayed to help Pei Xin sleep, he was utterly exhausted.

“Your Majesty (pat, pat), you’re sleepy (pat), close your eyes (pat pat pat), and the night will be over before you know it (pat pat pat pat).”

Pei Xin: “……”

Was he soothing a one-year-old?

Speechless, he pushed himself up and grabbed Gu Fangzhi’s arm to stop him.

The brazier in the hall burned warmly; Gu Fangzhi wore only a single outer robe. Through the thin fabric, Pei Xin could feel the faint heat of his skin.

Without thinking, Pei Xin’s thumb brushed along his arm twice, gently rubbing in small circles.
“Teacher, are you tired?” he asked softly.

Gu Fangzhi grabbed the front of Pei Xin’s robe and shook him dramatically.

“I got up at four a.m.! Ran around all day on field duty! Attended a team-building session! What do you think, am I tired or not?!”

Pei Xin was wearing only a thin inner garment, and Gu Fangzhi’s tug nearly exposed his whole chest.

Startled, Pei Xin quickly pulled the fabric together, glaring coldly at the shameless man before him.

The “shameless man,” empowered by his save-scumming abilities, tilted his head, leisurely admired Pei Xin’s furious expression, and only then reloaded time, turning to him with a perfectly mild smile.
“This servant is honored to serve Your Majesty; there’s no time to be tired.”

Pei Xin: “……”

Sure, keep acting.

Still, Gu Fangzhi really did look exhausted, his face drawn with fatigue.
Pei Xin knew better than anyone how it felt to be tired but unable to rest, so he didn’t push him further.

“If Teacher is sleepy, go and rest,” he said quietly.

As he released Gu Fangzhi’s arm, his hand suddenly felt empty, the warmth vanished, and Pei Xin found himself oddly disappointed.

Gu Fangzhi lay back down on his small couch and fell asleep quickly.
Pei Xin rested his head on his arm, listening to his breathing.

Tonight, Gu Fangzhi’s breaths were deeper than usual, he must truly have been worn out.
Listening to it, Pei Xin too began to feel drowsy.

He turned over, ready to sleep, when suddenly, from Gu Fangzhi’s side, came… strange sounds.
Low, muffled, whimpering sounds.

Pei Xin froze.

Gu Fangzhi—

He wasn’t… surely he wasn’t… doing what Pei Xin thought he was doing?

Shameless!

Pei Xin yanked the blanket over his head, lying stiffly beneath it, his heart pounding faster and faster in the darkness.

But after a few more noises, he realized something was wrong.

Frowning, he pulled the blanket down and called softly,

“Teacher?”

No answer.

He called again. Twice. Still nothing.

So he got out of bed.

Walking over to the couch, he found Gu Fangzhi with the blanket pulled over his head.

“Teacher?” Pei Xin called again.

This time, Gu Fangzhi finally stirred.

Drowsily, he pushed the blanket aside. “Overtime again?”

Pei Xin blinked in surprise.

Gu Fangzhi’s face was flushed; fine beads of sweat covered his forehead.

His eyes were open but unfocused, pupils glassy with a faint shimmer, as if ripples of water danced in them.

His lips, though pale, were softly curved, gentle and fragile.

Even though Gu Fangzhi looked every bit the picture of a sick man, Pei Xin only felt his own brain suddenly catch fire.

In his impression, Gu Fangzhi was a detestable sorcerer, a man full of sly tricks, often playing pranks or toying with others, sometimes frivolous, sometimes dependable, the sort of older man who could occasionally be trusted.

But he was not supposed to look like this.

Fragile.

Weak.

Beautiful.

Tempting.

It felt like glimpsing a corner he was never meant to see.

Pei Xin felt unbearably awkward.

He turned abruptly, intending to call Yang Luhai and summon the imperial physician, but after taking two steps, realized he was still standing in place, polishing the same spot on the floor.

Pei Xin: “……”

Damn it. Even while sick, the sorcerer couldn’t resist using magic, apparently his power really was formidable.

He clicked his tongue silently, then reached out to poke Gu Fangzhi between the brows. His skin was hot.

“You know you have a fever?” he asked.

“Ah.” Gu Fangzhi’s ears seemed wrapped in fog; it took him a while to register what Pei Xin was saying.

“Yeah… I know? Don’t mind me. I’ll just sleep, and I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

With that, he pulled the blanket up over his face, and soon his breathing evened out again.

Pei Xin: “……”

He never stayed strong when he should be, yet the moment he shouldn’t be, he suddenly was.

Pei Xin went out to find a eunuch and ordered him to fetch the imperial physician, then returned to sit by Gu Fangzhi’s bedside.

After a moment, he hesitated, then mimicked the way Gu Fangzhi usually patted his back, reaching out to lightly pat Gu Fangzhi twice.

From under the blanket came a startled voice:
“…Who’s touching my chest?”

Pei Xin: “…………”

Wait, when did he roll over?!

Feeling awkward, he switched the direction of his hand. This time, he actually patted Gu Fangzhi’s back.

The movement was clumsy, but as he listened to Gu Fangzhi’s breathing grow steadier, Pei Xin felt a small swell of pride.

See? He wasn’t always the one being taken care of. He could take care of Gu Fangzhi too—
once in a while.

It felt… really good.

A while later, the imperial physician arrived, took Gu Fangzhi’s pulse, and prepared medicine.

When Gu Fangzhi was woken and handed the bowl, he looked a little more lucid.
He took one sip—
and nearly triggered another Bad Ending from the bitterness alone.

Watching his pained grimace, Pei Xin couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is it really that bad?”

Gu Fangzhi bristled. Saving his progress first, he boldly pushed the bowl toward Pei Xin.
“Then why doesn’t Your Majesty try?”

Pei Xin: “……”

He stared silently at the proffered bowl, then, against all reason, took it.

The bowl turned once in his hands; instinctively, he avoided the spot where Gu Fangzhi’s lips had touched.

He brought it to his own mouth and took a sip.

“……”

Gu Fangzhi hadn’t lied.

It was bitter, as bitter as the fate he’d suffered ever since meeting Gu Fangzhi.

He was just about to set the bowl down when his vision darkened.

Knowing Gu Fangzhi’s tendency to erase events after teasing people, Pei Xin assumed the man was rewinding time to just before he’d asked him to drink the medicine.

He waited quietly for the taste to fade from his mouth.

But suddenly, the bitterness intensified.

Pei Xin: “……?”

Confused, he saw himself once again lifting the bowl—

taking another sip.

Darkness again.

Another sip.

Darkness again.

Gu Fangzhi liked to think he wasn’t too childish, but seeing this little tyrant so defeated was just too amusing.

Truly, having three save slots was wonderful.

He’d locked one just before being “disrespectful,” and another exactly at the moment Pei Xin drank the medicine, so he could replay this scene, exclusively for the purpose of tormenting the emperor.

Pei Xin: “…………”

As he drank, he cut his eyes toward Gu Fangzhi, a gaze cold yet violent, violent yet cold, radiating th e full weight of imperial wrath.