Chapter 83

Chapter 83

"083"

Lu Ao pulled him into his arms in an instant.

His strong arms locked around Xiao Lancui, their cheeks pressed together. He couldn't see Lu Ao's face, only heard his deep, steady voice.

"You've decided my fate too."

Lu Ao noticed the tin of rice cake sticks was empty, and a sudden ache hit his stomach.

Xiao Lancui had only ever given such unreserved trust to Lu Ao.

Only food that Lu Ao sent would Xiao Lancui eat without hesitation.

That was why Xiao Lancui had eaten that poison.

"A Lan." Lu Ao's voice was hoarse. "Promise me—don't bring up death again. You'll live a long life and stay healthy forever."

Xiao Lancui's long lashes fluttered slightly. Suddenly, he did something he'd never done before—gently brushed his cheek against Lu Ao's, and gave a soft laugh. "Mm, I'll live a long life and stay healthy forever."

Lu Ao wasn't satisfied yet. He tightened his grip, pulling Xiao Lancui's warm body closer. "And don't overthink. I'd rather kill myself than hurt you."

Xiao Lancui's dark eyes gazed ahead. The sky was beginning to darken, streetlights came on, and faint, wispy snowflakes swirled in the light, gradually growing heavier.

It was March, yet the snow was still this heavy.

It must be the first spring snow.

Xiao Lancui thought to himself. After a moment, his lips parted slightly, and he said, "Mm, I won't."

The restaurant Lu Ao had booked was inside Lihe Garden, a former imperial garden with a huge lotus pond. During midsummer, after court sessions, Lu Ao often invited his ministers to Lihe Garden for boat rides, sightseeing, and meals.

But he only ever invited Xiao Lancui—and his ever-businesslike Chief Grand Secretary would invariably decline.

By the former lotus pond, a Chinese restaurant built in an antique style had been erected, serving only a few tables a day.

Lu Ao had reserved the private room facing the lotus pond. It wasn't the season yet, so the pond looked bleak—but for the Lantern Festival, warm string lights had been hung, casting a scattering of cozy glows across the water. With the heavy snow drifting down, they looked like fireflies in the night, lending the scene a different kind of charm.

The menu was also quite special.

The manager led the two to their seats; as he poured hot water, he introduced, "Today's head chef's ancestors were imperial cooks. According to the family genealogy, his ancestors once served Emperor Yingzong of Li."

The familiar name came out of nowhere, and Lu Ao's gaze instinctively shot to Xiao Lancui.

He had never cared about his posthumous reputation in this world—he didn't give a damn—but Xiao Lancui was different.

Xiao Lancui had probably gone to the library on his very first day here to look up the fate of the Dali dynasty and his own.

Lu Ao's temper flared instantly.

He had devised a meticulous plan to erase all records of himself and Xiao Lancui, including leaving a massive army behind after his death to eliminate any possible traces.

And yet, traces remained.

Those useless fools!

Xiao Lancui was going to be disappointed in him again.

Xiao Lancui's lifelong political goal had been to see the Dali dynasty enjoy peace and prosperity under their rule.

And instead, he had become a tyrant.

Lu Ao's molars ached. He glanced at Xiao Lancui, who remained perfectly calm, merely saying, "Then let's order a table of Emperor Yingzong's imperial cuisine to try."

The manager smiled and left.

The private room fell silent, the sound of snow falling outside was clearly audible. Xiao Lancui said nothing more, quietly watching the snow.

Lu Ao couldn't stand seeing Xiao Lancui like this. Part of the reason Xiao Lancui's health was poor was that he kept his frustrations bottled up inside, never letting them out.

"Brother." Lu Ao broke the silence, placing a piece of appetizer onto Xiao Lancui's plate. "Try a plum pastry—you like plums, right?"

Xiao Lancui withdrew his gaze and took a small bite of the plum pastry, chewing. He frowned slightly. "It's not good. Too sweet."

He put down the rest of the pastry.

It was genuinely cloying, burning the tongue with sweetness—too wasteful to finish.

The moment the pastry returned to the plate, Lu Ao snatched it up with his chopsticks. "Let me try," he said.

He bit off more than half in one go, chewing as he nodded. "Yeah, too sweet. Don't eat it." He finally found a convenient excuse. "Seems Emperor Yingzong's cooks weren't all that."

Xiao Lancui took a sip of water to wash away the sweetness, giving only a faint "Mm" in response.

Luckily, dishes soon started arriving one after another.

Exquisitely plated—creatures from the water, the sky, and the land—everything imaginable, yet nothing resembling Emperor Yingzong's imperial dinners.

Xiao Lancui's constitution was weak, and there was little he could eat. Lu Ao mostly ate light medicinal meals with him.

Even for breakfast, Lu Ao would specifically order medicinal dishes.

Trusting others' opinions was less reliable than testing things himself—he had to try them himself to know which were truly beneficial.

Fortunately, these weren't medicinal dishes, just lightly seasoned with fresh ingredients. Xiao Lancui finished half a bowl of rice and still had an appetite, and Lu Ao found his appetite too.

They chatted while finishing their meal. When they stepped outside, the snow had unexpectedly stopped.

Scattered patches of snow lay on the ground. As the two left Lihe Garden, the street outside the temple was even livelier than when they'd arrived.

Trees lining both sides of the street were hung with antique-style vermilion lanterns, their warm glow illuminating various animal motifs and blessing characters on the lanterns' surfaces. The tall trunks were wrapped in shimmering light strips, and many people carried exquisite lanterns of all colors, taking photos of the beautiful night scenery.

Suddenly, a mirrorless camera was extended toward Xiao Lancui. He looked up to see a middle-aged woman with a polite smile. She asked courteously, "Would you mind taking a photo for us?"

Xiao Lancui glanced at her companion—a refined, scholarly-looking middle-aged man who gave him a very polite smile.

"Of course." Xiao Lancui removed his gloves and took the camera.

The woman and her husband walked hand in hand to a nearby tree wrapped in light strips—one rested a hand on the other's shoulder, the other cheerfully flashed a peace sign.

Xiao Lancui looked at the couple in the viewfinder and was reminded of a distant memory.

He and Lu Ao had once had the opportunity to have a double portrait done.

That year, a new batch of court painters had arrived. He was accompanying Lu Ao to the council hall when they happened to come across a painter capturing scenery. Lu Ao's interest was piqued, and he stopped, smiling at him, "Teacher, shall we have the painter paint a portrait of the two of us?"

Without waiting for Xiao Lancui's reply, he dismissed the eunuch pushing his wheelchair and took over, wheeling him toward the painter.

Xiao Lancui swallowed the refusal before it left his lips; in public, he rarely pushed back on Lu Ao's demands.

And painting a portrait wasn't a big deal.

What he hadn't expected was that Lu Ao intended to be in the portrait with him. A eunuch brought a stool over, but Lu Ao didn't sit. Instead, he walked behind Xiao Lancui, grinning as he pressed both hands on his shoulders. "Teacher, you stay seated; I'll stand."

A ruler standing while his subject sat—even in a wheelchair—was a huge breach of protocol. Before Xiao Lancui could refuse, the head eunuch hurried over to report, "Your Majesty, the Grand General has urgent military intelligence to deliver!"

Lu Ao's hands remained on Xiao Lancui's shoulders. He paused for a moment, then lowered his head to smile at Xiao Lancui. "We'll have to do the portrait another day. And when we do, teacher, you can't refuse."

Xiao Lancui stayed silent.

Naturally, that day never came.

Xiao Lancui snapped a few shots in a row and let the couple pick.

"Thank you, they came out beautifully!" The lady was thrilled, thanking him over and over as she and her husband looked through the photos and walked off.

Xiao Lancui turned around, and Lu Ao was waiting a few steps behind him. When Xiao Lancui was done, Lu Ao stepped up in one stride, grabbed his hand, cupped it, and blew warm breath on it. "Don't do that again—your hands'll freeze."

Xiao Lancui quickly pulled his hand back.

Lu Ao: "???"

Xiao Lancui stood under the tree, smiling faintly. "Wanna take a photo together?"

Without asking anyone, Lu Ao raised his long arm and pointed it at Xiao Lancui. Xiao Lancui was still asking, "What pose should we—" when Lu Ao leaned down and kissed his cheek.

Click.

The moment was captured.

Even before they got back on the road, Lu Ao had already used the photo everywhere he could.

He sent the photo to Xiao Lancui, who only pulled out his phone once back in the car. When he opened it, he saw the couple's photo pop up as the profile pic.

Xiao Lancui thought it was super cheesy, but after a moment, he let Lu Ao do his thing.

With the photo, Lu Ao was in a great mood—so much so that even driving Xiao Lancui back to the Xie place didn't bug him as much.

He parked at the entrance to the neighborhood, and Xiao Lancui unbuckled his seatbelt before asking.

"You haven't given up the place at Royal Garden, have you?"

"No." Lu Ao had rented it for a full year. He immediately got what Xiao Lancui meant and asked, "When are you moving in?"

"Tomorrow."

"The door code is your birthday."

Xiao Lancui: "..." Thinking of Xiao Liqin's various passwords, he said, "Change it. Too easy to guess."

Lu Ao didn't say anything.

He watched Xiao Lancui go into the neighborhood, then waited until a message came in: "Arrived."

He instantly replied with a heart, then turned the car around and left.

He didn't go straight home. He stopped at a big supermarket, bought a cartload of daily necessities and cleaning supplies, dropped them off at 2701 in Royal Garden, and scrubbed the place top to bottom a few times. When he finally got back to the little home he shared with Xiao Lancui, he opened the photo and, annoyed, cropped out his own half, leaving only Xiao Lancui.

After cropping it, he quickly changed his profile pic.

It was past three in the morning, so he didn't text Xiao Lancui goodnight. But just as he set down his phone and went to shower, when he came back, there was a new message from Xiao Lancui from half an hour ago.

"Why'd you crop out your half?"

Xiao Lancui couldn't sleep well again that night.

He dozed on and off, and got up as soon as it started to get light.

After reading for a bit, he went downstairs for breakfast, then brought up moving out to Xie Jingfang. "Found an internship—it's closer to work, more convenient."

Xie Jingfang naturally didn't want him to go, but these days she was desperate to please Xiao Lancui in every way. When he brought it up, she hesitated but ultimately agreed.

"Once things are settled, I'll buy a place near your company—something bigger, maybe a villa. Xiao Mian and I will move in too?"

She meant the divorce settlement with Xiao Jingli; her lawyer had already sent the divorce agreement to him.

Xiao Lancui gave no definitive answer.

After dinner that evening, Xiao Lancui grabbed his luggage and left the Xie house. He didn't ask Xiao Mian to see him off, nor did he book a ride—he just waited by the roadside.

Before long, a car pulled up on its own. The window rolled down, and the driver cheerfully got out to load the luggage. "Where to?"

"Royal Garden."

The driver was a particularly chatty man, keeping up a steady stream of conversation with Xiao Lancui the whole way, asking all sorts of questions. When they arrived at Royal Garden, the driver sized up the neighborhood and remarked with a grin, "Wow, this place isn't cheap, is it? You living here alone?"

Xiao Lancui said flatly, "No. My second brother lives with me."

The driver set down the suitcase, smiled, got back in the car, and drove off quickly.

Xiao Lancui walked into the neighborhood at a leisurely pace.

At 2071, he entered the new passcode Lu Ao had sent him—his birthday reversed. Stepping inside, he found a pair of freshly washed, dried slippers neatly placed on the floor.

He closed the door, changed into the slippers, and headed straight for the bathroom.

The body wash and shampoo were the same brands he always used. After he finished showering, another message from Lu Ao came through on WeChat.

A photo.

The taxi that had brought him here, now parked at the Xiao family villa.

It was nine in the evening. Xiao Lancui sent Sun Xiao his location.

"Come pick me up here tomorrow."