Chapter 40: Fine Weather, Busy Drying Books

Chapter 40: A Fine Day for Drying Books

Before Ning Xishi left, he took a large bundle of medicine from Senior Martial Sister, saying it was a gift for Xie Jingxing.

It was to thank him for helping the Jule Gang eliminate the Mi family scourge.

Xie Jingxing merely gave a slight nod, but Ning Xishi was surprised: "Senior Martial Sister, you always charge silver for your services."

Tong Kehua snorted coldly: "You two are husbands now. I'll deduct the money from your gang leader's account later, so don't worry."

Ning Xishi: "..."

He shouldn't have asked that.

As for Xiao Shaoqing, he didn't even come to see them off. Ning Xishi was a little down and asked Guardian Ye and Senior Martial Sister Tong, but neither of them knew where the senior martial brother had gone. After all, he was a great martial artist who loved dangerous, exciting places, often gone for ten days to two weeks at a time.

Guardian Ye said: "You two should get going. The news that the general is in Shaozhou shouldn't reach the palace yet. You need to get back before they find out. As for your senior martial brother, once I track him down, I'll send you word immediately and make him apologize to you."

Ning Xishi then said: "Alright."

He looked at Senior Martial Sister Tong again. Ever since General Xie came to Shaozhou and moved into his courtyard, he'd noticed the senior martial brother wasn't coming back as often. But with General Xie always there, Ning Xishi didn't feel he could ask too much.

He hadn't even gotten to see him before leaving.

Moreover, Ning Xishi could tell Senior Martial Brother Xiao and Senior Martial Sister Tong were secretly up to something, but those two always kept their mouths shut and were secretive about their movements, so Ning Xishi had to drop it.

He and Xie Jingxing first rode a carriage to Ningzhou, where Xie Jingxing had a stand-in to buy some time. Once the real Xie Jingxing was back, they headed to the capital together.

Qiu Changyu couldn't go back yet because he still had things to deal with here. Seeing the general's legs were crippled and he still had to take Ning Xishi, this dead weight, back to face the capital's hidden dangers, it gave him a headache.

"General, why not leave things here to the prefect of Chuzhou? He's capable—a jinshi the late emperor appointed nineteen years ago." Qiu Changyu was really worried about his general.

"No need. Stay and handle things here, then hand off to him. Come back to the capital in three days." Xie Jingxing said.

"Yes."

·

They left in mid-November, crossing mountains and rivers, and got back to the capital less than a week before New Year's.

Ning Xishi had never traveled in such bitter winter cold. He'd expected it to be awful, but the general's carriage was warm enough to keep him from freezing.

But the soldiers outside weren't so lucky.

Ning Xishi always ate and slept with them. Seeing ice on the soldiers' armor as they kept marching, and even having to clear snow and ice from the road, with no time to knock the ice off their armor, it bothered him.

Xie Jingxing saw Ning Xishi get out of the carriage in a fox fur coat and asked: "Cold?"

"Ah," Ning Xishi snapped out of it, "I was just thinking—do we really need to rush like this?"

We could've all had a nice New Year in Jiangnan and gone back in spring.

"The emperor's orders can't be disobeyed."

Xie Jingxing thought for a moment, then comforted him: "When I was fighting on the frontier, the weather was way worse, and we had to move much faster. Treat this as early training."

That was a good excuse, but Ning Xishi still didn't think it was worth it. He said: "Then the soldiers' strength should go to fighting the Xiongnu, not wasted on pointless stuff because of His Majesty's whims. How do we stop His Majesty from having so many whims?"

He didn't speak loudly, so only Xie Jingxing beside him could hear.

Xie Jingxing felt a stir in his heart. Back when he was fighting on the frontier, he'd had the same thought.

He knew his imperial brother was wary of him, afraid he'd overshadow the throne and one day take the crown. So to put his brother at ease, he'd done so much to reassure him, all so he could keep fighting.

Only by beating the Xiongnu completely could he stop them from invading south again.

Besides, a mere promise from the Xiongnu meant nothing. How many treaties had they signed, only to get restless and eye the Han lands every time the grass was tall and the horses were fat?

Xie Jingxing looked at Ning Xishi. This young man had unknowingly hit on the same thought he'd had back then. It made him... like him without meaning to.

At the same time, Xie Jingxing felt ashamed of the thoughts his men had been quietly planting in him lately.

He'd gone through so many hard years without ever thinking of rebelling or forcing the emperor to step down.

But now that thought was creeping into his mind more and more.

As for when it started—it seemed to be that night at the opera house, when the young man grabbed his wrist and held him down, or maybe when the young man, almost killed by his chokehold, had whispered those two words: "General, General."

The young man had been willing to reveal he was the Beggar Clan Chief to save him, so he should give him the confidence to trust him fully and the courage to live freely in this world.

Xie Jingxing wasn't afraid of death—whether dying on the battlefield wrapped in his horse's hide, or being cast aside like a hunted dog after beating the Xiongnu, he'd have no regrets.

But because of the young man, he wanted more power and status, so the young man could have a bigger world to fly in.

But Xie Jingxing would never tell Ning Xishi any of this. The young man in front of him was clearly a loyal subject of the emperor. Such dirty, low thoughts... if the young man knew, it would stain his pure spirit.

Xie Jingxing didn't think about how Ning Xishi would see him if he succeeded.

After all, if he really wanted to take the realm, he had a long road ahead, and nothing was certain.

Luckily, once they got near the capital, the main roads were clear, and the carriage moved much faster. They finally got back to the general's mansion on Little New Year's night.

When they got back, Ning Xishi felt the mansion was much more desolate. It seemed the lively feel before was because of the lush plants and trees. Now in deep winter, the leaves were gone, and with few servants who barely made a sound and moved like ghosts, it felt even bleaker.

Meanwhile, the palace eunuch had followed them the whole way. Even now that they were back at the mansion, he didn't leave but kept following them.

Ning Xishi felt something was off.

He turned and asked: "Why hasn't Your Excellency left yet?"

"Naturally, because I haven't seen you home yet." The eunuch gave a fake smile.

Only after following them into the inner courtyard and watching them split up to their own quarters did the eunuch narrow his eyes and head back to the palace to report.

"In my humble opinion, the general and that Second Young Master Ning are putting on a show for everyone. They're not really a married couple."

"How so? Haven't they been in the same carriage the whole time?"

"They shared a carriage because the trip was long, it was cold, and there wasn't enough charcoal for more carriages, so they squeezed into one for now. But I noticed they spoke very politely to each other, and even at meals they barely talked and didn't look at each other, like they were just traveling together."

"Go on." The emperor put down the memorial he was reading. The maids and eunuchs around him quietly backed out one by one, not daring to make a sound.

"Also, when I followed them back to the general's mansion and entered the outer courtyard, Second Young Master Ning asked me why I wasn't going back to report. It seemed he knew my purpose all along and deliberately shared the carriage with the general on the trip. It was all an act."

"Mm." The emperor let out a single sound, looking pretty displeased.

"After entering the inner courtyard, Second Young Master Ning instinctively headed for the side courtyard, while the steward instinctively pushed the general toward the main courtyard—two different directions. Even though both only took one step before stopping, the direction of their steps can't be faked."

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said: "You mean they've been putting on an act for me all along."

"All signs point to the two of them being total strangers, nothing like a newlywed couple."

The emperor chuckled lightly: "My entire trust in him now rests on the fact that he likes men and married a husband. Only by exposing him as a perverted queer can we get people to stop backing him as emperor! And now he dares to put on an act for me!"

The reporting eunuch immediately knelt and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please calm down. This servant deserves to die, deserves to die."

"What's there to die for? You did great. I'm the real fool, kept in the dark this whole time."

The emperor shoved the memorials off his desk and said coldly, "For this year's New Year's banquet, invite Xie Jingxing and his spouse."

"Yes, this servant will handle it right away."

·

Ning Xishi, clueless about the palace drama, finally slept well in his own bed and didn't wake up until the sun was high the next day.

But even after getting up, his back still ached, probably from the bumpy carriage ride.

Ning Xishi held his waist as he got up, opened the window, and the cold air drove him back three steps.

The room had underfloor heating and was toasty, but outside the wind was biting, cold enough to freeze your nose off.

Other than the cold, though, the weather was great, and the sun was gorgeous.

"Dongshuang, what are you up to?"

"Since we've been gone so long, the books were getting moldy, so I took them out to air."

Dongshuang was a diligent, good kid who kept everything in perfect order.

Ning Xishi was just marveling at Dongshuang's diligence when he suddenly remembered that booklet. He threw on some clothes and ran out to check.

Seeing her young master flipping through all the books, Dongshuang asked, puzzled, "Young master, are you actually planning to study?"

Ning Xishi didn't find the booklet, but he'd also forgotten where he'd tossed it.

Anyway, the booklet didn't have his name on it. If someone found it lying around, that would suit him just fine.

Ning Xishi said, "No, study what? I used to like competing with Wang Qifeng, but he's already passed the imperial exam, and I still got a D this term. I'm done competing with him."

Dongshuang said "Oh" and went back to airing the books.

She said, "These books were all left to you by the eldest young master, full of his notes. I'm airing them out so that if you ever want to study, they'll be ready."

Ning Xishi was stunned: "Books my eldest brother left me?"

His eldest brother had never mentioned any of this to him.

"The eldest young master had urged you to study before, but then the emperor's marriage decree came so suddenly that it got put on hold. He prepared these books back then and brought them along in the dowry."

==========Author's Note:==========

Good night