Chapter 20: A Sudden Turn

Chapter 20: A Sudden Turn

Today was a bright, sunny day, so hot that Yuan Wu felt agitated and irritable.

He rode on horseback, shading his face from the increasingly harsh sun with his hand, and wiped the bean-sized beads of sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

This was a desolate shortcut.

They say a new broom sweeps clean—Yuan Wu had already planned what he would do before even arriving in Bozhou.

A hint of pride swelled in his chest. He squeezed his long legs against the horse's flanks, urging it into a faster gallop once more.

Let's get there faster, he thought.

The shortcut wound through a ring of mountains, and the undergrowth was unusually lush. The wild grass along the path came up to the horses' legs. Days of relentless heat had left the ground bone-dry, and each hoofbeat sent up great clouds of dust.

Liu Fugui, bringing up the rear of the procession, waved away the dust clouding his vision and coughed several times, a low, hacking sound.

His throat was getting sore. Once they reached Bozhou, he'd need to find a doctor to get checked out. Liu Fugui cleared his throat, tightened his grip on the reins, and urged his horse to catch up with the men ahead.

Suddenly, his ears caught the soft rustling sound of some animal skittering through the grass.

Liu Fugui let out a derisive snort and paid it no mind—probably just a few wild mountain rabbits.

After days of relentless travel, he was feeling genuinely bitter about it.

The man grumbled to himself at the back of the line: "What's the rush? The job isn't going to sprout legs and run away..."

His voice cut off abruptly.

Someone had climbed onto his horse without a sound, one hand clamped tightly over his mouth and nose.

Liu Fugui broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

In the time it takes to draw one breath, he swiftly drew the sword at his waist and stabbed backward with a vicious backhand, hearing the sound of two blades piercing flesh.

Liu Fugui coughed violently, a hoarse, rasping "huh-huh" escaping his frail throat. Blood slid slowly down from the corner of his pale lips, dripping onto his black robe and spreading into a chilling dark stain.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he ignored the short blade stuck in his body, turned, and with one swift kick, sent the assailant tumbling off the horse.

Liu Fugui stood there stunned, clutching the wound at his lower back.

Perhaps because their companion had been exposed, they didn't even bother to hide anymore.

Just a few dozen yards behind Liu Fugui, the grass that should have been peaceful now glinted with the cold, telltale gleam of blades under the sun.

It was over.

Unconsciously, Liu Fugui had yanked the reins taut in his hands. The feel between his palm and the coarse rope had turned slick and greasy—he couldn't tell whether it was soaked with blood or sweat.

Before the arrow pierced his heart, he roared with every last ounce of strength, a roar that instantly echoed through the valley: "Protect the Third Prince! Protect the Third Prince!"

————

"What's the situation?" Yuan Rang's long, slender fingers teased the puppy in his arms, his touch rough and heavy-handed, provoking the little dog to open its mouth and try to bite.

Liu Fengnian still couldn't bring himself to look directly at Chen Gangpao, who looked more like a toy than a real dog. He simply turned his head away, figuring out of sight, out of mind, and said: "Bandits run rampant in the Lingnan region. The Third Prince has naturally been kidnapped."

Liu Fengnian, a master of shifting blame, attributed the attack on the Third Prince entirely to the Lingnan mountain bandits without batting an eye.

Yuan Rang, with a wicked glint in his eye, tugged at Chen Gangpao's whiskers, ignoring the dog's fangs bared in a mock show of ferocity, and said slowly: "Wait a few days, find a chance to let him escape. Don't let him stay there too long."

"Yes."

Yuan Rang set Chen Gangpao down on the ground, brushed the dog hair off his robes, and turned to leave.

Chen Shuoan was very busy today. No sooner had school let out than he slipped into the kitchen alone.

This startled the maids and servants bustling about in the kitchen: "Young Master Chen, what are you doing?"

Chen Shuoan explained: "I'll be preparing His Highness the Sixth Prince's lunch today. Could you all please make some room for me? Thank you so much, thank you so much."

"We can't allow that!"

No matter how much Chen Shuoan talked himself hoarse, his newly claimed brothers and sisters wouldn't give in at all.

After much back and forth, Chen Shuoan finally secured two hours of kitchen time.

The head maid was still uneasy, terrified that this young master might blow up the stove with his fire-lighting. Losing the kitchen would be one thing, but if even one hair on Young Master Chen's head got singed, it would be all over.

She hurried off with quick, short steps to tattle to the Sixth Prince.

Chen Shuoan had just finished carving up the hen and was trying to figure out where the flour was when he saw Yuan Rang hurrying over.

"What's all this?" Yuan Rang, relieved to see him in one piece, asked with a puzzled look.

Chen Shuoan smiled, his doe-like eyes crinkling at the corners and his well-formed lips curving up, and said: "Didn't Your Highness say you wanted the whole chicken feast? Today I'm going to show you what I've got."

Yuan Rang stood there, stunned.

That day, he had been burning with jealousy and had simply gone along with Chen Shuoan's words with an "mm-hmm." He never expected the person before him to have taken it to heart.

In his fourteen years, the Sixth Prince had never been treated like this.

An inexplicable emptiness welled up in Yuan Rang's chest, one that could only be eased by swallowing Chen Shuoan whole.

Chen Shuoan answered every word he spoke and saw every matter through to the end.

A blood-red glint surfaced deep in Yuan Rang's eyes. His pitch-black, ink-dark eyes locked onto the pale nape of Chen Shuoan's neck.

Yuan Rang took a deep breath, as if he could catch Chen Shuoan's tantalizing scent through the heavy, greasy smell of the kitchen.

The question that had plagued him for days finally became clear, like clouds parting to reveal the sun.

Yuan Rang had finally seen the sun shrouded behind layer upon layer of soft clouds, and the light of "truth" made his blood run hot and searing.

The Sixth Prince's young heart held an unspoken longing.

He wanted to kiss Chen Shuoan.

Chen Shuoan, of course, was completely oblivious. He bent over the basin to wash his hands, saying: "I still owe you two roasted eggs. Did you forget?"

Yuan Rang lowered his eyes, hiding the madness on his face, and said with a low chuckle: "Of course not. I thought you might have forgotten."

Chen Shuoan waved his arm with a flourish: "Impossible. I, Chen Shuoan, never make empty promises. If I can't do it, I won't promise it. But if I promise, I'll definitely deliver."

Yuan Rang arched an eyebrow, clearly impressed: "Well said."

And so Yuan Rang became Chen Shuoan's assistant. The two of them, neither of whom had ever personally lit a stove before, worked up a storm in the kitchen.

The matron beside him was frightened out of her wits, fearing the two might stir up some kind of trouble.

She had thought that summoning His Highness the Sixth Prince would persuade Young Master Chen, but instead, the two were about to raise hell together.

With Yuan Rang's vigorous assistance, Chen Shuoan received a serious boost.

In less than an hour, a simple yet flavorful fried chicken, led by Chen Shuoan and assisted by Yuan Rang, was officially fresh out of the pan.

They also launched the Chen-Yuan whole chicken combo, with two roasted eggs thrown in.

After Liu Fengnian finished his official business, he had intended to stay at his grandson's place for lunch.

But after waiting and waiting without seeing the matron bring out the meal, and about to pass out from hunger at his age, Jili finally appeared in a hurry.

He hastily presented the dishes from the food box before Liu Fengnian, saying, "Please forgive me, sir. The palace did not prepare lunch today. Upon discovering you were staying, we immediately sent someone out to the Fresh Food Pavilion to pick up a meal. It took some time to go back and forth, but the food is fresh. Sorry, you'll have to make do with this."

Liu Fengnian looked at the spread of meat and fish on the table and felt quite satisfied.

Then he asked in confusion, "And what will the Sixth Prince have for lunch? That won't do, will it?"

Jili bent over to refill the tea, respectfully saying, "Young Master Chen is personally cooking for His Highness. They're already digging in over there. Please do not worry, sir."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fengnian was not worried—he was feeling a bit miffed.

He looked around at the empty seats, with no living soul beside him except Jili and the noisy summer insects.

What?

So I'm just in the way here?

Jili watched the Minister's face, which nearly broke into tears, and inexplicably felt that the summer breeze carried a hint of desolation.