Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Xie Licheng stood outside the screen and asked the person inside, "What's wrong?"

He looked fierce, but his tone was still fairly gentle.

Hearing this, Gu Zhangyuan said, "I want to take a bath. Stay here with me."

Xie Licheng found a chair and sat down while asking, puzzled, "We're back at your home now. What else do you have to be afraid of?"

Gu Zhangyuan noticed he was no longer as polite to him as before, and couldn't help cursing Xie Licheng out in his head, calling him a big jerk.

From the very first time he met Xie Licheng, he felt this guy was no simpleton—full of ambition, not your average servant.

And sure enough, he hadn't misjudged him.

This guy was cut from a different cloth. Not only was he skilled in martial arts, he was also sharp and dangerous.

To be honest, keeping a guy like this around was really dangerous. He was like a legendary blade—able to protect Gu Zhangyuan, but just as capable of cutting him.

Gu Zhangyuan wanted to hold onto this sharp blade, so deep down, he didn't want to let him go.

Knowing this guy's temperament—he responded to kindness, not force—Gu Zhangyuan said, his voice trembling slightly, "But... the people who want to hurt me are my own family. This place feels so foreign to me too."

Xie Licheng sighed to himself. Gu Zhangyuan was a pitiful thing too.

Such a timid, pampered young master who couldn't handle hardship would definitely be scared by something like this.

He might as well keep him company, then.

With that thought, Xie Licheng didn't say anything more.

He sat sprawled out on the chair outside the screen, listening to the occasional splash of water from inside, and before he knew it, he'd dozed off.

His body had recovered, but his mind was still tired.

The bathroom was warm and fragrant, and sitting there, he couldn't help but fall asleep.

When Gu Zhangyuan finished his bath and Xuan Cui and Yuan Qiao came in to help him, they saw Xie Licheng asleep in the chair, his long hair still wet and hanging loose.

Xuan Cui moved to dry his hair, but before she could make a move, Gu Zhangyuan—whose clothes were still a mess—took over the task from her.

Xuan Cui glanced at her young master's back and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Gu Zhangyuan heard her laugh and turned to glare at her, annoyed.

Gu Zhangyuan lowered his voice. "Stop laughing. Go clean up the other room in my quarters. We'll move him there in a bit so he can rest properly."

Xuan Cui acknowledged the order and slipped out quietly.

Then Yuan Qiao got shooed out too.

Yuan Qiao stood outside the door, looking totally innocent. His young master's excuse for kicking him out was that his breathing was too loud and might wake up that horse slave guy.

Good heavens! For crying out loud!

He was being framed!

He had served Gu Zhangyuan since childhood. Gu Zhangyuan was a very sensitive person, so to accommodate him, both he and Xuan Cui had long since mastered the art of moving silently.

He could swear—he hadn't made a peep just now.

He figured his young master had only said that to get rid of him.

His young master was something else—if he wanted to be alone with that horse slave, he could've just said so.

The three of them had grown up together. It wasn't like he'd laugh at him for it—and he didn't even have the guts to anyway.

Meanwhile, after kicking Yuan Qiao out, Gu Zhangyuan grabbed a long cloth and started drying Xie Licheng's hair.

Xie Licheng had woken up a while ago—he was a very light sleeper.

He'd already woken up when Xuan Cui and the others came in earlier.

He hadn't opened his eyes right away because he was still a bit sleepy.

He didn't know what was in the incense in Gu Zhangyuan's room, but it smelled really nice.

Then, to his surprise, Gu Zhangyuan had shooed the two servants out and started personally drying his wet hair.

Such a precious young master—he probably had never served anyone before.

Because when he dried Xie Licheng's hair, he was a bit clumsy and even tugged at it.

The original owner of this body had suffered from malnutrition and long-term abuse, leaving his hair rather sparse.

Over the past two months or so, Xie Licheng had been eating and drinking well to nourish himself back, and only then had his hair grown back thick and full.

Many short, new strands of hair had grown in on his head.

Yesterday when Gu Zhangyuan had grabbed his hair, he had been very nervous about his precious locks.

He was only in his early twenties—still a young, strong man—and couldn't afford to go bald early.

Now seeing Gu Zhangyuan drying his hair and accidentally tugging at it again, he had no choice but to quickly open his eyes.

Gu Zhangyuan saw he was awake and said with slight embarrassment, "I didn't mean to wake you. I saw your hair was still wet, so I wanted to help dry it for you."

Xie Licheng sat up straight while taking the long cloth from his hands.

This cloth was clearly something Gu Zhangyuan used—it was embroidered with delicate, beautiful peach blossoms and carried a faint fragrance.

Xie Licheng picked up the cloth and sniffed it, then asked, "Is the fragrance on your body the same as the one on this cloth?"

Gu Zhangyuan didn't immediately understand his meaning upon hearing this. His clothes did have incense on them, but the cloth didn't.

Thinking that this cloth was something he had used before, he suddenly blushed for reasons unknown, and his reactions became a bit sluggish.

Seeing his dazed expression, Xie Licheng simply leaned toward Gu Zhangyuan.

He wanted to confirm whether the fragrance on Gu Zhangyuan's body was the same as the fragrance in this room.

If it was the same, then it must be the incense.

This incense was quite pleasant and had a calming effect, so he wanted to ask Gu Zhangyuan for some.

Gu Zhangyuan probably hadn't expected Xie Licheng to suddenly lean in and sniff him.

With his clothes not even properly arranged, he couldn't help but step back with reddening ears.

Xie Licheng, seeing this, refused to let him retreat. Instead, he thrust out a hand and wrapped it around his waist, not only preventing him from stepping back but also pulling him closer.

Xie Licheng's nose was almost pressed against Gu Zhangyuan's chest.

Were it not for the thin layer of undergarment between them, it would have been practically...

Gu Zhangyuan, overwhelmed by shyness and his waist being particularly sensitive, nearly went weak in the knees from being sniffed by Xie Licheng. He quickly grabbed hold of Xie Licheng's shoulder, barely managing to avoid an embarrassing collapse into the other man's arms.

Gu Zhangyuan whispered in dissatisfaction, "You're so insolent!"

Hearing the words "insolent," Xie Licheng couldn't help but laugh.

Recalling how Gu Zhangyuan enjoyed making him kneel, he smiled and asked, "Are you going to have me kneel again?"

Gu Zhangyuan, who had no such intention, pursed his thin lips and suddenly cast his eyes down, saying, "Then get on your knees, why don't you? A mere horse slave like you, daring to treat your master like this—I could have you punished for gross disrespect."

Xie Licheng really did kneel down at that, going down on one knee as he spoke, "Master, your humble servant knows he was wrong. Your servant shouldn't have taken a whiff of you. Please punish this humble servant."

Gu Zhangyuan, a man of old, had no idea what game Xie Licheng was playing.

Seeing him suddenly act all obedient again, yet his words were so offensive, he itched to raise his hand and slap him.

He thought that since Xie Licheng enjoyed pretending to be a servant, and real servants got beaten and scolded, he'd give him a real taste of what it was like to be one.

But seeing Xie Licheng look up at him, staring straight at him, Gu Zhangyuan in the end couldn't go through with the slap.

Gu Zhangyuan snapped, "Go back. I don't want to lay eyes on you for a few days."

Xie Licheng blinked, taken aback, thinking to himself that things had been fine just moments ago—why the sudden mood swing?

He still wanted to ask what that fragrance was.

But before he could even ask, Gu Zhangyuan shoved him out the door.

After shoving him out, Gu Zhangyuan quickly pressed a hand to his chest, mortified and indignant, wanting to change his clothes immediately.

He'd never met anyone so shameless, but if he had to say whether he hated him... well, he didn't hate him that much.

Come to think of it, it was strange. If any other man had treated him like that, he'd have been itching to kill him.

But when it was Xie Licheng, he didn't find it so hateful or repulsive.

Over the following days, Xie Licheng didn't catch sight of Gu Zhangyuan.

Gu Zhangyuan was busy handling matters at the family estate and cooperating with the authorities in investigating his second uncle's case.

The Second Master's case was as good as settled.

Even if the First Master came back, there'd be no overturning it.

The authorities soon put up wanted posters, and it shouldn't be too hard to catch him.

The Second Master teaming up with bandits to harm his own nephew caused a bigger stir than the bandit troubles in Lingzhou.

Now, everyone in Lingzhou was talking about the Gu family's scandal.

Some felt that the Gu family shouldn't have let a young master take charge.

If the First Master of the Gu Family hadn't insisted on letting the young master run things, none of this would have followed.

Others thought the Second Master was ruthless—even if he had his eye on Gu Zhangyuan's position, he shouldn't have been so merciless.

Regardless, Gu Zhangyuan was still a Gu by blood. If he'd really fallen into those bandits' hands, everyone could imagine how horrible his fate would have been.

Still others believed the Gu family's century-old legacy was doomed.

With such a terrible scandal, whether or not the Second Master was caught, it was like cutting off one of the family's own arms.

Moreover, with Gu Zhangyuan, a young master, now in charge, the Gu family's path ahead would likely be difficult.

...

That said, the smooth handling of the Second Master's case owed much to that prince at the prefect's residence.

Gu Zhangyuan had sent him snakes and wolves before, and honestly, it had done some good.

When the prince heard that Gu Zhangyuan had nearly been harmed by his own uncle, he said a word to the prefect, and that's why the matter was resolved so quickly.

Of course, Xie Licheng knew nothing of these things, nor did he care much.

He was now like a neglected concubine again, and with nothing to do, he turned his "grief" into appetite, binge-eating over the past few days.

Xie Licheng's level was getting high now, and leveling up through hunting alone was getting slow.

With nothing else to occupy his time, besides tending to the horses and the wolf, he focused on fattening himself up.

He no longer had to eat at the outer courtyard's dining hall—Gu Zhangyuan had arranged for him to have his own meals, and these days he ate according to the standards of the inner courtyard's masters.

Breakfast was lighter, while lunch was more lavish.

Lunch typically consisted of four dishes—two meat, one vegetable, plus a soup.

One noon, Xuan Cui personally came to deliver his meal.

Watching her take the dishes out of the food box, Xie Licheng asked, "When can I see the Eldest Young Master?"

Xuan Cui knew that Gu Zhangyuan and Xie Licheng had been in a spat these past few days.

Though she didn't know the details, she was Gu Zhangyuan's personal maidservant, so of course she sided with her master.

Hearing this, she replied dismissively, "To answer you, sir, my master has been very busy lately. I'm afraid he won't have time to see you."

Xie Licheng curled his lips, not believing her words at all.

Xie Licheng: "Go back and tell him I'll come find him tonight."

Xie Licheng wasn't exactly a docile man. The reason he was giving Gu Zhangyuan a heads-up was mainly because he worried Gu Zhangyuan was timid.

If he just showed up unannounced and scared the man half to death, and Gu Zhangyuan started crying, Xie Licheng would have a headache on his hands again.

Xuan Cui had now seen through Xie Licheng's true nature as a horse slave, knowing full well he was a capable fellow. If Xie Licheng truly wanted to see Gu Zhangyuan, not even she—or the entire household guard, for that matter—could stop him.

She said helplessly, "If you have business with the young master, I can relay the message for you."

"No need. I'll tell him myself."

Xie Licheng had serious matters to discuss with Gu Zhangyuan, so he had to see him in person.

But Xuan Cui didn't know he had legitimate business. When she returned to report to Gu Zhangyuan, she couldn't help but embellish the story a bit.

Xuan Cui said, "Master, that stable boy is going too far. I told him you were busy and couldn't see him for now, but he insisted with an arrogant air that he must see you tonight. It seems your cold shoulder these past few days is working—he can't wait to get into your room and serve you."

Gu Zhangyuan glanced at Xuan Cui upon hearing this, "Did he say he wants to come into my room tonight to serve me, or did you add that yourself?"

Xuan Cui saw that her master had caught on immediately and couldn't help but sneakily stick out her tongue.

Xuan Cui said with a hint of grievance, "Master, I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought since you're going to take him into your chambers anyway, it's better to lock him down early. With his impressive skills, he won't stay a servant forever. He might soon find an opportunity to make a name for himself, and then he might not be willing to be your chamber attendant anymore."

Gu Zhangyuan said, "You think that once he's freed from servitude and gains his own abilities, he won't want to stay by my side and serve me?"

Xuan Cui replied, "It's not what I think—that's how it always goes in the romance novels."

Gu Zhangyuan was about to say that she, as a mere maid, should mind her own business when it came to him and Xie Licheng.

But before he could speak, a servant outside announced Xie Licheng's arrival.

Gu Zhangyuan glanced at the sky outside—it wasn't even fully dark yet. Why had the man come so quickly?