Chapter 28: Foreshadowing

Chapter 28 Foreshadowing

Chen Shuoan nodded in agreement.

Then Yuan Rang stepped closer, his injured hand easily seizing both of Chen Shuoan's wrists and hoisting them up, while his other hand took a cloth and dipped it into the water.

Chen Shuoan, his hands held above his head, watched helplessly as the skin on Yuan Rang's submerged arm began to flush pink.

His body was being wiped down.

The man gently ran the cloth over his skin, lingering like he didn't want to stop.

Chen Shuoan's eyes welled up, and a flush crept across his face.

Something felt off, he thought.

Yuan Rang's fingers traced his abdomen through the thin cloth, gently stroking the bruise there, staring at the tomato-red person before him and said, "We'll need to put some medicine on in a bit."

Chen Shuoan nodded frantically, trying to squirm free from the grip.

Yuan Rang pinched him, annoyed, and said coldly, "What are you hiding from?"

Scolded into a daze, Chen Shuoan's emotional threshold had plummeted because of the physical pain.

His face full of hurt, he lifted his long leg out of the water and kicked a splash at Yuan Rang, his cheeks flushed with misery: "Stop it."

Yuan Rang caught a flash of pale skin, lowered his lashes to hide the darkness pooling in his eyes, and grunted in acknowledgment.

Seeing Yuan Rang agree, Chen Shuoan gave a satisfied hum and obediently stopped squirming.

Yuan Rang let out a low, husky chuckle: "That's a good boy."

That voice merged with the strange dream in his memory.

Lost in the rising steam and Yuan Rang's gentle coaxing, Chen Shuoan drifted off into a deep sleep.

————

Autumn had set in, and it was already getting chilly.

Chen Shuoan had thrown on an extra layer and was sprawled across the desk, dead to the world.

Half-asleep, he sensed someone walk over, shut the open window, and let the room warm back up.

Through the rustle of robes, he caught the familiar, cool scent of sandalwood.

The Sixth Prince must be cold too—when Chen Shuoan had asked him this morning, the guy flat-out denied it.

Chen Shuoan let out a smug little laugh, feeling like a genius.

Little did he know that laugh would get his face in trouble.

Yuan Rang pinched Chen Shuoan's cheek, twisting it in slow circles, and said with a grin, "You're awake and still not rushing to finish your homework?"

Chen Shuoan feebly swatted his hand away and managed, "It's fine—just getting my eyes open is already a win."

Zhang Chenggong burst in from outside like a maniac, about to grab Chen Shuoan and shake him silly, but spotted Yuan Rang beside him first. His legs moved before his brain, swerving to head back to his own seat.

Then he tripped over his own feet and ate dirt.

Yuan Rang's face was expressionless.

Chen Shuoan half-closed his eyes and let out a "tsk."

But at the end of the day, the guy was still his bro. He brushed off his clothes, stood up lazily, hauled the guy to his feet, and said, "If there's nothing important, don't come to me. If there's something important, definitely don't come to me either."

Zhang Chenggong shook off his hand in a huff, greeted Yuan Rang first, then threw Chen Shuoan into a headlock.

He hissed through gritted teeth into Chen Shuoan's ear: "You've been living it up these past ten days. You have no idea how I've been surviving."

With backup behind him, Chen Shuoan went full shameless: "You're stuck facing the wall; I'm just breezing through with a smile."

Zhang Chenggong's face scrunched up in envy as he shoved it close, wanting Chen Shuoan to see the bags under his eyes.

Yuan Rang stepped in and pried Zhang Chenggong's hand off, smiling all innocent: "What are you talking about?"

Zhang Chenggong winced in pain, wishing he could chop off his arm to prove he'd done nothing wrong.

Li Wei was just walking in from outside, and the moment he saw the scene, he turned right back around, scared the fire might somehow catch him too.

But Zheng Yuanzhi, coming up from behind, grabbed his shoulder and dragged him into the study: "What are you doing standing at the door? Is there a ghost in there?"

The next second, Zheng Yuanzhi was walking back with him, an arm slung over his shoulder: "Let's go wait for Zhonglian outside."

Once all five of them had gathered, Li Wei latched onto Zhang Chenggong and started bawling.

"My dad always thinks copying ten copies isn't enough, so he insisted on bumping it up to fifteen. I've copied more characters these past few days than you guys have eaten grains of rice..."

Zhang Chenggong's eyes got a little misty as he pulled Li Wei into a hug, thumping his back hard to comfort him.

Li Wei squirmed wildly from the pounding, wailing nonstop.

Seeing him cry so pitifully, Zheng Yuanzhi got all sentimental and let out a long sigh too.

Chen Shuoan sat in the middle of them, totally out of place.

Compared to his friends' dark circles and haggard faces, he looked like a carefully tended flower—vibrant and glowing.

He picked at the scab on his hand and tried to comfort them: "I've got some good news. Stop crying and come share the joy."

Zhang Chenggong, like he was already scarred for life, asked warily: "We're allowed to be happy too?"

Chen Shuoan: "..."

Was he really that unreliable?

"In three days, it's His Majesty's birthday, and there's going to be a banquet at Rongqian Palace."

The other four looked at each other, dead silent.

"Come on, guys, give me something." Chen Shuoan wasn't about to give up, trying to stir up the lifeless mood.

They were sixteen or seventeen, an age for being bold and flashy, but they all carried this reckless vibe of "live however, or just die."

"We already knew that." Zhang Chenggong twirled a strand of hair in front of his eyes with his finger, looking bored.

"Really, how are you so behind on the news? This has been in the works for months, and you're only bringing it up now." Li Wei looked up at the ceiling, letting out a disdainful snort.

What?!

Chen Shuoan was stunned—was he really this out of touch in this book?!

Zhang Chenggong patted Chen Shuoan on the shoulder, unconcerned. "Shuo'an, I remember the Emperor's birthday better than my own ancestors' death anniversaries. You're really dropping the ball here."

Chen Shuoan hung his head in shame, taking the group's scolding in stride.

Qin Zhonglian, who had been silent, chimed in quietly. "Then let me share a few things you all don't know."

Four pairs of eyes turned to him at once, shining with anticipation for the tea, and they said in unison, "Spill it, bro."

Qin Zhonglian felt like the group had pinned all their hopes on him. He cleared his throat and began, "Over all these years of the Emperor's birthday celebrations, not a single prince or princess has ever been absent."

Zheng Yuanzhi nodded in agreement.

"The Crown Prince set off a few days ago and should return to the capital by tomorrow, if nothing goes wrong." Qin Zhonglian knew how to string them along, keeping everyone hooked. "As for His Highness the Third Prince, stationed in Bozhou, Pingshuo, there's still no word on when he's coming back."

"With only three days to go, there's no way he makes it back in time."

"I heard there's been trouble with the Bozhou Administrative Commissioner's office—several ledgers are off. His Highness is swamped right now and can't spare a thought for returning to the capital to celebrate." Qin Zhonglian smiled and continued, "It's no wonder he's in such a rush; after over half a month, there's still no progress. Smuggling salt and iron is a capital offense, and as the local iron official, if he doesn't recover those accounts, he'll be lucky to keep his head, but he won't walk away clean."

After hearing this, Zhang Chenggong quickly muttered, "Yikes, that's rough," then asked in confusion, "But shouldn't the blame fall on the right person? Why take it out on the Third Prince, though?"

A cryptic smile curled at the corner of Qin Zhonglian's mouth. "Wouldn't you know it, the entire family of that Administrative Commissioner died on the very night His Highness took office, leaving behind a mess for some poor fool to clean up."

Zheng Yuanzhi's breath caught, and he said with difficulty, "It's obvious to anyone that this is a frame-up."

Qin Zhonglian chuckled. "Isn't the Emperor a man with eyes?"

He paused, then drawled slowly, "And who do you think made the move?"

Yuan Qi led his group of men to the outskirts of the outer city. He looked up at the sun and signaled for his brothers to halt and rest.

It was already autumn, and the air was dry and scorching. Yuan Qi gazed at the hazy, distant inner city and coughed a few times before saying, "Rest here. We'll enter the capital in exactly two quarters of an hour."

This autumn was unusually oppressive; the sky, clear just a moment ago, now seemed ready to rain.

Yuan Rang's long fingers drummed absently as he mulled it over, deciding it was time to speed things up.