Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Xie Chengze assumed Wuji meant that if Xie died, no one would pay their monthly wages. They might even be forced to accompany him in death. That would truly be a nightmare.
He understood. Working for the imperial family was a wretched business.
He consoled them, “Don’t worry. If this prince is ever about to die, I’ll leave a will in advance to make proper arrangements for you. I’ll even take care of your retirement!”
Wuji burst into laughter and rubbed his cheek against Xie Chengze’s fingertips. “Thank you, Your Highness. You’re so good to us.”
But…
How could they ever allow His Highness to die before them?
Even if His Highness disappeared again, they would keep watch over this body until… he returned once more.
Wuhen, kneeling beside the bed peeling the tangerine, finally removed every last thread of white pith from its segments. Just as he reached out to feed one to Xie Chengze, Zhu Xiaobiao rushed into the room. “Your Highness! Hurry and pretend to be asleep! The Crown Prince is here!”
“Fuck! Why is he here?” Xie Chengze immediately uncrossed his legs and burrowed beneath the covers. He accidentally bumped the wound on his arm and sucked in a sharp breath, but had no time to care about the pain. He quickly arranged both hands, furrowed his brow, closed his eyes, and feigned unconsciousness.
Wuhen silently held up the tangerine segment. Wuji laughed at him mercilessly from the side. “Serves you right for peeling so slowly~”
Wuhen wanted to stuff the entire tangerine into Wuji’s mouth and silence him, but he could not bear to waste the meticulously cleaned fruit. Instead, he rose, grabbed the peel from the table, and shoved it down Wuji’s collar to destroy the evidence.
Then, with the same hand he had used to peel the fruit, he seized Wuji by the collar and hauled him to the place where a subordinate ought to stand.
Wuji nearly spat blood in fury. “Wuhen! You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Tangerine juice is hard to wash out!”
Wuhen lowered his head and pretended not to hear.
Wuji was about to say more when familiar footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. His brows drew together slightly, and he lowered his head as well, though clearly against his will.
The footsteps approached, and a pair of dark golden boots stopped before them. In the entire imperial palace, only three people were entitled to wear gold, the color that represented the wealth and stature of the imperial family: Emperor Jian, the Empress, and Xie Jinyu, the Crown Prince standing before them.
Xie Jinyu stopped in front of Wuhen and Wuji. His lukewarm gaze swept over them, and his voice was gentle, tinged with a chill so faint it was almost imperceptible. “Leave us.”
Wuhen and Wuji paused, but ultimately walked toward the door. Xie Jinyu watched them leave until the wooden door closed, then turned toward the unconscious Xie Chengze on the bed.
Deep breaths. A rising and falling chest. Faintly trembling lashes.
Xie Jinyu’s gaze passed over the platter of tribute fruit on the nearby table. Nothing appeared unusual, as if the elusive hint of tangerine he had smelled a moment ago were merely an illusion.
His boots shifted, and he strode toward the canopy bed and sat at its edge. His eyes fell on the slender arm wrapped in white bandages. A flash of viciousness crossed them, followed by a tide of deep heartache.
He raised a hand and gently laid it over the back of Xie Chengze’s. His tone was neither cold nor warm as he lowered his eyes. “Second Brother, does it hurt?”
The unconscious man could not answer, so he continued on his own. “Those useless fools at the Court of Judicial Review still haven’t found the one who ordered the assassination. Father has handed the case to Shen Yuan and transferred him to the Ministry of Justice…”
Xie Jinyu’s hand slipped down to the bed. Four fingers curved around the side of the unconscious young man’s hand and gently lifted his palm, while the pad of his thumb slowly stroked the final joint of Xie Chengze’s little finger. His voice grew low. “Shen Yuan takes after Grand Tutor Shen. He is far too upright and loyal. Father must have seen that as well, which is why he decided to entrust this case to him. But…”
He glanced at Xie Chengze’s pale, haggard face and brushed the back of his index finger lightly along the young man’s jaw. His tone was impossible to read. “Tell me. Will the criminal he finds truly be the one behind the assassination?”
In a single day, Shen Yuan had thrown the entire court into panic. Memorials impeaching him were almost piled into a mountain, and every perceptive official had realized that he was using the assassination case to investigate the embezzlement of Yizhou’s disaster-relief funds.
A single Transport Commissioner of Chengdu Circuit could never satisfy Shen Yuan’s ambitions.
How could Xie Jinyu, always so keenly perceptive, fail to notice that something was amiss?
Xie Chengze kept his eyes tightly shut and did not dare move. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of this.
Especially not when Xie Jinyu’s tone and actions were clearly a veiled warning: Second Brother, stop pretending. I saw through everything long ago. You had better behave yourself from now on. Don’t conspire with Shen Yuan and win some glowing reputation, or I’ll strangle you to death…
See? See! His hand really was closing around Xie Chengze’s throat!
The man’s fingertips followed the alluring line of Xie Chengze’s neck to the slight rise of his Adam’s apple. Then his broad, slender hand opened and gently encircled the young man’s pale, delicate throat.
Beneath his palm lay warm skin and a faintly beating pulse, so much like the young man himself – fragile, yet filled with such warmth.
The man caressed it with yearning in his eyes. His gaze fell on the young man’s slightly pale lips, and he bent down, only to stop suspended in the air just before they touched.
Xie Chengze merely sensed the darkness before his eyes deepen, as though Xie Jinyu had leaned over him.
What was he doing now?
Did Xie Jinyu think his face was too beautiful and want to peel it off and paste it onto his own?
As Xie Chengze’s imagination ran wild, he heard Xie Jinyu sigh. “Forget it.”
If he frightened Second Brother, the man might start avoiding him.
The darkness receded, and Xie Chengze quietly breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. His beauty was safe!
After sitting upright, Xie Jinyu picked up a tangerine from the nearby table and began peeling it unhurriedly.
Come to think of it, Xie Jinyu had once been the one who peeled fruit for Second Brother.
Second Brother had been lazy as a child. He disliked peeling fruit and hated getting his hands dirty, so he would rather go without than touch it.
Even so, he had been willing to splash through the water and play with Xie Jinyu. Late at night, he had patiently smeared salve over every welt the tutor’s rod left on Xie Jinyu’s back, his eyes red, blowing on the wounds and coaxing him to sleep.
Back then, Xie Jinyu had taken care of peeling every piece of fruit for Second Brother.
No one knew that the exalted Crown Prince had trained himself to peel an entire fruit without breaking the skin, all for this reason.
But later, Second Brother had thrown the red fruit Xie Jinyu peeled onto the ground and called it unlucky.
Second Brother had continued to focus on him, but his gaze no longer held Xie Jinyu alone. It also held his position as Crown Prince.
Second Brother grew to loathe and reject him more with each passing day. Xie Jinyu did not know what he had done wrong. He had even thought that if Second Brother desired the Crown Prince’s position so much, he would gladly hand it over.
If only Second Brother… would remain in the capital forever, stay forever at his side, and keep no one but Xie Jinyu in his eyes…
It was such a simple thing.