Xiao Shen sat in front of the campfire with an expressionless face. The graceful dancers were dancing to the sound of stringed instruments, but he turned a deaf ear to it, and his cold eyes were always fixed on the jumping flames.
Ever since he was born, he has been living in the silent, cold palace and has long been accustomed to being alone.
Later, when he had a master, he only wanted to spend time with him and even felt that it was unnecessary for Xiao Dezi to serve them.
This was the first time he was waiting with so many strangers. He felt that all around him was very noisy. Everything made him upset. He couldn’t help but raise his eyelids, trying to find that familiar sky blue color.
He searched around but to no avail, but then he heard the Fifth Prince’s excited voice: “Seventh Brother, don’t you drink?”
Xiao Shen calmly withdrew his gaze and replied, “I can’t drink.”
“Ah? No way?” Xiao Jingrui was surprised. “How old are you this year? How come you still can’t drink?”
Xiao Shen lowered his eyelashes and ignored the other party.
Ever since he choked while drinking on the roof on New Year’s Eve three years ago, his master has not allowed him to drink again, saying that it would not be too late for him to practice his drinking capacity when he grows up.
Xiao Jingrui was not willing to give in. He enthusiastically squeezed to his side, handed him the jar of wine, and said with a smile, “Come on, a real man is one who drinks and eats meat with big gulps!”
The word “real man” seemed to trigger some kind of mechanism. Xiao Shen’s brows moved slightly. He took the jar of wine silently, raised his head, and took a sip.
“Cough, cough.” He didn’t drink as much this time, but he still coughed twice because of the spiciness.
Xiao Jingrui clapped his hands and laughed: “Hahaha! Lao Qi, you don’t know how to drink!”
“Jingrui, are you bullying people again?” At this time, the Third Prince, Xiao Hongyao, also came over.
He has an upright stature, a handsome face, and an indescribable elegance and grace in his every move.
“Third Brother, I didn’t!” Xiao Jingrui immediately clung to him and hugged the Third Prince’s arm. “I swear to God, I’m just trying to stay in touch with Seventh Brother.”
Xiao Hongyao’s eyes fell on his silent seventh brother. After a moment, he smiled and said, “It’s good that you didn’t bully him. We brothers should get closer to each other. Seventh Brother, if you have any problems in the future, you can always come to see Third Brother.”
Xiao Shen’s heart was calm, but on the surface he bowed his hands in a formal manner: “Thank you, Third Brother.”
Adding flowers on brocade is not as good as offering charcoal to someone in snow1Lit. Adding flowers on brocade is not as good as offering charcoal to someone (suffering) in snow is a proverb that means a friend who helps you when you are in need is better than one that congrates you when you are successful.. After fifteen years, his third brother finally remembered that he had a younger brother. It was so funny.
Xiao Hongyao wanted to say something else when a flare suddenly exploded in the air.
Upon hearing the signal, the Jinyiwei prepared their gear and took action at lightning speed. The people surrounding the campfire were confused and looked around.
A moment later, a Jinyiwei kneeled in front of Emperor Guangxi and reported, “Your Majesty, Concubine Yuan was assassinated!”
“What did you say?” Emperor Guangxi suddenly stood up from his chair and said, “How is Concubine Yuan now—cough, cough.”
Jinyiwei: “Your Majesty, rest assured. Commander Xue has killed the assassins on the spot already!”
Emperor Guangxi said nothing, threw off the cloak on his shoulders, turned around and strode towards the imperial camp.
The others were all very nervous when they heard there was an assassination. The Crown Prince immediately followed and said, “Gu will also go take a look!”
Xiao Shen seemed particularly calm in the chaos and continued to search around for his master.
After a moment, the ambiguous words that his master said before leaving emerged in his mind, and the calm mask on the boy’s face shattered with a “click”.
He suddenly stood up from his seat, almost knocking over the table, and grabbed the Jinyiwei who reported the news and sternly asked, “Who else is there? Is Master there too?”
The Jinyiwei asked blankly, “Which master?”
Xiao Shen: “Shen Qingzhuo!”
“Oh, yes, yes, yes!” The Jinyiwei came back to his senses. “Young Master Shen was there too!”
In an instant, Xiao Shen felt as if he was hit by a huge rock in the chest. He heard a buzzing sound in his ears and took several steps back unsteadily.
The next moment, he staggered towards the imperial camp, running faster and faster until he was running almost madly.
At this moment, he didn’t dare to imagine anything, he didn’t dare to imagine what would happen to his master.
Until that familiar figure appeared in sight.
Alive, his master is still alive…
But before he could catch his breath, the blood flowing from his master’s arm completely stung his pupils red.
His master actually still smiled at him. How could he smile?
Xiao Shen kneeled down in front of him, exhausted. In less than a quarter of an hour, it was as if he had fallen from heaven to hell and then luckily crawled back to the world.
“Shen Qingzhuo, I really can’t live without you.” He choked with sobs uncontrollably and hugged him so hard that he seemed to want to rub the person into his body.
He wants to rub him into his body, become one, and he won’t have to worry about losing him anymore.
“Alright, be good, don’t cry anymore.” Shen Qingzhuo’s heart was soaked by the youth’s tears, softened to pieces, and he coaxed patiently, “Master is fine, Xiao Qi, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
But the tears seemed to have their own thoughts. No matter how hard he tried to restrain himself, the bean-sized tears still flowed out continuously.
“Ouch, my arm hurts so much.” Seeing that he couldn’t comfort his little disciple for the time being, Shen Qingzhuo began to cry out in pain.
“Where does it hurt?” Xiao Shen instantly loosened his hand and stepped back helplessly, “Imperial Physician! Where is the Imperial Physician?”
The youth’s face was covered with tears, and he had no time to wipe them away. He looked totally dazed and pitiful.
Shen Qingzhuo said with pain, “It’s nothing serious, just find an imperial physician to treat it, and it will be fine.”
Xiao Shen wiped his face roughly, got up from the ground, and rushed into the imperial camp.
There were many imperial physicians kneeling on the ground in the imperial camp, and Imperial Physician Zhang, who had the best medical skills, was treating Concubine Yuan, who was lying on the bed.
After a while, Imperial Physician Zhang also kneeled down and pleaded guilty: “The humble minister is incompetent. The dragon child in Niangniang’s womb cannot be saved.”
Emperor Guangxi was furious when he heard this. He swept away all the objects on the table with a wave of his hand and cursed angrily, “Waste! Idiot! What’s the point of keeping you all?”
“Your Majesty, calm down”
“Emperor Father, please calm down!” The Crown Prince hurriedly supported the crumbling Emperor Guangxi. “Fortunately, Concubine Yuan is fine. Emperor Father, you should also take care of your body!”
Emperor Guangxi panted rapidly, his cloudy eyes fell on Concubine Yuan’s unconscious face on the bed, and he growled exhaustedly: “Get out, all of you get out!”
The imperial physicians quickly stood up and retreated. Emperor Guangxi shouted again, “Imperial Physician Zhang, stay!”
Xiao Shen, who had been waiting at the door, took the opportunity to grab an imperial physician and dragged him away without saying anything: “Follow me!”
“Your Highness the Seventh Prince, are you injured anywhere?” Imperial Physician Lu was holding a medicine box in one hand and stumbling out as he was grabbed by the collar, yet he still cared about his Highness.
“It’s not me who’s injured, it’s my master.” Xiao Shen’s face was gloomy, and he took Imperial Physician Lu to his master’s tent.
Shen Qingzhuo nodded. “I’ll have to trouble you.”
The handkerchief tied around his arm was soaked with blood, which was dripping onto the ground.
Imperial Physician Lu hurried forward and asked in a reproachful tone, “You were injured so badly, why didn’t you get treatment earlier?”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled slightly: “My injury is a minor matter, Concubine Yuan’s health is the major one.”
Xiao Shen listened from the side, his face becoming darker and darker.
He suppressed the bad emotions surging in his heart and said coldly, “Stop talking nonsense and treat it quickly.”
Imperial Physician Lu began to treat the wound.
He cut open the sleeve and carefully peeled off the cloth stuck to the wound, and a hideous sword wound came into view.
“Fortunately, the sword tip was deflected and did not injure the bones.” Imperial Physician Lu exhaled after a careful examination, “But the wound is not shallow and still needs to be sutured. Your Highness the Seventh Prince, please go and make a bowl of Mafei San first.”
Xiao Shen didn’t dare to leave at all and replied, “I’ll ask someone to cook it.”
After saying this, he found a nearby Jinyiwei to cook the medicine and then returned to the tent without stopping.
Due to excessive blood loss, Shen Qingzhuo’s face turned pale, his eyebrows were furrowed, his breathing became weaker and weaker, and his whole body looked like a fragile piece of jade.
Imperial Physician Lu said again, “Young Master Shen, you have lost too much blood. I need to clean your wound and stop the bleeding first. Can you bear it for a while?”
Shen Qingzhuo closed his eyes and said, “It’s fine, just deal with it.”
However, when cleaning the wound, the sudden pain still made him groan: “Wu…”
Hurt…
It hurt so much that his temples ached and his brain felt like it was going to explode.
Imperial Physician Lu immediately apologized: “I’m sorry, Young Master Shen, I will try to be gentler.”
Xiao Shen, who was standing by, couldn’t help but clench his fists, and the muscles on both sides of his cheeks twitched unnaturally, as if he were enduring the same pain.
He clearly couldn’t feel any pain, and even if he fell off the wall, he could just dust himself off and get up, but at this moment, his heart ached so much that he couldn’t breathe.
“Xiao Qi, come here.” Shen Qingzhuo called him with his eyes closed.
Xiao Shen woke up from his dream, walked over quickly, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, “Master.”
“Come, lend Master your hand.” Shen Qingzhuo stretched out his good hand.
Xiao Shen grasped the cold hand without hesitation.
His thick, dark, and crow feathers like eyelashes closed and trembled slightly with Imperial Physician Lu’s movements, like the wings of a butterfly fluttering in a storm, beautiful and fragile, breaking the onlookers’ hearts.
When everything was settled, it was already midnight.
Shen Qingzhuo had changed into a clean green robe and was lying on the bed, falling asleep, while the youth curled up beside him, occupying only a small corner.
The effect of Mafei San gradually disappeared, the pale eyelids moved slightly, Shen Qingzhuo opened his eyelashes, and the tingling in his right arm also became clear at the same time.
“Master, you’re awake!” Xiao Shen excitedly raised his upper body and asked a series of questions, “Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you still in pain?”
“It was fine.” Shen Qingzhuo closed his eyes again. “Let’s Master relax a bit.”
Hearing this, Xiao Shen lay down again, but his eyes could not leave his master’s pale face for a moment.
But Shen Qingzhuo did not speak again. He wanted to gather his strength and wait for Emperor Guangxi’s summons.
As expected, about a quarter of an hour later, a report came from outside the tent: “Young Master Shen, His Majesty has summoned you.”
Shen Qingzhuo opened his eyes again, and his vision was clear.
He was about to stand up when an arm reached out to stop him. “Master, you need to rest!”
“I’m going to see your Emperor Father and will be back soon.” Shen Qingzhuo grabbed the youth’s strong and thin arm, “Be good, wait for me here.”
Xiao Shen didn’t move, his dark eyes were full of stubbornness and a hint of obvious annoyance.
Shen Qingzhuo calmly looked back at him and said in a serious tone, “Do you still remember the story that Master told you? Now is the time to close the net, don’t delay Master’s business.”
By this point, Xiao Shen had already figured out the true meaning of “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
He stared at his master in silence for a moment and finally relaxed his grip.
Shen Qingzhuo smiled at him soothingly, then stood up and walked out of the tent.
After the eunuch reported, a tired voice came from the imperial camp: “Come in.”
Shen Qingzhuo opened the curtain and walked in, ready to kneel down and salute: “The minister pays his respects to Your Majesty.”
Emperor Guangxi lay on the bed, his eyes falling on the bandage on his arm, and he waved his hand, “No need to kneel.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Shen Qingzhuo stood up straight, waiting for Emperor Guangxi’s next words.
“You must repeat what happened today truthfully.” Emperor Guangxi stared at him solemnly, “Don’t leave out even the slightest bit.”
“Yes.” Shen Qingzhuo responded and began to recall, “At the dinner today, the minister couldn’t handle alcohol and left the table halfway. When the minister passed by the Jinyiwei’s table, the minister chatted with Lord Xue for a few words.”
Emperor Guangxi interrupted and asked, “What is your relationship with Xue Shihang?”
“Three years ago, when the Fourth and Seventh Princes fell into the water, it was Lord Xue who rushed to their rescue, and thus we became acquaintances.” Shen Qingzhuo spoke calmly, with a frank look in his eyes, “Lord Xue works in the palace, and we occasionally meet each other. The minister thinks that Lord Xue is someone worth making friends with.”
Emperor Guangxi nodded slightly, agreeing with this explanation.
“The minister was walking and chatting with Lord Xue, and before we knew it, we had come here.” Shen Qingzhuo continued, “The minister stopped and observed that there was only one patrolling Jinyiwei team around. The minister felt a little uneasy, so the minister advised Lord Xue to send more Jinyiwei patrols. Unexpectedly, at this moment, several assassins in black suddenly appeared near the imperial camp. Lord Xue immediately drew his sword and fought with the assassins. The minister was unable to help, so the minister rushed into the imperial camp and tried to delay the assassins and buy time for rescue.”
At the end, he glanced at his arm and said, “But the minister was weak and could not even tie a chicken. He is no match for the assassins. The minister can only use his body to block the sword for Niangniang.”
Emperor Guangxi sighed: “Wielding a sword and a spear is not your strong point. It is not easy for you to protect your master with your own body.”
Shen Qingzhuo bowed his head. “The minister is ashamed.”
Emperor Guangxi was silent for a moment. “Ask Xue Shihang to come in.”
Xue Shihang, who was waiting outside the door, opened the door curtain and stepped in, kneeling down to salute: “Your Majesty.”
“The assassination of Concubine Yuan today was caused by your failure in duty as a Jinyiwei. However, Zhen will not punish you for your loyalty in saving the master. Zhen will give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Emperor Guangxi breathed a sigh of relief. “Shen Qingzhuo has made great contributions in saving the master many times. Zhen will appoint him as the fourth-rank Beizhen Fushi Envoy of the Jinyiwei and be responsible for thoroughly investigating the assassination of Concubine Yuan.”
Shen Qingzhuo kneeled down to thank the emperor: “The minister accepted the order and thanked Your Majesty for the grace.”
Xue Shihang: “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace.”
“Zhen gives you two ten days to find the mastermind behind the assassination of Concubine Yuan.” Emperor Guangxi’s tone suddenly turned cold. “Ten days later, bring the thief’s head to see Zhen!”
The two received the order again and walked out of the tent one after the other.
The torches at the entrance of the imperial camp illuminated the surroundings very brightly. Xue Shihang stopped and bowed to Shen Qingzhuo: “Thank Young Master Shen for what happened today. No, it should be, thanks, Lord Zhenfu.”
Shen Qingzhuo bowed in return: “I should be the one to thank Lord Xue. If it weren’t for Lord Xue’s timely rescue today, I would have been killed by the assassin by now.”
“No, no! This is originally my duty. Lord Zhenfu doesn’t need to thank me.” Xue Shihang waved his hand and said, “Lord Zhenfu, how should we deal with this assassin tonight?”
The Jinyiwei’s Commander is a fourth-rank official, and the Northern Zhenfu Envoy is only a fourth-rank official, so the two are not in a superior-subordinate relationship.
Under the Jinyiwei were the Nanzhen Fushi and the Beizhen Fushi. The Beizhen Fushi was responsible for handling the imperial prison and cases designated by the emperor. It could arrest, interrogate, execute, and punish prisoners on its own and was not subject to the jurisdiction of the Three Law Divisions. This also meant that the Beizhen Fushi could bypass the Third Rank Commander of the Jinyiwei and report directly to the Emperor.
Strictly speaking, the Northern Zhenfu Division only needs to be responsible to the emperor and is not subject to the constraints of any other person or agency.
Shen Qingzhuo replied calmly: “Lord Xue and the brothers of the Jinyiwei will have to work hard tonight. Please make sure to keep a close watch on the assassin.”
“It’s natural.” Xue Shihang nodded. “I will personally watch over the assassin and make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“From now on, don’t let the assassin close his eyes.” Shen Qingzhuo walked forward slowly, his clear voice floating in the wind. “Tomorrow morning, I will personally escort the assassin back to the imperial prison.”
Concubine Yuan was assassinated, and Emperor Guangxi lost his little prince, so they were naturally in no mood to continue hunting.
The next morning, they returned to the palace, hastily ending this spring hunting trip.
Shen Qingzhuo slept for a night and recovered a little, but the pain in his right arm became more and more intense.
He personally put the assassin into prison and instructed the Beizhen Fushi to keep him under strict surveillance. Only then did he find time to visit the Imperial Medical.
In fact, he was also a little scared. If the assassin’s sword was coated with poison, he would probably have died of the poison by now.
Imperial Physician Lu examined his wound, re-bandaged it, and prescribed several prescriptions to promote wound healing. He repeatedly told him to rest for half a month and not to overwork, including that he needed to avoid certain foods during the next few days and that the wound must not be exposed to water.
Shen Qingzhuo noted them down one by one and then returned to Jiyue Pavilion, where he saw his little disciple hitting sandbags in the yard again.
Different from his usual appearance when practicing boxing, he had a look of gritted teeth, and every punch hit the flesh. It was more like venting than practicing.
“That’s enough. If you keep hitting, the sandbag will fall apart.” Shen Qingzhuo walked over and raised his left hand to hold the sandbag.
Xiao Shen retracted his fist at lightning speed, breathing heavily but not looking at him.
Shen Qingzhuo stared at the youth’s sweaty face and reached out to grab his fist.
Xiao Shen dodged subconsciously and put his hands behind his back.
“Your hands were once covered with frostbite, and it was me who used ointment to cure them bit by bit.” Shen Qingzhuo spread out his palms, “If you hurt them, Master will be unhappy.”
After a while, Xiao Shen finally untied the bandage on his hand and put his hand into his master’s palm.
His movements are as obedient as possible, and his expression is as awkward as possible.
Shen Qingzhuo grabbed the youth’s wrist and saw that his knuckles were red, swollen, and broken. He couldn’t help but teach him a lesson: “Injure 800 enemies and lose 3,000 of your own. Is that what Master taught you?”
“What about you?” Xiao Shen immediately retorted, his dark eyes filled with bloodshot, “Doesn’t Master also injured 800 enemies and lost 3,000 of your own?”
Shen Qingzhuo knew that he still remembered this incident and replied helplessly, “The situation was urgent at that time—”
“What did you tell me before?” Xiao Shen rudely interrupted his master for the first time, “But what was the result?”
Shen Qingzhuo frowned with a headache. “I was originally planning to stand aside and watch, but…”
He is actually someone who was very afraid of pain. According to the plot development in the original book, Concubine Yuan could not keep the child in the first place, he just gave it a push.
But just at the moment when the tip of the sword was about to pierce Concubine Yuan’s abdomen, he still pounced on her as if possessed by a ghost.
They even prohibits killing pregnant animals in the spring hunting, let alone the fact that Concubine Yuan was carrying a four-month-old fetus.
He couldn’t control his instinctive reaction.
The youth stood there, his eyes unconsciously becoming red again, his wet puppy eyes did not blink, as if tears were about to fall out again.
“Ai, I’m afraid of you now.” Shen Qingzhuo raised his left hand in surrender and swore by his ear, “Master promises you that something like yesterday will never happen again.” Xiao Shen pursed his lips and said nothing.
“Why didn’t I realize that you can cry so much before?” Shen Qingzhuo stretched out his hand and pinched his tender face, jokingly saying, “If you drop golden beans again, Master will crown you the Golden Bean King ah.”
“Who is crying?” Xiao Shen’s eyes suddenly widened, with tears in his eyes, and he looked really unreliable.
“Alright, you didn’t cry, it’s because Master was shortsighted.” Shen Qingzhuo replied perfunctorily, pulling his wrist, “Don’t stand here, go in and deal with your hands first.”
The youth’s body was much more honest than his mouth, and he obediently let his master pull him to the inner hall.
But after the moisture in his eyes faded away, it became bottomless again.
That night, Shen Qingzhuo had a dream that he hadn’t had in a long time.
He was floating in the air and saw himself kneeling on the ground motionless. A young eunuch behind him was forcibly dragged away by several tall and strong Jinyiwei.
That young eunuch cried out to him for help: “Young Master Shen! Save me! Please save me! Young Master Shen”
He couldn’t help but float out following the screams and saw the young eunuch being pressed on a wooden board. The Jinyiwei who were carrying out the execution held up the court stick high, and the sound of the blows was drowned out with the young eunuch’s wailing.
Gradually, the young eunuch’s skin was torn and his body was covered in blood, and his wailing became weaker and weaker.
His throat seemed to be strangled by something. At this moment, the dying eunuch suddenly raised his face and stared at him with resentful eyes, “You killed me! You killed me!”
“It wasn’t me.” He shook his head and stepped back, muttering in defense, “It was His Majesty who killed you, not me.”
At this moment, the scene suddenly changed, and he came to the tent again.
Concubine Yuan collapsed on the ground, streams of thick, sticky blood flowing out from her body. She cried and stretched out her hands to him, begging, “Save my child, please save my child.”
The blood seemed to come alive, flowing quickly to his feet, trapping him in a pool of blood.
“You killed my child, you killed my child!” After getting no response, Concubine Yuan rushed towards him with a grievance, “You murderer!”
“No, I’m not.” He tried to run away, but his feet were nailed to the blood. “I’m not a murderer.”
“I’m not!”
After a scream, Shen Qingzhuo suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently, like a fish about to die of thirst, desperately in need of fresh air.
“Master?” The youth sleeping beside him woke up and quickly crawled over to touch him, shouting anxiously, “Master, what’s wrong with you? Is your wound hurting? Don’t be afraid, I’ll call the imperial physician right away!”
“No.” Shen Qingzhuo calmed his breath and replied, “Master was just… just had a nightmare.”
Xiao Shen finally felt relieved. He got out of bed, poured a glass of water, and brought it to the bedside. “Master, drink some tea slowly.”
Shen Qingzhuo sat up, took the teacup, and took a sip.
Xiao Shen went to light the lamp again, and the hall suddenly became bright. He turned his eyes to the bed, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
His master was leaning against the head of the bed, his long black hair cascading down like a waterfall, contrasting with his snow-white undergarment, a beauty that was breathtaking.
There was a flush on his beautiful face, and his expression still contained the panic of waking up from a nightmare. Crystal clear beads of sweat wet a few strands of hair on his forehead, which stuck wetly to the sides of his face, making him look more fragile and pitiful.
The pair of slender, jade-like hands held the teacup, with a small part of the white wrist exposed. The wrist bones were slightly protruding, slender, and delicate, as if they could be broken with a little force.
Xiao Shen had never seen his master like this before. For a moment, he seemed to be possessed. He couldn’t help but let his eyes fall on that beautiful wrist. He always felt that it was empty, as if something was missing.
“I’m fine.” Shen Qingzhuo gradually recovered, and his tone returned to calm. “Sorry for disturbing you. Go back to sleep.”
Xiao Shen swallowed unconsciously, and the unfamiliar heat in his body quickly spread up again, but he couldn’t find the source, so he could only turn around in place anxiously.
Shen Qingzhuo was confused: “Xiao Qi, what’s wrong with you?”
“I…” Xiao Shen stopped but did not dare to go back to bed. Instead, he kneeled beside the bed and rested his head on his master’s legs through the quilt.
Shen Qingzhuo raised his hand and stroked the top of his head and asked softly, “Why, did I scare you?”
After dinner, his little disciple was worried about him sleeping alone, so he acted like a spoiled child and stayed behind. Unexpectedly, it actually worked.
Nothing makes people feel more at ease than waking up from a nightmare and finding a youth beside them protecting them.
“Master.” Xiao Shen rubbed his head against the palm of his master’s hand and suddenly called out in a muffled voice.
Shen Qingzhuo: “En?”
“The Beizhen Fushi, is this what you want?” The youth’s gloomy eyes fell into the void and asked in a low voice, “Or, is this just the beginning?”
Shen Qingzhuo paused and smiled faintly: “You are right, this is just the beginning.”
Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. There is still an assassin in the imperial prison of the Beizhen Fushi waiting for him to pry his mouth open.
Since he’s already awake, let’s go do something.
The author has something to say:
The Little Wolf Cub: Master, your wrists are very thin, suitable for using a chain…
