As soon as Wen Chan returned to the palace, Ah Fu greeted him, “Your Highness, why didn’t you return to the palace at noon? This slave was worried to death.”
He took off his robe and said, “I think it’s too much trouble to go back and forth. So I had a meal at Liang Mansion today.”
“Then Your Highness will not come back in the future?” Ah Fu took the robe, changed hands to hand it to the waiting palace maid, and made a gesture on the way to let the eunuchs go get dinner.
“I think so.” Wen Chan said slowly, “But it’s hard not to bother Lord Liang all the time.”
“Your Highness, what are you talking about? If you go to Liang Mansion for dinner, Liang Mansion should be very honoured.” Ah Fu flattered him like every day.
Sitting in the hall, the heater burned for a while, and the entire hall filled with hot air. Wen Chan took a sip of hot tea and sighed comfortably, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Ah Fu curled his lips, and just when he was about to say a few more words, he listened to Wen Chan say, “Bring Hua Hua over.”
He walked over a few steps and brought the birdcage of the parrot over, “Your Highness, this bird is very stupid. This slave has been teaching for a whole day, but it still can’t learn anything.”
“Even teaching a child to speak takes a lot of effort, let alone teaching a bird.” Wen Chan poked the bird’s feathers with his fingers. “You should be patient.”
But as he was speaking, the bird suddenly opened its mouth.
“Your Ninth Royal Highness, have a good day. Your Ninth Royal Highness, have a good day— —”
Wen Chan remembered that this was what Liang Yanbei had taught it before, and couldn’t help laughing, “Is this all you know?”
The bird’s eyes were black and bright, and they turned left and right. But it suddenly lowered its voice, and it became hoarse, “Your Ninth Royal Highness, be careful tonight.”
Wen Chan’s eyelids jumped in shock, and he asked in astonishment, “What did you say?”
Ah Fu was also frightened, and he stared at Wen Chan blankly, “Your Highness, what happened to you?”
“It just spoke. Did you hear it?” His eyes widened, and he pointed to the bird in disbelief.
“I heard……” Ah Fu said, “But wasn’t it that sentence that Young Master Liang taught it before?”
“Not that sentence.” Wen Chan said, “It spoke after that too!”
“No.” Ah Fu said in confusion, “Why didn’t this slave hear it?”
Wen Chan looked at the bird in the cage in horror and examined it carefully from head to tail. But he could not find any clues. It used its mouth to preen its feathers and shook its wings, looking completely normal.
But he was able to hear it clearly. If it wasn’t the bird, then could it be that there was someone else hidden in that hall?
Wen Chan didn’t keep any secret guards inside his palace. All the secret guards were hidden around the palace, including Qin Qi and Shu Hua.
Seeing him looking around, Ah Fu was also a little scared, “Your Highness, don’t scare this slave. This slave is very timid.”
“No one else has entered my palace hall, right?” Wen Chan asked worriedly.
“This slave had been guarding the palace hall all day today, and even half a fly didn’t enter.” Ah Fu put the bird cage aside and then said, “Speaking of which, this slave forgot to report one more thing.”
“Earlier, the empress of Xuexia Palace sent someone to borrow Qin Qi and Shu Hua, saying that she wanted to take the eleventh princess to Yanxiang Temple to worship Buddha.”
“Which empress of Xuexia Palace? Why is she concerned about my people when she is going to worship Buddha?” Wen Chan frowned slightly.
“Concubine Mei has been unwaveringly favoured by the emperor since she gave birth to the eleventh princess five years ago. Now whatever she says goes in the harem.” Ah Fu whispered.
“When will they be back?” Wen Chan thought for a while, but he didn’t have much of an impression of this person.
“They will just stay for one night and be back tomorrow.”
“You go and find out how she keeps a watch on my place.” Wen Chan tapped his fingers on the table for a little while, “By the way, send the secret guards in the palace to Yanxiang Temple. If Qin Qi and Shu Hua run into any danger, provide support immediately.”
He couldn’t figure out the objective of the concubine of Xuexia Palace for the time being. So he could only ensure the safety of Qin Qi and Shu Hua for now.
Ah Fu looked disapproving, “Everyone has been transferred away; who will protect His Highness?”
“It’s just for one night. It won’t be a problem.”
“But……”
“Then transfer half.” Wen Chan didn’t want to listen to his nagging, “Hurry up and do it. If it’s too late, Qin Qi and Shu Hua might be in danger.”
Although Ah Fu still felt that it was not appropriate, he was still close to Qin Qi and Shu Hua after all. When he heard that the two might be in danger, he did not dare to delay any longer and hurried to do what Wen Chan had asked.
The more Wen Chan looked at it, the more he felt that the parrot was weird. And finally, he asked Ah Fu to take the bird out of the main residence.
After dinner, a strong wind suddenly blew up, and the people in the hall hurriedly took the things in the courtyard into the room.
Wen Chan stood in front of the window, watching the lanterns hanging under the eaves sway from side to side, and exhorted, “It’s windy at night, and I’m afraid there will be a thunderstorm coming. So close the doors and windows tightly.”
Ah Fu stood behind him, “Your Highness, the hot water for bathing is ready. It’s windy here. So don’t catch a cold.”
He nodded, washed up quickly, wrapped himself in a fluffy robe, and got into the bed, with his entire body shrank into the quilt and only his head exposed.
Ah Fu thought he was cold when he saw this and said, “Your Highness, why don’t this slave add you a bed warmer1
too?”
“No, I don’t need it yet.” Wen Chan felt that he was not so weak and refused firmly.
Ah Fu said no more, turned on the night light, and walked out of the bedroom with slow and light footsteps.
The moment he closed the door, a thunderous thunder exploded in the sky, and Ah Fu shook in shock. He then turned and looked at the sky, muttering, “There has been no thunderstorm in the capital for a long time. The people were actually living comfortably during this autumn.”
This thunderstorm came suddenly, and the guards in the palace also became a lot more relaxed. They wanted to get into bed early in the cold wind and get a comfortable sleep.
It was unknown if it was due to this thunder, but Wen Chan was repeatedly panicking in his heart, and he didn’t sleep well. So the moment he felt the touch on his left ankle, he woke up immediately.
A chain seemed to be tightening there, and although it was not obvious, Wen Chan could clearly feel it.
He frowned slightly and immediately opened his eyes. At this moment, a huge lightning flashed through the sky, and the entire earth that was shrouded in night seemed as bright as day.
Wen Chan was sleeping on his right side, and with shock, he suddenly saw, under the white light, a figure holding a blade reflected on the surface of the wall on the inner side of the bed!
At this moment, his heart suddenly stopped, and before any more emotions could surge out, he rolled onto the inner side of the bed in panic almost instinctively.
The light brought by the lightning was fleeting, and then the entire hall was in darkness as the night lamp was either burned out or deliberately extinguished.
As soon as Wen Chan’s body halted, there was a soft “bang!” sound, and the bed trembled slightly.
The assassin didn’t expect Wen Chan to wake up at the critical moment. So she rushed onto the bed while brandishing the blade fiercely.
Wen Chan continued to roll until he reached the side connected to the feet. He then spared no effort lifting the quilt he was holding, jumped out of bed like a fly, and started running barefoot. And at the same time, he shouted at the top of his voice, “Help! There’s an assassin——!”
In any case, it was the place where he had always lived. Even if his eyes were blackened, it was still quite easy for him to find the palace hall’s door. But he ran too fast and accidentally knocked his forehead on the palace door.
The collision made him dizzy, and his eyes blurred. But before he could rub it, he tripped over a body under his feet. Wen Chan immediately fell down the flight of steps and rolled on the ground a few times. But he hastily stood up.
His forehead and buttocks were hurting badly.
He stood in the courtyard, only to find that there was no light in the entire Xiyang Palace, and the deathly silence was terrifying.
No wonder there was no response even when he shouted at the top of his lungs like that just then. In all likelihood, he was afraid there were no living people in the palace. Wen Chan was so frightened that he felt as if his liver and gall bladder were being torn apart2overwhelm by grief or terror.
But the assassin didn’t give him time to be shocked at all. She chased him out of the palace gate, jumped into the courtyard, and rushed up again with a knife.
Wen Chan was with not an inch of steel3unarmed and defenseless and had no alternative but to deal with it with both hands.
In his previous life, he followed Liang Yanbei to learn the footwork of the Liang family, and his martial arts were not weak. If he were in the past, this assassin would not have threatened him at all.
However, Wen Chan’s body after rebirth was not like it was in his previous life. Although he had exercised in this life too, the time was too short, so the effect was not great.
While evading the attack with his instinctive awareness, he gathered his palm and slapped the assassin on the chest.
Perhaps the assassin underestimated her enemy, as the slap actually hit her. However, the internal force in the palm was very weak, and he just pushed her back a few steps with all his strength. After a pause, she swung her knife and struck.
The blade slashed across Wen Chan’s shoulder, dragging a long line. Blood gushed out of it immediately, and his entire left shoulder became sticky. The tip of the blade touched the side of the neck and oozed a few drops.
Wen Chan felt that the assassin was a rather fierce woman. He knew that he would suffer a loss if he fought hard, so he turned around and ran away.
He didn’t go to the main gate but ran to the flower bed on the left, knowing that even if his head was made of iron, he would not be able to knock open the door with his head.
He stepped on the flower bed, used his rudimentary qinggong to cross the palace wall, and came out. When he landed, he staggered a few steps and almost fell.
The assassin was in hot pursuit behind him. Wen Chan covered the wound on his left shoulder, and took quick steps. Even if he was barefoot, he ran very fast.
After leaving the gate of the palace, there was a long palace road. Lanterns were lit on both sides of the palace road. At first glance, there was no one. So Wen Chan shouted, “Someone come— —! Someone come— —!”
The sound echoed along the palace road, forming layers of echoes. And accompanied by the muffled thunder, it was very terrifying.
But although he shouted like this, he still didn’t see any of the patrolling people coming. He ran hard while getting angry in his heart.
Where did all these night watchmen go die?!
Perhaps because of his strong desire to survive, Wen Chan’s speed made the assassin unable to catch up for a while. But this sudden burst of intense exercise did not last long.
Before he ran out of the palace road, Wen Chan felt his legs go aching and tired, and there was a tearing-like pain in his chest, as if it were about to explode in the next moment. His panting became thicker and thicker, until both his eyes became dizzy and he had to slow down.
He had reached his limit.
Wen Chan couldn’t even feel the pain in his shoulder anymore, and as soon as he inhaled, there was severe pain in his lungs.
When he stopped, his legs kept trembling, and the only strength left could only support him to stand. If he took one more step, he would immediately fall to the ground.
The assassin in the back saw that he couldn’t run anymore and slowed down. She flipped the knife in his hand lightly and pointed the blade forward.
Wen Chan turned around, tried to suppress the dizziness, and panted, “I…… I am such a waste…… How can I be worth it for you to specially come to kill me……”
He never expected that someone would send people to assassinate him now. Without thinking, Wen Chan was sure that it was the Zhong family.
He was originally wary, but he didn’t expect that the Zhong family had already placed their men in his palace. One of his carelessnesses tonight became so fatal!
The assassin said nothing but approached Wen Chan step by step. Only her eyes were exposed, and they were cold and ruthless.
He stared into the assassin’s eyes closely, unable to think of anything to stop the assassin. He was very scared. His lips opened, and two weak words sounded along with a clap of thunder.
“Someone help……”
As soon as the thunder sounded, the assassin jumped up on the spot, holding the knife high, and stabbed at the top of Wen Chan’s head.
His eyes widened in horror, watching the blade get closer and closer to him, but he didn’t have much strength to dodge.
At the moment when Wen Chan was in despair, a snow-white figure fell from the sky, and the red silk on the edge of their sleeve drew a beautiful arc.
The assassin never thought that someone would suddenly appear at this critical moment. She released her strength mid-air, turned over, and rolled aside to use her strength to stand up.
As soon as she stood still, a piece of black fabric fell at her feet.
The assassin’s face changed, and she recognised that it was the black cloth that was masking her face. She was so shocked that if she had continued to move forward instead of releasing the strength and retreating, it would have been her head that fell to the ground and rolled!
The assassin’s whole body was tense, and she turned her gaze to the man in white in front of her. But before her gaze touched the face of the visitor, she felt a pain in her neck. Her eyes suddenly darkened, and she lost consciousness.
Wen Chan was too familiar with this person. He recognised him just by looking at the back of his figure. In the night, his black pupils reflected a touch of golden light, and then a warm liquid splashed on his face. When he looked closely, the person who was chasing him to kill him had fallen to the ground.
The head that was covered with a black cloth made a bend in the air and fell heavily to the ground. It rolled a few times before stopping. Half of her face was facing Wen Chan with bloodshot eyes.
Wen Chan breathed a sigh of relief, but his limbs were still tense, and he stood stiffly.
“Liang……” As soon as he called out, the person in front of him turned around.
The handsome face was still familiar, but those eyes were pure gold at this time.
The colour was brighter and more beautiful than any lamp, and there was no temperature in it.
During that blow just now, he stood so close, but his white robe was not stained with a single drop of blood. The cold wind blew, lifting his sleeves and clothes and also swirling up his long hair.
“Yanbei.” The remaining two characters4宴北 came out, and Wen Chan stared straight ahead, without a moment of fear.
Those pair of golden eyes made Liang Yanbei pretty, flirtatious, and even more noble. And it made him feel him to be both familiar and unfamiliar.
As soon as his voice fell, a smile suddenly appeared in Liang Yanbei’s calm and waveless eyes. And the young man in white clothes and golden eyes suddenly became lively. And as if responding to Wen Chan, he tilted his head and said softly, “Wen Chan.”
Wen Chan’s heart jumped.
This call instantly knocked down all of Wen Chan’s strength. He moved his left foot and stepped back slightly. With just this little movement, his legs felt sore and collapsed, and he fell backwards.
As soon as he leaned back, an external force wrapped around his waist. And in the next moment, he was pulled into a strong and warm embrace. His temperature was too different from that of Wen Chan’s body, and it instantly surrounded him.
As soon as he raised his eyes, the golden eyes that were just then still a few steps away were close at hand, and the hot breath from his nose wiped across his cheeks.
“Wen Chan.” His voice was inexplicably charming, slow, low, and deep. He lowered his eyes to look at the blood-stained shoulder, “You are injured.”
Wen Chan looked at him blankly and didn’t respond. Being so close, his smell almost confirmed that the person in front of him was Liang Yanbei.
But those fine eyes……
On seeing that he didn’t respond, Liang Yanbei was not angry. The smile in his eyes was light and faint. He raised the thumb of his other hand to gently wipe away some of the blood that had just splashed on his face and asked, “Does it hurt?”
“I……”
As soon as Wen Chan said a word, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed Wen Chan’s lips without saying anything. At the same time, his other arm added some strength and hugged Wen Chan closer to his body.
Wen Chan’s body stiffened, his eyes widened in shock, and his breathing became rapid. His sight was full of Liang Yanbei’s long and dense eyelashes as he lowered his eyes, and his heartbeat beat frantically, even more violently than when he fled for his life.
He subconsciously wanted to reach out and push.
Liang Yanbei gripped his wrist as if he had anticipated it, then pushed his five fingers apart with his fingers, slid into the gap, and kept their five fingers together. The warmth was transmitted to his palm.
He kissed very earnestly, and the strength from his lips was even a little domineering. The tip of his tongue opened his lips, and marched straight in unchallenged. It wandered and lingered, leaving Wen Chan with no room for resistance or rejection.
However, what was strange was that Wen Chan, who had just experienced a suffocating-like escape, did not feel the slightest bit of discomfort even though his breathing was blocked by Liang Yanbei. Even the feeling of severe pain in his chest when he breathed disappeared.
Liang Yanbei let go before his face flushed with suffocation. He sighed comfortably and gently pressed his forehead against his, the breath exhaled by the two of them intertwined.
“Liang Yanbei……” Wen Chan was exhausted of all his energy and called out weakly.
“Hmm.” He replied lazily and rubbed their intertwined fingers slightly. He then raised his head, leaned his head on his shoulder, and whispered, “Go to sleep. It will be fine after a good sleep.”
After speaking, Wen Chan really felt tired and drowsy. He leaned his whole body on Liang Yanbei and slowly closed his eyes.
He slept surprisingly well in the second half of the night, and Wen Chan sat up in shock the moment his consciousness returned.
At this time, the sky was already bright, and sunlight came in through the window, illuminating the palace hall.
Wen Chan looked at the bed in front of him, blanked out for a moment, and hurriedly lifted the quilt and took off the clothes on his left shoulder. That area was still as white as before, without any scars.
He glanced around twice, then suddenly got up and turned around to look. Sure enough, he saw a small finger-length blade on the originally intact bed, piercing through the cotton-padded brocade sheet.
It was not a dream! It was not a dream!
“Ah Fu!” He suddenly raised his voice and shouted.
Translator’s corner
Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.
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