Qiu Yutong was gathered tightly within Lu Xiao’s muscled arms*. This brat was a head taller than him now and his chest was broad. He had no choice but to look up with difficulty, placing his chin on the other’s shoulder before he was able to breathe with difficulty.
[T/N: The raws here state the arms that “bore fruits”.]
He wanted to forcefully push this evil disciple away, and ruthlessly reprimand him, but he could clearly feel that Lu Xiao’s grievances had reached an extreme level.
As if with just a slight push, he would break.
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a very long time before finally lifting his hands up slowly and gently touching Lu Xiao’s hair, “Xiao-er.”
With just this gentle touch, Lu Xiao’s tall and large body trembled violently for a moment.
He pursed his lips tightly as if he were doing his best to control himself to not do something that would overstep his boundaries; he only buried his face in Qiu Yutong’s messy pitch-black long hair, taking in an extremely greedy breath, “Shizun.”
“Forget it this time,” Qiu Yutong said stuffily, “Next time, you’re not allowed to deceive me, okay?”
Lu Xiao buried his face in his hair, saying hoarsely, “Never, never again.”
At this time, under the dark blue night sky, incomparably gorgeous golden fireworks were still blossoming, and the sounds of jubilation could be heard from far away.
On Dragon Gate street, it was a scene of disorder instead.
A circle of bystanders crowded around in confusion, whispering in curiosity while carefully pointing around, yet they didn’t dare to go too close, only staring at the empty space on the street. That extremely handsome young man was tightening embracing a bloodstained white-clothed youth, looking like they were in a very close relationship, acting as if they were in their own world.
After a moment, he only heard the clatter of horse hooves, coming closer from the other end of the street.
Qiu Yutong gently pushed Lu Xiao’s arm, “Let go, the authorities are here.”
Lu Xiao tensed his arms before he slowly endured releasing Qiu Yutong.
At the head of the long street, tens of soldiers on horses arrived. A few Jinwu guards flipped down from their horses, “Who committed this violent crime?!”
The masses pointed at Qiu Yutong in succession.
Officer Bai, who headed the guards was slightly disbelieving as he sized Qiu Yutong up, “Were you the one who killed these people?”
“Eh, this…” Qiu Yutong blinked, then looked down at himself. His entire white outfit was drenched and blood was still dripping noisily, the blame simply couldn’t be pushed onto anyone else.
Officer Bai looked at the eight corpses on the ground then glanced at Qiu Yutong and seemed to hesitate, “Is the murderer someone else? With your weak appearance, how could you kill these eight large men? If there are any secrets, you can speak freely, no need to be afraid.”
Weak? No need to be afraid?
Qiu Yutong immediately said, “I killed all these people. They were not my opponents.”
Lu Xiao, “…”
Officer Bai was stunned and then coughed lowly, “Since that is the case, arrest him!’
Four Jinwu guards immediately surrounded him and were about to act.
Lu Xiao took a step forward and shielded Qiu Yutong behind him, saying heavily, “Stop.”
Officer Bai frowned, “Audacious! Who are you, daring to resist arrest? This place is under the rule of the emperor!”
Qiu Yutong couldn’t help casting a sidelong glance at Lu Xiao. As it turned out, it was not only this shizun who could be so stifled, even the emperor would have times he would be so stifled, hehe.
Lu Xiao glanced at Qiu Yutong and seemed to guess what he was thinking. He helplessly shook his head, before taking a token from his waist, passing it to Officer Bai. “Do you understand this? If you can’t give it to your senior officer, you can give it to Commanding Officer Xu*.”
[T/N: The terms are giving me a headache. Officer Bai is termed 百户长 and Commanding Officer Xu is 许指挥使. If anyone has a better TL let me know; I can’t find an English equivalent.]
Officer Bai accepted the token and hesitated, before passing it to a person on the horse. Officer Luo, please take a look, what is this?“
“This is…” Officer Qian only had one look before he suddenly shouted and jumped off the horse, stammering, “Your, Your…”
Lu Xiao lifted his hand up slightly to stop him from continuing further. “There are too many people here. Don’t cause an uproar. Find a few people and clean up this place.”
Officer Qian shook with fear and said, “Yes.”
……
When Qiu Yutong and Lu Xiao had gone back to Jingxin Palace, it was already 1-3 am and Daning Palace was entirely silent.
Being tossed about for an entire day then relying on just that tiny bit of spiritual energy just now, forcefully killing eight assassins, Qiu Yutong was so tired, he couldn’t even keep his eyes open.
He forced himself to walk to the bed, carelessly pulling off his dirtied outer robe before falling head first onto it, so comfortable he sighed, “Oh.”
Lu Xiao carried over a basin of hot water and helped him wash his face and limbs.
Qiu Yutong said in a daze, “Stop it, you should also go to sleep.”
Lu Xiao hesitated, then took off his outer robe and sat on the bed, reaching out to embrace Qiu Yutong.
Qiu Yutong pushed him away and shook his head, “I’m already a lot better, you don’t have to do that. Go sleep next door.”
Before, when Lu Xiao hugged him to sleep, he felt extremely awkward, but because of his identity as a male pet, he couldn’t forcefully reject him. Since he had already revealed his identity today, he thus rejected him without hesitation.
“En,” Lu Xiao was silent for a while and without looking reluctant, gently tucked him in then silently left.
……
On the second day, Qiu Yutong was woken up by a fragrant smell.
This thing, was so fragrant… Oh, it seemed like the scent of osmanthus flowers?
He sniffed and dazedly opened his eyes, his eyes were drooping as he asked hazily, “Xiao-er?”
“Shizun,” Lu Xiao walked in with a food box in his hands.
Qiu Yutong’s stomach grumbled as he flipped around and crawled up; his eyes widened, “Osmanthus cakes?”
So early in the morning and he had osmanthus cakes to eat?
This was too good.
Lu Xiao smiled, “Shizun, wake up and eat breakfast.”
Qiu Yutong twisted out of bed, and casually wore an outer robe, sitting at the table, brimming with anticipation.
Lu Xiao placed a plate of osmanthus cakes,
five willow shredded chicken,
Pine mushroom and asparagus,
And two bowls of plain porridge before smiling, “When I woke up this morning, I suddenly remembered the past and couldn’t help making some dishes. Does Shizun want to try?”
Qiu Yutong silently gulped, and nonchalantly made a noise of acknowledgement, doing his best to maintain the image of a teacher.
Lu Xiao glanced at him and thoughtfully frowned, “But this osmanthus cake was also eaten in the morning, is it too much sweetness? Why not remove it?”
What?!
Qiu Yutong was anxious for a moment, but forcefully restrained his impulses as he said lightly, “Since it’s already been made, let’s not waste it.”
The corner of Lu Xiao’s lips raised slightly. Then, he picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and placed it in Qiu Yutong’s plate. “That’s right, Shizun mentioned it before, who knows of the amount of effort put into the food*.”
[T/N: Actually means who knows in the bowl of rice during meals, the amount of suffering just to harvest each grain of rice.]
“As long as you understand.” Qiu Yutong tried to pick up his cake with as much refinement as possible and took a small bite.
Today’s osmanthus cake was the kind Lu Xiao used to make in those years, using sweet fermented glutinous rice and salted osmanthus flowers. Not only was it sweet, sticky and soft, it also carried a slight alcoholic fragrance.
Right after eating a piece, Lu Xiao gave him another, “Eat slowly.”
Qiu Yutong ate bit by bit, feeling so moved that tears were about to fall. It wasn’t easy for him. After being reborn, he had only stolen one piece and he had nearly been caught!
Lu Xiao was silently watching him eat. His lips that were forever tense finally relaxed a little.
As the two of them were having breakfast, someone suddenly knocked lightly on the door. Zhang Defu said softly from outside, “Your Majesty, Commanding Officer Xu is asking for an audience.”
Lu Xiao’s hand trembled for a moment, Shizun, eat slowly, I’ll go out and settle some things first.”
“Go, you don’t need to bother about me,” Qiu Yutong nodded and wasn’t too bothered. This was just some boring political affairs.
Lu Xiao picked another piece of osmanthus cake for Qiu Yutong before standing up to go outside.
There was a soft noise from the door outside as if someone came in and a voice was muffled and hoarse. The voice had a specific military killing intent, “This subject Xu Changchun, greets Your Majesty.”
Xu Changchun? Wasn’t that the previous leader of imperial guards in the Yan mansion, looks like he was also promoted.
Qiu Yutong has opened his spiritual points, so his senses has all improved. Lu Xiao and Xu Changchun were talking in muffled voices outside, but he could still hear some of it.
Xu Changchun, “Your Majesty, everything has been settled.”
Lu Xiao asked softly, “Is there anything missing?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, in total, there were a hundred and thirty-five mouths in Prince Jin’s mansion, even the old, weak, female and young were not overlooked and have all been imprisoned.”
“How is Lu Yande?”
“He’s been shouting that he’s falsely accused, and even spoke a lot of disrespectful words. This subject has already ordered for him to be imprisoned in soliatary confinement in the water prison.”
“Falsely accused?” Lu Xiao seemed to laugh, “Last night those eight assassins, on every blade, there was Prince Jin mansion’s written phrase*, he still has the face to say he’s been falsely accused?”
[T/N: Basically, when the prince is bestowed a palace from the emperor, they will receive a plaque to go along with it that also contains words from the previous emperor.]
Qiu Yutong ate cake and couldn’t help having second thoughts.
To assassinate the Emperor, it was a capital offense that could cause the execution of the entire family. Prince Jin, no matter what, was a person who had experience in life, how could he be so neglectful? Actually carving Prince Jin Mansion’s written phrase upon the assassination weapons?
He also thought that immature brat, obviously knew that Lu Xiao harboured a grudge against him, and still sent such a “Young Master Xue Rong” into the palace. It could be seen that he wasn’t a smart person, typically careless while doing things.
North Sea Sword Sect’s Tu Wuwei’s brain is also filled with water, actually finding Prince Jin, such a blockhead, to find that tortoiseshell.
Ai, speaking of, what exactly that piece of tortoiseshell did, he still didn’t really understand… Zhangmen-Shixiong is experienced and knowledgeable, maybe he’ll know.
Thinking of Zhangmen-Shixiong, he would then think of North Snow City; Qiu Yutong couldn’t help being depressed.
Even though he managed to open his spiritual points today, he also got poisoned by a cold poison. The doctors in the mortal world are useless, and it would flare up frequently, it was extremely hard to endure.
Right, previously, he heard Xu Dongqing of the Medicine Monarch Manor say that his older brother, Xu Qiushi was going to hold a wedding banquet. San-Shixiong would probably go to the banquet to offer congratulations.
Medicine Monarch Manor is located in Bai province’s Hanya Ferry Crossing, only around three to four hundred kilometers away from the capital. If he rode a carriage, it would only take three to four days…
As Qiu Yutong was muttering to himself, Lu Xiao had already dispatched Xu Changchun, walking back into the bedroom.
“What is it? What are you thinking about?”
Qiu Yutong regained his senses and casually asked, “Have you captured Prince Jin? Your movements are pretty quick.”
“En,” Lu Xiao nodded, “It’s naturally better to do these kinds of things faster, in case he runs.”
Qiu Yutong was somewhat suspicious, “I heard you talking just now. This Prince Jin is very strange, actually carving his written words on the assassination weapons, isn’t this a straightforward confession?”
Lu Xiao’s expression was slightly uncomfortable before he smiled, “That’s right. Maybe he was confident in the success of this assassination, so he was so unbridled.”
Qiu Yutong thought it over and said, “There are a hundred and thirty-five mouths in Prince Jin’s mansion, how do you plan to deal with them?”
“Lu Yande will be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts. Males above twelve in the manor will be executed. The rest of the women and children will be exiled to the northern border mines.” Lu Xiao said lightly.
“So it’s like this,” Qiu Yutong nodded.
Even though it was a little cruel, the crime of assassinating the emperor usually resulted in the execution of the entire manor. Being able to let the women and children off, Lu Xiao was already very lenient.”
Lu Xiao sat by the table and picked up a strip of chicken for him, “Let’s not talk about these depressing things anymore, taste this. Right, later, I’ll bring Shizun to Jade Lotus Lake to row a boat, okay?”
Qiu Yutong didn’t reply. He muttered to himself for a moment before suddenly saying, “Xiao-er, I want to see Prince Jin.”
Lu Xiao frowned, “What did you see him do?”
Qiu Yutong continued, “This body has karma, I need to resolve it.”
Speaking till here, he said with slight embarrassment, “Xiao-er, I didn’t tell you previously, but actually I also don’t know exactly how I came back here. I thought that I had already ascended, but in a moment, I was back in the imperial palace, and five years had gone by.”
He paused then mumbled, “When I woke up, I was… in that cage.”
Lu Xiao smiled lightly but there was no smile in his eyes, “So that’s what happened. Sizun also didn’t know that he would still come back.”
Qiu Yutong blinked. Even though he was not very wise to the ways of the world, but he could still feel that Lu Xiao was very unhappy.
That’s right. This disciple always resented him, hated that he didn’t keep his word, not accompanying him for a lifetime.
Qiu Yutong thought it over and still tried to explain, “Xiao-er, previously I promised that I would always be with you. I ate my words. Previously, you resented me, that is expected. However, I didn’t expect that I would ascend so quickly. After I came back, I kept hiding from you and even thought of stealing Night Rain, that was all so I could go back to North Snow City…”
“Stop!” Lu Xiao rudely interrupted him.
Lu Xiao rarely interrupted him and Qiu Yutong couldn’t help but be stunned.
Lu Xiao forced a smile, appearing as if he didn’t want to speak about this anymore, “That’s not important. It’s fine as long as Shizun is back.”
Seeing that Lu Xiao didn’t continue investigating his embarrassing acting. Qiu Yutong silently heaved a relieved sigh. He shifted topics, “I possessed Xue Rong’s body so I must carry his karma. Prince Jin, Lu Yande, is his greatest karma, so I must go see Lu Yande once.”
“I understand,” Lu Xiao nodded, “I’ll arrange it immediately.”
He hesitated for a bit and continued, “Lu Yande suffered a shock today and became a little crazy. If he says anything, Shizun mustn’t believe him.”
Qiu Yutong nodded. “I know.”
