IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Whispering Sweet Nothings, All Sticky and Mushy, Darling, Darling…

An Tan came out of the Wood Shed in a daze, feeling that everything was very dreamlike.

Prince An and the Emperor had reached an agreement: fake his death and leave the palace, never to return to the Capital City. From now on, there would be no Prince An, nor Princess An. Soon after, the Second Young Master of the Ministry of Works would also “die of illness,” and then they would retire to the mountains and forests, living peaceful lives.

An Tan was a smart man, and knew that a fake death like this couldn’t be achieved without the new Emperor’s authorization. He was just surprised that the new Emperor, who was usually ruthless, was so soft-hearted on this matter, actually choosing to give Prince An a way out.

But what the new Emperor did was his own business. An Tan’s duty was to keep an eye on Lin Yan.

Lin Yan had picked up Prince An, so the person he had to monitor naturally changed from one to two. The task ahead would probably be even more arduous. He had to be even more careful; although these two seemed kind, it wasn’t impossible that they harbored rebellious thoughts and were plotting something in secret.

An Tan took on all the close-quarters servant duties himself, carefully monitoring the two. After not even two days, he discovered…

It was purely his overthinking. These two whispered sweet nothings every day, all sticky and mushy, darling, darling… It made his teeth ache just watching them. He didn’t see even a hint of rebellion in them.

Lin Yan was only slightly angry to begin with. He raised the matter high, but put it down gently. The so-called punishment was sleeping in separate rooms, and even then, they had a heated kang.

Wu’s Residence was quickly tidied up. As soon as Lin Yan moved in, he found an excuse of having a headache and, disliking that Golden Tangerine and Silver Apricot were too young, had Yun Qi move to the main hall to live with him.

Yun Qi hugged his lumpy quilt and carefully slept in the outer room, nervously feeding Lin Yan medicine, truly acting like a servant.

Lin Yan found it amusing at first, but after two days, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Yun Qi was already withering into a mushroom in the corner. A wilted mushroom was too pitiful. Wu’s Residence had a big, cold bed, so he might as well let the mushroom come and warm the bed.

Finally relieved, Yun Qi felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Before falling asleep, he kept his distance from Lin Yan, but by the middle of the night, that distance gradually shrank, getting closer and closer.

It wasn’t that Yun Qi was taking advantage of Lin Yan’s favor, it was just that Lin Yan was a restless sleeper.

This was the best sleep Yun Qi had had in a while, so good that he was still sound asleep even after Lin Yan woke up.

Lin Yan opened his eyes, looked at Yun Qi who was close at hand, and couldn’t help reaching out to touch him.

There was no turning back, but if things could continue like this, it wouldn’t be bad either.

Lin Yan knew himself. He had already fallen in love with Yun Qi. He had never minded the things Yun Qi had done, only that Yun Qi refused to tell him the truth. Now that they had talked things out, there was nothing standing in their way. It was time to take things a step further.

When Yun Qi opened his eyes, he realized that he was holding Lin Yan very tightly. He panicked and wanted to let go, but met Lin Yan’s smiling eyes.

While Lin Yan and Yun Qi were as thick as honey, their relationship progressing by leaps and bounds, the Provincial Administration Commissioner was busy trying to save his position.

Distributing the grain was extremely complicated, and sending Prince An back to the Capital City couldn’t be neglected either.

The candidates for the return journey had to be carefully screened: they had to be clever and loyal, able to smooth things over, and not run off with the silver he was using for bribes.

After looking around, the Provincial Administration Commissioner decided to make the trip himself, never stopping. So, he didn’t pay attention when Lin Yan went to the hot spring resort in the suburbs.

The Minister of Works might come to pick up the person at any time. Now that the situation had improved, this playboy would naturally cut loose, indulging in whatever pleasures and extravagances he wanted; it was all very normal.

The temperature outside the city was lower than in the city; the snow hadn’t melted yet, and the silver-clad scenery was like a fairyland. Changning was different from the Capital City. The hot spring resort was fresh and pleasant, which would be a popular spot in modern times.

Lin Yan sent An Tan away and used his cellphone to take many photos: of the snow, the buildings, the birds in the trees, the squirrels in the mountains. Then, he dragged Yun Qi over for hundreds of selfies, compressing the Beautiful pictures Xiu Xiu offline data to clear up space.

Once the cellphone’s battery was drained by the cold, Lin Yan clamored for tea by the stove, wanting to embrace elegance and write poetry, play chess.

A gust of wind blew past, and several pieces of snow rustled down from the Eave. A small red clay stove warmed pine needles and snow water.

Yun Qi was like a peacock in full display, skillfully showing Lin Yan his tea-making skills.

When the shrimp eyes boil, add acacia seeds; when the crab eyes boil, add plum blossoms; when the fish eyes boil, add honey…

Lin Yan patiently sat on the futon for fifteen minutes, then suddenly slammed the teacup on the low table: “Xiao Qi, this tea is boring.”

The Biluochun tea in the celadon cup was spilled on the snowy ground, instantly freezing into pieces of ice flowers.

Yun Qi’s hand holding the bamboo tongs paused, and when he looked up, he met Lin Yan’s sly eyes. The scar on Lin Yan’s forehead was still pink, but he was still full of energy.

“Be careful not to bump it again.” Yun Qi took off his cloak and draped it over Lin Yan’s shoulders, his fingertips brushing against the snow on his temples.

Lin Yan suddenly grabbed the jade belt hook around his waist and pulled him into the courtyard: “I want to build a snowman!”

Yun Qi agreed, turning around to extinguish the fire on the stove.

Lin Yan hummed a strange tune, piling snow into a strange shape, two branches for arms, a carrot for a nose, three small stones for buttons…

A strange-looking little thing.

Just as Yun Qi was about to speak, Lin Yan turned to the back of the snowman, waved the snowman’s arms, and said in a delicate voice: “Hello ヽ(^0^)ノ, my name is Snow Treasure~”

A strange name.

Yun Qi raised his eyebrows and joined Lin Yan in his antics: “Hello, Snow Treasure.”

“Nice to meet you. I have a very important question that needs you to answer?”

Hearing Lin Yan say this, Yun Qi instantly tensed up.

What was Older Brother going to ask? Something very important… Was Older Brother going to use this snowman to express his feelings for me? Or…

Lin Yan cleared his throat and asked that important question, pretending to be profound: “Can you sing ‘Let It Go’?”

The sudden turn nearly made Yun Qi lose his balance. He shook his head in confusion, and then he and Lin Yan burst out laughing at the same time.

Although it was childish, he liked Lin Yan like this.

Lin Yan hummed the tune of “Let It Go,” gradually approaching Yun Qi. The soles of his boots crunched softly on the thin snow. As the chorus rose, Lin Yan transformed into a nimble ferret, darting to Yun Qi’s side and stuffing a handful of snow down the back of his neck.

Yun Qi jumped up on the spot, shaking down a tree of icy blossoms.

Yun Qi grabbed a handful of snow and reached out to catch him, but a snowball hit him squarely on the shoulder. Lin Yan had already retreated three meters away and was bending over, gathering fresh snow.

The snowball Yun Qi threw grazed Lin Yan’s ear, hitting a small pit in the soft snow behind him.

“Take this!” Lin Yan wasn’t about to give up this opportunity. Dried leaves covered in snow water fluttered down as he raised his hand, and a real snowball came flying from the other side.

Yun Qi stepped on a frozen pine cone while dodging, stumbling and falling into the snowdrift. Lin Yan pointed at Yun Qi, who had rolled into a ball, and laughed so hard he couldn’t straighten up. His laughter was scattered by the pouncing figure, turning into joyful exclamations.

After failing to break free, Lin Yan started to play dirty, accusing Yun Qi of “violence” and claiming that he wanted to engage in some elegant mental activities.

A warm stove was lit in the pavilion, and a Go board was placed on the tea table. Who can use black and white to enter the mystery, understanding the full circle only after a thousand life-and-death situations.

Indeed very elegant.

“I’ll explain the rules.” Lin Yan cleared his throat, picked up a white stone. “Black goes first, then white, five in a row wins.”

Yun Qi, who was studying Go techniques, was stunned, and finally realized which school of rules this was.

The classic little game of Gomoku.

Lin Yan pushed the black obsidian stone jar over, picked up a white stone himself, and placed it first: “I go first, I’ll allow you to take back three moves.”

Lin Yan was smug after winning one game, and then he was repeatedly crushed by Yun Qi, who gradually understood the rules.

“I’m not playing!” Lin Yan threw the chess pieces at Yun Qi in exasperation, puffing up like a pufferfish that had just been hauled out of the river.

Yun Qi caught the white jade chess piece Lin Yan threw at him, and when he brought it to Lin Yan’s eyes, it had turned into a dried plum.

Lin Yan bit into it, his lips touching Yun Qi’s fingers. The icy cold feeling flashed past, quickly completely covered by the sweet and sour flavor of the candied plum.

Yun Qi rubbed his fingers, his ear tips suspiciously red. He murmured in a low voice: “Will Older Brother always be with me like this?”

“Yes.” Lin Yan swallowed the plum and picked up a new one. “I don’t have anywhere else to go anyway. What’s this about only being able to go home if I extend the Great Zhou’s lifespan? Such a vague pie in the sky, only the system could think of it.”

Extend the Great Zhou’s lifespan…

Thinking of Changning’s current situation, Yun Qi’s eyes flickered slightly.

He wanted to speak but hesitated, hesitating again, and finally asked the question: “What if it’s really possible?”

Lin Yan didn’t think much of it: “Then I’ll take you back with me. Our place is so much fun.”

Yun Qi nodded, didn’t continue to press the question, and instead forced out a very strained smile.

He didn’t want Older Brother to have to choose between going home and staying with him.

That place was so good, he didn’t dare to hope for it, nor would he force Older Brother to stay here for him.

He should be content with such brief happiness.

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