WMSG Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Do you want to go home?

Ye Yueshen lost sleep for half the night due to worry, and didn’t wake up until late the next morning. He sat up somewhat blankly, looking at the dark cyan bed curtains and the deep-colored auspicious cloud patterned carved wooden bed around him, and rubbed his eyes.

“Awake?”

Ye Yueshen turned to look at him. His initially blank consciousness and emotions took a sharp turn, and he looked at him for a while in a very bad mood.

Gong Xunwu was tall and sat down silently by the bed, his expression revealing an imposing air even without anger.

Different from yesterday’s vigilance and negligible meanness, Ye Yueshen today refused to say anything, dressing as if completing a task. He shuffled his shoes and walked around the room, stopping in front of a wardrobe. He opened the door and stepped one foot onto the bottom board, paused for a moment, then withdrew his foot and sat down casually on a nearby chair as if nothing had happened.

Gong Xunwu quietly watched his bizarre series of actions before walking to the door and opening it. He turned back to him and said, “The door is here.”

Then he walked out first. Ye Yueshen covered his face and did some mental preparation before going out. The outer door was open, and Gong Xunwu’s voice came from outside: “Who put the flower on you?”

“Master put it on this lowly one,” a gentle voice replied.

Ye Yueshen stood in the main room for a while, hearing Gong Xunwu say again: “You come in and serve the person inside to wash up. Can you do it?”

“This lowly one can do it! This lowly one serves master the best!” The voice grew closer, and as the last word fell, a fair and delicate boy walked in, looking about the same age as Ye Yueshen.

Ye Yueshen looked at him, and he looked at Ye Yueshen. Both were amazed by the other’s face.

However, Ye Yueshen’s temperament was aloof and indifferent, clearly noble, while the other was somewhat timid and ingratiating, making it clear that his situation and status were not good.

“I… oh no, not… this lowly one is here to help gongzi wash up.” The boy moved forward and made a gesture of invitation.

Ye Yueshen nodded and followed him to the bathroom. The boy wandered around inside in a panic, and said very fearfully: “Please forgive gongzi, this lowly one is confused. Who takes a bath at this time? Please gongzi sit in the main room, and this lowly one will fetch water to wash gongzi’s face.”

Ye Yueshen looked at the bucket beside him, “It’s okay, I can wash here. No need to trouble you to carry it all the way over.”

The boy hurriedly went to fetch water, and because he was anxious, he plunged the ladle to the bottom. Ye Yueshen walked over. The water tank was placed in the corner, and the two of them stood on one side, very close.

Ye Yueshen reached out, and the boy turned around in panic and took a step back, almost falling into the water tank. Ye Yueshen reached out in time and grabbed him.

Ye Yueshen’s demeanor was unhurried, every movement elegant and beautiful, his expression both awe-inspiring and distant, his temperament like a celestial being descending to earth.

The boy lowered his head, feeling somewhat inferior. Ye Yueshen saw his hesitant appearance, felt a little pity, and softened his voice to ask him, “What’s your name?”

“I… this lowly one is called Ruoya.” The boy glanced at him nervously again, and quickly lowered his head.

“Ruoya, a very nice name.” Ye Yueshen rolled up his wet sleeves a little, gave him a slight smile, but because he had nothing to be happy about in his previous life, his smile was not very sincere.

Ruoya was about to be dazed by his detached smile, staring blankly at him.

“There’s no one else here.” Ye Yueshen said, “It doesn’t matter what you call yourself. When I’m being stupid, I even call myself ‘I’ in front of the Emperor.”

Ruoya laughed, but quickly stopped, fetched a basin of water for Ye Yueshen to wash his face. Ye Yueshen didn’t use the wet towel he offered, but bent over the basin and splashed two handfuls of water, quickly washed his face, and wiped it dry with a towel from the side.

Ruoya didn’t help at all, and stood beside him with some disappointment.

A few strands of Ye Yueshen’s hair were wet and stuck to his cheeks, his skin was tender, and he looked at Ruoya with clear eyes like spring water, asking him, “The flower in your hair is very pretty.”

“Ah…” Ruoya took off the jasmine flower in his hair with embarrassment. Not knowing what he was thinking in his heart, he asked Ye Yueshen somewhat abruptly, “Aren’t you curious who I am?”

Ye Yueshen paused for a moment, looked back at him with a slight doubt, and shook his head, answering, “Not really.”

Ruoya nodded thoughtfully. His expression was innocent and simple, and his thoughtful look was not cunning, but rather silly and dull.

Coming out of the bathroom, Gong Xunwu stood at the door, first saying to Ruoya, “You don’t need to serve here anymore.”

“Oh…” Ruoya passed by him, remembered something, and stepped back to salute him. Then, he grinned at Ye Yueshen, revealing a silly and somewhat ingratiating smile, and quickly left.

From Ye Yueshen’s perspective, he could see him hopping down the steps outside the door with his feet together, making him appear somewhat unrestrained.

Gong Xunwu withdrew his gaze from where Ruoya disappeared outside the door, and looked at Ye Yueshen as if waiting for something. Seeing that Ye Yueshen was simply confused by his gaze, he frowned slightly, and his eyelids flickered quickly, as if disappointed by something.

“Your clothes are wet, change them.” Gong Xunwu didn’t seem to be asking if he needed to change, but his tone was firm and matter-of-fact.

Gong Xunwu had people find clothes for him, not just one piece but many pieces. Several people stood in a row with the shoulders of the clothes spread out. Gong Xunwu took the light blue one, told everyone to leave, and personally helped Ye Yueshen change his clothes.

Ye Yueshen also thought about refusing his assistance, after all, changing clothes was not a difficult task. He had been dressing himself since he could remember.

But Gong Xunwu didn’t agree. After changing his clothes, Gong Xunwu made him sit on a soft chair and personally tied up his hair, also commenting, “I didn’t say it yesterday, but your hair is still a mess.”

In fact, Ye Yueshen had improved a lot, but he had no experience in taking care of long hair. When he combed the left side, the right side loosened, and when he combed the right side, the left side loosened. Tying up his hair, something that was easy for people here to do, had become a difficult choice for Ye Yueshen, like choosing between ‘fish and bear’s paw’.

“I think it’s tied up pretty well,” Ye Yueshen argued.

Gong Xunwu ignored him and put a light blue jade hairpin on his hair.

He told Ye Yueshen to stand up, looked at him for a while, and rummaged in the box, but he didn’t take anything from inside. Instead, he took off the jade pendant from his waist. The jade pendant was entirely jade green with excellent water content.

He hung the jade pendant on Ye Yueshen’s waist, and then looked up at Ye Yueshen’s face, his eyes much more peaceful, as if he was very satisfied with the beauty he had personally dressed up.

Ye Yueshen was uninterested and didn’t care what he wore or put on.

After getting dressed, they had “breakfast” together. Ye Yueshen drank half a bowl of porridge and ate half a bun.

A servant came over and whispered a few words in Gong Xunwu’s ear. Gong Xunwu, as before, didn’t respond, but glanced at Ye Yueshen while drinking water.

The servant had already walked to the door as if he had been instructed. Ye Yueshen suddenly understood this subtle communication that excluded him.

“Someone from my family is here to pick me up, right?” Ye Yueshen asked Gong Xunwu, his tone unconsciously happy.

Gong Xunwu didn’t deny it, so Ye Yueshen stood up: “Someone came to pick me up yesterday, right?”

Gong Xunwu still didn’t answer, but asked him: “Do you want to go home?”

“Of course, I do,” Ye Yueshen was already angry.

“Indeed, of course, you do.” Gong Xunwu seemed to be savoring his words. After a moment, he nodded to the servant. He stood up and didn’t say another word to Ye Yueshen, leaving on his own.

The servant led Ye Yueshen out. Sure enough, a carriage from the Ye family was outside the gate. Ye Lingshen was waiting at the door, leaning against a stone lion and chatting with a servant of the Qi Wang Manor. He straightened up to greet him.

Ye Yueshen suppressed the grievance in his heart and smiled at Ye Lingshen: “Second brother, you’ve come to pick me up.”

“Get in the carriage first.” Ye Lingshen’s expression was somewhat serious. After Ye Yueshen got into the carriage, he said a few words to the servant who sent Ye Yueshen out.

Ye Yueshen felt drowsy again in the carriage. When Ye Lingshen got into the carriage, he perked up. He had many things to say and ask, but Ye Lingshen’s attitude towards him was lukewarm, only perfunctorily humming a few times.

Ye Yueshen deflated. He wasn’t a thick-skinned person to begin with, and he didn’t have the confidence to remain calm and composed in the face of others’ neglect. If someone gave him a slightly cold face, he would wonder if they had lost the patience to humor him.

Being fawned over was still a fantasy a month ago. He lowered his head and looked at his clothes. These gorgeous and expensive things didn’t belong to him at all, but were just a dream that came inexplicably. He picked up this bargain, and naturally paid the price. So far, he didn’t know if it was a profit or a loss.

Back at the Ye residence, the servant from Ye Yuanshen’s courtyard was waiting at the door. He immediately went back to report the news when he saw them.

Ye Lingshen pulled Ye Yueshen’s wrist and walked very quickly, not going back to Ye Yueshen’s courtyard, but to his own.

After entering the door, Ye Lingshen told everyone to leave. After the door was closed, he used an irresistible force to turn Ye Yueshen’s shoulders, and reached out to untie Ye Yueshen’s belt.

“What are you doing?” Ye Yueshen covered his neckline. He could smell the strong smell of alcohol emanating from Ye Lingshen, but Ye Lingshen’s words and deeds were very normal at the Qi Wang Manor just now, and he didn’t seem drunk at all.

Ye Yueshen pushed him, his voice already a little tearful: “What’s wrong?”

Ye Lingshen took a deep breath, stripped off Ye Yueshen’s clothes, looked at him from the front, and then turned him over to check the back.

Ye Yueshen had given up struggling, his eyes red, tears welling up in his eyes but not falling.

Ye Lingshen breathed another deep sigh of relief, and put Ye Yueshen’s clothes back on without saying a word, carefully fastening his belt. Both of them were speechless for a moment.

Footsteps approached outside. Ye Yuanshen pushed open the door. He carried righteousness with him. He first called out “Xiao Yue,” then walked over and took Ye Yueshen’s hand and squeezed it. With worry and suppressed anger in his eyes, he asked: “Why are you about to cry? Tell your brother, what exactly happened?”

Ye Yueshen opened his mouth, but was choked by the sobs in his throat, so he turned his head away without saying a word.

Ye Yuanshen had no choice but to look at Ye Lingshen. Ye Lingshen was also looking at him, saying nothing, but slowly shaking his head.

Only then did Ye Yuanshen breathe a sigh of relief. His tone was much better, and he put his arm around Ye Yueshen and sat him on a soft chair, gently pressing the skin under Ye Yueshen’s eyes with his fingertips, and two big tears fell.

“Why are you crying? Did Qi Wang scare you?” Ye Yuanshen had the state of mind to sit down beside him. Although Gong Xunwu didn’t necessarily let him pick him up, he knew he couldn’t disobey, but he still couldn’t help but go to pick him up last night when the rain was the heaviest. As a result, he couldn’t even knock on the door.

He was sure that someone in the gatehouse heard the knock and reported it to Gong Xunwu, but Gong Xunwu pretended not to hear because of the sound of the rain, and he was not qualified to care about it.

He waited from last night until this morning, and caught Ye Lingshen, who came back drunk in the early morning. He forced him to take advantage of his drunkenness to pick up people, but Ye Lingshen was the kind of sober person who would only stagger when drunk, but his brain wouldn’t be confused. He looked at his elder brother with a smile but not a smile and said nothing, as if asking: Are you making your second brother touch Qi Wang’s bad luck for the sake of your third brother?

Ye Yuanshen had no choice but to give up, return to his room and sit bitterly for half a day, and then grit his teeth and go to find Ye Lingshen again. At that time, Ye Lingshen had already poured half a glass of wine on himself, and splashed the remaining half on himself to add to the smell of alcohol. When he saw him coming, he just hummed and laughed.