WMSG Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Zhe Rong, You’ve Come

The three words he was pondering repeatedly in his heart were suddenly uttered lightly by the Virtuous Consort. The words “fragrant tent warmth” struck Ye Yueshen like a bolt of lightning. His whole body was numb and weak as he sat there. Although he didn’t move, he felt like he had fainted.

A pair of hands gently rested on Ye Yueshen’s shoulders. He turned his head sharply, and Gong Xuyin was smiling at him. He didn’t ask why he had reacted so strongly, but gently patted his shoulders twice as a form of comfort.

Ye Yueshen calmed down, “You scared me.” He really wanted to say something jokingly to make himself look less surprised, but his thoughts were in a mess.

Gong Xuyin sat down next to him. The Virtuous Consort didn’t notice anything wrong with him. She continued to exchange pleasantries for a while, then pretended to invite them to dine, actually reminding them that it was time to leave.

Ye Yueshen politely declined and left the Virtuous Consort’s palace with Gong Xuyin.

They walked along the road as usual. Ye Yueshen chatted with him casually, “I haven’t seen the Prisoner Cow Painting yet, but I’m shy and didn’t dare to say it. You forgot too, right?”

Gong Xuyin smiled, turned to look at him, and asked softly, “Who are you looking for?”

…

Living here after transmigrating made Ye Yueshen have the illusion that he had adapted. Gong Xuyin’s words brought out his myriad discomforts again.

These monsters who grew up in the palace were far too intelligent. Ye Yueshen’s small actions couldn’t be hidden from him at all.

Ye Yueshen guiltily recalled the scene when Gong Xuyin came to see him during his confinement, wondering if he had really managed to win over Gong Xuyin, whose heart was like Bigan’s, with his sincerity.

“What are you talking about?” Ye Yueshen pretended to be stupid.

Gong Xuyin’s eyes shifted slightly, whether consciously or deliberately showing that he understood everything. He smiled and said, “Forget it, forget it, it’s nothing.”

Ye Yueshen’s scalp tingled. If he really didn’t want to make things difficult for him, he could have not asked him “Who are you looking for?” It was clearly intentional to make him suspicious.

“So he’s testing me,” Ye Yueshen said with a smile that wasn’t a smile, turning his gaze away from him and walking forward quietly.

When the Virtuous Consort used “fragrant tent warmth,” and Gong Xuyin’s birth mother was also from the Miao tribe, every piece of evidence pointed to Gong Xuyin, Ye Yueshen began to question the evidence.

If Gong Xuyin wanted to kill him, even if he wanted to avoid suspicion, why hadn’t he encountered even one attack on the way back from You Su Workshop, but instead in the hunting grounds?

Wouldn’t it be easier to do it on the road? It had nothing to do with You Su Workshop, and he knew his whereabouts perfectly.

Walking through the shaded path of the garden, Ye Yueshen was pushed into a small pavilion next to him. Gong Xuyin pressed his shoulders, his back against the wall. Their posture could be described as playful, or it could be described as ambiguous.

“Are you angry?” Gong Xuyin asked him with a smile, his face not showing a trace of guilt at being caught. Otherwise, Ye Yueshen would have thought that he was revealing the truth and then silencing him, so that he would die knowing why.

That’s how suspense dramas are played.

Ye Yueshen turned his head and snorted coldly, pretending to be stubborn, “Why would I be angry?”

“You’re so spoiled…” Gong Xuyin chuckled, affectionately pinching his face, “Your aunt and cousins have spoiled you rotten. It’s clearly you who suspected me, I just said it out loud, and you’re unhappy.”

Ye Yueshen simply followed his lead and threw a tantrum, “I’m just unhappy.”

“Then tell me why you’re unhappy?” Gong Xuyin curled his index finger and caressed his cheek, “If you want to know something, just ask me directly, why go around in circles? How can I be happy?”

“What about you?” Ye Yueshen retorted, “If you’re angry, then scold me. Why do you have to beat around the bush and test me? You’re no better than me, how can I be happy?”

His face was too unfairly beautiful, any harsh words he said lost half their impact, making him seem like a kitten waving its paws.

Gong Xuyin wasn’t angry at all, but instead felt a sensation of his heart racing and his skin tingling. He unconsciously moved closer to Ye Yueshen, murmuring, “Unbelievable…” as if surrendering.

Ye Yueshen was originally focused on pretending to be angry, lowering his eyelashes and ignoring him. Feeling the increasing pressure on his chest, he looked up at Gong Xuyin in confusion, and was startled by the light in his eyes.

He had seen this kind of gaze in Gong Xunwu’s eyes.

“You’re squeezing me,” Ye Yueshen reached out to push his shoulder.

Gong Xuyin hesitated for a moment, then stepped back and let him go. The two avoided each other’s gaze in the small pavilion. Ye Yueshen looked at the missing part of the mother-of-pearl pattern on the wall, while Gong Xuyin sat on the stone stool, propped his elbow on the stone table, and stared blankly into space, his hand supporting half of his face.

After a long time, when Ye Yueshen felt his legs were a little numb, he suddenly heard Gong Xuyin speak, “Did Imperial Uncle force you?”

Ye Yueshen’s mind buzzed, turning from a loud noise to an abnormal silence. He suddenly stuttered a little, “No, he didn’t.”

“So you were willing?” Gong Xuyin tilted his head and looked at him, his gaze scrutinizing, “You admire Imperial Uncle? I don’t believe it.”

Ye Yueshen didn’t know what to say at all. In any case, he felt that he couldn’t complain to Gong Xuyin. According to his understanding of the original book, it was difficult for him to be truly without any grudges towards Gong Xuyin.

Gong Xuyin suddenly chuckled, “Between us, you don’t have to feel embarrassed. You can’t disobey Imperial Uncle, and neither can I. Not remembering is even more humiliating.”

“Why does it have to be like this…” Ye Yueshen lowered his head, truly not knowing what to say, without any pretense.

“If…” Gong Xuyin blinked, “If Imperial Uncle ever rejects you, whether it’s in a year or ten years, come find me.”

“What are you saying…” Ye Yueshen pretended not to understand. He felt that he should be ashamed and angry at this moment, but he was wrapped in confusion, his mind blank.

Ye Yueshen pinched the skin on the back of his hand with his fingernails, feeling that his most important task right now was whether he dared to risk going back with Gong Xuyin. What if Gong Xuyin was really the one who wanted to kill him? Now it was likely that he would first… then kill him.

He now wanted to leave the palace a little, “Your Highness, I…”

“Let’s go back for dinner,” Gong Xuyin said as if nothing had just happened, and didn’t mention the words he had just said impulsively.

Gong Xuyin smiled, “You didn’t want to go home, at least you didn’t lie to me about that.”

Ye Yueshen: “…”

The two were walking back when Gong Xuyin suddenly turned his head and asked him with a smile, “Why are you looking around?”

“I’m not,” Ye Yueshen leaned his head back, escaping his palm.

“Young Master Yue!”

Ye Yueshen turned his head upon hearing the sound. His movements were indescribably light, as if he had finally found a chance to breathe, his face full of relief.

Liu Qingying approached quickly, first bowing to Gong Xuyin. Gong Xuyin didn’t move at all, his gaze always on Ye Yueshen.

Fortunately, Liu Qingying didn’t notice. He looked at Ye Yueshen, “Young Master Yue, it’s getting late, I’m about to leave the palace. When will Young Master Yue leave the palace?”

Ye Yueshen was about to speak when Gong Xuyin suddenly withdrew his gaze, waved his hand at him, and said, “You can go. I’ll come see you another day.”

Gong Xuyin left without hesitation, making Ye Yueshen think of Gong Xunwu, who always insisted on him staying or coming to his side.

He felt a little more guilt towards Gong Xuyin, not realizing that this was exactly Gong Xuyin’s intention.

Seeing that Gong Xuyin had left, Liu Qingying’s face became more lively, “Zhe Rong, it’s been a long time. My mother pickled and dried rabbit meat, it’s salty and delicious. I like to eat it when I have nothing to do, I don’t know if you like it.”

Ye Yueshen remembered the spiced beef jerky his Chinese teacher bought him when he got first place, and said with a little curiosity, “Is it easy to chew?”

“Not very easy to chew,” Liu Qingying said a little embarrassed.

“That’s great,” Ye Yueshen smiled at him, “I like things that aren’t easy to chew.”

Hearing this, Liu Qingying also smiled, “Let’s go quickly, it’s really getting late.”

The two walked towards the palace gate together. Ye Yueshen wasn’t very familiar with the intricate routes of the palace, but Liu Qingying was often in the palace.

His status allowed him to stay in the palace for a long time, and to enter and leave the palace freely during appropriate times. In the original book, there were often cannon fodder characters who mocked him as Gong Shengyin’s servant, and Gong Shengyin wouldn’t defend him.

Before they reached the palace gate, Gong Shengyin caught up and intercepted them. He said to Liu Qingying, “Weren’t you staying in the palace today?”

The surprise in Liu Qingying’s eyes was almost uncontrollable. He spoke a little awkwardly, “Little, I already told you that I was leaving the palace today…”

“You clearly said you were staying in the palace today,” Gong Shengyin said with certainty, his eyes brooking no argument. After speaking, he looked at Ye Yueshen, his eyes suddenly becoming gentle, “Zhe Rong, you’ve come.”

The surprise in Liu Qingying’s eyes turned to disappointment, and he looked at Ye Yueshen with a complicated expression.

Ye Yueshen felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He said “Mm” to Gong Shengyin and then looked at Liu Qingying, “Are you still leaving the palace today? If you’re staying in the palace, I’ll leave first, it’s getting late and I can’t delay.”

Liu Qingying hesitated briefly, then seemed to make up his mind, “I’m leaving.”

“Okay,” Ye Yueshen bowed to Gong Shengyin, “Your Highness, then…”

Gong Shengyin looked at Liu Qingying with extremely cold eyes, his tone full of suppression, “Are you really leaving the palace?”

Unsurprisingly, Liu Qingying hesitated again. Ye Yueshen suspected that there should be a fateful connection between the male lead gong and the male lead shou.

“Stay,” Gong Shengyin’s purpose was obvious, “Zhe Rong, you’re right, it’s getting late, the palace gates are already closed. Go to my palace and stay for the night.”

Gong Shengyin was wearing a black outer robe with dark blue embroidered edges. From the fabric to the workmanship, it was the most high-end Ye Yueshen had ever seen. The hairpin was also as green as winter pine needles.

Associating it with the plot points in the original book, Gong Shengyin’s current status and position were completely different, very glorious.

However, he was anxiously waiting for Ye Yueshen’s answer.

“Okay,” Ye Yueshen smiled, saying calmly, “I’m embarrassed to be bothering you for a night. I hope Your Highness will allow me to stay with Qingying. Qingying and I are friends.”

Liu Qingying immediately agreed, “Okay, if Zhe…” Gong Shengyin sent a glare over, and Liu Qingying immediately changed his words, “If Young Master Yue doesn’t mind…”

Ye Yueshen moved closer to him, standing almost shoulder to shoulder opposite Gong Shengyin, quietly waiting for his answer.

Gong Shengyin’s cheek muscles twitched slightly, “Okay.”

There were very few attendants in Gong Shengyin’s palace, which was in line with the description in the original book, because since he was a child, he could only get the prince’s share, unlike other princes who had rewards beyond their share, filling the palace with attendants and eunuchs.

After gaining the Emperor’s attention and several rewards, he didn’t use palace servants to decorate his status, still cautiously using his trusted confidants.

Those valuable objects and rewards were also stored in the treasury, not placed too much on the surface, making it look spacious and empty at a glance.

“Father Emperor said he would grant me a manor before the new year,” Gong Shengyin couldn’t wait to invite, “I will have to ask Zhe Rong to grace it with his presence then.”

Ye Yueshen’s scalp tingled, “I’m afraid.”

Gong Shengyin beckoned for the attendants to serve the dishes. He personally led Ye Yueshen to take a seat. Someone came in and called Liu Qingying away, seemingly to ask about something. Liu Qingying went with him.

As soon as the person left, the attendant beside Gong Shengyin went to close the door. Ye Yueshen asked vigilantly, “Why are you closing the door? Qingying hasn’t come back yet.”

Gong Shengyin began to serve the soup, looking up at Ye Yueshen with a slight bow of his head, an angle that made his eyebrows and eyes look sinister.

Ye Yueshen seemed to see the scene of him dominating in the book.

Gong Shengyin placed the soup beside Ye Yueshen, his voice very soft but without any gentleness.

“He won’t be back,” he simply stopped pretending.

Ye Yueshen wasn’t surprised, but instead felt that it was just as he expected. From the moment he agreed to stay, he had already prepared himself mentally.