The Minister of Works died suddenly, and the various matters concerning the river management had not yet gotten on track. With the person in charge dead, everything was thrown into confusion. Thus, Shu Changyu’s side had not had time to organize things carefully either. He hurriedly packed his luggage for two days and was about to set off.
“Jingchen will be staying in Huzhou Prefecture this time.” On the night before his departure, Madam Li of Muhuatiān was sorting out the things he needed to take, chatting with his eldest sister-in-law, Gu Lanrong. “Although Huzhou Prefecture isn’t cold in winter, it’s extremely damp, and Jingchen can’t stand that. Be sure to bring two more pairs of knee protectors and a cloak for him. Don’t let him develop some lingering illness.”
“Everything has been brought.” Gu Lanrong said. “These few sets will definitely be enough for Jingchen to use until New Year’s. When Jingchen comes back for New Year’s, we’ll bring the things for the following year.”
After saying this, she cautiously glanced at Shu Changyu.
Shu Changyu was simply sitting on a soft couch to one side, drinking tea. He had not said a single word to the two of them. He merely lowered his eyes, as though there were no other people in the room. Madam Li, however, did not find this strange at all and simply continued talking to herself, not paying the slightest attention to Shu Changyu’s abnormal attitude.
Gu Lanrong’s gaze moved back and forth between the two of them for a while, but she did not dare ask anything.
“These things should be enough.” Madam Li held the list and said, “Jingchen usually doesn’t bother with any miscellaneous matters at home. If he finds himself lacking clothes or daily necessities on the road, it’ll be troublesome.”
Shu Changyu sat to the side and did not respond.
Gu Lanrong hurriedly smoothed things over. “Jingchen must already be missing home before he’s even left, right?”
Only after her words had fallen silent for a moment did Shu Changyu belatedly raise his head. The forced smile on his face was too reluctant to bother concealing, and he simply nodded.
Madam Li paused.
“All right, he’s leaving tomorrow. Don’t stay here and disturb him.” Madam Li smiled as she handed the list in her hand to Gu Lanrong. “Nothing on this list is missing. You can go over everything with them again and see if there’s anything else lacking.”
Hearing this, Gu Lanrong took the list, agreed, and withdrew.
Afterward, only the two of them remained in the room again.
“His Highness the Second Prince came several times yesterday,” Madam Li said. “He was stopped every time. The last time, I sent Kongqing to stop him and had him say that this was your intention. He didn’t come again today.”
Shu Changyu did not make a sound, merely lowering his eyes and taking a sip of tea.
He knew that, according to Jing Mu’s usual temperament, such petty tricks would not be enough to stop him. Even if he could not enter through the main door, he would find a way to climb over the wall and sneak in. He would not give up until he saw him.
But the words he had spoken yesterday had been too harsh. They had come so inexplicably that even someone as good-tempered as Jing Mu probably could not bear them.
Shu Changyu thought to himself that this was quite good. He had been forced to leave, and saying more would be useless. It was better this way. Leaving Jing Mu with the impression that he was a heartless man was better than letting Jing Mu recklessly do something foolish for his sake again.
Seeing him in this state, Madam Li could no longer bear to stay either. She had originally already made up her mind: short pain was better than long pain. She had to teach Shu Changyu enough of a lesson to make him completely give up.
But now, seeing him looking utterly despairing yet stubbornly suppressing it without letting it show, Madam Li truly could not bear it.
For an instant, she even wanted to let it all go and think, Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Let him make a foolish mistake and suffer the consequences himself. Then he would know what things should not be done.
But she did not dare.
Being in such a position, the losses one suffered were not necessarily merely lessons. The severity of the consequences was something no one could estimate, nor could anyone afford to bear.
“…Get some proper rest.” Madam Li left him with those words before turning around and walking away.
——
The next morning, Shu Changyu bade farewell to the Emperor and departed from the capital.
Emperor Qianning seemed to have finally removed a great burden from his heart and could finally sleep without worry. Thus, he was radiant and in exceptionally good spirits, even speaking a few more words with Shu Changyu. Shu Changyu listened absentmindedly and, in the end, exchanged a few auspicious phrases with him, such as “May Your Majesty enjoy ten thousand years of fortune and longevity.”
“I’ll borrow Third Young Master Shu’s auspicious words.” Emperor Qianning laughed loudly in response. Then he said, “Speaking of which, I’ve truly encountered something good recently.”
Without waiting for Shu Changyu to reply, Emperor Qianning continued with a beaming smile.
“Someone by my side found a half-immortal at Mount Zhongnan. It is said that in another few years, he will be able to ascend to immortality. That immortal said that I have divided my primordial yang among the fortunes of the state and scattered it throughout the four seas and eight directions, which is why my body is weak and I’m frequently ill. He has a method to strengthen my body and restore my health. I imagine that by the time Third Young Master Shu returns triumphantly after managing the rivers, I may be able to ride a horse a hundred li outside the city to welcome you.”
At this point, he laughed several times, looking immensely pleased with himself.
Shu Changyu frowned. He vaguely felt that this “half-immortal” was not a good person. But first, he was too lazy to care whether Emperor Qianning lived or died. Second, he himself had been reborn, and there were countless things in this world that could not be explained. Perhaps there truly were such “immortals” capable of turning the universe upside down.
Thus, he did not question him further. After offering a few words of congratulations, he took his leave.
It was not yet time for the morning court session, so the large open space before the palace gates was deserted, making it appear all the more solemn and imposing. There was only one carriage waiting there for him.
Shu Changyu stood at the palace gates, facing that vast, empty square, and stopped for a moment.
In his previous life, he had entered and exited this place countless times. He had long since become accustomed to the emptiness and solemnity of this square. Yet at this moment, he suddenly felt that it was a little too empty and cold.
Vaguely, he seemed to be waiting for someone.
He hoped that another person would appear in this solemn and orderly square.
But he did not wait for him.
Shu Changyu stood there for a while before belatedly realizing what he had been thinking. He froze for a moment, then gave a self-mocking curl of his lips. He crossed the empty space and boarded the carriage.
The guards, ceremonial escort, and luggage had long been waiting outside the city. The carriage carrying him traveled all the way outward and soon left the city.
Shu Changyu sat in the swaying carriage, looking at the scenery outside the window. For a moment, he felt somewhat dazed, as though everything that had happened over these days had been a dream.
Several times, he instinctively looked toward the right side of the carriage, but he did not see that person wearing the guard’s armor, with a corner of white gauze showing beneath his gloves.
Yes.
How could that person possibly have come along?
Once they left the city, the scenery outside became bleak and desolate. Shu Changyu simply lowered the carriage curtain and intended to close his eyes and sleep for a while.
But just then, the neighing of horses sounded outside. The carriage suddenly came to a violent stop.
Shu Changyu’s head bumped lightly against the carriage wall. Just as he opened his eyes, he heard hurried, flustered sounds coming from outside.
Before he could react, the carriage curtain was suddenly yanked open from outside, and glaring light immediately poured in.
Shu Changyu frowned and narrowed his eyes.
Then that person climbed into the carriage, swiftly dropped the curtain, and immediately pressed down hard on him, fiercely kissing his lips.
Shu Changyu opened his eyes, and his gaze met Jing Mu’s fierce expression.
In that instant, Shu Changyu read an overwhelming sorrow and a determination to stake his life in those eyes.
There were so many people outside the carriage that Shu Changyu did not dare struggle. But he did not know whether it was because he was willing deep down—he did not have even the slightest thought of struggling.
He simply opened his eyes and looked at him, allowing him to vent his emotions through the rough, repeated kisses and bites upon his lips.
In this state, he really is still only a half-grown boy.
Shu Changyu thought to himself.
He remembered that in his previous life, when Jing Mu was in his twenties, he had already grown tall and resolute, with a dignified, cold, and stern appearance that seemed as though he had been born to command the universe.
At that time, he had even thought this boy was timid and weak, and that such a bearing was wasted on him.
Now it seemed that he had simply hidden it deeply.
He wondered what Jing Mu would look like the next time they met.
Shu Changyu kept his eyes open, as though he wanted to imprint Jing Mu’s entire appearance at this moment into his eyes and heart.
But his gaze was naturally cold. When he stared at someone without any emotion like this, his appearance became especially severe and chilling, enough to make one’s entire body feel cold.
Jing Mu, however, did not care in the slightest.
Like a little wolf cub that had gone feral, he stared straight into Shu Changyu’s eyes, kissing his lips fiercely, gripping his wrist tightly, and pinning him beneath himself.
For a moment, Shu Changyu even felt that the look in his eyes was truly heartbreaking.
He raised his hand and pushed Jing Mu, motioning for him to get up.
Jing Mu ignored him completely, silently entangling himself with him inside the carriage.
By the time the two separated, both were breathing heavily, their gazes intertwined.
“Why?” Jing Mu asked through clenched teeth in a low voice.
“I already told you that day.” Shu Changyu spoke softly, shifting his gaze away.
Unexpectedly, in the next moment, Jing Mu raised his hand and gripped his chin, forcibly turning his face and making him look at him.
“I don’t believe you,” Jing Mu said. “You didn’t tell me the truth.”
Shu Changyu said nothing.
“What turning back after losing your way? What getting carried away by success? Shu Changyu, don’t even think about deceiving me. You didn’t tell me the truth at all.”
Shu Changyu lowered his eyelashes.
“That’s exactly how it was.”
In response to those words, Jing Mu bit down hard on his lips.
“Say it again,” Jing Mu said in a low voice.
Shu Changyu paused.
The sensation of their limbs intertwined was far too familiar to him.
Although Jing Mu was young, his embrace had always been solid and warm. Every time Shu Changyu entered his arms, he felt as though he could no longer think properly, sinking deeper and deeper into them.
He gritted his teeth.
When he raised his eyes again, his gaze was already clear.
“Before, when we were in Zhili, I didn’t think things through.” Shu Changyu began slowly, his voice cold and steady. “I originally thought that I had already lived through one lifetime, and that in this lifetime, having you was enough. I didn’t need anything else. But after I returned to the capital, I felt restrained everywhere. I couldn’t even escape my mother’s restrictions.”
“Jing Mu, in my previous life, I was accustomed to holding the universe in my hands. In this life, I am even less willing to become duckweed floating upon the water.”
“Whatever my Shu Changyu wants, naturally I will fight for it myself. Now that I am in the Ministry of Works, doing small matters will give me no chance to rise. Only by going to manage the rivers can I rise quickly and return to that position.”
Only with such an explanation could his actions make sense.
But Jing Mu’s eyes were red as he stared at him.
“So you don’t want me anymore?”
His voice was heavy and gloomy, filled with boundless emotion. Yet at the end of his words, there was a faint tremble that was almost impossible to detect.
Shu Changyu deliberately turned his gaze away with an indifferent expression.
“We’ll talk about that later. I need to make myself comfortable first before I think about anything else.”
Jing Mu did not respond for a long time.
After a moment, Jing Mu fiercely kissed his lips.
“Shu Changyu, just you wait.”
As their lips and teeth touched, Shu Changyu heard Jing Mu say viciously, “Just you wait.”
He opened his eyes, only to see that the boy’s expression was more fragile and helpless than it had ever been.
Yet those eyes stubbornly glared at him, fierce to the extreme.
In the next instant, two lines of clear tears slid down from those eyes, disappearing into their pressed-together lips.
Author’s Note: Jing Mu: Gradually becoming fiercer _(:」∠)