The carriage sat quietly in the dark alley behind Qingyue House.
Jinbao poured tea for the two of them before immediately retreating outside the carriage. Duan Shisi leaped onto the roof of Qingyue House, waiting for the signal from inside.
Xue Yan pushed a teacup in front of Jun Huailang and looked up at him.
Jun Huailang was sitting quietly inside the carriage. He said nothing, simply gazing out the window, seemingly lost in thought.
So Xue Yan spoke first.
“How was it?”
He was referring to what had happened tonight—the scheme to lure Xu Cong’an into buying the top courtesan.
He had begun preparing for this the moment he had determined Xu Cong’an’s identity and learned of his relationship with Guo Rongwen. He had planned everything meticulously, even sending Duan Shisi running back and forth for days, before finally laying out the entire trap. Tonight was when they would close the net.
Everything that had happened tonight had been under his control and had proceeded exactly according to his plans, without the slightest mistake.
Now that everything had settled, he found himself itching a little.
After doing so much, he naturally wanted to hear Jun Huailang praise him.
In the past, whenever he accomplished something, he had always been too lazy to mention it to anyone else, much less had any desire to show off.
His behavior had always been overly mature for his age. Yet now, with Jun Huailang by his side, those childish instincts were beginning to sprout instead.
He wanted to hear Jun Huailang praise him, like a child who had done something impressive and was going to ask for candy as a reward.
He had held himself back for quite some time before finally asking in such a restrained manner.
But Jun Huailang beside him was still immersed in a sense of self-reproach.
He had always been calm and self-controlled, and he understood reason exceptionally well. How could he have developed such an unreasonable emotion?
He clearly knew that Xue Yan had been baiting Xu Cong’an into taking the hook, yet he had still gotten irrationally jealous over it.
Jun Huailang could not help scolding himself inwardly.
Thus, he did not hear Xue Yan’s question at all. He continued staring fixedly out the window, lost in his thoughts.
Xue Yan waited for a while, but never received an answer.
For the first time, the taciturn child had reached out his hand, only to receive none of the candy he wanted.
Xue Yan paused, then asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Only then did Jun Huailang come back to himself.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about the embankment in the north of the city.”
He hurriedly offered the excuse, telling a lie to cover himself.
After all, there was absolutely no way he could admit that he had just been jealous.
The corners of Xue Yan’s lips, which had been faintly curling upward, slowly sank again.
Jun Huailang was quite sensitive and immediately sensed that Xue Yan was unhappy.
Whenever something displeased this man, he would always endure it rather than say so directly. Thus, now that Jun Huailang had come back to his senses, he did not ask him outright. Instead, he changed the subject.
“The auction for the top courtesan tonight—did you arrange it all beforehand?”
Xue Yan was surprisingly easy to placate.
Just moments ago, he had been unhappy because Jun Huailang had been distracted by other things. But now, hearing Jun Huailang take the initiative to ask about it, the tail of the big wolf could not help wagging a few times like a large dog.
He turned his gaze away and gave an apparently casual hum.
“Once I found out that he was the one who caused trouble at East Lake before, I knew this man was prone to causing trouble,” he said.
Jun Huailang nodded.
“The Xu family appears to have covered their tracks quite well, but they insisted on letting their young master wander around everywhere, and he even became connected with the informant they planted in Jinling. As long as we did a little something to this young master, getting both sides to reveal their flaws would be incredibly easy.”
Xue Yan let out a low laugh.
“You’re very clever,” he said.
The praise made the tips of Jun Huailang’s ears turn slightly red.
Xue Yan hid nothing from him. Now, he had even brought him along to watch tonight’s spectacle. All the causes and consequences of the scheme he had arranged had been laid bare before Jun Huailang, completely obvious.
What was there to call clever about that?
It was practically like he was coaxing a child.
Jun Huailang looked away.
Just then, a knock sounded against the carriage from outside.
Xue Yan knew that Duan Shisi had returned.
He put away the smile on his face, lifted the brocade curtain, and reached out the window to take a box.
“The weight is wrong,” Duan Shisi said from outside.
The voice of a boy going through puberty was not particularly pleasant, resembling the cry of an owl lurking in the night.
Xue Yan hummed in acknowledgment.
He, too, could tell that the weight was off. But he knew that the madam of this brothel was both honest and clever, and would not cause trouble for him at a time like this.
He opened the box directly.
On the very top was a neatly folded IOU. Beneath the IOU was a thick stack of silver notes.
There were so many of them that they weighed the box down heavily.
“What did she put in here?”
Jun Huailang leaned over and saw what was inside the box.
“This…?”
He was somewhat puzzled.
Xue Yan frowned.
“I didn’t tell her to give me the money.”
What a nuisance. He had said he only wanted the written evidence, so why had she taken matters into her own hands?
The business he had conducted at this brothel was important. He had given her some extra money as a hush payment so that they could settle everything cleanly and save himself the trouble.
Xue Yan did not understand human sentiment, so naturally he could not understand why the madam had refused to keep even the hush money he had given her and instead returned it all.
But Jun Huailang understood at a glance why the madam of this brothel had silently given the money to Xue Yan.
Although she was a woman of the pleasure quarters, she possessed a sense of integrity and righteousness that even few men could match.
Seeing Xue Yan frown, he smiled.
“This woman is quite extraordinary.”
Xue Yan looked up at him in confusion.
Jun Huailang said, “Since she has already helped you carry out this matter, even if only for the sake of protecting herself, she would never reveal what happened. So naturally, she has no ill intentions in giving you this money.”
Xue Yan asked, “Then what does she mean by it?”
Jun Huailang smiled softly.
“Obviously, Jinling has suffered a disaster, and the government is short of funds. She probably guessed your identity, so she wants to hand the money over to you.”
Xue Yan thought to himself: Oh. So she’s donating to me.
Naturally, he had no interest in taking money from a courtesan. He only felt that she was making things unnecessarily complicated.
But when he lowered his eyes toward Jun Huailang, he saw a warm and gentle light shining in his eyes.
It seemed that he admired that woman quite a lot.
Xue Yan felt a little sour.
How could this person fit so many things into his heart?
Every day, he was either thinking about the embankment in the north of the city or thinking about some completely unrelated madam.
It was as though he had stuffed the entire city of Jinling into his heart. Xue Yan had no idea which corner he had been squeezed into by all this miscellaneous clutter.
Even so, he still wanted all those miscellaneous things to remain safe from disaster, so that Jun Huailang would not be unhappy.
However, having learned from his first experience, Xue Yan had no intention of asking for candy afterward this time when he did a good deed.
“Then I can’t take her money for nothing,” Xue Yan said. “If the Xu family falls, they’ll certainly come seeking revenge before they go down. And that woman today—if Xu Cong’an takes her as a concubine, when the entire family is executed, she won’t be able to escape either.”
Sure enough, worry appeared on Jun Huailang’s face.
“Then what should we do?”
Xue Yan thought to himself: Why should I care what happens to them? If you weren’t here today, would I care whether they lived or died?
He certainly did not have that much free time to worry about everyone’s life or death.
But things were different now.
Xue Yan curved the corner of his lips, revealing a rather roguish, shameless smile in the darkness.
“You promise me one thing, and I’ll send people to protect them,” he said.
——
Jun Huailang had never expected that the condition Xue Yan wanted him to agree to in exchange for those people’s lives would be so ridiculous.
It was nothing more than agreeing to let Xue Yan accompany him while he repaired the embankment.
At present, the affairs in the city were being handled by Prefect Shen and Duke Yongning. Xue Yan had been busy these days simply because he needed to keep a close eye on Guo Rongwen and Xu Cong’an’s every move.
Now that his plan had succeeded, he was free again.
In theory, Jun Huailang naturally could not drive him away if he wanted to stay. Yet he insisted on playing this little trick and making Jun Huailang agree to let him come along.
Jun Huailang had no choice but to nod.
And so, from that day onward, the Guangling Prince’s carriage could be seen parked at the northern embankment every day, while brocade-uniformed guards dressed in black and gold flying-fish robes stood on strict guard around the construction site.
Everyone said that the Guangling Prince was cruel and ruthless. Now that he was personally supervising the restoration of the embankment, anyone who made even the slightest mistake would supposedly be thrown into prison and beheaded.
As a result, all the officials, great and small, at the construction site lived in fear and put in twelve times the effort. Even the progress of clearing blockages from the river had become two times faster over the past few days.
But what no one knew was that His Highness the Guangling Prince came to the river embankment every day simply to assist Young Master Jun, who was overseeing the repairs.
He brewed tea for him, delivered meals three times a day, and on top of that, he even ordered Young Master Jun to take a nap every day after lunch.
During that time, the task of supervising the repairs was personally taken over by the Guangling Prince.
Only then did Jun Huailang gradually realize that Xue Yan had made this request because he had noticed how exhausted Jun Huailang had been recently and had come specifically to watch over him and lessen his burden.
Jun Huailang felt that this man could be incredibly childish at times.
At the same time, however, he could not help being deeply moved. It was as though a warm current of water had flowed into his heart, wrapping his entire body in a gentle warmth.
All his life, even his father had taught him from childhood that it was only natural for a man to work for the people and the welfare of the world. Even sacrificing his life was something he ought to do. Spending merely some of his energy and mental strength was therefore hardly worth mentioning.
But Xue Yan insisted on worrying about him.
And he would not even say it aloud. He simply worked silently.
Jun Huailang could see every bit of it.
That night, as the people at the construction site began wrapping up the day’s work, Jun Huailang sat alone on the higher ground and became lost in thought.
He thought to himself:
If Xue Yan was this gentle and attentive toward someone he loved, how could he possibly have done such things in his previous life?
The Xue Yan described in the book seemed completely unfamiliar to him now, almost as though he were an entirely different person. He could hardly reconcile the two.
Ever since the day Jun Huailang discovered that note, he had felt this way.
The longer time passed, the clearer and more certain the feeling became, making him involuntarily begin to question the book—and even question fate itself.
Jun Huailang looked at the lanterns and crowds below the embankment, thinking to himself.
Although he could not figure out exactly what was going on, Xue Yan’s appearance and every word and action of his remained impossible to drive from his mind.
…Whenever he had a moment to rest, he could not help thinking about him.
As he thought and thought, drowsiness swept over Jun Huailang.
Even with Xue Yan’s help these past few days, the work of repairing the embankment was becoming increasingly demanding. He did not notice the fatigue while he was busy, but the moment he stopped, an intense exhaustion would surge up from within him.
Jun Huailang’s vision grew hazy. His head gradually drooped, and he began to doze.
Half dreaming and half awake, he did not notice that a deep, faint sandalwood fragrance was gradually drifting around him.
Someone sat down beside him and carefully steadied him, letting him lean against their shoulder.
Jun Huailang remained completely unaware. He only felt suddenly secure and at ease, so peaceful that he was about to sink into a deep sleep.
There had always been only one person who could give him that sense of peace.