Since Xue Yan was setting off early the next morning, Jun Huailang refused to let him stay at his place any longer, no matter what.
“You have to ride a horse for the entire day tomorrow. Hurry up and go to sleep,” Jun Huailang urged him.
Xue Yan clung to him, unwilling to leave.
“…Once I leave this time, who knows how long I’ll be gone,” Xue Yan muttered.
Jun Huailang knew that Xue Yan would naturally be unable to return.
Whether the Xu family’s plans succeeded or failed, Xue Yan would no longer be able to leave Chang’an. If Emperor Qingping remained safe and well, he certainly wouldn’t let Xue Yan leave. If something really happened to Emperor Qingping, then Xue Yan would naturally be unable to leave either.
Both of them understood this perfectly. For a moment, neither spoke.
After a while, Xue Yan edged closer and wrapped his arms around Jun Huailang.
He held him silently for a while before asking, “Will you come see me off tomorrow?”
“I will. What time are you setting off tomorrow?”
Xue Yan paused, then said, “Forget it. You’d better not come. We’re leaving early tomorrow, so get some more sleep.”
After that, Xue Yan began giving him a seemingly endless stream of instructions.
He had never been a talkative person and disliked wasting words more than anything. Yet now, he seemed unable to stop, going through Jun Huailang’s everyday affairs one by one and telling him what to do.
Jun Huailang patiently agreed to everything.
At last, Xue Yan sighed.
“Leaving you here alone really makes me a little uneasy.”
Jun Huailang wanted to tease him and tell him that even before meeting Xue Yan, he had grown up perfectly well on his own. But when he met Xue Yan’s gaze, he found he could no longer bring himself to smile.
Those eyes were filled with longing and reluctance to part.
After a moment, Jun Huailang raised his head and kissed Xue Yan on the lips.
By the time it was late at night, Xue Yan finally returned to his own residence.
Before leaving, he even insisted that Jun Huailang put down his work and go back to bed as well.
Jun Huailang couldn’t argue with him, so he had no choice but to return to his bedroom.
As soon as he arrived, Fuyi was about to attend to his usual evening routine, helping Jun Huailang wash up and prepare for bed.
However, he noticed that something had been off about Jun Huailang ever since he returned.
Jun Huailang was unusually quiet. As soon as he entered the room, he sat down on the couch, silently pondering something that Fuyi couldn’t fathom.
Fuyi didn’t disturb him. He simply placed a cup of tea within reach.
As Fuyi set down the tea, Jun Huailang suddenly asked, “When will we return to Chang’an?”
Hearing this, Fuyi assumed that his young master was homesick.
“Please don’t be impatient, Young Master. I heard Master mention a couple of days ago that the autumn imperial examinations will take place in another two months. Once the examinations are over and Master has fulfilled His Majesty’s orders, the embankment should also be nearly finished. By then, perhaps you and Master will be able to return to Chang’an and spend the New Year there.”
Jun Huailang knew that this had been the original plan he and his father had made.
He looked out of the window.
“…That’s too long,” he sighed after a moment.
Fuyi was taken aback and said nothing more.
Jun Huailang knew that, according to their original arrangements, he would indeed return to the capital either at the end of this year or in early spring next year.
Previously, he hadn’t had anything weighing on his mind, so staying somewhere for another month or two made no difference to him.
But when he thought about going nearly half a year without seeing Xue Yan, his heart felt painfully constricted.
He knew that Xue Yan depended on him and couldn’t bear to be without him. He also had to admit that he, too, had come to depend on Xue Yan.
Love was a rather mysterious thing. It not only brought with it an intense possessiveness, but also bound two people tightly together. Once they were separated, the resulting pain felt like something was pulling them apart.
Jun Huailang knew that Xue Yan’s feelings were certainly no weaker than his own.
He paused and took a deep breath.
He told himself that he had spent so many years studying the words of the sages. Above all, he understood the duty to establish a moral foundation for the world and secure the lives of its people. Giving up his own selfish desires for their sake was only right and proper. The people of Jinling still needed him. He shouldn’t be so selfish…
But just then, he suddenly recalled the look in Xue Yan’s eyes earlier.
The look he had worn when speaking of Emperor Qingping.
The man sitting on the imperial throne was selfish, yet he had also deeply loved Xue Yan’s mother. All the injustice and suffering Xue Yan had endured, along with the attempts to make amends over the past year or so, had all stemmed from that one man.
Xue Yan’s eyes had held suppressed pain and hatred, along with a trace of bewilderment, as though he no longer knew what to do.
It was as if, after wandering in circles for so long, he remained utterly alone between heaven and earth. No one could help him. He still had to endure everything and force himself to appear indestructible, facing it all alone.
It clearly shouldn’t have been this way. He still had Jun Huailang.
The people of Jinling were now receiving supplies from the imperial court. With his father and Prefect Shen overseeing things, everything was steadily improving. The only thing they still needed Jun Huailang for was the embankment blueprint.
But Xue Yan was different.
He had only Jun Huailang left.
Jun Huailang’s gaze paused.
He had made his decision.
“Fuyi,” he called.
Fuyi immediately answered, “Young Master?”
Jun Huailang turned his gaze away from the window and looked up at Fuyi.
Fuyi froze.
Although his young master was looking at him quietly, he could see an unusual determination in his eyes.
“Go to the study and bring me the writing materials and the blueprints on my desk,” Jun Huailang said.
“Young Master, it’s already so late…”
“I’ll finish the blueprints tonight. Prefect Shen knows a little about water conservancy. Tomorrow, take the blueprints to him. If anything else needs to be revised, tell Prefect Shen and ask him to handle it.”
“Then what about you, Young Master…?”
Jun Huailang didn’t hesitate any longer.
“There’s an emergency in Chang’an,” he said. “I’m worried. I’ll return tomorrow.”
——
Fuyi naturally assumed that Jun Huailang was worried about the people of the Duke of Yongning’s household back in Chang’an.
So, after seeking Jun Huailang’s permission and bringing him the paper and writing materials, he went to the Duke of Yongning’s courtyard to report the matter.
Jun Huailang knew that there was no way around telling his father, so he agreed.
When the Duke of Yongning heard that great turmoil was about to erupt in Chang’an, he pieced together the events that had occurred in Jinling and figured out most of what was going on.
He knew that Jun Huailang wouldn’t be able to accomplish much by returning, but he was genuinely worried about his wife and the younger members of his family.
He was bound by the Emperor’s orders and naturally couldn’t simply leave whenever he wished. His eldest son, however, was now grown and had spent a long time gaining experience in Jinling. He was capable of handling affairs, and having him return to the family would put the Duke’s mind somewhat at ease.
He agreed without much hesitation.
“Tell Young Master to be careful in everything,” the Duke of Yongning said.
Fuyi promptly acknowledged the instruction.
After a pause, the Duke continued.
“Actually, never mind. I’ll personally go to the residence gate tomorrow morning to see him off and give him a few more instructions.”
——
Early the following morning, the dew had yet to evaporate.
The Imperial Guards were always extremely efficient. Before daylight, more than a hundred men and horses had already gathered outside the governor’s residence, quietly waiting for Xue Yan.
They had followed Xue Yan for years and knew that His Highness the Prince of Guangling always kept a regular schedule. They had therefore arrived early, according to the time Xue Yan usually got up.
However, today, when the time came for His Highness the Prince of Guangling to leave his residence as usual, they still hadn’t seen him.
Everyone kept their eyes lowered and sat quietly on their horses, assuming that some trivial matter had delayed His Highness.
And that was indeed the case.
Because His Highness the Prince of Guangling had encountered someone at the entrance to his own courtyard.
“…Why are you here?” Xue Yan asked in surprise when he saw Jun Huailang.
Then he quickly walked over and asked in a low voice, “Didn’t I tell you not to come see me off? You went to bed late yesterday, so why did you get up so early?”
He examined Jun Huailang carefully and, sure enough, noticed the faint dark circles beneath his eyes.
Xue Yan gritted his teeth in distress.
But when Jun Huailang heard him, he let out a soft laugh.
“I’m not here to see you off,” he said.
Xue Yan assumed he was simply talking back to him.
“Then what are you here for?” Xue Yan asked.
Jun Huailang blinked at him.
“Fuyi has already gone to Prefect Shen’s residence,” he said. “I finished drawing the blueprints last night. I’ll leave the remaining arrangements to Prefect Shen.”
But Xue Yan’s attention immediately went elsewhere.
“You finished them? How did you do it so quickly? Did you not sleep last night?”
He hadn’t spent the past few days accompanying Jun Huailang while he worked on the blueprints for nothing. He knew how quickly Jun Huailang usually progressed.
Jun Huailang asked instead, “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m handing over all my work?”
Xue Yan lowered his head to look at him.
Only then did he understand.
He stared fixedly at Jun Huailang, his eyes burning with emotion. For a long time, he couldn’t say a word.
“…What are you planning to do?” he finally asked slowly.
Jun Huailang knew that Xue Yan had guessed the answer but didn’t dare believe it.
“I’m going back with you,” he said. “There’s great turmoil in the capital, and I don’t want you to face it alone.”
Xue Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He knew how important the people of Jinling were to Jun Huailang.
But he had never known that, one day, he himself would weigh more heavily in Jun Huailang’s heart than all those people.
He stared at Jun Huailang, feeling as though he were in a daze.
In that daze, all he wanted was to kiss him.
Just then, Jinbao came running over, leading Xue Yan’s horse. As he approached, he was surprised to see that the person standing in front of his master was none other than the Heir of the Duke of Yongning.
“Ah! Your Highness, Heir! You’ve come to see His Highness the Prince off?” Jinbao hurried forward with the horse, bowing and scraping as he greeted him.
Xue Yan glanced at him and pulled the horse’s reins from his hands.
He stepped into the stirrup and swung himself onto the saddle. Immediately afterward, he bent down and grabbed Jun Huailang by the arm.
With one smooth lift, he pulled Jun Huailang up onto the horse in front of him.
Jun Huailang was startled and hurriedly said, “I have my own horse! It’s right outside the gate…”
But Xue Yan wrapped his arms tightly around him, raised his whip, and struck the horse’s rump. The horse immediately galloped out at full speed.
Jinbao was completely dumbfounded and hurried to mount his own horse to follow them.
Good heavens! The heir had come to see his master off, so why had his master practically abducted the man and taken him along?!
The Imperial Guards waiting outside the gate also spotted their master’s black horse in the distance. It carried their master straight out of the residence and onto the road without stopping for even a moment.
They didn’t dare delay and immediately followed in orderly formation.
However, a few sharp-eyed men couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
Why did it look as though their master’s horse was carrying… another person today?
By the time the entire party had disappeared into the distance, the Duke of Yongning finally arrived at the residence gate a quarter of an hour later.
But the entrance was already completely deserted.
“…He left so early?” the Duke sighed as he looked at the empty space in front of the gate.
A young servant beside him said, “The gatekeeper said His Highness the Prince left some time ago.”
The Duke of Yongning sighed and nodded.
“Very well,” he said. “There’s no need to give him any instructions. Huailang has always known how to conduct himself.”
With that, he turned to leave.
Then he stopped.
He looked puzzledly at the horse tied to a wooden post beside the gate.
“Didn’t Young Master leave?” he asked. “Why is his horse still here?”
The gatekeeper had no idea either. Those officials had departed like a gust of wind, and he hadn’t even seen how one horse had been left behind.
After a moment, the young servant said hesitantly, “Could it be… that His Highness the Prince’s men brought along an extra good horse?”