Shen Liufeng had naturally never seen such a grand display before.
Just now, he had been focused on talking to Jun Huailang and had momentarily forgotten whose carriage this was. It was only when he saw that arrogant eunuch turning around at the front that he suddenly noticed the carriage’s specifications.
Then, peering through the carriage curtain, he met Xue Yan’s gaze.
Although his brows were only slightly furrowed and there was little expression on his face, his eyes were cold and imposing. With just one glance, he frightened Shen Liufeng into shivering and immediately dropped the carriage curtain.
“Then we’ll see each other when we arrive, Huailang!” His voice gradually faded with the sound of the horse’s hooves.
“Eh…?” Jun Huailang was startled by the sudden turn of events.
He had never particularly liked riding horses in the first place. If he were to be jostled around like this the entire way, by the time they reached Yangzhou that afternoon, his back and waist would certainly be sore and aching, and it would probably take a day or two to recover.
He had just been going back and forth with Shen Liufeng, trying to evade the matter, when he had not expected Shen Liufeng to suddenly run off.
He turned back in surprise, only to see Xue Yan quietly looking down at his book, without even raising his eyes.
As though only just noticing Jun Huailang’s gaze, Xue Yan raised his head and glanced toward the window beside him.
“He left?” he asked.
As though he had only just realized that Shen Liufeng had gone far away.
Jun Huailang nodded.
Xue Yan rubbed his brow and said, “Jinbao doesn’t know any better.”
His tone was quite sincere, as though he were genuinely blaming Jinbao for talking too much and throwing his weight around to drive Shen Liufeng away.
——
The carriage swayed along at an unhurried pace, and the interior was completely quiet. Perhaps the sandalwood fragrance was simply too calming and sleep-inducing. Before they had traveled halfway, Jun Huailang gradually fell asleep.
In his dream, there seemed to be an extremely faint sandalwood fragrance supporting him steadily. Even though they were traveling along a road that was not particularly smooth, it allowed him to sleep quite peacefully.
It was not until Jinbao knocked on the carriage from outside and said that they had arrived at the official post station in Yangzhou that Jun Huailang slowly woke.
The carriage was somewhat dim. Someone must have extinguished the lamp.
And he seemed to be resting his head against something.
He turned his head slightly and discovered that it was Xue Yan’s shoulder.
He had actually slept against the other man’s shoulder the entire journey.
Jun Huailang was startled and hurriedly sat upright. Before he could say anything, Xue Yan’s slightly hoarse voice sounded from the darkness.
“Awake?”
Jun Huailang gave a soft hum. Hearing that his voice was somewhat hoarse, he asked, “…Did Your Highness sleep just now as well?”
Xue Yan, in the darkness, paused before giving a hum and saying nothing more.
Jun Huailang smiled sheepishly.
“I’m truly sorry. I apparently didn’t sit steadily in my sleep. Did I make Your Highness’s shoulder numb?”
Beside him, Xue Yan—the very same person who had taken advantage of the other’s sleep, secretly pulling him onto his shoulder after watching him sway back and forth restlessly, and even quietly extinguishing the candle—answered with complete composure.
“It’s fine.”
As he spoke, he raised a hand and touched the carriage curtain.
Jinbao understood immediately. He lifted the curtain, brought over a footstool, and helped the two of them down from the carriage.
With the Duke of Yongning present, their schedule for this inspection had been packed tightly. After eating at the post station, they retired early. The next morning, they left Yangzhou City at dawn and headed toward the surrounding villages and towns.
There had been a great deal of rain that year, and many villages and towns in Jiangnan had been affected. Washed-out houses, overflowing rivers—there were bound to be various minor problems here and there.
But Yangzhou was different from other places.
Although Yangzhou was crisscrossed by waterways, with countless large and small rivers, not a single field had been flooded that year. It was said that Yangzhou’s water-control system had been constructed decades ago by a local official according to the terrain and topography of Yangzhou. Ever since then, it only needed to be reinforced every year to ensure protection against floods and waterlogging.
The Prefect of Yangzhou accompanied them along the way, explaining everything to them. Jun Huailang was amazed and specifically found some paper and a brush, listening and taking notes as they went.
Although the documents and reports sent to Chang’an from various places were comprehensive, they could not be this detailed. Moreover, seeing the place in person meant that the examples were right before his eyes, making everything far more intuitive.
After several days, Jun Huailang had accumulated quite a few pages of notes. Even Magistrate Shen noticed them.
“Does His Highness enjoy these things?” On the return journey, he asked Jun Huailang for his notes and carefully flipped through them. He saw that not only were the notes concise and to the point, they also contained quite a few of Jun Huailang’s own insights and ideas. The more he read, the brighter his eyes became. After finishing, he even took the notes over to the Duke of Yongning.
“I never expected His Highness the Heir Apparent to have such a talent for this!”
The Duke of Yongning took the notes and looked through them. Even his usually aloof face showed a trace of a smile.
“Ever since Huailang came here, he has been quite interested in water management,” he said. “Now that I see this, it seems that his year of studying in Jinling was not wasted.”
Hearing this, Magistrate Shen repeatedly said that he was being too modest.
Afterward, Magistrate Shen returned the notes to Jun Huailang and discussed some of the questions he had written down with him.
Jun Huailang answered fluently and also asked him several questions. Gradually, the two became more and more engrossed in their conversation. The Duke of Yongning would also occasionally join in with a few words.
As for Xue Yan, he sat quietly to the side. He did not participate in the conversation, and no one else dared disturb him easily.
The carriage traveled all the way back toward Yangzhou City.
Jun Huailang had spoken with Magistrate Shen the entire journey and had gained a great deal from the conversation. Once they entered the city and he looked at the bustling crowds outside the window, he could not help asking, “Lord Shen, there has been so much rain this year, so the river waters must have risen. I wonder, can the embankments in Jinling withstand it?”
Hearing this, Magistrate Shen did not think much of it and smiled.
“They’ll certainly be fine. Although Jinling’s river embankments are not as ingenious as those in Yangzhou, neither does it have such a complicated and crisscrossing water system. As far as the rise of the Yangtze alone is concerned, even if it rises another twenty or thirty percent, the embankments can still withstand it.”
Jun Huailang nodded thoughtfully.
Twenty or thirty percent was an extremely high proportion for river water. No matter how much rain there was, it was impossible for the river to rise that high.
So, the embankments in Jinling should theoretically have been fine. There must have been some kind of problem somewhere that had caused the breach in his previous life…
He pondered this all the way, and before long, the carriage came to a stop.
Jun Huailang looked out the window and saw that the carriage had stopped beside Slender West Lake. A painted pleasure boat was nearby, which should be one of the famous pleasure establishments in Yangzhou City.
Having spent a year here, Jun Huailang was also quite familiar with the local officials. At a glance, he knew that Magistrate Shen had arranged another gathering.
Sure enough, as soon as the carriage stopped, Magistrate Shen patted the Duke of Yongning on the shoulder.
“Duke, now that you’ve come to Yangzhou, you can’t possibly leave without having the whole-fish feast here by Slender West Lake. We’ve been traveling nonstop for several days. You can’t refuse me this little favor.”
The Duke of Yongning said unhappily, “It’s always like this. We came to Yangzhou on official business. How can we indulge ourselves here?”
Magistrate Shen had long known that the Duke before him was a stubborn old man who could be swayed by neither force nor persuasion.
But the officials accompanying them these past few days included both officials from the capital and local Yangzhou officials. If they did not have a meal here, the officials from the capital would feel they had been poorly treated after their long journey, while the local officials would feel uneasy, thinking they had failed to entertain their guests properly. Instead, this would create misunderstandings and trouble between the two sides.
Therefore, he had arranged this meal long ago.
The pleasure boat was open on all sides, and the area was bustling and prosperous. They could openly enjoy a local specialty meal, with both host and guests having a good time, without any suspicion of private dealings.
Magistrate Shen was not offended in the slightest. Smiling cheerfully, he coaxed him, “It’s only because I haven’t been to Yangzhou for so many days and I’ve been craving this fish. Just consider it accompanying me, all right?”
The group then headed noisily toward the pleasure boat.
Xue Yan was naturally surrounded and ushered to the very front. The officials around him chatted animatedly, while he alone said nothing, with little expression on his face.
Everyone knew that he had such an unfathomable temperament. Although they all spoke among themselves, they also kept their eyes and ears alert, carefully watching his every movement.
Jun Huailang followed behind and could see Xue Yan’s back from a distance.
For some reason, he found it rather amusing.
He also knew that someone like Magistrate Shen, who was skilled at dealing smoothly with people while knowing where to draw the line, was the most popular sort in official circles. Which ordinary official would not like someone like him?
But Xue Yan happened to dislike it.
And somehow, despite being so far away, Jun Huailang could sense the impatience radiating from Xue Yan.
Yet the others had noticed nothing. They still cautiously tried to approach him, finding excuses to chat with him.
When Xue Yan slightly turned his head, Jun Huailang happened to catch sight of his face.
There was little expression on it, but those amber eyes were filled with weariness and impatience, rather like a trapped beast confined inside a cage.
“Huailang, what are you smiling about?”
Just then, Shen Liufeng suddenly appeared beside him and patted Jun Huailang on the shoulder.
“Hm, what?” Jun Huailang was startled and turned his head to look at him.
“I asked what you’re smiling about.” Shen Liufeng grinned, looking in the direction Jun Huailang had just been watching. “All by yourself, and smiling so gently. What did you see?”
Jun Huailang froze.
Even he had not realized that he had been smiling.
He had merely looked at Xue Yan a couple more times…
But immediately, Jun Huailang came back to himself and asked Shen Liufeng, “Why are you here?”
After all, they had been leaving the city to inspect the surrounding areas these past few days, and Shen Liufeng had found it troublesome and boring, so he had not gone with them at all.
“You guys came back from the inspection, so I came!” Shen Liufeng said with a grin. “I heard from my uncle that we’re having fish by Slender West Lake today. How could I possibly be left out?”
Jun Huailang smiled and nodded.
“Of course we can’t be without you.”
Perhaps this lively and playful nature shared by the whole family was simply something inherited by the Shen family.
Shen Liufeng casually raised a hand and draped his arm over Jun Huailang’s shoulder.
“By the way, Huailang, I managed to get hold of a map these past few days. Tomorrow, my uncle and the others are going to the Yangzhou prefectural government office. Why don’t you come with me into the mountains to look for that divine physician?”
As he spoke, he even promised, “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before dark.”
This was the second time Shen Liufeng had asked him about this. Jun Huailang only considered it briefly. Thinking that after the embankment inspection was over, there was no particular need for him to accompany them tomorrow, he nodded and agreed.
Hearing this, Shen Liufeng happily patted him twice on the shoulder.
“I’ll have them feed both my horses well tonight!” Shen Liufeng said. “Tomorrow, you can ride my horse!”
Jun Huailang smiled and nodded.
The group entered the pleasure boat.
When Xue Yan crossed the bridge, he glanced to the side and happened to see the two young men at the very end of the group.
One was refined and upright, with a slender, straight figure. From a distance, he was as bright and pure as the moon in the heavens.
The other had a pair of upturned, narrow eyes, looking at first glance like someone who was not a good person.
That young man seemed to have no bones in his body. He was actually draped over Jun Huailang’s shoulder, hooking an arm around him while speaking intimately about something.
And Jun Huailang was smiling faintly at him.
Xue Yan’s expression darkened.
Even the officials around him sensed the change in the atmosphere surrounding him. Even the official beside him, who had been cautiously flattering him, abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence.
For a moment, all the officials looked at one another.
“…Your Highness?” Magistrate Shen hurried forward and asked with a beaming smile. “Is there something about this pleasure boat that displeases you, or is there something you don’t eat?”
Xue Yan glanced at him.
That Shen Liufeng just now was this prefect’s nephew, wasn’t he?
Following them everywhere, even tagging along for a meal of fish. Truly useless, and incredibly annoying.
“There’s no need to arrange these things next time.” Xue Yan’s face was dark as he strode inside. “I do not like extravagance.”
Paired with the sandalwood fragrance from Bao’en Temple on his person, one pellet of which was worth a thousand pieces of gold, those words sounded rather unconvincing.
Magistrate Shen repeatedly agreed, while inwardly understanding perfectly well.
How could this lord possibly dislike extravagance?
Some blind fool must have offended him and put him in a bad mood again, prompting him to find an excuse to make an issue out of it.