CH 121

January 8, 2023Merchie

The guards entered the courtyard, and carefully searched the garden. They even searched on top of the trees and behind the rockery, but they didn’t find anyone.

A soldier knocked on Yue Nu’s door, and after a few moments, the door creaked open.

“Have you seen anyone suspicious, or any suspicious activity?”

“No.”

“Sorry for disturbing you. If you see anything, please let us know immediately.”

“All right.”

The door closed once more.

The guards were still uneasy, and began to search through the other rooms in the courtyard one by one.

Shen Shijiu and Pei Zheng were in the last room.

The room seemed very old and worn; it was full of unused shelves and clutter. There were also intricately embroidered curtains hanging over them.

Shen Shijiu was leaning against a nearby shelf, and Pei Zheng was standing in front of him; the two were hidden behind the curtain.

“My Lord…

Shen Shijiu called in a quiet voice.

“Hm?”

Pei Zheng’s brows raised, and he bent down slightly.

“M-my nose is really itchy…” Before he could finish speaking, Shen Shijiu’s head snapped to the side, and he sneezed with an “Achoo!”.

It wasn’t loud; it sounded like a cat’s sneeze.

Now that his head was turned, a fair slender neck appeared in front of Pei Zheng, a patch of tender whiteness that also emitted a soft fragrance.

Pei Zheng lowered his head and placed a kiss onto his neck.

Shen Shijiu’s entire body stiffened. He clutched his neck, his gaze innocent as he looked at Pei Zheng.

Pei Zheng pulled Shen Shijiu’s hand away, and leaned in again, sucking gently, making a soft “sou”1 sound in the process.

Then he lifted his head, and gazed at his handiwork under the weak moonlight.

Indeed, a faint red mark had been left upon that patch of fair white. It resembled a bug bite, and was rather eye-catching. One would definitely be able to spot it at a glance.

Shen Shijiu still didn’t know what Pei Zheng had done. He touched his neck and asked, “My Lord, did you just bite me?”

Pei Zheng smiled, and gathered him into his arms again.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came from behind the door. The guards had arrived to search the final room.

The door was pushed open, and torchlight flooded inside.

Shen Shijiu was a bit scared, and his body was tense. Pei Zheng held the back of the head with one hand, and stroked his back with the other.

Pei Zheng wasn’t nervous at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that the small man was afraid of being seen by the soldiers, he would have wanted to be discovered. He wanted to let everyone in the manor know, including that Zhao Litang, that this small man wasn’t just someone who belonged to the Prime Minister’s Manor; he was someone who belonged to Pei Zheng.

It was a pity that those soldiers didn’t actually enter the room to search.

“They found him, he’s in the front garden. Hurry up!”

All of the guards quickly lifted their torches and hurriedly ran toward the front garden.

The little courtyard fell quiet once more.

Shen Shijiu was still being hugged tightly. He shifted slightly, and patted Pei Zheng, “My Lord… I think they’re all gone now…”

Only then did Pei Zheng let go of him, “It’s a pity that they’re all gone.”

“Ah?”

Shen Shijiu was baffled; why was it a pity?

Pei Zheng led the small man out of the room.

The moon was still shining brightly, and starlight glittered in the sky.

“My Lord, you’re still here, so who did they capture?”

Shen Shijiu asked softly.

“You want to know? I’ll take you to see.”

As he spoke, Pei Zheng grabbed Shen Shijiu’s waist, “Hold onto me.”

“Oh.” Shen Shijiu obediently buried himself in Pei Zheng’s embrace, his small hands clutching the other’s waist.

“Hold on tight.”

“Oh.” Shen Shijiu’s grip tightened.

The tips of Pei Zheng’s toes tapped the ground. He soared into the air and jumped onto the roof.

After being healed by Shen Huan, his body was in much better condition. He could already use small amounts of internal energy without issue.

The pair landed onto a tree in the front garden. Pei Zheng stood firmly upon a tree branch, but Shen Shijiu continued to grip his waist, terrified of accidentally falling.

The front garden was surrounded by many guards. Wu Quan was also there.

In the center of the crowd was a man dressed in black. He was carrying a sword without a scabbard, and was carelessly holding it against his chest.

Wu Quan said, “Who are you?! You dare to break into the General’s Manor at night, you’re quite bold! Hurry up and state your name!”

The surrounding soldiers all pointed their blades at the black-clad man.

The man didn’t hesitate, and simply tore off the black cloth over his face.

When Shen Shijiu saw the man’s face, he was shocked, “A-Feng? My Lord, look, it’s A-Feng!”

Of course, Pei Zheng already knew who it was.

Wu Quan was also quite shocked at the sight of him, and had all the soldiers sheathe their weapons.

“Guard Feng? It’s you? May I ask what your purpose is in coming to the General’s Manor in the middle of the night?”

Cheng Feng glanced at a nearby tree, and said slowly, “I’m running an errand for Lord Pei, it’s confidential.”

He was just an emotionless guard who was drawing attention away from His Lordship. In truth, he also didn’t know what exactly His Lordship was doing here

Then, the tree swayed slightly, and the people standing on top of it were gone.

Pei Zheng took Shen Shijiu up to the roof of the tallest building in the General’s Manor, and set him down.

There weren’t many servants in the General’s Manor, and this was such an isolated location; no one would find them here.

Shen Shijiu was a bit scared standing on something so high up. He didn’t dare to stand upright, and was too scared to take a step toward the edge.

“My Lord… m-my legs are numb…”

Shen Shijiu looked rather pitiful, half-squatting on the roof, clutching the hem of Pei Zheng’s robe without letting go. But in truth, the roof was quite large, and there was a distance of at least ten steps between him and the edge.

“Are you scared of heights?”

Pei Zheng didn’t mind his cowardice. Instead, he squatted down, and clasped his hand to give him reassurance.

“Yes…” Shen Shijiu pouted, and looked absolutely terrified.

But Pei Zheng suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart.

Why was he so scared of heights? In the past, when he took him to the edge of the cliff to admire the scenery, he clearly enjoyed it…

But, after falling from such a high cliff, anyone would be afraid.

Even though he lost his memory, even though he didn’t remember the pain and suffering, he had no way to resist the fear and terror buried in the depths of his heart.

Just what did he do to that small man? Just how much pain had he caused him?

Pei Zheng’s breaths began to tremble. His eyes hung downward, as he tried to quash the overwhelming grief and anguish in his heart.

Shen Shijiu cautiously tugged Pei Zheng’s robe, “My Lord, what’s wrong? Are you scared too?”

He wanted to scoot up to Pei Zheng. That way, he would be closer to His Lordship. But because of his numb legs, he simply fell toward Pei Zheng.

With by a surprised yelp, Shen Shijiu fell into Pei Zheng’s chest.

Pei Zheng didn’t hesitate for a single second. He opened his arms and caught the small man, allowing himself to be knocked down from the impact.

The two of them collapsed onto the roof.

Pei Zheng was on the bottom. Beneath him were the ice-cold roof tiles. He clutched the small body smushed against him. His breaths sprayed against the small man’s neck, scorching hot.

Shen Shijiu wasn’t hurt at all; he was sprawled over Pei Zheng’s warm body. He tried to get up, but he was held in place and couldn’t move at all.

“My Lord….” Shen Shijiu stroked Pei Zheng’s hair, his touch gentle. His Lordship looked a bit sad, which made his heart ache as well.

“Don’t move,” Pei Zheng’s voice was muffled, “Let’s hug for a bit, okay?”

“Okay.” Shen Shijiu replied softly. He quietly laid upon Pei Zheng’s body and didn’t move.

Their surroundings were tranquil. A chilly gust of night wind blew past. The moon was bright and clear, and a sprinkling of stars hung in the sky.

After a long while, Pei Zheng patted the small man’s little head.

“Look up.”

Shen Shijiu turned over, lying face up.

Their field of view was wider up here, and they seemed to be closer to the starry sky. It was as though one could reach up and pluck a star off.

“Wah, it’s so pretty!”

Shen Shijiu actually stretched out his hand, and swiped through the air, but all he caught was a handful of cold wind.

Pei Zheng also reached out, lacing his fingers with the small man’s, before he gripped his hand.

“My Lord, are you here to look at the stars with me?”

“Yes.”

“My Lord, shifu has already detoxified Zhao Litang’s wound.”

“Mm.”

“Me and shifu can come back soon.”

“All right.” Pei Zheng kissed his hair.

Shen Shijiu gazed at the stars for a while, before he turned over again, and laid back over Pei Zheng’s body. Only then could he reach over and hug Pei Zheng.

“My Lord, I met a new friend…”

Shen Shijiu said, “His name is Yue Nu, because there’s a crescent moon-shaped mark on his face. He’s a year younger than me, so he should call me gege, right?”

Pei Zheng purposely asked, “Why should he call you gege?”

“Because he’s younger than me.”

“So people who are younger than you have to call you gege?”

Shen Shijiu nodded, “That’s right, is that not the case?”

Pei Zheng said, “Then what should you call me?”

Shen Shijiu blinked, “‘My Lord’…”

“Try again.”

Shen Shijiu’s brows creased. If it wasn’t ‘my Lord’, then what was he supposed to call him?

He suddenly had an epiphany, “I know, my Lord, do you want me to call you gege?”

The corners of Pei Zheng’s lips hooked. This little fool could be quite intelligent at times.

“But that’s improper,” Shen Shijiu wore a serious expression on his little face, “My Lord is ‘my Lord’, I have to address you by your title, I can’t be disrespectful to my superiors.”

Pei Zheng’s brows knitted, “Who taught you that?”

Shen Shijiu replied obediently, “Shifu.”

Pei Zheng sighed. She Shijiu was brought up by Shen Huan to be very polite, but every time Pei Zheng heard Shen Shijiu call him ‘my Lord’, it always felt so distant.

“But,” Shen Shijiu suddenly leaned toward Pei Zheng’s ear and whispered, “I can secretly not call you ‘my Lord’ when no one’s around.”

The small man lifted his face and propped himself up, so that he hovered above Pei Zheng. His eyes were shining with excitement, illuminated by the glittering stars.

“I’ll call you… ‘Pei, ge, ge‘, okay?”

This softly spoken sentence was light and fluttery, but Pei Zheng was so shaken by his words that his chest began to burn.

His mind swirled with memories. There was always a bright, beautiful little prince following him, calling out to him.

“Pei-gege, I wasn’t yelled at by my teacher today.”

“Pei-gege, look at the little bunny I made, isn’t it cute?”

“Pei-gege, it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m really good at enduring pain, really.”

“Pei-gege, you haven’t come to see me for a long time, I missed you…”

“Pei-gege, let me go, please?”

Notes

;-;

Oh f*ck it, sorry for crashing your reading experience like this AT SUCH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT AHHHHH, BUT THAT LAST BIT WASN’T GOING TO MAKE ANY SENSE OTHERWISEEE

I really shot myself in the foot by calling him ‘Brother’, so we are now changing it back to “gege” because I’m a flaky flake and all danmei geges are iconic. Apologies, Pei-gege, Brother Pei, they’re both the same scumbag, so don’t worry. I’ll get everything fixed in a little bit.

Thanks for reading~

1. Uh, imagine a slurping sound.