CH 170

June 15, 2023Merchie

Ah Mu Le shook his head, “What a pity. I’ve missed you for so long, I even sent people to the Celestial Dynasty to look for you, but at that time, you had suddenly disappeared. I thought that I would never see you again. I never expected that we would actually meet again here. Oh right, where’s Lord Pei? Is he all right?”

As he spoke, Ah Mu Le took a step forward, and was about to walk into the apothecary.

In a fit of rage, Qi Changyi suddenly slammed the door in Ah Mu Le’s face. He said from behind the doorframe, “Pei-gege doesn’t need you to worry about him!”

Cheng Feng gently pulled the angry Qi Changyi to the side and reminded him in a whisper, “Your Highness, right now, we are at a disadvantage. I don’t know why he hasn’t killed us yet, but we shouldn’t provoke him too much.”

Qi Changyi pressed a hand against the door and pouted at Cheng Feng. He was already trying his best to control his emotions, but he had been unable to hold them back earlier.

“But A-Feng, I don’t want to let him in…”

Outside, Ah Mu Le’s footsteps really did stop. He did not force his way inside. He already had his own plans.

“All right then. Since Lord Pei is injured, I can let you all go first. However, I hope that after Lord Pei awakens, you can give this letter to him on my behalf. Once he reads it, he’ll understand.”

Indeed, a letter was stuffed inside from underneath the door. Cheng Feng picked it up and thought for a moment, before he put it away.

“All right, you can all leave now.”

Ah Mu Le said, “Kid, you’d better remember… that I let you all go this time.”

The barbarian soldiers who had been surrounding the outside of the apothecary all retreated one by one.

Qi Changyi leaned against the door in disbelief, listening carefully. After he heard the sounds of orderly marching fade into the distance, he looked at Cheng Feng and asked, “A-Feng, did they really leave?”

Cheng Feng nodded.

Qi Changyi pushed the door open, peering through a small slit, and saw the empty scene outside. He opened the door completely, and there was not a single barbarian soldier in sight on the street.

All that remained was a city full of broken corpses and a river of blood.

This place was still unsafe. They had to leave as soon as possible.

Cheng Feng carried the unconscious Pei Zheng on his back, while Qi Changyi followed closely beside him. They took the path out of Anli.

They followed the path that the Anli residents had taken to retreat. They could even see some of the belongings that had left behind in a panic by those who were trying to escape.

They walked without rest like this for almost three days before they finally reached the next city.

The city gates here were also shut, but the difference was that this city already had the Celestial Dynasty’s army guarding it, so it was much safer in comparison.

Moreover, there were guards stationed at the entrance. As long as refugees who were forced out of the borderlands came, they would all be let into the city and taken care of.

After they entered the city and the guards at the entrance explained the situation, the city’s magistrate hurried over and took them to a quiet place to rest.

This magistrate was an honest one; although he did not know Prime Minister Pei’s character, he admired his fearsome tactics. When he saw how severe Pei Zheng’s injuries were, he summoned the best doctor in town to treat him.

Qi Changyi could not put his worries to rest. He stayed in the room to watch over Pei Zheng. The movements with which he cleaned the wound seemed to be even more skillful than the doctor’s.

The medicine had also been prepared and delivered by a servant. This time, Qi Changyi took a sniff. After he made sure that there were not any issues with it, he fed it to Pei Zheng in spoonfuls.

Only after an entire day and night did Pei Zheng finally wake up.

When he woke up, night had already fallen. There was only a single candle illuminating the room, its light dim and weak.

Slumped beside the bed was a little figure. Due to exhaustion, he was in a deep sleep, but his hand was still clutching the corner of Pei Zheng’s quilt.

Cheng Feng happened to walk into the room to deliver Pei Zheng’s medicine. After he saw that Pei Zheng had woken up, he opened his mouth to speak, but Pei Zheng signaled for him to keep his voice down.

Cheng Feng glanced at the small man sleeping by the bed, and kept his voice low, “Master, you’re awake. His Highness has been here this whole time, watching over you. While you were unconscious, he didn’t rest for a single moment, he stared at you for the whole day-”

Pei Zheng “mm”d. One could not see much emotion in his gaze.

Cheng Feng reported everything that had happened to Pei Zheng, including the fact that for some reason, the barbarians had decided to call a truce with the Celestial Dynasty at the borderlands. The reinforcements from the Celestial Dynasty had also arrived, and the situation was finally showing signs of improvement.

Then, Cheng Feng handed Ah Mu Le’s letter to Pei Zheng.

Pei Zheng glanced at it, and immediately understood Ah Mu Le’s intentions.

Ah Mu Le was trying to lure Pei Zheng in. He wanted to use Pei Zheng as an inside collaborator, to help the barbarian tribe take over the Celestial Dynasty. And after they won the war, Ah Mu Le would continue to allow Pei Zheng to be his Prime Minister. By then, the territory of the barbarians would include that of the Celestial Dynasty and the foreign tribe, encapsulating a wide area.

But before he even finished reading the letter, Pei Zheng lost interest.

“Burn it.”

Cheng Feng took the letter and burnt it to ash. Then, he passed the bowl of medicine to Pei Zheng. After he finished it, Cheng Feng left.

At this moment, the sleeping little prince slumped beside the bed seemed to be lost in a dream, and murmured something in unease.

“Pei-gege,” Qi Changyi mumbled incoherently, “Pei-gege, I… you…”

Pei Zheng was unable to make out the missing word. But he really was curious what he was dreaming about.

While he was unconscious, Pei Zheng seemed to have heard Qi Changyi talking a lot. He spoke of things that Shen Shijiu had experienced, so he had remembered everything.

Now that he had remembered everything, the person in front of him was complete. Whether it was the pain and bitterness between them, or those beautiful, sweet memories, at last, he was not the only one who had them in his mind.

Pei Zheng sat up, and still felt a pain in his abdomen. But being struck with such great joy left him unable to continue lying still.

He reached out and gently stroked the small man’s head. He hoped that the little prince could wake up quickly, but he was reluctant to rouse him at this very moment.

But the little head beneath his hand shifted slightly.

In a sleepy daze, Qi Changyi lifted his head, and saw that Pei Zheng was leaning against the bed, looking at him. He thought that he was hallucinating; he stared unblinkingly at Pei Zheng’s face, slightly stunned.

Pei Zheng smiled. His lips were pale, “Did I wake you?”

Qi Changyi’s eyes instantly filled with tears, and he called softly, “Pei-gege!”

His voice was choked with longing and aggrievement. Then, he opened his arms to Pei Zheng, “I want a hug…”

As he spoke, fat tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

Pei Zheng’s heart wrenched with terrible sadness and pain. It was as though every single one of those tears were falling onto it.

His fingers stretched out, gently wiping those tears. Then, he reached out, lifting the small man up by the armpits onto the bed. He pressed that soft, warm little ball into his chest, avoiding his wound, stroking the little prince’s back. He could feel the little body beneath his palm trembling slightly.

Qi Changyi sobbed; the emotions that had piled up over so long had finally broken free after he saw Pei Zheng. He had been so exhausted yet so scared this entire time, but he had kept it all in out of thoughtfulness. Now that Pei Zheng was awake, he had someone to rely on again.

“Sweetheart, don’t cry. Gege will hug you,” Pei Zheng’s voice was unusually tender, “How could you have been wronged so badly, hm?”

“I-I was scared that you wouldn’t wake up, what would I do then, I-I was terrified-”

Qi Changyi clutched Pei Zheng’s neck, weeping. Pei Zheng continued to whisper words of comfort in his ear. After a while, Qi Changyi was finally done crying. He laid over Pei Zheng’s shoulder, silent.

“Do you still want to cry?”

Qi Changyi shook his head. He had cried until he was exhausted, and his voice was a little hoarse.

“Then let’s get up now, okay?”

As Pei Zheng spoke, he pushed the small man off of his chest. Unexpectedly, the pair of arms around him quickly tightened a bit, afraid that Pei Zheng was pushing the little prince away.

“I-I don’t want to get up, I want to keep hugging you-“

Why had he suddenly become so clingy?

Pei Zheng said patiently, “Get up and let me see you. I need to see if you’ve ruined your eyes from crying. Do your eyes hurt?”

“No, my eyes don’t hurt, so I don’t need to get up…”

Pei Zheng could not help but laugh. The corners of his lips hooked upward, “What’s wrong, hm? Since you really can’t bear to be apart from me, you might as well lie down with me.”

Qi Changyi thought for a moment, “Okay.”

He obediently crawled out of Pei Zheng’s arms and sat at the edge of the bed to take off his shoes. He took off his outer robe as well, before he pulled the blanket open and laid down. Then, he lifted one of Pei Zheng’s arms and burrowed back into his embrace.

Pei Zheng felt that warm body pressed up against his own, with a faint heat exuding from it. He was injured, but everything else about him was completely normal.

Pei Zheng subtly shifted backward a bit. Unexpectedly, Qi Changyi sensed this, and pressed himself back against him in annoyance.

“Pei-gege, don’t squirm around. Your wound will heal slower if you do that.”

“Okay, but you have to be good and tell me, ” Pei Zheng looked down at the little prince in front of him, “Did you remember something?”

Qi Changyu let out a muffled “mm”. His voice was a bit nasal, “I remember everything.”

He buried his face in Pei Zheng’s chest, “Pei-gege, do you blame me for forgetting so many things, for forgetting for so long, for even forgetting you? How could I have forgotten you…”

Pei Zheng patted his back, “I don’t blame you. How could I? It was my fault. The sins I have committed against you… were very serious.”

Thank God you’re still willing to let me make up for it.

“No, ” Qi Changyi looked up. the corners of his eyes were still a little red, but he was no longer shedding tears.

“I know that, in the past, Pei-gege didn’t do those things on purpose, right? Because you’ve said before that you like me, and that you’ll only like me, right?”

“That’s right.” Pei Zheng looked into his eyes, “I like you, I love you, I want nothing more than to dig out my heart and give it to you. Will you remember that this time?”

Qi Changyi nodded, and his eyes grew wet, “I’ll remember. I’ll definitely remember, I’ll never forget it again.”

Notes

He did do those things on purpose and you know it jdsfhksdhkfhk

Sorry for the delay everyone! I hope you liked this sweet (???) chapter.