CH 95

Chapter 95 Zhiwei

Zhiwei’s hands were clasped together, a little uncomfortable from the opposite scrutiny, especially this pair of eyes that liked to see through people, daunting.

But he still couldn’t help thinking— so pretty, how could there be such a good-looking person, no wonder a noble person like Shizi was so caring of him, attached, and always thinking about how to please him, making him envious.

In the past when he was with guests, he also saw many favored toys, some were gentle and pleasant, some were cold and arrogant, some were sentimental, and some were innocent and cheerful.

But he had never seen anything like this before. Beauty was beauty, but the calm look of his scrutiny was like an experienced butcher, who was thinking carefully about which piece of meat on his body was more delicious.

“Sir…would you like tea?” He asked timidly, a little scared: “Would you like some snacks?”

“My name is Qu Chenzhou, you can call me Chenzhou or Little Brother Qu.” 

The little butcher smiled brightly, his face innocent and gentle, as bright as spring flowers. He suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, the invisible pressure just now seemed to be just an illusion.

Zhiwei called out: “Little Brother Qu.”

Qu Chenzhou took his hand and sat down, and asked softly: “What’s your name?” 

Zhiwei sat down and looked down to see this hand, there was a bruise from the Hu Kou* to the sleeve, his heart could not help but jump.

* web between the thumb and forefinger of a hand

He had seen such scars on his comrades before, but he didn’t expect that Shizi who looked gentle would be so tyrannical in private.

“My name is Zhiwei.”

“What’s your surname? Where was your hometown?” Qu Chenzhou stuffed the cakes on the table into his hands, and said kindly: “Eat something to fill your stomach first. Lunch will come later, we can eat together.”

Zhiwei was flattered, thinking about his wild thoughts just now, he felt a little ashamed, and quickly replied: “My surname is Yang, and my hometown was in Hekou.”

“Home…” When Qu Chenzhou opened his mouth, he found that his question was a bit cruel. Being in this situation, how could it be appropriate to bring up family?

But he looked at Zhiwei carefully, and continued to ask: “Are your parents and brothers all right?” 

Zhiwei’s eyes turned really red, his head was down for a moment. Seeing Qu Chenzhou not change the topic, he could only answer: “There was a family disaster, and my family got separated. I do not know where they went and then I was abducted and sold here.” 

“When did the disaster happen?”

Zhiwei was at a loss when asked: “About… probably six or seven years ago…”

Qu Chenzhou stared at him for a moment, but got nothing, the time was up, and he sighed in his heart.

If it was in the past, he didn’t need to spend so much effort, he only needed to hold Zhiwei’s hand and ask a few words, and then he would know everything, but now he can’t tell the truth from the fake, and he didn’t know whether he should believe Zhiwei’s words.

For some reason, when Zhiwei entered the door, at first glance, he felt that Zhiwei looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

But the person in his memory didn’t seem to be at such an age, and he was not someone he often met.

So even if Zhiwei reported his family name, he still couldn’t remember where he had seen such a Hekou person surnamed Yang, and where the person who looked like Zhiwei was.

It didn’t take long before lunch was served. Perhaps it was sympathy for each other, but Qu Chenzhou no longer asked about Zhiwei’s personal affairs, and only gave him food frequently. He was good at observing other people and reading their minds, so it didn’t take long for Zhiwei to let go of his nervousness.

“Where is Little Brother Qu from?” Zhiwei lowered his head, picked up the fishbone, and raised his eyes to look at Qu Chenzhou eagerly, very cute. He couldn’t help but smile, and ask boldly.

Qu Chenzhou also had a taste of being questioned like this, and replied with a wry smile: “…Changshui Town.”

Although Zhiwei didn’t know the situation in Changshui Town, thinking about his own experience, he didn’t ask any more questions, but instead comforted the other.

“The past is the past. Little Brother Qu has given birth to such a rare good-looking appearance. You are favored by Shizi alone, so there is no need to worry about the future.”

He sent the fish with the bones picked out over, glanced at the hand on the side of the plate, turned his head to look at the door, and suddenly asked in a low voice: “Little Brother Qu, how is the Shizi treating you?”

“Ah?” Qu Chenzhou was thinking carefully. He was suddenly caught by this question, and almost didn’t even think about it, he replied: “The Shizi is very good to me.”

Zhiwei heaved a sigh of relief, got up and went to the small cabinet beside him to search for a while.

“With my status, I shouldn’t talk about being a nobleman. It’s just a thoughtful word between us behind closed doors. After all, Shizi is young and vigorous, so even if he is rough, he still is treasuring you.”

He pushed a bottle of medicine over: “It’s not good to be carrying a wound. I know that you are not short of this medicine being by Shizi’s side, just take it as a little bit of my heart.”

Qu Chenzhou followed his gaze to see his own Hu Kou, thanked him a few times, and immediately opened the medicine bottle and poured some on it and kneaded gently.

“Little Brother Qu…” Zhiwei rolled up his cuffs, and there was a shocking bruise on his wrist, which extended to his arm, he didn’t know what happened.

He was stunned, suddenly a little scared, and after thinking for a long time, he asked: “Did Shizi…did he… ever give… you a thing?”

Qu Chenzhou looked up and saw that his cheeks were blushing, his hands quickly drew a length.

“Given. Did you give it to Shizi?”

Zhiwei nodded blushingly.

Qu Chenzhou suddenly realized that it’s no wonder that such an unconventional person as Liu Zhongming would think of giving him Luo Zidai and caring about such trivial matters as whether he wants to paint his brows or not.

“Little Brother Qu…how is using it?”

“It’s a bit rough,” he replied truthfully, “It’s hard to hold.”

“It’s a bit thick, but nobles like it.” Zhiwei blushed, and said softly: “You are still small and your hands are small, that is for Shizi to hold, Little Brother Qu just needs to lie down.”

“Lie down?” Qu Chenzhou was taken aback: “I always sit in front of the mirror, how can I use it while lying down?” ?”

“Sitting…you can also…mirror, I haven’t tried it…just as long as you guys like it…”

Zhiwei didn’t expect him to be so unrestrained, it seemed that he didn’t him to teach him, and his tongue was tied: “Use… When you use it, tell Shizi to use it gently…beg a few times, Shizi…will be gentler…”

“Will he?” Qu Chenzhou pondered, he didn’t remember thick eyebrows being popular in the palace, and he suspected that Liu Zhongming didn’t know how to paint eyebrows at all.

“Shizi doesn’t seem to be very good at using it. He poked around randomly, and it hurt a lot. One time, he poked me…”

Zhiwei hurriedly covered his mouth, stopping his rambunctious words: “Little Brother Qu, keep your voice down.” “

Qu Chenzhou didn’t know the rules of the courtyard, and seeing Zhiwei’s embarrassed and nervous expression, he didn’t know what taboo he had committed, so he shut his mouth wisely.

“Little Brother Qu, you are young,” Zhiwei pulled him to sit down at the table, and earnestly taught him: “Don’t tell outsiders about these things casually, even if you want to push back, don’t do it straightforward.”

Qu Chenzhou nodded absent-mindedly, looked at the sun, suddenly remembered something. He lowered his head, hurriedly took a few mouthfuls of rice, and replied following the words: “I understand! I understand!”

“What are you panicking about?” Zhiwei hurriedly poured water for him: “Eat slowly, don’t choke.” 

It was getting late, and Qu Chenzhou didn’t dare to slow down.

He hadn’t finished the homework Liu Zhongming wanted him to do, so he had to go back quickly to make up for the homework, and hurry to sleep for a while, otherwise after dinner, he would be dragged to practice exercises again, and he didn’t know when he could sleep again.

“Zhiwei, I’ll come to see you next time, I’m in a hurry today,” he gulped a few more mouthfuls, grabbed the coat and cloak on one side and put them on. He hurriedly explained: “Shizi might not let me sleep tonight, I’ll go back and catch up on my sleep first.”

Zhiwei chased after him, and when he saw him disappearing around the corner quickly, he waved to himself, and couldn’t help standing blankly at the door for a long time.

“Little Brother Qu…you’re such a weirdo. It turns out that Shizi likes this.”

On the streets in February, spring was chilly, and it invaded the spine. A thin snow a few days ago had not melted away, and it was still cold.

Pedestrians on the road wished they could wrap themselves up in another layer and grow two more legs. Walking faster, they caught a glimpse of a long shadow, which was pulled from their feet to the entrance of the street by the sun.

The new horseshoe stepped on the stone road, making a crisp sound, which lifted people’s spirits.

A lightly dressed young man, not pulling the reins, had his hands folded on his chest, as if he was not afraid of the cold, looking around slowly.

On the side of the street, the charming brothel sisters upstairs recognized this man, and they smiled and threw flowers down to hit him. The young man didn’t stop, he just whistled frivolously upstairs, causing a lot of laughter, blinked his eyes and smiled as he walked forward.

After two streets, he took the reins, dismounted, sat down at a nearby tea shop, ordered two plates of snacks, and looked at two people talking across the street with his feet up.

One of them glanced sideways, then withdrew his gaze, and chatted with the person in a leisurely manner. After a while, the two separated, and he waved the person off before crossing the street and sitting down at the table.

“He’s a master,” the young man’s eyes stopped on the back of the person who left, and he asked, “Zhongming, who was that?

“Naturally, he’s an expert,” Liu Zhongming picked up a piece of snow pear, put it in his mouth and asked rhetorically, “You don’t recognize him?”

“I don’t recognize him.”

Liu Zhongming thought it would be the case too. Bo Yan spent most of his time in the palace, so there was no chance to meet a wanderer like Fang Wuyang.

“That’s the deputy commander of the sixteen guards of Nanya. Bo Yan, like Liao Guangming, is a former apprentice of Pei Dutong. I told you that Pei Dutong used to be in charge of the Nanbei Yamen and the Jinxiu Ying. It was said that he was a powerful person, so Commander Bo being a big apprentice, naturally, he is a master.”

Liao Guangming also wandered around the brothels, and when they met by chance, he pointed it out to Fang Wuyang.

Fang Wuyang looked at the direction where Bo Yan was leaving, gave a simple “en”, and beckoned the waiter to bring his horse, and left the tea shop with Liu Zhongming.

“You came back early this year,” Liu Zhongming asked, “you won’t stay with your master for a while longer?”

He didn’t know who Fang Wuyang’s master was, and Fang Wuyang refused to say it. Usually wandering around unseen, but during the New Year, he would certainly leave the capital and disappear for a few months. 

It was said that his Master had no relatives and friends, so he should be kind to him in nurturing him, so he cannot leave his Master alone during this busy time.

“Master felt I was annoying this year, so he drove me back early.” 

The two walked through the streets and went to a restaurant after a while. This was their habit. Every time Fang Wuyang returned, they would get together as a reception to clean the dust.

“I heard that you have really become an official?” Fang Wuyang walked in front, pulled the door open, and asked in confusion, “What’s so good about being an official, there’s no freedom…” 

The wooden door knob rattled in his hand , and was abruptly unscrewed from the door.

Liu Zhongming let out a muffled laugh, pushed him away, went in and sat down, not forgetting to ask: “Don’t forget to leave money for the store later to repair the door.”

In the wing room, apart from the familiar Bai brothers, there was another person standing behind Liu Zhongming’s seat.

The man was wearing a coral-colored gown, the collar extending out a snow-white and pink neck. Hanging down the shoulder was ebony hair wrapped in a few sections of red rope with red and black acacia seeds in the hair hidden.

“What the h*ll… what the h*ll…” Fang Wuyang raised his hand and he woke up in horror after seeing someone: “Isn’t this Little Brother Qu? How did he become like this?”

He used his hand to vainly block in front of him, only those demon eyes were visible in his field of vision, so he was even more sure: “It’s really Little Brother Qu!”

The brothers of the Bai family were waiting to see his good show, rolling on the sidelines with laughter.

“I didn’t see the foolishness of Ning Wang and it was not a loss to see Fang Wuyang’s.” Bai Shiyan said first: “Zhongming, if Liao Guangming still reneges with you and insists on saying you lost, you can push Fang Wuyang out to argue for you.” 

Fang Wuyang was not like Ning Wang, who allowed the tea to go down from his chin to his front lapel, but just kept staring at the person while he sat down at the table.

“For me?”

“Nice try.” Liu Zhongming stated unceremoniously.

“D*mn it, Liu Zhongming, what is your intent?” Fang Wuyang swore unceremoniously: “Just to show me? To show off?”

“Yeah, to show off,” Liu Zhongming swished the small clay and gold fan in his hand and shook it with a smile, “How much money and time did I spend to raise him like this, of course I want to show him off.”

“Brother Fang, you must not know that second brother has received… many invitations recently,” Bai Shilei, with an exaggerated gesture, helped speak up: “Yet second brother didn’t take him anywhere. You didn’t see how long Ning Wang’s saliva was, every day he scolded second brother for being a villain accomplishing his ambition.”

Liu Zhongming patted him with a fan on his head: “The last sentence didn’t need to be said.”

Fang Wuyang was so angry that he wanted to laugh: “Okay you Liu…”

He suddenly realized that something was wrong. The table in the side room was wide, and two people were supposed to sit on one side, but now he sat on one side, and Liu Zhongming and the Bai family brothers were opposite.

Seeing his surprise, Bai Shiyan suppressed a smile and kindly explained to him.

“Zhongming asked us to help guard. If you dare to touch Little Brother Qu, we will beat you to death.”

The author has something to say: Liu Zhongming: Although you two had a great conversation, there is something wrong ps: Zhiwei is not a real dragon, but no one will be able to guess his identity now. Anyone who is interested can guess randomly. Does anyone know who Fang Wuyang’s master is?