Thinking about this, Yan Yuanheng’s face went cold.

Shi Tingyun is his companion, and they have been friends for ten years, so they are very close. If he had gone astray, he would have to help him at such a time, as he was both his master and friend.

He will have to have a good talk with Shi Tingyun.

Yan Yuanheng sits upright, as if this is a study in the middle of nowhere where they are talking about war.

He made a dry start, ” Su Chang , you are on good terms with the Sixth Royal Brother.”

Shi Tingyun, flipping the roast chicken, replied, “Yuanzhao is a good person, and I feel very comfortable with him.”

Yan Yuanheng: “But it can’t stay that way. The doctors at the Imperial College have praised the sixth brother as a young man of great talent. Besides, he already has a family and will settle down one day, so who will be able to play with you then?”

Shi Tingyun smiled brightly, “We’ll have the Thirteenth Prince around then.”

Yan Yuanheng’s face heated up, and his heart felt a tinge of irrepressible joy, but his words were cold, hard and sensible: “Nonsense.”

Shi Tingyun lowered his eyelashes, the firelight dancing on his face: “It was only a joke. I understand my duty, and I must accompany my father to guard the border.”

”But how will the Toki family lineage continue?”

”How can the Thirteenth Prince care so much for the bloodline of the Toki family?”

”I ……” Yan Yuanheng’s heart jumped, his back straightened, “You have been my companion for many years, and the rise and fall of the time family is also a matter of the mountains and the country.”

Shi Tingyun smiled, “When we last spoke, I said that I would pledge my life to my country and make it my home. Besides, the Shi family has other sons and daughters who, with the right upbringing, will be another generation of heroes.”

When Yan Yuanheng thought that the person in front of him belonged to someone, and that he was willing to make a promise to his country for that person, preferring to die without a queen, he was so angry that he said stiffly, “I don’t agree with your thinking. You are still young, how can you talk about a lifetime? Perhaps in a few years you will forget about him.”

Shi Tingyun deliberately glanced at his face, his eyes slightly curved: “Good, in accordance with the Thirteenth Prince’s will, Stop Cloud will try. Perhaps many years from now, Stop Cloud will fall in love with a frontier woman and have a bunch of dolls of southern frontier blood with her, with children running around the barracks with rattles. When the time comes, if the Thirteenth Prince comes to the frontier, I will drag my family to welcome him, so you won’t mind the noise.”

Yan Yuanheng was trying to persuade him to change his mind, and he should have been pleased that Shi Tingyun was relieved, but after listening to Shi Tingyun’s graphic description, he thought for a moment about that image and became more depressed.

He straightened the soft armour on his chest and said no more, thinking to himself, “What’s happening to me?

Chi Xiaochi didn’t care what happened to him. When the chicken was cooked, he took a knife and cut off the tenderest breast of the chicken, instructed the cook to turn the breast into chicken mush, added it to the congee and served it to the gongzi master, leaving Yan Yuanheng alone in front of the fire.

Yan Yuanheng flicked a branch into the fire and remembered something that had been buried in his mind for a long time.

It was not a big deal, but it was a bit embarrassing, so he kept it to himself, not even Shi Tingyun.

He did not touch the courtesan of initiation sent by his father.

He was 15 years old at the time and had no ambition whatsoever to study, but he had an early understanding of the rules handed down from his ancestors.

So when he returned to his house one day and saw the addition of a beautiful young woman, it was clear to him without saying anything.

He was a little nervous, but he didn’t show it, only straightened his back a little more.

The young girl, who looked two or three years older than him, had hidden tears in her eyes and looked much more nervous than he did.

He frowned slightly, wanting to have some family talk so that she wouldn’t be so uncomfortable.

But in the young girl’s eyes, Yan Yuanheng looked as cold as if she was sitting on a court case, and even the tone of her voice was creepy: “How old are you?”

The young girl shivered: “Back to the thirteenth prince, slave ten or seventeen.”

Yan Yuanheng : “Where does your family live? Where are you originally from?”

The young lady remembered the teachings of the head sisters and chose a palace maid who was older than the prince, so that she could serve him more gently and considerately.

But Yan Yuanheng looked too cold and detached, and the scrutiny in his gaze chilled her bones.

She thought that perhaps the Thirteenth Prince did not fancy himself.

She had to put on a smile and answered where she was from, how many other people were in her family, and what she had done before she entered the palace, but in her heart she began to ponder whether she had done something wrong.

Yan Yuanheng, seeing that the situation seemed wrong and that the young girl’s shoulders were trembling, had to follow the instruction of the sixth royal brother and get up and sit beside her, trying to get closer to her: “What is your surname? What is your name?”

The young girl replied in a shaky voice, “My name is Shi.”

”Stone ……”

Yan Yuanheng’s heart jumped for no apparent reason: “Which time?”

The young girl stole a glance at him and replied, “The bushes are as tough as silk, and the rock has no shifting stone ……”

Only after she blurted it out did she realise that it was inauspicious and a huge transgression, and she immediately fell to her knees in a cold sweat, begging for mercy, “Thirteenth Prince forgive my slave for being rude!”

Yan Yuanheng turned his head away, his mind suddenly in turmoil, but he couldn’t figure out where the turmoil was coming from: “Get up.”

The young girl was afraid to get up.

Yan Yuanheng didn’t care much for her either.

The surname, he thought, was Stone, or a homophone.

Shi Tingyun was his best friend, and it seemed strange to do such a thing with her.

For this somewhat comical reason, Yan Yuanheng was so upset that he decided to take the risk of secretly disobeying the imperial decree.

He ordered, “Get up. Tonight you will stay on the outer couch, and from tomorrow I will find a good place for you in the hall.”

From then on, the young girl became the maid who waited on him for food and shelter.

She always thought she had offended Yan Yuanheng in some way and feared that if she did not do well on the first night, she would be punished by her grandmother and her family would be affected, so she kept quiet about the fact that they had not made love and was still afraid of Yan Yuanheng.

Thoughts return as Yan Yuanheng plucks at the fire.

The newly plucked branch carries a few drops of dew and explodes with a few sparks.

His eyes were starry with the light of the fire, and his lips were parting and closing as he whispered Shi Tingyun’s name unconsciously.

After realising what he was doing, Yan Yuanheng quickly calmed down and shook his head.

In the half month since his departure, his father had called him to the council several times and asked him how much he knew about the Southern Pass, to which he had answered truthfully.

And he noticed that Chancellor Qiu was present at almost every council meeting, heaping praise on him in a rather unusual manner.

Yan Yuanheng remembers hearing Shi Tingyun mention in casual conversation with his sixth brother that Qiu Ying, the eldest daughter of Chancellor Qiu, had reached marriageable age.

He thought that when he returned this time, he might have to marry.

Yan Yuanheng didn’t care much about this, and whoever he married was a blind marriage.

He has never really been able to love anyone in his life, which is why he is now so concerned about Shi Tingyun’s personal affairs.

This explanation was quite reasonable, and Yan Yuanheng’s heart was lightened, so he got up in the darkness and went to check on the garrison.

When Chi Xiaochi enters Lou Ying’s tent, carrying the boiled chicken congee, he finds him in bed, slumped over, his hair tied loosely over his left shoulder, his face pale, with Ah Shu at his side, looking worried and seemingly serious.

Chi Xiaochi’s heart tightened: “What’s wrong?”

This body is a proper golden piece of jewellery.

Lou Ying frowned softly, “Something’s wrong with my stomach.”

”Perhaps the road was bumpy for a long time, Master Gongzi said his stomach was stuffy and painful and he had little appetite.” Ah Shu was filled with chagrin, “Master Gongzi has a weak spleen and stomach, perhaps he ate two slices of dried apricots that were so sour that they hurt his stomach. I should have bought something mild and sour to keep on hand. ……”

Chi Xiaochi puts down the boiling bowl of congee, cupped his ears, and while Shu rambles on, gets his hands back to normal temperature, then puts his hand on Lou Ying’s forehead.

…… As expected, the fever is low.

Chi Xiaochi commanded, “Go out and ask for some hot water, and see who drinks, and ask for some too.”

Guilt-ridden, Shu took his orders and bustled out of the tent.

Chi Xiaochi sat down: “Can’t we change the body?”

Lou Ying shook his head, “Tried.”

Chi Xiaochi: “There is no health insurance in the employee benefits. Rubbish unit.”

Lou Ying smiles and agrees, “Rubbish unit.”

Before the words were out of his mouth, he gave a low “mmm” and curled up.

Chi Xiaochi’s heart fluttered and he covered his stomach before he did, it was cold, hard and slightly distended to the touch, no wonder it was uncomfortable.

The next second, Lou Ying’s hand pressed against his.

It was cold against his hand and I thought I knew the more I covered it, the more uncomfortable it became.

Chi Xiaochi blurted out, “I’ll keep it warm for you.”

He regretted it a little when he finished.

I don’t know what it is, but when it comes to Lou, he easily turns back into the rash and reckless young man he was when he was a child.

He was now tempted to crouch himself down in front of the winter air conditioning unit to calm down.

Lou Ying’s expression remained unchanged as he climbed up and leaned on the soft pillows, saying politely, “Thank you.”

Chi Xiaochi thought that Lou’s brother was probably afraid of embarrassing him.

With Lou Ying in such a natural state, Chi Xiaochi was able to calm down and unbuttoned his two loincloths, rubbing his hot palms together and exploring them.

To keep his sitting up body from sliding down, he took Lou Ying’s waist.

Chi Xiaochi hadn’t been this close to anyone in a long time and was a little stiff, so he didn’t dare move his hand when it was covered.

Lou Ying’s body is so thin and light that it’s not difficult to carry, but he’s probably a bit dizzy from the real fever or his back can’t stand sitting for long, so he tilts his head sideways and rests his head on Chi Xiaochi’s shoulder in the process.

The somewhat abnormal body heat scalded the skin and burned like fire where it was pressed against.

Chi Xiaochi : “……” fuck.

The emotions that Chi Xiaochi has been forcing down have been bubbling up again.

The blanket is a pure woolen blanket, very thick, and Chi Xiaochi keeps Lou Ying warm with one hand while rubbing Lou Ying’s woolen blanket with the other.

When the ball is puckered, he pulls the hair ball.

Lou Ying wanted to laugh at his little gesture, “What are you doing?”

Chi Xiaochi, caught red-handed, said calmly, “That’s a nice blanket, sir, I’ll rub a spark for you.”

When Ah Shu fetched the wine and hot water, he saw how intimate the two students and teachers were, he secretly sighed that the gongzi always treated people with such sincerity, and his admiration for the gongzi increased by three points.

He left his things behind and left again with the bowl of congee, intending to heat it up and boil the chicken mush to warm it up and nourish his stomach.

Once Shu had left, Chi Xiaochi picked up the wine, intending to mix it with hot water and apply it to his palms and feet to cool them down before rubbing him down.

But he soon realised that there was a chance that his brain was down for a default.

Chi Xiaochi took two prepared cards from the warehouse and used them on Lou Ying, and the cards worked like a charm.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief, but Lou Ying didn’t get up.

Chi Xiaochi felt he was holding up a bit, his ears were burning and he thought he knew how wretched he looked now.

He struggled to keep his composure: “…… Can Mr. Labour your head up off me now.”

Lou Ying said gently, “Shu knows I’m sick and we have to act it out for him.”

Without waiting for Chi Xiaochi’s retort, Lou Ying thoughtfully added, “And it will cure your illness and help you with desensitisation, won’t it?”

With that, he pinched Chi Xiaochi’s hot earlobe.

When he noticed Chi Xiaochi had a jolt, Lou Ying spoke to him extremely gently, in a tone like he was chattering away: “You had earrings? …… three in the left ear …….”

He reached out and touched his other ear again, “Two in the right ear.”

…… Chi Xiaochi felt that this Lou brother had changed subtly from the one he remembered, badly.

But on second thought, he thought that perhaps Lou was genuinely trying to do what was best for him.

So he was going to wait for Lou to sleep before putting him down, around this body he was in bad shape and should be sleepy.

To his surprise, Lou Ying was so relieved that he leaned on him and read the Art of War, which he had half read on the road.

Chi Xiaochi felt like she was simmering like a hawk, just hoping that Shu would come soon.

Little did he know that Chu Ziling would be the one to rescue him in the end.

Chu Ziling heard from Ah Shu that his son was accompanying the master who was suffering from health problems, so he came to see him, but he did not expect to see such a picture.

With his power hedge removed and his skin ghastly white, the gongzi master leaned over the gongzi’s shoulder and held up the book for the gongzi to read, who was also hanging his head and saying something, his lips even seemed to touch the gongzi master’s ear.

Seeing the two of them so intimate and snuggled up to each other, Chu Ziling’s heart was suddenly filled with suspicion and, beyond that, an unspeakable feeling.

He suppressed these untimely emotions and arched his hand, “My lord.”

In front of this discerning Master of the Gentry, he had to make his manners count.

At the sound of his voice, the male turned his head quickly, as if he had been caught in flagrante delicto, and his reddened ears pricked Chu Ziling’s eyes.

Chu Ziling’s heart sank and he lowered his eyebrows, “My lord, a letter from the general.”

Chi Xiaochi got out of bed immediately: “Bring it to the main tent for me to look at. By the way, don’t forget to fetch the paper and pencil and the fire paint.”