Chapter 40

When Yan Sikong returned home very early and looked unusual, Ah Li became alert and gestured to ask him what was wrong.

Yan Sikong sat in the chair for a while, calmed his emotions down, and said, "Ah Li, the courtesan of Tinglan Pavilion, Ye Li, is not an ordinary woman. She may know kung fu. Find someone to search her background." When he finished speaking, he picked up the box of refreshments on the table. There was a false bottom underneath it. When he opened the false bottom, it was a row of shining silver ingots. He took out a silver ingot and threw it to Ah Li.

Ah Li reached out and caught it steadily, but he didn't move and continued to look at Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong also looked at him: "What’s wrong?"

Ah Li asked him if something had happened.

Yan Sikong said, "It’s nothing. I drank a bit of wine and had indigestion. Go and make me a pot of tea."

Ah Li nodded and turned around.

Only then did Yan Sikong lean back into his chair with relief. He was staring blankly at the wall, and his mind was recalling all that had happened today.

After calming down and thinking carefully, was Feng Ye testing him today by doing this? But what was he being tested for?

In short, he would not believe that Feng Ye had fallen for him just based on their little childhood friendship with the addition of a few encounters these past days. When an ordinary man sees a beautiful woman, falling in love is secondary, but getting aroused is undoubted. Feng Ye is at the age of being energetic. His actions would not be surprising if he was homosexual. He’s no different from Zhou Mixing and the others who visited the brothels often, just that the other party was not a woman.

Yan Sikong was angry, not only because he was offended, but also because Feng Ye might spoil his plan. Regardless of acting on impulse or lust, he tried his best to avoid them. His interaction with Feng Ye was completely out of his expectation, which made him unable to grasp the reins for a moment.

He calmed down and admonished himself not to get confused by these external things. When stability is needed, he should be immovable like a mountain*.

He got up and went to his study to prepare some paper and ink, and began to paint.

The emperor's birthday would be in a few days’ time. As he was promoted to be the crown prince’s royal tutor, he was also fortunate enough to be invited to the birthday banquet, so naturally, he had to prepare a gift since he’s attending the banquet.

For an insignificant official like him, a modest congratulatory gift would be enough. The emperor had boundless state power. Even if Yan Sikong was wealthy, he might not be able to give things that the emperor might favor. Moreover, with his salary, he should not be sending any precious treasures.

So many civil officials who were born to be poor scholars like him would offer poems, calligraphy, and paintings.

Anyway, he couldn’t fall asleep tonight, so might as well prepare the birthday gift.

----

The next morning, Yan Sikong was awakened by Ah Li.

Last night, he drew until 4am. He was so sleepy that he went back to his room to have a rest. When Ah Li woke him up, he was so tired that his eyes were unwilling to open.

"I feel awful from staying awake the whole night, so I’m not going to eat breakfast." Yan Sikong muttered to himself, turned over, and planned to continue to sleep.

However, Ah Li shook his shoulder persistently and made a squeaking sound in his mouth.

Yan Sikong turned over: "What's the matter?" Looking at Ah Li's gesture, his sleepy eyes that could not be opened originally suddenly widened, "The coachman from the Feng residence came again?"

Ah Li nodded and his expression was reluctant.

"Send him away." Yan Sikong buried his face in the quilt impatiently, but he was already wide awake.

Ah Li paced to and fro a few times beside the bed before he retreated.

Yan Sikong hesitated for a moment before he sighed heavily. He got out of bed, put on his coat hastily, and went out.

When he got to the gate, he saw Ah Li communicating with the coachman, Xiao Liu, with some difficulty.

Xiao Liu stood inside the house stubbornly and didn't move. Ah Li already intended to close the door violently. When Xiao Liu saw Yan Sikong, he immediately said respectfully, "Lord Yan, Shizi invited you to get together at his residence."

Yan Sikong's face was black: "Do you know what time it is? Why get together so early in the morning? " He felt awkward all over when he thought of the conversation he had with Feng Ye in the carriage last night, which was heard by the man in front of him.

"Shizi said he would take Lord Yan for a horse ride."

Yan Sikong tried his best to be patient: "I was drunk last night and feel a little unwell. Let's go another day."

Xiao Liu bent his body lower: "Shizi said that if I couldn’t invite Lord Yan over, he will come and pay a visit personally."

Yan Sikong felt that there was a vein protruding out of his head*. He took a deep breath: "Please wait for a while."

"Okay."

Yan Sikong turned around and went back into the house to wash up.

He had envisioned countless kinds of obstructions and troubles he would encounter in the officialdom of the capital, but he never thought it would be related to romance, which was really embarrassing.

However, he couldn’t offend Feng Ye no matter what. Now he couldn’t find out Feng Ye’s bottom line. This person was untamable*. If by any chance Yan Sikong angered him and got bitten instead, it’s not worth it.

After washing up, he got onto Xiao Liu’s carriage and went to the King of Jingyuan’s residence. They lived not far from each other, so not long after sitting inside the unhurried carriage, they could already see the magnificent residence of a king.

Since the King of Jingyuan had been guarding the border for many years, most of his family members had moved to Datong. Two years ago, his mother, Princess Pei An, passed away, and he wasn’t even allowed to return to the capital. Other than Feng Ye, there were only a few insignificant cousins and maternal relatives in the Feng residence now. No wonder the emperor wanted to call Feng Ye back to the capital to be a hostage.

Accompanied with unfamiliar relatives and servants he had never seen before since he was young, Feng Ye must be very lonely in this mansion with spacious halls and extensive gardens.

Yan Sikong let out a mocking laugh. Loneliness should not be an excuse to trouble others.

After getting out of the carriage, Uncle Xue had already been waiting by the door since a long time ago. He looked at him while smiling: "Good morning, Lord Yan, please come in."

Yan Sikong bluntly said: "Has His Highness Feng Hun been tied up?"

Uncle Xue said with a smile, "His Highness Feng Hun is not inside the residence." He led Yan Sikong inside, "In fact, he doesn't need to be tied up."

Yan Sikong heaved a sigh of relief: "Where did he go?"

"Our Shizi took him to Jingshan." Uncle Xue said with a smile, "Shizi is planning to take you on a trip to Jingshan."

Yan Sikong was frowning at him: "I'm busy with my work, how can I have time to go on a trip?”

"Uhh...I heard that the revision of history is over. Shouldn’t Lord Yan take a few days to rest?"

Yan Sikong was about to say something when Feng Ye came out of the house. When he saw Yan Sikong, his eyes lit up without any concealment: "I see that you have dark circles under your eyes. You didn't sleep well?"

Yan Sikong arched his hand and said coldly, "It was rainy and windy last night, which was extremely annoying, so it was indeed difficult to sleep."

Everyone knew that the weather had been pleasant recently, so where would the rain come from? Yan Sikong was obviously satirizing Feng Ye's "annoyance", yet he didn’t seem to mind at all: "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes."

Feng Ye looked at him carefully: "I think you didn't eat. You don’t even have the strength to speak." He pulled Yan Sikong into the house. "Come here and have a bowl of porridge."

Yan Sikong was indeed awfully hungry and didn't refuse.

Feng Ye ordered people to make breakfast again. He then sat on one side and watched Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong took two bites and asked, "Uncle Xue said you are going to take me to Jingshan?"

"Yep. There’s beautiful scenery and grassland where you can ride on a horse. Today's weather is perfect for an outing."

Yan Sikong said without changing his expression and voice, "What if I don't want to go?"

Feng Ye said with a smile, "It’s not up to you to decide."

"Shizi, forcing me to do something is not the behavior of a gentleman."

"I'm not a gentleman, just a martial artist." Feng Ye said lazily, "I said it before, call me by my name. If you address me wrongly again, I'll punish you."

Yan Sikong pursed his lips: "You are no longer just ‘not a gentleman' if you rely on power to behave unscrupulously."

Feng Ye narrowed his eyes: "If you think of it that way, that means you don't know what power is."

Yan Sikong frowned slightly. Although he was reluctant, he tacitly agreed with what Feng Ye said.

With power, anyone could behave unscrupulously. The greater the power, the greater the ability to behave unscrupulously.

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong's worried expression and laughed: "Look at you. You look exactly like an innocent woman who’s bullied. I'm not a playboy. If you’re not willing, do you think I will r*pe you? But I want you to be by my side."

Yan Sikong was a little surprised. For a moment, he seemed to have touched something deep inside Feng Ye, but it was just a flashing thought that disappeared without even leaving a trail.

-----

After breakfast, they got into the carriage.

Feng Ye took out an object with exquisite carvings and paintings from somewhere. It was a tube that was as thick and long as a forearm. He stuffed it into Yan Sikong’s hand: "Look in from this end."

Yan Sikong looked at it suspiciously. He had never seen it before. It felt heavy when he held it in his hand, so it must be covered with copper.

"Hurry up and look." Feng Ye urged excitedly.

Yan Sikong looked inside from the entrance. The inside was surrounded by several pieces of copper mirrors with various colored gemstones scattered in the middle. Through the reflection between the copper mirrors, the valuable and precious gemstones would form layers of gorgeous patterns just like clusters of luxuriant flowers. With a little shake, it immediately changed its patterns, which was very exquisite.

"This is..."

"This thing is called a kaleidoscope." Feng Ye said, "Yesterday, I went to the palace to greet Consort Xian. What she gave me was a gift from the emperor."

Consort Xian was Feng Jianping's younger sister, Feng Ye's aunt, who was a princess brought up by the emperor.

Yan Sikong praised: "This thing is exquisite and unique. I wonder which craftsman has such talent."

"She didn't mention that. I just thought it looked nice and interesting to play with." Feng Ye said, "I’ll give it to you."

Yan Sikong hurriedly said, "This is a gift from the emperor. I can't accept it." He returned it as he was saying.

Feng Ye pushed it to him again: "I said I’d give it to you. There are countless gadgets in my house. I can give you anything you like."

Yan Sikong had no choice but to accept it: "Shi... If you still want to save my face, just this one will do."

Feng Ye smiled and looked at him with an unspeakable innocence in his eyes: "I said it before, I will treat you well."

 

----

PS: time for the two to go on a date~~~

 

immovable like a mountain* [不动如山]---stand on your ground and not waver

vein protruding out of his head* [脑仁上有跟筋在突突直跳]----this phrase means that he’s angry

untamable* [野性难驯]---hard to control

 

Edited on 22 Aug. 21 (Emzie)

 

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