A man like Chao Yan was hardly accustomed to attending to others. Gu Yun quickly came to regret his moment of softness, yet seeing the other’s clumsy but earnest efforts, he did not stop him and simply allowed him to carry on.
After expending a fair amount of effort, Gu Yun finally finished getting dressed. Letting out a long breath, he picked up some powder and dabbed it behind his ears to conceal the kiss marks. Afterwards, he summoned Zhang Zhangshe to assist with his washing and grooming.
Throughout the process, Chao Yan stood nearby watching.The intensity of that gaze left Gu Yun feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Reaching down, he touched his lower abdomen. There was a slight feeling of fullness there.
Gu Yun paused and looked towards Chao Yan. His lips moved silently: Didn’t you clean up properly? I’ll end up with a fever.
Reading the words from his lips, Chao Yan gestured reassuringly. Walking over, he leaned close and whispered into his ear, “It’s only a lingering sensation. If we do it again tonight, you’ll get used to it.”
Gu Yun: “…”
Gu Yun kicked him. With the tips of his ears burning red, he left the warm chamber. Chao Yan followed after him. After taking two steps, he stopped and smiled at Zhang Zhangshe. Zhang Zhangshe immediately declared that she had seen nothing and heard nothing.
The two of them ate a little food in the Eastern Palace before setting off for the New Year court celebrations.
Their routes diverged. As the Crown Prince’s Secondary Consort, Gu Yun was required to fulfil all the obligations of kneeling and paying respects, while enjoying almost none of the ceremonial privileges.
At the Hour of the Tiger, palace attendants would lead him on foot to the ceremonial grounds, where he was to stand solemnly alongside a host of noblewomen. When the Emperor and Empress arrived, he would kneel with the crowd. Afterwards, there was more waiting, waiting for the imperial banquet and rewards to be bestowed, before finally entering a side hall attached to the banquet palace and eating his own meal.
Chao Yan, meanwhile, had to change into his court robes and crown before proceeding to pay his respects to the Emperor, Empress, and others.
From beginning to end, the two remained separated by a vast sea of people, able only to exchange distant glances.
Gu Yun completed the ceremonies quickly enough. To him, they were not especially cumbersome. After eating a little in the side hall, he tucked away his rewards, returned to the Eastern Palace, and went straight back to sleep.
It was not until after midday that he slowly woke. Stretching out a hand beyond the bed, he felt around.
No one. Had Chao Yan still not returned?
Gu Yun sat up and stretched lazily. As he did so, the hem of his robe slid upwards, revealing a narrow, delicate waist. The skin was very pale, marked by several finger-shaped bruises.
A moment later, the fabric settled back into place, concealing everything once more. He squeezed the tense muscles along the inside of his thighs. They felt much better than before. The soreness was no longer particularly noticeable. A slight movement confirmed that the same was true elsewhere.
The tension eased from Gu Yun’s features, replaced by obvious satisfaction.
Moving his legs, he prepared to rise. At that very moment, the familiar thunderous crash erupted inside his mind.
Gu Yun’s breathing stopped. Darkness engulfed his vision. He collapsed forward onto the bed.
Before Xu Jingzhou had departed, Gu Yun had asked him about this phenomenon. Xu Jingzhou had said that he had never experienced anything similar. Originally, Gu Yun had suspected the matter might be connected to their transmigration into the novel, and so he had secretly harboured a measure of hope. Xu Jingzhou’s answer, however, had been like a bucket of icy water poured directly over his head.
After that, he buried the matter deep in his heart and set it aside.
Yet now it had happened again.
Could it really be caused by exhaustion? Last night had certainly been more exhausting than usual.
Throughout the winter he had spent in the Eastern Palace, an endless stream of nourishing foods and tonics had been delivered to him. He had been cared for exceptionally well. Had he not persisted in maintaining his exercise routine, he would likely have put on weight under the Eastern Palace’s methods of care.
As a result, Chao Yan had shown very few reservations the previous night. Keeping him confined within his embrace, he had been exceptionally forceful. By then, Gu Yun had been sticky all over and so exhausted that he had not even possessed the energy to kick the man away.
His thoughts drifted aimlessly through the haze clouding his mind. Gradually, the thunderous noise and its effects faded. At the moment they disappeared completely, a fragment of memory flashed through his mind.
He and Xu Jingzhou had fallen into the water. Struggling desperately, they swam upwards. At that moment, an icy wave crashed over them. Amid the chaos, voices shouted that a sudden torrential rainstorm had arrived and that everyone should head for shore immediately.
Yet the weather forecast had clearly shown sunshine.
Unable to control himself, he slammed into a rock whose surface had been worn smooth by years of rushing water.
…
“Haa…”
What was going on?
The sudden image left Gu Yun drenched in cold sweat. Could that really be one of his memories? But his memories were complete. Or so he had always believed.
The warmth filling the room gradually dried the sweat from his body. Once his clothes had dried, he drew up his knees and hugged both them and the blanket to his chest.
Calmly, he began to reason it through. Suppose this really was one of his memories. Suppose he had simply forgotten it. Then, logically speaking—
The outcome that followed should have been death.
Even if the collision with the rock had not killed him, he would have drowned in the river. There was no way he could have made it ashore. And before long, the torrential rain would have triggered a flash flood.
If that assumption were correct, then everything he was experiencing now was very likely a fantasy born in the moments before death.
“A fantasy?” Gu Yun murmured the words to himself. It sounded strangely plausible. From a logical standpoint, it held together.
“What are you thinking about?” A warm hand enclosed his. “Why are your hands so cold?”
Gu Yun returned to himself and turned his head.
At some point, Chao Yan had entered the room. His hair was completely bound up, not a single loose strand left hanging. He wore a black upper robe paired with a dark crimson lower garment, together with a ceremonial crown bearing nine strings of jade pendants. The embroidered insignia upon his robes were magnificent. It was the full attire worn for court celebrations. A style of dress that was exceptionally dignified and proper. Standing there, he seemed to embody the very words used to describe a noble gentleman: the elegance of clouds and flowing water, the integrity of pine and cypress.
Gu Yun watched him silently for a long moment. Then he reached out. Lifting Chao Yan’s sleeve, he pinched his arm hard.
“Does that hurt?”
Chao Yan: “?”
