Chapter 49 : Leaving The Palace Hand In Hand

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A month later, the weather gradually cooled down and progressed into the autumn. The affairs of the imperial court were steadily completed, and Murong Heng became less occupied with work. He selected a suitable day for Ming De to prepare the items needed for leaving the palace. This day, he woke up early and readied to take Shen Ci out of the palace to sightsee.

Murong Heng put on his clothes as he stood before the bronze mirror. He’d asked Ming De to fetch the newly-made clothes from the Shangyi shop. He dragged Shen Ci to the mirror, cast off his clothes, and helped him put them on.

The white clothing appeared no different from ordinary clothes, but if one looked carefully, you could see that there were very subtle and delicate, inconspicuous patterns on the fabric. There were also embroidered edges at the corners of the sleeves, and the material used wasn’t of average quality. It could be said that it was comfortable to wear and not flashy.

After putting it on, Murong Heng eyed Shen Ci’s clothes with satisfaction. Sure enough, Ah Ci was the most suited for spotless white, and he looked like a fairy when he wore it. He couldn’t help pulling Shen Ci into his arms as he thought this way, and he lowered his head to rub at Shen Ci’s crown. He said resentfully, “Ah Ci looks so good in these clothes. I’m afraid you’ll be snatched away.”

“Talking nonsense.” Shen Ci glanced up at him, helplessness reflected in his eyes, and whispered, “You clearly know that we are already together. And you are the only one in my heart; how could…” Shen Ci’s voice trailed off, and his face turned slightly red.

When Murong Heng heard his words, he happily kissed him eagerly on the cheek and instantly felt much more at ease. That’s right, they’d both mutually promised each other for life. Even if someone wanted to steal his Ah Ci, he would beat them off. Let’s see who dares to covet his man!

As he brooded, Murong Heng held Shen Ci’s hand tightly, pulled him over, and dropped a gentle kiss on his lips. He said softly, “From the moment I leave the palace, I am no longer the emperor, but your Murong.”

“Okay.” Shen Ci felt his heart stir and nodded with a smile.

A quarter of an hour later, Murong Heng led Shen Ci to the outside of the hall. The little lion followed behind, making whimpering noises. It really wanted to go with them, but Murong Heng refused. How laughable! This time, it was just the two of them. How could he stand for the little lion to go along? No way, no way!

The two sat in the prepared carriage. This time, the carriage was exactly the same as the one they took previously when they travelled to Jiangnan. It was still the same imperial guards and undercover guards who were around to protect them. The wheels began to roll, and the carriage drove towards the outside of the palace.

The carriage journeyed westward all the way. A few days later, at sunset, the carriage stopped at an inn. Murong Heng led Shen Ci into the inn, and a staff member immediately greeted them and asked, “Will these two guests be stopping for a rest or staying at the inn?”

“Both.” Murong Heng replied in a deep voice. The inn was very lively, and the only empty seats happened to be by the window. He pulled Shen Ci to sit down on that seat and casually ordered some dishes, as well as a jug of fine wine.

The food was brought out quickly. Murong Heng used his chopsticks to pick some food into Shen Ci’s bowl. He then poured himself another cup of wine and raised his head to drink it. In the past few days, they’ve travelled through several provinces and stopped over in many different places. They managed to observe the people’s manner of living and working in tranquilly and contentment. It seems that peace in the country was genuine, and Murong Heng felt a great deal more relieved when he thought about it.

Just as the two were drinking and eating, several commoners conversing voices projected over from nearby. They observed a burly man saying, “The current emperor is truly wise. Our people have suffered for so many years that we can finally undergo good times. If it weren’t for the restrictions he ordered, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to go home and reunite with my wife and children in this lifetime.” The man’s tone was quite emotional and prompted the people around him to chime in.

“Yes, that’s right. We’ve got a good emperor at last! It’s great!”

After listening, Murong Heng glanced over. The burly man seemed to have left the barracks. The muscles on his body couldn’t be trained by the average person. As for the restrictions he mentioned, it was Ah Ci who asked him to set them, one of which was that the only son of the family was allowed to voluntarily discharge from military service, allowing their bloodline to continue. As soon as the news came out, it was greeted with cheers from the people.

When he regained his senses, he noticed that Shen Ci was also observing the burly man. Just then, Murong Heng discovered that the man was only wearing a bunt*, with both his sturdy arms exposed. He immediately frowned, jealousy bubbling over in his heart. He said, “Ah Ci, you’re not to look any more. I am much better-looking than him. Whatever he has, I have too. Look at me; look at me.”

(*TN: hand-combat short jacket)

These child-throwing-temper words made Shen Ci chuckle. He threw Murong Heng a helpless glance, grabbed his chopsticks, and stuffed a piece of meat into Murong Heng’s mouth. He gave him a side-eye and said, “Eat yours.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to look?” Murong Heng raised his eyebrows with a smirk, swallowed the meat in his mouth, and said teasingly.

“Say it again!” Shen Ci’s eyes widened, and he ate quickly with his head down. Thus, he also missed the profound look of joy in Murong Heng’s eyes. Ever since this person had left the imperial palace, he’d become more and more fond of teasing him, and sometimes he would openly tell dirty jokes—nothing at all like an emperor! He’s clearly a ruffian!

After eating, they went upstairs to stay in the inn. After a night’s rest, they continued heading west. In the journey ahead, there weren’t such types of inns. Therefore, Murong Heng asked his people to purchase a lot of dry rations and water from this inn. The amount he spent made the shopkeeper’s eyes gleam.

The carriage continued on the next day and soon passed the last town and entered the desert. If one were to say which country within the desert was the most powerful, it would be none other than the Bailiu kingdom, which previously paid the tribute of the little lion. The two, who had never entered the desert before, appeared extremely curious. The vast expanse of yellow sand was completely different from the green mountains and beautiful waters of the capital, but it also had a special atmosphere.

When they arrived at Bailiu kingdom, the two disguised themselves as passing travellers and entered the city. Bailiu kingdom has always been populated by nomads, so the city didn’t resemble the green-bricked, black-tiled buildings in the capital. Instead, each residence bore a similarity to tents. There was a family living in each tent. The people were satisfied and cheerful. Life was stable and happy.

Murong Heng and Shen Ci, who wanted to keep a low profile while enjoying themselves in Bailiu kingdom, came upon the emissary who came to pay tribute last time. Murong Heng whispered to him to hush, then, amidst the welcome of the crowd, he walked into a tent and sat with the family.

The people of Bailiu kingdom were very hospitable. Whether they were their own people or travellers from outside, as long as they spotted them, they would invite them into their home for a gathering. Of course, the ideologies of these commoners were also very open-minded. After learning that Murong Heng and Shen Ci were a couple, not only did they not show contempt but instead wished them from the bottom of their hearts. This sort of enthusiastic and kind-hearted attitude elicited Murong Heng’s favourable impression of Bailiu kingdom to skyrocket.

After having lunch, Murong Heng and Shen Ci went strolling outside when, all of a sudden, a camel passed in front of them. Shen Ci inquisitively stretched out his hand to touch it. In all his years, he had never seen a camel before.

When the person leading the camel saw this, he pulled the camel to a stop and spoke some Bailiu words to them. When he noticed that they couldn’t understand, he began to gesture with his hands and legs. Murong Heng finally understood that he wanted Ah Ci to ride on the camel.

Thus, Murong Heng picked Shen Ci up by his waist and placed him between the camel’s two humps. The camel owner laughed when he saw this and led the camel to walk slowly. The camel was also obedient and didn’t flail around.

After walking a few rounds in the desert, Shen Ci reluctantly got off the camel. Surprisingly, this camel also recognised human behaviour. It bent his front legs and half-kneeled on the ground, then nuzzled Shen Ci’s palm affectionately. His friendly attitude elicited a light laugh from Murong Heng, who was standing at one side.

Before they knew it, it was time for dinner again. The family that invited Murong Heng cooked a sumptuous meal again and brought out all the best things from home for them to eat. Although they didn’t understand the language, both Murong Heng and Shen Ci could feel their warm-hearted hospitality.

There is a type of wine in Bailiu that is very rare in other countries. It uses goat’s milk as a base ingredient and mixes it with aromatic wine to create goat’s milk wine. The wine is very thick, and the heavy aroma of the wine masks the unpleasant smell of the goat’s milk. It has a special flavour when you drink it.

Shen Ci was aware that his capacity for drink wasn’t good, so he didn’t drink too much, but Murong Heng was different. At night, all the local men who went out to work returned home. When they saw that guests were around, they naturally wanted to have a drink or two with them. Murong Heng had to drink for himself and, at the same time, had to help obstruct Shen Ci from drinking. He didn’t want Ah Ci to get drunk here, since he wanted to be the only one to see his cute appearance. As such, he got half drunk after going back and forth.

After two hours, Shen Ci assisted the drunk Murong Heng back to the tent that had been vacated for them and helped him take off his outer clothes. Shen Ci was about to get a towel to help him wipe his face when his wrist abruptly was grabbed and his feet could stand firm. He toppled on top of Murong Heng’s body. When he raised his eyes, he met his especially clear gaze.

“Aren’t you drunk?” Shen Ci asked in puzzlement.

Murong Heng shook his head. He was aware of his drinking capacity, so he simply pretended to be drunk towards the end. After all, the two of them had to make a move for the next day. It wasn’t a good thing to drink too much, and he was too embarrassed to refuse them, so he had to pretend to be drunk.

Seeing that he wasn’t actually drunk, Shen Ci heaved a sigh of relief, removed his outer clothes, and went to bed. He heard the sound of torches burning outside and said ruefully, “The people here are so enthusiastic.” There were times when he couldn’t withstand it.

“Yes.” Murong Heng also nodded in agreement. This was one of the reasons why Bailiu’s soldiers were powerful and well-trained, yet they always kept to themselves. The people here were living in peace and unwilling to start a war. As long as others didn’t disturb them, they wouldn’t spontaneously provoke others. Therefore, Murong Heng hoped to maintain a peaceful relationship with Bailiu.

Moreover, the monarch of Bailiu kingdom must have known about his coming here. If they saw that he was here just to have fun and bore no ill intentions, they would rest assured for his country. This way, both countries would be able to maintain peace for the long term.

“Where are we going next?” They had already fully amused themselves on the western side. Bailiu kingdom was only this big; one day is enough to finish sightseeing. They should make their way to other places tomorrow.

“Where do you want to go?” Murong Heng heard him speak, then turned sideways to pull Shen Ci close and ask softly.

“Hmm… I don’t know.” Shen Ci shook his head.

Seeing his answer like this, Murong Heng lowered his gaze and pondered. After a while, he looked up and asked, “How about Shu province?” It is said that the chilli peppers in Sichuan were the hottest in the world. The ones they always ate in the palace were on the bland side, so Murong Heng is very curious to try them out.

“Sure.” Shen Ci nodded. He’d never been to Shu province before, and he heard that it was a beautiful place. The people there were unpretentious and capable, and there were many splendid landscapes.

“Good, then let’s go to Shu province.” After deciding where to go next, Murong Heng reached out and stroked the hair on Shen Ci’s back. Both of them fell asleep, holding hands..

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