Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Ninety-one,
Love

For the next five or six days, Xiao Zuo acted like he was avoiding He Xuan, and unexpectedly got up early in the morning to call Xiao You Ci to stroll around the streets, and only came back after the lanterns were put up. After coming back, he didn’t even speak with He Xuan, and only told Tao Jin that he already had dinner outside, then rushed into a guest room to the side, washed up, and blew out the lights without stopping in between.

He Xuan wanted to speak with him a few times, but was blocked by Xiao Zuo with ease times, he was busy with public affairs, and could not find much time to bicker with Xiao Zuo, thus, this matter was like a bone get stuck in the throat after eating fish, it didn’t seem to be that much of a big problem at first glance, yet there was never a moment of comfort.

Actually, He Xuan also knew Xiao Zuo wasn’t actually angry with him- they got together after such difficulty up to now, and would not leave just because of this matter, so for these days, he let Xiao Zuo be, and did not bother him, once his anger passed, he would explain himself to him.

This day was a day of rest, Xiao Zuo did not see He Xuan for a few days in a row, his anger also long already passed, but he could pull down his face, and always felt that in the end, He Xuan was doing things impurely- he could not possibly first go coax him, and hence was in a stalemate with himself.

During dinner, He Xuan was nowhere to be seen, after asking Tao Jin, Tao Jin only said his Highness is busy, and instructed her to have Xiao Zuo and Xiao You Ci first eat and to not wait for him. Xiao Zuo then did not mind him, and chatted with Xiao You Ci while eating a bowl full of dumpling noodles. Afterwards, Tao Jin brought Xiao You Ci to the back residence, Xiao Zuo watched her go far off, then snuck back into the main bedroom like a thief.

Through the windowsill, he could see faint candlelight inside, Xiao Zuo paused a bit from pushing the door open, he thought that a maid went in to clean up the room, then lifted up the curtains without much care, and took one step inside.

The leg suddenly stiffened in midair.

Inside, He Xuan was leaning on the bed curtains, hanging his head down to look at something, as though hearing the sound, he turned his head back in the slightly hazy candlelight, the slightly trembling eyelashes were coated with a smear of warm yellow, making the fierce eyes reveal some warmth.

“You……” Xiao Zuo awkwardly took one step back, “When did you come back?”

He Xuan calmly looked at him, the curtains fell to one side of his shoulder, like he was draped in a plain-coloured veil. His eyes slightly moved, and lifted his hand toward him, revealing a jade pendant in his palm.

It was the one Xiao Zuo gave him before he went to Nan Liang.

Xiao Zuo turned speechless for a moment, and avoided his gaze, “You’re…… still carrying that around?”

He Xuan stroked the jade pendant in his hand, his voice was all deep, “Do you remember what you said when you gave it to me at that time?”

Before Xiao Zuo replied, He Xuan curled his lips, and said on his own, “You said, jades have intellect to them, [that you] hope it will protect [me].”

Xiao Zuo blankly looked at him. He Xuan lifted his eyes up, his gaze seemed like a blazing prairie fire, burning away the places it goes through with a broil, “Xiao Zuo.”

“Bringing your sister here, was originally to give you a surprise.” He Xuan pursed his lips, “I admit in the beginning, the intention I approached you with was not pure, but after so long, I thought you would already understand my feelings.”

“Yes, I am not some good person, I am easy to anger, change mood easily, play with authority, and have unclear mood swings. But I want to……” He Xuan closed his eyes, “I want to be better to you, if it has made you mistaken…… just blame it on me.”

Xiao Zuo’s heart tightened.

“Li Nu.”

“En.” Xiao Zuo bit his lower lip, and lowly replied, allowing He Xuan to bend over and wrap him in the crook of his arms.

“I promised you, Nan Liang would have no war in the future. Believe me this one time, alright?”

Xiao Zuo went silent for a long time, then hesitantly reached out and hugged back He Xuan, “Brother Xuan, you……”

“I like you.” He Xuan sighed, his right hand wrapped around a lock of loose hair of Xiao Zuo’s, and seldom carried some grievance, “Must Li Nu have me say it so clearly?”

“N…… no…… I…… I didn’t mean it like that.” Xiao Zuo felt like his entire body was soaked in just-boiled hot water, a boiling current of heat steamed his bones all soft, a calming warmth and incontainable happiness constantly streamed out from the heart, fleeing to every place it could along the limbs and bones, even the fingertips slightly trembled, and uncontrollably emitted a pink colour.

His face was so hot it could pretty much bake biscuits, Xiao Zuo pulled out his hand in confusion, and patted his burning red cheeks in an attempt to hide it, then heard He Xuan speak in his ears, that voice practically seemed a siren’s mutterings that was most best at luring people in.

“How about Li Nu?”

“What?” Xiao Zuo ignorantly reacted after a while, in front of his eyes, He Xuan hung his head down, ripples faintly surged in his eyes, emitting a bright watery light, like the heartstrings were finally pulled by this pool of spring water. Xiao Zuo closed his eyes, and raised his head up to meet with He Xuan’s slightly surprised eyes, and stuck onto his lips.

The words after that were all muddled, half of it was swallowed into the mouth tenderly by He Xuan, the other half got sunk in the two people’s intense heartbeats.

He Xuan’s hand slid down along Xiao Zuo’s back, and just when he was going to enter the underclothes, Xiao Zuo barely pulled away from the surging lust, and caught that chaotic hand, “Today is no good, I promised Sister I would go with her tomorrow to the Jing Xing Temple to offer a votive.”

He Xuan’s eyelashes shook, creating an itch when scratching on Xiao Zuo’s face. He took a bite on Xiao Zuo’s lips not too heavily or lightly like a punishment, and unhappily let it go, “Then we’ll leave it for now.”

The two stuck together for another while, He Xuan then called in a servant to come to help wash up. Xiao Zuo asked if Xiao You Ci slept well, and was glared at coldly by He Xuan, he acted like he didn’t see it, and once the servant went out, he then lifted up the blankets and laid down, then smiled like like he was fawning him, “Let’s sleep, let’s sleep.”

He Xuan neither hurriedly nor slowly fixed his hair, then bent his body and blew out the lantern to the side.

After a short while, when He Xuan was about to fall asleep, he got pulled at the sleeve by the person beside him, “Brother Xuan, I can’t sleep.”

He Xuan closed his eyes, and cooperatively spoke with him, “What is it?”

XIao Zuo laid on his side, while his legs dishonestly placed onto He Xuan’s body, “Have a chat with me.”

He Xuan’s drowsiness was completely extinguished, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Xiao Zuo’s hair whorl, and absentmindedly answered, “About what?”

Xiao Zuo gave it some thought, “In the future if there is something, tell me it, don’t hide it from me.”

“En.”

“In the future I…… won’t hide things from you too.”

“En.”

Xiao Zuo sighed a breath of relief, it had been many days since he slept in the main bedroom, in the end, this bed was comfortable to sleep in, He Xuan knows how to enjoy himself.

Xiao Zuo half-closed his eyes, hesitated for a while, then softly said.

“Those words…… say it again.”

He Xuan lightly laughed, and teased him, “What words?”

“Just…… that one.”

“Which one?”

Xiao Zuo got angry, and flipped over with his back to He Xuan, then pulled the blankets up high.

After a long time, Xiao Zuo stared at the clear moonlight in front of the bed, watched that moonlight hit the bed pillars and spread all around, like a floor of fragmented jade had dropped. His eyes were aching, and just when he was going to close his eyes, he heard the back transmit with a deep and low voice.

“Li Nu, I like you.”

❀

“My Lord, news from Fu Cui.”

He Yang was holding up a birdcage teasing a newly-bought babbling thrush. Seeing Chen Fan come in, he glanced at him and said, “Say it.” Chen Fan was a close subordinate that followed him for many years, the news from the spies [He Yang] planted, was typically gathered together and reported by him. He Yang placed down the bird teaser, patted his hands, and walked into the room.

“My Lord, the Nan Hun Duke has been kidnapped by the rebel army, then saved by the crown prince, Fu Cui said that Qing Ling has mostly been pacified now, the rebel party all executed, and General Liu has already been escorted into the capital.”

“He got to get an advantage again.” He Yang tightly bit down on his back molars, and grudgingly kicked the wall in front of him, “Liu Guang Yuan has committed a crime, we will be affected as well, Mother is already unlike before right now in the palace, this time, it will go much worse.”

“He Xuan, Xiao Zuo.” He Yang coldly laughed. In this time he was arrested in the residence, the more he thought about the matter on White Ears, the more he felt it wasn’t right, blame it on him in the past in a hurry to get an advantage, having never thought through the workings inside. Looks like Xiao Zuo long already hugged the big legs of that good brother of his, they truly spent quite a lot of effort, and that dancer that day……

He Xuan, for now, he cannot move, but as for a small little abandoned emperor, he did have his ways.

He Yang narrowed his eyes, and hung his head down and played with a jade bottle He Heng gifted him last year, and lightly laughed, “Tell xiao’De’zi, prepare the horse for the afternoon, Ibw need to enter the palace.”