Chapter 46: White Hair
Before dawn, the military camp was already bustling with people. Everyone was up early for morning drills. Qin Zhaohuang was woken by the shouts and footsteps outside his tent. He opened his eyes and saw Wen Ning’an already fully dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, reading a notebook. The notebook was filled with dense numbers. Qin Zhaohuang guessed it must be the Left Army’s account book.
Qin Zhaohuang looked at the sky. The surroundings were gray and cold, and the sun had not yet risen. So, he pulled the covers up and lay back down. However, before his eyes could close, he felt a cold wind sweep over him as someone lifted the tent flap and walked in.
“Yixin, morning… Qin Zhaohuang?”
Hearing the familiar low voice, Qin Zhaohuang sat up with a “swoosh.”
Feng Qi narrowed his eyes. “Qin… Zhao… Huang.”
Qin Zhaohuang was so scared he covered himself with the thick quilt and shivered.
Wen Ning’an glanced at the white bundle behind him, smiled at Feng Qi, and said, “Zhaohuang had a premonition that Yu Qianshou would come to snatch the jade pendant in the next few days, so he’s sleeping with me to prevent any accidents.”
“Sleeping… with… you.” Feng Qi’s face was blank. He looked as if he wanted to tear the “little demon” on the bed to pieces at any moment.
Qin Zhaohuang revealed a pair of eyes and said in a small voice, “If Your Majesty minds, I can go and sleep at Your Majesty’s place…”
Feng Qi thought for a moment, then said with a look of disgust, “You’d better stay here.”
Qin Zhaohuang was very wronged.
That look of disgust was so on point!
Seeing that Feng Qi seemed to have something he wanted to say to Wen Ning’an, Qin Zhaohuang tactfully left to go back to his own tent to wash up and change.
Before leaving, as if remembering something, Qin Zhaohuang stood on his tiptoes and whispered a few words in Feng Qi’s ear. After hearing them, Feng Qi immediately showed a happy and smug smile.
Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
After Qin Zhaohuang left, Feng Qi sat down beside Wen Ning’an, a delighted smile still on his face.
“What did Zhaohuang say to you? To make you so happy.”
Feng Qi touched the hairpin on his head. “It’s old. I need to buy a new one.”
Wen Ning’an: “…”
Wen Ning’an decided to beat up Qin Zhaohuang tonight.
Looking at the sparkling, gilded, dragon-carved jade hairpin on Feng Qi’s head, Wen Ning’an felt a little uncomfortable and turned his head away.
“Yixin…” Feng Qi rested his chin on Wen Ning’an’s shoulder. “The hairpin is old. I want a new one.”
Wen Ning’an smiled. “Why are you acting like a child?”
Feng Qi nuzzled the crook of Wen Ning’an’s neck, making him shrink back from the ticklish feeling.
“Yixin…”
“Stop fooling around.” Wen Ning’an turned Feng Qi’s head to face forward. “The hairpin I bought is too simple. It’s not as good as the one you’re using now.”
“But you bought it. Whatever you buy is the best in the world.”
Such a smooth talker. Wen Ning’an’s earlobes turned slightly red. He stood up, put away the account book, opened the cabinet, and took out the gilded hairpin he had bought that day.
Feng Qi’s eyes lit up.
Wen Ning’an smiled. He thought to himself that this person had no resemblance to an emperor at this moment, more like… more like a big fool.
“Pfft…”
Seeing Wen Ning’an grinning at him, Feng Qi frowned. “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. Try it on.” Wen Ning’an handed the hairpin to Feng Qi.
Feng Qi didn’t take it, but said, “You put it on for me.”
Wen Ning’an shook his head, walked over to Feng Qi, and reached out to take off his jade hairpin. With Wen Ning’an’s movement, Feng Qi’s hair, which had been held up by the hairpin, immediately fell loose, draping over his shoulders.
Wen Ning’an gently gathered Feng Qi’s ink-black hair in his hands, put it up, and carefully combed and smoothed it. Wen Ning’an’s hands were not as soft and slender as a scholar’s or a young lady’s. The hands that had held a sword and reins for years had some thick calluses, but Feng Qi still liked them very much. Holding them gave him a sense of security, and when they were doing his hair, he also felt a warmth.
“Yixin, in ordinary households, they say ‘one comb to the end, holding your hand and growing old together.’ Do you also want to grow old together?”
Without waiting for Wen Ning’an’s reply, he said, “I do.”
Wen Ning’an’s heart was filled with complex emotions. White hair… what a beautiful phrase, like a dream. If he could grow old with Feng Qi, with mutual respect, and return to the earth together…
“In ordinary households, the wife combs the husband’s hair, and the husband paints the wife’s eyebrows. Yixin, shall I paint your eyebrows?”
“Stop fooling around. Don’t move.” Wen Ning’an smiled and turned Feng Qi’s head back.
After securing his hair with the hairpin, Wen Ning’an said, “There.”
Feng Qi didn’t look in a bronze mirror, but just reached out and wrapped his arms around Wen Ning’an’s waist, resting his head on his stomach, his whole body as if it had lost its bones.
“Yixin, are you afraid of death?”
Wen Ning’an withdrew the hand that had been about to push Feng Qi away. “I’m not.”
If a general is afraid of death, how can he lead thousands of troops into battle? How can he take the lead and boost morale?
Feng Qi said in a muffled voice, “But I am.”
Wen Ning’an smiled. “You are the Emperor, a hero. How can you be afraid of death?”
“But if I die, I won’t have you anymore. I want to be with you. I don’t want to die.”
Wen Ning’an was stunned. He felt as if a stone had been dropped into the calm lake of his heart, creating one ripple after another. He suppressed the strange emotions within him and placed his hand on Feng Qi’s shoulder. “If there were no you in this world, there would be no me.”
Now it was Feng Qi’s turn to be stunned.
“Yixin… I won’t allow it.” Feng Qi sat up straight and held Wen Ning’an’s hand tightly. “You have to live well, no matter what. Otherwise, I won’t be at peace even in the underworld.”
“Huaitian… are you hiding something from me? Why… why are you making such assumptions?” Wen Ning’an frowned, feeling a faint unease in his heart.
Seeing Wen Ning’an’s nervous expression, as if he were worried and suspicious, Feng Qi immediately comforted him, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I was just saying it casually. How did it turn into a race to die?”
Feng Qi leaned against Wen Ning’an again. “You die, I live, it sounds so scary. We both have to live well. I’m still counting on you to give me a son or a daughter. No, three sons and two daughters? Five sons and three daughters is also fine. Or how about we just have a dozen or two? Anyway, I’m the Emperor, I can afford it.”
Do you think I’m a mother hen…
Wen Ning’an suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore and pushed Feng Qi away with a blank expression.
Seeing Feng Qi’s lewd smile, Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but say, “Don’t try to confuse me. You’ve never been one to worry about life and death… If something is wrong, you must tell me.”
Feng Qi sighed inwardly. Wen Ning’an knows me too well. It’s hard to even tell a lie.
“I was really just making an assumption. Don’t be afraid.” Feng Qi shrugged and joked, “I’m the Emperor. So many people covet the throne behind me. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be assassinated and go straight to the west.”
Feng Qi was just joking, but Wen Ning’an was not careless at all. He said seriously, “I will not allow that to happen. I will protect you.”
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. “My martial arts are better than yours.”
“Even a horse can stumble, and a person can make a mistake. Besides, a hidden arrow is hard to guard against.”
“Alright, alright, I believe you.” Feng Qi naturally believed him completely. He could not, and would not, forget the scene of Wen Ning’an’s death in his past life. During the time Wen Ning’an was away from him, that scene had appeared in his dreams every night. Every time he woke up with a start, the space beside him and in his arms was cold, and his heart was also cold.
Wen Ning’an broke free from Feng Qi’s grip. “I’m going to wash up first. I have to inspect the troops later.”
“Alright.”
After Wen Ning’an left, Feng Qi looked down at his still-warm hand, slightly lost in thought.
On the other side, after Wen Ning’an had bathed, he went to an inconspicuous corner and summoned the Left Army’s shadow.
“Li Mo, help me investigate something…”
It was time to put out the lights again. When Wen Ning’an returned to his tent, he didn’t see Qin Zhaohuang. Only then did he remember that Qin Zhaohuang had told him he would be going back to his own room to pack a few sets of clothes, planning to just move in here.
Looking at the sky, it was already very late. So, Wen Ning’an went to find Qin Zhaohuang himself. When he arrived in front of his tent, he saw that it was brightly lit, the candlelight flickering.
Thud—
There was a muffled sound of something falling to the ground. Although it was faint, Wen Ning’an still caught it.
Wen Ning’an’s brow twitched, and he immediately lifted the canvas and rushed into the tent. Sure enough, he saw a man with a black veil holding a knife to Qin Zhaohuang’s neck from behind. The two of them were caught in a beast trap net, suspended in mid-air.
Yu Qianshou!
“Ning’an…!” Qin Zhaohuang was covered in venomous snakes, his face pale with fright.
Wen Ning’an frowned. To lure the snake out of its hole and catch the turtle in a jar, the defenses around his and Qin Zhaohuang’s tents were not strict, even lax. So Yu Qianshou had successfully snuck in. Since they knew an enemy was coming, the Left Army was naturally not unprepared. The tent was full of traps, and at this moment, Yu Qianshou and Qin Zhaohuang were trapped in the beast trap net, unable to move. It was just a pity that in the end, it was a miscalculation. He didn’t know why Qin Zhaohuang was suddenly alone here in the middle of the night, falling into Yu Qianshou’s hands and being used as leverage.
Wen Ning’an took out the jade pendant that Qin Zhaohuang had given him from his robes. “Yu Qianshou, let Zhaohuang go. The jade pendant is with me.”
Yu Qianshou said coldly, “Return the jade pendant to me, let me go, and I will let him go.”
A large, colorful snake slithered out from his collar and into Qin Zhaohuang’s chest. Qin Zhaohuang felt a chill in front of him and couldn’t stop trembling.
Wen Ning’an said in a low voice, “Yu Qianshou, Zhaohuang knows no martial arts. You don’t need to be so on guard. Remove the venomous snakes.”
Yu Qianshou frowned, seeming to be thinking. Perhaps he himself couldn’t be completely sure that he could control the venomous snakes, after all, on Qin Zhaohuang’s body…
Yu Qianshou whistled, and the venomous snakes either slithered out of the tent or into his own sleeves.
Wen Ning’an turned and drew his dagger, cutting the rope of the beast trap net. Yu Qianshou immediately fell with Qin Zhaohuang in his grasp. Yu Qianshou’s martial arts were good, so even with another person, he could land steadily.
“The jade pendant.”
Wen Ning’an said, “I will fulfill your other condition first.”
With that, Wen Ning’an took a few steps back and lifted the tent flap. “Let’s leave first.”
After Wen Ning’an left the tent, Yu Qianshou also slowly walked out with Qin Zhaohuang in his grasp. Feng Qi, who had been drawn by the noise, saw this scene and couldn’t help but frown.
Wen Ning’an shook his head slightly at the distant Feng Qi.
