Strong Winds Return Home

Liu Xian’an stopped what he was doing and asked: “How can I be called proper?”

Liang Shu pondered, then at least the three books and six rituals will be required, ba.[1] But then he thought about it again. According to how lazy the other party was, if he saw that the process was so cumbersome and simply ran away, wouldn’t the losses outweigh the gains? So now he didn’t want books, didn’t want rituals, and didn’t even want propriety anymore — having said that, which brain-addled person in this world would pay attention to propriety with his sweetheart?

Matters of love were unclear, messy, and tangled. He cleared his throat and pointed to the pot: “It smells like it’s burning.”

Liu Xian’an lowered his head and continued to stir. His winter clothes were cumbersome, and inconvenient for his work. His arms became sore after a few strokes. Liang Shu raised his foot and stepped across the threshold, saying that he wanted to help, but he didn’t take the rolling stick. Instead, he encircled him from behind with an ambiguous posture and leaned in slightly. Wrapping his hand around the other party’s palm, he slowly rested his chin on his shoulder.

It was a vivid display of what it meant to see a beauty and have one’s bones become soft, unable to stand still.

Second Young Master Liu didn’t respond. He looked the same as usual, just fine, but there was a bit of redness slowly spreading upward from the base of his ears. Liang Shu looked at it for a while, and then suddenly grabbed that red patch with his teeth. Liu Xian’an’s spine went numb instantly, and he shuddered. The rolling pin in his hand was almost tossed into the pot, but Liang Shu caught it in time. Throwing the stick onto the stove casually, he took advantage of the moment to wrap that thin waist in his arms. Liu Xian’an just felt that his whole body was being lifted up, and the ceiling spun. Before he could react, there was a wet, hot touch against his lips.

Liang Shu pressed the man against the wall, lowered his head, and kissed him tenderly. A forty-eight-thousand year old Sleeping Immortal was kissed into a wooden statue. It stood to reason that he had done the same thing in his dreams, and was not completely inexperienced, but reality was far more detailed than the dream. What could be obscured by the white mist in his dreams was clearly magnified in this kitchen, and Liang Shu whispered in his ear: “Open your mouth.”

Liu Xian’an closed his eyes, a thousand lingering poems flashing through his mind. He didn’t know when it started, but once it did, even the mythological birds in his mind soared up to 90,000 li, completely uncontrollable.

Liang Shu felt that the person in his arms had already been kissed boneless by him. Like a piece of honey wrapped in water, it was so sweet that he couldn’t stay still, so he lowered his head to lick and bite the other party’s white collarbones. Halfway through the biting, Liu Xian’an couldn’t take it anymore and pushed him away and cough cough cough’d, bending over. A-Ning also rushed over from outside, calling anxiously as he ran: “Young Master, Young Master, what’s wrong, is it the fire?”

“……..”

It wasn’t the fire, but the rock sugar in the pot was boiled into mush, which choked A-Ning from outside in the courtyard. And His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s thoughts were still wholeheartedly lingering on the beauty’s fragrant neck. What could be said, love was deeply rooted.

A-Ning quickly brought the big, smoking iron pot to the courtyard and then extinguished the stove. Without a change of expression, Liang Shu tugged Liu Xian’an, turned around, and left the back courtyard. The two walked hurriedly to leave the scene as soon as possible, then each looked at the other with a smile. Liu Xian’an said: “Now the prince doesn’t have any hawthorn cakes. Take the medicine, ba.”

“I’ll take it.” Liang Shu grabbed his waist and pulled him to stand in front of him. “As long as it is given by you, I will take poison.”

Liu Xian’an really took out a pill from his sleeve.

Without further ado, Liang Shu leaned down and took it into his mouth. There was a milky flavor, so he leaned forward again and forcibly licked a bit of it into the mouth of his sweetheart. Seeing that the sweet thing had not fully melted, he looked at Liu Xian’an and said: “When the matter in the Southwest is resolved, I will return to Wangcheng and ask Emperor Brother for permission to come to Baihe Mountain Village and propose marriage.”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “All right.”

As for when the Emperor heard that his younger brother was going to marry a young master of Baihe Mountain Village instead of the young lady, and when the Village Master discovered that there was no need for his daughter to marry, but his son was going to accept the marriage, how shocking, calamitous, and thunderous it would be was not a question for a young couple in love to consider. Liang Shu thought that his Emperor Brother should be able to bear it quite well, while Liu Xian’an thought that his father and elder brother should be fine. His mother and sister might take it a little worse, but it would not be a big problem.

The two held hands and returned to their residence together.

And that was how such a large matter was settled.

The suspicion of Huaizhen City being haunted had been completely blown away. Although the facts behind it were a bit heavy, at least Yu Manor had been entirely wiped out. The new magistrate was still on his way, so Liang Shu ordered Tong Ou to stay in Huaizhen City as a temporary substitute. The common people were in discussion about holding another Many-Color Festival. All the old decorations by the river had been demolished and replaced by newly made colorful woven ropes. Illuminated by the winter sun, the colors were bright and splendorous.

Tong Ou cremated Wan Yuan’s remains and planned to take them elsewhere for burial.

A-Ning asked: “Will they be buried on the mountain where Commander Tong is stationed?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “I don’t know, there may be another place with beautiful mountains and rivers that only he knows about.”

The Baifu religion was rampant, and congregations spread everywhere like locusts. Soldiers like Tong Ou had always been thorns in the flesh of this cult. Not only did they wish to kill him, but they also wished to kill his parents, relatives, and friends, in order to establish their prestige. If Wan Yuan’s remains were buried outside the city, they would be exhumed and thrown away within ten days.

A-Ning sighed: “It’s really despicable.”

“That is why the prince had to travel thousands of li to come here.” Liu Xian’an patted his head and turned to go out. “Let’s go outside and have a look, ba.”

A-Ning trotted to keep up: “Young Master, why are you free to be with me today?”

Liu Xian’an replied: Because the prince is busy.

A-Ning asked again: “Did the prince really say that he would go to Baihe Mountain Village to propose marriage?”

Liu Xian’an’s brow smoothed out: “Yes.’

“The Master will definitely be furious.”

“Not so, my father is not that fragile. He even dares to scalp other people.”

“It’s not the same.”

“What is the difference?”

“In any case, I still think the young master needs to soften the blow first.”

“But I already praised the prince a lot in the letters before.”

“Not enough.”

Liu Xian’an listened to his suggestion: “All right, then I won’t go out right now.”

He didn’t go out, but returned to his residence and continued to write letters home.

A-Ning ground ink at the table. Although he didn’t have much experience in this field, he was very clever and knew that this sort of thing had to be established starting with the goodwill of the elders.

“This is to let the Master, Madam, and First Young Master feel that, in fact, the prince is not that fierce. He will not kill people at every turn, and is actually very gentle and polite, and is especially kind to us.”

Liu Xian’an embellished the matter of the quilt, and besides the quilt, he also gave him other gifts, including a pillow, a cloak, a dagger, and a blanket made of tiger skin, all of which he liked very much. Even writing wasn’t enough, so he drew the gifts one by one — so that his father could feel his love more intuitively.

A-Ning wrinkled his nose: “It doesn’t need to be so detailed. I don’t think it can be written like this. It will make the young master look more and more lazy under the prince’s wilfulness, and the Master wants to the young master to be more diligent.”

Liu Xian’an sighed, my father is really troublesome.

He said: “I’m too lazy to write.”

A-Ning saw through him at a glance: “If you’re too lazy to write, why are you still holding the brush?” In normal times, he likely would have already run to the bed and lay down.

Liu Xian’an explained patiently: “I’m too lazy to write, but I still have to write.” Because if he didn’t write, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would be disliked.

A-Ning smiled and moved on: “Young Master, write as I say, I know what the Master likes to hear. En…..say that the prince urges the young master to get up and study every day, and also asks the military doctor to discuss medicine with the young master every day. The young master is forced to eat five colors of vegetables every day, and is not allowed to lie down immediately after eating, and must walk outside for half an hour before returning home.”

Liu Xian’an imagined these events and sucked in a breath on the spot. A-Ning quickly saw this, and grabbed him by the shoulders: “Don’t lie down, it’s not true!”

It wasn’t true, but it was really scary. While writing, Liu Xian’an said: “Have you noticed, although my father speaks righteously, he is actually the pickiest eater in Baihe Mountain Village.”

A-Ning hehe’d: “We know, but no one dares say it.”

Liu Xian’an also smiled for a moment, and then felt homesick. Thinking of his brother and sister, as well as his own comfortable waterside pavilion, he wrote another page of carefully worded concern. After writing it, he handed it over to A-Ning and asked him to find a post station to mail it, then climbed into bed and stared blankly at the backs of his eyelids for a while.

Then he felt a tickle on his cheek.

Liang Shu kissed him twice, halfway crouched beside the bed, and brushed his fingertips through the black hair lying across his cheeks: “Get up.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t have to think about it. He just opened his eyes a little and asked: “The prince has finished his business?”

“Nearly. I wanted to come and have lunch with you.” Liang Shu picked him up and held him in his arms. “I met A-Ning on the street, and he said that you were not in a good mood when you wrote the letter and that you were homesick.”

Liu Xian’an said: “It’s almost the New Year.”

“Time really flies fast.” Liang Shu asked, “You spent the New Year at home before?”

“Yes.” Liu Xian’an said, “I stay home to observe the New Year, but my father and the others often can’t make it back, and are delayed while practicing medicine somewhere.”

“Then treat this as you practicing medicine outside this year.” Liang Shu coaxed him seriously, “Curing this lord’s love sickness.”

This disease did not sound serious, but there was indeed only one person in the world who could cure it, so Liu Xian’an sat up a little and invited him: “If nothing happens at the border in the future, why doesn’t the prince come back with me to Baihe Mountain Village to celebrate the New Year with me?”

Liang Shu didn’t hesitate: Okay, ah.

Liu Xian’an asked again: “Will the Emperor agree?”

Liang Shu boasted shamelessly: “Emperor Brother will not be concerned with me. Every year on the first day of the new year when the courtiers meet, I cause a couple old fellows to lose their heads with anger. He thinks I’m troublesome and an eyesore, so it will be a great achievement for Baihe Mountain Village to accept me.”

Liu Xian’an was doubtful: “Really?”

“Really.” Liang Shu regarded him with a sincere attitude. “Could it be that you think I’m not disagreeable enough?”

Liu Xian’an thought of those sages who were forced to get in line in the Three Thousand Worlds, and immediately nodded. It was true.

“Thus, you must take me in.” Liang Shu stood up with the man in his arms and walked out contentedly. “Let’s go eat first.”

Liu Xian’an looked around and asked in surprise: “Is that Lieutenant General Gao in the distance? Why is he standing there motionless?”

Liang Shu was entirely disinterested: “Perhaps he took the wrong medicine. Don’t worry about him.”

Lieutenant General Gao was in a dilemma at this time.

It was fine before, but now that the prince was proud and triumphant, could he still avoid a scene like this where one person was walking with the other in his arms?

[1] The three books and six rituals (三书六礼) are old marriage customs that cover the entire marriage process. ⮐