Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – The Tale of the Dried Fish

As if aware of the murderous air behind him, Hua Chun’s cheek puffed up. She slowly turned her head to look at him and blinked her eyes. “Emperor, for the sake of your health, would you like to have some?” Clutching the oil paper package, Hua Chun spoke sincerely, “It’s really delicious.”

Yu Wenjie stared at the dried fish for a moment before deciding to compromise. He reached out and twisted a piece, albeit hesitant. Slowly, he put the dried fish into his mouth. He then took out his handkerchief and wiped his fingers carefully. Hua Chun looked at his clean fingers and said earnestly, “You don’t need to wipe it.” He would have to eat more. How could one be enough? It would barely fill his stomach.

Yu Wenjie, however, didn’t listen; his eyes were fixated outside.

Shrugging her shoulders, Hua Chun leaned comfortably against him, holding the oil paper bag in one hand and eating with the other. Soon, she found that the man behind her reached his hand out and continued to share her snacks fluently.

‘Look, what did I say?’ Hua Chun snickered to herself. This kind of snack was addictive, not to mention that they haven’t had dinner. How could he satisfy his hunger with a mere piece? However, Hua Chun was considerate, choosing not to expose him, but silently delivered the oil paper package to him.

“Your mother is a good cook,” Yu Wenjie muttered. After finishing the whole package, the emperor subtly boasted his satisfaction with the food, and his attitude was much better.

Hua Chun listened to his compliment with joy as she folded the oil paper package and stuffed it into her sleeve. She looked at him as though she had won a prize and said, “I definitely won’t lie to you!” Nodding, Yu Wenjie asked, “How many bags have you brought into the palace?”

“Just one bag,” Hua Chun quickly stretched out a finger, “I dare not take so many, just this one bag as snacks.”

‘Really?’ Yu Wenjie looked at her, “Just now, many dried fishes fell on the ground in Zǐchen Hall?”

“That’s the same bag.” Hua Chun laughed and said in a low voice, “Fortunately, I picked them all up, or there won’t be enough for us to eat.”

Yu Wenjie was dumbfounded and furious at the same time. The atmosphere suddenly became suffocating and the air pressure in the room dropped immensely. How dare she give the emperor contaminated food! Yu Wenjie moved his body and was about to shout, but the door was suddenly flung open.

At the sound, Hua Chun reflexively buried herself in his chest.

“Not here, either.” A voice resonated in the room. “Zǐchen Hall is blocked by water, so nobody can get out of here. But, after searching every corner of the palaces, there is no sign of the emperor still.”

Yu Wenjie frowned as he looked down, holding his breath. The unheeded visitors were all cloaked in black and wore a mask. Amongst them, a voice sounded familiar to Yu Wenjie, but he couldn’t recognize whom it belonged to.

They exchanged a few whispers, and the leader entered the room, looking around. Struck by suspense, his grip on Hua Chun unconsciously tightened. As if she was hiding from the creeping sharks in the sea, baring their fangs, Hua Chun was overcome with fear. She wound her arms around the emperor’s waist. ‘Damn, you got abs?’ She was surprised for a fleeting moment, but immediately returned to her senses. Although the emperor appeared cold and frightening, his body was lean, and she felt safe within his arms.

Frowning, Yu Wenjie gritted his teeth. Their embrace reddened his ears, but he could only bear it. Fortunately, the assassin’s leader was not skillful at Kung Fu. After encircling the room, he was unable to discover anything, and they retreated.

Soon, darkness engulfed the Zǐchen Hall. Only when the clock ticked at midnight that the rain ceased. Yu Wenjie gazed outside, still apprehensive. Suddenly, the man in his arms stirred gently.

A little stunned, he looked down and saw that the man had been sleeping soundly. His small head rested on Yu Wenjie’s collarbone before it slipped to his chest. Then, he would lift his head again, and the cycle would repeat.

‘How could he fall asleep in this situation?!’ Astonished, Yu Wenjie stretched out his hand and pinched him.

“Ouch.” Hua Chun murmured indistinctly and sought the emperor’s arm. She whispered, “Be quiet.” Her voice was soft and gentle. The emperor was taken aback and hastily snatched his arms back.

Before long, Yu Wenjie was bested by exhaustion. Leaning on one side, he fell into a doze. He felt as if he had had a long dream. In the dream, there was the smell of dried fish, the smell of someone’s fragrance, a pale neck, and a pair of hands that held him tightly.

“Emperor!”

When Duke Qin’s voice bellowed outside, it was already day, and everywhere in the palace had returned to normal. Every ten steps, a knight was fixed in his post, as it should be. It was as though the thrill of yesterday did not exist at all.