Listen to him! What kind of nonsense was that? Copy it if he felt like it, and simply don’t if he didn’t—as though Prince Rong’s residence were Ning Xuan’s own backyard, where he could come and go as he pleased.
“You must be hoping Steward Tang catches me and teaches me a lesson so you can stand off to the side and laugh! None of you people has any loyalty. All you know how to do is follow whichever way the wind blows and watch other people make fools of themselves!” Ning Xuan said bitterly. “I don’t care. Whoever caused the damage is responsible for fixing it. I refuse to copy any more books. If you don’t repair this and Steward Tang discovers it—or some master suddenly takes it into his head to read this particular book one day—then even if I become a ghost, I’ll drag you down with me!”
Having made up his mind, Ning Xuan calmly closed the book and tossed it aside. He picked up another volume and continued airing it with painstaking care.
Yihua remained unconcerned. He glanced at the book’s cover, crouched down, and sat beside Ning Xuan. “I don’t mind. Does this count as living and dying together with you? I never realized you were already planning so far ahead.” He propped one hand behind him on the grass, bent one knee, and made himself comfortable. “Though I doubt the master will ever read that book again. Still, if you think it’s necessary, I wouldn’t mind staying up by candlelight and copying books with you again tonight.”
Ning Xuan shuddered. He turned and stared at Yihua as though he had seen a ghost. The man looked perfectly at ease, sitting leisurely on the ground as though nothing had happened. Ning Xuan cautiously shifted two steps farther away before asking tentatively, “Are you… still half asleep?”
Yihua smiled without answering. He closed his eyes as though thoroughly enjoying the cool morning breeze. Ning Xuan felt unbearably awkward, but he could hardly drive him away. This was not Ning Xuan’s home, so what right did he have to object? Besides, the aromas drifting from the exquisite dishes carried past by the servants soon diverted his attention entirely. What Ning Xuan failed to notice was that the servants who had previously passed by snickering suddenly froze in alarm before hurrying away as though fleeing for their lives.
“What exactly are you doing here? Don’t you have duties to attend to?” What Ning Xuan truly wanted to ask was how a mere guard could possibly have so much leisure time.
“Does my presence concern you that much?” Yihua neatly avoided the real question.
“…” Black lines practically covered Ning Xuan’s face. This man was clearly the type to take a mile when given an inch. It was not as though the person beside him were a corpse—how could Ning Xuan pretend he did not exist? Especially when that person was a dangerous individual who had behaved improperly toward him only last night and still felt no remorse.
“It’s nothing important, really.” Seeing Ning Xuan’s face darken at astonishing speed, Yihua decided not to push his luck. Before Ning Xuan could explode, he hurriedly changed the subject—or rather, finally turned to the main reason he had come.
He reached inside his robe and rummaged around for so long that Ning Xuan began to suspect he was deliberately toying with him. Just as Ning Xuan was about to lose his temper, an exquisite paper parcel suddenly appeared before his eyes. He looked up and met Yihua’s smiling face. “What is that?”
“Pastries.” Yihua smiled as he slowly unfolded the layers of paper, revealing one exquisite treat after another, each so beautifully made that it looked carved from jade.
There were translucent water chestnut cakes that gleamed like crystal jelly; little reddish-brown squares of jujube-walnut cake, with carefully peeled walnuts visible inside; mung bean cakes, crab-roe buns, crystal jelly, crystal cakes… and countless other pastries and snacks Ning Xuan could not even name. The dazzling assortment left him momentarily unable to think straight.
Thinking of the high-tech manufacturing techniques of the modern world and comparing them with the simple craftsmanship before him, Ning Xuan could not help concluding that handmade creations truly were works of art. Every pastry was so delicate that he almost could not bear to bite into it. They were practically filling just to look at. As for the aroma, it was unquestionably the finest of the finest. At such close range, the scent forced its way into his nose whether he welcomed it or not. The cravings he had barely suppressed by gritting his teeth and tightening his belt immediately began rioting again, while his empty stomach loudly demanded to be filled.
Ning Xuan swallowed and instinctively pressed a hand to his stomach, desperately restraining the urge to pounce upon the pastries and let them either drown or choke him to death.
“What are you plotting?” Clinging to the final remnants of his rationality, Ning Xuan repeatedly reminded himself that one should not accept rewards without earning them. Unfortunately, his lively black eyes had already plunged helplessly into the parcel. He looked so eager that he seemed ready to devour the pastries with his gaze.
Seeing Ning Xuan practically starving yet desperately restraining himself, while his childlike eyes betrayed every honest desire, nearly made Yihua collapse with laughter. Had they not been sitting in broad daylight with servants constantly passing nearby, he would not have minded rolling across the ground and laughing to his heart’s content. Outwardly, however, he revealed only disappointment and regret. “I thought that, judging by your age, you probably haven’t come of age yet and therefore don’t get breakfast. My master rewarded us with plenty of good things this morning, so since we know each other, I thought I’d bring you some to comfort that pitifully empty stomach of yours. Who knew you’d be so ungrateful and treat me like some fearsome monster?” He even put on an innocent, wounded expression. “Since you don’t appreciate my kindness, why should I keep pressing my warm face against your cold backside?”
As he spoke, Yihua slowly lifted one corner of the paper wrapping. With equal parts reluctance, resentment, and self-mockery, he elegantly began folding it closed. But when he reached for the other corner, Ning Xuan finally understood what was happening. He slammed a hand down upon it, snatched the entire parcel away like a starving tiger lunging for prey, and, before Yihua could react, picked up a translucent water chestnut cake and tossed it into his mouth.
“Mmm, delicious.” Ning Xuan narrowed his eyes and chewed with complete satisfaction. It was sweet without being cloying, and its fragrance lingered between his lips and teeth. Truly, this was one of the finest delicacies beneath Heaven. What craftsmanship! Ning Xuan praised it silently while remaining relentlessly vigilant toward Yihua, as though afraid the man might change his mind—or reveal that he had only come to tease him—and make the cooked duck already in Ning Xuan’s grasp fly away.
“Slow down. They’re all yours. I never said I was going to fight you for them.” Yihua shook his head.
But you never said you wouldn’t fight me for them either. Ning Xuan conveyed the thought defiantly with his eyes. His mouth, naturally, remained wholly devoted to the noble undertaking of filling his stomach.
“I merely kissed you yesterday because the mood seemed right, yet you looked at me as though I had ravished some innocent maiden. I wouldn’t want anyone to misunderstand me, so here I am, bearing the rod and asking for forgiveness.” Yihua smiled faintly.
You may not have ravished an innocent maiden, but it is an indisputable fact that you shamelessly molested an innocent and handsome young man like me!
Ning Xuan protested silently.
He was thinking while chewing when his throat suddenly tightened and his breathing stopped. His eyes nearly rolled back from the pain. He pounded his chest desperately, hoping the pastry lodged in his throat would hurry up and slide down.
Yihua, who had been smiling so casually moments earlier, immediately leaned over and began patting his back. “You’re choking, aren’t you? I told you to eat carefully, but you refused to listen!” He looked around, only to find that there was not even a container of water nearby.
Ning Xuan could no longer wait. He plunged his head directly into the lotus pond beside him and drank desperately.
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