“Chancellor Wei? Chancellor Wei?”
“Mhm?”
Wei Fu abruptly snapped back from wherever his thoughts had wandered. Once he came to himself, he first curved his eyes into an apologetic smile at the man across from him.
“What is it?”
Fuyu Wei, one of Longsha’s Cabinet chancellors and Minister of Personnel, warmly invited him, “Chancellor Wei has spent most of the day buried in documents. You must be tired. Have some tea and rest for a while. Official papers pile up like mountains; they can’t possibly be finished in a day or two.”
Wei Fu thought, You people eat three proper meals every day without missing a single one, plus two rounds of snacks. Working at this leisurely sheep-herding pace, it would be a miracle if anything ever got finished.
Outwardly, he accepted with a pleased smile, rose, and followed him into the side hall for tea.
The attendants of the Eastern Pavilion filed in one after another, setting a tea table before each official in turn. All kinds of fresh fruit and pastries were arranged in compartmented boxes to accompany the tea: seasonal melons, grapes, peaches, oranges, and pomegranates, along with flaky mooncakes carefully prepared by the Court of State Banquets, stamped in red with characters such as “fortune” and “fulfillment.”
Fuyu Wei picked up an exquisitely small mooncake. It tasted so good that his eyes narrowed, the tips of his beard twitching upward like a perfectly content old cat. Then he slowly savored the clear, sweet, mellow Golden Pond Green Snow tea and let out a long, comfortable breath.
“After waiting and waiting, eating mooncakes since the first day of the month, Mid-Autumn is finally here. At last I can take one day off and properly loosen these old bones.”
Minister of Rites Ming Lin Qian smiled. “Lord Fuyu, don’t celebrate too early. His Majesty is bestowing a banquet tomorrow night. Do you really think you can escape?”
Fuyu Wei gave a dismissive sound, completely unconcerned. “Even half a day of stolen leisure is worth something. Besides, come evening, there’ll naturally be talented young gentlemen, graceful dancers, and beautiful musicians all falling over themselves to entertain His Majesty. We can simply sit back and enjoy the spectacle.”
He cast Ming Lin Qian a meaningful glance. Ming Lin Qian smiled. “It’s the first grand Mid-Autumn banquet since the new King ascended the throne. Which yamen would dare not put its heart into preparations? The Ministry of Rites isn’t even the busiest. The Court of State Banquets and the Music Bureau are the ones truly working day and night.”
Wei Fu had no appetite for snacks today. Distractedly, he picked up the cup of black tea in front of him—Yugong Zhaoye refused to let him drink green tea, saying that he already slept too little and was enough of a menace as it was; since green tea sharpened the mind, drinking it would mean nobody needed to sleep anymore—and probed, “For tomorrow night’s banquet, do all the court officials have to attend? Around what time will it end?”
Fuyu Wei answered, “According to past custom, members of the royal clan and officials of the sixth rank and above attend. In the past, when the late King was in good spirits, he liked crowds and bustle, so every feast continued deep into the night before he was satisfied. Unfortunately, he was gravely ill last year, and nobody had the heart to admire the moon. Everyone sat for a little while and then dispersed. His Majesty prefers quiet somewhat more, but who knows what he intends to do this year.”
The last night banquet had created such an enormous mess that Yugong Lie was probably wary of another one. Perhaps this time they would merely go through the motions…
Before Wei Fu could finish comforting himself, Ming Lin Qian interrupted.
“Chancellor Wei and Chancellor Feng have been in Longsha for nearly a full year now. That is also worth celebrating. This will be the first festival the two of you spend in Longsha, so His Majesty will certainly offer generous honors. He won’t let the occasion pass perfunctorily.”
“…”
Wei Fu silently wilted again.
Yugong Zhaoye had been busy dealing with matters in Yanyuan and had not been in Bihan City recently. He had told Wei Fu he would do his best to return on Mid-Autumn itself. On such a fine night, beneath flowers and moonlight, Wei Fu had absolutely no desire to spend the evening with the King and his colleagues. He would rather go home, shut every door and window, seize that short reunion tightly, and spend the whole night admiring his own moon.
In truth, he had already received a great deal. Yugong Zhaoye practically let him run wild according to his temperament, yet Wei Fu still could not stop himself from greedily craving more time together.
Once he had gained “a heart freely given,” he began wanting “forever and ever.” Perhaps it was because although he and His Highness slept together every day, they had very little interaction in public. Strictly speaking, they were still carrying on a secret affair.
He thought gloomily, Am I really going to have to sneak around with him at the Mid-Autumn banquet, right beneath the noses of the King and all the ministers?
“Lord Wei… Lord Wei?”
“Mhm?”
Wei Fu realized that he had drifted away again. Under the gazes of several chancellors whose attention had been drawn over, he asked as though nothing had happened, “What is it?”
A blue-robed inner attendant hurried forward and bowed. “Someone from the Chancellor’s residence has come to report that an honored guest has arrived and asks that Your Excellency return as soon as possible.”
His voice was neither loud nor soft—precisely loud enough for everyone with their ears pricked to hear it.
Wei Fu asked in confusion, “An honored guest? Who?”
The inner attendant shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
Wei Fu had neither family nor close connections in Longsha. Where had an “honored guest” suddenly appeared from, someone important enough for the Egret Guards to send a messenger into the palace? Could Xiling have sent someone?
His thoughts raced, but his body had already risen instinctively from his seat. He said to the others, “Something has come up at home, so allow me to take my leave first. I’ll temporarily entrust the official business to all of you. If anything urgent arises, send someone to my residence.”
Everyone replied, “It’s nearly time to finish work anyway, and tomorrow is a festival holiday. Chancellor Wei, go without worry.”
Wei Fu followed the inner attendant hurriedly out of the Eastern Pavilion. Outside the palace gate, he saw the coachman who had come to collect him and frowned.
“Who came? What did he look like? Did he give a name?”
The coachman answered quietly, “He said his surname was Xie. Quite tall, very handsome, and he looked a little like you…”
Xie Youlan?
Why would that troublesome bastard suddenly come looking for him?
The arrival of that walking disaster only added frost upon snow to Wei Fu’s already poor mood. He boarded the carriage and spent the entire journey irritably wondering what kind of demon Xie Youlan intended to become this time.
After a while, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.
Lifting the carriage curtain, Wei Fu saw that the street outside was not the scenery he had long since grown accustomed to.
His heart gave a sharp jump.
One accident was an accident.
Two accidents were suspicious.
He immediately closed his fingers around the small knife hidden inside his sleeve and called loudly, “Ding Fei! This isn’t the road back to the residence. Where are you going?”
The coachman, Ding Fei, drove along the long street, traveling smoothly and without obstruction toward the eastern city gate. Amid the rumbling wheels, he answered casually, “We’re not returning to the residence. We’re leaving the city. Don’t worry, Your Excellency.”
“…”
Wei Fu questioned him incredulously, “You’re already taking me out of the city, and you’re still telling me not to worry?”
Ding Fei replied with complete honesty, “Because worrying won’t help.”
Wei Fu: “…”
“Who ordered you?” He restrained the impulse to kick open the carriage door and jump out. “Are you kidnapping me? Where exactly are you taking me?”
“I’m merely inviting Your Excellency out as a guest. Don’t make it sound so frightening,” Ding Fei said unhurriedly. “And please don’t think of jumping from the carriage to escape. If you get hurt, it will be difficult to answer for.”
“Answer to whom?”
Ding Fei seemed to hesitate. After thinking carefully, he answered with great solemnity:
“The ancestors, I suppose.”
Wei Fu: “?”
The man had imitated Ding Fei’s voice perfectly, but he was not the real Ding Fei.
He was unquestionably in disguise.
Wei Fu had initially been badly startled and extremely vigilant, but on reflection, the entire situation felt strange. The other party showed no intention of harming him and even seemed somewhat afraid of offending him.
Besides, Bihan City was Yeguang’s territory. Yugong Zhaoye did not even completely trust the King anymore, so there were certainly hidden eyes watching Wei Fu. The carriage was currently traveling through a busy market street. If he called for help now—
“You won’t make it out of the city. Once we reach the checkpoint, all I have to do is shout once from inside this carriage and the gate guards will immediately stop you.” Wei Fu began bargaining. “Since your master has so graciously invited me, it would be discourteous to refuse. I would be delighted to meet him. Why not tell me exactly who is hosting me? I’ll cooperate with you and leave the city quietly without causing any trouble. How does that sound?”
But Ding Fei replied, “Why trouble Lord Wei over such a trivial matter? Please sit comfortably. Besides, it would be better if no one knew Lord Wei had left the city.”
Wei Fu: “…Quite the confidence. You don’t even take the city guards seriously?”
So am I supposed to shout or not?
Neither question needed answering.
Wei Fu had no idea what method Ding Fei used, but by the time they reached the gate, soldiers had already opened it in advance to let them pass. The carriage did not even slow down.
Whoosh—
They were outside.
Wei Fu: “…”
In broad daylight, beneath the clear and righteous heavens, someone had openly and swaggeringly abducted Longsha’s Minister-Regent without encountering the slightest obstruction.
The villainy was outrageous.
Wei Fu was so stunned that for a long while he could not produce another sentence.
The carriage fell silent. The hostage appeared to have been dealt such a severe blow that he had completely accepted his fate and abandoned both resistance and persuasion.
Ding Fei drove east along the official road, enjoying the fresh breeze. The clatter of hooves and wheels completely covered the faint rustling inside the carriage.
A hand silently emerged from behind the curtain.
It crept toward his completely undefended back, like a snake slowly gliding out of the grass—
“Hiss…”
The hand suddenly seized “Ding Fei” by the cheek.
“A’Ying—”
The kidnapped victim himself—and his voice—appeared eerily behind the coachman at the same moment. His fingers tightened slightly around the human-skin mask as he angrily accused:
“Is bullying me that much fun?!”
The false Ding Fei and true kidnapper, Yugong Zhaoye, silently answered inside his heart:
Yes.
Ordinarily, Wei Fu was all smiles, looking easy to knead and utterly without temper. But the occasional Wei Fu who became irritated, wore a cold unhappy face, or seriously negotiated with someone was quite interesting too.
Yugong Zhaoye absolutely refused to admit that he was the kind of wicked person whose hands got itchy around a pufferfish and deliberately poked it just to watch it puff up.
He gave a fake cough and calmly returned to his real voice.
“How did you recognize me?”
“You tricked me out here and deliberately said the man surnamed Xie looked like me, leading me to suspect Xie Youlan. But in the entire world, aren’t you the only person who knows about our relationship?”
Wei Fu vengefully kneaded his face.
“And the city gate guards letting us through without a word was obviously because of your Yeguang. Your Highness has eyes and hands everywhere. You openly abducted a court official in the middle of the street! There is no law left in this world!”
Yugong Zhaoye casually tore off the mask and shook loose the long hair tucked inside his head covering. A teasing smile curved across his beautifully shaped lips.
“Then shall I turn around and send Chancellor Wei home?”
The slightly curled ends of his hair brushed Wei Fu’s hand, soft as precious silk.
If Wei Fu could resist a temptation like this, he ought to be sitting in a temple rather than inside a carriage.
He mumbled, “Mhm… Seeing as you’re quite good-looking and possess considerable charm, this Chancellor will reluctantly submit to you.”
Yugong Zhaoye’s smile deepened.
“What happened to the law? Don’t want it anymore?”
Wei Fu braced one hand against the carriage shaft and used the other to turn Yugong Zhaoye’s face toward him. In the slowly passing cool breeze, he leaned over and kissed that lawless mouth.
As their lips and teeth rubbed together, joy burst again and again inside his heart like tiny fireworks, rapidly sweeping away the dark clouds that had lingered there.
The person he loved, always descending from heaven in places Wei Fu least expected, lazily accepted his kiss and responded. His manner was so docile that one could hardly believe this was the madman who had disguised himself as a coachman and tricked someone away from beneath the eyes of an entire city guarded by the Royal Army.
Moonlight was clearly cold.
Yet it descended with gentle favor.
“Where are we going?”
Once the ache of longing had eased a little, curiosity surfaced immediately. Wei Fu pulled out a hair ribbon and helped Yugong Zhaoye tie up his long hair.
“Didn’t you say you could only return around Mid-Autumn? His Majesty is bestowing a banquet tomorrow night, and officials of the sixth rank and above will attend. Did you specially hurry back for that?”
Yugong Zhaoye shot him the sort of sideways glance one reserved for a block of wood.
Wei Fu: “…No?”
“How much do you think I love crowds, Young Master, that I would specially ‘hurry back’ just to join the festivities?”
Yugong Zhaoye deliberately bit down on those three words and lightly flicked the whip over the horse’s back.
“Last year in Fengdu, I promised to take you to the seaside to watch fireworks at Mid-Autumn.”
He glanced sideways at him.
“Did you forget?”
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