Royal Descendants

天潢贵胄

royal-descendants

Chapter 29

Qi Xiao walked all the way into the bedchamber, glanced around but didn't see Bairen. A maid in the room quickly said, "The young master went to the back courtyard to see the snow. Fearing the young master would be cold, we servants fetched one of Your Highness's fox fur cloaks for the young master to wear, and prepared a hand warmer and snow umbrella before letting the young master go."
Qi Xiao paused and laughed, "That's right, he grew up in Lingnan since childhood, so he probably hasn't seen snow before..."
Qi Xiao didn't take off his clothes either, nor did he let anyone follow him. He took an umbrella and went out to look for Bairen himself.
Qi Xiao's residence was built extremely well. In the back courtyard, there were pavilions, terraces, and towers, as well as rare flowers and exotic plants in abundance. When the residence was built, running water was brought in from outside. It flowed out from behind the three-story veranda of the main hall, under the corridor, meandering all the way to the Bibo Pond in the back courtyard.
There was a pavilion on the Bibo Pond. Qi Xiao looked over from a distance and saw two maids standing in the lake's pavilion, and someone half-squatting beside the corridor. He guessed it was Bairen.
Qi Xiao gathered his cloak and walked through the snow with his umbrella. As he approached the lake's pavilion, the two servant girls saw him from afar and hurriedly wanted to pay their respects. Qi Xiao waved his hand to indicate for them not to make a sound.
The servant girls understood and bowed, retreating far away. Qi Xiao slowly ascended the pavilion. The snow on the ground had already accumulated three inches deep. The soft white snow completely muffled Qi Xiao's footsteps. By the time Qi Xiao walked directly behind Bairen, Bairen hadn't even noticed.
Bairen had been outside the pavilion the whole time, and some snowflakes had fallen on his body. Qi Xiao moved the umbrella closer to Bairen, amused in his heart. He had been squatting here the whole time, could it be that he was writing in the snow?
Qi Xiao was curious, so he took another step forward, not wanting to startle Bairen. Bairen subconsciously turned his head and was startled to see it was Qi Xiao, "Cr...Crown Prince? When did you return?"
"I've been back for a while. I heard from the servants that you came to admire the snow, so I came to find you. What are you doing here?" Qi Xiao looked to the side and couldn't help but laugh. Bairen had been squatting here the whole time, and had actually made a tiny little snowman.
Bairen's face was flushed red, either from the cold or from some embarrassment. He gave a dry laugh and said, "Before...I heard people say how it would be like when it snowed in the north during winter, but I had never seen it after all..."
The fox fur cloak Bairen was wearing didn't fit him properly, making him look even more childlike. Squatting here like this making a snowball was adorably cute. Although Bairen wasn't very old, he rarely had such childish moments. Qi Xiao grew even fonder in his heart and asked with a smile, "Is it finished?"
Bairen shook his head, "It still lacks eyes..."
Bairen stood up wanting to find a few pebbles, not expecting that after squatting for so long, his legs had long gone numb. As soon as he stood up, he couldn't support himself and stumbled. Qi Xiao quickly steadied him and laughed, "The snow has covered everything, where are you going to find pebbles?"
Qi Xiao lowered his head to look at Bairen's bright red hands and frowned, "You played with the snow with your bare hands like this? What will you do if you get frostbite later?!"
Bairen was a little embarrassed and said softly, "It's not very cold...I'll just soak them in hot water for a bit later and it'll be fine."
Qi Xiao chuckled helplessly, "Soaking them in hot water when they're frozen like this? Are you trying to torture yourself? Forget it...let's go back first."
Bairen turned his head to look at his little snowman, his eyes still reluctant. Qi Xiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He bent down, picked up the snowman, and said with a smile, "Let's go back, I'll put it on the corridor outside the window for you."
Bairen couldn't help but smile and obediently followed Qi Xiao back to the bedchamber.
Qi Xiao indeed placed the little snowman under the window of the warm chamber, and casually took two pieces of jadeite stone fragments used as soil from a large coral bonsai pot on the side of the corridor and pressed them on the snowman's head. The green jadeite reflecting off the white snow created a unique scenery. Qi Xiao looked up at Bairen who kept looking out the window and smiled, "Is this okay?"
Bairen smiled and nodded. Qi Xiao turned and entered the room, wiping his hands with a smile, "I heard that it occasionally snows in Lingnan too. Have you never seen it before?"
"I vaguely remember it snowing once when I was little, but I can't recall it clearly." Bairen thought for a moment and shook his head, "But it definitely wasn't as much as this."
This was the first time Qi Xiao had seen Bairen like this. He chuckled, "You consider this a lot? Wait until this winter passes and you'll know. Give me your hands..."
Qi Xiao took out a small painted bottle from a six-sided gold-outlined chest in front of the couch, looked at Bairen's slender, bright red fingers and clicked his tongue, "Does it hurt?"
Bairen paused for a moment and honestly nodded his head, giving a bitter smile, "I didn't feel it just now, but now...I feel like my whole hand is swollen and sore, but the bones are itchy, it's extremely uncomfortable."
"You're just feeling the after-effects..." Qi Xiao opened the small medicine bottle, poured some medicinal oil into his palm, held Bairen's hands in his palms and gently rubbed them. The medicinal oil had a faint fragrance. Before long, Bairen felt much more comfortable in both hands and couldn't help but smile, "It doesn't hurt anymore..."
Qi Xiao smiled, "Even if it doesn't hurt anymore, you still need to rub it for a while, otherwise it's easy to get frostbite..."
Bairen felt warmth in his heart and lowered his head without saying anything more. After a while, Qi Xiao looked outside and laughed, "In such nice weather, we should eat some roasted food. Jiang Deqing..."
Jiang Deqing, who had been waiting in the outer room, quickly responded, "Yes, those things were taken out from the storehouse at the beginning of winter and have been prepared, just waiting for the day Your Highness is in a good mood to use them. This servant will go instruct the kitchen to prepare other things."
"It's just a bit of a waste to dine in our own room on such a wonderful snowy day." Qi Xiao turned to look at Bairen and smiled, "Especially for our young master, who rarely gets to see snow."
Bairen was a little embarrassed, but his heart still held some anticipation upon hearing Qi Xiao's suggestion. When he was in the Lingnan Prince's residence before, he was watched at all times, fearing that others would find faults to exploit. Therefore, he was cautious in everything and followed the rules in every matter, forcibly grinding himself into this prematurely mature appearance.
But with Qi Xiao, he didn't need to care about these things. Although the two of them put on appearances in front of others, they both knew what the other was like in private, so they no longer pretended, and felt much more at ease.
Qi Xiao thought for a moment and smiled, "Let's go to the Tingfeng Pavilion. Close all the glass windows on the outer three sides, leaving only the south-facing one, and burn a few more incense burners, that should be good."
Jiang Deqing nodded with a smile, "That would indeed be good. The north wind is blowing today, so doing this will keep the wind from blowing in while still allowing you to admire the snow. This servant will go prepare right away."
Qi Xiao glanced at the few bloodstains on Bairen's neck and said, "Also...the young master's wound hasn't fully healed yet, so tell the cooks to be careful."
Upon hearing this, Bairen pursed his lips but didn't say anything. Jiang Deqing, an expert at reading people's expressions, saw this and said with an apologetic smile, "The young master's wound has already scabbed over and will heal soon. Didn't the imperial physician also say yesterday that there's no need to avoid certain foods anymore? Young master has been on a vegetarian diet for many days. Today, this old servant dares to ask the young master for a favor and suggests not avoiding foods anymore."
Qi Xiao looked at Bairen and, seeing a hint of craving in his eyes, smiled and said, "Forget it, let's break the fast for a day..."
The servants were very efficient. Before long, everything was prepared in the Tingfeng Pavilion. When Qi Xiao and Bairen arrived, a few senior maids took the thinly sliced venison and mutton, dipped them in the sauce, and neatly arranged them on the silver wire grill that had been roasting over the silver charcoal for half a day.
The sauce and the meat juices sizzled, and Bairen, who had been avoiding certain foods for many days, felt like there were kittens scratching in his heart at the rich aroma. Qi Xiao watched Bairen with amusement and ordered someone to bring Bairen a hand warmer before picking up his chopsticks. The two of them didn't let anyone serve them and grilled and ate by themselves, which had its own unique charm.
Seeing Qi Xiao in a good mood, Jiang Deqing even went to the wine cellar to fetch a jar of plum wine that had been aged for many years. The maids saw this and quickly came to fill the two men's cups with warm wine. The plum wine had an alluring fragrance that paired even better with the meat. Seeing Bairen drink two cups in a row, Qi Xiao laughed and said, "This wine tastes sweet and not spicy, but it's no less potent than others. Drink less, or you'll have a headache tomorrow."
Bairen hadn't been this happy for a long time and was in high spirits. Upon hearing this, he shook his head and smiled, "Your Highness underestimates Bairen. Even if the wine is fiercer, I won't get drunk that easily."
Qi Xiao had heard of the old Lingnan King Yao Shun's ability to drink a thousand cups before. It seemed that the Dongling lineage all had a high alcohol tolerance. Qi Xiao looked at Bairen's slender frame and secretly marveled that, as expected of the old Lingnan King's grandson, no matter how young, he had the bones of a man who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.
Half an hour later, Qi Xiao looked at Bairen, who was passed out drunk on the table, and closed his eyes. He must have been crazy to have had so many thoughts earlier.
Bairen couldn't be woken up, and sleeping in the pavilion would cause him to catch a cold. Qi Xiao took the large cloak handed over by the maid and wrapped Bairen up tightly. The maid tentatively asked in a low voice, "Your Highness... why don't we have the old ladies bring a sedan chair?"
Qi Xiao shook his head, picked Bairen up in one motion, and headed straight for the bedchamber. Along the way, the servants all lowered their heads and avoided them, but none dared to gossip privately, acting as if they hadn't seen anything and continuing to do their duties.
Seeing the two return, the maids quickly attended to them, wiping their faces and washing their hands. The servants in Qi Xiao's room were all smart. They only busied themselves with Qi Xiao and none dared to attend to Bairen. After changing Qi Xiao into his sleepwear, they all withdrew.
Qi Xiao straightened his sleeves and wrung out a handkerchief to wipe Bairen's face. Bairen's face was red, and he was very obedient in his dream, allowing Qi Xiao to move as he pleased.
Qi Xiao's eyes darkened as he asked in a low voice with a chuckle, "Is it okay to take off your clothes? It'll be uncomfortable to sleep like this."
Bairen nodded, allowing Qi Xiao to change him into sleepwear. Qi Xiao was no gentleman.
While changing clothes, he took a good look at Bairen's entire body. Poor Bairen was unaware in his dream and honestly let Qi Xiao do as he pleased, raising his hand when told to raise his hand and turning over when told to turn over.
Qi Xiao was afraid of getting too excited and, after being intimate with him for a while, he stopped, worried that Bairen would have a hangover the next day. Qi Xiao fed him some hangover soup mouth-to-mouth. Qi Xiao lowered his head and kissed Bairen's soft lips, smiling self-deprecatingly, "I let you off even with an opportunity like this... How will you thank me in the future, hmm?"
Bairen, in a daze, didn't seem to hear him. Upon hearing this, he actually curled up in Qi Xiao's arms and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.&nbsp;

Royal Descendants

Royal Descendants

Chapter 29 - Chapter 29

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