WHY WOULD GU MANG use Mo Xi's ribbon to tie up his hair?
Jiang Yexue's mind was spinning with thoughts. Mo Xi was a clean freak—he never used other people's things, and others had better not think of touching his. But even disregarding Mo Xi's peculiarities, this situation was bizarre. Under what circumstances would someone take another person's hair ribbon by accident? The two of them had to have undone their hair and then put it back up…
The more he thought about it, the graver his expression became. With a soft tap of Jiang Yexue's fingers, he sent the wheelchair gliding soundlessly over to Gu Mang and peered down. This hair ribbon trimmed in gold was embroidered with a soaring snake pattern. It definitely belonged to Mo Xi.
Could it be that…
Jiang Yexue's heartbeat sped up. With bated breath, his eyes traced down from the hair ribbon to Gu Mang's collar, where his lapels lay slightly open. But other than a mole on the side of his neck, there were no other marks.
And at this moment—perhaps because he'd stared too long—Gu Mang's senses prickled. His eyes flew open and he turned his head. As his gaze met Jiang Yexue's, all sleepiness vanished.
"Jiang-xiong." Gu Mang sat up, rubbing his hair. "Are we almost there? Is it time to get up?"
Jiang Yexue cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from Gu Mang's neck. "No, I just came inside to get ready to rest. I saw you were sleeping and didn't wish to wake you. I didn't think I'd disturb you." Although he spoke evenly, his face was a little red as he turned aside and ducked his head in embarrassment.
Gu Mang took note of Jiang Yexue's reaction. After a beat of silence, he summoned a lazy smile and said, "Don't worry, I wake easily. It's not your fault."
Jiang Yexue kept his eyes on the floor. "You should go back to sleep. I'll go wash up."
"All right."
The instant Jiang Yexue's figure disappeared behind the bamboo screen in the cabin, the smile on Gu Mang's face vanished. He quickly rose and stepped up to the copper mirror to scrutinize his face.
As far as he could remember, he and Mo Xi hadn't kissed—but his mind hadn't been clear, so he wasn't entirely confident of that. Jiang Yexue's reaction was strange enough that Gu Mang wanted to check himself over once more. After a long look, he found no marks whatsoever. Only then did he sigh in relief and lie back down in bed. He was probably overthinking…
When he and Mo Xi were together, he often worried that others would find out about their relationship. After each dalliance, he would pull Mo Xi over and check every inch of his exposed skin for kiss marks, then make Mo Xi do the same to him.
The intensity of their passion in those days had been too absurd. Gu Mang genuinely feared that others might discover them. Mo Xi was a noble of the highest, most unattainable class—he hailed from four generations of heroes, descended from a line of generals. The daughters of the finest aristocratic families didn't dare dream of marrying him. If their secret were revealed—if it got out that the son of such heavenly lineage shared his bed with a filthy slave, what consequences would Mo Xi face? Gu Mang had nothing, so he didn't care if others criticized him. But Mo Xi was different. His status was high, his reputation clear, his nature kind and righteous. He was so young and so pure; his involvement with Gu Mang was the only stain on this noble youth.
Gu Mang feared such a stain would ruin Mo Xi's life. So he didn't see it as Mo Xi did. Mo Xi treated the most beautiful vision of their future together as his goal, heedlessly forging ahead in that direction, while Gu Mang hung up their most terrifying possible end as a warning bell, constantly reminding himself not to indulge in impossible dreams.
The contrast between them now was all the more stark. Mo Xi was Chonghua's most celebrated general, while Gu Mang had become the nation's most reviled traitor. In the time since his memories returned, Gu Mang had thought back on all the things Mo Xi had done since their paths crossed again—visiting him at Luomei Pavilion, protecting him at Wangshu Manor, asking for him in the throne room, even trying to stop the fight at the New Year's Eve feast.
He felt himself drenched in cold sweat. It was outrageous, all of it. Was Mo Xi crazy? Why did he still protect him? Everything he had done in the past—was it not enough to make Mo Xi hate him to the core? Had Gu Mang been lucid, he would've absolutely never allowed Mo Xi to behave so foolishly.
On the surface, nothing was obviously odd; Mo Xi's actions could be chalked up to the strength of their brotherhood, or to the depth of Mo Xi's grudge, so bitter he longed to torment this felon with his own two hands.
But from another angle? A decorated general of the empire, one known to keep his distance from men and women alike, went to a brothel again and again for a traitor. Not only did he pay to bed said traitor, he even asked the emperor for him before the assembled imperial court.
Upon taking custody of this condemned criminal, he had neither imprisoned nor brutalized him—rather, he'd given him all he could ask for in food and drink, personally taught the traitor to read, and taken him to the healer for medicine. This traitor slept in General Mo's bed, wore General Mo's clothes, shared food at General Mo's table, and listened to General Mo reading poetry on a snowy night… What the actual fuck was he doing?
Mo Xi was insane!
When Gu Mang turned his back on Chonghua, the last thing he wanted was any further connection to Mo Xi. But none of his careful planning had included his own amnesia or Mo Xi's mulelike stubbornness. He began to worry—if someone came to stir up shit and asked what kind of punishment that damnable traitor was enduring in Xihe Manor, how would Mo Xi answer? Despite racking his brains, Gu Mang was unable to think of a single acceptable response Mo Xi could give. What was he going to say, This general swore at him once in a moment of boredom?
Forget the absurdity of what had transpired last night. Neutralizing poison? Controlled by the drug? What a joke. The one who had been dosed with aphrodisiac was Gu Mang, not Mo Xi. Had any other traitor been inflamed by lust to the point of wishing for death, would a cold beauty like General Mo have lowered himself to personally relieve their torment? Hacking them to death would be considered merciful.
Gu Mang wasn't stupid. He knew Mo Xi still held him in his heart.
The enormity of it stunned him, but it also sunk him into utter despair. He could scheme over every black and white chess piece on the board—all of them save for his general, his lover, his princess. The piece he wanted to protect the most.
Mo Xi was not under his control.
And this man he couldn't control had made a mistake and slept with him again. But it couldn't go any further. Just like the secret affair and ceaseless lust of their youth, their love and desire stopped here. It could never stand in the light of day; it could never walk the honorable path. If what happened last night was made known, Mo Xi would fall into an endless hell alongside him, forever unable to cleanse his name.
With all this in mind, Gu Mang found himself glancing back toward where Jiang Yexue had disappeared. Lowering his head guiltily, he sniffed himself once, then twice to be sure. All he smelled was the faint scent of soap. Jiang Yexue wasn't of the feathered tribe; he couldn't have noticed any less-perceptible scents. He was probably overthinking…
Gu Mang sighed, burying his face in the bedding and digging his hands into the blankets.
Mo Xi, my princess, my little dummy… Oh, what should I do with you…
He slept until the sun sank below the horizon.
At twilight, their walnut ship finally reached the outskirts of Chonghua's capital. The tea stalls had long packed up, and the streets were mostly empty. Murong Chuyi touched down soon after. He disembarked from his pleasure boat and briskly turned to leave.
Yue Chenqing haltingly spoke up. "F-Fourth Uncle…"
Murong Chuyi acted as if he hadn't heard. Clad head-to-foot in clothes whiter than snow, he left without a backward glance.
Yue Chenqing's head drooped. Jiang Yexue comforted him. "Don't worry, he'll cool off."
"Mn…"
Mo Xi sighed inwardly at this pair of nephews, then gazed after Murong Chuyi's retreating back. Between the three of them, Jiang Yexue still seemed the steadier senior by every measure, despite Murong Chuyi being older by a few years. But these were the difficulties of a family he didn't belong to, and it wasn't his place to speak.
Just as he prepared to turn away, he glimpsed one of Chonghua Bridge's stone pillars. Mo Xi's gaze darkened for a moment. The old beggar from the Time Mirror was gone; he'd passed in the second year after Gu Mang defected. That familiar beggar's song would never ring out here again.
Gu Mang strolled over to Mo Xi, nudging him with an elbow and crossing his arms. "Hey, what's Xihe-jun looking at with those wistful eyes? Murong-xiansheng?"
Mo Xi immediately turned. "Don't speak nonsense."
"I got you, didn't I? You're just mad because you got caught, ha ha ha—"
After laughing a moment, he realized even Jiang Yexue and Yue Chenqing were looking at him sternly. Gu Mang tactfully pursed his lips and chuckled dryly. "Um, well, sorry everyone. Just trying to lighten the mood."
Mo Xi didn't bicker with him. "I'm leaving too," he said. "I'll go to the palace and report back to His Imperial Majesty."
"Don't I need to enter the palace too?" Gu Mang asked.
"No, go back to Xihe Manor without me."
Gu Mang smiled. "Can I stroll around instead? I'll change my features; no one will notice a thing."
"Where do you want to go?"
"Anywhere. The pastry stall at the eastern market, the shadow plays at the western market, Apricot Mansion in the south, the Perfumed Alley in the north…"
"Absolutely not," Mo Xi said coldly.
"I just want to look around. I won't bed anyone."
Mo Xi ground his molars. He didn't explode, but it looked as if he was using a lifetime's worth of forbearance to keep his cool. He lowered his head to look at Gu Mang and pushed out a sentence from between his teeth. "Go back to the manor and wait."
Seeing them fight again, Jiang Yexue sighed. "Gu-xiong, the matter of you recovering your memories will be revealed the instant you step into a brothel. Beauties are nice, but isn't your life more important?"
"Fair enough, Jiang-xiong's quite reasonable." Gu Mang heaved a sigh as well. "But frankly, Xihe Manor is far too cold and lonely. I didn't mind it when I was witless, but it's going to be a bore now. Why don't I come visit Jiang-xiong's manor instead?"
"I need to take Chenqing to Jiang Manor. Chenqing and Xiaojiu were both injured, so we'll need to ask Medicine Master Jiang to treat them and get some medicine for Xiaojiu."
"All right, all right, go on then," Gu Mang replied wearily. "I'll obediently go back and lie down. Mo Xi, can you at least bring me a pack of cards when you come back? Your manor is way too dull, I'd rather go to Luomei Pavilion…"
He was still speaking when Mo Xi turned to leave.
Mo Xi was a key minister in the Bureau of Military Affairs and the descendant of a prestigious family. In recognition of his status, the late emperor had bestowed a token upon him that allowed him to enter the core of the imperial city unannounced. Nonetheless, Mo Xi had always understood the rules: heavenly grace was one thing, but the emperor's heart was another. Though he had this sort of privilege, he never used it.
Just as he had in the Time Mirror, Mo Xi walked past the ranks of imperial guards. The soldiers turned toward him, lowering their heads to make their obeisance. Their armor shone in the last glow of twilight, scarlet feathers on their helmets rustling. Though Mo Xi had never taken note of it before now, he realized that the imperial guards from eight years ago seemed to have all been replaced. He didn't see a single familiar face among these inner guards of the imperial city.
"Aiyo, Xihe-jun, you're back!" The attendant Eunuch Li paid his respects to Mo Xi as soon as he saw him, sinking into a deep bow. "This old slave greets Xihe-jun."
Mo Xi stopped. "Could you please report that Mo Xi seeks an audience with His Imperial Majesty?"
"His Imperial Majesty is indisposed and has already retired for the evening," Eunuch Li replied.
In silence, Mo Xi glanced at the illuminated doors of the Great Hall.
"Xihe-jun, please don't misunderstand—the one inside the Great Hall isn't His Majesty," Eunuch Li hastily explained, following the direction of Mo Xi's gaze.
Mo Xi furrowed his brow. "Then who is it?"
As he was about to answer, a thought seemed to occur to Eunuch Li. Casting a sidelong glance at Mo Xi, he plastered on the sort of warm and suggestive smile the ladies of the harem knew well. Unfortunately, Mo Xi was not of the harem and had no idea what this smile implied. "What is it? Why are you smiling?" he asked, bemused.
Eunuch Li bowed and led him into the golden hall's library, smile never faltering. "Nothing, nothing, perhaps it's perfect timing. This old slave thinks the one inside the Great Hall would most certainly like to see Xihe-jun."
"Who?"
"Xihe-jun, if you please."
Eunuch Li wouldn't answer, and Mo Xi didn't like beating around the bush. He glanced suspiciously at Eunuch Li's stupid smile, paused a moment, and pushed open the doors to the hall.
The sandalwood doors creaked, and the night wind rushed in, setting the lights in the phoenix candelabras aflicker. The handmaiden Yue-niang started; she hastily fell to her knees and kowtowed. "This servant greets Xihe-jun!"
At this, the figure sitting in the middle of those piled official documents lifted her head and met his gaze. Mo Xi found himself at a loss for words.
Princess Mengze's pretty eyes widened in surprise, a smile blooming across her face like a lotus in clear water. "Ah, it's Modage?"