Yan Si slowly stepped towards the basin that was still steaming. The moment he touched the water, he quickly withdrew his hand in a panic.
"It's... so warm..." It truly startled him. "Is this really for bathing?"
He had never lived in a warm place his entire life, let alone bathed in such luxurious hot water.
Yan Si put his hand back into the water, letting it glide around. It felt incredibly comfortable... After much deliberation, he decided to take off his dirty clothes and slowly stepped into the basin.
"How pleasant..." It was truly so very pleasant... Yan Si had never imagined a day like this, it was even better than a dream.
He moved his hands over the surface of the water a few times, then used it to wash his face and scrub his entire body. The moment he touched the wound, he paused and contemplated for a moment...
The wound was now scabbed over, and the flesh that had been torn away was gradually regenerating. However, it was still sunken and extremely unsightly.
"If I treat it now, it will still be in time. Brother will surely be happier to see it." He had once promised him that he would live a good life, so he must change. Only then would it please him.
After bathing, Yan Si reached for the clothes on the table next to the basin and put them on. He then walked to the bed and lay down, dozing off...
Not long after, someone gently came and shook him awake. "Young master... young master... dinner is ready. Please wake up and eat."
Yan Si heard the call and opened his eyes faintly. The same servant from before was beside him. The man said, "Dinner is set over there. His Highness instructed you to eat quickly lest it get cold. If you need anything else, just call. This humble one will wait outside."
RongCheng was indeed thoughtful. Before leaving, he had given the servants thorough instructions, telling them to take good care of him and not allow anything to happen.
Although Yan Si was scrawny and thin, he was someone RongCheng held in extreme regard, so no one dared to show him disrespect. They simply followed his orders.
The servant helped Yan Si up and guided him to the table, politely pulling out a chair and saying, "Young master, please be seated!"
Yan Si looked at the servant, nodded, and quickly sat down.
Having settled everything, the servant immediately went outside and gently closed the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Yan Si looked at the table full of food and felt completely dazed. He had never seen so much food before, and the fragrant steam rising from it made his mouth water. It was an indescribable, stimulating feeling of craving.
"What... what is this?" Yan Si's hands trembled as he picked up the chopsticks...
"Am I... am I dreaming?" This much food was even more than a dream. Should he try a bite to know what it tasted like?
After a moment of contemplation, Yan Si decided to stab his chopsticks into a dish to pick up some food, but unfortunately, before he could even bring it to his mouth, there was a sudden sound of a door being broken down outside. Immediately after, two guards in official uniforms stormed into the room.
Seeing the situation, Yan Si stood up in a panic, stammering, "I... I..."
He truly did not know what he had done wrong.
The two men quickly came before Yan Si, knelt down, and said, "Young master, we beg you to follow us to the palace at once."
"What!? To the palace!?" Why so urgently? Hadn't his brother said it would be in a few days?
At this moment, one of the men said, "Time is of the essence. Please make haste. His Highness is waiting."
Hearing this, Yan Si seemed to understand. Something must have happened to RongCheng, and that was why. He could no longer hesitate and followed the guards to the palace.
Immediately after, Yan Si was escorted to a large carriage waiting outside the villa. The guards quickly spurred the horses on.
Despite being in the carriage, Yan Si couldn't stop thinking about the table full of food he had just seen. He sighed to himself, "Ah, it was truly a dream."
Because it was a dream, he didn't even get to taste a single bite. Though he regretted it, the safety of RongCheng was more important to him.
Almost two hours later, the carriage stopped in front of the palace gates. When Yan Si stepped out and saw it, he nearly fell over in astonishment.
"It's so big..." The gate was incredibly massive, and it stood there, towering and majestic.
A guard walked up to the sentries and presented a token. As soon as they saw it, they ordered the city gate to be opened.
Once the gate was open, the other guard said, "Young master, please come in."
As Yan Si stepped inside, he was still in a daze, only to find another carriage waiting for him. The guards urged him to get in, and they quickly set off again.
The imperial city at night was extremely quiet, with only groups of officials, guards, and sentries running in formations on their strict patrols... Yan Si lifted the curtain to look for a while before letting it fall, and sat properly inside the carriage again.
This place... truly exceeded his imagination.
Not long after, the carriage suddenly stopped. The guard said, "Young master, we have arrived."
Hearing the call, Yan Si stepped out and was helped down from the carriage by the guards.
Before him was a magnificent and grand palace hall with three characters that read, "Purple Profound Hall". At the entrance, many people were kneeling prostrate, their faces pale and full of fear.
Thinking that something was truly wrong, Yan Si rushed inside, but what he saw was not what he had imagined.
RongCheng was still well. He was dressed in brilliant golden robes, sitting beside a bed and holding someone's hand tightly. From a distance, Yan Si could clearly hear him calling out repeatedly, "Yuan... Yuan, wake up... wake up and look at me..."
The other person's fingers were swollen and covered in blood... It seemed no one dared to touch them, not even RongCheng.
Standing there and seeing this sight, Yan Si's heart suddenly ached with a numbness, a feeling he could not put into words.
As soon as he saw Yan Si, RongCheng immediately put the person's hand down. He walked over to him and pleaded earnestly, "My little brother, come here quickly... come and see how this person is... please, help me save him."
RongCheng's eyes were now bloodshot. He looked both incredibly pained and furious, as if he would have everyone kneeling outside burned at the stake should something happen to that person.
Seeing him like this, Yan Si gave a slight nod, not daring to say anything.
His heart suddenly began to pound with every step he took. How was it that this person could make his brother love them so passionately?