If you find any grammatical errors, please help me correct them. Thank you very much!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Yan Si slowly opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, looking around with an air of profound panic, as if he had just escaped a great calamity: "El... Elder Brother, you are here... what good fortune! I feared I would never see you again."
RongCheng quietly observed Yan Si for a long while, then frowned and asked, "In the dead of night, why did you forsake your sleep to go to the pond?"
Hearing the query, Yan Si feigned remembering something and quickly shook his head, stammering: "I... I did not go down willingly! I was just now half-asleep when I heard Elder Brother's voice calling me to come out and play... then... then..."
"Then what?" What manner of strange tale was this? Had he called him? Only moments ago, he had been engaged in affection with Shan Yuan!
"Then... I vaguely followed the voice here... by the time I awoke, I was already in the middle of the pond, and I kept being dragged under... It is fortunate that you rescued me in time, otherwise..."
Upon hearing the conclusion of his story, everyone present inwardly shuddered. Just then, a cold gust of wind blew past, causing a few people to shiver, yet no one dared utter a word.
At this moment, RongCheng truly did not know if he should believe Yan Si's words. Yet, he never considered the possibility that the boy would lie out of fear of being scolded, and instead asked, "Are the words you just spoke true?"
Yan Si immediately nodded: "I... I did not lie... I truly did hear the voice..."
RongCheng fell silent, deep in thought for a long time. Suddenly, he felt that what Yan Si said was rather plausible. To go to the pond in the middle of the night, if not for suicide, must be due to some spiritual strangeness... Moreover, the boy had previously recounted how he was nearly possessed by the ghost woman by the stream. Thus, this matter could very well be true. Thinking this, he merely sighed: "It matters not now; you are safe. Do not think upon it further. I shall take you back."
Having said this, he immediately lifted Yan Si and carried him in his arms.
A fabricated story had compelled RongCheng's complete belief; he not only refrained from scolding the boy but was instead much more concerned for him.
Though guilt twinged in Yan Si's heart, he could not help but feel joy. He buried his head into RongCheng's chest, allowing himself to be carried.
After bringing Yan Si back, RongCheng handed him over to Xiao Yi's care, giving a strict instruction: "From now on, you must watch him closely even during his sleep at night. Do not let this incident ever happen again."
With that, he departed.
Xiao Yi affirmed his obedience repeatedly, and only after RongCheng was gone did he breathe a sigh of relief. While helping Yan Si change his clothes, he complained: "Heavens above, my ancestor... Master, you truly nearly had this servant killed."
Hearing this, Yan Si gritted his teeth and asked, "Who asked you to be so meddlesome as to call him here?"
He had never intended for RongCheng to know and rush out with the guards to search for him so abruptly.
Every night when he slept soundly, Xiao Yi never appeared. Yet, the moment he stepped out, Xiao Yi suddenly came to check, and, finding him missing, panicked and sought out RongCheng's help, ultimately causing such an uproar.
Thinking of this, Yan Si glared at Xiao Yi and said, "In the future, I forbid you from whispering tales to him about anything."
Hearing this, Xiao Yi grumbled reluctantly: "How can that be? If something truly befalls you, this servant will lose his head."
In the end, Yan Si merely shook his head and sighed, unwilling to speak further. What could possibly happen to him?
Having helped Yan Si change his clothes, Xiao Yi went out to the front room, unrolled a mat, and prepared to lie down to sleep.
Seeing this, Yan Si asked in surprise: "Hey, why... why are you sleeping there?"
Xiao Yi let out a long yawn and replied, "This servant is sleeping here to watch over you more conveniently."
"No... no you must not!" Yan Si quickly refused: "You cannot sleep here... With... with someone here, I cannot sleep."
Xiao Yi sighed deeply: "Just this one night, Master... please bear with it."
Having said this, Xiao Yi immediately rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.
Yan Si stood gazing for a moment, then had no choice but to return to his bed and lie down in contemplation. He recalled the moment of their lips touching just now... Even though the man only intended to save him, it still brought an overwhelming joy to his heart.
His face was slightly flushed, and his heart pounded incessantly, leaving Yan Si restless. He tossed and turned continuously, realizing he was destined to suffer another sleepless night.
In the Zi Xuan Palace
Meanwhile, upon RongCheng's return, he found Shan Yuan waiting for him at the entrance.
He smiled, quickly stepped forward to wrap his arms around Shan Yuan's waist, and lightly kissed his lips, asking, "Why is my consort still awake at this hour?"
Though Shan Yuan did not push RongCheng away, his expression was clearly slightly displeased. He asked, "I waited until His Highness returned before I could sleep... But why are your garments so wet?"
"Ah, I forgot..." Indeed, his garments were soaking, and holding his consort would only soak him too. RongCheng rubbed the tip of his nose, apologetically laughing: "Let us go inside, and I shall tell you the situation."
Immediately afterward, Shan Yuan helped RongCheng change his clothes while listening to him recount the tale. Only after the story was finished did he ask, "That matter... does His Highness truly believe his words?"
RongCheng immediately nodded: "I believe he has no reason to lie to deceive me."
RongCheng was normally a man who did not easily trust anyone, so why did he believe every word this person spoke so readily? Even such an outlandish tale? This truly caused Shan Yuan a slight worry.
At that moment, RongCheng suddenly remembered something and said, "That is right, why should I even change my clothes? Quick, take them all off... let us continue our unfinished business from earlier."
"You..." Upon hearing this, Shan Yuan immediately shook his head in refusal: "No... I do not wish to! I want to sleep!"
RongCheng frowned and asked, "If you wished to sleep, why did you not do so earlier? It is late now that I have returned. Whether you want to or not, you must!"
Saying this, RongCheng immediately scooped up Shan Yuan in his arms.
"You... release... release me..."
Ignoring his resistance, RongCheng merely laughed heartily, carried his consort to the bedside, and quickly stripped both of them of their clothes...
The curtain slowly descended. In the end, no one slept that night.