The war caught them completely off guard. In just a short night, the originally stealthily plotting forces once again experienced a reshuffle. Shen Wumian stayed up all night without sleep. In the early morning when the sky was still dark, he travelled through the night and entered the young Emperor's quarters.
Chi Zhao was still mulling over things inside and so he wasn't sleeping very deeply. When he heard the sound of heavy footsteps, he almost immediately opened his eyes and turned to look at the person coming his way.
Shen Wumian's footsteps paused momentarily but he very soon continued walking over whilst maintaining the same pace and same expression.
Chi Zhao also sat up. He pursed his lips and silently looked at Shen Wumian.
Today, Shen Wumian wore a pure black robe. With a dazzling sword hanging to the side, the aura he gave off was too serious and overbearing, making Chi Zhao's mood also turn heavy.
Shen Wumian didn't sit next to Chi Zhao like he usually did. He just stood there, looking down at the young Emperor from above.
After a long time, he finally spoke, "The barbarians have invaded the border. I am going to drive them away."
He didn't use the humble and distant referral 'this one', and had instead used the more ordinary, 'I'. Chi Zhao was silent for a moment. Both his hands under the quilt nervously gripped the bright yellow sheet under him, "Mhn."
Swords have no eyes. Every time one goes to the battlefield, it was a gamble with life. When Shen Wumian went to the battlefield for the first time, his father had already passed away. His mother was also a tough female general. She wouldn't cry like other mothers, reluctantly bidding goodbye to her son. His mother would just tell him one line, don't make the Shen family lose face, and then turn to leave without a hint of worry in her eyes.
Later, his mother also passed away. There was no one left who would send him off to the battlefield. Shen Wumian had always felt that it wasn't a big deal. Crying and having tearful goodbyes didn't suit him. He was born a warrior who would wield a sword to kill the enemy. His life had always been filled with scheming and killing. Things like tenderness and affection, it was a strange thing that didn't belong to his world.
But now, he felt a little sour inside. He had hoped that the young Emperor would say a few more words. As long as the young Emperor could show even one ten thousandth of dissatisfaction and worry, it would give him enough strength and determination to come back alive.
That short and indifferent 'mhn' had cut off all his hopes. Shen Wumian seemed to have grown used to such a cold treatment. Every time it happened, he would think self-deprecatingly, if he was Shen Sixteen instead, would Chen Yi still be so indifferent?
The first time he thought this, he was very angry. The second time, he was upset. The third time, he was numb.
After going back and forth, Shen Wumian felt that he was really about to grow an iron heart.
The corners of his lips twitched indifferently. Shen Wumian continued, "Before I return...."
There were a lot of things he wanted to say. He wanted to say, please take care of yourself. He also wanted to say, please don't run around recklessly and quietly stay in the palace, waiting for his return. Numerous lines circled around in his mouth several times and his pause was so long, Chen Yi even raised his head to look a him questioningly. Shen Wumian looked at his eyes before slowly lowering his eyelids.
This action was clearly very silent, but Chi Zhao seemed to hear a very faint sigh of conceded defeat.
"Before I come back, don't be stubborn and remember to take your medicine."
Chi Zhao was slightly stunned for a moment.
The medicine naturally didn't refer to the poison but the one for detoxifying and conditioning his body. The old imperial doctor had carefully assessed Chi Zhao's body and the prescription would change from time to time. In the past, Chi Zhao felt that this imperial doctor really had a unique personality. He was probably the only one in the whole country who would dare to disrespect Shen Wumian. Later, Chi Zhao realised that he not only dared to disrespect Shen Wumian, he also dared to disrespect himself.
....
Every bowl of medicine from the imperial doctor didn't contain any ingredient that would neutralise the bitter taste so every one of them were difficult to drink. After Chi Zhao managed to adapt to the taste of the current prescription, a newer and more bitter one would present itself.
Chi Zhao secretly went to the old imperial doctor, begging him to add something to neutralise the taste. The old imperial doctor who was writing out the new prescription paused and indifferently looked back at Chi Zhao, "No."
Chi Zhao: "....."
Shen Wumian who was calmly drinking tea on the side couldn't help but think to himself: This imperial doctor didn't just look down on him, he treated everyone the same. He really had a unique personality.
...
Chi Zhao really didn't want to drink the bitter medicine. In his opinion, since he would ascend to heaven sooner or later, there was no need to keep his body so healthy, so he had always tried to avoid drinking it using various reasons and excuses. But unfortunately, he couldn't seem to beat Shen Wumian. Shen Wumian would ruthlessly tear apart his excuses and until now, Chi Zhao has not been able to avoid drinking the medicine for a single day.
Chi Zhao waited for a long time because he wanted to know what the latter half of Shen Wumian's sentence would be. Would it be 'don't do things you should be doing' or 'be good and don't make trouble'?
He had all sorts of guesses in mind, but he didn't expect something like this.
At this moment, Chi Zhao suddenly realised how much the prince regent liked him.
Shen Wumian was originally planning to leave after saying those words. The upcoming battle was indeed very urgent, and it cannot be delayed for even a second. He wanted to rush over to the border immediately and being here saying goodbye to the Emperor was wasting that precious time.
But Chen Yi's eyes that were fixated onto him made him unable to move. After a moment of silence, Shen Wumian took a step forward and sat down on the edge of Chen Yi's bed.
This place had almost become his exclusive seat.
As he sat down, Chen Yi's gaze also followed him over.
"Will you be good?"
Hearing this question, Chi Zhao restored his gaze. He lowered his eyes and looked at the quilt covering his body.
His voice was very soft but never humble, "If you want me to be good, you shouldn't have let me know too much."
What Chi Zhao was saying was that Shen Wumian's act of teaching him how to govern a country and be in charge of the government was basically on par to raising a tiger. Once he has learnt how to be an Emperor, he naturally would no longer listen to Shen Wumian's words.
But when these words reached Shen Wumian's ears, they translated into a different meaning.
——- If I didn't know about the existence of Shen Sixteen, perhaps I would continue to listen to you.
Shen Wumian felt that he was already used to it but at this moment, his heart that was riddled with holes once again started to bleed.
All his inner organs ached. If it was the past, Shen Wumian would explode and hurt the person before him, but the current Shen Wumian only blinked a few times and there wasn't even much of a change to his expression.
He acted like he didn't hear that line. Looking at the young Emperor's lowered head, he stretched out his hand and forcible pulled Chi Zhao closer. Chi Zhao raised his head in astonishment. Shen Wumian only used one hand to bring him closer and he used his other hand to roughly rub Chi Zhao's lips.
The rough rubbing caused Chi Zhao's lips to turn red, like it could drip blood. Chi Zhao was in pain and wanted to push him away but Shen Wumian's strength was too great. He couldn't get away at all.
Seeing the young Emperor's lips turn red, Shen Wumian lowered his eyes and leaned forward, bringing his lips to it with both with restraint and with force.
He didn't go deep, and he also didn't rub. It couldn't be considered a kiss, it was just an ordinary contact between the lips. Chi Zhao's eyes widened. Seeing Shen Wumian's handsome face so close to him, his body stiffened slightly. Shen Wumian moved back slightly. The finger that was originally rubbing Chi Zhao's lips moved down to pinch his chin and the other hand holding Chi Zhao's arm slowly moved up, gently pressing the back of his neck.
This place was a human's vital spot. If he wanted to, with just a light twist of his wrist, the young Emperor could immediately lose his life.
It was a very threatening act, especially with his hand kneading the back of his neck like this. It was almost the same as saying 'I am now thinking about taking away your life'. Shen Wumian looked into Chi Zhao's eyes indifferently. He had thought that he would see panic and vigilance and he was prepared for him to struggle, but nothing happened.
The young Emperor just stared back at him in daze and there was a slightly complicated look in his eyes. His fingers were trembling slightly, as if he wanted to bring his hand up but for reasons unknown it remained hanging loosely beside him.
Shen Wumian suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and said quietly, "Your Majesty should be more obedient, or I won't know what I would do."
His tone was calm, as if what he just said wasn't a big deal. If it was someone else, they would have immediately fainted on the spot upon hearing the prince regents' threats or at least show some fear. After all, those words were basically a threat.
But the young Emperor before him was still the same as before. If he had to talk about changes, he was just no longer sitting there in daze like he was earlier.
His eyes were turned to the left. The left brain was where one's memories are stored. It meant that he was recalling something. Shen Wumian however was an ancient person. He didn't know about the difference between left and right brains and just thought that Chen Yi was using silence to escape him.
If he didn't leave now, it would be too late. He never got a promise from Chen Yi and staying any longer would probably be useless anyway. Shen Wuman closed his eyes and swallowed back the bitterness and coldness inside him. He retracted his hand, stood up and turned to leave.
Just as he was about to take a step, suddenly, there was a tiny force behind him grabbing onto the corner of his gown. Compared to Shen Wumian's own strength, that small force was nothing, but that almost non-existent force made him stop in place.
Shen Wumian stood stiffly in place. He didn't look back, nor did he dare look back.
As for why he didn't dare look back, it may be because of cowardice. When someone suddenly obtains something that they couldn't obtain before, their first reaction would be doubt.
Chi Zhao held the corner of Shen Wumian's gown and opened his mouth over and over again.
In the end, the hundred and thousands of different words could only be condensed into three simple words. It wasn't what he wanted to say the most but it was what Shen Wumian needed to hear the most at this very moment.
"...Come back safe."
Shen Wumian's heart stopped. The hands hanging by his sides clenched tightly. He took a step forward, breaking away from Chi Zhao's grasp. Shen Wumian left very quickly, like he was hurriedly fleeing, but Chi Zhao still heard his response that almost faded in the wind.
Leaning back against the bed, Chi Zhao seemed to have thought of something and suddenly laughed.
He really is awkward.