After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 59
Zhou Xun dreamt of his younger self.
The thirteen-year-old boy stood in the shadow of a withered tree, looking thin and lonely. The tree was on a small deserted island, surrounded by water surging from all sides. The boy stood on this precarious spot, looking as if he might be swallowed by the approaching tide at any moment.
Between him and his younger self was an unbridgeable river.
The boy had an injury on his ankle, his expression silent and stubborn, his posture closed off. He seemed like a memory, or a feeling, manifesting as a young boy who only gazed distantly at his nineteen-year-old self. Zhou Xun watched him for a long time, the two of them staring at each other across the ever-flowing river.
Slowly, the boy smiled.
He extended his hand toward Zhou Xun, holding a glowing heart. The heart floated from the thirteen-year-old boy to the nineteen-year-old Zhou Xun, transforming into countless falling peach blossoms as it landed in his palm.
The peach blossoms stirred up a wind.
Zhou Xun instinctively closed his eyes in the sudden wind composed of flower petals. His long hair, tied up, swayed like a kite string in the spring breeze.
When he opened his eyes in the wind, he saw the stubborn, silent boy again at the end of the petals.
The boy looked at him, still smiling. After handing over that “heart,” his figure began to fade. His cool, thin silhouette turned into countless points of light, like fireflies or dandelions, floating into the clear sky where kites fly.
“Place it where it belongs,” he heard that feeling say as it disappeared.
The boy kept looking at Zhou Xun. He was a memory, a past, a pain. Now, the thirteen-year-old crossed the unpassable river of time, handing over the heart that had been locked away due to mistreatment years ago, fully and completely to his nineteen-year-old self.
“Okay,” Zhou Xun said softly.
He felt a heavy pressure on his chest, yet when he looked up at the sky in his dream, it was clear.
…Upon waking, Zhou Xun finally understood the source of that pressure.
The Emperor was lying beside him, one arm sprawled across him, and one leg thrown over him in a starfish-like position.
Zhou Xun: …
He hadn’t expected the Emperor to sleep so unrestrainedly.
He remembered the first and only other time they had shared a bed. The Emperor had slept very considerately, staying on the outside and even unconsciously edging further away in his sleep, until he eventually fell off the bed.
But now, what was with this sleeping posture…
Zhou Xun stared at the Emperor’s face, debating whether to push him away or leave things as they were, and finally decided to stop thinking about it.
The Emperor’s elbow was really pressing on him uncomfortably. Zhou Xun decided to struggle a little. Just as he moved, he heard the Emperor’s groggy voice, “Don’t move…”
As Zhou Xun stopped, the Emperor continued, “Every time you sleep with me, you’re so restless. Xiaoshuai, be good…”
Xiaoshuai?
Zhou Xun: ?
Who did the Emperor think he was?
The Emperor grabbed him and mumbled, “How did you get so big? Sneaking off to eat cat food again? Can’t you be more self-aware, you fat orange cat?”
Zhou Xun: …
Oh, so Xiaoshuai was a cat.
— A fat one.
The Emperor’s hand patted Zhou Xun’s back in a cat-petting motion, and when he felt something odd, he furrowed his brow in his sleep, “Your tail…”
“Where…”
The Emperor woke up abruptly, his hand still not moved away. In the ensuing silent stare, Zhou Xun quietly slid down a bit, causing the Emperor’s hand to move to his waist.
The Emperor: Nervous.jpg
“You…” Shortly after, the Emperor laughed heartily, “Did you sleep well last night?”
Zhou Xun: …
“Pretty well.”
“Oh, hahaha, that’s good!”
Not sure whether to ease the awkwardness or for some other reason, the Emperor patted Zhou Xun’s back so hard that Zhou Xun suspected his lungs might come out. Zhou Xun let the Emperor pat him and said, “It’s getting late, we should head back to the palace.”
“Alright…” The Emperor, seeing Zhou Xun get up, quickly sat up himself. As Zhou Xun was putting on his shoes, he heard the Emperor say, “Your voice just now, did your foot hurt a bit?”
Zhou Xun: …
It’s because of your back-patting.
They went downstairs, passing by the quiet rooms with paper doors beside theirs. Before going down, Zhou Xun glanced at the room labeled “Flower.”
If he hadn’t seen wrong last night, the man inside wasn’t holding an instrument commonly used in the Kingdom of Jing, and he wore a silver mask, which was indeed strange.
Who would wear a mask for no reason in this hot weather? Moreover, the man was inside his own room. It showed that he intended to hide his identity and had an uncommon level of determination.
As Zhou Xun looked away from the paper door, he noticed the Emperor also looking away from the door labeled “Moon.”
Did someone live in the “Moon” room?
He thought as they reached the first floor.
“…A total of 267 taels of silver?!” The Emperor was shocked, “Madam, are you kidding me?”
“Young Master, these are all the services you requested last night,” the madam handed the detailed bill to the Emperor with a smile. The Emperor took the bill and looked at it.
“Medicinal wine, ointment, and room fee aside… you charge for the women’s accompaniment? For dancing? For serving a tray? For guiding the way?” The Emperor’s frown deepened, his expression turning more and more dismayed, “This… this is extortion!”
“Young Master, you seem to be from a wealthy family. Surely, you can afford such a small amount,” the madam’s smile turned a bit cold, and several guards stood ready.
“Whether I can afford it is one thing, whether I’m being scammed is another. If the bill were reasonable, I’d happily pay, but for this kind of extortion, I don’t want to give a single coin,” the Emperor sneered back.
The atmosphere between the two grew increasingly tense. Several girls watching from the side quickly stepped forward and said, “Sir, that jade pendant on you alone is worth thousands of taels of silver. These two hundred or so taels are just a drop in the bucket for you. Why not let it go and avoid any unpleasantness?”
“Two hundred taels really is a drop in the bucket for me,” the Emperor thought for a moment and suddenly looked up, “You’re right.”
The girl: ?
The Emperor: “The weather’s cooling down. Let’s bankrupt this madam.”
Zhou Xun stood aside, looking out at the bright sunny day, not feeling any cooler.
Soon enough, a group of people entered in single file from outside the street. They were all officials, dressed in uniform. The madam, who had been acting so arrogantly, instantly went weak in the knees upon seeing them.
This young man who seemed like a wealthy idler was actually a tough nut to crack!
“Check the books of this establishment and see if there’s any tax evasion,” the Emperor sat leisurely on a chair brought by the officials, sipping tea, “Oh, and check their storeroom for any contraband or illegal goods. Also, see if there’s any mistreatment of employees in the backyard.”
This brothel always operated in a gray area, engaging in businesses that the authorities ignored as long as they weren’t reported. But now that it was being thoroughly investigated, all the hidden irregularities came to light. The manager and the madam had never seen such a scene — the local official in charge of this area was a relative of theirs and usually turned a blind eye. Even during inspections, he was lax. But these officials now, they even dug out the hidden account books from their boots!
Who exactly was this young man?
“Manager, don’t worry,” one of the girls whispered to him, “When Master He arrives, he’ll definitely protect us!”
Master He was the owner of this brothel and the nephew of the official in charge of the area. Because of this connection, people on the street usually showed them some respect.
As everyone waited expectantly, Zhou Xun was also given a chair and sat next to the Emperor. The Emperor, being fanned by someone, said to Zhou Xun, “Look at that madam…”
Zhou Xun: ?
The Emperor: “Isn’t she trembling like she’s doing POPPING?”
Zhou Xun: ??
The officials finally found the hidden account books and placed them in front of the Emperor. At the same time, a young man dressed in luxurious clothes, reeking of alcohol, stumbled in from the door.
He seemed to have spent the night partying on the street and was still hungover, shouting before even entering, “Who dares to cause trouble here? Don’t you know whose turf this is? Let me tell you, my uncle is He Gang, the official in charge of the entire southern defense of the capital! If you know what’s good for you, get out of here!”
Zhou Xun looked at the Emperor.
“Oh,” the Emperor didn’t show any sign of feeling offended as Zhou Xun expected. Instead, he sat up straight, looking a bit excited, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a textbook villain…”
Zhou Xun: …
“You said your uncle is He Gang?” Seeing the young man swaggering over, the Emperor sat in his chair and said, “Do you know who I am?”
The young man sneered, “Who are you? Stop trying to scare me!”
The Emperor smiled subtly.
“I’m your father,” he said lightly, casually tossing his fan and hitting the young man’s head, “Because I love my people like my children.”
The young man: …
“Who do you think you are!”
Just as the young man was about to lash out, another man rushed in from the door like a whirlwind. The fat man, sweating profusely and looking panicked, immediately grabbed the young man and slapped him twice. The young man, still stunned, was then kicked behind the knees, causing him to fall to the ground.
“Your Majesty,” the fat man who slapped the young man also knelt down, kowtowing vigorously, “I, I didn’t know Your Majesty was here, forgive my failure to welcome you properly…”
The manager and the madam: ?!
…
“It’s already daytime. Last night, Xie Zhengqing didn’t leave the ‘Moon’ pavilion, so our plan has succeeded in its first step,” the man in black reported respectfully, “Xie Zhengqing is a close friend of Lu Xiandao. Through him, we might easily obtain the city defense map of the capital… Of course, we’ll also get our hands on those border defense secrets he has…”
The man in purple appeared uninterested.
“Good,” he said without much joy or disappointment, “Everything is going according to plan.”
“Will the master stay here for the next few days?” the man in black asked, “Should we move to another place?”
The man in purple plucked his string instrument and smiled faintly.
“The Yanyun Brothel is a mix of all sorts, making it the best place for us to hide. Besides, our identities are concealed, and no one knows we’ve fled to the Kingdom of Jing. No matter how sharp the scouts are, they can’t find us here,” the young man in purple said, looking at the street in the morning light, “As long as we stay here, the Emperor of Jing won’t be able to guess our whereabouts…”
“Master, you are wise,” the man in black said admiringly.
Just as he finished speaking, a loud cheer came from downstairs through the floor.
“Long live the Emperor—”
“It’s the Emperor, the living Emperor!”
“Why is the Emperor here?!”
The man in black: …
**Dance Style**: In the world of dance, “popping” is a style of street dance that involves quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to create a jerking motion or “pop” in the dancer’s body. It’s often associated with funk and hip-hop music and is characterized by its sharp, rhythmic movements.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
