The Blood Crown - Chapter 11

Growing up in a military camp since childhood and having the experience of being “adopted” by wolves, Feng Ye never had a typical childhood. Every day spent with Yuan Sikong was a new and exciting experience for him.

Yuan Sikong, on the other hand, was not particularly fond of playing. His greatest hobby was reading, and he was fortunate to have a “specialized” younger brother.

Climbing trees to catch birds, diving into water to catch fish, searching for insects in spring, and rolling in the snow in winter—Yuan Nanyu could do it all. Although he couldn’t leave his bed now, it didn’t stop him from advising Yuan Sikong on where and how to play.

However, as time went on, Yuan Nanyu began to complain, “You’re always talking about Feng Ye, Feng Ye. Are you forgetting about Lu’er?”

“How could I forget? I supervise your studies every day, don’t I?”

Yuan Nanyu patted the bedboard angrily, “That’s right, remember that!”

Yuan Sikong suppressed his laughter, “Studying is important and must not be neglected.”

Yuan Nanyu was dissatisfied, “You spend all day playing with the little Highness, while I lie in bed either studying or daydreaming. Can you endure lying in bed all day if you were in my place?”

“I can.”

“You… Besides, you used to play with me all the time. Now that you have the little Highness, I barely see you except in the mornings.”

Yuan Sikong leaned closer and pinched Yuan Nanyu’s cheek, “Feng Ye’s position is important, and Father wants me to accompany him. It’s more critical than training the horses. Besides, the selection of horses for Datong Mansion is almost complete, and he won’t stay in Guangning for long.”

Yuan Nanyu pouted, “Actually, I don’t mind you playing with him. I just want to play with both of you… Second Brother, you keep talking about him, saying that the little Highness looks great and has a strong character, but I’ve never even seen him.”

Yuan Sikong could easily guess what was on Yuan Nanyu’s mind. Seeing his lonely face and dim eyes, he couldn’t help but feel compassionate, “Lu’er, if you promise me that you won’t leave your room or make a sound, I can bring him here for you to see. What do you think?”

Yuan Nanyu’s eyes lit up, “Really? But why can’t I leave my room?”

“The little Highness has a wild personality. If he sees you, he’ll want to play with you, and do you think Father would dare to defy him? If you leave your room and something happens, I won’t spare you, not to mention Father.”

Yuan Sikong had a well-thought-out plan, “So, if you’re curious and want to see him, you can, but you mustn’t let him see you, absolutely not. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, I won’t forgive you.”

Yuan Nanyu reluctantly agreed, “Alright, alright, Second Brother, just let me see what he looks like. Otherwise, I’ll really die of boredom.”

Yuan Sikong understood Yuan Nanyu’s feelings and said, “Don’t worry; I’ll bring him here to let you see him, but remember, you must stay quiet and hidden.”

Yuan Nanyu nodded in agreement, “Fine, Second Brother, just let me see what he looks like; otherwise, I’ll really die of boredom.”

The idea of meeting Feng Ye seemed to have lifted Yuan Nanyu’s spirits. Yuan Sikong realized that despite the challenges Yuan Nanyu faced with his leg, he was still a child who longed for fun and companionship. Yuan Sikong knew that he had to make some arrangements to fulfill his brother’s wish.

On the next day, Yuan Sikong secretly brought Feng Ye to the Yuan Mansion, avoiding attracting too much attention. They slipped in through the back door.

“That’s my father’s and mother’s quarters, and the kitchen is further east,” Yuan Sikong blinked, “The kitchen has some sweet pears. Shall we sneak in and grab a few?”

Feng Ye called out, “Alright!”

They sneaked into the kitchen, avoiding the adults, and, like an adventure for these obedient sons, quietly grabbed a couple of pears. Each one took a bite and pocketed another, exchanging smiles as they enjoyed their loot.

Feng Ye asked, “Which room do you sleep in? Shall we play in your room?”

“I don’t have anything interesting in my room.”

“Then what else can we do?”

Yuan Sikong grinned mischievously, “There’s a big gingko tree in our courtyard. How about we climb it?”

“Sounds good!”

The gingko tree was around a hundred years old, with deep roots and lush leaves that reached for the sky. It could be seen from any corner of the Yuan Mansion. Yuan Sikong had already discussed with Yuan Nanyu that taking Feng Ye to climb the tree at this time would allow Yuan Nanyu, who sat by the window, to see them.

The gingko tree had been climbed by the Yuan siblings since they were children. There was a rudimentary treehouse on one of the thick branches, built by Yuan Mao. Yuan Sikong was an expert at climbing it, and he had wanted to show Feng Ye the most efficient way to climb it. However, before he could do so, Feng Ye agilely climbed up by himself, moving like a monkey.

“Be careful, Feng Ye. If you fall, I’ll be in trouble!” Yuan Sikong called from below.

“I won’t fall. You’re such a worrywart!” Feng Ye had reached the treehouse first and excitedly waved to Yuan Sikong. “Yuan Sikong, come up!”

Yuan Sikong rolled up his sleeves to climb up but suddenly heard someone calling his name. Nervously, he turned to see it was his father, Yuan Mao. He quickly responded, “Father,” and gestured to Feng Ye to hide in the treehouse.

Feng Ye quickly twisted his body and ducked into the treehouse to hide.

Yuan Mao entered the courtyard, asking, “Sikong, didn’t you go to find the little Highness today?”

“Um, no.”

“What are you doing here?”

“It was a bit stuffy inside, so I came out for some fresh air.”

“That’s good. The horses from General Hu Baicheng have just arrived, and they seem a bit unwell. Go take a look.”

“…Alright.” Yuan Sikong hesitated and glanced at the tree but didn’t dare to let Yuan Mao know about Feng Ye.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Father.” Yuan Sikong cleared his throat and coughed twice, then followed Yuan Mao.

Feng Ye didn’t hear clearly what they were saying, but when he saw Yuan Sikong and Yuan Mao walk away, he climbed out of the treehouse. He swayed a small branch in his hand, thinking about whether he should wait for Yuan Sikong to come back or explore on his own.

The treehouse was about eight or nine feet above the ground, offering a panoramic view of every room in the Yuan Mansion. It was like seeing the whole world from up there. Bored, he looked around and suddenly noticed that in one of the courtyards, there was a small tree with Yuan Sikong’s clothes hanging on its branches.

That must be his room, right? Feng Ye suddenly became curious about what Yuan Sikong’s room contained. Would there be many books?

He lay down on the treehouse’s wooden floor, thinking that when Yuan Sikong came back, he would ask if he could see what was inside Yuan Sikong’s room.

But waiting took a while—half an hour passed, and Yuan Sikong still hadn’t returned. Feng Ye lost patience and decided to explore Yuan Sikong’s room on his own. If Yuan Sikong still didn’t return by then, he would go back to the inn.

Feng Ye climbed down from the tree, humming a little tune, and made his way to Yuan Sikong’s room.

He reached the door, quietly pushed it open, and peered inside. The first thing he saw was a bookshelf filled with books, exactly as he had imagined. As he looked further inside, he saw two beds, and one of them had a person lying on it.

Feng Ye was startled, quickly closed the door, and retreated. But he soon realized that the clothes on the person’s back, the silhouette—he couldn’t be mistaken. It was Yuan Sikong!

Feng Ye’s curiosity got the better of him. He pushed the door open again and called out softly, “Yuan Sikong.”

There was no response from the person lying on the bed. Feng Ye closed the door, ran over, and gave the person a strong push. “Yuan Sikong!”

Yuan Nanyu felt extremely uneasy. When he saw Feng Ye approaching the window, he quickly moved onto the bed, pretending to be asleep, hoping to avoid any interaction. Little did he know that the persistent young prince would not give up. Yuan Sikong had Yuan Sikong’s warning ringing in his ears. But now… what should he do? He had no choice but to turn his head, covering his face partially with his cheek, facing away from Feng Ye.

Feng Ye, however, noticed something was amiss. He hesitated, unable to pinpoint what seemed odd about the person in front of him. “You…” He started with a few “you”s but couldn’t quite put his finger on what was strange.

Yuan Nanyu swallowed hard, his heart racing as he decided to play along, hoping it would be as thrilling and entertaining as Yuan Sikong had described. He feigned composure and lowered his voice. “Why did you come?”

The room was dimly lit, and Feng Ye couldn’t get a clear view of the person’s face. He responded angrily, “I’ve been waiting for you in the treehouse all this time. And here you are, sleeping in your room?”

Yuan Nanyu’s heart raced even faster, but he decided to be bold and adventurous. Suppressing his excitement, he thought about how Yuan Sikong had talked to him about different aspects of dealing with Feng Ye. He pretended to be calm and said, “I suddenly felt dizzy and thought of coming back to rest for a while before finding you.” Yuan Nanyu thought, what could be more fun and exciting than pretending to be Yuan Sikong right now?

When they were younger, he and Yuan Sikong used to play pranks on others by pretending to be each other. However, their family members always saw through their charades, so they stopped playing that game. But now, facing this young prince, Yuan Nanyu found it interesting again.

“Dizzy?” Feng Ye wasn’t entirely convinced. He leaned closer and used his warm little hand to feel Yuan Nanyu’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever. Why would you suddenly feel dizzy?”

“I don’t know,” Yuan Nanyu furrowed his brows and rubbed his temples. “I can’t accompany you to climb trees or run horses today.”

“The sun is about to set. Why would we run horses now?” Feng Ye looked around and noticed the extinguished charcoal brazier. “Your room is so cold. Why don’t you light the charcoal brazier?”

“It’s not that cold yet. My mother said charcoal is expensive. It’s enough to light it before bed.” Yuan Nanyu muttered, cursing in his heart. It was all because of you; my father lost his salary because of you.

Feng Ye didn’t care about the concept of luxury. “If you’re feeling uncomfortable, staying in such a cold room will only make it worse,” he said, jumping down from the bed. “I’ll help you light it.”

“Little Hig… I mean, Feng Ye!” Yuan Nanyu called out, “You really don’t have to.”

However, Feng Ye paid no attention to him. He dragged the charcoal brazier closer to the bed and ignited it. Yuan Nanyu watched with concern as Feng Ye used tongs to flip the burning charcoal.

Yuan Nanyu wracked his brain, trying to think of a way to get Feng Ye to leave. While pretending to be Yuan Sikong was exciting, if they were exposed, Yuan Sikong would surely be angry.

While lost in thought, he failed to notice that Feng Ye had moved back to the bedside. Feng Ye sat down near him, beside Yuan Nanyu’s injured leg.

Yuan Nanyu was startled. “Ah!” he exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?!” Feng Ye was startled and jumped up, accidentally knocking over the charcoal brazier, sending hot embers flying. One of the embers flew directly towards Yuan Nanyu. In a moment of panic, Yuan Nanyu reached out and caught it.

“Ah!” Yuan Nanyu cried out in pain as he caught the burning ember, but quickly threw it away. His palm and fingertips stung painfully.

Feng Ye urgently grabbed Yuan Nanyu’s hand. “Your hand!”

“Wait here; I’ll go get some ice,” said Feng Ye as he turned and ran out of the room, heading for the kitchen.

Yuan Sikong, who was hiding in the corner and unsure of what to do, was startled when Feng Ye suddenly dashed out and quickly ran into the room.

After examining Hu Baicheng’s horse, he went to look for Feng Ye, but when he climbed a tree and looked around, Feng Ye had already disappeared. Instead, he saw Feng Ye heading towards Yuan Nanyu’s room.

Originally, that was indeed his room, but he had temporarily moved to a guest room because Yuan Nanyu had a leg injury. He hurriedly climbed down from the tree, contemplating whether to go inside and explain or wait and see what would happen. Just as he was thinking, Feng Ye came out of the room with an anxious expression.

That expression was unusual, and Yuan Sikong worried about Yuan Nanyu. He quickly ran into the room and saw the charcoal brazier toppled on the floor, with embers scattered all over. Yuan Nanyu looked in pain, and his heart sank. “Yuer!”

Upon seeing him, Yuan Nanyu smiled bitterly and said, “Second Brother.”

“What happened, Yuer?” Yuan Sikong rushed to the bedside, feeling somewhat anxious. “Did you two have a fight?”

“No,” Yuan Nanyu replied with a hint of grievance. “That little rascal insisted on lighting the charcoal brazier, then sat on my leg, and accidentally knocked over the charcoal basin. My leg hurts, and my hand hurts too. Second Brother, was he doing it on purpose?”

Yuan Sikong was a bit confused by Yuan Nanyu’s jumbled explanation. It seemed like he was genuinely in pain. He lifted the blanket and carefully examined Yuan Nanyu’s leg, finding no serious injury. He then looked at Yuan Nanyu’s burnt hand and clicked his tongue. “We need to apply some ice.”

“He’s gone to get some,” Yuan Nanyu took a deep breath. “Forget it, as long as my leg is okay. Second Brother, he didn’t find out, I mean, he didn’t find out it wasn’t you!”

“Did you really manage to deceive him?” Yuan Sikong found it hard to believe. Seeing that today Yuan Nanyu was wearing the same clothes as him, it wasn’t surprising that he could confuse Feng Ye.

All their clothes were identical. Yuan Sikong didn’t like looking like a pair of twins with Yuan Nanyu, but Yuan Nanyu enjoyed it. No matter how many times he protested, Yuan Nanyu always seemed to intentionally or unintentionally pick the same outfit on the same day. It was unexpected that it would work in their favor today.

“Yeah, he really didn’t find out,” Yuan Nanyu grinned. “Aren’t I clever?”

“He just didn’t notice for the moment. When he comes back, do you think he’ll believe we’ve turned into ghosts or something?” Yuan Sikong lamented and scratched his head. He shouldn’t have agreed to Yuan Nanyu’s plan. It seemed that anything involving Feng Ye always had room for mistakes.

Perhaps the two of them were truly destined to have these kinds of mishaps…

Yuan Nanyu suddenly realized something and urgently said, “Second Brother, you need to think of a way quickly. We can’t let him find out. If he does, our father will find out, and he’ll scold us, and he’ll probably have someone watch over me all the time!”

Yuan Sikong couldn’t think of a better plan either. They had caused quite a scene, and it was challenging to hide it.

Seeing the charcoal on the ground, he had a sudden idea. He quickly squatted down and reached out his hand.

Yuan Nanyu exclaimed, “Second Brother!”

It was too late to stop him. Yuan Sikong grabbed a piece of burning charcoal. The searing pain shot through his nerves, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t cry out. He threw away the charcoal and examined his hand.

Yuan Nanyu stared wide-eyed, sweat forming on his forehead. Throughout their lives, he had always been the troublemaker, while Yuan Sikong had been the well-behaved one. However, if they were to compare in terms of “heroic” actions, Yuan Sikong’s one action outweighed his ten. Yuan Sikong just had the advantage of not being easily caught by adults.

They heard light footsteps approaching from outside, and it was unmistakably the steps of a dutiful son.

Yuan Sikong said, “Yuer, hide for a while. I’ll send him away and then come to tend to your hand.”

“Alright.”

Yuan Sikong quickly picked up Yuan Nanyu and hid him inside a cupboard, then lay down on the bed.

Just as he covered himself with a blanket, Feng Ye rushed into the room, holding ice cubes in the front of his robe.

“Sikong,” Feng Ye hurriedly approached, his young face filled with worry and a hint of guilt he didn’t want to show. “Apply the ice quickly.”

“I’m fine,” Yuan Sikong spread his hand. “It’s not that painful, actually.”

Pouting, Feng Ye reluctantly said, “Why is it that you always get injured when you’re with me?”

Yuan Sikong chuckled. “This isn’t a serious injury; it’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Can you still play the piano?” Feng Ye held Yuan Sikong’s hand. “I haven’t heard you play yet.”

“It won’t affect that. At most, I’ll have a scar,” Yuan Sikong wiggled his fingers. “I’ll still be quite agile.”

Feng Ye sighed in relief. “That’s good.”

Yuan Sikong held onto the ice cubes. “Feng Ye, you should go back for now. My mother will be bringing me some food soon, and if she sees this mess and you here, my father will scold me to death.”

“But…” Feng Ye hesitated, looking at his hand.

“I’ll be fine; it’s just a minor injury on the skin. Please, go back quickly, or I might really get into trouble,” Yuan Sikong pleaded.

Feng Ye nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll leave through the back door.” He gently shook Yuan Sikong’s hand and whispered, “Will you come to play with me again?”

Without hesitation, Yuan Sikong replied, “I’ll come to see you tomorrow.”

Feng Ye’s face brightened with a smile. “Okay, I’m going now. See you tomorrow!”

Yuan Sikong watched Feng Ye leave and finally let out a sigh of relief.