The Sima couple of Wanzhou died in a bandit uprising, leaving behind only their two children: their twenty-one-year-old eldest son, Xie Huaibi, and their six-year-old daughter, Lianyue.
Two months later, three court officials died one after another under suspicious circumstances. The authorities found evidence in each of their homes that they had colluded with bandits. Rumors spread, and people said vengeful ghosts had come to claim their lives.
Rain poured from the sky. Xie Huaibi cleaned the blood from himself and hurried back to the ruined temple where he was hiding, only to find himself cornered by Prince Jin, Wei Zhishu.
At last, Wei Zhishu had found the person he had searched for so desperately. Three years had passed since they last parted, and Xie Huaibi had lost the spirited confidence of his youth. All that remained on his face was the weariness of a man adrift.
Wei Zhishu was apprehensive, repeatedly reminding himself: I went to such lengths to find him. I have to stay calm. I mustn't scare him.
So he said in a low voice, "Your younger sister seems ill. On a rainy night like this, you won't be able to treat her on your own. Why don't you come with me first?"
But what Xie Huaibi saw was the Prince Jin of rumor, decisive and ruthless, staring down at him with dark eyes and a cold expression.
Xie Huaibi trembled. Is he threatening me?
Wei Zhishu reached out to help him, but Xie Huaibi clutched his little sister tightly and shrank away.
Wei Zhishu: He's afraid of me? (heartbroken.jpg)
The little girl's body, cradled in Xie Huaibi's arms, was growing hotter, and she was already unconscious. Xie Huaibi steeled himself and went with Wei Zhishu.
*
After bringing him back to his residence, Wei Zhishu made sure he had plenty of good food and drink. To avenge Xie's parents, Wei Zhishu took over the case of the murdered court officials.
Prince Jin laid out the evidence he had gathered before Xie Huaibi, hoping to show him his sincerity.
Xie Huaibi: It's over. Has Wei Zhishu noticed something suspicious?!
With a guilty conscience, Xie Huaibi packed his things in the middle of the night and fled with his little sister in his arms.
Wei Zhishu: He won't accept my kindness?! (heartbroken.jpg)
The furious Prince Jin dragged Xie Huaibi back to his residence. Sweating profusely, Xie Huaibi braced himself for torture, only to nearly have his clothes stripped off...
Xie Huaibi: "Does Your Highness want me as your sexual plaything?"
Wei Zhishu: "Is that really what you think of me?" (heartbroken.jpg)
*
The emperor was suspicious by nature. To avoid disaster, the Xie family forbade their descendants from practicing martial arts. Xie Huaibi's uncle, a general guarding the frontier, could not bear to see the Xie family decline, so he secretly taught Xie Huaibi martial arts and used a secret medicine to conceal his abilities.
Wei Zhishu had always thought Xie Huaibi was merely a scholar too weak to lift a chicken, until he witnessed him kill an assassin from the martial world who had come to silence him.
Later, Xie Huaibi was pinned down on the bed, with Wei Zhishu's dangerous voice at his ear:
"Let me see whether you've really managed to conceal all those martial arts skills of yours, Xie Lang."
Every night at Prince Jin's residence was filled with passion. One day, unable to endure Wei Zhishu's vigor any longer, Xie Huaibi hid in the study, only to discover his youthful poems and portraits in a secret chamber within the residence.
Zhishu
Probably a lighthearted, funny slice-of-life story~
The characters' thought processes are out of the ordinary, so just read it for a laugh ^ 3 ^
Theme: Trust comes from communication
