Live to a Hundred with Me

Xiao Hanye had just returned from outside, bringing with him a biting chill. Layered gold threads pressed across his black robe, unfurling into a sea of golden mountains. Yuchi Sheng had already pictured a great black-clad demon cackling as he slaughtered people in his mind. Terrified, his hands and feet trembled, his gaze wandered, and his innocence was outrageously fake.

Seeing His Highness the Crown Prince walk straight past him without sparing him so much as a glance, Yuchi Sheng's heart, which had risen to his throat, instantly settled back into place. In a daze, he felt as though he had come back to life.

It was good that he had ignored him.

He had nearly pissed himself from fright.

Xiao Hanye grabbed Shen Tingjue by the back of his collar and dragged him inside. "You're awake, so why haven't you left?"

Shen Tingjue found it strange. "Then why did you drag me in?"

Xiao Hanye removed his fox-fur cloak and roughly threw it over his head. "Wear it. Don't catch a chill on your way back and claim it was my fault."

Shen Tingjue hugged the cloak and buried his face in it for a deep sniff, narrowing his eyes in fascination.

No matter how one looked at it, the gesture was thoroughly rogueish.

Xiao Hanye's temple twitched as he glared at him. "Are you wearing it or not?"

"I will." Shen Tingjue first tossed the cloak onto the couch, then sidled over and clung to him. "By the way, how is Zhan Lingxiang's case going? Was she really silenced by that Minister of Revenue?"

With Shen Tingjue's warm body rubbing against him, Xiao Hanye's thoughts began to wander again. "There's a chair over there. Stop leaning all over me."

Shen Tingjue found a comfortable spot against his chest, took his other hand, and placed it against the hollow of his lower back. His eyes and brows carried the languidness of their recent passion. "It aches. Rub it for me."

His Highness the Crown Prince shot him a vicious glare, his eyes seemingly saying, You dare order me around? Yet since he was, after all, the culprit behind Shen Tingjue's aching waist, though his expression was unwilling, his hand began to move. His pressure was just right, making Shen Tingjue narrow his eyes and hum softly in comfort.

Xiao Hanye said, "Yesterday, a student from the Imperial College submitted a visiting card and gift list, saying Wang Zhonggui had given it to him. There was a letter tucked inside, and the handwriting was exactly the same as Wang Zhonggui's."

Shen Tingjue held his other hand and played with his fingers. "A letter hiring someone to commit murder?"

Xiao Hanye gave a low "Mm." "He said the matter would eventually be impossible to conceal, so he stepped forward and confessed, begging for leniency. But handwriting can be forged. The letter he submitted may not be genuine, and it is full of holes. The entire plan to hire someone for murder was poorly thought out from beginning to end. It could never have been Wang Zhonggui's doing."

Shen Tingjue tilted his head and blinked his large eyes at him. "So he was framed?"

Xiao Hanye steadied him. "He was not innocent to begin with. Aside from plotting against Zhan Ru, he colluded with officials and merchants to illegally trade copper coins. Even what happened at Twilight Cloud Pass years ago had something to do with him. Now that the timing is right, all his crimes can be punished together, leaving him no chance to rise again."

Shen Tingjue kissed him. "Cunning and treacherous. Just as expected of you."

Xiao Hanye: "..."

Was that praise?

Shen Tingjue was not particularly eloquent and had no idea he had used the wrong words. His gaze was innocent. "I was praising Your Highness for being clever. Couldn't you tell?"

Xiao Hanye poked him in the waist and said nothing.

Shen Tingjue shrank back slightly, then continued asking, "Then who exactly killed Zhan Lingxiang?"

"Someone from Prince Kang's faction," Xiao Hanye said. "My guess is that Zhan Lingxiang trusted the wrong person. The other two factions have long held deep grudges and fought each other often. Zhan Lingxiang was far from the only pawn sacrificed in the process. In their eyes, profit comes before all else."

Shen Tingjue hugged his arm and shook his head with a sigh. "What a pity. The dead cannot come back to life. When I saw Zhan Lingxiang at Spring Garden that day, she was dressed as a man and was as spirited as any talented scholar. You could not tell she bore a family vendetta. She composed poetry with ease, and even Instructor Tao praised her without end. Yet less than two hours later, she was dead. She never even got to avenge her family herself. How pitiful."

"There are countless people in officialdom who die under injustice. Reforming the court is not something that can be done in a day or two, and rushing will achieve nothing. But sooner or later, I will cleanse the realm thoroughly."

Xiao Hanye's gaze was deep, his voice steady and powerful, carrying immense authority. Shen Tingjue's heart began to itch again. He reached out to touch his face, wanting to kiss him.

Xiao Hanye blocked him and warned, "If your waist aches, behave yourself."

Shen Tingjue took the chance to kiss his palm. "But you've been seducing me this whole time."

Xiao Hanye: "?"

Who was seducing whom?

What was wrong with him?

Shen Tingjue rubbed against his chest. "I heard Danyang Mountain is especially beautiful amid the soft white snow, like white mist winding around it, as lovely as a fairyland. Many scholars and poets leave the city early in the morning to go there. Let's go see it tomorrow too."

"No." Xiao Hanye had never been interested in scenery and rejected him flatly. "The mountain paths are wet and slippery in snowy weather. Better to bring a jug of wine and sit on the roof watching the snow. It's all the same."

"It isn't the same!" Shen Tingjue shook his shoulders. "Come on, let's go."

Xiao Hanye glanced sideways at him. "You're not some scholar or poet. You can neither recite poems nor paint. At most, you'll catch a cold wind and eat a few mouthfuls of snow. If you want to go, go by yourself."

Shen Tingjue continued shaking his shoulders.

Unable to stand it, Xiao Hanye grabbed both his hands and locked him tightly in his arms. "I'm not free. Find someone else. Keep making a fuss, and I'll throw you out."

"Go on, throw me out if you can." Shen Tingjue tugged at his hair. "It's not the same with someone else! Holding hands with the person you love while strolling and admiring the snow—that's romance, understand? It wouldn't mean anything with anyone else. If you don't agree, I'm not leaving. I'll cling to you until you die of it!"

Wu Dequan brought over a bowl of snow bird's nest from the kitchen. Seeing Shen Tingjue spoiled into becoming more and more willful by the day, he felt conflicted as he set it on the table.

Xiao Hanye glanced at it. "Why did you suddenly make this?"

"I wanted some." Shen Tingjue had specifically instructed them to prepare two bowls. He set one in front of Xiao Hanye. "Nourish yourself properly. After all, Your Highness is someone who has to live to a hundred with me."

Xiao Hanye looked at him.

Shen Tingjue looked back at him. "Be good. Eat it."

Xiao Hanye: "..."

The light snow had just stopped when a brief rain came, pattering down and quickly washing the blue-gray roof tiles and alleyways clean.

A plume of black smoke carried burnt paper ash into the sky, winding into a thick gray haze beneath the setting sun. Shen Tingjue leaned over the bridge railing and, with a slight dip of his head, saw someone squatting beneath the bridge embankment burning paper offerings. The figure looked familiar.

Shen Tingjue called out, "Who are you burning paper money for down there?"

Su Yan jumped in fright, but after squatting for too long, his legs had gone numb and he could not stand. He could only turn his head and look up, patting his chest with lingering fear. Surprise filled his face. "Young Marquis?"

The paper offerings had already burned away, and the fire was gradually dying out. Shen Tingjue withdrew his gaze from the lingering ash, vaulted over the railing, and landed lightly beneath the bridge embankment. "Is that paper money for Zhan Lingxiang?"

Su Yan's eyes were somewhat red, clearly from having just cried. He wiped his face haphazardly. His legs were so numb that he simply gathered his robes and sat cross-legged on the ground. For once, he did not bother with a gentleman's bearing. His voice was muffled:

"After all, we were classmates. Miss Zhan treated me quite well in ordinary times. Now that she has met with such misfortune, I naturally had to burn some paper money for her, if only to show my feelings."