Corriendo de un lado a otro y desempeñando papeles secundarios

Capítulo 24

He heard Xiao Feng roar beside him, then fell silent. Li Yuxuan touched Prince Xin's hand; he was still there. He touched his own hand; it was still there too.

Great, that person didn't come to arrest them.

However, Prince Xin was holding her a little too tightly, and she couldn't breathe.

The candlesticks in the room lit up again, and Xu Qingzhi turned on the lamp.

Li Yuxuan broke free from Prince Xin's hand, but did not leave his chest as he had hoped. Li Xinyun and Xiao Feng were nowhere to be found in the room.

Her legs were weak, and she couldn't stand steadily.

Prince Xin helped her sit down on the bed: "It's alright, that person was only targeting Li Xinyun, don't be afraid. Besides, he should be very familiar with Li Xinyun, he didn't mistake him for someone else. Brother Xu, you watch over Brother Li, I'll go out and help Hero Xiao."

The following words were spoken to Xu Qingzhi, who was carefully examining the clues in the room.

Xu Qingzhi nodded, and Prince Xin strode out. A figure darted onto the roof with a whoosh. Li Yuxuan watched longingly, clearly envious of those with martial arts skills!

Left alone with Xu Qingzhi, neither of them dared to look at each other, and the air in the room became somewhat stuffy. Li Yuxuan sat up straight and coughed, "Um, Brother Xu, do I feel awkward wearing this outfit?"

"It looks great."

...

"Hey, Brother Xu, why did you come here alone? Aren't you traveling with Prince Xin?"

"I followed you here the day you were arrested."

A warm feeling welled up inside me, and I was touched: "If I were a woman, would you still treat me this well?"

Bang—Xu Qingzhi's head slammed into the window.

"Big brother?"

"...Yes! No! Yes! How could you possibly be a woman?" The word "utterly bewildered" is perfectly appropriate here. Xu Qingzhi thought that Li Yuxuan had seen through his filthy thoughts and was testing him with words, and he was sweating profusely.

Li Yuxuan had no idea what he was thinking. She wanted to take this opportunity to make things clear so that he wouldn't resent her for not saying it sooner. She licked her lips, finding it difficult to say, "I mean, what if I were a woman?"

Xu Qingzhi finally raised his head and met Li Yuxuan's eyes: "If you were a woman, I would definitely marry you!"

...

Unrelated to romance

Li Yuxuan didn't expect Xu Qingzhi, who was usually so dull, to be so straightforward at this moment. He grunted and broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't know what Xu Qingzhi meant by his sudden words. Could it be... could it be that he took it seriously?

Did he really believe it? Looking at the ambiguous look in his eyes, Li Yuxuan's heart skipped a beat and then froze.

Xu Qingzhi immediately shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It's a pity that my third brother is a man. Where in this world can you find a woman like him?"

With a thud, my heart jumped back to normal.

Li Yuxuan composed himself and flashed a big smile: "Big brother, are you kidding me? You scared me!"

Xu Qingzhi sighed and sat down listlessly opposite her: "Third brother, I'm not teasing you, I really have this thought. I'm afraid you'll laugh at me, so I don't dare to tell you. But since you asked me today, I'll tell you the truth. Anyway, we're brothers, and our bond is much stronger than that of women, isn't it?"

I'm not laughing. This isn't funny at all. Li Yuxuan's lips twitched, speechless. He didn't know whether to be glad he was a successful man or to despise himself for being a successful man.

That idiot, that idiot...

She suddenly felt like a failure. Honestly, if someone were destined to know her gender, she secretly hoped it would be Xu Qingzhi. She didn't know why, but she knew that even if he knew, he wouldn't pose any danger to her.

She called softly, "Silly boy, come sit next to me."

Xu Qingzhi glanced at her with some surprise and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. Li Yuxuan sighed softly and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt Xu Qingzhi shudder and freeze in place.

"Brother, I'm tired. Can I lean on your shoulder?"

"Hmm." The voice was deep, and the distinctive scent of a mature man wafted through Li Yuxuan's clothes. Her heart was about to give way again. Xu Qingzhi, who looked so delicate and frail, had broad shoulders; he must have quite a bit of muscle... Tears welled up. Five years in the Song Dynasty, five years without tasting meat. She had become so calm that she was heading straight for Abbess Miejue.

However, she really wanted to pounce on the man beside her right now. She had never felt so impulsive before, even when Prince Xin held her so directly in his arms. Logically speaking, she was far more dependent on Prince Xin than on Xu Qingzhi. Whenever she was in danger, the first person she thought of was Prince Xin. Perhaps it was because Prince Xin was too powerful that she dared not have any impure thoughts.

If she were to rationally choose between these two men, who would she choose?

The answer is a clear tragedy; she wouldn't choose anyone. Because if they knew she was a woman, she doubted they would choose her either.

Choosing her meant choosing ordinariness. Whether she survived long enough to find the murderer for the Li family or not, her fate would be the same: resign from her official post and live in seclusion, far from the court and far from Bianliang.

Choosing her meant that Xu Qingzhi was giving up his future and dreams, and Prince Xin was giving up his boundless respect and power.

The Duke of Windsor is the only one in the world who loved beauty more than power, along with the legendary Shunzhi Emperor, who supposedly retreated from worldly affairs to become a monk, a fate that saddened the world.

How many men would give up their careers and pursuits for a woman?

She doesn't dream, and she can't love anyone. For their sake, and for her own.

Let's rest on this shoulder for now.

Let's take a break...

She looked up, then down, and smiled: "Brother, I suddenly thought of a good poem and want to write it down. I wonder if there's any paper and pen in this inn?"

Xu Qingzhi was sitting there feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles. Li Yuxuan leaned on his shoulder, and that familiar fragrance that made his heart flutter and he couldn't control himself swirled in his mind. With a soft sigh from Li Yuxuan, he used all his strength to prevent himself from reaching out and pulling her into his arms.

He cannot fall in love with a man—

Upon hearing Li Yuxuan's words, he quickly stood up: "I'll go find Xiao Er—" and ran out of the room as if fleeing.

Li Yuxuan sighed again and sat down at the table. How could she not know what was in this silly boy's heart? She was not him, nor was she an innocent little girl.

Xu Qingzhi actually managed to get paper and pen, and spread them out on the table for her: "It's rare for Third Brother to be in such a mood, quickly write it down for your eldest brother to see." Changing her attention to something else was the best choice.

Li Yuxuan looked into his eyes and smiled: "I'll give this poem to you, elder brother!" He picked up the pen and wrote neatly on the paper: "The drifting catkins have turned into duckweed, the mud lotus is just beginning to be entwined by the lotus root; cherish this last petal of incense, remember the past life. When people are full of affection, their affection becomes thin, and now I am truly not affectionate; once again I have reached the point of heartbreak and looking back, tears secretly fall."

Xu Qingzhi followed and softly recited: "When people are full of affection, their affection becomes thin. Now I really don't have much affection anymore. Third brother, I understand your heart."

Do you understand my heart?

"We'll be best brothers for life!" He was still harping on her and his homosexuality. Fine.

The door creaked open, and Prince Xin and Xiao Feng walked in.

Li Yuxuan asked urgently, "Where is Li Xinyun?"

Prince Xin shook his head: "I followed Hero Xiao to the Western Xia Imperial Palace. We searched the palace thoroughly but lost track of that person and Li Xinyun. It seems that person is very familiar with the Western Xia Imperial Palace and must be someone from inside the palace."

"Huh?" Li Yuxuan couldn't believe it: "If it was someone from the palace who took her back, why would they throw her into an ice cave? And why would they send her back so early in the morning?"

"Perhaps they are enemies."

This enemy must be a madman.

"That man already knows we're following him. Let's see if he'll still send Li Xinyun back tomorrow morning!" Prince Xin walked to the table: "What are you two doing?"

Xu Qingzhi stepped aside: "I'm admiring Brother Li's poem."

"You even have the leisure to compose lyrics?" Prince Xin glanced at Li Yuxuan, then looked at the table: "Deeply moving and realistic lyrics, were they written specifically for us to see?"

Being too well understood by others is not a good thing either; Prince Xin saw through her thoughts at a glance.

"Yes."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Prince Xin casually reached out to roll up the paper, but Xiao Feng, who had arrived at the same time, snatched it away: "To be in the mood to compose poetry at such a time, Brother Li, you are truly a refined person. Brother Li, aren't you worried about Miss Li's safety? Let me see what you've written?"

Li Yuxuan knew that Xiao Feng was blaming him for not worrying about Li Xinyun, and his face turned red: "I was very worried about Miss Li~" But he saw Xiao Feng looking at the poem with a very strange expression.

Could he not know that I've plagiarized Nalan Xingde's poem? Li Yuxuan opened her mouth and looked at him. Could it be that because I'm dressed so extravagantly, he's dressed extravagantly too? No wonder the name sounds so familiar.

Why is he crying?

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land? A man doesn't easily shed tears, remain calm—

But then Prince Xin patted him on the shoulder: "Let bygones be bygones. The road ahead is long. Brother Xiao, don't be too attached to the past."

Xiao Feng nodded: "I was moved by the sight of this object and couldn't help myself. I hope Your Highness will forgive my outburst."

"Someone as fickle as me, the person I admire most in my life is someone as steadfast as Hero Xiao. How could this be considered a joke?" Prince Xin said in a somewhat somber tone. Li Yuxuan could tell that he was simply flattering him.

Xiao Feng folded the calligraphy and looked at Li Yuxuan: "Brother Li, please give me this poem and calligraphy!" It wasn't a discussion; there was absolutely no room for negotiation.

Li Yuxuan glanced at Xu Qingzhi. Since this blockhead didn't understand anyway, he might as well give it to Xiao Feng. He chuckled and said, "Brother Xiao, if you like it, take it."

Xiao Feng put the words inside his clothes: "Brother Li's literary talent is indeed first-rate. It's no wonder that the Prince and this Brother Xu consider you a friend." What does this mean?

"But Brother Li still has much to learn from these two brothers regarding his character. One should be open and honest, and have a clear conscience."

What does this mean?

She looked at Prince Xin, who chuckled and said, "Hero Xiao, you may have some misunderstandings about this Brother Li. He is just like us, a man of strong emotions, only, hehe, he has a bit of a sharp tongue, a bit of a thick skin, and a bit of a die-hard streak."

...You all go to sleep—

After kicking the three out of the room, Li Yuxuan collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), deciding to go to sleep. Thinking too much about things only makes life hopeless. To live, to have hope, to survive, to have handsome men—handsome men I can touch and eat—sob—

Perhaps because of Xu Qingzhi and Prince Xin, Li Yuxuan slept the most soundly she had in a while. So soundly that when she woke up, she found herself wrapped in a blanket, sleeping on the floor. She was so careless; she didn't even realize she was sleeping on the floor! As she climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed), she realized there was someone there!

Wow, it's Princess Xinyun! She's even wearing her clothes~, I was so startled I almost flew to heaven. She opened the door, wrapped in a blanket, and went outside: "Your Highness, Brother Xiao, Miss Li is back again."

No one answered.

He knocked on Xiao Feng's door: "Great Hero Xiao, Miss Li is back again!" But no one answered.

I couldn't wait any longer, so I pushed hard, and the door opened easily. It wasn't closed, and there was no one inside.

They knocked on Prince Xin's door again, but no one answered. Even Xu Qingzhi was nowhere to be seen.

No way, they're playing the empty city ploy for her? They can't be that dedicated, right? Did the three of them go chasing after that person early this morning? She always tries to judge people with the best intentions, so she'll assume for now that they're off doing something important.

Back in the room, he took off his coat from Li Xinyun, covered her with the blanket, and then put on his own clothes. After all this fuss, it was already broad daylight, and the guests in the inn were all up. The courtyard was bustling with people feeding horses, chatting, and doing morning exercises.

She couldn't understand what they were saying. She went out and bought two steamed buns, then came back and slowly ate them in front of Li Xinyun. What had this little girl gone through? Judging from her expression, she must be hiding something. What was it that she couldn't know? And she was even threatening to kill herself to marry her. This was a real headache.

This kidnapper is so strange, what is all this about! Is this some kind of game of eagle catching chicks?

It was noon when Li Xinyun finally woke up.

His first reaction upon waking was to blush and keep drinking water. After finishing, he got up, grabbed her hand, and ran outside. He pulled out their two horses from the stable and jumped on them, telling Li Yuxuan to get on as well.

Looking at her ever-changing expression, Li Yuxuan asked hesitantly, "Where are we going?"

"Return to the palace!"

"Uh! Why are you in such a hurry?"

"marriage!"