Chapter 171: I’m A Married Man.

In the end, when their day of departure finally arrived, in the dim morning light, the entire Taoyuan Village was shrouded in a hazy mist.

Xiao YuAn silently said goodbye in his heart. Then, he turned around, and smiled at Yan HeQing as he took his hand.

After thousands of miles of traveling, a few days later, they arrived at the Imperial City of the former Northern Kingdom, now renamed as the Southern Yan Kingdom Imperial City.

It was the first month of the Lunar Year. Although the weather was cold, and the ground was frozen, only a few snowflakes were falling down. Even if it was supposed to be the beginning of spring, the North was different, since it has already been covered in snow for several days. The walls of the Palace were covered with white snow, as the petal-like snowflakes fell from the pale sky.

Xiao YuAn, who was wearing a fur brocade, stared dumbfounded at the Imperial Palace in front of him, and asked the maid beside him: “Is… Is this your Emperor’s Palace?”

The maid servant replied: “Answering to Xiao-gongzi, yes.”

Xiao YuAn: “…..”

‘Isn’t this my old Imperial Palace? And even the appearance hasn’t changed at all!’

Xiao YuAn followed the maid into the bedchamber, and was once again shocked. The decorations inside the bedchamber, were almost exactly the same as when he lived there!

Xiao YuAn lightly stroked the window shutter. For a long time, he didn’t know what to say. After a while, he finally murmured: “But these things, back then, weren’t they robbed, crushed, were lost or got broken?”

The maid explained: “All of these were specially made for His Majesty!”

Xiao YuAn: “…..”

‘I should remind Yan-ge: I’ve lived in this Palace for more than a year, but the previous young Emperor of the Northern Kingdom has lived here for over 10 years!’

‘It still looks like the place where the young Emperor used to bring over his male concubines!!’

The maid didn’t notice the subtle change in Xiao YuAn’s expression, so she simply said: “Xiao-gongzi, His Majesty said that this will be your bedchamber. What can this servant do for you?”

Xiao YuAn coughed lightly, and said: “Nothing, I’m fine. Is Yan-… cough, is His Majesty still busy?”

“Answering to Xiao-gongzi, yes.”

‘I thought so. Yan HeQing has just come back, so it’s only natural that he will be held up by the government affairs that have been accumulating so far. Not to mention that he’ll have to deal with the old Ministers, while also having to watch out for people with ulterior motives. I wonder if Yan HeQing’s day at court went smoothly today.’

However, after being apart from each other for less than a day, Xiao YuAn began to miss Yan HeQing, so he quickly tried to distract himself. At this, he asked the maid: “Where’s Chungui?”

The maid replied: “Answering to Xiao-gongzi. Xie-gongzi is settled in a Palace not far away from here. Does Xiao-gongzi want to go see him?”

After seeing Xiao YuAn nodding his head, the maid hurriedly led the way.

It was still snowing heavily outside. As the snowflakes fell from the sky, some of them fondly rested on their shoulders. Xiao YuAn breathed out a mouthful of white fog and reached out to catch some of the snowflakes falling from the sky, only to watch them melt in his palm.

“Xiao-gongzi?” The maid lightly called Xiao YuAn.

“Ah?” Xiao YuAn suddenly came back to his senses, closed his five fingers, and clutched the ice water in his palm: “It’s nothing, you can lead the way.”

Xiao YuAn was led all the way to the close Palace by the maid. From a distance, he saw Xie Chungui playing with the snow, with an excited, child-like expression and a cheerful smile on his face. When he saw Xiao YuAn, Xie Chungui waved his hand from afar, picked up some snow from the ground, and trotted over: “Xiao-ge, look! It’s snowing! Snow!”

“Yes, it’s snowing.” Xiao YuAn’s smile was warm.

Xie Chungui looked at the snow on his hands, feeling how the cold spread on his skin. Subconsciously, he held it close to his cheek, covering the half of his face, until the whiteness on his hand gradually became transparent. Xie Chungui put down his hands and looked around, at the now dark-grey sky, with the white snow falling down. Suddenly, Xie Chungui felt an impulse coming from the bottom of his heart.

Xiao YuAn was about to ask Xie Chungui if he had adapted to the cold weather, when suddenly, he saw him kneeling down the ground to kiss the earth and the snow. He looked very devout, like a wanderer who had been traveling for many years, and was finally able to return home.

There were some maids around that thought that Xie Chungui had fallen, and with a cry of surprise, they quickly reached out to help him up. Xiao YuAn took a step forward and held Xie Chungui’s arm, who was feeling quite confused, seeing how Xie Chungui’s expression was blank: “Huh? Why did I kneel down? What happened?”

Xiao YuAn was dumbfounded, and when he reached out to pat the snow away from Xie Chungui’s shoulders, he said: “Nothing happened, nothing happened at all.” Xiao YuAn accompanied Xie Chungui to play with the snow for a while. It wasn’t until Xie Chungui became tired of playing that Xiao YuAn said goodbye, and left.

As soon as Xiao YuAn returned to his bedchamber, someone hurriedly came to report: “Xiao-gongzi, someone wants to see you.”

The maid at his side reminded him: “Xiao-gongzi, His Majesty said that you can refuse anyone’s request to meet you.”

Xiao YuAn thought to himself ‘Is there someone from the Southern Yan Kingdom who wants to see me?’. So he asked: “Who is it?”

“Answering to Xiao-gongzi. It’s Chen Ge, General Chen.”

‘General Chen? Chen Ge has been promoted?!’

Xiao YuAn was happy at this, and said: “Bring him over.”

The person who reported the news hurriedly went to invite Chen Ge over. After a while, before Xiao YuAn could even see Chen Ge, he heard his voice coming from the other side of the door: “For the Heavens! Physician Xiao, you’re all right! I knew it! Lucky people have their own way of surviving! Whooo waaah!”

Chen Ge exaggeratedly whimpered twice as he entered the bedchamber. As Chen Ge held Xiao YuAn’s hands, they looked at each other with teary eyes. Immersed in such a scene, Xiao YuAn was also stirred up emotionally, and after sobbing twice, he shouted: “Chen Ge, your hands! Loosen them! I’m a married man! Pay attention to the misunderstandings this action could bring!”