EXTRA 4: A Few Extras To Laugh And Cry.

After Yan HeQing conquered the Northern Kingdom, and he smashed the hairpin Xiao YuAn returned to him as a final parting gift, Yan HeQing suddenly felt that it was meaningless to live.

The great revenge of his country was finally achieved, but in exchange, he had to pay for his own mistake. Like the water flowing East, never to return.

But, when a man wants to die, he should always die on the battlefield. Buried in a horse’s hide.

After that day, every time Yan HeQing went to war, he would rush to the front line.

But the fucking thing was that he was unable to die!

When he rushed into a siege, he would always break through it in the blink of an eye.

When he rushed into a trap, the other party’s plan would suddenly fail.

Even when he was put in prison while in a critical condition, there would always be an inexplicable way for him to get out of danger.

Even yesterday… The enemy never arrived on the battlefield!

These were the biggest doubts of Yan HeQing after returning triumphant. Every single time.

2.

In the original story, the day before Yang LiuAn died, he promised Xiao Fengyue that he’ll get him out of the Imperial Palace. Then the two of them could find a paradise to live in and stay together for the rest of their lives.

However, after Xiao Fengyue heard that Yang LiuAn was killed protecting the Emperor, he spent a long time playing the guqin under the willow tree in the courtyard. As soon as he hooked and plucked the strings, these were embedded in his skin and flesh. The blood had dried up by now, staining the strings and dripping on the guqin’s surface.

All of a sudden, the guqin shrieked, and then everything became mute. As the strings broke, one after the other.

The moment the last string was broken, the flesh on Xiao Fengyue’s fingertips was plucked off, exposing his bones covered in blood.

The pain coming from his ten fingers was extremely hard to endure. But, at that moment, Xiao Fengyue’s heart was already dead.

The next day, Xiao Fengyue hanged himself with determination and fearlessness. He died like that.

The original story didn’t have a Tyrannical President who knew CPR, so Xiao Fengyue couldn’t be saved.

3.

[Another extra from the Modern AU. After a name was repeated a few times, and the love making was done a few more times, Yan-ge and Xiao YuAn went back to Ancient Times. However, Modern Yan HeQing and Modern President Xiao woke up.]

Modern President Xiao woke up from his sleep one day.

Finding that the King Size bed, which was a symbol of his identity, was gone.

He also found that there was a man lying next to him.

A naked man, who had his arms wrapped around his body.

The bed was a mess, and there were traces on his body, proof of last night’s affair. At a single glance, President Xiao could understand what had happened.

President Xiao’s first reaction was: ‘Shit, did I get into trouble while I was drunk?!’

At that moment, Modern Yan HeQing also woke up. Needless to say, he was also quite stunned.

His father’s company had faced bankruptcy not that long ago. Fortunately, the Xiao Group was willing to help with the acquisition and rectification of the debt. Due to this, Modern Yan HeQing didn’t escape abroad with his family. On one hand, it was because he didn’t want to pass the blame to others, on the other hand, it was also because he wanted to thank President Xiao.

But…. Now, four eyes were staring at each other with some awkwardness.

For a long time, neither of them could find the memories of the last 10 days in their minds.

After a while, President Xiao reached out and patted Modern Yan HeQing’s shoulder as he calmly said: “Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility.”

Yan HeQing: “….”

When President Xiao got up from bed, he howled miserably.

‘I don’t understand….’

‘Why is my waist hurting like this?’

‘What the hell did I do yesterday?’

Then, after many things happened, the luxurious Tyrannical President became a deeply affectionate, and pampering man.

One day, President Xiao suddenly understood why…

His waist hurt that day.

4.

A long time had passed before Xiao YuAn learned that Eunuch Zhao had jumped off the cliff where the Temple of Heaven was located, dying on his own accord.

From time to time, Xiao YuAn would dream of Hong Xiu and Li Wuding.

But he never dreamt of Eunuch Zhao. Not even once.

Later, when he thought about it, there should be a reason behind it.

After all….

Hong Xiu died for Xiao YuAn.

”
”
Li Wuding also died for Xiao YuAn.

Only Eunuch Zhao….

Died for Zhou Yu, the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom.

5.

If you ask Hong Xiu, ‘What are you afraid of?’

Hong Xiu will tell you…

That she doesn’t believe in God, she doesn’t fear ghosts, nor life or death. That she has nothing to fear.

Hong Xiu missed the best years of getting married for the sake of her younger siblings, resolutely stepping into the cold vermilion walls of the Palace at the age of 18. The hardships polished her into being a fearless woman, one that had absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

When the late Spring arrived into the walls of the Palace again, and after several years of being in a constant hurry, Hong Xiu gradually developed something to fear.

She was afraid of getting sick.

In the cold and deep walls of the Palace, she endured minor illnesses while still working, and with a more serious sickness, she would only rest for two days. Almost the entirety of her salary was sent over to her brother and sister, so she didn’t even have enough money to buy medicine for herself. Suffering was her only way of curing the disease.

By everyone else, Hong Xiu was seen as a ruthless cold woman with the heart of a snake.

”
”
But people aren’t made of iron, and they will always get sick, one way or another.

In the cold winter, so cold it could kill anyone stepping outside, Hong Xiu accidentally caught a cold.

The headache she had made her dizzy, while her throat was sore and her mouth was dry.

But there were trivial matters happening in the Palace, one after the other, and Hong Xiu couldn’t rest.

Hong Xiu swallowed some medicinal herbs, drank a few mouthfuls of hot water, and forced herself to take care of the Palace’s tasks. At night, she hurried to the Imperial Bedchamber, waiting for the Emperor to wash and get ready for bed.

The pain and discomfort brought by the wind, along with the cold, made her clutch her hands tightly, so as to not lose consciousness.

‘Bear with it.’

Hong Xiu said to herself with a confused mind.

‘Bear with it a little bit longer. Once the Emperor falls asleep, you can go back and rest.’

Suddenly, Hong Xiu felt an itch in her throat. Unable to control it, she covered her mouth and coughed.

“Hong Xiu, are you sick?”

The Emperor was in front of her, asking her all of a sudden. Of course, his voice wasn’t loud, but for Hong Xiu, it felt like a thunderstorm exploding inside her ears.

Hong Xiu suddenly felt a chill run all over her body.

‘How could I forget?! I caught a cold, it could be contagious!’

Hong Xiu instantly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly. With a trembling voice, she said: “This Maidservant deserves to die! This Maidservant didn’t mean to get sick and come close to His Majesty! But this Maidservant was careless. I beg His Majesty to punish me.”

Xiao YuAn was frightened by Hong Xiu’s sudden kowtowing, and it took him a while to understand what she was talking about. He then reacted and quickly helped her up: “What punishment are you talking about? Don’t kneel! Why are you kneeling when you’re sick?! Come on, get up quickly.”

The moment Xiao YuAn held Hong Xiu’s arm, he found that she was burning with a fever. He was so shocked by this, that he shouted: “God! You’re burning! Quickly lie down, lie down right now! I’ll call the Imperial Physician.”

Hong Xiu was confused by Xiao YuAn’s sudden actions and words. After reacting to what was going on, she found that Xiao YuAn let her lie on his bed. In a panic, she said: “No, Your Majesty, this, this is against the rules!”

Once Xiao YuAn let her lie down, he covered her with the quilt, and said: “Against the rules? What rules? I am the rules! Oh, wait, I’m quite good at this!”

Xiao YuAn smiled cheekily, as he wet a handkerchief in the water basin placed on the wooden stand, only to put it on Hong Xiu’s forehead right after.

Hong Xiu was speechless, feeling as if this was a dream.

Then, Xiao YuAn called the Imperial Bodyguards guarding the entrance of his bedchamber and ordered them to call for the Imperial Physician. When Xiao YuAn returned to his bedside, he found that Hong Xiu was still staring at him, completely stiff. As if she was thinking too hard about why the Emperor was doing all this for her, she didn’t dare to close her eyes or sleep at all.

Xiao YuAn simply thought that she was sick and uncomfortable, so he sat beside the bed, murmuring: “Why are you looking so depressed? Does your head hurt? Hey, I don’t know if the Tyrannical President’s way of teasing will have any use on you, so why don’t I show you funny faces?”

As soon as he said that, he reached out and pinched his own face, making an exaggerated grimace.

Hong Xiu: “Ptt.”

Accompanying a Monarch was like accompanying a tiger. The people around the Monarch should never express their true emotions in front of the Monarch.

Unless you can’t stop yourself.

This time, Hong Xiu wasn’t able to hold back.

When Xiao YuAn saw Hong Xiu smile, he also smiled reassuringly to her. Then, he whispered: “Don’t worry, go to sleep now. You’ll feel better after resting for a while.”

Usually, Hong Xiu would abide by the rules and etiquette, insisting on going back.

But she was so tired.

So tired that she didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes.

The fever made her drowsy, and as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell into a dream.

In the dream, there was a warm wind blowing past, with the hot sun shining all over a boundless land.

While the words that no one has ever said to her, resonated all over the place.

‘Don’t worry.’

When the Imperial Physician arrived, he examined her pulse and prescribed some medicine for her. Then he swore that Hong Xiu would feel better after one bowl of medicine, and Xiao YuAn called another Palace Maid, asking her to look after Hong Xiu. After settling everything, Xiao YuAn walked away from his bedchamber. When the Imperial Bodyguards saw him coming out of his bedchamber, they were puzzled: “Your Majesty, where are you going?”

Xiao YuAn waved his hand and said: “I’ll go find a bed. You don’t have to follow me.”

In the second room on the West side of the Imperial Bedchamber, Imperial Bodyguard Yan HeQing was getting ready to bed. All of a sudden, he heard a knock on the door of his room, making him frown slightly.

‘It’s so late. Who could it be?’

While Yan HeQing was anxiously thinking about the sudden knock on his door, the person at the other side cleared his throat and sang: “Little bunny boy, open the door~”

Yan HeQing: “….”

Right when Xiao YuAn was about to sing again, the door suddenly opened. Taking advantage of the cool moonlight, Xiao YuAn stared at the man in front of him. With a grin on his face, Xiao YuAn said: “Let me sleep here again.”

“What happened this time?” Yan HeQing leaned sideways to let Xiao YuAn walk in.

Then Xiao YuAn briefly talked about Hong Xiu’s illness.

Yan HeQing was silent for a long time before he could say: “You’re way too soft on others.”

Xiao YuAn said: “Hong Xiu is a good girl. She’s considerate and she deserves to be treated with kindness.”

After saying that, there was a moment of complete silence.

As Xiao YuAn yawned and prepared to lie on the bed, he suddenly heard Yan HeQing ask: “Do you like her?”

Xiao YuAn: “….”

‘Hey, hey, hey! I get that you’re the Male Lead of a Stallion Novel!’

‘But, can’t I have a good relationship with just one girl in this book?!’

‘Do you really think that every girl belongs to you?’

‘Hong Xiu is not part of your harem!’

‘It’s not impossible for her to not like you!’

Xiao YuAn leaned on his waist, and even though he was rarely hard on Yan HeQing, he said: “Hey, hey, what are you talking about? Don’t you know that not everything has to do with like or dislike? Love isn’t the only thing in the world, there are too many feelings in our hearts. Love can’t be summarized just like that.”

Yes, it can’t be summarized.

For example, in order to protect the Monarch, she pushed him aside without any regret.

The flowers fell on the water one after the other, turning it red. Even though so many flowers fell, they were sad about leaving the branches. So they silently complained to the East wind that blew them down1.

Ever since that day, the red hairpin forever poked into Xiao YuAn’s chest.