The banquet to celebrate the empress’s birthday was in full swing.

Renowned musicians gathered from all over the land played their music while skilled, beautiful, and bedecked dancers and actors performed complex dances and entertaining plays to the utmost of their ability. Long tables filled with food were placed in the hall, perpendicular to the empress’s table that was set on a higher platform. The lavish dishes on each table were interspersed with elegant vases holding delicate arrangements of fresh, flowering branches. Ornate censers in hidden corners dispersed curls of scented smoke that floated through the room, its fragrance light, refreshing, and pleasant.

The empress sat with her favored concubines and female consort on the high table, her usually subtle smile a bit wider today. Below, servants bustled around unobtrusively, serving the various distinguished guests seated on the tables to the point of perfection. The guests themselves had arrived much earlier to give the empress face and were now in good spirits after seeing that no effort was spared in the banquet.

Yan Yixuan felt tiredness weigh his bones and eyelids. He had managed to get in a few sips of the medicinal concoction in between bites of food in an attempt to keep his strength up, but he was quickly nearing his limit. But he still maintained a smile and encouraged the conversation around him. This celebration was for his friend, and he was loath to let anything dampen the mood.

Not only that, but Yan Yixuan also refused to show any weakness in front of his self-styled enemy from the opposing faction, Song Hai. He did not know if it was a coincidence or deliberately arranged by someone, but Song Hai managed to get a seat that placed him directly opposite to Yan Yixuan.

Song Hai was in his mid-twenties and always seemed to wear simple yet luxurious robes that were a size too big. Rather than walk, he strutted everywhere as if showing himself off, and his face perpetually bore a mild look of dissatisfaction as if he found his environment and company lacking.

Throughout the banquet, Song Hai had constantly been attempting to provoke Yan Yixuan with barely-veiled insults and snide comments. However, much to his chagrin, the young duke acted placidly polite, utterly indifferent, or mildly teasing as fancy struck him.

Infuriated, Song Hai tried to incite him again, “Duke Yan seems to be a bit listless today. Is it because you feel that the banquet is inadequate in some way?”

Yan Yixuan looked up from his food with a smile. “My, I hadn’t thought Official Song was paying so much attention to me that you would notice even the slightest of my discomfort. Pardon me for worrying you so. But I do feel compelled to remind Official Song that I already have my heart set on General Ning, so I’m afraid I will be unable to respond to your fond regard despite your extraordinary concern and care all this time.”

Song Hai’s face grew red as he spluttered, “Wh-what are you―! P-Preposterous! Are you mocking me, Duke Yan?!”

Blinking his eyes innocently, Yan Yixuan expressed, “Why, I would never! I just assumed that Official Song felt something towards me due to how much attention you’ve been focusing on me throughout the banquet.”

“Then you assumed wrong!” Song Hai burst out, his shout ringing loudly.

Several heads turned in their direction with frowns. Who was making such a loud commotion in front of the empress? They must really be unafraid of offending her!

Perceiving the strange gazes on him, Song Hai gritted his teeth and glared at Yan Yixuan silently. The young man was composedly nibbling on his food, seeming to not pay any attention to him at all. Seeing him so unaffected only made Song Hai’s anger burn hotter.

A few ways away, Cang Xiyu looked at Song Hai wryly. Before he left the opposing faction, whenever Song Hai started a one-sided verbal battle with Yan Yixuan and lost miserably, Cang Xiyu had often heard the people of the opposition raise their spirits by saying that Song Hai might not be as good at talking as Yan Yixuan, but his wits were surely enough of a match to keep that youngster in check. The only reason Yan Yixuan must be able to best Song Hai’s schemes again and again was due to the empress’s help behind the scenes.

But now, after knowing the truth, Cang Xiyu saw the situation for what it was—a one-sided game where Yan Yixuan played with Song Hai for amusement and threw him away when he was bored. With a dry laugh, Cang Xiyu wondered how he could have been so blind before. It was definitely his good fortune to have been recruited by Yan Yixuan before he attempted anything more than that single assassination attempt.

In the meantime, a disgruntled Song Hai ignored his companions’ efforts to smooth his ruffled feathers and kept thinking of ways to get one over Yan Yixuan. How could he bear to let this young brat always win! As he thus wracked his brain, Song Hai recalled something he’d overheard while spying on Yan Yixuan’s hateful half-brother. It wasn’t anything big, but as long as he could get at least a small victory over the duke, Song Hai would be satisfied.

And so, Song Hai was all smiles as he spoke, “Duke Yan, I’ve noticed you haven’t touched any fish since the beginning of the banquet. That won’t do. Your health is poor, so you must balance your nutrition appropriately and not be picky.” Song Hai made a gesture and one of his people sitting beside Yan Yixuan put a piece of fish into his bowl. Then remembering how the young man had twisted his words just now, Song Hai hurriedly added, “Just take this as concern from an elder.”

Yan Yixuan narrowed his eyes, his smile dropping as he looked at the fish. He felt intense disgust and nausea churning in his stomach, but refused to let it show and make Song Hai happy. He calmly used his chopsticks to pick up the fish and placed it in his mouth. Barely chewing twice, he quickly swallowed it and chased it down with some tea to wash away the taste.

Ignoring the cold sweat beginning to form under his clothes, Yan Yixuan looked up and smiled at Song Hai. “I thank Official Song for your concern over my health.”

Seeing him look unaffected, Song Hai’s mood plummeted and he gave a stiff nod before burying his chin in his food. Hmph, he should have known that no one from the Yan household could be trusted, especially that abhorrent Yan Yihong! Why had he even believed him when he said his younger brother was terrified of eating fish to the point of becoming sick? Now that he thought about it, it was improbable for anyone to have such a strong reaction to mere food.

But the internally grumbling Song Hai didn’t notice that Yan Yixuan’s situation was indeed worsening.

No matter how much the young man tried to suppress it, he could still feel the fishy taste thickly coating the inside of his mouth and throat. He wanted to gag and retch, but kept himself in strict control in front of so many officials. The already glacial speed of his eating slowed down to nothing as his fingers turned white where they gripped the chopsticks. A thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead and Yan Yixuan’s face turned pale, his gaze growing unfocused with unpleasant recollections.

The first to notice his condition was a member of the empress’s faction. Since it had been quite some time since Yan Yixuan had the piece of fish, no one connected this to that, simply thinking that his bad health must be acting up again. Yan Yixuan did nothing to correct their misunderstanding. It was all he could do to stop himself from throwing up as it was.

The worried officials covertly brought this matter to the empress’s attention and quickly received her permission for Yan Yixuan to leave early.

Sick he might be, but the young Duke Yan still retained enough of his wits to ask Cang Xiyu to accompany him. While he was here, Yan Yixuan could protect Cang Xiyu from the attention of his former faction. But with him gone, Cang Xiyu might get targeted and face difficulties beyond his capabilities, so Yan Yixuan sought to bring him away.

Not realizing it, Cang You thought Yan Yixuan brought him along because he needed the older man to physically support him. He thus dutifully helped Yan Yixuan by leading him by his arm and letting the young man lean on him. If he didn’t know that the prideful duke wouldn’t allow him to help him any more than this, Cang Xiyu might have directly offered to carry him on his back.

As they walked out of the palace and into the fresh night air, Yan Yixuan let out a heavy breath and his steps slowed. Panting lightly, he leaned more of his weight on Cang Xiyu, making the older man worry. Cang Xiyu felt that below the thin layers of skin and muscle of the arm he held, the young man’s bones were brittle as if they’d easily break with a single strong clench of his hand. Cang Xiyu’s grip on him gentled.

When they made their way to the Yan household’s carriage, the driver saw that his master’s condition wasn’t good and came over worriedly. “Master! Shall I drive you to Physician Fang’s?”

Yan Yixuan shook his heavy head and ordered in a hoarse voice that lacked vigor. “Home. Quickly.”

The driver nodded with the utmost obedience and hurriedly prepared to set off.

Cang Xiyu led Yan Yixuan into the carriage and saw the young man slump tiredly against the cabin wall, one hand clamped tightly over his mouth while the other arm was curled around his stomach.

Yan Yixuan’s brows had furrowed harshly, his eyelids trembling with the force with which he was squeezing them shut. Without his usual steady and calm aura, Cang Xiyu felt that Yan Yixuan looked like a young, fragile boy struggling to hold onto the last shreds of his composure through his suffering. Pity and worry welled in him and Cang Xiyu moved to crouch before the young man.

But just as he reached out a hand to pat Yan Yixuan’s head soothingly, his wrist was held in a surprisingly strong grip as Yan Yixuan gritted out, “Don’t touch me, not now.”

Cang Xiyu froze, then withdrew his hand. “Is patting your back alright then?”

Yan Yixuan soundlessly shook his head.

“Then…your arm?”

The young man paused as if considering, then gave a small, imperceptible nod.

Cang Xiyu gently stroked Yan Yixuan’s arm in the same measured rhythm he’d often used to console his younger sister before. It didn’t seem to have any effect at first, but the tightness in Yan Yixuan’s brows slightly eased.

Sighing softly, Cang Xiyu asked, “Why did you even ask me to come with you if you were going to make it so difficult for me to take care of you?”

Yan Yixuan shot him an annoyed look, rasping out, “Wasn’t it for your sake? Idiot.”

Cang Xiyu was startled. His thoughts raced confusedly for a moment before it finally clicked.

Currently, the opposing faction was still angry at Cang Xiyu for switching sides. During the banquet, their attention had been focused on the Yan Yixuan who had stolen away Cang Xiyu. But after the duke left, their eyes would surely have turned to Cang Xiyu, and they would have attempted to make no small amount of trouble for him in retaliation.

Since Cang Xiyu was still a new addition and an unknown factor―and one who had been on the opposing faction at that―the people on the empress’s faction wouldn’t go out of their way to help him if he was targeted either. Some might even see it as an opportunity to use the opposing faction’s hostility as a test for Cang Xiyu.

But by bringing him away with him, Yan Yixuan spared the older man from all that unpleasantness. Not only that, he also sent a clear message that he trusted Cang Xiyu enough to let him accompany him when he was sick. And since Yan Yixuan was greatly respected by them, the people of the empress’s faction were also bound to develop some good feelings towards Cang Xiyu after he helped Yan Yixuan this time.

Realizing all this, Cang Xiyu could only shake his head and chuckle wryly. He should’ve known there was a deeper motive, or why would this prideful Duke Yan have allowed him his company when he was sick? “You’re right, I was indeed being idiotic in not seeing it sooner. Thank you for helping me.”

Yan Yixuan ignored him. He hadn’t done it for gratitude or acknowledgment. He had simply wanted to help one of his own people.

Cang Xiyu sighed, then finally asked what he had wanted to since they left the banquet. “Duke Yan, you… Just what happened to make you so sick? Is it really because of your frail health? Or was your food poisoned by someone?”

Yan Yixuan made the effort to answer concisely, “Fish disgusts me.”

Cang Xiyu blinked at him, wondering if he’d heard that right. Could mere disgust affect one this strongly? He was unconvinced. “Don’t tell me…are you having an allergic reaction to fish?”

The young man tiredly shook his head.

Cang Xiyu realized he shouldn’t bother him too much and focused on stroking his arm comfortingly. Whatever the problem was, it certainly seemed to be making it very difficult for the young man.

They soon arrived at the Yan residence and Cang Xiyu helped Yan Yixuan off the carriage. Even in his condition where he had to lean against Cang Xiyu for support, Yan Yixuan kept his back straight, his pale face showing a stubbornly composed expression that stated he was unwilling to compromise on his dignity. Cang Xiyu felt both helpless and distressed at the duke’s firm pridefulness.

By now, the driver had already hurried inside and quickly brought Ruan Shu out.

“Yixuan, what happened?” Ruan Shu asked anxiously as Yan Yixuan staggered into his embrace and leaned his whole weight onto him.

Cang Xiyu answered in his stead, “He ate some fish and seems to have become sick due to it.”

Ruan Shu’s eyes displayed his alarm. He nodded at Cang Xiyu in gratitude. “Thank you for bringing him home. Please feel free to make use of our carriage to go wherever you wish.”

With that, he whisked a weak Yan Yixuan into the residence while surrounded by a crowd of worried servants.

Cang Xiyu looked at the retreating group contemplatively. Feeling reassured that Yan Yixuan would be taken care of, he returned to the carriage and asked the driver to take him back to the palace where he could get on his own carriage.

Cang Xiyu couldn’t help but inexplicably feel the urge to return home and hug his little sister to vent his emotions. Damn it. He could be coldhearted to a fellow courtier, but he was absolutely weak against a frail little fox!

↢∘●∘↣

The disturbance in the household alerted Ning Wei to Yan Yixuan’s return.

The whole evening, Ning Wei had felt strangely listless. Yan Yixuan had tasked him with memorizing an old scroll of important names and dates, but Ning Wei’s concentration was too scattered. He’d wandered around the residence as if he was trying to find something, but he himself didn’t know what.

Ning Wei had eventually settled in Yan Yixuan’s study and felt a bit calmer. But as he tried to read the stupid scroll, he often found himself looking up as if expecting the young duke to be sitting behind his desk as usual, perusing some papers or looking into the distance while steeped in thought. Ning Wei had never before realized just how much he had gotten used to Yan Yixuan’s presence. He didn’t expect to miss the young man so much.

Now, realizing that Yan Yixuan was back, Ning Wei’s feet moved before he could convince himself otherwise and he quickly made his way towards the young man’s room. I just want to inform him I’m having some trouble with this scroll, that’s all, he tried to convince himself.

But when Ning Wei reached Yan Yixuan’s doorway, he found that the situation was wrong.

Tense worry weighed the air. The sour stench of bile was barely distinguishable from the thick medicinal smell permeating the room. A group of servants were densely gathered around the bed where Ning Wei presumed Yan Yixuan was resting.

Had the young man overexerted himself and become sick?

However, before Ning Wei could get a good look at Yan Yixuan to determine his condition, the servants quickly tightened around their vulnerable master and turned towards the doorway with vigilance. Their free hands slipped into their sleeves as if reaching for a weapon to defend their master with.

After seeing that it was just Ning Wei, the servants relaxed.

Even if this man wished to kill their master, their master would not be unwilling and would not appreciate their interference. For the servants of the Yan household, the wishes of their master were more sacred than the laws of Heaven itself. No matter how unreasonable or self-destructive those wishes were, they would never disobey.

Relaxing, the servants parted to let Ning Wei through.

Not knowing his importance in this household, Ning Wei hurried over to the bedside with a frown.

On the bed, Yan Yixuan sat while still wearing his official robes, but looking decidedly more disheveled than before. He was holding a bucket tightly to his chest and silently heaving over it, but the contents of his stomach seemed to have been already exhausted, not even bile remaining. His hands trembled where they tightly held the bucket and sweat sheathed his pale skin. His body shivered lightly as if with sickness and he looked particularly weak and spiritless. His dull eyes showed a deep fatigue. Some of the servants surrounding him held the young man steady, patted his back, or wiped away his sweat while the others waited with basins of water, dry cloths, and medicine to help nausea.

Intense worry bit at Ning Wei. “Yan Yixuan, what happened to you?”

Just realizing that the general was here, Yan Yixuan looked up with a dazed expression and unfocused eyes. “I…I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

Feeling distressed and restless, Ning Wei grabbed a cloth from a nearby servant and carefully wiped Yan Yixuan’s mouth for him. Seeing that Yan Yixuan remained unresisting, Ning Wei took over the job of wiping his sweat after that and instructed the servants, “Please put the medicine and other things down on the table and leave your master to my care. Having so many people crowding in his room won’t help him recover any sooner.”

The servants paused for only a moment before bowing and silently obeying. They took the bucket their master had finished using, cleaned up, and retreated.

Once they were alone, Ning Wei’s actions slowed and he looked at the young man intently. “Yan Yixuan, are you alright? Do you need me to get you a physician?”

Yan Yixuan looked at him blankly, then asked in a raspy voice, “Can I hug you? I think I need it.”

Though he didn’t know what this was about, Ning Wei wordlessly put down the cloth in his hand and enfolded the young man in his arms. Yan Yixuan burrowed deeper into his embrace and sighed. Some vigor and clarity seemed to return to his voice as he said, “Ning Wei, do you remember what I said before about how due to my suppressing them, some of the side effects of my past affect me more strongly? This is one of those occasions.”

Ning Wei frowned. “What happened?”

Yan Yixuan sighed tiredly. “I had to eat fish in the banquet. I hate fish.”

“It can’t be that simple,” Ning Wei remarked softly.

He felt the young man shrug. “It isn’t. I just don’t want to bore you with the specifics.”

Ning Wei leaned back and pinned him with a look. “Tell me. It might make you feel better.”

Yan Yixuan peered up to see his beloved’s eyes oozing care and concern, then looked down. Fiddling with the scratchy embroidery on his outer robe, he slowly began, “I think you must already know that when I was very young, I and my mother were forced to live in a hut in the mountains. My father didn’t want us, the stains on his name, to be seen outside. My mother died of illness later and I had to bury her in the mountains and fend for myself.”

Ning Wei stroked his head comfortingly. “Yes, I’ve heard.”

The young man pressed his lips together and tried not to show any reaction to his beloved’s caring touch. “At that time, the thing I ate the most was fish since the water source nearby had an abundance of them. I had good kinetic vision and fast reflexes, so even if I didn’t find anything else to eat, as was often the case, I could always count on catching fishes. However, anyone will get fed up of having the same thing for almost every meal. Unfortunately, I had no other choice but to keep eating them for survival. I didn’t know of much else in the mountains that was safe to have except for a couple types of berries that grew scarcely or some frogs and lizards that I occasionally managed to catch.

“After I was found and taken into the household as the spare heir, I was at least able to eat a larger variety of food. And since I no longer needed to force myself to consume fish for survival, the very thought of eating it again made all those years of suppressed hatred for it bubble up in me, making me physically sick with disgust.”

Yan Yixuan paused to take a deep breath and extracted some courage from his beloved’s hand still rubbing his head, then moved on to the more difficult part of the story, “Once when I was faced with some fish during dinner, I turned green in front of the entire family and pushed the dish away. My father didn’t care one way or another, though Elder Sister had been a bit worried. However, Elder Brother latched onto it astutely and kept pestering me about it until I was forced to tell him the reason I hated fish.”

Ning Wei’s expression tightened. He knew that nothing good would have come out of it.

Sure enough, Yan Yixuan continued, “For a few weeks after that, Elder Brother’s most favorite entertainment was to have servants hold me in place and personally feed me food containing fish. He would force me to choke it down by pushing the fish down my throat with his fingers until I swallowed, then laugh and clap with relish as I quickly vomited it all out while reflexive tears stung my eyes.” Yan Yixuan’s hands clenched into fists even as he kept his expression blank and his tone matter-of-fact. “Elder Brother particularly liked seeing me discomposed as I’d never cried in front of him before, so even my reflexive tears delighted him. Needless to say that due to having to go through that for several weeks until my brother got bored of it, I began to detest eating fish very strongly.”

Ning Wei gritted his teeth and suppressed the violent anger he felt towards Yan Yihong. How could there be such a detestable person in this world?! But no, he wasn’t in this world anymore. It was fortunate for him since Ning Wei was sure that if he got ahold of him, he wouldn’t have let him go with just a few broken bones!

Exerting his willpower to carefully tuck away his rage, Ning Wei softened his expression and asked, “Since you hate fish so much, why did you eat it at the banquet?”

Yan Yixuan sighed and narrated how Song Hai had someone put some in his bowl, and how he hadn’t wanted to make a scene and ate it while acting unaffected. “At least I managed to hold on long enough before my condition was noticed. No one should be able to relate the fish with my ‘sickness’.”

Ning Wei looked at him exasperatedly. “Stop worrying about that. How are you now? Do you still feel unwell?”

Yan Yixuan gave him a small smile. “Now that I threw it all up, I will be fine.” Then suddenly realizing what a miserable figure he must be cutting in front of his beloved, the young man grew flustered. “Ah, I- Ning Wei, I’m sorry to show you such an unsightly appearance.” He tried to lift his arms to unobtrusively check if his clothes had any stains on them.

Catching his movements, Ning Wei hid his amusement and reassured while resuming the action of wiping away his sweat, “Don’t worry about it.” Then glancing at his clothes, Ning Wei added, “You should change. Your robes are soaked with sweat, and it looks heavy and uncomfortable.”

Yan Yixuan nodded in agreement, but made no move to remove them.

Thinking that the young man must feel too weak to do it himself, Ning Wei put away the cloth again and considerately reached out towards Yan Yixuan’s belt. “You must be tired, so let me help you with―”

“No!”

Ning Wei froze.

Yan Yixuan had scurried back until his back was pressing against the headboard. His eyes were wide with fear and panic while his arms covered his clothes tightly.

Seeing the young man almost cowering from him, Ning Wei unconsciously stepped back. “I… I suppose I was being too presumptuous. Pardon me.”

Hearing his formal tone, Yan Yixuan’s stiffened, realizing how it must look. “N-No, that’s not… I didn’t mean… I-I just wanted to take them off myself and not trouble you further.” The excuse sounded unconvincing even to himself. Yan Yixuan bit his lip and looked away anxiously.

Ning Wei tried to smile reassuringly, but awkwardness still remained. “It’s alright. I should have asked first before attempting something so impolite.”

Yan Yixuan opened and closed his mouth, but didn’t know how to reply.

After all, he couldn’t very well say that he didn’t want Ning Wei to see his scars and recognize him, could he?

Though he doubted his beloved even remembered him, he was afraid of his Ah-Ning suddenly realizing that he was that cowardly, wretched, and weak child from back then who didn’t even stand up for the one who saved him, letting him be punished instead. Since Ning Wei forgot him, Yan Yixuan would take this chance to start anew to make a better impression on him!

But if his wish was truly fulfilled and he was able to get together with Ning Wei, then he wouldn’t be able to keep hiding his body. What would Ning Wei think when he saw his scars? Would he feel disgusted at what they represented? Though he knew that his general was not that sort of person, he couldn’t help but doubt. After all, he himself felt nauseous when he thought of what these scars stood for. What reason did he have to hope that someone else would feel any better about them?

Yan Yixuan’s heart clenched tightly with pain. No, he didn’t want to risk it! He didn’t want his Ah-Ning to see him that way!

Looking at how the young man seemed to be wrestling some inner demons, Ning Wei realized that he might have inadvertently touched on one of Yan Yixuan’s mental scars. He reached out as if to pat his head, but stopped partway and slowly lowered his hand. “Yan Yixuan, are you…alright?”

Yan Yixuan startled and looked up uncertainly at Ning Wei. Witnessing the complex emotions in Ning Wei’s gaze, he furiously admonished himself.  What was he doing? Look, he made his beloved uneasy! Yan Yixuan knew he had too many issues he needed to work through, but how could he burden his Ah-Ning with such bothersome things?

In a practiced manner, the young man slowly put away his agitation, fear, and insecurity, straightened his posture, and showed a calm smile. “I’m sorry, I troubled you a lot today. Thank you for worrying about and tending to me. I’m fine now. It’s been a tiring day, so I would like to have some time to myself, if you don’t mind.”

Ning Wei studied him carefully.

Yan Yixuan maintained his mild smile and held his gaze.

Finally giving him a slow nod, the general expressionlessly turned and left the room.

Once outside, Ning Wei stopped, leaned against the wall, and rubbed his face. He felt a vague frustration he didn’t know how to vent.

Ning Wei recalled his and Yan Yixuan’s first meeting. At that time, he had employed numerous methods against the young man, all to make Yan Yixuan look at him the way he had just now—with fear. But now, being looked at that way made Ning Wei feel helplessness, regret, and agitation he didn’t know how to deal with.

“General Ning? Did you just come out of Master’s room? How is he?” Ruan Shu’s voice sounded. He was carrying a tray with medicine that he’d hurried out to get from a pharmacy for Yan Yixuan.

Ning Wei had already sensed him approaching, but had ignored him in favor of his own thoughts. Seeing that he couldn’t get away with acting like a part of the wall, Ning Wei sighed and turned to Ruan Shu before replying, “He’s better now, but not yet fully recovered. I think I might have…frightened him a bit. He must be angry at me now.”

Ruan Shu frowned. Yixuan, frightened? Impossible! “General, what did you do?”

“I wanted to help him change since his clothing looked sweaty and uncomfortable, but he looked at me as if I was about to stab him in the heart instead,” Ning Wei answered glumly. “I suppose it must be another of his mental scars acting up?”

But Ruan Shu looked surprised and shook his head. “That can’t be. I’ve helped him change clothes plenty of times before. He’s never reacted like that with me.”

Ning Wei’s expression darkened. “Then…did he think I was about to take advantage of him since he was weak?”

“…” Ruan Shu’s lips twitched. “I doubt Master would think of you that way after having the chance to get to know you all this while. It must be because of something that was triggered due to his ordeal with the fish.” Whether it was true or not, Ruan Shu knew that his biggest priority currently should be to reassure Ning Wei, or Yan Yixuan might blame himself for making his beloved Ah-Ning agonize over it.

“You think so?” Ning Wei asked doubtfully.

Ruan Shu nodded confidently. “Yes, so don’t take it personally, General. Master would be saddened if he knew you were misunderstanding him.”

Ning Wei nodded with a thoughtful frown and slowly began walking towards his own room.

Having appeased Ning Wei for now, Ruan Shu heaved a breath in relief and headed towards Yan Yixuan’s room. Now, there was just one more troublesome brat left to handle.