Chapter 0135: The Unrecognizable Pastry, and Shen Yuan Who Shared the Same Fate
“Oh, you’re awake.”
In the carriage, Gu Lao tucked his hands into his official sleeves, watching Su Qinghe as he gradually regained consciousness.
He had gone to the Directorate of Celestial Observation to retrieve someone, only to find Su Qinghe unconscious and covered in blood. He immediately summoned the imperial physician to save him.
Upon learning that Su Qinghe had merely fainted from exhaustion, he bundled up the unconscious young man and carried him into the carriage.
“This is…”
Feeling the carriage’s vibrations, Su Qinghe panicked.
Was he being sent back to the Su Family?
Because he hadn’t met the Second Prince’s expectations? Had the Second Prince grown disappointed in him?
Was he abandoning him?
Tears instantly welled up in his eyes, streaming down his delicate and handsome cheeks. Su Qinghe truly loved the Directorate of Celestial Observation and the Ministry of Works. Here, he had gained respect and recognition, discovering what he excelled at. But these days felt like they were stolen—he would ultimately have to return to where he originally belonged…
He was such a failure. He still wasn’t good enough, which was why he was being cast aside and discarded…
He couldn’t do anything right…
Tears fell like broken strings of pearls, chilling to the bone before they could even land on his official robes. Gu Lao sighed inwardly as he watched the young man bite his lip to stifle his sobs.
In truth, he could see that something was amiss with this child’s temperament.
But he believed that peaceful times would eventually wear away past pains, just like the welts left by the Second Prince’s caning—even if scars remained, the pain would fade. One must look forward to avoid betraying the life yet to come.
“Stop crying. You’re an official now—what kind of example are you setting?” Gu Lao shook his head helplessly. “When we reach Liaozhou, if the Second Prince sees you with red, swollen eyes, who knows how he’ll torment and blame this old man.”
He might even throw a fit, wailing, “Give me back my adorable Su Qinghe, boohoo!”
Gu Lao shuddered at the thought and quickly banished the image from his mind.
Su Qinghe’s tears halted abruptly. He looked up, bewildered. “The Second Prince is in Liaozhou? When did he go?”
“Yes,” Gu Lao nodded. “Didn’t you know? His Highness volunteered to go to Liaozhou to rescue Lord Shen. It’s been over half a month now. He wrote to me, instructing me to bring you to Liaozhou to work on some ice sculptures. You’re quite skilled with your hands, so when the time comes, I’ll teach you the art of carving.”
Su Qinghe suddenly broke into a tearful laugh, sniffling as he cried and laughed at once. “I thought… I thought…”
He had assumed the Second Prince had abandoned him…
Wiping the tears from his face, Su Qinghe finally processed the rest. “Rescue Lord Shen? What happened to Lord Shen?”
“It seems he was captured by bandits, but I heard he’s been rescued already.” Gu Lao rarely attended court and had only learned the news from other officials. “Anyway, it’s nothing serious. Take these days on the road to rest. The imperial physician said you’re overworked and need to recuperate for a few days. No more reading.”
Su Qinghe obediently nodded. Learning that Xie Chengze hadn’t abandoned him but had merely left the capital in haste, he finally cast aside his gloom. Gently, he lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.
The world beyond was blanketed in pure white, mirroring the clarity and lightness that now filled his heart.
Your Highness, Qinghe misses you so much.
Qinghe wants to make pastries for you to eat.
…
“These damn pastries, why are they so hard to make.”
In the firewood shed, Shen Yuan looked at the steamed cakes in the basket that had been distorted beyond recognition and couldn’t help rubbing his flour-dusted forehead.
In both his previous life and current life, he had eaten Su Qinghe’s pastries and naturally knew how perfect they were in appearance, aroma, and taste. It was completely normal for Xie Chengze, that little glutton who loved sweets, to constantly crave them.
He just never expected them to be so difficult to make.
Even just making them look presentable…
Shen Yuan could almost imagine how mercilessly Xie Chengze would laugh at him if he presented these pastries.
Maybe I should just buy ready-made pastries instead?
Anything I make myself really isn’t worth showing.
Shen Yuan pinched off a piece of the steamed cake and stuffed it into his mouth to taste. The flavor was passable, not exactly unpleasant, but clearly far inferior to Su Qinghe’s craftsmanship – easily comparable to coarse bran and bitter vegetables.
Forget it, better to feed them to the dogs.
Thinking this, Shen Yuan stuffed another piece into his mouth.
After eliminating all evidence of pastry-making from the firewood shed, Shen Yuan wrapped the failed pastries in a cloth bundle, planning to eat them as lunch while leading the Standing Army to clear snow from the official road. That’s when he ran into Xie Chengze who was heading out.
Xie Chengze seemed perfectly normal, greeting Shen Yuan before going about his business.
Shen Yuan hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask if Xie Chengze had seen the rabbit ice lantern he left behind. But seeing that Xie Chengze showed no intention of mentioning the ice lantern, a spark of irritation suddenly flared in his heart.
Why should I be the only one suffering?
Shen Yuan quickly untied the cloth bundle, tore off a piece of the steamed cake, and forcibly stuffed it into Xie Chengze’s mouth.
Let’s suffer together!
The man retied the bundle and turned to storm down the mountain.
Xie Chengze: ?
What’s wrong with him so early in the morning?
He chewed the soft steamed cake in his mouth and found it quite sweet. When did the firewood shed start making such good things? And they didn’t even save any for him?
The sweet-toothed Xie Chengze hurried to the firewood shed, but found nothing there – not even a trace of steamed cake preparation.
Could it be that Shen Yuan was secretly enjoying treats behind his back?
He wouldn’t be that stingy, would he!
Xie Chengze smacked his lips, savoring the rare sweetness in his mouth.
Oh well, better attend to proper business first!
Xie Chengze had been mysteriously busy lately, often disappearing without trace. As the first blizzard arrived, overwhelming snow swept through the mountains and towns like thick clouds and rolling fog, covering houses and ground with a thick snowy quilt that made movement nearly impossible.
Coal mining operations ceased as villages mobilized to clear the snow. With heated kang beds and relief grain available, the blizzard didn’t seem quite so hopeless anymore. The people worked with high morale to clear snow, removing heavy layers from rooftops to prevent midnight collapses and casualties.
The “freshly baked” Standing Army and former coal bandits were also forced to work, taking shifts to push snow from the official roads to prevent delays in the second wave of disaster relief supplies.
On the Hun River ice surface.
Xie Chengze gazed at the snow-white frozen river, rubbing his eyes uncomfortably at the boundless glare of snowlight.
Suddenly, a piece of light and soft black gauze wrapped around his eyes from behind, then gently wound around his ears and tied at the back of his head, leaving a faint, subtle pressure. A pair of slender, pale hands tightened the black blindfold, finally tying an exceptionally beautiful bow.
Xie Chengze turned his head and then met a pair of narrow, sharp black eyes.