CH 43

The stars were a little sparse this night, but it was fortunate that the moon was surprisingly large, shining brightly in the sky and illuminating the surrounding fields in silvery-white light. It was rather romantic.

Xuan Jiao was eating dry grass leisurely at the side. Liu Xian’an found a flat stone and sat down with Liang Shu. He was capable of watching the moon for a whole night without speaking, but His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was not. The prince’s shameful spring love was originally like a flame, but was at this moment further strengthened by the night and the moonlight, expanding to the point of boundlessness. Not to mention thinking, even sitting was precarious.

And at this precarious moment, Liu Xian’an took the initiative to grasp his hand. Liang Shu’s heart stopped beating. The soft, cool touch from the dream overlapped with reality, and he turned his hand almost without thinking, taking all of the other party’s thin, white fingers into his palm.

“…….” Liu Xian’an was puzzled. “I want to test His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s pulse.”

He hadn’t had time to reveal his tenderness when, bang, he was jabbed with a pole. Liang Shu released his hand and said expressionlessly: “Don’t test it.”

Liu Xian’an let out an “oh” and didn’t insist. He continued to look at the moon on his own and ignore him.

A while later, Liang Shu handed over his wrist.

Liu Xian’an pursed his lips, placed his fingers on the other party’s veins, and tested for a while before saying: “There is nothing serious, but you are too tired and need a good rest.”

Liang Shu asked: “Then why did you let me go out in the middle of the night?”

Liu Xian’an retracted his hands into his sleeves: “Since sedatives are useless, you might as well do something you enjoy. Otherwise, lying in bed all the time worrying will not benefit your body. If you adjust your mood, your sleep will naturally become more regular.

Liang Shu turned his eyes back toward the distant mountains: “Can getting married cure insomnia?”

Liu Xian’an was decisive: “It cannot.”

“Is that written in a book?”

“I’ve witnessed it myself.”

Not to mention elsewhere, there were living examples in Baihe Mountain Village. Since his uncle married, he had been suffering from serious and minor illnesses. He quarreled with auntie every day, red in the face, and hurt from head to toe. He took several cylinders of tranquilizing medicine, showing that getting married couldn’t cure any disease, and that it was very likely to aggravate previous symptoms.

Liu Xian’an said: “Besides, one attribute of love is that it always makes people toss and turn. How could it make people sleep peacefully?”

Liang Shu grasped the back of his neck: “Speak logically, you’ve never been in ‘love’ before.”

Liu Xian’an was massaged very nicely, both sore and comfortable: “It’s all written in books.”

Liang Shu moved his hands lightly: “Let’s hear how it is written in the books.”

Liu Xian’an thought about those stories and poems that had been passed down through the ages. Almost none of them were not full of sadness, or how long it took for love to become hate. He frowned as he thought about it, and didn’t want to elaborate, so he just gave a perfunctory: “It’s troublesome anyway.”

Liang Shu asked: “So you’re not going to like anyone, and even when getting married, ‘anyone is fine?’”

Liu Xian’an replied, that’s about it.

Liang Shu knocked his head in dissatisfaction.

Liu Xian’an dodged sideways: “What about the prince?”

Liang Shu replied: “Anyone is fine.”

“The Fei Kingdom princess?”

“No.”

“Princesses of other countries?”

“Also no.”

Liu Xian’an thought, so what kind of ‘anyone’ is this, you obviously have a lot of requirements.

Liang Shu continued to massage his neck for him: “Did those white-bearded old men come out again?”

“No, I’ve been too busy lately to take care of them.” Liu Xian’an moved on the stone. “I only think about them occasionally before going to sleep at night.”

But because His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was always on guard there with a sword, the Three Thousand Worlds were safe and secure. He could organize his thoughts without any distractions and without rush, and when encountering problems that he didn’t understand, he wouldn’t waste time on insignificant problems. This was because His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would always appear in a while, then say impatiently with a fierce expression: “Don’t think about it if you don’t understand it.”

So Second Young Master Liu really didn’t try to. He allowed him to lead him around by his sleeve to go look at the trees, look at the palace, ride a white crane, and fly around every world freely.

The moonlight was beautiful tonight, so he selectively picked out some of these dreams and told them to Liang Shu in reality, where they were both wearing clothes. In the dao, the two would travel together or drink, and sleep next to each other under the peach blossom trees when drunk, leisurely and indulgent.

Liang Shu nodded: “All right. When the war is over, I’ll take you to drink with me, get drunk, and do all the things in your dreams.” As for the white-bearded old men destined to be repeatedly scolded, there was also a group of ready-made ones in the Imperial court, which were not difficult to find.

But Liu Xian’an figured that he still couldn’t do “all of them,” because in his dreams, besides the peach trees, there was also a hot spring beneath a waterfall. He actually welcomed His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to relax and bathe in the Three Thousand Worlds when he was tired, but he really didn’t want to dream up too many details. Therefore, every time he awoke from the dream, he would feel slightly distressed for a while, not knowing how he himself had become more and more wild and disrespectful. In order to solve this problem, Second Young Master Liu had no choice but to think desperately when he was awake. He could fill the hot springs with dense white mist, build a circle of screens, construct a wall reaching the sky. He even drew a lot of pictures of His Royal Highness in bathrobes, and would look at them before going to bed, but it was no use. Once the big dream struck, the areas that should be meticulous and detailed were still meticulous and detailed.

How distressing.

Liang Shu felt that the way he was sighing with his hands clasped together looked like the frowning cat in the Imperial gardens, so he stretched out his hand to pet him.

Liu Xian’an didn’t hide either. Instead, he was so sleepy that he yawned.

Liang Shu called Xuan Jiao and took him back to camp.

Gao Lin also didn’t sleep, and when he heard the news, he snuck into the commander’s tent: “How did it go?”

Liang Shu sat on the bed: “Letting you be a lieutenant general is really a waste of talent.”

Gao Lin hastened to be modest, he was only average, ba. He never would have thought he would have such amazing potential in the field of matchmaking. He dragged a cushion over and sat cross-legged: “What did Second Young Master Liu say?”

Liang Shu said: “That he is too lazy to get married, and he has no intention of marrying anyone.”

Gao Lin’s smile froze for a moment, and then he promptly stood up and tried to slip away, but failed, so he could only complain: “Why, though. I asked A-Ning, and Second Young Master Liu has never cared about other people’s preferences before. It seems he doesn’t even know the preferences of Master Liu, and has never prepared sugar for other patients.”

Such was the case that the amount of sweet root and dried hawthorn was very limited during the march, and even those thirteen or fourteen-year-old soldiers couldn’t get a bite of sweet and sour from Doctor Liu. At most, they could get a philosophical muddled speech, such as, “If you think that the medicine in front of you is sweet, then it will be sweet.” It was simply dull and drowsy, with double the pain.

Gao Lin said: “The prince’s medicine is so delicious that it can be savored, does this not count as deliberate? A-Ning said that in order to make the bitter taste less bitter, he would taste it every time and personally decoct it. Anyway, if he cares so much about a person, they are either his actual father or he loves them to death and must marry them.”

Liang Shu felt that today was the day he had heard the most from Gao Lin since meeting him.

But frankly speaking, he himself didn’t think that Liu Xian’an’s “neither love nor desire” tonight would definitely last forever. After all, he was a Sleeping Immortal who had been floating alone in the sky for forty-eight thousand years. It would take him a lot of effort to return to the world with a clear mind and learn about love.

Thus, he had mercy and didn’t continue to find fault. He waved Gao Lin out of the room, lay down on the bed alone, and fell asleep peacefully.

Liu Xian’an didn’t sleep, but A-Ning had rested before and was not sleepy now, so he asked him: “What are you thinking, Young Master?”

“I’m not thinking about anything.” Liu Xian’an lay on his back under the blanket, propping up his upper body slightly. “I’ve been dreaming about the prince lately.”

A-Ning thought this was normal, because they saw the prince every day. 

Liu Xian’an stretched out his hand and gestured for him to lean his ear closer to the side of the bed, then lowered his voice: “I dreamed that the prince was bathing.”

A-Ning also didn’t think this was too strange, and was puzzled at most. It seemed that at the very beginning, the young master dreamed that the prince was bathing, yet after knowing each other for so long, the prince had not yet come out of the pool.

Liu Xian’an drew a picture in the air with his finger: “He stood in front of me with no clothes on.”

A-Ning took a breath of cold air this time: “Scary!”

Liu Xian’an sat up: “Aiya, it’s really not scary, it’s just……I don’t want to dream, but drinking calming soup doesn’t seem to help.”

“But why do you dream of this?” A-Ning also climbed onto the bed and sat down. “People say that dreams are things we think about day and night, but the young master has never thought about the prince not wearing clothes. It’s so strange.”

Liu Xian’an replied innocently: “En, I haven’t.”

A-Ning patted the pillow: “Then lie down, Young Master. Let me tell you some other stories. Listening to them as you fall asleep, maybe you won’t dream of the prince again.”

Liu Xian’an lay down according to his words. A-Ning took out the soothing ointment and massaged his temples, then picked out a rather boring and hypnotic story written by a pedantic scholar, about a fox fairy repaying a favor.

Repaying a favor was nothing more than getting married and having a child. Liu Xian’an yawned and soon fell asleep. A-Ning’s voice continued into the dream, and the scholar and the fox fairy played the gongs, drums, and trumpets so that the whole village came out to watch. Red silk paved the floor and colorful lanterns hung outside the door, but he had no time to watch the excitement. He ran all the way to the waterfall, just in time for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to step out of the hot spring, holding an eye-catching three feet of red silk in his hand.

And the surrounding green mountains and water had already turned into a wedding hall decorated with lights and festoons. Liu Xian’an thought in a daze, could it be that the prince wants to get married?

He turned his head and looked around, wanting to see where the welcoming team was, but the white mist rose again. The sound of trumpets became louder and louder. Liu Xian’an couldn’t bear the noise, so he simply rode on Xuan Jiao and ran away. As he ran, there was suddenly another person behind him. 

Therefore, he woke up from the dream covered in cold sweat, his heart beating extremely fast.

A-Ning hadn’t gone to sleep yet, and was taken aback: “Young Master dreamed of the prince again?”

Liu Xian’an looked at him for a moment, pulled the blanket to cover his head, and said faintly: “Stop telling stories in the future.”

If a story wasn’t told, he would just stand on the shore at most. After telling the story, they stuck together and rode a horse for a long time. Liu Xian’an sighed silently and buried his face deeply into the pillow, feeling extremely sorry for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

He didn’t have a good rest all night, and couldn’t walk steadily the next day. Liang Shu rode over: “Shall I take you for a ride?”

Liu Xian’an was listless at first, but when he heard this sentence, he immediately shivered: “No need.”

“No need?” Liang Shu wondered, “Why aren’t you lazy?”

Liu Xian’an pointed casually: “I’m going to sleep in the carriage.”

Liang Shu watched helplessly all the way as he climbed in the grain cart. He ran very fast and almost fell in the middle, so he called Gao Lin over.

Gao Lin went to ask A-Ning.

A-Ning was sorting out the drawings done by his young master, a stack of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang wearing a bathrobe. When a person suddenly broke into the tent, he was startled and quickly put his hands behind his back: “Lieutenant General Gao.”

Gao Lin glanced at his hands: “What is that?”

“Nothing.” A-Ning took two steps back. “It’s a landscape painting done by my young master. He won’t allow others to see it, so I’m burning it.”

Gao Lin nodded: “So it’s a landscape.”

After asking a few more casual questions, he turned around and left the big tent. At this time, the army outside had already departed. This tent had to be dismantled immediately, so A-Ning hurriedly stuffed the paintings into the fire, picked up his luggage, and chased after them.

As he walked forward, Gao Lin picked up the spark-covered ball of paper behind his back and went to offer the treasure to his prince.

Liang Shu asked: “What is it?”

Gao Lin replied: “How could I dare look?”

Liang Shu opened a drawing, and Lieutenant General Gao, who didn’t dare to look, immediately stretched his neck closer. After seeing it clearly, he was shocked on the spot: “Isn’t this you, Your Highness?”

The drawing turned out to be true, neat, and attentive, but it was burned to a mess. Gao Lin had originally just stolen it back as a landscape painting, intending to comfort his prince in his lovesickness, but he never expected that he had picked up a basket of gold. What too lazy to get married? Why don’t you hurry back to Wangcheng to prepare for the happy event?