Chapter 6: Get Out of the Way Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Sulo
Xia Qian"an"s consciousness was dim, and he had not yet woken up. He subconsciously moved his hand to the side and did not touch anything. After a few seconds, he returned to his consciousness and opened his eyes abruptly.
“An Jiu?” Xia Qian"an said in a soft voice, with some caution and uncertainty in his tone, and his voice trembled.
“Master, are you awake?” An Jiu appeared at the bedside after his master"s voice called out.
“…Mn, awake.” Xia Qian"an replied, relieved. Fortunately, it was not a dream.
After getting up and washing, An Jiu helped his master to tie up his hair. Xia Qian"an was not used to being close to others. After learning how to dress, he didn"t need a maid to wait on him to dress. He could only do simple things with his hair. The fancier things were left to An Jiu.
After breakfast, Xia Qian"an went back to the small study to read. He didn"t read any books in the study, and instead read the several music scores.
Xia Qian"an was studying the new music scores from morning to night. He had played modern ancient music before, or he wrote it himself. Now he had the opportunity to learn the ancient music with great ancient charm. He would not let it go.
Although he didn"t know why he was forbidden from entering the palace, he also knew that he was not in danger for the time being. He just hoped he could leave here quickly. After all, the palace was a dangerous place. However, Xia Qian"an spent half a year in the Imperial Palace, during which, the Prince came several times to listen to him play the guqin.
At the first sight of the Prince, Xia Qian"an knew that the man he saw in the little bamboo forest half a year ago was the prince. Xia Qian"an didn"t feel much about him, but he felt that every time the prince looked at him, his eyes made him uncomfortable and he felt that he was being stared at.
Xia Qian"an had been studying for half a year, and had mastered five or six songs, which were all cla.s.sic songs. When chatting, he read some medical books to kill time. Now Xia Qian"an knew most of the herbs and had mastered some prescriptions. He would have no problems treating injuries and helping with detoxification, which was also a harvest from coming to ancient times.
“Master, the palace has been occupied. This subordinate will take you out of the palace.” An Jiu suddenly appeared in the small study, Xia Qian"an was shocked by the news.
“Are you hurt?”
Xia Qian"an smelled a b.l.o.o.d.y scent coming from An Jiu"s body, stood up and went to him in an instant. He frowned tightly, and his eyes were full of impatience and affection.
“This subordinate was fighting with people when they arrived here. They are the shadow guards who monitor master. Master, before they react, we have to go quickly.” An Jiu said so many words for the first time, with a dignified look, which showed that the problem was a little tricky.
“Okay, let"s go now.” Xia Qian"an nodded.
“Yes, master.”
After that, An Jiu picked up his master in a princess carry and ran away from the study. Xia Qian"an put his hands around An Jiu"s neck to reduce the force on his arm, and buried his head in the other"s chest to prevent the wind from blowing into his eyes.
Xia Qian"an couldn"t see, only heard the wind whirring in his ear, and could feel how fast An Jiu was running. An Jiu chose a remote part of the palace to escape. When he had not been sent back to his master by the prince, he secretly heard that Prince Jing was going to seek power and usurp the throne.
After returning to his master, he secretly searched for the best way to escape from the palace, prepared early, and took his master away from the palace at the same time Prince Jing usurped the throne.
His master was innocent, he didn"t want to die.
Since it was a remote place, no one stopped them, but when they were about to leave the palace, a large number of bodyguards suddenly surrounded them. They had probably been waiting since early that morning.
An Jiu continued speeding up. In the middle of the process, he used a concealed weapon smeared in poison. If it was just An Jiu, there would be no problems to kill these people. But with Xia Qian"an, his speed would slow down, and An Jiu had some scruples in mind.
But the two escaped from the palace, although An Jiu also suffered some injuries. An Jiu sped up to leave the pursuers behind and fled to the outside of the imperial city with his master. After a day"s escape and with An Jiu"s speed, there was no danger for the time being.
The two escaped to the deep forest, and the sky gradually turned dark. Xia Qian"an dared not stay in the city. There were many people who wanted to catch them. If they found them, they wouldn"t be able to escape. The deep forest was the best hiding place.
They found a small cave, with no beasts in it.
“Master, I need to find something for you to eat, please stay here. It"s safe for the time being.”
“I"ll go with you. I"m going to find some herbs.” Xia Qian"an reached out and grabbed An Jiu"s hand. His eyes were full of tension. He was afraid that An Jiu would leave his sight. This day"s escape let him know that death was inevitable.
At last, An Jiu took his master out to find some food. An Jiu caught a rabbit and pheasant, found a small river, plucked the hair and cleaned out the internal organs. Xia Qian"an found some herbs that could be used for hemostasis and seasoning in the vicinity, and picked some edible fruit on the way back.
After looking for things, they went back to the cave. An Jiu specially wiped away their traces. When they went back to the cave, it was completely dark. Xia Qian"an stuffed the cleaned herbs into the belly of rabbit and pheasant, and then left the rest of the work to An Jiu. Xia Qian"an had never worked in the kitchen in both of his lives, let alone in the wild.
“An Jiu, take off your coat. I"ll give you some medicine.” Xia Qian"an put the herbal medicine in his mouth and chewed it. The herbal juice was a little bitter, which made Xia Qian"an frown, but he continued to chew it with a bitter face and spat it out after chewing it.
“Master, these are just minor injuries.” An Jiu"s body was stiff, and his eyes instantly became deep, but the moment he relaxed, he let out a light breath, and the pressure in his heart numbed.
An Jiu flipped the meat over the fire to prevent it from scorching, and then spread the fruit juice on the surface, doing as his master had told him. The smell of meat and fruit juice slowly spread in the air.
The surface of the roast meat gradually turned golden, and the oil came out and dripped into the fire, causing it to flare a little brighter.
“I chewed so hard, and my mouth is still bitter now.” Xia Qian"an looked at An Jiu without blinking, and said this with a bitter face. He had been with An Jiu for nearly two years. He knew how to talk to An Jiu, and An Jiu would not refuse him.
Listening to his master say so, An Jiu also no longer refused. How could he refuse his master"s request? What"s more, his master did it for him.
After An Jiu took off his outer shirt and exposed his upper body, Xia Qian"an saw the so-called small wound on An Jiu, which was a sword wound. Some of the blood of the wound coagulated, and some of the heavy ones were still bleeding a little bit.
Seeing this, Xia Qian"an"s heart was sluggish, and his eyes turned red instantly. Xia Qian"an bit his lower lip and looked up slightly to force tears back. Fortunately, An Jiu"s back was to him, and he didn"t see it. After adjusting his mood, Xia Qian"an began to apply medicine to An Jiu"s back. Worried about the lack of medicine, Xia Qian"an chewed while applying medicine.
They didn"t bring anything while escaping in order to save time, but he didn"t leave his courtyard without injuries. The guards had expected him to escape early in the morning but because Xia Qian"an stayed in An Jiu arms at the time of escape, he did not have any injuries.
After the medicine was applied, the meat was also roasted. An Jiu cut the barbecue for his master. After the two ate the barbecue, Xia Qian"an gave An Jiu some fruit to remove the grease from his mouth.
It was now autumn and usually Xia Qian"an slept under the covers at night, but they were running for their lives.
Finally, Xia Qian"an and An Jiu talked about a lot of great principles, and then he nested in An Jiu"s arms and stayed warm together. An Jiu was rigid.
What should I do in the future? Xia Qian"an was very upset. He hugged An Jiu, who was stiff due to tension, bringing both their bodies closer.
Feeling his master"s breath falling on his chest, and his body temperature constantly spreading to him, An Jiu"s hearts desire was slowly breaking free of the cage.
Apart from the last time, it was the second time that his master was so close to him when he was awake. Although he had been emphasizing that it was only his master"s purpose to keep warm, he couldn"t help but think more about it in his mind. In addition to his usual att.i.tude, he thought that his master had a trace of him.
In this way, both of them were secretly in love with each other. One was restrained by the deep-rooted sense of master and servant bonds, while the other was hesitant because of his own reasons.
“An Jiu, you will be by my side, right?” Xia Qian"an looked up from his arms, but only saw his firm chin.
“Yes, master.” An Jiu bowed his head and said. From the corner of his eyes, An Jiu saw the dependence in the eyes of his master and a trace of love he didn"t know of.
An Jiu"s breathing was sluggish. He quickly raised his head and didn"t look into his master"s eyes. His heart beat violently. Because he was in An Jiu"s arms, Xia Qian"an also heard his abnormal heartbeat. His eyes were bright and he was sure that An Jiu held affection for him.
For the first time in his two lives, Xia Qian"an was dependent on someone. He felt at ease around An Jiu. Even if he was running for his life now, as long as An Jiu was by his side, he would not be afraid. Even if he died, he would not be afraid.
It was not hard to understand why Xia Qian"an would fall in love with such a person who was so loyal to him.
“An Jiu, bow your head.”
“Yes…Mn!”
At the moment when An Jiu bowed his head, Xia Qian"an also raised his own head and kissed his lips. His hands encircled the other"s neck. An Jiu"s eyes were slightly open, and his eyes were full of disbelief. To prevent himself from being pushed away, Xia Qian"an sat directly on his legs.
Xia Qian"an didn"t know anything about kissing. He fumbled in his way of kissing, but he had seen kissing in some movies in modern times.
“Mn… An Jiu, kiss me…” Xia Qian"an murmured with his mouth slightly open, and his eyes were darker than ever.
“Master…”
“Mn… Mn~”
After midnight, An Jiu hugged his master to make sure he wasn"t cold. Master, after this step, you can"t turn back, because your subordinate"s love for you has been released by you and can"t be closed off any more.