At night, the wind blew in strong gusts from the north, and gradually, pearls of snow began to drift down from the heavens. All of the palace maids and eunuchs in the palace had already withdrawn to have a rest, except for those who were dancing attendance upon their masters. In the entire sprawling palace complex, only a few lights were still shining and there was not a sound to be heard. For the denizens of the palace, this was a good night to delight in the joys to be found between their bed covers.
Wanyan Xu watched over Su Yi from the front of the bed, carefully wiping away the droplets of perspiration that rolled down his forehead. The fire of impatience burned in his heart, the pain had already been going on for several hours, but still, it did not seem to be showing any signs of abating.
“Su Su, if you are in pain then just shout out. You can cry out, you do not need to hold back for my [1] sake. You need not worry, I will not turn back into the cowardly man you saw previously, you... you should cry out.” He embraced Su Yi, careful to shift him into the most comfortable position possible. The hands of the two people were entwined and as was normal at such times, the two of them became each other"s pillar on which they could lean for support.
“Doesn’t… doesn’t matter, it is not… that painful, you… should not believe what Xia Er said.” Su Yi gritted his teeth and endured the pain, managing to force out a gentle smile with an effort. He gave his beloved"s stiff hand a couple of squeezes, offering comfort and said: “Wanyan… Do you know? At his moment I am… not thinking of the pain, I am thinking of another matter…” He lifted up the hands that they had clasped together and said: “You…. When you see this… what do you think of?”
Wanyan Xu remained silent, after a long time pa.s.sed, Su Yi gave a laugh and said: “You actually don’t know? Really… really so dim…” Before he could finish speaking, Wanyan Xu had planted a gentle kiss on his forehead and said: “How could I not know what you are speaking of, Su Su, how could I not know? I will be holding your hand, and growing old together with you, till death do us part…” Before he could finish speaking, a tear fell from his eye and coincidentally, it landed on Su yi"s lip. He buried his head against the Su Yi"s neck and said: “Yes… yes, Su Su, we shall remain together just like this, until we both grow old. As long as I live, I shall never let you down; you also... you also must not forget our pact to be together as our hair turns white.”
Su Yi had originally intended to soothe Wanyan Xu, but he could not have guessed that he would be moved to the point of tears instead. Although Su Yi also felt himself to be overwhelmed with emotions, but still, he had to fight back his own tears and said smilingly: “Look at you, that is such a cloying saying. That I should remember it at this time, even if you do not laugh at me for being unoriginal, you still don"t need to be moved to this state. The two of us have come so far together, actually is it still necessary to say these words at this point?” He thought a while and suddenly gave Wanyan Xu a kiss on his cheek and said softly: “May it be that my lord"s heart is the same as mine, surely then our yearning will not meet with disappointment.”
Su Yi had always been taciturn and self-reliant; time and again, he had put up barriers against Wanyan Xu. Although he had once professed his love for him, it had been because he had been sure that he was going to die and therefore he had allowed himself to lay bare his true feelings effusively. But it was only that one time; he had never done so again. Now that he was suddenly saying endearments that were imbued with love that was as deep as the ocean, how could Wanyan Xu not be overwhelmed by such favour shown by a superior being? He could not contain himself, in excitement he grabbed Su Yi in a hug while murmuring: “May it be that my lord"s heart is the same as mine, surely then our yearning will not meet with disappointment …”
Su Yi lifted up his free hand, preventing him from musing anymore on those bewitching words. He smiled and said: “It is late, you still have to attend court early in the morning tomorrow. Go to sleep, the pain will lessen in a while and I would also want to sleep then.”
Wanyan Xu said: “Tomorrow"s court shall be cancelled. I shall be with you during this period of medical treatment. It it will not be for long anyway, I want to be with you for every moment…” He did not manage to finish before Su Yi sternly interrupted: “What is this? Don’t tell me you wish for Miss Zi Yan’s worries to become a reality? Or do you think that I will rejoice in being able to become a sinner that can cause "from that time onwards, the monarch never attended morning court’ [2]. You are not to say that kind of thing again, otherwise I will not bother with you anymore, I’ll go back to my home and be a farmer instead.”
Wanyan Xu hurriedly said a few “yes” fervently, but he couldn’t help but to smile and say: “Su Su, you entered into official service in your youth and you spent your childhood studying the literary cla.s.sics and martial arts. Go home and be a farmer? Do you know how?” At these words, even Su Yi could not hide his laugh behind his palm and he said petulantly: “Even if I don’t know how to farm, don’t tell me that you think that I also do not know how to teach? Becoming a teacher is not bad either.”
Wanyan Xu nodded and said: “That is indeed a very appropriate occupation for you. Just look at how you have been able to instil obedience in Shuo Er, could there still be a more mischievous pupil that him in all the lands under heaven?” After he said that, he saw that Su Yi did indeed look tired. Only then did he give the command to have the candles put out and they went to sleep, while holding each other. The pale moonlight came in from the windows and shone upon them like a subtle veil, coc.o.o.ning them in its gentle glow.
With his mind occupied by thoughts of the pain in Su Yi"s leg, how could Wanyan Xu fall asleep? Because he had been taking care of Su Yi over the past few days, he had already developed the habit of sleeping lightly, waking up from time to time to check over his beloved. Su Yi knew that he had not been sleeping well, and afraid that he would have to delay court in the morning because he did not get enough rest, Su Yi had to resort to clenching his teeth and pretending that he was already soundly asleep. He could not tell how much time pa.s.sed before he finally felt that Wanyan Xu"s breathing had become even. Only then did he open his eyes and carefully removed his hand. In the very next moment, he was tearing at his own skin. What Wanyan Xia said had been correct, this medicine was indeed devastatingly potent. Although he was tearing at his leg, the pain did not reduce at all but he still did not dare to make a single sound.
Desperately, he struggled to deal with the pain by himself. Although he had already bitten his lips b.l.o.o.d.y, he did not seem to feel it at all. With his eyes squeezed shut, he panted, while taking care to not make any noise. Suddenly his mouth was pried open gently and something that felt soft and full of elasticity was put into it. At the moment he was in excruciating pain, with no time to think, his upper and lower teeth reflexively clamped together and he bit down upon that thing. In the twinkling of an eye, the distinctive taste of blood a.s.saulted his tongue. In shock, he opened his eyes, only to see that Wanyan Xu was looking at him gently. The thing that Su Yi was biting down on was none other than his arm and a trickle of blood was meandering slowly along the bronzed skin to drip down the length of his arm.