Chapter 65 Twists and Turns

  Li Peinan held onto Min An's arm, and before he even made a move, Min An let out a hissing sound as he exhaled. Just as Li Peinan was about to roll up his sleeve, Min An started trembling lightly, as if his wound had been triggered.

  Li Peinan looked at Min An: "I know your injury is on your left shoulder, stretch out your arm a bit and let me apply some medicine."

  Min Anna frowned, how did he see the shoulder injury? He turned his body around, carefully rolled up his sleeve, tied it with a cloth strip as usual, making sure not to expose an extra inch of skin, before stretching out his arm for Li Peinan to see.

  Li Peinan's gaze fell on Min An's tightly closed zipper, and after a pause, he raised his head and said: "What's the point of being so defensive? Are you afraid I'll desecrate your pure and innocent body?"

  Min An bowed slightly and replied: "There are many inconveniences, I hope you can understand, young master."

  Li Peinan understood Min'an's discomfort and did not insist, taking off the splint and applying a warm medicinal paste to him. Min'an remained silent with his face turned away, and if Li Peinan's breath came slightly closer, he would definitely take a step back and keep a distance from Li Peinan.

  Li Peinan said, "I can't eat you, why must we be so distant?"

  Min An still didn't respond, pursing his lips and frowning slightly, only stretching out his injured arm, with a very resistant expression. Li Peinan looked at his expression and realized that he had rushed himself, making him unaccustomed, and suddenly felt a sense of exclusion, so the subsequent approach needed to be slowed down.

  Min An endured the entire treatment process, adjusted his sleeves and retreated to one side, standing there listening to Li Peinan ask: "What about the wound on your shoulder?" He shook his head, resolutely not letting Li Peinan see his shoulder injury.

  Li Peinan thought to himself, he had always worn men's clothes and considered himself a young man, this was also an urgent need for medical treatment. Min An did not hear the subsequent orders, standing quietly in front of the window, observing the commotion outside the bamboo fence. The corn was wearing armor and running past, then dragging the bamboo spear with its head held high and walking by, looking very spirited.

  Li Peinan saw the bamboo strips scattered on the ground and picked up a small axe to tidy them up. Min An's hands were clumsy, and the corn stalk chair he made only had a frame, lacking the seat and wheels underneath. Li Peinan carefully repaired the remaining parts and even used sandpaper to smooth out the edges of the bamboo strips, removing the inverted hairs. Min An turned around and was still surprised to see that the young master could actually do these manual tasks. He walked over and squatted in front of the bamboo chair, saying sincerely: "Thank you, sir."

  Li Peinan sat on the chair, calmly and unhurriedly peeling bamboo strips, his fingers steady, his robe almost touching the floor, still without a speck of dust. His posture was relaxed, and his appearance was also very different from his usual coldness. Min An looked into his eyes before daring to squat beside him and exchange a few pleasantries.

  Min An said: "Young master, you don't have to do these things yourself, it's a waste of effort."

  Li Peinan turned his head and asked him: "Are you grateful in your heart?"

  Min An nodded. Li Peinan said: "It's enough to promise with one's body."

  Min An quietly took a step back, moving further away from the chair, and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. Li Peinan was still looking at him and asked: "Is your shoulder injury hurting so much that you're sweating?"

  Min An's left shoulder was indeed aching, and the ointment from today hadn't been applied yet. The outside sky seemed to have become sultry, causing his entire arm to feel numb and sore. He feared that Li Peinan would bring up the matter of applying medicine again, so he changed the subject lightly: "It seems like it's going to rain tonight."

  Li Peinan immediately remembered Min An's third illness: on rainy days, he would become confused and not recognize anyone. Seeing Min An crouching with his head down a few feet away, Li picked up a bamboo strip and tapped it against Min An's hat top, saying, "Worried that you'll get sick on rainy days?"

  "Yes."

  "Come into my room, I can take care of you."

  Min An's worried and anxious face lifted: "That can't be done, you are the young master of the house, I'm afraid of being extremely disrespectful."

  Li Peinan smiled calmly: "I think it's great, usually you don't dare to resist, take this opportunity to play with me in the palm of your hand and vent your anger."

  Min An Yue retreated further: "Young Master is joking again." He lowered his head and thought gloomily, how he had never discovered before that the Crown Prince's face was so thick-skinned, repeatedly bringing up some absurd words.

  Li Peinan couldn't help but guess that Min An was secretly calculating something, and with a composed expression, he said: "I'm trying to help you out of kindness, don't you really appreciate it?"

  Min An raised a worried face again: "The young master's 'kindness' often exceeds expectations, I'm afraid that if we really go inside, by dawn there won't be a decent shape left."

  "That's not what I meant, it's all right." Li Peinan said calmly, "You're getting all worked up for nothing, I'll just be generous and not bother with you. As long as you come over, I won't resist."

  "Master!" Min An shouted in anger, then quickly covered his ears again, his face flushing bright red. Li Peinan looked at him and thought the timing was just right, so he stopped teasing him. He held a newly split thin bamboo stick and, while Min An was too embarrassed to speak, used it to gently tap the small copper incense ball hanging from the bedhead, causing the tiny bell under the silk tassel to ring out with a soft clang.

  Min An looked up to see the incense ball that Xuan Xu had given him, and the fragrance of green plum wafted down with the wind. Li Peinan said: "This small bronze lotus furnace was made by Ding Huan, usually used to add soft incense, placed in a woman's boudoir, you are a man, what do you want with such a delicate toy?"

  Min An hastily replied: "Sometimes when I'm feeling anxious and can't sleep, I light an incense ball to calm my mind."

  Li Peinan fanned himself with his sleeve, sniffed the fragrance that fell from above, and glanced at Min An: "Qingmei's special Yilan fragrance has aphrodisiac effects. How did you manage to fall asleep?"

  Min An was stunned on the spot: "I've never felt so bewildered... I mean, Young Master wouldn't deceive me, would he?"

  Li Peinan's face turned cold: "Such a thing that hurts the wind and damages the customs, how can it be left in the Hangguan? I'll take it away, you go reflect."

  He did a good job of polishing the smooth armchair and carrying it to Min'an, took out the small incense burner ball from his sleeve, and walked away with his hands behind him.

  Min An stared at the half-empty rope for a long time, unable to resist scratching his head: "Could it be true? I don't understand incense either, but just looking at the small incense ball makes me think of Xuan Xu..." He walked out the door to find Yu Mi, caught her and tried to surround the chair, with some reluctance in his heart towards the incense ball.

  Corn won the general, just when he was happy, a dizziness occurred at the corner of the eaves. Xiao Zhiyin stood in the outer corridor with his injured arm wrapped around him, gazing far into the dark clouds on the horizon, and touched the pillar with his hand, feeling a coolness seeping from it, knowing that it would definitely rain tonight.

  Min An walked upstairs to catch up with Yu Mi, first giving Xiao Zhiqing a courtesy and asking how she was doing. Xiao Zhiqing turned around and smiled slightly: "Thank you, young master, for your kindness on Haitang Mountain."

  Min An thought to himself and didn't say anything, his face looking dull. Xiao Zhiqin continued: "The king is still in a bad mood, he smashed several teacups, I changed the evening's play to 'Double Orphan Revenge' which he loves to watch, if you're free, young master, come take a look too."

  Min An didn't know why the King of Chu Nan was angry, and he thought to himself that he had done everything he was told to do, so it shouldn't have anything to do with him. In the evening, the sky darkened slightly, a layer of rain mist was trapped in the clouds without coming down, every brick on the ground in the inn was blown clean by the cool breeze. The attendants set up a stage in the courtyard and respectfully invited the King of Chu Nan to sit in the main hall to watch.

  Li Jingzhuo sat in the main seat, wearing a deep purple and gold robe that was eye-catching. On either side of him were placed two brocade seats, forming a fan shape that stood out from the main platform. Li Peinan wore a casual blue-green outfit and sat comfortably on the left side, with Fei sitting opposite him. Xiao Zhiqin walked in, bowed to the three of them, and then sat down beside Li Peinan at Li Jingzhuo's command.

  The host walked out and bowed to the main hall, then ordered the play to begin.

  "The Twins' Revenge" won Li Jingzhuo's favor because the story inside conformed to his heart. A merchant family was destroyed overnight, leaving behind a pair of twin posthumous sons. The posthumous son grew up, one from literature and one from martial arts, with different personalities. The younger brother who took the imperial examination became an official in the court, striving to revisit the case of injustice that year, but unexpectedly fell into the trap set by his enemy. The elder brother who was fighting on the border rushed back, replaced his younger brother's position, and cleared up all the grievances. His younger brother admired his elder brother's talent, handed over the official position to him, died in a foreign land, and was eventually forgotten.

  The elder brother's ability to calm the storm and restore order to all things is extremely similar to Li Jingzhuo's experience of coming out of the mountain to assist in government. Moreover, the elder brother's talent also reminded Li Jingzhuo of his eldest son Li Peinan's ability to handle affairs, and with his own partial affection, this play was even more to his liking. He carefully savored the actor's singing voice, and before it was over, he called for the attendant behind him to send a reward. Seeing that he was pleased, Xiao Zhiwen smiled slightly at Li Peinan: "The king is actually easy to coax, next time if I'm not by your side, young master can use this method."

  Li Peinan knew without looking back that his father's expression had eased up a lot and responded with a sentence: "Well done."

  Xiao Zhiqing smiled and looked out the window, seeing Fei's gaze fall on the corridor outside. Taking advantage of the opportunity to take a tea cup, he turned his head to glance back. A slender shadow was reflected on the swaying bamboo, and he leaned his arm on the windowsill, staring blankly at the opera stage.

  Xiao Zhi's expression didn't change as he turned around, thinking to himself that he had finally arrived. It seemed this play could still stir up his past life. The king had said that he was the eldest son of the Min family, who lost his younger sister at a young age, so he should be able to understand the pain of losing a sibling, right?

  Min An couldn't stand the sound of gongs and drums, so he walked out casually to listen to the opera. At first, it didn't seem like a big deal, but as soon as he heard the lyrics about brotherly love sung by the performer, he thought of his own experiences. His older brother had also been injured protecting him, and from a young age, his abilities were superior to Min An's. He was only able to attend school because of his brother's reputation... Many details in the opera coincided with his own life, and as he listened intently for a moment, he thought of his brother's untimely death and couldn't help but stand sadly by the window in the hall.

  After singing a section of the opera, Li Jingzhuo reached out to take his tea, but the cup was too cold, which made him unhappy. He looked at Li Peinan and said, "Is all the tea in the inn brewed by Min'an?"

  Li Peinan took a glance at the pale blue-glazed tea cup from the Yue Kiln and seemed to understand what was going on, responding calmly: "What does Father King want to say?"

  Li Jingzhuo snorted and slammed the teacup to the ground, coldly saying: "The water temperature is unpredictable, the servant's body, the master's prestige, how can you do things like this!"

  As the fine porcelain cup shattered, tea splashed onto the ground, making a hissing sound and staining the brick floor black. Li Peinan and Fei Yijie exchanged a quick glance without saying anything, while Li Jingzhuo had already jumped up from his chair: "You dare to poison the tea!"

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