Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Gazing at the scene before him, Gao Zhen finally understood why the Ninth Prince called this place the Golden Wheel.

The distant lights, of course, didn't reach here; they had to make do with the faint moonlight. Gao Zhen saw a circular frame, as large as an amusement park Ferris wheel, discarded in this open space. The frame, painted with golden lacquer, stood out prominently across the entire area. From a distance, it indeed resembled a gigantic wagon wheel. But where could such a massive wagon wheel come from?

“What is that?” Gao Zhen whispered to the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince replied, “Twenty years ago, the Southern Barbarians presented a circus troupe as tribute, and they used this contraption for their acts.”

So it was a prop. Gao Zhen asked again, “What happened to the circus troupe afterwards?”

“No, they rebelled and were all executed,” the Ninth Prince said. “I’m not clear on the specifics; I only heard about it from my mother, the Consort.” As he spoke, he took Gao Zhen’s hand. “Come with me.”

Under the faint moonlight, the vast open space was piled high with all sorts of things: bed curtains, gauze canopies, tables, chairs, benches, cabinets, mirrors, dressing cases, pots, bowls, ladles, basins, bottles, plates, cups, washbasins, paper, ink, brushes, inkstones…

Everything one could possibly use in daily life was here, but they were all discarded items—broken, old, or things used by the deceased that were considered unlucky.

They were piled into one small hill after another, and it was unclear how many years it had been since anyone had cleaned them up.

Gao Zhen exclaimed in surprise, “Does no one manage this place? They just leave it like this; aren’t they afraid it’ll rot and stink?”

The Ninth Prince said, “After the Imperial Kitchen selects the wood that can be used as firewood, the rest will be cleared out periodically.”

“Then the cleaners must be slacking off often, otherwise how could so much accumulate?”

The Ninth Prince fell silent, as if remembering something.

Gao Zhen thought to himself, who would have thought there was such a place in the palace? For him, it was actually quite good. The next time the system issued rewards, he could claim them while picking things up here, and then he could openly say they were found, no longer needing to rack his brains for excuses.

Also, that beautiful white jade bottle left over from the small pills he had taken could be brought out after tonight. Such a large piece of jade must be worth quite a bit of money, right? Gao Zhen wanted to give it to the Ninth Prince; he wanted to make His Highness happy.

Hand in hand, the two moved through the shadows.

“Here, there’s a door each on the southern and western walls,” the Ninth Prince whispered to Gao Zhen.

“What are they for?” Gao Zhen also whispered.

“The west leads to the palace road. The south leads to the Imperial Kitchen. People in the palace usually come here to discard things through the western door, and some firewood from the Imperial Kitchen is piled against the southern wall.” After saying this, the Ninth Prince added, “If you see anything useful, pick it out and set it aside first. We’ll move everything together to the foot of the wall near the ladder later.” After speaking, he let go of Gao Zhen’s hand.

“Okay.”

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Although the moonlight was extremely faint, it was better than nothing. Gao Zhen looked around and soon spotted something, quickly calling out in a low voice, “Your Highness.”

The Ninth Prince, who had been walking ahead, came over when he heard him and saw Gao Zhen digging through a pile of old furniture, seemingly trying to unearth a two-foot-long box.

The Ninth Prince helped Gao Zhen pull it out and asked, “What do you want this for?”

“Your Highness, have you forgotten? For hatching the egg!” Gao Zhen sounded excited. Though he kept his voice low, his words were light and quick. “It’s a small box with a lid, and it’s just the right size. But it’s a bit heavy. I wonder what’s inside…”

The Ninth Prince lifted the lid, and a musty smell rushed out.

Gao Zhen reached in and grabbed a handful—it was actually rice?!

The Ninth Prince said helplessly, “What a pity. Moldy rice can’t be eaten.”

“Not necessarily. I have a way, Your Highness.” Gao Zhen said confidently, closing the lid again and setting it aside. He then leaned close to the Ninth Prince’s ear and whispered, “We still need cotton and quilts. I want to check over there?” He pointed to a pile of old canopy beds not far away.

“Come with me.”

The Ninth Prince took his hand and, under the cover of shadows, moved toward the pile of beds.

“There really are some!”

Gao Zhen looked in surprise at the quilts tucked among the beds. They were completely unrecognizable in their original color, all blackened and grimy. Who knew how many days and nights of wind and rain they had endured here? Would they crumble to dust at a touch?

So, he reached out and touched one. No dust, but a damp and resilient texture—they were still usable. He immediately said to the Ninth Prince, “Your Highness, help me pull them out.”

The Ninth Prince seemed about to say something, but seeing the expectation in Gao Zhen’s eyes, he only pressed his lips together. Together, they carefully moved the beds, managing to pull out several quilts without making a sound.

When he saw Gao Zhen about to pick up the quilts, the Ninth Prince quickly took them from him, gesturing for Gao Zhen to wait where he was. Holding his breath, the Ninth Prince dashed to the ladder, climbed up the wall, and threw the quilts over.

As the quilts left his hands, the Ninth Prince bent over, breathing heavily as if exhausted. It turned out he had been holding his breath the whole time.

Gao Zhen watched from afar, worried about the Ninth Prince. When he returned, Gao Zhen immediately asked, “Your Highness, is there something wrong with those quilts? Why didn’t you let me touch them?”

“They’re too smelly. What if you get sick from the fumes?”

“Then what should I do if you get sick from the fumes?”

The Ninth Prince fell silent.

Gao Zhen looked at him, his eyes gradually reddening. The Ninth Prince was always like this—thoughtful and considerate of others but often neglecting himself. Gao Zhen’s chest felt tight and painful. He turned and ran forward.

However, after only a few steps, his arm was grabbed by a strong force. He was yanked backward and fell against a chest. The chest was broad but lacked flesh, with prominent bones everywhere. It was a bit bony but very warm.

“A Zhen.”

The Ninth Prince’s voice sounded by Gao Zhen’s ear. His face was almost pressed against Gao Zhen’s neck, his breath hot and scorching against the skin. Gao Zhen stiffened, not daring to move.

“A Zhen.”

The Ninth Prince called again. It seemed he had a thousand things to say but didn’t know where to start.

The moon slipped behind the clouds again, and the surroundings suddenly darkened.

Gao Zhen’s waist was held by the Ninth Prince. Leaning against his chest, Gao Zhen stiffened, but his senses grew sharper. He clearly felt the arm around his waist tightening, as if struggling to restrain itself but growing firmer, like an arrow drawn taut on a bowstring. The slightest misstep could send the arrow flying, inevitably hurting someone.

Gao Zhen grew even more afraid to move. It suddenly occurred to him that what the Ninth Prince had accumulated over the years might not be cruel beatings or sorrowful memories, but a sharp blade that had never had the chance to be drawn.

He suppressed this blade, and so endurance became his norm.

At this moment, Gao Zhen clearly sensed the turbulent emotions beneath the Ninth Prince’s calm exterior. When he no longer held back, his other arm silently wrapped around Gao Zhen. With his back against the Ninth Prince, Gao Zhen was entirely enveloped by his form, as if being pressed into his chest.

Gao Zhen heard his own heartbeat pounding like a drum. He whispered, “Your Highness?”

The sound was like a pebble dropping into a mirror-still lake. Though it didn’t stir up a storm, it was enough to recall someone’s rationality. The Ninth Prince snapped out of it as if waking from a dream, abruptly letting go and turning away. Unconsciously, his nostrils were filled with the scent of peony blossoms again—how dangerous!

He breathed heavily, one hand on his hip. The floral fragrance was intoxicating; he had almost fallen for it.

Gao Zhen felt extremely uneasy. This body of his suddenly grew very hot, as if drained of energy by a demon, weak and limp, collapsing to the ground. Though he also felt that the Ninth Prince’s earlier state was somewhat abnormal, he couldn’t move and couldn’t go check on him.

On this early spring night, the air was filled with puffs of white breath from both of them. The temperature was dropping, but their hearts were warming up simultaneously.

It wasn’t until the moon emerged from the clouds again that the Ninth Prince suddenly noticed Gao Zhen had fallen to the ground. He quickly helped him up and asked anxiously, “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you just now?”

“N-No!” Gao Zhen shook his head hurriedly. “I just felt a bit lightheaded and couldn’t stand for a moment.”

Did that make him sound too useless? Gao Zhen quickly added, “It’s from being angered by those eunuchs this morning.” Not a very clever excuse—it reeked of protesting too much.

Gao Zhen was going crazy inside when he suddenly heard a soft chuckle, followed by a rough, large hand resting on his head. The Ninth Prince said with a laugh: "Indeed, they are infuriating."

"……"

Gao Zhen kept his head lowered, appearing obedient. He was unsure of what to say.

For a long while, only the faint sound of wind filled the surroundings.

"Shall we continue?" the Ninth Prince asked.

"Alright."

Only after speaking did Gao Zhen remember that he had insisted on coming along not to show how fragile he was, but to demonstrate his capability and strength. The safe window for the guards' patrols was only two hours—that's only four hours—and they couldn’t afford to waste any more time like this.

So, Gao Zhen grabbed the hand resting on his head, pulled it, and started walking, even urging, "Your Highness, we need to hurry! We haven’t even picked up a single stick of firewood! Where should we go?"

The rough, large hand clasped the soft, small one in return. The moment Gao Zhen looked up, his eyes met starry eyes that were now filled with tenderness.