Chapter 16 Pirates

Chapter 16: Pirates

The moment Lu Jiming collapsed against Wei Yan, time seemed to halt, or perhaps it abruptly reversed, flowing back to the days in his previous life when he was still confined within the inner palace.

It all began on the very day Wei Yan ascended the throne. After attending the grand ceremony, Lu Jiming was kept behind unexpectedly. Eunuch Chen and Cui Chi stopped him together and escorted him to the Qimei Palace.

That day, Wei Yan gained everything, while Lu Jiming was trapped in the harem.

Filled with anger and shame over his predicament, terrified that every night spent in Qimei Palace would become public knowledge, he quarreled with Wei Yan, threatened him, and tried to leave.

When he realized he couldn't persuade him, he pretended to submit. Then, taking advantage of Wei Yan's lowered guard, he used honeyed words and finally escaped the cage for good.

Back then, Lu Jiming scoffed at the idea of love; his heart and eyes were set only on official rank and glory.

He wanted high positions, generous salaries, power, and prestige—all earned openly and honestly through his own efforts. Sharing the emperor's bed was a lifelong stain he desperately needed to escape and conceal, ensuring no one would ever know of that forbidden moment of heart-fluttering.

For a time, Lu Jiming believed he had escaped Wei Yan. He didn't know that Wei Yan had already clamped a collar around his neck. Even after fleeing the nine-layered palace, he was never truly free. His heart remained imprisoned by Wei Yan.

Snapping back to the present, he realized he had only been by Wei Yan's side for a year. Yet that period of time had truly ensnared him for a lifetime.

The long previous life flashed by in an instant. Lu Jiming was still on the boat, and Wei Yan, who had once been so distant, was now right underneath him. Wei Yan showed no particular emotion, smiling easily at him and teasing, "Xuping, do I smell that good? You've been on top of me so long without moving."

Only then did Lu Jiming realize his body was burning hot. He pulled away from Wei Yan as if burned, hurriedly rushing out of the cabin to get some cold air, even forgetting he still held the soothing balm in his hand.

Ning Jia followed him out, puzzled. "Godfather, are you alright?"

Lu Jiming certainly couldn't let Ning Jia see him in such a flustered state. Shaking his head, he said he was fine and urged her to go back inside first.

Gazing at the gradually darkening sky, Lu Jiming was immersed in an indescribably complex emotion. He didn't turn to re-enter Wei Yan's room until the untimely arousal had completely subsided.

By now, the others had all gone off somewhere, leaving only Wei Yan alone in the room.

Lu Jiming was still embarrassed by what had just happened, but he appeared perfectly composed on the surface, as if nothing had occurred. He asked Wei Yan, "Where are the others?"

Wei Yan didn't ask why Lu Jiming had rushed out in a panic. Leaning against the headboard, he said, "I sent them off to eat."

"Aren't you going, Your Highness?" After asking, Lu Jiming felt he was still a bit too tense. Wei Yan was seasick; how could he eat anything? It sounded as if he hadn't taken Wei Yan's condition to heart.

"You haven't applied my ointment yet," Wei Yan said to Lu Jiming with a tone of mock complaint.

Lu Jiming apologized, returned to the bedside, scooped a small amount of ointment from the box onto his fingertip, rubbed it evenly, and pressed it against Wei Yan's temples. After a moment, he asked, "Does it feel any better?"

Wei Yan closed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. "Xuping, why do you smell so nice?"

Lu Jiming was taken aback, denying it. "Not at all."

Wei Yan grabbed Lu Jiming's hand and pulled it down, sniffing it. "Yes, you do."

The fire Lu Jiming had just managed to suppress nearly flared up again, but his expression remained completely unruffled. "Your Highness, the ointment hasn't been fully rubbed in yet."

Afraid of agitating him and making him run off again, Wei Yan fell silent, quietly enjoying Lu Jiming's continued massage of his acupressure points.

Perhaps having grown accustomed to the swaying sensation on the river, Wei Yan didn't suffer from seasickness in the following days, becoming his old lively self again. He just felt a bit regretful about missing the chance to have Lu Jiming feed him medicine and secretly resolved to pester Lu Jiming into feeding him personally next time, no matter what.

Life on the boat was truly tedious. Wei Yan got fishing rods and bait from the captain and started fishing.

Strangely enough, Wei Yan, who was usually restless, displayed immense patience when it came to fishing. He could stare at the rod all day without moving from his spot.

His fishing skills were very friendly to the fish population; he couldn't catch a single one all day. Cui Chi had even lit a fire, ready to show off his masterful fish-grilling skills for the Crown Prince. Unexpectedly, the stove burned all day without a single fish scale in sight.

While Wei Yan fished, Lu Jiming kept him company. He had accompanied Wei Yan a few times in his previous life, fishing together as well. Back then, the monarch and his minister exchanged veiled words, each with hidden agendas beneath the surface of fishing.

But now, there seemed to be no hidden agendas to exchange. Lu Jiming sat beside Wei Yan, watching the wake churned up by the boat.

"Tell me about your sea trips," Wei Yan said.

"Your Highness talks while fishing? Aren't you afraid the fish will run away?" Lu Jiming asked with a smile. But Wei Yan had always liked to talk while fishing, as if he was fishing, yet also simply wanted someone to keep him company. Lu Jiming was asking a question he already knew the answer to.

"Just go ahead and talk."

So Lu Jiming gave a brief account. The Lu family rules were strict; Lu Jiming had to return home before nightfall. Therefore, even when he said he went out to sea, it was only for a day at most.

They would use nets to catch some seafood and cook it right on the boat. His friends were unceremonious; some ate things raw. Lu Jiming couldn't stomach that and only ate cooked food. Later, forced to try some raw items, he found them not as difficult to accept as he thought.

Hearing this, Wei Yan became interested. He wanted to try fishing at sea and also wanted to try personally cooking fish he caught for Lu Jiming—in his previous life, he mostly fished in the palace, plaguing the ornamental carp in the imperial gardens. Even if he caught one, he wouldn't give it to Lu Jiming to eat.

"What tastes best in the sea?" Wei Yan asked.

Bianjing wasn't coastal, so fresh seafood was hard to transport to the capital. Only in the dead of winter, preserved with ice and snow and rushed by fast horses, could a small amount be obtained. It was a waste of manpower and money, and it lost its freshness. Thus, Wei Yan usually ate dried seafood.

"Yellow croaker, roe crab, oysters," Lu Jiming thought for a moment. "But my favorite is still mud snails."

Mud snails were crisp, easy to obtain, and cost only a few coins for a large quantity. Soaked in yellow wine, they made a delicious dish. In his youth, classmates at the academy, regardless of family wealth, loved to buy some and share them together.

"What do they taste like?" Wei Yan asked.

Lu Jiming said, "Don't worry. When we reach Mingzhou, I'll make sure Your Highness gets to taste everything."

"Let's not try too much. What if I find something I love to the core and develop a craving for it? When we return to the capital and can't have it anymore, I'll be pining for it." After saying this, Wei Yan stopped looking at Lu Jiming, staring blankly at the fishing rod instead.

That's how it was in his previous life—pining for a lifetime, unable to forget completely even if he tried.

Lu Jiming, of course, didn't know Wei Yan was hinting at something deeper. He just thought to himself, *If you like it, I'll find a way to bring you here to eat it no matter what.*

The boat sailed south, entering the sea at Jiangnan Prefecture. After another day of sailing along the coast, they would reach the Mingzhou docks directly.

Unfortunately, as soon as the boat entered the sea, they encountered pirates.

Shortly after Wei Yan ascended the throne in his previous life, treacherous officials controlled the court internally, while pirates plundered and rebelled externally. From the moment he took the throne, it took Wei Yan four years to completely quell both internal and external troubles.

During the pirate unrest in his previous life, Lu Jiming was in Mingzhou and witnessed their atrocities firsthand. The city was filled with panic. However, it felt distant, and in his memory, it happened after Wei Yan's ascension. Lu Jiming hadn't expected to encounter them now.

Fortunately, these pirates weren't as large-scale as during the rebellion in his previous life. They were currently just scattered groups. Seeing the imperial merchant ship, they assumed it carried goods from the capital and wanted to make a profit, so they boarded the ship under cover of night.

Lu Jiming was a light sleeper. Hearing movement on the deck, he opened his eyes, hastily threw on his outer robe, and was just fastening his belt when Ning Jia shot into the room like an arrow, followed by a drowsy Lu Guanguan.

"Godfather, it's pirates," Ning Jia said succinctly. "They climbed aboard secretly at night. The Imperial Guard probably can't hold them off now. Let me get you to safety first."

"What about the Crown Prince?" Lu Jiming asked.

"Lord Cui is protecting him; no need to worry," Ning Jia said. She only cared about Lu Jiming's safety; Wei Yan's fate was irrelevant to her.

Lu Jiming shook his head and got up to find Wei Yan. Ning Jia tried to stop him, but before she could reach out, Wei Yan appeared at the doorway.

Cui Chi followed behind Wei Yan, looking disheveled, and explained to Lu Jiming and the others, "The bandits attacked from the water, using the darkness to conceal their movements. They have the advantage of timing and location. The bandits also have cannons. I'm afraid our men won't be able to hold out much longer. The boat captain has prepared a small boat. Please, Your Highness and My Lord, disembark first."

The Imperial Guard, concerned about Wei Yan being on board and fearing the bandits might fire their cannons if provoked, had no choice but to try to stall for time, waiting for Wei Yan's party to leave first before deciding their next move.

Now they had reached Wu-Wu, close to Mingzhou, and were less than a day's land journey from Mingzhou city.

Seeing Wei Yan unharmed, Lu Jiming finally felt relieved, only then realizing just how violently his hands had been trembling earlier.

Wei Yan frowned and said, "The situation is unclear now. Tell the brothers that if they get separated, they are to regroup outside Mingzhou city. Preserve your lives above all else; do not throw them away recklessly." The Imperial Guard's elite, trained at great cost, would be a terrible waste if lost to a bunch of bandits.

Cui Chi nodded and said to Ning Jia, "Miss Ning, your martial skills are exceptional. Protect His Highness."

Only after Ning Jia agreed did Cui Chi feel somewhat reassured. He held his embroidered spring knife and stood guard behind Wei Yan and Lu Jiming, swiftly killing any bandits who tried to approach.

Once they boarded the small boat and had rowed only a few feet away, bandits who had been lurking in the water spotted them and swam over to board.

Ning Jia held her breath, listening to the sounds of the water around her like a black panther lying in wait for prey. As the bandits drew near, she rose swiftly and snapped several of their necks, her movements so fast they were almost invisible.

"Your adopted daughter is quite formidable," Wei Yan took a deep breath. Ning Jia was only around fourteen or fifteen years old, still just a kid, yet she could handle so many people.

Lu Jiming beamed like a proud father: "Indeed, Jia'er has always been exceptionally gifted."

The boat rowed farther, almost reaching the shore, when suddenly a cannon shot sounded from the water, and the larger ship burst into flames. In the firelight, shadowy figures could be seen leaping into the water.

Wei Yan grasped Lu Jiming's hand and asked, "Are you afraid?"

Lu Jiming pressed his lips together and shook his head, then remembered Wei Yan couldn't see his gesture in the dark and said aloud, "No, I'm not afraid."

"Your hand's a little sweaty."

Lu Jiming fell silent. The sweat was from earlier on the merchant ship, when he had been so worried about Wei Yan that he hadn't even noticed his hands growing damp.

But Wei Yan thought he had hit the mark and gently patted Lu Jiming's back, saying, "Don't be afraid. With me here, there's nothing to fear."

Author's note:

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