Chapter 90: How Could Anyone… Be So Perfect?

Chapter 90: How could anyone... be so good?

Liu Qingci looked at Xiao Yan, his glassy eyes shimmering with watery light.

There was shock, bewilderment, and a nearly helpless searching gaze.

Xiao Yan didn't answer his question.

He bent down to pick up the hand warmer that had fallen onto the woolen rug and pressed it back into Liu Qingci's cooling hands.

"Qingci, I'll head to the palace soon. Zhao Chongwu has confessed in public, and the retrial of Premier Liu's case is now a foregone conclusion."

Liu Qingci's fingertips trembled slightly under the warm touch of the hand warmer and the hot heat of Xiao Yan's palm, and he lifted his eyes in bewilderment.

Xiao Yan's voice was calm and steady, inexplicably reassuring.

"You've waited so long; another day or two won't make a difference. For now, don't think about anything. Just take a breather."

Liu Qingci's lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but a thousand words were lodged in his throat.

He could only nod slightly, following Xiao Yan's words, his movements so subtle they were almost imperceptible.

Xiao Yan leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a low, magnetic tone, like the gentlest coaxing.

"Get a good rest tonight. Wait for my news, alright?"

He nodded again, this time a little more obviously, and finally forced out a dry, hoarse syllable from his throat: "...Okay."

Xiao Yan seemed satisfied with his response, the warmth in his eyes deepening.

He didn't say anything more and strode toward the door of the warm chamber.

Before pushing the door open, he paused slightly, turned his head, and left with the words: "Fu'an is waiting outside. Call him if anything comes up."

The door opened and closed, letting in a draft of cold air, which was quickly dispelled by the warmth inside the chamber.

Liu Qingci stood alone by the window, the hand warmer in his embrace radiating warmth, as if the hot yet gentle touch still lingered on the back of his hand.

He looked in the direction where Xiao Yan had disappeared, then down at his own hands.

Outside the window, the snow had become denser, falling thick and fast.

Blurring heaven and earth, and his vision along with them.

Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan...

In his heart, he could only silently chant this name.

How could anyone... be so good?

So good as to offer the truth about a blood feud on a silver platter, so good as to stand alone against his powerful maternal uncle for his sake.

He suddenly recalled a long time ago, when he was young, his father had touched his head and said, "Qingci, the most dreaded thing in this world is the phrase 'that's just how it is.' Feelings change, power shifts. Those who speak up for you today may be the ones who kick you when you're down tomorrow."

At that time, he didn't understand and simply looked up and asked, "Then how can you tell?"

His father was silent for a long time, then sighed and said, "Use your eyes to see, your heart to listen, and time to wait."

He had waited so long, had seen so much.

Seen his family destroyed, seen the world's cold indifference, seen the scheming beneath Xiao Jing's gentle and refined exterior.

But Xiao Yan... he shattered every "that's just how it is."

A prince who should have been cruel and dissipated, a person who should have been his enemy, gave him protection that asked for nothing in return.

"Xiao Yan..." Liu Qingci murmured softly to the empty warm chamber, his voice swallowed by the wind and snow outside the window.

"I'll wait for you," Liu Qingci said softly to the wind and snow.

He closed the window, shutting out the wind and snow, but unable to shut out the turbulent waves in his heart.

The snowy night stretched on.

But Liu Qingci knew that dawn would eventually come.

And that man would return with the dawn.

——

Xiao Yan made a deal with Little K and obtained another detailed map.

Before entering the palace, he copied the map, marking one route in particular.

Little K was silent.

After a long while, it said, "Host, you... are becoming less and less like 'Prince Yu' now."

Xiao Yan's brush-hand paused, and a slight smile curled at the corners of his lips.

"Then who do I look like?"

"Like... Xiao Yan."

And it seems this system is the one that indulged him into this! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Who even does missions like this?!

Xiao Yan put down his brush, stored the map away safely, and called in a few trusted and capable guards.

He handed out the map and instructed, "Follow this route and run an errand for me. The specific requirements are all on the map. Report back before New Year's Eve."

"Understood!" the several men replied in unison, their voices firm.

Then their figures silently withdrew into the darkness, as if they had never appeared.

Only after finishing this did Xiao Yan head to the palace.

The situation in the palace was utter chaos.

Zhao Chongwu had publicly bound himself and confessed, rocking the court and public.

Regarding the part involving Premier Liu's old case, Zhao Chongwu confessed without concealment, offering detailed accounts, and voluntarily handed over some secret ledgers and tokens as evidence. The momentum to overturn the case had become a wildfire, almost irreversible.

Beyond being furious, the emperor recognized the gravity of the situation and immediately issued an edict for a joint retrial of Premier Liu's case by the Three Judicial Offices, and to thoroughly investigate all crimes Zhao Chongwu was involved in.

Zhao Chongwu himself was imprisoned in the imperial jail under strict surveillance, and his followers were gradually being detained and interrogated.

Xiao Yan returned to the residence the next afternoon.

Liu Qingci was still sitting in the heated chamber, not even having changed his clothes, like a still jade carving.

Until the door of the heated chamber was pushed open, and Xiao Yan stepped in, bringing in a draft of cold air.

Liu Qingci turned his head almost instantly, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed anticipation.

"The imperial decree has been issued," Xiao Yan said. "The Three Judicial Departments will convene to reopen the investigation of Premier Liu's old case."

The charge of embezzlement against Premier Liu was already crumbling in the face of irrefutable evidence. His exoneration was essentially a foregone conclusion—pending the final review by the Three Departments and the emperor's approval to officially issue the decree restoring Premier Liu's reputation.

Xiao Yan recounted everything in detail to Liu Qingci.

Hearing the news Xiao Yan had brought back from the palace, Liu Qingci felt an unprecedented sense of calm.

He listened quietly as Xiao Yan spoke.

Xiao Yan stood before him, and Liu Qingci looked up without blinking.

His gaze was intense and burning.

Xiao Yan could hardly bear that look.

He instinctively looked away, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

He stepped forward and crouched down in front of Liu Qingci, a posture that made him look up slightly at Liu Qingci.

"It's alright now," he said softly, his voice softer than he realized. "Your father will be back soon."

Liu Qingci still said nothing, just stared at him, the shimmer in his eyes growing so intense it threatened to spill over.

"Don't look at me like that..." Xiao Yan's voice dropped even lower, with a hint of barely noticeable embarrassment.

"Xiao Yan," Liu Qingci finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "Thank you."

Xiao Yan cleared his throat. His gaze fell on Liu Qingci's pale complexion and the faint dark circles under his eyes, and his brow furrowed.

"Did you not sleep last night? You look terrible," he said.

Liu Qingci did not deny it.

Without another word, Xiao Yan pulled the man up and half-supported, half-carried him to the large rosewood bed.

"Lie down," Xiao Yan said, releasing him and guiding him to the edge of the bed.

Liu Qingci didn't argue and sat down obediently.

The bedding was soft, and the sheets still held a faint herbal scent from Xiao Yan.

"Get some good sleep."

With that, Xiao Yan turned to leave.

Suddenly, a hand tugged at his sleeve.

The tug was light, almost imperceptible, yet it rooted Xiao Yan to the spot.

He turned around.

Liu Qingci sat on the edge of the bed, slightly tilting his head up, one hand still tightly gripping Xiao Yan's sleeve.

"...Don't go," Liu Qingci's voice was muffled, carrying a soft sense of dependence. "Could you... lie down with me?"