Chapter 12

He didn't move, still curled up like a lazy cat, but his eyes brightened with gentle warmth. He asked, "Shizi is here? What are you doing?"

The Shizi’s residence finally had two servants among them.

After that night, Gu Tingshuang assigned two servants, named Hulu and Lingjiao, to attend to him. They had previously been responsible for sweeping the courtyard and probably never expected to serve a master directly. However, Gu Tingshuang specifically chose them.

Ting Shu delivered the two to Ning Shiting and took the opportunity to give them a stern lecture and some advice.

Everyone knew the Shizi had a difficult personality, so the two servants were anxious and looked to Ning Shiting for guidance.

Ning Shiting thought for a moment, then said, "Whatever the Shizi wants to do, don't stop him or ask questions. Take good care of his daily needs and keep the courtyard clean. Inform me if anything comes up."

“Yes, Gongzi.”

“And don't worry about the little wolf. Don’t be harsh with it. Take good care of it and feed it nine-coloured deer and qilin meat daily.”

Ning Shiting, a lifelong vegetarian, provided the wolf with a diet better than his own. The two brothers grumbled to themselves but accepted their duties and went to work diligently.

After the pond at the Shizi’s residence was cleaned, lotus flowers were planted.

Gu Tingshuang chose the lotuses. Hulu and Lingjiao, who were in charge of managing the outer gardens and pond, brought him some immortal grass seeds to select from, asking if he wanted to plant anything, and if so, what.

Gu Tingshuang chose the most ordinary lotus flowers. Fearing they were too common, the brothers went to great lengths to find the rare Ice and Fire Lotus from the Ninefold Abyss. This lotus has two colours: one like eternal ice with a pale blue transparency; the other like heavenly fire, blazingly red.

While the Shizi's residence was being renovated and planted with flowers and trees, Ning Shiting hadn't left his house for several days.

He had twisted his ankle, injuring his tendons and bones, and couldn’t walk for two or three days.

Due to his unique constitution, there wasn't even any suitable medicine, so he could only rest and recuperate.

After Gu Tingshuang escorted him out of the residence that day, he threw him a cane and let him limp back on his own.

In the snowy weather, the pain from his injury was excruciating, causing cold sweat with every movement. With no servants around and it being late at night, Ning Shiting didn’t disturb the distant guards and slowly made his way back through the snow.

That night, he developed a high fever, and by the next day, his ankle was so swollen he couldn’t walk, causing Ting Shu to cry with worry.

Ning Shiting himself acted as if nothing was wrong, sitting in his study reading the "Xizhou Chronicles" every day, occasionally jotting down notes.

He had also sent back a reply to Qing Wang, written in a businesslike tone, no longer using eager or passionate words. Instead of saying, “Rest assured, I will do my utmost,” he wrote calmly and detachedly, noting that Xizhou had long had its own rulers and reclaiming control would not be easy in a short time.

He mentioned that his health was poor and that he needed to recuperate for a while before he could serve Qing Wang.

Gu Feiyin, perhaps seeing him slack off for the first time regarding his duties, genuinely believed he had serious health issues and unprecedentedly sent another family letter, advising him to take care of his health while expressing warmth and affection.

This time, Ning Shiting did not reply.

The seasonal abnormalities brought by the Snow Demon were slowly subsiding, and the heavy snowfall stopped abruptly after two days. By the third day, it began to clear up.

The snow water still brought a chill, and Ning Shiting sat under the window wrapped in a cloak, holding a hand warmer.

Sometimes, Gu Tingshuang would come by in his wheelchair. Since leaving the Shizi’s residence that day, the servants in Qing Wang’s residence noticed that he was coming out more frequently, often silently taking a walk. Sometimes he was alone, accompanied by a silver-furred wolf cub, and other times Hulu and Lingjiao were with him.

Every time he passed by the study window, he saw Ning Shiting wrapped up in fur, with only one hand exposed for writing.

That hand was long, delicate, and always looked a bit pale from the cold.

After writing for a while, he would pull his hand back to warm it, like a lazy student in winter who would be punished by the teacher’s whip.

Once, he saw stumbled in to see Ning Shiting asleep.

Wrapped up, leaning against the window, his sleeping face was relaxed and lazy. The Jiaoren’s long eyelashes cast shadows, creating a three-dimensional effect under the light.

That day, Hulu, the slightly plumper of the two brothers, was pushing him. Lingjiao stayed behind at the Shizi’s residence to tend to the plants, and Gu Tingshuang had let Hulu accompany him for a walk.

Hulu had brought a basket of snacks from the small kitchen, just in time to see Gu Tingshuang standing under Ning Shiting’s window, looking up.

Hulu hurried over and softly reminded, "Dianxia, we should leave early. The Gongzi has been resting poorly these days; he must have just fallen asleep after being in pain from his injury."

It seemed everyone in the residence had a soft spot for Ning Shiting, including the old servants who had served the Wangfei.

Gu Tingshuang glanced at Hulu, and from the icy look in his eyes, Hulu knew trouble was brewing.

Sure enough, the young man grabbed the snack box Hulu had just brought, opened it, and picked out an icy snowflake pastry.

He threw it towards the person inside the window. Just before releasing it, he minutely relaxed his grip, causing the pastry to veer slightly off course.

The pastry flew over Ning Shiting’s head, crashing into the glass lamp on the table, shattering it with a loud clatter.

The noise woke Ning Shiting and startled Hulu.

Gu Tingshuang gave Hulu a challenging look, satisfied with the stunned expression he saw, then looked back up at the window.

The sleeping young man was awakened by the noise.

He slowly, sleepily turned around, first looking at the floor: a broken glass lamp and a shattered snowflake pastry. Rubbing his eyes in confusion, he then noticed the people outside the window—Gu Tingshuang standing there.

He didn't move, still curled up like a lazy cat, but his eyes brightened with gentle warmth. He asked, "Shizi is here? What are you doing?"

His tone, still soft and sleepy, was as gentle and youthful as ever, with a hint of hoarseness, making him sound even younger and more tender.

With a hint of mischief, Gu Tingshuang said, "Isn’t this an invitation to eat pastry?"

Ning Shiting looked back at the pastry on the ground and smiled, "Is that how you offer it, ya?"

He naturally extended his hand, leaned slightly out of his seat, and reached out of the window, looking at Gu Tingshuang expectantly.

"I just woke up and am feeling a bit hungry. Yinbing, you came at the right time."

He was eating his food and calling him by that name. Gu Tingshuang frowned, his lips moving slightly, but he said nothing. Instead, he handed over the entire basket of snacks.

Ning Shiting, unaware, took the basket and began eating them with a cup of cold tea.

He put a piece of milk pastry into his mouth, sipping the bitter-cold tea.

He couldn’t taste the sweetness, but the aroma was enough, and he enjoyed it just the same.

A gust of wind blew through the open window, dispersing the warmth of sleep, making him shiver.

Ning Shiting squinted, his eyes watering slightly from the cold, looking sweet and sleepy.

He picked up another pastry but soon felt a bit queasy and tried to hand it back to Gu Tingshuang, only to see him turning away, and walking off.

The Author has Something to Say

Persimmon: Forget it, I don't play with fools.