Labor, Capital, And Friends Are Emperors - Chapter 2

Shocked, Bai Yi sat up from the bed, completely ignoring the bloodstains left by the flogging on his back. “Really? Xiao Shiyun, it is really you?”

The bleeding on his back had originally stopped, but the movement caused the wounds to tear open again. The sudden sting made Bai Yi gasp in pain.

“Yes, it is really me,” Xiao Shiyun said with a faint, wicked playfulness. He found this Provincial Governor of Huainan to be a bit slow witted and did not mind playing along to see what benefits this so called reunion of old friends would bring.

“You bastard, you hit me so hard! Xiao Shiyun, I am not finished with you!” Bai Yi intended to give Xiao Shiyun a punch, but his fist was easily caught.

What Xiao Shiyun did not expect was for the Governor to dive straight into his arms and start crying.

“The things we have been through are so damn magical. I miss home,” Bai Yi sobbed. The grievances he had accumulated over the past half month finally collapsed after Xiao Shiyun admitted his identity. Now, they were truly brothers in misfortune.

Xiao Shiyun’s fingers stiffened as they touched Bai Yi. He followed the lead to fish for more information. “Stop crying, it hurts my heart. What exactly happened?”

“We traveled through time! We traveled through time, do you know that?”

“What is traveled through time?”

“Traveling through time means moving from one place to another in an instant,” Bai Yi explained.

“Do you mean by carriage or using qinggong?”

“No, it is instantaneous. Instant, do you understand?”

“I do not.”

The person on the bed fell silent. Xiao Shiyun looked down to see Bai Yi staring at him with a look of utter disbelief. Bai Yi pursed his lips and frowned, looking like a petrified fool who did not say a word for an entire minute.

“Forget it, you have amnesia. Right, amnesia is normal. Xiao Shiyun, you must remember that we are sworn brothers from different parents!”

“And so?” Xiao Shiyun asked. He felt his dear minister’s brain was becoming increasingly dysfunctional. His speech was disorganized, and Xiao Shiyun feared he would be unfit for important duties in the court.

“So why do you have so many questions? Hurry up and put some medicine on me, it is killing me! I just played a game after you showered and then I ended up here. So unlucky. I have to prepare for the morning court before five every day and see your gloomy face. I feel like I have one foot in the grave.”

Bai Yi naturally began to take off his clothes. Just as he was about to remove his undershirt, Xiao Shiyun pressed down on his hand. He said stiffly, “Let Guo Fu apply the medicine. I must attend the morning court.”

“Then why did you stop me? I will have to take it off anyway,” Bai Yi said. The movement of undressing aggravated the injuries on his back, causing him immense pain. “Xiao Shiyun, help me out. Undo the undershirt.”

Seeing Xiao Shiyun remain still, Bai Yi urged, “Hurry up! I know you have amnesia, but it is not like we have not seen each other naked before. Did you not want to see my abs the other day? Now you can see them. I really have abs.”

The ties of the undershirt were on the side. Bai Yi twisted his waist to show him. The ties were slowly pulled open, and the collar fell away to reveal a pair of beautiful butterfly collarbones beneath his neck, covered by a thin, understated layer of muscle.

Xiao Shiyun took only one look before tightly pulling Bai Yi’s clothes shut. His thin lips were pressed together, and he spoke with suppressed anger, “Do not play these tricks in front of me. You know the fate of those who do.”

With that, he left the hall, leaving Bai Yi sitting on the Dragon Bed with an expression as if he had been struck by lightning. “What does he mean? We agreed to take off the clothes for the medicine, so why did he close them again?”

Bai Yi struggled to undo his undershirt while waiting for the person assigned to apply the medicine. With such serious injuries, he likely would not be able to get out of bed for two days. It was natural to resent Xiao Shiyun, but he could not entirely blame him, given his amnesia.

“Your Majesty, should I prepare a bath and fresh clothes for the Governor?” Guo Fu met the ill tempered Xiao Shiyun at the hall entrance, asking discreetly about the outcome he had envisioned many times.

“Did he not just bathe yesterday? Is my water free?” Xiao Shiyun brushed past Guo Fu and sat in the sedan chair.

“But, Your Majesty, if he is not cleaned, he might fall ill,” Guo Fu hesitated.

Xiao Shiyun felt a surge of strangeness. “One more word and I will cut out your tongue.”

Cold sweat slid down Guo Fu’s forehead. He said in terror, “I obey your command.”

Is it possible the Emperor did not do that with the Governor last night? I must have misunderstood. How deadly.

He lowered his head, watching the sedan chair move toward the morning court. After it had moved a few paces, a voice like a vengeful spirit from the underworld drifted back from the distance.

“Guo Fu.” Xiao Shiyun remembered Bai Yi back in the hall and called out to Guo Fu from a distance for the first time.

“I am here! What are your orders, Your Majesty?” The fifty some year old Guo Fu stood at attention. He felt that serving the Emperor for a few more years would lead to an early grave.

“Go and apply medicine to Bai Yi,” Xiao Shiyun instructed simply before proceeding to the morning court.

“I obey your command.” Guo Fu remained bowed until the Emperor was out of sight.

Apply medicine? Guo Fu pondered these words. It seemed he still had to prepare a bath for young Master Bai. It was possible the Emperor was inexperienced and clumsy in these matters. He ordered someone to fetch high quality golden sore ointment and selected an experienced physician from the Imperial Academy. Once everything was ready, he walked inside tentatively.

Bai Yi’s eyelids were drooping as he drifted into a dream. Feeling someone approaching the bed, he snapped awake and opened his eyes. It was the smiling, round face of Eunuch Guo Fu. “Are you awake, Governor?”

“Man, you scared me to death!” Bai Yi patted his chest, completely unaware that he was a guest in the palace and that lying on the Dragon Bed was a bold usurpation of the host’s place.

“Do not be nervous, sir. I was ordered to bring a physician to apply medicine. Do you require me to undress you?”

“Yes, hurry. It is killing me.” Even a slight turn made Bai Yi’s back sting like fire. One day, he would pin Xiao Shiyun to the ground and beat him.

Two well trained young eunuchs stepped forward to remove Bai Yi’s trousers. As one of them touched the tie of his inner pants, Bai Yi kicked out, asking with a mix of anger and embarrassment, “What are you doing!”

“Please calm down, sir. We are following His Majesty’s orders to apply the medicine,” Guo Fu said, lowering his head.

What kind of person undresses someone to apply medicine to their back? Xiao Shiyun must be crazy to order them to take off his pants. “My injuries are on my back, does the Eunuch not know? It was Xiao Shiyun who ordered the beating!”

Hearing Bai Yi call the Emperor by his name, the physicians wiped the cold sweat from their brows.

Finally, his outer robe was removed. Once the ointment was applied, Bai Yi felt a cool sensation on his back, like mint soaked in water.

The physician instructed, “Please wait half an hour before putting your clothes back on. Covering the wounds is not conducive to healing.”

“Thank you, Physician and Eunuch Guo Fu.” Bai Yi fumbled several silver coins from the outer robe by the bed and pressed them into their hands.

“Then please recover well, sir. I shall take my leave.” Guo Fu smiled and led the others out, closing the doors behind them. The luxurious bedchamber returned to silence.

The sunlight shone through the carved window frames onto the incense burner. Bai Yi drifted off to sleep while breathing in the faint pear scented incense. By university student standards, ten in the morning was far too early to be up, and three in the morning was the perfect time for bed.

Regardless of the consequences, he decided to sleep first. It was a rare treat not to attend the morning court. With this lazy streak, Bai Yi managed to sleep until Xiao Shiyun returned from court.

Xiao Shiyun stood by the bed with his arms crossed. His lowered eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes grew deeper. It was a scene of a beauty lying in wait, half covered and inviting. Bai Yi’s dark, smooth hair was scattered across his shoulders and neck, and the jade hairpin holding it was about to slip out.

To let the medicine dry faster, Bai Yi had exposed his back. The marks from the beating were stark against his firm skin.

In his dream, Bai Yi felt an itch on his back, as if someone were scratching it for him with a powerful hand. Then, he felt a warm breath against his ear. Xiao Shiyun spoke with a hint of cold mockery, “My dear minister, you truly sleep more than a pig.”