The Passerby Hidden Guard Picked Up the Villain [Transmigration] - Chapter 21

It felt as if his throat were blocked by something; the sounds he produced were not only dry but at times vanished entirely. Xiao Hongyin did not hear clearly at first, so he lowered his head and leaned closer.

“Where did you go just now?” He Yanzhi repeated the question near his ear.

Xiao Hongyin replied, “I saw that you were cold, so I thought I would go find some food.”

The fish soup gradually simmered over the small fire until it became fragrant, though He Yanzhi could smell nothing due to his fever. Once the soup was thoroughly stewed, Xiao Hongyin went to the carriage to fetch their only bowl and spoon, ladling a full serving for He Yanzhi.

“Eat something hot.”

Xiao Hongyin helped He Yanzhi sit up, letting him lean against him. Because he had braved the heavy rain to catch fish in the river, Xiao Hongyin was soaked to the bone. His outer robe was hanging by the fire to dry along with He Yanzhi’s clothes; he wore only a drenched inner garment. Body heat transferred through the two thin layers of fabric into He Yanzhi’s cold frame. He Yanzhi found it comfortable and subconsciously wanted to lean in more.

Cupping the steaming fish soup in his hands, his frozen senses began to wake. The stinging pain from his reopened old wounds struck him instantly. He Yanzhi nearly overturned the bowl. Seeing this, Xiao Hongyin took the bowl and brought a spoonful to his lips.

“I can do it myself.” He Yanzhi was not used to such treatment and whispered his thoughts, “It feels a bit strange.”

He thought Xiao Hongyin could not hear him, but things did not go his way.

“What is strange about it?” Xiao Hongyin suddenly spoke up. He Yanzhi did not know how to answer.

Xiao Hongyin continued, “Two years ago, you taught me how to swim. Because I was afraid to get into the water, you pushed me in. I caught a cold and felt weak all over. Did you not feed me like this back then?”

Hearing this, He Yanzhi thought that the boy really held a grudge. He had wanted Xiao Hongyin to learn how to swim quickly as a precaution for the future. Who would have thought the boy would use every excuse to stall through the entire summer? This forced He Yanzhi to push him into the freezing river in winter. The boy learned, but he also suffered from a cold for months. Xiao Hongyin spent the rest of that winter in bed, and He Yanzhi grew thinner from taking care of him.

“Open your mouth.”

Back then, He Yanzhi had fed Xiao Hongyin with a cold face. Now the roles were reversed. Xiao Hongyin, nursing some unknown annoyance, fed He Yanzhi bite by bite. As the warm soup entered his stomach, He Yanzhi felt his whole body warm up. His head no longer felt as heavy as before, and he began to sweat from the heat.

Halfway through the soup, He Yanzhi felt too hot and tossed aside the blanket. This caused the large hole on the other side to be exposed, catching his attention.

“Why is there such a big hole in this blanket?”

Xiao Hongyin replied, “I do not know. It was like that when I took it.”

He Yanzhi teased, “For a distinguished Vice Minister of Justice to be so impoverished, it seems being a high official is not necessarily a good thing. I should tell Big Yang to find another career path as soon as possible.”

Xiao Hongyin let out a light laugh but did not stop feeding him. He Yanzhi inevitably became full. Just as he was about to say he could eat no more, Xiao Hongyin spoke abruptly.

“The capital is not a good place to go.”

He Yanzhi paused. “I know.”

“We could have carved out a path with our blades. Those secret guards were no match for us.”

“I know that too.”

“Then why did you?” Xiao Hongyin stopped halfway through his sentence.

He Yanzhi understood what he wanted to ask. He straightened his posture and met his gaze; his dark eyes reflected Xiao Hongyin’s face.

“Because you want revenge. You wanted to wait until we reached Dongzhou, then find a chance to go to the capital behind my back. You want to rely on yourself to bring down those hypocrites who fight for power. You want to kill all the blood sucking vermin in the court and overturn the imperial power that your Xiao family always supported.”

He Yanzhi understood him. A villain is a villain. How could he give up his deepest obsession for a moment of peace? From the moment He Yanzhi suggested going to Dongzhou, he had seen it in Xiao Hongyin’s eyes.

“Yan.” Xiao Hongyin was shocked by his words. The feeling of being completely seen through caused him a sense of unprecedented fear.

“Since you are going to sneak into the capital anyway, it is better to have a legitimate title. To prevent others from spying on us during this trip, you will follow me as my apprentice.”

He Yanzhi still detested the life and death dramas of the imperial court, but he ultimately could not stop worrying about Xiao Hongyin. He only hoped the boy would be clever enough to finish his revenge and seize power quickly, so He Yanzhi could happily enjoy the fruits of his labor.

After listening to him, Xiao Hongyin remained silent for a long time. When He Yanzhi lay down to rest, Xiao Hongyin tucked him in and finally gave a soft, “En.”

The sound of rain outside grew quieter, and the snoring of the others could be heard from next door. Xiao Hongyin stared at He Yanzhi’s sleeping face all night. When the morning light filtered into the cave and shone on his hand, he finally sheathed his dagger.

The rain cleared, and the group continued their journey. Xiao Hongyin helped He Yanzhi into the carriage. The sound of Zhao Mengjie sneezing could be heard from a distance. The two looked over and saw Zhao Mengjie wrapped in a thin cloak, shivering as he climbed into his carriage. Master Zhao followed behind him, carrying a bowl of dark herbal soup.

“There is nothing but wild grass around here. The only thing that can treat a cold is a few stalks of purple perilla, which reacts badly with fish, so I did not boil any for you,” Xiao Hongyin explained.

He Yanzhi had no intention of blaming him, but he thought of something. “Who do you think Zhao Mengjie serves?”

Xiao Hongyin said, “I do not know.”

He Yanzhi said, “I do not know either. But currently, there are only two princes with significant influence in court. One is the King of Xizhou, He Yu, and the other is the Crown Prince. The King of Xizhou has always been discreet and prefers to handle things personally. This act of sending a faction to win people over is likely the work of the Crown Prince.”

Xiao Hongyin nodded. “What are your thoughts?”

The morning forest breeze was a bit chilly. He Yanzhi told Xiao Hongyin to get in the carriage first. Once the windows and doors were tightly shut, he spoke. “Looking at this, the Crown Prince’s life is probably not very easy.”

He Yanzhi knew He Yu’s methods. If the Crown Prince were enough of a match for him, Zhao Mengjie would not have traveled all the way to Xizhou to find him. But it was clear the Crown Prince did not know that He Yanzhi was actually one of He Yu’s men. In the original book, the Crown Prince would have already been dead by this step. But with the current He Yanzhi, it was hard to say.

“The situation in the court is still unclear. Let us wait and see.”

While Xiao Hongyin was still considering whether to connect with the Crown Prince, He Yanzhi had already started joking. He leaned back and sighed to himself, “I thought I would be given a high ranking position, but it turns out to be a thankless, miserable job. This deal is a total loss.”

Xiao Hongyin glanced at him and lay down beside him. “Losses are inevitable in business. Have you truly never suffered a loss?”

He Yanzhi closed his eyes and thought carefully. “Except for you, it seems I really have never lost money.”

Xiao Hongyin disagreed and began to settle the accounts with him. “Ever since I entered the academy, I have been doing ghostwriting and earning silver. How can that be considered a loss? And after you lost your job, you stayed indoors eating and sleeping all day. Has there been any household matter, large or small, that I did not handle? Does that not count as a gain for you?”

He Yanzhi let the words go in one ear and out the other. “Fine, fine. I gained you. My thanks to the Great Hidden Jinshi.”

Xiao Hongyin smiled slightly. “In that case, this Jinshi will not make a losing deal either. How does Yanzhi plan to compensate me?”

He Yanzhi turned his back to him and took a pillow. “I have only this lazy life. Take it or leave it.”

“Good, then it is settled.” Xiao Hongyin also turned on his side, his amber eyes reflecting He Yanzhi’s back.

He Yanzhi did not care about what was settled. Before long, his breathing became steady. Sick people were prone to sleeping deeply. Xiao Hongyin watched him quietly and eventually fell asleep amidst the jolting of the carriage.

Upon first arriving at the capital after months of exhausting travel, everyone had grown significantly thinner. When they were stopped by soldiers at the city gate, they were nearly mistaken for refugees. It was only after Zhao Mengjie showed his waist token that the soldiers let them in.

“The Emperor has decreed that no refugees shall appear in the capital.”

Hearing this, He Yanzhi looked out the carriage window and asked, “Then who are those old and young people begging on the streets?”

Zhao Ji looked over and replied, “Those are the domestic servants of Lord Shen. After the master’s house was seized, no one was willing to take them in, so they had to beg along the streets.”

“Lord Shen is?”

“The Minister of Works, Lord Shen Hai. He was executed along with his entire clan recently for embezzlement.”

He Yanzhi and Xiao Hongyin exchanged a look. The latter understood and nodded.

“But I heard that Lord Shen was an honest official. Why would he be charged with such a crime?” He Yanzhi feigned confusion.

Zhao Ji sighed. “In politics, how can black and white be clearly distinguished? Even someone as noble as the Crown Prince” Zhao Ji stopped himself and smiled at He Yanzhi. “Let us catch up quickly. We will be there after passing this street.”

The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage accelerated through the market, stopping in front of the Court of Judicial Review.

“Remember to buy some of those interesting snacks we saw just now,” He Yanzhi said as he stepped down, his first words being an instruction for Xiao Hongyin to remember the pastries.

Xiao Hongyin nodded and looked at the building. “The Court of Judicial Review? Is it not the Ministry of Justice?”

“No difference.” He Yanzhi scanned the surroundings. It was bare, without even a single tree.

“Gentlemen, please follow me.” Zhao Ji led them into the building.

Inside the courtyard, registrars and clerks hurried back and forth with scrolls in their arms. Their arrival did not cause much of a reaction. He Yanzhi was too busy looking around and accidentally bumped into a registrar, causing scrolls to scatter all over the ground. He apologized and hurried to pick them up, but a few had rolled near a puddle, soaking the corners. He Yanzhi did not know what to do.

“It is no matter. Do not worry about it.” The registrar picked up the scrolls without organizing them, piled them into his arms, and left.

He Yanzhi caught a glimpse of a scroll. The soaked part revealed the ink on the reverse side. He saw the two characters: “Shen Hai.”

Zhao Ji led them into a room filled with scrolls and said this would be their study from now on.

“As the Director of the Court of Judicial Review, you took a leave of absence months ago due to a serious illness. Now that you have recovered, you can return to duty soon.” After explaining some matters, Zhao Ji took out a waist token. “Director He, this is your token. I have kept it for many days, and now I return it to its rightful owner.”

He Yanzhi took the token. Once Zhao Ji left, Xiao Hongyin was about to ask what he wanted to eat first, but He Yanzhi grabbed him and climbed out of the window.

“Follow that man.”

He Yanzhi and Xiao Hongyin quietly avoided others and searched in the direction the registrar had left. Before long, they smelled the scent of something burning.