Yan Guan was carrying a basket of tangerines as he walked towards the sleeping chambers.
“Be careful! These were brought from the south, and are not easy to come by. If you bruise or damage them, you will be punished,” Mama warned. [mama - head maid]
Naturally, Yan Guan became even more cautious.
Back in Yangzhou, tangerine was the one fruit you could eat as much as you wanted. They cost only six or seven wen per jin (~500 grams), and the quality was even better than these. But Liangzhou, with its harsh winters and dry conditions, couldn’t grow orange trees.
Yan Guan swallowed, suddenly missing Aunt Yang’s candied oranges.
Just as he was arranging the fruits in the gilded bowl, a loud voice announced the arrival of The Lord at the door. Chao Lun, who was lazing on a wolfskin rug, immediately jumped up and hurried to greet the visitor. Following Mama’s instructions, Yan Guan quickly rushed to prepare tea.
“Why is Elder Brother here?!” Chao Lun asked, his eyes glued to the line of chests behind the visitor.
“Are you really happy to see me?”
“What do you mean? Of course I’m sincere!” Chao Lun barely acknowledged Chao Ge as he eagerly approached the chests the moment they were put down.
Chao Ge’s eye twitched. “It would be more believable if you weren’t so focused on those things.”
Meanwhile, Chao Lun had already draped himself with agate beads in one hand and gold-glazed glass in the other. Chao Ge paid him no further attention and turned to enter Yongning Hall.
Upon seeing the guest enter, the attendants inside immediately bowed in greeting.
With one glance, Chao Ge noticed Yan Guan standing by the table serving tea. He was really hard to miss: slender and pale, looking somewhat thinner, but still healthy after a bout of recent illness.
Chao Ge sat down in the main seat, and one of the servants took the teapot from Yan Guan’s hands to pour milk tea. With nothing left in his hands, Yan Guan lowered his head and stood obediently behind Chao Ge.
Not long after, Chao Lun entered, gleefully showing Chao Ge the jewelry and treasures.
The room was heated with several charcoal braziers. After drinking some hot tea and joking around with Chao Lun for a while, Chao Ge began to feel a bit warm. He tugged at his collar and gave it a shake.
Mama noticed this and asked, “Master, are you feeling warm? Perhaps you should change into something lighter.”
Chao Ge nodded and stood up, turning his body to the side.
The servants around him were all holding tea pots or trays of fruit. The only one with empty hands was Yan Guan, who was shrinking into the background as if he found something fascinating on the floor.
“Yan Guan?” Chao Ge called out after waiting a few moments with his hands outstretched.
Yan Guan jerked in surprise, almost doubting his own ears. How did Wugan King know his name?!
Seeing him startled like a frightened squirrel, Chao Ge couldn’t help but chuckle.
Yan Guan quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Chao Ge, reaching out to untie his belt. The belt was wide and long, wrapped around three times, and Yan Guan practically had to hug him to remove it.
Standing up straight, Yan Guan only barely reached Chao Ge’s chin. When Chao Ge glanced down, he caught a glimpse of Yan Guan’s eyebrows and noticed the old branded scar had almost faded, leaving only a dark red mark. ‘Good that it’s gone,’ Chao Ge thought. ‘He never deserved that in the first place.’
Yan Guan swiftly untied the belt and raised his hands to unfasten the overlapping buttons on Chao Ge’s robe. He didn’t dare look around, his eyes fixed dutifully on the buttons, but (he didn’t realise that) someone was watching him…
Chao Ge didn’t push too hard, afraid to scare him away. He only glanced down for brief moments between the blinks.
After unfastening the buttons, Yan Guan circled behind Chao Ge to remove the outer robe, and a maid stepped forward to hand him a lighter garment.
When Chao Ge sat back down, Yan Guan had already disappeared, likely off to hang up the robe.
Behind the screen, Yan Guan nervously tidied the outerwear, his thoughts in turmoil. They really looked too similar… But how could the esteemed Wugan King have extended a hand to help a lowly slave like him?
When the rainstorm had struck at the hunting grounds, he had met a kind person who brought him back. Yan Guan had always remembered that benefactor. Later, when he snuck into the banquet with Chao Lun, he couldn't even dare to raise his head, let alone look at anyone’s face. But today’s fleeting glimpse confirmed what Yan Guan had been reluctant to accept—the person who had ridden the horse and brought him back was none other than the Wugan King.
‘So that’s the kind of person the King of Wugan is,’ Yan Guan thought. ‘No wonder Maji said his rule was peaceful. He must be a good ruler as well.’
Feeling a bit more at ease, Yan Guan finished his task and followed the maids to the kitchen to fetch the food.
Chao Ge ate a few pieces of braised lamb but soon grew tired of it, setting down his chopsticks and peeling an orange.
Chao Lun, his mouth greasy from the scallion-fried rabbit, asked, “Not eating anymore?”
“Feeling a bit greasy.”
“Hmm? You’ve never minded the grease after all these years. Did your taste get spoiled during your trip to Yangzhou?”
Chao Ge smiled, “It’s just my digestion hasn’t been great lately.”
“Have you seen a doctor?”
“I know my own body. It’ll pass in a few days.”
Unhappy, Chao Lun turned to question Daxi, the attendant, “How have you been taking care of my elder brother?”
Daxi replied apologetically, “Second Prince, the Master has been so busy lately, he barely eats. We’ve tried to persuade him, but to no avail.”
“All right, all right, I’ll eat properly. You don’t need to worry,” Chao Ge said, cutting off the conversation.
Yan Guan, standing nearby, overheard everything. The Master had been to Yangzhou?
He secretly glanced up at Chao Ge. His complexion didn’t seem too bad, so there shouldn’t be a major problem with his stomach and spleen (digestive system).
After the meal, with the New Year’s affairs piling up, Chao Ge didn’t linger.
“Master Fuzi will come tomorrow to continue your lessons. Behave yourself.”
Chao Lun reacted as if struck by lightning, “Elder brother, the New Year is just a few days away!”
“You can take a day off on New Year’s Eve,” Chao Ge said, putting on his thick outer robe. “You’ve certainly neglected your studies for over half a month, while I was away in Yangzhou.”
Chao Lun sulked. Those first few days after Chao Ge’s return, he had given him and his group of rowdy friends quite the lecture.
Feeling cornered but still defiant, he proposed, “Elder brother, you’ve worked hard all year. How about tomorrow I take you out of the palace for some fun? The common folk are having a lively time around now.”
“If I want to go out, Daxi will accompany me. I don’t need you.”
Chao Ge was not in the mood for further conversation. He knew if they continued, Chao Lun would start pestering him.
Seeing his brother about to leave, Chao Lun sprang up.
“What now?” Chao Ge asked, exasperated.
“Uh, uh…” Chao Lun’s gaze darted around the room and landed on Yan Guan, who had been standing idly in the corner.
Sorry, Yan Xiaoguan. [xiao means “little”. It’s a nickname]
“Elder brother!” Chao Lun raised his voice, causing Yan Guan to look up at him. “Elder brother, your digestion has been poor, and those around you aren’t really suited to take care of that. Why not have Yan Guan stay by your side? He knows a bit about medicinal diets.”
Daxi, trying to keep a straight face, thought to himself, ‘I can’t force the Master to eat, can I? But if Yan Guan stayed, it might work in someone’s favor’, so he chimed in, “Master, having someone around who understands nutrition might indeed be beneficial.”
Chao Ge replied, “Is the Medical Bureau out of people?” He obviously understood Chao Lun’s intentions — to plant someone next to him so that he would owe a favor, giving Chao Lun an excuse to skip his studies.
“Yan Guan is from the medical bureau. Besides, you always find it a hassle to see the doctor. Wouldn’t it be more convenient to have someone close by to make you some stomach-nourishing tea and soups?”
Chao Lun thought, with Yan Guan’s abilities, it wouldn’t take long to nurse big brother back to health. Besides, he was only “borrowing,” not “giving” him away. Once big brother recovered, Yan Guan would naturally return.
Yan Guan swallowed nervously, thinking, Second Prince really is… really is…
Chao Ge tilted his head and glanced at Yan Guan, who was still studying the floor. “If that’s the case, fine then.”
Chao Lun’s face lit up with joy. “Then I...”
“Finish your studies properly, and I’ll let you leave the palace for a few days.”
Chao Lun grabbed Yan Guan and patted him heavily on the shoulder twice. “Take good care of my brother! You’re not allowed to come back unless you’ve nursed him back to health.”
Yan Guan was utterly confused. How had he suddenly been ordered to stay by Chao Ge’s side?
Chao Ge, who had been listening from the side, found it amusing. Not allowed to come back? So this kid was essentially lending him to me? He wasn’t so generous that he’d ever give him back.
In a daze, Yan Guan followed Chao Ge into Huien Hall.
“Do you know medicine?” Daxi switched to the official Mandarin and asked Yan Guan.
“Mm, my father taught me.”
When Yan Guan first arrived, he couldn’t speak the Wugan language well, but now he was much better. Daxi’s Mandarin sounded even more refined than Chao Lun’s.
“The master rises at dawn (mǎo shí, 5-7 am), and by 5:15 am, the meal must be ready. Lunch is often delayed until afternoon (wèi shí, 1-3 pm), and he eats very little for dinner,” Daxi explained to Yan Guan.
Yan Guan frowned and nodded, thinking to himself that, judging by the master’s condition, this eating schedule was indeed abnormal. “When the master has a free moment, I’ll give him a diagnosis.”
“That would be good,” Daxi smiled at Yan Guan, dimples appearing on both sides of his cheeks.
Yan Guan waited outside the hall until evening. Finally too sleepy, he sat against the doorpost. The guards changed shifts several times before he heard the sound of furniture being moved inside.
Suddenly, the door opened without warning. Yan Guan rubbed his sore bottom and quickly stood up, turning to face the door.
Chao Ge looked at him with a bit of surprise. “You’re still here?”
“I was waiting for Master. If I can give a diagnosis now, I can prepare the meals and medicinal soup for tomorrow.”
Chao Ge seemed to sigh. “Come inside.”
Once they were in the sleeping quarters, there wasn’t a single attendant present. Yan Guan guessed that Master probably didn’t like being attended to closely, so he quietly took a few steps back.
Chao Ge sat on the bed and extended his hand to Yan Guan.
Yan Guan carefully checked his pulse and asked a few questions. He already had an idea in mind and was about to speak.
“I won’t take medicine.”
Yan Guan was stunned. If he didn’t take medicine, relying only on diet and tea would make recovery much slower. But since the master had said so, he agreed, “In that case, I’ll bring the meals tomorrow.”
“Do as you see fit.”
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