Ye An was at the desk in Xi Chen's quarters with a screen separating her and Xi Chen. She had followed Xi Chen back here. Ah Lin remained at the commander's post just in case there were any new developments with the enemy lines.
Without the grand eunuch by her side, Ye An took the inkstone and started preparing some ink. While she did that, she could hear the muffled sounds of clothing rubbing against each other as Xi Chen changed behind the screen.
It's curious how domestically normal it felt to Ye An to be in this situation.
"What are you writing?" Xi Chen asked when he heard the grinding sound of the inkstone.
Ye An didn't answer.
"Ye An..?" Xi Chen called out, testing the waters. He knew something was off. There was an unusual tensed silence that had accompanied their walk back here.
Still, Ye An didn't answer.
"Ye An?" Xi Chen called out once again.
"A letter." Ye An answered a little too harshly.
By then, Xi Chen was already dressed and ready to leave for the infirmary so he came over to Ye An to peer over her shoulders.
"Who are you penning that letter to?"
"Adlai." Ye An gave no further explanation.
"For?"
"I don't think you need to know all of my business." Ye An said out loud but continued in a mutter. "When I don't know all of yours."
Xi Chen was not only blessed with an observant eye, but also sharp ears too so he definitely caught that.
Xi Chen couldn't help but notice that this was out of character for her who was, albeit a little bit stubborn, mostly level-headed. "...Alright. Do you want to join me at the infirmary? You might suddenly think of questions to ask the Northerners."
"Why would I want to?"
Xi Chen sighed. He gently plucked the brush out of Ye An's hand and hung it back on the brush rack before turning the entire chair so that Ye An was now facing him which startled Ye An. With her now directly in front of him, Xi Chen confronted Ye An. "Alright. That's it. Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I know that I could usually guess what was upsetting you but this time I really couldn't figure it out."
Ye An was jarred. But then realizing that she was being a wet rag, she sighed as well. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way. It's childish."
"No, no need for an apology. Tell me what's bothering you. I want to know." Xi Chen held her hand in his as he kneeled on one knee in front of her.
For some reason, Ye An was embarrassed to admit what was suddenly so clear to her. She turned her head away to avoid eye contact. "It's nothing. I'm being ridiculous."
ČTEŠ
THE DAY EMPEROR: 阳明王 【The Night Emperor Book 2】
Historická literatura"There are enough bad things in life, hold on to whatever it is that gives you joy." In the months after Ye An had ascended to the throne, she has learned about all the secrets that were kept from her. Secrets that had spanned generations. But is th...
