The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 125 My Sincere Heart
Feng Bi led Wang Zhen all the way to the door of Tang Shen's bedroom.
Fortunately, the young page boy was still sensible. Although he dared not refuse to lead the way under Wang Zhen's authority, when he reached the door, he knocked and alerted Tang Shen, "Gongzi, Wang daren is here. We're coming in."
As soon as the door was pushed open, sunlight poured into the room, accompanied by a faint mist of incense. The room was filled with thick smoke from heavily scented candles, which were prone to producing smoke. Feng Bi was momentarily stunned. Just a quarter of an hour ago, the room had been empty. How had it become so smoky in such a short time? What was his gongzi up to?
Tang Shen lay in bed, coughing heavily. "Come in."
Feng Bi bowed and stepped aside to let Wang Zhen enter.
Wang Zhen stood at the door, looking at the thick smoke in the room. He smiled slightly, then stepped inside.
The room was eerily quiet, except for Tang Shen's occasional coughs. The room wasn't large, but the white smoke obscured everything, making it seem vast and ethereal. Wang Zhen followed the sound to Tang Shen's bedside. He looked down and saw Tang Shen's flushed face, his hand covering his mouth as he tried to suppress a cough. Then, with a violent cough, Tang Shen removed his hand, revealing a palm stained with bright red.
Wang Zhen was momentarily panicked, taking a step forward anxiously before suddenly stopping.
He stared directly into Tang Shen's clear eyes, feeling both amused and helpless.
Tang Shen struggled to sit up. "I caught a cold and suddenly fell very ill. I won't get up to greet you, Senior Brother. Please leave quickly so I don't pass my illness to you."
Wang Zhen spoke sincerely, "What are you saying, little Junior Brother? We're both away from home, and we're fellow disciples. As your elder, how can I not care for you when you're sick?"
Tang Shen thought to himself: You're my elder? But you clearly don't want to be just my elder.
Wang Zhen sat by the bed, observing the color on Tang Shen's face and the red stain on his palm.
Tang Shen didn't dare to breathe too loudly, afraid that Wang Zhen would notice something amiss. He had filled the room with smoke to obscure the details and hide the fact that he was feigning illness. But what he didn't know was that holding his breath and no longer coughing created a stark contrast to his earlier fit of coughing.
After a long while, Wang Zhen reached out his hand.
Tang Shen's heart skipped a beat.
Wang Zhen caressed Tang Shen's cheek, his fingers gently tracing the contours.
Tang Shen's heart raced under the touch, and even without the rouge, his face would have been flushed. After a moment, Wang Zhen looked at his fingertips, then showed them to Tang Shen, smiling. "It's red."
Tang Shen: "..."
Wang Zhen put on a concerned expression and earnestly explained, "Could it be that you accidentally smeared blood on your face when you coughed earlier?"
Tang Shen: "..."
Please, stop talking!
The saying "covering one's ears while stealing a bell" came to mind. After his little scheme was exposed, Tang Shen simply closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, acting as if he hadn't heard anything. Wang Zhen watched him silently, then continued to smile as he gently caressed Tang Shen's face. From his delicate brows to his small, tender earlobes, and then to his lips. As soon as Wang Zhen's finger lightly touched his lips, Tang Shen turned his head away, avoiding the touch and leaving Wang Zhen's hand hanging in mid-air.
Wang Zhen was momentarily stunned. After a long silence, he let out a deep sigh.
"Little Junior Brother."
Tang Shen didn't dare to respond.
Wang Zhen called again, "Little Junior Brother."
Tang Shen still didn't speak.
After a while, Wang Zhen's voice deepened, "Tang Jingze."
Tang Shen's heart tightened. He felt an intense gaze on him and opened his eyes to see Wang Zhen looking at him calmly, his eyes serene and unreadable. In that moment, Tang Shen's heart ached sharply. He had avoided this for so many days, hidden for so long, but he still couldn't escape it.
Tang Shen whispered, "En..."
Wang Zhen, "Do you see it?"
Tang Shen, "What?"
Wang Zhen said mildly, "My sincere heart."
Tang Shen's pupils contracted. He opened his mouth but found himself speechless.
Seeing Tang Shen's expression, Wang Zhen understood everything. He laughed at himself and said, "You naturally understand. Like when we first met, you knew who I was but pretended not to." He pressed his hand against Tang Shen's chest, and through the thin blanket, Tang Shen felt as if his heartbeat had stopped. "Are you afraid of me?"
Tang Shen couldn't utter a single word.
Wang Zhen, "Or are you afraid of yourself?!"
The deepest part of his heart had been ruthlessly exposed. Tang Shen trembled all over. "Senior Brother!"
Wang Zhen pressed his index finger against Tang Shen's lips and softly said, "Shh. You don't need to say anything. I already understand everything. Your answer has been clear to me all along, but I didn't dare to believe it, nor did I want to." Wang Zhen smiled gently, but no one could say he was happy. He tried to speak in a cheerful tone, "How could I ever force you?"
Tang Shen felt his scalp tingle under Wang Zhen's gaze. He desperately wanted to say, "Senior Brother, I'm not like that," but the words wouldn't come out. Wang Zhen's finger on his lips felt like the Five-Finger Mountain pressing down on the Monkey King, burning his heart and making his eyes red.
Wang Zhen sighed softly. With the finger stained by rouge, he gently traced Tang Shen's eyebrows. His movements were tender and lingering, like a husband painting his wife's eyebrows.
"After finishing her makeup, she whispers to her husband, 'Are the depths of my brows in fashion?'"
"Since you're sick, rest well and don't overexert yourself."
Wang Zhen stood up and left. Tang Shen lay in bed for a while, then suddenly got up and rushed out the door, wanting to chase after Wang Zhen. But Wang Zhen moved too quickly this time. Tang Shen hesitated for just a moment, and Wang Zhen's sedan chair was already out of sight. Tang Shen stood at the door, staring blankly at the empty alley. He even thought about going to the Minister Residence right then to tell Wang Zhen that even if they couldn't be together, he still respected and admired Wang Zifeng more than anyone.
But Tang Shen didn't dare to go.
The next day, before the morning court session, Tang Shen quietly went to the palace where high-ranking officials gathered. He craned his neck, looking for Wang Zhen, but several ministers filed out, and Wang Zhen was nowhere to be seen. After the court session ended, Tang Shen searched again but still couldn't find Wang Zhen.
Tang Shen wondered, did Senior Brother take leave and not attend court today?
After the morning court session, Tang Shen didn't go to the Censorate but instead went to Qinzheng Hall. He hesitated at the door for a long time before finally knocking and entering. This room was shared by Wang Zhen and the Minister of Rites, Meng Lang. Wang Zhen's seat was empty, but Meng Lang was inside. Seeing Tang Shen, Meng Lang was surprised. "Tang daren? I recall you're not assigned to Qinzheng Hall now." Then, his eyes flickered. "Are you here to see Wang daren?"
Tang Shen forced himself to say, "Yes, this lower official has something to discuss with the Minister of Revenue."
Meng Lang, unaware of the recent complications between the two fellow disciples, laughed heartily. "What bad timing! Didn't you know? Last night, Wang daren submitted a request to the palace, apparently he is returning home to visit his family. He left the city last night."
Tang Shen, "What?!"
Tang Shen went to the Ministry of Revenue and the Minister Residence, but the answer was the same.
Wang Zhen had truly left the capital and returned to Jinling!
Tang Shen collapsed into a chair, dumbfounded.
"He's angry with me. He must be angry with me."
"But I didn't do anything wrong. Should I really be with him? But... but that shouldn't be!"
A day later, Tang Shen thought to himself, I didn't do anything wrong. I just couldn't bear to reject Senior Brother to his face.
Another day passed, and Tang Shen thought again: No, I was wrong. No matter what, I shouldn't have feigned illness to deceive him, or used rouge to fake blood. He must have been heartbroken when he saw that.
Three days later, Tang Shen had an epiphany: He has been so good to me. He knew I was investigating Mr. Liang's death and the palace coup thirty-one years ago, but instead of exposing or stopping me, he helped me. He told our teacher that he wanted to clear the obstacles ahead of me and remove the worries behind me. Yet, I ungratefully deceived him.
"Senior Brother..."
"Wang Zifeng!"
In Jinling, Jiangnan, the Wang family of Langya.
Since Wang Zhen topped the imperial examinations twelve years ago and became an official in the capital, he rarely returned to Jinling except during the New Year, and even then, he never stayed long. The children of the Wang family, far from reproach, had grown accustomed to playing around, doing just enough to get by with their studies, as the two powerful officials in the family, Wang Quan and Wang Zhen, were rarely home.
But now, Wang Zhen had suddenly returned.
The Wang children all wore bitter expressions, dressed in their crow black robes. They were punished with extra homework if they misspoke during meals, their lives had truly become miserable.
Wang Hui, Wang Zhen's fourth uncle, brought a pot of fine Biluochun tea to Wang Zhen's courtyard. The uncle and nephew chatted over tea.
Wang Hui, knowing he was just a merchant and no match for the cunning of officials, got straight to the point, "Zi Feng, you've been home for five days. Aren't you going back to the capital? Is there nothing urgent in the court?" If you don't go back, not only will the children suffer, but even I, your uncle, won't have a comfortable life!
Wang Zhen, "It's been a long time since I've been home. Do you think I've stayed too long, Fourth Uncle?" He put on a hurt expression.
Wang Hui cursed inwardly, "Yeah, right, you're such a good actor," but outwardly he said, "Of course not. It's just that you're usually so busy with official duties. How do you have time to rest at home for so long this time?"
"I'm not entirely resting."
Wang Hui was puzzled. "Oh?"
Wang Zhen uttered simply, "Gusu."
Wang Hui immediately understood. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Is your return related to what the Second Prince is trying to do in Gusu?" Wang Hui knew a thing or two about the Military Silver Exchange Bank, so he quickly made the connection.
Wang Zhen smiled leisurely but didn't answer.
Wang Hui now understood the real reason for Wang Zhen's return. On the surface, it was a family visit, but in reality, he was arranging matters in Gusu. Well, in that case, he couldn't rush Wang Zhen to leave. The children would just have to suffer a bit longer.
Wang Hui then thought of something. "By the way, how are things with that Tang Jingze? It's been two years, and there's still no progress." This isn't like you.
Wang Zhen's hand, holding the teacup, paused slightly. He lowered his eyes and said, "This trip home is also related to him."
Wang Hui, "Huh?"
Wang Zhen, "If it's always sweet and affectionate, how can there be contrast? How can he realize how important I am to him?"
Wang Hui, being a shrewd man, especially in matters of love, immediately understood. He laughed and said, "Zi Feng, you're not wrong, but could you really bear to do this? Your little junior brother is far away in the capital, probably missing you so much that he can't eat or sleep, wishing he could fly to Jinling to find you. Can you bear to see him like this?"
Wang Zhen let out a long sigh and set down his teacup.
"Whether I'm willing or not, whether I can bear it or not, what does it matter? He clearly has feelings for me. I can see the affection in his eyes, but he just can't figure it out and refuses to admit it."
Seeing Wang Zhen express his emotions so openly was a rare sight. Wang Hui was thrilled and couldn't help but stare.
Wang Zhen glanced sideways at him and said gently, "Fourth Uncle."
Wang Hui shrank back, coughed, and stood up. "I just remembered there's something I need to attend to at the shop. I'll take my leave." As he reached the courtyard gate, Wang Zhen called out to him again. Wang Hui turned back. "Yes? Is there something else, Zi Feng?"
Wang Zhen paused, then said, "I'll return to the capital in ten days."
Wang Hui was stunned. "Alright."
After leaving Wang Zhen's courtyard, Wang Hui couldn't help but sigh. "You say you're willing, that you can bear it? But in the end, you still can't bear to see him distressed!"