His mother's letter only told Xia Xi that she wasn't in good health around the time it was penned. That sentence was also placed at the end and was rather unremarkable, but Xia Xi was used to reading his mother's handwriting on paper. The handwriting was still the same, but the strokes were weak and sometimes there would be some traces of trembling and dragging at turning points. Xia Xi had always been careful and he felt a bad premonition in his heart. If his mother really wanted him to come back with being ill as an excuse, it wouldn't be through something like a letter. Sure enough, Xia Hui confirmed in her own letter, the first sentence was about the mention of his mother's death.
Xia Hui also did the delicate work of preserving the date, and according to it, the day of death should've been three months ago.
Xia Xi slumped to the ground, his tears falling like beads from a broken necklace instantly rolling down his cheeks. Cai Huan had never seen him cry like this. When they first came here it was she who couldn't stop crying, but Xia Xi stayed calm and composed, comforting her. Now it was Xia Xi who was crying so sadly, it made Cai Huan worry to death but all Cai Huan could do was persuade him helplessly by the side.
Chu Lan formally saw the envoy out, holding two objects in his palms he walked happily and briskly, he wanted to see Xia Xi soon. When he approached the Palace, he happened to hear Cai Huan's desperate voice. He was shocked, almost running inside. After seeing Xia Xi who was crying, his expression turned panicked and his tone of voice towards Cai Huan became a little harsh, "What's the matter? Why is Xi'er crying?"
Cai Huan jumped with fright. After seeing him, her face flushed and she couldn't speak. Xia Xi recovered, he wiped away the tears on his face hurriedly and looked up at Chu Lan with a reluctant expression, forcing a smile, "The King is back."
Chu Lan saw Xia Xi's red and swollen eyes and his heart ached. He knelt and took Xia Xi's hand, softening his tone, "What is it? Who offends you?"
Xia Xi gently shook his head and whispered: "It's nothing, it's just— seeing objects from my homeland, it just made me feel a little sad..." He wanted to hide the letters scattered on the ground, but Chu Lan had already noticed it and stretched out his hands to pick it up. He got up and browsed it, he soon knew the ins and outs, he said: "It turned out to be... Xi'er, you...."
Xia Xi felt that Chu Lan wanted to comfort him, he endured tears and nodded gently.
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Ever since he got the news, Xia Xi had been depressed. His tears had stopped flowing but he had no energy to do anything, his appetite was half less than usual. He was originally thin but now he was even bonier, with a sharper chin and a worrying waist. Cai Huan was anxious and tried every means to coax him to eat more, seeing him sitting by the vegetable garden, she took the sweets box sent by princess Xia Hui and cheerfully presented it to him, saying: "Your Royal Highness, it's noon and you haven't eaten anything, aren't you hungry? You haven't yet tasted the preserved fruit that princess Hui sent you, would you like to try it? It looks very delicious and appetising."
Xia Xi glanced at Cai Huan and then at the contents of the box before saying softly: "I'm not hungry, you can eat it."
Cai Huan was anxious and said, "How could I? This is what princess Hui especially gave you to eat! Speaking of which, princess Hui is really good to you, she gave you delicious food and many new books, and also clothes..."
Xia Xi interrupted her and said, "My mother gave the clothes, I can recognize her craftsmanship."
Cai Huan realized that she had said the wrong thing, she closed her mouth quickly, and after a while, she said pitifully, "Your Highness, you should eat some more. If you become too thin, you'll get sick. The King will worry about you, and me— I will also worry about you," as she said that her eyes turned sore, she couldn't help crying.
Xia Xi stretched out his hand and touched her head, saying warmly: "But I'm really not hungry right now. You can eat it yourself, maybe I'll be fine again in a few days."
Cai Huan sniffed and closed the lid of the box, "Then I won't eat it, I'll give it to you when you want to eat it," She took the box and walked away. Xia Xi looked forwards without focus, only feeling loss, emptiness, and hopelessness in his heart. An unknown amount of time passed before he heard footsteps again, thinking that it was Cai Huan who came back, he said: "Cai Huan, just let me sit here alone."
Chu Lan's voice rang, "The wind is blowing and you are wearing such thin clothes, are you not afraid of catching a cold?"
Xia Xi was stunned for a moment and raised his head in panic. He subconsciously wanted to kneel but held back, so he stood up hastily and asked in surprise: "You... why are you here? Shouldn't you still be dealing with state affairs at this time?"
Chu Lan said: "I have a pair of good uncles. They don't need me to tire myself with dealing with the affairs of the country," His tone was mocking and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned. Xia Xi understood why he said this. Although Chu Lan had ascended the throne, he had no real power so far and almost all of the power were in the hands of his first uncle or second uncle.
After Chu Lan said this, his tone quickly changed and became even softer than normal, "I was worried about you, so I came to see you," He stared at Xia Xi with eager eyes. As he gazed at him, Xia Xi became more panicked and nervous. He only realized it at this time, he didn't know when Chu Lan had grown an inch taller than him. Chu Lan previously needed to stretch his neck up but now he needed to bow down to see Xia Xi, now it was Xia Xi who needed to look up to see him.
Chu Lan stared at him for a long time and then suddenly took out something from his arms, he hid it in his hands pretending to be mysterious and said with a smile: "When Sang Sangmu came back, he brought a lot of things from your Xia Kingdom. Among them were fruits that I had never eaten before. I tasted a bit of each and thought that this was the most delicious, so I kept some for you, I wanted to give it to you a few days ago, but you were in a bad mood. See if you can guess what it is by the scent." He hovered his hand under Xia Xi's nose and Xia Xi quickly identified a strong and somewhat familiar scent. Chu Lan said: "Did you guess it?" He laughed, "If you can guess right, I'll take you to a fun place."
Xia Xi wasn't in the mood to play guessing games with him, but it was obvious that Chu Lan was trying to distract him through this. He couldn't bear to deny his kindness, so he said, "Is it mango?"
Chu Lan laughed, "Yes, Xi'er's amazing," He opened his palm and there was indeed a mango lying in the palm of his hand. There was no such fruit that could grow in the territory of the Barbarians, the mango fruit could only survive in the extreme south. Even in the Royal City of Xia, it was only eaten by the royal family¹ because it was a local tribute, it was extremely precious. The fruit had gone from the south through the Kingdom of Xia, and then to the northwest, it was unknown how long it had been since it ripened. The skin was a little wrinkled, but the fragrance was still strong and mouth-watering.
Xia Xi said: "Its fragrance is too unique, so I recognised it easily. Chu Lan, I've already known its taste, you should eat it."
Chu Lan chuckled, saying, "I want to eat it with you," He said that while tearing the skin of the mango, Xia Xi quickly said: "Let me do it, don't get your hands dirty," He took the mango, slowly and carefully peeling off its skin, revealing the golden flesh inside. He held it to Chu Lan's lips and let him take a small bite, Chu Lan said, "You can eat the rest."
Xia Xi refused and let him take a few more bites before eating the rest slowly. His eating movements were elegant and Chu Lan seemed to like watching him. Every time he glanced at him, it almost always turned into staring at him, Chu Lan suddenly said, "Wait for me to take down Xia Chao, then this kind of fruit will be given to you every day, amongst many others. I'll only let the people pick the freshest and juiciest for you."
When Xia Xi heard those words he paused before saying softly, "Thank you."
Chu Lan had been paying attention to his expression. Seeing his pause, he couldn't help but frown and ask, "Do you not like it? Or do you not want me to do it?" He suddenly became a little embarrassed, "You are Xia folk and have always regarded yourself as Xia folk, so you don't want me to attack your homeland, right?"
Xia Xi was taken aback, his eyes widened and he looked at Chu Lan with panic. After hesitating for a while, he finally said: "I... I just don't want any war.... war is too cruel and many people will die...."
Chu Lan hummed and said, "As long as there are people, there will be war. This is normal. Besides, even if I don't want to fight Xia Chao, can I rest assured that Xia Chao doesn't want to fight me? If they take the initiative, what will you do? Will you return to them and betray me?" He was still young, but the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. "We couldn't get rid of those western thieves for so long precisely because they had the support of the Emperor of Xia behind them. Since he dared to intervene in our internal affairs, of course, I won't let him get away freely! Xi'er, you are my queen and will soon bear my children. You're absolutely not allowed to betray me. You have married me, and your life is tied to me. In here, I own the world and you are the person above everyone else but me. If I fail, you will go to hell with me!"
The boy's tone was sharp and his gaze was extremely piercing, as cold as the scimitar worn on his waist. Xia Xi looked at him like this and felt a cold stiffness spreading over his body. After a while, he whispered: "I... It has never crossed my mind to betray your Liege...."
When Chu Lan saw his pale face and trembling lips, his anger immediately calmed down. He held Xia Xi's sweaty hands and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, he said warmly, "I scared you. I was just upset, I'm sorry I said something like that."
Xia Xi didn't expect that Chu Lan would apologize to him and felt even more panicked, passively accepting his light kiss. Chu Lan hugged Xia Xi tightly into his arms and buried his face on the side of Xia Xi's neck, as if deciding something. Xia Xi slowly relaxed, he reached out and patted Chu Lan's back lightly and asked softly: "Chu Lan, has this been bothering you? Is it because of this that you are unhappy?"
Chu Lan let out a dull "Yes" and whispered: "I don't have any power at all, I'm just an empty shell. No matter how many ambitions I have, it's all just empty talk."
Xia Xi understood that it was probably his first uncle or second uncle who had bothered him. Seeing his vulnerable appearance, Xia Xi's heart finally softened and the pain in his heart disappeared a little. He said softly: "Don't take it to heart," He changed the subject, "Didn't you say that you wanted to take me somewhere? When do we go?"
Chu Lan recovered from his low mood, he looked at Xia Xi with a bright smile, "In the next few days I will take you to Zhangcheng."
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<b>The author has something to say: </b>
<b>It's a new week, so I am too shy to ask for a recommendation o (＊////▽////*)</b>
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<b>Notes:</b>
1- It should only be Emperor but considering that Xia Xi could eat mangoes despite being locked up somewhere, I changed it to 'royal family' to fit in more.