22 The One Who Almost Got Away

Traditional weddings were always very complicated, and Yan Zheyun suspected that they were even more so in ancient times. He'd been the best man at his friend's wedding once and had had to wake up at the ungodly time of 2 a.m just so the entire groom's entourage could reach the bride's house within the auspicious hour.

Today, the entire Wu Household was buzzing with a hive of activity. Liang Hui had been up so early to oversee the preparations that Yan Zheyun suspected she'd forgone sleep altogether. Because the mistress of the house was up way before dawn, no one else could lie in, not even Wu Bin's brothers and sisters. And of course, the servants too had been roused from their slumber.

But all the preparations within the household had nothing to do with Yan Zheyun. He woke up when the stable master knocked and opened the door with bleary eyes.

"What hour is it?" he muttered over a yawn that he barely managed to remember covering. He'd vaguely heard the sounds of the gong by the night watchman passing by, but had been too sleepy to count the strokes accurately.

"It's the start of the fourth watch," the stable master said.

…fine. 1 plus in the morning. Yan Zheyun was up even earlier than that last wedding he'd attended, and he didn't even like this groom. Slaves really didn't have any rights.

The stable master peered into the room with disgruntlement and jabbed a thumb at the snoring lump on the other pallet. "Wake that idiot up too, don't let him skive off and foist all the work onto you."

Yan Zheyun chuckled, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Shall I start grooming the horses?"

Wu Bin would be riding a horse to fetch his future bride. There would only be one in the entourage because the bride would return in a wedding sedan born by four sturdy servants. All other accompanying members, such as musicians and banner holders, would have no choice but to travel by foot. And this was indeed an arduous task, as it was customary for entourages of rich families to purposely take a long detour around the capital. This was because the bride would be bringing both her betrothal gifts from her husband and her personal dowry along with her. It was thus an opportunity to flaunt her good fortunes in front of envious eyes. The longer the line of boxes and chests following her sedan was, the more they indicated how beloved she was to her new husband and her parents.

"No, ask Xiao Ma to do it. Feed the horses quickly and then come and help me inspect the sedan. My old eyes are not what they used to be and I'm worried that I'll miss some defect and cause an accident. And I don't trust that little brat to check thoroughly either, you've seen what he's like. All over the place and without any good sense."

Yan Zheyun accepted his instructions and went about his tasks. Despite knowing that it was a big day for the Wu Household, it didn't feel like there was much going on in the stables. It was still quiet at the moment, with only the stable master and a groggy Xiao Ma for company. Guests wouldn't start arriving for a while more, because the entourage would still have to convince the bridal party to let them collect her, before taking its time making its way around the city.

After ensuring for the third time that nothing on their end was amiss, Yan Zheyun went back to tend to his regular chores. The sky steadily lightened and the temperature became less cold once the sun rose. It was a cloudless autumn day with clear blue skies, and instead of avoiding the UV rays like he normally would, Yan Zheyun voluntarily basked in the light, letting it thaw his frozen arms and legs.

…it sucked that he was so deathly afraid of the cold. This was the one thing about the stables that just couldn't compete with the kitchens. Or Wu Bin's residences, for that matter. The kitchens always had a merry fire going in the day and being Wu Bin's manservant meant some additional luxuries like sitting in chambers warmed with ground heating.

Not for the first time, Yan Zheyun rued that he hadn't transmigrated into one of the scumbag gongs instead. They were all in positions of prestige or power, which Yan Zheyun felt he could happily fit into. He would very happily turn over a new leaf and leave Yan Yun alone for eternity, for the sake of some decent thermal underclothes.

Xiao Ma didn't seem to have the same problems as Yan Zheyun did. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows as he plonked himself down on the low steps outside their little hut. He propped his chin upon his palms as he sighed morosely.

Yan Zheyun raised an eyebrow. "Thinking about spring?" he teased, using the euphemism for being love-struck.

To his utmost surprise, Xiao Ma nodded. Yan Zheyun was about to take him seriously when the silly little boy added, "I'm in love with the kitchen's snacks," he confessed. "I thought there would be special ones today, because of the occasion, but it's already the hour of the snake and nothing's been handed out yet…"

"The entourage left not long ago," Yan Zheyun chided. "You'll have to wait until the bride comes back, at least. They won't give out the wedding candy before then." And he suspected that there wouldn't be any for the slaves until the festivities were completely over and there turned out to be extras.

"…that's so stingy…"

Yan Zheyun turned out to be both right and wrong. The wedding candy had indeed been reserved solely for the guests that were starting to arrive, but that didn't stop Matron Wang from sneaking some to the stables via Wu Zhong. Yan Zheyun was surprised to see him in a clean, dark red tunic instead of the normal grey that all the servants in the kitchens used. It made him look livelier than usual, and Yan Zheyun was suddenly struck by how young Wu Zhong actually was.

Wu Zhong grunted in irritation as he tugged at the sleeves. "The mistress made us wear these colours to be more 'auspicious'," he muttered. "But no fabric this itchy can truly be auspicious." He raised the handful of paper-wrapped peanut and sesame hard candy over his head as he spoke, keeping it out of the reach of Xiao Ma's enthusiastic grabby fingers.

"Ah Zhongggg, Zhong Zhong, Big Brother Zhong…your Xiao Ma begs you~"

Perhaps Xiao Ma's affectionate pestering traumatised Wu Zhong enough for him to relent because he immediately chucked the candy at Xiao Ma and told him to scram.

Chuckling, Xiao Ma did as he was told, not forgetting to call cheekily over his shoulder, "I'll give you two some alone time then!"

An awkward silence ensued. Wu Zhong's expression was murderous. Fearing for Xiao Ma's life, Yan Zheyun decided to say something to ease the tension.

"May I have one?" he asked, pointing at the remaining candy in Wu Zhong's hand.

"…they're for you." Wu Zhong dumped them in Yan Zheyun's outstretched hand. "Don't eat them too quickly, there probably won't be much left by the end of the day."

"Mm. Thank you." Yan Zheyun searched for things to say. Wu Zhong didn't look like he wanted to leave, but he didn't seem like he had anything he wanted to talk about in particular either. "Has the entourage returned?"

"Not yet and they won't return for a while. But guests are starting to pour in."

Yan Zheyun had guessed as much. He could hear the stable master yelling for Xiao Ma to pick up the slack, as well as directing some of the door servants, who had been assigned to assist with the crowd at the main entrance.

"I see." Yan Zheyun wasn't sure which era this harem BL novel was based on, if any. So he didn't know just how traditional the wedding was going to be and whether the auspicious hour was going to be set at dusk. But once the groom finally returned with his new bride in tow, they would partake in the formal three bows—one to heaven and earth, one to their parents, and the last to each other— before the bride would be taken to the nuptial chambers and the groom would stay back to entertain the guests at the wedding banquet.

In his previous life, Yan Zheyun had never married. He hadn't even reached the point where he'd come out to his parents, let alone start hunting for a boyfriend that he wanted to spend his life with.

He wondered if he'd ever get a chance to in the future. And if so, what his wedding was going to be like.

Not that his loved ones would be able to celebrate it with him anyway.

"Are you okay?" Wu Zhong asked, seemingly out of nowhere. The question stumped Yan Zheyun, who had no idea why he would ask that.

"I'm…fine? Thank you?" he tried.

"…" Wu Zhong shot him an exasperated look. Because of his usual taciturn demeanour, this was pretty similar to his grumpy look. "Big Young Master is going to be wedded today," he said.

It took a while, but Yan Zheyun finally figured out what he was hinting at. Right. Of course. Everyone thought this worthless servant had a thing for the master's eldest son, even Wu Zhong. Well, time to correct that.

"I couldn't be better," he said, with a bright smile. "Believe me, I wish with all my heart that the new couple will grow old together with lots of children."

He didn't miss the way Wu Zhong seemed to relax upon hearing that. Had he been concerned that Yan Zheyun would be sad? Or was there more to it than just that?

"I need to go back." Reassured that Yan Zheyun wasn't going to do something silly like throwing himself down the well when no one was looking, Wu Zhong turned to leave. He even broke off into a jog, which meant he'd probably had a lot of work to complete and had wasted time here just to check on Yan Zheyun.

Yan Zheyun couldn't deny being touched by Wu Zhong's gestures. He'd had a sneaking suspicion for a while now that he'd never voiced because he wasn't a single-celled organism like Xiao Ma. But despite not talking about it, he wasn't going to give Wu Zhong any false hope.

Not because Wu Zhong wasn't worthy. Yan Zheyun didn't have feelings for him now, but if he was going to consider anyone, there was no harm in Wu Zhong either. But Wu Zhong wasn't an option, because Yan Zheyun couldn't even keep himself safe. As 'Yan Yun', his life was already fraught with danger, and he didn't want to drag anyone down with him. No matter how capable Wu Zhong was as a person, he was also still just a slave. Just like Yan Zheyun, he was also stuck at the mercy of others and knowing the scumbag gongs, they would tear Wu Zhong to pieces if he so much as dared to dream about being with Yan Zheyun.

Yan Zheyun didn't want to be the reason for Wu Zhong's demise. Wu Zhong was his first friend in this world and he would keep him safe at all costs.

He sighed. Best not to dwell on any future romantic plans. Chances of him ever settling down were next to none. Yan Zheyun would be happy just to survive to 30 at this rate.

The day passed so uneventfully that by the time dusk fell, Yan Zheyun wondered whether he'd fucked with the events of the novel so badly, that he'd completely derailed the timeline.

From within the main compound, he could hear joyous music and the laughter of guests. He'd also listened in on the formal ceremony earlier, the wedding officiate's loud voice booming to the heavens like they were trying to carry a message to the gods up there.

Yan Zheyun sat in the stables and peeked out at the carriages lining the street. All sorts of rich and noble guests were in attendance, and he'd even caught a glimpse of a red-wheeled carriage, which was the status symbol of a member of the imperial family.

The same unease that had plagued him since the previous night had worsened as the hours dragged by. Scumbag 2 was probably attending the banquet at the moment, was he going to let Yan Zheyun go so easily? Yan Zheyun didn't think so and this set him on perpetual edge.

To avoid being taken by surprise, Yan Zheyun had ignored the gnawing hunger in his belly, not allowing himself to have any meals just in case they'd been drugged. The only water he'd drank had also been boiled by himself and was placed in a flask beneath his pallet. He would have preferred to prepare a fresh batch whenever he caved to the thirst and took a small sip, but he didn't have the luxury of time.

Which was why, when he felt a sudden wave of unnatural heat course through his body after his latest drink break, he knew that he'd made a fatal mistake.

[Fuck, what—]

He hadn't seen any strangers near the stables, but that didn't exclude someone sneaking in without him noticing. They must have been watching him for a while now, analysing his weaknesses to see where they should strike. He should really have known better than to risk it but he'd been so thirsty after labouring manually all day long, and this host body still had a weak constitution that became too easily dehydrated—

The world spun as all the blood in his head seemed to rush towards his gut, pooling beneath his belly with a frightening headiness. It was getting hard to think about anything but the arousal that had infected him like a curse, his skin hypersensitive against the coarse fabric of his tunic as it begged to be touched.

He had to get out of here. There was still a chance that he could escape. He just had to go somewhere before they came to find him—

The door creaked open.

Yan Zheyun shut his eyes in dismay.