Chapter 13: A Rainy Carriage Ride and a New Guardian

The carriage was silent, eerie in its quiet. Only the sound of rain outside broke the stillness, as if the inside and outside were two separate worlds.

Su Zhuozhi didn’t hear a reply, so he poked two more times, “Didn’t you hear me?”

Xie Jue flinched like he’d been struck by lightning, his muscles tightening as he grabbed Su Zhuozhi’s hand, stopping him. His eyes were dark, his voice cold, “Don’t you think that’s a bit inappropriate, Young Master?”

“What’s inappropriate?” Su Zhuozhi looked genuinely confused, not understanding what Xie Jue was getting at. He repeated, “Just answer me, how long will it take to train like you?”

Xie Jue let go of his hand and sat across from him, taking a deep breath to calm himself before speaking in a detached tone, “I’ve been training since I was little. If you train, about a year. That’s assuming you don’t slack off.”

At the mention of rising at the third watch and standing in horse stance for two hours without moving, Su Zhuozhi immediately threw up his hands, “I don’t want to train, I don’t want to train, I’m fine as I am.” He was suddenly quite fond of his soft belly, very fond of it!

Xie Jue had anticipated this and didn’t say anything more.

Although the rain was heavy, it wasn’t that bad, and the experienced driver was able to get them safely to Su’s mansion.

Su Zhuozhi threw off the blanket and looked down at the wet shoes on the floor, frowning.

They were wet, and he didn’t want to put them back on.

He looked up at Xie Jue, who tensed, thinking, “Oh no, is the little master going to make me carry him out?”

“What are you standing there for? Get a cloak and some dry socks and shoes for me,” said Su Zhuozhi, exasperated. He really couldn’t stand the boy’s stupidity, he had to be told what to do.

Xie Jue’s expression was strange as he bent over to retrieve the items from a hidden compartment, but instead of handing them to Su Zhuozhi, he knelt down and put them on for him.

Su Zhuozhi stretched out his arms naturally, raising an eyebrow in surprise, “It’s rare for you to not need me to tell you what to do.”

Xie Jue didn’t say anything as he crouched down to put on the silk socks and embroidered boots.

Su Zhuozhi watched, his eyes wide with surprise. Had the dumb dog suddenly woken up? Just when he was thinking about whether to keep him, Xie Jue acted as if he could read minds, behaving well.

Once dressed, Su Zhuozhi got off the carriage and stepped onto the sedan chair that was waiting for him. People helped him, holding an umbrella to keep him dry as he walked to the mansion.

In the Jade Moon Hall, the servants had already prepared ginger tea and heated the room, laying out a soft, comfortable set of clothes, fragrant and warm. They had everything ready for the young master.

There were too many people wanting to serve the young master, they were so attentive and thorough, there wasn’t any room for Xie Jue to even do anything.

As soon as Su Zhuozhi got out of the carriage, he was surrounded by a crowd, walking further and further away.

Xie Jue watched his back, tugging at the corners of his mouth, and then slowly followed.

A servant noticed Xie Jue’s clothes and was shocked, “What are you wearing the young master’s clothes for? Take them off, now!”

Xie Jue glanced at him and said indifferently, “The young master told me to wear them, is there a problem?”

“Y-Yes, but you shouldn’t… you need to take them off, they don’t fit you,” the servant stuttered.

They were indeed a bit short on him.

Xie Jue had intended to change, but the servant’s urgency made him not want to. He hated being told what to do.

He ignored the servant and walked through the door, heading towards the Jade Moon Hall.

The man he picked up on the road was also carried in and settled down simply.

Su Zhuozhi soaked in the hot spring, then changed into warm clothes, curled up on the soft bed, holding a jade lantern porcelain bowl, sipping ginger tea slowly, just the right amount of spice, the warmth sliding down his throat, reaching his stomach, dispelling the damp cold, he felt warm all over.

He enjoyed the feeling, indeed, home was the best.

After finishing the ginger tea, Su Zhuozhi finally had time to think about his personal guards.

“Where is Xie Jue?”

The servants looked at each other and turned to call him, but before they could, Xie Jue came in on his own.

Su Zhuozhi asked, “Have you had ginger tea?”

“Not yet,” Xie Jue said.

Su Zhuozhi ordered a servant to bring him some, then looked at Xie Jue, his expression more serious, “I told you before, you can follow me and serve for a while, if it doesn’t work out, you can leave, do you remember?”

Xie Jue looked up, sensing what was coming, and nodded.

“I’ve tested you several times, and I think your skills are quite good,” Su Zhuozhi said, with a hint of guilt in his voice when he mentioned testing, but he quickly regained his composure, “You can stay and be my personal guard, but you must do a few things first.”

“First, you must obey my orders, put my words first, even if my father tells you to do something, you can’t overstep me.”

“Second, you can’t stop me from doing anything, I want to do what I want, no nagging, I hate that.”

“Third… I haven’t thought of it yet, I’ll tell you later. Can you do these?”

Xie Jue didn’t hesitate, he simply nodded in agreement.

Su Zhuozhi was satisfied with his promptness, his eyes fell on Xie Jue’s hair, which was fluffy and curled slightly due to the rain. It reminded Su Zhuozhi of the fearless general, and he felt a slight itch in his hand.

So, the first order Su Zhuozhi gave after formally recognizing Xie Jue was-

“Lower your head.”

The strange request made Xie Jue hesitate for a moment, but since he had just agreed, as a guard, he should unquestionably obey.

Xie Jue bowed his head slightly.

Su Zhuozhi reached out and patted his head without hesitation, like petting a dog, and rubbed it a couple of times.

Xie Jue: “…”

His expression became complex. He had never been patted on the head, let alone… in such a way to pet a pet. What did this little master think he was?

If it weren’t for the fact that he was useful, he would have killed someone who did this.

After only a few pats, Su Zhuozhi took his hand back, a bit regretful. The fearless general’s fur was still fluffier and softer to the touch.

If Xie Jue knew that he was being compared to a dog and found to be lacking, he would probably have some thoughts on that.

A servant brought in the ginger tea. Xie Jue, unlike Su Zhuozhi who sipped it slowly, drank it all at once, his throat moving up and down, the mole on his skin also moving, there was a certain something about it.

Su Zhuozhi couldn’t help but glance at it.

The matter of the personal guard was thus settled.

Su Zhuozhi did not make things difficult for him, instead, he assigned the tasks that were not the guard’s duty to Xie Jue. Qingping also returned to his original position, happy and content, no longer worried about his position being threatened.

On the contrary, Xie Jue was expressionless, his mood not good.

In theory, not being ordered around every day, not having to deal with the arrogant young master’s superiority, Xie Jue should have been happy and relaxed. But in reality, not having to serve him in his daily life, pour tea, massage his shoulders, tie his hair, and so on, all of these were now done by others, so Xie Jue naturally had no reason to stay in the room. He only needed to guard the door and follow the young master when he went out, keeping a safe distance, making it less convenient for him to observe and investigate the young master, even worse than before.

He attributed his vague restlessness and impatience to his plan being hindered.

If he had known this, he would not have agreed to Su Zhuozhi so easily.

Finally, when Su Zhuozhi said his shoulders were sore and asked Qingping to massage him, Xie Jue suddenly spoke up, “Young Master, don’t you need me?”

Su Zhuozhi was a bit startled, tilting his head, confused, “This isn’t something you should do.”

Xie Jue snorted, “That’s not what you said before.”

Su Zhuozhi pressed his lips, suppressing his guilt, “That was to test you, now it’s not necessary, you’re a guard, you just need to protect my safety.”

Xie Jue was silent for a moment and then coldly agreed.

Qingping dutifully massaged the young master’s shoulders, feeling a chill on his back, his hair standing on end, a sense of danger and crisis filling his mind. Was this guard still not giving up, trying to take his place?!

Life was a bit turbulent, but it was generally going on as usual.

Su Zhuozhi safely passed the imperial academy’s quarterly exam, his results were good, at least he passed the test of his parents, he didn’t get scolded. He was quite satisfied with himself, feeling very confident.

So, Su Zhuozhi invited his friends, including Jiang Yangyu, to the Drunken Immortal Tower, intending to celebrate.

But unexpectedly, before they could leave, a eunuch from the palace arrived with an imperial decree, saying the emperor wanted to invite him to play polo in the palace.

The plan naturally changed, they had to go to the palace.

This time, Su Zhuozhi did not take the carriage, but rode a horse himself, because he was going to play polo, he was dressed differently from usual.

A narrow-sleeved, round-collared robe of bright red, with a waistband of jade, highlighting his slender, supple waist, and a pair of dark-patterned black boots, a young man in vibrant clothes, riding a horse, gallant and vigorous, full of youth and vitality.

He quickly mounted the horse, holding the reins, a smile in his eyes, a flash of starlight, under the bright morning sun, so vivid and bright that it was almost dazzling.

Xie Jue stood on the ground, looked up for a while, then moved his gaze away indifferently, and also mounted a horse, following the young master behind, setting off.

The horses’ hooves kicked up dust, galloping forward, the wind blew the young man’s high ponytail, drawing a beautiful arc in the air.

Xie Jue was close, almost feeling the strand of hair brush his face.

But in reality, it was only a fleeting moment, then quickly moved away, the figure becoming smaller and smaller, the silhouette getting further and further away.

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