ninety three
The next day, after Xiao Weixin came back from court, he actually took him to the newly opened restaurant in the capital as promised, which was said to serve excellent roast suckling pig. However, they entered through a special back door, and the owner came out to greet them personally and arranged the most luxurious private room on the second floor for them.
You Shu was pushed up the slope in his new wheelchair. The clothes he wore were made of excellent material, light and soft, as if he was wearing nothing at all. They were also very warm, so he didn't feel cold even in the chilly wind of late autumn.
His skin had been accustomed to Liu Tiezhu's coarse linen clothes for some time, so he felt a little uncomfortable suddenly changing into such fine fabric. He always had the illusion that he was naked.
After Xiao Weixin sat down, he didn't let You Shu order food. He generously asked the restaurant to serve all the signature dishes. Anyway, Xiao Shu could eat whatever he liked.
You Shu slept well last night, and he was in good spirits when he woke up in the morning, having completely shaken off the tiredness and decadence he had felt a while ago. Especially when Hua Chun combed his hair into a big ponytail that looked very youthful before he went out, he actually looked full of energy.
In fact, ever since he was injured, You Shu's appetite was obviously not as big as before, but in order not to worry Xiao Weixin, he still tried to eat about the same amount as before.
"You seem to be in a good mood after leaving court today. Is there any good news?" You Shu chatted with him while eating from the bowl.
Xiao Weixin kept picking up food for him, and chuckled when he heard this: "It is indeed a good thing."
"Xiao Shu, do you want to watch the fun? It's a very exciting dog-eat-dog show."
You Shu vaguely guessed what he meant and nodded in agreement: "Of course I'm willing to watch other people's fun."
"You'll know tomorrow."
Xiao Weixin put down his chopsticks, turned his head and looked out the window, and said, "I placed Liu Tiezhu in Zhenbei Camp. Weiming's men just happen to be short of people."
"Zhenbeiying?" You Shu looked up, thought carefully for a while and said, "Sure enough, the military camp is suitable for him, but can he really help His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin?"
Xiao Weixin propped up his chin nonchalantly, his eyes not looking at anything specific. "I think Liu Tiezhu is very interesting. Putting him under Weiming's command may bring unexpected benefits."
You Shu thought about it and it made sense. Liu Tiezhu was a kind-hearted man who treated others sincerely. He was also tall and strong. He should be very popular in the camp and might even be able to help Xiao Weiming.
"Sometimes, opportunities are hard to predict." He said with emotion, "Even three months ago, I would never have thought that Brother Liu would stand with us. We were clearly enemies at the beginning."
Xiao Weixin smiled but said nothing.
You Shu remembered something again, "I forgot to ask you these days. When you were attacked, it was Su Tu who brought people to rescue you. Where is he?"
"He said he had gone back to Xirong temporarily." Xiao Weixin said, "I used to be suspicious of him, but I should thank him for that incident. After he learned about this in advance, he rushed to rescue without stopping."
"Although he is afraid that if I die he will have no allies and no hope of returning to Xirong, but I have to repay the favor."
Xiao Weixin paused here, glanced at You Shu, and snorted, "He heard that you might be dead, and he mocked me, saying that I was cowardly and useless."
"He's talking nonsense." You Shu tried to comfort him, "With so many people surrounding us, even a god wouldn't be able to escape."
Xiao Weixin laughed at himself, "I think he is right."
"I always claim to protect you, and I swear to never let you get hurt again, but I... always seem to break my promise."
Seeing that he was suddenly in a low mood, You Shu hesitated and put down his hand that was gnawing on the pig leg, and gently covered the back of his hand, "The situation is pressing now, and many things are beyond your control. It doesn't count as breaking your promise."
Xiao Weixin responded and took something out from his bosom. You Shu recognized it as a jade pendant. He tied the jade pendant to his belt and whispered, "I originally planned to give it to you on your birthday, but you were not with me at that time, so I couldn't give it to you."
"Even though your birthday has passed, I still want to give it to you."
"My pendant will protect you and bring you back to me, and the immortal pendant will also ensure that you will have a smooth and safe life for a long time."
You Shu looked down at the jade pendant tied around his waist and liked it no matter how he looked at it. "There's my name on the back of it."
"Yes." Xiao Weixin nodded, "I will carve one for you every year from now on."
You Shu said jokingly: "Why spend so much money? I can't carry it all."
The two of them had dinner at the restaurant, and You Shu was very satisfied. He basked in the sun outside for a while before going back. Some of the court officials that Shen Qingyu and Xiao Weixin had been dealing with in the court came to visit, and You Shu knew that they had something to discuss again, so he happily let them go.
Although Xiao Weixin was a little reluctant to leave, he also knew that the important issue at hand had not been resolved yet and now was not the time for them to enjoy themselves, so he told You Shu to have a good nap before getting up and leaving.
After he left, You Shu was left alone. He lay on the bed alone but could not sleep at all. He stared at the bright sunlight on the bed in a daze, wondering about his brothers in the camp.
He came back alive this time, but he hasn't had a good look at them yet.
While he was thinking this, there was suddenly a series of knocking sounds outside the window, long and short in a very regular pattern. You Shu was very familiar with these knocking sounds, as they were the signals they used to communicate secretly.
Judging from the sound, it should be Shadow Four.
"Come in." You Shu sat up with great effort, dragged the blanket over his legs, and waited for the person outside to come in.
The next moment, the window was gently opened from the outside, and several dark figures filed in and lined up in front of You Shu. They were all tall, rich and handsome, dressed in black tights and with long legs.
"I said that the third child must be blessed with a long life!" Yingba was so proud, "Do you believe it?"
Yingliu kicked him away impatiently, "Can you please stop talking nonsense? The prince might be back soon. If he knows we dared to come here privately, he will ask Lord Yingshou to skin us alive when he gets back!"
Ying Shi quietly approached the bed, but didn't dare to take another step closer. He only took two steps to take a peek, and after a long pause, he asked in a low voice, "Third brother, are you... okay?"
They all heard from Shadow Chief that the third brother's legs might be...
You Shu half leaned on the bed, looking at the brothers in front of him, feeling a little excited. After hearing Xiao Shi's question, he replied: "I'm fine. How about you? Are you all okay too?"
"What can go wrong with us?" Ying Si fished for a long time before pulling out something. "My second brother couldn't come today because he had something important to do, so he asked me to bring you some medicine."
"He said he got it from an old famous doctor and never wanted to use it. Now that you're injured, he just wants to give it to you."
You Shu was stunned. "How can that be? Since he is a famous doctor, this thing must be very valuable. Second brother should keep it for himself."
Ying Si didn't care about that and shoved the money into his hand rudely: "Go and tell him yourself. My ears are almost callused by Lao Er. He heard that you came back yesterday and knocked on our door all night, telling me to find a chance to come and see you today."
"Come on." Ying Wu rolled his eyes. "You're the one who shouted the loudest when you wanted to see the third brother. How can you show your dignity now?"
They were young men full of vigor and vitality, and bickering and fighting were commonplace. Perhaps in order to prevent You Shu from feeling embarrassed, they intentionally or unintentionally avoided the issue of You Shu's injured leg when they quarreled, for fear of exposing his scar.
You Shu missed this noisy scene very much, and he could also feel the care and tenderness hidden in the hearts of these rough men. The medicine bottle given by Ying Er in his hand seemed to be getting hot.
It’s really not in vain that I made friends with this group of brothers.
Ying Shi was the youngest, and unlike the others he could not hide his emotions completely. Although he tried hard to be mature and calm, he still came over carefully and took out another thing from his arms: "Third brother, this is yours."
You Shu lowered his head, and found something cold in his hand. He put Ying Er's medicine bottle aside and examined it carefully. It turned out to be his special sleeve arrow. Each of them had his own number, so their weapons had their own secret codes. He also engraved the English abbreviation 'ys' on his sleeve arrow. Except for him, no one understood the meaning of this symbol.
"You will get better." Ying Shi said softly, "This is what you gave me before, I'm giving it to you again."
You Shu stroked the cold sleeve arrow in his hand, his eyes slightly moist. He almost forgot that this was a gift he had given to Xiao Shi to encourage him to work hard. He didn't expect that after many years, it would return to his hands.
He silently clenched the hidden arrow in his hand and said softly, "Thank you."
Ying Shi scratched his head, feeling a little shy and a little stubborn, and pretended to be calm as he left the bed. His personality was exactly like You Shu when he first came to the Shadow Guard Camp.
The shadow guards stayed in the room for a while, and after seeing that he was safe, they all slipped away before the prince came back, fearing that they would be caught and punished if they walked too slowly. When they climbed through the windows, they almost came to blows with each other.
After they all left, You Shu stroked the sleeve arrow that he was once most familiar with, but his heart was desolate.
If he really can't get better, then he won't be able to use these things again in his life...
There was a sound of footsteps outside the house. You Shu hurriedly put the sleeve arrow under his pillow. The next moment, Xiao Weixin came in.
Xiao Weixin was in a good mood after making plans with Shen Qingyu and the others. However, when he opened the door, he found that You Shu was still awake. He was a little unhappy: "Why are you still awake?"
You Shu didn't dare to tell his brothers that they came to visit him, he just said that he was not sleepy.
Xiao Weixin couldn't do anything about him, so he took off his outer robe and sat on the bed with him, "Since you're not sleepy... let's do something else."
"No, it's not good, right?" You Shu was a little shy. "Damn it, it won't sound good if you tell others about it."
"□□?" Xiao Weixin smiled, "Yes, □□ is a little outrageous, but I never care about that."
After saying that, he took out a few things from the bedside table. You Shu only took a look and instantly felt like he was going to die.
WTF isn’t that his little diary
Xiao Weixin slowly sorted out the diaries, opened the first page and began to read aloud in standard Mandarin, as if he was broadcasting.
'It was sunny in a certain month of a certain year.'
"I came first again in today's training. There was no doubt that I won."
'Looking at it from afar, I am the undisputed first.'
'Simply excellent.'
…
"The prince was in a bad mood today. He lost his temper and threw things in the study. He always has this happen three, four, five, six, seven or eight days a month."
'What a bad temper.'
'But even when he's in a bad mood, he's still the best looking.'
'Of course, second only to me.'
…
'On a certain day in a certain year it was cloudy'
"Today I am taking a day off with Yingwu, and we are going shopping together when we have nothing to do."
'A little girl was peeking at me on the side of the road and I caught her.'
"She wanted to give me a handkerchief, but I rejected her righteously. I am a man who is going to do great things, so how can I fail to do so at this time?"
"But Yingwu is so weird. I think he is just jealous. Who told me that I am the most handsome man in the Shadow Guard Battalion?"
…
'A sunny day in a certain year'
"My prince is wearing white clothes today, it looks good."
'I have a unique vision.'
…
Xiao Weixin read out those shameful words in a serious and clear voice, as serious as a host of a news broadcast.
You Shu was already suffocating and wished he could die a hundred times right there.
He didn't realize it when he was writing it secretly, but when someone read it to him in front of him, he realized how shameless he was. He boasted every three sentences and had no sense of shame at all.
Social death is nothing more than that.