Just as Wen Ke Xing's breathing was syncing with Ah Xu's, their faces almost touching but not quite yet, the prince's eyes suddenly shot open.
Wen Ke Xing froze.
Since the prince had not eaten for a few days, his mind was not so sharp anymore, but he knew this moment was not a fruit of his own imagination, it was real.
Wen Ke Xing was petrified. He backed away as quickly as he could but tripped and fell and dropped his fan. Then he immediately got up and ran to his cot, located just a few feet away from the prince's cot since they shared one tent.
He jumped into his cot and pulled the blanket over his head.
As though the blanket could protect him.
If you see a ghost, just cover your eyes up and the ghost would disappear. So childish.
So innocent.
So silly.
Prince ZiShu could not help himself but smile at that. The sweetness and innocence of Wen Ke Xing had captured his heart in ways that no others had.
Then he noticed the fan that Lao Wen dropped and many thoughts shuffled through his head. Why did Lao Wen bring a fan with him in the middle of the night? To fan the prince? That could not be. It was a chilly night. Did he intend on doing harm to the prince? Did he approach the cot to watch his general sleep, or did he plan something more sinister? Why was his face half an inch from the prince just a moment ago? Did he want to kiss him or kill him?
Then he quickly shook off the nasty thoughts. How could he even think that of his friend? Lao Wen would never hurt him. Could never hurt him. And if he was wrong, and Lao Wen did have malicious intents, then he would accept his fate, for his friend must have absolute reasons to justify such acts. He had had so many opportunities to murder him during this military campaign, he could poison his food, he could stab him at night, he could set the tent on fire, he could push him off the cliff when they went to the overlook to watch the hills and surrounding geography. But he didn't.
Prince ZiShu was ashamed of himself for even harboring the idea that his friend could be a heartless killer.
The prince then got off his cot and gently picked up the fan. Then he walked over to Lao Wen's cot.
"Lao Wen" He called delicately as he saw his Secretary of War was trembling under the blanket.
The prince slowly sat by his cot and called again "Lao Wen".
No answer.
"You... dropped your fan." The prince said. Then he lightly placed the fan next to Lao Wen's pillow.
He noticed the tremors. He wasn't sure if Lao Wen was shivering of fear - because he almost got caught committing a crime - or was he shaking of embarrassment because he almost got caught kissing his friend - or was he quivering because it was just a very frigid night tonight.
Realizing that his own mind was quite hazy and his brain had difficulty processing too much information since his body was experiencing phase 2 of starvation, he decided that it was better not to overthink tonight.
So he went back to his own cot and took his blanket and put it on Lao Wen, making sure to cover his lower body, since the silly boy had pulled his blanket up to cover his face instead. The prince tucked in the blanket tightly so cold air could not sneak in from underneath.
Just a very simple gesture. Yet it warmed Lao Wen's heart to a level one could never imagine.
The last time Wen Ke Xing remembered getting tucked in was a few years ago, when he had a dreadful fever, and Uncle Bai tended to him. Otherwise, the old man never tucked him in at night. Sometimes, he wondered if Uncle Bai purposely kept his distance from him, so they would maintain a mentor-student relationship. Uncle Bai was a spy all his life, and his job was to train the prince to become a top-notch spy. The first rule of being an excellent spy was to not get close to anybody, not even to your own kind.
