Langhua: The Codependence of a Prince and His General

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"I thought we warned you about her!" Hua Yuheng was still nagging as he handed Xuanyuan Lang a bowl of sobering medicine. The prince could barely just sit up in bed. "You should know better than to accept random drinks she offers you."

"She wouldn't exactly take no for an answer," Xuanyuan Lang muttered before drinking the medicine. It was bitter enough to make him flinch, but it felt warm in his belly.

"Serves you right," Hua Yuheng snapped unsympathetically at Xuanyuan Lang's initial grimace. "At the very least, you should have asked me to come along with you. If Yan'er hadn't told me, who knows what would've happened to you!"

Yan'er again. Xuanyuan Lang pursed his lips and told himself not to be petty. "You're supposed to be studying, right? Your attendant told me that you've been staying up."

Hua Yuheng immediately frowned. "Was it Jiang Cong? He said too much."

"You're not the only one who worries." Xuanyuan Lang lowered his gaze. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"Geez." Hua Yuheng sat down on the edge of the bed. "And why do you think I'm taking the exam in the first place?"

"I didn't ask you to do this." As soon as the words left Xuanyuan Lang's mouth, he regretted them. He sounded so ungrateful.

Thankfully, Hua Yuheng just put a hand on his forehead. "Actually, you're right. I'm doing this for my own self-satisfaction. But that doesn't mean I'm putting my studies over everything else. It's just an exam, Qilang. One way or another, it'll pass.

"But I'll never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Do you understand?"

"...Yeah. Sorry."

"Good. As long as you know why what you did was wrong and reckless." Hua Yuheng frowned. "I thought your fever was going down. Why are you heating up again all of a sudden?"

Xuanyuan Lang hurriedly pulled Hua Yuheng's hand away. "I'll be fine. It's just the alcohol in my system, it'll subside in time. Forget about me, you should go back to your studies."

"Hmph." Hua Yuheng did not look convinced, but he glanced at the books piled up in the corner and sighed. "Fine. But you should stay here for the night. The palace doors are closed now anyway, and you should get all the rest you can before traveling."

"Alright."

He was being uncharacteristically obedient, and Hua Yuheng narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You know what, I think I'll stay here. Lest you get any funny ideas again."

"What do you think I can do in this state?" Xuanyuan Lang was exasperated as he lay down in Hua Yuheng's bed. This time, he meant it; his head was still throbbing, and he knew his complexion probably looked terrible. Maybe he had been a bit rash. He had never been great with liquor to begin with, and Lanying had evidently given him their strongest concoction—possibly with an extra dash of something.

Even so, he could not ignore the tiny voice at the back of his head saying it was worth it.

He was in Ah Heng's room for the first time in what felt like forever, lying in his bed. As he looked around, he noted the changes in the room since the last time he had been here. There were clothes thrown carelessly onto a nearby chair, and Hua Yuheng's favorite sword leaned against a nearby wall. A few of the paintings looked new, including one that Hua Yuheng hastily tried to hide. Xuanyuan Lang bit back a smile.

In the silence, Hua Yuheng pulled out a small wooden table from next to his wardrobe and brought over some parchment and ink. The table was just like the ones children used at academies, a far cry from the majestic sandalwood desk he usually used in his study. But all so he could keep an eye on Xuanyuan Lang, Hua Yuheng lit an oil lamp, sat down cross-legged at the table, and began to study right there on his bedroom floor.

While Hua Yuheng lowered his head and pored over the books, Xuanyuan Lang could not keep his eyes off of him. The lines on his face were gradually hardening, losing their childish softness and resembling his late father more and more by the day. The only exception was his long lashes, which he had apparently inherited from his mother, casting a shadow on his face.

Life in the capital had worn down his initial wild edge; he was much fairer than he used to be, his skin smoother. Sure, he was not as porcelain white as the pampered young masters of the capital, but this lifestyle had left its mark on him. He was not as awkward in his fancy brocade robes as he once was, and he knew how to tie his hair up neatly now. His hands were more stained with ink than calloused from a sword. But in a way, Xuanyuan Lang thought a tan and a ponytail fit him better.

The closer he looked, however, the more he realized that Ah Heng was still Ah Heng under all the adornments. There was that restless way he tapped his feet and twirled his brush between his fingers, the barely audible click of his tongue as he struggled with yet another superfluous phrase. The way he chewed on the inside of his cheek when he was thinking, and the way his pale eyes lit up in the lamplight whenever he came up with an idea or found a passage he could appreciate.

"Hey, are you done staring? You're distracting."

The way he was always so alert about his surroundings. Xuanyuan Lang withdrew his gaze sheepishly.

"I thought I was being subtle."

"Just go to sleep already. Recover as much as you can, because I don't want Consort Liang blaming me for leading her son astray."

"She won't. She adores you." Xuanyuan Lang sounded wistful.

"What's not to like about me?" Hua Yuheng looked up from his books to grin at Xuanyuan Lang, but then he blinked. "Geez, you're distracting me again! Shh, shut up and take your nap."

"Only you can get away with talking to a prince like that," Xuanyuan Lang complained, duly closing his eyes. The floorboards in the room were heated and there was a coal stove crackling away merrily in the corner, so it was cozy despite the time of the year. In the comfortable silence, he could hear Hua Yuheng's breathing, the rustle of paper, the swoosh of his brush. At the same time, his nose was filled with Hua Yuheng's scent, faint and refreshing like bamboo.

In here, he could forget about everything. Xuanyuan Chen's secret, Xuanyuan Yao's departure. The fight for the throne, the strings guiding his every move. All of that could wait until the morning.

He pulled the covers over him. Somewhere in the night filled with the distant chirping of crickets, he dozed off, surrounded by Hua Yuheng's presence.

It was the soundest he had slept in a long while.