The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 38: The Return Gift

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》Yanxi Gonglue

   The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 38: The Return Gift

   “Young Master.”

   The only one who would call him by that title.

   Fucha Fuheng turned back and said: “What do you want from me ... Wei Yingluo.”

   The weather has gradually cooled down a bit, the palace maids have changed into their winter clothes but they see a light red coming from the wind and snow, that vivid, that delicate, like an enchanting tail finger stained with lipstick, where it crosses, the winter snow is also dyed with rouge.

   “Young Master.” The girl in red came up to Fucha Fuheng and handed over an oddly styled object, saying with a smile, “This is for you.”

   Fucha Fuheng did not answer but only looked down and said: “What is this?”

   “Her Highness Empress has always said that she was afraid that you would be cold if you stood on the wind all the time but men are not like women and cannot use a stove.” As she said this, she suddenly thrust the object in her hand into his arms and said, “You see, don’t you?”

   Fucha Fuheng’s heart burned, not knowing whether it was because of her concern or because of the object in him arms.

   But as a Royal Guard in the palace, how could he accept a gift from a palace maid, if he was found out, nothing would happen to him but Wei Yingluo was afraid of bad luck, so he reached out and pushed the object back saying: “No need, I’m not cold.”

   But the young girl smiled and not only did she give him a proper gift but she also found a good reason for him: “If anyone asks, you can say that the Empress sent her court lady to give it to you.”

   Fucha Fuheng still hesitated a little but saw her slowly hang her head and sigh.

   “You gave me medicine and I wanted to give you something in return but I just couldn’t come up with anything decent...” Wei Yingluo said softly, “You ... But you don’t like ...”

   “... I don’t mind.” Fucha Fuheng was silent for a moment, raised his hand to take the hot bladder of pork and said, “Thank you.”

   Wei Yingluo suddenly looked up and smiled at him.

   Fucha Fuheng had been a little distracted for several hours after that and Wei Yingluo’s smile always came up before his eyes and suddenly, like a spring breeze, a thousand pear trees blossomed.

   “Ha choo!” My friend Hailancha suddenly sneezed, then rubbed his hands on his arms and said, “What time of year is it, the wind is still so cold in the Forbidden City, it’s pouring directly into my neck, tch!”

   The other Royal Guards were no better, the cold wind was so cold that they had to suffer the Royal Guards on guard duty, their teeth chattering from the cold but they could not leave their posts, they could only walk in place or rub their bodies to keep warm.

   Fucha Fuheng, with his normal, even flushed face, stood out among a group of Royal Guards who were freezing white.

   “... What are you hiding in your arms?” Hailancha, with good eyes and even quicker hands, reached over and snatched the bladder out of Fucha Fuheng’s arms before he could finish his sentence, shivering with pleasure at the heat and then saying with surprise, “Oh, what’s this thing, ho, so warm!”

   said the man, while quickly tucking it into his arms.

   “Give it back to me!” Fucha Fuheng hastily reached out for it.

   Fucha Fuheng was strong but Hailancha was not far behind and he was unable to retrieve the pig’s bladder for a while.

   “Why are you so nervous?” Hailancha also teased him by saying, “Could it be from someone else? This is a small but clever thing, look at your nervous look, I guess it’s not from a man either. What little court maid gave it to you?”

   Fucha Fuheng hastily denied saying: “No!”

   “No?” Hailancha immediately said with a playful smile, “If it was something from a woman, I wouldn’t dare to take it but since it’s not, then what’s the difference between us two brothers, what’s yours is mine, I’ll take it with a smile ha-ha!”

   Hailancha, who had just been screaming about being cold, now pressed his chest against the cold snow and, as if that wasn’t enough, kept digging his hands into the snow and shoving it into his arms.

   “Hailancha, Hailancha! What’s wrong with you?” Fucha Fuheng hastily knelt down to look and when he saw the situation, he was first shocked and then angry, saying, “... How could ...”

   “Wei Yingluo!”

   Wei Yingluo, who was ploughing the snow, stopped her broom and turned around and asked: “What’s wrong?”

   A court lady said to her: “Royal Guard Fucha is waiting for you at the well at the back of the palace and says she has something to ask you.”

   “So, soon??’’ Wei Yingluo flinched, then nodded and said: “Thank you very much, I’m on my way!

   By the well where they had parted in the morning, the two met again.

   The same snow and wind, the same red clothes, different only in his attitude.

   Fucha Fuheng clasped Wei Yingluo’s wrist and looked down at her with inexpressible anger in his eyes and said: “What do I have against you that you should do this to me!

   Wei Yingluo looked up at him, pretending to be surprised and said: “Young Master, what are you talking about?”

   “That bladder of a pig!” Fucha Fuheng said in a deep voice, more disappointment than anger in his eyes saying, “It blew up.”

   But unexpectedly, the next second, the same warm object probed into his arms.

   Soft and warm, it’s actually a daughter’s hand.

   Fucha Fuheng took several steps backwards as if he had been stabbed by a sword, until he leaned against the well and was cooled by the cold well’s edge.

   “How did the pig’s bladder blow up?” Wei Yingluo’s body, however, snuggled up to him and put her hands back towards his chest, saying, “Let me see, did it hurt you?”

   She went away in such haste and pounced with such righteousness that she was literally going to fall into the well with him.

   Fucha Fuheng was quick to catching her and with a push of his lower hand, he fixed himself in place like a pine biting a stone and said with a sigh: “Not me but my good friend Hailancha, who was burned by the bladder of a pig.”

   Wei Yingluo flinched, then slowly lowered her head, hiding her expression in the shadows at the moment and only said softly: “No Young Master, it is good to be wounded, I must have been too anxious, thinking only to send you the gift sooner and as a result the mouth of the bladder of pigs was not sealed tightly and your good friend ... Is he all right?”

   “It’s nothing serious but the burns are not light.” Fucha Fuheng paused and narrowed his eyes somewhat suspiciously and said, “Are you sure you didn’t do it on purpose?”

   Wei Yingluo slowly lifted her head, flakes of snow melting on her skin, the hot breath she exhaled almost dense on his face, a heat that made even Fucha Fuheng’s cheeks roll up, even as he felt he would believe her without having to explain.

   “Young Master, are you really all right?” Wei Yingluo slowly lifted a hand and gently caressed his cheek saying, “Your face is so red, did you burn yourself?”

   Fucha Fuheng darted to grab her unruly hand and said: “No, I didn’t ...”

   “But your face is very red.” Wei Yingluo’s eyes moved to his hands and said, “The hands are hot, too.”

   Fucha Fuheng really let go of his hand as if it were a burn and turned away in a rather wretched manner.

   Behind him, a young girl’s clear, oriole like laugh said: “Young Master, the pig bladder is actually filled with ice in the summer, it’s cool against your skin, I’ll make a new one for you for the summer that day!”

   Fucha Fuheng did not even have the courage to turn around and fled, returning to the Royal Physician’s room just as the Royal Physician had finished changing Hailancha’s medication and was packing his medicine chest.

   “Oh, why is my life so hard?” Hailancha lies in bed and sighed, “Instead of dying on the battlefield, I almost got blown up by a thermos.”

   “Woe be to you, don’t worry you won’t die.” Fucha Fuheng sent the Royal Physician away, found a stool and sat down beside him and said with concern, “What did the Royal Physician say, does it matter, do I need to grant you a leave of absence?”

   “Then give me ten days off, so that I can avoid this damn weather.” Hailancha asked for a leave of absence without any problem and when Fucha Fuheng agreed to it, he was relieved and started to say, “I’m taking your place, how about telling me about your lover?”

   Hailancha usually makes a lot of jokes like this but only this time, Fucha Fuheng was flabbergasted, his face was a little dry and he hesitated for a moment before he replied: “... there is no one. There’s no such thing as a good friend.”

   Hailancha, seeing that there was a door, forgot about his injuries and got up from the bed at once, saying to him with great interest: “Fuheng, although this thing is fried, I must still say a fair word! It’s a lot of trouble to deal with a pig’s bladder and you have to string it up with twine to seal it and you have to stay up all night for two nights, so why else would someone do that for you but to be in love?

   “So, much trouble?” Fucha Fuheng Suddenly came back to his senses, the other party was setting him up!

   “Isn’t that so?” Hailancha tapped him on the shoulder and said cheerfully, “I’ll bet my life the girl who gave you the thermos has a crush on you! And you? Do you like her? What do you like about her?”

   Which bit?

   A million images flooded Fucha Fuheng’s eyes in a flash.

   She is like a rouge that stains the winter snow’s coat.

   She came suddenly like a spring breeze and a thousand pear trees blossomed with laughter.

   She was clasped in his hands by her slippery skin.

   “Hey hey, asking you a question??” Hailancha shook him by the shoulder and said, “Which bit?”

   Every little bit.

   “... Shut up, you!”  Fucha Fuheng was suddenly annoyed but he didn’t know whether he was annoyed with the other person or himself.

   “Hey, don’t go, come back, come back, it was just a joke, why are you angry?” Hailancha shouted behind him but he didn’t stay in Fucha Fuheng’s footsteps but he was sure of something and shouted playfully at the other’s back, “It’s cold, next time your lover gives you a new pig bladder, remember to lend it to me!”

  

  

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》CHAPTERS