Chapter 53
Ruan Jiqing had given Shen Nian a heads-up, genuinely hoping Shen Nian could soothe the emperor's spirits.
He knew the Emperor better than anyone. The man was stubborn by nature; most people's words did not get through to him.
Especially today, at Renshou Palace, when the emperor had spoken those unsettling words with such a calm expression—only Shen Nian, he reckoned, could hear them and not be shaken.
After Ruan Jiqing announced him, he soon returned with a smile. "Marquis, please enter."
Shen Nian gave him a nod. "Much obliged."
Shen Nian walked into the hall step by step. The emperor was seated on his imperial chair, looking toward him.
Shen Nian made his bow. Qi Junmu's voice was calm: "Rise. How goes the matter I asked Marquis Shen to investigate?"
Shen Nian did not answer the question. Instead, he said, "Is Your Majesty in low spirits?"
"Where did you get the idea that I am in low spirits?" Qi Junmu smiled. "I am in excellent spirits—better than ever, in fact."
Shen Nian fixed his gaze on the emperor for a long moment, and silently confirmed: the emperor was indeed in a very bad mood.
From the moment he had entered the hall, the emperor's expression had looked the same as always—calm and unruffled—but his eyes were frighteningly dark, and yet unnaturally bright.
Still, since the emperor could speak so lightly, he was probably still in control of his emotions.
With that thought, Shen Nian relaxed somewhat. Half seriously, half teasingly, he said, "This humble subject only thought Your Majesty's complexion did not look well, which is why I asked. As for the matter Your Majesty entrusted me with, I have not failed you—I have uncovered the answers."
Qi Junmu raised an eyebrow, waiting for the results.
Shen Nian stepped forward two paces, preparing to report up close.
But as he drew nearer to the emperor, a faint, elusive scent of blood drifted into his nose.
Soldiers were a peculiar sort. On the battlefield, they could wade through seas of blood and smell nothing. But once away from it, even the faintest trace of blood could stir a deep unease in their hearts.
Shen Nian looked up at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, are you wounded?" As he spoke, his gaze was sharp as a blade, as if trying to pry open the shell wrapped around the man before him and see the softest, most hidden thing within.
Qi Junmu was taken aback by that look. He felt a little uncomfortable—as if his boundaries had been crossed, yet without displeasure.
Then he recovered and said, "I am not wounded."
Seeing Shen Nian's disbelief, Qi Junmu raised his hands with a helpless expression. "It is just a broken bit of skin—nothing serious. Your nose is remarkably keen, to catch such a faint trace of blood..."
Before Qi Junmu could finish, Shen Nian's actions cut him off.
The man, who had been two paces away, swiftly closed the distance, took his hands, and examined them closely.
As Qi Junmu had said—it was only a bit of broken skin.
Back at the Empress Dowager's palace, as he had spoken those bitter, satisfying words, he had clenched his fists so tightly that his nails had dug deep into his palms, leaving small wounds and a few traces of blood.
Qi Junmu himself had hardly paid it any mind—yet Shen Nian studied it with extraordinary care and seriousness.
Shen Nian looked at the wound on the Emperor's palm. On the surface, it really didn't seem severe—the blood had already dried on top. Shen Nian gently wiped around the wound with his fingers, then leaned down and, like an elder comforting a child who had scraped their knee, blew softly on the Emperor's palm twice.
Qi Junmu's entire body stiffened at the gesture. His palm felt both hot and itchy from Shen Nian's breath. That strange feeling welled up in his heart again—Shen Nian was being rather presumptuous, and this act was far too intimate and unreserved.
He could easily rebuke the man right now, or simply pull his hands away and make Shen Nian realize what he was doing.
All sorts of thoughts surfaced in Qi Junmu's mind, yet he sat perfectly still, not moving his hand in the slightest. He knew deep down that if he actually did that, Shen Nian would be the one left embarrassed and flustered.
Qi Junmu stared at Shen Nian and noticed that his eyes were quite beautiful. He had always thought Qi Junzhuo had the most beautiful eyes, especially in sunlight, when a faint golden sheen would pass through them—dazzling yet cold.
Shen Nian's eyes were entirely different from Qi Junzhuo's. They carried a smile, and even when his gaze was lowered, there was a gentle, lingering warmth in them.
His eyes were deep and dark, and they seemed to hold a warmth that made anyone looking into them feel as though they were being gazed upon with deep affection.
He was born with peach-blossom eyes—eyebrows and features naturally steeped in tenderness.
Just then, Shen Nian breathed a quiet sigh of relief and said, "It's nothing serious. Just be careful not to get it wet for the next couple of days." He spoke the last two words very softly, his voice even trembling slightly. He quietly set the Emperor's hand down and wished he could find a crack in the floor to disappear into.
Qi Junmu knew that Shen Nian had finally realized how bold he had just been. He looked at the face before him, now tinged with a hint of fluster.
The slight fluster in his eyes, the stiffness in his arms and legs—it was exactly how the Emperor himself had felt only moments earlier.
Yet in Shen Nian, there was only fluster—not fear.
Qi Junmu's heart stirred slightly. He had been somewhat uncomfortable himself—Shen Nian's hands were a little rough, and they had been holding his the entire time, so warm they seemed to burn his skin.
Qi Junmu sighed inwardly and naturally withdrew his hand. "Marquis Shen—"
At the same time, Shen Nian bowed and said, "Your Majesty—"
They both spoke at once, then both fell silent, waiting for the other to continue.
After a brief pause, Qi Junmu spoke first. He spread his palm and said jokingly, "I told you, it's just a small scratch. Even Ruan Jiqing didn't notice it. It's only you—having spent years at the frontier, having been on battlefields and seen blood—that you could pick up on it."
Shen Nian's heart was racing with panic, yet the more flustered he felt, the sharper and more clear-headed he became. The Emperor's words sounded ordinary enough, yet Shen Nian could detect a trace of loneliness and desolation beneath them.
On one hand, Shen Nian mocked himself inwardly—of all times, here I am worrying about the Emperor's feelings—but on the other, he composed himself and calmly defended his actions: "Your Majesty, this humble subject has seen too many men at the frontier die because their wounds weren't treated in time. The smell of blood makes me think of the worst possible outcome. I overreacted just now and offended Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."
The smile on Qi Junmu's face did not fade, but a faint aloofness crept into his brows. He said softly, "I know."
Qi Junmu himself could not say what he was feeling. He didn't really care about the Empress Dowager, but the quarrel with her had still left him weary. Yet these private thoughts were not something he could share with anyone.
Not with his ministers, not with Lin Xiao, who was his uncle, not with Ruan Jiqing. After thinking it over, the only one left was Shen Nian.
Even though Shen Nian had overstepped just now, Qi Junmu understood that the concern was genuine and unpretentious. At least in that moment, Shen Nian had set aside their roles as sovereign and subject and was simply worried about his injury.
Before Shen Nian came to his senses and started explaining himself, Qi Junmu had felt a sudden urge to confide in him—about the Empress Dowager's favoritism, about Fuhua's schemes, about the Lin family's stance, and so on.
Just like before, when he would lay all his schemes and calculations bare before this man.
But in the end, those words slipped to the tip of his tongue and then slipped back, like a fish stealthily foraging in the water.
It came quietly and left quietly, unseen by anyone.
Then Qi Junmu reflected: back then, what they discussed openly were matters of state. Bringing up personal matters now would be inappropriate—too intimate. There were many things he had never even mentioned to Qi Junzhuo.
With that thought, Qi Junmu suppressed his various feelings and said, "The matter I asked you to look into—"
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