It was a little comforting that Si Ning could hold series of conversations with Xiu TianZhao without offending him since they were the only ones in the carriage and after taking few cups of wine Si Ning couldn't keep his eyes open for the major part of the journey. He kept drifting in and out of sleep and when he was unable to control himself and Xiu TianZhao told him to rest. He was finally able to sleep and when he woke up, it was already dark.
"Oh.. camp yes camp..." Si Ning blinked rapidly to see clearer and he almost yanked the window curtain off only to see that Chen An that was supposed to be riding by the side of the carriage was no where in sight.
"I can see you are so comfortable with me that you could sleep so soundly." Xiu TianZhao said as he folded the paper fan he was holding.
Si Ning cheeks tinted with red and he bowed to hide his embarrassment. "My apologies."
"No no no, what are friends for. I know you will protect me in case of an attack and I will also gladly do the same, you can only show few people your defenseless state and I am glad to be one of them." Xiu TianZhao smiled brightly and poured a cup of water for Si Ning.
"Thank you." Si Ning accepted it knowing Xiu TianZhao was wrong and he would not hesitate to sleep wherever turned out to be comfortable for him. He drank the water slowly in other to avoid spilling it on his cloths due to the swaying movement of the carriage.
"We are almost at the temporary imperial residence. I left Chen An in charged of the troops at the camp." He explained when he saw Si Ning gave him a questioning look.
Imperial residence?
"Why are we going to the imperial residence?" Si Ning asked glad he would be able to have a good rest since he doesn't feel tired anymore yet a bit worried about leaving his army behind.
"That is a secret." Xiu TianZhao laughed lightly. "Since it is close by, I decided to have a good night rest and you also can sleep at the quarters."
Si Ning stomach growled and his face flushed in embarrassment. Instead of apologizing, he decided to keep his mouth shut. When Xiao Pei tried to wake him up earlier to eat something, he told him he doesn't want to be disturbed and Xiao Pei had to leave taking the food with him.
Xiu TianZhao pretended he didn't hear Si Ning stomach growled and started humming when the swaying of the carriage stopped. "We are here." He parted the curtain and stepped out.
Si Ning had no choice than to follow. Only Xiao Pei and the twins guard of Xiu TianZhao were waiting outside. Si Ning wanted to complain so bad of them travelling at night with few guards when ten men dressed in black clothing showed up with their faces covered with veil and they knelt on one knee.
"Welcome Second Price, welcome General Si Ning. We made sure that your journey was safe and we only dealt with few bandits on the way."
Listening to what the leader of the hidden guards said put Si Ning's mind at rest.
"Well done." Xiu TianZhao nodded and they all left swiftly.
They started climbing the stairs leading to the gate which four guards dressed in battle amour of Xiu nation stood at each side of the gate. The four guards only saluted them without saying a word and one opened the gate for them.
"Second Prince, General Si Ning." A tall man approached them, he was dressed in brown robes and held a lantern.
"Lin Fan." Xiu TianZhao nodded.
"Welcome." Lin Fan saluted and started walking ahead of them.
The residence was lit beautifully with lanterns and Si Ning was impressed with the gorgeous designs. He doesn't want to stare much at his surroundings since Xiu TianZhao behaved like it wasn't Si Ning's first time coming to the residence.
Lin Fan stopped at a building and Xiu TianZhao turned to Si Ning.
"I have things to do, just take this path to the quarters." Xiu TianZhao told him.
"This way General Si Ning." Lin Fan turned and Si Ning had no choice than to follow him. Only for Lin Fan to stop on his track and Si Ning understood he was supposed to proceed alone.
Just ahead of him was a building, it was the only building that beautifully lit lanterns hung on the ceilings which made Si Ning guessed it must have been the quarters Xiu TianZhao was talking about. Next to it was a pavilion and lanterns were also hung on its ceiling. It was so beautiful Si Ning had to stop to admire the decorations feeling like he was at a quiet section of a festival.
A delicious smell assaulted his nose and it was coming from the pavilion. Si Ning was so happy of how considerate Xiu TianZhao was. He was smiling when he spotted a lone figure standing right beside the pavilion. The figure was dressed in black robes, they turned slowly and even though the surroundings wasn't bright enough yet Si Ning could tell he was facing Liu Zhicheng.
Liu Zhicheng!
Si Ning held his breath as he faced his previous employer Liu Zhicheng, standing tall and straight. Si Ning would admit Liu Zhicheng appearance was eye catching with his long and narrow pheonix eyes with the tail of the eyes tilted upward. He was also a foot taller than Si Ning. He was the type any women would love a piece of, different from Si Ning impeccable appearance that many highschoolers and youth would fall for. Their level of sexiness was different.
Just looking across at his employer whose long dark hair was pulled back with a fancy hair pin and for the first time he wasn't emitting his cold aura, he had the look of when Si Ning first met and had a meeting with him.
Seeing another person he was acquainted with in his modern day world made him smile but seeing his appearance.
Dressed in black robes and standing beside the pavilion without anybody in sight. dark robes just like those hidden guards.
"A guard." Si Ning muttered before bursting out laughing loudly. His aloof cold boss turned out to be a guard in this world. "Pfff.. I cannot I can..... pfff ah ah eh.." He had to hold his stomach to prevent himself from rolling over with laughter.
Liu Zhicheng approached him and raised a perfect brow. "Si Ning?"
"Liu Zhicheng.., I cannot... pfff ahh.. ah.. I cannot.. I cannot believe this..." Si Ning caught a whiff of a delicate warm fragrance of sandalwood but he couldn't stop laughing thinking he had a higher rank than Liu Zhicheng made he so happy. He was still rolling with laughter when he discovered he was alone and Lui Zhicheng was no where in sight.
Strange.
Si Ning walked over to the pavilion as he dapped the tears on his face with his sleeves. It had been so long he'd laughed so hard. He was a bit shocked to see lit candles on the table, a small flower pot of jamine and different covered bowls, a jar of wine and two cups. The table was set for two which reminded Si Ning of a romantic date.
Odd.
Si Ning took his seat wondering what Xiu TianZhao intention was. After waiting for a little while and it seemed Xiu TianZhao wouldn't be joining him anytime soon. His stomach growled and he couldn't resist it anymore, throwing all reasons and suspicion out of the windows, he started stuffing his face with the series of delicious food. More delicious than he ever ate that he had to savour each taste.
This is the life.