"No. No. No. Your place is not a good idea. Isn't it just a small room that you share with your mama?Two mais sharing a room with a hem that is not a relative is not acceptable.", Li Yunfeng stated matter-of-factly.
"And neither is this place that is full of merchants and employees busying about.
Even you do not have enough time for yourself, how are you going to get time for him here? Do you have another suggestion?", Zicheng asked his younger brother.
"Then how about the suggestion that your elder brother made earlier?", Xu Bao asked looking at Yunfeng.
Yunfeng looked as his brother, raising his eyebrows in question.
"What suggestion was that?", Zicheng asked Xu Bao confused himself.
Now both brothers turned and looked at him in question.
Sighed. "I'm referring to the one that you said you'd hire some people?", Zu Bao anwered with a question.
"It's not so brilliant anymore. They'd have to stay with him here but that too is not conducive for his healing." Zicheng explained.
"Then brother, how about this,..." Yunfeng paused. "How about we hire people alright but only professional health workers. And instead, take them to your place?
The crown Prince has promised to get you a leave of absence, I can take care of the guild like I have been doing and you can watch over the nurses and physicians as they tend to him while you use this period to rest and sort out some of your personal stuff here." Yunfeng suggested.
Zicheng didn't like the idea of other people in his house. He knew Chen Yan and was close with him when they were kids because his father and their father together with the king were all friends.
That closeness reduced when his parents had banned him from being friends with hems hence the crown Prince was his only close friend.
If not for Prince Benyou's constant mention of his name in their conversations, he would've probably forgotten about him already. Well, it doesn't look like he has any option better than what Yunfeng was suggesting.
"Okay. Let's get one of the best physicians available and two good nurses that will be running shifts starting from tomorrow.
We will take him to my house tomorrow. It's very late now. How are you getting back home?" He asked Xu Bao at the last part.
"Erm, about that, I was hoping you'd watch over Chen Yan for tonight please. I need to take this one home but looking at the time now I don't think I can return tonight.
It would be past curfew and the night watch guards will have a field day if they should catch me outside at that time.", Li Yunfeng said and winked at older his brother before dragging Xu Bao out of there.
Li Zicheng understands his brother's message. Since when have they ever worried of the night watch guards? 'Wasn't it just last night that he went to raid the left Prime Minister's secret store houses?'
Wait, talking of the raid, Yunfeng has not given him any update on that. He'll remind him tomorrow morning.
And by the way, since when has his brother and Xu Bao been close that he was going to spend the night at the other's house? Wasn't he the one who had asked his brother to let Xu Bao join them?
His brother didn't even know the guy at that time. How did things move that fast between them? Well it seems that really a lot had happened in those few hours that he was away.
Li Zicheng tried to get Chen Yan to eat something but he vehemently refused.
At least he managed to change him out of his clothes and cleaned him up but not before receiving some bites and scratches.
Zicheng had expected this from what his brother told him earlier so tried to be understanding and patient with him.
At long last he was able to get him to eat a few teaspoons of porridge and finally put him to bed.
Made his bed on the other side of the room and slept in the same room as Chen Yan, in order to cater to his needs during the night should he need him but Chen Yan did not wake up till morning so Zicheng too was able to have some rest for the night.
That Same Night At The Capital...
"Is this all you have on you? Hey you stinking may, you had better give us everything by yourself. If I search and find anything else of value on you, be sure to know that you had it coming.", one burly and mean looking hem stated.
He instructed a member of their gang who was also a may to go and search him for anymore valuable item that he could find.
'At least he had the decency to let another may search me.', Benyou thought.
While the four thieves were busying themselves with searching them and had the travellers kneeling on the ground, Benyou noticed a hem using signals to communicate with some two other hems.
The Prince felt that they might be planning to face off the armed criminals. He shook his head at the first guy to dissuade him to stop, but he doubts that worked.
His heart was beating faster. He attributed it to the fact that it was the fear and excitement from what he thinks those people were about to do.
The may gang member that was searching him, finished and told him to get back to kneeling on the ground.
Not long after, he saw the guy that he had tried to stop, lunge at the gang leader from his back as he was hitting a woman with her little child because she did not have much on her.
His other two friends tackled two of the other criminals each, leaving only the may that had searched him earlier. He saw him trying to join in the fight so he used his foot to trip him down.
With him joining the fight now, the odds were even. It was four against four, three hems against three hems and a may against a may. Now, let the fight begin!