"You fucking idiot!" Liu Sheng was woken up by a smack to his shoulder, and he winced in pain. Not because of his injuries, but how violent the smack was.
Why was he now awake before that person got to his bed? He had no idea, but he wasn't pleased. And neither was the person who smacked him.
"I see, someone is feeling so safe here, he doesn't even wake up when someone is trying to kill him!" Sheng could recognize the annoying voice anywhere. It was his older brother. And he was here, which meant problems.
"What are you doing here?" Sheng asked once he opened his eyes, and his brother helped him sit up. Liu Cheng looked at him so reproachfully that Sheng wanted to smack him, really hard.
"How did you get here?" Sheng knew about some of the security measures that guarded the peak. Not specific or where they were, but he heard about wild animals and traps.
Cheng raised his hand, and Sheng finally noticed it was bandaged with two woods strapped to it.
"They trapped me, and because I was injured, they brought Wen Jun and me here. There was this leader guy who let us in. Quite the eye candy, I would say." In Sheng, the feeling of wanting to punch his brother was far stronger now. He hoped his brother wasn't talking about Peien, if so, he would kill him.
"They should have killed you," he said, or more like mumbled underneath his nose. He earned one more smack over the shoulder, and then his expression became solid, almost stone-like.
"How did you survive?" Cheng asked, and Sheng breathed out. He untied his clothing and showed the huge scar that was on his underbelly.
"The doctor… he is…I would say a miracle doctor." Both of them looked at the window, where a shadow moved. But it was too slow for a spy. More like a servant. The shadow moved to the door and stopped. It knocked on the door.
"I'm here to help you get up and walk around. It's not good to lie down all the time," Peien said, but stopped entering once he saw Sheng.
"Sorry, I didn't know your brother was here." They stopped breathing. Suddenly, the tension in the room changed, and everything fell silent.
"How did you know?" Sheng asked. Peien just rolled his eyes and walked to his table to work on another medicine.
"Come on, one is Baihua, one is Baimeng. With such a similar face, and you are not brothers? Even the blind could see the resemblance." It made sense. They really were similar. Only Liu An was after his mother and looked softer and fluffier.
"Baimeng?" "Baihua?" Both brothers said at the same time, and it made Jingting chuckle. He had no idea why they were so surprised. Was it that they didn't know?
"Do you want to tell me your real names? Or are we continuing this charade?" Jingting laughed, and both brothers' hearts skipped a beat. The normal aloof face that was always looking so cold and distant suddenly warmed up, the corners of Jingting's mouth slowly lifted before revealing white teeth and reaching his eyes, making crow's legs by his eyes.
Cheng and Sheng looked at each other. The tacit understanding they had from years spent and trained together made them know what they were thinking even without speaking.
Liu Cheng got up and greeted Jingting with a gesture and bow, it made Jingting get up quickly and reciprocate the gesture.
"My name is Liu Cheng, liu as in battle axe, cheng as in sincere. The person you saved is my brother Liu Sheng, sheng as in prosperous. Our family, Liu, has been in the army for many generations, usually guarding the imperial capital. Now, we have been stationed in the North to guard the border and the people of The Great Ming."
Once Cheng heard the name, the position, he started shivering. He couldn't manage his panicked expression and fell on his ass on the ground. Both of the people present suddenly ran to him, their hands reaching for him, worried.
"Are you okay?" The one called Sheng asked, and Jingting swallowed. He had to think of breathing, so he wouldn't die, because he certainly felt like it. But he nodded and tried to compose himself again by grinding the herb he had in the mortar. Both Cheng and Sheng looked at each other but kept being silent. Just… trying to think about what that reaction was about.
"Do you remember the Wen family?" Jingting asked his voice soft, trembling. Cheng nodded, but Sheng shook his head.
"You were too small. It happened when you were like three. I remember more. That was a family who was great heal-..." Cheng suddenly stopped and, with wide eyes, looked at Jingting. Who only nodded.
"But they had no descendants. Or so is being said…" he whispered, still his mouth open in complete shock.
"What's going on?" Sheng asked, trying to know more. He didn't like the way those two spoke, as if they had a secret he couldn't know. Or shouldn't.
"Wen family was a family of healers serving the imperial family. They were really advanced with their techniques and thinking. They saved the current emperor when he was being born, as their techniques were so good. That didn't sit well with someone, and whispered slowly poison into the emperor's ears. The entire family was killed as traitors to the throne. It was especially sad because the Countess Wen had just given birth." They both looked at Jingting. Their mouths opened, and not even breath could be heard.
"My family never hurt anyone. Yet, we were the ones hurt," he whispered. But it was as if something lifted off his chest.
"You are the last Wen of the main branch?" Jingting nodded. Somehow, he left his sanity by the door.
"My name is Wen Jingting, wen as in warm, jing as in bright, and ting as in court. I was supposed to bring warmth and clearness to this world. But my birth is smeared with blood and betrayal. My uncle from the minor branch is now the imperial doctor as a hostage, to make sure that the knowledge of the Wen family won't aid different people." Jingting let the pestle fall down. The loud noise was the only thing that could be heard in the overall silent room.