SWHCBB 49

Chapter 49: I Can See!

After the two had fooled around for a bit, Jiang Chuang finally fell into a deep sleep with Wen Jue in his arms. Once his breathing steadied, Wen Jue moved slightly, gently lifting his hand to trace strokes on Jiang Chuang’s arm, writing out a single character. Jiang Chuang didn’t notice, only shifted slightly from the ticklish feeling.

Wen Jue didn’t dare move too much. He waited until Jiang Chuang was deeply asleep again, then tried to resume writing the character he hadn’t finished. But he didn’t remember where the strokes had stopped, so he started over.

Over and over, until it was finally perfect. One complete character:

Love.

In the quiet of the night, Zhiyu traced out his hidden feelings where only he could know. Even so, he still shyly buried his face against Jiang Chuang’s chest, and slowly fell asleep.

___

At dawn, Jiang Chuang opened his eyes. Time for court again. He carefully disentangled their intertwined hair, then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Zhiyu’s forehead.

That kiss woke him.

“Such a light sleeper?” Jiang Chuang chuckled at his drowsy expression. He kissed him again and coaxed, “Sleep a bit more. I’m off to court. Don’t worry, Changning’s right outside. If you tug the wind chime, he’ll come in right away. Be good and rest until I get back, alright?”

Wen Jue didn’t say anything, just stared at him, dazed. It was a rare expression. Jiang Chuang assumed he was still groggy from sleep and smiled. “So silly.”

After putting on his court robes, he turned to look at Wen Jue again and saw that he was still facing him. He frowned slightly and walked over. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

He reached out and touched his forehead.

Wen Jue shook his head, then caught Jiang Chuang’s hand and gently nuzzled the back of it with his cheek.

Jiang Chuang laughed helplessly. Hooking a finger under his chin, he teased, “Trying to seduce me right after waking up? Just wait, once you’re better, I’m going to absolutely wreck you!”

Wen Jue smiled faintly, his eyes shimmering like they held water, glistening with light.

“Are you really not feeling unwell?” Jiang Chuang asked.

He shook his head, then closed his eyes, clearly intending to go back to sleep.

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave you to it.” Jiang Chuang smoothed his hair and finally left.

What he didn’t know was that after he turned around and walked away, Zhiyu quietly opened his eyes and stared at his back. A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye, down past his temple, vanishing into his hair.

I can see!

Today was undeniably a day of incredible fortune. And the very first person he saw was Yunchuan!

When he opened his eyes, he saw a human-shaped blur before him, as if obscured by thick mist. He couldn’t make out the details, but he heard Jiang Chuang’s voice.

That blurry figure was Yunchuan!

Wen Jue stared in disbelief for a long time. Everything around him felt strange, shrouded in layers of fog. He couldn’t even see his own hands clearly, just vague blocks of color. But that alone filled him with overwhelming joy. He cried from happiness.

Though he had been able to faintly sense light before, it was minimal. His world had mostly been shrouded in darkness.

Even when Bai Yuan spoke confidently of healing his eyes, Wen Jue hadn’t dared to fully believe him, he feared that too much hope would bring even greater disappointment.

But now, suddenly, his world wasn’t just darkness. Shapes and colors had returned.

Everything felt familiar, and yet so strange.

He stared at Yunchuan’s back. As Jiang Chuang walked farther away, his figure became more defined in Zhiyu’s eyes.

So this… was Yunchuan. His Yunchuan!

Earlier, he couldn’t help but nuzzle his hand, wanting to share this joy immediately. But knowing he had to go to court, he held back, waiting to surprise him later.

Now that he truly realized his sight had returned, a thousand things rushed into his mind.

There weren’t many people he wanted to see, but he wanted to remember every one of their faces: his sister, Yunchuan, Changning, Divine Physician Bai…

He wanted to see what he looked like. To see Yunchuan in armor. To see his sister in imperial robes. He wanted to read and write. To see the sunset over Xiang Lake. To ride a horse and roam freely again.

There was still so much of life he hadn’t done, so much he still wanted to do. And with Yunchuan by his side, traveling the world… Wen Jue was suddenly filled with hope for the future.

After Jiang Chuang left, he slowly got out of bed, trying to dress and comb his hair using his just-recovering vision.

But everything was still a blur. Even up close, he couldn’t see clearly. He still had to rely mostly on his hands to distinguish things.

While groping along the bedhead, he touched something hard. As he tugged on it, a bamboo chime clattered softly. He looked down and saw a pale shape in his hand, his heart lifted with joy. “So it was this.”

He looked up and vaguely made out a bit of green. In his memory, which held so little color, this must be green.

Something nearby seemed to flash. Wen Jue leaned forward to look, but sudden pain pierced his eyes.

He clutched his face and sat back on the bed, his eyes, eye sockets, forehead, and even the back of his skull throbbing with pain…

He slumped there, still holding the wind chime tassel. It rattled softly against the bamboo tiles.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Changning rushed in. “Your Highness, you’re awake?”

As soon as he entered, he saw Wen Jue clutching his head in pain, his expression twisted.

Changning panicked, eyes wide as he knelt in front of him. “Your Highness, are you alright? Should I call the Divine Physician?”

Wen Jue waved him off and forced out a raspy whisper: “I’m… fine!”

“Don’t force yourself!” Changning saw him lower his hands. There didn’t seem to be serious injury, only reddened eyes. “Do you want to wash up? Or sleep a bit more?”

But Zhiyu just stared at him blankly.

Changning tilted his head, confused, and asked again.

Wen Jue looked at the figure in front of him, clearly much shorter and slimmer than Yunchuan’s. So this… this was Changning’s build.

He had protected Wen Jue for so many years. He must’ve suffered a lot.

Wen Jue gripped his hand, wanting to say something. But his throat still hurt too much. So instead, he patted Changning’s hand and got up.

After rinsing and washing his face, Wen Jue sat at the dressing table, poking and touching things curiously. He stared at the vaguely yellowish blur in front of him, probably the bronze mirror.

He couldn’t see his reflection, nor did he know what he looked like.

Changning watched and smiled. “What’s gotten into Your Highness today? You seem so dazed, like an innocent little child.”

Embarrassed, Wen Jue immediately stopped fidgeting and forced himself to act normal. He smiled. “Do I?”

Changning nodded and deftly tied his hair. “Of course! But it’s good to see you lively. Do you want to visit the library today? I heard a famous storyteller will be there these next few days!”

“You’re better than any storyteller,” Wen Jue teased. Changning often read to him, awkwardly, but Wen Jue never minded.

Changning raised an eyebrow. “With praise like that, I suddenly feel like learning 100 more characters today!”