TSBDRA 72: He Love Him So Much Ahhhh!!

Just after Xu Xishuang was taken away by the palace maid, Yu Shudie glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then turned back to Yan Yushan and said, “General Yan, the one who just left is Consort Xi.”

“But you don’t need to worry about him leaking our conversation.” When Yu Shudie said this line, her tone was a bit stiff, and her expression looked rather odd, but she did her best to keep it together. “To tell you the truth, General Yan, Consort Xi’s real name is Xu Xishuang. He was once… my beloved wife. Last year, during a banquet, His Majesty unfortunately took a liking to him and seized him by force. I’ve been waiting for a chance to avenge the theft of my wife ever since.”

【???】

【I’m dumbfounded—Consort Xi was the Left Minister’s wife?! The emperor stole his minister’s wife? This is wild! Can they even air this?!】

【Yan Yushan: Whose beloved wife is Xu Xishuang again? Say that one more time?】

【Yan-ge: perpetually being cuckolded】

【Yan-ge’s shocked face is priceless. Yu Shudie’s expression is hilarious hahaha, I love this script! Fei Yuan, good job!】

“General, please come with me outside the palace,” Yu Shudie said to Yan Yushan. “We still need to carefully discuss our plan. There are too many people in the palace, and too many ears—it’s not a good place to talk.”

Yan Yushan’s expression was deeply conflicted. He clearly hadn’t expected Consort Xi to be the Left Minister’s wife, nor that the emperor would do something as outrageous as stealing a minister’s wife. He took a moment to process it, then gave Yu Shudie a nod and followed her out of the corridor.

【Guys, I’m seriously starting to suspect that the victim in this murder mystery is the emperor. Anyone who has played these games knows—the dead person usually has beef with everyone.】

【Yeah, I think so too. Yan Yushan would kill to protect himself, the Left Minister wants revenge for his stolen husband, and Consort Xi was forced into the palace—he’s bound to have hatred too.】

【Coming from the split-screen next door—the emperor just got into a huge fight with Princess Shen Youlian and Prince Chi Siyuan. He wants to send Shen Youlian’s daughter off for a political marriage and exile Chi Siyuan to some remote borderland. So now they both have motives too, right?】

【Another split-screen update—Imperial Physician Xiang Yao and Chief Eunuch Yan Yao have formed an alliance. Judging by their conversation, they’ve been plotting revenge for a while.】

【Yan Yao wants revenge because the emperor had her adopted eunuch son executed just for spilling tea. Xiang Yao’s motive is his father’s death—he was killed by the emperor for failing to cure his headaches.】

On the other side, Xu Xishuang had already returned to his quarters under the guidance of the palace maid. When the maid Xiaohong saw him, the anxious look on her face eased slightly. She hurriedly asked, “Your Grace, you’re finally back. Just now, Eunuch Yan sent someone to say that you’re to attend tonight’s banquet. Please change into formal dress and get yourself ready.”

“No need,” Xu Xishuang replied coldly. “I don’t want to go.”

His attitude was dismissive, not even bothering to use formal speech.

Xiaohong stomped her foot in frustration. “Your Grace!”

“Eunuch Yan said the Emperor is planning to name an empress,” Xiaohong lowered her voice, trying to persuade him. “Everyone in court will be there tonight—civil and military officials alike. But the Emperor is only bringing you. He must be planning to make you empress. You can’t let another consort steal this chance!”

“Everyone in court?” Xu Xishuang stopped in his tracks. “I’ll go.”

【Don’t tell me Consort Xi decided to attend the banquet because of the Left Minister—nooo!】

【Unbelievable—there’s someone as stunning as Xu Xishuang in the harem, and the emperor still has other concubines? And after all this time, he hasn’t made Consort Xi the empress?!】

【Xu Xishuang with long hair is gorgeous! I’ve never seen him in such a beautiful historical look before. If he wore men’s robes, he would be the image of an elegant scholar, bright as the moon—but in women’s dress? Stunning too, hehe, wifey】

【Shuangshuang my beauty, come into my arms! I’ll treat you so well, and I’ll love only you forever!】

The white cat lounging on the cabinet flicked its tail and, seeing Xu Xishuang approach, let out a few soft, spoiled meows.

As for dressing up, Xu Xishuang had only changed into a red cloak. Other than the original jade pendant at his waist, there was now a purple sachet added. It. was still very plain and understated overall.

Once he was ready, Xu Xishuang followed the palace maid Xiao Hong into the grand hall where the banquet was being held. He took a seat beside the actor playing the emperor. On one side of him sat the Eldest Princess Shen Youlian. One level below, Yu Shudie as the Left Minister and Yan Yushan as the Grand General sat on opposite sides, leaving a large open space in the center.

Behind Yu Shudie and Yan Yushan was a long row of production staff. The Imperial Physician Xiang Yao and Chief Eunuch Yan Yao were not present in the hall.

No one could tell whether it was arranged by the production team or part of the original murder mystery script, but staff members dressed as palace maids entered in order, each carrying wooden trays with that evening’s dinner. They set them in front of the guests’ low tables.

Once the food was laid out, the maids withdrew. Then a group of dancers in gauzy costumes entered the hall. As music played, they began to perform, providing entertainment for the assembled “civil and military officials” attending the banquet.

【The dancers are actually really graceful, but that big black speaker playing the music is a bit immersion-breaking】

【Forget the speaker—if you look closely, two bottles of mineral water are sitting next to that third-row court official】

【How much did Nongspring pay for this ad? I’m a Yiwater girl and I object!】

【LMAO you guys are unhinged—it’s just a murder mystery game】

【Guys, are we just going to ignore the fact that Yan Yushan keeps staring at Xu Xishuang? Is that written in the script, or did he just break character and can’t stop staring at his wife?】

【Honestly, I suspect Yan-ge couldn’t help himself. I mean, look at how gorgeous his wife is and considering he’s been cheated on twice in this script, watching him eye his wife nervously makes total sense】

【Aww don’t be sad, Yan-ge—Shuangshuang is yours. No one can take him from you~】

Just as the comment feed was still full of laughter and teasing, Yan Yushan suddenly stood up from his chair. He raised the wine cup in his hand high and offered a toast to the emperor seated at the highest position.

Whatever lines he spoke, no one paid attention because all eyes were on the jade pendant hanging from Yan Yushan’s waist.

At that moment, Xu Xishuang’s expression shifted to one of visible shock. He nearly rose from his seat and lunged toward Yan Yushan, but the emperor’s laughter snapped him back to reality just in time.

Xu Xishuang restrained himself, pulling his gaze away, as if deep in thought. Meanwhile, the comment feed on screen exploded.

【WTF, is the jade pendant on Yan-ge’s waist the same as Xu Xishuang’s? Is it??】

【??? I’m so confused—who exactly got cheated on here?! Is this script too dramatic or is it just me?!】

【I knew there was something between Xu Xishuang and Yan-ge! I believe in their love! They’re the true couple!】

【Please, I’m begging for this plot to move faster—I haven’t seen Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan be sweet together in like four or five hours. I’m suffering here】

The sudden burst of melodrama got everyone hyped—countless viewers started coming up with their own theories and plotlines, and for a while the comment feed was flooded with full-on fanfics. Many people let their imaginations run wild, even adding supernatural twists to the story.

Midway through the banquet, Shen Youlian suddenly stood up and excused herself, claiming she couldn’t hold her liquor. Seeing this, Xu Xishuang also bowed out and followed her out of the hall.

Viewers assumed they, like Xiang Yao and Yan Yao, were going offline for a while. The camera cut again—this time, it stayed on Xu Xishuang and Shen Youlian.

“It’s been a long time since you last visited the palace, jie,” Xu Xishuang said with concern. As he spoke, he unfastened the purple sachet from his waist and handed it to Shen Youlian. “You mentioned having headaches before, and the symptoms sounded very similar to His Majesty’s. I got this sachet from Physician Xiang.”

“Physician Xiang said that whenever the emperor smells the scent of this sachet, it eases his headache. You should try it too—maybe it’ll help,” Xu Xishuang added.

Shen Youlian took the purple sachet from Xu Xishuang and tied it around her waist. She gave him a gentle smile and said, “Thank you, meimei.”

【? That way they’re calling each other—wait, are Consort Xi and the Eldest Princess actually sisters? No way, right? Does the emperor know?!】

【Oh my god, this script just keeps getting more and more intense… can they even air this?!】

【Guys, keep your eyes on the clues—this sachet came from the Imperial Physician, and it’s said to relieve the emperor’s headaches】

【The banquet just ended and the camera cut out—wait, is today’s livestream already over?!】

Not long after that last comment popped up, the split screen showing Xu Xishuang and Shen Youlian went black. The day’s livestream had officially ended.

Fei Yuan had the staff notify the cast that filming was wrapped for the day. As professionals, they all slipped out of character quickly. Shen Youlian immediately pulled the hairpins from her head, letting out a sigh of relief as her scalp relaxed. “Xiao Xu, oh my god—you have no idea how dramatic my script was. I’ve never filmed something like this before.”

“Mine was super dramatic too,” Xu Xishuang said with a helpless expression.

Shen Youlian chuckled but didn’t press him for details—knowing that not spoiling the plot made the game more fun. She looked at Xu Xishuang’s face and complimented him, “Shuangshuang, you looked amazing in costume. Have you thought about doing more historical dramas in the future?”

“We’ll see,” Xu Xishuang replied with a faint smile.

After getting word from Fei Yuan, staff members came over to inform Xu Xishuang and Shen Youlian that tonight, the guests would also have a chance to enjoy the large public hot spring in the ancient town. However, it wouldn’t be a private session—it would be a shared pool, with three to five people soaking together.

Shen Youlian nodded and cheerfully headed off to change, joining Yan Yao and Yu Shudie to get ready for the hot spring. On the men’s side, though, since three of the four male guests were gay—and all had boyfriends—it wasn’t convenient for them to bathe with other men. As a result, Xiang Yao, being the one straight man in the group, got the hot spring all to himself.

Xu Xishuang returned to Consort Xi’s palace chamber. This murder mystery game really didn’t skimp on its immersive experience. The guests even had to sleep in the places assigned to their in-game characters.

Thankfully, the room had floor heating. Xu Xishuang took off his cloak and changed out of the skirted costume without feeling cold. Behind the folding screen was a modern washroom. He wiped off his red lipstick, washed his face, and had just sat back down on the bed and picked up his phone—intending to message Yan Yushan and tell him not to come over tonight—when he heard a knock at the wooden door.

He got up to open it and saw Chi Siyuan bundled up in a puffy down jacket. The moment he saw Xu Xishuang, he tilted his head back and flashed a goofy grin.

Xu Xishuang suddenly remembered what Song Yao had once said—that Chi Siyuan had an imprinting complex when it came to him. He paused, then opened the door and let him in.

Once inside, Chi Siyuan took off his jacket, revealing soft, fuzzy pajamas underneath. He walked over to the table out of habit and sat down, just like he used to do back on the set of Bitter Summer when he’d visit Xu Xishuang in the evenings to rehearse lines. Now he sat there neatly, those round eyes fixed on Xu Xishuang, clearly with something to say.

There was an electric kettle in the room, so Xu Xishuang poured a cup of hot water and slid it in front of Chi Siyuan. “What is it? Did you want to talk about something?”

“Senior,” Chi Siyuan gathered his courage, “Director Yan—I mean, Yan Yushan… does he treat you well?”

Xu Xishuang blinked. “He’s very good to me. Why?”

“No reason, just asking,” Chi Siyuan rubbed his face a little awkwardly. “Back when I was filming in isolation, I heard quite a few things about Yan Yushan. People said he has a bad temper, and that he used to do boxing. I heard he once broke someone’s arm for causing trouble on set, so I just… got a little worried you might be getting bullied by him…”

Xu Xishuang gave a small smile. “No, don’t worry. Yan Yushan’s temper is actually pretty good.”

Chi Siyuan rubbed his face again. “Oh.”

He went quiet for a while, then suddenly clenched his fists, eyes serious, voice loud as he looked directly at Xu Xishuang and said, “Senior, to me, you’ve always felt like an older brother. I really want you to be happy!”

“If you’re ever wronged, or if Yan Yushan bullies you,” Chi Siyuan declared, “then you can come to me. I’ll fight—I mean, I’ll stand up for you!”

Xu Xishuang froze for a few seconds.

Chi Siyuan’s blunt, heartfelt words made something warm bloom in Xu Xishuang’s chest, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, I got it. Thank you.”

When Xu Xishuang smiled, it was like the first thaw of early spring—soft and warm, melting away the cold. Chi Siyuan stared for a second, completely dazed, then snapped back to his senses, suddenly flustered. He jumped up, hurriedly pulled on his down jacket, and blurted out, “Senior, I’m going back to rest now!” before rushing out the door.

Xu Xishuang watched him go, then gently closed the door, returned to his bed, and sent a message to Yan Yushan telling him not to come over tonight. Once he got a reply, he turned off his phone, slipped into the warm blankets in a good mood, and closed his eyes.

On the other side, Yan Yushan had almost reached Xu Xishuang’s door when he received the message. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he ran into Chi Siyuan sprinting out of the room.

One look at Chi Siyuan’s expression told Yan Yushan exactly where he’d been. His brow lifted slightly.

Chi Siyuan saw him too. Remembering how Yan Yushan had warned him earlier not to cling to Xu Xishuang, he instinctively lowered his head, a little guilty—but then recalled that he was practically Xu Xishuang’s “family,” and looked back at Yan Yushan with renewed confidence.

As Chi Siyuan racked his brain for something clever and intimidating to say to shake Yan Yushan up a bit, Yan Yushan suddenly turned and walked off without a word.

Chi Siyuan: …

Chi Siyuan glared hatefully at Yan Yushan’s back as he walked away, pouted, then pulled out his phone to complain to Song Yao. After that, he opened the second episode of A Travel on a Whim—which he hadn’t had time to watch yet.

And then he got hooked.

He stayed up all night.

The next morning, Chi Siyuan stepped out wearing his prince costume. Viewers quickly noticed that his eyes looked a little red, and his eyelids were slightly puffy. The comment feed was full of concern, asking what had happened to him.

Only Chi Siyuan knew the truth. He had been up all night, too overwhelmed by the sweetness in the previous episode of A Travel on a Whim to sleep. After watching it, he couldn’t resist looking up compilation videos of all the sweet moments between Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang. He ended up falling down a rabbit hole with the CP fans, discovering little details he’d never noticed before. He found himself thinking the same thing they all did—

He loves him so much ahhh!!

Blushing and heart pounding from all the sweetness, Chi Siyuan rolled over, squirming nonstop under the covers. He secretly switched to his alt account, opened Weibo, and tapped into the Yan Yushan × Xu Xishuang CP supertopic. There, he accidentally clicked on one of the fandom’s legendary heartbreak fics—one of the most infamous BE angst masterpieces—and ended up crying for most of the night. His eyes were so puffy by morning that not even Song Yao could manage to comfort him.

As always, the one to wake up the guests the next morning was Fei Yuan but this time, he was dressed all in black, looking like an assassin.

When Yan Yao asked him what he was supposed to be, Fei Yuan puffed out his chest and introduced his new identity. “Assassin? No, I’m the head of the imperial secret guards! Something major happened in the palace last night, and I can’t reveal it until everyone is gathered. From this moment on, you’ll all be following my lead.”

【Got it, he’s playing the murder mystery game host now】

【Okay, everyone’s here—hurry up and tell us who died last night! Time for the finger-pointing round!】

【Why is Chi Siyuan staring at Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan like that? And sniffling too? He looks like he’s about to cry】

【Hmm… not gonna lie, Chi Siyuan’s whole vibe is exactly how I looked after reading that angsty YanXu fic, and then trying to watch the real couple afterward】

“Alright, everyone’s here,” Fei Yuan cleared his throat. “I, the head of the Imperial Secret Guard, am now going to inform you all—last night, after the banquet ended, the emperor was murdered in his study!”

He lifted a dramatic finger and pointed around in a slow circle at all the guests standing in front of him, lowering his voice to sound ominous. “The killer is among you! I need your full cooperation to find the one who dared to commit such a bold and treasonous act!”

“Now then, let’s begin the first phase. Tell us—what were you all doing after the banquet ended last night? Did anyone have contact with the emperor?”

Yan Yushan looked at him. “You said you’re the head of the secret guards?”

Fei Yuan nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Then if I remember correctly, the secret guards are responsible for protecting the emperor’s safety.” Yan Yushan raised an eyebrow. “The emperor died last night and that’s a serious dereliction of duty on your part. Shouldn’t you be taking responsibility and ending your own life before coming here to accuse us and give orders?”

Fei Yuan: ……

【Hahahaha this whole scene just collapsed】

【But honestly, Yan Yushan has a point. Wasn’t Fei Yuan, as the head of the secret guards, supposed to be protecting the emperor all night? The emperor got killed on his watch—that’s on him】

【Welp, the host is dead. This murder mystery can’t go on. Pack it up, everyone, show’s over lmaoo】

“I’m a special type of secret guard,” Fei Yuan quickly tried to recover. “I wasn’t on duty last night, so this wasn’t my failure. Besides, this was a rule left by the late emperor—if the current emperor dies under suspicious circumstances, it’s the secret guards who must investigate. That puts me above all of you right now. You have to follow my lead.”

Fei Yuan added, “And I’ve got records of everyone who entered and exited the emperor’s study last night, including how long each person stayed. So if the killer tries to lie about that, they’ll get caught.”

“Alright, let’s head to the emperor’s study and sit down. Everyone, get ready to explain what you were doing after the banquet ended.”

On the way to the study, Xu Xishuang asked Fei Yuan, “Can we look at the emperor’s body first?”

“Nope,” Fei Yuan replied. “Examining the body and searching each other’s rooms for clues is part of the next phase.”

After thinking for a moment, he added a few more rules. “You’ll each get two rounds to search for evidence. In the end, everyone will vote on who they think the killer is. If you guess correctly, the killer will be executed and everyone wins. But if you guess wrong, the killer escapes and no one will ever know the truth.”

【But just so you know—after the murder mystery ends, the host will reveal who the killer was. If the killer escapes, that’s a real flex】

【For those who haven’t played murder mystery games before: among all the suspects, only the killer is allowed to lie. Everyone else has to tell the truth】

【If a suspect isn’t the killer but the evidence isn’t solid, they’re allowed to stay silent and that doesn’t count as lying】

【Ahhh I’m so excited! Let’s start the investigation already! I’m putting in an early blind guess: Yan Yao. She’s the Chief Eunuch and the one closest to the emperor—easiest to make a move】

【I think the killer might be Yan Yushan. Based on motive, his situation is the most urgent. After the banquet, he was supposed to leave the palace today. If nothing changed, he’d never be allowed back in, and the emperor was going to have him executed!】

Amid the flurry of excited comments, the seven guests had already arrived at the study and taken their seats in the chairs set up in advance.

Behind a folding screen lay the emperor’s “body.” Yu Shudie was visibly nervous, gripping Yan Yao’s arm tightly. Yan Yao patted her to reassure her, but her gaze kept drifting over to Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan.

She suddenly remembered a legendary angst fic from the YanXu CP supertopic—one of the fandom’s most iconic BE stories. In that fic, Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan had exactly the same roles as they did in this murder mystery.

In the fic, Xu Xishuang was forced into the palace and never loved the emperor. At a banquet, he caught sight of the Grand General Yan Yushan’s striking presence and was instantly captivated. After that, every time Yan Yushan entered the palace, Xu Xishuang would find ways to meet with him, and the two gradually fell in love.

Later, Xu Xishuang adopted the child of a palace maid who had gotten pregnant by accident. He tricked the emperor into thinking the child was his own son and begged him to appoint Yan Yushan as the prince’s tutor. On the surface, Yan Yushan was there to train the young prince in martial arts, but in truth, it was an excuse for him and Xu Xishuang to spend time together.

But their relationship was eventually discovered by the emperor. Yan Yushan was sent off to the front lines under imperial orders and died in battle. The emperor deliberately delivered the news of his death to Xu Xishuang in the inner palace, then forbade him from taking his own life, forcing him to live day after day in grief and longing until he finally fell ill and died.

What hit Yan Yao the hardest was a subtle line the author had included: Xu Xishuang had actually been pregnant with Yan Yushan’s child. But after hearing of Yan Yushan’s death, and under the emperor’s torment, the unborn baby quietly slipped away.

For a long time after reading that fic, Yan Yao found it hard to even look at Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang without tearing up. Just seeing the two of them made her want to cry.

Yan Yao had just finished reminiscing when she turned her head—and spotted Chi Siyuan quietly wiping away tears. He had his back half-turned, trying to be subtle, dabbing at his eyes while glancing repeatedly toward Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang. His lips moved ever so slightly, mouthing words that, from the shape of them, looked suspiciously like…

“You two better be happy… stay together forever…”

Yan Yao: …? What’s going on with him?

【What’s up with Chi Siyuan today? He seems kinda off. His eyes are all red—he looks like a sad little puppy. My mama-fan instincts are kicking in】

【Hehe Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan are sitting together again】

【Here we go, here we go—Shen Youlian is the first to speak】

Shen Youlian touched her earring and said, “Last night, I left the banquet early and spoke with Consort Xi in the garden for a bit. After that, I went to the study to speak with His Majesty. It was around the second quarter of the xu hour. I only stayed there for about fifteen minutes before leaving. I don’t know anything about what happened after that.”