TL: Hua
Chapter 16: Portrait – Tattoo
With a gentle breeze and a ghostly candle flame, Pei Xiting silently locked eyes with the big cat for a breath and calmly sat up. The hem of the middle garment piled above his belly slid down again, covering his waist and abdomen.
He glanced at the window that had changed from a small slit to a large slit and said, “A visitor is also a guest; please come out.”
“Third Young Master Pei, how can you be certain that a person in front of you is a guest?”
A male voice tinged with a smile came from behind the window, then a figure entered the room. He was tall and slender, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was the “servant” who talked to Pei Xiting in Mei Mansion that night.
Pei Xiting looked down at the “person” in front of him who was lying on the bed, saying, “This person looks only three months old, with smooth and clean fur. It’s obvious that he is domesticated and well-raised. There are no tigers in the mansion. It’s too coincidental that a little tiger raised by another family ran out of his territory and climbed over the wall to see me in the middle of the night.”
“This one is raised by His Highness, called ‘Little King.’ I took it out for a walk.” Yu Shaoyun touched Little King’s head, signaling it not to move, and smiled at Pei Xiting, “By the way, Third Young Master Pei, I need your help.”
Late at night, Pei Xiting was too lazy to tidy up his appearance, so he just got up from the bed in his inner clothes, “Please give His Highness’s order.”
“The portrait of the man who stole Po Yinlin.” Yu Shaoyun said, “Don’t worry, the night watchman has fallen asleep and will not disturb you.”
Little King followed Pei Xiting’s steps closely, and when Yu Shaoyun finished speaking, it nudged him with its head, as if demonstrating for its master.
Pei Xiting thought it was cute, so he walked to the desk and sat down, saying, “I dare not lie to His Highness. I did see the thief that day, but he was wearing a mask, so it’s hard to recognize him. Besides, I was panicking, and the dagger was against my life gate, so I dared not look at him for too long.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Yu Shaoyun said, “Third Young Master Pei is careful and sharp and is very good at fine brushwork. You will definitely be able to capture the charm of the characters.”
Pei Xiting wasn’t trying to be modest either. “Then I will try my best, brother; sit down for a while.”
Yu Shaoyun nodded, carried the chair to the desk, sat down face to face, and looked at Pei Xiting openly.
Pei Xiting didn’t care and casually pulled off the red and yellow painting rope on the pen holder to tie up his hair, then spread out a piece of paper and drew with a wolf-hair brush dipped in ink.
Little King circled around him and then took the initiative to inspect the bedroom. Its noble and natural demeanor was quite like that of its master.
The room was very quiet. Yu Shaoyun chatted casually, “Young Master, you ran away that day. Aren’t you afraid that the young marquis will take revenge on you?”
“I’m more afraid that he will take off my pants.” Pei Xiting didn’t even raise his head. “The situation was urgent back then, so I could only focus on the present.”
Yu Shaoyun said, “Young Marquis Shangguan has a bad temper. I’m afraid he will often cause trouble for you.”
“The brain grew the young marquis’ neck. I can’t control what he thinks. When the enemies come, I shall fight them with my troop; when the flood breaks out, I shall stop it with earth[mfn]Idiom: When encountering a problem, take appropriate measures according to the nature of the problem.[/mfn]. Besides, am I not trying hard to cling to His Highness’s thigh?” Pei Xiting raised his pen and dipped it in ink. “As long as His Highness is willing to save my life, no one in Yejing can kill me.”
Yu Shaoyun said, “Young Master… you are so honest.”
Nine and a half out of ten people kneeled in front of the Crown Prince with the intention of flattering him, but no one could be so frank and straightforward. It was really more pleasing than those who were too submissive or too flattering.
“If it wasn’t because I really had other options, I wouldn’t have dared to bother His Highness.” Pei Xiting said, “His Highness is very observant and sees through everything. How can I hide my thoughts from his aged self? It’s better to be honest with him.”
“Aged self[mfn]老人家 (literally old man in English) is a respectful title for the elderly. [/mfn]? Is His Highness very old?” Yu Shaoyun wondered, and Little King also made a dissatisfied sound on the couch not far away.
“Twenty-three, very young.” Pei Xiting smiled, “Isn’t this a sign of respect?”
After a while, he put down his brush. “I can only draw what I see; it’s not detailed enough, but it’s enough to use as a wanted order.”
Yu Shaoyun took the portrait. The person on the paper came into his sight, and his eyebrows couldn’t help but raise.
Pei Xiting felt that the masked young man was not a wicked villain and was worried that he would be killed or harmed in the hands of the East Palace, so he carefully adjusted the proportion of the portrait’s body, the shape of his eyebrows and eyes, and added a mask. If the people in the East Palace didn’t know the masked man, it should have a certain concealing effect. They met by chance, and this is the best he could do. But seeing Yu Shaoyun raise his eyebrows, as if he understood, he could not help but have a guess—Yu Shaoyun knew and recognized the person in the portrait.
Sure enough, Yu Shaoyun said, “Although there is a slight difference, it can be roughly matched.”
“…” Pei Xiting’s face was normal. “It is my honor to serve His Highness.”
Yu Shaoyun put away the painting, stood up, and said, “The painting is in hand; I will not bother you anymore; goodbye.”
Little King on the couch was playing with something. Yu Shaoyun walked over and saw that it was a longevity thread.
“Put it down quickly.” Yu Shaoyun stretched out his hand to grab it but was slapped away by a claw. He put his hand on his hip and said, “Hey! Believe it or not, I will go back and sue you, so you can say goodbye to your dinner.”
Little King knew that this man could not bear to punish it. It had already learned to be arrogant and spoiled, so it didn’t pay attention to him, buried its head, and continued to pull the longevity thread.
“It’s fine.” Pei Xiting walked over. “I made this for fun in my spare time. If he likes it, he can take it.”
Yu Shaoyun looked at Pei Xiting in surprise. “Third Young Master Pei also knows this skill?”
Pei Xiting said in wonder, “It’s not a difficult thing.”
Yu Shaoyun bent down to help Little King put on the longevity thread. Seeing that it was looking at it with its head down and seemed to like it very much, he picked it up, turned around to thank Pei Xiting, and ran away skillfully through the window.
Pei Xiting walked over and saw Yu Shaoyun climbing over the wall with the little tiger in his arms and then reached out to close the window.
The moonlight was blocked by the window, hiding the unhappiness in Pei Xiting’s eyes.
The masked young man is employed by someone, but the fat and thin duo mentioned something like “sect master,” which seemed more like they were ordered to come. The two parties came for Po Yinlin at the same time, which means that this thing is valuable and may even have other uses. Shangguan Jie asked him about the masked man today because he wanted to recover the lost item, but why did the Crown Prince personally inquire about this matter as well?
It was the Crown Prince who came to see him tonight, but he won’t be the only one who could find out that the person who was with Shangguan Jie in Fumeng Tower that day was “Pei Xiting”.
——He got involved in the trouble.
Pei Xiting lay back on the bed, rolled over, and stared at the top of the bed in a daze.
In the original novel, “Pei Xiting” failed to resist Shangguan Jie, so the masked man had no chance to steal Po Yinlin, but he remembered a plot later that Shangguan Jie lost an important item, so he angrily looked for “Pei Xiting” to vent his anger. Maybe it was Po Yinlin that was lost… It doesn’t matter whether it is or not; what matters now is that due to the change in the plot, his situation has become even more dangerous.
The guards and servants of Pei Mansion… No, he should hire some bodyguards with higher combat power.
Pei Xiting turned over, looked at the moonlight through the window, and slowly fell asleep.
*
The moonlight poured into the palace, and the Crown Prince, who had fallen asleep on the desk, opened his eyes. He walked out on the bricks with precious patterns. The jade steps outside the palace were cold and desolate. There were no guards on duty, and the shadow guards were like ghosts with no breath.
The night breeze covers the sky and earth, and the golden pomegranates by the pool are like a handful of blood mist.
“Could it be that the Fifth Prince did this?”
Someone whispered, and the Crown Prince looked over.
“Just as the Crown Prince got into trouble, the Fifth Prince returned to the capital. It’s too much of a coincidence. Could it be that the Fifth Prince was the mastermind behind this? After all, the Crown Prince is gentle and kind. He doesn’t seem like someone who would do something like poisoning his monarch father!”
“But haven’t the Fifth Prince and the Crown Prince always been friendly and respectful to each other?”
“Born in the royal family, how can there be any friendship and respect? Power reigned supreme, and even the closest relatives can be killed!”
“The Fifth Prince has been cold since he was a child. He spent less and less of his youth in the capital and said that he was traveling outside. Who knows if he’s pretending to give up just to look for an opportunity, plotting behind the scenes to wait for today—Ahhh!”
Several officials who were talking together were suddenly swallowed by blood mist. The Crown Prince’s knees were in severe pain. He was grabbed by the neck and slammed violently onto the cold hall.
“Innocence? Did he bring the sachet containing poison into the palace? The evidence is conclusive! Dare you say he’s innocent!” The voice was angry and disappointed, high and mighty. “Fifth Prince, throw away your useless emotions and softness; otherwise, you can’t hold the sharp blade of power!”
“I never thought of holding it!”
The Crown Prince heard his hoarse roar of collapse. Suddenly, the cold hand loosened and changed to gently caressing his shoulder. The voice of the other person also became kind and eerie:
“Fuchuan, you were born to sit in this position.”
The blood mist boiled and stung the Crown Prince’s eyes. He looked up at the cold and ruthless face in the blood mist, “You can cry. Your imperial brother died because of you.”
The blood mist, like a demon fire, instantly engulfed him, and the flames of evil karma burned fiercely. The Crown Prince opened his eyes with a “swish and calmly straightened up from the desk.
The candlelight was still burning. He gathered his outer robe and continued to approve the official document.
After a while, the cat walker came back. Little King got scared when it was in front of its master. In an instant, it turned from a proud little king into a weak little cat. It crept forward on the tiles with precious patterns and hid in front of the table, lying down low.
Yu Shaoyun smiled and shook his head, walked forward to open the portrait, and put it on the table upside down.
The Crown Prince took a look and said, “It is more accurate than the wanted poster in the government office.”
“Ten painters can draw ten pictures of a person, and only a few can accurately draw the shape. Third Young Master Pei can accurately capture both the charm and temperament of a person. Therefore, although the eyebrows and eyes are different, I still recognized this person at a glance.” Yu Shaoyun put away the portrait and asked, “What do you plan to do, Your Highness?”
“A pot of hot porridge placed on the street, with hungry, greedy, and nosy people. If they want a sip, let them. The more, the merrier.” The Crown Prince said, “Take this portrait and send a message to the southwest that they should discipline their own children with more diligence. If the children went astray and died young, it’s too late to weep at the grave.”
“Understood.” Yu Shaoyun agreed and paused. “Your Highness, I just accidentally discovered something about Third Pei.”
“Speak.”
“His sleeping posture is particularly strange. He sleeps like this—” Yu Shaoyun turned and ran to the low couch not far away. Then he knelt down on his side, supporting the golden silk cooler with both hands, lowered his upper body, and raised his hip high. After doing all these, he said in a muffled voice, “Like this!”
“…” The Crown Prince had indeed never seen such a strange sleeping posture. “But what does this have to do with you?”
Yu Shaoyun sat up, got off the low couch, and gestured as he walked, “The point is, when he sleeps like this, doesn’t his undershirt slide down his back? So when I first arrived outside his window, with my sharp eyes, I saw—”
He pointed to the area from his lower abdomen to his right waist and said firmly, “There is a tattoo! But because it’s far away and the sky is dark, I only caught a glimpse. I don’t know if it’s painted or tattooed.”
“Tattoo?” The Crown Prince thought, “White, clean, and translucent, it is indeed an excellent canvas.”
As the most considerate, sensible, and efficient of His Royal Highness’s guards who can definitely suppress Bai Tang, Yu Shaoyun immediately asked, “If you like it, why don’t I ask Third Young Master Pei if he is willing to let you tattoo his body?”
“Forget it.” The Crown Prince said calmly, “I like his paintings more than painting on him.”
