TL: Hua
Chapter 28: Go for a walk – Little King: I don’t understand….
Behind the gate, Yuan Fang silently stuck close to the wall, put the dagger back into his boot, and listened attentively to the movement outside the door.
You Zong exerted force on his hand, prompting the man to show a painful expression, and he let go of Pei Xiting.
As soon as he got free, Pei Xiting immediately staggered to hide behind You Zong, saying dizzily, “My lord.”
You Zong kicked the man against the wall. The man covered his chest and knelt on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“Quite brave of you to cause trouble here in broad daylight.” You Zong said, “Who are you?”
You Zong’s kick was so powerful that the man’s internal organs seemed to be displaced, and he couldn’t answer for a moment.
Pei Xiting looked at the man and said, “I have seen this person. He is Wang Yelai’s follower.”
You Zong raised his eyebrows slightly, obviously thinking of the Pixia Mountain incident.
“I have no grievances or grudges with the person surnamed Wang. We haven’t even spoken a few words. Last time he tried to kill me in Pixia Mountain, and this time he wants to kidnap me. It’s simply inexplicable and outrageous.” After saying that, Pei Xiting let go of You Zong’s sleeve, turned around and rushed into the yard to pick up the broom behind the door, and stared at Yuan Fang, who was eavesdropping silently.
Under the other party’s admiring gaze, Pei Xiting’s eyes turned red in the blink of an eye, and when he went out again, he looked aggrieved, angry, and fierce. “I must beat him up today!”
You Zong was used to seeing this kind of ruffian in those young masters, but he didn’t expect Pei Xiting to have this side… No, there’s more than one person inside.
You Zong reached out and held Pei Xiting’s majestic broom tail. Pei Xiting couldn’t move anymore, so he turned to look at him, with some grievance in his eyes that he dared not speak, “My lord, why did you stop me?”
You Zong looked at Pei Xiting, and the small, ferocious figure flashed in front of his eyes again. He was silent for a moment, suppressed the disappointment in his heart, and softened his tone: “No need to make another trip. I’ll summon Wang Yelai to Longhe Division and question him.”
What is Longhe Division and who is You Zong? Asking about this matter in person is undoubtedly an exaggeration. Pei Xiting was stunned and a little puzzled. Although his yiniang asked Aunt Leng in the palace to put in some good words for him, Lord You didn’t have to take care of him to this extent. But since You Zong said so, he was naturally happy and obediently let go of the broom.
*
The hot afternoon daylight made people not want to do anything. The East Palace was quiet, but Little King was very energetic and pestered Bai Tang to climb up the roof and peel off the tiles with it.
Yu Shaoyun came out from the corridor and was almost hit on the head by a wooden ball. He dodged quickly, then turned his head to catch the man and the beast on the roof, saying, “If I don’t beat you up for three days, you will climb up the roof and peel off the tiles, right? You scared my soul away; pay me!”
As Yu Shaoyun’s sweetheart, Little King naturally turned its head in a haughty manner and ignored him. As a man who was determined to put Yu Shaoyun under his feet, Bai Tang naturally looked at him with a haughty expression and said sarcastically, “His Highness already knows that you went to the brothel to listen to music. Just you wait; you won’t have a good outcome!”
If it weren’t for the fact that I have something to report to His Highness, you would definitely know who didn’t have a good outcome today!” Yu Shaoyun swept Bai Tang up and down and said disdainfully, “Barbarian!”
Bai Tang sneered and retorted, “Fake gentleman!”
“I don’t want to talk to you!” Yu Shaoyun sneered and walked away with his head held high.
Bai Tang rolled his eyes. Little King patted his calf, which meant “Don’t bother with that guy; I’ll take you out to play.”
Bai Tang’s mouth corners slightly raised, rubbed the little tiger’s back, and continued to play with it.
The Crown Prince held a small brush and carefully traced the note that Lu Mang had sent earlier. He was indifferent to the quarrels and fights outside, as if he was used to it and was too lazy to discipline them.
His East Palace was very quiet, and the people here seemed to be well-trained puppets who dared not make any unusual noises, except for the three outside, two of whom were always talkative and one of whom was sometimes very noisy. With their three powers combined, this place actually didn’t lack any hustle and bustle.
Yu Shaoyun walked in with light steps, approached the table, and glanced at the book that the Crown Prince was copying, thinking: Is the Crown Prince secretly learning other people’s paintings?
He secretly sighed, very moved by his prince’s eagerness to learn, and then whispered, “Wang Yelai, the son of an official from the Ministry of Justice, sent people to Lanyin Street, attempting to take Pei-wenshu away, but was stopped by Lord You. Now Wang Yelai is on his way to Longhe Division.”
Speaking of this matter, there is no need for You Zong to question it personally. His haggling over this matter was a bit surprising.
“What do you think of my copy?” asked the Crown Prince.
Yu Shaoyun looked at the two books, compared them carefully, and said truthfully, “The appearance seems to be exactly the same, but the charm… the difference is obvious.”
The Crown Prince looked calm and just threw the piece of paper he had copied into the wastepaper box. Seeing this, Yu Shaoyun was considering whether to flatter him to make up for it, but the Crown Prince had already stood up and walked out, so he swallowed his words and turned around to follow him.
After going down the white jade steps, the Crown Prince paused, tilted his head to look at the pomegranate tree, and waved his hand.
Little King, who was playing hide-and-seek with its master, immediately came out from behind the tree, ran over happily, and went out with its master with its head held high.
Bai Tang didn’t follow them but climbed up a tree and lay down, sleeping in the shade.
The road from the East Palace to the Longhe Division’s office doesn’t have any civilians. Little King sat unscrupulously on the coachman’s seat on the left, occasionally scratching Yu Shaoyun’s claw that was rubbing its head and humming with dissatisfaction.
After playing with Little King for a while, Yu Shaoyun finally couldn’t help asking, “Your Highness, what are we going to Longhe Division for?”
The Crown Prince sat upright with a book on the table and said, “Take a walk.”
Hearing this, Yu Shaoyun didn’t think much about it. After all, this road is indeed very suitable for His Highness to take a walk. It is quiet and spacious. When they arrived at Longhe Division, he could also ask about official business.
The carriage drove smoothly into Lanyin Street and stopped outside the main gate of Longhe Division.
The four Longhe guards on duty bowed and saluted, and then two of them stepped forward to harness the carriage, and the other two pushed open the main door, waiting for the Crown Prince to enter, and then closed the door again.
The Crown Prince was naturally familiar with the Longhe Division government office and didn’t need anyone to lead the way. He walked to the front hall and heard a lukewarm voice from inside before he turned the corner: “Bullshit.”
It’s Pei Xiting.
The Crown Prince stopped in his tracks. Little King, who was a few steps ahead, turned around to see its master stopped at one place, so it immediately walked back and lay down beside its master’s legs.
“This person is clearly the attendant who followed you on the day of the Qixia Banquet. When the prey was clear that day, I saw this person following you with my own eyes. It’s fine for you to say that he’s not your attendant—” Pei Xiting looked at Wang Yelai, his eyebrows slightly raised, ”But then you’ll have to explain why you brought an unidentified person up the mountain that day.”
Wang Yelai fell hard on Pixia Mountain that day. There were several blood marks on his back from the stones. At this time, he was still wrapped in a medicine cloth together with the whip wound on his shoulder, which was stuffy, itchy, and painful. He couldn’t stand straight, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard the words, but he raised his head, as if to prove that he was confident, and said angrily, “Why should I explain?”
Wang Yelai stared at Pei Xiting and said bluntly, “You said that I know this man, but it’s just one-sided. I can also say that you deliberately framed me and picked a fight with me!”
“Who said it’s one-sided?” Pei Xiting turned and raised his hands to You Zong, who was sitting on the upper seat, “Sir, my brother also saw this man that day.”
Wang Yelai said, “Pei Jintang is your second brother, so he will naturally speak on your behalf!”
Pei Xiting said in a calm voice, “I can draw a portrait of this man. Please send someone to find my brother to identify him. Just now, I followed you all the way back to the office with this criminal. I didn’t talk to anyone on the way, and naturally I didn’t contact my brother in advance. When you send someone over, you don’t have to explain the reason; just let my brother identify the person in the painting.”
“That will do,” You Zong nodded in agreement. “Paint on that table.”
Pei Xiting bowed, turned around, and walked to the clerk’s desk nearby to quickly draw a portrait. He showed it to You Zong and Wang Yelai, respectively. After confirming that it was indeed the person kneeling on the ground, he handed the painting to Longhe guard called by You Zong, and said, “Thank you for your help.”
Wang Yelai didn’t expect Pei Xiting to be able to draw so realistically. He panicked, but while he was still hesitating, the Longhe guard had already turned around and walked away quickly.
Over there, Pei Jintang was locked in the room to study. He was so sleepy that he wanted to faint, but when he heard that Long guard was coming to look for him, the dark clouds above his head suddenly dissipated. He jumped up from the chair and rushed out, running all the way to the outside of the mansion. What evil spirit? The King of Hell knocking on the door is clearly a sign of good fortune from heaven!
Two guards wearing indigo robes and carrying swords stood at the steps of the main entrance of Pei’s mansion. When they saw Pei Jintang running out, one of them shook out the portrait and asked directly, “Do you recognize this man, Second Young Master Pei?”
Pei Jintang put his hands on his waist and took a breath. He took a closer look and said, “I seem to have seen him somewhere, but I can’t remember where…”
Another person reminded him, “Qixia banquet.”
“Oh!” Pei Jintang clapped his hands and suddenly realized. He pointed to the portrait and said, “Wang Yelai, the follower of the Wang family!”
The one holding the painting asked, “Please elaborate.”
“I remembered that the people in King Ning’s mansion were clearing the prey. My brother, Fourth Young Master Zhao, and I stood together waiting for the authorities to come and ask about what happened to Fourth Young Master Zhao. While waiting, I happened to see Wang Yelai not far away. I wanted to settle accounts with him but was stopped by my brother. However, I couldn’t help staring at Wang Yelai for a long time and naturally noticed the person beside him.” Pei Jintang pointed to the portrait: “This person was dressed as a servant at the time, and he followed Wang Yelai closely.”
The man holding the painting asked, “Young Master, are you sure it’s this person?”
“Yes, it’s not that long ago; how could I have mistaken him? If you don’t believe it, you can also go to Duke Wen’s mansion and ask Fourth Young Master Zhao. He was there listening to me scolding Wang Yelai, and he might remember this person.” Pei Jintang curiously asked, “Did Wang Yelai do something wrong?”
He looked expectant, obviously hoping that Wang Yelai would be in trouble.
After putting away the painting, Longhe Guard said, “It’s not convenient to reveal the affairs of the government office. Please forgive me, Young Master.”
“It’s alright.” Pei Jintang sighed disappointedly and asked, “By the way, I wonder how my brother is doing in Longhe Division? Is he doing his job well?”
The Longhe Guard on the side said, “Pei-wenshu is very good.”
They clearly knew that there was no need for Lord You to personally inquire about this matter today. This was done to give Pei-wenshu some face, which naturally showed that Lord You had a good impression of this new clerk.
“That’s good, that’s good. My brother is weak, quiet, and dull. In the past, he liked staying in his courtyard the most, but he has become a little more lively recently. This is his first time working in the government office, so he’s inevitably unfamiliar and immature. If he does anything that is not appropriate, please teach him more. Although he’s young, he is not arrogant and will definitely study hard.” Pei Jintang took out the last of his food budget from his sleeve pocket, a silver note of 100 taels, and tried to stuff it into the guard’s hand. “You two have worked hard. Please use it to buy some wine.”
“Second Young Master Pei, you don’t have to do this.” One of Longhe guards blocked Pei Jintang’s hand and said, “If we accept this money, we will be punished with a beating and removed from the office. We can understand your worry for your brother. Pei-wenshu is very good, and Chief Lu of the clerical department is definitely not a mean boss who criticizes his subordinates for no reason. You can rest assured.”
Pei Jintang didn’t dare to force the silver bills to ruin the future of the two people after hearing this. He quickly took it back and said with a smile, “Alright then. Since the two of you are busy, I won’t see you off.”
The two of them said goodbye and turned around to get on their horses and leave.
The steward, who had been hiding behind the gate and peeping, hurried out and asked nervously, “Second Young Master, what happened?”
Pei Jintang’s eyes turned, and he said seriously, “It’s something related to the accident that happened on Pixia Mountain. I have to help Longhe Division run a trip. If my mother asks, just tell her the truth.”
The steward dared not express any dissatisfaction with the Longhe Division, so he could only say, “Then, young master, be careful and come back early.”
Pei Jintang patted the steward’s shoulder, walked out of his sight, and ran away.
Longhe guards returned to the office as quickly as possible.
Wang Yelai stood in the hall like a piece of wood, with a numb face. He suspected that You Zong was deliberately giving him a hard time; otherwise, he should at least give him a stool to sit on!
The kidnapper could no longer kneel, so he curled up on the ground, looking as if he had no desire to live.
Compared to the two of them, Pei Xiting was sleeping comfortably on the desk, just like he was in his own backyard.
You Zong was sitting in the hall, doing official business, and he treated the people below as air.
Except You Zong, no one in the room noticed that there was a man and a tiger sitting in the side corridor.
The Crown Prince leaned on the reclining chair, with tea beside him, holding a book in his hand, and occasionally rubbed the tiger’s head leaning on his legs. Little King used the tiger’s paw to pull the Crown Prince’s robe, not understanding why its master suddenly stopped walking, sat down, and read a book instead.
Yu Shaoyun lay on the tree in the yard, yawned in the warm afternoon, and was a little puzzled about the Crown Prince’s “walk.” Why did he only walk a few steps then decide to sit here to eavesdrop?
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