TL: Hua
They left the private room and headed straight for the lotus seed paste vendor, but their timing was unfortunate. They witnessed the last portion fall into someone else’s hands. The vendor counted a bag of copper coins earned that day, then packed up and left with satisfaction.
Pei Xiting was somewhat stunned, appearing displeased, and stood rooted to the spot.
The Crown Prince looked at him twice and said, “There are other vendors.”
Pei Xiting, from who knows where, got a temper, saying, “But others might not be as good.”
The Crown Prince didn’t dwell on it. “Then we’ll buy from one vendor after another. If there’s nothing better here, there are still places outside. In such a large Ningzhou, there are hundreds of lotus seed paste vendors.”
Pei Xiting was appeased but then started worrying again. “If we buy it all and can’t finish it, that would be too wasteful.”
“You can buy a small taste for the price of one tube; the owner wouldn’t refuse,” the Crown Prince said.
That wouldn’t waste lotus seed paste, but it would be a bit of a waste of money. Pei Xiting pretentiously said, “I don’t have that much money.”
How much could lotus seed paste cost? The Crown Prince saw through Pei Xiting’s little scheme but didn’t expose him. He unfastened the money pouch from his waist and tossed it into Pei Xiting’s arms.
Pei Xiting held the money pouch tightly with both hands and quickly followed. “What if I taste so many that I’m full and still haven’t found a better one?”
“Find that vendor from earlier and have him make you a tube,” the Crown Prince said. “Two paths, you choose.”
Pei Xiting looked at the Crown Prince’s elegant and calm profile and said, “Then shall we make a bet?”
“Hmm?”
“We’ll find six vendors. If one of them is as good as or better than that one, then I’ll consider myself lucky today. Otherwise, I’ll be unlucky,” Pei Xiting said.
“How will the two be differentiated?” the Crown Prince asked.
“If I’m lucky, then you can bask in my good fortune and also have a tube of delicious lotus seed paste. If I’m unlucky,” Pei Xiting paused, “Having you accompany me on this gamble, I’ll be content and won’t fuss over this bad luck.”
He seemed to imply something. The Crown Prince paused but didn’t think too deeply, saying, “Alright.”
So, they searched along the way. The first one was too sweet, the second too bland, the third too thin, the fourth too thick, the fifth had no ice, and the sixth was under a willow tree on the opposite bank of the crowded area, not very bustling. The vendor was an old woman who smiled kindly.
Pei Xiting took a sip and said, “Delicious.”
The Crown Prince took a tube from the old woman and tasted it. It was too sweet; by Pei Xiting’s taste, he shouldn’t have liked it.
But Pei Xiting looked relaxed, as if he genuinely found it delicious. Was he unwilling to admit his bad luck and insistent on winning this bet?
There was a group of children not far away, and Pei Xiting shouted out to them, “Hey! Want some lotus seed paste?”
The children heard him and swarmed around the generous Pei Xiting, as if he were some immortal.
“Pretty brother, can I have another tube for my grandpa?” A child carefully tugged on Pei Xiting’s sleeve, looking up as he asked.
Pei Xiting stroked his head and said, “Go on, take it.”
“Thank you, pretty brother!” The child shook his sleeve, then happily ran off with two tubes of lotus seed paste.
Pei Xiting waved his hand generously. The children were ecstatic, and the old woman closed her stall early, having reaped a harvest with a big smile on her face. He also smiled and walked along the lakeside path, even spinning around as he went.
The reddish hem of his robe swished past the Crown Prince’s eyes. His gaze shifted slightly, and he turned his head as if to avoid something, looking at the crowd on the opposite bank. “Aren’t we going to release the lanterns? We should go that way.”
“There are too many people over there. The lanterns will be crowded together and won’t float far. If there are really deities, they won’t see them. It’s better to find a quiet place and just release mine… Eh!” Before Pei Xiting finished speaking, he suddenly saw something, immediately turned his head, grabbed the Crown Prince’s wrist, and pulled him to hide behind a large tree ahead.
He didn’t know what kind of tree it was, but it was tall and sturdy, with countless small purple flowers blooming among its green leaves, covering them like a large umbrella.
The Crown Prince stood still, glanced at the tree in front of him, and then lowered his gaze to the nearby Pei Xiting, saying, “What’s wrong?”
Pei Xiting whispered, “I saw Prince Zhao and the young marquis. They’re on the other side of the bank.”
He looks like a petty thief, but the Crown Prince doesn’t understand, “Why should we hide?”
“Aren’t you traveling incognito?” Pei Xiting said, sounding as if he were looking out for the Crown Prince’s best interests. He then stealthily poked half his head out to look at the other side, and seeing the two men chatting and laughing, he couldn’t help but click his tongue.
Even though these two seemed harmonious now and even hung out together in the early and middle parts of the original novel, by the later stages, they, along with Zong An, would want to kill each other to monopolize “Pei Xiting.”
The Crown Prince saw Pei Xiting watching intently, his delicate face shifting between mockery, speechlessness, sighs, and puzzlement. His inner emotions were clearly very rich.
Were Shangguan Jie and Zhao Fan worth so much of his emotions?
The Crown Prince didn’t understand and wasn’t willing to continue hiding. He made a move to withdraw his hand, but Pei Xiting pulled him back.
Pei Xiting pulled him back instinctively and with force. Perhaps due to the confined space, the Crown Prince, constrained in his steps, stumbled and bumped into Pei Xiting. He was tall with long legs, and Pei Xiting couldn’t withstand the impact, so he faltered backward and collided with the tree trunk.
Pei Xiting let out a low groan, which, in the quiet of the night, sparked imagination. The Crown Prince suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
Coincidentally, a couple walked by hand-in-hand from behind. Due to the dim light, the Crown Prince’s arm was propped above Pei Xiting’s head, largely obscuring him. They didn’t realize the person in red was a man and naturally assumed the intimately posed figures were a couple. They chuckled and said, “The flowers are blooming, the moon is full, and the wild mandarin ducks are getting intimate by the pond.”
“Young people are so bold. There are people passing by this place.”
“What do you know? That’s what makes it exciting, like having an affair in public. Otherwise, why would there be so many men and women in the groves, using heaven and earth as their cover?”
“…Can you walk further away before talking?” Pei Xiting snapped back to his senses, rolling up his sleeves, ready to rush out. The Crown Prince raised his arm to block this “little firecracker” who was about to burst. “Aren’t you afraid Zhao Fan and Shangguan Jie will discover us?”
Pei Xiting looked up, meeting the Crown Prince’s gaze. His heart was pounding, but his face remained natural. “You’re not afraid; why should I be? Let them see me with you, so I can finally ‘borrow the tiger’s prestige’ for once.”
The Crown Prince looked into those clear, limpid eyes that were close at hand and said, “You are a fox, but I am not a tiger.”
Pei Xiting’s eyelids felt warm under his gaze, and his legs felt a bit weak. “Your son is a tiger, so you are naturally also a tiger.”
It took the Crown Prince a moment to realize he was referring to Little King. “You call Little King ‘brother,’ so if he is my son, what are you to me?”
Pei Xiting smiled. “Didn’t I already say? You are the Crown Prince, the ‘little father’ of all people, naturally a generation above me.”
The Crown Prince ignored his nonsense. The hand propped above Pei Xiting’s head pressed down slightly, as if trying to push him into the ground. Just as Pei Xiting was about to beg for mercy, he heard the Crown Prince say, “They’re coming this way.”
Pei Xiting subconsciously clutched the Crown Prince’s sleeve, displeased. “Really? Are you sure?”
The Crown Prince didn’t pull his sleeve away. “You’re that unwilling to see them? I’ve seen you drink with Zhao Fan a few times these past days.”
Pei Xiting replied without thinking, “Of course I don’t want to see them! I made plans with you today, so I don’t want others to disturb us.” The Crown Prince was stunned for a moment. Seeing Pei Xiting’s wrinkled expression, coupled with his rare, lively, and vivid tone and his rosy lips that were also cutely pursed, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but say, “I was teasing you.”
“Huh?” Pei Xiting looked at the Crown Prince suspiciously, then turned sideways and peered out from beneath the Crown Prince’s arm. Indeed, where had those two gone?
He breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s more like it. Good thing they’re sensible.”
The Crown Prince said, “If they really came over, what would you do?”
“I trust you’d have a solution,” Pei Xiting said.
The Crown Prince thought for a moment. “I don’t intend to help you find a solution.”
Pei Xiting said, “Then I’ll beg you to find a solution… Hey, are you teasing me?”
The Crown Prince didn’t continue teasing him and turned around to walk forward.
Pei Xiting wiped the sweat off his forehead, took a deep breath, and followed.
At the end of the path was a weeping willow, gracefully bent. At first glance, it looked like a young man in green robes kneeling by the pond, gazing at his reflection in the water.
Pei Xiting walked around behind the weeping willow tree, took off the lotus lantern from the handle, and gently placed it on the water surface, saying, “Your Highness, do you want to make a wish?”
The Crown Prince said, “If there were truly gods and buddhas in this world, temples would no longer receive incense from common people.”
“Because they’d long since been overrun by the rich and powerful, and common folk couldn’t set foot there? I understand, but taking everything too seriously can be boring. Do all sentient beings worship gods and Buddhas, believing in their existence in the world? Not necessarily. Some people just can’t find help from themselves or others, so they can only turn to heaven and earth, just to keep a breath of hope alive for themselves.”
Pei Xiting gently nudged the lotus lantern and whispered, “Your Highness has been placed on a cliff since birth, high in position yet solitary and cold. What you have today was fought for with your life, so naturally, Your Highness doesn’t believe in gods and buddhas. But have there truly been no times throughout these years when Your Highness hoped that gods and buddhas truly existed?”
The wind rustled through the willow leaves. Pei Xiting’s scarlet hair ribbon, nestling in his dark hair, fluttered in the breeze. The Crown Prince’s vision seemed layered with shadows, like Pei Xiting’s hair ribbon, as if dipped in pouring blood.
He closed his eyes for a moment and said, “Do you want me to say yes?”
“I hope Your Highness says yes because Your Highness is human, and humans have seven emotions and six desires, do they not?” Pei Xiting said.
The Crown Prince was noncommittal, only saying, “Even if gods and buddhas existed in the world, they would not save me.”
This seemed like an evasive answer, but it was an answer nonetheless—the Crown Prince also had moments when he wished gods and buddhas existed in the world. For someone as noble as him, there were still things he couldn’t do and people he couldn’t save, and at those times, he couldn’t get what he wished for. The Crown Prince, like his body, appeared to outsiders as perfect gold and jade, but in reality, he was riddled with cracks. Others were unaware that His Highness also had a fragile and disheveled side, and he himself refused to reveal any of it.
“Then why don’t Your Highness save yourself?” Pei Xiting asked.
“How does one save oneself?” the Crown Prince replied.
“To put it simply, it just takes one sentence: as long as Your Highness treats yourself as a human being, that is self-salvation,” Pei Xiting said. “Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire—as long as Your Highness can face your own seven emotions and six desires, that is self-salvation.”
The Crown Prince actually chuckled softly, finding Pei Xiting naive. He said, “I am the Crown Prince.”
“That’s in public. In private, Your Highness can just be yourself, be Zong…” Pei Xiting paused, realizing he couldn’t bring himself to say the Crown Prince’s name. He could only say, “Zong Fuchuan.”
The Crown Prince didn’t take the bait. Instead, he asked, “Then what is your wish?”
Pei Xiting didn’t get a direct answer, which felt like an ominous sign. His heart sank, but he pretended to be mysterious and said, “It won’t come true if I say it out loud.”
The Crown Prince recalled the wish Pei Xiting had spoken aloud that day on Chaohua Mountain. “Do you want to own mountains of gold and silver?”
Pei Xiting chuckled. “Why would I need to ask gods and buddhas for that? I already have the rose pendant and the zither you gave me, which are quite valuable. If I ever can’t make ends meet, I’ll just pawn them.”
The Crown Prince poured cold water on his idea. “I’m afraid no one would dare to take them.”
“Then I’ll rent them out, like that zither,” Pei Xiting calculated. “Lending it out for three hundred or five hundred taels at a time, there would be plenty of people lining up. Then the money would just pour in.”
The Crown Prince snorted. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“If you push me too hard, there’s nothing I wouldn’t dare to do, but I wouldn’t do that,” Pei Xiting turned to the Crown Prince, his gaze sincere. “What others give me, I naturally cherish. Your Highness, why don’t you make a wish too?”
This time, the Crown Prince didn’t refuse, only saying, “I don’t have a lantern.”
“I do, use mine,” Pei Xiting said generously, patting the spot next to him.
The Crown Prince walked over and said, “One lantern, two wishes, Pei Wenjuan, have you ever heard the saying—”
“Greed knows no bounds, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, right?” Pei Xiting interrupted, offering his insightful opinion. “It’s because two wishes are too many, so my lantern will swell up, looking bigger than other lanterns, making it easier for gods and buddhas to see.”
The Crown Prince commented, “Crooked logic.”
“Who dictates what’s proper logic and what’s crooked? I don’t care; my way is the way.” Pei Xiting reached out and tugged at the Crown Prince’s sleeve, urging him, “Hurry and make a wish; the lantern is drifting away.”
The Crown Prince sighed almost imperceptibly and actually half-crouched down. Pei Xiting had already closed his eyes, his expression serious and peaceful, looking otherworldly in the soft moonlight.
The Crown Prince didn’t know what wish the other party had made, but since he wanted it, the Crown Prince thought: Then may Pei Xiting’s wish come true.
“I’ve made my wish.” Pei Xiting opened his eyes and instantly met a pair of dark eyes. They were still deep and serene, showing no emotion, but now seemed to hold an inexplicable emotion, causing slight ripples where there was usually calm.
The Crown Prince momentarily forgot to put up his guard. When their eyes suddenly met, his eyelashes fluttered gently, but he didn’t look away, maintaining an air of nonchalance.
Pei Xiting had always been an intuitive person, and he was no different now.
A bird landed on a cliff, dislodging a small rock. Though small, the rock still made a sound when it hit the ground. This was a real reaction, something that couldn’t be concealed, wasn’t it?
Through a person’s eyes, one could glimpse their heart—like a bird soaring over clear autumn water, the Crown Prince saw ripples instantly spread in those phoenix eyes. He sensed something, abruptly looked away, and said, “Since you’re done with the wish, let’s go.”
“Your Highness.” Pei Xiting stood up and called out to him.
The Crown Prince stopped but didn’t turn around.
Pei Xiting clasped his hands behind his back, gripping them tightly, saying, “I have something to say to you.”
It was “say to you,” not “want to say to you,” so domineering, so headstrong.
The cool string of beads brushed against his wrist and fell into his hand. The Crown Prince had a guess. After a moment of silence, he said, “Some things should not be said.”
“I haven’t even spoken yet. Do you already know what I’m going to say?” Pei Xiting stared at the Crown Prince’s back, his tone mocking and provocative. “What are you afraid of?”
“Presumptuous,” the Crown Prince said.
Pei Xiting’s eyes burned, but he remained stubborn. “Do you not dare look at me?”
The Crown Prince turned to face Pei Xiting, his expression slightly clouded. But at this moment, Pei Xiting’s inner fire burned brightly, and he showed no fear. “I like you.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes widened slightly. “…Absurd.”
“I am perfectly sober.” Pei Xiting looked directly at the Crown Prince. Though his hands clasped behind his back were numb from gripping each other, his voice was steady. “I never knew if I liked men or women before, but my heart only races when I see Your Highness. I get nervous and uncomfortable only when I’m alone with Your Highness. I feel displeased when I see Your Highness asking Chunsheng to sing. I have a primal desire for Your Highness… I can’t deceive myself, and there’s no reason to. I like Your Highness, and I want to pursue Your Highness. There’s nothing shameful about that, and I want Your Highness to know.”
The “Lotus Picking Song” drifted faintly from across the lotus pond. “Today is the Lotus Picking Festival, a day for lovers to express their feelings,” Pei Xiting said. “I originally thought I wouldn’t see Your Highness today, and I was even hypnotizing myself, saying perhaps heaven itself felt the time wasn’t right and was warning me not to be impulsive.”
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then continued, “But I still meet Your Highness, so I cannot miss this opportunity.”
He should interrupt him immediately, tell him to stop and to swallow his words, the Crown Prince thought, yet he knew Pei Xiting couldn’t be easily suppressed.
Rarely had the Crown Prince found a matter so difficult to handle.
Pei Xiting pressed his lips together, then released them, asking directly, “Your Highness, are you willing to try with me?”
If you like what I’m doing, consider supporting me on ko-fi for bonus chapters!!
Awww, he confessed ~