TL: Hua
Chapter 48: Back Mountain – Xiao Pei Causes Two Troubles in One Day
It was said that the Longhe Division is the vassal of the East Palace and its members are the disciples of the crown prince. Yet, in the vast imperial court, Pei Xiting was the first to dare call the Crown Prince “teacher.” This is different from calling him a teacher when learning the zither.
The Crown Prince watched Pei Xiting, with his soft and compliant expression, brazenly utter the presumptuous address, but did not correct him. He merely said, “You are very clever; I cannot teach you.”
“I am not clever enough, so I made a mistake. But I’m not so foolish as to not dare brazenly ask ‘Teacher’ to teach me again.” Pei Xiting spoke sweetly, deliberately accompanying it with a fawning smile. Yet, he was born without knowing the meaning of this word, so his smile missed its mark, leaving only a face like a blooming flower.
Feigning innocence. The Crown Prince used this term to describe him. Pei Xiting accepted it, sincerely promising, “I will not make similar mistakes in the future.”
The Crown Prince remained noncommittal, saying, “Are you still learning the zither?”
“Yes, I am,” Pei Xiting smoothly transitioned to the abrupt change of topic.
The matter had been turned over, and as his heart settled, his tail proudly poked out. He added, “Recently, I have already memorized ‘The Song of the Yue Boatman’ by heart.”
But as his words fell, he suddenly recalled the hundred times the Crown Prince had previously punished him to copy “The Song of the Yue Boatman.” The Crown Prince indeed showed a half-smile. “So you still remember ‘The Song of the Yue Boatman’?”
Pei Xiting said guiltily, “I have finished copying it; it’s just that I haven’t seen you for a while, so I haven’t given it to you for inspection.”
The Crown Prince glanced at him and said, “Let’s go.”
Pei Xiting let out an “Ah.” The Crown Prince had already brushed past him, walking ahead. He could only follow, asking, “Where are we going?”
The Crown Prince said, “I am going to Lan Yin Street. Are you not going to take this opportunity to give me what you copied?”
Pei Xiting hadn’t copied anything at all. He struggled to say, “How dare I let you personally retrieve it? I will send it to you tomorrow.”
The Crown Prince said, “No matter, it’s on the way.”
“But—”
The Crown Prince interrupted, “Could it be that you haven’t copied it at all, planning to deceive me first and then finish it tonight?”
Isn’t that right? Pei Xiting sighed and said vaguely, “Your Highness truly has keen insight.”
The Crown Prince said nothing, walking quietly forward. Pei Xiting followed behind him, his gaze occasionally falling on his back, then, thinking himself quiet and light, shifting it away, repeatedly, until they exited the palace gate.
Yu Shaoyun was leaning against the carriage and was taken aback when he saw Pei Xiting coming out with the Crown Prince. He quickly stepped forward and said, “Your Highness.”
“Bring out the box on the small table,” the Crown Prince said.
Yu Shaoyun replied with an “En,” turned, and reached into the carriage to retrieve the item and present it to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince handed it over to Pei Xiting, saying, “I promise to give you this.”
The box contained zither strings, pure white in color and evenly thick. Pei Xiting touched them; they were much better than the ones he bought himself.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” he said, “I will practice diligently.”
“If you don’t understand anything, you can ask me when we meet another day,” the Crown Prince said. “Get in the carriage; I’ll give you a ride back since it’s on the way.”
Pei Xiting did not refuse and boarded the carriage.
Yu Shaoyun drove away. The Crown Prince said, “Did Empress mother tell you about my affairs?”
“Yes,” Pei Xiting replied truthfully, “The empress suspected that you like men.”
Crown Prince: “…”
Pei Xiting said, “I told Her Majesty that you probably like women but just haven’t met a suitable one yet. But Her Majesty isn’t particularly concerned about that; she just hopes you can find a confidant.”
The Crown Prince had never said he liked women, but when it came to matters of love and romance, it was not appropriate for him to discuss too much or too seriously with Pei Xiting, so he merely hummed in acknowledgment.
He really does like women. Pei Xiting pursed his lips, his fingertips picking at the wooden box.
“After I left, did the Empress mother still mention anything about arranged marriages?” the Crown Prince asked.
Pei Xiting shook his head, saying, “Her Majesty is exceptionally open-minded; she has no intention of randomly matchmaking.”
“She spends all day worrying about these things, either worrying about me or worrying about her nephews and nieces. You don’t need to take it to heart. As for the Qu family, she will explain it to them herself,” the Crown Prince said lightly.
Pei Xiting hummed and said, “Her Majesty asked me to visit the palace more often to talk with her in the future.”
“That means she likes you very much,” the Crown Prince said. “She has a straightforward personality. You only need to be yourself when interacting with her; there’s no need to be nervous.”
Pei Xiting, however, was self-aware: “If I’m being myself, won’t I be too presumptuous?”
The Crown Prince said, “Then you should still restrain yourself a bit.”
Pei Xiting smiled and said, “Oh, by the way, Your Highness, how is Little King doing?”
“He’s gone to Bao Ci Zen Temple to run around. If you want to find it, we can go together,” the Crown Prince said.
“Oh, so you’re going to Bao Ci Zen Temple?” Pei Xiting nodded, “Then could you take me along? I have nothing to do anyway; I’ll just go sightseeing outside the city.”
Yu Shaoyun, listening from outside, did not stop the carriage when they passed Lan Yin Street, heading directly east of the city.
After exiting the city gate, the surroundings quieted down. The Crown Prince said, “Show me your practice results during this time.”
“What a random inspection.” Pei Xiting mumbled, reluctantly walking to the zither table and sitting down to play a verse of “The Song of the Yue Boatman.”
The Crown Prince said nothing until he finished playing, then remarked indifferently, “With your talent, even after ten or twenty years of practice, you may not be able to play ‘Clear Dew on the Lotus Pond’.”
“How can you be so discouraging?” Pei Xiting unhappily poked his Xiting Wenshui and said, “Lord You heard me practice the zither a few days ago and said it was quite good.”
The Crown Prince said, “You are my student; could he say you were not ‘good’?”
“So it was because of social etiquette?” Pei Xiting’s voice rose at the end, sounding somewhat disbelieving. Then he continued to himself, “I don’t care; I think I’ve made significant progress.”
The Crown Prince shook his head slightly, saying nothing more.
Pei Xiting put the zither back in its original place and carefully covered it with brocade cloth. The carriage smoothly traveled on the official road until they reached the gate of Bao Hui Zen Temple.
Yu Shaoyun pushed open the carriage door. Pei Xiting glanced at the Crown Prince and got off first. Before his eyes was a beautiful green mountain, with a winding stone path leading upwards.
Yu Shaoyun said from the side, “This is the path to the back mountain; it’s quieter.”
It was Pei Xiting’s first time here. He nodded at the remark and followed the Crown Prince up the mountain. Along the way, obscured by vegetation, they indeed didn’t encounter anyone.
Clusters of flowers spread on both sides of the road, some wild, some cultivated. Pei Xiting asked about the beautiful but unrecognizable ones, and the Crown Prince answered each question like an encyclopedia.
“Your Highness’s ‘Compendium of Flowers’ truly wasn’t collected in vain.”
Compared to his previous voice, the little sparrow’s compliment sounded distant now. The Crown Prince stopped and turned around to see Pei Xiting standing at the bottom of a three-story stone staircase, drawing with a small notebook and pen he carried with him. Beside him was a cluster of wild chrysanthemums growing from the mountain wall.
Pei Xiting hadn’t realized he had stopped. After diligently recording his material, he naturally stepped forward and said, “Why aren’t you moving?”
The Crown Prince withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked upwards, saying, “If I didn’t stop, by now you and I would be separated by a hundred and eight thousand li [mfn]One li is equivalent to 7.92 inches or 20.1168 cm.[/mfn].”
This was clearly an exaggeration. Pei Xiting chuckled, “If you have something urgent, you don’t have to wait for me. I won’t get lost.”
“Nothing urgent, just going up the mountain to burn an incense stick,” the Crown Prince said. Pei Xiting didn’t ask who the Crown Prince, who didn’t believe in gods or Buddhas, was burning incense for. After going up the mountain, he faintly heard the orderly chanting of sutras and couldn’t help but look over.
“Today is the Ghost Festival, and the front mountain is holding an Ullambana Festival[mfn]Ullambana Festival or Obon Festival, is a traditional Buddhist holiday celebrated in many parts of East Asia, particularly in Japan, China, and other regions influenced by Chinese culture.[/mfn],” the Crown Prince said. “If you want to go, you can take this small path right in front of you.”
Pei Xiting said, “I want to play with Little King.”
The Crown Prince raised his finger and pointed to the small path on the left, saying, “Go ahead.”
Pei Xiting bowed, turned, and walked into the small path. The half-drooping branches at the bend swayed, and he disappeared from sight.
Yu Shaoyun appeared out of nowhere, curiously glanced in the direction Pei Xiting had left, and then followed the Crown Prince.
On the way, he said, “Your Highness, why do you think Pei-wenshu and Miss Qu Zhen are not suitable?”
This was all from before. The Crown Prince said, “You are really concerned about Pei Xiting’s marriage.”
Yu Shaoyun naturally didn’t dare to ask a few days ago. He only dared to after His Highness and Pei-wenshu were walking together again. “Do you really think they are not suitable?”
The Crown Prince retorted, “Do you think they are suitable?”
Yu Shaoyun dared not answer this. He said, “Your Highness has precise judgment. If you say they are not suitable, then naturally they are not. Your humble servant is just curious, what kind of girl do you think would be suitable for Pei-wenshu?”
The Crown Prince had not considered this question and could not come up with a definite answer at this moment. He said, “Qu Zhen is cherished and pampered; she naturally needs a good husband who truly cares for her. Pei Xiting has no feelings for her, so he is naturally unsuitable.”
“But Pei-wenshu doesn’t know Miss Qu Zhen, let alone spend time with her. Even if he has no feelings for Miss Qu Zhen today, he might tomorrow,” Yu Shaoyun said playfully. “Does Your Highness’s current certainty that they are unsuitable mean you’re not giving Pei-wenshu any chance at all?”
As they approached the Hall of Longevity, the chanting grew increasingly faint. The Crown Prince said lightly, “Pei Xiting has someone he likes. Even if a young man’s affection is like morning dew, fleeting, it’s not appropriate for him to discuss marriage with Qu Zhen at this time.”
“Pei Xiting has someone he likes”—Yu Shaoyun grasped the key point.
Although Yu Shaoyun was a bachelor, he often visited brothels to listen to music. He hadn’t eaten pork but had seen pigs run; he hadn’t experienced romance but possessed some knowledge of such matters. At this moment, he finally had an epiphany.
“On the Lotus Picking Festival, did Pei-wenshu reveal his feelings to you?”
The Crown Prince’s steps paused. He turned to look at Yu Shaoyun, who was standing at the bottom of the stone steps.
“But you rejected him,” Yu Shaoyun added.
After that day, the atmosphere between the two had become somewhat strange. His Highness was aloof and distant but hadn’t completely cut off Pei-wenshu. Pei-wenshu acted as usual but was much more restrained. This was indeed not because one had offended another, but rather to avoid suspicion.
But if Pei-wenshu had someone he liked, why would His Highness need to avoid suspicion? Unless that person was His Highness himself.
In fact, during this period, Yu Shaoyun had somewhat caught on, but he wasn’t sure. The Crown Prince’s silence at this moment was an affirmation.
The Hall of Longevity was a solitary Buddhist hall, surrounded by pomegranate trees, which looked like a fiery blaze from a distance, extremely vibrant. There were no monks reciting sutras here, and what was enshrined inside was not a Buddha statue but the Crown Prince’s deceased mother, Concubine Wan.
The treetops rustled in the wind, and the Crown Prince’s sleeves fluttered slightly. His tone seemed to gain an inexplicable meaning: “Do you think I am too heartless?”
“If Your Highness dislikes someone, you should naturally refuse them directly; after all, you are not a romantic philanderer who leaves affection everywhere,” Yu Shaoyun said, rubbing the hilt of his sword, pondering. “But Your Highness is not without emotional waves, so why still refuse Pei-wenshu?”
The Crown Prince said, “How do you know I am not without emotional waves?”
“That question is better answered by the prayer bead you crushed unknowingly,” Yu Shaoyun smiled. “At least at that moment, you must have felt some reluctance.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes once again saw those slightly reddened, phoenix-like eyes. He said, “He looks very pitiful.”
“Is this ‘pity’ empathy or affection?” Yu Shaoyun asked.
The Crown Prince said, “I think it definitely isn’t empathy.”
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