The Imperial Southern Garden was located at the southernmost point of the capital, and it was guarded by a heavy military presence year-round. The ten-year-old birthday banquet of the Emperor’s eldest imperial grandson was to be held there.
It would take nearly two hours by carriage to get from the Shen Mansion to the Southern Garden. Before dawn, Ji Zhen was woken by Ji An to wash up. He was so sleepy he couldn’t stop yawning, but seeing that Shen Yanqing was already fully dressed, he didn’t dare to delay any longer.
Because it wasn’t a formal palace banquet, officials were allowed to attend in casual attire.
Shen Yanqing’s ink-black hair was half-tied with a silver crown. He wore a white robe with black fish patterns and an outer layer of thin gauze with lotus leaf designs. As he walked, the fish tails at his wide cuffs swayed with his movements, like fish playing in the water. He was elegant and full of grace.
The other party usually wore simple clothes and only dressed so formally for major banquets. Ji Zhen was captivated. When Shen Yanqing noticed his gaze and looked back, Ji Zhen’s cheeks flushed slightly.
Ji An held up two sets of clothes against Ji Zhen. “Young Master, which one would you like to wear?”
Ji Zhen looked at Shen Yanqing and asked eagerly, “Which one looks good?”
“Whatever you like.”
Ji Zhen pouted, a little disheartened. Then he caught a glimpse of a lotus pattern on the cuff of a wide, purple hibiscus robe. His heart leaped with joy, and he pointed, “This one then.”
It would match the lotus leaves on Shen Yanqing’s outer robe.
After changing into the new clothes and putting on a hair crown similar in style to Shen Yanqing’s, he happily stood in front of the bronze mirror, twirling the ends of his hair as he turned to ask Shen Yanqing, “How do I look?”
Only then did Shen Yanqing truly look at Ji Zhen.
The vibrant purple hibiscus made Ji Zhen look even more beautiful, like a particularly stunning autumn peony from a mountain stream, dewy and fresh.
It was a truly pleasant sight, yet Shen Yanqing coolly said, “You’ll be a walking spectacle.”
Ji Zhen’s face fell, and he nervously kneaded the sleeve of his robe.
The Shen family had a simple and unpretentious style, and they disliked bright and extravagant things. Yet Ji Zhen’s clothes were all of the highest quality. Just this one outfit alone took the embroiderer two months to complete the floral pattern on the chest, not to mention the agate and jade beads on the belt and the extremely rare purple jadeite on the hair crown. Just a small piece could cover a poor family’s expenses for ten generations.
Seeing Shen Yanqing’s furrowed brow, Ji Zhen asked softly, “Should I change into another one?”
Shen Yanqing stood up. “Never mind, we’ll be late if we wait any longer.”
The two of them left the Shen Mansion one after the other.
Father Shen, who was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Censor, also had to attend the banquet. Mother Shen had no title, so she had to stay at home.
Before they left, Mother Shen patted Shen Yanqing’s hand and instructed him, “Be careful in all things.”
She then glanced at Ji Zhen, who was playing with his belt and had his head bowed, paused, and finally added, “You as well.”
Ji Zhen’s eyes lit up in surprise, and he said loudly, “Thank you, Mother.”
Shen Yanqing and Father Shen got into the carriage first. Ji Zhen stepped on the carriage step and jumped in, so overjoyed by Mother Shen’s words that he almost bumped his head.
Shen Yanqing pulled him to sit down.
He laughed and said, “Mother just gave me instructions.”
“I heard.”
Ji Zhen, who was carried away by his excitement, tried to lean against Shen Yanqing. Father Shen then let out a light cough to remind him that there were others in the carriage. He quickly sat up straight, but unable to contain his joy, his eyes curved into crescents as he secretly tugged at Shen Yanqing’s sleeve.
Shen Yanqing ignored him. “Yu He, let’s go.”
The carriage proceeded along the gray road.
The Shen father and son were full of energy, discussing minor court matters in low voices, while Ji Zhen was so sleepy his eyelids were fighting. He didn’t dare to lie down and sleep in front of Father Shen, so he tried hard to keep his eyes open.
Ji Zhen had prepared himself for the possibility that Shen Yanqing wouldn’t bring him to the palace banquet, so he was surprised when Shen Yanqing brought it up the day before.
It was just a casual statement of “His Majesty’s eldest imperial grandson’s birthday banquet is the day after tomorrow. Officials may bring their family members. You will come with me.” When Ji Zhen heard this, he repeated the words “family members” over and over in his head, so delighted that he tossed and turned in bed all night like a pancake.
Shen Yanqing was kept awake by his restlessness. He used his legs to pin him down and scolded him for being so fidgety.
Ji Zhen wasn’t annoyed by the reprimand. If Shen Yanqing could truly treat him as a family member, what did a thousand scoldings matter?
The road outside the city was difficult to travel. Ji Zhen was dozing off when the carriage jolted, and he lost his balance, almost falling to the floor.
Shen Yanqing, who had been talking, quickly wrapped his arm around Ji Zhen’s waist, pulling him back. He said in a deep voice, “Stand like a pine, sit like a bell. What do you think you’re doing?”
Ji Zhen rubbed his sleepy eyes and mumbled, “Shen Yanqing, I’m tired.”
Father Shen cleared his throat and looked away.
Shen Yanqing seemed completely at a loss with Ji Zhen. He took a small breath and said, “Lie down and sleep.”
Ji Zhen glanced at Father Shen. Seeing that the elder was silent and didn’t object, he was about to bend down to take off his shoes.
Shen Yanqing pressed his hand down. “No need to take them off.”
“But…” Ji Zhen met Shen Yanqing’s gaze and whispered, “They’ll get the seat dirty.”
He didn’t dare to go against Shen Yanqing, so he carefully curled up his feet, rested his head on Shen Yanqing’s lap, and buried his face lovingly against Shen Yanqing’s abdomen.
Having woken so early, Ji Zhen was truly exhausted. Paying no mind to the elder nearby, he closed his eyes and sank into a deep sleep.
The Shen father and son exchanged a look. Shen Yanqing lowered his voice and said, “Father, please don’t be bothered by him. He…”
Father Shen understood and finished the sentence for him, “He has the heart of a child, doesn’t he?”
Shen Yanqing placed his palm over Ji Zhen’s ear, covering it, and then smiled a silent, shallow smile. “Exactly.”
An hour and a half later, a well-rested Ji Zhen leaped out of the carriage with renewed energy, stretching out with a big, satisfied yawn.
Shen Yanqing pulled down his raised hands. “Stand properly.”
Ji Zhen was about to say something when he noticed a carriage not far away. Ji Jue, who was dressed in a blue-green brocade robe, pulled back the bead curtain and emerged. Ji Zhen joyfully called out, “Gege!”
The clear and cheerful sound made the other officials attending the banquet look over.
Jiang Yunyu, who had just handed his pure gold to a servant, was also drawn by Ji Zhen’s voice.
Ji Zhen was completely unaware of the attention he was getting. He took a step and was ready to run towards Ji Jue, but Shen Yanqing grabbed his wrist.
“It’s time to enter the banquet.”
“I just want to greet Gege.”
Shen Yanqing said in an unquestionable tone, “Go inside first.”
Ji Zhen watched the officials entering the Southern Garden in twos and threes. Helpless, he had to call out to Ji Jue, “Gege, I’ll come find you later.”
Ji Jue smiled and nodded at him from afar.
Shen Yanqing led Ji Zhen to the main entrance just as Jiang Yunyu also approached.
The three of them met each other’s eyes, and Shen Yanqing gave a slight nod.
Jiang Yunyu, however, stared directly at Ji Zhen. He only looked away when Ji Zhen subconsciously went to touch his own face. With an arrogant demeanor, he strode past the two of them and entered the gate first.
Why did this person have to compete with him even on who walked in first? Ji Zhen felt inexplicably annoyed and secretly glared at Jiang Yunyu’s back.
The grip on his wrist tightened. Ji Zhen said, puzzled, “Why are you pinching me?”
Shen Yanqing pursed his lips and didn’t answer, simply releasing Ji Zhen’s hand.
The attending eunuch bowed respectfully, raising a hand and saying, “Lord Shen, Young Master Xiao Ji, this servant will lead you both to your seats.”
“Thank you, palace eunuch.”
Ji Zhen quickly caught up to Shen Yanqing, took his hand again, and, fearing that he would be shaken off, he hastily changed the subject. “I heard they’ve set up a lot of games for the officials to play today. I wonder how much gold we can win as a prize…”
He chattered on, not giving Shen Yanqing a chance to let go of his hand until they were seated at the banquet.
Although Shen Yanqing was a talented man, he had only been an official for three years and was only a fifth-rank official. Therefore, their seats were further back, a long distance from the emperor’s throne. Ji Zhen, having previously attended banquets with his father and elder brother, had always been seated near the imperial family. Each time, his elder brother would remind him not to eat too freely. Now, being far from the center of court power, he felt quite happy.
He propped his hand on the table, craning his neck to look for his father and elder brother in the seats ahead. To his surprise, he met Jiang Yunyu’s gaze first, as if Jiang Yunyu was constantly paying attention to him.
Jiang Yunyu was wearing a dark robe with gold-threaded embroidery today. His long hair was tied high, and his phoenix-like eyes were full of arrogance.
Ji Zhen remembered what happened at the main entrance, and with a snort, he turned his head away.
Ji Jue’s seat was below the princes, but there was only one seat for the Ji family. Had his father not attended the banquet?
Ji Zhen was puzzled, but he was too far away to ask his elder brother. He could only sit down for the time being and, leaning close to Shen Yanqing, picked up one of the green dates placed on the table to eat.
He was happily munching away when a shadow suddenly fell over him. He looked up and nearly choked.
“Your Highness the Third Prince.”
Shen Yanqing pulled Ji Zhen up to stand. Ji Zhen’s mouth was still full of date flesh, and he mumbled a greeting as well.
Li Muhui’s narrow eyes were smiling. “Lord Shen, why are you seated so far back? This highness will have the eunuch move you both up front.”
Before Shen Yanqing could speak, Ji Zhen refused, “I don’t want to.”
He had finally found a quiet spot. Why would he want to move?
Li Muhui replied, “There will be foreign dancers and musicians later. You won’t be able to see from here.”
Ji Zhen muttered, “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before…”
He remembered the rumors about Li Muhui, and, fearing that he might have offended him, he nervously observed the prince’s expression. Seeing that the other party was still smiling and seemed not to mind his offense at all, he suddenly felt that the Third Prince wasn’t as terrifying as the rumors made him out to be.
“This minister thanks Your Highness for your kind intention,” Shen Yanqing said. “However, this minister must adhere to the rules and regulations and dare not overstep.”
Li Muhui didn’t press the matter further, he said a few more words of greeting and then left.
Ji Zhen put the date pit on the porcelain plate, leaned close to Shen Yanqing’s ear, and whispered, “They say the Third Prince will skin people and make them into human-faced drums. Is that true?”
Shen Yanqing didn’t answer his question. “Talking about the princes in private is a serious offense.”
“If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who would know I’m talking about him?” Ji Zhen sat up straight, playing with the tassels on his belt. “I just feel that maybe the rumors are wrong. He…”
Shen Yanqing suddenly grabbed Ji Zhen’s five fingers and said in a solemn and serious tone, “Stop asking about the Third Prince.”
Ji Zhen was startled by the severe tone and was puzzled. “I was just asking casually.”
Seeing the grave expression on Shen Yanqing’s face, Ji Zhen, though he didn’t know the reason, obediently replied, “Got it. I won’t mention him again.”
Only then did Shen Yanqing release his hand.
Ji Zhen picked up a piece of osmanthus-steamed chestnut cake. The cake was as translucent as jade. Taking a bite, the rich osmanthus fragrance mixed with a hint of chestnut flavor was sweet and refreshing, instantly melting in his mouth. His eyes lit up, and he held the soft cake to Shen Yanqing’s lips. “You should try some.”
Even though their seats were in the back, people were still glancing at them from time to time.
Shen Yanqing slightly raised his head. “I won’t eat.”
Ji Zhen used his wide sleeve to block their view, which only made his intention more obvious. “No one can see us now.”
Shen Yanqing met Ji Zhen’s eager gaze. If he were to eat the cake Ji Zhen was feeding him in public, the rumors of their marital discord would fall apart without a fight…
After a moment, his thin lips parted slightly. Just as they touched the cool chestnut cake, the sharp voice of a eunuch came from a distance, “His Majesty has arrived! Her Royal Highness the Empress has arrived—”
All the officials at the banquet rose to welcome them.
Ji Zhen retracted his hands with a hint of disappointment, and he stuffed the rest of the cake into his own mouth.
Shen Yanqing frowned, suppressing a slight displeasure, and bowed his head in the direction the emperor was approaching.
While bowing, Ji Zhen was still chewing the soft cake, but the sweet taste from earlier had turned a little bitter because Shen Yanqing had refused to eat the cake he offered. He furrowed his brows and sighed in annoyance, all the while sneaking a glance at the imperial countenance.
Through the magnificent and grand gate, eunuchs flocked around the majestic Emperor and Empress as they entered.
The officials all shouted, “The ministers greet Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness the Empress.”
Ji Zhen followed the shouts and looked. The emperor, who was nearing fifty, was dressed in a yellow robe, his expression solemn and commanding without having to show anger.
He finally swallowed the soft cake and, along with the officials, shouted, “Long live the Emperor! A thousand years to the Empress…”
The author has something to say:
There’s a famous saying that there’s a type of person in this world who, the more they care, the more stubborn they get. This kind of person is Lord Shen.
Lord Shen (with a cold face): Not funny.
