Xie Jing gathered a handful of hot spring water under the moonlight, raised his arm, and allowed it to slide like fine silk between his fingers before cascading over his neck, shoulder, and collarbone.
“Regardless of whether there are ears on the other side of the wall or something else. Your Highness is Your Highness after all. If you wish to leave the city, when to go and where to go are matters decided by a single word from you. Even if that person knew Your Highness’s fleeting whim to let a deer into the forest as bait, if it happened to coincide with the hour you were asleep in the mansion, it would all be fruitless effort.”
Lu Lingcong’s throat tightened, unsure if it was because the spring water was too hot and drying it out or something else.
He snapped back from the moment of stupefaction just now, forced himself to calm down, and slowly spoke:
“From the time I showed my intention to go hunting in front of Emperor Father until today’s incident, it has been half a month, a full fifteen days. And I set the itinerary for this trip out of the city to the Imperial Guard’s shooting range three days ago.”
“This person managed to deploy so many well-trained assassins in just three days and clearly knew when I left the city, which road I used to leave, how long I stayed at the shooting range, when I returned, which road I took back, and even had full knowledge of my sudden late return and isolation,” he chuckled softly, and made a joke, “Even the Top Scholar would probably not reach this level once you marry me in the future.”
Xie Jing ignored his teasing, merely adding indifferently, “At the same time, he also had to be sure that among the people accompanying you, there wouldn’t be a second person like you who has no curfew and can roam freely until the middle of the night.”
Lu Lingcong was slightly displeased upon hearing this: “You are slandering me now. What do you mean by roaming until the middle of the night? You make it sound as if I am indulging in sensual pleasures and feasting every night.”
Xie Jing shrugged indifferently: “It’s too early to say that now, Your Highness can save it for the day I marry in.”
Lu Lingcong was annoyed by his teasing look and reached out to splash some water on him. Xie Jing immediately closed his eyes tightly and dodged to one side, but one side of his temple was still thoroughly wet; the wisps of hair stuck to his ear. He didn’t care about his appearance either and immediately cupped water with his palms to launch a surprise attack. Lu Lingcong obviously hadn’t expected him to childishly retaliate, and his desire to win was aroused. The two of them splashed each other back and forth like children for several rounds.
“I heard that you go to Linhai Palace for daily daytime lectures nowadays,” Lu Lingcong called out amidst the sound of water. “You wouldn’t use such an irritating tone towards Empress Mother too, would you!”
Xie Jing sneered, “If the Empress were to strike me, it would be an act of great grace; if you struck me, it would be defying an imperial decree and abusing your wife, and even if I wished to annul the marriage, His Majesty would still have to grant approval.”
Lu Lingcong’s movements stiffened slightly upon hearing this, Xie Jing saw the smile in his eyes gradually fade as he stood there motionless as if truly contemplating the feasibility of beating him up and successfully annulling the marriage.
But after a long silence, Lu Lingcong merely said, “Lingzhang is young and weak in character, Empress Mother has high expectations for him and urges him very strictly on his studies. If you have the chance, meditate a little for him, and don’t be too harsh on him.”
Xie Jing hadn’t expected him to say such a thing in the end, he was inclined to ask more, but since he was unclear about the exact relationship between these two half-brothers who were eleven years apart, he swallowed his confusion and merely gave a dry “Oh.”
Only then did Lu Lingcong become serious and return to the previous topic: “On that day, three people accompanied me, including Li Qi, Zheng Xiao’s brother-in-law who served as commander of another unit, Lin Zhen, the son of Lin Zhi, the former supervisor of the capital, and one more,” he paused, “a retainer of Xu Yi, the Prefect of Liangzhou, who had come to the capital to report on his duties. I don’t know his full name.”
“You don’t know?” Xie Jing asked in surprise.
Lu Lingcong seemed a little impatient with this crucial question and frowned: “A large crowd of people gathers at the Prince’s Mansion all day hoping to curry favor, how could I know who is who!”
Xie Jing understood, it seemed this retainer of Xu Yi was also a member supporting the “local faction” in the conflict between the two parties of young noblemen in Jinling.
“Lin Zhen and I studied under the same master; we have a bond as fellow disciples. Not to mention Li Qi, he is my childhood friend who grew up together bare-bottomed.” Lu Lingcong explained, the implication being to clear the connection between these two people.
Xie Jing raised an eyebrow: “Does Your Highness setting a conclusion so quickly risk being prejudiced?”
He thought that with Lu Lingcong’s wolf-like intuition, he would rather believe it to be true.
“It’s not prejudice.” Lu Lingcong, however, shook his head.
“Those who hold power should neither be biased nor place trust lightly, yet there are some people,” In that instant the boyishness between Lu Lingcong’s brows receded unknowingly revealed a hint of the solemnity belonging to Prince Zhao. “Whom I may fault for lacking courage but can never doubt in their loyalty.”
He smiled at Xie Jing: “This is also what my master taught me.”
Xie Jing met his gaze, and they held each other’s eyes for a long moment before he casually looked away and said at an unhurried pace, “It seems I still do not understand Your Highness well enough. I spoke out of turn.”
Lu Lingcong didn’t mind, he just rubbed his forehead and started the next topic: “Do you think it’s possible for Xu Yi alone to accomplish this?”
“Absolutely impossible,” Xie Jing said decisively. “He is a prefect who came to the capital to report on his duties; he has neither foundation nor backing in Jinling. He is already swamped with his own affairs, how could he have the audacity to conspire to murder a prince?”
Lu Lingcong nodded as he held the same opinion as Xie Jing. Li Qi and Lin Zhen had often gone out and traveled with him since childhood, yet activities like archery felt unrewarding with too few people present, so when Lu Lingcong planned the itinerary three days earlier, he did notify the group of young noblemen who usually gathered around him to ask whether anyone was willing to accompany him.
Most people didn’t have the kind of relationship that Li Qi and Lin Zhen had with Prince Zhao, so they wouldn’t dare to get involved, only this one retainer of Xu Yi seemed particularly eager. Lu Lingcong had thought at the time that he was merely someone from a small place who hadn’t seen the world and found it novel, but now upon careful consideration, he felt something was amiss.
A wind picked up late at night, Lu Lingcong got up from the other end of the pool and walked towards the shore side.
Xie Jing bent over and stretched; his smooth-lined arms and back were draped with a layer of silver by the moonlight, making the person appear even more translucent, like jade. He rubbed the tip of his nose, his voice tinged with weariness as he summed up: “That person first somehow learned of Your Highness’s ‘whim,’ then manipulated the retainer eager to curry favor with Prince Zhao’s Mansion, personally ushering Your Highness onto the stage to perform this scene of ‘Qin loses its deer, and the whole world pursues it[mfn]This comes from Zhan Guo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States) and tells the story of a deer lost by the State of Qin, after which all the other states competed to capture it. It implies that a small loss or mistake by a powerful person or state invites widespread opportunistic action from others.[/mfn].’”
Xie Jing stood up from the water and faced Lu Lingcong, who was walking over.
He moved slightly half a step forward, standing face-to-face with Lu Lingcong at close proximity before lightly tapped Lu Lingcong’s chest with his fingertip, and whispered in his ear, “That person lost his deer and expects Prince Zhao will certainly pursue it.”
His voice was so low and his words so soft, so much so that Lu Lingcong couldn’t clearly tell whether he said, “pursue it” or “kill it.”
Xie Jing’s tone was somewhat like one who enjoys watching a commotion, and in fact, until Lu Lingcong suddenly picked him up sideways and carried him ashore, asking in a deep voice, “What are you so smug about over there?” Xie Jing still wore an innocent, detached expression.
Lu Lingcong helped him onto the couch by the spring, draped the clean clothes the servants had prepared over him, and gestured toward the soaking, muddy outer robe he had worn tonight, hanging nearby: “Yunjin was the handiwork of the weavers from Yongping Ward in the north of the city, the patterns stitched by the embroidery girls of Wuseji in Suzhou, and its scale clearly came from the ‘Number One Cut of Jiangning’—with such an imposing presence from collar to shoe, if you calculate it, it wouldn’t be possible without this number, right?”
He held up a number with one hand while teasingly admiring the slight flush fading from Xie Jing’s face.
“And as far as I know, looking at the entire capital city, apart from the palace, there are no more than five families who can afford this number.”
He counted his fingers and said thoughtfully, “Prime Minister Wang is middle-aged and overweight, Grand Commandant Cui is old, and my maternal uncle is even less likely to wear something so gaudy, if you calculate it, it seems only Prince Zhao’s Mansion and the Xie Family are left.”
Xie Jing calmly wiped his soaked long hair little by little with the silk towel, listening to Lu Lingcong continue: “If those people were quick enough, they have now locked onto the owner—either me or you—through the hidden pattern on the satin of your shoe. And if they are given another half a day, they might confirm that the one wearing this outfit, looking handsome and distinguished at the palace banquet on the tenth day of the fifth month, was you, Xie, Zhi, Wu.”
Xie Jing’s expression finally changed a little, he raised his eyes to look at Lu Lingcong’s smug expression of having succeeded in his scheme, opened his mouth, and finally said, “I need to change clothes, turn your back.”
Saying this, he began to undo the ties under the underarm of his inner garment.
Lu Lingcong smiled and slowly turned his back before speaking the last sentence. “Then they will know that on the night of the failed assassination, it was the Young Master of the Xie family who rode a horse and rescued Prince Zhao.”
The soft rustle of fabric rubbing sounded from behind as Xie Jing finished changing into a nightgown that was slightly too large for him.
He draped the half-dry, half-wet silk towel he had just used over Lu Lingcong’s shoulder, sighed, and broke the silence: “I want to ask Your Highness one question.”
Lu Lingcong did not turn back but only nodded for him to continue.
“At the palace banquet, Wang Chu asked me to play the qin to accompany the sword dance. Why did Your Highness not let me refuse?”
Lu Lingcong did not respond at once and instead slowly and methodically dried his body, then without making much effort to avoid Xie Jing he changed into dry clothes and trousers, picked up the dagger he had casually left on the stone table beside him, and walked toward the inner courtyard while signaling Xie Jing to follow.
A pebble path wound through the dark dense foliage, and both of them were barefoot, but fortunately the servants had swept it very clean, so there was no danger of stones pricking their feet.
Birdsong echoed through the silent night and it was unclear whether it came from the courtyard or the mountain, the sky was turning pale as the moon neared its setting, the path ahead remained dim and indistinct, and Xie Jing’s ankle still ached so badly that he nearly stumbled several times.
With an almost uncanny awareness, Lu Lingcong noticed Xie Jing’s slight stumble, slowed his pace, turned to catch his wrist, and guided him through the dappled shadows of the trees as they continued forward at a slow pace.
“You won’t let me carry you on my back or hold you, yet even when you walk quietly you still stumble on flat ground,” he said with a laugh. “Why are you so hard to please?”
This manor of the Wu family is usually almost unvisited except for Prince Zhao. Frankly speaking, it is actually a private property gifted by his maternal uncle’s family to their nephew, so all food, clothing, and daily necessities are according to Lu Lingcong’s habits, and even the houses follow his preferences. The winding corridor between the hot springs was opened up, but there were only two bedrooms, one main and one side room, situated adjacent to each other on the water at the deepest part of the corridor, like a pavilion with walls and windows sealed.
Lu Lingcong led Xie Jing all the way to the main bedroom, where the bed was wider and more comfortable. As pushed open the door, a maid had already prepared the bedding and lit the lamp, illuminating the room with bright light.
He ushered the person into the room and remained leaning against the doorframe instead of stepping inside, watching Xie Jing walk to the table, pour half a cup of tea to moisten his throat, then slowly blow out the candle and climb into bed to burrow under the covers, before reaching out and firmly closing the door.
He stood still outside for a moment before finally speaking, “A member of the imperial family conducting himself is like sailing against the current. Xie Zhiwu, you and I have long been on the same boat.”
Xie Jing did not respond, unsure if he had heard this somewhat late answer.
Just as Lu Lingcong thought he had probably fallen asleep and was about to move towards the side bedroom, Xie Jing’s slightly muffled but clearly audible voice came from inside the room:
“Since that is the case, I hope that one day, I can become one of the ‘some people’ whose ‘loyalty cannot be doubted’ by Your Highness.”
It was almost dawn when they went to rest. Xie Jing was someone who couldn’t lack sleep, and he woke up in the afternoon of the next day, completely forgetting the message Lu Lingcong had sent to the Xie family last night that he would “send him back as soon as daybreak.”
The Xie’s Mansion had sent people in a great hurry early in the morning to inquire, and it was Lu Lingcong who got up to deal with it, saying that “the person is fine, just sleepy, and will go back immediately upon waking up,” which prevented him from being dragged out of his dream to go home.
Xie Jing felt utterly relaxed after the hot spring soak. He just sat on the bed with his knees bent upon opening his eyes, too lazy to even get down to open a window to let in some air.
The maid who brought the ginger soup last night cautiously knocked on the door, brought in a food box, and said softly, “Is Young Master Xie awake? If you’re hungry, just have a couple of bites of noodles.”
Xie Jing naturally assumed it would be plain, clear Yangchun noodles and originally had no appetite and wanted to tell her to put it down. Who would have thought this young girl was quite quick? Before she finished speaking, she had already directly held the food tray to the bedside.
“You slept past the mealtime; His Highness specially instructed the kitchen to start cooking for you.”
Xie Jing was stunned and leaned over to look at the bowl.
The noodles were just the right amount for a snack, with several small meatballs lined up on the emerald green vegetable leaves, a thin layer of chili powder was surprisingly sprinkled on top of the chopped green onions and sesame seeds, and when he picked up his chopsticks and flipped it, a soft yellow poached egg lay at the bottom of the bowl.
Before he could speak, footsteps came from the outer corridor.
A moment later Lu Lingcong pushed the door open with casual ease as if entering his own house—which it was—walked past the table, picked up a preserved fruit and tossed it into his mouth, took the bowl from the little maid’s hand, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
The maid wisely packed up the food box and left the room. Xie Jing was just about to say that he was a bit hot, and she should leave the door open for air, but the young girl had already carefully and quietly closed the door.
“Even my little sister isn’t this picky.” Lu Lingcong stirred the noodles with the chopsticks and handed them to Xie Jing. “Grasp the two ridges on the rim and bottom of the bowl, it won’t burn your hand.”
Xie Jing tasted two bites as instructed: “The Eldest Princess?”
Lu Lingcong nodded and then waved his hand: “There’s no need to be so distant when it’s just us.”
“Why doesn’t she call Your Highness ‘Imperial Brother’?” Xie Jing let the question slip that night.
“I’m not even old, being called ‘Imperial’ all the time will surely shorten my life.” Lu Lingcong noticed the stuffiness in the room, got up, and pushed open half of the window. “And you, you can’t say three sentences without mentioning ‘Your Highness’. Every time you call me that, I feel terrified, like when I was a child waiting for punishment in front of my master.”
Xie Jing wiped the corner of his mouth, which was stained with oil, with the back of his hand, and asked, “If not Your Highness, what should I call you? Your Majesty?”
Lu Lingcong’s eyelids twitched in surprise at his words, he leaned out and saw only the young maid waiting in the corridor playing with a sparrow, then he let out a sigh of relief, turned back, and pointed at Xie Jing with a wry smile: “Did I just make you a bowl of ‘bear-heart and leopard-gall’ soup? It’s fine to say such things that could cost you your head at home but be sure to guard your mouth when you go out.”
Xie Jing, however, keenly grasped the key information and squinted at the bowl in his hand, which now only contained soup base: “Did Your Highness… did you make this?”
Lu Lingcong leaned by the window, pulled out a handful of melon seeds like a magic trick, and beckoned for the sparrow to come to him: “Otherwise? The tables in this place can’t withstand being flipped, so of course, I have to serve young Master Xie well.”
Xie Jing didn’t mind Lu Lingcong’s teasing as he put the bowl and chopsticks on the table: “I just didn’t expect you knew how to cook.”
“I’m not even a gentleman, and Prince Zhao’s Mansion doesn’t keep orchids[mfn]It’s a plant name, often called the gentleman orchid, so it’s a witty way to say he’s rough, pragmatic, or unpretentious, not suited to refined niceties.[/mfn],” Lu Lingcong gave a slight smile. “To tell you the truth, a few years ago when I was just promoted into a prince and established my mansion, I basically left my trusted attendants in the palace to accompany Mother Consort and Zhenzhen, I brought very few trustworthy people out with me. The food sent by the kitchen poisoned three parrots in a row. I didn’t dare to touch it at all, so I could only wash my hands and make soup myself.”
His tone was light and casual, purely telling it as a humorous anecdote, but it couldn’t help but make people wonder whether the hands he washed were for “making soup” or for holding a dagger.
It was already past noontime, Xie Jing dared not delay any longer, so he tidied himself up and returned with Lu Lingcong.
It would be too ostentatious for His Highness Prince Zhao and Young Master Xie to ride together, so they simply hitched a carriage at the foot of Mount Tang and quietly entered the city, then parted ways on secluded small roads within the city, being as low-key and mysterious as if they were secret guards meeting up.
Xie Jing entered the Xie’s Mansion through the back gate. He didn’t deliberately try to avoid anyone, but as he walked from the back courtyard to the front hall, he felt the atmosphere grow stranger. The servants passing by communicated with glances and dared not breathe loudly. Upon seeing their young master, they frantically exchanged meaningful looks, as if they wanted to write the words “You’re in big trouble” on their faces.
As soon as he stepped into the main hall, Xie Jing saw Xie Yi standing with slightly hunched shoulders, his hands clasped behind his back beneath the plaque “Family Reputation of a Hundred Forbearances” personally bestowed by Emperor Gaozong. His eldest brother stood beside him, casting a look that was half worry and half reproach.
Xie Jing immediately knew something was wrong, obediently stepped forward, lifted his robe, and knelt down before saying in a low voice, “Father, I’m back.”
Xie Yi did not turn around, and when he spoke, one couldn’t detect much emotion: “Did you sleep well?”
Xie Jing braced himself and said, “It was alright.”
Xie Yi didn’t expect him to actually dare to answer, he forcibly suppressed his anger, and asked coldly, “Do you know what kind of things I have heard on the streets for most of the day, from morning court until noon?”
Xie Jing’s heart tightened, and in that instant an ominous premonition struck him—those people might be moving faster than they had imagined.
The next second, Xie Yi suddenly turned around, threw something unknown onto the floor in front of Xie Jing with a flick of his hand, and roared furiously, “The city is in an uproar, full of rumors, saying you and Prince Zhao secretly met at Mount Tang and bathed together late at night!”
Xie Jing’s mind buzzed, and when he looked more closely, he saw lying on the floor tiles in front of him, none other than the mud-stained satin boot.
