TL: Hua
Chapter 15: Apology – Little King’s Official Appearance
Mingzheng Hall.
Shangguan Jie was standing in the hall. When he heard the footsteps, he immediately turned around and bowed, “The humble official paid my respects to Your Highness. May Your Highness live a thousand years.”
The Crown Prince passed Shangguan Jie, sat down behind the desk, and said, “No need to be polite.”
Shangguan Jie turned to face the Crown Prince, lifted his robe, and knelt on the ground, saying, “I accidentally lost Po Yinlin and came here to ask for forgiveness.”
“When did you lose it?”
“… at the end of March.”
The Crown Prince said, “You only came to report to me on the first day of May. It seems that the thief was still on the run.”
Shangguan Jie was both guilty and ashamed. He choked for a moment and said with his head down, “I am incompetent; please punish me for the crime of losing the treasure and concealing it.”
“I rewarded you with the Po Yinlin because you have made great contributions to guarding, and the treasure is a perfect match for your bravery.” The Crown Prince said, “I won’t punish you today, but the weapons from the palace must not fall into the hands of others.”
Shangguan Jie didn’t expect the Crown Prince to handle this matter so lightly, so he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately held his hands together, saying, “I will do my best to track down the thief and retrieve the treasure!”
“En.” The Crown Prince said, “Stand up.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Shangguan Jie stood up.
The Crown Prince looked at Shangguan Jie and said, “I heard a rumor these days, saying that Fushu often hangs out with the young man in Yuanyang Pavilion. Is this true?”
Fushu is Zong Rui’s courtesy name. Shangguan Jie knew that the Crown Prince didn’t really want to hear his complaint, so he said, “Answer Your Highness, the young man sings well. I heard that he was invited to sing on Minister Mei’s birthday. I think the prince also likes his good voice.”
“You are often together, so remember to remind him. Regardless of whether he is into men or women, whether it’s genuine affection or transactional, he can’t go too far.” The Crown Prince paused for a moment and said in a calm voice, “Using force or coercion against women or men is even less acceptable.”
Shangguan Jie’s heart skipped a beat, and he said hurriedly, “I will remember this and explain it to the prince later.”
The Crown Prince said, “Go now.”
“This humble servant will take his leave.” Shangguan Jie bowed and left.
After the person walked away, Yu Shaoyun glanced at the Crown Prince and wondered, “You have never interfered with the discipline of the King Ning’s Mansion before.”
The Crown Prince said in a calm voice, “Can I not interfere now?”
“Of course you can!” Yu Shaoyun said, “By the way, are you going out at night?”
“If you want to walk the cat, just go ahead.” The Crown Prince exposed his true intention.
Yu Shaoyun was delighted and immediately said, “Then I will go now!”
“Remember to get the job done.” The Crown Prince said, “Otherwise, you and your cat can wander around the world together without needing to come back.”
Yu Shaoyun immediately said solemnly, “Yes!”
He turned and walked out of the palace, somersaulted down the white jade steps, whistled at the corridor, and Little King immediately ran out from behind the corner and chased him out for a walk.
A few breaths later, Bai Tang touched the roof and landed on the ground. He stepped into the hall and stood in front of the desk to report Pei Xiting’s movements today. Finally, he said, “People from King Ning’s Mansion are also following him secretly.”
“Fushu’s people?” asked the Crown Prince.
“Fifth Young Master.” Bai Tang said, “Among the young masters of King Ning’s Mansion, Fifth Young Master is the least prominent. It is said that he has a taciturn nature, quite similar to Third Pei in the past. However, I have never heard that they have any dealings with each other.”
The Crown Prince said, “Shangguan Jie did not have any dealings with Pei Wenjuan in the past. Now, aren’t they suddenly mixed together?”
Bai Tang said, “I don’t understand their motives.”
“It’s very simple,” said the Crown Prince, “They were tempted by beauty and intended to get it.”
Bai Tang came to a realization, “So, on that day in Fumeng Tower, Third Pei’s clothes were disheveled. Was it because he slept with Young Marquis Shangguan?”
The Crown Prince raised his eyes to look at his seriously thinking subordinate and said, “Are you curious?”
“A little bit.” Bai Tang said frankly to His Highness without any reservations, “Last time Yu Shaoyun tricked me into going to the brothel to listen to music, and we ran into a pair of wild mandarin ducks. Therefore, I know a little about men and women, but I have no experience with men and men.”
“Next time, you can have Shaoyun take you to Nanfeng Pavilion to see a pair of wild mandarin ducks again, and you will understand, “suggested the Crown Prince.
“Yes, I will remember it.” Bai Tang said solemnly.
*
The little beggar had a pair of flying legs, so the trio returned in defeat, especially Zhao Yi, who almost collapsed on the ground. They had no choice but to agree to go home and recuperate for a few days before looking for the little thief again to beat his ass.
Pei Jintang, who was in the lead, was practically running his legs off, muttering all the way, and couldn’t help but sigh when he bumped into the steward who came up to arrest him halfway through.
The steward was indeed here to ask questions on behalf of the madam, “Why did the two of you come back so late? It’s already past the curfew time.”
Pei Xiting’s calves trembled as he rushed ahead of Pei Jintang and said, “Fourth Young Master Zhao warmly invited us to stay, so we can’t leave. We are afraid that he will blame us for not giving him face, so we can only stay longer.”
“That’s right,” Pei Jintang nodded and also chimed in, “Fourth Young Master Zhao is gentle, but we are of different status from him; how dare we take the initiative to say we are leaving?”
“So that’s the case.” The steward looked at the two of them and asked again, “Then how come your clothes are dirty, your back hunched, and your legs shaking?”
Pei Xiting said, “Fourth Young Master Zhao’s purse was robbed, so we helped chase the thief and are tired from running.”
This story was true, so Pei Jintang became more confident in speech and scolded with true feelings: “That little thief! It’s like he has wheels on his legs; he runs so fast!”
“He definitely won’t have a good ending stealing from the fourth young master! Young masters, you two have really worked hard. Look at your trembling legs! Please hurry back to the yard to take a bath and rest early.”
“Let’s go.” Pei Jintang nodded. After the steward left, he winked at Pei Xiting, “Hey, is it fine for us to make up a story using Sifan?”
Pei Xiting asked, “Is Sifan enthusiastic about keeping us around?”
Pei Jintang said, “It seems… so.”
“Then what’s wrong with using his name?” Pei Xiting pounded his waist as he walked forward, “To be honest, it’s just a harmless excuse. Otherwise, you can wait for the lecture.”
“Forget it, I don’t want to hear a word; my ears are all calloused.” Pei Jintang sighed, “I think I have a good temper on weekdays, but every time I listen to my mother’s lecture, I always feel a buzzing in my head, as if there is a pile of fire in my body that is ready to explode but couldn’t. I feel so depressed… Alas.”
“Who is willing to listen to a lot of words that they don’t like to hear?” When they came to the fork in the road, Pei Xiting patted Pei Jintang’s shoulder but didn’t comfort him too much because he wasn’t good at it.
Pei Xiting returned to Wangchun Courtyard. After washing up, he had someone carry a recliner to the corridor while a maid was wiping and combing his hair.
There were five colored silk threads of red, green, yellow, white, and black, as well as a box of small round white crystal beads in the bamboo basket. The little maid took a peek and saw that the colored silk threads were neatly wound around the white and slender fingers. The third young master strung the threads and beads flexibly and actually made a longevity thread, which was no less beautiful than those sold outside.
“You’re so skillful!” Perhaps because the third young master has a mild temper, the little maid was not too afraid of him and blurted out what she was thinking.
“Does it look good?” Pei Xiting asked.
The maid nodded heavily and said, “It looks good!”
Pei Xiting raised his hand while holding the longevity thread, “Then I’ll give it to you.”
How could a master give a maid a handmade item? The maid was flattered. “Really?”
“Isn’t this thing used to ward off evil spirits during the Dragon Boat Festival?” Pei Xiting said, “It’s just for the occasion.”
“Thank you, Third Young Master!” The maid took it with both hands, put it on her wrist carefully, and pulled the two beads on the tail. The longevity thread immediately shrank to fit her wrist.
The maid’s wrist was thin and white. Pei Xiting withdrew his gaze and said, “Very beautiful.”
“Third Young Master is very skillful!” The maid continued to wipe Pei Xiting’s hair. Seeing him lower his head and continue to make the second one, she felt a little strange because she had never seen Third Young Master touch a needle and thread work before.
When his hair was almost dry, the maid put the towel into the basket, took out the tulip oil that Pei Xiting had bought earlier to moisturize his hair, and finally fanned it for a while, saying, “Third Young Master, it’s done.”
Pei Xiting said, “Hmm,” and said, “You can go.”
“Yes, then you should go to bed early.” The maid knelt and bowed, then carried the basket outside.
After Pei Xiting finished braiding the second one, he stood up and stretched and went into the bedroom with the longevity thread.
The bed was already made, with only a candlelight left. Pei Xiting turned over and rolled into the quilt. He held the soft pillow under his face, raised his buttocks, knelt on the bed with his knees, stretched his upper body forward with his arms, and hummed comfortably.
Perhaps it was because he was too tired today. As soon as he got into bed and relaxed his posture, Pei Xiting quickly became drowsy. In a daze, something furry was rubbing against the back of his head, scratching his earlobes. He woke up immediately and turned his head abruptly—
A big cat with a round head, short ears, and a body full of orange-yellow mixed with black stripes is staring at him with a pair of round yellow eyes.
Where did the tiger come from?!
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