TL: Hua
Chapter 36: Wontons – Xiao Pei goes to Jiangnan (4)
“I’ll never trust Lord You again.” Pei Xiting muttered as he looked out of the carriage window at the six large gates not far away. “What ‘dinner’? It’s clearly calling me in for overtime.”
“What is ‘overtime’?”
Pei Xiting turned to face the disguised Crown Prince, dressed in plain cloth robes. “It means working beyond the stipulated hours.”
“I recall when you wanted to join the Longhe Division, you said that as long as the division would take you in, you wouldn’t need a salary and would be ready to serve at any time,” the Crown Prince said.
Pei Xiting raised an eyebrow. “Your Highness has countless important matters to attend to, yet you remember even my trivial words so clearly. Your memory is truly remarkable.”
The Crown Prince looked at him with an impassive expression.
That peerless face was concealed by ordinary features, yet his eyes still held extraordinary brilliance. As Pei Xiting watched, he suddenly snapped open his folding fan and waved it twice in front of his face.
The carriage inexplicably fell silent. With the rare pause in the rain, there was no other sound to mask this quiet, so everyone noticed it.
The Crown Prince rubbed his prayer beads, his gaze as still as a deep pool. Pei Xiting’s eyes flickered, and he said naturally, “I wasn’t just flattering Lord You. He was willing to take me in and saved me a lot of trouble, so I’m truly grateful to him and to Your Highness. I also know that the Longhe Division doesn’t support idlers, so both officially and personally, I am willing to do whatever I can. But this doesn’t contradict my making a few small complaints. See? I complained, but I’m about to get out of the carriage and get to work.”
With that, he got up, pushed open the carriage door, and stepped down.
The Crown Prince dusted off his sleeves and followed him out.
The prefect of Ningzhou had already received the news and was coming out of the government office. Seeing Pei Xiting get out of the carriage, he immediately stepped forward to greet him. “Might I ask if you are Pei-wenshu?”
“Indeed, this humble one is surnamed Pei. Greetings to Prefect He,” Pei Xiting said, cupping his hands in a bow.
“Pei-wenshu, no need for such formality.” Prefect He said, supporting Pei Xiting’s wrist through his sleeves with a smile. “This humble government office has received the official document from your division stating that you will be coming to the prefecture to investigate old case files. We have already cleaned the case file archives thoroughly, ready for your investigation at any time.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Prefect He.” Pei Xiting said. “Our division is about to reorganize the document archives, and all relevant case files need to be transcribed. Some case files from other prefectures are still missing. Originally, we could have directly requested them, but I’m here in Ningzhou on Lord You’s orders to create a painting to present to the East Palace as a birthday gift for His Highness. That’s why I came in person.” Prefect He, who had been puzzled for several days as to why other prefectures received official document requests from Yejing while Ningzhou had a personal visit from the Longhe Division, finally felt relieved upon hearing this. Having learned that the visitor was Pei-wenshu, he had specifically investigated this person and found out that he had once painted for Qu-shaoqing at the Qixia Banquet and was deeply appreciated for his talent. Therefore, it was not surprising that Lord You would order him to create a birthday painting for His Highness the Crown Prince.
“For Lord You to entrust such an important task to you, you must be a master painter.”
“Prefect He flatters me. I am grateful for Lord You’s regard.”
“If Pei-wenshu has any needs during this trip, please do not hesitate to mention them. This prefecture will certainly do its utmost to assist Pei-wenshu in creating a masterpiece to celebrate His Highness’s birthday.”
“Then I thank Prefect He in advance.”
“…”
After a moment of polite compliments, Prefect He turned his gaze to the tall man behind Pei Xiting, who was dressed in plain cloth, with ordinary features but an extraordinary bearing. He asked with curiosity, “And this gentleman is?”
Pei Xiting also turned to look at the Crown Prince, unsure of his intention, and did not speak rashly.
“My name is Fu Shan, a guard from the Longhe Division dispatched on this trip.” The Crown Prince said, cupping his hands. “Forgive me for disturbing Prefect He.”
Prefect He said politely, “Please don’t be polite. Both of you, please come inside.”
The two followed Prefect He into the government office and went to the case file archives. Pei Xiting said, “Prefect He is busy with official duties, so there’s no need for you to accompany us. Leaving a subordinate from the archives will suffice.”
Hearing this, Prefect He raised his hand to signal the person standing at the door and said, “This is the chief clerk of this archive. He will be here to guide you, so I shall take my leave.”
Pei Xiting nodded. “Thank you. Please walk slowly.”
Prefect He left first, and the attending officer said, “My lord, should we prepare a banquet to entertain those two?”
“Not appropriate. The Longhe Division is different from other government offices. Too much enthusiasm and attentiveness is not a good thing. Just fulfill the necessary etiquette,” Prefect He said, smoothing his sleeves thoughtfully. “Pei-wenshu is quite young. Yet his gentle smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s clearly a detached person. Moreover, that Guard Fu has an extraordinary bearing and eyes as deep as an abyss. He must also be no simple man.”
The officer said, “You have sharp eyes, my lord.”
“These two are both followers of the East Palace, so instruct the people in the government office to serve them with utmost care. If we accidentally offended them, a single word from them to His Highness could cost me my official hat. Furthermore, the Bai family’s matter is still an important issue.” Prefect He said as he walked. “Has the culprit been found?”
The officer shook his head. “We’ve sent people to guard all the ferry crossings, but there’s been nothing unusual. There’s no useful information at all. It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack.”
“The Bai family is related to the Duke Wen’s Mansion by marriage. Besides, Prince Zhao is currently in Ningzhou. We must show our attitude and not let Prince Zhao think we are neglecting this matter.” Prefect He sighed with a headache. “Continue searching, search through the night. Also, send someone to the Bai family to offer our condolences and reassurance.”
The officer accepted the task and left.
“I have a booklet of case files here that I would like to trouble you to find them and have someone carefully transcribe a copy. Then I will compare them with the original.” Pei Xiting said, handing a document to the chief. After the chief went inside to search, Pei Xiting stepped closer to the Crown Prince and whispered, “You didn’t really just want me to come here for formality, did you? What are your actual instructions?”
The Crown Prince said, “There are no other instructions.”
“…Really?” Pei Xiting asked. “Then this matter shouldn’t be so urgent that it needs to be done tonight, right?”
He said unhappily, “I haven’t eaten yet.”
One stood at the doorway, the other at the bottom of the steps, their heights reversed. The Crown Prince lowered his gaze slightly and saw the slender waist tied with a flamboyant water-red sash. “You like to eat so much, why haven’t you gained any weight?”
Pei Xiting said, “I eat, but I also exercise. Besides, I usually don’t eat much. An occasional indulgence won’t make me fat.”
The Crown Prince said nothing more and turned to leave. Pei Xiting shook his head, then shouted a few words to the chief before following him out.
Outside the government office, Pei Xiting said, “Brother Fu, let’s go. I’ll treat you to dinner.”
The address “Brother Fu” and the informal “you” indicated that Pei Xiting was about to let loose and become unrestrained. The Crown Prince paused briefly, said nothing, and only asked, “No longer curious?”
Pei Xiting smiled. “Whether you deliberately made me run this errand or have another purpose, I don’t care. I’ll just treat it as a walk. But I’m really hungry. I saw a wonton stall on the way here that smelled delicious. Shall we go have a bowl?”
The Crown Prince didn’t refuse. Pei Xiting stepped forward and lightly tugged his arm, saying, “Let’s go.”
The summer fabric was thin, and they could feel each other’s skin temperature. Pei Xiting quickly released his hand. The Crown Prince’s steps faltered slightly before he followed.
The journey wasn’t far, and Pei Xiting was too lazy to take the carriage. “I’ve been sitting for so long today, either in a carriage or on a stool. This is a good time to walk.”
The Crown Prince walked alongside him, his left hand behind his back, and said softly, “Did you have fun at Little Spring Garden?”
“The music was nice. As for whether the people were fun, I don’t know.” Pei Xiting tilted his head and smiled at the Crown Prince. “I’m a respectable person; I don’t do frivolous things.”
The Crown Prince didn’t give a response.
The two strolled to the wonton stall and chose a corner table under the shed outside. The owners were a couple who called their son over to serve them, a chubby boy of seven or eight. “What kind of filling would the two young masters like? Our shop has seventeen kinds, including sunflower, chives, celery, turnip, diced lotus root, crab meat, duck meat, diced tofu, cloves, and so on. We also have ‘Hundred Flavor Wontons,’ one bowl with seventeen flavors.”
Pei Xiting asked, “So a bowl of Hundred Flavor Wontons has seventeen pieces?”
The boy nodded and said, “That’s right. Our wonton wrappers are thin with plenty of filling, and every single one is perfectly round!”
The “wonton” here was similar to modern dumplings, made with round wrappers folded into a half-moon shape with pointed ends and flattened edges. Pei Xiting glanced at the menu. He wanted to try several fillings, so he simply said, “Then I’ll have a bowl of Hundred Flavor Wontons. What about you, Brother Fu?”
The Crown Prince said, “Clove, small bowl.”
“Alright! Please wait a moment, sirs; your wontons will be ready soon.” The boy said, taking the menu and heading inside.
Pei Xiting picked up his chopsticks and rinsed them with water from his cup. “I’m planning to redeem Ying Ziyu from Little Spring Garden, so I need to save some money. Brother Fu, when you traveled outside before, you probably didn’t have delicacies every meal, so please make do with this… Do you want to rinse yours?” The Crown Prince hummed in agreement. “You went there once and already want to redeem someone?”
Pei Xiting picked up the Crown Prince’s chopsticks and said, “It’s not about lust or saving a damsel in distress. This Ying Ziyu can paint. I’ve seen his paintings; they are fresh and full of vitality, which somewhat reflects his state of mind. Meeting each other is fate, and helping him is not a big deal. He can paint and embroider, so he’ll have ways to make a living once he’s out.”
Pei Xiting placed the rinsed chopsticks on the chopstick rest in front of the Crown Prince, who said, “Thank you.”
Pei Xiting was taken aback for a moment, then teased, “I thought Brother Fu considered this serving.”
The Crown Prince said calmly, “Am I not ‘Brother Fu’ right now?”
“Yes, you are Brother Fu.” Pei Xiting said, rubbing his empty water cup casually. “Are you everyone’s Brother Fu, or just mine?”
The Crown Prince lifted his eyelids slightly. “What’s the difference?”
“The difference is huge. It’s like that Chun Sheng. If you were to be his ‘Brother Fu,’ I would be a little unhappy.” Pei Xiting said.
The Crown Prince said, “I don’t understand your unhappiness.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand now. Maybe you will later.” Pei Xiting said. “Chun Sheng and Prince Zhao have an ambiguous relationship. Brother Fu, please don’t ask him to sing again next time.”
The Crown Prince considered this for a moment and said, “You don’t like this Chun Sheng?”
“He’s a stranger. It’s not about liking or disliking. I just don’t want to witness His Highness’s secret tour ending with a romantic entanglement in Ningzhou or even bringing a beloved back to Yejing. The way Chun Sheng looks at you is as if he wants to devour you. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” Pei Xiting said.
The Crown Prince said, “His gaze wants to devour people. Then what is your gaze?”
Hearing this, Pei Xiting blinked and said, “Don’t blame me. Appreciating beauty isn’t wrong.”
You never look at others with that kind of gaze, the Crown Prince thought. He glanced at Pei Xiting and said, “I’m not a beauty right now.”
Pei Xiting said, “I’m looking at a fake face, but my mind automatically converts it to your real appearance.”
The Crown Prince looked at Pei Xiting and suddenly asked, “How many times have you copied the ‘Song of the Yue Boatman’?”
“…” Pei Xiting said, “We agreed it was before returning to Yejing, not that I have to do it now.”
The Crown Prince said, “Very well, I will return to Yejing after I finish these wontons.”
Pei Xiting said, “Don’t joke around. Do you really mean it?”
“It could be real,” the Crown Prince said.
Pei Xiting chuckled. “You’re really going to such lengths just to mess with me.”
The Crown Prince smiled slightly and said, “So when you’re being beaten, shout a little louder. It’ll help me relieve fatigue by listening.”
“Pervert,” Pei Xiting muttered.
The Crown Prince did not deny it.
“Wontons are here!” the boy said, carrying a tray to the square table and placing two bowls of wontons down. He collected the tray and said, “Enjoy your meal, sirs.”
Pei Xiting thanked him. After the boy left, he took out his folding fan and fanned the steam rising from the Crown Prince’s bowl. “My dear Brother Fu, please don’t be like this. With my build, twenty lashes would send me straight to the afterlife.”
The Crown Prince said coldly, “Remember to behave properly in your next life.”
Pei Xiting smiled. “Don’t, please. I’ll go back tonight and copy it ten times to show my sincerity; how about that?”
“Temporary repentance lacks sincerity,” the Crown Prince said.
Pei Xiting thought, You, an expert, can tell at a glance whether my calligraphy is serious or not. Hearing this, his mind flickered, and he seized the opportunity to say, “Then I’ll copy it in front of you. With your noble presence watching me, how would I dare to be even slightly perfunctory?”
The Crown Prince glanced at him and said, “That’s uncertain. After all, your courage is immeasurable.”
Pei Xiting mumbled something that the Crown Prince didn’t catch. Suddenly, the Crown Prince noticed something. His expression remained unchanged as he casually ate a wonton.
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