TL: Hua
Chapter 38: Confession – Xiao Pei goes to Jiangnan (6)
Yuan Fang chased after Shangguan Jie out of the Willow Bank, following the stone path along the water behind the back door for several alleys before stopping at a corner.
Shangguan Jie blocked the eavesdropper at the end of the alley, ripping off the other person’s mask to reveal a young and handsome face.
“You are…” Shangguan Jie narrowed his eyes slightly, saying with some uncertainty, “Prince Zhao’s personal guard?”
The eavesdropper lowered his eyes, his voice tight but still calm, “Gao Liu pays respect to the young marquis.”
Shangguan Jie sheathed his knife, his right hand still gripping the hilt, looking down at Gao Liu, “Did Prince Zhao tell you to attack Pei Xiting?”
“The young marquis has misunderstood.” Gao Liu naturally knew his prince’s thoughts towards Third Pei, but he couldn’t figure out Shangguan Jie’s reason for a late-night rendezvous with Third Pei, nor his attitude towards him. He could only carefully say, “The prince received a letter from the Fourth Young Master, saying that he had befriended Pei-wenshu. Later, when Pei-wenshu came to Ningzhou on official business, our master naturally had to take care of him.”
Take care? Taking care of someone by climbing their wall in the middle of the night? Shangguan Jie sneered inwardly. He didn’t believe a word of it!
What kind of person was Zhao Fan? Everyone in Yejing knew. Shangguan Jie knew even better. Pei Xiting had no old grudges with Zhao Fan, but he looked like a fox spirit, and that face was exactly to Zhao Fan’s liking. That playboy must have been lusting after him, wanting to get him into bed!
Shangguan Jie was annoyed by both the fox spirit and the wastrel, but he didn’t show it on his face. He glanced at the tense Gao Liu and said, “So that’s how it is. It was a misunderstanding on my part. Get up.”
Gao Liu pushed himself up, ignoring his bleeding shoulder, and cupped his hands, saying, “Thank you, young marquis.”
“I came to Ningzhou on official business. Before leaving, Jintang entrusted me to check on his younger brother. Because it involved official matters, I couldn’t make a big show of it, so I took the opportunity to sneak a glance at Pei Xiting while passing by. I didn’t expect to run into you.” Shangguan Jie made up a bunch of nonsense and finally took out a silver ingot and gave it to Gao Liu. “Tonight was a misunderstanding. Take this money to buy good wound medicine. Also, apologize to Prince Zhao for me. Tell him that when the weather is better another day, I will host a banquet as an apology.”
These were all polite words. Gao Liu didn’t refuse, cupped his hands in salute, and then jumped over the wall and left.
Shangguan Jie stood there, his mind wandering, his profile hidden in the night rain, looking somewhat grim. After a few breaths, he also jumped over the wall and left.
Yuan Fang withdrew his gaze and retraced his steps.
The rain poured down like ink. Yu Shaoyun stood under the eaves at the alley entrance, his dark robe fluttering in the wind, his hand gripping his sword.
Yuan Fang stopped, the dagger in his sleeve silently falling into his right palm.
“There are two paths before you. Which one you take depends on your ‘young master’.” Yu Shaoyun stared at Yuan Fang, his tone casual. “If he explains clearly, you can continue to be his attendant and guard. If he doesn’t, you leave Yejing. This time, His Highness won’t kill you either.”
“Why not kill me?” Yuan Fang raised his head, the brim of his bamboo hat no longer obscuring his gaze.
“What else could it be? Naturally, it’s out of consideration for the Southwest.” Yu Shaoyun said with a smile that was not quite a smile, “Are you expecting me to give you an answer that doesn’t fit your expectations so you can deceive yourself?”
Yuan Fang pursed his thin lips tightly and said, “I was not aware of the matter involving Po Yinlin beforehand, and it has nothing to do with Pei Xiting.”
Yu Shaoyun said, “These words should be spoken by Third Young Master Pei to His Highness.”
“—The situation at Fu Meng Tower that day was exactly like that. Every word I said is true.” Pei Xiting leaned against the back of his chair, looking up directly into the Crown Prince’s eyes. “If Yuan Fang was involved with the scheme behind Po Yinlin, he wouldn’t have left me alive at Fu Meng Tower that day, nor would he have come to my side later. He did it to avoid investigation and to compensate me.”
The Crown Prince pressed the tendon on Pei Xiting’s neck without speaking.
That light but noticeable pressure had a strong presence. Pei Xiting subconsciously wanted to turn his head to avoid it, but his neck was held in place. The hand still didn’t exert much force, but it made him feel the unyielding firmness.
Pei Xiting gripped the armrest tightly, his neck stiff as he continued to clear himself, “As for me, I was just an unlucky passerby. If it weren’t for that scoundrel Shangguan Jie, I wouldn’t have gone to Fu Meng Tower that day at all, let alone stumbled upon this mess. I am innocent, Your Highness, please investigate thoroughly.”
His Adam’s apple trembled as he spoke. The Crown Prince’s fingertip felt numb, and after a moment, he said, “You usually seem quite clever. Why are you so slow-witted tonight?”
Pei Xiting was stunned. The Crown Prince’s eyes were calm and deep, making him belatedly guess at a possibility—before, or from the very beginning, the Crown Prince had noticed Yuan Fang’s presence. The reason he hadn’t said anything was to wait for Pei Xiting to confess on his own initiative.
Was he in big trouble?
Forget it, let’s first get the attitude right.
“I was wrong,” Pei Xiting said.
Compared to the previous confessions the Crown Prince had heard, some vehement and some tearful, this one was too plain and simple. He raised an eyebrow slightly, “Hmm?”
“I clearly knew who stole Po Yinlin, but I concealed it and kept the person by my side,” Pei Xiting said.
“Then do you know how such a crime should be punished?” The Crown Prince’s fingertip brushed against Pei Xiting’s side neck, as if measuring a piece of fine painted silk. When it landed on his chin, Pei Xiting let out a soft hum, gentle and restrained, like a cat’s soft meow.
The Crown Prince’s fingertip paused, pressing down on that fair and beautiful chin with moderate force, and said, “I didn’t hit you. What are you humming about?”
Pei Xiting’s ears burned slightly. He felt that the Crown Prince’s words were unreasonable and couldn’t help but retort, “When fairies fight[mfn]Slang for s*x.[/mfn], no one hits anyone, but the whole bed is filled with moans, isn’t it?”
Although the Crown Prince didn’t understand the term “fairies fight,” he grasped the meaning from the latter half of the sentence. He looked at Pei Xiting’s slightly flushed face, and his fingertip suddenly felt as if it was burned, so he withdrew it.
“Moaning when beaten is from pain; moaning during lovemaking is from pleasure. What are you humming about?” The Crown Prince stood with his hands behind his back, the burned fingertip curled up and hidden in his sleeve, unknown to anyone but himself.
You tickled me. Pei Xiting thought to himself.
But he couldn’t say those words. Although they were true, saying them would sound like flirting and inappropriate and might even get his skull crushed by the Crown Prince’s palm.
“I can’t control it, and moaning doesn’t violate any laws, does it?” Pei Xiting muttered, then continued, “I concealed Yuan Fang’s whereabouts because I was worried he would lose his life. I kept him by my side because I was worried I would lose my life. We really don’t know the mastermind behind this. And…”
The Crown Prince looked at Pei Xiting’s pretentious demeanor and said, “Hesitating and stammering out of a guilty conscience.”
“What!” Pei Xiting became anxious and got up, following the Crown Prince, who had turned and started walking away. “I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you everything. I don’t think you have any intention of doing anything to Yuan Fang. If you were really very wary of him, you would never let me hide it for so long.”
The Crown Prince stopped, and Pei Xiting bumped into his back, but he remained standing firmly. He turned sideways to look at Pei Xiting, who was holding his nose, examined his slightly furrowed brows and eyes, and then said, “So you only realized later that I didn’t intend to kill him, but you dared to protect him from the beginning?”
“…” It was indeed illogical. Pei Xiting felt both guilty and… “The deed is done. Although I dare to admit it, I haven’t reached the point of willingly accepting punishment, so I’m quibbling a bit.”
The Crown Prince was silent for a moment, then said, “When you make a mistake at home, do you talk to your parents like this too?”
Pei Xiting shook his head. “No, my father doesn’t really care about ‘me.’ My mother usually punishes ‘me’ by making me copy rules and kneel in the ancestral hall. There’s no room for quibbling.”
“Sounds quite obedient. Then how dare you talk nonsense and quibble in front of me?” the Crown Prince said. “Could it be that you’re more afraid of your mother than of me?”
Wang-shi was “Pei Xiting’s” inner demon, a constant reminder of strict teachings and family rules. If he really had to compare, perhaps “Pei Xiting” would indeed be more afraid of Wang-shi. Pei Xiting shook his head and said, “It’s different, and I don’t want to be afraid of Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince’s expression was inscrutable. “Why?”
“If I were afraid of Your Highness, I would inevitably hesitate, waver, conceal, and even speak insincerely out of that fear. I don’t like that.” Pei Xiting raised his eyes to look at the Crown Prince’s calm phoenix eyes. “I want to tell Your Highness the truth and express my sincerity.”
The Crown Prince was silent for a moment, then said, “You were impatient and confrontational in front of Shangguan Jie, gentle and compliant in front of Zhao Fan, yet you want to be sincere with me?”
“They had malicious intentions towards me. I couldn’t even be bothered to give them a pleasant look, let alone treat them with sincerity,” Pei Xiting said.
The Crown Prince said, “Don’t you have any ulterior motives towards me?”
The implication was: Then why do you expect me to give you a pleasant look?
“Wanting to hug your thigh and genuinely wanting to be good with you are not contradictory,” Pei Xiting looked at the Crown Prince with a smile in his eyes, then he grumbled, “Hey, who knows, maybe in the future, even if I don’t hug your thigh voluntarily, you’ll still be willing to protect me, and not out of the majesty of the East Palace or the Longhe Division, but out of your own selfish motives.”
The Crown Prince glanced at Pei Xiting, then at the dim night, and said softly, “Hmm, it’s about time for you to dream.”
Pei Xiting didn’t mind being teased and cupped his hands, saying, “Then I’ll go to sleep. Good night, Your Highness… What about Yuan Fang’s matter?”
The Crown Prince glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Pei Xiting turned sideways to watch the Crown Prince enter the room, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then smiled again.
