TL: Hua
Pei Jintang’s handsome face flushed slightly. He quickly moved away from the two but still stood beside Pei Xiting. Seeing that he looked like he was facing a great enemy, Qu Zhao couldn’t help but smile and said to Pei Xiting, “One hundred taels?”
The brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, and paints were all prepared by Prince Ning’s Mansion. Excluding the principal, this price is considered very high. Pei Xiting had no reason not to make a profit, so he asked, “What does Qu-shaoqing want?”
Qu Zhao said without modesty, “Paint me with outstanding grace and unparalleled handsomeness.”
“This is not a request. Qu-shaoqing is already outstanding. I can’t paint you ugly no matter what.” Pei Xiting said.
Qu Zhao sighed, “Then you haven’t seen the world. Some painters’ hands are transformed from earthworms, crooked and unrecognizable.”
“I only paint when I set my mind to, and when I do, I seek excellence.” Pei Xiting said, “I’ll take this order.”
Qu Zhao walked away with a smile.
Pei Jintang breathed a sigh of relief, sat down, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds, saying jokingly, “One hundred taels for a painting? You made a lot of money.”
Pei Xiting said, “As long as the painting is good, the money can be earned.”
The crown prince does not care about family background or origin when appointing people but pays more attention to ability and virtue. Dali Temple[mfn]Dali Temple was responsible for hearing criminal cases. It was equivalent to the Supreme Court in modern times.[/mfn] is an important government office. Qu Zhao can sit in this position not because his aunt was the Empress, but because of his real ability. Such a character, if possible, should not be offended.
Pei Xiting looked at the scene with boredom, where a group of young men in brocade clothes were gathering to prepare. Outside the scene, girls were bidding farewell to the Flower God[mfn]During the Grain in Ear season, people hold ceremonies, set up altars for offerings, burn incense, and offer sacrifices to send the flower god home in a grand manner. This activity expresses awe and gratitude for nature and is a manifestation of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature in traditional Chinese culture.[/mfn], with colorful embroidery of willows, veils, and ornaments, creating a continuous stream of colorful blocks between the green mountains and grasslands.
Suddenly, there was a whistle, and the people on the field began to line up. Someone came with a tray and asked them if they wanted to try their luck.
A line was drawn in gold paint in the middle of the tray, and on the left and right sides, there were flower slips with names written on them. Pei Xiting glanced at them and saw Qu Zhao on the left.
“One hundred taels.” He bet on Qu Zhao.
Pei Jintang was surprised. “You haven’t received the money yet, and you’re spending it already?”
Pei Xiting glanced at Qu Zhao, who was chatting and laughing with the prince, and said, “I’m here to work. If I bet right, I’ll make money, and if I bet wrong, I won’t lose money.”
Pei Jintang looked at the sign on the tray, “Qu-shaoqing has Prince Ning on his side, and the other side has the young marquis Shangguan and the young marquis Mei. They are all the best candidates… I’ll bet on this side.”
He bet fifty taels on Shangguan Jie’s side and waited until the two servants left before saying, “I see Jingzhu is on the same team with the young marquis Shangguan. If I don’t bet on him, he will be unhappy. Jingzhu is a thoughtful person, always thinking about random things and crying secretly.”
Tears, a must-have item for the little green tea[mfn]”Little Green Tea” in Internet lingo refers to girls (or boys in the BL case) who appear innocent on the surface but are actually scheming and calculating.[/mfn]. Pei Xiting snorted and laughed, “He was crying secretly, so how do you know?”
Pei Jintang said, “I saw it accidentally.”
“‘Always like to cry’ means you saw it accidentally very often.”
Pei Jintang felt that Pei Xiting had something to say, but he didn’t understand, so he scratched his head and asked, “Are you mocking me?”
Pei Xiting: “…”
Green tea and white lotus[mfn]White lotus used to have a good connotation, but now it’s a satire that refers to a person who appears pure on the outside but is actually dark inside, with corrupt thoughts, pretending to be noble, similar to green tea.[/mfn] really have their own targets, such as Pei Jintang, who lacks intelligence.
Pei Xiting shrugged his shoulders, no longer nudging Pei Jintang to look at the clues. He waited for the drums to sound to put brush to paper.
The format of horse racing is simple, with three laps. Whoever finishes first wins. However, there are roadblocks on the road, and the two teams can also block each other. Although it’s not allowed to carry weapons on the field or harm people, it’s inevitable to meet with mishap. Occasionally, someone falls off their horse and is quickly carried away by a well-trained and always-on-standby “medical team”.
Qu Zhao galloped on his horse, temporarily ranking second, and was instantly at odds with Shangguan Jie. His ceramic red riding attire was very conspicuous. He was 21 years old this year, with trimmed eyebrows and a high nose, and his face was cheerful like a spring breeze. The whole audience cheered when he jumped over the half-man-high roadblock on his horse.
As the front hooves of the horse landed, Qu Zhao’s shoulders and arms were steady, his face was smiling, and his eyes were shining, making him look more energetic.
Pei Xiting’s eyes were back and forth, and his hands were busy. After an hour, when Qu Zhao came over, he also put down his brush.
Qu Zhao leaned over to look at the painting and thought that the most outstanding points were two: the colors were bright and layered, and the skin color was soft and vivid. The lines were varied and subtle; the hair and robe fluttered in the wind, filling the paper with a sense of flow.
He clapped his hands and patted Pei Xiting on the shoulder, “Don’t be sad about the 100 taels of silver; I will compensate you, plus 50 taels.” Pei Xiting showed an expression of “So you lost.”
“You don’t know?” Qu Zhao was open-minded and didn’t care about winning or losing. He shrugged and said, “After three rounds of competition, my team won one and lost two and lost a head in the third round.”
Pei Xiting was only busy painting. Hearing this, he said, “That’s a pity.”
“The two teams are about the same level. The winner depends on one or two heads.” Qu Zhao ordered someone to move the painting and the painting table to the colorful shed and looked at Pei Xiting with a sideways glance, “Do you have a grudge against the young Marquis Shangguan?”
Pei Jintang went to the toilet a quarter of an hour earlier. Pei Xiting didn’t have to worry about him nagging after hearing this. While washing his hands, he asked, “Why do you ask that?”
“Just during the intermission, the young Marquis came to me and asked why I asked you to paint.” Qu Zhao conjured a folding fan like a magic trick and opened it. “He didn’t sound like he was on good terms with you, so I just guessed.”
Pei Xiting wiped his hands and got up with a click at his waist. He groaned, clenched his fist to hit his waist, and also looked at Qu Zhao. “Why don’t you guess how I offended the young marquis?”
Qu Zhao used the fan to block the lower half of Pei Xiting’s face, only looking at the eyes, and said, “According to this young master, it’s probably robbery… but it didn’t work.”
Pei Xiting said, “Great Lord of Clear Soup[mfn]Online Review: On platforms such as Meituan Waimai, a panel of enthusiastic netizens will judge disputes between merchants and customers. These judges are called “Great Lord of Clear Soup”.[/mfn] (Qing Tang Da Laoye).”
Qu Zhao corrected him: “No, it’s Great Lord of Justice[mfn]”The Great Lord of Justice” is a respectful title, describing officials who are impartial, selfless, and discerning. Qu Zhao thought PXT was praising him, but PXT is just saying he’s being nosy. xD[/mfn] (Qing Tian Da Laoye).”
“…”
Pei Xiting was too lazy to explain to the Daye natives who had no internet speed. He gently flicked open the fan in front of his face, carefully appreciated it, and said, “This acacia willow and summer cicada painting is average, but the four words ‘Fuming wind into the strings’ are really strong and powerful, with a combination of hidden and exposed elements. When it moves, it looks like a formation of galloping horses and sailing waves, calm and elegant, with a beautiful artistic conception. Is this Qu-shaoqing’s handwriting?”
Qu Zhao said, “Your expression betrays your praise. You don’t think I can write such words.”
That’s right, but on the surface, Pei Xiting said with all sincerity, “I have absolutely no such intention.”
“I can tell you.” Qu Zhao leaned forward slightly, as if telling a little secret, “This is a palace fan, and as for the surface of this fan, it’s the handwriting from the East Palace.”
It turned out to be the handwriting of the crown prince. Pei Xiting thought that “this is as expected.”
He smiled, “Being able to get this fan is enough to show that Qu-shaoqing is highly valued.”
“Yes, this is the reward from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince when I was promoted to Shaoqing last year.” Qu Zhao changed the subject, “You just said that the painting on this fan is average?”
Pei Xiting said sincerely, “You heard it wrong; I said it was like a magic brush.”
Although the Crown Prince was not satisfied with his own painting, who else dared to tell the truth?
Qu Zhao laughed and was about to scare him for fun when he suddenly heard someone call out “Qu Lianhai”. He turned around and saw that it was Pring Ning coming over.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” Zong Rui walked up to the two of them and stood still. “Do you want to go hunting with me, or go with the girls to weave colored ropes? They will have a grass-fighting[mfn]This game
[/mfn] competition later. You’d better choose the latter—the empress has instructed that she will escort you into marriage today.”
“No, I’m obsessed with Prince Ning. If you don’t get married, I will never give up!” Qu Zhao looked at Zong Rui with grievance, but Zong Rui looked at him with disgust to the point of wanting to kill. Qu Zhao then quickly turned his head to dodge the prince’s deadly iron fist. Obviously he was very familiar with this kind of attack.
He turned to look at Pei Xiting. “Are you going hunting?”
Pei Xiting wanted to follow and take a spin, but he was worried about falling into the animal’s den when he entered the hunting ground. He was hesitating when he heard Shangguan Jie say a few steps away, “Let’s go in together. If you really can’t ride, you can let Lianhai[mfn]Qu Zhao courtesy name.[/mfn] carry you.”
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone to hear. They were curious when they saw Qu-shaoqing talking to Pei Xiting and asked him to paint. Now hearing what the young marquis said, they suspected that the two had an unusual relationship, all pricking up their ears secretly.
“Hey, I don’t mind, but the horse definitely minds. Why does it have to work two times harder? It’s going to be exhausting.” Qu Zhao said with a smile.
“It’s fine. My horse dares not have any objection. Third Young Master Pei,” Shangguan Jie stared at Pei Xiting, “I’ll take you.”
Saying that he can’t ride is to deceive Prince Ning; saying that he doesn’t want to ride is to offend Shangguan Jie. Although Pei Xiting doesn’t mind offending Shangguan Jie, as long as he does this in front of others, those who support and flatter Shangguan Jie will give a lot of trouble. If it is reported back to Pei Mansion, he’s afraid that he will have to get a lesson package.
Pei Xiting looked back and said, “Thank you, young marquis, for your consideration. Although I can’t compare with you, I can still ride around twice.”
Shangguan Jie had checked Pei Xiting thoroughly and was sure that he couldn’t ride a horse. Hearing this, he sneered, “You can’t walk the horse in the hunting ground; otherwise, you will be eaten by tigers and wolves until there is nothing left.”
Qu Zhao exaggeratedly hugged Zong Rui’s arm and said timidly, “Are there tigers and wolves on this mountain? I won’t go in. I’m afraid.”
“The hunting ground here has never kept tigers and wolves in captivity. It’s just for fun.” Zong Rui pushed him away with disdain and teased Shangguan Jie, “You brought tigers and wolves with you today?”
Shangguan Jie said seriously, “Of course, with wolves on the left and tigers on the right, whether we can beat them depends on our luck.”
“My Lord, let’s set a prize.” Qu Zhao clenched his fist and patted Prince Ning’s shoulder.
Zong Rui showed a “you are talking nonsense” expression and was too lazy to deal with this annoying person. He said, “The top three will be determined by the number of prey. The prize I offer will never be a small amount of stuff.”
“How can it be enough to just have a prize? Rewards and punishments are relative. I think the three at the bottom should be punished, so let the top three punish the bottom three.” Shangguan Jie said.
Zong Rui didn’t care. Seeing that Qu Zhao didn’t say anything, he said, “That’s fine, but we are all out for fun; don’t go too far. This year I’m the one who organizes the Qixia Banquet; don’t cause me to get scolded in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
Qing Lingling gritted his teeth in the back, but he also knew that Zong Rui had already shown mercy. His words at least saved Pei Xiting by 70%.
Pei Xiting’s heart was like a clear mirror, and he remained silent.
After Shangguan Jie and Zong Rui left, Qu Zhao looked at Pei Xiting, “Do you want to come with me?”
A painting is worth so much money; exceeding it is not a good thing. Qu Zhao is definitely a smiling tiger. Dealing with this kind of hot-faced and cold-hearted person, the most taboo is to not have a sense of proportion. Pei Xiting smiled and said, “Thank you, Qu-shaoqing, for speaking for me. I won’t bother you anymore.”
Qu Zhao’s eyebrows raised slightly, and his smile became more intense. “Young Marquis didn’t lie to you; tigers and wolves really eat people. I think they are all ready to go.”
“Tigers and wolves eat people, and people also kill wolves and tigers. Who is bluffing whom?” Pei Xiting saluted and turned away.
Qu Zhao looked at Pei Xiting’s upright and slender back surging into the crowd. Suddenly sensing something, he looked back.
The falcon flew across the sky, swift as a shadow, flying into the green hills at the end of the horse farm. It landed on the black tiles of a pavilion built on the cliff and dropped a flying note.
Yu Shaoyun took a look at it and said, “Your Highness, the people below are betting on the winning or losing of the hunting game. Do you want to try your luck?”
The crown prince was reading a book without saying a word. The woman sitting opposite him in an indigo-colored gold flower skirt and a blue jade flower crown took the opportunity to take her troubled and tangled eyes away from the chessboard, raised her head, and said, “Whose names are there? Let me see.”
Yu Shaoyun walked up to her with the list, leaned over, and said, “Your Majesty, please take a look.”
Empress Qu looked sideways. “The top three most bets are Rui’er, Zhao’er, and Shangguan-erlang[mfn]Second-born male in the family.[/mfn], and the bottom three most bets are Wulang (fifth-born) from King Ning’s Mansion, Silang (fourth-born) from Duke Wen’s Mansion, and Sanlang (third-born) from Guanglu Temple Shaoqing Pei’s Mansion… Hey, the first two are frequent visitors to the bottom tier, but it’s the first time I’ve seen this child from the Pei family.”
“This is Third Pei’s first time at the banquet. He is born weak and doesn’t look like a horse runner and bow drawer. However—” Yu Shaoyun smiled, “Looking like one and being like one are two different things.”
“That’s right, you can’t judge a person by appearance.” Empress Qu looked up and asked the crown prince, “Fuchuan, who did you pick?”
The crown prince turned the page and said, “No one.”
“Hiiyah, just pick one at random. Let’s join in the fun.” Empress Qu urged, “Hurry up!”
The prince said casually, “Pei Xiting.”
Empress Qu reprimands him, “You can’t judge a person by appearance.”
“Yes.” The crown prince said, “I’m betting on him not being in the bottom three. If I’m right, don’t urge me to take a concubine this year.”
Empress Qu raised her eyebrows and said unhappily, “The selection of concubines in the Eastern Palace is a big deal. How can you make such a hasty decision? Besides, you don’t care whether I urge you or not; you won’t listen anyway!”
The crown prince said, “I don’t listen to you and you don’t say it are two different things.”
“Oh.” Empress Qu said sarcastically, “Men with power and influence can’t be offended. You are the king.”
The crown prince said, “You can rebel against me and become the king yourself.”
Empress Qu said with heartache, “Evil son!”
The crown prince said, “You are right.”
“… Humph!” Empress Qu glared at the crown prince angrily, looking him up and down. Two years after the crown prince has come of age, the terrible guess that had been swallowed back and hidden in her stomach for countless times finally came out, “Your Highness, the noble and majestic Crown Prince, tell me the truth, do you have any hidden illness? Don’t be embarrassed and seek treatment as soon as possible! And don’t be afraid of shame; we can diagnose and treat it secretly. If someone really finds out, we can also say that–”
She raised her hand, pointed at Yu Shaoyun, and said firmly, “It’s Xiaoyun who has an illness!”
Yu Shaoyun immediately expressed his loyalty, “I swear to save your Highness’s face!”
The Crown Prince said, “If you mean impotence, no.”
He just hates the feeling of being swallowed up by lust, and he doesn’t want to be a servant of lust, even if it’s just for a moment. If there’s no need for lust, then there’s no need to do such things with others. He does not need offspring.
At this moment, the disgust and resistance in the Crown Prince’s eyes almost solidified, but Empress Qu was distracted and suddenly remembered a certain trend in the capital.
“You are not…” She glanced at the crown prince, then at Yu Shaoyun, who was inseparable from the crown prince, back and forth, suspicious and panicked.
Yu Shaoyun felt that she seemed to be thinking about something scary and couldn’t help but comfort her considerately: “Your Majesty, the enthronement of the Crown Princess is a major matter. Your Highness has his own decision. You shouldn’t worry too much.”
His Highness won’t listen anyway. Aren’t you wasting your breath?
Empress Qu was just suspicious at first, but she believed it about 70% after hearing this—Yu Shaoyun jumped out to say this; if it wasn’t to cover up for the crown prince, what else could it be?!
The sky is falling!
Empress Qu covered her chest, shook her head, and sighed repeatedly, which made Yu Shaoyun confused. Even the crown prince looked up at her and said again, “I don’t have any hidden illness.”
Empress Qu slammed the table, taking the opportunity to disrupt the chessboard that was bound to lose, and said, “You might as well have it!”
The prince didn’t understand, “Oh.”
“Hurry up and send Lu’er to my palace. I won’t let you lead him astray.” Empress Qu said.
The crown prince said, “I will do it another day.”
Empress Qu rolled her eyes, “Don’t try to be perfunctory with me for the 30,000th time! I’m not saying that you’re wrong, but you treat Lu’er too harshly. He’s only nine years old, and you keep him in the East Palace to study and practice martial arts all day long, without any fun as a child. Do you want to raise a second…”
She realized that she had said something wrong and stopped talking.
“The second me?” The crown prince said calmly, “He is the heir to the throne. It is his duty to study and practice martial arts. Otherwise, should a dandy fool sit on the throne in the future? I protect him and prevent him from facing danger and being plotted against. This is already tolerant. If he finds it tiring to study and practice martial arts, then he can go out to beg with a stick and a bowl and be killed on the way so that he can go down to accompany his parents earlier.”
“You… are too harsh!” Empress Qu was sad and worried. “Can you not talk like this in front of a child? What if he hates you? After all, there have been rumors against you over the years about the second child’s situation. Three people make a tiger[mfn]If a rumor is repeated many times, people will believe it.[/mfn]. Lu’er is just a child and doesn’t necessarily have the realm to not be at the mercy of words!”
“Then let him kill me…” While the crown prince dropped the black piece, his index finger flicked a white chess piece away. It “swished” past Empress Qu’s temples like a snow shadow and collided head-on with a silver flying knife in the air. “Snap,” it broke into pieces at the same time and fell to the ground.
Empress Qu turned to her side and saw a white-clad assassin fall heavily from the woods behind, with a blood-stained white feathered arrow piercing through most of his back.
Bai Tang jumped down from a tree further away with his quiver in his hand, saluted her, put his mask back on, and then resumed his journey up the tree.
“…if he can do it.” The crown prince said in a calm voice.
Empress Qu: “…”
She turned her head back and asked the crown prince sincerely, “This assassin looks familiar, and he is dressed exactly like the group who tried to assassinate me last time. Are they in the same group? I’m really curious, do these assassin organizations also distribute uniform clothing?”
“Maybe.” The prince said, “Next time, if there is a chance, I will leave one alive to help you solve your doubts.”
Hua: All these footnotes are killing me ༼ ༎ຶ ᆺ ༎ຶ༽
HAHAHAHAHAHA, I LIKE THIS MOTHER AND SON DUO