Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

With no doubt, this ‘beautiful and pleasant sounding’ voice belongs to Meng Shao Jue, Young Master Meng. I feel the corner of my eyes very slightly twitch, classmate Meng Shao Jue, why do I feel the timing of your appearances just always happens to be so perfectly timed?

Outside the pavilion, Meng Shao Jue in a body of graceful, silver long robes, holds a purple jade fan that exudes a warm shine under the sunrays, he ignores Ying Lu’s utterly stunned look, once again saying, “Ying Lu, did you not hear my words?”

“Bro-, Brother.” Ying Lu stammers, “You said Fifth Princess, princess, greet the princess?”

Meng Shao Jue slowly walks into the pavilion, long and narrow phoenix eyes carrying a shallow smile as he looks at me, saying: “En.”

“But, but.” Ying Lu looks extremely troubled as she furrows her brows, “Where is the princess here, you, me, Ah-Lan, it’s just the three of us ah. Or……when did Brother become Fifth Princess?”

Meng Shao Jue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing this, raising his purple jade fan, he lightly knocks it onto her forehead: “Stop playing dumb with me, this is the imperial palace, be more serious, will you?”

Ying Lu rubs her forehead, sending him a glare, then pouts and says: “It is clearly you who is causing the problem here, Fifth Princess, Fifth Princess, why would Ah-Lan become Fifth Princess?”

Meng Shao Jue’s thin lips hooks up, meaningfully glancing at me, “This……you will have to ask her yourself.”

I think to myself, is this not right? You two are discussing back and forth, but why is it that I – the person in question here – isn’t involved in the discussion itself?

Ying Lu sinks into silence for a while, then turns to grabs my shoulders, extremely seriously looking at me and asking: “Are you, Ah-Lan?”

I don’t know why I found it rather funny, but on the outside, I maintain my expression, “En.”

I thought Ying Lu would continue to follow up with questions or something, but didn’t expect to her to let out a big sigh in relief upon hearing this answer, the corners of her lips revealing an incomparably dazzling smile, shrugging her shoulders and speaking to Meng Shao Jue in a very indifferent mater: “Brother, look, Ah-Lan says she is Ah-Lan eh, so it’s nothing then. Ai~, it’s no longer early, Ah-Lan, let us return to the estate now.” Having said that, she grabs my hand, wanting to leave.

However, Meng Shao Jue’s face darkens as he raises his fan to knock at her again, very helplessly saying: “Meng Ying Lu, can you get any crazier?”

“Brother.” Ying Lu’s voice is bright and strong, her beautiful eyes flashing brightly, “Ah-Lan already says she is Ah-Lan, is this not enough?”

Right after Ying Lu’s words were spoken, both Meng Shao Jue and I freeze on the spot, I feel a very slight warmth surge up from the bottom of my heart, Ying Lu is saying, as long as I am Ah-Lan, that is all that matters. I slowly hook up the corners of my lips, Ying Lu, turns out that sometimes, matters can be as simple as this.

Just like calculating the distance between two points, the path you take is completely straight, direct and fast. Yet we would always turn here, and walk around there, as we ponder over too many possibilities, ultimately passing by the shortest correct choice.

You are so much more pure than us.

Ying Lu ignores both our silences, reaching out to wrap an arm around my shoulder, heartily laughing as she says: “A fool is ultimately a fool, just look at your eyes, still ever so dull, not at all different to Xiao Hei’s ah. Oh right, Brother, where’s Xiao Hei?”

Meng Shao Jue had originally narrowed his phoenix eyes, his expression looking rather pleased with clear understanding, but upon hearing Ying Lu’s question, it turns a little strange, the corners of his lips suspiciously turning upwards, “En, Xiao Hei ah, it is with Gentleman Yuwen right now.” His handsome face hooks up into a deep smile, “I have come finding you two precisely due to Gentleman Yuwen’s matter.”

I feel somewhat confused, seeing his smile, it is clear he can’t hold it back, yet he’s putting his all into suppressing it, Xiao Hei and Yuwen Rui? Could it be those two, eh, sent ‘sparks’ flying?

Ying Lu is also rather confused, “Brother what is this expression of yours, did something happen?”

Meng Shao Jue only smiles mysteriously, signalling for us to follow him. Ying Lu holds my hand and looks at me, then quietly follows after.

Exactly what has happened, can be clearly understood upon seeing it.

And then, just when Ying Lu and I were faced with this very unexpected, spectacular scene, we both fall silent. After a moment of silence, Ying Lu sounds “pu-chi” as she bursts out laughing, her shoulders intensely shaking. And I could not hold back from curling my lips into a big big curve, ignoring Yuwen Rui’s vaguely darkening face.

Just seeing in the hall, the elegantly refined Yuwen Rui sitting on a chair, elegantly holding a teacup as he enjoys his tea, long and fine fox eyes still and unaffected, steady and calm. And at his chest, there is a stably hanging pig, a black little pig, one can even vaguely see that black pig’s mouth tightly shut.

I cannot hold back the smile from reaching my eyes, deep inside, I am already laughing to the point of having difficulty breathing. Lord, can someone explain to me what exactly is going on here? Why is Xiao Hei persistently hanging from Yuwen Rui’s chest like a necklace?

Ying Lu is practically wheezing from laughter, she tugs at Meng Shao Jue’s sleeve, shaking it, “Brother, tell me am I imagining things, this is just my imagination, right? How is Xiao Hei hanging from Gentleman Yuwen’s body so rudely? Puhaha, no, this is definitely an illusion.”

Meng Shao Jue pretends to very seriously think, his eyes vaguely flashing with mischief, he brightly smiles and says: “In fact, I also think this is an illusion we’re seeing.”

I silently think, since they are all saying it’s an illusion, then perhaps, this is just an illusion.

Just that Yuwen Rui’s slightly cold voice very quickly breaks us from the self-hypnotising, his long and fine eyes giving rise to a faint smile as he says: “Are you done laughing?”

Ying Lu immediately straightens her face, very rule-abidingly answering: “Done laughing.”

I once again think: Ying Lu is indeed extremely cute.

“Since you are done laughing……” Yuwen Rui lazily blinks his eyes, within his calm words there seems to be a little gnashing of his teeth, “You all help me discuss, how to take this thing down.”

“Eh,” Ying Lu pauses, raising her head to look at Meng Shao Jue, saying: “Brother, you quickly go and help Gentleman Yuwen out ah. How discourteous this is, truly is far too discourteous.”

Meng Shao Jue’s nice-looking brows twitches, “You think that if I knew the solution, I would still need to go and find you two?”

Ying Lu very decisively shakes her head, “No.”

Whilst the two of them hold a little meeting over here, over there, a certain pig on Yuwen Rui’s chest sounds “heng-ji-heng-ji”, yet its mouth still persists on keeping a death grip, unwilling to let go. Yuwen Rui glances down at it, his smile growing increasingly gentle when he raises his head again, “You still not done discussing yet?” His smile sits shallowly on his skin as he seemingly relays the message of ‘if you’re still not done discussing, then I shall take matters into my own hand’.

Ying Lu gulps upon seeing the situation, “This, let me try.”

She walks up to Yuwen Rui’s side, stretching out her hands to Xiao Hei, saying: “Xiao Hei, be good, come down.”

Xiao Hei’s two big soulless eyes, dully looks at Yuwen Rui’s light green clothes, with no intention to make a move at all.

Ying Lu pouts, softening her voice, to speak in a luring tone: “Xiao Hei, I just found that there’s a very tasty snack in the palace, crunchy and delicious, oh how tasty it is. I had even specially told that palace maid to bring a few to you. Come, I’ll take you to taste it, should it get cold now, it wouldn’t be tasty anymore.”

Yet Master Xiao Hei still remains indifferent, paying no attention to the gentle and loveable Ying Lu. I lament, not seen it for a few days, the pig master has actually changed, to not even be moved by food!

In this world, everything makes progress.

Ying Lu grows somewhat impatient as she looks at Xiao Hei, threatening, “I say Xiao Hei, are you not coming down? You’re really not coming down? You’re determined to not come down?”

In face of her threats, Master Xiao Hei is actually not affected in the slightest, still hanging from Yuwen Rui’s clothing at his chest.

“Looks like you have ironed your will to not come down.” Ying Lu strokes her own chin, as she says this to Xiao Hei in a very deep and heavy tone, then raises her head to very innocently smile at Yuwen Rui, “Gentleman Yuwen, you see, Xiao Hei really isn’t listening to me, I too, cannot do anything else. How about, you try interacting with it a little? In fact, it’s very adorable. Really.”

Watching from afar, Ying Lu, are you certain this isn’t payback on Yuwen Rui for saving Liu Ru Xu?

Yuwen Rui’s hand holding the teacup freezes, a cold light flashing past those long and fine fox eyes, “Interact? Young Lady Meng’s meaning is to let it interact with me whilst hanging from my body? En, this sure is very intimate.”

Ying Lu immediately couldn’t hold back from laughing, turning to run back to Meng Shao Jue’s side, “Brother, haha, I really have no other idea.”

Meng Shao Jue speaks with a seeming smile: “Perhaps, Princess can give it a try?”

Ying Lu claps, “That’s right oh, Ah-Lan, Xiao Hei listens to you well, should you give it a try, maybe it’ll let go. Quickly go, quickly go.”

Yuwen Rui coldly looks at me, “Ah-Lan, come over.”

I obediently walk up to him, “Cousin.”

His slender and long fingers reach out, moving the loose strands of hair by my cheeks behind my ear, half lowering his eyes as he quietly says: “It listens to you, en?”

I shake my head, “It’s not like Ah-Lan is a pig.” I’m not a pig, pig is not human, so how would a pig understand what I say?

A smile suddenly spreads across Yuwen Rui’s whole face, he widens his eyes at me, those brown eyes bottomless deep, “It doesn’t understand human language……now?” He reaches out to pinch my nose, changing the subject, asking, “Have you eaten this morning?”

I don’t understand why, but still honestly answer: “No.”

“Then……” He lightly says: “What would you like to eat this afternoon?”

I very familiarly respond, “Meat.”

“What meat?”

“Pig meat.”

……eh, what, pig meat?

I think I understand Yuwen Rui’s meaning now.

As expected, after Master Xiao Hei hears our ‘unbelievably normal’ meal discussion, it loosens its jaw, working its short and stubby legs along Yuwen Rui’s thighs and walks to me, it stretches its neck, barely managing to reach my hand as it rubs against it, black eyes soullessly looking at me, then issues a seemingly very aggrieved “heng-ji” sound.

Yuwen Rui’s elegantly refined face is still smiling elegantly, seeming to show no reaction to Master Hei’s release. But I sharply catch the wicked smile flashing past his eyes.

I deeply sigh inside my heart, indeed, one person is more evil than the other.

I reach out to hold Xiao Hei’s warm body after a long time, tugging its ear to say: “Long time no see.”

Xiao Hei’s back legs kicks once or twice, then comfortably closes its eyes in my arms, I stroke its smooth black fur, thinking to myself, its lazy expression of bullying the weak but bows to the strong, all whilst sailing in direction of the wind, is just too cute.

“Has everything been said?” Yuwen Rui glances between Ying Lu and I several times, leisurely asking.

Ying Lu comes up hooking onto my arm, stroking Xiao Hei whilst at it, speaking with slight displeasure: “What has been said? There’s simply nothing that is needed to be said. Ah-Lan, now that you can’t come back to the estate with me, it sure is boring.”

Hearing this, Yuwen Rui politely says: “Since Young Lady Meng is Ah-Lan’s good friend, of course you can come into the palace often to see her.”

Ying Lu knocks her head against me, “Ah-Lan, is that alright?”

I nod, “En.”

Ying Lu does not happily smile, and instead speaks out of boredom: “But it’s no fun inside the palace ah, how could it be as interesting as the outside.”

I understand, the meaning behind her words are, they must let us play outside. Great, I like that.

“Just right,” Meng Shao Jue’s purple jade fan lightly sways, an appearance of a handsome and unrestrained, wealthy young man, “In a few days it will be the Dragon Boat Festival, don’t know if Gentleman Yuwen and Princess wishes to give us the honour of seeing it together?”

Yuwen Rui gives a slight nod, “I was just thinking the same, then it shall be set then.”

Meng Shao Jue smilingly says: “That’s a promise then.”

I look at the two pretty and courteous men, suddenly feeling deep lamentation.

People, sure cannot be judged by appearance.

The following days returns to the monotonous life it once was, Imperial Sister and I go and see the recently recovered Father Emperor together, when we had arrived, it just happened to run into Eldest Imperial Sister and Third Imperial Sister asking about Father Emperor’s wellbeing. Father Emperor shows a high degree of welcome towards Imperial Sister’s arrival, towards me tagging along, he shows clear indifference in comparison. Imperial Sister tries hard in wanting to pull me into their atmosphere, but it cannot help that I truly am an outcast, I quietly stand in my own spot, watching the scene of their father’s love and daughter’s filial piety, just like watching a drama.

This belongs to them, but not me.

What belongs to me is only that cold palace hall of mine, I like to hide within the warmth of the blankets in the frosty winter, like to find coolness in lying on the bamboo mat in the hot summer, my life is simple and boring, but is very much how I like it.

This is what belongs to me, but is what they don’t have.

This night, I was originally enjoying my sweet sleep, but in a moment of haze, I see my windows opened wide, and at the table by the window, someone is sitting there. I rub my eyes, towards a situation like this, I have already gotten used to it.

Today is the third day of the seventh month, the death anniversary of Yuwen Rui’s mother.