CH 22

Jing Qi slightly lowered his head and evaded Helian Yi's eyes.

Lu Shen was a highly gifted scholar — after honing his skills for some time, he would definitely become a pillar of the nation, assisting his ruler in governing the people and pacifying the lands. It was just that he had read too many books, in addition to his young age, thus his ways of dealing with the world still carried some parts of naivety and childishness.

Regarding the matter that Helian Yi often went to see Su Qingluan, it actually would be hard to tell how much of that visit was out of sincerity and how much was of falseness. It seemed that for all his life, this man had been tightly bound by an invisible rope, and not even once that he had strayed a bit from the trajectory of becoming the greatest sage-king(1) — even if he was seized by sudden impulses.

As someone with frighteningly fierce ambition and lofty aims, naturally he would also have the burdens and constraints that other people couldn’t see.

Jing Qi admitted that at the moment, his own heart was still rather complicated: on the one hand he felt like a nonchalant bystander who was watching events of no concern to himself unfold with rueful and heavy sighs; on the other hand, he couldn’t refrain himself from reminiscing about the matters of those hundreds of years ago — even when he had already buried these memories in the deepest and darkest corner of his heart; even when all these crazy, ludicrous affections had already vanished like smoke in thin air.

No longer cared about them. Already let them fade away — yet they still lingered.

This kind of feeling was indeed very elusive.

Luckily, He Yunxing suddenly opened his mouth right at that moment and digressed from the original subject. He asked: “I heard His Majesty showed up in court today and even threw a fit. What was this all about?”

He Yunxing’s reputation in the capital city was towering. Although he was known as the leader of the Capital’s Top Three Young Masters, he hadn’t yet to enter the official ranks. Several others had already recommended him in the past, but every time his father, Old Marquis He Jing, would refute and keep him at home by telling miscellaneous and frivolous excuses like “still too green and inexperienced” or “inferior in ability and shallow in knowledge” which were even stinkier than a fart. That had undoubtedly and utterly dispirited He Yunxing — with his ambition in vain, he was bored out of his mind, and all he could do was diddle around and walk his horse from places to places everyday. Fortunately, through his good buddy, Lu Shen, he was introduced to Helian Yi, whom he immediately clicked with from the first encounter.

Lu Shen then recounted the entire incident about Jiang Zheng’s accusations and Wei Cheng being caught at once. He Yunxing couldn’t help but furrow his brows, his gaze directed to Jing Qi: “Didn’t Your Royal Highness also mention the issue about the Spring Market that we have with those Wa Ge La people last time?”

Jing Qi shook his head: “Since I live in the capital, this is nothing but some speculation behind closed doors. There have been more and more people occupying the northwest, and they are even residing on the Man Yi’s land (2). As they look southward, all sorts of beautiful sights and flourishing landscapes of our Da Qing nation unfold in front of their eyes. The population keeps increasing every Spring Market. If we say that they don’t have any vicious intentions, not even a ghost would believe it.”

But the emperor believed it.

Of course, it wouldn’t be very appropriate to say the previous statement out loud — Jing Qi could only force a bitter smile inside before continuing: “It’s nothing much. I heard the current Wa Ge La Clan was still a coalition of several tribes. As long as they don’t join hands and merge into one, the situation is not too concerning.”

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He Yunxing was quiet and completely absorbed in thoughts; after a while, he heaved a sigh: “One can only be a true man as he wields the sword and holds the reins, serving on the battlefield without fearing for his life and establishing his own career. It is too bad that I… haizz!”

Everyone knew that the Old Marquis, He Jing, had only one child. Since He Yunxing was little, his father had been handling him with such great care and delicacy, treasuring him to the point he couldn’t bear to let others see his baby. Yet, He Yunxing was born robust with strength and spirit, well-versed in both literature and martial arts — indeed someone with the wildest and most restless heart. As a result, when it came to this treasured child of his, he could never stop worrying.

He then heard Helian Yi comment in a low voice: “If peace prevails on the nation’s lands, people getting along and living happily, isn’t it still a great thing even when one is not engaging in that life of wielding swords and cutting down others?”

He Yunxing was dumbfounded; then he shook his head, a smile on his lips: “Yes, what Your Highness the Crown Prince said was true. It is actually me being narrow-minded.”

After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Zishu asked: “The fact that the Xingzou Eunuch from the Emperor’s Study pushing back submitted memorials and taking bribes is something that everyone, albeit without words, has long been aware of. If it had just been the same usual situation, even with heaven-daring audacity, that eunuch still wouldn’t have gone to such extent. Unless…”

He suddenly lowered his voice, his long and narrow eyes swept across Helian Yi’s countenance: “Unless this person is not so ordinary.”

Helian Yi’s brows knitted together instantly — all these vague, speculative thoughts began to clear up in his heart. In court, there were only a handful of people whom Zhou Zishu would regard as “not so ordinary”. He Lianyi knew very clearly what kind of people were in the northwest; and whoever was involved in the northwest’s affairs, he also had a very thorough idea about them. After a moment of carefully thinking about it, a swell of rage surged through him; but as his gaze swept over the men sitting around him, he forced himself to swallow it back again. Then, he only gave an indifferent response: “I know.”

Jing Qi said with a smile: “He who is unjust is doomed to destruction. At the moment, I only fear that Wei Cheng’s one-sided statement won’t be enough to bring that person down. If Your Highness the Crown Prince hasn’t gotten to fully release your anger, shall I just go and light another fire?”

Helian Yi lifted his gaze and looked at the other man, disapproval written all over his face.

Jing Qi only put on a smile: “It is alright. I already have things planned in mind. I only need an excuse to pay a visit to His Highness the First Prince tomorrow.”

“Beiyuan,” Helian Yi’s face darkened; his pair of eyes fixated on Jing Qi without a single blink: “You be good for me. Don’t meddle in these muddy and filthy matters. If anything unanticipated happens, how am I supposed to protect you?”

“Don’t worry. I know when to stop.” Jing Qi answered as if he were paying no heed to the man. He slightly lowered his gaze and stared directly at the wine in his cup, not sparing Helian Yi even one look.

Just then, there came a sudden burst of loud cries and curses from the outside. Jing Qi erupted in laughter and pointed outward: “It really did come.”

Helian Yi asked: “What is happening outside?”

The door was shut close in this private room, yet it seemed like Jing Qi got a pair of eyes that could see through the walls. He smiled: “Nothing. Young Master Cai is harassing a female commoner.”

Lu Shen was startled: “Which Young Master Cai?”

“Who else could that be?” He Yunxing said angrily, “Isn’t that Cai Yazhang, son of Chief Minister of Revenue Cai Jianxing? That lad is the gold-coated and jade-adorned kind but all cotton waste inside, reeking of wine and women’s touches from head to toes. I can’t believe that he is still able to pull off such shameless acts. I have to go take a look!”

After saying that, without letting anyone stopping him, he immediately grabbed the sword on his side and rose to his feet.

This was indeed the difference between an experienced man with a long history and a newborn calf that didn’t flinch in front of tigers. Watching He Yunxing’s receding figure, Jing Qi suddenly felt that he himself was really getting old, and no longer full of spirit as these young lads.

Helian Yi’s complexion was rather stark. Zhou Zishu and Lu Shen looked at each other before rising to their feet at the same time. Zhou Zishu said: “Both of us will also go out and take a look. Just in case Yunxing loses control and cause any kind of mishap.”

It was only after the two of them had left that Helian Yi finally held down the hand with the wine cup of Jing Qi and asked in a low whisper: “What mischief are you up to?”

Jing Qi answered in an equally low voice: “In order to deal with wicked souls, one also needs to use wicked methods. Your Highness the Crown Prince, don’t listen to these kinds of things — they will only soil your ears. I am also going to check this lively scene out for a bit.”

After saying that, he also attempted to get on his feet but only to be pushed back down by Helian Yi: “Jing Beiyuan, I don’t like it when you get involved in these kinds of things.”

Jing Qi was dumbfounded.

Then he heard Helian Yi continued: “This capital city is not considered large — for each day that I am alive, I can make sure that you will be safe that day.  Whatever happens, there is no need for you to burden yourself with schemes and plans on these matters. Since you have this much energy, go learn something useful, won’t you?”

Jing Qi’s heart throbbed a little, and he thought, is the difference between genuine feelings and false display of affection really that big? Such simple and transparent thing with a clear distinction between black and white like that doesn’t exist in this world.He might have not understood back then; but this time he already got used to it.  

Moments later, a soft chuckle escaped from his lips; after retracting his hand, he stood up and answered in an utterly calm and unhurried voice: “I was born to be the sinister kind of person who sugarcoats every word with flattery. Your Highness the Crown Prince, you should actually make the best use of this lowly me instead.”

After that, he simply got up and left, paying no mind to Helian Yi’s eyes that swiftly fell somber behind him.

The moment Jing Qi walked out of the door, he immediately saw He Yunxing’s fierce battle against Cai Yazhang… No, to be a little more exact, it was He Yunxing furiously beating Cai Yazhang. Next to them was a female singer in emerald dress, her arms holding a zither, tears pouring down on her face like pear blossoms dancing in the rain — one truly could not help but have tender feelings toward her upon the first look.

Lu Shen felt that there was something inappropriate about this; unfortunately, he was just a feeble scholar who didn’t even have the strength to properly truss a chicken, and his worries could only be in vain — thus he walked over and gave Zhou Zishu a tug: “Brother Zishu, why haven’t you dragged Yunxing back yet?”

Without even waiting for Zhou Zishu to open his mouth, Jing Qi had already glided over to stand between the two of them. With a voice light as a feather, he commented: “It’s okay— just fight. Hey, you! Yes, I am talking to you,” he told the bodyguard who had always been following him. “Go and help the Young Marquis. You’d better beat that Young Master Cai to the point even his father couldn’t recognize him, saving us some trouble in case he wants to go and settle accounts with us.”

Seeing this battle unfold, Zhou Zishu could already come up with a few speculations in mind. With a smile, he asked: “Your Royal Highness, what is the reason for this?”

Jing Qi pointed at the lady whose tears resembled pear blossoms dancing in the rain: “I took a liking to her.”

Zhou Zishu was bewildered for a moment, his brows shot up significantly  — but soon after they eased back to their shape as if he had already figured out something. On the other hand, the dumbfounded expression on Lu Shen’s face was exactly of someone who had just got struck by lightning in the middle of the street.

Poor Young Master Cai — today he has really become the “Trampled” Young Master.

(t/n: a wordplay; the character 蔡 [cài] in his last name has similar reading to 踩 [cǎi] which means to trample/to step on.)

By the following day, three or four versions of the rumor from that day’s incident had already been circulated outside, painting the image of this female singer in people’s imagination to the point of being unrealistic. They said that her beauty was the kind that would overthrow cities and ruin states, and that she was so gorgeous that one’s soul would immediately drop out of their body upon the first moment of seeing her — even Nan Ning Wang and Young Master Cai from the Chief Minister’s Residence ended up rivaling against each other for the lady’s affections, throwing themselves in a full-blown fight. Some others said that this Young Master Cai had always got a bad reputation, who had been harassing women on a daily basis; this time, Young Marquis He and His Royal Highness Nan Ning Wang happened to catch the man and give him a lesson — once it was finally over, Young Master had already been half dead.

Similar kinds of rumors were everywhere out there, one could just name it. There were plenty of rich and noble idlers with much leisure time living in the capital city — they usually had nothing to do, thus could only sit there bored out of their minds and twittle-twattle about random trifles, feasting on gossip like snacks after the main meal.

But the odd thing was, this singer lady had never been seen again since that day — as a result, someone else decided to do a good deed and made another speculation: Had this beauty, the first awakening love of His Royal Highness, been brought back to Nan Ning Wang Residence so that he could keep her as his beloved mistress in the splendid abode?

Of course, Nan Ning Wang Residence would not have the capacity to hide such a sweetheart: Ping An had given the lady some money and sent her away already.

Coming from a brothel, this young lady had just reached marriage age — before her first night could even happen, she had already caught Jing Qi’s eyes, thus received his help to buy back her freedom. After her spectacular performance that day, he gave her an amount of money and found several people in the rural area to arrange a place for her. Needless to say, she was beyond grateful for him.

Even Wu Xi who never wanted to walk past his gates had heard about this story. The moment Jing Qi finished writing a greeting card and ordered Ji Xiang to deliver it to the First Prince’s Residence, someone had already come in to announce the Young Sorcerer’s arrival.

Wu Xi was actually very curious. In his mind, Jing Qi had always been a stealthy person who had a glib mouth and disliked getting in trouble — who would have thought that just after two days of not seeing each other, this man had become the center figure of all the gossip in town. The moment Jing Qi raised his head, he was met with Wu Xi’s sparking, big, dark eyes and appraising stare. Such a gaze really made Jing Qi think that there had been some rice sticking on his face since lunch, thus he couldn’t help but reach his hand over to wipe off any possibly remaining grains then asked: “What are you staring at?”

Wu Xi drawled: “Where we came from, people who are at your age have to wait until one or two years later before bringing a wife home.”

Jing Qi nearly choked to death on his own saliva. He looked at Wu Xi with a tinge of horror in his eyes: “Bringing a what?”

Wu Xi asked: “Aren’t you going to get married?”

Jing Qi’s eyes widened: “Don’t talk nonsense! Where did you even get all of this rubbish?”

Wu Xi contemplated about it for a moment and nodded his head: “Ah, I see now. These are indeed rubbish. A Xin Lai went out early this morning and heard others saying that you liked this one lady, that you even brought her back and kept her to Nan Ning Wang Residence.”

Does bringing a girl back home also mean that I am going to marry her? Jing Qi heaved a sigh. In his heart, he understood this child’s notion of marriage: if one truly liked someone, he would wed the girl and bring her home as his bride. He thought that these brothers from the foreign clans in the wilderness were seriously too simple, and was also too lazy to correct Wu Xi, thus only gave a few heedless waves of his hand: “Don’t listen to those gibberish gossip in town. These people are bored out of their minds — it will kill them not being able to mouth off about nonsense even just for one day.”

Wu Xi agreed with all seriousness and nodded his head: “I also feel that it was all nonsense. Getting married is an important matter; it shouldn’t be decided all of a sudden like that.”

Having nothing good to do, Jing Qi the elder immediately felt the desire to tease this young man for a little bit. His heart rang with amusement as he saw the solemnly and humorlessly adultlike expression of Wu Xi, thus immediately asked: “What is it? Now that the Young Sorcerer is not young anymore, thus starting to have these sentimental and amorous thoughts? What kind of person do you like? Say it and I’ll go look a nice one for you later. And when you go back to your hometown in the future, you can bring a Da Qing bride back with you, sounds good?”

That truly took Wu Xi by surprise. After spending a good chunk of the day mulling over the offer, he still couldn’t figure out what kind of person that he liked. He stammered for a while and finally said: “This… We don’t have to think about this so early, do we?”

Jing Qi said with a grin: “Why not? Otherwise, with that many women out there, how would you know whom you want to marry?”

Wu Xi furrowed his brows, thinking that these words were indeed reasonable. He lifted his gaze from the ground — in front of him was a young man whose smiling eyes were of tender curves, carrying a mischievous hint of someone that was up to no good. A blurred figure suddenly flashed through his mind, and he immediately blurted out: “Then I hope she will be a beautiful one. It is best if she can be beautiful just like you.”