CH 47

Wu Bujian’s reaction to the little red bird was abnormally strong, and Chen Ziqi gave Wu Bujian a strange look. “You know the divine chicken as well?” he asked dubiously.

Chen Ziqi had always assumed that only Dan Yi and the Lan family knew about the divine chicken, but based on Wu Bujian’s reaction, it seemed that everyone in the Cloud Palace knew about it as well. 

“Ch-chicken?!” Wu Bujian looked blankly at his Palace Master, then at Chen Ziqi’s face, which had suspicion written all over it. He swallowed hard. “Wang ye, this isn’t… owch!”

Before he finished his sentence, Tu Buxian gave him a hard slap on the back, causing him to stagger.

“What’re you hitting me for?! That’s the second time today!” Wu Bujian slapped back at Tu Buxian, but the latter caught hold of his hand. They started fighting with each other right then and there, completely forgetting about Chen Ziqi’s presence.

Chen Ziqi narrowed his eyes and looked down at the little red bird. The small creature looked up innocently at him. As birds’ eyes were on the side of their head, the little bird had to cock his head to one side and stare at him out of one eye. The two crown feathers on his head swayed gently with the movement. 

Chen Ziqi pulled gently at the two crown feathers on the bird’s head and used his fingers to measure them. They seemed to have grown out a bit as well. One feather was longer than the other, and the longer feather had become very fluffy, like a dandelion that was about to bloom.

Chen Ziqi couldn’t resist blowing at it. “Puff~”

“Wang ye, there is a guest waiting for you in the front atrium,” Fuxi said, coming in to report. He had also brought Chen Ziqi’s cloak with him.

Jianyang’s weather changed very rapidly. Just yesterday, it had rained nonstop, which was characteristic of autumn; today, snowflakes were flying down from the sky, and Fuxi’s nose was red from the cold.

A tall man stood quietly in the front atrium. He wore an indigo robe with wide sleeves, fastened at the waist with a powder blue belt. He didn’t wear any accessories at his waist, and only had an old, unadorned sword hanging from his belt. The only embellishment on the sword was the Lushan Sect’s signature three-layered tassel hanging from the hilt.

He breathed in a calm, relaxed manner, and his posture was even and balanced, as if he were a great pine tree that wouldn’t sway even in the strongest winds. Just looking at his back, Chen Ziqi could already tell that he was a highly-skilled martial artist.

“The weather is very cold, and I’ve only just arisen from bed. I came as soon as I knew that an honoured guest had come to call. Please forgive my tardiness,” Chen Ziqi said. He had lived in the palace for a good seven years, and the one thing he had learnt well was how to say these polite little pleasantries.

The man turned. He saw Chen Ziqi’s earnest face, and immediately clasped his fists together in greeting. “It is I who came out of the blue and disturbed Wang ye,” he said, 

He had straight eyebrows that slanted upwards, and a calm, unsmiling face. It was indeed the swordsman who had saved them that day at the Temple of the Earth God. Chen Ziqi’s smile became much more sincere. “I am very grateful for the help you gave us that day. How may I address you?” he asked. Ah Mu had said yesterday that this man might be his Jiujiu, and Chen Ziqi had conveniently examined his features whilst they were speaking. There really was some resemblance. Their eyebrows and eyes in particular were very similar.

“Ktlr bcf lr mjiifv Ol Tetjc. P jw bcf bo atf Oertjc Vfma’r vlrmlqifr,” Ol Tetjc rjlv. Lf kjr jirb byrfgnlcu Jtfc Ildl. Ktlr mtliv tjv j qjlg bo fzqgfrrlnf qfjmt yibrrbw fsfr atja wjvf tlw ibbx ilxf tf kjr jikjsr rwlilcu. Pa kjr tjgv ab offi jcs fcwlas abkjgvr tlw.

Chen Ziqi instructed servants to serve them tea, and they drank it together slowly. Chen Ziqi had overslept this morning and missed his breakfast, so the warm tea soothed his empty tummy well.

Dan Yi perched on Chen Ziqi’s clothes, looking suspiciously at the swordsman opposite them. 

Li Yuhan didn’t seem to be good at making conversation. He hesitated for some time before finally speaking up, as if he weren’t sure of what to say.

Chen Ziqi, on the other hand, was very good at making people feel comfortable. He set down his teacup and started to make small talk. “That day, there were women in the carriage, and they were very distressed after we were attacked. We were worried that more untoward things might happen if we dallied there for too long, so we didn’t have time to say our thanks to you. I had actually planned to go to Lushan to visit…”

“It was right for you to leave. Knives and swords have no eyes, and it’s easy for people to be accidentally injured in the conflict,” Li Yuhan said. He didn’t seem to want to linger on this topic, and pressed his lips together awkwardly. “I came here today because I have a request to make of Wang ye.”

“Please, speak,” Chen Ziqi said with a smile. 

“That day, there was a child with you. Who is he?” Li Yuhan said, slowly clenching his hands into fists.

An official Imperial announcement had been made at the time that the lost princes were being brought back to the palace. When Ah Mu was taken away, Li Yuhan had managed to follow Ah Mu all the way to the Capital, but had fainted thereafter because he had sustained serious injuries along the way. When he awoke, he saw that the notice board on the city gates bore an announcement about “The Eleventh Prince, Chen Zimu” in huge letters. Since that day, he had been trying to get news about Ah Mu, but the palace walls were a hundred feet high, and he had heard nothing after that day.

Chen Ziqi’s eyebrows twitched. This man was actually Ah Mu’s Jiujiu? “That’s my brother,” Chen Ziqi said.

Li Yuhan’s breath caught in his throat. “Is he… the Eleventh Prince?” he asked. 

“Yes,” a childish voice said from the door. He had been standing with his hands clutching the door frame for some time now, and only half his face could be seen. The other half was hidden bashfully behind the door frame.

Li Yuhan’s eyes widened. He was so surprised that he couldn’t speak for a moment. “Ah Mu…” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

Chen Ziqi beckoned to the little fatty to come over. Ah Mu obediently ran in and stood next to Chen Ziqi, looking nervously at the person opposite them.

He couldn’t remember what his Jiujiu looked like any more, but he still remembered that he had a Jiujiu. Chang Er had brought up his Jiujiu frequently over the last seven years so that he wouldn’t forget that he still had a Jiujiu who loved him dearly on this Earth. 

However, a whole seven years had passed, and Ah Mu’s memory of what happened before he came to the palace was not very clear. He had been very young then, after all. Now that Li Yuhan was finally before him, he didn’t really know how to behave; he was practically a stranger to Ah Mu.

“Ah Mu, I’m your Jiujiu. Do you not remember me?” Li Yuhan said. There was some pain in his eyes as he looked at Ah Mu. Having Ah Mu snatched away from him had been the greatest regret in his life. Every day, in the dark of night, his heart ached with agony and guilt. He had failed his sister’s request on her deathbed to take good care of her son. He was a failure as a brother.

Before, he had not been a disciple of the Lushan Sect, but had belonged to a small sword sect. His parents died early, and he and his younger sister, Li Yuqing, depended on each other for survival. Later on, his sister had given birth out of wedlock, and when he asked her who the father was, she had refused to say. Their sect had criticised and punished her severely.

“The words ‘mu‘ and ‘zi’ make up our surname ‘li’. Let’s call this child Zimu,” his pale-faced sister had said as she gave the baby in swaddling clothes to him. “Ge, I’ve let you down. I always cause problems for you… I’m so sorry…” 

Li Yuhan pulled out a small dudou. It was clearly made for a baby to wear, and it had the word “mu” embroidered on it.

“When we gave you the name ‘Zimu’, it was so that you would remember your mother. I never thought that your name would remain exactly the same after you were accepted into the Imperial family. Perhaps your mother already knew then that you were a prince… Jiujiu failed to protect you, so if you don’t recognise me as your Jiujiu any more, I don’t blame you,” Lu Yuhan said somberly. These were the most words he had strung together since he entered the mansion.

Ah Mu looked at Li Yuhan, and tears cascaded down his cheeks, falling to the ground with a plop. His mouth was twisted when crying as he called his uncle. “Jiujiu,” he said, running over to hug his uncle tight.

Chen Ziqi tsk-ed disapprovingly to himself. He’d originally thought to try and get some benefits out of this Jiujiu before trotting Ah Mu out – he and Chang Er had taken great pains to bring Ah Mu up well after all. It was only right that they get something in return for that! But this silly Ah Mu just ran over without more, and now, he couldn’t even boast about the good job he’d done taking care of Ah Mu. 

He pursed his lips in annoyance as he looked down at the divine chicken and exchanged a look with it.

“Tweet tweet!” I said this right from the start – don’t bring other birds’ young to your nest and take care of them! Dan Yi opened his little beak to speak, but all that came out were bird chirps.

“Since you don’t have a fief, come with me to Lushan,” Li Yuhan said without hesitation after listening to Ah Mu’s tale of what had happened since leaving the palace.  

“About that…” Chen Ziqi stopped this conversation from progressing further, and quickly signalled to Fuxi. “Ah Mu has been brought up by my mother all these years. If you want to take him away, you need to seek her consent,” he said, wearing an expression of utmost sincerity. 

“Who is trying to steal my son?!”

A bright, confident voice sounded from within the residence, and before long, Chang Er came in, holding her skirts up so she could walk more quickly. Her expression was fierce as she strode into the main hall where Chen Ziqi was.

The author has something to say: Mini-theater

Birdie Gong: Eh, your mum’s really fierce 

Qiqi: Nah, not really. She’s normally very demure. This is an exceptional circumstance

Birdie Gong: What exceptional circumstance

Qiqi: Someone’s trying to steal her child!

Birdie Gong: Umm… 

Qiqi: Why are you trembling all of a sudden

Birdie Gong: Nothing, nothing. Just a reaction caused by a guilty conscience, that’s all

Qiqi: →_→