Chapter 8

"Big Brother(1)," Luo Wei tugged on Luo Ze's hand, hoping to stop him from saying anything more.

But Zhao Jun Yi was already going at Luo Ze again, "The reason your little brother is so senseless is because you've all been spoiling him!"

Luo Ze glared, "He's the youngest of my family. So what if we spoil him, is that against the law?"

"Big brother," Luo Wei stopped Luo Ze before he could say anything else. Luo Ze and Zhao Jun Yi were actually very close friends, but maybe because they were so close, they don't pay attention to their tone when speaking to each other. The two of them always ended up arguing whenever they met. In his past life Luo Wei always thought they were enemies, but when Luo Ze had been killed by poisoning, it was this Zhao Jun Yi who flouted imperial orders and through determination, guarded Luo Ze's coffin for thousands of miles so that he could be laid to rest in Luo family's home town. It was also him who, after Emperor Ping Chang had Luo Ze's two sons assassinated, openly cursed out Long Xuan in front of the entire court. In the end, even after being exiled and stripped of his title, he wasn't in the least ashamed of what he did. It wasn't until then that Luo Wei understood what the meaning of friendship was.

"Then spoil him," Luo Jun Yi saw that Luo Ze had been stopped by Luo Wei, and became even more vocal, "Keep spoiling him. See how this kid turns out in the future!"

Luo Wei turned towards the three Zhao family members present and bowed, saying, "I won't dare make the same mistake in the future, if I do it again, the two Zhao brothers are welcome to take my life."

Even though no lone liked how belligerant Luo Wei used to be, they couldn't just accept this courteous version of Luo Wei in a single day. The father and sons of the Zhao family all stood stupefied.

"Wei Er, it's good that you've come to think this way," Zhao He Nian was happy for his friend, Luo Zhi Qiu. Luo Zhi Qiu had broken his heart with worry over this ignorant young son of his, but now it seemed Luo Wei had come to his senses, Luo Zhi Qiu can finally rest easy from now on.

"Luo Wei," Someone called out behind them.

Luo Wei turned to look, only to realize that it was Long Xuan coming his way, followed by a group of his servants.

"Are you feeling better now?" Long Xuan stood in front of Luo Wei, still asking with an attitude of a man addressing his subordinate.

"Yes," Luo Wei hung a polite smile on his face. If he could, he'd be happy to destroy himself to kill Long Xuan right now, but he knew he couldn't do this. Long Xuan was a prince. If Luo Wei did this, his entire family would be dead too.

There was no smile on Long Xuan's face. Of course, being as astute as he was, he can see that Luo Wei's smile was false. "Then come to the study(2) tomorrow," Luo Xuan's pride wouldn't allow him to try and appease Luo Wei, so he spoke coldly.

Luo Wei was a study companion(3) for Long Xuan. He used to think this was a great glory, but now he only wanted out of it. "Yes." Luo Wei affirmed while thinking that he needed to come up with a way to resign this damned position as a study companion.

Long Xuan hesitated for a moment before reaching out, and patted Luo Wei's head. This was the biggest gesture of comfort he could allow himself to make.

Luo Wei felt a wave of chill run through him, but could only endure it.

"Looks like the second prince is pretty good to you," After Long Xuan left, Zhao Jun Yi taunted Luo Wei.

Luo Wei only smiled, "I'm only a study companion. Whether the second prince wishes to be good to someone or not has nothing to do with me."

Luo Ze suddenly felt as if he should burn some incense and send a prayer to Buddha. Never in his life did he think he would hear Luo Wei say something that indicated he'd cut ties with Long Xuan, until today.

Zhao Jun Yi's face finally broke into a smile. He patted Luo Wei's shoulder vigorously, "This is more like it!"

Luo Ze quickly pushed Zhao Jun Yi off, "Don't you know his shoulder's injured?" He shouted at Zhao Jun Yi.

These two bad-good friends started quarreling on the spot.

The older Zhao Brother, Zhao Jun Bo reached out and pulled his arm around Luo Wei's shoulder, "Xiao Wei, I wish you could have been like this earlier(4)." He said to Luo Wei.

Luo Wei looked at Zhao Jun Bo with a grateful smile. With just this one little familiar tone in the way he said "Xiao Wei", Luo Wei knew that this older brother who was three years senior to even his own, had forgiven him.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Big Brother - Original text said "er ge" or second oldest brother. While it's common in Chinese, sounds clunky in English. The translation has been altered to make reading easier.

2. The Study - The translation is "shu fang" or house of books, which can also sometimes translate to a school room of some kind. This study is likely one that is either private and large enough for a few noble children to study along with the second prince, or one set up like a schoolhouse for the noble children to study with the second prince.

3. Study Companion - Literally a "read along". A companion for the prince to study with and befriend. Nobles often clamor for their children to be chosen because it elevates the family's connection to royalty.

4. ...like this earlier - The original text says "I wish you could have said this earlier", which makes it seem as if Zhao Jun Bo is talking about the fact that Luo Wei is injured. The phrase is more in reference to the fact that Luo Wei's tone with regards to Long Xuan has changed, and since both the Luo's and the Zhao's are in league with the Crown Prince and not the Second Prince, Zhao Jun Bo is relieved at Luo Wei's sudden distance to Long Xuan.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES:

Finally!! Face to face!! I wonder if the author had meant for that little pat on the head to seem as if Long Xuan is treating Luo Wei like a dog, but it feels likely. Reading this a second time, I realized that Long Xuan holds himself to a much higher standard, and though this self-imposed pressure might be something that softens my view of him, he's still a pretty awful person.