CH 79

Wei Chongrong was also wearing a mask, but the smile in his eyes could not be concealed: “Apart from me, is it possible that it is someone else?”

Jun Hua covered his mouth and laughed but didn’t speak, his dark eyes shining brightly, as if stars had fallen into them. 

Wei Chongrong looked at him quietly, his eyes becoming more and more gentle. He thought that he would never get tired of looking at Jun Hua for the rest of his life. 

After a while, he took Jun Hua’s hand and said softly: “Let’s go see the lanterns. I’ll buy you whatever you like.”

Jun Hua stood still and refused to move. Wei Chongrong glanced at him in confusion. In a very small voice Jun Hua said: “Brother Rong, don’t you have anything to say to me?” If the mask was removed at this point, one would see that Jun Hua’s face was already scarlet. 

Wei Chongrong raised his eyebrows slightly and instantly understood. He lowered his head, put his mouth to Jun Hua’s ear and said in a low but clear voice: “Little Monkey, I think I like you too, just like you like me.”

Even though he was prepared for this, hearing Wei Chongrong’s words in person still made Jun Hua’s heart extremely unsettled. He was at a loss for words for a moment, then he suddenly reached out and removed his mask, pounced on Wei Chongrong and kissed his neck. 

Jun Hua’s movements were very fast, but after a little kiss, he hurriedly retreated, looking embarrassed. 

Wei Chongrong raised his hand, took off his mask quickly and swept Jun Hua into his arms, lowered his head and kissed him on the lips. 

“Brother Rong, you…” Jun Hua didn’t expect Wei Chongrong to act like this and his whole body froze.

It was a passionate and straightforward kiss, and Wei Chongrong took advantage of Jun Hua speaking to directly stick his tongue in and lick. Jun Hua had never had such an experience, and he didn’t know how to react at all, so he could only passively accept Wei Chongrong’s wanton but gentle kiss. 

The kiss ended quickly, and before Jun Hua could regain his senses, Wei Chongrong withdrew and looked at him with a sense of satisfaction. 

Originally, Wei Chongrong couldn’t figure out what feelings he had for Jun Hua. However, Dongfang’s nagging reminded him that his possessiveness towards Jun Hua was different from his attitude to other people and couldn’t be explained by family affection and friendship. 

Jun Hua had once said that he would be upset if Wei Chongrong married someone else. Wei Chongrong put himself in his place and imagined Jun Hua having a child with someone else, and realised that it was not something he could accept. 

He was decisive in character and resolute in doing things, and the same was true of confessions. Since he had figured it out, he had to say it, and he would never drag his feet. 

Seeing Jun Hua looking straight at him with a little confusion in his eyes, not saying anything for a long time, Wei Chongrong stretched out his hand and shook it in front of him. There was no response, so he gently patted Jun Hua’s cheek again and called out in a low voice: “Little Monkey, get your soul back to your body…”

Jun Hua woke up and said, “Brother Rong, are you telling the truth?” The change came too suddenly, a bit beyond Jun Hua’s expectations. He couldn’t believe it for a while. He shouldn’t be dreaming, right? 

Wei Chongrong didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, and said with a smile: “Little Monkey, ask yourself, when have I ever lied to you?”

Jun Hua shook his head quickly without thinking. Indeed, Wei Chongrong had never lied to him, never once. 

Wei Chongrong smiled with satisfaction and then said, “Can we go to see the lanterns now?”

Jun Hua smiled and nodded, first put on his mask, and then helped Wei Chongrong put on his mask. The masks made by Wei Chongrong were of the legendary Sun God and Moon God, and they were also sold on the street but not as exquisite as those made by him. Jun Hua was very content with this. 

They held hands and walked slowly back along the road they had walked before. Qingjia was located in the north, far less prosperous than Guanzhou cities. Most of the lanterns sold on the street were relatively simple, just for the sake of the festive atmosphere, but not for the sake of sophistication and beauty. 

Jun Hua looked all the way, but hadn’t found anything to his liking. However, it seemed like something was missing if he didn’t buy a lantern to carry in his hand for the Qixi Festival. Jun Hua secretly thought that if there was nothing he liked after walking down this street, he would just pick up one of them anyway. 

When they passed by a small, inconspicuous stall, Wei Chongrong suddenly stopped, and Jun Hua turned his head to look at him in confusion. This stall had very few lanterns and the style was unusual, not as good as what they had seen before, so what did Brother Rong want to buy?

Wei Chongrong bent down slightly, pointed to the innermost part of the stall and said, “Old man, please give me the lantern in the corner. Yes, the one that hasn’t been lit, I want it.” Jun Hua looked in the direction where Wei Chongrong pointed but couldn’t see anything clearly. 

After the old stall owner realised which lantern Wei Chongrong wanted, he apologised and said: “Young Master, I’m really sorry. That lantern has a small hole in it and I don’t intend to sell it. Why don’t you choose another one?”

Wei Chongrong raised his eyebrows and asked, “Do you have the same lantern? If not, this one is fine, it doesn’t matter.”

Seeing that Wei Chongrong had a soft spot for that lantern, the old man generously offered, “Sorry, there is no more, this is the last one. If you really like it, I will give it to you, free of charge.” After saying this, he took out the lantern. 

It was a lantern in the shape of a monkey. A small tailless monkey was holding a big peach. Although the style was very simple and the workmanship was a bit rough, when Jun Hua saw it, he knew why Wei Chongrong had to have this lantern. 

The old man helped them light the candle placed inside the peach and said with a smile: “Young Master doesn’t know, this lantern originally had a tail. My little grandson was naughty and pulled it off, so there is an extra hole in the back. I didn’t pay attention when I went out and brought it with me.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, let’s just treat it as a tailless monkey, it’s also very cute.” Jun Hua waved his hand, unconcerned, smiling from ear to ear. Seeing Wei Chongrong empty-handed, he asked: “Brother Rong, which lantern do you want, I will give it to you.”

Wei Chongrong understood that Jun Hua didn’t want to take advantage of the old man for nothing, so he pointed to a lotus lamp. Jun Hua spent ten coins to buy it. Each of them carried a lantern in one hand, waved at the old man, and continued to walk. 

When he walked around the corner, Jun Hua said he was hungry, so Wei Chongrong bought some qiaoguo on the street, and the two ate while walking. 

While eating, Jun Hua raised his finger and pointed to the front, saying in surprise: “Brother Rong, is that Little Dongzi and Tanhua Gu(1)?”

Tanhua Gu was no one but Gu Chuan, Wei Chongrong’s classmate and best friend at the palace school. Gu Chuan scored third in the imperial examination in the 6th year of Tai’an and came to Qingjia that year to replace Xie Qiu, who was promoted back to Yujing, as the county governor. He had come a few months earlier than Wei Chongrong. 

Wei Chongrong looked up, and sure enough, he saw Dongfang and Gu Chuan walking together not far away. Before he could withdraw his gaze, Dongfang saw them. He turned sideways and said something to Gu Chuan, and the two walked over here. 

Dongfang and Gu Chuan also wore masks, but they were so familiar with each other that they could recognise people just by their figures, without having to look at their faces. 

“You two loners are quite good at having fun by yourselves.” Wei Chongrong chuckled. 

Gu Chuan took off his mask and sighed, “What can I do? I can’t compare to Master Shizi’s company, but on the Qixi Festival, I’m too embarrassed to go out alone to experience popular customs, so I could only ask Dongfang to accompany me.”

Hearing this, Wei Chongrong laughed, took off his mask and said, “Xiao Gu, what you said is not very sincere. I remember the year you won the imperial examinations, you were on top of the list ‘catch your son-in-law’. You were the one who couldn’t bear it and asked for permission to run to Qingjia. How can you say you lack company?”

As the saying goes, women change, and the more they change, the better they look. But Wei Chongrong felt that this sentence was also applicable to some men, such as Gu Chuan. 

In the past, he was obviously a chubby little guy with all his facial features squeezed together. He was cute but to say that he was good-looking would be a bit against your conscience. Who knew that when he grew up, Gu Chuan turned out to become one of the four top young masters of the capital, and the kind that all the ladies wanted to marry. 

When Gu Chuan won the third place in the imperial examinations, Wei Chongrong was also in Yujing, and he heard a whole lot of rumours. The most exaggerated was that on the day when the new Zhuangyan, Bangyan and Tanhua(2) paraded through the streets, the capital’s troops were deployed to maintain order. 

The Zhuangyan was an old man with white beard and hair, and the Bangyan was a stereotypical, serious middle-aged man, and only Tanhua Gu, young and handsome, personable, aroused the enthusiastic pursuit of girls all over the city – possibly including some teenage boys, too. 

There were countless sachets and purses scattered on the streets they paraded through, and the last time such a grand occasion happened was twelve years ago. Coincidentally, that person was also Tanhua; his name was Xie Qiu and he was Wei Chongrong’s cousin. 

Seeing that Wei Chongrong took off his mask, Jun Hua also took his off and asked curiously: “Brother Rong, why are the successive governors of Qingjia Tanhua? Is this a coincidence or did His Majesty deliberately do it?”

Wei Chongrong didn’t expect Jun Hua to ask such a question, so he couldn’t help being taken aback, and then smiled: “There is a coincidence and there is inevitability.”

Lingzhou was a bitter and cold place, and if the court didn’t offer additional preferential treatment, no one would be willing to come here as an official. As a result, during the time of the previous emperor, many subsidy policies for Lingzhou officials were introduced. The salary was secondary, the point was that the official career would be much smoother in the future. 

Qingjia’s first governor was Xie Qiu, and the second governor was Gu Chuan. However, to get the official position of Qingjia governor, it was not enough to be Tanhua. Their respective family background also played a great role. Xie Qiu was the only son of Princess Yuankang, and Gu Chuan was the eldest son of Gong Qi Gu Yu. Another point was that with the strength of Xie Qiu and Gu Chuan, it was not strange for them to be among the best in the examination. It happened that they were both Tanhua and it was not completely unrelated to their handsome appearance. Since ancient times, Tanhua were usually young talented men.

Jun Hua nodded, looking as if he didn’t quite understand but didn’t ask any more questions. Gu Chuan picked up the mask again and put it on, and said with a chuckle: “With such a beautiful scene, this humble official will not disturb Master Shizi’s private life, so excuse me.”

“Go on, continue to experience popular customs.” Wei Chongrong said and waved his hand. 

Gu Chuan saluted and said goodbye, and called Dongfang to follow. Dongfang hadn’t taken off his mask from start to finish, cupped his fist to Wei Chongrong and Jun Hua, and followed Gu Chuan. 

When the two of them walked away, Jun Hua exclaimed: “Brother Rong, did you notice? Little Dongzi didn’t say a word today.”

Wei Chongrong raised his eyebrows and smiled: “He has to be deep in thought, and he will be fine tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“Oh.” Jun Hua replied casually, dragging Wei Chongrong into the alley where the roasted meat was sold. Neither of them wore masks anymore. 

A quarter of a shichen later, Jun Hua came out of the alley with a large handful of roasted meat skewers and walked ahead, Wei Chongrong following with two lanterns. Jun Hua ate while walking, occasionally feeding Wei Chongrong from a skewer. The two of them had a lot of fun. 

On the way back to the mansion, Jun Hua, who was thinking of something, suddenly asked, “Brother Rong, have you ever thought about when you will marry me?” He asked calmly, without any shyness. 

Wei Chongrong was startled and thought for a moment before saying, “Little Monkey, don’t worry about this. First of all, you’re still young, so we don’t have to rush for a while; secondly, my father doesn’t know yet, and he definitely hasn’t prepared a bride price for me; finally, and most importantly, your father doesn’t know yet. What do you think, if Wang Changning knows about us, will he draw his sword and slash me?” Since Jun Hua was born, Ji Xin was very uncomfortable with Wei Chongrong, because his precious son seemed to be closer to Wei Chongrong than to him. 

After listening to what Wei Chongrong said, Jun Hua frowned for a while, and then said, “Brother Rong, it doesn’t matter, if my father really wants to slash you with a sword, I will stand in front of you, and he won’t dare to slash.”

Wei Chongrong curled his lips speechlessly, and couldn’t help but think in his heart: he won’t dare to slash but will look at me even more unfavourably. 

Seeing that Wei Chongrong’s face was still unhappy, Jun Hua comforted him again: “In fact, as long as Daddy agrees to my marriage, Father won’t be able to refuse. As for Daddy, if you ask His Highness Wang Qin to send someone to propose marriage, he will definitely agree.”

“That’s right. I will write to my father when we come back and tell him about us.” In Wei Chongrong’s opinion, there was no need to worry about his marriage with Jun Hua, it was not too late to prepare for it in two years, but since they were together, it was necessary to tell Wei Zhao. 

Jun Hua squinted his eyes in a smile, rushed over to hug Wei Chongrong and kissed him on both sides of his face, causing Wei Chongrong to yell: “Little Monkey, all the oil on your hands is rubbed on my clothes!”

“Then I’ll wash them for you tomorrow.” Jun Hua didn’t care and wiped his hands on Wei Chongrong’s body. 

Wei Chongrong shook his head helplessly, unable to cope with Jun Hua’s occasional childishness, but his eyes were full of doting. 

The next day, Wei Chongrong didn’t let Jun Hua wash his clothes, because he felt that if he gave them to the auntie who did the laundry, his clothes might still be saved, but if he gave them to Jun Hua, he might never see that dress again. 

However, he didn’t forget about writing to Wei Zhao. Whether he could pass the level of Jun Qing and Ji Xin in the future greatly depended on his father. 

Four days later, Wei Chongrong received Wei Zhao’s letter by pigeon. He was a little puzzled since his letter should not have arrived yet. 

After Wei Chongrong read the letter, his face instantly turned pale. There were only fifteen words in the letter, “At the emperor’s birthday banquet, the crown prince was assassinated. His life is in danger.”