Chapter 50 [VIP]

Xiao Qi: "I'm not as good at pedantic writing as you scholars. Lord Lu, please don't make things difficult for me. You said what constitutes a traitor... Anyone who poses a risk to the Emperor can be called a traitor."

"Besides the officials, only Lord Lu frequently comes and goes in the palace every day, and His Majesty is too lenient with this behavior. Look up at the history books, which concubine in the harem never leaves the palace to see the emperor?"

Lu Xuejin: "General Xiao compared me to the concubines in the historical records. I looked back and forth, and I couldn't find any emperor who had married a male concubine. Seeing such words will surely lead to endless discussions for generations to come. If I were a concubine, this would be a family matter between my brother and me, and General Xiao has no right to interfere. I have never seen a general leave the palace to search for a concubine. If I am not a concubine, and the general regards me as a casual visitor to the palace, I can dispel the general's doubts by investigating me. However, even if I am a poor commoner, I should not be subjected to this presumption without evidence."

"General, please investigate. If you find evidence that I am a traitor, I will naturally accompany you to the criminal trial to prove my innocence. If you do not find any evidence, then you may stay here today. As for the crime of trespassing, I will personally escort General Xiao to the criminal trial."

"...Stop," Xiao Qi said, her head aching. She roughly understood what he meant and couldn't help but smile wryly. "Lord Lu, you are different from those concubines. You are a man. What's wrong with me investigating you?"

"What's the difference between men and women? In General Xiao's view, there is only a superficial difference. Since General Xiao divides them according to what belongs to someone, then there seems to be no difference. They are both things that can be despised, like the grass and trees by the roadside. Do you carefully observe the difference between the two blades of grass under your feet? General Xiao is more adept at nitpicking. I stand in front of you, and you insist that I am a woman. But when you want to investigate my residence, you say that I am a man. It's just that my gender can be changed at will in General Xiao's eyes."

Lu Xuejin: "Since the general has his own principles, I have nothing to say. Today I will make way for the general. Whether it is General Xiao, General Li, or General Sun, as generals who protect the people, they should all be respected. Please come in, General."

He made a "please" gesture, his imposing manner unyielding. Under the shadow of the vermilion wall, he stood like a lone goose on the wall, his brown eyebrows and eyes turned upwards, his back straight and upright. The snow crane on his snow robe seemed to transform and fly into the moonlight when it saw him being humiliated.

After hearing this, Xiao Qi felt a surge of resentment. He had clearly been allowed in, yet it seemed as if he was abusing his power. What a scholar! These literati always knew how to spout nonsense.

He couldn't help but sneer inwardly, glancing at the pig-faced guard beside Lu Xuejin, and said, "Lord Lu has argued with me for so long. If I were to go in, it would be as if I weren't a general, but a thief. You called me 'General,' and I will return the courtesy today. Even without an imperial edict, I would never trespass on private property. If Lord Lu has no ulterior motives, this will clear your name. You are the only one who has entered and exited the palace without permission. Even if your sincerity is evident, it's hard to guarantee that someone won't use you to make a big fuss. Today, I will only investigate the guards around you. After I have finished my investigation, I will go to the criminal trial committee myself to plead guilty, without waiting for you to escort me there."

Lu Xuejin listened quietly, remaining silent, and looked at the guards beside her. The guards beside her and the group of guards behind her all removed their masks. The pig-face masks came off, revealing square faces, and the guards bowed their heads blankly before Xiao Qi. They all took out their tokens, old wooden tokens, which belonged to the guards who had previously served in the Prime Minister's residence.

The peony and gold pattern on the token was a gift from the late emperor to the prime minister. Xiao Qi recognized the token; it was something that could be used to make a big fuss, as unauthorized possession of items from the previous dynasty was a capital offense.

The air fell silent as Xiao Qi noticed the young man's calm expression. If he were to use the belongings left by the other man's biological father to punish him, he would truly be no different from a villain. He looked at the faces of the guards; perhaps they inherited their master's temperament, but each of them carried the will to die, silently watching him, waiting to hear their fate.

Xiao Qi: "...Su Hui, let's go."

“General, wait a moment,” Lu Xuejin said from behind, “If you suspect me, just say so. I will let you investigate. If you beat around the bush and don’t say what you’re doing, I might misunderstand your meaning… General, please wait.”

After Xiao Qi left, Zi Yan and Tengluo emerged from the courtyard. They had heard the whole thing. Tengluo watched the departing figure and said angrily, "He calls himself a general, yet what did he say? Just because my young master is handsome, he acts so frivolously. He's truly a brute."

"Wisteria, when you went to worship Buddha, did you find the gods, Buddhas, and Guanyin to be beautiful?" Lu Xuejin asked.

“This,” Tengluo recalled upon hearing this, and replied, “Gods and Buddhas are naturally not beautiful, but they inspire awe.”

Lu Xuejin: "In that case... beauty that arouses desire is a sin. But if one's appearance is ordinary, other faults will be found out. When people look at someone in the distance, they will unconsciously idealize that person as a god or Buddha. Once they realize that the other person is not perfect, they will immediately be disappointed."

Tengluo didn't understand and scratched her head. Looking at Lu Xuejin's profile, she had a vague feeling that the young master's mood had become less than pleasant. She only vaguely knew that if he had a choice, he would definitely choose to be ordinary-looking and live a secluded life in the world.

Meanwhile, on his way back, Xiao Qi was both angry and amused, feeling frustrated that he hadn't accomplished his task. He ordered people to surround Lu Xuejin's courtyard and keep a watchful eye on it for twelve hours a day.

When he returned to his residence, Lady Cui was now living in the back courtyard, while Lady He lived in the front. His mother, Lady Cui, refused to see either of them and had been turned away at the door several times. Lady Cui declared that if he didn't drive Lady He out, he would never see his own mother again in his life.

He returned home already troubled, and saw Lady He in the study holding those poetry collections, all bearing the three large characters "Lu Xuejin," indicating they were all her writings from her school days. He wanted to ask her about them, but seeing Lady He's red eyes, he couldn't utter a single question and quickly wiped away her tears.

Xiao Qi: "My darling, who upset you?"

"No one has ever made me unhappy, but when I see his writings, I always feel uneasy. Look at this, 'Leading desires towards tranquility, yet seeing the suffering of others,' how well this writing is. And this line, 'All my desires, obscured my entire life.' 'May the gods and Buddhas see my rampant demeanor, so that all living beings may take it as a warning.' His writing is understated, just like his temperament."

Xiao Qi scoffed: "If you knew he liked men, would you still like him so much?"

Madam He couldn't help but say, "That's prejudice. Just like your mother's prejudice. As soon as your mother heard that I was older than you, she would never agree to you marrying me. So what if he likes men? So what if he likes women? I only look at his poems and know that he writes well. Every time I read his articles, I shed tears."

“These are all pretentious articles, full of talk about gods and Buddhas,” Xiao Qi said. “You only feel sorry for him because of his good looks. His writings are far inferior to those of the previous Wen Chang Xing. Let’s not even discuss the quality of his writings. You say I’m biased… That’s how people are. Look at why the ministers advised the emperor not to make the marriage public. No matter your merits or demerits, as long as you have a stain that doesn’t conform to worldly customs, history will always bring this up for discussion. People judge a person not by how much they can do, but by whether they have any stains worth discussing. You say his writings are good, but if word gets out that he likes men, some people will find it hard to accept and won’t read his articles anymore.”

"Once this news got out, no one cared about how well he wrote his articles anymore. Everyone would ask who he liked and which men he had dated. People only cared about these trivial secrets. As for his talent, no one cared. I think he is very knowledgeable about human nature. When I went to his residence today, his expression changed a lot when he heard me say that I was a concubine in the Emperor's harem."

Xiao Qi: "He knows better than I do. Even if he leaves the palace, no matter how much he does while on duty, people will always talk about his relationship with the emperor, not what he has done for the people. You didn't see his face today... He didn't suffer any loss at all, but he made me feel very angry."

"You...you went to his residence today?" Madam He's face paled upon hearing this.

Xiao Qi: "Of course. If there are any rebellious ministers in the palace, it would be him. Given his nature, he would naturally not want to be subordinate to anyone. Even if the emperor is his relative, there is still an unspeakable distance between them. Disloyalty often arises from this distance."

He Rulan: "You, you... I don't care what others say about him, he has been kind to me. I don't care about those prejudices, in my eyes he is like a god. If you continue to speak ill of him in front of me, we don't need to see each other again. I'll just leave, which will also fulfill your mother's wish!"

“My lady, please don’t be angry,” Xiao Qi quickly hugged him, grinning as she said, “He’s much smarter than you in this respect. He knew I had a prejudice, but he didn’t criticize me. He was very polite and even saw me off when I left. My lady, do you know… if you want to remove someone’s prejudice, you can’t confront them. You have to use gentleness to overcome their prejudice.”

"Brother, sister-in-law, I'm back." The two of them had just gotten together when they heard Xiao Shen's voice, and they quickly separated again.

Xiao Shen was followed by Yue Lanxin. The two of them huddled at the doorway of the room, only half of their faces showing.

Xiao Qi was about to get angry at her younger brother when she saw her future sister-in-law, and her anger subsided.

"You brat, you're back now, so what? Am I your father or your mother? You should have come and told me you were back."

He Rulan pinched Xiao Qi hard and said to Xiao Shen, "Second Young Master, have you and Miss Yue eaten yet? I'm preparing dinner for you now. Just tell me if there's anything you'd like to eat."

“Sister-in-law, I want to drink your milk tea,” Yue Lan thought to herself. “I didn’t see you at Fengming Terrace earlier. Your milk tea is famous now. I asked Miss Wei Ning, and she has heard of it.”

“I want to drink too,” Xiao Shen said, then turned to Xiao Qi and said, “Brother, Lan Xin and I are going out of the city in a couple of days. We’re going to visit our classmates in the outskirts of the capital.”

These two usually run around everywhere, but they are thorough in their work and never cause any trouble. Xiao Qi waved her hand, too lazy to listen to her younger brother's nagging, and simply let the matter go in one ear and out the other.

Xiao Shen and Yue Lanxin each took a can of milk tea and left.

Small courtyard.

Murong Yue peeked around the courtyard gate for a bit, and only after spotting the young man did he enter. There were many more guards outside, indicating that someone had been there.

"Brother Changyou?" He was still holding the milk tea that Lu Xuejin had warmed in his arms. Tengluo noticed what he had brought back and sat down by the coffee table to stare at him intently.

They brought back canned milk tea and dried fish from the restaurant. As soon as Tengluo opened the can, the aroma of the milk tea wafted out, making her eyes light up. Ziyan was sewing and stitching nearby. Autumn was approaching, and she was preparing to make an autumn outfit for Tengluo and Lu Xuejin. Now that there was another one, Her Highness was growing quickly, so she also needed to make an outfit for Her Highness.

Murong Yue: "Has someone been here just now?"

Lu Xuejin saw the person and put the letter aside. It was a letter from Wei Ning, saying that Wei Ning would be holding a poetry gathering in the capital on the day they left the palace, which would distract the guards.

"General Xiao has come by. We have many more guards around us now, so please be careful if Your Highness goes out recently."

“I’m not going anywhere, I’ll just stay by Changyou’s side,” Murong Yue said.

As he spoke, the boy removed the pig-face mask, revealing his true face, and leaned closer to him, saying, "Brother, are you in a bad mood?"

Lu Xuejin didn't feel that he was in a bad mood; his mind was just blank. He stared out the window for a while, unsure of what he was thinking. He saw himself reflected in Murong Yue's pupils, his own face mirrored. He quietly said, "No."

The boy in front of him stared intently at him, his clear black and white eyes curving into crescents, and then pulled him up.

“Then let’s go outside and sit for a while. Look at Tengluo, her eating manners are so unsightly. Have you thought about Tengluo’s marriage? She likes to eat so much, why don’t we find her a cook to marry?”

When Tengluo heard her name called, she pricked up her ears to eavesdrop. Upon hearing Murong Yue's suggestion, she immediately put down the dried fish.

"Your Highness!? I don't want to marry a cook."

Lu Xuejin was led into the courtyard by Murong Yue. Upon hearing this, he was immediately drawn to the conversation. He had indeed never considered Tengluo's marriage. When Tengluo and Ziyan first came to his residence, they were just two little ones, but now they had blossomed into graceful young women.

Upon hearing this, Ziyan put down what she was holding and looked at Lu Xuejin.

“It seems that Tengluo has thought it through herself,” Lu Xuejin asked. “Does Tengluo have someone she likes?”

When Lu Xuejin asked, Tengluo's expression drifted away, her eyes looking elsewhere. She put down the milk tea and said, "This servant does have someone she likes, but we are too far apart, and I'm afraid we are not destined to be together in this life. This is a secret I keep to myself. I will never tell Young Master or His Highness."

Upon hearing this, Murong Yue recalled that he hadn't seen Tengluo spying on any guards in the side hall. Tengluo was usually carefree and unserious in front of others, but she did become reserved once when she met Song Zhao.

"Is the person you fancy... Song Zhao?"

Tengluo paused for a moment, holding the milk tea, and looked over. She curled her fingers uncomfortably, then immediately pretended that nothing was wrong.

"What are you saying, Your Highness... How could it be Lord Song? I've only met Lord Song a few times. Anyway, I won't say anything."

Lu Xuejin couldn't help but glance at the boy beside him. Seeing Murong Yue's nonchalant expression, as if he had grabbed Tengluo's braid, he found it amusing, as if he had seen a mischievous cat.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Tengluo immediately changed the subject, holding the milk tea, and said, “Young master, have you heard that although this milk tea tastes good, it is said to cause insomnia if you drink it?”

"Just like in the book, people gradually find it hard to fall asleep, as if they have lost their soul, and can only stare at the coffered ceiling all night. When they wake up, they are still in a daze and cannot distinguish between day and night."