Standing ahead were four or five Taoists in white robes, each carrying a basket, seemingly gathering fruit. But instead of surrounding a fruit tree, they seemed to be surrounding someone. Despite the distance, the two men's hearing was clear enough to hear the content of their argument. A young Taoist remarked, "No wonder I've seen fewer fruits in the forest lately. It turns out someone's been squatting here stealing them all day."
A gentle voice said, "Anyone can pick fruit from the fruit forest on Mount Taicang, as long as they are disciples of the temple. How can you say they are 'stealing'? Besides, there are hundreds of fruit trees in the forest. Even if I work alone, the fruit won't be reduced."
The voice belonged to Mu Qing. Judging by the glimpse of his clothing from the crowd, he'd already shed his demonic black garb and donned his usual simple Taoist robes. The Taoist snorted, "If it were just your portion, it wouldn't be much less, of course. But not only did you take your share, you even secretly brought it down the mountain to feed others. Taking advantage of this little advantage is truly shameless."
Xie Lian understood. He was displeased with Mu Qing again and thought his fellow disciples were picking on him.
Mu Qing's family was poor. His mother lived in the capital, down the mountain, in a very tight financial situation. She had previously been able to make ends meet by sewing for others. Later, her eyesight damaged her, and she could no longer sew. She could only rely on her son to bring back the wages he earned from his odd jobs in the mountains to support the family. Sometimes he would pick some fruit from Mount Taicang and bring it down for his mother to taste. It wasn't a big deal, as there were no rules against it, but it was still somewhat rude. It was even more embarrassing to publicly mock her. Mu Qing's voice took on a chill as he spoke, "Brother Zhu, I don't interact with you much, yet you've repeatedly targeted me. Yesterday, you also prevented me from entering the Four Elephants Palace to report to the Imperial Masters. I wonder how I've offended you?"
The young man surnamed Zhu was a Taoist priest in the Four Symbols Palace who served the Imperial Master. He became enraged when he heard him mention this. He said, "You almost missed the big opportunity by not delivering the message carefully, and now you're blaming me? It's all your fault for being so secretive yesterday that others thought you were up to no good. If you had just spoken frankly, wouldn't this have happened? It almost caused His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to make a big move today, and I was even summoned by the Imperial Master to be scolded!" He threw the basket in his hand and called the others to gather around. Xie Lian couldn't bear to watch any longer and said, "Stop!"
The Taoists were startled when they heard the voice, turned around and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Xie Lian and Feng Xin approached. Over there, Mu Qing had already been grabbed by the collar and pinned to a tree by Senior Brother Zhu. A fight hadn't even begun. If a fight had broken out, Mu Qing would have been undeniably victorious even if it was a one-on-twenty situation. However, if he wanted to gain a foothold in Huangji Temple, a fight was absolutely unacceptable.
Xie Lian smiled and said, "Brothers and sisters, what are you doing?"
Senior Brother Zhu was a respectable-looking, fair-faced young man who had always admired His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He was taken aback when he heard this, and quickly put aside his admiration, saying, "Well, well, we..."
Xie Lian continued to smile, saying, "I don't know what you're arguing about, but Mu Qing is my personal attendant. Everything he does is usually at my behest. I've allowed him to come pick some fruit, and yet I feel like I've committed some crime."
Several Taoists bowed repeatedly, saying, "No, no! So it was you, Your Highness, who asked him to come. We misunderstood!" Mu Qing, who was leaning against a tree, was startled at first when he heard him say that he asked him to come, then he straightened his collar and lowered his head in silence. The Taoists broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly apologized to Xie Lian and Mu Qing. Finally, they hurriedly took the baskets and fled the cherry forest. Xie Lian saw the pair of baskets that Mu Qing had brought thrown aside, bent down to pick them up and handed them to him, saying, "Do you need help?"
Mu Qing didn't take the basket. She just looked up and stared at his face with a complicated expression for a while. After a while, she said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Xie Lian asked, “What?”
Mu Qing asked, "Why do you always appear at times like this?"
Xie Lian: “?”
Feng Xin was unhappy and said, "What do you mean by that? Wouldn't it be better for me to come out and help you out at this time?"
Mu Qing glanced at him and took the basket. At this moment, Feng Xin stiffened his neck and said sternly, "Listen carefully, I was wrong about what happened just now. I wasn't targeting you; I just said it casually. You don't have to overthink it, suspecting this or that. Besides His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I don't care about other people's affairs, and I have no interest in gossiping. That's all I have to say. Stop being so upset!"
"Pfft!" Xie Lian had initially thought his tone was too harsh, but after hearing the end, he found it inexplicably amusing. Mu Qing also glared at Feng Xin, but Xie Lian waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright. Feng Xin was telling the truth. Let's cut out that part. Nothing happened."
After a moment, Mu Qing said gloomily, "I'll go look for that red coral bead later. Maybe it fell on the street."
Xie Lian felt it was not good to appear indifferent, so he said, “Okay, I’ll be thankful for your help if you have time. But if it falls on the street, someone will probably pick it up.”
Mu Qing seemed to have nothing else to say, and he gathered the few bunches of cherries that had fallen to the ground and put them in his basket. He hadn't picked many bunches to begin with, and was about to leave the forest when Xie Lian looked up and saw many bright, juicy red cherries. He picked a few and put them in his basket.
Mu Qing was slightly startled. Xie Lian said, "Next time you pick some fruit and bring it back to your mother, just say you did it on my orders. No one will say anything then. The Imperial Master asked me to return to the palace in the next few days. I plan to leave tomorrow. Why don't you go down the mountain and take a look tomorrow? Why don't you go back today?"
After a long while, Mu Qing finally whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."
The next day, Xie Lian brought Feng Xin and Mu Qing down the mountain.
As they descended the mountain, they saw a dazzling golden carriage before the tall mountain gate. A young man in brocade clothes, wearing a collar and holding a whip, lay in front of the carriage, legs crossed high in the air, looking very proud. As soon as he saw Xie Lian exit the mountain gate, the young man leaped up and ran towards them, shouting with great joy, "Prince cousin!"
This young man was naturally Qi Rong. He was the only one who would come to the foot of Mount Taicang whenever he had time, waiting for Xie Lian. He came over in two steps and said happily, "I finally waited for you!"
Xie Lian smiled, rubbed his head, and said with a smile, "Qi Rong has grown taller again? How did you know I would return to the palace today?"
Qi Rong chuckled and said, "I don't know. I'll just wait. You'll come out eventually anyway. I don't believe I won't be able to get to you."
Xie Lian said helplessly, "You're so idle. Have you been studying hard? Have you been practicing swordsmanship well? If Mother asks me to check your homework again, I won't say anything good on your behalf."
Qi Rong's eyes rolled, and he jumped up and said, "Never mind all that! Look at my new carriage! Cousin Crown Prince, get in and ride back to the palace!" He grabbed Xie Lian's hand and pulled him towards the carriage. Xie Lian felt it was dangerous and said, "You drive?" Feng Xin and Mu Qing followed. Normally, servants should sit in the front of the carriage, but Qi Rong's face fell, and he raised his whip and said, "I asked Cousin Crown Prince to get in, not you. You two lowly people want to touch my golden carriage, get out of here!"
Xie Lian shouted softly, “Qi Rong!”
Feng Xin had seen Qi Rong several times and knew he was such a bitch. Mu Qing, however, had never been to the palace, and naturally, had never come into close contact with this little Mirror Prince. Qi Rong felt deeply wronged, but seeing that Xie Lian seemed to be leaving, he reluctantly agreed to let these two lowly creatures board his precious golden carriage.
However, as soon as they got on the carriage, all three of them regretted it. Qi Rong was driving like a madman, whipping the horse furiously with a whip in his hand, shouting something incoherently, causing the white horse to scream and the wheels to spin. The horse rushed across the street, and Xie Lian shouted to stop but it didn't stop. Several times, it nearly knocked down pedestrians and stalls. Thanks to Feng Xin and Mu Qing who pulled the reins from time to time in front to stop the horse, otherwise at least twenty lives would have been lost along the way. When they arrived in front of the palace, the wheels finally slowed down, and Xie Lian, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing all breathed a sigh of relief. Xie Lian wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. Feng Xin and Mu Qing had each been whipped by Qi Rong more than a dozen times, and their hands were covered with whip marks. Qi Rong stood up, stepped on the tall white horse's butt, and said proudly: "My cousin, how about it, I drive well, don't I?"
Xie Lian got out of the car and said, "I'm going to tell my father, the emperor, and my mother, the queen, to confiscate your car."
Qi Rong was shocked: "How could this happen!"
The Xianle national style is characterized by a love of gold, gems, beauty, music, and calligraphy. The Xianle Palace is the pinnacle of all these passions. Walking through the vast square and vermilion corridors, one encounters more than just luxurious gold and jade. Exquisite calligraphy and paintings can be seen everywhere, and the sound of music drifts in from time to time, creating a fairyland-like experience.
The Imperial Palace was Xie Lian's home; he had grown up there. Feng Xin, chosen as a guard at the age of fourteen, was already accustomed to seeing it. Mu Qing, however, was surprised by the sight of such a building for the first time. However, the more surprised he was, the more cautious he became, the more he feared anyone would see his feelings, the more he feared making a wrong move.
Xie Lian went to see Empress Min first. The Empress was in Qifeng Palace, leaning against a small table, sipping tea. She had already heard the announcement of the Crown Prince's return. Her eyes curved with joy, and before her son even approached, she held out her hands, saying, "You've finally come back to see me?"
Feng Xin and Mu Qing stood guard outside the hall. Xie Lian and Qi Rong entered the hall. They walked over and took their mother's hand, saying, "Didn't I just come back two months ago?"
The Queen scolded him, "You are such a heartless child. Rong'er still knows how to spend more time with an old man like me, and you have the nerve to say so confidently that you haven't been home for two months."
Xie Lian smiled and said, “How can Queen Mother be old? She’s clearly in her forties! She looks like she’s from the same generation as me.”
The Queen was delighted to hear this. Although she had a son as old as Xie Lian, she had been pampered and well-maintained, still a noble and beautiful woman. However, she still scolded him, "You're just flattering me." Xie Lian saw a jade cup on the small table. The content inside gave off a strange fragrance. He asked curiously, "What is this?" He picked it up, but the Queen said, "Don't drink it! You can't drink that carelessly."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
