Chapter 15 made someone unhappy.
Seventeen put down the white pieces in his hand; he had been utterly defeated by his opponent on the chessboard.
Emperor Jing seemed to be in a good mood. He picked up a black chess piece and said with a smile, "Seventeen years old is still young. With more practice, he might be able to beat me."
A knock sounded at the door, and Yuanfu's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, all the memorials have been sent back. Would you like to have your meal now?"
"Um."
Eunuch Yuanfu responded, and Seventeen turned his head to see the figure gradually disappearing into the distance.
Soon, several palace maids, dressed in slightly thicker palace robes, entered with their heads bowed, carrying plates and placing the delicacies on the table. As winter approached, the dishes in the imperial kitchen became much hotter.
Seventeen swallowed hard; she was indeed quite hungry. Although she had just drunk a bowl of sweet soup, it didn't satisfy her hunger at all.
The palace maids moved quickly, and the round table was immediately filled with all kinds of exquisite delicacies. Finally, several bowls of plump dumplings were served.
The dumplings were wrapped perfectly round, and looked especially cute and plump as they were squeezed into the celadon bowl.
"Let's eat together, and send a portion to the Prince of Huainan's residence later as well."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Emperor Jing was always very tolerant of those close to him. Yuanfu and Seventeen had gotten used to eating with him recently, so they sat down as usual.
He didn't speak while sleeping or eating. Seventeen slurped down the dumplings in his bowl, then filled another bowl with rice and shoveled some vegetables into his mouth.
Eunuch Yuanfu's eyelids twitched as he watched from the side. He was about to quietly offer a reminder when he saw Emperor Jing's gaze also fall on the Seventeenth Prince. His heart tightened, but before he could make a move, Emperor Jing's gaze shifted to him.
This... Grandpa Yuanfu lowered his head and ate his rice, no longer looking at Seventeen who was wolfing it down.
The child is still young, it's good for him to eat more, it's good for him to eat more.
Seeing that the food in front of him was almost gone, Seventeen swallowed the rice in his mouth, still feeling a little hungry.
He glanced up at Emperor Jing, who had long since finished eating and was now leisurely leaning against the side, flipping through a book.
When Eunuch Yuanfu saw him put down his chopsticks, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Seventeenth Guard, have you finished eating? Then this old servant will have someone clear the plates away."
Seventeen nodded, too embarrassed to admit that he wasn't actually full. In cold weather like this, his appetite would be especially large. The coach said it was because he was still growing and needed more nutrition in cold weather.
Yuanfu stepped aside and went out to call a palace maid. Emperor Jing looked up at Seventeen and then his gaze fell on his stomach. When Yuanfu returned, Emperor Jing said indifferently, "Yuanfu, go to the kitchen and bring some more dumplings."
"Uh? Yes, Your Majesty."
He scratched his head, puzzled. Had His Majesty not eaten enough? But in an instant, he thought of going up to him and turned his gaze to Seventeen.
The other party clearly understood Emperor Jing's meaning, and his eyes lit up instantly as he looked at Emperor Jing with delight.
This child...
Yuanfu shook his head secretly, turned around, closed the door, and walked towards the imperial kitchen.
"Your Majesty, is this for me to eat?"
Although it was a question, Seventeen was quite certain that His Majesty would give him food! Because, according to his observation, His Majesty's appetite was actually not large, and he seemed to think that it was good enough if he was willing to eat. Most of the food ended up in Seventeen's stomach.
Emperor Jing raised an eyebrow, closed the book in his hand, gently tapped Seventeen on the head, and scolded, "You have no respect for elders."
"Seventeen thanks Your Majesty."
This time, the Seventeenth Prince performed a proper bow, which made Emperor Jing reveal a hint of a smile on his lips.
"You are still young and growing. If you are not full in the future, just ask for it."
Seventeen scratched his head and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
Emperor Jing smiled and lowered his eyes to continue flipping through the book he had just read, and for a moment the room was completely quiet.
Seventeen lay on the edge of the bed, looking at the rain outside, a strange feeling rising in her heart.
Has this rain been going on for too long?
Although he didn't know much about water conservancy, he had heard from villagers that several families had fled to this place to settle down because of floods.
The flood... Seventeen slowly drifted off to sleep amidst a jumble of thoughts. In her dreams, the Emperor's face would appear one moment, and then Yue-ge's the next. Slowly, their faces would overlap, bearing a subtle resemblance.
......
In the following days, the Prince of Huainan often came to see Emperor Jing. When there were no outsiders, the two of them got along just like ordinary brothers. However, when there were outsiders, the Prince of Huainan always acted frivolously.
After a while, Seventeen realized that His Majesty was putting on a show with the Prince of Huainan.
The person behind the scenes that His Majesty is worried about is certainly not happy to see the two of them getting along so well; this is probably just a kind of "pretense" on their part.
Only by making everyone believe that the Prince of Huainan and Emperor Jing had a terrible relationship could they have the opportunity to sow discord between them.
Seventeen bent down, poking at the embers, her thoughts already wandering far away.
As the year draws to a close, the palace begins to be decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Palace servants can be seen hurrying about, and within a few days, the palace is filled with a festive atmosphere.
His Majesty, being kind-hearted, granted him a few days' leave, but Seventeen, squatting in his room with the stove burning, didn't know what to do.
After much deliberation, he decided to leave the palace.
After listening to Seventeen's idea, Emperor Jing pondered for a moment and said, "Go, and be careful."
Seventeen happily thanked the emperor and ran into the room. After changing her clothes, she found someone standing at the door.
"Brother Yue? What brings you here?"
Mingyue, dressed in a thick black robe, stood at the door, looking at Seventeen with a smile in her eyes.
"His Majesty said you wanted to go out for a stroll, and since I didn't have anything else to do, I was sent to come along."
Seventeen was also happy. He had recently received his salary and calculated that he could treat Brother Yue to a nice restaurant. He was also thinking about when he could contact him again!
"That's perfect, it's my treat today!"
Seventeen also changed into a thicker robe. Emperor Jing valued him highly, and his wardrobe had been almost full these days. Today, he chose a more understated plain robe to wear.
Actually, he doesn't really like wearing black, but as a bodyguard, he definitely has to wear black as the main color. However, when going out for fun, he prefers to dress more simply.
Mingyue's gaze swept over Seventeen. Seventeen's appearance was already stunning, but it was usually suppressed by the black clothes. Now that she had changed into a plain dress, her small face was made even more exquisite.
She's so beautiful, I don't know how she grew up.
Mingyue's thoughts raced through her mind, but Seventeen was unaware. He took Mingyue's hand and smiled, "Let's go together."
Her gaze fell on the hand holding his wrist, Mingyue's eyes flickered for a moment, and then she nodded.
After leaving the palace, the two found that the outside world was also bustling with activity.
The travelers who have traveled far return home, bringing back items that do not belong to the main scenery, and the streets are lined with exotic items.
Seventeen, curious, picked up a stone sculpture and asked, "What is this sculpture of? I've never seen it before?"
The vendor, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, replied with a smile, "This is an item from Lingnan. The carving depicts an animal called an elephant."
Elephants? Seventeen pondered for a moment, then looked up information about this creature in the ancient books he had read.
In Lingnan there is a strange beast called the elephant. It is as big as a hill, with grayish-brown skin that is thick and wrinkled. Its most peculiar feature is its long trunk, which is extremely flexible and can be used to drink water and roll up objects. Its tusks are as white as jade. It looks fierce but has a gentle nature. When it walks, the earth shakes. It is a truly rare and strange beast.
When Seventeen was reading the book, he couldn't imagine what this strange beast looked like. Now that he had seen it, it was indeed as the ancient book described: a long nose and fangs. He just didn't know if its size was really as big as a mountain.
Seeing that he was engrossed in watching, Mingyue, who was following behind him, suggested, "If you like it, just buy it."
The vendor smiled and quoted a price. Seventeen shuddered and quickly put the stone carving down. The price was almost his monthly salary; how could he bear to buy it?
The vendor wasn't annoyed. After rearranging the stone sculpture, he smiled and said, "Young master, you can look at other things."
Seventeen looked around again, but none of the other sculptures caught his eye as much as this stone statue. He then stood up with regret and left with Mingyue.
"Do you like that stone carving?"
Mingyue turned her head and asked the person next to her. Seventeen shook her head and said, "It's not that I like it, it's just that I've never seen it before, so it's a bit strange. Buying this thing would be useless."
That's true; Mingyue feels the same way.
The two walked for a short while before arriving at a restaurant. Seventeen smiled and said to Mingyue beside him, "Brother Yue, let's go to this one. It's on me today."
Mingyue nodded with a smile. This child had taken this matter to heart.
After ordering their food, the two looked at the bustling street outside. Seventeen smiled and said, "It's so lively."
"That's not all. On the 30th, there will be fireworks in Yejing. After the fireworks, people will go to the Milky Way to release river lanterns and pray for a good year."
Mingyue poured herself a cup of tea and then poured one for Seventeen, explaining to him the customs of Yejing over the years.
"I've always been in the camp, this is my first time celebrating the New Year in Yejing."
Seeing that Seventeen was in a good mood, Mingyue also asked in a good mood, "Where were you before...?"
He almost revealed the name of the seventeenth prince's hometown. Logically speaking, apart from Emperor Jing and Yuanfu, no one else should know about this.
Seventeen didn't notice the pause in the other person's tone, took a sip of warm tea and said, "My hometown is Shiqi Village in the North."
Shiqi Village, a place whose name truly reflects its character.
This place is near the northern edge, a land coveted by the Northern Rong.
Mingyue picked up her teacup, concealing the strange look in her eyes. Seventeen was born in the North, but did not look like someone from the North.
Perhaps it's because neither of his parents were native to the North.
He didn't delve into this anomaly, after all, Seventeen's identity had already been thoroughly investigated when he brought him back, and there wouldn't be any mistakes.
"Shiqi, I've heard about your New Year customs on the northern border. What are they like?"
Seventeen thought back for a moment, and the faces of her parents slowly appeared in her mind, along with the blessings they sent every year. A smile and a sense of nostalgia welled up in her eyes.
"Many decorations are made before the New Year, but because the place is too cold, the roads are often blocked by heavy snow before the end of the year. So most families squeeze together at home to eat the reunion dinner and eat dumplings. A small copper coin is wrapped in the dumpling. If you find it in the dumpling, your wish will come true in the coming year."
As he spoke, Seventeen's expression turned melancholy. Although he was told to forget his past once he entered the Dark Guard Camp, how could he possibly forget it?
It's similar to Yejing, except that it doesn't have the copper coin step.
Mingyue pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Will they give money to ward off evil spirits?"
"Yes! I...I once heard my parents say that the evil spirit only targets children under the age of fifteen, sneaking into their dreams to scare them. So, elders have to give money to suppress the evil spirit."
Seventeen said with a smile that when he was young, his parents said so and he believed them. Every year he would put red money under his pillow to ward off evil spirits and pray that he would not be dragged into his dreams and frightened by the evil spirits after he fell asleep.
As he grew older, he understood that there were no evil spirits around; they were just the adults' wishful thinking.
But after that, Seventeen never received any more money to ward off evil spirits.
Seeing that Seventeen's expression had changed, Mingyue secretly regretted it. She knew the other person's situation well enough, so why did she have to ask that question? Making someone unhappy would be difficult to handle.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com