"Fourth Brother, can we not be so serious! Anyway, all I'm praying for is Mother's good health and peace and tranquility in the household!" Fourteenth Brother said proudly.
Fourth Master glanced at Fourteenth Master, wondering if he was being a bit pretentious, but he still refused to give Fourteenth Master a friendly look.
Sigh, these two brothers are like natural enemies. They just made up, but they have to bicker again before they're satisfied. Tenth Master was caught in the middle, torn between the two, so he simply kept quiet.
As dusk fell, people who had been resting by the river began to head home in twos and threes.
Fourth Master and the other two returned to the restaurant from the riverbank. Led by the waiter, they went back to their reserved three superior rooms. They planned to stroll around the city a bit more the next day to stock up on some daily necessities before heading back.
"Ten of them. The Dragon Boat Festival is in five days. Should we ask Father Emperor for another favor and come down to watch the dragon boat races here?" Fourteenth Prince said, pulling on Tenth Prince's arm.
"Alright, it's rare for Fourth Brother to be with us, chatting and laughing, and having food. It's all because of you who always likes to say things that upset him. Look at his face, it was all dark on the way back. If you're so capable, go and beg your Fourth Brother." Tenth Master rolled his eyes at Fourteenth Master, shook off his hand, and went straight back to his room.
The three rooms for the three men were adjacent to each other, with the fourth master's room in the middle and the tenth and fourteenth masters' rooms on either side.
After Fourth Master returned to his room, the waiter soon brought them hot water as instructed.
"Sir, here's your hot water!" the waiter said enthusiastically to the fourth master as he opened the door.
"Have they all been delivered?" Fourth Master asked, gesturing to Tenth Master and Fourteenth Master on his left and right.
"It's delivered, don't worry. Only the three of you ordered water on this floor, I won't make a mistake," the waiter said solicitously.
"So, do the other guests not want water?" Fourth Master clearly noticed that there were quite a few people staying on this floor, and there was movement in the row of rooms opposite them.
"You're talking about the people across the street, right? They've been living here for over a month, and they're a really strange bunch. They appear and disappear like ghosts every day, never ask for hot water, and I always have to bring their food to their door," the waiter said to Fourth Master in a low voice. He was already feeling incredibly frustrated, wanting to vent to anyone he could find. After all, if he wasn't allowed to serve them inside, he wouldn't get any tips. These people had been living here for over a month. Logically, after serving them for so long, the waiter should have given him some small change, but instead, they would always coldly take the dishes from his hands and then close the door right in front of him.
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master frowned and asked, "Do they stay in this room every day?" Then, he took out a tael of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into the waiter's hand.
The waiter had only casually mentioned it to the Fourth Master, never expecting him to be so generous. He was so surprised he almost thanked him profusely, but seeing the Fourth Master's expression, which clearly didn't want him to make a fuss, the waiter tremblingly stuffed the Fourth Master's tip into his sleeve.
"No, they do go out sometimes, but only in twos and threes," the waiter quickly lowered his voice.
Fourth Master pulled the waiter into the room and then closed the door.
When the Fourth Master's door opened again, the waiter walked out with a delighted expression. Then, the Fourth Master came out with his hands behind his back. He carried a candlestick, walked to the Fourteenth Master's room on the right, and knocked on the door.
Fourteenth Brother was already asleep, but the persistent, soft knocking on the door eventually woke him. Annoyed, he grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head; he hated being disturbed. Besides, it was the middle of the night, not in the palace or his own residence—who would dare disturb him? Fourteenth Brother thought irritably, then sat bolt upright. The knocking continued. He threw off the blanket, reached for his shoes, strode to the door, and unlatched it, almost bursting into a tirade. But when he saw Fourth Brother's face, illuminated by the candlelight, looking somewhat eerie, Fourteenth Brother's heart skipped a beat. He stammered, "Fourth Brother, it's the middle of the night! Why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing knocking on my door?"
Fourth Master glared at Fourteenth Master, then raised his hand and pushed Fourteenth Master in the chest before walking in. Only then did he close the door behind him.
"Fourth Brother, what are you doing?" Fourteen blinked a few times in surprise and asked, thinking to himself, "Could it be that he's going to beat me up just because I said something to him by the river?"
"Do you want to stay and watch the dragon boat race?" Fourth Master asked, staring into Fourteenth Master's eyes.
Huh?! He heard what my tenth brother and I were saying?
Fourteen almost didn't react, then forced himself to remain calm and said, "Fourth Brother, I would like to watch, but Father Emperor only allowed us to stay overnight outside. The Dragon Boat Race is in five days."
The Fourth Prince interrupted him, saying, "You stay here and watch the dragon boat race. The Tenth Prince and I will go back and explain to Father Emperor."
Fourteenth Brother stared wide-eyed at Fourth Master as if he had misheard, almost unable to believe that those words had just come from his mouth. He stammered, "Fourth Brother, is there something you want me to do?"
"There's no way this is going to happen. Fourth Brother never does anything that doesn't make him happy. He wouldn't be so kind as to let me stay and watch the dragon boat races!" Fourteen thought to himself decisively.
“That’s right. Besides watching the dragon boat race, you’ll also be keeping an eye on a group of people. The group that lives right across from you,” Fourth Master said, enunciating each word clearly.
Fourteenth was even more incredulous this time, repeating, "Why are you monitoring them?"
The Fourth Prince pondered for a moment and said, "I've noticed something's off about these people. I hope I'm just overthinking it. But Father is currently at Mount Wutai and doesn't have many guards with him, so it's best to be careful. You should secretly monitor these people, and if anything seems amiss, send a message back to me by carrier pigeon. Tomorrow morning, the Tenth Prince and I will return immediately, and then Qin Gang will send someone to deliver a carrier pigeon to you."
Fourteenth Brother then came to his senses and asked, "Fourth Brother, have you discovered something?"
The Fourth Master then recounted everything the waiter had told him to the Fourteenth Master.
"Alright, I'll stay here and keep an eye on them. Don't worry, Fourth Brother, I'll keep a close watch on them until Father is safely back here!" Fourteenth Brother also realized the seriousness of the matter and dropped his joking attitude.
"Alright, it's settled then. Let's go to sleep." After Fourth Master finished speaking, he was about to turn around and leave when Fourteenth Master called out to him.
"Why didn't Fourth Brother choose Tenth Brother to monitor them?" Fourteenth Brother asked.
"Because someone has their eye on you, right? That girl selling lotus lanterns can be your cover!" Fourth Master said this and then drifted away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
