Chapter 5
"Young master, these are newly delivered red plum blossoms. In addition to the plum blossoms, His Highness the Ninth Prince also sent over some dew tea," Ziyan said, holding the red plum blossoms.
The red plum blossoms placed in the vase perfectly complemented the view outside the window. The Lu Xuejin Palace was predominantly decorated in somber tones, but the red plum blossoms, budding and ready to bloom, added a touch of brightness and liveliness to the space.
"He lives near Plum Garden... Dew tea?" Lu Xuejin touched a plum blossom petal, recalling their parting some time ago. Before leaving, the young man's cheeks were flushed, and since then he often came to deliver things, leaving in a hurry after delivering them.
“I don’t know where you heard it from, but you like dew tea, so I suppose it was from Tengluo,” Ziyan said. “Young master, what should we do with these plum blossom branches that have been replaced?”
“Place it in the courtyard… perhaps we’ll see a plum tree next year,” Lu Xuejin said.
The boy found a round jade pot to collect the dew. Lu Xuejin looked at the pot; it was heavy, and the round lid resembled a hat brim. The more she looked at the jade pot, the happier she became. She thought the boy must be clever and perceptive, always able to guess her preferences.
"..." Ziyan saw Lu Xuejin staring at the dew for a long time, and she remained silent. Her young master was usually calm and reserved, and it was difficult to fathom his thoughts. She had been by Lu Xuejin's side for many years, and only now could she glimpse a little of his thoughts.
The palace is usually simply furnished, and withered flowers are never left unused.
“Young Master, this jade pot must have been borrowed from Tengluo,” Ziyan said. She had already seen it last time; the Ninth Prince’s palace was completely bare, with no decorations whatsoever, and everything else was donated by them.
"Is that so? He certainly knows how to choose... he just happened to pick the most popular one. It looks like an old bell, with an endearingly simple-minded appearance." Lu Xuejin raised her eyebrows and asked, "How has he been doing at the academy lately?"
“Young Master asked about it just the day before,” Ziyan said, “and today Grand Tutor Zhao did not let him leave either. After Young Master’s visit, he was allowed to enter the gate, and so far everything seems calm… Ninth Prince is unharmed.”
Ziyan didn't say the rest. Murong Yue's safety didn't mean the others were unharmed. The students in Zhizhang Hall, led by Liu Mingde, had each received a letter during their break the previous day, requesting them to compose poems. Many went; some were unharmed, while others received unfinished verses. Liu Mingde, however, fell into the water and nearly drowned when he was found on the lakeshore.
At the time, Murong Yue was outside the Golden Palace, and no one suspected him. The mastermind behind it all remains a mystery.
"As for Lord Cui... when does the young master plan to send him out of the palace?" Ziyan asked.
Cui Ruhao, a former official, was known for his extreme personality and radical left-wing approach. Although ostracized by other officials during the late emperor's reign, he was still appreciated and given important positions. After Xue Yi ascended the throne, he carried out a full-scale purge. Cui Ruhao survived for half a year, spreading articles in teahouses and back alleys, single-handedly allowing the forces of restoration to resurface.
“Wait a little longer, now is not the time. Who did Xue Yi send to investigate this matter?” Lu Xuejin asked.
Ziyan: "...Lord Song Zhao."
It was this very person… His former classmates all stood beside Xue Yi. He was somewhat inclined to ask Song Zhao if this person was truly the wise ruler he would wholeheartedly assist?
"There's a palace banquet today... Will you be attending, young master? Miss Wei has sent word that she wishes to see you," Ziyan said.
“Of course I can’t go. Ziyan… I don’t need to see her again,” Lu Xuejin said.
Every court official he had ever met disappeared within a month. Some faced imprisonment, some vanished overnight, and some were falsely accused. Even Wei Ning, a close friend of both him and Xue Yi, did not believe that Xue Yi would show any mercy.
That evening, due to the Grand Tutor's funeral, the palace banquet scheduled for the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was postponed for more than half a month. The palace was bustling with activity, but Fangze Palace remained quiet and deserted.
Lu Xuejin found the branches that Ziyan had placed in the corner. The plum blossoms had all withered, leaving only the small buds that had remained on the branches. He took a small knife and cut off the withered ends, revealing the pale green, healthy roots of the plum branches. Perhaps there was a chance for them to survive if placed in the soil like this.
The room door creaked open.
A wave of alcohol wafted over, and his eyes caught sight of the black and gold robes. He had just lowered the plum branch in his hand when the alcohol-laden heat landed on his ear, the other's breath completely overwhelming him. A chaotic kiss, tinged with the smell of alcohol, landed on his hair, and Xue Yi embraced him from behind, their hair tangled together.
"..." He glanced sideways and saw Xue Yi's chin resting against his shoulder, kisses falling from his hair to his ear. Normally, Xue Yi wouldn't cross such a line; he wondered if this was genuine drunkenness or just an excuse.
"Is the relationship between a man and a woman really so interesting?" Lu Xuejin asked, his brown eyes fixed on Xue Yi as Xue Yi rubbed against him. The calmer he was, the more it highlighted Xue Yi's impatience, as if the alcohol had clouded his judgment.
He asked the question, and Xue Yi, still holding him, opened her slender eyes in the darkness upon hearing it. When she met his gaze, her voice became a little hoarse.
"Changyou... If I say it's interesting, what will you do?"
Xue Yi sat behind him, cupping his palm in hers, as if she were an extension of him, a shell on his back. He remembered the days when they read together in their youth. Xue Yi was frail as a child, and when she got tired of reading, she would lean on him like this. He often felt a heaviness on his shoulders, perhaps because he was always supporting Xue Yi.
"So, if I say it's boring, what will you do?" Lu Xuejin asked quietly. He glanced at Xue Yi, but his attention was not on Xue Yi. Instead, he was protecting the unpruned branches and focusing on the plum blossom branches.
The air fell silent. He stood there, his gaze fixed on the world like a deity, observing the affections of mortals without uttering a word.
Xue Yi's eyes were filled with a deep, dark lust, almost dripping with desire, as if he wanted to drag the young man before him into that dark abyss, to entangle him in chaos. But the moment he met the clear light in the other's eyes, he felt as if he were being burned, all his yearning turning into a raging fire. He couldn't help but close his eyes, his face paling slightly.
"If you find it boring, I will not do it."
"..." Upon hearing this, Lu Xuejin looked at him, and after a moment said lightly, "In that case, I should thank you."
The person before him was so close yet so unattainable; though clearly right in front of him, he felt an immense distance. Even holding that person in his arms wasn't enough… Perhaps some kind of poison had been given him, but Changyou always made him lose control. He always wanted more, wanted those eyes to gaze upon him for a longer time, not just like they would gaze upon an inanimate object.
"Changyou... are you angry with me?" Xue Yi asked.
He looked at the young man, who then sighed and replied, "No, an elder brother is an elder brother. Although I have offended you today, I will not take it to heart."
"But brother... is something troubling you?"
"..." Xue Yi closed his eyes again. The person in front of him was now all warm and gentle. If he looked at him for too long, he might not be able to control himself.
Lu Xuejin then asked, "Was the palace banquet today successful?"
“Changyou, I do not wish to discuss court affairs with you here. We have not spoken for a long time… If you wish to know about court affairs, you may go to the Golden Palace yourself… How about it?” Xue Yi said. His eyes were fixed on her. Since his ascension to the throne, Lu Xuejin would never go to see him unless he came.
If he doesn't come, seeing him would be a pipe dream.
Having painstakingly woven a vast net of power, he only needed to wait patiently. When the day came that all the bird's wings were clipped, he would confine it to a high shelf… and then the young man would naturally open his legs to him.
A gust of cold wind blew in, and Xue Yi coughed, the effects of the alcohol dissipating somewhat. As soon as he coughed, the young man beside him stood up. He seemed to see the shadow of a boy instantly transform into a young man, who, as always, found him a cloak, worried that he would catch a cold in the winter.
"Brother, are you feeling any better?" Lu Xuejin asked him.
Xue Yi was lost in thought for a moment. He stopped coughing and felt the warmth of the cloak between his palms. The faint concern in the young man's eyes made his palms tremble.
“Since you don’t want to talk about the palace banquet… how about we play a game of chess?” Lu Xuejin suggested.
Lu Xuejin: "Although I am good at literature, I read mostly sentimental articles that are of no practical use. In terms of strategy and planning, I am far inferior to my brother. I feel quite disappointed when I think about this lately."
"..." Xue Yi remained silent. The two of them were similar in form and spirit, and their abilities were naturally comparable. He did not wish to be an opponent, but only wanted the other to be a bird in his palm.
The game of chess ended almost at dawn, and Lu Xuejin personally saw the person out of the palace.
Watching the person leave from afar, Lu Xuejin withdrew his gaze. Suddenly, he caught sight of something—the ears of the New Year picture doll.
"Your Highness?"
It was still dark when he spoke, and Murong Yue peeked out from behind the vermilion wall. The young man's handsome face was rather reserved, and he was still holding a bunch of red plum blossoms in his arms.
The weariness that had been caused by Xue Yi was completely swept away at this moment.
Seeing the boy's tense little face, along with his ears and cheeks red from the cold, Lu Xuejin couldn't help but smile slightly. "You came so early... Aren't you cold?"
"I haven't seen Your Highness for several days, and I've been very worried. How have you been lately?" As soon as Lu Xuejin finished speaking, she realized that she might have said too much. Perhaps he was also intoxicated by Xue Yi's wine, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
His emotions naturally affected the boy. Murong Yue turned his sharp eyes to the side and stared at him, saying, "Are you... are you worried about me?"
Upon hearing the child's reply, Lu Xuejin calmed down and said, "Of course, I worry about Your Highness every day. I only see plum blossoms, but I have never seen Your Highness. I even thought... Your Highness was hiding from me."
As he spoke, he touched Murong Yue's earlobe. The boy had gone to the plum garden before dawn, and his ears were flushed with a frosty red from the chill. He touched the boy's cool skin.
The capital borders the lands of the barbarian Hu tribes, who have a custom of ear piercing. The capital also retains some of this custom, and Murong Yue has pierced ears. He imagined the boy wearing earrings, a bright red patch, and he would indeed look like a paper-cut doll.
“I did not avoid you,” Murong Yue explained to him. The boy’s ears suddenly turned red as if he had thought of something. “I have been busy with my studies recently, which is why I have not entered the palace.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly; the child looked to him like a cat with its fur standing on end.
He stared at the cat, but the cat avoided his gaze. After a while, it retracted its fangs and slowly wagged its tail at him.
"Since you want to see me... then I'll come over another time."
Lu Xuejin couldn't help but chuckle. He glanced at the boy's ear and, with a slight provocation, the boy was momentarily stunned and didn't know what to do, reacting a beat too late.
"Hmm... You don't need to come so early in the future. If Your Highness comes, you must come to see me." He withdrew his hand as if unintentionally, the touch of his fingertips distinct and clear.
Beneath the vermilion wall, a figure stood tall until the two figures disappeared into the distance, the dragon pattern on the side of his sleeve vanishing in an instant.
A note from the author:
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