The snow stumbled and tumbled towards Yan Liang, but just before it reached Yan Liang, it slipped and rolled over to him. Then, meowing, it snuggled into Yan Liang's arms for comfort.
Yan Liang reached out a hand to touch it, feeling the warmth from his palm, and laughed. Pang Jin propped his chin up and tilted his head to look at the aggrieved Da Xue, and unconsciously smiled as well.
A gentle breeze blows, green willows sway in the water, and the fragrance of flowers fills the air.
That's good.
Yan Liang gazed at the drifting willow catkins and thought to himself.
The two people and the cat sat by the river, creating a warm atmosphere that only highlighted the loneliness of the young man in white in the distance.
Di Feijing lowered his eyes to look at the ripples on the water. A gentle breeze carried the sound of Yan Liang and Pang Jin's casual conversation. Judging from their relaxed and familiar tone, no one would guess that one of them was the Crown Prince.
Liu Fen Ban Tang had already planted spies in Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou and bribed Hua Wu Cuo and Yu Wu Yu, who were close to Su Mengzhen. Di Feijing naturally knew that Su Mengzhen's frequent trips to the capital these past few days were not only for matters concerning his building, but also to meet someone.
According to Di Feijing, besides Su Mengzhen and Fang Yingkan, Zhui Ming from the Divine Marquis's Mansion had also come into contact with Pang Jin.
Moreover, their encounter with Pang Jin was not intentional, but a genuine chance meeting.
Even Di Feijing was caught completely off guard when Pang Jin asked him for directions.
—His Highness the Crown Prince is clearly a very patient person.
After learning how many times Pang Jin had gotten lost, Di Feijing made this assessment.
Encountering the two by the riverbank again was still unexpected, but he had no intention of disturbing them. Di Feijing was neither afraid of loneliness nor disliked crowds, and was indifferent to this simple way of getting along.
Di Feijing arrived an hour earlier than Yan Liang and Pang Jin, but he didn't catch a single fish. In contrast, Yan Liang had caught two fish within half an hour of arriving.
Da Xue squatted on the edge of the wooden bucket, tilting her head to stare at the swaying fish inside. Suddenly, she stretched out her claws, splashing water all over the two of them.
Yan Liang let it play in the water and tease the fish, holding the fishing rod, while listening to Pang Jin tell him about the interesting things he had encountered in the capital these past few days, such as meeting a young man who treated patients in a clinic, and buying a landscape painting from a young man who sold calligraphy and paintings at low prices...
When Yan Liang heard that he had almost finished touring the capital, he said, "You've almost seen the whole capital. Am I really useless? No, I rarely have time. Is there anywhere else you haven't been to? I'll take you there."
Pang Jin snorted: "I already told you you're useless... but there really is a place I haven't been to yet."
Yan Liang became interested and asked him, "Where?"
Pang Jin coughed lightly: "Little Sweetwater Alley."
Little Sweetwater Lane was full of brothels and brothels, commonly known as a place of pleasure.
Yan Liang was surprised: "You've been there?"
Pang Jin was taken aback and was about to ask him when he had been there when she heard Yan Liang say slowly, "You got lost once, and I found you at the entrance of Little Sweet Water Alley."
Pang Jin: "...This can be called going there!?"
Seeing that he was both annoyed and embarrassed, Yan Liang stopped teasing him and asked him why he wanted to go to Little Sweet Water Alley. Pang Jin hesitated for a long time before saying that he had read in storybooks that many heroes in the martial arts world met beautiful women in brothels and composed a moving love song after their encounter.
Yan Liang: "Pfft."
Pang Jin: "...Hello."
"You're so young and you want to go to Little Sweet Water Alley?" Yan Liang asked Pang Jin with a smile. He remembered that Pang Yu had said he had never been to a brothel. He didn't expect his grandson to be so bold.
“So young—you’re not that much older than me, are you?” Pang Jin was quite unhappy with his choice of words. “How old are you this year?”
Yan Liang, without batting an eye, fabricated a lie: "I am forever twenty-two years old."
Pang Jin looked at Yan Liang's youthful face in disbelief: "Do you think I'm blind?"
Yan Liang readily changed his tune: "Okay, actually I'm seventeen this year."
Seventeen-year-old Pang Jin nodded in satisfaction and said, "You are clearly the same age as me."
Grandpa Yan Liangyan turned his face away and chuckled.
Di Fei was surprised to hear their conversation clearly and felt a little uneasy about the age the Crown Prince had given him—if he remembered correctly, the Crown Prince should be fifteen years old this year.
He didn't mean to listen; it's just that he has excellent hearing, and the two boys were talking openly and honestly, not caring at all about being overheard.
The two talked for a while longer and made a promise to go to Little Sweetwater Alley together that evening.
Another hour later, he heard faint noises coming from the other side, and someone was running towards him.
The boy who always got lost squatted down beside him, holding a fish, and said, "I don't know if you still remember me. You gave me directions before, so this fish is a thank you gift. Thank you."
Di Fei didn't look up, but said softly, "No need to thank me."
His voice was light and airy, and even though he didn't look up, it didn't sound impolite; you could hear the sincerity in his voice.
Pang Jin smiled and placed the struggling fish into the wooden bucket next to Di Feijing. After saying a few words to him, he got up and ran towards Yan Liang.
After the two boys left the riverbank, Di Fei glanced at the black fish swimming in the wooden bucket, then turned his gaze back to the water.
＊
After returning to Pang Jin's house, Pang Jin had the servants prepare various seasonings. Yan Liang scaled and gutted several fish and began to demonstrate his culinary skills.
Pang Jin found it incredible. Yan Liang, with his air of nobility, didn't seem like the type to know how to grill fish. Yet, his movements were so skillful, as if he had done it many times before, which was truly astonishing.
Not only him, but also the bodyguard in the shadows found it hard to believe—of course, the reasons why the two found it hard to believe were completely different.
The guard watched as the crown prince grilled fish for Pang Jin, and not just one fish, but also fish grilled by the crown prince himself, along with the people Pang Jin brought.
Despite his surprise, he remained silent and observed from the shadows. As the crown prince's chosen guard, all he needed to do was quietly protect the prince, no matter what the prince did.
Therefore, even though the Crown Prince and Pang Jin went to Little Sweet Water Alley with their arms around each other after eating the fish, neglecting their duties, the guards simply followed quietly behind them and went with them to the largest brothel in Little Sweet Water Alley.
Seeing the Crown Prince and Pang Jin enter the building, the guard looked around outside and spotted a large, leafy tree outside the brothel. He leaped into the canopy and could see the Crown Prince with his arm around Pang Jin's shoulder.
The guard breathed a slight sigh of relief and leaned against the tree trunk to relax for a moment, but after becoming alert again, he suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence behind him.
"It's me."
The unfamiliar voice reassured the guard.
This man was his colleague, a guard for the same noble family.
...They were the guards of the Song Dynasty emperor.
The guard silently turned around, exchanged a glance with his colleague in the darkness, and then quietly looked away.
Since his colleague was here, it meant that the emperor couldn't resist the temptation and was out seeking pleasure again.
At this moment, His Highness the Crown Prince was standing lazily behind Pang Jin, watching Pang Jin blush and be surrounded by girls, without going up to help him out of his predicament, with a hint of schadenfreude.
Pang Jin looked at Yan Liang, who was also surrounded by a bunch of girls but remained calm and composed, and wondered to himself—this person was clearly the same age as him, so why did he look just like a playboy who could flirt with a thousand flowers without getting attached?
The two were ushered upstairs. Yan Liang, having finally had his fill of the excitement, went to the madam and explained his demands. With his bright eyebrows and clear eyes, and handsome appearance, the madam was delighted to see him and readily agreed, smiling as she led the two into the inner room.
Yan Liang spoke slowly and deliberately, always with a hint of an indescribable smile, as warm as a spring breeze.
As Zhao Ji was having a young woman pour him wine, he propped his head up with one hand and held the cup in the other, gazing fascinated at the beautiful woman's delicate hands as she gently held the wine pot, the wine flowing slowly from the spout with a gentle gurgling sound. Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard a very familiar voice, and his hand trembled, spilling all the wine onto the back of his hand, which then dripped down his skin onto the low table.
He had grown increasingly fond of listening to the Crown Prince speak these days, so he could conclude that the voice coming from the corridor into the room was the Crown Prince's voice.
The beauty panicked, both anxious and alarmed, and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe the wine from Zhao Ji's hands. Zhao Ji glanced at her, thinking about the sounds outside while also wanting to comfort the flustered beauty, so he asked Mi Youqiao, who was attending him, to go outside and check.
Mi Youqiao also recognized the Crown Prince's voice. Receiving a signal from Zhao Ji, she opened the door at the opportune moment, just in time to meet His Highness the Crown Prince, who was lazily passing by with his hands in his sleeves.
He opened the door unexpectedly, startling Pang Jin. Yan Liang and Pang Jin both looked at the person who opened the door.
Mi Youqiao: "..."
Yan Liang: "..."
He looked at the old man in front of him, then at Zhao Ji in the center of the room. After a moment of silence, he gave an awkward but polite smile.
Zhao Ji glanced at the boy peeking out from behind him, then at the unserious Crown Prince, and was momentarily at a loss for words.
After opening the door, Mi Youqiao silently stepped aside, leaving the father and son to stare at each other.
Zhao Ji quickly looked away, thought for a moment, and said gently, "Go and have fun."
Pang Jin hadn't figured out the relationship between the two when she heard Zhao Ji's words, which made her even more confused.
He looked the two of them over and over again, and was surprised to find that Yan Liang and the person in the room looked somewhat alike.
Yan Liang straightened up and bowed respectfully: "Yes."
The two boys quickly left in front of Zhao Ji's house. Zhao Ji was still thinking about the Crown Prince's unintentional display of demeanor, and for some reason, he felt a little envious.
If possible, he would also like to go out and have fun with his friends openly and honestly.
Mi Youqiao noticed the longing on Zhao Ji's face and vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
Emperor Huizong's thoughts were easy to grasp; they were nothing more than interested in calligraphy, painting, and leisure. However, Mi Youqiao had no idea what the Crown Prince had done to Zhao Ji that had touched his heart, causing him to reveal such a longing expression.
Yan Liang and Pang Jin sat down in the room and remained silent for a while before Pang Jin tentatively asked, "Was that person just now... your brother?"
Yan Liang denied it: "It's my father."
Pang Jin: "..."
The father and son went to the same brothel at the same time and even bumped into each other—this luck... was not just bad, it was absolutely terrible.
"He won't blame you, will he?"
Pang Jin was worried for him, but Yan Liang didn't care and said, "No, since he said he wanted me to come and play, he meant it."
Pang Jin hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "The relationship between your father and son is really strange. If it were my father, he would definitely make me recite the Analects—" He paused, then overturned his previous assumption, "My father would never come to a brothel, much less run into me."
Yan Liang shrugged and laughed, "My dad and I are the same; we just love to play."
Pang Jin thought to herself, even if someone else's father is playing around with someone else, they wouldn't necessarily act so naturally after meeting in a brothel.
Author's Note: Something came up at home, so I probably won't be able to update on Wednesday or Thursday. OTZ
I need to ask for leave here.
This story will be updated whenever I can.
My eyes hurt from staring at the computer all day doing homework. Everyone should be careful with their eyes!
Whether you are nearsighted or not, everyone should protect their eyes.
Goodnight~ Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2020-03-15 13:51:18 and 2020-03-17 23:47:56~
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Little Electric Heater (5 bottles); 40512892 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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