Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 62: Dajing Afterwards

The third princess’ gaze fell upon Lin Rufei. She had seen him once before, but unfortunately, she was too busy crying in her father’s arms to take a closer look at the Lin family’s little gongzi. She had to say, this Lin family’s little gongzi indeed had beautiful skin. Although he was a bit more sickly than ordinary people, this sickness, in turn, made his temperament a little more attractive.

The third princess smiled: “Lin gongzi is really good-looking.”

“Third Princess is too kind.” Lin Rufei was very polite.

The third princess smiled, however, she no longer continued on with the topic. She carelessly shifted her gaze back to Xuan Qing and said slowly, “Master Xuan Qing, it’s been a long time, I remember the last time we met was when I was ten years old. In a flash, I’m already at the age of marriage. This time is going by really fast.”

“Yes.” Xuan Qing said with half-lidded eyes and his expression was full of tenderness, “It is very fast.”

“Then why doesn’t Master Xuan Qing come and see me more often?” The Third Princess pouted, “When you’re not here, there are always people bullying me in the palace.”

“Who dares to bully the Third Princess?” Xuan Qing asked.

“Who dares?” The Third Princess pouted, “If I were to seriously count, then there are many people who dare.”

Xuan Qing smiled and shook his head, looking a bit helpless.

The Third Princess said: “Master Xuan Qing, say, since you haven’t come here in so long, how come this time you came in such a timely manner? If you came a bit later……” She frowned, showing a sad demeanor, and then suddenly, her entire expression changed. Her eyes became sinister and vicious, “Just a day or two later—I would have been able to take the lives of those two little bastards.”

This sudden change really caught people off guard. The third princess, who was pampered like a delicate girl, now looked gloomy and grave. At first glance, she looked a bit similar to her majestic father, Bai Jinglun.

“You didn’t come when they were bullying me? But when it’s my turn to bully them, you sure run fast.” With a wave of the third princess’ hand, the plate full of chilled grapes all fell onto the ground into pieces. The purple juice mixed with ceramic fragments exploded under their feet, soaking through Lin Rufei’s white boots.

Xuan Qing sighed lightly. He folded his hands and was silent.

“Say something, why aren’t you saying anything?!” The third princess yelled in a cold voice, “You obviously saw it all when they bullied me, but did nothing. Why are you so anxious when it’s my turn to bully them?”

Xuan Qing called out, “Bai Moumou.” This was the third princess’s name, which sounded somewhat cute.

When the third princess was called, she quickly calmed back down and turned back to the naive princess from their first meeting. She gritted her teeth like a little girl and complained: “Master Xuan Qing, you are so biased.” As she said this, teardrops also fell down her cheeks.

It was one scene after another and Lin Rufei, who had been standing on the side, was stunned. He had never seen such a fickle girl and he had to say, this third princess’s acting skill was really an eye-opener. 

“Don’t cry.” Xuan Qing, however, seemed to have long been accustomed to the changes of the third princess and he didn’t even have the slightest color of surprise on his face. Instead, his expression carried some helpless indulgence towards the younger generation, “If you cry again and your father saw, he would be heartbroken again.”  

“Him being heartbroken isn’t because of me, right?” The Third Princess sobbed, “Someone told me that I am not the daughter of Concubine Mei and that the emperor loves me only because I look like that woman.” She continued, “Master Xuan Qing, do you know who my mother is?”

Of course Xuan Qing knew and he nodded his head in confirmation.

But who knew that as soon as the third princess saw him nod, she immediately jumped in front of Xuan Qing. She grabbed his front lapel and said in a trembling voice, “So where is she now? Is she doing well? Is she dead?”

Xuan Qing replied, “She is doing very well.”

“Tsk, I’m really not Concubine Mei’s biological daughter.” Her tears were like props. The third princess let out a “humph” and then collected that pitiful look. She let go of her hand and cursed, “Those two little bastards actually weren’t lying to me, I’m actually really a bastard child.”

Xuan Qing frowned, “Princess must be careful with her words. Although your mother is not a concubine, she is still your father’s most beloved person. You must not undervalue yourself.” 

“Forget it, forget it.” The third princess returned to the chilled chair and picked up the silk fan. She fanned herself with a hitch and lazily said, “Anyway, the matters……are not finished yet.” She also glanced askance at Xuan Qing and smiled coquettishly, “Say, Master Xuan Qing, do you think that our Dajing can produce a female emperor?”

Xuan Qing smiled calmly, “All beings are equal, men and women do not differ in the eyes of the monk.”

“I knew Master Xuan Qing was the best.” Without a care, she casually spoke treasonable words in front of Xuan Qing. He could tell that the third princess actually trusted Xuan Qing very much and knew that he would definitely not tattle to Bai Jinglun about this. The third princess muttered, “Then I will try. If I lose, then I lose, this life of mine is not worth anything……”

After saying this, the third princess closed her mouth, and the gazebo finally quieted down.

Lin Rufei hesitated for a moment, but still opened his mouth: “Third Princess, there is a question I want to ask you, but I do not know if it is convenient.”

The Third Princess raised her chin, gesturing for Lin Rufei to speak.

“That day, your father dug up an iron box under the plum tree, and inside it happened to be paintings of yours from your early childhood.” Lin Rufei said, “I saw a few strange ink stains on the painting……”

The Third Princess said, “Clever, ah, Lin gongzi.” She smiled and actually admitted to it without a care, “Yes, I could see that mass of shadow long ago. It wasn’t something I encountered recently.”

Xuan Qing frowned: “How come Moumou didn’t tell me?”

“Hmph. How often do you come? Furthermore, you’re a monk. I was afraid that if I told you, you would go tell my father and then burn me like I was a demon.” The third princess causally babbled. She paused for a moment, but in the end, still said exactly what was on her mind, “I was already bored in the palace. Now that you took that thing away, wouldn’t it be even more boring for me?”

Xuan Qing disagreed, “That thing is too dangerous.”

“There’s nothing dangerous about it.” The third princess said indifferently, “You count. Out of my dozen brothers and sisters who died prematurely, how many died in the hands of demons and how many in the hands of people? If a person becomes ruthless, then it has nothing to do with demons.” 

Xuan Qing did not refute her words and only consoled the princess. He said that if she encountered such stuff in the future, she mustn’t hide it. The third princess obviously did not listen. She waved her hand indifferently, looking unconcerned at all.

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Lin Rufei’s guess was good. Indeed, Gu Xuandu’s shadow had been with the princess for a long time, but he didn’t know why it would suddenly rise in revolt.

The three of them stayed in the gazebo for a quite some time but still hadn’t seen His Holiness’s shadow. This made Lin Rufei ask, “Why is His Holiness not back yet?”

“Don’t be anxious, that old b**ch is very difficult.” The old b**ch from the third princess’ mouth was referring to the Empress of Dajing, whom Lin Rufei had not yet met. She continued, “It’s fine if she was ugly, but she also ages quickly. It’s also fine if she ages quickly but her heart is also poisonous. She deserves to spend her life in the East Palace, which is like a freezing cellar.” Her mouth was very poisonous and if the empress had heard it, then every word would have a deadly effect, “Those two sons of hers are also disappointing things. They couldn’t even beat me and they still think they’re worthy of being the emperor?! If I didn’t have these two lumps of meat on my chest and had something extra below, I’d be better than them both!” 

Xuan Qing chastised: “Moumou don’t use foul language.”

“I’ll say it if I want to.” The third princess continued, “Anyway, my father is not here, if you do not like it, you can go tattle on me, ah!”

She obviously knew that Xuan Qing would not go so she had no fear at all and those beautiful eyes were almost rolling up towards the sky.

As Lin Rufei watched this ongoing scene, he felt that it was a little funny. His hand clenched into a fist and he gently covered the smile on his lips.

“That old b**ch wants to punish me and doesn’t want her own sons to be punished? That’s not possible.” She was idle and had nothing to do anyway so the third princess started to break things down for them, “They have committed all of my father’s greatest fears. They want to get out in one piece and still want to pit against me, it is simply a fool’s dream—wait and see, sooner or later I will get them all killed one by one.”

This young girl, who had just turned fourteen, prattled on about her ambitions. However, it didn’t make people think that she was talking big at all.

Xuan Qing was right. Those who could survive in the palace were people who should not be provoked. If the princess was really a little white rabbit, who didn’t know anything, she probably would have been torn into pieces without any bones left. Perhaps at first she also wasn’t able to adapt, but some people were born with an unknown wildness in their bones and Bai Moumou was such a person.

After waiting for about half a pillar of incense, Bai Jinglun and his empress finally arrived late. It must be said that Bai Moumou’s words were indeed exaggerated. Although this empress was not as beautiful as a woman of her age, she had a unique charm and a dignified look. If people didn’t know her inner heart, most likely they would think that she had some benevolence. However, from Xuan Qing’s indifferent reaction, it seemed that he also didn’t like the empress. The empress did not care. She smiled and greeted them. After seeing the broken fruit plate on the ground, she covered her mouth: “Moumou how can you be so careless? Are your hands scratched? Oh my, Lin gongzi’s boots are also stained with grape seeds. Such a pity, such a pity. These boots are so beautiful and now they are soiled……”

“It’s okay.” Lin Rufei waved his hand, indicating that there was no harm.

Bai Moumou turned into a good girl again and whispered, “I’m sorry, Empress. It’s because I was too excited to see Master Xuan Qing and the others coming……and accidentally……”

“Okay, okay, how big of a deal is it anyway?” What Bai Jinglun could not stand the most was the Empress’s catty and explicitly derisive tone in her voice. Everyone in the palace was like foxes who had cultivated for a thousand years, what else could they do but gossip? He impatiently started, “There are guests here, be more restrained.”

The empress smiled embarrassingly and did not speak again, quietly choosing to sit down on the side.

“Xuan Qing, she doesn’t believe me, but still believes you. Tell her what’s going on with that thing.” Bai Jinglun said coldly, “And if Moumou deliberately wanted to harm her two mouthy sons.”

Xuan Qing nodded and then briefly retold the empress what had happened. But he was very clever. He omitted some very important details and expressed that the thing had its eyes on the people of the palace for a long time, however nothing had happened. It was probably because on that day, the princess had an argument with someone and her mood fluctuated too much that the thing had the chance to take advantage of her. The implication was that the princes themselves had to take some responsibility.

Xuan Qing’s words were not a lie, after all, the conditions required were actually very harsh if it wanted to fuse the two shadows. The princess was heartbroken that day and it should also be one of the conditions. Only, he did not state whether the princess was conscious while in a coma and whether it was her initiative to hurt the imperial princes.

The empress’s expression became more and more ugly as she listened. Finally, she forced out a smile and said, “Master Xuan Qing, that thing, it won’t appear again, right?”

“No, it has already been taken away.” Xuan Qing stated, “Your Majesty can rest assured.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” The empress said, “I only have two sons, in case something happens, I can’t accept it.” She said as she wiped the corners of the eyes that were not moist, and made a sorrowful gesture.

“Then it’s settled?” Bai Jinglun asked from the side.

The empress had also wanted to say something else, but when she saw the coldness in Bai Jinglun’s eyes, she swallowed back the words and nodded with great difficulty: “These two children, indeed, like to shoot their mouth’s off. I don’t know which uneducated subordinate they learned it from.”

In fact, everyone knew in their hearts. In this palace, those who dared to scold the emperor’s most beloved princess could be counted with one hand. How would subordinates dare to have such bear heart and dog guts[1]?  

Bai Jinglun naturally knew, so he sneered and said, ‘since you can not control your palace underlings, then I’ll control them.’ As he said this, he issued a decree: the personal servants that have been by the princes’ side since childhood until now would be punished to do hard work at the border. The empress’s heart twitched and ached in pain. But she also knew that solving the matter this way was also the best result.

And the third princess, who had injured the princes, was also punished. However, this punishment felt sort of perfunctory. It was said that she was stripped of benefits for three months[2] and was grounded for ten days. This was basically the same as not having a punishment at all. 

Once this punishment was revealed, even Lin Rufei, who did not know the rules of the palace, could also see that Bai Jinglun was being very biased.

The empress was also angry that her teeth felt itchy, but in the end, she did not dare say anything.

This matter was completely settled and Bai Jinglun specially set up a banquet to thank the two. The banquet was very sumptuous, during which various imperial concubines took turns to toast Xuan Qing and thank him. Lin Rufei was also able to see the first prince, who he had only heard of. What made him feel a little regretful was that the first prince looked a little wishy-washy and could even be described as dull. He didn’t inherit any of Bai Jinglun’s grandeur aura nor any of Bai Moumou’s quirkiness.

The third princess was sitting next to Lin Rufei. She probably noticed his look and came over with a smile, asking, ‘Lin gongzi, do you think that the first prince’s appearance is disappointing?’

Lin Rufei glanced at her and said, “He’s different from what I imagined, slightly regretful.” Disappointed was not the best way to put it.

“You can’t exactly blame my brother for that.” The Third Princess said, “Although he is the eldest prince, he is a concubine’s son, and is not loved by anyone. When Concubine Mei was around, it was fine, but once she passed away, the situation became even worse.” She propped up her chin and her fingertips tapped against the wine glass, “I heard from the nanny that he was tragically bullied by the second prince since he was young and was even thrown into a frozen pond one Winter. After he was rescued, he fell ill and became somewhat dumb……such a situation only changed after I came.”

The Emperor loved the third princess the most, so not many people dare to bully her. But even so, there were still people who dared to call her a bastard in front of her face. Because she had no maternal support, she was the same as the eldest prince and was all alone.

“That shadow has been following me for a long time.” The Third Princess said, “I was scared at first, but then I suddenly realized that there are too many people in the palace who would harm me, but the shadow was not one of them….Lin gongzi, can you tell me what Master Xuan Qing did with the shadow?”

Lin Rufei answered, “It’s on my body.”

The Third Princess asked, “On you?”

Lin Rufei said, “Mnn.”

The Third Princess was disheartened and muttered out, “If I could, I would really like to see him again.”

She did not know that just as she was saying these words, Gu Xuandu was standing beside Lin Rufei and his black shadow, which was on the ground, slowly stood up. It then carefully reached out its hand and touched the third princess on her head, as if it was thanking the girl who had been accompanying it for all this time.

After having eaten and drunk to their heart’s content, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Lin Rufei had drank a few cups and was now slightly drunk. He slowly got on the carriage and noticed that Xuan Qing was already sitting in it.

“How come you are so fast?” Lin Rufei asked curiously, “Weren’t you still surrounded by a circle of people just now?” Everyone knew that Xuan Qing was the celebrity in front of the emperor and was naturally eager to talk to him a bit more. If Xuan Qing wasn’t a monk, most likely there would be plenty of people who wanted to send their daughters over.

“Snuck away.” Xuan Qing replied, “When there are many people, it’s troublesome.”

Lin Rufei nodded and just as he was about to call the carriage driver over to depart, he noticed a man in vermilion clothes standing at the corner of the palace entrance. It was none other than Prince Bai Tianrui, who hadn’t shown up at all today. Bai Tianrui had also been missing from today’s banquet. Lin Rufei originally wondered what was going on, but he did not expect to see him appearing at this moment. However, he didn’t come over and just looked at the carriage from afar with an expression that was obscure and unknown.

Lin Rufei curiously asked: “Bai Tianrui is over there, is he looking for you?”

“Probably not.” Xuan Qing said lightly, “I’m not familiar with the Prince.”

“Not familiar?” Lin Rufei said suspiciously, “But he……”

Xuan Qing simply smiled and didn’t say anything else.

Since Xuan Qing’s words had come to this, if he did not want to see Bai Tianrui, then it was his business and Lin Rufei could not do much about it. The carriage driver cracked his whip and the carriage then sped all the way out of the palace.

The curfew in Dengxiao City had been lifted, and once the sky darkened, the city was once again full of lights. Countless different styles of night lights illuminated the entire Imperial City. These lanterns were exquisite, like works of art. Lin Rufei even saw that on top of a pavilion, a dragon-shaped lantern was rotating around it. From the distance, it was like a fire dragon had wrapped itself around the pavilion and it was very life-like.

Lin Rufei was a little sleepy just a while ago, but suddenly he became very interested. He asked Xuan Qing if he wanted to go down for a stroll and Xuan Qing gladly agreed.

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On the streets, there were hawkers everywhere and the whole scenery was bustling and lively as if it was the New Year. The residents of Dengxiao City, who were accustomed to the nightlife, had held back for a whole month and now that the curfew was finally lifted, they were like rabbits out of the cage, very lively.

Lin Rufei was interested in choosing a few candy people[3]. He even told the vendor to make a small monk and then handed it to Xuan Qing happily.

Xuan Qing took it with a smile and held it in his hand.

“It’s so beautiful.” Lin Rufei said.

“The Lantern Festival[4] is the most beautiful day in Dengxiao City.” Xuan Qing said, “If Lin gongzi is free, you can come over and have some fun. Where does Lin gongzi plan to go next?”

Lin Rufei replied, “I’ll just follow the official road all the way down. If there aren’t any surprises, it should be the He residence.” 

“Oh, then you should be careful.” Xuan Qing advised, “The He family respects martial arts and all of them are reckless, this body of Lin gongzi is going to be treated coldly.” Although he seemed to be giving a warning, his eyes were actually smiling and it was more like he was teasing Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei laughed and nodded at his words.

There were a lot of people on the street, so Lin Rufei and Xuan Qing got separated when he had looked down to take a glance at the various little gadgets. When he came back to his senses, he had looked everywhere for Xuan Qing. However, he could not find the monk’s shadow until he passed by a certain alley. Lin Rufei suddenly saw that in the alley, there were two figures overlapping—one covering the other. Although the light was dim, Lin Rufei could still barely make out the faces of the two. One was Xuan Qing and the other……was actually Bai Tianrui.

Bai Tianrui seemed to have a bit drunk too much and refused to let Xuan Qing go. Xuan Qing looked helpless and could only be pulled by him. In the end, Xuan Qing had no choice and started coaxing him like he was a child. He even gave Bai Tianrui the small monk candy that Lin Rufei had given him. Bai Tianrui stretched out his tongue to lick the candy man and then drunkenly complained: “Xuan Qing is actually sweet, I thought…….you should be bitter. “

Xuan Qing replied, “Monks are indeed bitter.”

“Yeah.” Bai Tianrui said, “There won’t be a more bitter monk than you in the world.”

Xuan Qing smiled bitterly.

When Lin Rufei saw this, he was soon pulled away by Gu Xuandu, who tapped against his forehead. He said, ‘When did Xiao Jiu pick up such bad habits, you actually went to peek at other people flirting with the monk.’ Lin Rufei then replied in a daze: “The monk and Bai Tianrui are flirting? How come I can’t tell?”  

Gu Xuandu said, “So what does Xiao Jiu think flirting should be like?”

Lin Rufei pondered over this for a moment, “Just……writing love poems and listening to tunes together?” He had only seen these in the books so he was extra hesitant when he said it. 

Gu Xuandu’s eyes narrowed slightly. The hand that was holding Lin Rufei’s wrist suddenly flipped and interlocked with Lin Rufei’s fingers. His hand was a bit cold, but on a hot Summer day, holding it was also very comfortable: “If Xiao Jiu does not understand, senior will teach you okay?”

Lin Rufei: “Huh?”

Before he could react, he was pulled by Gu Xuandu into another alley. Gu Xuandu pushed him by the shoulder and he was soon trapped against the wall. Gu Xuandu’s figure was much taller than his and at this point, they were just a finger’s distance apart that he could even see a small black mole on Gu Xuandu’s slender neckline.

“My Xiao Jiu, ah.” Gu Xuandu looked down at Lin Rufei and said in a soft voice, “When will my Xiao Jiu grow up.” He pinched Lin Rufei’s earlobe and started kneading it, “I can barely wait any longer.”

Lin Rufei’s body trembled as he was being pinched on the ear. He wanted to push back but found that his strength was like a stone sinking into the sea and Gu Xuandu was not moving at all. Soon, his originally white earlobes were pinched into a brilliant red by Gu Xuandu and Lin Rufei’s slightly drunkened eyes surfaced with some moist vapor. He whispered, “Senior, what are you doing……”

“Flirting, ah.” Gu Xuandu’s eye curved up, “Although I want to do something more excessive to Xiao Jiu, but I am worried that Xiao Jiu can not accept it for the time being.”

He was so frank about such intimate matters that Lin Rufei, for a second, actually didn’t know what to say. Redness started to surface near the corners of his eyes and his chest was like a beating drum. He didn’t know why, but being stared at by Gu Xuandu’s greedy eyes gave him some fear. He wanted to turn his head away, but Gu Xuandu pinched his chin, “Anyway……thank you Xiao Jiu for your hard work in helping me find my shadow.”

Lin Rufei said arduously, “Senior……you’re being polite.”

Gu Xuandu said, “I’m not being polite.” He dropped a kiss on Lin Rufei’s chin and then took a deep breath, “Let’s go back.”

His clamped up body was finally loosened, but Lin Rufei felt that his feet were a bit weak and he didn’t dare to look at Gu Xuandu’s eyes. He pretended that nothing was wrong, but his slightly panicked steps showed that he was not calm inside at all during this time. Gu Xuandu leisurely followed behind Lin Rufei. He had a precise understanding of Lin Rufei’s nature; some people ate soft food but refuse hard food[5]. Cooking a frog in warm water[6] was the best method.

Lin Rufei hurried back to the inn, however, he somehow stumbled upon Xuan Qing at the entrance of the inn. He seemed to have just returned and when he saw Lin Rufei, he breathed out a sigh of relief: “Where did Lin gongzi go? I searched for a while and didn’t see you.”

“Oh, I just went to buy something.” Lin Rufei said perfunctorily, “What about……..Master Xuan Qing?”

“I also bought some things casually.” Xuan Qing replied. It was obvious that he was deliberately hiding something. 

The two stared at each other and then both showed some embarrassment. Soon, they urged each other that it was getting late and to rest early.

When Lin Rufei arrived upstairs, he suddenly realized that he had came back empty-handed and did not bring anything at all. Furthermore, Xuan Qing’s pouch……also did not have any copper coins so how could he buy something? 

Alas, both of them had such clumsy excuses. Lin Rufei awkwardly laughed.

********

The author has something to say:

Gu Xuandu: I endured for so long, what if someone really can’t endure anymore? 

Lin Rufei: The day you can no longer endure, the reader will not see us and will only see a big red lock.

Gu Xuandu: ……………………I’ll just go and be a monk.

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[1] Tremendous bravery. 

[2] 罚俸禄三月 means to “Fined three months of salary and wages” I didn’t put this because I don’t know if princesses get paid….so I reworded as “benefits.”  

[3] Candy People (well imagine them as people)