HXC Chapter38

Ever since they parted at the Southern Garden, Ji Zhen had not seen Li Muhui for half a year.

 

In his mind, Li Muhui was the type to hide needles in cotton and daggers in smiles. He already feared him and had no desire to interact with him. Now that the deposed crown prince had been defeated in the struggle for the throne, the Ji family was left in ruins. Although Ji Zhen understood that political strife was always ruthless, he still couldn’t separate himself from his own stake in it. Therefore, in addition to his fear, he now had a new layer of resentment and disgust toward Li Muhui.

 

He wasn’t good at hiding his thoughts. The moment he saw Li Muhui, he instinctively took two panicked steps back, a look of contempt flashing in his eyes.

 

This place, where the deposed crown prince was imprisoned, was rarely visited. With the bitter wind blowing, it felt even more desolate.

 

Li Muhui seemed intrigued, observing Ji Zhen’s expression. He then acted as if he had just recognized him. “So, it’s Minister Shen’s…” He didn’t finish his sentence, pausing slightly before asking, “All the officials are at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. How did you end up here alone?”

 

Ji Zhen stretched his neck to look behind Li Muhui, not seeing anyone else. Instead of answering, he asked, “Where is Lingyue?”

 

“This highness just saw Lingyue being called away in a hurry. Did she bring you here?” Li Muhui mused. “Lingyue knows that Emperor Father has forbidden anyone from approaching this place, yet she knowingly disobeyed. Isn’t she afraid of being punished by Emperor Father?”

 

Hearing this, Ji Zhen worried he would get Lingyue into trouble and quickly said, “I came here on my own.”

 

Li Muhui raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

 

Ji Zhen pursed his lips and nodded.

 

Unexpectedly, Li Muhui’s face suddenly darkened. “This place is quite far from the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, and it’s no ordinary location. How did you manage to find your way here by yourself? You’re quite good at lying with your eyes wide open. This highness thinks he should report this to His Majesty and have a proper investigation.”

 

With that, he turned, as if he truly intended to go and report him to the emperor.

 

Ji Zhen, not wanting to cause more trouble and fearing he would implicate Lingyue, rushed forward and blocked Li Muhui. Full of panic and fear, he stammered, “Your Highness…”

 

Li Muhui stopped and narrowed his eyes.

 

Filled with dread, Ji Zhen temporarily put aside his resentment toward Li Muhui and said haltingly, “I didn’t do anything. I just came to bid farewell to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince… to Your Highness’s brother.”

 

He couldn’t help but wonder how Li Muhui could bear to harm his own flesh and blood. But then, he thought of the emperor’s order to confine the crown prince and could only lament the cruelty and heartlessness of the imperial family.

 

Li Muhui heard this and glanced toward Chengqian Hall. Lost in thought for a moment, he finally said, “When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. You’re quite loyal.”

 

He wondered, if he were the one who had fallen, how many of his followers would come to see him?

 

Ji Zhen, trying to gauge his tone, said in a soft voice, “Then, Your Highness, can you pretend you never saw me?”

 

Li Muhui’s gaze fell on Ji Zhen’s eyes, which were slightly red from the cold wind. He took a half-step forward, and Ji Zhen instinctively stepped back, looking at him warily.

 

“This highness can keep quiet, yes.”

 

Just as Ji Zhen was about to thank him, Li Muhui added, “But you have to give this highness something in exchange for my silence.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Li Muhui had well-defined facial features, with long eyebrows and thin lips, making him look a little cold when he wasn’t smiling. He stared silently at the uneasy Ji Zhen. Just as Ji Zhen seemed about to bolt, Li Muhui finally said with a slow, gentle smile, “Last time at the Southern Garden, you took a piece of this highness’s mutton-fat jade. Why don’t you use the jade pendant you’re wearing to pay this highness back?”

 

Ji Zhen froze, lowering his gaze to the purple jade on his waist. He thought Li Muhui was petty for remembering a mere piece of jade for so long, then he let out a sigh of relief. It was just a material possession, and he could afford to give it away.

 

Without hesitation, he quickly untied the purple jade to hand it to Li Muhui, but the other party didn’t reach out to take it.

 

Ji Zhen called out in confusion, “Your Highness?”

 

“This highness remembers you once tied a jade pendant for Minister Shen,” Li Muhui said, his eyes lowered. “Tie this one for this highness as well.”

 

Ji Zhen’s hand trembled. He looked at the person in front of him as if he were a madman, a flicker of anger rising in his heart.

 

He and Shen Yanqing were married, so it was only natural for him to tie a jade pendant for him. But he and Li Muhui weren’t even acquaintances, so why would he ask for such an intimate act?

 

Ji Zhen pretended not to hear, insisting on pressing the purple jade into Li Muhui’s palm. Li Muhui pulled his hands behind his back and lifted his chin. “You can’t even handle this small task, yet you expect this highness to keep your secret.”

 

The other party was unpredictable, smiling one moment and giving him a cold, angry look the next. He turned and walked past Ji Zhen.

 

Ji Zhen watched as Li Muhui walked away. He gripped the purple jade tightly, then chased after him and blocked his path again. With eyes full of humiliation and awkwardness, he reluctantly said, “I’ll tie it.”

 

He lowered his head, and due to his distress and helplessness, his movements were quick, but it took him a long time to tie the knot properly.

 

Li Muhui’s smile faded. He looked down at Ji Zhen, who was standing with his head bowed. From this close, he could see the wisps of hair by Ji Zhen’s ear and a sliver of white neck peeking out from his collar.

 

The black was as dark as ink, and the white as pure as snow—two exquisite shades at their extremes.

 

Li Muhui started to reach out, wanting to tidy Ji Zhen’s hair, but Ji Zhen had already finished tying the jade pendant. He quickly took several steps back, his eyes wide with shame and annoyance. “It’s done. I hope Your Highness keeps your word.”

 

With that, Ji Zhen, fearing Li Muhui would make even more outrageous demands, jogged forward a bit.

 

When he arrived at the fork in the road and still saw no palace attendants, he spun around to look at Li Muhui in frustration, raising his voice to project more confidence. “Which way do I have to go?”

 

This time, Li Muhui genuinely laughed. He ran his thumb over the warm, smooth jade on his waist and casually lifted his chin to indicate a direction.

 

Ji Zhen was desperate to get away from him, so he walked quickly. Once he was out of the secluded area and finally saw some palace maids, his pace slowed.

 

He glanced back and found that Li Muhui was nowhere in sight anymore. In a surge of anger, he kicked a stone by the side of the path to release his frustration.

 

But his anger was followed by a deep sense of powerlessness. He rubbed his eyes, hating how useless he was, only daring to take out his anger on an innocent stone when facing his enemy.

 

Ji Zhen then gently nudged the kicked stone aside with his toe, muttering, “Little stone, I’m just like you…”

 

But then he thought that the stone was even stronger than him, with a hard shell to defend itself, while he was spineless and too weak to even resist.

 

—

 

The moment Ji Zhen returned to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, he was caught by the stern-faced Shen Yanqing.

 

Officials were not allowed to leave the banquet without permission. The moment Shen Yanqing noticed Ji Zhen was missing, he secretly asked a eunuch to go look for him. He had spent the last half hour imagining countless possibilities. He worried that a group of dandies had gone looking for trouble with Ji Zhen, that Ji Zhen had run off and offended some noble, and even more, that he would run off for two or three days as he had before.

 

He waited until he could no longer stand it anymore and was about to ask to be excused when he saw the distraught Ji Zhen appear at the side door.

 

Shen Yanqing suppressed his unhappiness and led him back to his seat, asking in a low voice, “Where did you go?”

 

Ji Zhen had just been frightened by Li Muhui and was now facing Shen Yanqing’s interrogation. For once, he showed some of his own temper, and his usual softness instinctively hardened. “I can go wherever I want, you…”

 

But as he met Shen Yanqing’s cold gaze, his voice weakened, and the rest of his words were swallowed.

 

Shen Yanqing felt his icy hands and noticed that his eyes and nose were red from the cold. He didn’t question him further in front of others. He only tightened his grip on Ji Zhen’s hand, his gaze sweeping down to his waist. He frowned. “Where’s your jade pendant?”

 

Ji Zhen wasn’t sure if he should tell him about running into Li Muhui. As he was thinking, Shen Yanqing’s grip tightened abruptly, making him wince in pain.

 

He followed Shen Yanqing’s gaze and saw Li Muhui also entering the hall through the side door. The purple jade on his waist shimmered in the sunlight.

 

The jade pendant that Shen Yanqing had personally tied for Ji Zhen that morning was now hanging from another man’s sash.

 

Shen Yanqing stared at the purple jade, then slowly shifted his eyes to Ji Zhen’s anxious face. He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white, and Ji Zhen’s hand was also squeezed until it was bloodless. His adam apple bobbed slightly, and beneath his calm tone, a turbulent current surged. “Did you go out with the Third Prince?”

 

Ji Zhen’s knuckles throbbed with pain, and he was terrified of Shen Yanqing. He bit his lip and said, “I just ran into him by chance…”

 

Shen Yanqing’s brows furrowed tightly. He closed his eyes, as if only this could help him hold back the torrent of emotion within him. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said in a seemingly normal tone, “Eat first.”

 

With Shen Yanqing no longer asking questions, Ji Zhen’s heart grew even more uneasy. He whispered, “Shen Yanqing…”

 

A colleague approached Shen Yanqing to toast him. Shen Yanqing put on a proper smile, raised his hand slightly, and drained the porcelain cup of strong liquor in one gulp.

 

After that, Shen Yanqing didn’t say another word to Ji Zhen for the rest of the banquet.

 

As dusk approached, the palace banquet ended, and officials left in small groups.

 

Ji Zhen followed by Shen Yanqing’s side. On their way out of the palace, they ran into Li Muhui, who was talking with some court officials, and stopped to greet him.

 

Li Muhui didn’t mention their encounter outside Chengqian Hall. Instead, his fingertips deliberately and subtly brushed over the purple jade at his waist. He smiled and said, “Minister Shen’s poem about snow at the banquet today was exquisite. The students in the private academies will surely be reciting it after the new year.”

 

Shen Yanqing remained calm and collected. “Your Highness is too kind.” He then looked at a beautifully blooming red plum tree on the side of the road and said, “A few plum blossoms fade in color, and drifting snow can easily lead one astray. Winter has its own beauty, and snow holds its own allure, yet it is the steadfastness of the plum blossom that the world truly reveres. Your Highness, to admire snow or to admire plums is merely a matter of perspective. Do not let the mist and heavy snowfall blind you, causing you to forget that the cold plum emerges from winter.”

 

Li Muhui’s hand, which was stroking the jade, froze.

 

Ji Zhen was utterly confused. He looked blankly at Shen Yanqing, who was speaking in riddles again. He secretly raised a hand and plucked a plum blossom, holding it in his palm when the other party wasn’t looking.

 

Shen Yanqing took his hand, and the plum blossom Ji Zhen had plucked fell to the ground. Ji Zhen pursed his lips in annoyance. He couldn’t very well bend down to pick it up in front of Li Muhui, so he just stared at the blossom on the ground.

 

Li Muhui also looked at the red plum blossom, his expression unreadable. His foxy eyes, which always seemed to be smiling in front of others, now held a hint of coldness. He watched as Shen Yanqing and Ji Zhen’s backs disappeared around the plum grove.

 

Once they reached the carriage, Shen Yanqing let go of Ji Zhen and got in first.

 

Ji Zhen had no idea how he had upset Shen Yanqing again. He was also upset that Shen Yanqing had caused him to drop the plum blossom he had picked, so he withdrew and sat quietly in a corner. The moment the Shen parents got into the carriage, they sensed the strange atmosphere between the two. The mood was off on the way here and even more so on the way back, and they both shook their heads helplessly.

 

The journey back was spent in silence.

 

The candles were lit in the main courtyard. Ji An, who had eaten his fill, was dozing on the doorstep. When he heard footsteps, he quickly went to greet them.

 

Ji Zhen and Shen Yanqing entered the main room, one after the other. Ji An was about to follow to serve them when Shen Yanqing shut the door firmly.

 

The room was bright. Ji Zhen took a few steps to the back of the table, watching Shen Yanqing warily.

 

Shen Yanqing’s gaze was heavy and dark. “Tell me everything that happened after you left the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.”

 

With the way he spoke, as if Ji Zhen had committed some terrible crime, Ji Zhen became defiant. “Why should I tell you?”

 

Shen Yanqing closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his patience was gone. He took a long stride forward.

 

Ji Zhen was prepared. He began to circle the table to avoid him. He thought of the deposed crown prince in Chengqian Hall and muttered, “You and the Third Prince are two of a kind…”

 

Shen Yanqing circled the table a few times with Ji Zhen, then, with a sharp turn, he seized Ji Zhen’s wrist and pressed him onto the table. His tone was icy. “Ji Zhen, I’ll ask you one more time. Where did you go, and what did you say to the Third Prince? Don’t you dare hide a single word.”

 

Ji Zhen’s wrists were pinned to his chest. He looked at the intimidating Shen Yanqing and fell silent.

 

Too much had happened at the banquet today, and Ji Zhen was exhausted. When Shen Yanqing yelled at him, his feelings of hurt, helplessness, and fear compounded like rain hitting the surface of a lake. He pursed his lips and said with a choked sob, “They bully me, and now you’re bullying me, too…”

 

Shen Yanqing was the one who bullied him the most.

 

Ji Zhen gave up struggling completely. He briefly explained what happened after he left the hall, then wearily asked, “I’ve told you everything. Can you let me go now?”

 

Shen Yanqing looked at Ji Zhen’s eyes, which had turned dull again, and finally released his hold.

 

Ji Zhen didn’t care what Shen Yanqing’s reaction was. He just felt like he couldn’t breathe and needed to do something to distract himself. He took a few deep breaths and called out, “Ji An!”

 

Shen Yanqing stepped outside, looking at the master and servant muttering to each other inside the room. He then cast a glance at the bright moon, now veiled by clouds, his tightly furrowed brows refusing to ease.

 

Nothing but trouble, through and through.

 

The author has something to say:

To Lord Shen: When I finally arrived, Zhen Zhen’s jade pendant was still hanging from the Third Prince’s belt!

Lord Shen (sharpening his knife)