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Yongzhou’s New Year had no fireworks or firecrackers because everything yielded to the war and to avoid disrupting sight and hearing neither sound nor color was allowed to be excessive.
But no one would care about this; after all, the border town people were not like the “fussy” Jinling people, needing these external things to deliberately create an atmosphere; being able to have the whole family reunited and safe was already the blessing of the year.
Lu Shuning’s identity as a County Princess had not been made public, so she could only gather with a group of young maidservants and pages in the Prefect’s Mansion, eating the New Year’s Eve dinner around a stove.
But she didn’t care at all where she ate the meal; chatting happily with peers and being unrestrained was what mattered most.
Every year she insisted on staying up to see the New Year, at first Xie Jing forbade it, but later, seeing she could never last past the third watch[mfn]Around midnight.[/mfn], he gave up trying to stop her.
Lu Shuning was also happy to be unrestrained, knowing that no matter where she tilted her head and fell sound asleep, in the end Xie Jing would always carry her back to bed.
She was too young to remember when they left their hometown, and all Lu Shuning could recall about the long journey from Jinling to Yongzhou was her mother’s body temperature.
In the first sporadic half-year, she was often burning hot all over due to high fever and nightmares; her clothes and bedding were not thick enough, and she would softly cry out that it was cold.
The handkerchief soaked in ice water was unbearably cold, and Xie Jing worried the young girl’s delicate skin couldn’t handle it, so he first pressed it to his own face and hands until they were ice-cold, then held Lu Shuning in his arms, gently rubbing her forehead and cheeks so her body stayed warm and her face didn’t burn uncomfortably.
During those hazy days, Lu Shuning could always hear her mother whispering something in her ear, the voice was very low, sometimes repeatedly calling her name, sometimes humming fragmented nursery rhymes; as for anything more detailed, she neither understood nor remembered.
After the banquet in the front hall dispersed, all the servants hurriedly got up to attend to their respective duties. Lu Shuning was bored being alone, so she also wrapped her outer robe tightly and returned to the back’s courtyard wing room, walking two steps and skipping half a step.
The lamp inside the room was lit, and Xie Jing was sitting at his desk writing something; upon hearing the movement, he didn’t turn around, only saying, “The water is already boiled and ready; finish washing and rest early. You’ll have new clothes to wear when you open your eyes tomorrow.”
Lu Shuning’s hands, exposed while carrying the lantern, ached from the night wind, and she didn’t want to dip them directly in the hot water, so she lingered and leaned against Xie Jing, making him stop writing, letting her slip out of her embroidered shoes and curl up on the couch in front of him.
Xie Jing immediately noticed her slightly red fingers, sighed in resignation, cupped her small hands in his, and gently breathed warmth onto them.
Lu Shuning half-rested on his shoulder, lifted her face, and said with a smile, “I went out on the street with Father today.”
Xie Jing actually knew his daughter’s whereabouts today—Lu Lingcong had sent someone to relay the message in the evening, fearing he would worry.
But he was still very obliging and followed up by asking, “Where did you go?”
Lu Shuning listed a few places, specifically emphasizing that she had led her father to specially visit the eateries and markets where Xie Jing usually took her. “But several places weren’t open, Father ended up buying groceries in the East Market.”
Hearing this, Xie Jing paused for a moment before saying, “If this were Jinling, merchants would still be open for business on New Year’s Eve; if you were truly bored, you wouldn’t even have to worry about having nowhere to go.”
Lu Shuning didn’t pick up on his hint: “I’m not bored; I have Father accompanying me.”
Xie Jing’s eyes moved slightly: “Do you like your father accompanying you?”
Lu Shuning was puzzled: “Of course I like it.”
“You guys haven’t met for the past few years, and you don’t feel estranged?”
Lu Shuning hesitated for a moment, then asserted, “Although it’s been a long time since we met, I was always thinking of him in my heart, so it feels as if we’ve been together day and night.”
“Then when spring arrives,” Xie Jing tilted his head and looked at her, “go back to your hometown, go home, go back to your father’s side, can you?”
Lu Shuning’s thoughts were still delicate in front of her mother, and she immediately caught the underlying meaning in Xie Jing’s words, stammering, “Just me… alone?”
Xie Jing did not answer immediately but thought for a moment, rubbed Lu Shuning’s fuzzy head with the corner of his chin, and then slowly began: “Inside the palace, thirty-nine stone steps lead up to Shenlong Hall, flanked by three imperial pathways including left, middle, and right, with the center Danbi[mfn]Refers to the imperial steps.[/mfn] carved with two dragons playing with a pearl. In the past, only your grandfather could walk on it, and now only your uncle can walk on it.”
She lowered her eyes and met Lu Shuning’s gaze: “Some paths must be walked alone; even those as close as parents and siblings can only accompany you for a time.”
Lu Shuning’s expression was somewhat puzzled; she drooped her eyes listlessly. Xie Jing reached out and smoothed the slight furrow on her brow before saying gently, “So, the road away from home should have been walked by Mother alone; you only accompanied Mother for a time. The road back home can also only be walked by you alone.”
He had not kept the changes that had taken place in the Prince Zhao’s Mansion and the Xie family over the years from her. Although Lu Shuning could not untangle the schemes and twists involved, she clearly understood that her mother had gone far away because he was not “welcome” in Jinling.
From her bath until she burrowed into the quilt, Lu Shuning remained preoccupied. Xie Jing looked at her, regretting bringing up these sad matters on Chinese New Year’s Eve, but he knew that avoiding one thing didn’t prevent the next, and explaining it sooner would give her more time to come to terms with it.
Perhaps because she was a bit tired from going out in the afternoon and the fuss at night, when Xie Jing finished what he was writing and looked up, he found that Lu Shuning had curled up into a ball and had already fallen asleep.
He tucked the quilt tightly around her, drew the bed curtain, turned around, before quietly leaving the wing room.
There were still quite a few maidservants and women awake in the Prefect’s Mansion. Xie Jing wanted to go to the East Courtyard, where the guest rooms were located, so he had to take a detour to avoid crowded areas.
However, he didn’t expect that Prince Zhao’s personal guards were still on watch in front of the courtyard gate on New Year’s Eve. The two young men looked like they hadn’t yet reached manhood; they only recognized Xie Jing by his identity as the “Prefect’s Advisor” and asked politely and formally, “Master Wu, is there an important matter for your late-night visit? We two can relay the message to His Highness on your behalf.” This left Xie Jing in a difficult situation, unable to advance or retreat, speechless for a moment, and very awkward.
Fortunately, Li Qi happened to come out and close the door, looking bewildered as he sized up Xie Jing and the two personal guards for a few rounds. He suddenly realized what was happening and, while muttering “blockheads” with a wry smile, pushed the two boys out of the courtyard. The two youths turned back, bothered and indignant, watching Xie Jing walk unimpeded to the corridor and knocked on the door, seemingly not understanding why they were being scorned despite faithfully performing their duties.
No one opened the door; only a voice said, “Enter.” Xie Jing pushed the door open, and before he could find Lu Lingcong’s figure in the surrounding dimness, he heard the other party’s impatient voice from the inner room: “Can you say everything you need to say at once? If you can strike the enemy with a ‘turn‑back spear’ then don’t turn it on your own people.”
He still thought he was Li Qi.
Xie Jing remained silent, walked a few more steps toward the direction of the voice, and saw Lu Lingcong standing with his back to him by the window of the inner room with his collar half-open, and the ends of his hair slightly damp. It seemed he had just bathed and was carefully wiping the scabbard by the candlelight.
This was not a sign of being ready for battle; it was just his habit, Xie Jing knew.
He softened his steps as he approached. In fact, Lu Lingcong should have been able to distinguish the difference between his footsteps and Li Qi’s from the moment he entered the inner room, but perhaps he was too focused on the task at hand and was off-guard; Lu Lingcong did not turn around, nor did he pay attention.
This gave Xie Jing the chance to lean in, raise his arms, and cover his eyes from behind.
Lu Lingcong’s movement clearly paused. Although the warm palms covering his eyes and the faint familiar scent around him made him certain of who it was, he genuinely didn’t expect Xie Jing to come looking for him actively, so he spoke with surprise: “Why did you come yourself?”
Hearing his anxious tone, Xie Jing couldn’t help but laugh, as he clearly ignored that if there was truly an urgent matter, he wouldn’t be fooling around covering his eyes like this. He lightly stood on his tiptoes while resting his chin on Lu Lingcong’s right shoulder: “It seems Your Highness’s residence is precious, and ordinary people can’t easily come or enter. I understand, I wouldn’t dare next time.”
Every time Xie Jing used his sharp tongue to say something sarcastic, it reminded Lu Lingcong that if this were during their youth, the two would certainly have already started a verbal battle. Whether through veiled mockery or seemingly praising but secretly criticizing, Lu Lingcong would always want to best Xie Jing in language, even though they usually couldn’t definitively settle the argument in the end.
“Did those two boys stop you? They’re honest, they should be rewarded tomorrow.” He only dared to talk back once; if he provoked him more and triggered Xie Jing’s competitive spirit, he probably wouldn’t get any peace all night.
He blinked a few times, softened his tone, and said “Be good,” signaling him to move his hands away.
Xie Jing ignored him, just tilted his head slightly, and sniffed the scent of soapberry near the roots of Lu Lingcong’s hair at the back of his neck. There was no smell of alcohol; it seemed any slight tipsiness had been washed away by the water.
Lu Lingcong had no choice but to estimate the distance, reach out his arm, and hang the long sword back on the wall. Once his hands were free, he covered Xie Jing’s handbacks, tracing his distinct knuckles with his fingertips, and asked, “Has the little ancestor gone to sleep?”
Xie Jing gave a muffled “En” from his nose and said, “The little ancestor particularly praised Your Highness Prince Zhao today, saying she liked Father accompanying her.”
Lu Lingcong seemed to smile silently upon hearing this, hooked Xie Jing’s wrist with his middle and ring fingers, and asked, “Nothing else to say?”
Xie Jing knew what he wanted to hear but deliberately didn’t grant his wish: “No, that’s the only line the little ancestor gave me.”
Lu Lingcong was silent for a moment: “I’m asking about you. Really nothing?”
Xie Jing was about to joke further but suddenly felt the warmth covering the back of his hand disappear. The next second, his toes lost their support, and his body had to lean forward, but the back of his knees was firmly scooping up. In just a moment, he was carried onto Lu Lingcong’s back.
But before Xie Jing could move his hands away from his eyes and firmly wrap them around his neck, Lu Lingcong had already walked to the bedside by feel and “tossed” Xie Jing onto the bedding with not much pity.
Xie Jing ignored his shoulder blades hitting the bed and blurted out, “My outer clothes are dusty and will dirty the bed!”
Lu Lingcong, who was true to his name[mfn]”Lingcong” suggests cleverness and compliance.[/mfn], immediately and neatly removed his outer robe and lined jacket but did not touch his sleeping clothes; he just picked up his upper body and untied his hair ribbon.
Xie Jing used to be very generous and proactive during intimacy; six or seven times out of ten, he would decisively strip off all his clothes himself, leaving only his cloud-like black hair cascading over his shoulders and back.
Lu Lingcong deeply loved his long hair, so even though it was not very convenient to wash and comb, Xie Jing almost never cut it, allowing it to spread across the brocade quilt during their intimate moments, which further highlighted his jade-like white skin.
The ends of his hair were being played in Lu Lingcong’s palm. Xie Jing was about to say something more, but the latter had already leaned down and kissed his two moist, soft lips.
Last time in the study, Lu Lingcong’s lips and tongue circled around but never actually sealed upon his mouth, presumably so he could hear Xie Jing call his name in passion. But afterwards, Xie Jing actually felt a little knot in his heart, though he never mentioned it to Lu Lingcong; otherwise, it would have made him seem overly sensitive.
But this time, the other party was direct; his tongue tip swept into the teeth, which offered no real resistance and moved wantonly, occasionally bumping against his upper palate. When he was about to lose his breath, he would pull back slightly, press his lips together and bite firmly, or catch the middle lip bead and suck until it swelled a little, then gently rub their noses together before parting with glistening lips.
…
