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Xie Jing curled a finger and tapped the mirror’s surface twice with the “thud, thud” sound, the crisp sound urging Lu Lingcong to come back to his senses.
Lu Lingcong reacted, turned his head, and gave him a dry cough. Then he saw Xie Jing extend his hand toward him with his palm open, and say, “Didn’t you say you wanted to borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha[mfn]It’s an idiom meaning using something that isn’t yours to do someone a favor.[/mfn]?”? What treasure is it? Let’s have a look.”
“Oh, right.” Taking Xie Jing’s hint, Lu Lingcong walked over to the side table, searched through the luggage the servants had already brought in, and took out two wooden boxes; one square and one flat. “After seeing the Buddha, I forgot all about flowers.”
Xie Jing stood steadily beside him and lowered his head to take a look, but first said, “They’re made of small-leaf sandalwood; don’t lose them. I’ll keep them to store preserved fruits.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Lingcong raised the boxes high so Xie Jing couldn’t reach them: “You’re making me quite nervous like this. If the contents fail to please you and you end up valuing the case more than the pearl, I’d be the one left embarrassed.”
Xie Jing glanced at him sideways, “Enough nonsense.”
Lu Lingcong, however, said earnestly, “I’m serious. Compared to the bronze ritual vessel in the Xie family’s ancestral hall, this treasure is trash. Young Master Xie has seen all sorts of marvels. You have to promise me first that you won’t despise it, then I’ll open it.”
Xie Jing’s eyebrows shot up. With a sharp “pah”, he swatted Lu Lingcong’s hand light but not too light and laughed as he scolded him. “I knew it! During the Qingming Festival, when you insisted on following me back to the ancestral hall for the memorial rites, I wondered what you were up to. So, you’d been coveting my family’s belongings all along, just waiting for this chance.”
Lu Lingcong didn’t dodge the blow, letting Xie Jing strike him as he pleased, only insisting that he give his word in return. Xie Jing couldn’t compete with his persistent badgering and conceded while holding up three fingers, “I promise not to despise the ‘treasure’ Lu Zifeng procured. If I break my word—”
“Then you have to play chess with me for a whole day.” Lu Lingcong extorted him opportunistically.
“…What’s wrong with you?” Xie Jing muttered quietly and perfunctorily repeated, “Then I have to play chess with Lu Zifeng for a whole day.”
Only then did Lu Lingcong seem satisfied. He picked up the slightly thicker wooden box, undid the clasp, and presented it to Xie Jing.
Linking it with the official duties that had brought Lu Lingcong this time, Xie Jing found he had a rough idea in his heart. As expected, inside the box lay a paperweight of creamy white jade. Its carved patterns were as exquisite as a fine gongbi painting of court ladies: the figure sat by a table holding a scroll while the lattice window’s pattern echoed with clusters of wisteria. Beside it ran a line of small-seal script, inscribing an old verse: “When Young Master Xie’s sleeve first turns, it is like snow.”
With all the elements combined, he opened his eyes slightly wide: “Is this… me?”
Lu Lingcong nodded: “The jade craftsman hasn’t seen you, so he could only aim for a spiritual resemblance.”
Xie Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “You were a little too worried then.”
Lu Lingcong didn’t understand: “What?”
Xie Jing whispered, “With such thoughtfulness, how could I possibly dislike it? Yet you insisted on forcing me to make a vow.”
“I have lived under the same roof as you for half a year, after all. It would be strange if I couldn’t even grasp a little of your preferences. However,” Lu Lingcong said, carefully opening another box that was slightly larger and flatter, “isn’t there another one?”
Xie Jing was slightly startled to see that inside lay a collar with a longevity lock at the end, clearly crafted from the same jade as the paperweight. Engraved on it were the eight characters, “Harmony and unity bring boundless blessings,” which shimmered faintly in the dim candlelight.
Lu Lingcong carefully observed his expression from the side: “As for this one’s preferences, I truly have absolutely no certainty, so I still need to consult with you.”
Xie Jing opened his mouth as he glanced back at Lu Lingcong with a hint of helplessness. “I… how would I know?”
The two looked at each other, then fell silent for a long time while staring at the longevity lock. Lu Lingcong tried to convince himself: “Zhenzhen and I both had one of these when we were young, but mine was left in the palace when I established my own residence, and Zhenzhen lost hers. Anyway, in my humble opinion, giving something with such a good meaning as a welcome gift shouldn’t go wrong, right?”
Xie Jing tried to convince himself: “He should like it; I liked everything my father gave me when I was little.”
He reached out and touched the inscription on the jade longevity lock; it was cool and very comfortable. After a moment’s thought, he looked up at Lu Lingcong and said, “Thank you, thank you.”
Then he seriously pointed to his abdomen and explained, “One thank you is said on his behalf.”
Lu Lingcong was stunned, then burst into laughter, instantly dropping his cautious pretense and revealing his true playful nature to tease Xie Jing, “That won’t do. I want to hear him say it in person.”
Xie Jing glared at him: “How?”
Lu Lingcong motioned towards his sash with his lips: “Last time I managed to touch him but didn’t get to see him. This time, I need to see him with my own eyes to believe it.”
Xie Jing paused and stepped back two paces with a look of annoyance to increase the distance between them: “You just saw it at the doorway, and you can see it now too, why go to all that trouble?”
Lu Lingcong said with perfect justification, “By your logic, seeing the clothes counts as seeing the person. Then tomorrow, once you take off this nightrobe, I’ll put this longevity lock on it.”
Xie Jing couldn’t argue with him. He thought for a moment and said, “Then you can see it… on the bed… with the curtains drawn.”
“There’s no one else in the room. You’re just unnecessarily complicating things for yourself.”
Xie Jing snapped, “I’m afraid the light will bother him, is that not allowed?”
Lu Lingcong then put the two wooden boxes away, blew out the candle on the table; leaving only the floor lamp beside the bed, and followed him before slipping off his shoes before climbing onto the bed.
Xie Jing shifted to his knees at the corner of the bed, turned his back to Lu Lingcong, lowered his head, and made a few rustling sounds. He untied the knot beneath his ribs, allowing the hem of his garment to fall naturally. The two lapels parted slightly, so the nightgown hung half-loosely on his shoulders. He brushed back the long hair that had fallen forward before slowly turning around, and said, “Look then.”
The bed curtains made this space much dimmer. Lu Lingcong could only see the outlines. He moved closer to sit facing Xie Jing and could roughly distinguish the difference between the waist and the abdomen.
Since only a few months passed, the lines of his ribs and the sides of his waist were still visible with just a slight layer of flesh protruding on his lower abdomen. The soft roundness softened the sharp leanness of his figure, giving him a hint of sweet, innocent charm.
Lu Lingcong gazed at him thoughtfully. Xie Jing avoided his gaze somewhat uncomfortably but didn’t hide as he had when dressed. After a moment of hesitation, he lightly touched his lower abdomen.
Then he heard Lu Lingcong ask, “…If I touch it now, will you also feel ticklish?”
Xie Jing was so amused he nearly laughed out loud and lifted his foot to kick him. Feeling playful, Lu Lingcong accurately aimed for his ticklish spot and started scratching him. Xie Jing was forced to curl up to hide, squirming left and right inside the narrow curtains, repeatedly begging for mercy, laughing so hard he couldn’t catch his breath and kept falling over while shouting, “Stop making a fuss, stop making a fuss!”
Lu Lingcong quickly put an arm behind his waist to protect him and half-embraced his shoulder with the other arm. The two ended up leaning crookedly among the quilts with one above the other before settling down. Both of their chests rose and fell rapidly, still catching their breath, and Xie Jing’s clothes were especially tousled.
They looked at each other for a moment. Lu Lingcong suddenly lowered his head, leaned in, and brushed a light kiss across Xie Jing’s lower abdomen, like a dragonfly skimming the water; so fleeting and delicate it felt as if it hadn’t happened at all.
Xie Jing was silent for a long time, then spoke, “When I said I didn’t want to know what you finally said to Imperial Physician Qin the night you left, those were words spoken in anger.”
He looked at Lu Lingcong steadily, “I want to know. As long as you are willing to tell me, it will never be too late.”
Lu Lingcong clearly did not expect he would bring up this old matter, paused, and said, “Actually, it wasn’t anything remarkable either… I just said that although you and I have the title of husband and wife, you yourself do not belong to me, so I have no right to make decisions about your body.”
Xie Jing asked, “That was your thought at the time. What about now?”
“I thought about many things during the time I was away from the capital,” Lu Lingcong said, almost as if talking to himself, “In bits and pieces, I don’t know how to tell you. But in short, I genuinely hope that this child—our child; can live a long life, safe and worry-free.”
In that instant, Xie Jing suddenly understood where the unresolved feeling in his heart came from: unless he asked directly, he couldn’t judge whether Lu Lingcong sought to please him because he genuinely wanted him to be happy or because he was the mother of his child and therefore, he had to make him happy.
Was everything Lu Lingcong did for him solely because he was Princess Consort Zhao? Was there even a fraction of it for him; as Xie Jing, as himself?
Lu Lingcong had rushed for several days to return to the capital early and was indeed exhausted. He fell asleep soundly after lying down.
Xie Jing listened to his breathing while letting his mind wander. Before long, he seemed to be infected by the tiredness, turned over, and fell asleep with his head resting on Lu Lingcong’s arm.
…
