Lord Seventh Chapter 12

During the four or five years of staying at Nan Ning Wang Residence, Jing Qi had been keeping his ears to the ground and staying informed about the world behind those walls — there was no way that he would just wholeheartedly read books about the sage's teachings; however, this young prince who never wanted to walk past his gate and received a tremendous amount of love from the emperor as hearsay had always remained a mystery to outsiders.

Originally, he was the kind of person who never knew their place nor wanted to settle. Going through seven reincarnations with only about 40 years actually living in the human world, he spent the remaining hundreds of years sitting idly next to the Three-Life Stone — this had effectively extinguished such tendency in him. Otherwise, if he had still embraced the same nature from his first life, despite making others mistake that his body had been taken over by a fairy fox, it would be very difficult to isolate himself at Nan Ning Wang Residence for such a long period of time.

By that time, he was roughly at the age of 15, which meant he could already start attending court and listening to state's affairs, and no longer be considered a little child. For a bereaved teenage son, occasionally saying a few lines that seemed somewhat more mature for their age would not bring too much surprise to others — hence, when He Lianyi summoned him, he just pushed the boat along the current and went out. 

As expected, Wu Xi did not disappoint at all. He seized every single opportunity to return Jing Qi's favor — it seemed like "no one being indebted to each other" was the sole realm that he had been persistently pursuing for the past few years. Jing Qi and He Lianyi had yet finished the tea in their cups, they already heard someone announce the South Xinjiang sorcerer youth's arrival. 

He Lianyi reached over and poked the other person's shoulder, laughing: "Compared to my Second Imperial Brother who always has to rack his brain to please that respectable person, your reputation seems to be much more superior."

The hand that Jing Qi was holding the teacup with trembled a little. He slightly raised his gaze to glance at He Lianyi; once he confirmed that the other was just joking and implied nothing else, his heart could finally feel at ease. He secretly mocked himself for panicking at the mere rustle in the wind(1), and casually said: "We're all neighbors with each other. Even with a dog that comes and scratches on his door everyday, he should at least open the gate and throw out a steamed bun. Since His Highness the Crown Prince is here, he wouldn't go as far as not giving me any face upon my invitation."

He Lianyi gave him a side-eye and bent his fingers to flick the other person's forehead, a scold woven in his laugh: "What nonsense is this?" Then he rose to his feet and adjusted the lapels of his robe, "Come, follow me to meet this mysterious young sorcerer who is like a dragon with his head seen but not his tail(2)."

Actually, the moment Wu Xi set foot outside, he immediately regretted it — unfortunately, he had already gave his answer to Ping An. To him, once the promise was made, regardless of whom that was for, not even death could stop him from fulfilling it — thus, he had to choice but to brace himself and bring A Xin Lai and another guard, Nu A Ha, along with him to Nan Ning Wang Residence.

Nan Ning Wang was indeed the first prince of Da Qing who had a different surname. During the time when the late emperor was quashing rebellion and pacifying the nation, he and Jing Qi's grandfather, Jing Rui, shared a life-long, profound friendship. Later, Jing Rui died protecting him; with his gratitude for the former's loyalty and righteousness, the late emperor raised Jing Lianyu himself and bestowed the Prince title upon him. Jing Lianyu and He Lianpei grew up together since childhood, in addition to being the same raucous and erratic type, thus were more or less considered as soulmates. Rumors had it that the princess consort who Jing Lianyu married that year was also the love of He Lianpei's heart.

Later, he realized that in this beauty's heart, there never had been a place for him, yet he still generously bestowed marriage upon these two himself — one could think of it as a beautiful tale about the heartfelt brotherhood. 

Hence, Nan Ning Wang Residence was built based on the royalty's standards. In Wu Xi's eyes, it was only one word — BIG.

The mansion faced both north and south with its two gates wide open and the courtyard of immense depth. The pavilions and rockwork were completed in all varieties, and the mansion walls were towering. The front hall, the back bedrooms and photorooms as well as the side halls, everything was available in all shapes and sizes — one could only fear that they would get lost inside without having someone leading the way. 

The young sorcerer's hostage mansion was not too far from Nan Ning Wang Residence, also in close proximity to the Forbidden City; yet due to his slightly embarrassing status and ranking, plus the construction was done in a hurry, his manor appeared a lot more shabby in comparison.  

But after entering and walking around the Nan Ning Wang Residence for a while, Wu Xi realized that this mansion, albeit enormous, was exceptionally quiet inside. Except for the sporadic chirpings of a few little birds that had not yet flown away, along with the sound of flowing water in the garden stream, there was barely any human voice. There might be a few servants who came and went to sweep the courtyard, showing no hint of surprise upon his appearance; they only put a pause on their tasks and gave him their greetings, then they stepped aside, waiting for him to walk past and resuming whatever they had been doing. 

That was quite a bit of a lukewarm reaction from them, undisturbed by either honour or disgrace.

The person who showed them the way in was a page boy with a pair of long, smiling eyes who was around 16 or 17 years old. Despite his scrawny physique, he was a very clever one — as he saw Wu Xi quietly gaze around the prince's residence on their way in, he turned into a chatterbox, constantly babbling about what was going on here or there, from how there were many fallen leaves from that tree but his master did not let him sweep, to how the weeds on the other side had grown wildly but he never called anyone to remove them for decorative purposes.  

The boy was so lively yet not at all being rowdy, and that allowed the face behind the veil of Wu Xi slightly relax along. 

He didn't have to wait long — as soon as the tea was served, he saw two people coming in, one after another.

The person walking in front was roughly around the age of 20, his face donned a befitting smile, glowing with health and vigor when looking forward to something, his aura magnificent. The moment he saw Wu Xi, he immediately cupped his fist in the other hand to pay respect: "It has been several years since Young Sorcerer arrived to our Da Qing, yet my humble self(3) has not once visited you. Very wrong. Very wrong."

Wu Xi was stunned for a moment and unconsciously rose to his feet, inside fully aware that this person was the crown prince of Da Qing and also the future emperor.

It was not that he had never seen He Lianyi: his impression of the other person was just rather vague. Apparently, this young man rarely talked in front of other people and never flaunted anything; his moves were seldom eye-catching, and when dealing with others, it was always done with politeness — the complete opposite of the first prince He Lianzhao's high-and-mighty attitude as if he himself was the future master of this nation. 

He nodded his head and used South Xinjiang's greeting ritual to respond: "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

—— They were not familiar with each other from the beginning with, so he had no idea what else to say.

He Lianyi was dumbfounded, thinking that this sorcerer youth from South Xinjiang was indeed a little eccentric and standoffish who only said hello once upon the meeting, after that there was not even one exchange of pleasantries, he just stood there rigidly like a wooden block, cold as ice. 

The corner of Jing Qi's mouth twisted slightly. There was not a single utterance — he simply carried out the usual formality and cupped his hands to make obeisance to Wu Xi. After that, he stepped to the side and listened to He Lianyi's unilateral chatters and Wu Xi's occasional, puzzled responses. He wanted to see how the high-profile, incredibly adept(4) He Lianyi would be playing lute to the cow and handling this involuntary audience — that joyful feelings when finding pleasure in others' misfortune made the sky today seemed much more beautiful!

The three of them then walked out of the door, mounted their horses, and headed toward Great Scholar Lu's residence together.

While He Lianyi and Wu Xi was riding side by side, Jing Qi kept a small distance and peacefully followed them from behind, not a single word came out from his lips.

He Lianyi was slightly unsure what was in this young sorcerer's mind. Great Scholar Lu was indeed the leading figure among civil officials; although he was already at the age where he had to present his resignation memorial and retire, after all, he was still someone with students and disciples all across the nation — one could already imagine how much influence he had in Da Qing's imperial court.

Although today's event was supposedly to celebrate his birthday, everyone knew very well in their hearts that he wanted to leave the capital and return to his hometown, retiring from politics after years of tremendous contributions and successes — thus considered it as a farewell. Everyone whom he had come in contact at one point was all invited to the banquet.

At this point, it wouldn't be a problem for this sorcerer youth to go there — however, not only that he would be making his appearance but would also be accompanying He Lianyi side-by-side. If He Lianqi was to see this, what would he be thinking?

But… He Lianyi tilted his head to study the person who was traveling next to him: if Beiyuan was able to get this person to come along with no difficulty like that, this had to be an intentional approach attempt, hadn't it?

Why did his attitude seem like he was barely trying?

He Lianyi felt overwhelmed and bewildered with uncertainty as he was completely unable to see through this person's motive. Jing Qi had soon taken the crown prince's expression and every miniscule movement in and thoroughly dissected them — with just one glance, he could see right through what was on the other man's mind. He couldn't help but slightly lower his head in order to contain a chuckle that almost escaped from his lips.

—— The truth had been proved: His Highness the Crown Prince was really thinking too much.

Although He Lianpei had granted Wu Xi a private tutor, but what kind of respectable scholarly officials would want to become the teacher of someone like this? If by any chance, they happened to carelessly anger him, wouldn't that cause another ruckus about humiliating the educated class like what had happened in the past with Jian Sizong?

After a while and with much difficulty, they were finally able to arrange a young official from the Imperial Academy — but the moment he set foot inside the young sorcerer's residence, he was scared half-dead by all the poisonous pets roaming around everywhere in the manor. As he was fearfully trembling his way to the room, a verdant green snake whose size was about a human thumb fell flop in front of him from the beam, frightening him to the point his eyes rolled all the way to the back while he himself was on the verge of leaving the world to go see ancient sages. 

After that, no one dared to visit his place anymore - whoever was appointed by He Lianpei all declined using illness as an excuse. There was nothing else he could do, so the emperor just sent over a batch of books and told the young sorcerer to become a self-taught talent. 

It was obvious that Wu Xi had not been studying very diligently — he couldn't understand more than half of He Lianyi's elegant words of pleasantries. He only knew that although they were all good words, not many of them were actually useful. The other party harbored no malice, also Wu Xi couldn't ignore him, so he was just staying there to respond like a blockhead: when he heard a question or statement, he would give a nod, and if he felt the emotion in it, he would follow with one phrase, "Right."

Jing Qi found it extremely amusing as he was watching them on the side, thus he was caught off-guard when Wu Xi suddenly turned his head around and earnestly said: "The items that you sent to my place a few days ago were really good, and I haven't got to thank you yet."

Jing Qi replied hastily: "They were merely a few little things, not worth mentioning at all. If they could solace young sorcerer's homesickness for some parts, I would also consider them as merits."

Wu Xi contemplated for a moment and said: "When I am at home I… don't play with those things."

No matter how calm and unaffected Jing Qi feigned to be, he couldn't help but stiffen at those words. Then he heard Wu Xi continue: "In any case, I am still going to thank you." After that, the boy turned away and stopped talking. 

Jing Qi thought, this brat has grown so big yet there is still no progress at all — indeed extremely uncute. 

No matter what, He Lianyi was still the crown prince of the current dynasty, hence there was no reason for him to arrive early and wait for other guests. When the three of them entered the Lu's residence, guests from all over the places had almost fully gathered. At the sight of those three, even the host could not help but stare in astonishment for a while, all the sounds of talking and whispering among the crowd were quieted down momentarily as their eyes shifted and all the focus was then on He Lianyi and Wu Xi.  

While He Lianyi still remained calm and relaxed, Wu Xi felt awfully uncomfortable being stared at by that many people — their expressions were filled with all kinds of emotions, from the look of surprise to speculation, thoughtful for one moment and suddenly enlightened. His countenance could not be seen clearly behind the veil, yet his feet were somewhat hesitant. 

The corners of He Lianqi's mouth stretched outward rigidly. He lowered his head a little and pretended not to notice He Lianzhao's staring eyes that was seemingly filled with mockery as his grip around the wine glass tightened. 

Great Scholar Lu Renqing hastily led a group of people to welcome their arrival and said to He Lianyi: "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. How fortunate this Old Subject is to have Your Highness to personally attend."

He Lianyi ceremoniously reached out to lend the old man some support, mouthing his  response: "I dare not. In front of Great Senior Lu, my humble self is just a junior scholar, yet I have arrived late. Please pardon me."

As he caught a glimpse of Lu Renqing secretly perusing Wu Xi, he casually leaned over and pointed at Wu Xi: "Great Senior Lu's name is hardly of little weight. Can you guess who this person is?"

Seeing Wu Xi gave Lu Renqing a little headache — the reputation of this young sorcerer was a little… however, he was someone that His Highness the Crown Prince brought along, it would be impossible to not give the boy some face. He then cupped his fists together to pay respect: "It is rare chance for this Old Subject to meet Young Sorcerer. This humble house shall be greatly honoured by your gracious presence."

Wu Xi essentially did not have any impression of this old man — he was a pure victim who was dragged here accordingly because of Jing Qi's game plan, thus having no idea who the other person was. He did not say anything and just nodded, placing his hand on his chest and carried out the greeting ritual toward the senior. 

Although Lu Renqing thought of Wu Xi as an arrogant and disrespectful person, and he himself was not feeling very happy inside, his face showed no displeased expression. Then he caught a glimpse of Jing Qi who was quietly standing beside, hence quickly found himself an escape route and said: "This is… Your Little Royal Highness."

Jing Qi grinned goofily with a reply: "Great Senior Lu, how rare that you still remember this junior."

"How could I not remember you?" One could not differentiate between good and bad until there was something else to compare with. At that moment, Lu Renqing felt that in comparison to that aloof Wu Xi, Jing Qi who was beaming radiantly at him seemed exceptionally lovely. As a result, his speech was particularly filled with warmth and enthusiasm: "I have not seen you for a few years. Your Little Royal Highness has become even more graceful and handsome, very worthy to be considered as the elite talent of our nation of Da Qing." 

He Lianyi dropped his gaze lightly as Jing Qi continued very naturally with his merry giggles and uncessant chatters with that Great Scholar Lu; in their minds, they were both thinking: Old Lu, are you too old now that your eyesight is failing?

Lu Renqing led the three of them to the seats for honored guests — no one said a word, but He Lianqi decided to move away from his spot to walk toward them, donned on his face was a wintry cold smile that made others shiver inside. 

Jing Qi halted his steps, quietly reaching out and grasping the corner of Wu Xi's sleeve.  

Author's note:
These past few days… Mmn, a few matters came up, that's why there were no updates *facepalms*

Today, I came back from the hospital of traditional Chinese medicine. I'd specifically wanted to know how the ancient saying "As the medicine takes effect, the symptoms will lessen" came about. Please call me lord of Herbal Medicine Pot *runs away with tears*

Translator's notes: 

(1) Lit. meaning: wind sighing and crane calling (idiom)

(2) It refers to someone who is always secretive in their movements and trace. 

(3) 孤 ( "gū"): lit. meaning is "the orphaned/solitary one"; it is one of several ways that members of the imperial families addressed themselves. Because He Lianyi is the crown prince, he will be using this honorific to address himself throughout the story.

(4) Lit. meaning: long sleeves help one dance beautifully (idiom)

Chapter end