Lord Seventh Chapter 14

Note: Upon double-checking, it appears we have made a blunder in romanizing the surname Helian 😔 The Imperial family is supposed to be surnamed Helian and not He, thus they are Helian Yi, Helian Pei, Helian Zhao, Helian Qi, and so on. These changes will soon be reflected to earlier chapters as well ^^ Sorry for missing that one out!

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It was not yet time for the lamps to be lit, yet inside the room, rays of sunlight had already faded into somberness. 

Helian Qi was sitting on a wooden chair with decorative carved patterns. Although his hand was holding the teacup, he was not drinking from it — all he had been doing was unconsciously and desperately scraping the rim of his cup as his unfaltering stare was fixed on the ground.

Taoist Li was sitting on the side, motionless and soundless. His bony physique was no different from a tree's withering trunk to the point where no one would notice his existence at first glance. 

All of a sudden, Helian Qi flung the cup in his hand furiously to the floor, the burning liquid splashed everywhere. Upon hearing the noise, a little maidservant who was on standby behind the door immediately rushed into the room, flurried and perplexed, stooping down to pick up the broken pieces with her hand. Yet Helian Qi snapped and shouted at her: "You damned flunkey, who allowed you to come in! Scram!"

The little maid broke out in a cold sweat, completely frightened by him; the sliced tips of her thin, scallion-like fingers stained the shattered porcelain pieces with blood, but she did not dare to breathe a word about it, only hunched over and bowed out in haste. 

From beginning to end, Taoist Li just remained still and quiet as if he was meditating; even when his boots were spattered with the spilled tea, he did not really care much, nor did he bother to retract his legs at all.

However, Helian Qi could no longer sit still. He then slammed the table and rose to his feet, pacing back and forth inside the room: "Just a barbaric thing… He was nothing but a little bastard birthed by a bitch who took away others' husbands! With just a few favours and pampering from the old man, he dared to climb and sit on my head!" He smacked his hand down on the little wooden table; but as he felt that it was not enough to quell his hatred, his long arm swept across the table, knocking everything to the floor — the bonsai and tea set completely shattered into pieces.

Helian Qi leaned over and placed both hands against the table, gasping for breath: "If I don't kill him… if I don't kill him… this name Helian Qi will be written backwards!"

It was not until then that Taoist Li began to drawlingly open his mouth, his utterly hoarse voice was much resemblance to the sound of two iron plates scraping against each other over and over: "Your Highness, please be patient for now. Based on my observation, that young sorcerer from South Xinjiang and the Crown Prince travelling together was merely a coincidence — there is not necessarily any connection between them."

"The Crown Prince?" Helian Qi sat down on the side and sneered coldly, as if mentioning this title would only sully his mouth, "Helian Yi is just a little brat that hasn't fully fledged. What kind of Crown Prince can he possibly be?"

Taoist Li nodded his head and continued: "That's exactly how it is. Your Highness the Second Prince is indeed the person who work on important matters and accomplish great things. In the future, there will be an opportunity for you to put them in order — why bother yourself with the kinds like them now? The most critical thing to be concerned about at this moment is that big brother of yours. This Helian Zhao harbored wicked ambition of the wild wolves, concentrating all efforts to set up underground force in the army. Although there is nothing to be feared about such a group full of boors like them, if we let him be and continue having his way, in the future, once he successfully garners support and expands his power, resulting turmoils and forcing the emperor to abdicate, that won't end very well."

Helian Qi gave an exasperated snort.

But then, he heard Taoist Li added: "But there is just this one thing — Helian Yi's Crown Prince title, after all, was conferred upon by His Majesty. In the future, even if Your Highness rises to power, I am afraid that it will take quite an amount of effort for you to rightfully and legitimately ascend the throne."

Helian Qi responded with a sneer: "A spineless coward who only nods and acts all chummy with the eunuchs whenever he runs to them in the palace like him can still be seen to have some scraps of a crown prince's grace? Compared to him, the startling that Imperial Father keeps as a pet seems to be much more valuable."

Taoist Li gave his sparsely grown beard a few tender stroke and shook his head: "Although there is nothing about him to be feared, we also should not underestimate the situation. Your Highness, it is best if you keep an eye on Jing Beiyuan. Despite living in seclusion and rarely revealing his face, this Nan Ning Wang has been extremely favoured by the emperor in the past few years…" He paused for a moment, a frown emerged between the brows that resembled a pair of brooms, "This lowly old man has always felt that there is something odd about him. He is just a child still in his teens, yet he has been able to endure loneliness throughout all these years despite having neither parents nor siblings. If it wasn't for the fact that he would be at the age to attend court and contribute to state affairs next year, we can't say for sure that he would ever be willing to step foot outside of Nan Ning Wang's Residence... Anyway, there is always something unusual about him…"

Helian Qi's words were full of disdain: "Even Helian Yi is well aware that the kid is just a lazy embroidered pillow(1) who is only fond of food and fun — Master(2), why should you spend many thoughts to worry about him?"

Taoist Li put his tea cup down and said: "That's not necessarily true. I am afraid that this prince with surname Jing more or less has a special place in the crown prince's heart."

Helian Qi took a small pause, and as if he had just recalled something, a shade of indecency flashed over his countenance: "It's true. Although this Jing Beiyuan is a good-for-nothing person, his appearance has become finer day after days — and Helian Yi keeps running over to his place every two or three days, what kind of intention can that possibly be… Hmph!"

Taoist Li said: "His Highness the Crown Prince has always acted with diligence, frugality, and self-restraint for all these years, gaining the reputation of always being strict to himself but lenient with others. I supposed that due to this being his first awakening of love, he might not be fully aware of his own feelings."

Helian Qi slightly cocked his fine, thin brows and asked: "What do you mean by that?"

A profound, unfathomable smile flashed across the face of Taoist Li: "We still need to observe him a little bit more… Seeing Nan Ning Wang today reminded me of someone. She was a daughter of a household whose parents had offered a hand to me when I was in dire straits — her name is Cui Er, and she is only 17 years old this year. When the epidemic escalated back in the days, both the father and mother died of illness, and she ended up on the street all by herself begging for food. The owner of a performance troupe took a liking to her, thus decided to take her in for training. For these past few years, she has been able to earn some fame with her singing. She arrived to the capital city not too long ago. Upon heeding others' advice, she came to me and besought my support. Remembering the kindness I had received from her family, I decided to accept her as my adopted daughter."

Helian Qi stared at him blankly, unsure of the meaning behind those words. 

Taoist Li continued: "Now that I think about it, the facial features of that Cui Er have some resemblance to Nan Ning Wang — this is quite a coincidence."

Chapter end