Chapter 47

On the morning of the fifth day of the lunar new year, to welcome the God of Wealth, Wen Biesang woke up before dawn.

Firecrackers of all sizes were already echoing from outside the manor. Wen Biesang quickly dressed neatly, put on a thick marten-fur hat, and wrapped himself in a heavy cloak of the same material. When he stepped out of his bedchamber, Pang Qi was already waiting outside holding a string of firecrackers.

Wen Biesang looked around, and Pang Qi, guessing his thoughts, said, "His Highness is still busy, but he said he will come to the front courtyard to accompany you shortly."

Wen Biesang nodded, followed him toward the front courtyard, and asked, "Why has he been so busy lately?"

"This... this servant doesn't know. He must have matters to attend to recently."

"Weren't you the ones who said he was only busy on New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year?" Wen Biesang recalled his conversation with Cheng Yun before the new year, suddenly realizing that the other's sudden busyness seemed to have started on the morning of the second day.

Counting the days, he hadn't seen the other person for four whole days.

Pang Qi hesitated, "This servant is not clear about that."

Wen Biesang was very understanding. "Then let's wait for him."

In the study, Cheng Yun was flipping through a book with listless indifference. Hearing Pang Qi's report, he merely said casually, "Just tell him I truly cannot spare the time, and let him play by himself."

Welcoming the God of Wealth was originally a custom among common folk, and in past years Cheng Yun had never participated in such things. His sudden whim this year was because Wen Biesang had looked quite happy during their outing to the street market last time.

His original intention was to create some pleasant memories with him to see if it could deepen the other's affection for him, but Wen Biesang's recent behavior had completely extinguished any such thoughts.

He increasingly felt that his intuition was correct; Wen Biesang was clearly just toying with him like a cat playing with a mouse. This reminded him of when he had first captured him here, where he would tease him back and forth for no reason at all.

Pang Qi didn't move, his expression looking somewhat troubled.

Cheng Yun put down the book and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"The Young Master said that if Your Highness the Crown Prince does not go, he will not welcome the God of Wealth... After all, ever since his parents passed away, no one has welcomed the God of Wealth with him."

"..."

It was currently the hour of Yin, and there was still a long time before daybreak.

When Cheng Yun arrived at the front hall, the figure draped in the marten-fur cloak was sitting quietly on the steps ahead, supporting his cheek with one hand while holding a bamboo pole strung with firecrackers in the other.

The red paper firecrackers wound in a large curve across the ground, stretching out for a long way.

Cheng Yun walked to his side, paused, and asked, "Shall we light it now?"

Wen Biesang lifted his face to look at him, his eyes curving slightly, the corners of his lips turning up as well.

That smile was faint and elusive, entirely devoid of the demeanor of seeing a beloved, looking instead as though he had spotted some amusing pet.

"Okay." Wen Biesang stood up, handed him the bamboo pole, and said, "I'll go light it."

He ran to the very end of the firecrackers, looked back up at Cheng Yun with a smile, and struck a flint.

The crackling hiss of the fuses began, and he ran back amidst a wisp of gunpowder smoke, covering his ears and shouting, "It's lit, it's lit!"

"Welcoming the God of Wealth!" The Crown Prince's Manor had never been so lively before. Aside from Pang Qi, many palace maids stood under the veranda with their ears covered, joining in the excitement; the older ones whispered among themselves, while the younger ones shouted and cheered.

Crack, crack, crack! The sparks greedily devoured the firecrackers wrapped in red paper, biting from left to right, then from right to left.

The paper casings burst everywhere, and the entire front courtyard was soon filled with a pungent sulfur smell. The pale blue smoke unique to the festive season was illuminated by the firelight of the firecrackers, casting shadowy figures across the courtyard.

Wen Biesang circled around Cheng Yun, dodging the flying paper casings and the occasional unidentifiable particles bouncing onto his face. Cheng Yun's gaze followed him, watching him duck and shrink his head while laughing heartily.

The firecrackers gradually drew to a close. As the chasing sparks vanished, the courtyard was left with only a thick layer of red paper casings. Pang Qi lowered his hands from his ears, pointed at a few palace servants who had jumped down to search for unexploded firecrackers, and said, "Go later, be careful of any that haven't gone off yet."

True to his word, sporadic pops continued to sound from within the paper litter, some merely a faint puff, others going off with a sharp snap.

As the pale smoke gradually dispersed and the lively string of firecrackers ended, Wen Biesang lowered his hands. The smile on his face faded, replaced by desolation and melancholy.

Cheng Yun took his hand, and Wen Biesang looked over at him, saying, "Mother should be putting the dumplings in the pot around now."

Pang Qi said, "The dumplings have been ready for a while. Does the Young Master want to eat now?"

In a sense, Wen Biesang ought to be a very easy person to coax. Even though today was merely a pleasant dream woven for him by Cheng Yun, he immersed himself in it without a single reservation.

He seemed never to refuse things that made him happy, and pursuing comfort in every aspect of life appeared to be an innate instinct for him.

When eating dumplings, he also appeared very earnest, but once he finished eating and wiped clean, he instantly became deeply sorrowful.

The transition from happiness to sadness took only a fleeting moment, with no middle ground at all.

"Want to go out for a walk?" Cheng Yun asked, "Or go back to bed for a while?"

It was impossible for Wen Biesang to fall asleep right now. He shook his head and said, "Let's go out for a walk."

Cheng Yun gave a hum, and just as he was about to call someone over, he paused again: "Want me to accompany you, or find someone else?"

Not expecting him to ask this question, Wen Biesang countered, "Don't you want to accompany me?"

"I... you are the one who wants to go for a walk, this is your choice."

Wen Biesang nodded without a shred of coyness: "I want you to accompany me."

Cheng Yun said nothing, wrapped the cloak around him once more, and the two went out together.

There was no curfew during the festive season, and the entire capital of Shengjing was ablaze with light. Even the full moon in the sky was rendered less brilliant by the earthly illumination.

The two walked side by side. Wen Biesang's hands hung loosely at his sides, and Cheng Yun's arm accidentally brushed against his; he silently pulled his hand back and clasped it behind his back.

"In the past at this time, Mother would also come out for a walk," Wen Biesang said. "Because it was still far from dawn, but everyone couldn't fall back asleep."

Cheng Yun did not speak, and Wen Biesang continued as if no one else was there, "Ever since I can remember, I liked going out with them, holding their hands and listening to them talk."

Cheng Yun could vividly imagine the young Wen Biesang being held by the hands of his parents, treading the path in front of their home beneath the full moon, looking up at his father when he spoke, and looking at his mother when she spoke, with that obedient and dazed expression of his.

He couldn't help curving the corners of his lips.

"Later on, Father and Mother stopped liking to take me out, because as I walked I would start getting very tired. Father would carry me for a stretch, Mother would carry me for a stretch, and I would fall asleep very quickly, leaving them to take turns carrying me home." At this, he smiled, turned his face to look at Cheng Yun, and asked, "What about you?"

Cheng Yun snapped back to his senses, concealing the smile at the corner of his lips, and said, "I should have been sleeping at this time. Usually during festivals, the Empress would allow me to rest a few more days without having to get up to read, nor having to practice horseback stances in the biting wind... After the Lantern Festival, the usual lessons would resume: horseback riding, archery, reading, playing the zither, practicing calligraphy..."

"So many," Wen Biesang said. "I only ever learned the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

"Don't say things like that when you go out in the future."

"Why?"

"Otherwise, people would think you're proficient in all of them."

Wen Biesang was slightly startled and said, "I am proficient in them."

"Right, you've skimmed the surface."

"Mm."

Cheng Yun smiled, raised a hand intending to touch his head, but halfway up, smoothly grazed his own nose instead and said, "What you described must have been when you were in Yunzhou. What about later in Shengjing?"

"In Shengjing, the Prime Minister's Mansion was very large, but there weren't many places one could go... nothing much to speak of."

"Did your father take you to see a physician about your brain?"

"He did."

Cheng Yun was surprised: "He actually took you?"

"Mm," Wen Biesang said. "Father secretly took me. The physician asked me many questions, and I answered all of them. He even praised me for being smart."

"Are you praised for being smart everywhere you go?"

"Mm," Wen Biesang said. "And obedient. Grandmother often called me Little Obedient."

"How old are you even?" Despite saying this, Cheng Yun's gaze held a trace of indulgence. "Don't you feel embarrassed?"

"No matter how old I am, I am still Grandmother's grandson and my parents' child," Wen Biesang said matter-of-factly. "Why should I be embarrassed?"

"You're right."

The two continued walking forward. Fireworks could be seen blooming in the sky from time to time, now distant, now close, casting their intertwined shadows in flickering light and shadow.

For a moment, no one spoke. Wen Biesang's gaze followed the fireworks in the sky, while Cheng Yun seemed somewhat preoccupied.

The sound of the night watchman echoed within the imperial city. Cheng Yun lifted his gaze to look at the sky that had stayed bright all night and said, "It's the fifth watch. Let's go back and lie down for a bit."

Wen Biesang gave a soft acknowledgment, obediently turned around, and rubbed his eyes with sleepy weariness.

Cheng Yun walked quietly, wanting to say something, but closed his mouth again.

After a few more steps, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from behind. Wen Biesang reacted a beat too slow, and only perked up when the sound drew close. Cheng Yun had already whirled around to shield him behind his back, his expression cold as he gazed to the rear.

A man and a woman were rapidly approaching. The young girl had purple gauze wrapped around her shoulder and was covered in blood stains, while the person she was supporting looked disheveled, the left half of his body stained red with fresh blood.

"Xie Ninghong?!"

"You dog of a Crown Prince?!" Xie Ninghong wore a look of pleasant surprise as she arrived alongside Xie Lingshu. Seeing Cheng Yun's odd expression, she finally collected herself and said awkwardly, "No wait, Crown Prince Cheng Yun, the officials are hunting us down!"

"The officials?"

"We heard they are people from the Capital Garrison, insisting that the two of us outsiders are colluding with spies from the Qi State!"

Before more could be said, Wen Biesang had already run over to support Xie Lingshu, saying, "Let's go inside first and talk."

In the left wing room, Lou Zhaozi was tending to Xie Lingshu's wounds, saying, "Fortunately, it didn't damage his internal organs. It's just excessive blood loss, so he might lose consciousness at any time. It's best he stays in bed for the next two days and takes some nourishing tonics."

Xie Ninghong wiped the sweat from her brother's brow. Wen Biesang watched from the side and frowned, saying, "Your martial arts should be on par with Cheng Yun's. How could the Capital Garrison soldiers possibly have hurt you?"

Xie Lingshu said weakly, "One of them had very high martial arts, with tricky sword techniques. He kept his face covered, and every move he made was intended to kill."

Xie Ninghong blamed herself, "It's my fault. If I hadn't gotten tangled up with them, brother wouldn't have..."

Cheng Yun interrupted her, "Can you tell what school of martial arts it was?"

"It looked to me like Snake Hand Sword." Lou Zhaozi's hands paused, and Cheng Yun glanced at him as well, saying, "Snake Hand Sword isn't that the technique from the East Sea?"

"Yes," Xie Lingshu said. "But he is definitely not from the East Sea."

"People from the East Sea have always stayed out of mundane affairs," Lou Zhaozi said. "Are there people from our Great Liang going to the East Sea to study martial arts?"

"Not necessarily Liang people," Cheng Yun said. "I have heard that after Shen Rufeng came to power, many of the old aristocratic families began to decline. To regain prominence, some descendants among these people would be sent to study arts in the East Sea to embellish their family reputations."