Rong Mu watched as Uncle Dong pushed open the heavy gates of the Eastern Palace. These doors only opened when the true master returned; anyone else or any servant entering the Eastern Palace had to use the small side gate.
Uncle Dong called over several estate guards to carefully carry Rong Mu's flower inside, then bowed toward Shang Cizhou and asked hopefully,
"Will Your Majesty be returning to the palace today?"
Shang Cizhou composed his expression: "Mn, I won't go in."
Uncle Dong's face visibly fell, but he continued, "Then once Young Master Rong has moved in, Your Majesty should come visit often. No matter where Your Majesty resides, this place will always be kept for you."
Rong Mu couldn't help but glance at Shang Cizhou. Any ordinary person hearing these words would have been moved to tears, but this man seemed not to have heard at all.
His robe corners fluttered slightly as he turned, not even taking the carriage, and mounted Wuzhui directly.
Li Suichuan had no choice but to assume the role of coachman once again.
Rong Mu waved at Shang Cizhou: "Your Majesty, don't forget what I told you. I'll be waiting for you."
Shang Cizhou looked at him but didn't reply. He only gave a low command to Wuzhui, turned the horse's head, and rode off toward the palace gates.
Li Suichuan followed diligently behind the Emperor to handle matters. Passing by Rong Mu, he cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Rong, until we meet again."
Rong Mu smiled at him, "Young General, aren't you His Majesty's study companion? I imagine you've come to the Eastern Palace often. You're welcome to visit; I'll be waiting anytime."
Li Suichuan's heart stirred, and he was about to return the courtesy when he heard Rong Mu continue,
"Also, don't do those things in secret anymore. If you want to know who I am, just come ask me directly. Though I may not be entirely clear myself, so I'm afraid I can't satisfy all the General's curiosities."
A chill ran down Li Suichuan's spine. "...Who told you."
Rong Mu slipped his hand into his wide sleeve, "Don't worry about who told me. I'm just telling you that although my status is not high, I don't like that behind-the-scenes business. Those with nothing to lose are sometimes the least constrained. Today I serve His Majesty in Great Shang; tomorrow, if pushed too far, I may simply cease to exist."
Though Li Suichuan sat high on the carriage, at this moment he felt he wasn't much taller than the person before him. On the contrary, he had a strange feeling of being counter-manipulated.
Even more... a feeling that even if His Majesty were here, he would have no way to deal with Rong Mu.
Toward this person, His Majesty couldn't kill him, and he himself couldn't strike. Knowing full well he was shrouded in mysteries, yet willingly circling around him, like walking along the edge of a cliff—never knowing whether the next step would lead into an abyss or flat ground.
"You... as long as you don't do anything harmful to Great Shang, His Majesty can turn a blind eye. His Majesty has been on the throne for many years, and I've never seen him show such tolerance toward anyone. And this Eastern Palace—though His Majesty doesn't often return, he absolutely won't allow anyone to touch it. Toward Young Master Rong, His Majesty has shown extreme tolerance. You should cherish this."
Rong Mu looked at Li Suichuan's complicated expression, his voice clear and crisp: "Then please thank His Majesty on my behalf, Young General. I have a good temper; I can turn around and smile at troublemakers again and again. If my temper were bad, I'd have stopped playing with you long ago."
Li Suichuan secretly sucked in a cold breath. With Rong Mu speaking and acting thus, it seemed he showed no restraint before His Majesty normally.
Such wanton willfulness, yet His Majesty never punished him... Li Suichuan was caught in the middle, neither fish nor fowl. Such a difficult character was better left for His Majesty to handle personally.
Rong Mu watched the departing carriage with a smile: "General Li, take care—"
After seeing off the two great Buddhas, Rong Mu finally stretched. He placed his hands on his slender waistband and looked up at the somewhat weathered plaque.
"Eastern... Palace."
Even prosperous places have days when their gates grow cold. Without the Emperor's love, the finest mansion loses its spirit.
Rong Mu watched Uncle Dong still gazing at where Shang Cizhou had departed, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
Uncle Dong must be sixty or seventy... in this era, that was already a venerable age.
If Shang Cizhou would only turn around and look, he would know there were still people standing in place waiting for him. Yet all these years, he had stubbornly made himself into a solitary man.
Rong Mu swept the long hair that had flown before him to the back, standing beneath the broad plaque of the Eastern Palace and called out: "Uncle Dong, stop watching. Let's go home."
Uncle Dong returned to his senses in a daze, seeing the youth's gentle expression. "His Majesty still has some interest in me. If I'm in the Eastern Palace, he will certainly come find me. These gates haven't opened in years, but once opened, there will be countless opportunities to open them again."
Uncle Dong's face moved as he knelt to Rong Mu and performed a formal bow.
"Young Master Rong was personally brought back by His Majesty. This old servant must treat you as a young master and will never mistreat you. Young Master Rong may rest assured."
Rong Mu reached out to help him up: "You're too kind. His Majesty won't allow me to stay in the main hall, so I'll trouble Uncle Dong to find me a side hall, preferably near the Jade Lake you mentioned... understood?"
Uncle Dong was surprised: "The Jade Lake is noisy with frogs and full of mosquitoes, Young Master, why..."
Rong Mu made a sound: "Frogs are no matter, mosquitoes can be driven away with incense. I just like places with water. I'll trouble Uncle Dong to prepare it for me."
Uncle Dong had no choice but to nod. He bowed his head and walked ahead. A guard beside him whispered, "Uncle Liu, I remember there's a small building by the Jade Lake called Tingzhi Que, but Tingzhi Que seems to be locked by His Majesty..."
Liu Dong paused in his steps, turned to look at the youth circling around the flower vat, and suddenly asked, "Ah Feng, my eyes aren't so good at my age. Help me look carefully—what kind of flower did this young master bring to the Eastern Palace?"
The guard named Ah Feng looked at the Bijiang Xue for a while, then clapped his hands, "I remember now, Uncle Liu! This young master brought a lotus flower! Haven't seen one in years!"
Liu Dong's pupils flickered. He looked toward Rong Mu, who was full of freshness, and the latter sensing the gaze gave him a handsome smile, the very image of a bright young man.
"Is the lakeside off-limits for staying?"
An increasingly benevolent smile appeared on Liu Dong's old face.
"No, no, this old servant is just getting on in years. Seeing Young Master's immortal appearance, I felt it looked familiar... By the Jade Lake is a two-story small building called Tingzhi Que, personally inscribed by His Majesty in those days. The surrounding scenery is the finest in the Eastern Palace. If Young Master is willing, this old servant will arrange for you to stay in this pavilion?"
Rong Mu was naturally willing, "I'll leave it all to your arrangements."
Ah Feng was dumbstruck, but had no choice but to follow Liu Dong's instructions. The Eastern Palace was somewhat eerie, but as the estate lamps were lit one by one, one could still see its former prosperity and wealth.
Rong Mu had somehow walked ahead of Uncle Dong without noticing. He hadn't yet realized that when he grew happy, even the wind around him became gentle and tender, swirling fallen leaves in a circle in the air and carrying them toward the Jade Lake.
The entire Eastern Palace came alive again. Rong Mu watched the busy preparations, sitting obediently on the wooden steps beside his large lotus vat.
How should I eat the dew tomorrow... Will Shang Cizhou come back? After sleeping together for so long, now that we're suddenly apart, that tyrant of utmost chastity is probably celebrating right now.
Rong Mu touched the leaves of the Bijiang Xue, then thought that Wuzhui ran so fast. While he was still here making the bed, Shang Cizhou had probably already lain flat on the dragon bed.
Damn it!
Uncle Dong carried a fire starter, lifted his robe and ascended the stairs of Tingzhi Que. He lowered his eyes, silently lighting the lamps here one by one. As the flames burned, the scenery of the pavilion gradually emerged.
The paintings on the walls, the exquisite carvings of the redwood bed, the gauze curtains, the ornaments, the wide screen—all gradually draped themselves in a layer of soft light.
Uncle Dong bent down, patted the bedding, picked up the embroidered quilt and walked to the window to shake it out.
His gaze inadvertently caught a thin mist rising over the Jade Lake. The frog sounds had somehow quieted, and only a few night-resting dragonflies, following the scent, flew across the Jade Lake and stopped on the outstretched fingertip of that youth.
"The little lotus just shows its pointed tip, already a dragonfly stands atop." (1)
Uncle Dong returned to his senses, his lips trembling. He knew he had made a bold decision today, opening this Tingzhi Que.
He had lived a long life; at this age he had experienced all that needed experiencing. In recent years he grew increasingly muddled, but he always believed that in one's twilight years, one could perceive things others could not.
This Young Master Rong, whom he had first seen before the Eastern Palace gates—from his manner and bearing to his expressions and gestures—resembled far too closely a certain small acquaintance with a blurred face.
He turned around, the fire starter drawing a curved line in the air.
Wherever the light shone, all that met the eye were lotus flowers.
"Crown Prince... Your Majesty, after all these years, do you still remember the Tingzhi Que you arranged with your own hands?"
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Author's Note:
(1) *Quote from Yang Wanli's "Small Pond"
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