Only after washing, changing clothes and tidying up properly did Ye Yunting’s restless mind finally calm down a bit.
He didn’t talk to Li Fengqi again. Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity given by Ji Lian bringing the sobering soup, and hid in the outside room.
Li Fengqi gazed at his back and clicked his tongue, the interest in his eyes getting stronger as he thought that Ye Yunting was not that slow, after all.
Ye Yunting went outside and drank the sobering soup in one breath. His dizzy mind became clearer. He rubbed his temples, remembered something, lowered his voice and asked Ji Lian, “Last night, was it you and Wangye who moved me to the bed?”
He had been very drunk last night, and Li Fengqi’s legs inconvenienced him, so he must have found someone to help him.
Ji Lian nodded as expected.
“You…tell me what happened last night.”
Ye Yunting’s heart stirred; he thought of Li Fengqi teasing him again and again, and became suspicious of what he had just said. He seldom drank alcohol on ordinary days, and it was only normal for him to have a low tolerance for drinks. But it shouldn’t have been as bad as what Li Fengqi said.
Ji Lian told him what happened the previous night.
Ye Yunting breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that he had slept through the night. Ji Lian went on to say, “I originally wanted to wipe down Young Master’s body, but Wangye did it instead.” He scratched his face and said in confusion, “Wangye even wiped your feet himself.”
“…” Ye Yunting’s heart skipped a beat.
He thought back to Li Fengqi’s words. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, the fact was already in front of him – Li Fengqi might have had some other thoughts towards him.
In recent days, Li Fengqi’s attitude towards him had changed a lot, but he had not been willing to think deeply about it.
Ye Yunting let out a long sigh. It was quite a bit of a headache.
Had Li Fengqi just been an ordinary person, accepting or rejecting him wouldn’t be such a headache. But in his case, he would be the future king of the world.
And now the two of them were still tied to the same boat. It could even be said that Ye Yunting was under his protection. He neither wanted to get involved in the complicated harem battles of the previous dynasty, nor did he want the current stable cooperative relationship to break down.
He pinched his brows and whispered: “That’s that. Let’s take it one step at a time.”
Now, he could only pretend not to know.
Seeing his sad face and his sighing, Ji Lian wondered, “Master, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m caught in a trap, in and out of a dilemma.” Ye Yunting frowned and muttered.
Previously, he was in the fog and could not see through Li Fengqi’s little thoughts; now that the fog had been dispelled, he has a new understanding of Li Fengqi’s words and deeds these days.
This man clearly used marching and fighting tactics on him, luring him into a trap every step of the way.
But this was his own fault. Ye Yunting couldn’t get angry, but instead would just secretly raise his vigilance.
So when the servants came in to send word that breakfast was ready, Li Fengqi discovered that Ye Yunting’s attitude towards him had changed subtly – Ye Yunting was deliberately keeping some distance from him. His expression and tone were the same as usual, but his body movements were very cautious.
Before, if the two of them walked together and Ye Yunting pushed him from behind, they would inevitably have physical contact. But now, although Ye Yunting still took the initiative to push him, he carefully grasped the crossbar behind him with both hands to avoid any possible touch.
He did it very casually and concealed it very well, but Li Fengqi, who was good at observing words and expressions, still noticed this subtle change.
He calmly lowered his eyes, wondering if the embarrassment of this morning was still fresh, or if Ye Yunting had already gotten over it.
After thinking about it, he felt that the latter was more likely.
Ye Yunting was very inexperienced in love. Li Fengqi had repeatedly been both overt and covert, but he had been very slow to react. Although he would blush on occassion, it was more out of embarrassment, rather than shyness.
But now that he was so calmly keeping his distance, it seemed more like he understood his own thoughts and was doing it intentionally.
Li Fengqi tapped his fingers on the armrest, glanced at him sideways, suddenly frowned and pressed against his leg, saying, “Wait, my leg suddenly hurts a little.”
Ye Yunting was startled, and then became a little anxious. “Is the poison in your body acting up? Do you want to call for a doctor?”
Li Fengqi looked at his anxious expression and thought to himself that Ye Yunting was still worried about him. This meant that, at least, he did not dislike him. And now he was subtly keeping his distance, it was probably because he was worried that if he exposed himself, it would affect their current relationship.
With a clear idea in his mind, Li Fengqi rubbed his legs and took a breath, saying, “No need. It only hurts occasionally. I just need to take it easy and I’ll be fine.”
He wasn’t lying. He used extremely powerful methods to gather the cold poison in his body on his legs. Occasionally, when the cold poison acted up, his legs would twitch and ache. Unless the poison was completely detoxified, it could not be cured. He did not want others to worry, so he bore through it silently every time without revealing anything.
This time, in order to test Ye Yunting’s attitude, he had to make this move.
Ye Yunting frowned, and his tone couldn’t help but be a little reproachful. “This isn’t the first time, is it? Why didn’t Wangye say anything before?”
“Saying it would make you worry for nothing.” Li Fengqi smiled, looked at his expression, and laughed pleasantly again. “Is the Young Master feeling sorry for me?”
“…” Ye Yunting stared at him, not knowing how to answer.
If he were to act in a reasonable manner, he would definitely deny it. But his heart told him not to tell lies. He pursed his lips and nodded. “The poison in Wangye’s body is not clear yet. It’s better to speak out if you feel uncomfortable. Don’t just endure it any longer.”
“Very well.” Li Fengqi laughed even more heartily. “I will never hide it from the Young Master anymore.”
“…” Ye Yunting felt that there was something in his words.
After Ye Yunting thought about it, he was always a little suspicious. No matter what Li Fengqi said, it felt like his purpose was impure, so he simply refused to answer and pushed him toward the front hall.
Li Fengqi didn’t press hard upon seeing the situation. He leaned back on the chair, his eyes slightly closed, and his expression joyful.
In the blink of an eye after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year was the arrival of the Double Ninth Festival.
On the Double Ninth Festival, people worshiped their ancestors and paid homage to heaven and earth.
At dawn, Ye Yunting got up, changed into elaborate and solemn clothes, and went to the ancestral hall with Li Fengqi.
The elder Wangfei who worshiped the Buddha was also there. Li Fengqi was in front, and Ye Yunting and the elder Wangfei entered the ancestral hall with him, one on the left and one on the right. In the ancestral hall were the tablets of the ancestors of past generations. After the three of them worshiped one by one according to the elaborate rituals, most of the day had passed.
Li Fengqi handed three sticks of incense to Ye Yunting, who inserted them into the incense burner on his behalf.
The elder Wangfei knelt on a cushion, clasped her palms together, and recited scriptures.
Her spine was straight, but it was still hard to hide her old age.
Li Fengqi’s eyes glanced past her, then across the ancestral tablets, and finally settled on the tablet of the late Yong’an Prince, Li Huaiqu.
“Since we’re paying respects to our ancestors today, why don’t Mother take the opportunity to move my younger brother’s tablet to the ancestral hall?” he suddenly said.
The elder Wangfei paused and looked back abruptly, surprise in her eyes. She looked at Li Fengqi for a moment, the look in her eyes indescribably complicated, but she still shook her head. “That would be against the rules.”
“Rules are dead, people are alive.” Li Fengqi said quietly. “If Father were still here, he would agree.”
The elder Wangfei’s lips moved, as if she wanted to say something else. But Li Fengqi did not give her a chance, and continued: “Now that my mother is still here, there’s still someone to care about my younger brother and pay respects to him. Has Mother ever thought about what will happen a hundred years from now?”
“He has never even seen this world. It’s just that I can’t let go of him.” The elder Wangfei said bitterly.
Li Fengqi was silent, and then said softly, “Mother, just take it as a way to put my mind at ease.”
He looked directly at the elder Wangfei with calm eyes. Although he didn’t say anything, everything had already been made clear.
The elder Wangfei’s eyes trembled, and she opened her mouth to speak, but felt that it was useless to say more.
He seemed so sure that he must have known something.
Li Fengqi had been extremely intelligent ever since he’d been a child, and there were few things that could be hidden from him. After Huiaqu’s1 death, she had kept this secret by herself, not daring to reveal anything, but in the end she still asked him to figure out from hints.
The elder Wangfei stood up slowly and swayed. Yiqiu, beside her, hurried to help her.
She waved her hand to signal Yiqiu to leave, and then slowly said, “Huaiqu asked me to swear an oath before he died, so no matter what you ask, I won’t say anything.” []
“I understand. If Mother doesn’t want to talk, then don’t say anything. If I want to know, I’ll find out by myself.” Li Fengqi moved the wheelchair closer, raised his hand to assist her, and said in a deep voice: “I just hope that Mother can be more cheerful and accompany me for a while longer.”
After returning to the capital, the elder Wangfei continued to worship and practice Buddhism in her own courtyard. They had met only a handful of times these days. Today, as she paid respects to her ancestors, he suddenly realized that she had gotten much older and more haggard.
Perhaps it was because there were too many memories in this palace. The elder Wangfei’s eyes had gotten older and calmer, surrounded by a heavy aura of twilight. It was not a good sign.
The elder Wangfei silently patted the back of his hand. Her eyes also softened. However, it was rare for the mother and son to be so close to each other. She opened her mouth, but could not utter any words of intimacy. In the end, she only said, “You don’t have to worry, my body is strong.”
…
In the end, the tablets in the small Buddhist hall were moved to the ancestral hall.
The blank tablet without inscriptions looked rather conspicuous among the many ancestral tablets.
Li Fengqi said, “Since the tablet has been moved to the ancestral hall, why not choose a day to engrave the name on it.” He paused. “Let’s go with Hanzhang, Li Hanzhang.”
This was the name the elder Wangfei always called him. She had given him this name, along with that love.
Although she never said it out loud.
Li Fengqi touched the protective charm that had been placed on his waist and felt completely at ease.
The elder Wangfei appeared rather stunned, looked at him for a long time, turned around to face the memorial tablets, and said with her voice trembling slightly: “Very well.”
Her shoulders shook slightly, and her back was always turned to Li Fengqi.
Upon seeing this, Li Fengqi gently pulled Ye Yunting’s sleeve and retreated with him.
Just a few steps away from the ancestral hall, Yi Qiu’s call came from behind again. Ye Yunting stopped and turned around to see Yi Qiu holding out two exquisite scented sachets with a smile. “The elder Wangfei embroidered these with her own handsbut she forgot to give it just now. She specially sent them to me. Today is Double Ninth Festival, and there is dogwood powder in the sachet to ward off evil and avoid disasters. Wangye and Wangfei should wear them.”
Ye Yunting took them and saw that the two sapphire blue sachets identical style, with manji patterns embroidered on them. In the lower right corner of the sachet, there were “Qi2” and “Ting3” respectively.
“I thank Mother.” Ye Yunting thanked her and handed the sachet embroidered with the word “Qi” to Li Fengqi.
Li Fengqi took it, lowered his head and took off the sachet he originally bought at the market, and put the one given by the elder Wangfei on his waist.
Yi Qiu watched them, and then left with a smile. Before leaving, she remembered something and turned around and said: “When I was in Rongyang, the elder Wangfei would not only recite sutras for the elder Wangye every day, she would also pray for Wangye the rest of the time.” She looked a little sad. “I have followed the elder Wangfei all these years, and I have seen it all. But the elder Wangfei never asked me to talk to Wangye. For example, the elder Wangfei embroidered this repelling sachet for several days and nights…”
Her mother had been the maidservant of the elder Wangfei. Later, when her mother passed away, she herself became the servant of the elder Wangfei. She had seen every little detail these past few years. The elder Wangfei clearly cared about Wangye, but she had never been too close to him on the surface. She saw it in her eyes and felt anxious. Now she saw that the prince did not feel resentment, but instead understood the elder Wangfei’s painstaking efforts. She was truly happy for her master, so she has the courage to say these words.
Li Fengqi’s expression was soft as he nodded towards her. “I know all of that. Take good care of Mother.”
Hearing this, Yi Qiu felt blessed again, and she turned and left with great strides.
After Yi Qiu left, Ye Yunting saw Li Fengqi holding the sachet in his hand and stroking it gently.
He pushed the wheelchair forward and said as he walked, “The elder Wangfei must have been bored in the courtyard all day, with only Yi Qiu accompanying her. I don’t think she is in good spirits. The banquet will be in a few days, and this will be my first time organizing this so I don’t have enough experience. I’m afraid something will go wrong. Why don’t we invite the elder Wangfei to sit in on it?”
If he had previously found the relationship between mother and son to be as clear as viewing flowers through fog, then after experiencing what he saw in his dream, he thought could see it more clearly.
These two people were both too cold and hard-tempered. Coupled with the long-term alienation, even if they wanted to get close to each other now that they were together, they couldn’t soften toward each other.
Thinking of Li Fengqi’s excruciating grief when he saw the elder Wangfei’s body in his dream, Ye Yunting lowered his eyes. He himself had lost his mother a long time ago, so he especially couldn’t bear to see Li Fengqi and the elder Wangfei in such a state.
When a child wanted to be cared for but didn’t receive this care from his parents–there was no greater pain in the world.
Li Fengqi and the elder Wangfei treated him very well, and he didn’t mind giving them a push in the process.
Hearing his words, Li Fengqi raised his eyes and glanced at him. He didn’t seem as gloomy as Ye Yunting thought. Instead, he even smiled and said, “All right, I’ll trouble you to spend more time with Mother.” After some thought, he added: “My mother named my little brother ‘Hanzhang’ probably because she hoped that he would be a well-read poet and and talented gentleman. Unfortunately, I followed my father and spent half my life fighting and killing, so I’m afraid I went against my mother’s expectations.”
“On the other hand, it is the Young Master who is more in line with my mother’s expectations than me.” He looked at Ye Yunting with a smile on his face and said in a relaxed voice, “Although my mother won’t say it, she must be happy in her heart to have an additional son like you.”
He spoke with emotion and reason. Although the elder Wangfei did not express much affection for Ye Yunting in words when they met several times, she prepared things for him every time with great care. For example, aside from the name, the sachet given to him this time was exactly the same as the one given to Li Fengqi.
Ye Yunting was also deeply moved by this thought, and so he decided to take the initiative to mediate between them, hoping to ease the relationship between mother and son.
But as he knew, anything that came out of Li Fengqi’s mouth would always have a double meaning.
He frowned unhappily, thinking, “What does it mean to have an additional son?”
Could Li Fengqi be taking advantage of him again?
===Author’s Notes===
The author has something to say:
#become a family, we are all a family
77: Be confident, I will just take advantage.
Tingting:? ? ?
===Translator’s Notes===
Oh, Ye Yunting. Ahahaha. You’ll figure it out. Maybe.
I do love all the platonic and familial relationships in this novel.
I know swastika is technically correct, but maybe manji would be a better choice since it is buddhist word and has less modern stigma?
ReplyDeleteThanks for translating
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, it makes sense to use manji instead with the Buddhist context. I've changed it now.
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