CH 82

li du.

on a night with light rain, when xie chaoyuan got up early, he heard that the qiong flowers in the backyard were in full bloom. he had originally planned to go out, but changed his mind and went to the back instead.

from afar, he could see the tree branches covered in jade-like flowers, emitting a fragrant scent. xie chaoyuan walked up to the tree and stopped, looking up at the blossoms for a moment. he remembered what xie chaoling had said before, “wait until spring comes.” a smile appeared on his lips.

behind him, wang rang whispered to him, “we just received news from daliang that the chaos in the capital has been quelled and everything is going smoothly. however, the emperor is still in a coma, and the crown prince is in charge of the government affairs at the eastern palace. he holds all the power, and no one dares to speak out.”

xie chaoyuan was not surprised at all. his crown prince brother was always capable.

he plucked a flower or two and twisted them in his hand. then he ordered, “pick all these flowers and make qiong flower wine. if it turns out well, send it to the eastern palace in daliang.”

wang rang asked him, “your highness, why not just send the flowers?”

xie chaoyuan smiled wryly and said, “if i send the flowers, they will wither. he will not appreciate it.”

“only send wine then?” wang rang asked again.

xie chaoyuan paused for a moment and then smirked, “only wine.”

as summer approached, xie chaoling received something from xirong once again. it was two small jars of wine. they were first sent to xie chaohui’s subordinates in the northwest army, and then to the capital, where xie chaohui handed them over to xie chaoling.

when xie chaoling received the wine, he fell silent for a moment and asked xie chaohui, “is this all he sent? did he send a message?”

“no,” xie chaohui shook his head, “only this.”

“no message at all?” xie chaoling felt uneasy and accepted the wine.

today, xie chaohui came to bid farewell to him. after several months, the turmoil in the capital had been completely quelled. xie chaoqi was executed, and the zhao family was wiped out. the case of the former crown prince’s rebellion had been overturned. xie chaohui had no other concerns and did not want to stay here. he wanted to go back to the northwest, and xie chaoling agreed.

“you’re leaving in a few days, right?” xie chaoling asked him.

xie chaohui nodded and said, “it’s the day after tomorrow. i hope that in the future, the crown prince can take better care of princess leping.”

“you can rest assured that i won’t let her be wronged,” xie chaoling replied.

xie chaohui thanked him, and xie chaoling hesitated for a moment before asking the question he had been wanting to ask: “third brother, are you happy these days?”

xie chaoqi had asked him the same question before he died at king huai’s mansion. many soldiers were present at the time, and those words had obviously reached xie chaoling’s ears.

xie chaohui calmly replied, “the crown prince worries too much. everything is good now. the wicked have been punished, the wrongly accused have been exonerated, and i have nothing to be dissatisfied with.”

xie chaoling was speechless for a while.

he and king xing were not really close enough to inquire about each other’s private affairs, but perhaps he was influenced by his own mood, so he wanted to ask one more question.

after another moment of silence, xie chaohui took the initiative to speak, “the crown prince is a fortunate person whom people envy. but i’m also fine now. my brother and i… we are brothers, i respect and admire him, that’s all. my brother once said that one day i will also meet the person i love. huiniang is very good, we have similar interests, and we respect each other. it’s true.”

xie chaoling smiled, “that’s good.”

xie chaohui bid him farewell and left.

xie chaoling stood by the window, watching his tall figure disappear into the rain and mist, feeling inexplicably stunned. xie chaohui’s words may be true or false, and perhaps even he himself couldn’t tell. but when xie chaohui said he envied him, at least there was hope that they would see each other again someday, even though they were miles apart.

so he became happy again, and since he had little to do these two days, he had someone carry two jars of wine and went to xie fengjue’s villa.

it had rained earlier, but when they arrived, it was a sunny day. the person who came out to greet them was li congyu, “i heard you were coming, and your uncle specially took a boat to the lake to catch live fish for you. we’ll have fish for lunch.”

xie chaoling smiled, “i’m in luck. i happen to have brought wine. please little uncle and royal uncle, taste it with me.”

they walked towards the villa, and xie chaoling teased li congyu, “my little uncle has changed a lot now, so leisurely every day, looking so relaxed and fat, your complexion has improved a lot.”

li congyu smiled lightly, “thanks to your highness.”

due to the actions of li huan, the entire li family was imprisoned, but luckily they had li congyu, who was able to balance their merits and faults. in the end, they only lost their noble title and kept their lives. li congyu had just returned to the court, but because of these matters, xie chaoling couldn’t use him temporarily, so he was free and spent his days with xie fengjue. to avoid suspicion, xie fengjue also resigned from his position as temporary commander of dongshan ying. thus, the two of them had been leisurely living together in this villa, enviable indeed.

li congyu took xie chaoling to qiming pavilion. the pavilion’s courtyard had already been set up with food and wine. xie fengjue had just returned from the lake and had indeed caught two fresh, big fish. he proudly showed them to li congyu, and the two of them whispered some intimate words before xie fengjue ordered someone to take the fish down and slice them.

seeing them like this, xie chaoling couldn’t help but smile. the three of them sat down in the pavilion and xie chaoling had someone replace the wine with the one he brought.

“how is your father?” xie fengjue asked him.

“still the same,” xie chaoling shook his head.

emperor qianming was in a coma and the various imperial physicians were helpless. none of them dared to give a definite answer as to when he would wake up. perhaps it would be a year or two, perhaps three to five years, or perhaps he would just continue to live like this until his life runs out. some in the court hoped that xie chaoling would ascend the throne early, but xie chaoling refused. as long as his father was alive, he could only be the crown prince.

xie chaoling had many concerns, not just his insistence on filial piety, so since xie fengjue and the others knew this, they did not persuade him much.

“a few days ago, the officials from the ministry of rites brought up the matter of your marriage again. what do you think?” xie fengjue asked again.

the new wine had already been poured. xie chaoling picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for xie fengjue and li congyu. then he filled his own cup, “little uncle, royal uncle, try it. this is qiong flower dew, newly brewed.”

he raised his cup and took a sip.

perhaps because the brewing time was not long enough, the sweetness overpowered the taste of the wine. it wasn’t as good as he had hoped. xie chaoling put down the cup with some regret.

li congyu suddenly said, “this is wine from the northwest.”

he had seen the style of the wine jar, which was commonly used by xirong people.

xie chaoling did not deny it, but smiled and continued drinking.

xie fengjue reminded him, “crown prince, postponing your marriage is not a solution.”

xie chaoling still smiled and asked them, “little uncle, now that you have survived a life-and-death situation, and there is only one male left in your family, hasn’t the old lady talked to you about getting married as soon as possible? royal uncle, what about you? what will happen to the title of king ding in the future?”

the sliced fish was already on the table. li congyu picked up a piece, dipped it carefully in the sauce, and put it into xie fengjue’s bowl. he said lightly, “she did mention it, but i refused. i’m not willing to have children. she didn’t insist either. these past few days, she has already chosen a boy from a collateral branch to be adopted by my elder brother. as for me, i don’t need an heir.”

“king ding’s mansion doesn’t need to be passed down anymore. you can take back the title in the future.” xie fengjue said.

they finally managed to be together in this lifetime and didn’t care whether there will be anyone to offer incense and worship after they’re gone. there’s always a trade-off in life, and people can’t ask for too much.

but xie chaoling was different.

“crown prince, an emperor cannot have no heir. it is your responsibility to ensure the continuity of the da liang dynasty.”

xie chaoling fell silent.

slowly drinking his second glass of wine, he put down the cup and whispered, “uncle, it’s not that i don’t want to, but i went through many hardships when i went to xirong this time. i was even poisoned before, and it took a lot of effort to cure it. however, my body was already damaged, and even the imperial physician couldn’t do anything about it. even if i take good care of myself in the future, i’m unlikely to have any children in this lifetime.”

xie fengjue was shocked, “really?”

“of course it’s true. how could i make up such a thing?” xie chaoling said helplessly.

xie fengjue fell silent.

li congyu furrowed his brows tightly, looking at xie chaoling. he hesitated to say something but eventually didn’t.

xie chaoling smiled, “this kind of thing that is difficult to talk about, i can only talk to you guys about it. fortunately, the xie family is prosperous, and each mansion has many outstanding heirs. i’m just the crown prince now and not in a rush. let’s wait and see for a few more years before deciding.”

he already had someone in mind, but this matter needed to be considered carefully.

xie chaoling spoke so frankly that xie fengjue didn’t know what else to say, except to remind him, “if you do choose someone, choose the best. capability is secondary and can be taught. first, he must have a conscience.”

“that goes without saying. when the time comes, i will ask uncle to help me with the selection,” xie chaoling replied.

after that, they didn’t mention these troublesome matters anymore, eating and chatting over food and drinks until noon. xie fengjue passed out drunk in li congyu’s arms, and xie chaoling chuckled at li congyu, “i’ve never seen royal uncle like this before. he’s much happier now than in previous years.”

it was better not to mention the kind of life xie fengjue had in previous years.

li congyu lowered his head and gently stroked the man’s hair, his eyes filled with tenderness. then, he looked up at xie chaoling and asked, “crown prince… have you really made up your mind?”

xie chaoling knew what he was referring to, so he took the last sip of wine, smiled, and said, “if i don’t do this, he’ll definitely go crazy, and i won’t have any peace in the future.”

“if you have really decided, i won’t stop you, as long as you’re happy,” li congyu said.

“i am happy,” xie chaoling nodded.

li congyu didn’t say anything more and stood up, carrying xie fengjue away.

xie chaoling was also getting drunk, so he propped up his face with one hand and stared blankly for a moment before instructing someone, “prepare a boat. i want to go to the island in the middle of the lake.”

a pleasure boat broke through the water and emerged. it was a perfect summer afternoon with beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains. xie chaoling sat by the window, half-closed eyes, struggling to keep himself from falling asleep in the scorching heat.

half an hour later, they arrived at the island in the middle of the lake. xie chaoling hadn’t been here for a long time. the last time he came was with xie chaoyuan, that little b*stard who braved the wind and rain to pick him up.

it didn’t seem like it was long ago, but looking back now, it felt like it happened in another lifetime.

upon reaching the pavillion, a servant brought tea, but xie chaoling absentmindedly looked at the scenery for a moment before falling asleep in his seat.

in his sleep, he felt a slight itch on his cheek. he half-opened his eyes and saw xie chaoyuan sitting in front of him, smiling at him. “brother, why did you get drunk again? you’re not happy with the wine i brought?”

xie chaoling was stunned, and he reached out to touch xie chaoyuan’s face. “you’re back?”

“ah, i knew you missed me, so i came back,” xie chaoyuan said.

seeing xie chaoling staring at him blankly, xie chaoyuan smiled and asked, “is brother dumbfounded?”

xie chaoling finally came back to his senses and said angrily, “you’re so pleased with yourself, aren’t you?”

he grabbed xie chaoyuan’s clothes and said, “i pretended to be unable to marry to avoid marrying a wife, but you’re being arrogant, aren’t you?”

“brother promised me early on that he is my husband, so how can he marry someone else?” xie chaoyuan said righteously.

“do you still remember that i am your husband?” xie chaoling scolded. “you little b*stard, you didn’t even write me a letter. you just sent two jars of wine. are you doing this on purpose? do you want me to think about you all the time?”

“i didn’t know what to write. i was afraid that writing nonsense would make brother unhappy,” xie chaoyuan said.

xie chaoyuan gently stroked his temples and said, “so brother missed me this much.”

xie chaoling blushed and said, “you really did it on purpose.”

xie chaoyuan leaned over and kissed him on the corner of his lips.

xie chaoling’s eyelashes trembled. he closed his eyes and then opened them again. there was no one in front of him. the wind blowing in from outside played with his hair. it was all just a dream.

after a moment of bewilderment, xie chaoling smiled and shook his head. he was really getting more and more sentimental. if that little rascal knew he was having such a dream in broad daylight, he would be proud to death.

on this hot summer day, the tea by his side had been left for so long yet it was still steaming. he took a sip, pushing down his scattered thoughts. feeling a little uncomfortable, he laid back in bed and closed his eyes again.

even if it was just a boring dream, it was good enough.