Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Fifty-two
West Capital

“I need to go out in a while, and can only return in the evening, rest early, no need to wait for me.”

“Oh.” Xiao Zuo nodded his head, then heard He Xuan quietly laugh lightly, trembling his heart with a faint itch, “I will try to be back earlier, save you from watching over an empty room.”

Xiao Zuo’s face burned like the sunrise by the skies, all bright red, He Xuan raised his eyebrows steeped with a teasing smile and billowing with attractiveness, [Xiao Zuo] slightly awkwardly moved his gaze, and muttered, “Now that it’s so hot, sleeping alone would be more pleasant.”

“What?” Ling Xiang long already wisely retreated outside, at this time, He Xuan was using a cloth to wipe his face, so his voice was all muffled.

Xiao Zuo lifted his eyes up and peeked, seeing as he certainly did not hear clearly, he joked in an attempt to hide it, “Nothing, I need to go out in a moment as well.”

He Xuan’s hands paused, he asked, “Where to?”

“Fu Zhan Chuan called me out to play.”

“Fu Zhan Chuan again.” Fu Zhan Chuan’s name seemed just like it was squeezed out from He Xuan biting his back teeth, He Xuan tossed the cloth into the basin, then turned to stare at Xiao Zuo’s face. When he narrowed his eyes, he seemed much like a cheetah, his entire body permeated with a rising feral nature and murderous air, no one would doubt that in the next second, he could spring up and tear at the pitiful prey’s throat, “Play with him less next time, don’t learn bad things from him.”

“Ah?” Xiao Zuo subconsciously took one step back, and quietly denied it in defence of brotherhood, “Fu Zhan Chuan may be thoughtless, but towards friends, he still fairly nice.”

“Already bought out by him in this bit of time?” He Xuan turned even angrier from Xiao Zuo’s reaction, he originally was a moody type, at this time, the anger got to his head, and didn’t care for anything anymore, then used his foot to kick the door at the back, and suppressed his anger to say, “You’re not allowed to go anywhere today, wait in the residence.”

Though it was said Xiao Zuo normally had a temperate nature, but a mud doll still had a temper, furthermore, he was also raised in nobility for ten or so years, when had he ever been bullied like this, and got angry as well- he lifted his eyes up to meet with He Xuan’s gaze, and stiffened his neck and answered strongly, “On what basis?”

“On what basis?” He Xuan got so angry he laughed instead, he took one step forward, the ends of his eyes were clearly smiling, but the bottom of his eyes seemed like they concealed a deep and serene sea, while icy-cold waves wrapped with the mad winds struck the piers, dragging people into the bottom of the sea with a bone-seeping frostiness, “You’re asking megu on what basis? On the basis that Ig am Jin’s imperial heir, on the basis you are merely……”

“Hah, I understand now.” Xiao Zuo also smiled, but his face was pale, that bitter smile looked to be even uglier than crying, and he dejectedly hung his head down, with loose hairs on his forehead making his eyes shroud with a layer of faint shadow, as though declaring fate would always be like lush foliage, chasing like a shadow does to a figure.

He lowly sighed, and thought in mockery, to think in these days, he would think He Xuan merely had a slightly bad temper, so it would be fine if he just went along with what he said- just like snacks sold in a hometown store, though it did not look good, but only in this kind of small store was one able to taste the most traditional delicacy. But he thought wrong, He Xuan clearly was an abalone and shark fin dish that the imperial kitchen arranged delicately, a delicacy normal people would be unable to have a chance to taste. If unlucky people rashly tried it, perhaps waiting for you would be a fate of being beheaded.

When He Xuan spoke halfway through, he actually already regretted it, if it was when he just met Xiao Zuo, with his kind of mean temper, saying these words to him would be of no burden whatsoever. However, right now, he shared a bed with Xiao Zuo for this long already- a heart any more cold would have long been warmed up, he also wanted to say some good-sounding words to coax his Li Nu, then rear him in his arms, unable to go anywhere, he alone was enough, his Li Nu should only have him in his eyes and heart, how could there be room for another person?

But his Li Nu was always being disobedient.

“Sorry.” He Xuan closed his eyes. He seemed like a drunk person who suddenly had terrible aftereffects come up, where the head seemed like it was struck by a hammer again and again, so painful it was going to break apart in the next instant. He never apologized to anyone in his lifetime, not to He Heng either. Thus, to him, this word was incomparably unfamiliar, his typically lofty tongue was about to get tied.

He Xuan strongly rubbed his brow ridge, he reached out to pull on Xiao Zuo’s hand, “Sorry, just now, I…… the anger got to my head, you……”

“Just take it as me rambling, don’t think about it too much.”

Xiao Zuo struggled a bit, but did not struggle away, his palms were wrapped in He Xuan’s hands, very hot.

Xiao Zuo did not think He Xuan would apologize to him, actually, what he said just now was not wrong either, He Xuan was Jin’s lofty imperial heir, while he was merely a slave from a fallen country that was a bit better than a criminal, even if He Xuan were to shut him in the Ministry of Penalty’s jail right now, he would have no qualifications to say even a single no.

Actually, he was merely using that bit of imaginary affection He Xuan had for him, in the end, even he could not tell if that was doting or affection, just like how he could not tell if he loved He Xuan a bit more, or hated him a bit more.

“En.”

❀

He Xuan came back to the residence at dinner time, and especially had the kitchen bring out some wine, said to drink with Xiao Zuo together.

“In a few days, we will need to go hold the ritual for the ancestors, I’m not sure if Father will let you come together, first have the servants prepare to avoid being busy at that time.”

Xiao Zuo was sipping on rice wine in small mouthfuls, when he heard this, he was a bit nervous inside, “Where are we going to hold the ritual?”

“West Capital Yu Yang[1].”

“Yu Yang?” Yu Yang was originally Jin’s capital, but later when Jin expanded their borders, their territory extended towards the east and south constantly, Yu Yang that resided to the west corner was blocked by the Li Tong Pass- though it was said that terrain was strategically sound, easy to defend and hard to attack, but as the capital, it was not easy for traffic in the end. Food in the northwest was also few, and needed to have grains sent from the east and south regions through water transport, thus, in between the years of peace, they moved the capital to the very flourishing Shang An’jing.

However, though it was called moving capitals, Jin’s imperial mausoleum was in the west capital’s outskirts, so each year, they needed to return to Yu Yang to hold the ancestral rite.

Even if Xiao Zuo never went to Yu Yang, he did hear about Yu Yang’s scenery- it was said that Yu Yang’s northern region was a boundless grassland, the south side was a extremely ragged, high and tall mountains, the landscape was peculiar, and was much different from Shang An’jing.

“I’ve heard of Yu Yang in the past, I wonder how it looks.” When Xiao Zuo finished speaking, he saw He Xuan unexpectedly drink on- that jar of wine had already been finished by him to the point not even a single drop was left, though it was said it was not easy to get drunk on rice wine, but wine was not makes one drunk, but the drinker themselves- Xiao Zuo turned to watch He Xuan’s misty eyes, and felt he was already very drunk.

“What happened to you? Drinking this much?” Xiao Zuo slightly knitted his eyebrows, and waved his hand to have a maidservant by the side go to the kitchen to make some sobering soup.

He Xuan lifted his head and leaned on the chair, his gaze distantly fell to the mountains far off, in the blue-green canopies, the umber distant mountains seemed like delicate eyebrow drawn on a beauty.

“Yu Yang……” It wasn’t known if He Xuan was replying to Xiao Zuo just now, or if he was only muttering, “Isn’t some good place.”

Xiao Zuo froze, he watched He Xuan lift a jar of wine up again, and pour another full cup, he drank too hurriedly, to the point that the faint green wine fell along his neck into the thin collar, winding into a faint river.

He Xuan used his thumb to wipe a bit of it, the remaining spread out on his chest, like a bunch of mint in bloom.

“Why is there no more wine?” He Xuan swayed the empty jar, and said unhappily, “Bring wine here.”

“Your Highness, you’re drunk.” Xiao Zuo sighed, and reached out to press down his tightly gripped jar, “Don’t drink anymore.”

“I’mgu not drunk.” He Xuan stood up, and lifted his leg up to find a maid to get wine, except, he used too much strength, his head was all dizzy, so he stumbled and immediately fell forward.

“Be careful, your Highness.” Xiao Zuo hurriedly reached out to catch up, and wrapped around He Xuan’s waist.

At this time, they were very close, Xiao Zuo could even smell the faint fragrance of rice wine in his breath. He slightly lifted his eyes, and crashed into He Xuan’s deep eyes. At this time, it seemed like those eyes were filled with a very bitter medicine, the deep-brown coloured medicine diffused in his eyes, yet it was unknown if this expensive prescription was able to cure this person’s stubbornness.

Considering it now, He Xuan was not that much older than Xiao Zuo- if he was not some crown prince, and was only a young lord regular wealthy family of Shang An’jing, at this age, He Xuan should be a finely-dressed youth stepping over the beautiful lands, some son of a wealthy man who arranges flowers and gets drunk on the sunset returning to the jade and gold palaces, and should not be using wine to dispel concerns in the middle of the night, not even daring to saying the concerns out loud…… like this.

[1] 玉阳- yu, for jade. Yang, for the sun.