Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Sixty-eight,
Osmanthus

“Duke, you’ve closed yourself at home for so many days, you don’t go out, nor do you speak, what happened?” Zi Wan clutched a handkerchief in her hands, knitted her eyebrows while standing to one side, and asked with her voice down, “Fighting with his Highness?”

Xiao Zuo had one hand propped on his cheek and one hand holding a white chess piece. The black pieces on the board already formed an encirclement, Xiao Zuo pondered over it for a bit, then as though because he couldn’t find a way to break through, he answered, “No.”

“His Highness hasn’t had a meal in the residence for a good few days, and always comes back at the time the doors lock, don’t lie to this servant.”

Xiao Zuo’s eyelashes shook, he reached out and picked the white pieces on the board up piece by piece, his hands were smooth and slender, the chess pieces were smooth as jade, the two complimented each other, making people unable to move their eyes away.

“He is only busy with the matters in the courts.”

Zi Wan saw Xiao Zuo did not want to say more, so she did not ask anymore, “These two days, the Western Moon has new dishes, it’s the cuttlefish that Duke yearned about eating long ago, it is fattiest during this season, Duke, let’s go have a taste.”

Xiao Zuo looked outside the window, today was a rare sunny day, the winds were not big either, and when the sunlight passed through the tree’s leaves and fell onto the chess board, it would be sliced into fragments.

“Alright.”

Western Moon’s business was as good as usual, Xiao Zuo and Zi Wan especially arrived a bit earlier than mealtime, but the seats were already filled for the most part. Xiao Zuo chose a seat on the second floor by the window, in this kind of bright afternoon, one could clearly see Shang An’jing’s river in the center passing by like a jade belt, as well as floating gold jumping on the surface of the water sprinkled by the sunlight.

Eating cuttlefish during this season was the best, pretty much every table ordered cuttlefish, even the waiter notified him it might be more slow to come- Xiao Zuo was not very hungry, so he ate an osmanthus steamed cake that came first in small bites, very fragrant, it was the taste of autumn.

“Sir Xiao?” Xiao Zuo lifted his head up when heard the sound, it was a young sir dressed in dark blue long sleeves, that person’s waist hung with a very excellent jade pendant, and surprisingly looked at Xiao Zuo.

“You……” Xiao Zuo felt the person in front of him was a bit familiar, yet did not recall their name or surname. Zi Wan across from him gave him winks, when he was going to get up and give his greetings, that person laughed with a good temper, and explained, “It is merely a single meeting, it is normal if Sir Xiao does not remember it. This lowly one is Song Ying.”

Xiao Zuo now recalled, he saw him at He Xuan’s before, he could not help but slightly awkwardly redden his face and smile, “So it is Sir Song, just call me Xiao Zuo.”

Song Ying went along with it, he swept a gaze at the dishes on the table, and said, “The other tables are all full, could this one sit together with you?”

“Sure, have a seat.”

Song Ying sat down on Xiao Zuo’s right side, and Xiao Zuo pushed the steamed osmanthus cake towards his side, “Have a taste, it’s quite delicious.”

“His Highness is quite good to you.” When Song Ying saw that layered osmanthus cake, he hung his eyes down and smiled.

Xiao Zuo froze, he uneasily took his hand back, and thought he heard wrong, “What?”

“His Highness does not like sweet foods, so we typically do not dare to eat it in front of him.” Song Ying seemed to be deep in memory, he reached out and grabbed a piece of the osmanthus cake, and hesitantly put it in his mouth, “It’s quite delicious.”

“There’s still two pieces left, if you like it, you can eat some more.”

“No need.” Song Ying smiled, his expression was a bit dejected, “Sometimes, I’m quite envious of you, I can see his Highness likes you a lot, otherwise, he would not……”

Song Ying paused, the corners of his mouth twitched in self ridicule, “Now that it’s mentioned, I’m not in much of a position to say these things to you, think of it as me being self-sentimental.” In the end, he finished the two pieces of osmanthus cake on the plate, “If there is some concern with his Highness, perhaps saying it out loud will be a bit better.”

“Thank you for the osmanthus cake.” Song Ying seemed to really come to eat osmanthus cake- before the cuttlefish Xiao Zuo was waiting for came, he stood up, and cupped his hands, “This one still has some matters, and will take leave first.”

“Safe travels, Sir Song.” Xiao Zuo blankly watched his back figure go far off, and once the cuttlefish they ordered came, he then finally came to, and picked up chopsticks and picked a piece of the fish. That fish meat was immersed in what looked to be a very delicious soup, the surface was poured with slivers of pickled vegetables, radish strips, mushrooms, and various spices that made up a pasty soup, this big mash up was very appetizing, even Xiao Zuo who originally did not feel very hungry ate two big bowls of rice, and happily leaned on the chair, ordered a small jar of plum juice, and savoured the aftertastes of the cuttlefish.

“Let’s bring this plate of golden cakes back for De Qing to eat, he likes eating this.” Zi Wan saw there was still half a plate of golden cakes on the table, and called over a waiter to for a food box, then placed the four golden cakes inside, “[Let’s go] while it is still hot, once it’s cold, it won’t be good.”

Considering it now, Xiao Zuo hadn’t spoken with De Qing for a long time. Since they lived in the crown prince residence, most of the maidservants and servants boys originally part of the ducal residence were given some silvers and dispersed, only left with De Qing, Zi Wan, and two three servants girls who were young in age and not willing to leave who entered the crown prince residence. Once Xiao Zuo moved to live together with He Xuan, Zi Wan and other maids also lived along with the crown prince residence’s maids, so De Qing’s position seemed a bit awkward.

He was very old, yet was also an eunuch, to live with those young and strong servants and guards together was clearly not too appropriate, but he had no way of comparing with Li Fu Hai, an elderly person who had followed He Xuan since young.

What was more important was, for an eunuch like him who had been contaminated in the palace for an entire lifetime, leaving him by Xiao Zuo’s side was too dangerous, in the end, He Xuan gave him a small courtyard, the small courtyard was at the upper-right corner of the crown prince residence, surrounded by jade bamboo and green trees, with a tranquil environment, quite suitable to live out retirement.

When De Qing had nothing to do, he would usually bath in the sun in the small yard. To let He Xuan be at ease, Xiao Zuo would not often go see him either, he would pass by De Qing’s small courtyard when occasionally strolling around, and take a peek from the distance past the heavy lattice door. De Qing would mostly lay on a bamboo chair in the middle of the yard, holding a cup of tea, and sit for an entire afternoon.

Thus, this time when Xiao Zuo walked to the residence’s doors, he thought he could see De Qing sunbathing in the yard.

“What is it?” Zi Wan was holding the food box behind Xiao Zuo and peeked her head out to look. The courtyard was empty, only that bamboo chair that De Qing laid in normally lonesomely stood in the middle, the surface already accumulated with a thin layer of leaves, obvious that there was already some time someone had sat on it.

Xiao Zuo knitted his eyebrows and headed towards the main house. Just as he walked halfway, the doors opened, Xiao Zuo saw Ling Xiang come out with a person who looked like a doctor, that person held up a medicinal kit, and was turning their head and instructing Ling Xiang on something.

“Ling Xiang?”

“Duke?” Ling XIang slightly froze, she hurriedly said a few words with the doctor, then made a small run over, “Why is the duke here?”

“Has De Qing gotten sick?” Xiao Zuo’s features grew with a few marks of concern, he pursed his lips, and suppressed his urge of forcing Ling Xiang to explain everything clearly.

Zi Wan was also concerned, she was usually on good terms with Ling Xiang, so at this time, she directly asked, “Good Ling Xiang, speak with Big Sister, what has happened to De Qing?”

Ling Xiang’s gaze made a round between the two’s similarly tightly knitted brows, and in the end, she sighed, and turned to go inside, “Have a look yourselves.”

Once Xiao Zuo stepped into the room, he smelled a very thick scent of medicine, where the faint fragrance of herbs seeped into every inch of the air. Xiao Zuo subconsciously licked his lips, and felt like even his mouth was bitter. De Qing was leaning on the back of the bed sitting up, and looked to have thinned out a lot- Xiao Zuo remembered in Nan Liang, his chubby face would always bear a smile, Father always complimented that he naturally carried a face of good luck, this natural look of good luck looked to not be able to take the torment of war and the years, and now, his cheeks slightly were sunk in, with circles of black under his eyes, drooping his eyes with a dullish expression, with a half-sleeping half-awake appearance.

Xiao Zuo’s eyes went hot, and slightly couldn’t bear to get close. He distantly stopped at the door, not knowing what to do with the unspeakable upset in his heart. Zi Wan beside him placed hot water on the rack, wrung a cloth, then sat on the edge of the bed and helped De Qing wipe down, Ling Ziang also was on the side busying around, Xiao Zuo was a bit in a trance for a moment, he stood at the door for a good while, then like he got startled from a dream, he took two steps forward.

“De Qing……” Xiao Zuo bent over, his voice carried some sobbing, and lowly asked, “The last time I came to see you, you were so well, why have you suddenly turned like this?”

Zi Wanmade eye gestures at Ling Xiang to the side, then pulled Ling Xiang who still did not react to the door, “They have something to speak, let’s go to the door and wait first.”