Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Eighty-five,
Locust Plague

“Aye, isn’t this Duke Qi’s residence?” A bit of red was still left on the tip of Xiao Zuo’s nose, he lifted his head up and looked at the plaque hanging on the doors of the residence, now fancily written with, “Crown Prince Residence”.

He Xuan glanced at the plaque, “You came here before?”

“That’s right.” Xiao Zuo nodded his head, he followed He Xuan into the door, and had some reminiscence in his tone, “I came here when I was young, Duke Qi is my…… Uncle.”

“His tastes are quite good, the overall layout is quite elegant.” He Xuan walked past the white jade arch bridge, the bridge was engraved with the relieved sculptures of eight immortals passing by the sea, with the coloured silk draped on Immortal Lady He lifting high, as though dancing along with the wind.

“Uncle has always been infatuated with calligraphy and painting, many of the words inside are personally written by him.”

As Xiao Zuo said this, he pointed to a fake mountain on the side, and just when he was about to speak up, he saw a round-faced maid tied with a two-forked hairstyle[1] walking toward them, bowing, “Your Highness, the dumplings in the kitchen are ready, and sent this servant to ask your Highness when to bring it in.”

That servant girl was not familiar with Xiao Zuo, probably a bit uncertain, but suppressed it, and obediently listened to He Xuan say, “En, bring it up, this is…… the respected guest of the residence, arrange for a bedroom beside mine(g), serve him well, do not be impolite to him.”

“Yes.” The round-faced maid responded and withdrew, then Xiao Zuo asked, “Why dumplings today?”

“Today is the winter solstice.” He Xuan kneaded Xiao Zuo’s fingertips, and smiled, “I know you aren’t accustomed to drinking lamb soup, so I didn’t have the kitchen make it.”

Xiao Zuo paused, and muttered, “How quick, so it’s the winter solstice already.”

“Let’s go, we’ve already been tossing around for half the day, let’s eat something.”

The dumplings were ordinary ones with pork and white cabbage filling, the inside was added with some herbs to ward off the cold, rumours say it was the recipe Zhang Zhong Jing[2] passed down, with effects of warding off and resisting the cold after eating it.

The kitchen made many, so each person had a big bowl, the soup floated with a layer of fragrant oil, and even had some bits of vegetable ends, with the fragrance assailing the nose.

The dumplings had thin skin and a lot of filling, one bite down and the soup would flow all over, and was extremely addictive. The cold that seeped into the bone from the outside was forced out by the hot soup at this time, the entire body was all nice and warm, numbing that he did not want to move.

Xiao Zuo swallowed the final bite of filling, took a sip of rice wine, then satisfactorily sighed, and propped his head up and narrowed his eyes while looking at He Xuan.

“What is it?” He Xuan softly laughed, and raised his eyes to ask him.

“Mm, I suddenly feel, this is quite good too.”

He Xuan’s gaze went dark, he opened his mouth like he wanted to speak, but in the end, did not say anything, and lowered his head to drink the dumpling soup, then said, “What, did you see see outside today?”

The hand Xiao Zuo used to hold the chopsticks froze, he placed the chopsticks on top of the bowl, and hung his head down without saying anything.

After a long time, He Xuan then heard him say.

“Your Highness, actually, I……” Xiao Zuo bit his lower lip, the lips that just ate dumplings were dark red, emitting a faint lustre like a ripened peach. He hesitated for a moment, then got close and pulled on He Xuan’s sleeves, and said in a small voice, “Let’s talk inside.”

“En.” He Xuan’s Adam’s apple moved, he calmly pulled the sleeves from Xiao Zuo’s hand, but his voice was a bit hoarse, “Follow me.”

The inside of the room was placed with two square couches, perfect for them to sit on. Xiao Zuo hugged a pillow and leaned on the side of the couch, and put his head on top of the pillow, and muttered, “I originally thought…… the reason for Nan Liang’s commoners living in destitution and the locust plague rising all around was all the Jin army……”

Xiao Zuo glanced at He Xuan, He Xuan had one hand propping his head leaning on the table, the candlelight dyed his eyes into a gold colour, his expression was unchanged, hanging his eyes down quietly listening. Xiao Zuo pursed his lips, and continued on, “Was all the Jin army’s doing, up until I travelled all the way south, and personally saw those rebels of Nan Liang setting fires and committing robberies in the city.”

He Xuan’s eyes slightly moved, and heard Xiao Zuo lowly say, “Turns out I thought too naively, the commoners being trapped in the ravages of war, how could it be the crime of one side alone?”

“I know that having little virtue and embodying banditry draws in the heavens’ wrath[3], that the country’s blessing had been cut, that I worry day and night, and feel ashamed in front of ancestors. I originally had some wishful thinking, but……” Xiao Zuo laughed at himself, and shook his head.

“Your Highness.” Xiao Zuo put the pillow to one side, his hands slightly nervously clutched into a bundle, he fixed his expression, and said, “Even though there are many mistakes, it is no wrongdoing of the commoners. If in the future I am roped off[4], can your Highness look upon……”

Xiao Zuo’s gaze turned dark, and skipped the few words in the middle, then said, “Once your Highness ascends the throne, do not let Nan Liang meet with the adversity of war again.”

“Xiao Zuo.” He Xuan sighed, his pair of eyes were like a deep lake, the inside was locked with a Qian dragon able to stir the winds and clouds, with gold scales flickering like stars and candlelight.

Xiao Zuo stared at him, and subconsciously held in his breath.

“From today on, each day Ig live, Ig will keep Nan Liang’s peace another day.” He Xuan waved the booklet in his hands at him, “Otherwise, what reason would Ig look at these?”

That booklet wrote with 《Petition of the Crown Prince On Plans For the Locust Plague》, in the time Xiao Zuo was stunned, He Xuan walked to the low couch in a few steps, then bent down and stroked Xiao Zuo’s slightly red face, and his fingers tenderly stroked Xiao Zuo’s warm and slightly dry lips. Soon, like he was not satisfied with just this, He Xuan moved the hand towards the back, grabbed the back of Xiao Zuo’s head, and placed a shallow to deep kiss onto Xiao Zuo’s lips.

“Furthermore, Li Nu is trapped in the bedchambers by me at most, how could I bear to let Li Nu go to other filthy places?” Xiao Zuo blankly looked at him, his chest rose and fell as he panted, so He Xuan laughed again, and kneaded his reddened earlobes, and joyfully heard his little cat-like whimper.

On the next day, Xiao Zuo woke up to an entire body of aching, the round-faced maid from that day carried hot water inside to help him wash up, the under robes he wore were all loose, revealing the specks of red marks on his neck. The maid’s gaze fleetingly glanced at it, then immediately obediently turned her head and no longer watched, and only wrung a towel dry and handed it to Xiao Zuo with both hands, then respectfully said, “My lord, please.”

Xiao Zuo took it, and slightly awkwardly coughed, “It’s alright, I’ll be fine myself, you can go down now.”

“His Highness instructed this servant to serve……”

“It’s really alright.”

“Then thank you my lord for the consideration.” The round-faced maid no longer held out in the end, and placed the bronze pan holding hot water onto the rack then retreated. When Xiao Zuo got up, he pulled his back waist, and unbearably hissed a bit, rubbed it in remorse, then sat on the edge of the bed and got accustomed to it for a while, then dragged his shoes and walked to the front of the water pan.

The ripples spread circle by circle, making his face reflected on it wrinkled, and soon it dispersed along with the ripples. The rack placed with a box of face cream, Xiao Zuo opened the lid, some of it was used inside, probably because He Xuan used it before.

Though there was a lot of precipitation in Nan Liang, and was much more humid than the north, but in the end, it was still arid in the winter, so one must apply some face cream to ward off the dry cold cracking [the skin]. In the past, once autumn came, Sister would have to fiddle around with tens of bottles and jars and apply it to the face each day…… Xiao Zuo froze for an instant, he should find some time to search for Sister, who knows if she is safe and sound these days.

Once the door was opened, frosty air with cold dew brazenly flew into the arms, the clouds in the distance were even more further away, the mountain landscape in the steaming white fog, looked as though it vanished and reappeared.

Xiao Zuo took a deep breath in, the air in Qing Ling’s winter swept the disappointment, anguish, and yearning of his yesterday all clean, and also smoothed the wrinkles in his brows and heart, he slightly curled his lips, and his eyes bloomed with a smile.

“This servant will bring you to the dining hall.” The round-faced maid came out from the corner, and said with a smile.

Xiao Zuo nodded his head, and casually asked, “What is your name? From your dialect, you seem to be from Qing Ling.”

“This servant is called Tao Jinpeach violet.” When passing by the pond in front, Tao Jin turned to the side and let Xiao Zuo first onto the bridge, and spoke obediently, “My Lord is correct, Tao Jin has grown up in Qing Ling since young.”

“Mm.” Xiao Zuo paused, his tone faintly had some disappointment to it, “It’s been long since [I’ve] returned.”

“My Lord must be from Qing Ling too.” Tao Jin slightly curiously lifted her head up, but quickly lowered it again, and stared at the patterns on the jade bridge.

“En.” The pond reflected with layers of trees, with a few plums blossoms propped by the branches swaying in between, “Do tell me, in these years, how…… has Qing Ling been?”

Tao Jin responded, and obediently answered, “Since the second year of Ping Zhen when Qing Ling was defeated, there has been constant battle, now……”

Tao Jin pursed her lips, like she hesitated for a bit, the hand Xiao Zuo used to support himself on the bridge railing gripped tight, and heard her continue speaking, “This servant’s family were originally farmers in the outskirts of Qing Ling, yet met with a severe locust plague, the fields at home are all abandoned, so we could only find a job to make meets end. Thankfully, after his Highness the Crown Prince came, he settled the war, so it will probably get better next year.”

“En, his Highness in benevolent, next year……” Xiao Zuo hung his eyes down, comforting who knows, “Next year, it will get better.”

After having breakfast, He Xuan just came back from the outside, draped in a black mantle embroidered with gold patterns, the waist was decorated with a jade band, making his legs look long and waist look slender. Xiao Zuo moved his eyes away after one look, and slowly spoke like he had a guilty conscience, “Your Highness just came back?”

What kind of silly question was this, Xiao Zuo secretly scolded inside, and lifted his head to see He Xuan hold in a shallow smile, and held the hand he had inside his sleeve, then immediately changed expressions, saying with knitted brows, “Why is it so icy, you didn’t bring a handstove too.”

“It is just a few steps, I would immediately be inside.” Xiao Zuo scratched the inside of his palm, He Xuan just rushed around outside for a half a day, so his palm seemed like it was holding in a ball of fire, and instantly baked the ice crumb-like Xiao Zuo, and melted him into a slow-moving spring water.

He Xuan unhappily glanced at him, still holding his hand, and turned into the room, “Come, I just so happen to have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

He Xuan picked around the study table, and pulled out a few memorials and passed them to him, “Have a look at these first.”

The memorials all spoke of the locust plague, of which, two of them wrote requesting each province and city establish a locust god temple, and at the bottom, He Xuan swiftly marked them with an impudent with a red strokes, the strength of the brush was particularly heavy, seeping through the back of the paper. Xiao Zuo pretty much could imagine the scene when He Xuan was marking this memorial, how he tightly knit his brows, and bit down while scolding this bunch of old men.

Xiao Zuo could not help but curve his eyes, he slightly covered the smile in the corner of his eyes, and said, “Mm, why care for these old foolish bugs, they are bigoted and conservative, only value their own creations, that their knowledge only go into the pile of old papers.”

Xiao Zuo pouted his lips, and placed the memorials onto the table, “Now that winter has come, one could take in a breath, but next year during spring, I’m afraid the locust plague will rise again, what does your Highness plan on doing?”

He Xuan’s left hand propped on his cheek, while the right hand’s finger crooked, and lightly knocked on the table, “Since this many people is requesting for a locust god temple to be built, I can see that many of the commoners have this intent as well, confusing the right and wrong like this must be rid of.”

Xiao Zuo turned his head, and saw He Xuan write on the memorial for the emperor, “Locusts, mere pests, burial by fire will end it all, off to the ghost of gods.”

“In the past locust plagues at Nan Liang, Father had this idea as well, but the courts had many remonstrating, telling Father that bugs are the creation of the heavens, killing many of them would instead harm the harmony of the world, and was an image of cruelty, so it has been hard to put to action.”

He Xuan lightly sighed, “Inferior scholars harm the country.”

Xiao Zuo hung his eyes down, he pinched a corner of He Xuan’s memorial, subconsciously rubbed it, then said, “Your Highness, I do have an idea.”

“En?”

“They say the commoners eat as a nature.” Xiao Zuo mischievously blinked at him.