[Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw] Chapter 97

Published by kahka View all posts by kahka10-12 minutes 09.07.2023

Chapter Ninety-seven,
Emotional Wound

“You must know already.” Fu Zhan Chuan held up a lamb skewer in one hand, his mouth dripping with oil. He took up a handkerchief and randomly wiped around without a care, then said in a muffled voice and puffed cheeks, “You must’ve scolded me inside for a long time.”

“So you do have some self awareness.” Xiao Zuo indifferently watched the Hu woman in front dance a Hu Whirl[1], the ankles hung with silver bells, tinkling around when she spun, bewildering people’s minds.

Fu Zhan Chuan stuffed a plate of lamb skewers into his stomach, licked his lips like he didn’t have enough, picked up the green tea to the side and poured half the pot, then smacked his lips, and sighed, “Our Fu family actually long already swore loyalty, his Highness the Crown Prince……”

Fu Zhan Chuan turned his head to look towards Xiao Zuo, he was staring at the gaudy carpet in front of the table in a daze, thinking to something, “In the future, he will be a wise ruler.”

“En.”

“What?” Fu Zhan Chuan froze for a second.

“Nothing.” Xiao Zuo turned, and did not look to him, then picked a bean paste bun in the shape of a rabbit and took a bite, “Finished?”

“I was wrong, sorry, don’t be mad anymore.” Fu Zhan Chuan could adapt at will, and staggered over to Xiao Zuo with an apologetic smile, “I will apologize to you, great men forgives past wrongs……”

Xiao Zuo glanced at him, and swallowed the bean paste in his mouth, “Fine, fine, I’m not blaming you either.” Paused, then said, “If you have nothing to do, you can talk about the latest news with me.”

“Alright.” Fu Zhan Chuan sat down after pulling up the hem of his clothes, then crossed his legs and tossed a peanut into his mouth, “You guys go down first.”

The Hu women dancing stopped after hearing it, once the people in the room left, Fu Zhan Chuan then said, “The Fourth Prince’s marriage has been set.”

Xiao Zuo lifted his eyes up, Fu Zhan Chuan merrily bent his body, and lowered his voice, “Why don’t you take a guess who it is?”

“How would I know?” Xiao Zuo’s lips twitched, “If you’re going to say it, just say it.”

“Boring.” Fu Zhan Chuan chewed on the peanut, then got up to pour water again like he couldn’t stop, “Zhao family’s legal daughter, that girl I saw too, she’s the most prim and proper, after marrying, she definitely will be disliked.”

“The Zhao family?” Xiao Zuo knitted his eyebrows, “A woman of the clear faction?”

“En, the Liu family wants to take this chance to pull the clear faction into this swamp, probably, and force them to stand together.”

Xiao Zuo hung his eyes down as though in thought, “Didn’t He Yang like to go to the brothels to play around before?”

“That’s right.” Fu Zhan Chuan sipped on the teacup, “In this half year you weren’t here, he and a courtesan from the Shui Yunwater cloud Space were all this and that, I heard that he was even clamouring to bring them into the residence as a concubine.”

“Now that it’s mentioned, why hasn’t Qing Shuang come today?”

“He’s been hiding from Liu Wen Xun as of late, if there isn’t anything, he won’t go out.”

“Hiding?”

Fu Zhan Chuan nodded his head, “Yes, that idiot Liu Wen Xun, said he must marry him, isn’t this just some foolery?”

Xiao Zuo’s forefinger lightly knocked on the wall of the teacup, “From how I see Liu Wen Xun, it might be serious.”

“Even if he is serious, his Liu family……” Fu Zhan Chuan twitched his mouth, “Never mind, never mind, let’s not mention this, you’ve just managed to come back, I’ll bring you to another restaurant to eat at night.”

Xiao Zuo propped his cheek with his right hand, and rejected with a faint smile, “No, I’m eating with his Highness for dinner.”

Fu Zhan Chuan abruptly choked up due to him, even someone as sharp-mouthed as him froze for a short moment, then hesitantly asked, “You…… and his Highness, are rea…… really?”

Xiao Zuo calmly looked back, “That’s right.”

Fu Zhan Chuan looked at Xiao Zuo for a moment with a complicated expression, then pursed his lips, “Since you already settled your mind, then I won’t say much. But…… whatever, I’ve followed his Highness for so long, yet never seen him be so caring to someone before, when living in the world, since it’s so rare to meet with a lover……”

Fu Zhan Chuan lifted his head up, dumped a cup of tea in his mouth, then casually wiped the water stain on his mouth, “Get on ‘em.”

Xiao Zuo covered his face and turned his head, he thought, this fellow is going to say some world-inspiring words today, but…… while the words were crude, the reasoning was not.

“Then I”m heading back.” Xiao Zuo stood up, “Next time when you have a free day, let’s go drink.”

“Fine, I’ll bring you to the restaurant I mentioned.”

“Alright.”

❀

On the other side, He Xuan came back from the palace, and listened to Yin Xing in the study report to him.

“The Shui Yun Space?”

He Xuan lifted his eyebrows with some interest, “Did you find out what they are called?”

“Yes, their stage name is called Huan Honglikes string, plays the lute quite well, their family background has also been investigated, there isn’t much problem.”

“En.” He Xuan glanced at the door, then waved his hand, “You go down first then.”

Just as his words fell, the door creaked, Xiao Zuo tilted his head and smiled, with his hand holding a food box, “Brother Xuan!”

He Xuan curled his lips, faintly smiling like spring flowers all over the wild, “What did you bring?”

“Have a taste.”

He Xuan peeked his head in and looked, it was a pile of salty marinated duck, Xiao Zuo carefully used a toothpick to pick up one slice, and placed it to his mouth.

“That restaurant to the east of the city just opened today, I thought you would not come back for dinner.”

Xiao Zuo pretended to sadly hang his head down and sighed, “Am I this fickle in Brother Xuan’s heart?”

“Li Nu……” He Xuan suddenly bent over, both arms wrapped over Xiao Zuo’s waist, and pulled him into his embrace, his tone spilled with a hard-to-hide fatigue. Xiao Zuo froze, then clumsily patted his back lightly, and rubbed his temples, “What is it?”

He Xuan shook his head, his right hand slid down, and locked hands with Xiao Zuo, “Let’s go, let’s have dinner.”

Today in the palace…… Xiao Zuo looked at He Xuan’s broad back, and went into thought.

“Next month will be Father’s fiftieth birthday celebration, I will be a bit busier these days, so you just have dinner yourself, no need to wait for me.”

❀

“Join me for chess.” Xiao Zuo’s hand was holding a white piece, idly propping up his chin, and turned his head to look at He Xuan who just came in the door.

He Xuan smiled with raised eyebrows, and teased him, “Not like you can win against me, you will get unhappy again when you lose.”

“No, this time I will definitely win.” Xiao Zuo lifted his chin like he had a plan in mind, and urged He Xuan, “Hurry, hurry.”

He Xuan hung his outer robe onto the rack to the side, then lifted the robe’s hem and sat down, “Alright, let me look.”

One quarter-hour later, Xiao Zuo knitted his eyebrows while looking at the white pieces all completely surrounded, and admitted defeat with a bitter face, “Next time.”

He Xuan lazily poured a cup of tea for him, and comforted with no sincerity, “En, you will definitely win next time.”

Xiao Zuo took a sip of tea, then watched He Xuan clean up the chess pieces, and suddenly opened up, “Did Fu Zhan Chuan…… meet with some setbacks in love?”

He Xuan paused, placed the black and white pieces separately into the jars and put on the lid, then asked neither hurriedly nor slowly, “Why suddenly ask this?”

“Just…… today we were talking, and once love was mention, I always felt he……” Xiao Zuo thought, “Had something on his mind.”

“It’s considered so.” He Xuan hummed for a moment, then said, “When Fu Zhan Chuan was young, he lived on the same street as a lady, the two’s families were also long-time friends, so they can be called childhood friends. Later on, that lady’s father took another post, and was going to leave the capital. At that time, Zhan Chuan was thin-skinned, and found it awkward to ask for marriage in advance, and thought about waiting for that lady a few more years when she was of age to mention it, but did not think that family, in the journey, encountered mountain bandits, and the lady was also murdered.”

Xiao Zuo did not think that Fu Zhan Chuan had this painful past, he went silent for a moment, held his cup of tea and drank it all, then sighed, “No wonder he told me……”

“What?”

Xiao Zuo’s face went hot and cleared his throat, and changed the topic in attempts to hide it, “Nothing much, I just didn’t see that this fellow Fu Zhan Chuan ever was heartbroken.”

He Xuan’s eyes slightly moved, but did not continue to chase the question, and cooperatively followed him, “En, their family also knows of this, so did not urge him to marry.”

“Want to go out and take a walk in two days?” He Xuan pushed open the door to have the maid bring hot water, and wet the handkerchief while asking. In the yellow-bronze mirror, his features got brushed with the dense vapour, and each inch turned just about gentle.

Xiao Zuo came to, then said, “Is there any newly-opened stores?”

“The east of the city just opened a snack store, all of it is mixed with chili, so you can go buy some on the way.”

“Alright, then I will bring Zi Wan together.”

Once He Xuan finished washing up, he walked to the side of the bed and started changing clothes. The action of him removing his clothes was especially pleasing to the eyes, the slender fingers had distinctive bones, slowly undoing the clasps on the neck, naturally bringing a teasing indolence and desire, making Xiao Zuo watching uncontrollably get feverish.

“I hear that Zi Wan’s marriage is going to be set soon.”

Xiao Zuo froze, his hand shook while washing his face, and the handkerchief fell into the basin, dampening his chest with the splashes, “How did I not know about this?”

“Perhaps it did not get finalized, so she did not tell you. You can go ask about it this time [when you go out with her].”