Chapter 23#
Gossip “I Don’t Like People.”#
The inner attendant waved his hand, unleashing a sleeve sword, and with one strike sliced the assassin’s throat. He said to Yu Shaoyun, “His Highness said you’ve regressed—your movements are far too clumsy!”
“What!” Yu Shaoyun slapped his forehead in the midst of the fight, steeling himself, “Damn their ancestors!”
The old inner attendant, despite his age, was quite agile. Bracing his sword on the ground, he instantly twisted a leg to snap another neck, then landed smoothly and spun around with another cold flash of steel that drank blood. He said slyly, “Who is ’their’?”
“Definitely not His Highness, you old fool, don’t try to trap me!” Yu Shaoyun shouted coldly at the ring of assassins, then, as if to clarify to the prince who had already run far off, added, “Damn your ancestors!”
The rain hit his face as Pei Xiting was dragged along, panting. “I thought Your Highness would stand unmoved amidst swords and blades.”
The crown prince’s breathing was steady, nothing like someone fleeing. “Weren’t you the one who didn’t want to hear or see?”
Pei Xiting paused, then laughed. “Sorry for that, I must have ruined your aura. I’ll make it up to you with a new set of clothes when we get back.”
The world’s knowledge was vast, and no one could learn it all. The crown prince was not ashamed to ask, “Aura?”
“You can interpret it as: presence or vibe.” Pei Xiting couldn’t see, and with a careless step, his toes struck a broken branch. He pitched forward without any warning, but the crown prince timely extended an arm to block him. That pair of arms was long and strong, lifting him up with ease.
Pei Xiting pulled the belt from his eyes, glanced at the calm-faced crown prince, thanked him, and continued running forward.
“But why are we running?” he said. “Can’t we find some corner to hide—”
A man jumped down from the tree ahead, swinging a blade straight at his head. In that instant, Pei Xiting had no time to react much. He instinctively let go of the crown prince’s hand, pushing the man away, while simultaneously dodging to the side.
The residual force of the blade tore Pei Xiting’s sleeve. He staggered, was kicked to the ground by the assassin, and fell into the mud.
Pain shot through his shoulder. Before Pei Xiting could catch his breath, the blade chased him down again. He didn’t move. He watched as the knife froze mid-swing, then dropped. A dark robe swirled in a blur, the momentary beauty of that swirl faded, and the knife was kicked away.
The branches behind him trembled, leaves rustling down.
Pei Xiting’s eyelashes fluttered. He saw a hand reaching from behind, abruptly snapping the assassin’s neck.
It was deathly pale, like a ghost’s hand in the rain, with a chilling and eerie beauty. Pei Xiting shuddered inexplicably—not just from fear, but also from a surge of excitement.
The assassin crashed to the ground, splashing mud onto Pei Xiting’s face. He turned his head, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the crown prince was leisurely wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
His stalled heart began to beat again. Looking up at the crown prince, Pei Xiting gasped for breath before saying, “Should I speak frankly now, or pretend I don’t know?”
The crown prince discarded the handkerchief and glanced at Pei Xiting. “Are you cursing me?”
“Not at all.” Pei Xiting pushed himself up from the ground, twisted his shoulder uncomfortably, and winced with a stifled groan. He pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe the mud off his face, then said slowly, “Your Highness’s life and safety are of utmost importance. I approached you voluntarily, showed you goodwill, and even proposed entering the Cage Crane Directorate. You suspect my motives and want to test me—I understand.”
The crown prince asked, “When did you realize it?”
Pei Xiting pointed at the assassin at his feet. “After he fell. Once the danger disappeared, my mind could work faster. Since you know you’re a frequent target of assassins, you would have made more thorough precautions when going out. If not, then you must be very confident. In that case, you wouldn’t have fled with me—since this situation isn’t that critical for you. I was a bit scared and didn’t want to hear or see more, but I also realize I haven’t hugged that thigh tightly enough to earn such consideration from His Highness.”
Pei Xiting was drenched and dirty, like a red fox bullied by the rain, trembling now and then—pitiful but not ugly. The crown prince’s gaze was calm. “I thought you would be resentful or aggrieved.”
“I thought you wouldn’t think I’d feel resentful or aggrieved. After all, my life is no treasure to you. Our statuses are far apart. According to protocol, dying for Your Highness is serving my lord, an honor. The Pei family would even build a shrine of loyalty for me.” Pei Xiting tossed away the filthy handkerchief and said openly, “When I’m sincere, I don’t know how to write ‘saying one thing but meaning another.’ I say what I mean.”
“You are restless but also forthright.” The crown prince withdrew his gaze. “Let’s go.”
Pei Xiting quickly followed. “Where to?”
“Hot spring.” The crown prince’s fingertip hooked slightly. A whistle cut through the air, and a man landed before him, holding an umbrella over him.
Pei Xiting glanced at the umbrella-bearing attendant, took the handle, and slipped under the umbrella as well. They were both drenched anyway—might as well take cover.
Seeing that the prince didn’t stop him, the shadow guard bowed and withdrew.
“There’s a hot spring here?” Pei Xiting asked. “Are you treating?”
The umbrella was large, and a clear-headed Pei Xiting knew his boundaries. Though they were close, they didn’t actually touch.
The crown prince walked leisurely ahead, saying, “I have a villa in the mountains. It’s free.”
“Such wealth,” Pei Xiting said with sour envy. “When can I become… well-off again?”
The crown prince was sharp. “Become again?”
“…I think I’ve been too poor lately,” Pei Xiting said earnestly. “I often dream I’m a spendthrift tycoon.”
The crown prince didn’t mock his dream. “Your paintings are very valuable. Don’t many people commission you?”
“I don’t want to paint for them,” Pei Xiting said. “They say they’re asking for a painting, but they come with condescension from the start. What nonsense.”
There was a bold, pampered air deep in his bones—a willfulness that “my happiness matters most” sometimes leaked out. It was one of Pei Xiting’s true colors. The crown prince’s gaze flickered. “Then paint more for me. I’ll pay you market price, or you can set your own price.”
It was a good shortcut to wealth, but Pei Xiting refused. “No. Your Highness is different from others.”
Another easily misunderstood remark. The prince paused. “Different how?”
“Haven’t I said it before? You’re my muse,” Pei Xiting said. “Painting you makes me happy—that’s payment enough.”
The crown prince stopped and turned to look at him. “I said I wanted you to paint for me, not paint me.”
Busted. Pei Xiting looked a little regretful but said sincerely, “You’re so handsome—what a shame not to paint you.”
The crown prince hesitated. “I’m handsome?”
“Don’t pull that ‘beautiful and unaware’ act on me,” Pei Xiting teased. “You’ve topped the ‘Yejing Dream Lover List’ for years. Everyone says His Highness is peerlessly handsome, with a divine, lofty bearing. Don’t you know how many lovesick maidens and youths pine for you?”
“Yu Shaoyun has mentioned that list. He said people run underground betting pools on who will become the crown princess.” The prince commented, “Utterly ridiculous. Nonsensical.”
“Gossip is a traditional virtue,” Pei Xiting said, taking the chance to pry. “Why haven’t you taken a consort? Don’t members of the imperial clan usually marry early and have children to spread the lineage?”
“Unnecessary,” the crown prince said.
“I don’t want to marry either, but I think romantic… affairs can be quite interesting. I just haven’t met the right spark.” Pei Xiting paused, then glanced sideways at the person beside him.
The crown prince caught that look and turned his head. “Hmm?”
Pei Xiting blinked. “What kind of person does Your Highness like?”
“I don’t like people,” the crown prince said.
Very in character. Pei Xiting laughed. “Then has anyone pursued you or confessed to you?”
“No,” the crown prince said.
“If you had a gentle, soft temperament, you’d be drowning in admirers. But you’re all about keeping people at arm’s length. Still, that’s fine,” Pei Xiting said. “Only the brave can climb the cliff and pick the flower on the precipice.”
The crown prince felt there was more to the young man’s words.