Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw - CH 56
Chapter Fifty-six,
“Yes.” Sun De Lu’s heart sunk, and figured this time, this fourth Highness was in for something bad than good, then brought the orders and walked towards He Yang’s carriage at the back. He Yang’s carriage was behind He Xuan’s, so when Sun De Lu passed by He Xuan’s carriage, he was stopped by [He Xuan].
He Xuan used one hand to lift the curtain, with the other hand propping his chin, as though only randomly asking, “Where is Sun gong’gong going?”
Sun De Lu bowed, then responded, “His Majesty would like to see the fourth Highness, so this servant is sending the message.”
“So it’s Father’s summons.” He Xuan nodded his head, with his expression natural, “Did he say what it was about?”
“This……” Sun De Lu revealed a slightly troubled expression, and cupped his hands towards He Xuan, “His Majesty did not say so, this servant does not dare to guess either, please forgive this one, your Highness.”
“Why say that, hurry off, Sun gong’gong, do not delay anymore.” He Xuan nonchalantly smiled, and put down the curtain.
Xiao Zuo picked up a dried plum from the plate and stuffed it in He Xuan’s mouth, then moved to He Xuan’s side, and asked in a low voice, “How is it?”
“Very smooth, of course.” He Xuan’s phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, and swallowed the plum in his mouth, and unfathomably curved his lips.
At this time, He Yang was lazily leaning on a chair, with two maids on the left and right massaging his legs, this was one thing he had learned plentifully from He Heng’s own conduct, with no perception of the mountain rains about to come.
“Fourth Highness, what song would you like this servant to sing today?” The maid to the left had a face like a peach blossom, their skin was like congealed wax, with a lotus flower drawn in the area where the corner of the eye was, bearing a flirtatious air in the purity, her voice was also charming like the cry of a mandarin duck, making people’s bodies go soft. He Yang enjoyably narrowed his eyes, then lifted his hand and stroked that maid’s face to and fro, and smiled, “What does Ling Huaplume’s splendour want to sing?”
That maid named Ling Hua slightly tilted her head, as though seriously giving it thought, then after a while, her eyes brightened up, and got close to say, “This servant just learned a small tune from the south a few days ago, should this one sing it for your Highness?”
Ever since the incident with the White Ears, He Yang always felt that it was a trap that Xiao Zuo purposefully set for him, but this wasn’t something Xiao Zuo forced on him- clearly, he was in a hurry to retrieve merit, and since this mess came from fighting for favours, it couldn’t be blamed on Xiao Zuo. He had no place to set off this sulky feeling inside, and now that he heard Ling Hua mention Nan Liang’s tune, he extremely upsettingly changed expression, and angrily said, “What is so bad about Jin, must you learn that fallen country to the south’s melodies?”
Ling Hua originally heard that the south’s tunes were soft and sweet, was much charming and gentler than the north’s tones, and thought it would make He Yang happier, who knew where she had offended He Yang that it made him say such heavy words. Ling Hua immediately panicked, hurried knelt down, and kowtowed with a sob, “It’s all this servant’s fault, this servant did not consider it, please have mercy, your Highness.”
When the beauty in front of him cried like a branch of pear blossoms in rain, her voice crisply made He Yang very much regret it, he was felt remorseful inside, then reached out and pulled Ling Hua into his arms, and coaxed in a low voice, “I spoke too heavily just now, don’t take it to heart, look at this fair and tender small face, if you cry, it won’t look good anymore.”
When Ling Hua saw He Yang turn soft, she naturally would not pass by this kind of good opportunity, she then quietly sobbed and leaned into He Yang’s embrace, and pulled on his sleeves and acted spoiled, “Then tonight, why don’t your Highness come to this servant’s place, and have this servant sing for your Highness?”
“Alright, alright, let’s do as you say.” This Ling Hua was fairly pretty, He Yang long already had intent to take her in as a concubine, so when he Ling Hua say this, he was very happy inside, and held Ling Hua while he was at it and did not let go.
Just at the time He Yang and Ling Hua were in deep affection, Sun De Lu coughed once outside the carriage, and reported, “Fourth Highness, this servant has especially come to bring his Majesty’s words.”
“Father’s?” He Yang at this time did not know what happened, he only knew that they were soon about to reach Wang Tong Hill, so He Heng probably looked for him to discuss the matter about the ancestral rite, then coaxed Ling Hua to have her first retreat, and he himself lifted the curtains and peeked his head out, “Thank you, Sun gong’gong, I will go now.”
After getting down from the carriage, He Yang then saw a bunch of people at the front crowded together, seeming to be some refugees fleeing from disaster somewhere. His heart tightened, and felt a kind of ominous air envelop his heart, and uneasily lowered his head immediately, then followed Sun De Lu forward.
“Go in, Fourth Highness, his Majesty is waiting inside.”
He Yang took a deep breath in- he carefully observed Sun De Lu’s expression, there wasn’t anything strange, and eased up a bit, and thought he was a bit too suspect just now, then bent his waist and entered the carriage.
He Heng sat at the top all alone, peeling grapes for himself to eat. Normally when He Heng summoned He Yang or the others, there would be maids at the side diligently serving him, but this time, there was only He Heng, making He Yang uncontrollably feel it was a bit strange.
“Father, have the servants do this kind of stuff, why have yourself do it yourself?” He Ynag smiled and walked in, and sat down beside He Heng by the way, and reached out in preparation to peel grapes for him. Who knew just as he sat down, he heard He Heng slightly sternly say, “Did Iz let you sit down?”
The hand He Yang used to grab the grapes froze, he slightly awkwardly stood up, this time, he was a bit happy that there was no one around, so his reputation as this dynasty’s fourth Highness would not fall. He stood to one side at a complete loss, he clutched his sleeves in embarrassment, and said with a smile, “Father is right, this son was in a hurry to help Father, then forgot the rules, forgive me, Father.”
“In a hurry to help mez?” He Heng was so angry he instead laughed. He lifted up a handkerchief from the side to wipe his hands, lightly glanced at He Yang, then opened his mouth, “Such a great son of minezhen, to help mez, does not even want a province’s commoner’s lives anymore.”
He Heng’s tone was extremely calm, and was not even as aggressive as the words He Heng used to scold him with when He Yang went against the teacher in class and did not write big characters in the past, but it was this kind of light description that made He Yang’s heart thump- he immediately knelt down, and hurriedly explained, “Father, the matters are not as you think they are, this son, this son……”
“Oh?” He Heng considerably gently smiled at him, but his voice wasn’t seen to be happy or angry, “Do speak then, I’llz listen to you explain.”
“This son, this son……” He Yang was normally accustomed with saying some smart words to make He Heng happy, but at a crucial point, He Yang’s brain turned into a complete mess, and felt the heart seemed like an incense stove burned all of its incense, only left with a floor of lonesome ashes. The more panicked he turned, the more he did not know how he should face this, He Heng was instead patient, and sat there waiting for him to open his mouth, so for the time being, the inside of the room sunk into a strange stalemate.
When He Heng’s patience was about to burn through, the curtain to the carriage was suddenly lifted up. Before Liu Fang Rui arrived, the accessories on her body ringing first arrived, the distinct sound of jades and gems knocking around seemed to rekindle a fire in He Yang’s ashened heart, he abruptly lifted his head, and blankly looked towards outside the carriage.
Liu Fang Rui was dressed in a deep-green palace dress, while the jade on the head flashed with an intoxicating light. She bore a faint smile, and clearly bowed, then said, “Your Majesty, what trouble has Yang’er caused again? This child has been troubling since young, always causing trouble here and there, he truly doesn’t let people at ease.”
“Why have you come?” He Heng lifted his eyes up, and faintly smiled.
Seeing He Heng’s expression have some loosening, Liu Fang Rui slowly made way to He Heng’s back, and massaged his neck for him, then continued, “If Yang’er has made some mistake, then this one will first apologize for him.” Liu Fang Rui lightly sighed, like she had recalled something, and opened her mouth, “Now that it’s mentioned, this one still remembers when Yang’er was five or six, there was one time he broke your Majesty’s most beloved lazuli cup. That lazuli cup was an item gifted from the western region, with just this one in these hundred years, so your Majesty treasured it very much, that even this one could not even look at it.”
He Heng lightly laughed, Liu Fang Rui then pursed her lips, and said, “That time, your Majesty was very angry, and raged towards Yang’er very much, Yang’er cried and ran to this one’s place, so this one asked him, why would he break this lazuli cup?”
“This one still remembers that Yang’er said, that is Father’s most beloved cup, he wanted to use it to hold his most favourite things, then gift it to Father. This one then asked him, what is Yang’er’s most favourite thing?”
“He said, the sun. He wanted to use that cup to fill it with the sun and give it to Father, this way, Father would forever be like the sun, rising highly every day, eternal and unceasing.”
Up to here, Liu Fang Rui clearly choked, she seemed to carelessly lift her hand up to wipe the tear on the corner of her eye, then smiled and said, “In Yang’er’s heart, your Majesty has always been like the sun.”
He Heng went silent, and after a long time, he slightly sighed, and patted the hand Liu Fang Rui placed on his shoulders, with his expression a bit weary, “Yang’er is a good child, Iz know.”
Liu Fang Rui heart eased up, she turned her head to give He Yang an easing gaze, then said, “If Yang’er has done something wrong, it is all for your Majesty, do give Yang’er a chance, your Majesty.”
He Heng’s eyes grew complicated, then lifted his eyes up and deeply looked at this woman who had accompanied him for half a lifetime. He still remembered when she first entered the palace, she was tender and adorable like a peach blossom dyed in the morning dew, making people unwilling to pick her from the branches. When he got off from the courts, he always liked sitting in her palace, Liu Fang Rui was like every embarrassed young girl, and would innocently share each day’s interesting thing with him- to a concubine of the palace, perhaps that would merely be a green butterfly caught in the royal garden.
Just when did it start, that the distance between him and Liu Fang Rui, slowly turned so unfamiliar? Their conversations turned to probes with hidden motives, when Liu Fang Rui was with him, he no longer found that innocence and ease that would be excited for half a day because they coincidentally encountered a good-looking flower blooming, she gradually turned like the other women in the palace, scheming for the throne and authority through all means possible. Just like that originally ignorant pure-white flower, now also dyed with some dark stains.
He Heng took his gaze back, and lightly sighed, “Iz know, go back first.” After finishing, he lifted his chin towards He Yang, “Go back too, Yang’er.”
“Thank you, Father!” He Yang looked at He Heng in practical disbelief, and stood up like he had been granted a pardon. He followed Liu Fang Rui out the carriage with slightly weak legs one after the other, and the caravan then slowly went forward again.
