“It’s no fun catching cicadas,” Huang Gonggong coaxed. “How about Xueya goes to the study with the Empress Dowager today to read some books?”
As soon as Xueya heard this, his face scrunched up in reluctance.
He Xulan, however, remained calm. “Alright then, Huang Dexing, have someone else go catch the cicadas. Let Zhu Qiu accompany Xueya to play.”
Xueya immediately turned to look at He Xulan. As soon as Huang Gonggong left, he moved closer to He Xulan. “Big brother, you’re the best.” He gave He Xulan a kiss on the cheek.
He Xulan turned to look at Xueya, raising an eyebrow slightly. Xueya blinked and kissed him again, this time on the lips.
“Make sure to take breaks while you’re playing, alright?” He Xulan said.
Xueya nodded eagerly. “I know, I know.”
Seeing Xueya so eager to go out and play, like a bird longing to be freed from its cage, He Xulan simply patted his head before letting him go.
***
By the lotus pond.
Xueya dipped his feet into the water, twisting his waist to lean forward and peer into a tall cylindrical container holding two crickets. “Why aren’t they fighting?”
The young eunuch beside him also bent down to take a closer look, then said, “It’s probably too hot; they don’t feel like fighting.”
Xueya picked up a piece of grass and carefully prodded the crickets inside, but after a long while, neither cricket moved much, leaving him disappointed.
“Your crickets aren’t impressive at all. The Empress Dowager said she won first place in a cricket-fighting contest back in the day.” Xueya tossed the grass aside and sat up, looking at the young eunuch squatting beside him.
Zhu Qiu, with his ordinary appearance, had gotten quite tanned after spending so much time playing with Xueya. When he smiled, his teeth stood out the most.
“My crickets are no match for the Empress Dowager’s,” Zhu Qiu admitted.
Xueya huffed, then turned his gaze toward the lotus flowers in the pond. The flower he had picked yesterday was ruined, so he wanted to pick another one today. As he scanned for the best-looking flower, Zhu Qiu suddenly sighed, reciting, “Truly, she is like a beauty from the Lotus Flower Palace, adorned like a lotus leaf swaying in the breeze.”
Hearing the words “lotus maiden,” Xueya immediately turned to Zhu Qiu. “Why are you talking about me out of nowhere?”
Zhu Qiu blinked in surprise. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
“Didn’t you just say something about a beauty?” Xueya asked.
“I was praising the lotus flower. Haven’t you heard that poem before? Even young children in my hometown can recite it,” Zhu Qiu replied.
At this, Xueya’s face flushed red. He didn’t mind appearing ignorant in front of people like He Xulan because he knew he wasn’t as smart as them, but in his mind, Zhu Qiu wasn’t better than him. Now, being teased by Zhu Qiu left him feeling humiliated.
“Of course I’ve heard it! I was just joking with you,” Xueya snapped. Not wanting to see Zhu Qiu for the moment, he sent him off to the kitchen. “The rose pastries in the small kitchen must be ready by now. Go fetch them for me.”
Zhu Qiu nodded and left. After he was gone, Xueya still felt the heat in his cheeks. Annoyed, he waded into the lotus pond and picked several lotus flowers before his mood finally improved.
The lotus leaves in the pond grew tall and dense. After Xueya had been in the water for a while, he heard footsteps approaching and assumed Zhu Qiu had returned. Remembering his earlier embarrassment, he decided to give Zhu Qiu a little scare.
Quietly, Xueya swam toward the sound of footsteps. When he glimpsed the hem of a garment, he reached out and yanked the person into the water. Then, laughing, he swam away and turned to see Zhu Qiu’s reaction, only to find it wasn’t Zhu Qiu at all, but Yin Qingxuan.
Xueya froze.
Yin Qingxuan didn’t seem to know how to swim. After being pulled into the lotus pond, he struggled desperately, sinking deeper with every movement. Once Xueya snapped out of it, he hurriedly swam toward Yin Qingxuan. As soon as he reached him, Yin Qingxuan grabbed hold of him tightly.
“Don’t hold on to me like that! I can’t swim if you grab me like this,” Xueya said, unable to move with Yin Qingxuan clinging to him.
Yin Qingxuan seemed to understand and loosened his grip slightly. Xueya quickly supported him and swam toward the shore. It took all of his strength to finally push Yin Qingxuan onto the bank. Exhausted, Xueya leaned on the edge of the pond, gasping for air.
Yin Qingxuan sat up and spat out several mouthfuls of water. Xueya, seeing this, moved a little farther away in disgust. Yin Qingxuan noticed Xueya’s movement and turned to look at him, still in the pond.
The usually well-groomed prime minister now looked disheveled, drenched and pale.
Xueya met his gaze and instinctively wanted to retreat. “I-I didn’t do it on purpose! I thought… I thought you were Zhu Qiu… Ah!”
Before Xueya could finish, Yin Qingxuan suddenly grabbed him, his gaze fixed on something at Xueya’s collar. Xueya followed his gaze and realized that his warm jade pendant had somehow slipped out. He hurried to tuck it back, but Yin Qingxuan grabbed it first.
This jade was special—it stayed warm in the winter and cool in the summer—so Xueya wore it even in the heat.
Yin Qingxuan studied the pendant thoughtfully for a while before slowly letting go. Xueya, who hadn’t dared to resist for fear the string might break and the pendant would fall into the pond, quickly swam away once he was free, hiding behind the lotus leaves and watching Yin Qingxuan warily.
Yin Qingxuan gave Xueya a cold look before standing up and walking away.
Once he was gone, Xueya’s heart finally settled back into place. Right now, the person he feared encountering most in the palace was Yin Qingxuan, probably because nothing good ever happened when they met.
Due to Yin Qingxuan’s sudden appearance, Xueya lost the mood to continue playing by the lotus pond. He took the lotus flowers he had picked and headed ashore, planning to go back and change clothes. Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that Yin Qingxuan must have come to Ningfu Palace to find He Xulan. If he went back to change now, he might run into Yin Qingxuan.
He couldn’t let Yin Qingxuan find out about his relationship with He Xulan.
With this in mind, Xueya turned and went to a nearby empty palace. While soaking in the water earlier, everything had been fine, but now that he was out, his clothes clung to his body uncomfortably. As soon as he entered the empty palace, he started undressing and ended up completely naked, lying on the couch.
After a while, Xueya heard Zhu Qiu calling for him.
“Xueya? Xueya, where are you?”
“I’m here,” Xueya lazily replied, casually grabbing a piece of clothing from the floor and draping it over himself.
When Zhu Qiu came in and saw Xueya’s current state, he paused for a moment but quickly approached with the rose pastries in hand.
“Xueya, the small kitchen just finished making these,” he said, squatting down next to Xueya.
Xueya glanced over and reached out to take one, but then stopped, realizing his hands weren’t clean.
“Did you wash your hands?” he asked Zhu Qiu.
“I did. Want me to feed you?” Zhu Qiu offered.
Xueya opened his mouth in response, and Zhu Qiu carefully picked up a piece of pastry and held it to his lips. Xueya had grown accustomed to eating fine things in Ningfu Palace, so he was no longer in a rush to eat. He chewed slowly, while Zhu Qiu couldn’t help but stare at his crimson lips as they moved.
“What are you staring at? I want more,” Xueya scolded, giving Zhu Qiu a glare.
Zhu Qiu quickly picked up another piece, snapping out of his daze.
After eating three pieces, Xueya grew tired of the taste and didn’t want any more. His wet clothes clung to him uncomfortably, so he began eyeing Zhu Qiu.
Zhu Qiu hadn’t gone into the water that day.
Noticing Xueya’s gaze, Zhu Qiu looked at himself. “What’s wrong?”
“Let me borrow your outer robe,” Xueya said.
The higher-ranking eunuchs wore darker colors, while Zhu Qiu, being a lower-ranking eunuch, wore a light green robe. Xueya had Zhu Qiu turn around as he slipped on Zhu Qiu’s outer robe. With nothing on underneath, a section of his pale legs naturally showed.
He didn’t mind, though—he actually found it refreshing.
“Xueya, are we going out to play again?” Zhu Qiu asked.
Afraid of running into Yin Qingxuan, Xueya shook his head. “No, let’s just stay here. Do you have any good ideas?”
Zhu Qiu only knew outdoor games, so he felt a bit stumped. Seeing Zhu Qiu’s troubled expression, Xueya, still smarting from earlier embarrassment, suggested, “How about we play a guessing game? Whoever guesses right can ride a horse, and if they guess wrong, the person who asked the riddle gets to ride.”
“Riding a horse” didn’t mean riding a real horse but having someone act as the horse. Zhu Qiu had younger siblings at home and had played this game with them, so he quickly agreed.
Xueya, eager to regain some pride, insisted on asking the first riddle.
“I’ll go first, and you can guess.”
“Alright.”
Xueya wanted to ask a lantern riddle he had seen during the Lantern Festival, but he couldn’t remember any, mostly because he didn’t recognize many characters at the time. After thinking hard for a while, he finally came up with one.
“Guess this: it’s not a living person, but everyone calls it ‘Master.'”
Sure enough, Zhu Qiu looked confused, and Xueya secretly delighted. He had heard this riddle from a guest at Red Moon House.
“Hurry up and guess! If you can’t, I get to ride the horse,” Xueya teased, his eyes gleaming with pride.
Zhu Qiu thought for a long time before hesitantly asking, “Does such a thing really exist?”
“Of course! There are big ones, small ones, long ones, and short ones,” Xueya explained.
Zhu Qiu looked even more puzzled. Seeing this, Xueya leaned in closer. “If you can’t guess, just admit defeat. There’s no shame in it.”
“Alright, I give up. What’s the answer?” Zhu Qiu asked.
“Let me ride the horse first, then I’ll tell you.”
Hearing this, Zhu Qiu knelt down, ready for Xueya to hop on. Seeing how cooperative Zhu Qiu was, Xueya felt a little embarrassed. “Never mind, I won’t ride.”
“It’s fine. I used to carry my younger siblings like this all the time. Go ahead and get on,” Zhu Qiu encouraged, turning to look at Xueya.
The idea of riding a horse like this had come from Zhu Qiu in the first place, and Xueya had never played it before. He had always wanted to try but felt too shy to ask Zhu Qiu. Now that Zhu Qiu insisted, Xueya awkwardly climbed on.
Once they had taken a few steps, Xueya revealed the answer to his riddle: “The answer is ‘Mister Horn.'”
Zhu Qiu blinked in confusion. “What’s ‘Mister Horn’?”
“How can you not know ‘Mister Horn’?” Xueya grew anxious. “It’s that thing, you know.”
“What thing?” Zhu Qiu asked.
“Mister Horn is Mister Horn! How do you not know that? You’re so dumb,” Xueya said, frustrated.
Zhu Qiu shook his head. “Xueya, I really don’t know. What exactly is Mister Horn?”
“It’s something made to look like a man’s… you know, that part. That’s Mister Horn!” Xueya blurted out, raising his voice in his agitation. At that moment, the palace doors suddenly opened.
Both of them froze and turned to look at the entrance.
When Xueya saw who was standing at the door, he quickly scrambled off Zhu Qiu’s back.
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