A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 55.1

At a quarter past the hour of You (approximately 5:45 PM), Xie Yuan’s horse stopped in front of the Prince’s residence, and the guards waiting at the gate stepped forward to take the reins.

“Has the painter been invited?” Xie Yuan dismounted and walked towards the inner court.

Yan Feng replied, “The person refused to come. Following the Princess Consort’s wishes, our subordinates did not use force.”

“We can’t even get one person to come!”

Yan Feng offered a slight explanation: “Painter Huangfu has always acted on a whim. If he is unwilling, even if he were forcibly brought here, he would not put brush to paper.”

Xie Yuan let out a soft “Hmph,” his tone somewhat mocking, “A destitute fellow. He sold his ancestors’ prized possession, the ‘Picture of the Hundred Yue in the Evening Clouds’, yet he still puts on this air of nobility for whom?”

With a shouted announcement, everyone in the flower hall stepped out to greet him.

From a distance, Xie Yuan saw a person being dragged out from the flower hall area. He was heading towards the group and met them face to face. “Who is that person?”

Chen Liangyu said, “An insignificant person who must be temporarily detained in the residence. We cannot allow him to go out and stir up trouble.”

Xie Yuan vaguely guessed the person’s identity. “Yan Feng, find a few capable men to guard him.”

Xie Wenjun noticed that Xie Yuan looked displeased and that his voice held a hint of anger when he entered the residence.

“Third Brother, what troubles you?”

“Just a small matter.”

Yan Feng said, “Reporting to the Princess, the Princess Consort has been overly worried about the Xun family residence in Yongdu lately. His Highness heard that Painter Huangfu was traveling through Linxia and sent men to invite him to the residence to paint for the Consort. However, with the troop mobilization in Linxia, Painter Huangfu worried for his safety and changed his route to travel elsewhere. He absolutely refused to come.”

Xun Shuheng was approaching her delivery date, and her body was growing heavier. Activities like touhu (pitch-pot) and chuimaru (ball game) were no longer possible, and she had grown weary of listening to music and admiring flowers every day, with fewer ways to pass the time. She was concerned about the Xun family in Yongdu. Xie Yuan knew she would definitely ask about it upon his return, but he could not tell a lie, nor could he cover it up if he did. He only worried that if he told her the truth, Xun Shuheng would be unable to bear it, and the fetus might be harmed. He had originally intended to invite the painter to the residence, hoping that if he waited for her mood to be a little calmer before telling her, it might be better.

The matters of the military camp were already enough to make Xie Yuan flustered. The fact that even this small matter could go wrong caused him to momentarily show his helplessness.

Chen Luan’s right eyelid twitched violently a few times. He guessed that Xie Yuan was hiding something, which must be related to the Xun family in Yongdu.

“Why bother inviting someone else?”

Xie Yuan looked at the person who spoke, and his spirits lifted. “Miss Gu Xie?”

Gu Changxue’s eldest grandson, Gu Heng, and eldest granddaughter, Gu Xie, were famous for their talent in the southeast, and even in Yongdu. To show respect for Han Hong Academy and Grand Tutor Gu, Xie Yuan appended the phrase “Miss” after her name.

“Are there others from Han Hong Academy here?” Xie Yuan asked.

Grand Tutor Gu did not permit his descendants to enter government service, but now that Gu Xie had come to Linxia and appeared at the Prince’s residence, and Xie Yuan had only seen Gu Xie and Chen Luan, he guessed whether she had come with her elder brother, Gu Heng, hence the question.

No matter how talented, a woman was still just a woman. The standing of Han Hong Academy was maintained by Gu Changxue and Gu Heng. If Gu Heng was willing to pledge his allegiance now, the “Han Hong Faction” among the civil officials at court could be brought into his fold. Even if he could not fully achieve his goal, the students of Han Hong Academy who had not yet passed the imperial examination could be cultivated as close ministers.

Gu Xie said, “Xingqian is here too.”

Chen Luan bowed to Xie Yuan. “Your subordinate greets the Prince of Shen.”

“Dispense with the formality.”

Gu Xie said, “The Prince of Shen has a keen eye. This subordinate’s daughter did indeed bring a few talented and intelligent students with her. We dared not disturb you rashly, so we settled them at an inn. If Your Highness does not object, please grant them a position.”

Xie Yuan naturally accepted with a smile. “Yan Feng, go and invite them.”

“Thank you, Prince of Shen.”

Gu Xie turned and looked at Chen Luan. “Xingqian, your painting skill is outstanding. Why don’t you paint a portrait for the Princess Consort to alleviate His Highness’s worries a little?”

Chen Luan paused, then said, “My skill is inferior. If the Princess Consort does not mind, your subordinate is willing to serve.”

Coincidentally, Xun Shuheng heard that Xie Yuan had returned to the residence. She waited for a while by the moon gate connecting the inner and outer courtyards but did not see him, so she walked out to see what was happening, just in time to hear them discussing painting.

As she walked to the corridor, she heard Gu Xie say, “When Xingqian first entered the academy, his painting skills were indeed quite unbearable. He has made great progress in the last two years. A while ago, he took a copy he had painted to the academy, and even my grandfather had to look closely to distinguish it from the original. His fellow students joked that he was practicing his painting skills so diligently to try and flirt with some young lady. If he wanted to flirt with a girl, why would he need to engage in refined arts? Just standing there is enough to attract a crowd.”

Chen Luan looked at Gu Xie wordlessly. “It wasn’t the students who were joking about me, it was you, Miss, who said that.”

Gu Xie had a thick layer of fine gauze wrapped around the palm of her hand. She swung it, making a ‘stop’ gesture suspended in the air. “That is not important. What is important is that we now need your exquisite brushwork to draw a painting for the Princess Consort and the little prince or princess in her belly to relieve their boredom.”

Gu Xie was very careful with her words. Even though Xie Yuan’s accession to the throne was a certainty, only needing one final push, she did not overstep her bounds by calling the unborn child in Xun Shuheng’s belly an Imperial Prince or Princess before that push.

Xun Shuheng, like a puppet being manipulated, was ushered and surrounded into the flower hall and seated on a pear wood chair cushioned with a soft mat.

The heavy atmosphere eased a little.

A group of servants successively set up an easel, spread paper, and ground ink. Everyone was waiting for the masterpiece under Chen Luan’s skillful brush, temporarily casting aside the affairs of the nation.

Chen Luan held the brush across the desk, neither dipping it in ink nor looking at her, nor looking at the paper.

He tried to calm his mind, but felt more and more unsettled.

A beauty sits quietly in a tavern by the window.

The graceful figure, which he had sketched countless times in his heart, had irreversibly faded with the passing of days. By the time he could paint the Goddess of Frost and the Goddess of the Moon, he could no longer clearly recall the eyes and eyebrows of the young lady who had gently held the jade cup that day.

Chen Liangyu inexplicably recalled some past events. She knew that her second brother had once met a girl he admired, but soon after that, the imperial examination was suddenly moved up, and he didn’t have time to make arrangements. If that girl was Ah Heng… what a genuine pity!

No wonder her second brother had seemed subtly strange since arriving at the Prince of Shen’s residence.

This strangeness must absolutely not be seen by others!

As if sensing something, Chen Luan turned his head and his eyes met Chen Liangyu’s for a moment. He then said, “‘Phoenixes fly together, their wings rustling’, why not have His Highness the Prince of Shen and the Princess Consort enter the painting together?”

Xie Yuan was slightly pleased and nodded in approval.

Feng Huang Yu Fei (Phoenixes fly together), besides implying the harmony between husband and wife, also carries another meaning: the phoenix flies in the blue sky, with hundreds of birds following. The meaning was excellent, and Xie Yuan readily accepted this subtle congratulation.

Chen Liangyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Yuan sat down next to Xun Shuheng. In the blink of an eye, Chen Luan had already finished preparing the ink.

Lines flowed quietly from the tip of the brush onto the Xuan paper. Every stroke was familiar, without the slightest hesitation or pause, as if it had been sketched a thousand times in his mind.

His expression was focused and serene, but the heartbeat beneath his skin was the complete opposite, throbbing loudly.

The sudden sound of horse hooves, like a drum roll, rang in his ears.

It was not until everyone looked towards the outside of the residence, cut off by high walls, that Chen Luan realized the sound of horse hooves he heard did not come from his heart.

Yan Feng hurried back to Xie Yuan’s side and reported, “Your Highness, the generals are riding towards the Prince’s residence.”

“Has Strategist Yan returned?”

“No, Strategist Yan has gone to deploy the troops at the various passes.”

Chen Liangyu pressed the corner of his eye, thinking, Strategist Yan is trying to shirk responsibility, is he?

It was certain that as soon as Xie Yuan left the camp and returned to the residence, Yan Baizhang had instigated these rough generals to chase him to the residence to offer their advice, while he himself hid far away. In the time it took to speak, a crowd had already gathered outside the gates of the residence. Leading the group was the General of the Wild Goose City Army, Feng Jiakun. He and the other generals pushed their way in, ignoring the guards’ attempts to stop them. They were a group of rough men in golden armor, their voices high-pitched, and the residence suddenly became a clamorous mess.

A few of them, while arguing with the guards, still instinctively held their buttocks, limping along, grimacing if they were accidentally bumped.

It was truly unscrupulous; they even managed to trick those who had just received military punishment into coming!

Dragon Fights in the Wild. Everyone wanted their master to become the emperor.

With everlasting glory within reach, the generals were boiling with enthusiasm, talking over one another.

“Your Highness, you must not hesitate any longer! The troops from Yongdu are less than two hundred li from Linxia!”

“Prince Qi murdered his brother and forced the Emperor to abdicate, disrupting the social order, killing the loyal, and condoning corrupt officials who seize people’s land and harm their interests, causing unrest in the nation and suffering for the common people. How can we tolerate the villain’s arrogance?”

“Since His Majesty has abdicated, if Prince Qi can sit on that throne, Your Highness can too! How can someone who disregards the laws of nature like Prince Qi be the sovereign father of the people?”