The White Moonlight Turns Out to Be a Black-Hearted Lotus - Chapter 19

Early the next morning, the decree-bearing eunuch arrived aggressively, carrying the Emperor’s oral instructions.

The Emperor sternly rebuked him for being disrespectful to his elder brother and failing to care for his younger brother. He suspended him from his duties and ordered him to reflect on his actions at home. No specific duration for this reflection was mentioned; it likely depended entirely on the Emperor’s whim.

The fact that Pei Xu had been abducted by the Crown Prince’s men was not convenient to bring into the light. After all, it involved the life of an official’s son, and a full investigation would be difficult to conclude cleanly.

With that context suppressed, even though they were in the right, they appeared to be in the wrong. Stripped of the cause, the situation looked as though Ji Yuanhui had broken into the Crown Prince’s palace for no reason, suffered a sudden fit of violence, beat his second brother and younger brother to a pulp, and then swaggered away.

Ji Yuanhui didn’t care much about this.

Usually, when a child tells you the bed is warm, it’s because they’ve already wet it.

The Old Emperor’s decree to strip him of his post had come so quickly because the man had been harboring ill intentions for a long time. He was just waiting for Ji Yuanhui to make a mistake out of negligence so that the pre-prepared decree could be put to use.

Had the one doing the beating been the Crown Prince or the First Prince, they wouldn’t have lost their positions. At most, they would have been told to give the victims some gifts as an apology, and the matter would have been settled.

Let it be revoked then. His focus wasn’t there anyway; that idle post in the Ministry of Rites kept him busy all day with God-knows-what useless trifles.

Coincidentally, Pei Xu’s birthday was only a day or two away. It would be just in time to stay home and accompany him through these few days before getting busy with other matters.

As soon as the eunuch left, Ji Yuanhui ordered his favorite horse to be brought out and asked Pei Xu if he wanted to go for a ride together.

Although Pei Xu was a skilled rider, the injury on his hand made it inconvenient for him to ride alone, so the two shared a single horse and went for a few laps.

Ji Yuanhui’s horse was a temperamental one. Carrying an extra load today, it refused to run after two laps, choosing instead to wander slowly in a specific direction.

“Longyun, Longyun…” Ji Yuanhui tugged the reins, calling the white horse’s name. But the horse ignored him and continued its leisurely pace.

“Sigh, this little horse.” Ji Yuanhui smiled. After a few fruitless calls, he stopped pulling the reins. Since there was nothing to do today, he decided to simply follow the horse’s lead. “The older it gets, the bigger its temper.”

Pei Xu affectionately stroked the mane on the horse’s neck. He had seen this horse when it was still a foal. Back then, they were in Longxi, and one day Ji Yuanhui’s uncle brought two white foals for them to choose from—one was irritable and the other gentle. Ji Yuanhui chose the one with the bad temper and was thrown many times before he finally tamed it.

Pei Xu turned his head to look at Ji Yuanhui: “Why didn’t Your Highness bring Fushuang along as well?”

Fushuang was the name of the other horse, which had accompanied him for over a year in Longxi.

“Unluckily, it fell ill when it was time to return to the capital. The distance between the capital and Longxi is too great; I feared that forcing it to travel would kill it on the road, so I left it in the care of my uncle.” Ji Yuanhui wrapped his arms around Pei Xu’s waist and held him tight. “My uncle mentioned it during our last correspondence. He said it’s doing very well now, so there’s no need to worry.”

As they chatted idly, the horse stopped and refused to move any further, standing still to graze.

“How did we end up here?” Ji Yuanhui laughed and patted the horse’s head. “Have you been pampered by that old Taoist?”

The horse chewed its grass and ignored him.

“You haven’t been here yet, have you?” Ji Yuanhui dismounted and then helped Pei Xu down, smiling with a hint of mischief. “On this mountain is the Taoist temple of that old priest who went to the manor to treat you. He has a beautiful plum grove. Do you want to go pick a few branches?”

Pei Xu was curious: “Are there still plum blossoms at this time of year?”

Ji Yuanhui led him up the stone steps: “They were still blooming when I came last time.”

At the entrance of the temple halfway up the mountain, a young acolyte was sweeping fallen leaves with a broom.

Ji Yuanhui called out to him: “Little one, is your master in today?”

The acolyte nodded: “A distinguished guest has been visiting these past few days, so Master hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Ji Yuanhui found this strange. Besides himself, someone actually came to this dilapidated place to find that old Taoist?

Ji Yuanhui asked: “Who is the visitor?”

The boy shook his head: “I don’t know.”

Ji Yuanhui didn’t press him further and headed straight for the plum garden.

To his surprise, the garden that had been blooming brilliantly just a few days ago was now completely withered. He touched the dry branches of a plum tree, feeling a momentary trance as if the past splendor had only been a dream.

The Taoist, pinching his fingers in calculation, suddenly appeared behind them: “I calculated early on that someone would come to annoy me today, and sure enough, it’s you, little thief.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Ji Yuanhui clutched his chest and turned around: “Why are you like a ghost…”

Pei Xu frowned and leaned in to whisper to Ji Yuanhui: “Your Highness, who is this?”

Ji Yuanhui suddenly froze, his mind going blank for a long moment. He asked with a tone of suspicious disbelief: “You… which one are you?”

“I am merely a few years younger.” The Taoist brushed back his high-bound black hair and raised an eyebrow. “Boy, do you dare not recognize me?”

“You’re really that old Taoist?” Ji Yuanhui looked at his spirited, twenty-something appearance and said incredulously, “What kind of evil sorcery did you practice to regain your youth? Did you eat a child?”

The Taoist swatted him with his fly-whisk: “Go pick a branch of blossom.”

Ji Yuanhui didn’t move: “Why?”

“The consultation fee.” The Taoist narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Pei Xu. “I will examine him; you go pick a beautiful blossom.”

Pei Xu couldn’t help but speak up: “But the flowers here have already fallen…”

“What, you’re already feeling protective because I asked him to do such a small task?” The Taoist smiled. “I didn’t say the flower must be from this mountain. If he is sincere, he could go down the mountain on horseback and buy one now; there’s still time.”

“I’ll go pick one,” Ji Yuanhui agreed immediately. “What kind of flower do you want?”

The Taoist said cheerfully, “Any flower is fine, as long as it is beautiful.”

“This Taoist is quite skilled in medicine, but his temper is a bit eccentric.” Ji Yuanhui squeezed Pei Xu’s hand reassuringly. “Nian-Yi and Nian-Qi are nearby. If anything happens, just call them. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Nian-Yi and Nian-Qi were his usual secret guards. After the recent incident, Ji Yuanhui had become much more cautious and began bringing them along even for ordinary outings.

The Taoist held his sleeves: “Speaking ill of me right to my face, are you?”

Ji Yuanhui gave him a deep look: “Don’t you dare give him anything strange to eat.”

“Rest assured, rest assured. I am a very kind elder.”

Ji Yuanhui turned and left. The Taoist’s fox-like eyes squinted as he looked at Pei Xu: “Let’s chat under the pavilion over there. It’s about to rain.”

Pei Xu looked at the sky and didn’t think it looked like rain. But since the Taoist had already started walking, he could only follow.

Just as they reached the pavilion, the horizon darkened. Besides the Taoist who had already sat down, there were two others in the pavilion, looking as though they had been sitting there for a long time.

Pei Xu bowed with his hands clasped: “Forgive the intrusion.”

The two seemed to be master and servant, one sitting and one standing. The seated individual looked toward him upon hearing his voice and gave a slight nod.

Pei Xu was caught off guard by the person’s eyes. In that brief moment of eye contact, he felt like a mouse locked in the gaze of a venomous snake, unable to move as a chill ran up his spine.

It was a look of scrutiny and assessment from a superior. Simply being looked at for a moment by those cold, desolate, and murderous eyes was enough to turn his mind completely blank.

Thump, thump. The Taoist slowly tapped the wooden pillar of the pavilion twice, the sound carrying a faint warning. “That’s enough. Why are you scaring a child?”

As the Taoist’s voice fell, the person shifted their gaze as if nothing had happened and continued drinking tea.

“Come over here.” The Taoist gestured with his chin for him to sit beside him. “It’s going to rain; don’t stand out there like a fool.”

Pei Xu hesitated for a moment, looked back at the approaching dark clouds, and eventually sat down.

The Taoist yawned: “Stretch out your hand and place it on the table.”

Pei Xu did as he was told and said softly: “Thank you.”

“The last time that boy kidnapped me down the mountain to see you, you looked half-dead. Judging by this pulse, you’re much better now.” The Taoist felt his pulse and said slowly, “You’ve been drinking the prescription I gave you?”

Pei Xu nodded.

“Keep drinking it. I’ll tell you when it’s time to stop.” The Taoist withdrew his fingers from his wrist. “The injury on your hand is an external one; it’s no big deal. Just take good care of it for half a month, and it will be fine.”

“Thank you, Daoist.” Pei Xu hesitated before asking, “Was the one who came to the manor last time also you? I remember it was an elderly gentleman with white hair…”

The Taoist interrupted him: “All appearances are illusions. Why bother with such trivialities?”

“I stand corrected.” Seeing that he was unwilling to pursue the topic, Pei Xu asked about something else. “I have yet to ask for your honorable name, Daoist.”

The Taoist said: “My surname is Bai, given name Jinzhao.”

To Pei Xu’s surprise, after the Taoist finished speaking, the person sitting silently to the side suddenly spoke. In an indifferent tone, they said, “A meeting is destiny. What is your name, young master?”

Pei Xu hadn’t expected him to strike up a conversation. For some reason, he felt nervous and replied carefully: “My surname is Pei, given name Xu, courtesy name Zehuai.”

The momentary eye contact from earlier had left him with nothing but lingering fear; he didn’t remember the face belonging to the gaze at all.

It was clearly a face so beautiful it was almost unnatural, stunning enough to make one overlook his age, yet no one dared to let their gaze linger on it. His aura was too cold and sharp; even just sharing the same space, one would be tormented by an inescapable sense of oppression.

With a fleeting glance, Pei Xu quickly looked away. Even though the person now had their eyes lowered and wasn’t looking at him, he didn’t dare look again.

“So it is, Master Pei.”

The person then asked some questions about his ancestral home, his age, and which academy he attended. This was almost a rude interrogation. Rather than a casual chat between strangers, it felt more like a superior’s review of a new subordinate.

As Pei Xu answered, the person would occasionally hum to indicate they were listening. They held a string of sandalwood prayer beads, turning them occasionally while lost in thought.

On the contrary, the man dressed as a servant standing behind him nodded as he listened, his face full of kind smiles.

The rain began to pitter-patter down, and Ji Yuanhui finally returned.

He placed one of the two magnolia branches he had picked on the table and said to the Taoist, “The consultation fee.”

The other branch was stuffed into Pei Xu’s hand. Pei Xu held the damp flower branch, startled for a moment. As he took the flower, he realized Ji Yuanhui’s mood was wrong.

Ji Yuanhui’s wet hand tightly gripped Pei Xu’s wrist, shielding him behind his back. Like a bristling lion, he said in a voice full of wariness and alarm: “Why are you here?”

The aura of the person opposite him turned two degrees colder, and their brow furrowed deeply: “Rebellious son, have your manners been fed to the dogs?”