After calling off the servants, Qi Xutian didn’t let anyone announce his arrival. While holding Qi Mingyue, he stepped into Ningxi Pavilion. All the while walking, he noticed the abnormal atmosphere. As expected, when they arrived at An Ruolan’s door, they saw Zhi Lan and another maid standing outside, and the sound of things breaking could be heard.
Shushing the two up, Qi Xutian pushed opened the door and entered.
The atmosphere inside was tense, the floor was messy with shattered articles lying around. An Ruolan was sitting at the dressing table, her back facing them. Looking at the vacant surface of the table, one could see where the shattered pieces came from.
At the side of the window was a man in a snow-white robe with his dark hair tied loosely behind his head, looking out of the window. His lips were pressed together and his chest heaved, it looked like he was really angry.
Qi Xutian purposely made more noise as he walked in. The man was shocked and turned to see Qi Xutian. Instead of panicking, however, he organized himself slowly then approached him to pay his respects, “Ziqi greets Your Majesty.”
The men of the palace were only referred to by their true names, but the name ZiQi was known even by Qi Mingyue. He was one of the most favoured male concubines in the harem. However, he never became prideful because of this. He wore plain white clothes, but his presence was elegant and indifferent. The only thing about him was that his background wasn’t simple, he was the young son of Official Han of the Privy Council, therefore, no one dared to talk ill about him.
Looking at him up close, it was just like the rumours had portrayed him to be. He was a handsome man and didn’t show a hint of femininity. His steps were firm and his posture was straight. He greeted Qi Xutian with the manners of a noble and not a sign of imperfection was in sight.
Just as Qi Mingyue was observing this noble, An Ruolan slowly turned back. A trail of tears ran down her beautiful face, just like a pear blossom under the rain, extremely moving yet pitiful. Her brows were slightly knitted together as she spoke, “Your majesty, Concubine ZiQi and I were just chatting. I didn’t know that your majesty would be coming today and lost courtesy. Please allow me to be forgiven..." She turned to greet Qi Xutian as she spoke, unexpectedly, her body weakened and she tripped on her skirt. It looked like she was about to fall onto the floor.
Qi Xutian took a step forward, held her waist by embracing it with one hand while the other held Qi Mingyue. At this moment, they looked like one happy family. Ziqi looked at this scene and lowered his eyes, it wasn't known what he was thinking.
“Ruolan even smashed her favourite makeup. What made you so sad? Is it something that ZiQi said?”
Listening to this, An Ruolan buried herself into Qi Xutian’s chest and began to cry, looking as if she had suffered some great injustice. Anyone could guess that it was ZiQi who said something that made her as such, but just now she had insisted that they were just chatting. It appeared that Mother knew her way around words, but it was surprising that she ignored her own son. Qi Mingyue’s jumped down from Qi Xutian's arms, “Father should comfort Mother more. It's been a long time since I left the palace and feel a bit unfamiliar with it. I want to look around a bit." He said casually. While rummaging around the things on the dressing table, he took the opportunity to observe Ziqi.
Han ZiQi stood against the pillar, his expression was unknown. As Qi Mingyue observed him carefully, his eyes flashed and he suddenly asked, “Seeing Father dote on Mother so much, does Concubine ZiQi feel upset?”
At this time, Qi Xutian was gently comforting An Ruolan in his arms, but his eyes were looking at Qi Mingyue. He saw him standing beside ZiQi, looking up at him and asking seriously.
Only then did Ziqi raise his head, “My apologies, in my shock, I forgot to greet the Second Prince. Please forgive me for my carelessness.” Despite being a male concubine, he was still below the women of the harem. When meeting a prince, the rules specified that he must greet him properly.
The Second Prince was wearing a pale white robe with a silver hair tie holding his hair in a bun which appeared disarrayed. He spotted that the lapels of his robe were stained with blood and exclaimed, “The Second Prince is hurt?” Despite saying that, his face was still expressionless, not showing a single sign of surprise.
“Prince is hurt?” An Ruolan exclaimed, lifted her tear-stained face from Qi Xutian’s arms, and asked, “Your Majesty, is the prince alright?”
“No need to worry, Consort Mother.” Qi Mingyue walked towards her and stood on his tiptoes to help her wipe away her tears, “It’s nothing but a scratch, the royal doctor has seen it already, don’t worry.”
“The royal doctor has seen it? What did he say?” She seemed very nervous and confirmed it with Qi Xutian, “Is he really alright? Where was he hurt? How did it happen?”
“It’s just a scratch and it has stopped bleeding. It won’t be a huge problem. I wanted him to rest in Xuantian Palace, but he insisted on seeing you.” Qi Xutian turned around and held Mingyue in his arms.
The things that happened in the Royal School were probably already out, who didn’t know about it? Qi Mingyue smiled brightly in his embrace, “I’ve not seen Mother recently, but I miss you dearly. Now that I’ve finally gotten to go study in the royal school, and even got slightly injured, I still wanted to come to visit.”
“That year that you left me, you were just a hundred days old, so small. Now that you're so big, I can’t even recognize you. Seeing that you're so clever and cute, I’m relieved.” Seeing Qi Xutian being so loving towards him, An Ruolan felt conflicted.
In the past, she referred to him as YueEr, but now she called him prince[1]. It looked like the five years apart had changed her, or maybe it was Tan Wu’s words that had changed her. Qi Mingyue continued to smile, looking cute and innocent.
Qi Xutian finally asked: “Does Ziqi have business with Ruolan?” Looking at the shattered things on the ground, “What did you discuss that made Ruolan smash everything? Is it because I haven’t been visiting you recently, and you’re upset?” He said as he smiled towards Han ZiQi.
Han ZiQi hung his head, “I do not dare.”
Qi Xutian grinned and ambiguously said, “Tonight I’ll come to Youye Pavilion to make amends, what do you say?” Even though it was phrased like a question, the result had already been determined.
Qi MingYue shook his head internally, only an Emperor could do something like this, comforting one while promising another. His father was really competent.
An Ruolan didn’t seem to care about their conversation, and stared blankly at the mirror on the makeup desk, her mind wandering.
Qi Mingyue withdrew his gaze and fell softly on Qi Xutian, “Father…” He grumbled. Qi Xutian gently rubbed his back, “MingEr is tired, we’ll be heading back.” And with that, they left.
Outside the door, Zhilan and Han Ziqi’s servants were still standing side by side. Chief Liu didn’t stand far away, and upon seeing them come out, he silently followed.
Qi Mingyue suddenly muttered, “The leader of the Light Blades is definitely someone special, it’s making me look forward to it.” He had noticed long ago that when they entered his mother's chamber, someone was silently monitoring them as a protective gesture. However, once they left, it vanished. It wasn’t from someone’s stare but a type of atmosphere that normal people wouldn’t be able to pick up on. It was like walking into a dark room. Although they couldn't see it, some people were still able to feel the existence of another. Qi Mingyue had this ability in his past life and was able to judge if someone was a friend or foe at the critical moment. He’d never thought that he would have it in this life as well, it seemed like the ability was embedded in his soul.
As expected, Chief Liu snapped his head up, and for the first time, he saw a surprised expression on his face. But he quickly pulled himself back together and his expression turned calm. However, there was an imperceptible sense of respect in him, “I am looking forward to Your Highness’ performance as well.”
Qi Mingyue couldn’t help but trace the wound on his forehead and hope for it to get better soon. He couldn’t wait to learn martial arts for self-defence.
Indus' Notes:
[1] An Roulan is calling Qi Mingyue 皇儿(huáng er) which literally translates to Emperor's son, that is, prince.
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