Chapter 17 (1/2)
Chapter 17: Gentleman on a Roof Beam* – Part 1
(TN: ”梁上君子”; translates to a gentleman on a room beam but means thief)
Translated by: Kestrel
Edited by: Ritpoppy
In gathering darkness, surrounded by silence, with high winds blowing in the black night – this was exactly the time for skulking about.
Suddenly, a pair of whispering voices could be heard coming from the depths of an alley between the palaces. The two were speaking with lowered voices, acting extremely cautious.
One of them said, ”Yan jie-jie, are you done changing yet, it's really dark here, I-I'm a little scared, let's get going already.”
Ming ChangYan said, ”You're afraid of the dark? You can't be the best fighter in the country if you're afraid of the dark, you know.”
Zhao XiaoLan immediately changed his tune, ”I'm not scared, I'm just worried you might be scared!”
Ming ChangYan slowly walked out, still tying his belt, ”This outfit you got me sure looks familiar.”
Zhao XiaoLan smiled cutely, and said in an excited voice, ”It's a replica of Ming ShaoXia's night walking outfit that I bought from LingLong Pavilion. I've never let anybody else wear it before, but I'm letting Yan jie-jie because you like Ming ShaoXia!”
Ming ChangYan could feel a tiny headache coming on, thinking to himself that though this Zhao XiaoLan was certainly great at earning affection, he had a real one-track mind, always Ming ShaoXia this or Ming ShaoXia that; it was both funny and extremely embarra.s.sing.
Zhao XiaoLan had a wooden sword strapped to his waist, which swayed back and forth as he walked; Ming ChangYan traveled with him as they headed down the palace halls. He swayed his way down the straight and empty hallway with all the calm of someone taking a walk through a garden. Zhao XiaoLan, meanwhile, was totally immersed in the mood, hiding behind flower pots, crawling forward on the floor, ”sneaking” all over the place with boundless energy. Every gust of wind or whisper of gra.s.s was treated like the appearance of some great enemy, prompting him to pull out his sword in defense.
Ming ShaoXia truly couldn't watch any longer, grabbing him with one hand, ”What are you hiding for!”
Zhao XiaoLan was as startled like a rabbit from the sudden movement, ”It said in 《The n.o.ble Gentleman Way》! When going out at night you shouldn't just walk around right out in the open, you've got to avoid the opponent!”
Ming ChangYan pointed a finger forward and back, ”The spot you picked doesn't have anybody around for a hundred meters, it's so desolate there aren't even birds, where'd these opponents of yours come from?”
Zhao XiaoLan blushed, mumbling, ”I, I'm just worried, is all.”
Ming ChangYan patted his back, ”Stand up straight and walk properly.”
At his chiding, Zhao XiaoLan dejectedly replied, ”Okay…”
After they'd walked for around an hour, leaving the brightly-lit Daming Hall far behind them, the Ninety-Ninth Temple slowly began to emerge before their eyes.
This palace was situated in the loneliest corner of the Imperial City; surrounded by overgrowth, the towering palace seemed so tall as to reach the clouds, so high one might feel like they were flying if you climbed to the top. Facing the palace, Zhao XiaoLan was overcome with a poetic urge, and standing with his legs apart, posed as he recited, ”On a dangerous house a hundred feet high, my hand reaches out to grab the stars. I do not dare to raise my voice, fearing I will frighten the heavenly beings.”
Ming ChangYan pulled his arm, ”Alright XiaoLan, no more reciting. The Ninety-Ninth Temple is so high, where are we supposed to enter it from?”
Zhao XiaoLan motioned with his hands, ”I came here before when I was little, follow me!”
Ming ChangYan said, ”Don't go too fast, I can't see the road.”
Surrounded on all sides by pitch-black darkness, Ming ChangYan's eyes hurt, his head swelled, and he walked in twists and turns. After coming to the Imperial Palace, he'd been going through tremendous personal torment, afflicted with countless ailments, like now: As soon as night fell, his eyesight suffered a devastating decline.
Zhao XiaoLan quickly pulled a night pearl from his s.h.i.+rt, shocking Ming ChangYan as he said, ”We can use this to light the way.”
Ming ChangYan: ”That's such a big pearl, XiaoLan-xiong, you sure are rich.”
Zhao XiaoLan looked embarra.s.sed, ”It's not that I'm rich, this was a present from my elder sister.”
Ming ChangYan had heard Zhao XiaoLan's history before – his paternal aunt was the empress, plus he was the son of the first wife of the head of the influential Zhao family, so his social status was naturally out of the ordinary. But it was rare to find a person born in such an ill.u.s.trious position who still managed to be so pure and innocent; Ming-shaoxia truly admired that.
As the two crossed through the courtyard, both dressed head-to-toe in black, Ming ChangYan said, ”Why aren't there any guards around here?”
Zhao XiaoLan said, ”The Ninety-Ninth Temple has never had guards. Huai Yu-gege's the only one who lives here. He had them when he was little though, layers and layers of them – they'd always turn me away when I came to play with him.”
Ming ChangYan was astonished, ”When he was little? So he's been in the Imperial Palace since he was a kid?”
Zhao XiaoLan, ”When I first met him, he was already living in the palace. He rarely came down, just spending all day by himself. So Aunty Empress often told me and Jun to come keep Huai Yu ge-ge company. Jun thought this place was too boring, so she only came a few times and then gave up and ran off to the academy to find Teacher Liu instead. But I don't think the academy is very fun, either.”
Ming ChangYan mentally froze, blurting out, ”Isn't this basically just imprisonment?”
Zhao XiaoLan cautiously continued forward, ”I wouldn't say it counts as imprisonment. Minister Chang and I can go in and see him, and Huai Yu ge-ge gets to come out and play every new year too. He's got a cold att.i.tude though, so he can't really manage to play with us.”
Zhao XiaoLan had a simple mind, obviously unable to handle the high-level difficulty that was thinking and walking at the same time; he stopped moving, considering for a moment before he said, ”Minister Chang returned to the palace when Huai Yu ge-ge was eight years old. Afterwards, the minister stayed to teach him through all his studies, and after that, Huai Yu ge-ge became the Young Prime Minister.”
Ming ChangYan said, ”What're you stopping for, move faster.”
Zhao XiaoLan promptly ran ahead a few steps, leading Ming ChangYan to remind him again, ”Ai, wait a minute, don't be so loud, be careful carrying that night pearl. Oh forget it, the light's too bright, bring it over here.”
Zhao XiaoLan handed the night pearl over to him, and Ming ChangYan tore a piece of material off his clothes to cover the light. The two nervously and furtively ran up the stairs, and just as Ming ChangYan's legs were beginning to lose sensation from all the climbing, Zhao XiaoLan quietly spoke, ”We're here, this is Huai Yu ge-ge's bedroom.”
Ming ChangYan thought to himself: This little brat really is supernatural, it took almost an hour just to get up the stairs!
Zhao XiaoLan lowered his voice to ask, ”Where does Huai Yu ge-ge put his waist pendant?”
Ming ChangYan thought for a moment before replying, ”It should probably be in the inner room. You stay here, I'll go in to look.”
As he softly and quietly pushed open the door, Ming ChangYan's senses were a.s.saulted by that subtle fragrance he'd been smelling on and off since he came to the palace.
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Ming ChangYan tiptoed around the extremely spa.r.s.ely-decorated room, dodging and hiding as he went; soon after, upon the spotlessly clean desk, there suddenly appeared a well-defined pair of hands. This pair of hands groped about the desk for a moment, failed to find the waist pendant, then skirted the edge of the desk until they reached the tea table.
Zhao XiaoLan bent down, shuffle-crawling over to Ming ChangYan's side, and used the quietest whisper he could manage, ”Yan jie-jie, have you found it yet?”
There wasn't a sliver of light in the area. Zhao XiaoLan, worried the light from the night pearl would give away their location, had decided to add another piece of black cloth over it and wrap it up tight. Because of this, Ming ChangYan could only rely on touch as he searched for the waist pendant.
”Nope, let's split up to search. Give me the night pearl, I can't see a thing without it.”