Chapter 91 (1/2)

VThinking of those things that he could not fully understand with his intelligence and experiences, Ning Que closed his eyes slowly in the sun. He began to reframe Zhuo Er's intensely black face in his chaotic mind to strengthen the confidence in sorting out his own random and frustrated mind. The spring bright suns.h.i.+ne s.h.i.+nning on the rockery in the vestibule of the princess's palace, on the bamboo chair and on his body, was just neither too bright nor too warm. It gradually removed his spring chill that had acc.u.mulated in the old library.

”Are you basking in the sun? But... my mom won't let me do this.”

A crisp voice was gently heard from the back of the chair. Ning Que opened his eyes to look back, and saw a little boy's face popping out from the rockery. There were two blushes of red as an apple on his slightly black and healthy face, on which the long eyelashes were really beautiful, while on which the expression seemed a bit timid.

Ning Que looked at this little black face, somehow remembering Zhuo Er. A kind of bitterness surged at his heart. He stood up from the chair to bow slightly towards the little boy, who had not seen for a while, and said, ”h.e.l.lo, Little Prince.”

The timid little boy was Xiaoman, the stepchild the princess Lee Yu had brought back with her from the gra.s.sland. Ning Que had much contact with the little boy along the way from the City of Wei to Chang'an, especially after the b.l.o.o.d.y battle in Northern Mountain Road.

”Why doesn't her Highness let you, my little princess, stay in the sun?” He asked with a smile.

”Mother said it would be easy to get tanned,” Xiaoman looked at Ning Que seriously and explained, ”I'm the son of my mother, the grandson recognized by His Majesty and the proudest n.o.ble of Tang Empire. Therefore, I can be black, but not too black.”

Ning Que could not help scratching his head upon hearing the little boy's answer. He could imagine the difficulty that boy from the gra.s.slands had in adapting after coming to the rich and prosperous Chang'an city, but he never thought the princess Her Highness' education and care for the little boy was so rigorous. He smiled and explained, ”It isn't too bad to bask in the sun occasionally.”

The little boy looked around the quiet vestibule and found that the instructor palace mammies and imperial maids did not know of his sneaking here. Then his face lit up with pleasure, and he jumped to the bamboo chair to tug on the sleeves of Ning Que. He gave Ning Que a certain wistful glance, raising his little face, and asked, ”Can you tell me a story?”

Ning Que was shocked and did not expect that the little boy still recognized him and even remembered those fairy tales by the bonfire. Looking at his anxious eyes and the quiet vestibule, thinking that he had nothing else to do except for basking in the sun, he sat back against the bamboo chair and beckoned the little boy to sit beside him, and said, ”I can't tell stories. Those I told last time should be called fairy tales.”

Xiaoman curiously asked, ”What is the difference between a fairy tale and a story?”

”A story is very complicated, while a fairy tale is very simple and happy,” replied Ning Que.

”I want to listen to fairy tales.” Xiaoman laughed happily.

Ning Que thought of the past images and could not help smiling. He said, ”That's precisely what I am good at.”

Xiaoman moved closer, and concentrated on listening.

Ning Que thought for a second, and said to him, ”You are the little prince in the gra.s.sland. I will tell a fairy tale about a Little Prince, okay?”

Xiaoman said cheerfully, ”Well, okay.”

Ning Que laid on the bamboo chair, watching the sky. ”There are pythons in the forest, whose heads are really big. They swallow the prey directly into the stomach without chewing after hunting, and will sleep for full six months to digest the food in the stomach.”

Xiaoman opened his big eyes, and said in fright, ” ...So terrible, could it be said all fairy tales are happy?”

Ning Que gave him a stare thinking the little boy didn't behave as well as Sangsang did then, and said, ”Don't worry. It's just the beginning... When hearing this tale, I'm more interested in those things in the forest, so I drew a picture following my own imagination. In the picture is a big python swallowing a big beast. I took this picture to other adults and asked if they were afraid. They all said, ”Why should a hat scare you?”

”I understand. You drew the python as the edge of the hat and the big beast as the center. Doesn't your picture seem good?” Xiaoman was excited clapping his hands.

”I don't draw a hat but a python swallowing a beast. Those adults didn't understand just like you, so I simply drew the stomach of the python.” Ning Que was speechless for a moment but continued.

Xiaoman looked at him in a puzzle, and asked, ”Isn't the fairy tale about the Little Prince? Where is the Little Prince?”

”Come out soon,” Ning Que explained, ”He will come out in a minute.”

Not too long, those instructor palace mammies and imperial maids finally found here in the vestibule while the princess Her Highness already ended reminiscing with Sangsang at this time. Ning Que held the handmaiden's hand fleeing away in the suspicious and disgruntled eyes, with the fastest speed to finish the visit in the Princess Mansion.

Walking in the quiet street of Southern City, Sangsang was lapped constantly on the thigh by the big black umbrella that was tightly wrapped with the coa.r.s.e cloth. The master and the maid walked silently along the way, and Sangsang suddenly said mindless,” The princess is a good person.”

Ning Que looked up at the sky which was separated by the plane trees above the street and looked at the gloomy clouds. ”It 's going to rain.”

This was what people would call a conversation with no heads or tails. Sangsang wanted to say something while Ning Que did not. Therefore, as the former blurted out a sentence with no heads or tails, the latter looked up the sky to say the rain's falling.

”Young master, why don't you like her?” Sangsang stopped and looked up at him.

Ning Que thought it necessary to let the little handmaiden know his honest thoughts. He hesitated for a moment and said, ”I don't think she's a good person in the traditional sense, though she is really good to you.”