193 The Entertainer in the Princess Mansion (2/2)
”You can count on me.”
Under the protection of the Fourth Princess of Tang Dynasty, there should be no one in Chang'an City who would dare bully this little handmaiden. However, it was the first time Sangsang would leave him since she was born. Though he got such a positive answer, he was still a little worried. So he stared into Lee Yu's eyes and seriously said, ”Don't allow others to bully her.”
Though questioned by Ning Que, Princess Lee Yu wasn't displeased. Instead, she was calm for she knew he was willing to let her take care of Sangsang despite showing some attitude because of his worry over his handmaiden.
”I can assure you anyone who dares to bully Sangsang will die a painful death.”
”Your Highness, that's too cruel. Just kill the person and his entire family.”
”...”
”Your Highness?”
”Nothing. I have a letter here. Take it with you. I know you're not afraid of those Wilderness barbarians, but you're in a different place after all. If something happens, you can take this letter and look for Crown Prince Chongming.”
Ning Que put the letter away in his sleeves, prepared to say words of gratitude. He suddenly raised his brows and listened to the breathing from outside the wall, wondering who dared to ignore the rules of the Princess Mansion and eavesdrop on their conversation.
Lee Yu looked at his startled expression and turned around. She furrowed her brows. ”How did you come here? Have you finished today's homework? Since when did the Imperial College allow students to leave ahead of schedule?”
A lad dressed in bright yellow clothing walked out from behind a flower wall. He had bright eyes and graceful eyebrows but looked pale as if he hadn't seen sunshine for many days. His thin body and complexion made him look weak.
The lad smiled. ”Sister, don't be so fierce.”
Upon listening to the salutation, Ning Que knew the lad's identity. He was the eldest son of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the most promising successor to the throne, Prince Li Huiyuan. He stood up and performed a bow with his hands folded in front of him.
The young Prince raised his brows, a trace of unhappiness appearing on his pale face. He waved his hand. ”Take your seat, please.”
From what the Prince saw, this man couldn't be an ordinary person to be seated opposite his sister. It was the first time this man had seen him, he ought to be kneeling or making a deep bow on the ground at least. A simple bow like that was too rude.
While the Prince was fuming at Ning Que's lack of courtesy, Lee Yu's expression turned cold and she said unhappily, ”Where's your etiquette? You should be returning a salute to Mr. Ning.”
When he heard the name, Prince Li Huiyuan suddenly recalled the incident inside the imperial palace this year. He peered at Ning Que curiously and finally matched the figure in the legends with the person before him.
Even if he knew this man was someone his father favored, he wouldn't show him any respect. But he feared his sister most in the world and quickly stood up to salute him when he saw Lee Yu's serious expression.
Ning Que smiled gently and waved his hand to show his courteousness, yet he didn't move aside to avoid the Prince's salutation.
Li Huiyuan noticed this from the corner of his eye and seemed rather displeased. However, as a child that grew up in the royal family, he quickly suppressed his anger and stood before Ning Que, holding his hands and speaking to him warmly.
The Prince revealed a pathological nobleness on his pale innocent face and deliberately showed intimacy but couldn't conceal the indifference in his eyes. Being used to ignoring life and death and seeing deceit as well as dishonesty, Ning Que couldn't tolerate such a dishonest and even inferior performance. But he didn't show his unhappiness but showed his best acting and mental state. He was modest and passionate like a desert fire in the winter.
An actor that made a living by playing different roles. With the gentle breeze and flowing lake beside the corridor, Ning Que and the young Prince both performed on the same stage. This endless act they put on was an excellent performance of mutual humiliation.
Lee Yu looked at the pair talking to each other and sensed the strangeness of it. She frowned in distress and stared at Ning Que, indicating for him to stop his act.
The Prince suddenly appeared in the Princess Mansion and happened to meet Ning Que. Of course, Ning Que didn't believe it to be a coincidence for he knew what Lee Yu meant. But as for that thing, he wasn't qualified and unwilling to participate in it for now. Even if he wanted to, it would be a long time later. So when he looked at Lee Yu's gaze, he smiled and no longer baited the Prince. He bowed at the two and excused himself.
After leaving the Princess Mansion, he walked under a willow by the road and spotted a young Taoist holding a yellow paper umbrella under his arm. He couldn't help feeling startled. He often visited the south gate of Haotian Temple on the other side of the imperial city recently and recognized the Taoist to be He Mingchi, a disciple of Master of Nation, Li Qingshan. He Mingchi was an extremely busy person in charge of important tasks of Imperial Center Administration. Ning Que didn't expect to see him in the Princess Mansion today, seeming as if he was waiting for someone.
Ning Que walked over and asked curiously, ”Brother Mingchi, who are you waiting for?”
The young Taoist looked at Ning Que and smiled helplessly as he pointed in the direction of the court. ”I was ordered by His Majesty to supervise the Prince's studies but he ran out of the Imperial College and I had to follow him.”
Ning Que thought that playboy Prince with a pale face really wasn't a good subject to get along with. It was a difficult job to supervise his studies. He looked at Fang Mingchi with sympathy and tried to comfort him. ”You can turn a blind eye to him.”
Fang Mingchi smiled bitterly and shook his head. ”I was adopted by my Master and traveled in and out of the imperial palace with him since I was a child. I have become close with the Prince. Since His Majesty has given me this responsibility, I must take it seriously.”
...
...
Ning Que then went under the old tree to find Sangsang, spoke with Xiaoman, and left the Princess Mansion.
When he walked into the bustling street and alley, he watched the children playing around a well in the alley. He recalled the young Prince and rumors of the fight for the throne. He couldn't help shaking his head and sighing. ”How unlucky the Princess is to have such a brother. I don't know how much more trouble she'll encounter in the future because of him.”
Sangsang asked curiously, ”What's the matter with the Prince? Do you think he's also an idiot?”
”If he's really an idiot, no one will embarrass him. However, he learned some tricks from the Princess... An idiot who tries to be smart finds trouble easily.”
Sangsang looked around and whispered, ”Young master, that's a prince you're talking about.”
Ning Que laughed. ”Prince? Prince Long Qing? If that little Prince dares to provoke me in the future, I'll show him how hard it is to perform.”
”Young master, you're proud and arrogant quite often.”
”Two years ago, we could only participate in the distribution of taverns and gambling rights in the City of Wei. Now it seems we can participate in the assignment of the imperial throne. Why can't I be proud? Besides, there's no outsider here.”
Sangsang glanced at him without speaking.
”Just believe it. Since I entered the Second Floor of the Academy, I've become the core disciple among them all. On the matter of throne succession, the attitude of the Academy now seems to be very important. The Senior Brothers and Sisters in the Back Mountain certainly aren't interested in it. Probably I'm the only one who is...”
Ning Que said, ”That's why the Princess would play this trick today. But in terms of the Prince's performance today, I suspect she'll regret it. She should've told the little Prince in advance at least.”
Sangsang asked curiously, ”Can the Academy actually play a role in such a great event like the imperial throne succession? Young master, you've become a core disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy, so has your status also become high? Is the Headmaster of the Academy really so powerful?”
He laughed self-mockingly. ”You should remember I haven't seen my master until today, but I've heard many rumors about him. Based on these people's attitudes, I can basically understand how powerful he is.”
”Young master, should we be regarded as the Princess' people?”
”Xia Hou... should be on the Empress' side. Then I have to stand on the other side of the Empress, so that's the Princess' side. My point is that if we need to choose one party, we should choose the Princess. In fact, I've figured this out a long ago. But everything is waiting for the right price to sell. If we want a proper price, we have to wait. And now our price is good, so we can start to sell.”
Sangsang suddenly stopped walking and looked up at his face. She said seriously, ”When you mentioned the fairy tale about the Prince Frog, I also heard and understood it. Is this a good price?”
After a moment of silence, he shook his head. ”Not all toads want to eat swan.”
”Is swan not delicious?” Sangsang asked in confusion.
Ning Que looked at her and smiled. ”In the eyes of some toads, a grubby black loach is much more delicious than a swan.”
Sangsang asked, ”Young master, are you scolding me for looking ugly and black again?”
Ning Que laughed. ”It seems my little girl is finally willing to use her brains to think.”
Sangsang said earnestly, ”So the more I think, the more I feel this is a very good thing. Based on what you told me when I was young, if one can marry Her Highness, he can avoid hard work for many years.”
Ning Que continued to move forward and said, ”The question is how many people she has actually said those words to.”
This remark involved the most vicious speculation on women. Sangsang frowned tightly and said unhappily, ”Young master, you're always biased against Her Highness. She's actually a good person.”
”I don't care if she's good or not. What does it have to do with me?”
”Just now you were talking about waiting for a good price to sell. What price will be higher than Her Highness herself?”
”Hey, haven't you heard one only sells his acting but not himself?”