Ch150 - He was someone who would never go to the temple for nothing (1/2)
11.6 – He was someone who would never go to the temple for nothing
translator: xiin
editors: alamerysl & Macabre
Although Shu Heng described the courtyard as simple and crude, it only seemed so when compared to the palace. It was actually pretty good for an ordinary courtyard, but Shu Heng had always been very concerned about Xue Ling and felt that he had been unable to provide His Majesty with a good enough life. So, every time he had to find food, shelter, or transportation for Xue Ling, he disdained everything and felt that it was insufficient.
This courtyard was in the middle of the city and had been on sale for a long time, but because the price was too high, nobody had been willing to buy it. The price was clearly set at daylight robbery prices, but after comparing several courtyards, Shu Heng still resolutely decided to buy this one. They were not short on money, so he naturally picked the best one for his master.
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This small courtyard was set up in a quadrangle, and had quite a few houses. The main house was very well taken care of, and when Shu Heng purchased it, the servants who were responsible for keeping everything running had also been transferred over, so there was no need to worry about the household chores.
Shu Heng chose a sunny day to bring Xue Ling to the new courtyard. When they arrived at the entrance, Shu Heng finally explained to Xue Ling, “Gongzi, the courtyard opposite ours is where the military advisor that I mentioned to you before lives.”
Xue Ling stepped out of the carriage, and shifted his gaze to the entrance on the other side. He curved his lips, and then clapped his hand on Shu Heng’s shoulder. “Well done.”
Shu Heng laughed a little proudly and gave a Mu Ge a rather provocative look. Mu Ge ignored him and instead turned around to support Xue Ling as he got out of the carriage.
Ying Sheng received the news that they had moved into the courtyard while they were still settling in. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked doubtfully, “They’re now living in the courtyard across from my military advisor?”
“Yes. Your subordinate personally saw them move in. The government office also has the proof that shows that they bought the house.”
“Huh?”
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“That ger’s name is Xue Ling. He is from the Capital, but wanted to go south to find his relatives because his parents died. Unfortunately, he was unable to find them when he arrived in Zhanjing. The long journey here left him ill, so he decided to settle down in Zhanjing for a while.”
“Xue Ling…” Ying Sheng spoke the name in a low voice, and savored it deep in his heart as he recalled the glimpse he had gotten of that person. A smile unconsciously appeared on his lips… “That’s a good name.”
The reporting subordinate stared blankly at their Royal Highness. He was smiling… and it was a very terrifying smile… it looked just like a smile that heralded the coming of spring. It would be jarring on anyone’s face, but when it was on their Royal Highness’ face, it became particularly unsettling…
“Your Royal Highness… Do we need to keep watching him?” Although he did not know why he had been assigned to do such a task, the subordinate still maintained a respectful expression as he asked this question. “That ger has a master by his side, and his abilities are not ordinary. Our people don’t dare to get too close.”
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Ying Sheng waved his hand. “No need. Withdraw first.” After that, he paused, considered the matter, and added, “Have the housekeeper prepare a gift. Benwang is going to visit the military advisor tomorrow.”
The subordinate accepted his orders, turned around and retreated. He was more and more ignorant regarding their general’s mind. Having him monitor a little ger and doing things like this, what was he trying to do…
Was spring finally coming for their Royal Highness?
Xue Ling stayed in the courtyard that morning, and in the afternoon, he had Shu Heng arrange a gift and prepared to visit the little time travelling military advisor who lived next door. Regardless of whether the Zhennan Prince was that man or not, or what his relationship with the little military advisor was, he would need to collude with him if he wanted to hook the Zhennan Prince.
In order to make it easier for them to get along in the future, Xue Ling planned to make good use of his identity as a ger and establish a good relationship with the other party first.
Speaking of which, this world’s settings were really unique. That time traveler had come from a distant future, but in that future, there were still ger and men. For this kind of world to somehow manage to develop smoothly… Sure enough, the pit in the author’s brain was really bottomless – any kind of setting could be controlled with ease.
After the gift was ready, Xue Ling wrote a letter requesting to visit, then asked Shu Heng to deliver it next door. He could only hope that the other party would be interested in him, or intrigued by his writing. After all, according to the author’s settings, this military advisor was an isolated academic who liked to immerse himself in learning all day long. Even love did not make him emerge for more than a few seconds from his sea of literature.
This body had originally been an Emperor. His attainments in poetry were at least passable, and his written characters weren’t bad – after all, these kinds of superficial things still needed to be done well. However, they could only be limited to the realm of ‘good’, and in order to disguise his own ability, Xue Ling wrote quite a few letters of visitation, the handwritten characters becoming better and better until he finally picked out a letter that looked like an extraordinary display of art and handed it over to Shu Heng.
Shu Heng had seen too many changes in His Majesty along the way here. He was no longer surprised that His Majesty could suddenly come up with handwriting so beautiful that it could be admired by experts. He praised Xue Ling before finally leaving the courtyard but otherwise didn’t have much reaction to it; and Mu Ge, who had not been with Ji Yunhua for a long time, naturally also did not have anything to say.
In addition to the modest gift that Shu Heng had provided, Xue Ling also asked Mu Ge to prepare several sheets of paper for him so that he could create some paintings.
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He had not experienced a world that required this kind of showing off of literary ability in too long. Xue Ling’s craftsmanship when he painted was a little rusty, but in the end, he still accomplished it in one go. Although it was not his best work, it was still more than adequate.
This world did not encourage men to paint, so most painters and artists were gers. The original owner of this body had always liked painting, and he had quite a few accomplishments in this area. Mu Ge looked at the painting that Xue Ling created, and his entire person turned gentle.
Back in the years when he was guarding the little Emperor, he would often light candles at night in order to paint in secret. The Empress Dowager did not allow him to do the kinds of things that gers normally did, so he would throw everyone out of his rooms in order to hide himself and paint. Although his current pieces were no longer as immature as they had been back then, it still made Mu Ge feel comforted…
He sometimes felt that the joy he felt upon seeing the little Emperor’s changes was inappropriate – after all, the process of growing up was too cruel, and gers should not have to go through the things he had to experience – more often, he felt gratified that he’d changed in this direction. Although this meant that he had the opportunity to take him away from the royal trappings of court life, to a place where he could shine and dazzle others, it was precisely because of how dazzling he was that it became very clear to Mu Ge that he was not worthy of him…