Chapter 12
The figure pointed at flinched for a moment. It seemed like they wanted to escape, but couldn’t.
Ning Rushen couldn’t bear it anymore, just as he was about to muster the courage to speak up, he heard the figure, blushing, say with a trembling voice:
“The commander made a mistake, I… I am not Shiyi!!”
Li Wuting’s face had already darkened by half. He pinched his brow and said to Yin Zhao, “You go down first.”
Shiyi bowed and swiftly disappeared into the night.
They each dispersed the Jinyiwei under their command, and Ning Rushen and Li Wuting faced each other in silence for a few seconds.
“Have you had dinner yet?” The words came at the same time.
Ning Rushen paused for a moment, “Not yet.”
He had just come out of the bath, his hair still not completely dry, draped behind him in only a white robe.
Li Wuting’s gaze fell upon him.
In his eyes, it seemed like there was still a hint of moisture, and there was a water mark on the collar. The night breeze was cool, carrying the scent of grass and a hint of dew.
He withdrew his gaze, turned around, and said, “Hmm.”
“?” Ning Rushen was left puzzled by his response. As he stood there, observing Li Wuting’s broad back, De Quan turned his head and winked at him, mouthing:
“The Emperor summoned you for dinner.”
Ning Rushen: …??
Li Wuting inviting him to dine together was likely just a casual remark, perhaps made to break the tension.
But he couldn’t just go casually.
Ning Rushen returned to his tent, put on his official robe, tied up his hair, and as he was about to leave, he ran into the jubilant Geng Yan.
“Geng Yan, let’s go, eat some roasted rabbit!”
Ning Rushen shook his head, “I’m not going.”
“…Why, don’t you like rabbits?”
“The Emperor summoned me for dinner.”
Geng Yan’s expression twisted, patting his chest and murmuring to himself, “Stay calm, stay calm,” before turning and leaving the tent together with Ning Rushen.
The Emperor and his courtiers were dining in front of the tent.
A bonfire was lit in the open space in front of the tent, with the Emperor seated at the central position, while the other courtiers sat around the fire pit.
As they walked towards the gathering, Geng Yan said, “By the way, I just saw Lu Shijiang, Gong Xiujian, and Tan Xiujian return. Their limbs are all sprained, probably won’t be able to get up for at least half a month.”
Ning Rushen remained silent for a moment.
After more than twenty laps, how could he not drift?
Geng Yan whispered again, “Do you think that spooking the horse was intentional? Do you think His Majesty noticed and did it to vent his anger on you?”
Ning Rushen felt speechless at hearing this.
Why would Li Wuting want to vent his anger on him?
Just a month ago, he even intended to keep himself from getting angry.
“I don’t know if it was intentional.”
Ning Rushen looked towards the faintly flickering fire ahead. “But it’s probably because of something else.”
Li Wuting’s punishments were always calm and collected.
·
Upon reaching the fire, Li Wuting was already seated.
On the fire, sizzling mountain chicken and antelope were cooking, their golden hues shimmering in the crackling flames.
Li Yingtang and Li Jingyu were also seated on one side, while De quan and the palace servants were serving the meal.
Ning Rushen approached and paid his respects before being seated on the other side.
Just as he sat down, a palace maid immediately brought a plate and a small knife over. Before he could even say “thanks,” he saw De Quan across from him gesturing incessantly with his lips:
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and cut for His Majesty.”
Ning Rushen hesitated, “…”
With a knife in hand, he looked to Li Wuting for permission, “I’ll come to cut the meat for His Majesty.”
Li Wuting glanced at him sideways.
Warm red light haloed Li Wuting’s sharply defined face, the young emperor exuded dignified composure, revealing no hint of emotion on his face, “Hmm.”
Ning Rushen turned to the grill in front of him.
The roasted pheasant had already been shared between Prince Xuan and Prince Jing, leaving only bits and pieces. He could only aim the knife at the roasted antelope, scraping against the golden-brown meat.
The antelope meat was thick and firm, and Ning Rushen felt like he was almost carving flowers on its surface, yet he still couldn’t cut off a piece of meat.
He was paddling back and forth when Li Wuting spoke up, “Corporal punishment?”
“…” His hand shook, just as a piece of meat fell.
Ning Rushen respectfully placed the chosen piece of meat in front of Li Wuting, “Thousand cuts.”¹
Li Wuting, “…”
Li Wuting remained still for a moment, and Ning Rushen held this pose for a few seconds. Across from them, Li Yingtang was afraid that something inappropriate might come up, so he spoke, “Lord Ning, is your hand still injured?”
“Mm…” Ning Rushen glanced down at the red mark on his palm. When the horse spooked, he held onto the reins for dear life, causing it.
“Thank you for your concern, Prince. It’s just a minor abrasion.”
The plate in his hand was suddenly taken away.
Li Wuting’s tone was indifferent, “Lord Ning, please help yourself. If you can’t cut the meat, summon a palace servant. We wouldn’t want people to think I’m mistreating court officials.”
Ning Rushen blinked, “Understood.”
With the attendants’ help, a stack of sliced meat quickly filled the plate, accompanied by wine, vegetables, and fruits.
Ning Rushen picked up a lettuce leaf from the assortment.
He remembered a way of eating barbecue he had seen before, so he opened his mouth wide, placed the leaf on top, and shoved all the meat into the abyss of his mouth.
Li Wuting happened to glance over, “…What are you doing?”
Ning Rushen’s mouth was almost sealed shut with food, “Wrapping meat with vegetables.”
Li Wuting stared at him with lowered lashes.
From those bright and vivid eyes to the plump cheeks.
After he swallowed, Li Wuting slowly spoke, “Ning Qing, where did you learn such a… ” He paused, seeming to consider an appropriate adjective.
“A reckless eating style?”
Ning Rushen replied, “…”
Ning Rushen said, “My hometown’s eating style.”
“Hometown’s eating style?” Li Wuting’s tone was steady, his gaze piercing into Ning Rushen’s eyes as if trying to see through his soul through this expression, “I remember Ning Qing’s hometown is in Yuchuan.”
“If there’s a chance, I’d like to see it with my own eyes.”
His deep black pupils flickered with a bright flame, intimidating and unsettling at such close proximity.
Ning Rushen held his breath: What’s going on with Li Wuting?
Does he still remember where his hometown is? Didn’t he emerge as the spokesperson for his hometown?
He subconsciously licked the corner of his lips, “Uh.”
They needed to come up with a way for all the people of Yu Chuan to learn to eat like this.
In the midst of their hesitant exchange, they suddenly heard a familiar sound from across the table: “Hmm hmm yeah yeah hmm hmm!”
They both turned their heads.
They saw Li Jingyu covering a large piece of vegetable leaf, stuffing meat into his mouth amidst the astonished gaze of the palace attendants.
Ning Rushen sighed inwardly, “…”
Li Wuting’s temple twitched. “Jingyu, what kind of behavior is this!”
·
For the rest of the dinner, both the young and the old behaved properly.
Ning Rushen began to focus on grilling meat.
The meat grilled over firewood exuded a woody aroma, and the wild game meat from the mountains was tender and flavorful, something rare to find in modern times.
The accompanying wine was a sweet fruit wine with low alcohol content.
Ning Rushen drank quite a bit, only noticing a slight warmth on his cheeks after finishing dinner.
But against the bright flames, that blush wasn’t very noticeable.
After dinner dispersed.
Ning Rushen felt his mind gradually drifting again. He excused himself to Li Wuting, “I take my leave.”
Li Wuting didn’t notice anything unusual about him. “Hmm.”
Ning Rushen turned and found a quiet place to catch some fresh air.
Based on his previous experience of seeing the Higanbana flowers and the Bridge of Helplessness from afar, this time he stayed away from the riverbank and went to the fence outside the camp.
As the night fell and the stars and moon hung high.
The vast expanse of the camp was covered by the night sky, with the night breeze rustling through the grass, bringing a hint of coolness.
Ning Rushen was sitting by the fence, enjoying the breeze, when the young prince Li Jingyu came over with palace attendants. “Lord Ning.”
“I have seen Prince Jing.”
Li Jingyu waved his hand and sat down beside him.
Ning Rushen looked at the short figure in front of him: ?
Li Jingyu whispered, “Let’s talk about some private matters of the crown prince.”
Ning Rushen: …
He felt like he might be really drunk.
Otherwise, why couldn’t he understand a single word the young prince said?
Li Jingyu started to speak softly on his own, “Is the crown prince treating you differently from others?”
Ning Rushen paused for a moment. “Of course not.”
If he had to say what was different.
It was that the crown prince seemed to want to kill him, and often set traps for him.
Li Jingyu looked puzzled, “Then why did he scold me just now for eating meat wrapped in vegetables, but not you?”
Ning Rushen looked at the gradually less innocent look in his eyes and hurriedly said, “Because I lost face for myself, Your Highness lost face for the royal family.”
Li Jingyu seemed to understand.
Oh, it means they both lost face.
As they sat there chatting aimlessly, they heard Geng Yan’s voice from afar, calling out, “Ning Chen—”
Ning Rushen turned his head, and the palace lamp behind him illuminated this corner of the fence.
Geng Yan jogged over, only to see Ning Rushen’s face flushed with drunkenness. He fell silent, exchanged a polite greeting with Li Jingyu, and helped Ning Rushen up.
“At dinner, all I saw was you drinking like a fish. Indeed, you’re completely drunk.”
At this moment, Ning Rushen was already feeling the effects of alcohol, so he obediently let himself be pulled along, “Hmm…”
When he gets drunk, he doesn’t actually cause a scene; instead, he’s even more well-behaved than usual. His thoughts are a bit slower, and everything he does is a subconscious reaction.
Seeing this, Geng Yan observed with curiosity, “You really let yourself be manipulated when you’re drunk.”
Let himself be manipulated…
Following his consciousness, Ning Rushen lifted his leg and kicked out.
“Gah, ahh…!” Geng Yan was so annoyed that he wanted to throw him out, but seeing King Jing still eagerly watching nearby, he endured it. Half supporting and half dragging Ning Rushen, he bid farewell and headed back.
The two figures disappeared among the camp.
Li Jingyu also clapped his hands and called for the palace servants to return.
…
As a prince, Li Jingyu had his own separate tent.
When he returned to his tent and saw his dignified third imperial brother sitting inside, he greeted, “Imperial Brother!”
Li Wuting looked up.
After confirming that everything was fine with him, he asked, “Where did you go so late at night?”
Li Jingyu replied, “I went to chat with Lord Ning.”
There was a brief silence in the room, then Li Wuting tapped his knee with his fingertips, “Oh, what did you talk about?”
Li Jingyu said, “Some private matters. But Lord Ning got drunk and was soon taken away by Minister Geng… um, Geng Yan.”
Li Wuting’s eyes steadied, “Drunk?”
Recalling Geng Yan’s words, Li Jingyu nodded, “Yes, he got drunk and let himself be manipulated.”
Li Wuting fell silent.
The scene of Ning Rushen being drunk flashed before his eyes again—completely dazed, answering questions instinctively.
But later, he fell into the water and lost consciousness.
…What about this time?
Li Wuting lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while, then stood up and said, “I’ll go over and take a look. You should rest early.”
After saying that, he walked out of the tent.
…
After a while,
Li Jingyu had just changed his clothes with the help of the palace servants when the tent curtain was lifted again. Prince Xuan, Li Yingtang, poked his head in and looked around. “Jingyu, where’s His Majesty?”
“The Emperor isn’t here.”
“Where did he go?”
Li Jingyu recalled, “As soon as he heard that Lord Ning was so drunk that he was at the mercy of others, he went out.”
“…”
The scene of binding in the study was still vivid in Li Yingtang’s mind, making his pupils dilate with shock.
