Volume 6, Chapter 6: Slim, Graceful Reflection
In a daze, Lu Yun gazed petrified1 at the golden headband in his hands. Just now, maids had come to look for the golden headband the princess had lost. He had subconsciously hidden the golden headband. He could not help feeling a bit regretful and ashamed. Even though he considered the young girl to be a naiad or a nymph, he still found himself deeply troubled. He missed this only opportunity to retaliate against Jiang Zhe. Fine, fine. Roulan was merely Jiang Zhe’s adopted daughter. How could he be shameless to the point of changing his target to a young girl after he couldn’t do anything to Jiang Zhe?
Suddenly, the sound of Li Lin’s snarling came from the distance. “What! Did you say that Roulan fell into the water and nearly drowned? How is this possible? How dare you curse her! This Prince must cut you down!”
Lu Yun s.h.i.+vered inside. He was already quite fearful of Li Lin. Now, afraid of being asked too many questions, Lu Yun discovered that he had been inappropriate. Hearing Li Lin’s voice, he rushed over. Before he had wound around the cl.u.s.ter of flowers, he heard a clear, bright, and powerful voice state, “Brother Lin, you cannot be hotheaded. Although this maid was perhaps a bit excessive, she has no malice. Didn’t you rush back because you heard Roulan had fallen into the water? We’d best go into the inner residence to take a look. That girl is accustomed to acting willfully on a daily basis. Who knows what’s really going on?”
Moved, Lu Yun peered through the cl.u.s.ter of flowers. On the flower path ahead, he could see an enraged Li Lin standing before a maid. The maid was scared out of her wits, kneeling on both knees and pounding her head into the ground.2 Behind Li Lin stood a youth dressed in bright yellow. He was roughly fifteen or sixteen years old, elegant and cultured in appearance. His eyes were like deep and serene pools. He looked open, honest, and measured. This teenager was currently pulling on and trying to reason with Li Lin. There was no need to overthink things. From this teenager’s apparel and the appellation he used for Li Lin, Lu Yun found himself overwhelmed. Surprisingly, there were only a few zhang separating him and Great Yong’s Crown Prince Li Jun. Lu Yun could not refrain from tightening his grip on his dagger as his eyes fell upon the crown prince’s face. Lu Yun watched the mild crown prince try to soothe Li Lin, a smile on his face. Although the crown prince possessed an incomparably high status, he gave off the feeling of a cleansing spring breeze. Lu Yun had heard that this crown prince had overseen Youzhou on Li Zhi’s behalf from a young age, enjoying a reputation for humanity and filial piety. Catching sight of him today, Lu Yun discovered that his bearing was unordinary as expected. Compared to Southern Chu’s Zhao Long—although of similar age and was the monarch of a country, Zhao Long only knew how to eat, drink, and be merry, and was mediocre and incompetent—Lu Yun found that his heart ached and that his breathing was coming in fits and bursts.
The eyebrows of a youthful imperial bodyguard standing in attendance behind Li Jun rose and he took a step forward. Standing protectively at Li Jun’s side, he shouted, “Who’s there sneaking behind the flowers?” The bodyguard’s voice was not harsh, probably because this was the residence of Princess Changle and was widely considered as one of the official residences with the tightest security.
Lu Yun shook inside. Walking around the cl.u.s.ter of flowers, he dropped to one knee before Li Lin and reported, “Subordinate Yun Lu pays my respects to Your Imperial Highness.” He deliberately showed that he did not recognize Li Jun. In this way, even if he were punished, it would be a lot lighter. If he didn’t know any better, he could not be held responsible. As expected, when he snuck a glance, the expression on the bodyguard’s face eased and he retreated behind Li Jun.
In coa.r.s.e breaths, Li Lin roughly asked, “So it’s you? Were you afraid to come over because you saw that this Prince was angry?”
Calming further, Lu Yun answered with his head lowered and the expression on his face controlled, “This subordinate does not dare.”
Flapping his hand, Li Lin said, “Forget about it. Come and pay your respects to His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. Imperial Brother, this is my newest bodyguard. I saw that this fellow was not bad. In a few years, I’ll deliver him to the Eastern Palace to serve as one of your imperial bodyguards. However, it’s inappropriate right now. The Bright Inspection Department and the Intelligence Management Section are keeping close tabs, and this fellow’s background isn’t completely clear. If I were to send him over, I would likely be impeached by the Imperial Censors.”
Li Jun smiled slightly. He naturally understood this principle. All of his bodyguards had been very carefully selected. One’s background, martial arts, and character all needed to be evaluated. However, since Li Lin attached such great importance to this youthful bodyguard, this young man’s talents were presumably hard to come by. Li Jun took a step forward and personally helped Lu Yun to his feet, stating, “Stand up. You are Brother Lin’s bodyguard. In the future, you will inevitably see Us frequently. You need not be so formal, nor must you listen to Brother Lin’s nonsense. Imperial Father appoints every one of Our Eastern Palace’s imperial bodyguards, so the numbers are limited. That is there are all these unavoidable conditions. By following the Prince of Jia from now on, your prospects are boundless. In several years, when you’ve gone into battle and seized glory, becoming a marquis and a general, wouldn’t it be better than being underemployed by Our side?”
Lu Yun played the yes man, while a look of great admiration shone in his eyes. As expected, Great Yong’s crown prince had the bearing of a monarch. With just a few short words, he felt his heart warm. If Lu Yun was really that carefree Yun Lu, he would likely have risked his life to repay the crown prince.
Li Jun studied Lu Yun for another moment. He could see that although this young man was still youthful and was quite respectful, the youth was neither servile nor overbearing. The youth’s countenance carried a shred of haughty unyieldingness. As expected, this young man’s character was hard to come by. Li Jun could not help but feel fondness. Glancing at Li Lin, he praised, “Princely Brother’s eyesight is truly out of the ordinary. I can see that this fellow has General Zhangsun’s presence.”
Li Lin revealed an expression of immense satisfaction. Because he was still young, not only did revealing such an expression not cause others to feel resentment, but instead caused them to feel that he still retained his childish nature. Shaking his head, Li Jun smiled and continued, “All right, let’s go check up on Roulan. She has suffered and will definitely seek to take it out on us. If we get there too late, she’ll probably snub us for a few days.”
Li Lin turned angry and said, “Roulan is most biased. Every time she sees you, she beams with delight, while she’s always scowling at me. While it’s plain that you can only see her every three to five days compared to me accompanying her every day, she always treats you kindly.”
“Whose fault is it that you didn’t watch her grow up?” replied Li Jun with a hearty laugh. “Back when I was still the Prince of Yong’s heir, I spared no effort in helping her escape Uncle-in-law’s evil scheming. As for you, you’ve been b.u.t.ting heads with her since meeting her for the first time in the Eastern Sea. You also forced the girl to call you older brother. Afterwards, you were tricked by Uncle-in-law and served as his accomplice to bully Roulan. You deserve your present reckoning.”
Li Lin stamped his feet without speaking, his face darkening and blus.h.i.+ng. Gazing at the bodyguards who were restraining their smiles, Li Lin shouted, “Get out of the way! This is Uncle-in-law’s residence. There’s no use for you all to watch the show.”
The two princes’ bodyguards exchanged looks of dismay, not knowing if they should obey. Li Jun smiled and said, “It’s fine. Aside from Leng Hui, you can all withdraw to rest.”
Aside from the youthful bodyguard standing behind Li Jun, all of the bodyguards scattered and withdrew. Lu Yun sighed mentally and also prepared to leave. To his surprise, Li Lin called him to a halt and asked, “Yun Lu, you were by big brother Huo and Roulan’s side. I’ve heard that you were the one who rescued Roulan. Is that the case?”
Lu Yun blushed. Recalling how he had originally planned to take Roulan’s life, he could not help feeling a bit ashamed. He whispered, “This subordinate was present by happenstance. Because I know how to swim, I had no alternative but to offend the Princess.”
Li Jun let out a cry of surprise, his gaze on Lu Yun becoming more appreciative. After nodding his head slightly, Li Jun walked towards the inner residence. Li Lin put up a hand, indicating that there was no need for Lu Yun to follow, before hurriedly following Li Jun. Lu Yun was momentarily stunned but eventually gave a sad sigh. In low spirits, he walked towards the Perched Phoenix Pavilion.
Just as he reached the Perched Phoenix Pavilion, Li Lin burst back in a towering rage, shouting, “So infuriating! Everyone, follow me back to the residence.”
When the bodyguards saw his indignation, none of them dared to ask what had happened and simply ran with Li Lin out of Princess Changle’s residence. Fetching his horse, Li Lin lashed his whip and galloped through the streets of the imperial city. The bodyguards were alarmed and repeatedly called out from behind. None of them dared to gallop through the imperial city as this was a major crime. Although they watched as Li Lin disappeared into the distance, they were worried and sprinted back to the Prince of Qi’s residence.
Finding it strange, Lu Yun asked one of the other bodyguards that he was relatively knew well, “What happened to the Prince for him to be so furious?”
After glancing at his surroundings, the bodyguard answered quietly, “He’s likely suffered at the hands of the Princess of Zhaohua. Everyone in Chang’an knows that while our Prince doesn’t fear the Heavens or the Earth, he is afraid of the Marquis of Chu and the Princess of Zhaohua, especially the Princess. If the two of them are together, they’re guaranteed have a row every three days and a tiff every two days. Towards the end, the Princess will either complain tearfully to the Prince and Princess of Qi or our Prince will complain to Her Imperial Highness, Princess Changle. At the beginning, the parents on both sides would try to advise as well as punish. However, after that, they would be reconciled. Now, the parents are disinclined to intervene. But today is truly strange. Usually either His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, or young master Huo can calm the Prince or the Princess. I don’t know what’s happened today for the Crown Prince’s and young master Huo’s words to have no effect.”
Lu Yun was fascinated by this and could not help dropping his head to snicker to himself. Regardless of how vaunted their statuses, Roulan, the Princess of Zhaohua, and Li Lin, the Prince of Jia, were still just children. However, Lu Yun still found it difficult to a.s.sociate the childish side of this teenager with the grave bearing the Prince of Jia possessed at the Golden Valley Garden.
After a while, the bodyguards returned to the Prince of Qi’s residence. Taking a glance, all of them saw Li Lin pacing at the entrance to the residence in long strides. Seeing the bodyguards return, he furiously declared, “Why were you all so slow? Princely Father wants me to escort Mother to Nanshan and attend upon her. Ready yourselves already.” When the bodyguards heard this, none of them thought to justify themselves by arguing that the prince had galloped too quickly and ran off to pack their luggage.
Lu Yun was delighted. Before this point, he was worrying over how to leave the Prince of Jia to go to Nanshan and seek an opportunity to a.s.sa.s.sinate Jiang Zhe. In a twist of events, the Prince of Jia needed to travel to Nanshan. Lu Yun was not sure if this was the result of the Heavens’ blessings.
With all the bodyguards gone, Li Lin was left alone standing enraged at the entrance to the prince’s residence, kicking a stone back and forth after he had dismounted to vent his rage. Gazing at Lu Yun’s back, Li Lin was so infuriated that he booted the stone. Just now, when he had gone to see Roulan, he had not expected that he would be the target of mockery and ridicule,3 stating that he was so blind as to keep an a.s.sa.s.sin by his side. How was he to blame? This was clearly the fault of the Intelligence Management Section for failing to investigate thoroughly. Besides, didn’t she also praise Lu Yun? How was he wholly responsible? At the time, Li Lin wanted to rush out and immediately have Lu Yun executed. However, he was stopped by Huo Cong and was instructed to bring Lu Yun to the residence at Nanshan. Seeing that he could not act to punish the young man who had deceived him, Li Lin found it increasingly difficult to quell the rage inside him. Instead, he simply violated the law by galloping through the streets of the imperial city to return to the Prince of Qi’s residence. Regardless of how angry he was, Li Lin understood that Huo Cong’s intentions were also the intentions of his uncle Jiang Zhe.
