Chapter 84

I Truly Am Not a Wise King!

"Don't change the subject with me."

Xia Fuyang threatened: "If you don't tell me, I'll let Grandmother know too."

Qu Dubian: "How do you manage to drag Grandmother into everything?"

Xia Fuyang: "As long as it works."

He sat up, grabbed a nearby branch, and jumped onto the tree fork next to Qu Dubian. Squatting down, he tried to grab his wrist again. "Out with it."

Qu Dubian dodged: "It's not serious, just from martial arts practice."

Xia Fuyang: "I remember your internal cultivation technique is of the very gentle kind. Normal practice shouldn't possibly injure your meridians, right?"

Seeing he was truly determined to get to the bottom of this, Qu Dubian held his forehead. "It'll be fine in a few days, really. Trust me, honestly."

Xia Fuyang caught a glimpse of the slight guilt on his face. After a moment of silence, he narrowed his eyes and ventured a guess. "Are you secretly trying to open your Dantian acupoint??"

Xia Fuyang was incredulous. "You have some nerve!"

When he had attempted to open his Dantian point, he had made complete preparations beforehand and even had the martial arts instructor from his residence stand guard before taking the risk.

But this guy in front of him was definitely not in the same situation.

Forget that His Majesty disapproved of imperial descendants attempting to open the Dantian point—it was an endeavor that could easily end in crippling injury or death. Judging by his faintly guilty look, it was likely that Young Eunuch Yuan, Consort Xuan, and Grandmother didn't know a thing about it!

Qu Dubian covered his mouth.

"Keep your voice down."

Xia Fuyang pulled his hand away, frowning. "Such a dangerous thing, are you insane?"

Qu Dubian: "My technique is gentle. A slight attempt won't harm the body."

Xia Fuyang: "And you call this not harmful? No way, you're coming with me to see a doctor right now."

Meridian damage from qi impact hurt like being pricked by needles. How could this guy have attended his elder brother's wedding banquet with a straight face and even joked around with him here?

Qu Dubian clung desperately to the branch, refusing to come down. "It really is fine, believe me!!"

"Just treat this like my usual illnesses! Don't pull me! My shoe, my shoe's going to fall off!!"

He broke free from Xia Fuyang's grip, tapped the tree trunk with his toe, flipped over, and landed lightly on the ground. He really didn't seem to be in bad shape.

Hopping on one foot to pull his shoe back on, Qu Dubian looked up. "Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Xia Fuyang: "You'd rather try this secretly by yourself than ask me? A ready-made success story is right beside you, and you don't even think to make use of it?"

And were these two situations even comparable?? Illness might be uncontrollable, but meridian damage was entirely because this guy didn't take his own well-being seriously.

Qu Dubian swore: "Next time, for sure."

Next time, for sure, he'd avoid Xia Fuyang before the simulation ended.

Xia Fuyang climbed down from the tree. "There's going to be a next time? If you don't want me to tell on you, at least let me carefully check your condition."

Qu Dubian didn't refuse this time. He was dragged to a stone stool and held out his hand.

Xia Fuyang placed two fingers on his wrist.

His internal energy was as intense as his name suggested, much more scorching than Liu Liu's.

His martial arts talent was indeed formidable. Having opened his Dantian for over two years, he already dared to control his qi to circulate within someone else's body.

Seeing Xia Fuyang no longer insisting on taking him to a doctor, Qu Dubian relaxed.

After a moment, he said, "Well? Just as I said, not a big problem, right?"

Xia Fuyang withdrew his hand, his internal energy slowly calming. "The only reason there's no major problem is because of the unique nature of your qi." But it definitely must have hurt somewhat.

"When I decided to open my Dantian point, I felt the opportune moment. It was a very mysterious intuition; I knew the time had come, so I chose to burn my boats. Attempting like this will only injure you. It's better to calm your mind and wait for the opportune moment to arrive."

Qu Dubian felt disheartened.

Who knew when that damned opportune moment would come?

"Feel better now? Alright, you should go join the wedding festivities. Elder brother is probably almost done with the formalities."

Xia Fuyang got along well with all the princes. His status destined him not to openly take sides.

"Fine, I'm off then."

Qu Dubian glanced at him.

Xia Fuyang raised three fingers. "I swear I'll keep it secret."

"Liar is a dog."

After Xia Fuyang left, Qu Dubian obediently found a place to sit. They had been seen coming down from the tree by a servant, so Ye Banban would probably find him soon.

However, before Ye Xiaoyuan arrived,

Yi Shier came.

He was still in black clothes, his mask unchanging for a hundred years.

Qu Dubian's heart sank.

Sure enough, Yi Shier asked, puzzled, "Your meridians... what happened?"

"..."

Damn, forgot Liu Liu was on duty.

-

Shunningning Palace.

Before bed, Qu Dubian deeply felt that the attempts to open his Dantian point could not continue.

Xia Fuyang promised not to tell, and Liu Liu, as long as he ordered it, would absolutely not report him. But these two were easy-going. If it were Ye Banban or Consort Xuan, he would really be done for.

If his nominal father found out, he'd probably force him to stop his cultivation.

Luckily, the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. Shunningning Palace needed to make mooncakes, so he wouldn't have time to dwell on this matter anyway.

He and Zhiyi each had their own ideas about the fillings they wanted to eat, so Consort Xuan told them to make their own.

"This year, let's try salted egg yolk mooncakes."

Qu Dubian rolled up his sleeves, tied his hair up neatly, and pulled out the duck eggs he had pickled in advance from the pickling jar.

Zhiyi wanted nothing to do with savory mooncakes. She only loved sweet ones. She respected her brother's taste but didn't understand it. Sighing, she heaped sugar into the red bean paste and taro paste fillings.

Qu Dubian: "...Elder Sister! Don't eat too much sugar."

Zhiyi: "No, seeing you eat savory mooncakes makes me want to add even more."

Qu Dubian: "It's absolutely delicious, trust me."

Zhiyi shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"Let's make a bit more this time. Last year, Consort Liang said Consort Zhou liked the taro paste ones but was too shy to ask."

Qu Dubian: "Alright."

He peeled the salted duck eggs, placed the egg whites in a bowl, kept the yolks separate, and then had to use his elbow to push away Da Hei's nuzzling head.

"No, dogs can't eat too much salty food."

The organs of senior dogs decline in function; too much salt burdens the kidneys.

Da Hei pretended not to hear, sat down, tilted its head: "Awoo."

"An old lady acting cute won't work either... fine, just one."

Qu Dubian sighed and picked out a perfectly intact, less salty yolk for it.

They spent a whole day making quite a lot of mooncakes.

They certainly couldn't finish them all themselves, so they needed to send them out.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace distributed mooncakes, but the taste was always somewhat lacking. So, those who were thoughtful would prepare their own and share them with friends.

Qu Dubian sent people to deliver mooncakes everywhere.

Within the palace: to the Emperor, the Empress, the consorts they interacted with, and the Dowager Consorts.

Outside the palace: he wanted to send some to Grand Tutor Fang and Master Xi—Xi Zixing was Master Xi's son; if he gave more, that guy could get a bigger share.

And to Grandmother at the Marquis' residence.

No need to give any to Xia Fuyang; he was thick-skinned and would go beg from others if he wanted some.

He couldn't give any directly to Xiao Chun from the Inspection Office; Xiaoyuan would find someone to quietly deliver them.

He had considered everyone in his large circle, giving out many mooncakes and receiving even more. The ones that couldn't be finished were distributed to the palace servants below.

On Mid-Autumn Festival day, court was held as usual.

Emperor Chongzhao had been very busy lately, even pulling ministers into discussions at night. This year, there was no royal family Mid-Autumn banquet.

On one hand, everyone felt considerably more relaxed; on the other, they felt something was missing.

So, they each set up a table in their own palaces with their own people, raising their cups to the moon.

Qu Dubian, carrying a basket of fruit, said a word to Consort Xuan and then strolled off towards the Princes' Quarters.

-

Within Panshi Courtyard.

Tea and dishes were already prepared on the stone table in the courtyard.

The Fourth Prince and Fifth Prince were thirteen and twelve this year respectively; counting by nominal age, that made fourteen and thirteen.

When Qu Dubian arrived with the fruit basket, the two of them were chatting idly.

"Fourth Brother! Fifth Brother!"

They both turned their heads simultaneously, looking at the young boy who had entered by pushing aside the hanging floral vines. The Fifth Prince smiled and waved, saying, "Come quickly, we were just waiting for you."

He came over, took the fruit basket from Qu Dubian's hands, and glanced behind him. "Didn't Eunuch Xiaoyuan come?"

Qu Dubian: "Shunningning Palace is busy with affairs; he was pulled away to serve as extra help. I'm familiar with this area, so they were fine with me coming alone."

"Take a seat, take a seat," said the Fourth Prince, his sleepy eyes finally opening a bit wider. "With no banquet this year, I had them prepare the feast early. There are still a few dishes not served yet, so wait a moment."

Qu Dubian sat on the stone stool.

The Fifth Prince placed the fruit basket to the side.

Both the Fourth and Fifth Princes were in a rapid growth spurt, shooting up quickly. Compared to them, Qu Dubian seemed even smaller. Yet, this Mid-Autumn gathering had come about because he had organized it.

The Sixth Prince had moved into the Princes' Quarters at age ten, but because he was not yet twelve, he would occasionally return to stay at Xiuxiang Palace, and especially during festivals, he would not come back.

The Fourth Prince was wherever his bed was, while the Fifth Prince had nowhere to return to.

Qu Dubian felt he still needed to show some care; otherwise, Fifth Brother would have no one to spend the festival with all year, which seemed a bit lonely.

Fifth Prince: "When Little Seventh turns twelve, we can swap the tea for wine then."

Qu Dubian: "Actually, I can drink too, fruit wine is fine, it's sweet. Come on, Fifth Brother, have some food."

Fourth Prince: "The Princes' Quarters are too small, Panshi Courtyard is small too. Just thinking I have to live here for over two more years..."

The Fifth Prince moved the fish, from which he had picked out the bones, over to Qu Dubian.

He sighed: "Be content, Fourth Brother. I have to live here for four more years."

Qu Dubian: "Is it really okay for you two to say this in front of me, someone who hasn't even started living here yet?"

The Fifth Prince said with a laugh: "You won't live here for six years. When the time comes, just act a bit spoiled, and Father Emperor will definitely agree to let you stay at Shunningning Palace until you're twelve."

Fourth Prince: "Twelve at the latest. By then, Little Fifth can still keep you company in the Princes' Quarters for a year, Little Sixth for two years. The remaining two years, you'll have to keep yourself company."

Qu Dubian slapped the table, pretending to be angry: "No way! When the time comes, I'll definitely leave the palace and seek refuge with you both!"

"I'll eat your food, drink your drinks, spend your money. Sleep here tonight, there tomorrow night, and you're not allowed to chase me away."

The Fourth and Fifth Princes burst out laughing.

"Fine, we'll save a room for you in our mansions then."

The moonlight peeked out from behind the dark clouds, its silvery glow sprinkling over every corner of the imperial city.

After having their fill of tea and food, Qu Dubian found a comfortable rock and lay down on it. The Fourth Prince was too lazy to move, while the Fifth Prince sat on a rock beside Qu Dubian.

Qu Dubian: "It's a good thing Father Emperor didn't hold a banquet. Otherwise, I'd probably have to go back right after having dinner with you."

Fifth Prince: "I heard things aren't very stable down in Nanning. Someone from Consort Lan's family is garrisoned there. I caught a bit of it; the memorials Father Emperor has been dealing with lately are all about matters at Zhennan Pass."

Fourth Prince: "We haven't entered the court yet, so we get news much slower."

Qu Dubian stretched lazily: "We'll know when it's time to know."

He rested his head on his arms and looked at the full moon in the sky.

Sparse stars, bright silvery light, casual conversation among a few.

He returned to Shunningning Palace.

The palace gate was not closed, lanterns lit on both sides.

Qu Dubian hurried inside and saw Da Hei at the entrance. Da Hei barked a few times towards the interior.

Ye Xiaoyuan peeked out from the kitchen, "Your Highness is back."

Zhiyi, her face dusted with flour, coughed repeatedly from the irritation. "Little Seventh, Da Hei's snacks are all gone. We're making some more; come and help."

Qu Dubian said with a smile, "Coming."

If every Mid-Autumn Festival could be spent like this, it wouldn't be bad at all.