Chapter 28 Part 2

 

After the crown prince led all the officials away, it was already noon and the painters was given half an hour to eat and take a rest.

Ordinary court painters had no seats to eat. They received their meals from the palace eunuchs who delivered them, and ate on the spot in the palace corridors or on their work desks. Only deputy directors and higher rank painter had seats to move around. If they worked for a long time, they could also find a temporary place to rest nearby.

It was estimated that this painting would take half a year from beginning to end, and most of the time would be spent in this new palace. Song Bokang wanted to take care of his new disciple and asked Eunuch Cao for a temporary resting place for Xuyu. In fact, it was a place for the palace supervisors and maids who would serve here in the future to stay. The location was naturally remote, in a corner behind the Shenshu Palace.

Further on, across a patch of lush vegetation, at the end of a sloping embankment, was the ruins of the Yong’an Palace that was destroyed in the war. Although there were no palace guards there, it was a forbidden area and no one was allowed to enter without permission. This point was taught to all the painting students in the previous painting school, and everyone kept it in mind.

Xuyu returned to her newly acquired residence in the palace to eat.

This room was for the future head of the palace servants to live in. The furnishings were simple, but fortunately it was a single room, which could shelter people from disturbances. After a quick meal, it was almost time to go back to work.

She met Li Mao this morning.

Perhaps because she had a vague memory of her half-brother, so when they met again many years later, she did not have any special feelings. The only feeling she had was that the world was so vast and things had changed.

Her elder brother, who used to have a rather deep temperament, had now become such a dignified and friendly crown prince.

Xuyu walked towards the front hall.

The construction of the new palace was completed. Most of the craftsmen who had worked here before had left. Only the lacquering, painting, and transplanting of plants and trees were left. The people who moved in were led by eunuchs to continue their work. There were not many people left in such a big new palace. At noon, the palace supervisors and craftsmen were all resting. It was very quiet and there was no sound of people.

She walked along a palace corridor, looking at the ruins of the abandoned palace not far away, which was buried by grass and trees. She couldn’t help but recall that night many years ago. It was there that she was saved by her grandfather and taken out of Chang’an.

Now, many years later, as if completing a full circle, she has returned to the place where it all began.

“You still recognize me!”

Suddenly, she heard a voice coming from beside her. She was startled and turned her head to see a man standing by the wall beside the palace corridor. The man had a strong build and was wearing the court dress of a military officer.

It was early summer, and the afternoon sun had grown glaringly bright. Standing under the corridor with no shade above his head, he squinted slightly against the harsh light, making his face appear faintly displeased.

It’s that Hu person, Chengping.

Without waiting for a response, he quickly walked to the edge of the corridor, placed his hand on the railing, and gently flipped over. He landed on the corridor like a kite and stopped in front of Xuyu. Then, without saying anything, he grabbed her arm and forcibly took her past the side hall outside.

This place would soon be turned into a garden, only it had not yet taken shape. There were only a pile of rocks and some fragrant trees such as lilac and sweet osmanthus have been transplanted, among which the most common was catalpa.

It was the peak season for these trees to bloom, with clusters of purple flowers bursting open, forming large patches that, when viewed from a distance, appeared like clouds floating among the halls, with a purple mist veiling the eaves. Indeed, it was good spot to talk.

This Hu guy was born in the Wolf Court. Since he was just learning to speak, he had been riding horses and shooting bows with his father, brothers and clansmen, it was no wonder he had great arm strength. When Xuyu was caught by him, she had no way to break free and could only follow him.

Chengping dragged the person under a clump of lush catalpa trees, only then he let go. He looked her up and down and nodded: “It’s really you! Why are you here? And you’re working as a painter in the palace?” His tone was questioning.

She saw Pei Xiaoyuan, who was closer to her, in the Chongtian Hall this morning, but she didn’t see this person. But she guessed that he must have been there at the time. Although she was a little caught off guard that he suddenly appeared like this, she was not very surprised.

Although she had never spoken directly to this prince in the county governor mansion before, she had seen through him to some extent. This man acted recklessly and without rules, so forcibly stopping and questioning people in the palace should not be a big deal for him.

She had no intention of making enemies.

Before she knew Pei Xiaoyuan was coming to Chang’an, she had considered how to deal with this prince if she met him after entering the palace. At that time, she thought about explaining to him and asking him to keep the secret in a gentle way, thinking that he would not deliberately make things difficult for her. Now that Pei Xiaoyuan was here, things became even simpler.

“Didn’t Chief Pei mention this to Your Highness?” she asked.

Chengping stood under the tree and looked at her for a moment, it was unknown what he was thinking. After a moment, his expression softened: “Of course he did. It’s just I’m still confused. I want to hear you say it again!”

“This palace was built to celebrate His Majesty’s longevity, and the capital long scroll will be reproduced inside. I am a painter. If I can participate in this and leave a name for myself, I will have no regrets in this life.”

Chengping sneered lightly: “Do you think I’m a three-year-old?”

“If not for this, why do you think I came here?” Xuyu asked back.

Chengping looked confused, probably he really couldn’t think of another reason, so he kept silent and looked at her for a moment.

“Forget it! I have something else to tell you!

“That day at the County Governor Mansion, did you leave because you misunderstood what I said to Pei Er and thought that he was slandering you in front of me, so you broke off the engagement? This matter has nothing to do with him. He didn’t say a single bad word about you the night before. All of those nonsenses were entirely my own wild guesses and spoken out of impulse. After you left, Lord Pei was furious and blamed everything on him. Although you two have already terminated the engagement, now that I found you, I must explain this matter to you in person. One should take responsibility for their own actions. You can blame me, but you must not misunderstand Pei Erlang.”

She didn’t expect that this Hu person came back to find her just for such a thing.

Xuyu spoke again, her tone softened: “I know. From the beginning, I didn’t blame either of you.”

She responded so quickly and naturally that Chengping was stunned.

“Really?” He seemed to be in disbelief.

“Why would I lie to you? I wanted to leave on my own initiative. It doesn’t matter whether you said those words or not.”

This matter had always been a knot in Chengping’s heart. Now that it was finally untied, he felt relaxed and glanced at the person opposite him. Suddenly he remembered that he had been circling the wall for three days trying to see him but failed.

“You are truly the most—”

He was about to say “the most ruthless girl”, but after thinking it over, he swallowed his words and leaned against the trunk of a nearby catalpa tree, quietly looking at the person under the tree opposite.

Xuyu said: “I’m leaving.”

The lunch break was almost over, and a gardener might pass by here soon. Not only that, from the direction of the unpainted palace corridor in the front hall, there was also a faint sound of painters dragging their workpieces against the ground, making sharp squeaking noises.

“What are you afraid of?” Chengping looked at her lazily and said, “I see that you are highly regarded. You were brought before the Crown Prince as soon as you entered the palace. The front hall is full of people, so what if you are missing for a while?”

Xuyu ignored him and turned to leave, but suddenly she heard him say briefly, “Wait a minute!”

Xuyu was puzzled, so she stopped and turned around.

Chengping’s eyes fell on her hat: “There is something on your head.” he said.

Xuyu raised her head.

The purple flowers above were falling one after another, it turned out that the wind was shaking the treetops.

She understood, raised her hand and brushed her hat, and a few purple petals fell off.

“I really have to go.” She took another step.

“There’s still one piece left! Let me get it for you! It’s not good for others to see it.”

Chengping stood up from the tree trunk he was leaning on, walked towards her with a smile, and was about to raise his arm to pick away the remaining petals on her head. Suddenly, at this moment, there was a slight “bang” sound behind him, as if a foreign object hit the tree trunk.

Chengping turned his head suddenly, his eyes swept across a small stone that had just fallen on the muddy ground beside the trunk of the catalpa tree he was leaning against. His face changed slightly, and he shouted coldly in a low voice: “Who? Get out!”

A dozen feet away, behind a clump of lush lilac branches, a man who was about the same age as Chengping and was also wearing a similar Lieutenant General official robe appeared.

It turned out to be the young shizi of the County Prince Xiping, Yuwen Zhi.

There was a hint of sneer at the corner of his lips. His eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, swept across the faces of Chengping and Xuyu. He said in a low but clear voice, word by word: “A single man and a single woman, how shameless!”

In an instant, a fierce light flashed across Chengping’s eyes, and he subconsciously wanted to draw his sword. He reached for his waist, but found nothing. Then he came to his senses and realized that when he entered the palace this morning, due to the ban, he was not allowed to carry a sword.

Although he failed to draw his sword, his body did not stop for a moment. He rushed to the opponent, and with a bang, his fist hit Yuwen Zhi in the face.

Yuwen Zhi was caught off guard and fell to the ground, his mouth and nose immediately bleed as he let out a muffled groan of pain. However, he was a tough opponent, and as he fell, he landed a heavy kick on Chengping’s shin, causing Chengping to stumble and fall as well. The two quickly became entangled in a fierce struggle. During the fight, Chengping was struck in the face by Yuwen Zhi’s elbow, leaving a sweet and fishy taste in his mouth. Spitting out the blood, he gathered his strength and used his skilled grappling technique to turn the tables, pinning Yu Wen Zhi to the ground.

Originally, when this shizi from Jiannan Road showed up and said that, Chengping thought that he had revealed the secret of Miss Ye’s identity, and he had a murderous intent. At this moment, he was even more furious because of the pain. With new and old hatreds, he picked up a sharp stone from the ground nearby and raised his arm to smash it hard on Yuwen Zhi’s head.

Xuyu never expected such a scene to happen.

When the two men were fighting, she was extremely anxious. She tried to separate them several times, but they were both violent and wanted to kill each other. How could she intervene? This was the palace, how could she ask for help? Seeing that Chengping seemed to be about to kill him, she was horrified and rushed forward regardless of everything, grabbing Chengping’s hand.

“No! Are you crazy?”

Chengping hesitated for only a moment, but then Yuwen Zhi turned over and kicked him away, causing Chengping to crash into a catalpa tree behind him.

With a sharp crack, the catalpa tree as thick as a bowl snapped in half, sending a flurry of purple blossoms and scattered leaves swirling through the air.

Yuwen Zhi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and roughly shoved Xuyu, who was still nearby, away from him. His eyes locked onto Chengping with a malicious glint as he picked up the stone that Chengping had dropped earlier. With a sinister grin, he sprang up and moved in to strike back with the stone, seeking revenge.

How could Chengping let him succeed? The two of them started fighting again.

At this time, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the front hall at the end of the forest.

“Who is so bold as to cause trouble here?”

One could faintly hear the harsh voice coming from Eunuch Cao.

After being pushed by Yuwen Zhi, Xuyu took seven to eight steps back, stepped on a stone on the ground, and fell heavily to the ground.

Chengping and Yuwen Zhi were both injured, but they were still fighting with bloodshot eyes. The nearby trees and branches were broken, and the mud was full of footprints and rolling marks, making the whole place a mess.

She was shocked, angry, and puzzled. She didn’t understand why these two people just bump into each other and started fighting with their lives without saying anything.

It seemed that Eunuch Cao and his men were about to arrive.

She couldn’t control these two people, and she couldn’t let anyone see her here.

She got up from the ground and was about to leave when she felt a pain in her left ankle. She was unsteady and swayed for a moment before realizing that she had twisted her ankle. But she could no longer care about that and managed to stand still. She looked around for a place to hide, then saw a pile of rocks about ten feet away that would be used to build a rockery.

She endured the excruciating pain and struggled to stagger towards the pile of rocks, not knowing if she could hide before Eunuch Cao saw her. Just then, her body suddenly felt light, as if lifted into the air. She found herself in a pair of strong arms, and before she could react, she was swiftly carried and concealed behind the pile of rocks.

Looking up, she saw a familiar face.

Pei Xiaoyuan came and took her here to hide.

She was momentarily stunned, her body froze in his arms, unable to react.

Just as they barely managed to hide, almost at the same time, Eunuch Cao led a group of palace eunuchs and guards from behind the trees and ran towards their direction.

“Come here! Arrest these two assassins who dared to commit crimes in broad daylight—”

Eunuch Cao’s face turned pale as he shouted loudly. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly saw that the two people fighting were actually Wolf Court Prince Ashina and the shizi County Prince Xiping. He paused and quickly changed his words: “Your Highness! Shizi! Please stop! This is the imperial palace, don’t act rashly!”

Chengping and Yuwen Zhi, both already bloodied, had long since been consumed by their fury, oblivious to everything around them as their punches landed with brutal force.

With a “bang”, another tree broke and fell to the ground.

Eunuch Cao was extremely anxious and immediately ordered the palace eunuchs and guards to separate the two. Everyone surrounded them, but seeing that the two men were as aggressive as mad tigers, they did not dare to get close.

Xuyu was also awakened by the sound of trees falling in front of the pile of rocks. When she came to her senses, she didn’t know whether it was because she was too nervous a moment ago or what, but her heart suddenly started pounding wildly.

At this time, Pei Xiaoyuan had already gently placed her on a flat stone on the ground, leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Stay here and don’t move. Wait for me to come back!”

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