CH 20

Chapter 20 – A Written Statement

Lou Jing pulled his Consort over to hide outside the room that Zhao furen was in. They took cover in a narrow alley between the room and the prayer hall. Before long, a figure in a pink dress darted across, and Lou Jing grabbed hold of this person.

“Mmph!” The person Lou Jing caught widened his eyes in shock and tried to cry out, but was unable make a sound as Lou Jing had clapped his hand firmly over the person’s mouth.

The furrow between Xiao Chengjun’s brows earlier had now turned into a deep trench. What was his Consort doing, kidnapping a young lady?!

“Yo, are you the Ninth Young Miss of the Zhao family, or the Ninth Daughter-in-Law?” Lou Jing asked, looking the lady up and down in a most lecherous manner.

“Pei*! How dare you make fun of me when I’m here on your errand?” that “young lady” spat. “She” spoke in what was obviously a young man’s voice, and her actions were also very masculine. This was the cross-dressing ninth young master of the Zhao family – Zhao Xi.

*T/N: “Pei” is onomatopoeia for spitting.

Xiao Chengjun was stunned. There was actually someone even bolder than they were. He had actually pretended to be a woman to get into the nunnery!

“I’m here with the Crown Prince to audit your performance today,” Lou Jing smirked. He turned sideways, revealing the Crown Prince standing behind him. “Dianxia, this is the Minister of the Left’s nephew, who placed first in last year’s provincial examinations. His name is Zhao Xi, courtesy name Ji Ming.”

Xiao Chengjun looked at the pink-clad youth who had pearls and flowers in his hair. His face remained expressionless, but amusement crept into his eyes. He coughed softly. “I’ve heard the Left Minister mention him before – the genius of the Zhao family,” he said.

Zhao Xi’s jaw dropped when he saw the Crown Prince. “This student greets the Crown Prince…” he said, getting into position to kowtow.

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony in a place like this,” Xiao Chengjun said, grabbing hold of his arm quickly. The stone path they were on was wet and a little muddy. If Zhao Xi were to kneel here, his dress would get dirty, and everyone would know that he had kowtowed to someone, which would certainly invite questions.

Zhao Xi was not the type of person who would insist on kowtowing when he was already excused from doing so. He straightened up, then flushed a little with embarrassment. This was the first time he was meeting the Crown Prince, and he had to be dressed in this strange manner! In future, when the Crown Prince became the Emperor, and he became a Minister in his Court, would the Crown Prince laugh every time he saw him?!

“How’s it going?” Lou Jing asked, suppressing a grin as he patted Zhao Xi encouragingly on the back.

“You whacked me with a stone before I could even meet that old nun,” Zhao Xi complained, rubbing his back. It still hurt a little!

“Remember to make her sign off on a written statement,” Lou Jing said, pushing a silver note into Zhao Xi’s hand.

“Wow, Lou Jing! You’ve finally become a decent person! I’ve done so many things for you since we were kids, but this is the first time you’re giving me some well-deserved compensation!” Zhao Xi said, holding up the silver note for fifty taels of silver excitedly.

Lou Jing smacked Zhao Xi’s head. “It’s not for you. This is for you to bribe that old nun. Of course, if you manage to get her written statement without paying her, this money is yours,” he said.

“And if your suspicions are wrong, does this money still belong to me?” Zhao Xi asked, rolling his eyes.

“What I’ve given you, I won’t take back,” Lou Jing said, waving his hands impatiently. He pushed Zhao Xi out of the narrow alley.

Zhao Xi staggered from the push, and accidentally bumped into some passing nuns.

“Amitabha. Almsgiver, please watch your step,” the nun at the head of the group said, pressing her palms together and bowing to Zhao Xi. She looked to be about fifty years old.

Zhao Xi found his feet and was about to clasp his hands together to return a masculine greeting, when he suddenly remembered that he was dressed as a woman. He quickly pretended to dip his head bashfully, then placed both his hands on one hip and curtsied.

The two fellows hiding the narrow alley clutched at each other, shaking with silent laughter.

“Great Master, you’re finally here. I’ve waited a long time for you,” Zhao Xi’s Second Aunt said, walking out with a smile to greet the old nun. “This is my ninth ne… niece. Little Ninth, come over here. This is Priestess Ningxin.”

Xiao Chengjun and Lou Jing retreated to the end of the narrow alley. They waited until the nuns had entered the room before leaping over the garden wall and out of Qinglian Temple.

“Two bowls of wontons, and a plate of osmanthus cake for you, sirs!” the food stall owner said gaily as he placed the food on the table. He accepted the copper coins Lou Jing gave him, then trotted back to cook more wontons.

“Eat it whilst it’s hot,” Lou Jing said. He took out a silk handkerchief and wiped a rough-hewn wooden spoon before handing it to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince took the spoon. “I thought you came to watch Zhao Xi’s performance. Why are we eating wontons now?” he asked.

“Ah, women’s conversations usually take quite some time. By the time Zhao Xi is able to get the old nun alone, it’ll probably be past noon. We might as well eat something first,” Lou Jing grinned widely as he picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and held it in front of the Crown Prince’s lips. “Try this.”

Xiao Chengjun looked at the osmanthus cake in front of him and frowned slightly. He was about to take it from Lou Jing when he realised that he didn’t have a pair of chopsticks. He looked at his Consort’s bright, shining eyes, and didn’t have the heart to refuse. He looked around, confirmed that no one was paying attention to them, then quickly took a big bite of the cake. This osmanthus cake certainly wasn’t as refined as the ones made by the Imperial Chefs, but the ingredients used were incredibly fresh. The osmanthus used in the cake was probably picked from the mountain that very morning, and bore a fresh, floral fragrance even after being steamed.

“Good?” Lou Jing asked. His eyes curved smilingly into little half-moons as he watched the Crown Prince’s adorable series of actions. He popped the half-bitten cake into his mouth in a natural manner.

“Umm…” This happened too quickly, and Xiao Chengjun didn’t manage to stop Lou Jing in time. He could only watch as his half-eaten cake was chewed and then swallowed by Lou Jing. The pink little tip of Lou Jing’s tongue stuck out to lick his lips clean, and Xiao Chengjun was suddenly reminded of their long kiss under the maple tree the day before. The Crown Prince suddenly felt hot all over, and quickly drank a mouthful of wonton soup with lowered eyes.

Lou Jing suppressed a smile as he noticed the Crown Prince’s blushing ears.

The two wandered around the temple festival. They ate more snacks, played some games, and even had their fortunes told before returning to the Qinglian Temple to spy on the people in the room they’d left earlier.

Zhao Xi had somehow managed to get the Priestess Ningxin alone, and it was now just the two of them in the room, talking nineteen to the dozen with each other.

“… the four noble truths of Buddhism.* Speaking with your Holiness has been really enlightening,” Zhao Xi said in a girlish voice. He had specially taken vocal lessons from a theatre actor to learn how to transform his voice into that of a young girl’s, and he was quite the star student; if Lou Jing didn’t know it was Zhao Xi in there, he would have thought the person speaking was really a young lady. “Your Holiness, I really admire how well-read you are in Buddhist teachings. I hear that you’re also very skilled at the medicinal arts?”

*T/N: I tried very hard but I didn’t understand the first phrase in this para, which is: 上报三重恩，下济三途苦. It’s a Buddhist teaching, but after reading through a few websites, I still didn’t understand it. The correct phrasing seems to be 上报 四 重恩，下济三涂苦, actually. Have a read here (in Chinese) if you’re interested. I substituted this part with the four noble truths of Buddhism instead.

Lou Jing grinned to himself from his hiding place outside the window. Zhao Xi was incredibly well-read, certainly much more so than this old nun. If he really applied himself to debating Buddhist teachings, even ten Priestess Ningxins wouldn’t be his match. He turned to look at Xiao Chengjun and noticed that his Crown Prince seemed to be very uncomfortable in the squatting position. He reached out to pull the Crown Prince over, settling him down on his thighs.

“No!” Xiao Chengjun hissed softly. He got a shock when Lou Jing pulled him over. He hurriedly pushed Lou Jing aside. “You’re still injured. I can’t sit on your legs,” he mouthed at Lou Jing.

Lou Jing refused to let him go. He landed a quick peck on the Crown Prince’s lips, then motioned for him to be quiet.

“You’re too kind. I only know some traditional remedies,” the Priestess Ningxin said. Her tone of voice indicated that she was very pleased by Zhao Xi’s flattery.

Zhao Xi smiled and lowered his head slightly, but his eyes were fixed on Ningxin’s face, monitoring her mood. “Your Holiness, you are far too humble. I’m the Anguo Gong furen’s cousin. If not for your Holiness doing checkups on the furen, we would not have known that she was expecting!”

The Priestess Ningxin was stunned for a second. Zhao Xi’s face was nonchalant, as if it was to be expected that he knew about the Anguo Gong furen’s pregnancy. The Priestess then released the breath she’d been holding unconsciously. “The Guogong furen is a fortunate person,” she said.

Xiao Chengjun understood what these two were conspiring to do now. He felt Lou Jing’s arms tighten around his waist when he heard the Priestess confirm his stepmother’s pregnancy.

“Ah… What fortune is that? She’s gone through many difficulties after marrying into the Anguo Gong family,” Zhao Xi said, lowering his head to hide the cold expression on his face. “It’s hard being a stepmother, and that Shizi is a piece of work.”

When Ningxin heard this, she pressed her hands together prayerfully. “Amitabha. Every family has its difficulties,” she said.

“I have one more thing to ask of your Holiness today,” Zhao Xi said, putting on a sheepish face. “You must know that the Shizi is now the Crown Prince Consort. He’s very powerful now. Yesterday he brought an Imperial Physician back with him to the Anguo Gong residence, and insisted that the child in the furen’s belly wasn’t fathered by the Guogong ye.”

Ningxin was thunderstruck. “How… how can this…”

“Don’t you know? Lou Jing is a vicious person. He would do anything to get his hands on the family’s assets. He’s doing this to force the Guogong ye to divorce the furen,” Zhao Xi said, sparing no effort to smear Lou Jing’s name.

Lou Jing originally had a chilly expression on his face, but now it was absolutely frigid.

Ningxin didn’t refute what Zhao Xi had said. She in fact nodded slightly. Mdm Wei must have said negative things about the Shizi to her.

“Your Holiness, the matter is of utmost urgency, and the Guogong furen is unable to leave the residence. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked me to come here and beg you on her behalf,” he said, his voice dripping with sincerity. He stood up. “Buddhists always say that saving a life honours Buddha’s name more than building a seven-storey pagoda. That unborn child is also a life, your Holiness! I believe you will not stand by and watch that child perish in the hands of evildoers. Also, the Anguo Gong is the most powerful aristocratic family in the Capital. If you help the furen, the Guogong ye will probably donate generously to the Qinglian Temple.”

“But this humble nun is not able to tell whether the child is Anguo Gong’s or not…” Ningxin said. She was convinced by what Zhao Xi had said, but at the same time, she couldn’t afford to offend either the Anguo Gong or the Crown Prince Consort. One was a member of the high nobility, and the other was part of the Imperial family!

“That’s not difficult. You just need to write down when you took the furen’s pulse, and how many months’ pregnant she was at that time. A written statement will do,” Zhao Xi said, not giving Ningxin any chance to reject. “Everyone knows that monks and nuns don’t lie. Please make sure you write the true facts, your Holiness, or a great injustice will be done to my cousin.” As he said this, he produced a brush and ink.

Ningxin hesitated for a moment. She did feel that this Young Miss Zhao was telling the truth. The Anguo Gong furen really had seemed to be in some difficulty when she last saw her. Otherwise, she would have just asked an Imperial Physician to do her checkup instead of approaching her. The furen had told her to keep this a secret, but this Ninth Young Miss of the Zhao family was obviously her confidante, since she knew so much about the situation.

“This written statement is really just a safeguard. Furen plans to find other ways to deal with this situation, and it’s quite unlikely that she will have to resort to using your statement. You know as well as I do that the aristocratic families are only allowed to be treated by the Imperial Physicians. As far as possible, furen will try to avoid opening this can of worms,” Zhao Xi said. He dipped the brush in ink, and offered it to her.

Priestess Ningxin released the breath she’d been holding. She thought back on how the Anguo Gong furen had always donated generously to the temple by buying many incense sticks, and all her residual misgivings disappeared. She took the brush from Zhao Xi, and wrote down the necessary details, such as when she took the furen’s pulse and how many months’ pregnant the furen was at that time. Zhao Xi even managed to persuade her to put her handprint on the statement for verification of authenticity.

Lou Jing was quiet as he walked out of Qinglian Temple. It was one thing to have a suspicion; it was quite another to have his suspicions confirmed.

Xiao Chengjun reached out and took Lou Jing’s hand firmly in his. “Zhuoyu…”

“My father… it was still his mourning period…” Lou Jing’s hand was trembling slightly. The child had been conceived not long after his grandfather passed on, which was already a real disgrace; to add insult to injury, instead of finding a way to get rid of this ill-gotten creature, his father had married him off to protect that vile spawn instead!

Beansprout: I’ve released this a day in advance because tomorrow (Wednesday) is gonna be crazy busy day for me! The next update will be on Friday as usual.

Also, osmanthus cake (桂花糕), which Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun ate in this chapter, is amayyyyzing, please try some if you haven’t already. This is a pic of my first attempt to make it some months back!