Kapitel 27: The Oriole Watches the Mantis

The twins had cried a lot.

Because Yan Zheyun was almost 8 years older than them, he'd been old enough by the time they'd been born to know what they were like as babies. But even after growing up, at 18, he still felt like they'd cried a lot. Even Yan Liheng, who was a boy, would tear up at sad movies or if he was in enough pain from a soccer injury.

Yan Zheyun had seen all sorts of crying in his 25 years of life. He'd seen the twins' spoiled outbursts as children when they'd been told that they couldn't have more than 1 toy each per trip to the store. He'd seen Yan Lixin's angry, frustrated bawling when she'd fallen out with her close girlfriends. He'd seen Yan Liheng cry himself to sleep in his older brother's bed after his crush rejected him because she wanted to focus on the university entrance exams.

But all that sadness had been part and parcel of growing up. And Yan Zheyun's parents, along with Yan Zheyun himself, had gone out of their way to nurture these two young children with love and patience. Their sorrows had been taken seriously but were also a luxury that only privileged youths, who did not need to care about food or shelter, could enjoy.

The kind of crying that people in the throes of despair did was different.

Yan Zheyun had seen Xiao Ma cry before. But not like this. Not big, fat anguished tears that stained his face and ran down his neck in rivulets. Xiao Ma was struggling so hard to get his words out that he was short of breath, his hiccoughing gasps getting louder and higher in pitch as he spoke.

If it had been any other circumstance, Yan Zheyun would have soothed him by now, reaching out to pat his back gently while searching for a paper bag to help him regulate his breathing. At least to his modern eye, it looked like Xiao Ma was hyperventilating from an anxiety attack. This used to happen a lot to Yan Liheng too, and Yan Zheyun was good at dealing with it.

But he didn't move, just watched in silence.

"I—I d-d-di—didn't! Didn't w-w-want to!" Xiao Ma's chest heaved with effort. "B-b-b-bu—but th-they threa—threatened—"

"They threatened you," Yan Zheyun finished for him. He wasn't surprised, to be honest. He couldn't even be disappointed because it wasn't Xiao Ma's fault. He didn't have any obligations to prioritise Yan Zheyun's life over his own. In fact, it would have been even worse if Xiao Ma had sacrificed himself for Yan Zheyun's sake.

"What did they threaten you with and who was responsible, do you know?"

Xiao Ma shook his head. Miserable didn't begin to describe the look on his face. From the corner of his eye, Yan Zheyun saw blood dripping from the stable master's fists. He'd clenched his hands so tightly that he'd injured himself and would suffer later if he tried to attach harnesses to the horses.

But Yan Zheyun gave the old man due respect and didn't turn to look at him. He could hear the stable master's quiet sniffling and knew that he was both disappointed at and heartbroken for his foster son.

"You don't know or you don't dare say?"

"Don't know," Xiao Ma croaked out. "But I can guess."

So could Yan Zheyun. "What did they threaten you with?"

[What did you betray me for?] He didn't even ask if they'd promised the boy wealth or status. He wasn't foolish but he'd like to think that as someone who had trained for a managerial role, he was at least adept at reading people. Xiao Ma wasn't a complicated person. He was young, naïve, and sometimes dumb, but he was also kind and loyal to a fault. Bribery wouldn't have worked on him, would only have insulted him.

Even threatening his life would be a long stretch. The only person Xiao Ma would betray his Big Brother Yan for…

Yan Zheyun suddenly knew why Xiao Ma refused to say.

"Never mind," he said. "I don't want to know anymore." If Xiao Ma blurted out the truth now, there would be one more person in this room who would have to carry the burden of guilt. And Yan Zheyun didn't want that, not when their only faults were to exist in the wrong place and the wrong time. All three of them, if they weren't slaves, then none of this would have happened.

"Big Brother Yan," Xiao Ma called out in despair. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" He tried to kowtow, but Yan Zheyun stopped him by placing a firm palm against his forehead.

"Don't," Yan Zheyun replied. "What's done is done."

He walked out of the room, glad that he didn't give Xiao Ma a chance to beg for forgiveness. It would be cruel to deny Xiao Ma that, when Yan Zheyun knew he would have done the same had he been in Xiao Ma's position.

But Yan Zheyun wasn't a saint. The betrayal stung, especially because he was fully aware of what would have happened to him if he'd been careless enough to forget his knife or if Wu Roushu hadn't intervened out of personal interest.

Tomorrow, he'd wake up and greet Xiao Ma as per normal. He would go about with his daily business and act like nothing had happened, if only so that the stable master could have some peace of mind. As for Xiao Ma, Yan Zheyun shouldn't have been so quick as to adopt him as a younger brother figure. Or he should have at least hidden it better so that neither of them could become each other's weaknesses. But whatever. He would deal with it if and when necessary.

For now, at least, Yan Zheyun didn't want to think about him anymore.

——————————

A new side concubine was due to arrive at Bright Prince Manor. The news had spread through the household more voraciously than locusts through a field of crops. No one knew how or why there was a sudden addition to the Bright Prince's harem, but no one dared to ask either. Prince Xi had left to attend a wedding in the Minister of Rites' estate and hadn't returned all night.

Upon his arrival back home, he'd stormed into the house and barricaded himself in his study. No one dared to go near him whenever he was in a mood, besides his trusted servant, Xiao Lichun.

Xiao Lichun was also a eunuch from the palace, who had taken care of Prince Xi since he'd been a little boy. As a personal manservant, Xiao Lichun knew more about the prince than anyone else, even the empress dowager, who was Prince Xi's birth mother. And because there were no secrets between them, Xiao Lichun was allowed to sit in on Prince Xi's tirades, where he waited with bated breath as his master vented his anger, before coming up with an appropriate solution for him.

This was how Xiao Lichun had earned himself into the good graces of the esteemed Bright Prince of the First Rank.

Liu Wei's mood was fouler than normal today. Flinging himself into the chair behind his desk, he seized a porcelain vase antique and flung it against the wall.

"That scheming bitch," he snarled, with none of his usual charisma. "She must have planned this!" Another vase soon joined the first as shards on the floor. Xiao Lichun was going to have to sweep them all up later once Prince Xi was done. He couldn't let the maids do it because then they would know that Prince Xi had thrown a tantrum. This sort of potential rumour had to be nipped in the bud before it even took flight.

Xiao Lichun knew what had happened in the Wu Estate, just like he was aware that his master had his sights set on a beautiful slave boy. He had even been the one to encourage Prince Xi to make that deal with Compiler Wu because he'd thought that it would be easy for Compiler Wu to hand over a mere slave.

But something had gone wrong somewhere and now, the slave boy was still out of reach but the Bright Prince's harem was going to have one more unwanted mistress in it. No wonder the prince was upset. Any predator would be frustrated to have their tasty morsel snatched out of their jaws, only to be replaced by bland vegetables.

"Your Highness," Xiao Lichun coaxed. "This servant knows that you're angry, and rightfully so. But this servant implores you to consider your options carefully." He knew that saying this might rile up his master further, but Xiao Lichun was genuinely worried that Prince Xi would lose his cool completely and reveal his true colours. The emperor had just started nurturing Prince Xi, it was a bad time to prove to be a disappointment.

Yes, Xiao Lichun did think that his master was a disappointment. But so what? As long as all the decay was hidden beneath a glowing exterior, who would notice the difference?

"What options?" Prince Xi spat. "I've already fucked the girl, do you think Wu Shengqi will let me discard her like used goods?" A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "Or do you think this was their intention all along? That bastard Wu Bin, leading me on by promising to gift me his little pet. I should have known better than to trust him."

"Master is intelligent as always." No harm in a little sucking up. "The rumours in the capital about Young Master Wu's obsession with his manservant might have died down in the last couple of months, but perhaps Young Master Wu is still more attached than we'd expected."

Prince Xi shot Xiao Lichun a dark glare. "This prince recalls that you're the one who suggested making that deal," he said lightly.

Xiao Lichun felt a frisson of fear jolt down his spine. He fell to his knees immediately. "This humble servant begs for forgiveness!" he says, bashing his forehead against the floor without hesitation. "This humble servant had thought that Young Master Wu would be a smart man and prize his promotion above a mere servant boy."

"Mm." Prince Xi waved a careless hand in his direction. "Get up, who asked you to grovel? This prince didn't say he was blaming you." But the small, disdainful smile toying on his lips said otherwise. Xiao Lichun could read between the lines.

He continued to stay on the floor. "Master is too good to this servant," he babbled. "But this servant knows that he has committed a transgression, please allow him to remain kneeling as penance."

"If you insist. Don't say that this prince ill-treated you."

"This servant wouldn't dare!"

After more than a decade of serving Prince Xi, Xiao Lichun knew how to appease him. "Your Highness?" he called tentatively. "This servant has noticed that Your Highness didn't have a good night yesterday…"

Prince Xi snorted. "Of course not. If this prince hadn't been drugged by the spring medicine in the incense, I wouldn't have touched such a boring creature."

Xiao Lichun had been there at the scene earlier that morning and had caught a glimpse of the naked woman intertwined with his master on the bed. She had a fair face and a lovely figure, but he knew that she wasn't to Prince Xi's tastes.

"Your Highness, if this servant may say, there is plenty of space in your harem, why begrudge the Wu Family a paltry spot?" Xiao Lichun's smile turned sly. "A mere side concubine isn't worth anything, it's not like Your Highness would have to be considerate of the feelings of an illegitimate daughter that no one cares about."

"That's true," Prince Xi mused. He'd calmed down by now, brushing off imaginary dust from his attire as he raised an eyebrow at Xiao Lichun. "What you're suggesting is, that that moron Wu Shengqi wouldn't do anything if his daughter were to, say, accidentally drown in her bath?"

Xiao Lichun's eyes crinkled. "What can the Minister of Rites say? Accidents do occur. Or if Your Highness is feeling magnanimous, perhaps you could consider bestowing some favour on this Side Concubine Wu for a while."

"Not interested."

Xiao Lichun laughed. "Your Highness, don't dismiss the idea so quickly. Xiao Lichun noticed that this new little mistress has quite a suitable figure, it's just that her face is not so to Wangye's liking. In which case, Your Highness can consider covering her face and the rest of her would be a perfect toy, right? This servant recalls that Yutao Pavilion has a couple of new treasures that Your Highness was interested in trying out…"

For the first time that evening, Prince Xi's expression brightened. He looked like the cheerful, kind prince that everyone loved again.

"You're right, Xiao Lichun," he said. "Since this Maiden Wu was so eager to join this prince's household, it is only right that this prince gives her a warm welcome at my favourite entertainment venue."

AUTORENGEDANKEN
Queeniecat

A/N: Poor Yan Yan. :< I hope no one hates Xiao Ma...what he did was unforgivable but also, I do think that a lot of people confronted with that sort of choice would make the same one as he did. Yan Yan understood why Xiao Ma betrayed him, it's just hard to accept.

I'm just setting up the scene for the climactic end of volume 1, and hopefully we'll be thick in the swing of things in volume 2!

Thanks very much for reading! All the new collections are incredibly encouraging too. <3

Special thanks to: Barbara_Nogueira, Firu_M, Melinda_Pocsai, SmolBabyBun, Professor_slaroM, Luxxx76465130, and Kitty_Kat_Queen for the power stones! It has been amazing to receive such support and I will continue to work hard on updating this story! <3

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