It did not take long for Yi Cheng Rui to instill his knowledge of noble etiquette into Wei Tian Ao. His friend was a quick study and didn't require too much practice. Granted, Yi Cheng Rui was less knowledgeable about the specifics of the royal family, but for that he relied on his younger brother.
"No no no, you cannot bow like that towards a second-class marquis!" Yi Qiang Li barked at Wei Tian Ao, who immediately stiffened. The two were in the middle of acting out different scenarios.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to bow at all..." There might be some bowing involved if the other party was a duke or perhaps someone Wei Tian Ao was familiar with, but in what situation would a future prince possibly bow to a second-class marquis?
"Precisely!"
"But you said--"
"It was a test to see if you would actually bow or not. You failed that test!" Yi Qiang Li shook his head, looking immensely disappointed.
"Younger brother, you are having entirely too much fun." Yi Cheng Rui smirked.
Yi Qiang Li's smile was as bright as the sun as he replied, "Indeed! I have not been out of the Second Princess's estate in a long time. Elder brother, you have no idea how boring it is being a prince consort!" He then realized that he overspoke and hastily added, "I-it might be boring, but Fang'er treats me very well! I don't dislike my position at all!"
The Fang'er he referred to, naturally, was Wei Yin Fang, the second princess to whom he was married. As a prince consort, Yi Qiang Li enjoyed the status of someone belonging to the royal family, but he could not take concubines and he could not hold any official position. It was equivalent to being a kept man. Most noble sons would balk at such a thing, so it was often difficult for princesses to get married without their father the emperor intervening.
"You excel at finding something to complain about no matter where you are, don't you?" Yi Cheng Rui shook his head, an amused smirk curling his lips.
"Eldest Brother, that's too much! I am a very positive person! ...I spoke too much. I merely wanted to thank the two of you for giving me something to do."
"What do you normally do every day?" Wei Tian Ao asked his new mentor. The thought of there being a position such as prince consort--where one would have status and wealth, but no real job or purpose--both baffled him and aroused his curiosity.
"Hmm... In the mornings, after breakfast, a few times a week the princess and I will head to the royal palace to pay our respects to the empress. After that, if we have any social engagements, we'll go together or separately to those. If not, I go back to the estate and paint pictures or walk around the garden. If I'm feeling particularly bored and have a lot of time on my hands, I can go hunting. Fang'er does love fox fur. I eat my noon meal at some point, then once the princess and I are both home, we have dinner together. That is really about it."
"That sounds pretty peaceful," Tian Ao thoughtfully said. Internally, he agreed that it sounded like a boring life. It didn't seem that a prince consort had much to aspire towards.
"It is. But peace gets dull." Yi Qiang Li let out an exaggerated sigh. "I certainly do not claim to be ambitious, but I don't get to attend morning court at all. My servants have to keep me apprised of everything that's going on."
"Oh? So should I have married royal sister-in-law instead so you could live more freely?" Yi Cheng Rui smirked.
Yi Qiang Li banged his fists against the table. "I would never have allowed it! Fang'er belongs to me!!" It was already known throughout the entire capital that Yi Qiang Li and Wei Yin Fang were deeply in love. Rumors were rumors, but this was a fact that Yi Cheng Rui had witnessed over and over every time he'd met his brother and sister-in-law. Their lovey-dovey acts would cause anyone's teeth to ache.
"Right. So stop complaining so much about how bored you are. You're supposed to be helping Tian Ao. The banquet's tomorrow." he reminded his brother.
"Right. Oh, have you chosen your clothes yet?" Wei Tian Ao shook his head. "That will be important. I'm sure Princess Rui has had clothes made for you, yes?"
"Oh. Err, I suppose so."
"Don't say 'err'! If you can't think of something to say, you may pause thoughtfully. Or perhaps say something to the effect of 'let me think'. But don't start with 'hmm' or 'umm' or 'err'." the prince consort huffed irritatedly. "It will make people think that you're uneducated."
"But I... I am uneducated." Wei Tian Ao winced. He was very knowledgeable about business and the merchant trade, but what did he know of politics or the four scholarly arts? Thus, he was as good as uneducated in these areas.
"Alright, but that doesn't mean you want everyone in Yinchuan to know about it!!" Yi Qiang Li snapped.
This roundabout logic only served to make Wei Tian Ao laugh. He realized, with some alarm, that it had already been a very long time since he'd laughed at anything. Wei Tian Ao shot Yi Qiang Li a look of deep gratitude. The second young master of the Yi family didn't understand it, but his elder brother did all too well. It relieved him to see his good friend in high spirits again.
The three of them continued their lively chatter. Yi Qiang Li ended up making Tian Ao try on a multitude of outfits before he was satisfied. Chen Guang, who was hovering outside the prince-shizi's living quarters, went to Princess Rui's courtyard to report.
"You say Tian Ao is sounding more lively these days?"
"Answering your grace, yes. I could not make out everything that they said, but it seemed that the two young masters from Duke Gui's household were chatting with him about the banquet."
"Tian Ao has been close to Yi Cheng Rui almost since he arrived in Yinchuan." Princess Rui frowned. Duke Gui was part of the Crown Prince's faction. Why would he be showing support to their son? After all, it was highly unlikely that Yi Cheng Rui had chosen to befriend Wei Tian Ao of his own accord. "Do you think this Duke Gui-shizi is trustworthy?"
"With all due respect, Princess..." Chen Guang paused, chewing on her thoughts before continuing. "Duke Gui-shizi is the young master's only friend here. Whether or not he's trustworthy, to separate them now..."
"If he is Tian Ao's only friend, why did Tian Ao not break out of his depressed state until that whelp from Duke Ning's place came over!?" Princess Rui knocked over a porcelain teacup in her sudden anger. It shattered against the ground, but Chen Guang didn't even flinch. She had served Princess Rui for many, many years. This little show of rage was nothing. "What good is a friend if they cannot share your sorrows with you?"
"There is much that you still do not understand about the young master. He and the Yan family's fifth young master are not particularly close, but perhaps that was simply the wake-up call he needed." Chen Guang coaxed the princess. "Besides, the young master doesn't have any official position or clout in politics. What would Duke Gui's household have to gain from such a friendship? What ulterior motives could this shizi have?"
This was true. Still, Princess Rui had trouble accepting that someone might befriend her son purely out of goodwill or desire for friendship. "Very well. Continue observing the situation for now."
"Yes, your grace."
"......See if you can retain the two for dinner."
This was why Chen Guang hardly feared her mistress. She had watched over this Princess Rui since the latter was a young girl. Chen Guang had long come to realize that Princess Rui was the type who spoke harshly, but had a soft underbelly. Even as she complained about the two young men from Duke Gui's estate, she would still treat them with respect and even try to keep them for dinner. Hiding her small smile, Chen Guang bowed before returning to Wei Tian Ao's place.
Next up is the banquet! WHS, WTA, and YQY all in one place...
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Entendi
Capítulo 34: Friends
Those parting words that were spoken by Yan Qiu Heng sunk deep within Wei Tian Ao. For the next few days, they haunted him like a vengeful ghost. Why had he asked that question? Just what was he expecting from the Yan twins? It was indisputable that at the moment, despite being stripped of his shizi title, Wei Hong Sheng was in a better position. He had been in the capital longer, was very familiar with noble families and social etiquette. True, he had a reputation as somewhat of a scoundrel, but apparently that had been recently shed. It wasn't his fault that he was actually an "illegitimate" child--rather, it could be said that all this was an unfortunate fate for the young man. Others were more likely to pity him and want to support him.
Meanwhile, he himself... He grimaced, imagining how others must view him. He had grown up in Northern Xi, usurped Wei Hong Sheng's position and bride, and in recent weeks... Wei Tian Ao shook his head. Yan Qiu Heng couldn't be faulted for coming to lecture him. If he had a younger sister who had to marry someone like him, he wouldn't be too happy about it, either. On the contrary, he was deeply grateful to Yan Qiu Heng for breaking him out of his muddled daze.
Stretching his arms high above his head, Wei Tian Ao smiled wryly. "Well then, it's time that I do something useful..." he thought. He decided to pay Yi Cheng Rui a visit.
It didn't take long for the two of them to meet. "Here I thought you might never crawl out of your cave." Yi Cheng Rui drawled.
"Don't be like this. I already apologized for not replying to your letters."
"It's not about that..." Yi Cheng Rui sighed. "Never mind. I'm simply glad to see that you are well, that's all."
The two of them sat down in Yi Cheng Rui's study as they had so many times before all the tragic events had happened in Wei Tian Ao's life. It occurred to Tian Ao that the last time he'd seen his friend had been before Tian Ren's death. He looked his friend in the eye, trying to confirm something.
This puzzled Yi Cheng Rui. "What is it?"
"......" Wei Tian Ao had thought on it for a long time, but in the capital, the person he could trust the most at present was precisely Yi Cheng Rui. His father was gone and as for Prince and Princess Rui... Until he was certain of their involvement or lack thereof in Tian Ren's death, he could not place any confidence in them. He wanted to trust Yi Cheng Rui fully. He didn't want to go through his life being paranoid of anyone and everyone. So for Yi Cheng Rui, he had just one question: "Why did you start associating with me after I came to the capital?"
Yi Cheng Rui was taken aback by this sudden question. Then he thought of everything that Wei Tian Ao had been through recently. He maintained eye contact as he said, "I won't lie to you. Originally, it was because my father ordered me to befriend you."
"Why would Duke Gui do such a thing?"
"At the time, I didn't know. To tell the truth, I was pretty irritated at the thought of having to accompany some merchant's son. But you were far more interesting than I'd expected. I wouldn't have accompanied you if I'd thought you boring."
"Well thank you for that!" Wei Tian Ao laughed in mock-derision.
"But now..." Yi Cheng Rui's brows furrowed. "I believe that even then, my father was aware of your true lineage. He just didn't tell me. I can't think of any other reason why he would be so insistent that I befriend you and keep you entertained. He's always been eager to use others to climb up."
Wei Tian Ao was surprised at the harshness of his friend's words. He'd known for a while through the occasional sarcastic turns of phrase that his friend used that Yi Cheng Rui was somewhat dissatisfied with his father, but still... It was surprising to think that he'd just say something like that point-blank.
Was it safe to think that such a person would not be plotting against him and wasn't involved in those dirty affairs? Despite his sometimes cynical words, Yi Cheng Rui was clearly a person who wished to be idealistic and noble. His common sense merely overruled that wish at times. Wei Tian Ao, seeing the conflicted look on his friend's face, decided to take a chance. If he couldn't even trust Yi Cheng Rui, who else was left for him to trust in this awful country? He took a deep breath and told Yi Cheng Rui about everything that had happened since they'd last met.
Yi Cheng Rui was quiet for a very long time afterward as he took in all this information. Some things he'd heard about through the grapevine, but other things were new or had been understated by others. Most importantly, he was getting all this from Wei Tian Ao's perspective. "I am about to say something that may shock and hurt you." he finally said.
"Please don't hold back on my account."
"I... I don't think that the emperor was behind your father's death."
It heartened Tian Ao greatly that Yi Cheng Rui would refer to Tian Ren as "your father" and not "your foster father". He felt seen and understood. "After all... Is it..." He didn't want to say the name of the person they both were thinking of.
Wei Tian Ao still didn't fully understand if that man really was the culprit. Why bring such an unknown as him into the fray? What was wrong with the son that he already had? True, Wei Hong Sheng didn't have the best reputation, but was that enough reason to go through all this? Unless that man didn't know about his existence and only went with the flow after the fact? But then who else would scheme so hard to frame and kill Tian Ren?
The more he thought about it, the less Wei Tian Ao understood.
"The imperial family has very deep schemes," Yi Cheng Rui said. It was a simple statement, but there was a lot of meaning packed behind it. "Don't try to understand it all right now", he seemed to be saying. "It would be hard for a newcomer to grasp it all. Even I... I still don't see everything that's beneath the surface."
"So what would you suggest?" Wei Tian Ao frowned. Yan Qiu Heng had said that a gentleman's revenge could take more than ten years. He understood that he had to be patient with these matters, but he still required a plan.
"The New Year's Banquet is coming up. You will meet all of the major players there. Right now, you are like a lost man stumbling around in the darkness. You cannot get out until you better understand the situation."
"I... I understand. So will you teach me etiquette?"
Yi Cheng Rui grinned. "Naturally. But you better not complain that I'm too tough on you!"
"This humble one wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare..." Wei Tian Ao raised his fists and cupped them together in a placating salute.
Yan Qiu Heng had been right. He no longer was a merchant's son. Those faraway happy days where he could simply rely on his skills and wouldn't have to get involved with politics were over. To get the vengeance he craved, Tian Ao had to find out who his true enemy was...and learn to fight using their weapons.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES LanLan
Wei Tian Ao is growing up... ;_; And TWG has passed 80 followers! Wow! Thank you so much for your support. If you've read this far, I hope you'll subscribe and/or leave a review when you can.