Chapter 128

After returning to Wuji Palace, Zong Zi Xiao went to many places that he remembered. Zhengji Hall, Baihua Hall, the sword training field, the cave in the back of the mountain, the orchid garden, Qinghui Pavilion, each one evoked so many memories of the past. This was the place where he was born and brought up. Before he was fourteen, this was his home, and for the next ten years, it was a nightmare that he could not wake up from.

There was only one place that he dared not set foot in, and that was the Bailu Pavilion.

Since he was a child, he had always felt that the Bailu Pavilion was the most beautiful and best-sounding of all the concubines' bedrooms in the harem, and it was also his father's favorite place to come. When he was young, he read the ‘Poem’* and thought he had discovered the origin, and asked his mother for a reward, but she told him that this Bailu was not the same as the other Bailu, and that the Bailu in the reed was a sentimental one, not pretentious, and that her Bailu was "white clouds reflect the water and shake the empty city, and the white dew drops the autumn moon."*

It was not until the end that he realized that all this was a cover-up, all because Bailu* was the family crest of the Lu family.

He hated Lu Zhao Feng because the man his mother truly loved was only using her under the guise of love.

Lu Zhao Feng had countless chances to bring him and his mother out, but he didn’t. He chose to risk leaving his wife and son with his enemies, paving the way for his revenge step by step. He did not want to reunite his family, nor was he eager to save the woman he loved from her misery. He wanted the state power of the Zong Clan the most.

Now, when he looked at the word "Bailu" on the lintel, Zong Zi Xiao felt suffocated in his chest and even a little nauseous. He took a deep breath and walked in.

In the courtyard, there were palace staff sweeping up the leaves on the ground. The bamboo branches scraped the ground with a rustling sound, and an old woman was sitting under a tree, raising her hand and tilting her head, threading her needle through the brilliant autumn sun. The scene is so relaxed and serene that it is as if the foul wind and bloody rain outside the world have nothing to do with it.

When they saw Zong Zi Xiao, the people in the courtyard were stunned.

Zong Zi Xiao was also stunned. His eyes swept over the courtyard and the pavilion, finding that nothing had changed much in this place. He imagined the Bailu Pavilion to be a place of crumbling walls and sprawling grass, a place of dust and dirt and cobwebs, but it was clearly a place that had been cleaned regularly.

The old woman stood up, rubbed her sagging eyelids and asked with a shudder, "Ninth, Ninth Highness?"

Zong Zi Xiao recognized her, she was Chen Momo* who had once served him and his mother.

"Oh my god, oh my god." Chen Momo slapped her thighs, a conflicted expression of surprise and fear appeared on her face. She had delivered Zong Zi Xiao herself back then and had spent half her life in the Bailu Pavilion, but the tall, shadowy man in front of her was too unfamiliar. Combined with the rumors in the palace, she could not help but be afraid.

"Chen Momo... you’re still alive?" Zong Zi Xiao had not yet recovered from his surprise. As his mother's personal servant, Zong Ming He had not killed her?

Chen Momo burst into tears, "It was the Emperor who saved us."

The Emperor? Zong Zi Heng?

There was some panic in Zong Zi Xiao's heart, "Why are you still here?"

"Most of the people who served the Consort back then were dismissed by the Emperor. Since the two of us were old and did not want to leave the palace, the Emperor asked us to stay here and look after Bailu Pavilion." Chen Momo wiped her tears, "We clean every day inside and out. It is still the same as when Your Highness left at the beginning."

After hearing those words, Zong Zi Xiao's heart trembled. Was it Zong Zi Heng who wanted them to keep the Bailu Pavilion the way it was? Why?

He lifted his leg and stepped forward, gently pushing open the door.

A beam of light shone from behind him, adding a soft hue to the clear windows of the Bailu Pavilion. The interior of the house was indeed as he remembered it. It was as if he saw himself as a young boy laughing and playing with his mother.

He held onto the door frame, his eyes sore, and dull pain in his heart.

Mother, I'm back, but there will be no more of you anywhere.

He crossed the threshold and stepped inside. His tall form staggered for a moment as he took a scroll from his qiankun pouch and carefully spread it out.

For ten years, he had painted portrait after portrait from memory, fearing that he had forgotten what his mother looked like.

Chen Momo stood to one side, wiping her tears and saying, "What a resemblance. There is no woman more beautiful in the world than Consort."

Zong Zi Xiao carefully traced the mother in the painting with his gaze until it was a blur before his eyes. He turned his face away and handed the painting to Chen Momo. His voice was cold, not revealing the ups and downs in his heart: "Hang it up."

"Yes."

Zong Zi Xiao walked through the Bailu Pavilion, making sure that it had indeed been maintained for a long time. If it was for show, it could not have been repaired so well and without a trace in just a few days.

He asked Chen Momo, "Did the Emperor tell you to keep this place in its original state?"

"Yes."

"... Did he say anything?"

"The Emperor said that Ninth Highness would definitely return one day."

Zong Zi Xiao clenched his fists fiercely.

Why would Zong Zi Heng do this? Did he feel guilty in his heart?

"The Emperor will come over from time to time." Chen Momo sighed, "About ..." When she said until here, she felt her tongue had slipped. She stole a glance at Zong Zi Xiao and dared not continue.

"About what?!" Zong Zi Xiao's tone was harsh.

Chen Momo became even more frightened and shivered, not daring to speak.

Suddenly, Zong Zi Xiao did not want to ask any more questions. If he heard the sentence “seeing an object makes one miss its owner”, wouldn't that be a joke? Zong Zi Heng had caused the death of his family, and then he was doing all this superficial work to show his love and affection? What a hypocrite.

---

When Zong Zi Xiao returned to the imperial chambers, he heard the sound of a child’s laughter from inside.

He saw Zong Zi Heng sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, holding Zong Zhong Ming on his lap, teasing the child with a small figure drawn with a yellow talisman.

When he appeared, the little light smile on Zong Zi Heng's face instantly disappeared. It even didn’t have time to remain under his eyes for a moment longer.

How long had it been since he had seen his big brother smile?

Back then, Zong Zi Heng was a young and promising man who treated people with grace and gentleness, and the world said that the eldest prince "stood like an orchid tree and smiled like the moon in his arms"*. He loved his big brother's smile. It was so gentle, elegant and beautiful. But he hadn't seen it for so long that he had almost forgotten what he looked like when he smiled.

Zong Zhong Ming clutched at his father's lapels, pursed his lips and glared warily at Zong Zi Xiao.

Zong Zi Heng put the child on the ground, "Eunuch Cai, take him back."

But Zong Zi Xiao walked over and stood in front of the two of them.

The child struggled to crane his neck to look at him, like he was looking at a pine.

"Your, Your Holiness." Cai Cheng Yi smiled obsequiously.

"What are you trying to do?" Zong Zi Heng rose to his feet.

Zong Zhong Ming wrinkled his little nose and made a fierce face.

Zong Zi Xiao looked at the child from above. He recalled the image he saw just now. When he was a child, did he also sit on his big brother's lap like this? Did his big brother also amuse himself with various trinkets? As he thought of this, he became even more jealous of this little brat. He pressed his five fingers against Zong Zhong Ming's head and shook it from side to side, as if he was picking out a melon.

Zong Zhong Ming pushed against his hand and screamed, "What are you doing!?"

"So ugly." Zong Zi Xiao said in disgust, "Have you looked in the mirror? Do you look like him?"

"You, you're the ugly one, you're the ugliest!" Zong Zhong Ming was so angry that his face turned red.

Zong Zi Xiao ruffled the child to the side, "Scram."

After Cai Cheng Yi carried the squealing child away, Zong Zi Heng looked relieved.

"Who allowed him to come?" Zong Zi Xiao glared at Zong Zi Heng.

Zong Zi Heng turned around and walked towards the house.

Zong Zi Xiao followed him in, "From now on, you’re not allowed to see him without my permission."

Zong Zi Heng said angrily, "I need your permission to see my son?"

"Is he your son? He should know that he is just a dog you picked up from a broken home."

"Don't you tell him." Zong Zi Heng said in a deep voice, "He's just a small boy, have some magnanimity."

"So what if I don't?"

"You ..."

Zong Zi Xiao pulled Zong Zi Heng into his arms, his fingers tracing across that white-jaded cheek and finally landing on his lips. He examined it for a moment, pushing the corners of his lips upwards with his fingers, which looked stiff and odd.

"Smile." Zong Zi Xiao said.

Zong Zi Heng frowned at him.

"I want you to smile at me."

"What are you going crazy about again?" Zong Zi Heng tried to push him away.

Zong Zi Xiao cupped his chin and ordered in a tone that doesn’t tolerate any opinions, "Smile."

Zong Zi Heng held back his anger and reluctantly curved the corners of his mouth, but unfortunately, the mere tugging of muscles could not be called a smile. A smile was the light of joy flowing out from the bottom of one’s eyes.

Zong Zi Xiao pushed the person in his arms away. He suddenly felt extremely disappointed and unbearable. He didn't know how to dissipate the pain of this moment, but he would make the person who caused him pain hurt even more. He looked at Zong Zi Heng coldly, "I just came back from Bailu Pavilion."

"..."

"You have preserved Bailu Pavilion in its original form. Who are you showing your hypocritical attitude to?”

Zong Zi Heng felt a lump in his throat. During these ten years, there was no news of Zong Zi Xiao, but he knew, he was convinced, that his Xiao Jiu must still be alive, and he hoped that the two brothers would meet again in their lifetime, and that one day Xiao Jiu would have a home to return to.

Even though he knew that Xiao Jiu hated him and that even if he came back, he probably came back to seek revenge. He still held on to a small hope in his heart, hoping that there was one chance in a million that the two of them could go back to the way things used to be.

But Xiao Jiu would never return, and the only person who came back was the Supreme Demon.

The sad appearance on his big brother's face did not make Zong Zi Xiao feel any better as he had hoped, but rather it was even more painful. He gritted his teeth: “You also knew I would be back. You must have been disappointed when you sent people after me, only to return unsuccessfully time and time again."

"I didn't send anyone after you." Zong Zi Heng's tone was flat to the extreme, as if he didn't care at all whether this explanation could be believed or not, nor did he intend to convince anyone.

"Even if it was someone sent by Zong Ming He, it was also thanks to you!"

Zong Zi Heng looked numbly ahead.

"You've done all your evil deeds and only know how to feel guilty now?" Zong Zi Xiao felt the pain and hatred rampaged through his heart like a fierce beast until he was grief-stricken, "Zong Zi Heng, I am really curious. You have raised me for fourteen years. Fourteen years! In your heart, am I really just a pawn that can be sacrificed at any time!?"

Zong Zi Heng turned his pale face, his gaze glittering with hidden tears, "Zong Zi Xiao, what else do you expect me to say?"

You do not listen to my explanation. You do not believe in my affection. Between you and me, there is no more room to maneuver.

"You also saved me from death, you also cared for me, but for the sake of the throne, you could also put me and my mother to death without mercy." Zong Zi Xiao's gaze was red, "Why do you have to be such a person!?"

 

----  

'Poem’*[诗经]--- https://baike.baidu.com/item/诗经/168138

white clouds reflect the water and shake the empty city, and the white dew drops the autumn moon*[白云映水摇空城，白露垂珠滴秋月]--- This phrase depict the moonlit scene of Linjiang Old Town - looking down at the shadows of the white clouds and the city walls reflected on the river, the ripples swaying, the white clouds and the city walls seemingly shaking; looking up at the dewdrops dropping from the sky, shining like pearls in the moonlight, as if they were dripping from the moon. The scene of the ancient city of Linjiang under the autumn moon is depicted in a realistic and evocative way. The two 'white' words  render the moonlight, the brightness of the river, the crystal dewdrops, and the uncertainty of the clouds and sky in all their colours.

Bailu*[白鹭]----this Bailu (egret) is different from the Bailu (white dew) in Bailu pavilion

momo*[嬷嬷]---dialect for elderly lady

stood like an orchid tree, and smiled like the moon in his arms[立如芝兰玉树，笑如朗月入怀]---also from a poem, you can search the meaning here: https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/937608467014214172.html

 

Edited on 25 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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