Mingming rolls over the bed for who knows how many times already. Even him lost count of it. He literally can't do anything inside this hall and he's bored to death.
He thought, maybe this is what the emperor felt when he suddenly decided to sneak out with him to go to the nearby town. But on the second thought, the emperor got it easier. Isn't he always got a lot of things to do? With that, he can make himself busy to forget about being bored. Unlike his majesty, Xu Zhengming is just spacing out from sunrise to sunset because he got nothing to do.
Speaking of, didn't the emperor ask him to make new poems? Maybe writing would help him distract himself from boredom. But what should he write? Should he write a poem about how good-looking he is? Or how unpredictable his majesty is? Or perhaps the feeling of being isolated because of his situation?
Now that he thinks about it, he can't help but recall that embarrassing poem "he made" when he's still studying at the imperial academy. Did he really write it? He can't believe he made such a piece. All his life, he thought his poems are world-class!
He shakes his head and tries to get rid of the unpleasant thought. Since he has nothing to do now, he thought he better make one. It's been a long time since the last time he made his latest poem. He can't even remember the last piece he composed or when did he make it.
He rises from the bed and looks for a piece of paper that he can use, as well as a calligraphy brush and ink. Since the emperor often stays here, there must be some writing materials in this hall.
He looks from shelf to shelf. It didn't take him too long to find a brush and ink. He looks further for a useable paper. As he is searching he reached a small cabinet. He opens the cabinet and what greeted him are a pile of papers, manuals, and books.
From the looks of it, it seems to be related to the palace such list of previous emperors and their contributions, a list of important events in the history of the dynasty, records of war victories and their tactics, and more.
Xu Zhengming can't help but whistle out of awe. "The princess general is a war goddess. Better not to offend her."
As he is looking through the papers, a book with a blue cover caught his attention. It looks familiar. He felt a strong connection on it, and it's like he really saw this before. It's just he can't remember when exactly did he saw it.
He set aside the documents on top of it and picked the familiar book. Although the other books got dust over them, it's somehow strange that this specific book doesn't have a single speck of dust. He thought, maybe it's because it's placed in the lower part of the pile.
He carefully opens the book and the first page greeted him with a neatly handwritten calligraphy. Its handwriting is actually satisfactory like it's written in a circumspect manner, not to make any mistakes.
But as soon as he saw the first word, he subconsciously throws the book away. His reflex is too sudden and didn't even calculate the force applied. The poor book flies across the Lotus Hall towards the other side.
He remembers it now. He finally recalled when did he saw it. It's the book where Yin Wenyan wrote the poems that the sixteen-year-old Xu Zhengming composed. Mingming is too embarrassed that he covers his face with his palms. He thought, why is that book even here?
Then he realized something. "Right, why is that book even here?"
He remembers how exactly his old friend asked him if he may record his poem in his book for him to keep it. If he wanted to keep it with him, why is this book in the palace, and in the Lotus Hall on top of that?
"Could it be..." Xu Zhengming has a thought in mind that he doesn't want to believe.
What's going on in his mind? Well, nothing much. He's just making a scenario in his head and it goes like this:
Two men facing each other. One wearing black clothes and a conical hat with a black veil around it, concealing his face. One wearing black and gold-yellow robes with a coronet on his head. It's his old friend and the emperor.
Yin Wenyan says something like, "Hey, a distant relative of mine, do you want to read something hilarious?"
And the emperor would respond like this, "Sure. What is it?"
Then the mysterious man in black will hand the book to his majesty, saying, "It's a collection of crappy poems by Xu Zhengming. Feel free to laugh out loud."
"Waaaaaah! Stop! Stoooooop!!" The eunuch can't help himself but slap his cheeks.
Xu Zhengming can't even continue to imagine what might be the possible next thing that happened after that. He dramatically lies down the wooden floor as if his whole world just tumbled down.
He even whispers in the thin air, "Why did you betray me? I thought we're friends...."
Even though he felt extremely embarrassed, he felt like he wants to read his previous compositions. He can't remember the poems he made with his old friend. He wants to at least know if those pieces are crappy too and if his majesty really laughed at him.
He stands up and walks across the hall to pick up the poor book that he threw a while ago.
The more he flips the pages, the more complicated his facial expression becomes. In fact, he really wants to just throw it once again, destroy it, burn, reduce it to ashes! But still, he gathers all the courage he could and continues to flip the pages.
As he is reading every poem, line by line, he noticed that the emotions it all conveyed were more like dejected, downhearted, feeling lost. Because of these, the memories he tried so hard to bury came back to him.
It's the time in the past where he had his first love and at the same time, his first heartbreak. After that chapter of his life, he never fell in love like that again. He doesn't want to enter a serious romantic relationship, and even had multiple lovers at the same time... or rather, he doesn't want to.
He doesn't want to undergo such pain again. Because of that heartbreak, he realized, maybe love is just an illusion. Perhaps it's just a human instinct to reproduce.
Whenever he felt like his lover is getting serious with their relationship, he does something that disappoints the other party. He always does that to push the woman to end their relationship, since being the one breaking up isn't his thing.
He can't help but wonder about the whereabouts of Maiden Murong. He wonders how is she doing now. Did she become a successful scholar? That's most probably the case, she's studious in her studies back then after all. She can soar to faraway places with her talent and skills in literature. By this time, she's probably married to a well-off family. Her husband must be someone who can give her a happy married life.
Wherever she is, or whatever she's doing now, Xu Zhengming could only wish she's in a good condition, and hope that she's happy with the life she took.
He reads the book for quite some time now. It contained more or less twenty poems, all depicting a lonely soul. As he flips the last page, he noticed that the poem written on it is different from the previous ones. It does not have sad feelings on it, instead, it is a poem that comforts someone who is experiencing a big downfall.
If only I could give you my eyes,
I would to let you see what I see.
So that you can finally recognize
That you mean a lot to me.
You may think that you lost someone,
But it's actually the other way around.
A melody may have been gone,
But another harmony will sound.
"Yin Wenyan..." He utters the characters of the composer's name.
So... his old friend made this one? It seems to be a response to all of these poems he made. Xu Zhengming thought, if he wanted to comfort him, he should have told him directly, or at least let him read this back then. He never knew that this Yin Wenyan is more than just a silent listener.
This old friend of his seemed to have a better skill in literature than his sixteen-year-old self. But now that he's already a grown-up twenty-three-year-old good-looking man, this distant relative of the emperor will surely be out-of-place! Or so he thought.
The idea made the silly eunuch laugh deep inside. Now, he's inspired to make poems again!
Little did he know, just a few steps away from him, behind the main door of the Lotus Hall, Prince Yin Wenyan stands still frozen. His hand halted mid-air as he was about to slide the door open when he thought he heard Eunuch Xu say his name. He isn't so sure if it really is his name that he uttered but he can't help but feel restless. Did he discover his identity already? What will he say? What would be Eunuch Xu's reaction? What will happen by then?
The prince came back to his senses. He'll never know if he remained standing outside the hall. He needs to face him. He thought things turn out like this. Maybe it's better to tell him everything after all.
He takes in a deep breath and finally opens the door. He was too anxious that he forgot to calculate the force applied to the door that results in a loud bang. This made Xu Zhengming flinch and subconsciously tighten his grip on the book he's reading.
The moment the prince saw this book in his hands, his eyes widened as if one of his deepest secrets got revealed. That's the record of Xu Zhengming's poems that he hides very well as if it's his top-secret! Because they have a lot of things to deal with at the moment, he let Eunuch Xu stay in the Lotus Hall and totally forgot about the book!
His mind is in a mess. He wrote something on it. He definitely wrote something on it! Something he failed to say in the past because he lacks courage. Did he see it? He wrote his name below the poem he made, could it be he really saw it? Was that the reason why he heard Xu Zhengming say his name?
"Eunuch Xu!" The prince exclaimed.
Prince Yin Wenyan doesn't have an idea what kind of expression he's making right now. He doesn't seem to bother too. He's too occupied with his flooding thoughts.
"What?!" The eunuch exclaimed back at him.
Xu Zhengming isn't sure as to why his majesty act strangely. Did his bad temper return already? He looks enraged too... or at least in his own vision. Whatever the reason is, he thinks he needs to distance himself from the other.
"Eunuch Xu... I..." Prince Yin Wenyan can't find the right words to say.
He could only extend his arms towards the other as he tries to come closer to him. First of all, he needs to retrieve that book. Everything will be fine by talking afterward. Yes, that should work, he thought.
On the other hand, Eunuch Xu can't help but feel uneasy. He subconsciously steps backward as the other comes closer. He utters, "I didn't do anything. I didn't see anything. I didn't know anything."
However, this only made the prince feel even anxious. Why is he trying to defend himself when he's not even being questioned yet?
Realizing something really is off, out of instinct, Eunuch Xu suddenly runs away from the prince.
"Why are you running?" The prince asks as he runs after him.
The Eunuch yells back, "I swear! I didn't do anything! I didn't see anything! I don't know!"
And the two of them run around the Lotus Hall.
After a good while of running, the prince finally caught the silly eunuch by the wrist but Xu Zhengming refused to admit defeat. He struggles and keeps on saying the same words. "I didn't know anything! I didn't see anything!"
Prince Yin Wenyan, on the other hand, tries to grab the book on the other's hand. "Give me that! Give it back!"
Eunuch Xu tries to get away by taking steps backward but Prince Yin Wenyan only closes the gap by stepping forward. This continued until Xu Zhengming trips on the bed, lost balance, and fell down with the prince on top of him.
Too close. They're too close.
Prince Yin Wenyan's mind went blank for a second or two. It's the second time he got to see Xu Zhengming's face this close. The first one was the time when they were mounting his sword. Even though he already got to stare at him this close, he still can't help himself but silently admire this beauty.
He swore, he could stare at him for a whole day without blinking.
Meanwhile, Xu Zhengming is hysterical. "Spare me, your majesty! Whatever upsets you, I don't really know anything about it," Xu Zhengming said with a terrified expression filling his face. He thought this emperor is truly temperamental, beyond remedy! He gets enraged without any reason.
"..." Prince Yin Wenyan paused for a while. "You don't know what I am after and you just run around without a single idea?"
Eunuch Xu shakes his head. "It's my instinct. Whenever someone chases me, I run."
Yin Wenyan isn't sure if he should laugh or what. This is too absurd.
"But you run first, that's why I chased after you." He snatches the book in Xu Zhengming's hand. "I'm taking this."
"Oh."
The prince gets back to his feet, taking the book away from the other. He silently wonders, is Eunuch Xu not going to ask him anything or say something?
After that thought appeared on his mind, Xu Zhengming indeed asks something.
"That's my old friend's book. Why is that in here?"
The prince halted his steps. He took a deep breath and parted his lips to reply. Without turning around to face the silly eunuch, he says, "Yin Wenyan let me borrow this. He didn't come back here in the palace to retrieve it yet."
Hearing this, Xu Zhengming thought his made-up scenario in his mind between the emperor and his old friend was really the case! He doesn't know whether he'll get amazed by his accurate prediction or feel depressed because that's what really happened.
With a lazy tone, he asks a series of questions, "So, did you laugh at my poems? Did he laugh too? What did he say when he lends that to you?"
"Laughed?" Prince Yin Wenyan can't believe what he just heard. He turns around to face the eunuch. "Why would I laugh? Why would he laugh? I... We both think these poems were well-composed. They're full of emotions, I love each and every poem written in here."
"Really?" Xu Zhengming is still unsatisfied. "I think the poem he made is better than most of the poems there."
The prince flinched. He thought, "Did he just praise me?" A little smile forms on his lips, and asks, "You think so?"
"Mn." Xu Zhengming buries his face on the bed.
Prince Wenyan can't help but feel pleased. His gentle face and a sweet smile appeared once again. Like a rainbow after a hurricane. "I think yours are the best though."
He put the book back to where he hid it then walks closer to Xu Zhengming.
"Eunuch Xu..." He calls out. "I've got the medicine."
He took the spirit herb underneath his sleeve.
Hearing this news, Xu Zhengming immediately raises his head. He'll be back to normal now? Is it really a farewell to his pair of red irises, fangs, and thirst for blood? The distressed eunuch cheered up.
Women, rejoice! For the great Casanova in town has returned!
"But you're not allowed to flirt with women after your medication." The prince said.
Eunuch Xu's wide smile disappeared in just a mere second. "What's with that?! Not flirting with women is the same thing as telling me to be forever alone! Or do you want me to flirt with men instead? Huh?"
Instead of giving him a reasonable answer, Prince Yin Wenyan just gave him his signature smile.
"..." Mingming can't believe that this temperamental emperor refused to give him a decent answer. "You're telling me to be alone forever, right?"