Chapter 54
“ONLY A CUP OF WINE can convey my feelings,” Cai Yan said, offering Wu Du a second cup.
Wu Du drank it quietly. “It’s a little bitter,” he murmured.
“Hm?” hummed Cai Yan, whose attention had wandered. But Wu Du merely shook his head with a slight smile as he studied Cai Yan.
Cai Yan hated being examined by others. Wu Du’s stare made him uneasy. Lang Junxia stood up, as if recognizing some cue, and placed a seal in front of Wu Du.
As Wu Du’s gaze shifted to the seal, Cai Yan said, “Use this to withdraw money from any of the four money houses—Tongbao, Changlong, Yunji, or Qianxing—as well as their respective branches. You can use the funds to recruit subordinates. No fingerprints are necessary for signing the paperwork, only the stamp.”
Wu Du was once more taken aback. He braced his hands on his knees and stood. “I’m afraid I must disappoint Your Highness’s high expectations. I cannot accept this offer.”
A hush fell over the room; for a moment, none of them spoke. At last Wu Du sighed and said, “The late emperor found me worthy, something I will always remember. I’ll help you however I can, though I don’t know how useful I’ll be.”
Cai Yan’s face had gone stiff, but when he heard the conclusion of Wu Du’s short speech, he smiled, relieved. “Wu-qing, let me tell you something honestly: In all the world, I can’t think of anyone I trust besides Wuluohou and yourself.”
Wu Du returned the smile with a slight one of his own, nodded, and cupped his hands in a bow toward Cai Yan. “I’ll say farewell here.”
“You haven’t yet drunk the third cup,” Lang Junxia said.
“I’ll drink it in the future. I have to find the Guardian for His Highness first, or I’m not worthy of drinking that last cup.”
With this, he strode out the door and was gone.
Cai Yan and Lang Junxia sat quietly after the door closed behind him, the seal resting on the table between them. Cai Yan resisted the urge to hurl his cup to the floor, afraid Wu Du would hear the porcelain shattering and discover his loss of composure.
“He doesn’t trust you yet,” Lang Junxia finally said. “Sentimental men are like this. They may become devoted to you because of a single word you say, or hold a deep grudge against you for a single slight. It was a mistake to allow him to settle in the Mu manor.”
“What good would it have done me to kill him? Surely anyone would understand my intent in sending him there,” Cai Yan said.
“Not everyone sees things clearly.”
“But I’ve already explained it to him,” Cai Yan said, somewhat helpless.
“Rationally, he accepted your explanation,” Lang Junxia said. “But not emotionally.”
“Then is he committed? Or is he just saying so?”
“People like him need to be coaxed,” Lang Junxia replied.
Cai Yan was silent for a span. “Lang Junxia, I beg you—again. Won’t you stay with me?”
“Don’t ask me this,” Lang Junxia said. “You simply need to coax him often; show him you’re sincere. You’ll win him over sooner or later, and he can replace me.”
Cai Yan opened his mouth to retort, but Lang Junxia cut him off: “He will protect you. Besides, he doesn’t know anything. My sins, however, cannot be redeemed in this lifetime; in the next life, and even the one after that, I will go to hell, burned by raging fire, thrown on a mountain of knives and plunged in a sea of flame, my belly sliced open and my tongue pulled out—never to be absolved.” He stood, preparing to leave.
“But what use is it worrying about your death when you have the rest of your life still to live?” Cai Yan pleaded. “You killed one person, but in doing so, saved the empire. And I’ve already sworn that, no matter what, I’ll never…”
Lang Junxia shifted his gaze to Cai Yan. “In my mind, I myself am the executioner that cuts my body into a thousand pieces.”
Cai Yan stared at Lang Junxia and didn’t say a word.
Across the hall, Duan Ling was lying on the divan, eating grapes and flipping through a book of erotic paintings.
The paintings piqued his interest, though he wasn’t sure if it was the alluring ambiance of the brothel that spurred his animal desires, making his blood rush with passion, or if it was simply his youthful spirit. Still, he’d be mortified to do himself any of what was depicted in this book. Duan Ling flipped back and forth between pages, his mouth strangely dry. He held a grape on his tongue but didn’t bite it, instead rolling it back and forth between his teeth.
Wu Du slid the door open. Duan Ling immediately closed the book of erotica, wiped saliva from the corner of his mouth, and awkwardly tidied his robe. Sitting up, he asked, “Back already?”
Perhaps because of what he’d just seen, an unaccountable feeling arose within Wu Du as he looked closely at Duan Ling. The atmosphere between Wuluohou Mu and the crown prince had been extremely heavy, but when he returned to the room with Duan Ling, it was as though the colors of the world subtly brightened.
“Are you okay?” Duan Ling asked, sensing his mood.
Wu Du shook his head. He came and sat beside Duan Ling on the divan. “Let’s wait a bit. Let them head out before we do.”
He appeared to have been pressed or persuaded; his eyes were a little red, as if he was about to cry. Duan Ling looked at him for a moment before reaching out, resting an arm on his shoulder and patting the back of his head. Wu Du shook himself, returning to his senses.
“Who was it?” Duan Ling asked.
“The crown prince.”
It was as though lightning had struck Duan Ling’s brain, exploding in his ears with a loud crash; a flurry of complicated emotions surged within him. “The crown prince is in the opposite room?”
What a close call, he thought, as Wu Du explained what had happened during the meeting. Duan Ling couldn’t hear him. His mind raced with one thought after another, all snared and tangled before they shattered into fragments. His distraction lasted for several moments, until he finally turned back to Wu Du with an odd expression on his face.
Now it was Wu Du’s turn to be puzzled. “What’s with you?”
Duan Ling shook his head.
“Did you drink?” he asked, frowning. He leaned in and sniffed Duan Ling’s breath, but he didn’t smell alcohol.
Duan Ling was still thinking about the supposed crown prince. Why had he requested an audience with Wu Du? In truth, Wu Du had explained it, but Duan Ling hadn’t heard a word. It was Wu Du’s proximity that brought Duan Ling back to his senses. Their faces were so close together that Duan Ling, upon realizing it, immediately flushed. Wu Du also felt the charged air to be a little uncomfortable; he casually patted his cheek and said, “Hey.”
Yet somehow this action seemed even more flirtatious. Wu Du had slapped Duan Ling before and it hadn’t meant anything, but now it was awkward between them. Duan Ling was shaken.
Wu Du could hear a girl outside laughing and seeing visitors down the stairs. Figuring Lang Junxia and the crown prince next door had left, he said, “Let’s go too.”
Gathering himself, Duan Ling nodded and stood with Wu Du. Yet they’d just exited the room when the door to the Tianzi Room opened as well, and Cai Yan and Lang Junxia stepped out.
Duan Ling froze. The corridor stairs would force them to run into each other; there was no way to avoid them.
Cai Yan, in one hurried glance, spotted a young man trailing behind Wu Du.
“Huh, that wasn’t them leaving just now?” Wu Du was surprised, too, and said to Duan Ling, “I guess we’ll go say another goodbye.”
Duan Ling had barely a second to think. He made a move that shocked Wu Du as well: He threw his arms around Wu Du’s neck, stood on his tiptoes, and pulled his head down. Wu Du flushed instantly; he had no idea what to do with his hands.
“They mustn’t find out,” Duan Ling whispered hastily into his ear. He cupped Wu Du’s cheek with one hand and leaned in as if to kiss him. Wu Du still hadn’t fully processed what was happening, but he cooperated with Duan Ling’s subterfuge and pinned him to the wall.
“If they learn you brought someone from the prime minister’s residence, they’ll think you’re leaking information,” Duan Ling whispered.
He and Wu Du’s noses brushed against each other. Duan Ling knit his brows. Doing this made it seem as if Wu Du was embracing a brothel boy on his departure, saying an intimate goodbye like he thought no one was around to see.