To investigate the whereabouts of the missing gold foil that night, the Royal Holy Temple went through a great deal of pain and was thrown into total confusion. So when His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly announced that they should forget the whole thing when everyone was sweating with exhaustion, it was inevitable that many of the other disciples felt aggrieved. Thus, for the longest time afterward there was talk behind his back, things like: “Well, he’s the crown prince, so he gets to call the shots, and hopefully next time his memory will be better and he’ll remember the important things before calling for an investigation,” and so on. Feng Xin was furious listening to it, but Xie Lian still told him not to mind it and to quietly give it time.
Sure enough, after that, Xie Lian crushed all three thousand disciples completely and proved that he fully deserved the title “Number One of the Royal Holy Temple.” And because he was genuinely friendly and didn’t rely on his background, his reputation gradually improved amongst his peers.
Feng Xin wasn’t one to remember the petty details, so he had forgotten this had happened. Now that it was brought up again, it dawned on him, and he was both shocked and angry.
“It was Mu Qing who walked away with that gold foil?!”
“Shh!”
Xie Lian hushed him and looked around to make sure no one was around.
“That gold foil leaf fell out of the rattling carriage while coming up the mountain. Mu Qing was passing by while carrying water and found it in the bushes. He kept it under his bed and hadn’t figured out what to do with it, but that very night the State Preceptor suddenly struck, ushering everyone out to search their rooms. I didn’t know him at the time, just saw an errand boy who looked distraught. Later, while I was sitting outside, he came up to serve me tea and admitted everything. That’s how I found out.”
“Taking without telling is stealing! So you helped him bury the whole incident and told everyone that gold foil was lost in the imperial palace?”
While they were talking, Xie Lian had finished dressing and headed out the door. “That’s how it is.”
Feng Xin was going to die from rage. He followed after Xie Lian. “Your Highness, do you know just how many people talked about you behind your back when you first came to the Royal Holy Temple?”
“Keep it down,” Xie Lian said. “He really did look quite distraught at the time. Pale as a ghost. People here at the Royal Holy Temple already dislike him, so if I had said anything, his life here would be over. Our places in life are different, and we stand at different vantage points in this matter. The consequences can’t be compared.”
Just then, a few young trainees approached them and gave courteous bows, their faces full of smiles while greeting them.
“Your Highness!”
Xie Lian answered back with his own matching smile, and the two parties brushed past each other. He said to Feng Xin, “See, I told you to give it time. Now I get along with everyone, and who’d dare say anything bad about me?”
The two of them entered Mu Qing’s bedchamber but didn’t see a soul, so they left to keep searching.
“I already thought it strange at the time, since I hadn’t heard that you’d lost any leaves at the palace,” Feng Xin said. “But I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this for two years! You even told me that you met him while he was sweeping!”
“He asked me later not to tell anyone,” Xie Lian said. “I agreed, so of course I wouldn’t tell, not even you. Since you know now, that means I went back on my word. But you mustn’t tell anyone else.”
“How does that even count as going back on your word?” Feng Xin said. “It’s not like you told me anything, it’s his own guilty conscience making him freak out that gave him away.”
“No, no. You promise me right now that this stops here. Otherwise, I’ll break up my relationship with you, and you’ll be cursed to never find a wife!” Xie Lian threatened.
Feng Xin snorted dismissively. “You, break up with me? The day after our breakup everyone in the Kingdom of Xianle will know one thing: His Highness the Crown Prince fainted from tying his sock strings too tight while dressing—FINE! I won’t say a word! Who gives a fuck about gossip anyway?”
After a pause, he still decided to comment. “I bet he thinks I’m always picking on him because I know about this gold foil business. But really, I just don’t like people like him. A grown man overthinking so much of this and that; he must’ve suspected you told me a long time ago. Not even concubines in a harem have minds as convoluted as his. It’s so annoying!”