When they finally reached the palace and the carriage slowed down, Xie Lian, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Xie Lian wiped away his cold sweat. The other two had been lashed by Qi Rong’s whip a number of times, and their hands were covered in welts.
Qi Rong rose to his feet, one leg stepping on the white horse’s behind. He proclaimed proudly, “What do you think, Cousin Crown Prince? I drive pretty well, right?”
Xie Lian dismounted the carriage and replied, “I’m going to tell Father and Mother to confiscate your carriage.”
“WHAT?!” Qi Rong cried in shock.
Regarding Xianle culture: First, they loved gold. Second, they loved precious stones. Third, they loved beauties. Fourth, they loved music. And fifth, they loved art. The Palace of Xianle was thus the most distinguished place, where all that they loved coalesced. Traversing the large courtyard, walking down the crimson hallway, not everything was gilded or built of jade—there were also masterpiece paintings hung all around, for example, and soft music wafted in the air. It created the illusion of paradise.
The palace was Xie Lian’s home, the place where he grew up. Feng Xin was chosen to be his personal guard at the age of fourteen and had long since gotten used to these sights. However, it was Mu Qing’s first time seeing such a building, and he couldn’t help but be awed. Yet the more awed he was, the more careful he became, and the more he didn’t dare to allow others to sense what he was feeling, didn’t dare take a wrong step.
Xie Lian went to meet with the queen straightaway. She was resting at Qifeng Palace, leaning on a small tea table and tasting new brews. She had already received the message that the crown prince had returned, and with eyes crescent-shaped in joy, she extended both arms before her son had even come near.
She said, “Finally willing to come home and see your mom?”
Feng Xin and Mu Qing stood guard outside. Xie Lian entered the chamber with Qi Rong in tow, and he reached out to take his mother’s hands when he approached.
“Didn’t I just visit two months ago?”
The queen grumbled, “What a heartless child. Even Rong-er knows to keep an old woman like me company, but here you are, sounding all self-righteous when you haven’t come home in two months.”
Xie Lian chuckled. “And how is Mother old? You look no older than a teenager! It’s like we’re of the same generation.”
The queen was very pleased hearing these words of praise. Even if she had a son as old as Xie Lian, because of her status and wealth as a member of the noble Min clan and wife of the King of Xianle, she was very well maintained and still looked the part of a noble beauty. Still, the word that left her lips was a light admonishment. “Flatterer.”
Xie Lian glanced at the small tea table and saw a jaded cup, its contents emitting a strange fragrance. He curiously asked “What’s this?” as he picked it up.
But the queen warned, “Don’t drink it! That’s not something you should drink!”
Xie Lian was curious. “Why can’t I drink this?”
The queen reached for the small jaded cup and took it from him, poured a bit of its contents on her handkerchief, and pressed it gently to her face a few times.
“Mount Taicang recently sent a batch of fresh fruit. I don’t like cherries, but there’s a method of making them into paste for facials, so I squeezed some for fun. There’s not much use for it and I was about to have it thrown out, so you can’t possibly drink it!”
Xie Lian smiled as he listened but suddenly recalled the events of the previous day. There were very few times in a year where Mu Qing’s mother could taste cherries, and Mu Qing himself was bullied just for trying to pick some. It was something of a sensitive topic, and Xie Lian was afraid Mu Qing would be uncomfortable listening to it, so he smiled and changed the subject.
“Then do you have anything that I could eat?”
The queen chuckled. “The way you make it sound, people will think I starve you. But you’ve been a picky eater ever since you were young, I can’t plump you up. You’ve gotten so thin since you went to the mountain. Today you’ll eat whatever I tell you to, with no fussing.”
Mother and son conversed for a while, and the queen asked about the incident during the Heavenly Procession with great concern.
“By the State Preceptor’s report, it sounds serious. What’s going to happen? Will you be punished?”
Xie Lian didn’t have the chance to answer before Qi Rong cut in.