Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
When he arrived at Li Qinglin’s residence, which didn’t have an official name yet because Li Qinglin still didn’t have a title, Qin Yi was baffled because Li Qingjun had one.
Of course, this place was going to become the crown prince’s residence, and the title no longer mattered. Standing outside the front gate, Qin Yi took out Li Qinglin’s waist tag and was about to show it to someone when the door flung open. Li Qingjun was standing in front of him.
“Why are you back?” Qin Yi was surprised. The crown prince had just died, so shouldn’t she be staying at the royal palace?
“My father, the king, is talking to my brother—I mean—His Royal Highness. I had nothing to do but sit around, so I thought I should come back here and check up on you,” Li Qingjun said indifferently. “I wondered if you would be getting settled in comfortably. I see now that you hadn’t even come back.”
“I walked around and bought some stuff.”
Li Qingjun’s gaze landed on his sack.
The sack was stuffed to the brim and already looked very odd with the end of the spiked club sticking out, but now, there was another wooden sheath that she didn’t recognize. He looked like a farmer who was visiting a city for the first time. Li Qingjun said grumpily, “If you need anything, just tell the stewards to buy it for you. They’ll help you as best as they can. You didn’t have to run around aimlessly.”
“They can do that for me?”
“Of course.” Li Qingjun turned around to show him in. “You’re my brother’s guest. No one will dare to disrespect you.”
Some stewards immediately greeted them with a fow. “Your Royal Highness, Mr. Qin’s room is ready.”
Li Qingjun said indifferently, “Show us the way.”
Qin Yi studied Li Qingjun with great interest and found her very amusing.
When they were travelling around before, Li Qingjun appeared to be a brave but reckless and unchivalrous woman. However, when they were back in the capital city and in the prince’s residence, she behaved as gracefully and composed as a princess should be.
Qin Yi believed that the Li Qingjun he saw out there was her true self, but he wasn’t sure whether this new Li Qingjun was only a mask she put on or another side of her.
The steward of the residence had prepared an independent courtyard for Qin Yi. It looked similar to the one Qin Yi had back in the village, but this one was much more richly decorated. Instead of medicinal herbs, the yard was covered by flowers and green plants. The view was very pleasant, as was the fragrance in the air.
The steward bowed. “His Royal Highness sent someone back with instructions already. I was told that Mr. Qin likes quiet and elegant dwellings, hence this courtyard. Sir, if you’re not happy with the arrangements, we can always find another place for you.”
Qin Yi shook his head. “This place is very nice. I’d also like to have an empty space where the sun can shine. I may need it from time to time.”
The steward immediately gave the order: “We can lose that lawn…”
Without hesitation, some servants followed the instructions. Qin Yi hastily said, “Wait. That won’t be necessary.”
The servants stopped as quickly as they started working. It seemed that Li Qinglin had been managing his household the way he managed an army.
Qin Yi gave Li Qingjun a bewildered look, but she remained silent with the same expressionless face. He said with resignation, “Just leave it be. I need to talk to Her Royal Highness in private.”
The discreet steward led the servants away, but Li Qingjun still stood there in silence for a long while. After she saw in her peripheral vision that the servants were out of earshot, she abandoned her graceful posture and sat down on the lawn. “That’s so exhausting.”
Qin Yi chuckled and sat down with her. “You didn’t complain about feeling tired even when you found a demon with blood oozing out of its mouth, but we’ve only just returned here…”
Li Qingjun remained silent for a while before heaving a sigh. “You’d feel exhausted, too, if your older brother just died.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She had probably been suppressing her sorrow until this moment.
“Well…” Qin Yi felt rather guilty. “Sorry about that.”
The girl still looked very tough even when his trap made her cry. This was the first time that Qin Yi had ever seen this vulnerable side of her. No matter how heroic she was on the outside, she still had soft spots such as her family.
She was very close to Li Qinglin and probably had the same relationship to the late crown prince as well. Qin Yi didn’t think a younger sister of her disposition would fight with her brothers. They must’ve doted on her.
“Don’t worry about it.” Li Qingjun sniffled and the look in her eyes turned fierce. “The barbarians of Xihuang had to have been behind this! They’re trying to shake us down!”
Qin Yi didn’t know what to say. Li Qingjun wasn’t expecting him to give her an answer, for she only needed someone to talk to. She went on, as if speaking to herself. “One day, I’ll lead our army into the land of Xihuang and avenge my brother!”
Qin Yi nodded and chimed in. “With Brother Li Qinglin’s great strategy, I’m sure that’ll only be a matter of time.”
“Yes.” Li Qingjun seemed to have a lot of faith in Li Qinglin. “I’m sure of it.”
There was an awkward silence after that. Qin Yi didn’t know what to say to comfort her, and she only looked up at the sky. So, they just sat there on the lawn without saying a word.
After a long while, Li Qingjun suddenly said, “I remember what you said when we first met. You said that with the comfortable and carefree life you were living, you already felt as great as an immortal. So, what about now? Have you entered our mortal world, or have we entered yours?”
Qin Yi sighed. “Some things just need to be done. Even immortals have their own desires.”
“Only those pursuing immortality have desires. Real immortals are beyond that.” Looking up at the sky, Li Qingjun said quietly, “That ‘Everyone Says’ song you taught the woodcutter was all about the obsessions of mortal men. Once one can stop fussing about them, they’ll become immortals. Right?”
Qin Yi knew that her brother’s death had affected her deeply, and her hopes of seeking immortals had woken up again, so he tried to talk her out of it. “I’ve heard about this monkey, who for ten years travelled to every corner of the world before it finally found a real immortal and learned the skills to obtain immortality. Do you think it became an immortal without any desire?”
“Of course. It has an eternal life, which makes it immortal.” Li Qingjun was intrigued. “What happened after that?”
“After that? Well, I know how carefree it was before it tried to become immortal and how restless it became afterward. It stirred up so much trouble that people put it in shackles in the end and made it a buddha. It lost all its old ambitions, and I wonder how different that result was from what it wanted at first. Did it ever regret its decision?”
Li Qingjun stared at Qin Yi and felt that he had used the monkey as an analogy for her quest. “Are you trying to warn me?”
Qin Yi shook his head. “No, everyone has their own path to walk, so I think people should know what they really want.”
“What I really want…” Li Qingjun looked up at the sky and murmured, “All I’ve ever wanted is to travel freely in this world with my spear so that I can eradicate all injustice in this land. I don’t want to live in the capital city as a noblewoman and end up marrying some boring man.”
Qin Yi blurted out, “You’ve really been born into the wrong family.”
Li Qingjun smiled and changed the subject. “Can you tell me more about that monkey?”
“Well, that’s a very long story…”
Li Qinglin was still busy, and Qin Yi didn’t know what he could do for him yet. Since Li Qingjun was his only other acquaintance in the capital city, Qin Yi settled down and began to tell the story of “Journey to the West”.
He told the story all the way to the chapter of the monkey creating havoc in heaven. Li Qingjun had never heard of such a story before and was completely absorbed. She chuckled and said, “That was such a daring and unruly monkey.”
Li Qinglin’s voice rang out behind them. “It was a monkey who would fight back and strive for what it wanted, even if what it did might be considered a sin. That was a very interesting story. Brother Qin, I can’t wait to hear more.”
Both rose to their feet, and the look on Li Qingjun’s face became serious again. “How did it go?”
“We have no leads,” Li Qinglin said. “The killer was very fast. According to our brother’s guard, all he saw was a black shadow before… I think Xihuang was behind this.”
Li Qingjun pursed her lips.
Li Qinglin then said, “We weren’t here when it happened, so there’s nothing we can do for now. Father is investigating it with all his power. He’ll find out what happened.”
Li Qingjun sighed. “Are you going to be the crown prince now?”
“Yes…” Li Qinglin didn’t seem happy at all. Instead, he shook his head. “All this unwanted attention is killing me…”
Li Qingjun asked, “Does someone suspect you?”
“Yes. There aren’t many, but some do think that way. But it won’t make any difference.”
Of course it wouldn’t. The king only had two sons, and he wouldn’t treat his only surviving son as a suspect because of some groundless accusation.
Li Qinglin dropped the subject and turned to Qin Yi. “Brother Qin, I’m so sorry for neglecting you. Everything was so unexpected.”
“Her Royal Highness has been chatting with me this whole time, and I don’t feel neglected at all.” He then pointed at the sky. “But the sun has set, and I’d feel neglected if you didn’t give me any dinner now.”
Li Qinglin laughed.