The atmosphere in the hall immediately became even more tense.
Emperor Qingping furrowed his brows, and his originally cold tone instantly took on a hint of displeasure. “What did you say? They were damaged?”
Xue Yan knelt where he was and said indifferently, “Yes.”
His eyes were lowered, so Jun Huailang could not see his expression or gaze clearly. He could only see the various expressions on the faces of everyone in the hall as they sized him up. The several consorts opposite them even covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and began whispering among themselves.
Xue Yan acted as though he had not noticed.
“Do you know the origins of those jade arrows?” Emperor Qingping demanded sharply. “After Taizu founded the dynasty, they were specially crafted after the weapons he had used to conquer the realm. There isn’t a second pair like them anywhere under Heaven. And you say they were damaged, just like that?”
As he spoke, he struck the dragon head carved into the armrest heavily. The sound was not loud, but the entire hall immediately fell silent.
Even the Empress, who sat nearby with a worried expression, did not dare speak.
Xue Yan said nothing.
Jun Huailang sat diagonally behind him and could see his straight back. He was only a fifteen-year-old boy. His circumstances were clearly bleak and pitiful, yet there was an inexplicable strength in him that could not be suppressed, like wild grass pushing through a crack in a stone—both tough and untamed.
He had never imagined that the tyrant who would one day slaughter innocents indiscriminately would take the blame for a lowly young eunuch.
Emperor Qingping waited for quite some time but received neither a plea for mercy nor a response. Looking down, all he could see was the crown of the boy’s black hair, looking as though he would accept whatever punishment came his way, as if he did not care in the slightest about the Emperor’s anger.
This only made Emperor Qingping angrier.
“You still show no remorse? You recklessly damaged an imperial gift and showed disrespect to Taizu. Today, I have no choice but to punish you!”
Jun Huailang could not help looking at Xue Yan again.
Then he heard Emperor Qingping say, “After the banquet, go receive twenty strokes of the rod. If there is a next time, I will certainly not be lenient!”
Everyone in the hall changed expression.
The palace’s punishment rods were extremely heavy. Even a grown man would be crippled if he could not withstand fifty strokes. Twenty strokes was already considered an extremely severe punishment. Even eunuchs serving directly beside the Son of Heaven rarely received such a heavy sentence.
However, although the consorts around them wore various expressions, almost all of them merely watched the spectacle with interest.
The Empress beside them could no longer sit still. She could not help wanting to speak up and persuade Emperor Qingping, but when she saw his furious expression, she swallowed the words again.
“Your son accepts the decree,” Xue Yan said, bowing.
Consort Yi beside them covered her lips with her handkerchief and said indifferently, “Since you’ve received the decree, go on down. Don’t stay here and make your father angry. The palace is not the same as your Yan Commandery. You have to observe some rules. You mustn’t make the same mistake again in the future.”
Jun Huailang unexpectedly found those words grating on his ears. He could not help raising his eyes and looking toward Xue Yan again.
If Xue Yan had been in the position of any other imperial prince in the palace, Jun Huailang could have pursued his revenge without the slightest hesitation.
But Xue Yan happened to have this appearance of someone whom everyone could trample upon at will. Instead, it made Jun Huailang unable to bring himself to strike.
Bullying the weak was truly unbecoming of a gentleman.
Just then, Xue Yan stood up, and Jun Huailang unexpectedly met his gaze once again.
He froze.
Then, inexplicably, a sudden sense of guilt came over him, and he hurriedly turned his eyes away.
He did not see Xue Yan’s gaze linger on him for a moment. The corner of his lips rose almost imperceptibly, forming a mocking curve.
What a sheltered little young master, he thought disdainfully.
On the road earlier, the boy had still been looking down at him arrogantly and coldly, as though he had somehow offended him. He had looked like a fierce and proud little peacock.
However, Xue Yan also knew that he had been born to make people dislike him. The looks everyone gave him came in all sorts of forms, but none contained any kindness.
Yet just now, this little young master had stared at him with a complicated gaze that contained no malice. It looked somewhat like pity, and somewhat like guilt.
Could it be that because he had not helped him just now, he had only realized afterward that he regretted it?
Which child of a powerful family in the capital was not shrewd? They were all experts at disguising hypocritical faces.
Who would have thought that such a soft-hearted, timid little glutinous rice ball had somehow slipped among them?
He was quite good-looking, though.
Without that arrogant manner from earlier, his brows and eyes looked rather docile. Wrapped in his thick cloak and fur-lined outer robe, he should have looked dignified and aloof, yet he kept avoiding Xue Yan’s gaze, appearing somewhat awkward and constrained.
Xue Yan turned around and walked straight out.
He wore a disdainful expression and thought rather maliciously that he was in the capital now, and there were many things he needed to do. He had no time for this.
If they were still in Yan Commandery, however, he would definitely have given this little peacock a good bullying, so that the next time he saw Xue Yan, he would not even dare to dodge his gaze.
The Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet was quite lively.
The princes and nobles indulged themselves in food and drink. Dancers accompanied by strings and wind instruments twirled gracefully through the hall, stirring up waves of faint fragrance.
Jun Huailang was not seated at the same table as his parents, so he looked after Jun Linghuan by himself.
Fortunately, his younger sister was very easy to take care of, allowing him enough attention to spare so that he could observe what was happening among the imperial princes.
The Duke of Yongning ranked first among the dukes and marquises, and the seats of several imperial princes were right beside him.
The Emperor currently had seven imperial sons. The Third Prince had died of illness, while the Seventh Prince was still young, so there were five princes seated at the banquet.
The First Prince was already twenty years old and had taken up an official position at court. Most of the people around him were colleagues coming to toast him.
The Second Prince sat at the table beside him. Jun Enze had actually left his seat and was accompanying him closely at his side. The two were whispering about something.
The Fourth Prince was the son of Consort Yi. He had the appearance of a refined gentleman. Although he did not speak much, he gave people the feeling of basking in a spring breeze.
Beside him, Xue Yunhuan was surrounded by a group of young masters from prominent families, receiving endless toasts and flattery.
Only Xue Yan had no one around him.
Whenever those young masters from prestigious families passed by him, they would deliberately go around him and avert their gazes, barely saying a word.
Just then, the Second Prince suddenly spoke. In a voice loud enough to reach Xue Yunhuan’s side, he said, “Did everyone know that the touhu competition at this year’s Mid-Autumn banquet has been canceled?”
Jun Huailang saw that his smile was entirely gloating, with a hint of confidence that he already had victory in his grasp.
The young eunuch standing behind him and serving him looked somewhat familiar.
Jun Huailang took a closer look.
That eunuch was clearly the very one who had led the others in bullying Xue Yan earlier. He was also the culprit responsible for damaging the jade arrows.
…So it was the Second Prince who had done it?
For a moment, Jun Huailang admired how bold he was.
But then he thought about it again. When Xue Yan had first returned to the palace, it had been the Second Prince who had given him that initial show of dominance. Perhaps familiarity had bred contempt, and after getting away with it once, the Second Prince had become even more fearless.
Over there, the group of young masters from prestigious families were not nearly as well informed.
But they looked ahead and discovered that the touhu equipment truly had not been prepared in the hall, so they asked curiously, “There really isn’t any? Second Highness, do you know why this year?”
The Second Prince smiled meaningfully.
His appearance took after his plain and mediocre-looking mother consort. His face was broad and square, and when his small eyes narrowed as he smiled, he looked rather shifty.
“Because someone broke the jade arrows!” he said.
The group of aristocratic youths immediately erupted into an uproar, chattering among themselves.
Jun Huailang glanced toward Xue Yan from the corner of his eye.
Xue Yan acted as though he had not heard anything. He simply sat calmly in his place, drinking tea.
Someone asked, “How could they break? Didn’t I hear that His Majesty awarded that set of arrows to one of the princes?”
Another person said, “That’s right. Could it have been the Fourth Prince?”
Although the Sixth Prince, Xue Yunhuan, was a legitimate son, he did not like studying. If one were talking about someone accomplished in both literary and martial pursuits and favored by the Emperor, then it would certainly be the Fourth Prince, Xue Yunhong.
Yet the Fourth Prince merely smiled faintly and deflected the question with ease.
“How could I possibly have such ability? You all think too highly of me.”
After saying that, he simply continued eating and did not say another word.
The group of young masters began discussing it again.
“Then whose hands are they in?” they asked.
The Second Prince revealed a mysterious smile.
“Someone with that kind of ability would naturally be a celestial star descending to the mortal world.”
A celestial star descending to the mortal world?
That was an amusing way to put it.
There was only one celestial star in the entire palace—the baleful star.
Immediately, everyone’s eyes fell upon Xue Yan.
Xue Yan seemed to casually raise his eyes.
His amber-colored eyes quietly swept over them once.
Immediately, those young masters looked as though they had seen some kind of monster. They hurriedly turned their eyes away, as though merely looking at him one more time would cause them to be struck dead by the divine lightning sent down from Heaven.
The Second Prince immediately burst into laughter, and Jun Enze laughed along with him.
A sense of discomfort was stirred within Jun Huailang. He pressed his lips together and turned his gaze away.
Just then, Xue Yunhuan, who was sitting among that group, could not be bothered to watch the Second Prince’s ridiculous performance any longer.
He stood up impatiently.
This little tyrant had always done whatever he pleased. He did not even bother greeting anyone. He simply turned around and left.
He walked to Jun Huailang’s table and knocked on the tabletop.
“Come on. Let’s go outside and get some fresh air.”
Jun Huailang naturally wanted to go with him, but Jun Linghuan was still eating. He could not very well leave her behind.
Just then, Fourth Prince Xue Yunhong stood and walked over.
His expression was warm and peaceful, and he smiled at Xue Yunhuan.
“Sixth Brother, I’ll accompany you outside for a walk. It should soon be time to release the Kongming lanterns. Young Lord, you can come find us by Taiye Lake later.”
Jun Huailang did not have much of an impression of him, but neither did he feel any particular dislike toward him. He nodded and smiled.
“Then I’ll trouble the two of you to wait for me later.”
Xue Yunhuan was eager to get away from that idiot Second Prince, so he did not refuse either. He followed Xue Yunhong and left.
Seeing this, Jun Linghuan thought that she was delaying her brother from going out to play.
She had been holding a piece of flatbread in her hand. She hurriedly stuffed a large bite into her mouth and mumbled,
“Huan’er will finish eating right away!”
Jun Huailang was amused by her and, afraid that she would choke, quickly gave her some tea and let her slowly swallow the bread.
“Don’t rush. Be careful not to choke.”
As he spoke, he gently rubbed her back.
He was ten years older than Jun Linghuan, while his second younger brother was stationed far away at Yumen Pass. He had often taken care of his younger sister since childhood and had long since become accustomed to it.
He did not notice that this scene had fallen into a pair of indifferent amber eyes.
By the time Jun Linghuan had finished eating, more than half of the seats belonging to the sons of officials had emptied.
The imperial princes’ seats were also all empty.
For children, the banquet itself was boring. The most interesting part of the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet was going to the banks of Taiye Lake to release lanterns.
Jun Linghuan had been thinking about this as well.
Once she had finished eating, Jun Huailang took her hand and led her toward Taiye Lake.
The night wind was cool, so both of them wore cloaks.
They walked through the palace grounds illuminated by rows of palace lanterns, their robes swaying in the breeze, looking almost like a painting.
It took only the time of a single incense stick for them to reach the shore of Taiye Lake.
By then, quite a few people were already gathered along the lakeside.
A full moon hung in the deep-blue night sky. Several Kongming lanterns drifted and swayed upward, their lights reflecting one another with the lanterns along the lakeshore.
Jun Linghuan let out a soft “Wow” and tugged Jun Huailang toward the water.
A group of people had gathered by the lake.
As soon as they drew near, Jun Huailang heard the Second Prince’s voice.
“Isn’t that Old Fifth? Come over and release lanterns with your brothers!”
There was a distinctly ruffian-like, street-bully quality to his voice. Even a deaf person could tell that he was deliberately stirring up trouble.
Even someone as gentle and refined as Jun Huailang could not help thinking that this person was practically asking to be beaten.