It was the first time Jun Huailang had ever seen Xue Yan like this.
He slightly raised his brows and glanced toward the instructor. A hint of mockery and amusement showed in his pair of light-colored eyes, making him instead appear full of vitality, with a rare kind of uninhibited flamboyance.
It was a rare youthful spirit in him, like tender shoots sprouting from a withered branch, just beginning to reveal themselves beneath his usually indifferent and distant expression.
He thought that perhaps this was the Xue Yan of Yan Commandery, and also what he had originally been like. It was only that during all those years in Chang’an, he had been killed by everyone around him, eventually becoming the person Jun Huailang had seen in his previous life.
Everything was moving in a better direction. The corners of Jun Huailang’s lips involuntarily curved upward.
Over there, the instructor awkwardly walked away, pretending that what had just happened had never occurred. The onlookers around them also shifted their gazes away one after another, though they continued whispering among themselves, discussing how Xue Yan had used one arrow to split another arrow apart.
Jun Huailang turned his gaze back and wanted to draw another arrow to try again.
Just then, he saw Xue Yunhuan staring at Xue Yan as if his gaze had substance, his eyes filled with excitement and fervor. He was even trying to maintain an arrogant expression, the corners of his mouth straining to stay tightly drawn, but the brilliance in those eyes could not be concealed no matter what.
Jun Huailang was stunned.
This was…
Then he saw Xue Yunhuan restrain himself as he walked up to Xue Yan. He cleared his throat, looked at him arrogantly, and put on an air of condescending himself to a lower position.
“Come take a look and see what’s wrong with my archery. It’s never accurate enough. It’s really annoying.”
Yet Jun Huailang could see that although Xue Yunhuan’s entire body was tense with restraint and dignity, if he had a tail, it would probably be wagging in circles right now.
Standing to the side, Jun Huailang could not help laughing and shaking his head.
He had been showing off his superb archery skills to Jun Huailang just moments ago, yet now he had completely forgotten all about it and was solely focused on asking Xue Yan for guidance.
Xue Yan glanced at Xue Yunhuan, then raised a hand and tapped the bow in his hands, indicating that he should nock an arrow and draw the bow.
Xue Yunhuan did as instructed, still keeping his back and waist straight, looking every bit the dignified and arrogant nobleman.
“What? Does my archery stance still need to be taught?” he said haughtily. “As for my archery, I studied under… Ow!”
Before he could finish speaking, Xue Yan did not even raise his eyelids. He moved his foot and kicked Xue Yunhuan’s feet, which were level with his shoulders. With an effortless sweep, he corrected his stance.
“Turn sideways. Stand properly.”
He was concise.
Before Xue Yunhuan could recover, Xue Yan grabbed his shoulder with one hand and bent it backward.
“Level it.”
He continued, “Your arm is still lacking strength. You’ve practiced too little. Your lower body isn’t stable. When you go back, practice horse stance for an hour every day.”
As he spoke, he gave Xue Yunhuan’s tense back another slap.
“Relax. Don’t waste your strength on useless places.”
His entire series of movements was clean and decisive, without showing the slightest consideration for Xue Yunhuan’s dignity. He did not hold back much strength either. After being corrected again and again, Xue Yunhuan felt as though his shoulders and back were numb with pain, and for a moment he could not recover his senses.
He looked up and saw Xue Yan standing there with his arms crossed. The disgust on his face was plainly visible.
“You just said… who did you study under?”
That expression made Xue Yunhuan feel that he was inferior even to an ordinary soldier from Yan Commandery.
—Though, in Xue Yan’s heart, he probably really did think so.
A wave of embarrassment and indignation rose in Xue Yunhuan’s heart. He stopped shooting arrows altogether, dropped the stance he had carefully arranged, and angrily snapped, “You wouldn’t know him even if I told you, so why should I tell you!”
With that, he turned around and returned to his own position in an imposing manner. The admiration and longing he had felt just moments ago had all vanished because of a single expression from Xue Yan.
He was the sole legitimate son of all Great Yong. When had he ever been treated differently like this? When had he ever suffered such an indignity?
That bastard Xue Yan! Just now, he had been gentle and soft-spoken with Jun Huailang, helping him draw the bow and even guiding him in shooting arrows. But when it came to him, he showed no mercy whatsoever and humiliated him thoroughly.
He wasn’t human. That fiend was simply too inhuman!
——
When they returned to Mingluan Palace that day, Jun Huailang was summoned by Consort Shu to the main hall.
The food, clothing, and daily necessities in Consort Shu’s palace had always been the finest. She also doted on the children, and every time the small kitchen prepared something, it never failed to include Jun Huailang and his sister.
By now, it was already late. Consort Shu was reclining alone on a beauty couch by the window. When she saw Jun Huailang enter, she called him over to rest and eat some pastries.
“I heard you went practicing archery this afternoon?” Consort Shu said. “What are you practicing that useless thing for? Did you hurt your hands?”
Jun Huailang smiled. “I didn’t hurt them, just rubbed them a little red. Fortunately, His Highness the Fifth Prince gave me some guidance today, so I was spared quite a bit of pain and suffering.”
Consort Shu gave a casual hum.
“Indeed, he’s a good child. It’s just a pity that Heaven doesn’t want him to have an easy life. His fate is too thin.”
Jun Huailang smiled and coaxed her. “This is your Mingluan Palace, Aunt. What does Heaven’s word count for? Doesn’t everything still have to go according to what Aunt says?”
He had already noticed upon entering that Diancui was not in Consort Shu’s palace. But Jun Huailang also knew that his aunt had little scheming in her. There were some things that, even if he discovered them, he needed to be careful about telling her.
Consort Shu laughed at his teasing and poked his forehead with a finger coated in bright-red nail polish.
“Where did you learn such glib talk?”
Jun Huailang laughed. “It can hardly be called glib talk. How His Highness the Fifth Prince fares has always depended on how Aunt instructs Auntie Diancui.”
Sure enough, Consort Shu laughed.
“What could I possibly have to instruct her about? You know Diancui yourself. She grew up with me and has always been kind-hearted and sensible. As for matters in the palace, what could she possibly mishandle that would require me to worry about?”
Jun Huailang paused, then smiled.
“That’s true. But now, His Highness the Fifth Prince can be considered your child as well. He has to call you Mother Consort. If you still try to shirk your responsibilities now, I’m afraid that won’t do.”
Consort Shu propped herself up and pretended to hit him. As she struck him, she laughed.
“So you came here to plead Xue Yan’s case! Your elbow is already bent toward him. Are you saying that this palace treats him poorly?”
Jun Huailang laughed along with her.
But although he was smiling on the surface, his thoughts had already begun turning.
He knew his aunt better than anyone.
Of the several brothers in his father’s family, his aunt was the only legitimate daughter. From childhood, she had been pampered by her older brothers, held in the palms of their hands. As a result, she had developed an arrogant yet sheltered disposition, knowing little of the ways of the world.
As for Diancui, she had served at his aunt’s side since his aunt was six or seven years old. She had followed her all the way from the Duke of State’s residence into the palace. By rights, she should have been nothing if not loyal.
Therefore, if he told his aunt something without evidence, she certainly would not believe him. Even if she half-believed him, given her temperament, she would inevitably turn around and let Diancui know about it.
He needed to find evidence against Diancui himself.
In matters like this, he absolutely could not rely on his aunt.
After the two of them played around for a while, Consort Shu grew somewhat tired and lay back down on the beauty couch. She held a pure-gold filigree warming brazier inlaid with jewels, idly turning it over in her hands as she said, “There’s one more thing. At the Thousand Autumns Banquet a few days ago, your mother asked me when you two would be returning.”
As she spoke, she smiled.
“Naturally, I refused. I said I wanted to keep you here a while longer. The weather is so cold. Isn’t moving back and forth troublesome? Besides, you and Linghuan haven’t spent much time accompanying me in the palace yet. Mingluan Palace has finally been lively for a few days. I haven’t had enough of it yet.”
Jun Huailang helplessly smiled.
“Then naturally, everything is up to Aunt.”
He indeed had no intention of leaving yet.
Diancui was still in his aunt’s palace, and he had remained uneasy about it. He would have to eliminate this unstable factor before he could return home with peace of mind.
“However, your mother also said that your father may be sent away on assignment soon. She wants you to return earlier so that you can at least say farewell to your father,” Consort Shu said.
Jun Huailang paused, and the hand resting on his knee tightened slightly.
During this period, he had been focusing his attention on the matters concerning his younger sister’s previous life, but he had never forgotten the death of his father.
Although his father held an extremely high rank and title, he had always been especially careful to avoid the emperor’s suspicion and had never involved himself in matters where his achievements might overshadow his ruler.
Back then, his father had been the top scholar who had become famous throughout the capital, yet by now he was merely a fourth-rank Junior Director at the Imperial College.
But that spring, his father had been appointed Director of the Imperial College and sent to Jiangnan a year ahead of time to arrange the following year’s Jiangnan imperial examinations.
Jiangnan had always been one of the most important regions for the Great Yong imperial examinations. Sending him there could also be considered a great favor from the emperor.
But Jun Huailang knew that this was because the Jun family had always been cautious and careful, belonging to neither faction nor clique. The emperor trusted his family enough to entrust such an important matter to his father temporarily.
Yet just after the beginning of summer the following year, before the autumn examinations had even arrived, Jiangnan suffered a great flood, trapping the Duke of Yongning and his entire party there.
The emperor then temporarily appointed the Duke of Yongning as Vice Minister of Works as well, entrusting him with handling the flood-control efforts in Jiangnan.
After that, news suddenly came that the Duke of Yongning had embezzled the funds and grain allocated for flood control, causing the Jiangnan floods to worsen beyond control. This in turn led displaced refugees to gather and rise in rebellion, disturbing the surrounding commanderies and counties and causing countless civilian deaths and injuries.
The amount of money allegedly embezzled was so great that the emperor issued an edict ordering the Duke of Yongning to be executed on the spot.
Afterward, with the imperial court having no general available, it was the seventeen-year-old Xue Yan in his previous life who led just over a thousand troops to suppress the Jiangnan rebels and, in passing, wipe out a large group of bandits from Jiangxi.
It was precisely this battle that established Xue Yan’s reputation. The notorious fiend of the imperial harem finally gained a place for himself at court as well.
But Jun Huailang’s father remained in Jiangnan, leaving behind no bones to be recovered.
Jun Huailang knew that his father would absolutely never have committed embezzlement or accepted bribes.
His father’s official position had been low. When Jun Huailang was young, he had not understood and had merely thought his father was a wealthy idler without great ambitions.
Later, when Jun Xiaowu wanted to take up martial arts, his father refused no matter what and even struck him for the first time.
Jun Huailang had gone to plead for him, but his father said nothing. He only told Jun Huailang to go back and copy the Doctrine of the Mean one hundred times.
Later, Jun Huailang understood what his father had meant.
“Yong” meant ordinary; “zhonghe” referred to the way of moderation that could be practiced as a constant principle.
His Jun family was already a great and powerful clan. They were founding meritorious subjects and a century-old aristocratic family, with an extremely high reputation at court.
For such an aristocratic family, when the court lacked capable people, they could help the emperor shoulder his burdens and solve his difficulties.
But during an age of peace and prosperity, when capable people were abundant, the most important thing was to conceal one’s brilliance and bide one’s time—to avoid drawing attention and provoking the emperor’s suspicion.
With a man as cautious, prudent, and upright as his father, how could he have rashly committed embezzlement in a time of crisis?
Jun Huailang had known from his previous life that someone must have tampered with things behind the scenes.
But by that time, the officials at court had already been clearly divided into factions, with countless intricate connections between them. The slightest move on his part would alert others and cause them to take precautions against him, making every step exceedingly difficult.
Therefore, in this life, if he wanted to save his father, he needed to assist and remind him from the sidelines and find the person who would frame his father ahead of time.
That meant that this spring, he absolutely had to find a way to accompany his father to Jiangnan.
Once Jun Huailang had thought everything through, he pretended not to know and asked Consort Shu, “Father is being sent away on assignment? I wonder where he’s going?”
Consort Shu idly examined her fingernails.
“I heard your mother say it’s Jiangnan.”
Jun Huailang smiled.
“I wonder how long Father will be gone? I’ve never been to Jiangnan since I was born. I’ve heard that the place has little bridges and flowing water, with graceful willow trees swaying in the breeze. It must be especially beautiful.”
Sure enough, when she heard this, Consort Shu burst into laughter.
“What’s so difficult about that? I’ll write to your father later and tell him to take you along. Just so, you can stay here with me until spring, and there’ll be no need for you to return early.”
A major matter in Jun Huailang’s heart finally settled.
He smiled, nodded, and agreed.