“That’s my cousin,” Duan Tingzhen continued.
He almost burst out laughing, and for a moment he realized that this scorching July was actually the best time of the year.
Meng Chifeng looked at Duan Tingzhen, and seeing that Duan Tingzhen was also looking at him, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. He cleared his throat, which felt a little dry as he spoke, and changed the subject:
"Next month is the Emperor's birthday, why don't we both go and keep him company?" After thinking for a moment, she added, trying to make her awkwardness seem less awkward, "The Emperor has been missing you terribly lately."
"Of course I wouldn't forget His Majesty's birthday." Duan Tingzhen suddenly asked, "How is the inkstone that I gave to the Prince last time? Is the Prince using it well?"
"Ah? Oh. Okay, of course it's good." Meng Chifeng's eyes darted around. Actually, the inkstone was just sitting in his room as decoration. He hadn't even used it for ink, let alone water, since he brought it back. Every time he saw it when he entered or left his room, he felt incredibly pleased.
Duan Tingzhen didn't expose him, a hint of a smile in her phoenix eyes.
The summer breeze is warm and gentle, just like it was back then.
Chapter 7
After returning home, Duan Tingzhen met Duan Zhirou in the garden and happened to see her fiddling with an invitation, which was delivered by a handkerchief.
When Duan Tingzhen brought up the invitation, she paused for a moment and said she wouldn't go.
Duan Tingzhen guessed that besides being afraid of people's taboos, she also disliked listening to gossip. After all, Duan Zhirou was once an outstanding figure in the circle of young ladies. Now, not only was she not as well-off as her old friend, but her husband had also died. She naturally did not want to see people's pitying or mocking eyes.
Duan Tingzhen was actually quite self-centered. When he heard his sister say that, he advised her, "Why care about what others say? You have your father and brothers to rely on. How are you any worse than others?"
Duan Zhirou stared at the tea on the table and said calmly, "When I first moved out of the Feng family, there were far more people who said I was heartless than who laughed at my situation. I was already used to hearing it back in my hometown, so why would I be afraid of what others say now? Actually, I'm just too lazy to move."
So Duan Tingzhen stopped trying to persuade her.
She had dinner with Duan Tingzhen, and before leaving, she seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "My carriage broke down on the road today, and a young gentleman happened to pass by and helped me fix it. I have prepared a small gift, and I would appreciate it if you could ask someone to deliver it to me."
Duan Tingzhen readily agreed. After she left, he called Uncle Zhong over and asked, "Rou Rou said her car broke down on her way back today. Did someone help her?"
"Yes, that's true." Uncle Zhong thought for a moment and replied, "It's the eldest son of the Marquis of Jing'an's family."
Upon hearing that it was this person, Duan Tingzhen couldn't help but ask, "It's him?"
“This young master has turned over a new leaf,” Uncle Zhong sighed. “When his aunt passed away a couple of years ago, he packed his bags and disappeared, causing quite a stir for Lord Xu. You were busy at the time, so you probably didn’t notice. Later, we learned that he had gone to the frontier to join the army under the Prince of Jin. I heard that he returned this time with some merit.”
But Duan Tingzhen did not change his mind, and only said: "Be more polite in your wording when giving gifts."
“Yes,” Uncle Zhong replied.
After more than half a month, his younger sister's mood gradually improved, and Duan Tingzhen gradually felt relieved. On the day before the young emperor's birthday, he specially set aside half a day to spend with the child.
The next day was the young emperor's birthday banquet, and Meng Chifeng's promise to accompany him naturally didn't mean accompanying him at the banquet, so it was a day earlier.
Duan Tingzhen finished his official duties early in the morning, thinking that the young emperor should still be in class, so he went to find him. On the way, he unexpectedly saw a familiar face, who turned out to be Xu Zhaoqi, the eldest son of the Marquis of Jing'an, the one he had just given gifts to a few days ago.
"Prime Minister Duan." Xu Zhaoqi clasped his hands in a salute to him.
Duan Tingzhen returned the greeting, which was considered a proper greeting. Just as he was about to leave, he heard the man say, "I happened to run into Miss Duan a few days ago and noticed that she didn't look well. I was worried about her and wondered if she was feeling any better these days?"
“My sister is fine, but she is still grieving the loss of her husband. Such heart-wrenching pain cannot be relieved by outsiders; we can only wait for her to come to her senses on her own,” Duan Tingzhen said.
Xu Zhaoqi clearly understood Duan Tingzhen's implied meaning and couldn't help but curse himself for being foolish. Duan Tingzhen was too lazy to be polite with him, so he nodded slightly in greeting and left, thinking to himself, "My sister's judgment has never been good; what kind of people does she always attract?"
This feeling did not improve when he saw Meng Chifeng and the young emperor.
The young emperor was having Meng Chifeng take him to practice archery.
He was a small child, and hadn't been practicing martial arts for long, so his aim was naturally lacking. Meng Chifeng showed no impatience whatsoever, patiently teaching him step by step, his earnest demeanor particularly striking.
Duan Tingzhen stood not far away and watched for a while. When the two men noticed him, the little emperor got tired of practicing and threw the small bow and arrow into his uncle's arms. He ran over in a few steps, jumped into Duan Tingzhen's arms, and was hugged by him.
"He'll be a six-year-old big boy tomorrow, and he still wants to be carried? How shameless." Meng Chifeng tossed the bow and arrows to the eunuch attending him, slowly walked over, gently tapped the child's nose, and then smiled at Duan Tingzhen, "You promised to spend the whole day with him, why are you only arriving now?"
"State affairs are too busy, there's no way to do anything." Since the reconciliation, the two have spoken much more casually, and putting aside Meng Chifeng's ulterior motives, they genuinely seemed like close friends. At this point, Duan Tingzhen remembered something and said to the little emperor in his arms, "Did you look at the memorials I asked you to read? Your master will check them later."
"Oh dear, I saw it, I saw it. If I didn't see it, you can hit me." The little emperor said with a grin, "Master is getting more and more nagging." Then he was tapped on the head by Meng Chifeng.
“This kid is heavy, put him down,” Meng Chifeng said.
Hearing his uncle say this, the little emperor cleverly hugged Duan Tingzhen's neck and refused to get down, making him both amused and exasperated. Meng Chifeng had no choice but to say, "I'll carry you, I'll carry you, okay? Don't tire your master out."
After saying that, he opened his hands, then the little emperor's eyes darted around, and he continued mischievously, "No way."
"Alright." After watching the uncle and nephew bicker for a while, Duan Tingzhen said, "He's not so heavy that I can't carry him."
The little emperor made a face at Meng Chifeng, who pretended to hit him. So the little emperor quickly shrank into Duan Tingzhen's arms. The three of them turned around and went inside. The child reluctantly came out of Duan Tingzhen's arms and followed his uncle to change his clothes. Before leaving, he heard him bargaining with Meng Chifeng, saying that he wanted to eat more pastries because today was his birthday and he shouldn't be restricted.
Duan Tingzhen coughed lightly, and the child immediately ran away. He shook his head secretly behind him, a strange sense of melancholy suddenly rising in his heart.
When he first met Meng Jiaxun, the child was less than a month old, a tiny bundle who could barely cry. Now, after being raised by him to six years old, the child has gradually begun to resemble his father. Although he still acts cute and charming in front of him and Meng Chifeng, he is no longer a child who knows nothing.
The child came over after changing his clothes, clung to him, and asked with his big, round eyes, "Master, what are you thinking about?"
Duan Tingzhen stroked his hair and replied, "Thinking that you've grown up so quickly, you won't be able to be carried or held by your master anymore. You'll have to learn to be a good emperor from now on."
"Xun'er is Master's disciple!" The little emperor immediately looked at him with teary eyes.
"Alright, you're such a big kid now, stop acting like a spoiled child." Meng Chifeng arrived a step behind the little emperor and, seeing how the child was treating his birthday like a life-or-death situation, couldn't help but laugh and cry. "It's not like your master and I will stop loving you just because you've grown up."
The child was a little shy; he buried his head in Duan Tingzhen's arms and refused to come out.
The heartwarming scene made both of them laugh. Hearing his elders laughing at him, the little emperor refused to come out even more. Meng Chifeng gently lifted him from Duan Tingzhen's arms, put him on the ground, and told him to stand up straight. Then he squatted down himself, took out a thumb ring from his sleeve, and handed it to him.
"Today you have a new bow and arrow, so your uncle is giving it to you. I hope you will be strong and healthy as you grow up. Your uncle does not expect you to become a wise ruler; as long as you live a peaceful and prosperous life, that will be enough to live up to the expectations of your master and me."
The young emperor took the thumb ring, slipped it twice onto his thumb, then took it off and played with it in his hand. Duan Tingzhen then took out his own gift, an extremely precious rare book from a previous dynasty, and handed it to the young emperor, saying, "Never forget your original intention, and you will achieve your goal."
Meng Chifeng had only returned twice in the past six or seven years. This was the third time, and only this time did he happen to be there on the young emperor's birthday. His words moved the child deeply.
In fact, this child was much more sensitive than other children. He had the most contact with palace servants, but they treated him with more awe than affection. Even if they had a little bit of affection for him, it was very limited.
He possessed a keen and perceptive mind, clearly discerning who treated him well and who didn't. Therefore, he wasn't close to his mother's family, but instead cherished the affection shown to him by Meng Chifeng and Duan Tingzhen. So, after stammering for a while, instead of offering his usual words of gratitude, he dismissed the palace servants. Once they had all left, he whispered in Duan Tingzhen's ear, "Father."
Duan Tingzhen was extremely surprised. He picked him up and asked, "Who taught the Emperor this?"
"No one taught me." The young emperor bit his lip and mustered his courage to say, "It's just that Xun'er also wants a father. Master treats Xun'er like his own son, and Xun'er naturally understands. Considering that today is Xun'er's birthday, please only agree to this once, okay?"
Duan Tingzhen glanced at Meng Chifeng, feeling somewhat caught in a dilemma.
Meng Chifeng said to the young emperor, "Do you know what will happen to your master if these words get out?"
The young emperor bit his lip and remained silent.
Meng Chifeng added, "Then remember next time to think thrice before you act, okay?"
He nodded.
So Meng Chifeng said, "Go ahead and call it."
Duan Tingzhen never expected Meng Chifeng to have such an attitude, and was extremely surprised. However, seeing the pitiful look on the little emperor's face, he couldn't help but soften his heart and sighed heavily, saying, "You..."
The young emperor had wanted to call him that for more than a day or two, and now that his long-cherished wish had come true, the joy in his heart was indescribable. He snuggled in Duan Tingzhen's arms for a while, then realized that doing so seemed unfair to his uncle who had been so good to him, so he quietly leaned over and said to Meng Chifeng, "In Xun'er's eyes, Uncle is also Father."
Meng Chifeng was half moved and half bittersweet. After a long pause, he said, "Are you still not done yet?"
Perhaps moved by him, Meng Chifeng looked at Duan Tingzhen and suddenly wanted to say something. But when his fingertips touched a cool jade pendant in his sleeve, he quickly moved it away.
Chapter 8
Several bottles were placed inside the hall, and Meng Chifeng played pitch-pot with the young emperor. He didn't hold back at all, and his hit rate was far better than the young emperor's, which infuriated the child.
So he taught the child a few tricks and had him practice while he took a break to get close to Duan Tingzhen. Although Duan Tingzhen managed to squeeze out half a day, he was still busy, looking at the young emperor's homework—several memorials on which he had asked the young emperor to write his comments. When he saw that one memorial simply had the two words "beat him to death" written on it, he was both angry and amused.
Meng Chifeng leaned over without saying anything, but upon looking at the young emperor's first annotation, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "It has the style of this king back in the day."
Duan Tingzhen glanced at him with a disdainful expression. Meng Chifeng wasn't angry. After fidgeting for a while, he slipped something into Duan's hand. Duan Tingzhen, unaware of its significance, took it out and saw that it was a jade pendant. It was made of white jade and had phoenix patterns on it. It looked like an antique, and its aesthetic was completely out of place with this man's taste.
“My family was complaining the other day, saying that you send gifts every day, even when it’s not a holiday, and it’s so hard to come back with something in return.” He played with the jade pendant and said casually, “What’s your game, Your Highness?”
Meng Chifeng replied, "I'll give it to you if I want to, there's nothing more to it."
Duan Tingzhen tucked the item into his sleeve and looked at him, saying, "Do you still remember that time you almost fell off a tree while trying to break off a branch?"
Meng Chifeng was bewildered. In fact, he was much more reserved as a child than he was now, and had never climbed a tree before—something only a young emperor would do. His biggest interaction with Duan Tingzhen was the argument before the late emperor's coffin; they hadn't even exchanged a few words before that. So, he asked blankly, "What?"
"Nothing much." Duan Tingzhen's expression was ambiguous. "I must have misremembered. It shouldn't be you."
Meng Chifeng was a little absent-minded and anxious. He wanted to ask Duan Tingzhen to say something, but he was afraid that what he said would not please him, so he whispered, "This jade pendant was left by my mother."
“I can see that,” he said. “So what?”
"So..." Meng Chifeng leaned closer and whispered, "If you accept it, you'll... marry me?"
Duan Tingzhen didn't speak, but took out the jade pendant and played with it for a while. Seeing the man's flustered expression, he suddenly said, "Okay."
Meng Chifeng suddenly looked as if he'd been hit by a stone, appearing utterly foolish. Seemingly still uneasy, he whispered, "You really agreed?"
A slight smile played on Duan Tingzhen's lips as she subtly hooked his finger behind her sleeve.
The warmth lingered on his fingertips for a long time.
"Uncle, Master, look!" The little emperor came running over, his face flushed with excitement.
Meng Chifeng hurriedly pulled his hand away and asked, "What's wrong?"
The child pulled them over, one in each hand, picked up an arrow, and threw it at the bottle. The arrow struck the bottle wall with a clang and went in.
He proudly puffed out his little chest.
Seeing that he was happy, Duan Tingzhen went along with him and patted his head approvingly.
But Meng Chifeng just chuckled when he saw it. He picked up an arrow and casually tossed it away. With a crisp sound, the arrow pierced through the center of the bottle, landing steadily without touching the bottle wall.
Feeling outdone by his uncle, the child became unhappy again. He grabbed Duan Tingzhen's hand and whispered, "Uncle is bad."
At this moment, Meng Chifeng was like a male bird in courtship, displaying his strengths with all his might, disregarding even the presence of a six-year-old child. The sight of a man nearing thirty, a military general, insisting on competing with a child was strangely familiar to Duan Tingzhen, who found it amusing. That's just how people are; sometimes their childishness is indescribable.
Out of the young emperor's sight, he glared fiercely at Meng Chifeng. But to Meng Chifeng at that moment, that look was more pleasing than receiving an imperial edict of promotion and honor; it was the highest praise imaginable.
Fortunately, the young emperor was easygoing and was quickly coaxed by his two elders, forgetting about it in no time. Meng Chifeng, on the other hand, regained his senses and felt somewhat guilty towards his nephew. After showering him with attention for a while, he managed to retain his position as the child's 'second favorite person'.