Wuyue Island is a small place that brings together a variety of cuisines from all over the world.
The noodles from Jinling, the rice from the capital, and all sorts of foods.
Among them was a restaurant called “Snacks From The Capital”, which was extremely popular in the area. After the two of them tied their horses in an empty place, they stepped in front of the restaurant.
The structure and decorations of the restaurant were similar to those of the capital. But in the end, they were imitations, and there was still the special style of Wuyue Island in them.
As soon as they looked up, there were three girls in bright clothes dancing lightly and gracefully by the railing on the second floor. The one in the middle was wearing a pink skirt and light veil, and her pearly white skin was faintly discernible. Her figure was lithe, and her dancing posture was stunning, but her face was half covered in a deep purple veil, making it difficult to see her appearance clearly.
She attracted passers-by to stop.
She was holding a small jug1(earthenware with a big belly and a small opening) in one hand, while her other lily-white hand twisted a spray and casually flung it. A sparkling and translucent liquid was spilled from above.
Liang Yanbei only felt a trace of coolness on his cheeks and subconsciously wanted to raise his hand to touch it. But he saw Wen Chan raise his hand and reach out.
There was a warm touch on his face, and Wen Chan’s fingertips were so gentle that he could hardly feel them.
Liang Yanbei was stunned and looked at him with surprise.
But he didn’t notice it at all. He raised his hand to his mouth and licked it. He smacked his lips and said in surprise, “This is wine.”
Liang Yanbei moved his lips and asked back, “What else did you think it was?”
Wen Chan didn’t give him a response and entered the restaurant first.
Because it was not lunch time yet, there were not many guests in the building. Wen Chan swept a glance casually and saw a lame man walking across the street.
He was about thirty years old and was carrying a lidless food box in his hand. Inside was a pastry that looked like a lotus flower. The tips of the flowers were red, delicate, and vivid.
Wen Chan’s heart was moved, and he thought about ordering a piece of this pastry to try later.
After the lame man walked past him, he somehow lost his grip on the food box. It fell to the ground with a “bang!” and the lotus pastry shattered into pieces.
Liang Yanbei happened to be coming over, and on seeing that he had difficulty moving, he took the initiative to bend down and help him pick up the food box. The lame man thanked him hurriedly, bowing very low, and he looked like an honest man.
Wen Chan heard the commotion and looked back to see Liang Yanbei patting the man’s shoulder and saying to him, “Be careful.”
After saying goodbye to the lame man, Liang Yanbei walked towards Wen Chan and said, “You go find a seat first and order everything you want to eat. I’ll go to the back to wash my hands.”
He was still thinking about the lotus pastry. So he responded casually and walked into the restaurant.
In the hall, there was a platform a few feet high, above which sat an old man with a white beard. He held a folding fan and was sitting at a table, drinking tea.
Below the platform sat several tables of people who were having a meal and discussing endlessly.
Wen Chan picked an empty seat, and as soon as he sat down, he heard a “bang!” sound. His eyelids jumped in surprise. He looked around and saw the old man on the stage slowly saying, “It is said that it was a beautiful spring day, with green willows all over the embankment, and the Young Lady of the Wang Clan……”.
It was really strange. It was the first time that he saw storytellers in a restaurant.
Wen Chan was so curious that he called a man at the next table and asked casually, “Brother, are there always storytellers in this building?”
“No other building has one. Only this one has one.” The man was a bright person. As soon as he heard Wen Chan ask, he immediately answered, “Little brother is perhaps coming to this Wuyue Island for the first time, right?”
“It’s indeed my first time here.”
“The accent sounds like that of someone from the capital?”
How can he tell? “You’re right. I’m2(humble) from the capital.”
“Then has little brother ever seen the Ninth Prince?” The man continued.
Suddenly hearing someone else ask about himself, Wen Chan was very surprised but still answered truthfully, “I’m lucky enough to have seen him.”
“How can you say you are lucky?” The man snorted, “I didn’t expect that little brother would know very little about the affairs of the capital even though he lives in the capital.”
“I am so focused on passing the entrance exam and gaining scholarly honour3(in imperial exams) that I usually don’t listen to anything going on outside the window. So I’m a bit ignorant.”
The man pointed at the man who was speaking eloquently on the stage and said, “What a coincidence that you are here. What he is talking about today is the deeds of the Ninth Prince?”
His deeds? What deeds did he accomplish?
Wen Chan saw clearly that when this man mentioned him, his expression and words were full of disdain and contempt. So he was even more confused, “The deeds of the Ninth Prince? Brother, can you tell me about it?”
There was a young man sitting next to the man. As soon as he heard the conversation between the two, he suddenly became excited. He rolled up his sleeves, twisted his whole body, lowered his voice, and said to Wen Chan, “The Son of the Heavens has six sons. But this ninth prince is the most talentless and incompetent. His character is corrupt.”
What? What? It’s okay to say that he has no talent and is incompetent. But how is his conduct corrupt?
Wen Chan thought to himself: I didn’t seem to have done anything outrageous, right?
He silently asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“On the Lantern Festival at the beginning of the year, it was rumoured that the Ninth Prince was travelling in the capital incognito and took a fancy to a lotus lantern. However, this lotus lantern can only be obtained by guessing the riddles written on lanterns correctly.” The man began to tell the story slowly.
Wen Chan nodded slightly after hearing this. It was indeed true. At that time, he was also scolded by Zhao Pingshi for no reason.
“But before the Ninth Prince went there, a girl had already spotted this lotus lantern and guessed the answer to the riddle. The Ninth Prince was very unreasonable. He revealed his identity and snatched the lantern forcefully, forcing the girl to kneel down and beg for mercy. He even threatened to destroy the lantern riddle stall!”
Wen Chan, “…… There may be some misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?” The man looked unconvinced, “The Ninth Prince has done many deeds. This is not the only one. He is dissolute, arrogant, willful, rude, and unreasonable. It is said that he even tore off the clothes of an innocent girl in broad daylight.”
“Is there still such a thing?!” Wen Chan asked in shock.
“That’s not true! In the biggest restaurant in the capital, he and the little bully from the Zhong family forced a girl to jump off the building.” The man’s face was rich with expressions, as if he were present when the incident happened.
Wen Chan coughed lightly, “This…… Could also be a misunderstanding.”
“Hey!” Wen Chan spoke for the Ninth Prince twice in a row, which aroused the man’s dissatisfaction, “Where can there be so many misunderstandings? With so many pairs of eyes watching, would there be any misunderstanding?”
“That’s right! Not long ago, on Wuyue Island, the Ninth Prince went on a boat trip to the lake and stole an embroidered handkerchief belonging to Young Lady Wang. It was exposed in public! How can we say that it was a misunderstanding this time?” The young man added oil and vinegar4fig. adding details while telling a story (to make it more interesting).
Wen Chan facepalmed, “This is really a misunderstanding.”
There was an indescribable weirdness in his heart when he talked about himself with others.
He didn’t expect that his affairs would be spread beyond recognition as rumours. Looking at this situation, it seemed that not just one or two people thought so in this way.
Just at this moment, Liang Yanbei returned and saw Wen Chan in the crowd. He walked to sit next to him, picked up the tea on the table, and poured himself a cup, “What are you talking about?”
When the man saw Liang Yanbei, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked Wen Chan, “Is this little brother’s friend?”
Wen Chan froze for a moment and then nodded slightly.
The man was perhaps an honest person. So he immediately praised him, “What a handsome young man!”
When Liang Yanbei heard this, he cheered up for no reason, “Many thanks for the compliment.”
“This young man’s accent is somewhat similar to that of this little brother. You are also from the capital?”
“Yes.”
“Then the young master also knows about the Ninth Prince.” The man asked Liang Yanbei the same question.
Liang Yanbei glanced at Wen Chan, and his smile deepened, “I sort of know him.”
The man who had been eating at the table suddenly smiled and said, “It is normal that these two young masters haven’t heard of the rumors. After all, they are under the emperor’s feet. How can the actions of the emperor’s heir be tolerated by ordinary people like us?”
“Lord Liang, you guys should know about him.”
Wen Chan asked doubtfully, “Is it not…… That Lord Liang from Jinling?”
“It is him. The one who only went to the capital to take office at the beginning of the year.”
Wen Chan’s eyelids twitched. Suddenly, a bad premonition surged through his heart, and he glanced at Liang Yanbei uneasily.
Can any good things come out of mentioning Liang Yanbei’s father at this time when he is being criticised?
As expected, the man said while eating, “Master Liang is upright. He has outstanding talents and is excellent at learning. He has only been in office for more than a month and has been highly praised by the people. However, the Ninth Prince chose to slander him. He cursed him for hiding baldness under his official hat and also publicised Master Liang’s wrong way of tying hair. The commotion was made known throughout the city.”
Liang Yanbei raised his eyebrows unexpectedly. His eyes moved to Wen Chan, and he asked slowly, “Really?”
“No, no, don’t talk nonsense!” Wen Chan couldn’t keep calm anymore and said seriously, “You may not believe it. But I still have to explain that there are misunderstandings in what you said. The Ninth Prince is not that kind of person at all!”
“Little brother, are you joking? How can such an obvious thing be false?” The man retorted stubbornly.
“I grew up in the capital. So I have naturally heard about these things. They are all caused by rumours.” Wen Chan was very serious. “Especially the matter of Lord Liang. The Ninth Prince has always had a deep respect for Lord Liang and would never say such rude words.”
Wen Chan was not lying. Among the officials in the imperial court, the one he feared the most was Liang Jun, and the one he respected the most was also Liang Jun.
Liang Jun was loyal to the country. He fully supported Liang Yanbei and protected Wen Chan. During the national crisis, he kept working hard and hurt his body.
And after he realised that he was in love with Liang Yanbei in his previous life, every time he met Liang Jun’s majestic gaze, he swallowed with guilt and was very scared.
“You are just a scholar, and you don’t know these things.”
“You can’t say that.” Liang Yanbei chuckled and said slowly, “Wuyue Island is thousands of miles away from the capital. I don’t know how many people’s mouths it had to go through for this to spread. It cannot be trusted.”
In the end, he said solemnly, “I believe His Highness the Ninth Prince is not that kind of person!”
When the people at the next table saw that the two of them couldn’t chat with them, they said that they were bored and turned back to discuss among themselves.
Wen Chan raised his eyes and glanced at him, thinking about how to speak.
Liang Yanbei noticed his little movements and found it inexplicably funny. He showed his white teeth and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell my father.”
“These are all rumours. I can explain.” Wen Chan said it hurriedly.
“No need.” Liang Yanbei smiled meaningfully, “I said I believe you.”
This smile did not have the slightest meaning of trust in Wen Chan’s eyes.
He still wanted to speak. But Liang Yanbei raised his voice and called the waiter to come. And he started to order food.
Wen Chan was a little angry. He secretly thought that it was unreasonable that someone would make up such a story to discredit him. If he found out who did it, he would teach the villain who spread the rumours a lesson.
While he was still sulking, the waiter brought cold food and pastries one after another. Liang Yanbei put the plate with lotus pastry in front of Wen Chan.
The lotus pastry was placed on a blanc de chine plate, and it looked much better than in a food box. It was also served with some green vegetables as a foil, exuding a delicate fragrance.
Wen Chan was instantly attracted to this pastry. He put his thoughts aside, took out a pair of wooden chopsticks, picked up the red tip of the lotus flower, and put it into his mouth.
The sweet taste spread in his mouth, and the aroma of lotus lingered between his teeth.
“It tastes good.” Wen Chan praised it sincerely.
He has tasted all kinds of delicacies in Xi Liang. This pastry is neither the most exquisite and special nor the most delicious and expensive. Logically speaking, it did not deserve his praise.
But Wen Chan ate so much that he finished the plate of lotus pastries in just a few bites.
“Waiter, serve another plate of these pastries.”
Liang Yanbei was listening carefully to the storyteller on the stage. When he turned around and saw that the plate was empty, he immediately ordered another plate.
“Why don’t you eat?” Wen Chan asked.
“The food hasn’t been served yet. These are amuse-bouches for you.” Liang Yanbei answered casually.
He looked at the several plates of snacks on the table, smiled casually, and ate a little of each plate.
After eating less than half of the second plate of lotus pastry, the food was served.
Liang Yanbei had ordered three dishes and one soup, including both meat and vegetables. After the dishes were served, he said to Wen Chan, as if he were not assured, “If there is something you don’t like, don’t eat it. Let’s order something else.”
Wen Chan glanced at the dishes on the table and found that they were all Liang Yanbei’s favourites.
He and Liang Yanbei had very similar tastes. Rather than saying they were similar, it was better to say that he liked to eat whatever Liang Yanbei liked to eat. This was a habit that he developed in his previous life.
To put it bluntly, whenever he was alone with Liang Yanbei at the dinner table, there was no dish that he didn’t love to eat.
He replied, “Just eat it. There’s no need to pay too much attention to it.”
Neither of them had the habit of chatting while eating. So the table became quiet. Wen Chan concentrated on eating and wiped out most of the table in no time.
When he was eighty percent full, there was a sudden commotion on the street outside. The screams of a woman suppressed the chaotic sounds and penetrated straight into the restaurant, and they were shrill and harsh.
Wen Chan and Liang Yanbei were so shocked that they stopped their chopsticks at the same time.
Translator’s corner
From the beginning of the next chapter, I think the story is taking a turn now, guys. So fasten your seatbelts, please!
Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.
KO-FI
Don’t feel shy to let me know in the comment section or in the discord of Knoxt if you find any mistakes~
