RL (AT) Chapter 62: Flying a Kite

Chapter 62: Flying a Kite

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

On the outskirts of the Imperial City, in addition to the peach forest, there was a deep and clear river in the western suburb. On both sides of the river bank, there were big stones and some old willows, whose branches fell on the river. The river rippled with the breeze. There was a stone bridge and a wooden bridge on the Kuanhe River. The wooden bridge was old and looked weak and those on both sides of the river would not cross through using it.

On both banks of the river, there were only flat grasslands. Looking further away, one could see a forest and several paths. At the end of the path, one could see the gate of the Imperial City.

In such an open place with only flat grass, it was the best place to fly kites.

Lin Mo asked An Jinyuan and Zero One to come out with him. Considering their identity, Lin Xiu only invited Yu Yange and three friends. Except for Yu Yange, who met his brother and Cheng Yan, the others had not, but Lin Xiu was not worried.

However, to Lin Mo’s surprise, An Chenglin came with Zero One. It was blatant to see how much he cared about Zero One. He said he came out to fly kites, but what he really wanted to do was play with Lin Mo, Zero One and An Jinyuan. Lin Xiu and the several people he brought were chatting. Not far from them were the dark guards disguised as ordinary bodyguards, and there were many shadow guards hidden in the forest.

Lin Mo sat cross legged beside Cheng Yan, watching him finish tying the string of the kite. Zero One was trotting over with a koi shaped kite, followed by An Chenglin whose eyes showed his helplessness.

“A-Mo, let’s compete and see whose kite flies the highest!” Zero One came to squat beside Lin Mo, eyes shining.

Lin Mo looked at the hope in his eyes and patted his head, “Okay.”

“Then I’ll join in.” An Jinyuan looked at them and said with a smile. He felt that there was something wrong between A-Mo and Zero One.

When everything was ready, the kites that were placed on the grass were now flying up and down. The guards stood by and carefully controlled the lines in their hands. Lin Mo took over the kite from Cheng Yan and sat on the grass looking up at the sky.

Cheng Yan sat behind him with Lin Mo’s back against his chest. Looking down at the smile on his face, Cheng Yan was relieved at last, and his arm tightened around his waist.

It was good to laugh. Although he didn’t know the cause of Lin Mo’s bad mood, Cheng Yan still didn’t want to see the sadness in his eyes. In Cheng Yan’s mind, Lin Mo was supposed to be smiling.

“So beautiful…” Lin Mo put his back head on Cheng Yan’s chest and looked up at the colorful kite in the sky. His eyes were full of wonder. Lin Mo remembered that when he was a child, his brother took him to fly kites. At that time, there were many people and kites in the sky, but it was not as shocking as the scene at this time.

“You prepared it on purpose?” Lin Mo looked at Cheng Yan behind him. But the look in his eyes made him certain that Cheng Yan had.

“Mn.” Cheng Yan took the kite string in his hand and performed a few tricks. The eagle, which was suppressed by Zero One and An Chenglin’s Koi kite, flew higher.

“I thought that you would only let the shadow guards fly the kites. They are overqualified.” Lin Mo glanced at the ‘ordinary’ people in black who were flying kites with solemn looks on their faces, but he could see that they were inexplicably happy.

“Think nothing of it, they’re happy.” Besides, Imperial Brother’s dark guard was also there.

“Shadow One, looks quite ordinary.” Lin Mo’s thoughts jumped to another place and he poked Cheng Yan’s hand. Although some of the shadow guards Lin Mo saw before were all wearing masks, according to their figure, Lin Mo thought they should also be good-looking. At least for him to recognize them in the crowd like this was beyond Lin Mo’s expectation.

If it wasn’t for their black clothes and their unique cold aura, Lin Mo would have mistaken them for ordinary bodyguards.

“He changed his face. What? Momo seems to be very interested in them… Especially their looks, hmm?” Cheng Yan put his chin on his shoulder, squinted slightly, and said in a dangerous tone.

“Hah? It’s just curiosity. Besides, I’m only interested in you.” Lin Mo heard the meaning in Cheng Yan’s tone and responded quickly. In the past, when he read novels, he thought the shadow guards, a loyal dog, were cute, so he paid more attention to them.

His husband was a big vinegar jar. It was a sweet burden.

“Mn. Momo just look at me. I look better than them.” Cheng Yan held his husband in his arms, and from time to time moved some strings to make the kite fly higher.

“…Cheeky.” Lin Mo chuckled.

Lin Xiu, who was chatting with his friends at the thatched pavilion, was naturally attracted by the scenery in the sky, though the kites were big and small, with different colors and shapes, it was quite shocking to see them in the air together.

Lin Xiu recovered his mind and looked at his brother and brother-in-law sitting on the grass across the river. His worry also dissipated. When Lin Mo came to see him yesterday, Lin Xiu knew that his brother’s mood was very different. He thought Lin Mo and Cheng Yan had a fight.

Fortunately, Lin Mo was getting better now.

Lin Xiu saw his brother’s distinct smile in the distance, his lips slightly raised in a smile, and then he turned to continue to chat with his peers.

A man in blue shook his fan and said, “… Speaking of this, I admire the Prime Minister’s daughter, who has such a good literary talent.” 

“Her poems have different styles. Can a woman write about the tragedy of a battle? I don’t believe it. It’d be more realistic if it was from His Royal Highness.”

The rest of them couldn’t help laughing. His Highness Prince Cheng had been fighting for many years and it was easy for him to kill enemies but not necessary to write poems. This was a disguised conversation since they had doubts about the literary talent of the Prime Minister’s legitimate daughter.

When Lin Xiu heard this, the smile in his eyes faded. The Prime Minister’s daughter, Su Qingran… What kind of person was that woman? So many men were obsessed with her, or was  it as Eldest Brother guessed, that she was a witch?

She could also say those excellent poems. If he didn’t have the warning from his Eldest Brother’s previous life, maybe Lin Xiu would have some interest in that woman as he had in his previous life. Lin Xiu had been staying in the palace since he came to the Imperial City and occasionally went to the teahouse to relax. Fortunately, he never saw the legendary prime minister’s daughter once.

“Second Brother! Come on!” When Lin Xiu heard his brother’s call, he turned around and saw Lin Mo waving to them.

“Continue your talk. I’ll go to my brother.” Lin Xiu told them and got up to leave. He promised his brother that he would come out to play with him. It was better to go. The other three looked at each other. All three of them were from the capital, with distinguished family backgrounds, and some of them were officials in court.

The three had a good relationship, all were from the same college and they had been classmates for many years and knew each other’s family background. At first, they made friends with Yu Yange. The Yu family’s position in the Imperial City was no lower than that of the Prime Minister. But later, they were overwhelmed by Yu Yange’s talent and learning ability. Even if they didn’t have a family member to explain, they would be happy to make friends with Yu Yange. After all, it was not easy to find a friend with the same aspiration.

Compared with the family background of the four, they didn’t know much about Lin Xiu. They only knew that he and his brother had come to the Imperial City from a remote place for the exam. At the moment, he was temporarily living in his brother’s house. Now it seemed that his brother-in-law’s family was not ordinary, but they didn’t often go out, so they didn’t know who that person was.

“Let’s go, too. I’ve got some kites ready.” Yu Yange said with a smile.

As for His Highness, they still didn’t want to go over where he was. Fortunately, the grassland on both sides of the river was spacious.

“Brother Yu, do you know those people?” The man in blue walking to the side asked, and the others anticipated the answer with curiosity. Lin Xiu’s family was too mysterious and they hadn’t met them.

“Lin Xiu’s brother is next to His Highness Prince Cheng.” Yu Yange looked at them. He didn’t think they were curious, and thought they were just asking as part of holding a conversation

Every time Lin Xiu went to the teahouse, he would be accompanied by a young man and more than ten bodyguards. The carriage he took also had the sign of Prince Cheng’s house, but they had not noticed before.

“Cheng… His Highness Prince Cheng?!” Three people took in a breath only to give a low exhale. Their faces showed that they thought this was unbelievable.

“I heard that His Highness Prince Cheng had returned to the Imperial City. After so long, I thought he was going to the border again. I didn’t expect that he was still in the Imperial City.”

Although His Royal Highness Cheng was well-known in the kingdom of Yu, people in the Imperial City rarely saw the true face of His Highness Cheng. Prince Cheng returned to the Imperial City a few times but he wore a mask on his face every time he came back. Only a few had seen his true appearance.

Yu Yange was one of these few people. When he was a child, he served as a reading assistant to His Highness Prince Cheng. Later, Prince Cheng went to the border and he was also sent away from the Imperial City for family reasons. Unexpectedly, they met again and they were already of this age.

Yu Yange looked up at Cheng Yan, who was looking at his Wang Fu, with a smile in his eyes. When he was a child, he didn’t understand why His Highness Prince Cheng, who was his age, was always indifferent to others. Until he grew up, he realized why.

In order to get something, you would lose something. Grandpa once said to him these words that floated in his mind. Before, Yu Yange thought that His Highness Prince Cheng would not smile at anyone except those two he cared about. Now it seemed that he had found the man in his heart.

“It’s said that His Highness Prince Cheng was ruthless. The rumors are not credible.” Obviously, he also saw the gentle side of His Highness Prince Cheng at this time, although it was a little scary for the others.

“I heard that when His Highness returned to the Imperial City, he brought back his husband, but no one had seen him. I wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t for His Majesty’s order that they should get married two months later.” The man in blue said, shaking his fan.

“After all, no one expected that His Highness Cheng would get married so early. Isn’t he only twenty?”

Although many men had already had several children when they were twenty years old, the premise was that His Majesty had not yet married a husband. They thought that His Highness Cheng would get married later than His Majesty, or would end up not marrying at all.

They were also the same age group as His Highness Chneg and they didn’t want to be distracted, so they didn’t create a family. They thought His Highness Prince Cheng was the least likely one to get married first.

Lin Xiu didn’t know that his friends were talking about something related to him. He was pushed to His Highness Jinyuan by his younger brother. He said that no one was with His Highness Jinyuan and asked him to come and accompany him.

Lin Xiu couldn’t help but smile bitterly. His Highness JinYuan was a ger, the most honorable ger in the country. Was it suitable for him to be accompanied by a man? Lin Xiu glanced at Cheng Yan and the other man with a similar face.

Needless to say, Lin Xiu could also guess the identity of the man. Lin Xiu didn’t know what An Jinyuan meant to him, and he didn’t dare to show his thoughts. Lin Xiu worried that he would be wrong.

An Jinyuan looked at Lin Xiu and said with a smile, “Let’s go over there. There are too many kites here. They will get entangled if we are not careful.” 

“Yes, Your Highness.” Lin Xiu recovered his mind and carefully moved the kite in his hand to the other side.

“You…” An Jinyuan wanted to talk but stopped.

“What’s the matter?” Lin Xiu asked.

“Nothing, let’s go.” An Jinyuan shook his head.

After a few days, he would see what he thought. He had a month to go, he would ask after the exam.