Qi Zi brought over a little lap desk and set it onto the bed. Xiao Xiao secured a candle onto the surface, then put the ink, brushes, and paper all into their right place. The two excused themselves after that.
Luo Wei wrote two character onto the paper, instructing Wei Lan, “Lan, this is my father’s name. Zhi Qiu.”
Wei Lan carefully copied it.
“This stroke needs to be like this,” Luo Wei held Wei Lan’s hand and guided him through it.
Wei Lan kept his head down and focused on practicing the forms. After going through two full pages of copy work, he looked up to Luo Wei, wanting to ask if he was doing okay but found Luo Wei had already nodded off.
“Young master?” Wei Lan nudged him.
“Hmm?” Luo Wei half opened his eyes. He’d been running around all day, and had already been tired before this started.
“You should go and get some rest,” Wei Lan suggested.
“I’ll just sleep here,” Luo Wei didn’t want to get up again. It was already the later half of the night, almost daybreak. If he went back to his room now, set his sheets and cleaned up, he wouldn’t even be able to get a blink in before daytime.
Wei Lan carefully moved the lap desk to the ground. When he turned around, Luo Wei was already close to falling asleep again.
“Lan,” Luo Wei rolled over, “You should get some rest too.”
Wei Lan laid himself back down. He still didn’t quite understand Luo Wei or why Luo Wei would be so kind to him, and not want to toss him aside. And yet, Wei Lan liked how Luo Wei treated him, calling him “Lan”, making jokes with him. He didn’t have to endure hunger, humiliation anymore. He could live like a real person. Even though he didn’t know how long this body would last him, but Wei Lan has started to harbor a hope that he might live longer, just a little longer, so he could stay by Luo Wei’s side a little more.
Qi Zi came rouse Luo Wei as the sun rose.
Luo Wei rubbed his eyes, looked at Wei Lan who was still sleeping beside him, and quietly got up.
“There’s going to be an Imperial Physician coming to see Wei Lan,” Luo Wei told Qi Zi after they’d left the room, “Be mindful.”
Qi Zi answered, “Understood, young master. Is Wei Lan going to fully heal? He’s always so tired.”
“He is,” Luo Wei was certain, “Ten and the guards suggested this physician. He told me that Doctor Lin would know what to do.”
“I’ll keep an eye on it,” Qi Zi felt a little happier after hearing Luo Wei assure him, “When Wei Lan’s better, I’ll ask him to teach me some martial arts.”
“Yeah,” Wei Lan smiled back.
Luo Wei left the estate before Luo Zhi Qiu. He needed to go to the Hall of Eternal Light first, then accompany the emperor for the morning audience.
It was noon before the morning audience came to a close.
After returning to the Hall of Eternal Light, Luo Wei began reciting all that had passed during the discussions in the morning. His memory was quite good, but still, he made some mistakes on purpose so that Emperor Xing Wu could satisfy himself by acting like a teacher. Luo Wei, on his end, could enjoy being a good student.
Emperor Xing Wu laid out guidance for Luo Wei carefully, but found that Luo Wei was a little distracted at the end, so he asked, “Got something on your mind?”
Luo Wei nodded first, then quickly shook his head.
“I don’t know, it looks to me like you’ve got something on your mind,” Emperor Xing Wu found Luo Wei’s reaction amusing, “Let’s hear it.”
Luo Wei relented, “I’ve met a friend, and want to give him a hand in some matters, but I don’t know how to help him.”
“A friend?” Emperor Xing Wu asked, “What kind of friend?”
Luo Wei answered by way of asking, “Does Your Imperial Majesty know of the Ming Jian Villa?”
Emperor Xing Wu responded, “Of course.”
Luo Wei continued, “This friend of mine is named Ning Fei. He’s the sixth son of the master of Ming Jian Villa, Ning Shu Ying. But his mother was only a dancer(1) at the villa, so his father has yet to give her an official status even now. Ning Fei’s life at the villa isn’t easy, so I want to give him a hand somehow.”
FOOTNOTES:
1. dancer – The original text in the novel says “wu ji”, which can be loosely translated to dancer prostitute, though this is the same sort of wording used to refer to some entertainers such as geisha in Japan. The fact is that in the setting of this novel, entertainers are viewed as a lower status due to what they do, the selling of their skills is similar to selling their body, with the added fact that some do also sell their bodies, which makes their status suspect.