Chapter 543: Burning the Eastern Palace
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"You have become ugly." Fang Zhengzhi said seriously as he nodded and pointed at the scars on Nangong Mu's face.
They had not met for almost two years.
Yet Fang Zhengzhi first sentence was to remark that he became ugly.
If another person had said this, he would've been beaten to a pulp.
But Nangong Mu didn't do that.
He froze for a second, then revealed a dull smile on his otherwise expressionless face.
"Indeed, it's the same old Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Mu didn't find fault with Fang Zhengzhi. After all, this was the Fang Zhengzhi he knew.
And he didn't know why but he felt as if they had not separated for two years, though Fang Zhengzhi only said a sentence.
Maybe…
Only within true friends could one speak so freely and straightforwardly?
"Have you eaten?" Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.
"No."
"If you're buying the meal, I could consider eating with you." Fang Zhengzhi seemed to give it some thought and said.
"But I didn't bring any silver." Nangong Mu said earnestly.
"Let's eat at Ping Yang Residence then. We don't have to pay there." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. Of course, he knew Nangong Mu's status.
The second young master of the Nangong Nobles!
No one would have believed that he didn't bring any silver, but Fang Zhengzhi didn't seem to hold any suspicions.
"Alright." Nangong Mu agreed.
They turned around and walked toward Ping Yang Residence, to the surprise of surrounding commoners.
"Have they really not met in two years?!"
…
With Nangong Mu's visit, Ping Yang Residence seemed a little livelier. But Nangong Mu had been silent, like Yan Xiu.
Yet, they were different.
Yan Xiu was apathetic, but Nangong Mu was bored.
With one apathetic and one bored, naturally, the conversation was sparse. So, when Yan Xiu saw Nangong Mu, he greeted coldly and Nangong Mu responded flatly.
It seemed…
Very awkward.
But this did not affect the liveliness of Ping Yang Residence.
Because in Ping Yang Residence, there was Ping Yang, a chatty lady who couldn't stop talking. And Wen Dabao, who was thrown out from his home.
Wen Dabao was pitiful.
He said so himself.
According to him, the Law Council was especially busy at this period, with so much work to handle., and this made him an eyesore to his father, Wen Chuan.
The reasoning was simple.
The father was working to death, yet he had a useless son idling away around him. Anyone would have been sickened by this and gave him a scolding.
When scolding wasn't enough, Wen Chuan threw him out.
Out of sight, out of mind!
Then Wen Dabao wailed pitifully at the entrance of Ping Yang Residence, acting as if he didn't have a home.
And coincidentally, he met Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu. Fang Zhengzhi didn't mind this, neither did Ping Yang, so naturally, no one else did.
When he met Nangong Mu, his response was markedly different from Yan Xiu.
When Wen Dabao saw Nangong Mu, his expression was exaggerated, especially so as his eyes lit up when he saw the two scars on Nangong Mu's face.
"What handsome 'manly scars', they are so cool!" Wen Dabao fawned over Nangong Mu.
At the same time, he used the words that Fang Zhengzhi often described himself.
To him, flattery like this could be interpreted as compliments. In fact, these words were coined by Fang Zhengzhi, using them would only be a good choice.
But when Nangong Mu heard this, he gave a plain response.
"Someone said they are ugly."
"Who? Who dared to call Young Master Nangong ugly? Say it and I'll bash him to death right now!" Wen Dabao turned angry with his arms akimbo, as if he were about to seek revenge.
"I said it." Fang Zhengzhi spoke.
And then…
Nothing happened.
Because Wen Dabao had run to the corner at the far end of the room, his eyes locked on the food that the servant was bringing out. He was drooling, yet he did not dare take a step near it.
In the courtyard, the fragrance of the flowers wafted in the air, among the crisp sound of flowing water.
The dinner had been going on for more than two hours with no less than five pots of wine being drunk, but tacitly, no one mentioned the current state of imperial affairs.
This was a gathering of friends, and it had to be so.
Wen Dabao stared hungrily from afar, occasionally slapping himself for drooling so much.
Ping Yang seemed a little excited as she had a bit too much to drink. Her cheeks flushed a light pink, her skin sparklingly smooth, her pink lips tender and alluring.
"I'm very happy today, let's have some fun!" Ping Yang said as she tilted to a side, waving her hands and fluttering her dress.
"Great, shall we go to Seven Stars Lane?" Wen Dabao's voice immediately rang from a distance away, unable to contain his excitement.
After the incident at Seven Stars Lane a few days ago, he hadn't visited there to enjoy music.
This made him a little moody.
Just like a person who was used to eating luxury delicacies suddenly could no longer enjoy such food and was only allowed to eat some wild vegetables. What a torture!
"Who suggested going to Seven Stars Lane?" Ping Yang stared at him.
"We're not going to Seven Stars Lane? How then are we going to have fun?" Wen Dabao was puzzled. Well, to him, seeking fun and seeking girls didn't have much of a difference.
"What do you say, shameless fellow?" Ping Yang ignored Wen Dabao and turned her attention to Fang Zhengzhi, asking him in anticipation.
"With regards to enjoying life… Besides merrymaking at brothels, feasting in Ping Yang Residence, what's left is having fun!" Fang Zhengzhi replied after some thought.
"Yes, where shall we have fun?" Ping Yang's eyes lit up.
"Shopping is one way to have fun, but shops are now closed for the night. Horse racing is another, but, again, now is not a good time for that. So…"
"So, what?"
"There's only one way left!"
"What is it?"
"Murder and arson, theft and robbery!"
"Huh?!" Wen Dabao almost fell from a shock. To think of committing murder and arson in the dead of the night…
If his father knew about this, he would be the one getting killed!
But unlike Wen Dabao, Ping Yang wasn't horrified. Instead, she was very excited and eager to do it.
"Great, what shall we burn?"
"The most heavily guarded place, of course." Fang Zhengzhi didn't spend any time thinking.
"The most heavily guarded? The palace is very heavily guarded, shall we set it on fire? But if I really burned the palace, Aunt Hua would…" Ping Yang seemed concerned.
Wen Dabao heard this and rolled his eyes.
To set the palace on fire…
Only Ping Yang would dare to say such a thing!
And most importantly, her concern wasn't about being beaten to death for setting the palace on fire, but if it would implicate Aunt Hua.
A spoiled lady indeed!
Wen Dabao had no words for this, but he understood there was truth in Ping Yang's words. Perhaps if Ping yang really set the palace on fire, the emperor would only scold her, right?
"If we can't set the palace on fire, we can try other places." Fang Zhengzhi nodded, equally concerned about doing so.
"Yes, yes, we should try other places!" Wen Dabao sighed in relief.
Ping Yang thought deeply once again.
"Try other places? Besides the palace, my residence is the second most heavily guarded place. I can't possibly set my own residence on fire, right? No, that wouldn't be fun. But the next in line should be… the Eastern Palace!"
"Eastern Palace?!"
This time, Wen Dabao was so shocked he fell on the floor.
"Your Highness, you can't go to the Eastern Palace. That's the crown prince's residence, you'll be beheaded if you burn it down!" Wen Dabao cried, with tears streaming down his cheeks.
He was absolutely astonished by Ping Yang's audacious suggestions.
If not the emperor's palace, then the Eastern Palace!
Indeed, it seemed exciting, but this would endanger lives!
"That's true too. If I really burned down Third Brother's residence, where would he stay?" Ping Yang realized this upon hearing Wen Dabao's words, but soon, her eyes lit up again. "Oh, I could burn only one or two of his houses, then there should be no problem!"
"No problem?! How would there be no problem? Burning only one or two houses… Your Highness, that is the Eastern Palace! The crown prince's residence!" Wen Dabao could never understand what she meant by "no problem".
Burning two houses of the Eastern Palace!
No problem?!
"Hey, shameless fellow, I have decided to burn houses in the Eastern Palace. Do you dare to come?" Ping Yang ignored Wen Dabao's cries, and instead, she challenged Fang Zhengzhi.
"Hmm, the Eastern Palace… Is it easy to enter?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang with a doubtful expression.
"Not easy… The Eastern Palace is not easy to enter. How about we change the place again? The Minister of Rites Du Wannian's residence is easy to enter. Let's burn his stable, there shouldn't be a problem!" Wen Dabao gritted his teeth and suggested his former enemy instead.
He would never have dared to set houses on fire.
But…
With Ping Yang taking the lead, his status as the young master of an official wouldn't be an issue. Furthermore, would Du Wannian spread the news of his stable being burnt down?
This wouldn't kill Wen Dabao!
"The Eastern Palace is easy to enter, of course. I've been there a few times, it's just that I didn't tell you guys. I'm smart, am I not?" Ping Yang looked proudly at Fang Zhengzhi, brimming with confidence, as though she had not heard Wen Dabao.
"Your Highness, but it's you!" Wen Dabao could tell why she was able to enter the Eastern Palace for a few times. She was Ping Yang after all.
Even if she was seen by the Eastern Palace guards, what could they do?
But it would be different with Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and others. How would the Eastern Palace guards simply let a group of people in?
"Shut up!" Ping Yang shouted with an icy stare. "I have already burnt the Law Official's residence, how could I burn a Minister's residence? Wen Dabao, if you are scared, then leave now, and don't ever come back to my residence again. We don't welcome you!"
"Princess…" Wen Dabao felt aggrieved.
Ping Yang once again turned toward Fang Zhengzhi. She reached for a bottle of wine and gulped a mouthful, provoking Fang Zhengzhi.
"Yan Xiu, what do you think?" Fang Zhengzhi did not respond to Ping Yang, instead, he turned to Yan Xiu for his opinion.
"Go ahead." Yan Xiu nodded.
"Nangong Mu, are you coming?" Fang Zhengzhi returned the nod and turned to Nangong Mu.
"If you guys are going, then I'll join in too." Nangong Mu answered after some thought.
"Let's go." Upon Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu's agreement, he had also decided to give it a shot and promptly stood up.
But…
Wen Dabao couldn't stand up.
Because his legs had turned to jelly.
Going to the Eastern Palace?
To burn it!
Did they need to play at such a high stake? With the Law Council already working on a few high-profile cases, should they add an Eastern Palace arson case to the burden?
"Yan Xiu, that is the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace!" Unwilling to give up, Wen Dabao stood up, ran to Yan Xiu and pleaded him.
"Yes, I know." Yan Xiu nodded emotionlessly.
"And yet you're going?" Wen Dabao asked.
Yan Xiu did not reply. He stood up and walked beside Fang Zhengzhi, without any intention of retreating.
Looking at Yan Xiu, Wen Dabao was at a loss for words.
Then he pinned his last hopes on Nangong Mu.
"Your Excellency Nangong, it's the Eastern Palace, the crown prince's residence. If this matter had spread to the Nangong Nobles, it wouldn't be good for you, right?" Wen Dabao asked worriedly.
"Not a problem, in the worst case, I'll just kneel on the grave for two more years!" Nangong Mu nodded, unperturbed by his concerns.
"…" Wen Dabao moved his lips. He wanted to say something but was stopped by Ping Yang's glare.
But this did not stop him from screaming out in his mind.
It's the Eastern Palace! The crown prince's residence!
Did they really have to play at such a high stake? Burning the Eastern Palace in the middle of the night could kill someone!