Chapter Forty-Nine: Romance? It Doesn’t Exist

The Seventh Prince nodded and said, "Doctor Wang."

Yu Hualiang glanced at the little boy, asking, "Who is this? Your son?"

"Master Yu, you jest. I am still unmarried; how could I have a son?"

Wang Ruosheng continued, "This child is rather pitiful. He has a heart ailment."

Yu Hualiang was taken aback. "Is he related to Ji Yuzhe...?"

Wang Ruosheng nodded again and added, "Since it's the Qingming Festival, I brought him back to pay respects to our ancestors."

Sighing, Yu Hualiang patted Guichun on the head. The boy looked up at him, then lowered his gaze.

"Why are you so shy?" Yu Hualiang said with a smile, taking two copper coins from his pocket. "Go buy yourself some candied hawthorn."

Guichun shook his head, refusing. Yu Hualiang asked, curious, "Why not?"

"My mother said I shouldn't take money from strangers, or I might be sold..." Guichun replied.

Yu Hualiang burst out laughing. "Your mother is quite right. In that case, I won't give you any candied hawthorn."

Guichun looked at Yu Hualiang with longing, and Wang Ruosheng stepped in to help. "It's all right, take it. This is Master Yu, the court painter to the Seventh Prince. You should address him properly."

"Master Yu," Guichun said.

Yu Hualiang smiled and handed him the two coins. Guichun brightened and gave him a shy smile. Wang Ruosheng encouraged him, "Go buy your treat, but don't run too fast."

"Yes, Master Wang," Guichun replied obediently.

After Guichun left, Wang Ruosheng said, "You two haven't eaten yet, have you? As it happens, Guichun's family is hosting a feast today."

Yu Hualiang imagined the lively scene and was about to accept when the Seventh Prince pressed a hand to his shoulder. "Thank you for your kindness, Doctor Wang, but Ziliang and I must take our leave shortly."

"Ah, I see," Wang Ruosheng said. "I won't keep you from your flower viewing, then. Farewell."

Yu Hualiang let out a disappointed sigh. "Then take care, Doctor Wang. Let's visit Ji Yuzhe together another day."

Wang Ruosheng nodded quickly and hurried off.

Once he was gone, the Seventh Prince, standing behind Yu Hualiang, called softly, "Master Yu..."

Yu Hualiang felt a shiver run down his spine. He turned to the prince, forcing a smile. "He's just a child..."

The Seventh Prince's eyes burned with intensity as he watched Yu Hualiang, who felt increasingly awkward. Was the prince actually jealous of a child?

The prince opened his arms, gazing at Yu Hualiang. At first, Yu Hualiang didn't understand, but then realized he was asking for a hug.

Yu Hualiang was truly defeated by the prince's childishness. Embarrassed, he said, "Tsk... Not here. There are too many children watching. Let's go back, I'll let you hug me at home."

But the Seventh Prince was adamant. If Yu Hualiang didn't hug him now, he simply refused to leave. Yu Hualiang tried to pull him away several times, but he wouldn't budge.

And he didn't so much as change his posture, clearly determined to get his way.

"Your Highness, can't we go back first?" Yu Hualiang pleaded.

The prince remained silent, arms outstretched. The children, curious and mischievous, imitated his stance.

Yu Hualiang looked at the group of kids all mimicking the prince, each more impish than the last.

"Go on, play elsewhere!" Yu Hualiang coaxed.

The children only pulled faces at him, copying the prince even more enthusiastically.

"I surrender," Yu Hualiang muttered.

With no other choice—nearly exasperated by the children—he decided to just get it over with, hug the prince, and leave. Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be drawn into the prince's embrace.

He wasn't as tall as the prince, standing half a head shorter. His head rested loosely on the prince's shoulder, his arms lightly around his back. "Is this enough?" he asked.

The prince, content, hugged him tighter. Yu Hualiang felt the prince's arms tighten more and more, making it hard to breathe. He tried to push away, but the prince only held him closer.

"Hey... hey, that's enough."

"Not yet," the prince replied, his lips close to Yu Hualiang's ear. "This is your punishment for making me wait so long just now."

"What?" The prince's words made Yu Hualiang squirm with discomfort. He struggled to break free, but the prince only said, "Want me to let go?"

Yu Hualiang nodded. "Please, let go."

"Only if you kiss me..."

"Absolutely not!" Yu Hualiang cut him off. So that was the prince's plan all along—he actually wanted a kiss, here, in broad daylight, in front of everyone?

"Then I won't let go," the prince insisted.

Yu Hualiang was indignant. "Don't push your luck! I already let you hug me, and all these children are watching. How could this look?"

"Ziliang doesn't realize it's inappropriate. Why not just kiss me and we can go home?"

"What? We've already hugged! What more do you want? Mu Zicheng... Mu Zicheng? Seventh Prince!"

"Hush... Do you want the whole world to know you're my lover?"

Yu Hualiang fell silent. He was known for his preferences; everyone was aware. If people saw the prince embracing him here, they'd all assume he had seduced the prince.

He'd probably be beaten to death...

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, a sudden clap of thunder split the sky, making Yu Hualiang flinch. The prince glanced up, then at Yu Hualiang, whose head was buried in his neck. "So, Ziliang is afraid of thunder?"

Yu Hualiang had indeed been startled. That old saying flashed through his mind: do evil and you'll be struck by lightning. But then he remembered the season—it was the time of Awakening of Insects.

He wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "It's just the Awakening of Insects. Nothing to fear."

Looking up, he saw the sky was already overcast, and after that thunderclap, it darkened even more. Rain would surely follow.

"Zicheng? Zicheng, it’s about to rain. Won’t you let go now?"

"If you know it's about to rain, why not just kiss me..."

"Stop, stop! Is that all you know how to say?"

Rain waits for no one. The ground was soon wet, and the children scattered, running faster than anyone.

"Now there's no one here. Ziliang, you can kiss me," said the prince.

Yu Hualiang glanced at the intensifying rain. The prince was so stubborn; if he didn't comply, the prince might just hold him there all day in the pouring rain.

"Fine, fine, a kiss it is," Yu Hualiang conceded. The prince loosened his grip slightly. Yu Hualiang looked up into the prince’s smiling eyes but found himself unable to go through with it.

The rain was coming down harder, soaking their clothes. The apricot blossoms scattered their petals in the gentle shower.

Raindrops clung to Yu Hualiang’s lashes. One droplet lingered, and the prince looked at him, his heart stirred.

After hesitating so long, Yu Hualiang still couldn't bring himself to do it. The prince lost patience and suddenly leaned in, pressing a light, fleeting kiss to Yu Hualiang’s lips.

"Ziliang, remember to make it up to me," he said.

It took Yu Hualiang a while to react, then he tried to push the prince away. "Hey... you got your kiss, now let go already?"

The prince held him close, glanced around and said, "Ziliang, the rain’s coming down hard. Let's go."

Before Yu Hualiang could ask how they were supposed to walk together while still embracing, his feet suddenly left the ground. The prince leapt lightly, soaring high.

That’s right, you’re not mistaken! This was the legendary art of lightness skill!

Yu Hualiang hardly had time to marvel before the prince landed them both in a small pavilion.

The prince released Yu Hualiang and turned to remove his outer robe. "Ziliang, the rain is too heavy. Let's wait until it slows before we go. Ziliang?"

Yu Hualiang was still lost in the sensation of flying through clouds and mist, utterly awed by the prince.

When the prince turned back, he found Yu Hualiang gazing at him with starry-eyed admiration.

Yu Hualiang stepped forward and gave a bow of respect. "Hero indeed!"

The prince laughed softly. "As a prince, how could I not possess such skills?"

"How long have you been practicing?"

"Since I was five, until now," the prince replied, spreading the dry parts of his robe over the stone bench.

"That’s over twenty years—amazing!"

The prince took Yu Hualiang’s hand, guiding him to sit, then sat beside him and began to help dry him off.

Yu Hualiang pushed his hands away. "I can manage myself."

The spring rain was as soft as silk, falling in a ceaseless, gentle drizzle.

Watching the rain, Yu Hualiang became sleepy. The prince sneezed, rousing him. He noticed how thinly dressed the prince was and, without thinking, began to take off his own coat.

"Aren’t you cold? Wear mine," he offered.

But the prince was quicker, pulling Yu Hualiang’s half-removed coat back up. "You're more delicate than I am. If you catch a cold, it would be terrible."

Yu Hualiang felt a warm glow in his heart. Apart from Mo Cai and Ah Liu, the prince was the third person to show him such care.

Still, worried the prince might catch cold, Yu Hualiang stood up. "Get up and move around, you'll feel warmer."

The prince smiled. "If Ziliang is worried about me, why don't we keep each other warm? This pavilion is rather small, though."

Yu Hualiang’s smile froze. Was this just another excuse for a hug?

He tried to change the subject. "Look! Willow leaves. Let me teach you how to whistle with them."

He picked two fresh willow leaves, sat back down beside the prince, and handed one to him. "It's easy to learn."

The prince accepted the leaf, and seeing Yu Hualiang's joyful expression, his own heart lifted. How long had it been since he’d seen such a genuine smile from him?

In all the time they had known each other, this seemed to be the first occasion where they could simply sit together so peacefully.

The reflection of the mountain apricot blossoms and the spring rain shimmered in Yu Hualiang’s eyes, sending ripples through the prince’s heart.

Yu Hualiang played a gentle tune from the Butterfly Lovers, his eyes crinkling with delight as he looked at the prince.

"What is that melody? It’s so mournful," the prince asked.

"The Butterfly Lovers. It’s the story of two lovers who couldn’t be together in life, but became butterflies after death."

"Is that so?"

Yu Hualiang explained, "Yes. The story goes that a studious young woman named Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man to attend school, where she fell in love with a fellow student, Liang Shanbo. But Liang was poor, and Zhu’s family refused their match. Without her parents’ approval or a matchmaker’s blessing, they were separated."

"And then?" the prince prompted.

"Liang Shanbo died of heartbreak. Zhu Yingtai was betrothed to another, but she had her wedding procession stop at Liang’s tomb, where she paid her respects and then threw herself at the gravestone, dying there."

Yu Hualiang continued, seeing the prince listening intently, "At that moment, the red wedding sedan became a white funeral palanquin, joyful music turned to funeral dirges, and on Liang’s grave, two butterflies appeared, taking flight in the rain as the sky cleared."

"So people believe those two butterflies were Liang and Zhu?" the prince said.

"Exactly."

The prince held the willow leaf Yu Hualiang had given him, sighing softly. "Ziliang, what do you think we'll turn into after we die?"

Yu Hualiang thought for a moment. "Ashes, I suppose."