Lan Ming Yue

Wang Dian had slept soundly for most of the day. When Yun Fu woke him up for lunch, his bones felt soft, and he sat on the bed, hugging the quilt, in a daze.

“Your Majesty, eat lunch before you go back to sleep.” Yun Fu handed a wet towel to his side, coaxing him gently, “Today we have your favorite peach blossom rolls.”

“Hmm.” Wang Dian, with droopy eyes, took the towel and wiped his face randomly. He wanted to lie back down, but Yun Fu quickly supported his shoulder to prevent him from lying down again, reminding him in a low voice, “Sir Wang Dian has been waiting for you for half an hour.”

Wang Dian himself yawned, glanced at him indifferently, and Yun Fu laughed awkwardly, “Your Majesty, let me help you dress.”

“Zhen will do it myself.” Wang Dian took his robe and put it on, then walked out with big strides. Yun Fu exclaimed, following him anxiously, “Your Majesty, this is not acceptable.”

Unfortunately, his legs were short, and Wang Dian left him far behind, so he had to follow him quickly with a bitter face.

When he pushed the door open, Liang Ye was warming up the wine. Seeing him come in, he pointed to the peach blossom roll and said, “Zhen had someone make it especially for you, try it.”

Wang Dian, still not fully awake, sat across from him in his robe, picked up the towel to wipe his hands, and directly took a piece to eat. The outer skin was crispy and loose, and the filling was soft and sweet. He ate one piece slowly. Liang Ye had also warmed up the wine and handed it to him.

“You’re so clean, why do you use your hands to eat pastries?” Liang Ye mimicked his actions and took a piece of peach blossom roll. It tasted good, but he ate much faster than Wang Dian.

“What else should I use to eat pastries if not my hands?” Wang Dian licked the pastry crumbs from the corner of his mouth, took a sip of warm wine, and although he was still not used to Liang Ye always drinking warm wine, it had a unique taste. The alcohol content was even lower than the alcoholic beverages sold in supermarkets. He couldn’t get drunk even if he drank two jars, and he quickly drank two cups.

“Drink slowly.” Liang Ye said, “If you get drunk and go crazy, Zhen won’t care.”

Wang Dian ate a few pastries and then picked up his chopsticks to eat the dishes. He replied, “Can’t get drunk, this wine is no stronger than plain water.”

Liang Ye raised an eyebrow, “Do you like to drink?”

“Wouldn’t say I like it, it’s necessary for work.” Wang Dian was indeed a bit hungry, and he tried every dish, “Always have to socialize in public.”

Liang Ye didn’t have much of an appetite. Whatever dish Wang Dian ate, he followed suit, deliberately mimicking his tone, “What is your ‘work’?”

Wang Dian rarely mentioned his past, and Liang Ye, apart from asking at the beginning, wasn’t particularly interested. But now, he was curious.

“Just a small merchant.” Wang Dian tugged at the corner of his mouth, “According to your classification, scholar, farmer, worker, merchant, I rank at the very bottom.”

Liang Ye squinted his eyes, “But you should be a wealthy merchant, perhaps rich enough to rival a country?”

“I dare not. I abide by the law, pay taxes on time, actively respond to the call of the state…” Wang Dian didn’t know why he felt dizzy, propping his head and looking at the meatballs on the plate.

“So what kind of business do you do?” Liang Ye found it extremely interesting.

“Hmm.” Wang Dian frowned, “There’s a lot. My mother started with mining, my father was keen on real estate, after they threw the business to me…I originally worked on the internet, thinking that once I got that piece of land, I would start negotiating with new media…Do you know what a business circle is?”

Wang Dian took a chopstick, dipped it in water, and drew on the table, frowning, “Once the CBD in the east of the city is built and the business circle is established, I can expand to the neighboring city, which is the future battlefield… And those big and small tech companies moving in, I’ve been eyeing a chip company for two or three years, if they move in, cooperation, merger or acquisition… Chips, that’s the key technology, just like you want to take down Liang Country, the most important thing is military power… This analogy is not quite appropriate.”

Wang Dian tapped the table lightly with his chopstick, gritting his teeth hard, “The governor’s nephew is competing with me for this piece of land in the east of the city, do you know how many connections I had to use to get the bidding qualification… Working overtime and drinking day and night are minor issues, the key is that this is a rare stepping stone… I can also clean up those old guys in the group who have their own agendas…”

He swayed the wine cup in his hand, lost in thought, “Just one more drink… and it could be settled.”

Although Liang Ye didn’t understand most of it, he could feel Wang Dian’s collapse. He filled Wang Dian’s cup with wine, lazily saying, “It’s just a small piece of land, in this vast world, wherever you like, Zhen will give it to you.”

Wang Dian, propping his cheek and holding his wine, smiled at him, spilling warm wine on his hand, “You don’t understand.”

“Where exactly is your hometown?” Liang Ye held his wine cup and half forced, half persuaded him to drink another cup, “You never want to mention it.”

“If I told you, it would scare you to death.” Wang Dian laughed lazily, holding up his empty wine cup and drawing on his eyebrows with a finger, “If anyone else treated me like you do, believe it or not, I would fight to the death with them.”

Although it was a harsh statement, Liang Ye was overjoyed. He hadn’t even had time to think about the relationship involved, and he nodded in satisfaction, “Zhen is naturally different from others.”

“Because you are not someone else.” Wang Dian looked at him, his gaze a little unfocused, the warm tip of his finger touched his forehead, he looked at Liang Ye with a focused expression, a smile seeping into his eyes, “You are me.”

Liang Ye blinked, then disdainfully said, “Just because looking—”

“Exactly the same.” Wang Dian took over his words, his fingertip sliding down his straight nose, finally stopping at his slightly cool nose tip. His gaze was unusually gentle, carrying some inexplicable heartache and excessive intimacy, “In a few hundred years, you will become Wang Dian, loved by your parents, things going smoothly…Being an ordinary person chasing fame and fortune, living quite happily.”

Liang Ye opened his mouth in surprise, lowered his eyes and chuckled, “You’re even good at drinking, you start talking nonsense when you’re drunk.”

“Believe it or not, it’s up to you.” Wang Dian took back his wine cup and laughed to himself with his head down, “I don’t belong to this era. I don’t know how I came here, and I don’t know how to go back…Maybe one day, I will suddenly disappear, and you won’t be able to find me even if you search high and low.”

The smile on Liang Ye’s face suddenly froze.

“It is a bit sad.” Wang Dian propped his head and smiled at him, “Although the Wang Dian of countless past lives is quite annoying, sometimes he is quite endearing.”

“You’re drunk.” Liang Ye said with a cold face.

Wang Dian put the wine cup in his hand, indicating him to fill it up again, “You deliberately got me drunk, isn’t it just to probe my background…The two of us, in our past and present lives, were originally not supposed to meet.”

‘…But looking at you two, you should have been as different as chalk and cheese, never to meet…It’s a death sentence, little Martial Uncle.’

Xiang Meng’s words rang in Liang Ye’s mind at the right time.

“Absurd.” Liang Ye said with a frown.

“Yes, absurd to the extreme.” Wang Dian nodded in agreement, seeing him motionless, he took the wine jug and filled his cup, and also filled his, “At first, I did have the idea of replacing you, but with the mess of your Liang Country, now even if you give it to me for free, I don’t want it. You can rest assured, if you are fortunate enough to rule the world in the future, I only hope that you can remember our damn fate that we couldn’t cultivate in eight hundred lifetimes, and let me live…If you really want to kill me, I understand, after all, you are an emperor, only a heartless and ruthless person can sit steadily.”

Liang Ye picked up the cup in his hand and said in a deep voice, “As long as you don’t betray Zhen, Zhen won’t do anything to you.”

“Your Majesty, people’s hearts change easily, even parents, children, spouses, they will fight to the death for power and wealth, let alone you and me.” Wang Dian casually clinked cups with him, his voice carrying a hint of drunkenness, he sighed, “You’ve never even trusted me.”

Liang Ye said, “Zhen never trusts anyone.”

“At least it’s yourself.” Wang Dian closed his eyes, the corners of his eyes and eyebrows all carried a joyful smile.

Liang Ye drained the wine in his cup, staring at him, “Zhen won’t believe a word you say.”

Wang Dian seemed to be drunk and fell asleep, lying back on the soft couch, “It’s right not to believe, if you believe me, I’ll find a chance to kill you.”

Liang Ye looked at the man who was drunk and confused, slowly placing the wine glass in his hand on the table.

****

Imperial Harem, Kang Ning Palace.

A large bunch of budding lotus flowers laid quietly in the cool place under the eaves. When the little palace maid opened the door and saw them, she was delighted. She bent down to pick up the flowers and turned to enter the door.

“Tai Fei Imperial Concubine, that person has sent flowers again.” The little palace maid smiled as she held the lotus flowers, “this slave thinks they look like the lotus flowers from the koi pond in the royal garden. I heard that His Majesty cherishes them and never lets anyone pick them. Now, such a large bunch has been sent here, he really has guts.”

(t/n: Tai Fei-imperial concubine of a deceased emperor)

The woman who was combing her hair in front of the mirror glanced slightly, “Find a spacious water tank to put them in.”

“Yes.” The little palace maid, still lively, happily went to find a water tank with the flowers in her arms.

The older palace maid standing next to the Imperial Concubine couldn’t help but worry, “Imperial Concubine, he is too bold. He seems to fear that you don’t hear enough gossip on a daily basis. Even rumors about His Majesty wanting to take you into the harem have spread…”

“It’s just a child’s nature.” Tan Yishuang’s tone didn’t fluctuate much.

“Little white eyed wolf.” The palace maid was resentful and helpless, “If it weren’t for you helping His Majesty take care of him back then, how could a baby who hadn’t been weaned survive in this cannibalistic harem? Now that he’s grown up and bold, he even dares to covet you.”

Tan Yishuang laughed, “His Majesty has always spoiled him, it’s not surprising that he doesn’t know the weight of things. Once this enthusiasm passes, he will go find other things to play with.”

“His Majesty spoils him, and you spoil him, that’s why he’s becoming more and more presumptuous.” The palace maid frowned, “The Empress Dowager has always disliked you. If this matter gets out, who knows how she will deal with you.”

“The late Emperor is long gone, what can she do.” The smile on Tan Yishuang’s face faded, “I was wrong about the former Empress, she should hate me.”

“But how old were you at that time? You were just—”

“Alright, let’s not talk about these old things.” Tan Yishuang stood up, “Come with me to see the lotus flowers. I’m sure he put a lot of effort into it, and he will be scolded by His Majesty when he goes back.”

The palace maid sighed helplessly.

Under the scorching sun, Liang Ye, who was feeling stifled and had come to admire the flowers to relax, stood in front of the koi pond. He looked at the bare lotus leaf stalks in the pond and fell silent for a long time before he spoke, “Chong Heng.”

The person who usually came when called took a while to appear, looking at him innocently.

“Zhen vaguely remembers,” Liang Ye pointed at the muddy water full of broken leaves in the pond, “this pond used to be full of lotus flowers.”

“Is that so?” Chong Heng touched his nose guiltily.

Liang Ye, with his hands behind his back, looked at the muddy footprints on the steps and said in a deep voice, “Zhen also vaguely remembers telling you to let Wang Dian see the lotus flowers when they bloom in this pond.”

Chong Heng looked up at the sky, “Is that so?”

Liang Ye looked at him with a fake smile.

Chong Heng blinked innocently, “I just happened to pass by and saw that the flowers were beautiful, I couldn’t resist.”

“You couldn’t resist sending them to Kang Ning Palace.” Liang Ye coldly finished his sentence for him, “Look at your ambition.”

Chong Heng muttered under his breath, “Master, you’re the same…”

“Can Zhen be the same as you?” Liang Ye turned around and kicked him into the pond, looking down at him, “When the flowers grow back, that’s when you can come up.”

Chong Heng climbed up from the water and shouted loudly, “Master! I was wrong, I won’t dare to do it again!”

Liang Ye’s figure had already disappeared behind the rockery.

Chong Heng grimaced as he rubbed his butt and climbed out of the pond. He still held a wilted lotus flower in his hand, and said loyally, “I’ll go and deliver the flowers to Wang Dian for you, Master.”