Chapter 9: What is This Thing Called Love?

Chapter 9: What is This Thing Called Love?

A full moon hung in the sky, the sea of clouds tranquil, as someone sat beneath the trees, strumming a lute.

It seemed an ancient melody, distant and ethereal, its classical elegance intertwining emotion with scenery. It was as if it were telling of a beauty, far away yet so close, like this luminous moonlight, captivating one's heart and dreams, yearning for it yet unable to reach.

The long night stretched on, the music intoxicating, even the gentle breeze couldn't resist playfully skipping over the treetops, brushing past the man's hands.

The man had a handsome appearance, his eyebrows like swords, eyes like stars, his lush eyelashes and vermilion lips. Even in the boundless darkness, under just a sliver of moonlight, he shone brilliantly, enveloping the color of the pearl moon, cloaking himself in the radiance of starlight. As his slender fingers danced across the strings, there was a pure and intense beauty, making one wish time would pause, forever cherishing this moment.

"Ahh... Your Highness Sixth... spare me..."

Instead of accompanying the handsome man and his lute with refined tea and light incense, there was only a pool of blood.

Xiong Ding was beaten into a bloody pulp, his eyes swollen, nose bruised, his clothes soaked in blood, dragging out a long trail on the ground. His pleas for mercy were weak and breathless.

Lute music continued uninterrupted, the notes flowing gracefully from his slender fingertips, weaving a tapestry of beauty. Zhu Yan didn't even lift an eyelid, remaining focused, seemingly oblivious to any sound beside him.

"Your Highness Sixth..."

"The rhythm is wrong."

This time, Zhu Yan spoke. After his words, the beating below intensified, becoming more brutal.

"Six..."

"Wrong again."

"Six..."

"Still not right."

Xiong Ding dared not plead anymore, gritting his teeth to endure. When the melody reached its lowest point, thinking it was about to end, he whispered, "Your Highness Sixth, please... forgive me... I truly don't understand the lute music..."

Zhu Yan's string notes were mellow and smooth. "Not being honest, another beating."

Xiong Ding clenched his teeth tightly, not daring to speak again until the song came to a halt.

Zhu Yan's slender fingers pressed against the strings. "—Daring to destroy my lute, and still claiming you don't understand?"

"Your Highness Sixth, spare my life... I really don't understand..." Xiong Ding's voice trembled, filled with fear and regret. "That night, I merely passed by the musical instrument shop, I didn't know your lute... was being custom-made there, nor did I know... what kind of wood or strings were used..."

Zhu Yan: "Then use your lute bones to compensate."

Xiong Ding: ...

"Though they're coarse, and the lines aren't beautiful, they're at least something you can offer," Zhu Yan glanced at him. "You'll have to work hard, since you're ugly, you can only be taken alive, dead would look even worse, not worth the incense of appreciation."

Blood seeped from Xiong Ding's eyes. "Please, Your Highness Sixth, spare me!! I truly didn't do it on purpose, that night I really just wanted to steal some gardenia soap from the Huo family's shop, to give to my beloved—"

"Beloved? A woman?"

Zhu Yan seemed intrigued. "She must be more beautiful than you, her lute bones more exquisite."

Xiong Ding immediately became wary. "No, no, Your Highness Sixth, listen to me... That night, besides me, there were others nearby, they weren't there to steal soap... I remember I was very careful, I didn't damage anything, but your lute broke... It must have been them, it must have been those people!"

Zhu Yan's eyelids flickered slightly. "Oh?"

"They, they must have done it!" Xiong Ding licked his lips, struggling to kneel on the ground, his forehead pressed against the earth, concealing his calculating gaze. "Your Highness Sixth, allow me to report, I... I recognize their faces, the leader has a long face, six fingers, a large mole next to his nose... I can find them!"

"Oh, wanting to negotiate with me, are we?"

Zhu Yan raised his hand. "I hate negotiating the most."

Another round of vicious beating ensued.

It seemed this scene was quite pleasing to him. His slender fingertips caressed the strings, beginning a new tune.

Xiong Ding couldn't bear it anymore. He felt he would die tonight, the Sixth Prince didn't want anything else, he simply wanted to kill him.

"Hah... Hahaha... What noble dragon son, pride of heaven, cruel and unrestrained, treating human lives like grass... Someone like you will only instill fear and terror in others, you will never have anyone who truly likes you, sincerely following you!"

"Like? Sincerely?"

Zhu Yan's fingers, gently stroking the lute strings, were tender to the extreme. "What is that thing, how could it compare to my lute? My lute is obedient and gentle, graceful and elegant, occasionally very interesting, rebellious and stubborn, disobedient, not forming a melody, yet strangely loyal, serving no other master... Whether it likes me or not, it cannot leave me."

"How can a lute be compared to a person..." Xiong Ding's eyes stared straight ahead, was this man mad?

"Right, how can a person compare to a lute?"

Zhu Yan looked over. "You destroyed my lute, shouldn't you pay something?"

Tonight, the moon was full, the moonlight exceedingly beautiful, the noble basking in its glow, adding to his elegance.

But Xiong Ding only felt a chill run through his body. "A madman can never advance further, you revel in killing and brutality, devoid of benevolence, you will never become the Crown Prince, you will surely meet a violent death!"

"Well said."

Zhu Yan finished his tune. "So I act without restraint, completely following my heart, living my life thus, isn't it delightful?"

Xiong Ding choked. "Which prince doesn't want to be the Crown Prince..."

Zhu Yan: "Those who want to be the Crown Prince all have to curry favor with me, this madman. Whatever I want to do, nothing can stop me, whoever I want to kill, none can escape—Isn't that even better?"

Xiong Ding shook uncontrollably.

He knew, he was truly going to die, especially after hearing these words.

"What do you want..."

Kill or torture to vent anger, but not killing yet torturing insufficiently, causing only physical pain. Yet more unbearable than this pain is the fear in his heart. He was uncertain if he had managed to divert his opponent's attention just now, and whether the Sixth Prince would go after his beloved...

Was this the Sixth Prince's method?

Zhu Yan stood up. "Rest assured, before you die, I won't let anyone else harm you."

"Others... why would they harm me?" Xiong Ding didn't understand. No one knew about him being...

Zhu Yan smiled. "Because of me."

"You want someone to exterminate..." Xiong Ding's body shook violently, his eyelids rolled back, and he fainted in terror.

The guards were swift and agile, quickly dragging him away. Soon, they returned to report, "Your Highness, the physician has arrived. Xiong Ding's injuries aren't fatal; he won't die. The room has been prepared, right across from the rear entrance of the Ministry of Justice's prison, conspicuous enough."

Zhu Yan looked down at the lute without speaking.

A nearby attendant in blue robes: "In the prison..."

Suddenly, Zhu Yan threw the lute at him and turned to leave. "This one isn't good. Get rid of it."

The attendant in blue seemed accustomed to this, catching it steadily without asking how to dispose of it, nor continuing with any other remarks.

"How difficult is it to find a unique lute that meets every desire?"

It seemed Zhu Yan had acted on a whim, wanting to play a tune under the moonlight in the forest. Now that his mood had passed, he left as he pleased.

The night wind gathered strength, the forest rustled like waves, and under the moonlight, it swallowed too many people's unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Even genuine confusion found it hard to surface, giving others no chance to glimpse it.

...

In the deepest, darkest part of the Ministry of Justice's prison, there was a special cell. Shackled by steel locks, there was only one way in and out, and it didn't require a jailer's supervision, for the person inside couldn't escape.

The person inside hadn't thought of running. His official robes had been stripped away, leaving only a white inner garment. His hair was slightly disheveled, but his spine remained straight. Sitting with his back to the prison door, he faced upward toward a sliver of light—there was a small half-window high above, so tiny that only a faint streak of moonlight could enter.

"Chen Yongan, you have a visitor!"

Footsteps approached from outside, and the jailer announced the name loudly, but Chen Yongan didn't move. He sat there like a stone, unchanging through the ages, impervious to the elements.

"Brother Chen."

The visitor seemed long accustomed to Chen Yongan's temperament. Without turning around or coming closer, he set down the food box he had brought in and laid out dishes and alcohol in a row. "New wine from the Wan family, 'Jade Spring in a Jade Pot,' truly unwilling to taste it? I only got one jar, and I can share at most one pot with you... good grain is truly rare."

"Luo Linchang?" Chen Yongan turned his head.

Luo Linchang was a thin old man, his face creased with laughter. "I thank you for remembering me."

Chen Yongan looked at him, his features deep and somber. "Has the Ministry of Agriculture run out of land to cultivate?"

Luo Linchang: ...

"If I may say so, you deserve to have no friends with your personality."

Chen Yongan moved over but made no other motions, silently drinking a cup of wine.

Luo Linchang was speechless. "Are you just accepting this, not wanting to leave?"

Chen Yongan glanced at him coolly. "You're not here as a persuader."

Of course, Luo Linchang wasn't, and he lacked the ability to do so. "But if you wanted to, regardless of the Second Prince or the Third Prince, as long as you were willing to bow your head, you could certainly be rescued... "

"I'm not leaving."

Chen Yongan lowered his gaze. "Even if I could leave this prison of the Ministry of Justice, I couldn't escape the world."

Luo Linchang's brows furrowed deeply, showing the struggle in uttering these words. "If you leave... there will be a future."

"Do you actually believe I have a future?" Chen Yongan's voice was calm to the point of being terrifying. "Who could give me a future?"

Luo Linchang: "Regardless of which prince..."

Chen Yongan looked at him, his gaze sharp. "What they offer, is a future?"

Luo Linchang closed his eyes and sighed. "In the sea of officials, what we seek is merely a wise ruler."

"Is that what Brother Luo seeks?" Chen Yongan gazed at him quietly. "Isn't it?"

Luo Linchang's lips moved. "You know, all I can do is farm, and what I seek is only those two words."

Hope.

Because their temperaments were similar, they could become good friends. Even when offering heartfelt advice, they couldn't deceive each other.

Neither the Second Prince nor the Third Prince were wise rulers, but looking across the imperial family, who among them was fit for the task? Since the Crown Prince's death, the royal atmosphere had become murky and corrupt, filled with struggles for power rather than governance with benevolence. As ministers, were they to watch idly as the Da Li kingdom fell into ruin?

He looked at his friend. "Do you regret it?"

Chen Yongan hesitated, then shook his head. "No regrets, only hatred for my weakness, for not doing enough."

Luo Linchang held the wine jug in his hand, refilling his cup.

"Last year, there were floods in Jiang Nan and locust plagues in the northwest, reducing the grain harvest. This year, the peach blossom flood was fierce, delaying spring planting. There were also the severe cold and heat of the previous two years, with climate disharmony. The Imperial Astronomer has already issued warnings that the next two years will likely not see favorable weather," Chen Yongan lowered his gaze. "We could rely on stored grain reserves in the past, but now the entire Da Li cannot sustain itself... I was careless in my actions and can no longer mediate."

Luo Linchang wiped his face. "It's our fault. Being in the agricultural department, we failed to find better grain varieties."

"What are you saying, Brother Luo?" Chen Yongan raised his wine cup in a toast to him. "Since entering the government, Brother Luo hasn't formed factions or socialized. All your efforts have been devoted to farming and grain cultivation. You don't make friends, nor do you even enter your own home. These years, the Yan and Zhao regions have been able to achieve some prosperity due to your presence, avoiding collapse. Your achievements are recognized by those with discerning eyes. I've been careless to this point and can no longer assist. In the future... it will have to rely on you."

"You..."

Luo Linchang drained his cup of wine. "Forget it. You know my capabilities; farming is fine, but navigating the political arena is not for me. Your silence and refusal to defend yourself... I can guess what's going on..."

"When will there be virtuous talents in this world who can cultivate superior seeds to nourish the people of Da Li, freeing them from the suffering of hunger..."

If Da Li's fate truly is coming to an end, with none of the princes fit to rule, will the dynasty fall here? In its demise, will the common folk suffer?

When will those factions scheming for power in the imperial court realize that stability and peace are the foundation of a dynasty? A lack of food for the people is the source of great turmoil. When that happens, all power becomes a castle in the air, destined to collapse.

In the moonlight reflected in Chen Yongan's wine cup, he said, "I should be grateful that I'll die sooner."

So as not to witness that scene firsthand.

The moonlight was serene, yet unable to illuminate the vast lands of the empire. Who truly cares about the people and their food?

...

"The young master wants to use millet farming as the decorative theme?" On the estate, Nanxing followed the young master back to the courtyard after the frantic planting had ended.

Wen Ruan looked at the full moon, gleaming like a jade plate. Though pleased with the new fields, he was genuinely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to relax. "Food is the first necessity of the people. What's wrong with that?"

There's nothing inherently wrong, but this doesn't seem to align with what the Duke's Mansion would approve of. Those people favor opulence and love to flaunt their wealth. They likely wouldn't want such a rustic element at their banquets.

Nanxing chose her words carefully. "I'm just worried others might take the opportunity to cause trouble."

Criticism, mockery, or disrespect—none of these should be directed at their young master.

"Don't worry. It won't happen."

"Hmm?"

Wen Ruan's eyes curved into a smile, his wisdom seeming to sparkle under the moonlight. "Remember when we first came to the estate and saw that family being stripped of their assets? I think it was the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Revenue, surnamed Chen?"

Food seems to be a topic that can't be discussed lightly now.