R:DSAT Chapter 226 – A Word of Truth

Translated by Cyrrene and edited by Uhei.

Long Xuan loosened his grip.

Luo Wei reached out and caught the mandarin duck buckle.

Seeing Luo Wei like this, Long Xuan had just now felt a trace of fondness, yet in the next moment he became cool and indifferent. He noticed Luo Wei, with a flick of his hand, had tossed the two halves of the mandarin duck buckle he had just separated back into the pond.

“The pool is where they should remain,” After tossing the mandarin duck buckle, he said to Long Xuan, “Why should something unfit to be seen¹ reveal itself again?”

“You said you liked me, said it so many times before,” Long Xuan asked Luo Wei, “In these words, is there even a word of truth?”

“I…”

“I just want a word of truth.”

The breeze blew past Luo Wei’s eyes, bringing with it the warmth of late spring entering summer, redolent with the fragrance of hundreds of flowers. The words that had begun to form upon Luo Wei’s lips suddenly could not be uttered. He saw a deep grievance lurking within the depths of Long Xuan’s eyes. Luo Wei did not understand what Long Xuan had to feel quite aggrieved for; it was just that Luo Wei had never seen Long Xuan like this yet.

“I only want a word of truth from you,” Long Xuan said, “Is this request not considered too excessive?”

“I liked you,” Luo Wei brushed away the willow catkins that had fluttered onto his shoulder. When he raised his head, his face had already assumed his usual smile. “But right now, I no longer like you.”

Long Xuan wanted to extend his hand to tug Luo Wei’s sleeve, but was evaded by Luo Wei. After Long Xuan’s hand grasped emptiness, he had to lower his hand and asked, “Why? Was it because I threw away the mandarin ducks?”

“I already said I was not sensible back then.”

“Nobody can become sensible overnight. You changed too quickly; how can I believe what you say?”

“Because someone once asked me: if your Highness ascended the throne as emperor, what kind of outcome me and by extension the Youyan Luo clan will have,” Luo Wei said, “After I thought about this question, I finally realised that the former Luo Wei truly wasted his love in vain. If your Highness governs the country someday and becomes a sagacious ruler—that’s all well and good, but it has not even the least to do with Luo Wei.”

Long Xuan began to laugh grimly, and he asked Luo Wei, “Are you only living for the sake of the Luo family?”

Luo Wei said, “The Luo family gave birth to and raised me; should I not live for the Luo family? Even considering your Highness, can you truly live only for yourself?”

“Who is that person?” Long Xuan abruptly asked again.

“What?”

“Who was the one who asked you that question?”

“If I said it was your Highness, would your Highness believe me?” The corners of Luo Wei’s mouth quirked up into a jocular expression. This was the truth; Long Xuan taught him to clearly see this world of frosty wind and bloody rain²—warmth or coldness was the way of the world³—only that this person would not believe his words.

“I have said many things to you, except this question was not what I have asked you,” as expected, Long Xuan did not believe him.

“Your Highness need not be this way to this minor subject,” Luo Wei said, “Could it be that your Highness saw that this minor subject is useful, so wants to draw this minor subject to your side? Why so? I am surnamed Luo, and my surname cannot be changed throughout my whole life, so I can only do things that benefit the Luo family.”

“You think I am trying to draw you in?” Long Xuan reflexively blurted out.

“If not to draw me in, then what could it be?” Luo Wei said, “Is it even possible for your Highness to feel any sincerity towards me?”

When Luo Wei spoke such words aloud, it rendered Long Xuan speechless.

Fu Yun did not know what Long Xuan had planned to talk to Luo Wei about today. These two both made him fearful. Glancing at the little eunuchs from the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix standing before him, Fu Yun clenched his teeth, afraid that he would have to go to the Inked Pond.

“What is the matter?” Long Xuan and Luo Wei had been facing each other speechlessly. When he saw Fu Yun arrive, he let loose a single breath. He rarely took the initiative to ask Fu Yun.

Fu Yun could not guess at Long Xuan’s susceptibility to anger. He knelt gingerly with trepidation upon the ground and said, “Your Highness, the empress invites you (formal) to go over.”

“The empress is inviting you over, so this minor subject will not trouble you.” Luo Wei also seemed to be similarly eager for Fu Yun’s words. After Fu Yun spoke, without waiting for Long Xuan to speak, Luo Wei said right away, “Today is your Highness’s day of great happiness⁴. This humble subject congratulates your Highness.”

Long Xuan did not respond, he only stared at Luo Wei with an unfaltering gaze.

“This humble subject asks to be excused,” Luo Wei did not wish to stay. Without waiting for Long Xuan’s dismissal, he immediately turned around and departed.

Willow catkins fluttered about as if in reckless abandon, dazzling to the eyes. Long Xuan continuously watched Luo Wei walk out of the rear garden, his heart seized with a sudden burst of aching sorrow, yet he did not call out to stop Luo Wei. He knew at this moment that he failed to retain that currently favoured Brocade Marquis. Long Xuan was usually fond of elegance. This rear garden only had the Inked Pond in one corner, and a bamboo grove all around it. Right now listening to the wind through the bamboo grove and watching the concentric ripples undulating across the surface of the Inked Pond, Long Xuan thought of Luo Wei’s words. Who in this world could truly live only for himself? Today was the day he would marry his proper wife. That woman who would accompany him for a lifetime was right in the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix, together with him within the same palace walls, but not knowing why, Long Xuan still felt that he was a lonely man.

When Luo Wei stepped outside the Hall of Literary Transcendence, the sounds of cheerful music drifted to his ears. Luo Wei did not know where the music came from, yet he knew it was performed by one of the musicians in the palace because ordinary citizens’ budgets could not afford this sort of magnificent palatial performance. Luo Wei aimlessly wandered on a small trail within the palace. He had previously walked along this path with Wei Lan, since it let him avoid the endlessly flowing stream of crowds, while also allowing him to properly take a look at the spring scenery deep within the imperial palace.

“Xiao Wei,” Just when Luo Wei was walking while appreciating the fresh flowers blossoming in the grove, he heard a voice off to his side calling to him from within the grove. Luo Wei turned his head to look and saw the Third Prince Long Xing sitting in a stone pavilion within the grove, beckoning to him with hand gestures.

“Why is your Highness here?” Luo Wei walked just outside the pavilion, separated from Long Xing by the pavilion’s railing, and said, “What is the bridegroom doing, hiding here?”

“There’s people everywhere,” Long Xing sat leaning against the pavilion’s railing, gazing expectantly at Luo Wei, and laughed, “At least this grove is considerably tranquil.”

Luo Wei was aware that when he had gone to Long Xuan’s place, perhaps the palace staff all knew as well. Long Xing would not appear here without cause or reason, yet (Luo Wei) did not reveal his thoughts, and laughed, “Wouldn’t it be better to hear more congratulations and ‘may you live a long and happy life together⁵’?

“Is this the first time I’ve received a woman into the palace?” Long Xing said, “I’ve heard too many of these kinds of words.”

“Oh?” Luo Wei feigned astonishment.

“This is your older cousin⁶,” Long Xing seemed to have recovered from his indiscretion, immediately cupped his hands together in obeisance to Luo Wei, and said, “as well as my proper wife, completely different from all the other women. I will definitely treat her well, and will definitely not let her suffer any grievances.”

Luo Wei shook his head. Long Xing was someone who liked equivocal word play⁷—it was not an exaggeration to say he was someone who’d devoured the the Book of Songs⁸ in reading, yet when this person spoke he completely lacked scholarly air, incredibly vulgar.

“I see that you came here; was it to visit my second brother?” Long Xing asked at this moment.

“I was the Second Highness’s study companion,” Luo Wei said, “The friendly affections of those years were here; I surely had to go offer my congratulations.”

“Friendly affections?” Long Xing laughed mockingly, “Nowadays, I’m not just your older cousin, I will also be the husband of your older female cousin. Will this friendly affection surpass that of my second brother’s or not?”

“Seems like it,” Luo Wei leaned against the pavilion’s railing.

“Then how about compared to his Highness the Crown Prince? Will we be even closer then?”

Luo Wei looked at Long Xing and saw a roguish⁹ smile. “Why do you need to compare like this?” Luo Wei laughed, “You are all imperial princes. I can only helplessly hope for you to not drift away from me.”

“Then it looks like I still can’t surpass the eldest brother crown prince.” Long Xing said, feigning a broken heart.

“How can that be?” At this moment, Luo Wei said, “Your Highness is my older cousin, and will now become my older female cousin’s husband. Even if it’s with that older female cousin of mine who is aloof beyond worldly affairs¹⁰, I would also have to be quite a bit closer to your Highness.”

Long Xing snapped his fingers, “I really like the character ‘Wan’¹¹ in Luo Wan.”

Luo Wei began to laugh softly. When he raised his head, the large trees among the grove reaching to the heavens were luxuriantly dense with foliage and covered this region of the sky.

“For you,” Long Xing threw a fruit into Luo Wei’s hands.

Luo Wei took a look; it was actually an immature green plum¹².

“I picked it up from the ground. It’s very sour.” Long Xing said to Luo Wei, “But I should be the first one this year in the palace who savoured the taste of this green plum.”

“Season of late spring, the oriole’s song grows old, all red flowers fallen and green plum fruit still small¹³,” Turning the green plum in his hands, Luo Wei laughed, “Your Third Highness is in fine spirits.”

---

Aih, what have I done to the schedule.

 1.见不得人: also means shameful. [Return]

 2.风霜血雨: describing a treacherous atmosphere of frenzied, ruthless slaughter. [Return]

 3.世态炎凉: chengyu, the hypocrisy of the world; people are friendly or unfriendly depending on whether one is successful or not. [Return]

 4.大喜之日: another way to say grand wedding day. [Return]

 5.百年好合: literally, “a hundred years of happiness together,” usually a wedding greeting. [Return]

6.堂姐: older female cousin from patrilineal side. [Return]

7.舞文弄墨: its original meaning was to pervert the law by playing with legal phraseology (墨 being a reference to 绳墨, a carpenter’s straight line marker). [Return]

8.饱读诗书: refers to a book lover who is well-educated. 诗书 is another way to refer to the Book of Songs (詩經). [Return]

 9.玩世不恭: chengyu, “trifling with respect,” frivolous, despise worldly conventions. [Return]

 10.与世无争: chengyu, can also mean aloof from worldly strife. [Return]

 11.婉: means mild, gentle, gracious, elegant. [Return]

12.青梅: green plum; more specifically prunus mume. [Return]

13.暮春时节，莺声渐老，红英落尽青梅小: this is modified from the original first line (春色将阑，莺声渐老，红英落尽青梅小) of Northern Song dynasty poet Kou Zhun’s “Treading on Grass.” [Return]