Chapter 3

Flowing River Burning Flame

Dressed in non-royal clothing, Liufei happily skips down the busy street. Lining up on either side of the street, there are many stalls selling all kinds of goods. Liufei excitedly bounce from one stall to another. Luhan and Yixing make their way down the same street, their eyes following Liufei closely.

“Well at least she’s happy” Luhan says as he watches Liufei buying some figurine candy, “should be worth all the trouble we’ll get into later when we get back”

“Second Roya…I mean…Er ge, there will only be trouble if we’re found out” Yixing says

“That’s going to take some getting used to isn’t it” Luhan says, pointing out Yixing’s almost slip up, “It’s been many years after all.”

“We still best not do so when in front of Royal Father and Royal Mother”

“Of course.” Luhan reply mindlessly. Things have indeed change. The Princes aren’t as close as when they were little. Though they’re not the first born and therefore not the Crown Prince, but every other Princes have equal chance for the position if anything were to happen to the Crown Prince. That’s why the competition has become fiercer among them as they grew older. But no matter how much hate they have towards each other, they all still share one thing in common, and that is a soft spot for the Empire’s only Princess, their only sister.  

Luhan glance at Yixing, whom is busy observing and smiling at Liufei. Somehow, among all his other brothers, the only one he really did get along with is Yixing. Yixing’s temperament is much different than that of Yifan and his three other younger brother. This temperament is much like Yixing’s mother, Consort Yang, a well respected royal consort. This third brother of his seems to get along easily with anyone, he doesn’t seem very competitive for the throne therefore not considered a big threat by his other brothers. They might even consider Yixing a worthy ally or a useful pawn. But Luhan knew, under that gentle smile and calm demeanor lies a sleeping dragon that best not be awaken. Luhan wonder just how much surprising talents is hidden deep within those eyes. Yixing always hide himself well, he excels at everything he does but he does them in such a way that he does not stand out or calls too much attention to himself. He believes that among his younger brothers, Yixing would be the most formidable opponent if he were in the competition for the throne. And this, perhaps, is one of the main reason why the two of them get along the best amongst others. Luhan has no interest in the throne. He thinks that it’s like shackling yourself up to a whole lot of burdens and responsibilities, locking away your own freedom and a much more enjoyable life. Although he is the former empress’ only son, and although among all his siblings he has more rights than anyone else for the throne, but since the passing of his mother, Empress Yinhua, he has lost all interest in becoming emperor. Why Yixing doesn’t want to compete for the throne Luhan never asked, it was more of a silent understanding between them that neither of them were interested. And that they both believe Yifan, their eldest brother and current Crown Prince, is already an excellent choice for the throne. The others can compete all they want but that throne is rightfully Yifan’s the moment he was born.

“Xing ge! Lu ge! Hurry up!” Liufei waves to them. When they caught up to where she’s standing at, she excitedly jumps up and down. “Let’s go in here for lunch” she points to the restaurant that they were standing outside of, “I heard about them from one of the maids, she said it’s the most famous one in the city.”

“It’s your day, do what you like” Luhan says. They enter the restaurant and requested for a table on the second floor’s balcony. The table they were seated at gave them a good view of the busy street below.

“What would you like to order?” the waiter asks them in his nicest manner, completely different than the way he was speaking to the couple that was seated before them. This waiter has worked at this restaurant for many years, he knows the way around to gain the extra money. The couple that he seated at the center of the second floor were commoners with a little extra money, they’re not worth his time because he knew from experience they would not tip him much. These three people that he just seated at their best table by the balcony are obviously from a very wealthy noble family. Just from the material of their clothing and accessories, he can tell he’ll be making good money today.

“Bring us your top five dishes and one bottle of your restaurant’s signature wine” Liufei ordered

“Yes my lady, top five and signature wine coming right up!” the waiter said enthusiastically, “would you also like recommendations for some appetizers or desserts?”

“No, that’s it for now” Yixing reply and wave the waiter away. The waiter quickly bows and hurry off to the kitchen to rush their order.

“I wish we get to go out like this more often, it’s so fun and lively out here as compare to…in there” Liufei says as she continues to observe the streets and its people from the balcony.

Luhan wish he could act like a proper royal brother and scold her for such an idiotic desire. But he couldn’t, because he himself also wishes for the same kind of freedom, so what right does he have to scold her.

“Although we can’t make it a frequent thing, but if you like it we can take you out every year for your birthday” Yixing says

“Once a year is not going to be enough Xing ge”

“Then you should hurry up and get marry to some noble’s or court official’s son, that way you can request for a residence of your own out here” Luhan says as he acknowledge the waiter, whom have return with their wine and two dishes.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easy” Liufei smile challengingly at Luhan.

“The rest of the dishes will be out soon, please enjoy and let me know if you need anything else” the waiter says as he finish setting the food on the table.

Yixing proceeds to pour each of them a cup of wine. They each took a sip and nodded approvingly.

“It’s surprisingly not too bad” Luhan commented

“Yes, it’s quite refreshing compare to what we’re used to” Yixing says

“It’s good! I’ll have to get some to bring back with us later” Liufei says as she picks up her chopsticks and proceed to tasting the food. “Hmm…the foods are alright, it’s good but hmm…”

“All the best chefs are already working in you know where, it won’t be easy to exceed expectations when some people grew up eating the best foods” Luhan says as he also finishes tasting the food.

The rest of the food came out and the three of them continues to chat among themselves and observing the busy street below. They were enjoying the bustling street atmosphere until some loud voices inside the restaurant caught their attention.

“Did anyone saw the young misses from the Zhang residence walked by earlier?” one man asked excitedly.

“I did! They were heading out of the city” another man shouted out. Many other guests on the second floor starts buzzing loudly, inquiring the man who just shouted out about the subject of their conversation. “…they were dressed in…and there was….”

The three royal people in the room tried but couldn’t catch much else of the buzzing conversation in the room as they were outside on the balcony with the noise from the street below. But the noisy buzzing did catch their attention and got them curious. They wave the waiter over to ask questions.

“What are those people buzzing about?” Liufei asks the waiter.

“You must be from out of town then if you haven’t heard of the young misses from the Zhang residence” the waiter reply

“Zhang residence? As in Court Official Zhang Weimin’s?” Yixing asks and the waiter nodded.

“I didn’t know that he has daughters,” Luhan says, “but official Zhang didn’t seem like the sort of man that likes to be the subject of people’s commotions.”

“Well…it’s hard not to be when you have two beautiful daughters” the waiter says, “do you really not know about them? They’re quite well known in this city.” He then looks at Liufei and says, “if you live here my lady, I’m sure you’ll be named as one of the city’s Ten Celestial Fairies too.”

Luhan raises one of his eyebrows questioningly “Ten Celestial Fairies?”

“Yes, it’s the list of top ten most beautiful young misses of this city. On top of their heavenly beauty, all are educated, talented and at or near eligible age for marriage.” He explains, “The Zhang sisters are among the top five and they are also known for doing charity work to help the poor people of the city. That’s why people always buzzes about them if they see them.”

“What about the Princess? How high is she ranked?” Liufei asks, feeling a bit competitive now that she know there is a ranking.

“That’s the thing my lady, we never really met or seen her” he shrugs, “we heard things about her but there’s no solid proof for the rumors, so the Princess was not even amongst the people considered for top ten.”

Hearing that Liufei pouted, “Well, how beautiful are the Zhang sisters then if they’re ranked so high?” she asks.

“I’ve only seen them once, but they are true to the words people useses to describes them. The older sister, Zhang Yueyin, her beauty is like a flowing river, gentle and elegant. The younger sister, Zhang Meiyin, her beauty is like a burning flame, radiant and mesmerizing” the waiter sounds as if he’s lost in some fantasy land as he describes them.

“Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?” Liufei asks

“Well not many people believed it until they saw it for themselves,” says the waiter, coming back from wherever his mind has taken him to, “those people are saying the two of them headed out of the city earlier, if you’re lucky you might be able to catch a glance of them when they’re back.”

“Who knows when that’ll be, I’m not waiting around to see something I see all the time in the palace” Liufei mumble to herself.

As the waiter leave to take orders from another table, Liufei looks at her two brothers “Don’t tell me you’re both interested in something so ordinary for Royal Princes” she soften her voice at the last two words, careful not to spill their identities.

“Of course not, but I can’t say I’m not interested in the fact that they’re Official Zhang’s children” Luhan says. As princes, both Luhan and Yixing has seen more than their fair share of beautiful ladies in the palace. They’ve met and interacted with all kinds of top beautiful and talented flowers who’re trying to get chosen by them.

“I’ve heard of General Zhang’s son, but it’s a surprise to learn that Official Zhang has children of his own since he never even mentions it all these years” Luhan says.

All the royal princes were tutor by Official Zhang when they were younger. Years pass by and only Luhan, Yixing and Yifan remained in contact with him as they were his favorite students and him, their favorite teacher. As they became old enough to shoulder their royal responsibilities he resigned from his position as their teacher. They only occasionally have short chats with him when they run into him at the palace. The two of them were a bit disappointed that they weren’t updated with one of the man they respected and look up to the most.

“Isn’t Official Zhang and General Zhang Roy….” She caught herself, “Father’s most trusted subjects and your teachers? How is it you two not know of his daughters till now?”

“Xiao Fei, it might seem like we have more freedom than you, but we don’t actually have so much freedom where we can just come and go from the palace to see whoever we want to see” Luhan says

“After his wife passed away Official Zhang come to the palace less and less, we don’t see him as much and he’s not the type to disclose much personal information. So it’s difficult to have known information he does not wish for us to know” Yixing added

“You guys are Princes, if you care enough it shouldn’t have been too difficult to find out how someone is doing” Liufei stated in a challenging tone.

Luhan were a bit taken aback, it’s clear to him that she’s bitterly accusing him of growing distant. It wasn’t Official Zhang’s matter that she was unhappy about, she didn’t know the man personally to care, but she’s using it to punish them anyway. Her intention strikes its target and makes him realize how truly distant he have really grown in the past years. It wasn’t just amongst themselves, but he has grown distant towards his past and its connections altogether. When did it come to this point? Another thing she was right about, they are Princes, they have all the power they needed to keep in touch with anyone. They could have made more effort to check up on their teacher, if only they had care. And that was the thing, they didn’t care. They are Royal Princes, they were used to people coming to them and putting in efforts to advance the relationship. They were on the receiving end and never cared enough to be the one making the efforts.

The eldest of the two Princes looks at Liufei and smiles. “Glad I didn’t have to realized that the hard way” Luhan says

“You’ve grown” Yixing smiles gently at Liufei and pet her head. Hearing this Luhan assumes Yixing must have came to the same realization as him.

The three of them stay at the restaurant a while longer before leaving to make their way back towards the palace. Their paces weren’t particularly fast as none of them want to hurry back. They were each looking around at all the different shops and stalls that lines the two side of the street. Liufei was leading excitedly at the front, still skipping from stalls to stalls. Luhan was carrying two jar of wine that Liufei wanted to buy from the restaurant earlier, one in each hand, walking after her and keeping an eye on her. Yixing was trailing behind, also with a jar of wine in each hand, eyes lazily looking at each of the stalls they passed by. Suddenly a small boy bumps into Yixing, startling him. The small boy didn’t apologize and just kept running while giggling. A woman came running towards him and apologizing as she rushes after the small boy. Yixing smiles, assuming that must have been the little boy’s mother chasing after her mischievous child.

“Xing ge, what’s wrong? Hurry up!” he heard Liufei’s voice over the sound of all the noise on the street. As he was about to head back towards his original direction his eyes caught sight of something at the end of the street in the direction the boy and the woman ran to. He pauses again trying to take a clearer look from where he’s standing.

“Xing geeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!” he heard Liufei voice rushes him again so he quickly turns back and make his way towards her and Luhan.

“What are you smiling about? Saw something interesting?” Luhan ask as Yixing caught up to him.

“I think I just saw the river and the flame” Yixing said as he smiles to himself again

“Huh?” Liufei said as she arrive at their spot.

“It’s nothing, let’s go” Yixing said as he hurry them to continue making their way back to the palace. Liufei look to Luhan for an answer but he just shrug, seems the two of them had already forgotten about the subject of the people’s commotion.

Author's Note:

Well? Hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Are the chapters too long? Should I shorten them?