Fields of Gold

Although Zhu Junyang really wanted to send the two little eyesores away, he immediately spoke up when he received the look of ‘help’ from his future wife, “This prince gave them to you, so take good care of them! If you’re short on money, just let me know! No matter how bad your financial situation is, you can’t become someone who needs to sell dogs for a living!”

Ning Donghuan had finally realized that the imposing and dazzlingly handsome man beside him was the second person who his father warned him not to offend. Why was Yu Xiaocao ranked first and the fierce-looking Royal Prince Yang in second place? Of course, it was because of Duke Rongguo’s self-interest.

If his son offended Royal Prince Yang, he would at most receive a severe beating. It wouldn’t affect Duke Rongguo’s Household in any way. (Ning Donghuan: Are you my real father ah? Did you pick me up from the streets?)

But, if they offended Yu Xiaocao, the former right assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments was a prime example of the consequences. Duke Rongguo didn’t want to lose the opportunity of eating delicious fresh greens and sweet fruits because of his unscrupulous son. Furthermore, they might not be able to buy the medicinal pills and syrups when they fell sick. They would have to take those bitter medicines, which wasn’t very effective…

The first and second on the list were both in front of him, but Ning Donghuan still didn’t want to give up. He couldn’t move his eyes away from the two ‘dogs’, “Since these two dogs are so big, you probably have to waste a lot of food to raise them, right? So why don’t you give me one…”

“Stop wasting our time. Even if there were twenty or two hundred dogs, this prince is still capable of raising them, let alone two! Hurry up and get out of the way. We’re all tired from the long journey, so this prince needs to escort the feudal princess back to rest!” Royal Prince Yang couldn’t stand these prodigal sons of wealthy families, and had an impatient look on his face.

“But…” Ning Donghuan still didn’t give up.

Suddenly, a gentle voice, like a top-grade mutton fat jade, that could warm up one’s heart in the cold wind could be heard, “Xiaohuan, what trouble did you cause now?”

This voice stirred the strings of a qin like a spring breeze. Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but look towards the source of the sound. What a pure and refined gentleman! He wore a long white robe and had a warm smile that could warm people’s hearts on his gorgeous face. At that moment, his face appeared serene and pure like blooming spring flowers…

Speaking of beautiful men, Zhu Junyang, who was beside her, was worthy of that description. However, the person in front of them had a completely different type of beauty compared with him. His carefreeness and elegance weren’t inferior to that of Royal Prince Yang’s devilish charms. Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but mutter, “A beauty comparable to that of a jade and a peerless gentleman.”

The still water ran deep.

The sound of the sheng [1] could be heard as one danced on the surface of the sea;

Making beautiful flower-like ripples.

Just because you looked back once, I kept thinking about it day and night.

After you turned around, a wisp of fragrance came from afar.

The passing snow was shallow.

The scent of spring was strong.

And the smile was deep.

The emergence of a leaf led to a pursuit.

The blossoming of a flower opened up a new world.

Yearning for one person for a lifetime. [2]

It seemed like the jade-like person was the only one left on the bustling street. Even the last trace of warm sunlight became inferior in front of him. Yu Xiaocao, who was used to the so-called beautiful men and handsome youth in her previous life, was deeply impressed by the appearance and demeanor of the person in front of her.

“Aiyo!” Yu Xiaocao, who was immersed in the temptation of the beauty, suddenly held her head and screamed. She angrily shouted at Zhu Junyang, “Why did you hit me?”

Zhu Junyang felt upset in his heart. He was very upset. No, he was extremely upset. His little lass was actually looking at another man in a daze. Her eyes were practically sucked in and unable to pull away. He acknowledged that the second son of Duke Rongguo, as the rumor said, had a unique aura and was incomparably handsome. However, he felt that he was also quite good-looking ah. With him, this gorgeous man, by her side, she still had the time to appreciate the beauty of others. This was the biggest insult to him.

“Is this prince better looking, or is he better looking?” Zhu Junyang asked childishly. Although he thought that, as a man, he shouldn’t be considered about his own appearance, his little lass seemed to be a ‘lecherous person’. Based on how she would occasionally look dazedly at his handsome face, it was obvious that she had no resistance to good-looking faces. Zhu Junyang felt quite happy that the little lass liked his appearance, but he had never thought that there would be a day that the lass would reveal a stunned expression upon seeing another man. Royal Prince Yang expressed, ‘This prince is jealous!’

“You’re both good-looking!” Yu Xiaocao looked back and forth between the two for a long time and made the conclusion after a careful comparison. One was devilishly charming, while the other refined and indifferent. They were both very pleasing to the eyes.

Zhu Junyang turned the little lass’s face back to him and looked directly into her eyes. With a serious expression, he said, “You can only choose one!”

“Uh…choose what? It’s not like I’m the emperor picking out whichever consort I like in front of me!” Yu Xiaocao felt that he was being somewhat unreasonable. Didn’t she just take a look at a beautiful man? Was this necessary? Moreover, this maiden was just looking at him from the perspective of pure appreciation, like how one would appreciate flowers and sceneries. There wasn’t any lecherous meaning, okay?

Zhu Junyang felt aggrieved, ‘This prince is being unreasonable? Your eyes are practically glued to another person right in front of this prince, yet you won’t even allow me to express my jealousy?’

Ning Donglan naturally couldn’t ignore the fervent gaze that was on him. He looked towards the gaze and couldn’t resist laughing. He was just wondering how a woman could be so unreserved and unabashed when she looked at him with a covetous gaze. It turned out that she was just an innocent child who could distinguish the beauty and ugliness of men. This child had a pair of good eyes that were full of intelligence.

“Second…Second Brother!” If there was one living thing that he could make him terrified from the bottom of his heart, then it would be his second older brother. His second brother appeared harmless, but, in fact, his heart was like a glutinous dumpling filled with sesame paste—he was a complete black-belly. Since he was young, Ning Donghuan had been disciplined by his second brother. However, he never succeeded whenever he tried to tattletale on him. For someone like his second brother, he must avoid him like the plague!

“Did you take a liking to someone else’s pet? Ning Donglan nonchalantly glanced at the black and white… They were wolves, right? If he didn’t see incorrectly, then they should be! But, with his third brother’s character, that fool must have thought that the two wolves were a fine breed of dogs and wanted to take them home, right? When Ning Donglan thought of the lofty kennel in the middle of the back garden and the barking of the dogs, his hands itched with the urge to beat a certain someone.

“Second Brother…” Ning Donghuan watched him carefully and seemed to have noticed the change in his mood. He quickly stepped back and tried to explain himself, “I didn’t have any intention to forcibly take them. We’re currently discussing whether I can use a large sum of money to buy them…”

“Large sum of money?” Ning Donglan murmured and snorted, “If I remember correctly, you have already gotten your monthly allowances up to the end of next year in advance. You can’t even take out a hundred taels, so where are you going to get the large sum of money?”

Yu Xiaocao pricked up her ears to listen to the brothers’ conversation. Upon hearing that, she stared at Ning Donghuan with her eyes wide open. It seemed like this guy was just trying to fool others with his words earlier. Despite not having any money, he still acted in such a confident manner. In terms of being thick-skinned, this older sister really had to acknowledge you ah!

Seeing that she was staring at him, Ning Donghuan touched his nose and whispered to his second brother, “I don’t, but don’t you have some, Second Brother? If you want to, just one scroll of your calligraphy could be sold for tens of thousands of taels…”

“Did you steal the paper that I practiced calligraphy on again and sell it?” Ning Donglan’s voice was filled with the sense of danger.

“No, I’m being falsely accused ah, Second Brother!! You have been travelling for more than half a year, so even if I want to steal it, I wouldn’t be able to ah!” Ning Donghuan quickly made the gesture of swearing with a very solemn expression on his face.

Ning Donglan, who had just returned from travelling, glanced at him warningly. When he turned towards Yu Xiaocao and Royal Prince Yang, there was only a light-hearted and carefree attitude, “My younger brother has troubled the two of you. Zihong will apologize in his stead!” Zihong was Ning Donglan’s courtesy name.

“It’s okay…” Yu Xiaocao wanted to have a conversation with the polite and handsome man, but she was cut off by Zhu Junyang.

“He is him, and you are you! He’s already an a.d.u.l.t, yet he still needs his older brother to help him clean up after him? If so, why is he still running around outside? He should just hide in Duchess Rongguo’s embrace and be a little baby!” Zhu Junyang’s poisonous tongue was only aimed at people he didn’t like. At this time, he was extremely dissatisfied with this handsome face in front of him.

Ning Donglan withdrew the faint smile on his face. He stood ramrod straight and looked directly at Royal Prince Yang, who was looking down at them while sitting on his horse. There seemed to be a flash of lightning and storm between them.

“Young Master Ning, don’t mind him. This is just how Royal Prince Yang usually acts!” Yu Xiaocao also thought that Zhu Junyang had gone overboard with his words. The other party’s third brother didn’t do anything unforgivable. Didn’t he just have the impossible desire to buy my family’s Little Black? He didn’t try to forcibly take it from them! However, that was probably thanks to her identity as the feudal princess. Had it been someone else, would he really not rob them?

“How does this prince usually act?” Zhu Junyang’s voice was filled with a sense of danger. The temperature around him seemed to have dropped several degrees and it felt like a snowstorm was coming. The bodyguards around him were all on alert for fear that their master would get angry at any moment. Xiaocao’s two little maidservants had never seen this side of Royal Prince Yang. They were so scared that their faces had turned pale. They hugged each other tightly as their teeth chattered, making a clear ‘chattering’ sound.

Yu Xiaocao quickly pacified him, “You have a great temperament, but your mouth never spares anyone!”

“Humph!” At least she was tactful. Zhu Junyang withdrew his imposing force, but he still felt somewhat uncomfortable in his heart, “This prince naturally wouldn’t give face to those that I don’t like!”

“Feudal Princess, on another day, Zihong will take my younger brother to personally visit and apologize to you. We won’t delay the feudal princess from going home any longer!” Ning Donglan was surprised at Royal Prince Yang’s tolerance towards Yu Xiaocao. Of course, he wouldn’t have a conflict with the royal prince on the streets, but he still had to say some courteous words.

“No need! This prince and Feudal Princess Jinan won’t take this trivial matter to heart!” This shameless brat actually wanted to use this excuse to look for his little lass. No way! He must put an end to any possibility of interaction between the two! Zhu Junyang had already taken Ning Donglan as a lifelong enemy and was prepared to be alert at all times.

Seeing that the dangerous situation had been resolved, Ning Donghuan, who was hiding behind his second brother, stuck his head out and weakly said, “Feudal Princess, please consider it again. The price is negotiable…”

“There’s no need for reconsideration. I have already said that they are the same as family to me. If I asked you to sell your second brother to me, would you be willing?” The expression on the other three people’s faces all changed due to the example that Yu Xiaocao used.

[1] sheng (笙) - Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes

[2] "Whispering Breeze" by Song Feng