“How do we test it?” Gu Xinglang grew energetic at his brother’s words. “Eldest brother, are you going to find those two monks?”
Gu Xingnuo replied, “You just worry about your injury, big brother will take care of this.”
“I…”
“Don’t say any more,” Gu Xingnuo’s face fell. “I know what’s up. Let’s go to the pavilion, we shouldn’t keep the princess waiting.”
Gu Xinglang was still restless. “Big bro, you should at least tell me what you’re planning, right?”
“Brat,” Gu Xingnuo stood up and rapped Gu Xinglang’s forehead with his knuckles. “Do you think I can do this in one breath? You have to give me some time to think, right?”
Gu Xinglang rubbed his stinging forehead and suddenly blurted out, “Whatever the case, I can’t let Eternal Life Temple hurt the princess. I don’t care who Fenglin is, but if he tries to hurt her, I’ll…” Third Young Master Gu wasn’t used to vicious rejoinders, so he was forced to trail off.
“You’ll do what?” Gu Xingnuo asked calmly.
Gu Xinglang’s face twitched before he declared, “I’ll take his life!”
Gu Xingnuo patted his brother on the shoulder and simply said, “I understand.”
“Eldest brother!” Gu Xinglang exclaimed.
Gu Xingnuo dropped his voice. “Don’t worry. The princess is my savior as well, so I’ll take Fenglin’s life too. You have your big brother, so she’ll be fine.” Seeing that Gu Xinglang’s collar was crooked, he knelt down to straighten out his clothes. “The rain’s gotten bigger. Are you feeling cold?”
Gu Xinglang didn’t hear his brother’s final words, but he did stop worrying. Right now he couldn’t even walk, so all he could do was follow His Majesty and spew lies with him. Thankfully, he had a big brother to depend on which assuaged some of his feelings.
Gu Xingnuo saw that Gu Xinglang didn’t react to his question and knew his brother was lost in his thoughts again. He only sighed and touched Gu Xinglang’s exposed hand to check his temperature. Since the skin was still warm, he stopped fretting.
“Big brother, Little Gu,” Yu Xiaoxiao had finally gotten her food in the pavilion and was now calling them over. “There’s stuff to eat, hurry over. Xiao Zhuang, Xiao Wei, you two come too.”
“Let’s go,” Gu Xingnuo turned towards the two guards. “You two must be hungry too?”
Xiao Wei quickly responded, “Eldest young master, this servant is not hungry.”
Gu Xingnuo only grinned at his wording. “You’re too cautious, little fellow. Even the princess and Royal Son-in-Law won’t let you call yourself ‘this servant,’ so why are you keeping it up?”
Xiao Wei only grinned and nodded.
“Let’s go,” Gu Xingnuo opened up an umbrella and stepped out of the covered walkway first.
As Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei headed for Gu Xinglang, the former asked the latter, “Do you feel like eldest young master treats the Royal Son-in-Law like his foster son?”
Xiao Wei arched his bows. The Royal Son-in-Law had lost his father as an infant. The proverb went that the eldest brother was like a father, so wasn’t Eldest Young Master Gu both brother and father to Third Young Master Gu?
—
When Gu Xinglang entered the pavilion, Zuo You was in the middle of teaching Yu Xiaoxiao how to eat crabs. Not only that, Grand Marshal Zuo was even demonstrating the process for her and just short of placing the pieces personally into the princess’s bowl. Third Young Master Gu’s face turned black at the sight. He had endured this Zuo You for long enough.
Jing Mo looked at Gu Xingnuo and grinned. “Come, smell these crabs. What does Eldest Young Master Gu think of me inviting everyone to admire the chrysanthemums and eating crabs today?”
Before Gu Xingnuo could speak, Yu Xiaoxiao looked at the crab claw in her hand and declared, “Stuff like this can’t fill your stomach, it’s better to have some rice.” To her, crabs were animals of myth. Now that she’d tried the real thing, she didn’t care much for its taste than whether it’d make her full.
What was left of Jing Mo’s good mood all but evaporated. I really should’ve taken this glutton to Big Bowl Restaurant. That place is more suited to this Fengtian princess. “Go tell the kitchens,” Jing Mo instructed a retainer by his side, “Have them hurry up and send out the dishes.”
The servant obeyed and withdrew from the pavilion.
Gu Xingnuo looked at the round table and smiled. “It seems like there isn’t enough place to sit here.”
The five places around the table were enough to accommodate the Gu brothers, but Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei would have no place to go, to say nothing of the bulky wheelchair. Zuo You only looked at the two guards. Who’s ever heard of guards eating at the same table with their masters?
Jing Mo smiled and rose to his feet. “If we’re lacking chairs, just have the servants bring more. Eldest Young Master Gu, there is still a good spot to admire chrysanthemums in this garden. Shall I take you there for a look?”
Gu Xingnuo cupped his hands at Jing Mo. “This one would be honored. Many thanks to Eldest Imperial Prince.”
“Zuo You,” Jing Mo now looked towards the man still fighting with his crab. “You should come with us.”
Zuo You didn’t even lift his head. “I’m not going, it’s not like I love chrysanthemums.”
Jing Mo bent down and rested a hand on Zuo You’s shoulder. “Did you really come here just to eat?” he muttered in a low voice.
“What do you mean by that?” Zuo You muttered back.
“Eternal Life Temple,” Jing Mo reminded him.
Zuo You tossed his crab claw on the table, then looked at Gu Xinglang, who was currently teaching Yu Xiaoxiao how to de-shell the creatures. He gave a huff before standing up in irritation. “Then let’s go. Where are those chrysanthemums you mentioned?”
Yu Xiaoxiao looked up guardedly at Zuo You. She only felt danger for her Little Gu’s “chrysanthemum” when Zuo You brought up the term.1
“Princess, please excuse us for a moment,” Jing Mo smiled affably as he bid Yu Xiaoxiao farewell.
“No problem, you guys can go,” Yu Xiaoxiao had no objections as long as they weren’t taking the food with them.
“I’ll be right back,” Gu Xingnuo bent down to tell Gu Xinglang. “You and the princess should stay here and eat well.”
Gu Xinglang nodded.
Gu Xingnuo added to Yu Xiaoxiao, “Princess, please excuse me for a moment.”
“Mhm,” Yu Xiaoxiao glanced up at Gu Xingnuo, her lips smeared with crab yolk. Her image was such that Eldest Young Master Gu could do nothing but sigh.
Jing Mo was the first to leave the pavilion, waving a hand to dismiss his retainers before they followed along. He opened up his own umbrella and brought his companions and their umbrellas to circle around the octagonal pavilion, across a bridge, up a slope, and straight into a different courtyard.
Yu Xiaoxiao ate the crab meat that Gu Xinglang had peeled for her and said, “If I knew we were only coming to eat this stuff, we should’ve gone to Big Bowl Restaurant instead.”
“Does princess not like eating crabs?” Gu Xinglang asked.
“Urk,” Yu Xiaoxiao hesitated, then admitted, “The flavor’s not bad, but it can’t fill me up.”
He was actually feeling quite conflicted. If His Majesty was willing to offend Eternal Life Temple for the princess’s sake, then he shouldn’t be an emperor who allowed the princess to starve. But his wife was always worried about going hungry everyday. Where did her fears come from?
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