VThinking of those things that he could not fully understand with his intelligence and experiences, Ning Que closed his eyes slowly in the sun. He began to reframe Zhuo Er"s intensely black face in his chaotic mind to strengthen the confidence in sorting out his own random and frustrated mind. The spring bright suns.h.i.+ne s.h.i.+nning on the rockery in the vestibule of the princess"s palace, on the bamboo chair and on his body, was just neither too bright nor too warm. It gradually removed his spring chill that had acc.u.mulated in the old library.
"Are you basking in the sun? But... my mom won"t let me do this."
A crisp voice was gently heard from the back of the chair. Ning Que opened his eyes to look back, and saw a little boy"s face popping out from the rockery. There were two blushes of red as an apple on his slightly black and healthy face, on which the long eyelashes were really beautiful, while on which the expression seemed a bit timid.
Ning Que looked at this little black face, somehow remembering Zhuo Er. A kind of bitterness surged at his heart. He stood up from the chair to bow slightly towards the little boy, who had not seen for a while, and said, "h.e.l.lo, Little Prince."
The timid little boy was Xiaoman, the stepchild the princess Lee Yu had brought back with her from the gra.s.sland. Ning Que had much contact with the little boy along the way from the City of Wei to Chang"an, especially after the b.l.o.o.d.y battle in Northern Mountain Road.
"Why doesn"t her Highness let you, my little princess, stay in the sun?" He asked with a smile.
"Mother said it would be easy to get tanned," Xiaoman looked at Ning Que seriously and explained, "I"m the son of my mother, the grandson recognized by His Majesty and the proudest n.o.ble of Tang Empire. Therefore, I can be black, but not too black."
Ning Que could not help scratching his head upon hearing the little boy"s answer. He could imagine the difficulty that boy from the gra.s.slands had in adapting after coming to the rich and prosperous Chang"an city, but he never thought the princess Her Highness" education and care for the little boy was so rigorous. He smiled and explained, "It isn"t too bad to bask in the sun occasionally."
The little boy looked around the quiet vestibule and found that the instructor palace mammies and imperial maids did not know of his sneaking here. Then his face lit up with pleasure, and he jumped to the bamboo chair to tug on the sleeves of Ning Que. He gave Ning Que a certain wistful glance, raising his little face, and asked, "Can you tell me a story?"
Ning Que was shocked and did not expect that the little boy still recognized him and even remembered those fairy tales by the bonfire. Looking at his anxious eyes and the quiet vestibule, thinking that he had nothing else to do except for basking in the sun, he sat back against the bamboo chair and beckoned the little boy to sit beside him, and said, "I can"t tell stories. Those I told last time should be called fairy tales."
Xiaoman curiously asked, "What is the difference between a fairy tale and a story?"
"A story is very complicated, while a fairy tale is very simple and happy," replied Ning Que.
"I want to listen to fairy tales." Xiaoman laughed happily.
Ning Que thought of the past images and could not help smiling. He said, "That"s precisely what I am good at."
Xiaoman moved closer, and concentrated on listening.
Ning Que thought for a second, and said to him, "You are the little prince in the gra.s.sland. I will tell a fairy tale about a Little Prince, okay?"
Xiaoman said cheerfully, "Well, okay."
Ning Que laid on the bamboo chair, watching the sky. "There are pythons in the forest, whose heads are really big. They swallow the prey directly into the stomach without chewing after hunting, and will sleep for full six months to digest the food in the stomach."
Xiaoman opened his big eyes, and said in fright, " ...So terrible, could it be said all fairy tales are happy?"
Ning Que gave him a stare thinking the little boy didn"t behave as well as Sangsang did then, and said, "Don"t worry. It"s just the beginning... When hearing this tale, I"m more interested in those things in the forest, so I drew a picture following my own imagination. In the picture is a big python swallowing a big beast. I took this picture to other adults and asked if they were afraid. They all said, "Why should a hat scare you?"
"I understand. You drew the python as the edge of the hat and the big beast as the center. Doesn"t your picture seem good?" Xiaoman was excited clapping his hands.
"I don"t draw a hat but a python swallowing a beast. Those adults didn"t understand just like you, so I simply drew the stomach of the python." Ning Que was speechless for a moment but continued.
Xiaoman looked at him in a puzzle, and asked, "Isn"t the fairy tale about the Little Prince? Where is the Little Prince?"
"Come out soon," Ning Que explained, "He will come out in a minute."
Not too long, those instructor palace mammies and imperial maids finally found here in the vestibule while the princess Her Highness already ended reminiscing with Sangsang at this time. Ning Que held the handmaiden"s hand fleeing away in the suspicious and disgruntled eyes, with the fastest speed to finish the visit in the Princess Mansion.
Walking in the quiet street of Southern City, Sangsang was lapped constantly on the thigh by the big black umbrella that was tightly wrapped with the coa.r.s.e cloth. The master and the maid walked silently along the way, and Sangsang suddenly said mindless," The princess is a good person."
Ning Que looked up at the sky which was separated by the plane trees above the street and looked at the gloomy clouds. "It "s going to rain."
This was what people would call a conversation with no heads or tails. Sangsang wanted to say something while Ning Que did not. Therefore, as the former blurted out a sentence with no heads or tails, the latter looked up the sky to say the rain"s falling.
"Young master, why don"t you like her?" Sangsang stopped and looked up at him.
Ning Que thought it necessary to let the little handmaiden know his honest thoughts. He hesitated for a moment and said, "I don"t think she"s a good person in the traditional sense, though she is really good to you."
He did not know why Sangsang was so stubborn on this issue, and he said seriously, "If Her Highness isn"t a nice person, then why did she go to the gra.s.sland and why was she so good to Xiaoman?"
Ning Que looked at her quietly and suddenly said, "If she is a good person, then why did she go to the gra.s.sland and Why was she be so good to Xiaoman? I don"t think all the stepmothers over the world are bad guys, but I have also never seen a stepmother who regards Xiaoman"s life more important than hers."
For the same questions, Sangsang seemed to prove that Her Highness was a good person, while Ning Que made it the opposite one. She was wondering what he wanted to say, looking at him in confusion.
At this moment, the light rain began to drift from the sky over Chang"an city in deep spring. Ning Que took off the big black umbrella from her back and opened it. Continuing moving forward, he then said, "Things"re often evil when they"re abnormal. His Highness" stepmother is so young, maternal proliferation? It seems that"s too early for her. I think this"s empathy. She was transferring her love for Chanyu to the boy... In this case, how sorry she feels for Chanyu who rests in the gra.s.sland."
"Only military forces in borders like us know what a great master Chanyu is. However why was such a superior man murdered and usurped unexpectedly by his idiot younger brother?"
"Young master, what on earth do you want to say?"
"What I want to say is Her Highness will feel regret all her life, because Chanyu should be the one who really loves her, the only one who dares to love her sincerely."
"I don"t understand."
"Nothing."
Sangsang kept silent for a long time, and suddenly spoke, "Do you think it is the princess who killed Chanyu?"
"It seems that your foolishness in general life is an excuse for laziness." Ning Que answered indirectly.
Sangsang lowered her head, walking under the black umbrella with her little fist slightly clenching, and said, "The evidence?"
"There are lots of things in this world that don"t need evidence."
Ning Que watched the light drizzle outside the umbrella, and said, " She could not only resolve the attack from some villains in the Empire but also gain the mercy from his Majesty by showing weakness in the battle with Her Majesty. What"s more, she could win the respect from citizens of the Tang Empire and even develop her own strengths in the gra.s.sland. Yet it"s impossible for her to stay in the gra.s.sland forever, since His Majesty is getting older and the person succeeding to the throne needs to be confirmed as soon as possible. There"s only one way to come back as a woman deeply loved by Chanyu."
Sangsang whispered lowering her head , "But Her Highness was only twelve or three years old when she decided to leave for the gra.s.sland."
"I"ve already begun to kill Horse Gangs at the age of twelve or three. A person"s ability is not necessarily proportional to his age." Ning Que held the big black umbrella and gradually speeded up, and then said shaking his head, "What I said is only the reason why Her Highness might do so and get benefits. But in my opinion, the best proof of the matter is the words I"ve said earlier."
"We all know how great Chanyu is though he died young. Such a great man is hard to be killed. Unless the murderer is the one whom he trusted most."
Sangsang bowed his head with her lips curled, and then softly muttered, "Anyway, this"s your guess, young master."
"I too wish the speculation is wrong and that this world is full of fairy tales in which the prince and the princess finally live a happy life forever. But you see... the prince in the gra.s.sland died and the princess came back home," replied Ning Que.
Sangsang looked up and a drop of rain fell off from her dark black cheeks. She looked at him angrily and asked, "Young master, why"s the world so dark in your eyes?"
Ning Que stopped and watched her wordlessly. A good while later he said in a cold voice, "Because the world that I"ve seen is so dark, since the time when I survived and picked you back from the dead bodies by the roadside."
With these words, he also felt he was not on his best behavior. He walked angrily towards the street. He was wondering whether the shadow cast by the old library of the Academy on his spirit or the impending murder made the rain outside the big black umbrella seem not that fresh, but a bit dull.
Sangsang stood in the rain watching his back, and suddenly hurried to catch him up with the big black umbrella. She then reached her hand to seize his sleeves hanging down from his right hand, and never let it go.
Under the big black umbrella was heard the conversation between the master and the maid from time to time.
"I thought you might name Her Highness an idiot."
"You should feel all kinds of things except for emotion, since it will finally hurt others and yourself. In this case, she is really an idiot."
"Why didn"t you scold her that just now?"
"I will curse fewer the two words, because those emotional idiots... All are poor ah."