Luo Wei followed behind Zhao Fu, and entered the Hall of Eternal Light. As soon as he entered, he saw Grand Scholar Zhou Ning Wen kneeling at Emperor Xing Wu’s desk, and the emperor’s face was full of anger. His own father, Luo Zhi Qiu, stood beside the two of them, silent.
“Wei Er, you’re here.” Emperor Xing Wu saw Luo Wei enter, and his expression softened somewhat, “Are you tired?”
“Your humble servant is not tired,” Luo Wei quickly answered, his eyes falling for a moment on Zhou Ning Wen, but quickly turned away from the man.
“You should still head back and rest first, Wei Er,” Emperor Xing Wu didn’t want Luo Wei to see him disciplining a court minister, especially when it was the father-in-law of the crown prince. He was afraid of scaring Luo Wei again, seeing as how he was related to the crown prince.
The emperor commanded him to leave, and Luo Wei had no excuse to dally any longer, so he looked to his father.
Luo Zhi Qiu smiled at Luo Wei and nodded, motioning that things are okay, and Luo Wei needn’t worry.
“This kid,” Emperor Xing Wu found the exchange a little funny, “Are you worried that I won’t let your father come home tonight?”
Luo Zhi Qiu laughed and spoke to Luo Wei, “What are you still waiting around for? Hurry back to the estate.”
With that, Luo Wei finally let himself out of the Hall of Eternal Light. Inside, he was still wondering if Zhou Ning Wen had angered the emperor by opposing Long Xuan’s bid to go south. The thoughts shifted, and he started thinking about the attempt on the crown prince’s life. Who called for the attack? Even within the imperial household, there weren’t many who knew of Long Yu’s travel plans and routes, not to mention the court ministers. So how did someone manage to attack him en route?
Outside the palace gates, Wei Lan saw Luo Wei arriving on the litter, and quickly approached.
“Lan,” Luo Wei finally let himself smile at seeing Wei Lan’s face, and let the man help him off the litter, “What are you doing here?”
“Let’s get on the carriage, young master,” Wei Lan helped Luo Wei to the carriage, and pulled the curtain doors aside for him to enter.
“Please come here, sirs,” Luo Wei turned around and motioned the two little eunuchs who’d carried his litter closer, and rewarded each with a few pieces of silver.
The two little eunuchs made a grand gesture of thanking him, and watched Luo Wei’s carriage until it was far enough away before heading back into the palace.
Inside the carriage, Wei Lan pulled out a little pot from inside his coat, and pa.s.sed it to Luo Wei, “Young master, you should drink this quickly.”
Luo Wei accepted it and asked, “What is it?”
“Medicine, just prepared according to Physician Wei’s prescription,” Wei Lan answered, “He said it’ll be best taken within the hour, so I came to get you with it right after Xiao Xiao finished brewing it.”
The little pot was still warm, “How long have you been outside?” Luo Wei asked Wei Lan. With the weather outside like this, coming from the chancellor’s estate to the palace, liquids would be cold by now no matter how hot it was when it was brewed.
“A while,” Wei Lan answered, “You should drink it quickly, young master, it won’t be good when it’s cold.”
“Did you use your internal energy for this?” Luo Wei didn’t need to think on it too much before he realized that this man probably employed that stupid idea.
“Not too much,” Wei Lan could see Luo Wei’s face growing sour, so he quickly added, “The young master can say whatever he needs to say after he drinks the medicine.”
Luo Wei gulped down the bitter medicine in a few big mouthfuls, “You’re not allowed to do this again in the future,” He made a conscious effort to look unhappy as he spoke to Wei Lan, “Using precious internal energies to warm medicine like this, and you don’t even think it’s a waste.”
Wei Lan nodded yes. When he delivers the medicine next time, he would do the same to keep it warm, but right now, he’d be happy to agree with whatever Luo Wei said to him.
“Does it feel bad still to use it?” Luo Wei pressed his hand against Wei Lan’s chest, “Didn’t your chest hurt last time you used it?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Wei Lan answered hurriedly, “That Physician w.a.n.g said that I’ve fully recovered.”
“Take whatever the imperial physicians say with a grain of salt,” Luo Wei felt the clothes on Wei Lan, just to check if he’d dressed warmly enough, “Even if you get sick again, it’s not as if I can go and hunt him down for it.”
“I’ll be careful,” Wei Lan pa.s.sed a sweet preserve to Luo Wei, “Here, eat this, I know how bitter that medicine is.”
Luo Wei put the sweet preserve in his mouth and listened to the bustle and noise outside of the carriage. He suddenly said, “It’s almost New Year’s. Wei Lan, I want to go and buy and few things.”
“What does the young master want to buy?”
“Kid stuff,” Luo Wei counted on his fingers as he spoke, “We can’t skimp on You Er’s things, Ning Fei’s going to leave for Yun Guan with his family after New Year’s, so I want to buy some things for Ning Yuan and Ning Li. I don’t know how long it’ll be before we see them again once they head off.”
“Kid stuff, like toys?” Wei Lan had never had toys growing up, so he didn’t have any suggestions for Luo Wei.
“Is Physician Wei still at the estate?” Luo Wei asked again.
“Young master,” Wei Lan vaguely understood why Luo Wei wanted to go shopping now, “Do you not want Physician Wei to a.s.sess you again?”
“That Physician Wei,” Luo Wei shook his head, face full of misery, “I’m scared even just looking at him. Other than prescribing medicine, all he does is prescribe more medicine. Doesn’t he know how to do anything else?”
“He’s a doctor, that’s his job.” Wei Lan couldn’t hold back his chuckle, thinking that Luo Wei could be very childish sometimes too.
“Let’s not talk about him anymore,” Luo Wei lifted the curtains on the carriage window, looking at the streets outside, “Let’s take a look around outside once the carriage turns on Zhu Que Road.”
“Sounds good,” Naturally, Wei Lan wouldn’t try to stop Luo Wei from going wherever he wanted to go.
The carriage turned on Zhu Que road. This road was the most bustling and busiest market in the capital. Shops lined the road like a forest, and street peddlers stood in droves along the street.
Luo Wei stepped out of the carriage as Wei Lan pulled another thick jacket over his shoulders.
“You guys can head back,” Luo Wei said to the guards and Qi Zi behind him.
“That’s not possible, young master,” Qi Zi answered, “The chancellor ordered us not to leave you even for a single step.”
“But Wei Lan’s with me.” Luo Wei answered, “You guys,” He looked around, and pointed at a random bar, “can go and find something to eat. Wei Lan and I will be back in a bit.”
“But the chancellor…”
“I’ll be on this street,” Luo Wei didn’t want too many people to follow him around. Even just standing here, people had begun to look, “People won’t know who I am if you guys are not following me around. With all of you tagging along behind me, you might as well be calling the thieves and robbers over to me.”
“We can’t,” Qi Zi was thinking now of how Luo Wei looked when Wei Lan had rescued him. He was scared, “Young Master, we have to go with you, even if we have to call the second young master to come clear the street with soldiers.”
“Clear the street with soldiers?” Luo Wei looked at the bobbing heads on the pa.s.sers-by next to him, people walking by shoulder to shoulder. The corner of his eye twitched a little.
“The second young master said it himself,” Qi Zi was afraid that Luo Wei didn’t believe him, so he reiterated himself.
“It’s true, young master,” The guards behind him all agreed, “The second young master told us so, we can’t let you just wander off.”
“Then let’s go,” There was no other way. If he only brought Wei Lan along today, once Qi Zi and the rest of them went home and made reports, not only was he going to get told off by his father and his brother, even Wei Lan would get it.
No matter how many people came along, Wei Lan was still excited to be beside Luo Wei. To him, this was the first time he walked in a crowd like this without another thought, and felt carefree.