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wangsejabin · 1 year

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Chapter 111

The rule in the study room is to enter at dawn and leave at dusk, so it is only natural that the imperial sons and grandsons who come to study should get up early.

If they were living in the palace, so be it, but if they were outside the palace, it was probably still early in the morning when they left.

This was a rule laid down by Emperor Taizu, who said that the more the sons of the dragon and the grandson of the phoenix, the more they had to sharpen themselves, and as it was now winter, the day dawned late, so it was only as bright as it could be, and they had to carry lanterns when walking along the palace roads.

The symbols on the lanterns differed from house to house, and when De Cai saw the lantern of the Eastern Palace behind him, he was busy whispering a word, and Zong Yue turned his head to look at it, stopped in his tracks and stood still to wait.

When Zong Duo came closer, he called out to his elder brother and said, "I got up early today, and when I came out, I saw that the door of my elder brother's courtyard was still closed, so I came here first, thinking that it was not easy to walk in the snow and I was afraid I would be late.

From a distance Zong Duo could not see Zong Yue's face, he only thought he meant what he said, but he didn't listen to it either.

Now that the new emperor has ascended to the throne, those who used to be imperial grandsons have now become offspring, and each family has a different mind.

There were those who were particularly unconvinced that it was the crown prince who had ascended to the throne, and those who, knowing that they could not be disobeyed, bowed their heads and behaved honestly, but on the whole there were more of the latter, so as soon as Zong Duo and Zong Yue walked in, they were surrounded by several children of their own age.

Zong Duo, in particular, was in the limelight, and even those who were much older and could not be bothered to behave in an ingratiating manner were all giving him their attention.

Zong Yue naturally had playmates too, the first of whom was Zong Wei from the Yue Wang Mansion.

Now, with the new emperor ascending to the throne, Yue Wang, who had been following the crown prince's side, had also risen to the top of the boat, and Zong Wei, who used to be a less conspicuous person in the upper study room, now also had a few playmates, but he and Zong Yue had long been friends and their relationship was naturally not ordinary.

Before they could say a few words, someone coughed a few times, the others thought it was the gentleman who had arrived and went to their seats.

It wasn't until they looked out the door and realised that Sir hadn't come, and seeing that it was Zong Duo who was coughing, their eyes all gathered there.

Someone said with concern, "Grand prince, are you alright?"

Zong Duo covered his mouth to suppress his cough as he said, "Yes."

The words had barely left his mouth before another series of coughs followed, and with the many concerned enquiries, further coughs were no longer apparent.

At that moment, a voice came from the door: "Have you finished the book you were asked to study?"

It was Wen Chengmao, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, who was also the chief teacher of the Upper School, overseeing the studies of all the imperial sons and grandsons in the Upper School. He was very knowledgeable, but was a serious and old-fashioned person, and was one of the most feared gentlemen among the imperial sons and grandsons.

"Mr. Wen." All of them stood up and bowed.

This rule was also laid down by Emperor Taizu, as the saying goes, the most important thing for a scholar is to respect the teacher. Although they were all imperial sons and grandsons, except for those very few, they did not need to pay respect to anyone, but the master still had to be respected.

"All of you gentlemen sit down, yesterday ......"

The room was extremely quiet, only Mr. Wen's voice could be heard, but a sharp cough suddenly rang out, interrupting his words.

Wen Chengmao dropped his gaze on Zong Duo's body and asked, "Is the Grand Prince unwell?"

He said, "I am not unwell, I just got up this morning and caught some wind," he said, but his face was red from holding his cough.

He Nian came in with some warm water, not forgetting to apologise to Mr. Wen.

After drinking the warm water, Zong Duo finally felt better, and He Nian was busy retreating again, and Mr. Wen didn't say anything, continuing with his unfinished conversation.

After that, it was time to check the books that had been set out to be warmed yesterday, some had been warmed but some had not.

Both Zong Duo and Zong Yue were praised, but Zong Duo inevitably coughed a few times during this period, thus attracting a lot of stares.

Everyone had heard that the eldest prince was not in good health, but usually they didn't think so, they only thought that the eldest prince was a bit thinner than his peers, but he was taller than his peers, so it didn't show much. But now it snowed last night, and today he is suffering from cold, so it seems that the words of weakness are true.

The younger ones in the upper study did not feel anything, after all, they were still young, but the older ones already knew what to do. The first and second princes are only half a year apart, one is the direct son of the middle palace, the other is the son of a favoured concubine, one is frail, the other is healthy, and now that the crown prince has not been established, it is not clear who will win.

All this was not apparent on the surface, but more people came to talk to Zong Yue after class.

The upper study was in the Qianqing Palace, on the south side of the east side of the palace, so naturally what happened here could not be hidden from Zong Cong. Especially since it was Zong Duo's business, Zong Cong knew about it before noon.

He did not say anything when he learned of the news, but his expression was slightly grave.

After the hour of Shenyang, Zong Cong went back to the Eastern Palace and did not go anywhere but to Zong Duo's courtyard.

When he went there, Zong Duo was being covered by He Nian in bed, sweating. He Nian said he would report to Empress Chen, but Zong Duo refused and lost his temper.

Everyone was surprised to see His Majesty coming, especially Zong Duo, who wanted to get off the couch to salute his father, but was held down by Zong Cong.

"Since you are not feeling well, lie down."

"There is nothing uncomfortable about my son, I just coughed a few times in the morning after getting blown by the wind, and He Nian is making a fuss and insisting that I lie down in bed."

His face turned red as if he had been caught in a lie, embarrassment and discomfort intertwined on his face.

He sighed in his heart, but did not seem to see anything on the surface, reprimanding He Nian for not bringing water, and saying that the coals in the house did not seem to be hot, and that the servant was not careful.

When Fulu went to give the servants in the house a lecture, Zong Duo also regained his composure.

It was also the first time that his father had shown such care for him, and his eyes were full of adoration, forgetting what he had covered up earlier.

"When father was your age, he was very playful, and the little eunuchs knew a lot of tricks, so he followed them and learned to play dice. I have heard from Sir Wen that you were unwell.”

“I wanted to say that at your age, you should not always force yourself to read, and play more when you have nothing to do, and combine work and leisure, so that you can read well."

When Zong Cong was speaking, Zong Duo had been listening attentively. Hearing that his father was still playing dice when he was as old as he was, he was still a bit incredulous, and seeing that his father had praised him so much, he could not help but be a bit shy.

When his father had finished speaking, he said, "Mother said that as the eldest and the legitimate son of father, he should give priority to his studies."

Hearing these words, Zong Cong tossed the string on his wrist, "Your mother ......"

After a pause, the words after that were not said in the end, but changed the subject and said, "Since you have blown the wind, let the servants go and ask the doctor to come and have a look, so that it does not drag into a wind chill. I will see you again in a couple of days."

The words that Zong Duo had wanted to say that there was no need to invite a doctor, were also held back.

Only after Zong Cong had left did he ask He Nian with some hesitation, "Is Father angry with me?"

He was scared out of his wits by His Majesty's reprimand, so he did not care to see whether His Majesty was angry or not, so he said soothingly, "How could His Majesty be angry with the Grand Prince, even if he was angry, it was because his servants did not serve him well. This shows that His Majesty sees the Great Prince very highly."

Hearing this, Zong Duo's heart was relieved, yet he had a bit of a headache that if the doctor came later, he would not be able to hide the matter from his mother.

---

As he walked out of the courtyard, Zong Cong let out a long breath.

It had been many years since anyone had been able to make him feel like this, a feeling of being unable to do anything.

He had never been one to comfort people, and Fang had just taken the events of his early childhood and even distorted some of the facts to tell Zong Duo, saying those words with extra shortness, a feeling he had never felt before, but the words had been all but ignored, no match for a mother saying them.

At times like this, Fu Lu really hated that he was blind and deaf, but unfortunately it was all a figment of his imagination, and he could only stand aside and try to reduce his presence.

Seeing that His Majesty was not leaving either, and that snowflakes were falling from the sky, he boldly said, "I guess Su Guifei's place has not yet called for dinner, would Your Majesty like to go for dinner?"

Zong Cong didn't say anything, and lifted his steps and walked away, heading precisely for the back courtyard.

When they arrived at the East Courtyard, Pan'er and the three children were in the West Pavilion.

Mother and son were sitting on the kang, everything on the kang had been moved away and a small kang table had been placed, Zong Yue had ink on his face and was drawing something on the kang table with a bitter face, while Pan'er was blushing as if she had just finished laughing.

"What are you doing?"

"Father."

The children were used to being casual with their father and had not yet moved out of the Eastern Palace, so they were not yet clear about their sense of inferiority. Even after Zong Cong's ascension to the throne, he had never seen her salute properly, so the three children called out to their father, and did not get off the bed to salute.

Pan'er moved out some space for him to sit, and said with a smile, "Zong Lin asked Zong Yue to draw the courtyard for him, and now that Wan Yin's drawing is ready, he can't find anyone to call on, so he's calling on his brother."

"Mother won't give the painting." Obviously Zong Lin was not stupid and knew to tattle.

"Self-reliance, ever heard of it? Your sister paints all by herself, and she doesn't bother Mother." Pan'er said it with a straight face, not at all self-conscious of bullying her son.

Wan Yin said embarrassedly, "Mother, that picture was not drawn by my daughter herself, it was drawn by the palace maid."

As if he had caught something, Zong Lin was busy looking at Pan'er, who did not balk at him at all, "Then you go and find a palace maid to draw it too."

Instead of looking for a palace maid, it would be better to look for his elder brother. Zong Lin was busy lying back in front of the table, plausibly directing Zong Yue to add something here and something there.

When Zong Cong came, naturally he could not mess with the children.

Pan'er went with him to sit down on a chair in the second room, and asked Qing Dai to serve tea. In between serving tea, she asked Xiang Pu what time it was, and Xiang Pu replied, adding that it was snowing outside.

She didn't even know that it had snowed last night, but it had stopped snowing in the morning, so she was surprised to hear that it had snowed.

She just watched hers and didn't care about Zong Cong. It was Zong Cong who saw that she had been out for a long time and was afraid that she might catch a cold, so he called her back.

After blowing a cold wind, her face was red from the cold, but she was radiant.

Zong Cong said, "Even Wan Yin is more poised than you."

Pan'er gave him a glance and didn't say anything, turning her head to explain to Xiang Pu to bring up the evening meal.

The dinner is a mutton pot, the weather is the warmest to eat pot, brass pot has a place to add charcoal underneath, eat some of the mutton down, can also add some cave dishes.

This is a rare dish, a tribute from the imperial estate on the outskirts of the capital, and only the imperial palace and some dignitaries in the whole capital can enjoy the fresh vegetables in winter.

Pan'er liked the dishes shaken out of the lamb soup most of all, Zong Yue and Zong Lin both picked up the lamb and ate it, she and Wan Yin were the only ones interested in the vegetables, really worthy of being mother and daughter.

Zong Cong was not picky about meat and vegetables, and could eat some of them. Usually, he ate alone in Qianqing Palace, and just ate some of them casually. The first time he saw a lamb pot for dinner, he thought it was a bit simple and wondered if the dining room was treating Yuan Yuan poorly.

The three mothers and sons did not think anything of it, and at this point, halfway through the meal, they were indeed eating with physical and mental comfort, and he was even vaguely jealous when he saw the three children eating with a sense of forgetfulness.

Because of this little thought, he kicked the three children out after dinner.

He exaggerated when he said he was rushing them, but he was just saying that they should rest early when it was dark. When Pan'er saw that the snow was getting heavier outside, he left the three children behind, as they had lived in the east wing for a long time anyway and had everything ready, so they should not brave the snow to go back.

The three children went to the east wing, but Pan'er turned her head and looked at Zong Cong, feeling that his mood was not right tonight.

The two of them soaked their feet and went to the couch.

The bedding was fluffy and soft, and there was a faint smell of fragrance, and the two of them slept under the same blanket, warm and cozy.

Pan'er was a little drowsy from the smell, and in a trance he heard him speak.

"Do you think it is a good thing to be the crown prince?"

#mtl #yingchong #i don't think it a good thing #immense privilege yes but danger lurking around every corner and so much pressure entirely too young

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fwoopersongs · 2 years

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侠客行 - An Ode to Swordsmen

by 李白 (Li Bai, 701 - 762)

赵客缦胡缨吴钩霜雪明 zhào kè màn hú yīng, wú gōu shuāng xuě míng Chivalrous guest of Zhao with his tasseled helm, sabre shining snow-bright,

银鞍照白马飒沓如流星 yín ān zhào báimǎ, sà dá rú liúxīng silver saddle glowing against his horse's white, passing swift as shooting stars in flight.

十步杀一人千里不留行 shí bù shā yīrén, qiānlǐ bù liú xíng Ten steps, he kills a man; a thousand li - nought will stay his pace.

事了拂衣去深藏身与名 shì liao fú yī qù, shēn cángshēn yǔ míng Deed done, with a brush of his robes, he buries all and leaves no name, no trace.

闲过信陵饮脱剑膝前横 xián guò xìnlíng yǐn, tuō jiàn xī qián héng In idleness, with Lord Xinling he drank, sword doffed, resting across his knees;

将炙啖朱亥持觞劝侯嬴 jiāng zhì dàn zhū hài, chí shāng quàn hóu yíng he partook in a roast with Zhu Hai, and tipped a vessel in invitation to Hou Ying.

三杯吐然诺五岳倒为轻。 sān bēi tǔ rán nuò, wǔyuè dào wèi qīng Three cups in, out tumbled a promise; beside it, the Five Mountains even seemed light.

眼花耳热后意气素霓生。 yǎn huā ěr rè hòu, yìqì sù ní shēng Visions cleared and warmed ears cooled; from spirits ardent still, a white rainbow burst forth.

救赵挥金槌邯郸先震惊。 Jiù zhào huī jīnchuí, hándān xiān zhènjīng Wielding an iron hammer in Zhao’s aid, how every heart in Handan first quaked;

千秋二壮士烜赫大梁城。 qiānqiū èr zhuàngshì, xuǎn hè dàliáng chéng all ages henceforth, two brave men were remembered, their names aflame in Daliang City.

纵死侠骨香，不惭世上英。 zòng sǐ xiá gǔ xiāng, bù cán shìshàng yīng In spite of death, heroes’ bones smolder in perpetual fragrance, leaving this world with no regrets.

谁能书阁下，白首太玄经。 sheí néng shū géxià, bái shǒu tài xuán jīng. Who can remain ‘neath shelves of tomes ‘till they are old and grey with their ‘Canon of Supreme Mystery’?

………………………………………………………..……………..………

NOTES

And here I present poem 2 of the homework group!

So I said not all of the assignments will get a post, and that is still true. But like, LOOK AT THIS 侠客行!!!!! It’s passionate, it’s hilarious, it’s got a story! Who could possibly resist?

But it has also been a mad three days at work, stacked on a merlion-tastic bout of food poisoning. So, as I did not have time for unraveling-type digging and writing practice, this will be structured like a normal post.

BACKGROUND Li Bai the wine-mad Tang Dynasty poet needs no introduction right? This section will focus on the couple of years in his life before and during 744, which was the year 侠客行 was written.

A fascinating titbit that will become more interesting later: Li Bai was a skilled swordsman, and had been passionate in his learning and practice since a young age. The sword was a source of inspiration for many of his poems, in fact. Here is an interesting article about that! I would highly recommend it if you’re open to seeing more samples of lines from his heroes, sword and sword fighting related works.

In 742, Emperor Xuanzhong on recommendation, summoned Li Bai to court and was impressed enough with his talent to offer him a position in Hanlin Academy, ‘which served to provide scholarly expertise and poetry for the Emperor’. Thus began the period of his life where he served as the Emperor’s personal on-call poetry, song and entertainment provider. During this time, he was showered with the Emperor’s favour and his fame grew to new heights.

It was probably tiresome though, knowing his ambitions. There were also likely jealous people about. And he certainly had been drinking a lot! Whatever led to the result, in the year 743, at the age of 43, he was bestowed a great deal of gold by the Emperor and ‘set free’.

It is 744, and he is traveling a lot. During this time, he met Du Fu (yes. that Du Fu. eleven years his junior, and who would later go on to write eleven poems for him that survive today) and they became friends over drinks, making a deal to meet again in Liangsong (Kaifeng / Shangqiu area of today). In the Autumn of this year, they met again as agreed and made another new friend, Gao Shi, whom they bonded with over writing, politics and their shared worry about the country. After parting, Li Bai went on to Qi Prefecture where he became a daoist priest at Ziji Temple.

It was around this period in Li Bai’s life that 《侠客行》 was written. [1]

[1] Sourced from Li Bai’s page and the poem’s introduction on Baidu. 2022, September 10

FORMAT In the previous post I mentioned the new style poetry (近体诗) and old style poetry (古体诗) forms of Tang Dynasty poetry. This one is a five character old style poem.

The key characteristic of old style poetry is that it is unregulated. There is a lot of freedom here in terms of tones, where characters can sit and also their rhyming (...at least, that’s my very valid excuse for rhyming the first 4 lines, like the poem did, and abandoning the rest to whim and fancy xD)

STORY There are twenty four lines of five characters each. For my rambles, the first twelve lines shall be grouped into one part, the next eight into the second part, and the last four into the third part.

Part One This first part introduces the character of a particular curved-sword wielding hero. His perspective is almost like an outsider looking in, giving us a front row seat to real people and events as they are told in written history. Specifically, this is about a story in the Spring and Autumn period about Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji gaining the loyalty of Hou Ying and his friend Zhu Hai, and how they saved the State of Zhao when it was under siege. This all happened in about 257 BCE.

In Autumn a thousand and one years later, this famous poet named Li Bai wrote them all into a poem. He had created this for an audience that already knew their story, but alas illiterate yjtc was not within the range of audience he thought of while writing this. Thankfully, baidu exists!

The first first four lines describe the appearance of his fictional swordsman and original character in loving detail, giving him the most dramatic and cool entrance through imagery.

赵客缦胡缨 | Chivalrous guest of Zhao with his tasseled helm, 吴钩霜雪明 | sabre shining snow-bright, 银鞍照白马 | silver saddle glowing against his horse's white, 飒沓如流星 | passing swift as shooting stars in flight.

King Wen of Zhao was famed for his love of sword fights. It was written in one of Zhuangzi’s miscellaneous chapters On the Sword / 说剑 that guests of Zhao who were a deft hand with the sword numbered three thousand. It makes sense to create a swordsman character from such a legend because it’s just immediately very striking!

缦胡 (màn hú) are plain, unadorned ribbons that secured a hat to one’s head, and 缨 (yīng) is a tassel - not at all sure if I got this right, but let’s just go along with this reading! And here’s a mark of a dedicated OC creator: historically accurate terms! An 吴钩 (wú gōu), a type of sword with a curved blade was a popular weapon during the Spring and Autumn period.

I wouldn’t have been surprised at all if told this man was also dressed in white - what with all the snow, frost, white horse and silver going on. The last line about 飒沓如流星 | passing swift as shooting stars in flight, gives him such a instantly dashing vibe!

(Guess who has the word white in their name. Guess! He has it twice over… both in his given and courtesy name.)

(Source)

十步杀一人 | Ten steps, he kills a man 千里不留行 | a thousand li - nought will stay his pace. 事了拂衣去 | Deed done, with a brush of his robes. 深藏身与名 | he buries all and leaves no name, no trace.

The first two lines are about his skill, single minded focus and determination. They are also a reference to a quote from the same chapter of Zhuangzi. There’s a very domineering and ‘inevitable death coming for you’ vibe from it! (Competence kink activate!!!) But then just as clearly in a quick turn of the brush, it is clarified that this person does not desire to make a name for himself, nor does he want riches and fame - he doesn’t leave any calling card behind!

I think 事了拂衣去深藏身与名 is perhaps the most quoted and well known line of this poem.

It feels like a very crisp and decisive motion. A person who just wants to do what he feels is the right thing.

闲过信陵饮 | In idleness, with Lord Xinling he drank, 脱剑膝前横 | sword doffed, resting across his knees; 将炙啖朱亥 | he partook in a roast with Zhu Hai, 持觞劝侯嬴 | and tipped a vessel in invitation to Hou Ying.

This is the part that leads the reader into the lives of these historical figures. Remember - they were historical figures as well to Li Bai and his contemporaries.

Lord Xinling, as mentioned before, is Wei Wuji. He was one of the Four Lords of the Warring States, and a very prominent aristocrat and general of the State of Wei.

(Source)

Hou Ying was a mysterious old man of seventy, working as a guard at the city gates of Daliang, capital of the State of Wei. Wei Wuji had seeked him out, hearing that he was a worthy man with talent, and eventually secured his loyalty as retainer after Hou Ying observed that he was a worthy lord in turn. Part of Wei Wuji’s strategy had been to throw a banquet, but had the tables turned on him, so to speak, and then his reputation benefitted in the same stroke!

As for Zhu Hai, he was a friend of Hou Ying’s who worked as a butcher in the market because ‘none had recognized his high abilities’. Despite Wei Wuji’s multiple visits and attempts to convince him to be his guest retainer, the man was rebuffed. Zhu Hai never acquiesced until Hou Ying was in his hour of need.

(Source)

You can read more about Lord Xinling’s meeting and interaction with Hou Ying and Zhu Hai in the source above. Just Ctl + F their names.

And so, now knowing a little more about these three people than their titles or how their names look like - Lord Xinling with his retainers, Zhu Hai the butcher and Hou Ying the old city gate guard, their introduction starts to look quite clever.

A capable swordsman who had been a guest of the king of Zhao, would of course be treated with courtesy by Lord Xinling. Even if he did not stay as a retainer, Wei Wuji sounds just like the sort of person who would not have refused a drink on a lazy day with his new acquaintance, even if this person was keeping many secrets. What better way to befriend a butcher, jaded to the world of aristocrats and lords, than through his stomach? And what better attempt to soften sensitive, sharp and observant Hou Ying, than through a jaunty yet courteous offer to toast?

(Tell me this isn’t a self insert from someone who knows the canon.)

Part 2 This part still continues on from the story of the fiction swordsman meeting these figures from the history books. But it is already moving in on the climax.

三杯吐然诺 | Three cups in, out tumbled a promise; 五岳倒为轻 | beside it, the Five Mountains even seemed light. 眼花耳热后 | Visions cleared and warmed ears cooled, 意气素霓生 | from spirits ardent still, a white rainbow burst forth.

This is actually my favourite part of this poem. I laughed reading it at first because of how flippant 三杯吐然诺 was. A drunk man’s promise - taken seriously? And what is especially clever in the wording of the next line, the use of the word 倒 as in 倒是 which gives a certain flavour of an afterthought to ‘contrary to what you might be thinking’. The 五岳 are referring to the Five Great Mountains - five of the most renowned mountains in Chinese history. So, to say that they are light, less important in comparison to a promise made under the influence… well.

Prove it.

And prove it he did. When the effects of the alcohol faded, the blurred vision, the reddened, warm ears, their spirit and sincerity remains - so strong and so true that a white rainbow appears, an omen of unusual events to come.

救赵挥金槌 | Wielding an iron hammer in Zhao’s aid, 邯郸先震惊 | how every heart in Handan first quaked; 千秋二壮士 | all ages henceforth, two brave men were remembered, 烜赫大梁城 | their names aflame in Daliang City.

The story of how Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji ‘Stole the Commander's Tally to Rescue the State of Zhao’ is a famous one, so too was his feat of leading an army of eighty thousand to successfully defend Handan, Capital of the State of Zhao from the siege they were under. But he could not have done it at all without the aid of Hou Ying who advised him on strategy, nor Zhu Hai who, with his extraordinary strength and a hammer, took down the general that Lord Xinling could not.

Considering how this story took up a portion of Lord Xinling’s biography in Shiji 史记 / Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 77, compiled nearly three hundred and fifty years later. I’d say it did go down in history.

Part 3 This is the conclusion of the poem. After going through the whole story, we return to the title - an ode to swordsmen. There is more than a little bit of exaggeration and idealization of historical events here, but this is a piece of work written to celebrate heroes, to express admiration towards them. Maybe it was all the more dramatic because the writer had dreams that hadn’t been realised yet.

Remember how Li Bai has just ‘escaped’ the capital, finished his travels with friends and turned to daoism. You have to live vicariously through your writing when real life doesn’t deliver, no?

纵死侠骨香 | In spite of death, heroes’ bones smolder in perpetual fragrance, 不惭世上英 | leaving this world with no regrets. 谁能书阁下 | Who can remain ‘neath shelves of tomes 白首太玄经 | ‘till they are old and grey with their ‘Canon of Supreme Mystery’?

太玄经, known also as the Canon of Supreme Mystery was a guide for divination composed by the Confucian writer Yang Xiong (53 BCE–18 CE) of the Western han dynasty in his later years. In his youth, his talent in fu composition earned him a summons to the imperial capital at Chang'an to serve as an Expectant Official, responsible for composing poems and fu for the emperor. It was required of the official in this post to praise the virtue and glory of Emperor Cheng of Han and the grandeur of imperial outings. Outings which he deeply disapproved of for their extravagance.

Yeah.

Ouch.

There’s more than a little salt in there!

But he is also saying as loudly and with as much scorn as he can inject into written word, ‘I don’t want this fate for myself’.

TRANSLATION CHOICES

赵客缦胡缨 | Chivalrous guest of Zhao with his tasseled helm Helm is most definitely not the accurate word to be using in this sentence. But what sort of headwear would a well travelled commoner wear? The only reference I can think of offhand from this period would be...

Which is... hm. Not a good reference. It’s an entirely different state, for one. (Qin instead of Zhao.) Anyway in conclusion... this will do.

银鞍照白马 | silver saddle glowing against his horse's white The 照 in the line 银鞍照白马 brought my mind’s eye to reflection, but the saddle is ON the horse? How does it reflect the horse? So then what came to mind was that saddle gleaming in the sun, against a white pelt also gleaming in the sun.

飒沓如流星 | passing swift as shooting stars in flight. ‘Swift’ and ‘flight’ are both aspects/different meanings of 飒沓 in different contexts, but I liked the idea of the horse being swift, but also galloping as if it were in the wind.

Rhyming: 霜雪明 / shuāng xuě míng / shining snow-bright - Line 1 如流星 / rú liú xīng / shooting stars in flight. - Line 2 and 不留行 / bù liú xíng / nought will stay his pace - Line 3 身与名 / shēn yǔ míng / no name, no trace - Line 4.

脱剑膝前横 | sword doffed, resting across his knees I do know that doffed refers to taking off clothes, but there was no other more elegant way to say ‘took his sword off his belt’. There has to be some give and take sometimes. I hope this doesn’t sound too odd though…

纵死侠骨香 | In spite of death, heroes’ bones smolder in perpetual fragrance ‘Smolder in perpetual fragrance’ brought to you by my dilemma between reading 香 either as fragrance or as incense. Both would work with ‘in spite of death’ 纵死, with fragrance vs the pungence of decay, and prayers & remembrance by future generations represented by incense. Why not keep both, then explain in the notes, right? But then the incense reading was just a lark. Leave a good name for the future generations / 流芳后世 (liú fāng hòu shì), where 芳 can also be read as fragrance, as a phrase has existed since at least the Northern and Southern Dynasties. See A New Account of the Tales of the World, by Liu Yiqing, 403–444. I still like incorporating both though! So that’s how I kept it.

谁能书阁下 | Who can remain ‘neath shelves of tomes The word 书阁 does actually mean library, or someplace where books are kept. But I enjoyed the mental image of some guy beginning his career with a head of black hair, scribbling under a sparsely populated shelf of books. Time Lapse speedup. The book piles on the shelves behind him rise and fall, rise and fall, all while grey hair starts to appear. And finally, the camera stops on him, pans up to full shelves then zooms in on his full head of white hair and the work in progress book on the table.

#侠客行 #李白 #oh my goodness this has been incredibly looooong #he is filled with so much salt #poor dude #commentary

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weishenmewwx · 7 months

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Stars of Chaos 杀破狼 Vol 1, Notes 3

By Priest. Notes on the 7 Seas English translation.

Pages 148 - 202

As they mention in the Appendix, Priest doesn’t use naming conventions in conventional ways. She also never introduces characters’ courtesy names - she just uses them and assumes that you’ll figure out who it belongs to eventually and will totally remember it three / thirteen chapters later.

More under the cut

Chinese uses （在我）身上 a lot to mean “at me” “to me” “on me.”

On being a laughingstock of a godfather, here are those 12 words, 2 commas: “头回给人当义父，当不好，见笑。”

As for the note at the top of this page: 他本想要照顾一辈子的小义父化成泡影. While the text reads “the godfather (that he had wanted to take care of for his entire life) became the shadow of foam,” the meaning is closer to “his idea of his godfather (the man he loved deeply and wanted to take care of the rest of his life), that idea dissolved away as surely as the shadow of foam dissolves into nothingness.”

The fun part of this (translation) is that in Chinese, this entire paragraph is all just one sentence. 5 commas, one em dash. You’d think it would be more difficult to understand with so little punctuation, but it actually works very well and very clearly - descriptions that require a whole separate sentence in English are just modifiers in Chinese; and parts of speech that have to be specified in English are very clearly implied in Chinese, with no ambiguity at all.

Gu Yun never treated any of the princes badly. He was just a difficult child himself.

It’s clear in the Chinese that Chang Geng lost his temper because the Celestial Wolf Prince was speaking irreverently of / to Gu Yun, and no one is allowed to be rude to Gu Yun! (Except maybe Shen Yi, but that’s a different, more familial, type of irreverence.)

Yes. Hanlin Academy. Remember this phrase - you’ll see it, like, twice more. Book-smart kids who tested into imperial government.

They like to use the word “puppet,” whereas anime-fans might be more used to “robots” or “mecha.” Same same.

Stars of Chaos - All The Notes List

All The Seven Seas Books Masterlist

#translations #novel #seven seas #stars of chaos #杀破狼 #Sha Po Lang #Priest

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inchling-prince · 9 months

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I can’t believe I haven’t told you the shitty idea my brain came up with like 3 days ago.

I need there to some sort of into the Ian Hanlin verse just so I could see arcronixs and shadow the hedgehog in the same room together. And yes this is just cuz u found out there voiced by the same guy that one time.

I am always down for inter dimensional travel shenanigans with Acronix and Krux honestly. It’ll be fun.

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the-witching-ash · 4 years

Note

wbw for Evie

B A S I C S

full name: Evangeline Juliet Charleston

gender: female

sexuality: bisexual

pronouns: she/her

O T H E R S

family: David Charleston (father, deceased) Hanlin Charleston (Grandfather), Biddy Charleston (grandmother)

birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut

job: Student at Chilton, Student at Yale

phobias: Gore, hights

guilty pleasures: Romance Novels, Say Yes to The Dress, other wedding shows

M O R A L S

morality alignment?:

sins - lust/greed/gluttony/sloth/pride/envy/wrath

virtues - chastity/charity/diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert:

organized/disorganized:

close minded/open-minded:

calm/anxious:

disagreeable/agreeable:

cautious/reckless:

patient/impatient:

outspoken/reserved:

leader/follower:

empathetic/unemphatic:

optimistic/pessimistic:

traditional/modern:

hard-working/lazy:

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

otp: Evie/Rory

ot3: Evie/Rory/Logan

brotp: Evie/Paris

notp: Evie/Francie

#oc: evangeline charleston #oc: evie charleston #fic: what your worth

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girllovescomic · 4 years

Text

Winter Begonia recap episode 21

Shuiyin Troupe is gearing up for something while Du Qi, Shang Lao Ba and Er Ye are sitting around a table in front of what I believe to be the main house, close to the entrance. Du Qi is reading the lyrics changed by Shang Lao Ba and comments about how good the modification he brought to the composition were as opposed to the lyrics. Shang Lao Ba replies that he did not get an education or otherwise his lyrics wouldn’t be so bad. Bookworm prideful Du Qi tells him to stick to performing while he takes care of the scriptwriting. Er Ye inquiries about the symbols and whether they were drawn by Shang Lao Ba. Arrogant non-rival Du Qi gives him a condescending look and explains those are Chinese musical notation, mainly the Chinese stave, while our cute penguin is smiling at his Er Ye, probably sending signals hoping for some heavy petting (I have read chapter 20 of the novel and now that is all I am thinking) for a job well done. LOL, best girl Xiao Lai interrupts this moment to bring attention to the troupe. I have a feeling Shang Lao Ba completely forgot about that them at that point. Xiao Lai stop being your book self!

He invites the troupe to come and line up. Shit starter Shi Jiu is up first. She sings her part but our penguin is dissatisfied and tells her to stop. He criticizes her acting of a chaste and fierce lady, so why is she making him shiver. Rong Lan is up next and same situation. It turns out they are auditioning for the main female role of the Consort. He is not happy with their vocals and portrayal of the Consort. The girls asks him to demonstrate what he finds is lacking in their performance, but he is unable to put into words. Du Qi suggests they invite someone from other troupes, picking a top performer and paying that person handsomely. Shang Lao Ba reminds Du Qi that next month is the election for top performer so no one would have the time to perform with him, inevitably lend support to him. Dasheng suggests that his boss takes the role of the Consort since he has the quality he is looking for, but he replies who will take over the role of the Emperor if he becomes the consort. Clearly no one in the troupe can play either roles to the level that both picky Du Qi and SXR have set. Er Ye reiterates what Shang Lao Ba mentioned about performers not wanting to perform for another troupe since they don’t want to lose their chances to shine for the election. He suggests looking for an outsider, who may not have the moves but have great singing capabilities that may even surpass that of other bosses. Shit starter Shi Jiu suggests they hire Du Qi as the outside. Is she being serious? For what? Clearly not the dan role. I guess for the emperor role, which makes no sense. Girl, sit your ass down! LOL the look on SXR when she said that! Du Qi replies that she is making fun of him and he has only the skills to fool a layman (like Er Ye?), adding if he had such skills why would he follow their leader instead of making it on the stage.

Boss Niu crashes the party, like he usually does. I swear he always arrives at the most opportune time. Du Qi asks what is wrong with the Opera Association this time around. Boss Niu replies that nothing is wrong and since they made a scene inside the association, no one dares mess with them. DAMN RIGHT! He announces that Yuan Xiaodi is retiring and invites them to a banquet, which will be thrown at the association. Our penguin is stunned by the announcement; Boss Niu confirms, adding that Boss Yuan had contemplated retiring for a while, having not performed a lot in the past years and now that his wife is pregnant, he has decided to branch out into business with his satin shop. You can tell our penguin is saddened by the news. Both Du Qi and SXR are invited, and Boss Niu extends that invitation to Er Ye. Du Qi picks up the invitation card and announces that he won’t go finding Yuan Xiaodi is too phony and he doesn’t like him. LOL, do you like anyone else but our penguin? Boss Niu takes his leave while our penguin is still sad. Layman Er Ye asks about Boss Yuan, having never heard of him; our penguin explains that he has only seen two of Boss Yuan’s performance and they were both amazing. He had hoped to perform with him someday, like he had Boss Hou, but now that he is retiring, he won’t have the chance. He doesn’t understand why Boss Yuan, who is still young is retiring, unlike Boss Hou and wishes he had come to Beijing earlier to fulfill his wish.

Bratty sister Cha Cha’er is sitting with her SIL who is trying to coax her to talk with her brother so the mini cold war could end. CFT enters home and is confronted by his bratty little sister. She asks why he lied to her and he replies if he did he do so. She reminds him of how he basically used her to lure Zheng Laihong so he could make Grandpa Zheng capitulate, while Er Nainai is trying to explain to her that is not her big bro’s fault. Yeah, you are asking a teenager full of hormones to understand complex situation. I understand that back in those days, teenager were basically grown, capable of even marriage, but sis, they still see shit in black and white. CFT tells Er Nainai to stand down and let him discuss with Cha Cha’er alone. Yeah, Er Nainai you are not making things better. She agrees to do so and leaves. He tells Cha Cha’er to take a seat and asks between Zheng Laihong and him, whose life is more important. She responds yours of course. He tells her that he was surrounded by Zheng’s guards who were armed, almost losing his life. If he didn’t use this card, he would have been killed. He admits he should have lied to her and promise not to do it again. She reminds him of the promise he made in the car, but now her friend has been sent back to live with his parents on the countryside since the grandfather was arrested. CFT tells he doesn’t care and reminds her how the debt collectors did not care about not implicating the children to resolve their father’s debt, leading them to live a terrifying life watching their estate being depleted. Her friend lived a good life because of his grandfather’s prestige but now he has to deal with the consequences however indirectly. She’s like bro, you’ve changed since leaving Shanghai. Well, yeah, he became a grown up, darling. He tells her that he had to help support and protect the life. Good lord she is naive. He tells her that she will do so too when she grows up, but she huffs out of the room.

Shang Lao Ba is waiting for his Er Ye who pulls out in his car, which he drove himself, btw. He comes out, looking dapper as always and his bae greets him. He compliments his little penguin for being well dressed, which gets his penguin smiling. GAAAHHHH, they are so cute together! Er Ye fixes his bae’s collar and tells him the outfit fits him. Then he instructs him to eat elegantly in public, as to not scare away the proper Boss Yuan. LOL. Shang Lao Ba replies that he is very elegant to outsiders and pulls out a fan drawn and gifted by Du Hanlin, Du Qi’s pops. Er Ye smirks and tells him to stop showing off. A loud noise puts him slightly on edge, ready to pull his gun, while our penguin smirks, as we see a puffed rice seller and some kids. He’s the one who made the loud boom. Er Ye says he was scared by the loud noise thinking it was a bomb, while penguin chuckles at his reaction.

At the association, Shang Lao Ba is discussing shop with the other bosses. Awww, it is nice to see him hang out with the people of his circle and be respected. Er Ye looks at his baby with his usual “I love this man” gaze when third wheel Fan Lian comes to disrupts his favorite activity. The third wheel asks if he came with an invitation and Er Ye responds that he came to serve Shang Lao Ba and of course my mind goes to my naughty place. Judging from third wheel Fan Lian, he had the same thoughts, as he complain that Er Ye cares more about Shang Lao Ba than him. Honey, take a look at our penguin and take a look at yourself. You are an useless dandy while the other is a cute talented penguin. Yeah, case closed. LOL, Fan Lian tells his BIL that Shang Lao Ba does not even have time for him since he is mingling with the other bosses. LOL, why do I detected jealous pettiness? Someone announces the arrival of Boss Si Xi and oh boy, dafuq is this dude?!!! He is wearing the most gaudy of Chinese attire, yelling out, to bring attention to himself, that everyone, including the top stars are here and prances toward the other bosses LAWD, this one is a piece of work, I can tell. Er Ye is disturbed by that man’s behavior, finding him annoying. Why do I have the feeling the translation is not quite right here? I bet he said something far more disparaging. Fawning Fan Lian tells him the weird man is Sixi’er from Yunxi Troupe, calling him a buffoon. Oh well. Si XI’er stands amid the circle of performers, which include our penguin. You can tell the others don’t him there. He asks the other performers if they are ready for the upcoming election. One of the bosses goes to Shang Lao Ba and talks about his new theater, stating how gorgeous it is. A young boy called Zhouzi looks on with eyes full of admiration. Hmmm wonder who he is admiring.

The opera boss asks Shang Lao Ba if he could perform in his new theater and our kind penguin says it would be his honor. OH BOY, Si Xi’er twirls toward our penguin. LOL, I cannot with this character. He exclaims “Isn’t this the famous Mr. Shang!” Bish you knew he was here, stop overacting. He states that others say Shang Lao Ba is good looking and has a nice temperament. Well, yeah, he is fine af, and? Oh, he looks down on my penguin saying he looks dowdy. BISH, I’m about to throw hands and so would Er Ye. Stupid Fan Lian smiles as he looks on at the scene. This boy sure loves drama. Si Xi’er adds that he wouldn’t have been able to spot Shang Lao Ba due to his plain looking exterior. Our penguin ignores the insulting Si Xi’er, telling another boss that voice still isn’t good, it shouldn’t use the flower-selling tune. Oh, is he throwing shade? Si Xi’er tells him he shouldn’t ignored him and then states that SXR thinks he is above all of them since he is leaning on Commander Cao’s BIL and has Mr. Liu as godfather. He states that SXR thinks he is too good to even show the Jiangs respect, let alone lesser known performers. Hmmm...why should he? While he talking smack, a woman walks into the room, looking for someone. Si Xi’er continues his barbs claiming that if the bosses are not careful with SXR, he might send soldiers after them. This gets his hubby all riled up, but Fan Lian stops him. The woman walks toward the small crowd and ask why there is such excitement brewing among them. Si Xi’er exclaims that it is Miss Yu Qing. Well, looks who actually recognizes an opera performer’s name! It turns out Yu Qing is an amateur performer who was once courted by General Zhao to be his concubine but turned it down. Damn, ballsy. Imma like this woman. It turns out the reason why CFT knows about her is that her refusal made it to the papers. Si Xi’er being his bitchy self snidely greets Yu Qing stating that she came from far and worked her way hard, talking about her career. She tells him not to mention it and that she should call him senior since he is 20 years older. LOL, Si Xi’er is not liking this. He tells her not to be too polite by calling him senior. He turns back his attention on our penguin, making another snide remark, this time claiming that Yu Qing came to Beijing, gracing her presence in their city, and that no one can compare to her beautiful appearance. The boy with the admiring gaze is called Xiao Zhouzi and seems to have his eyes on our penguin. Well, can’t blame him, who can’t keep their eyes off of him. Well hopefully Er Ye won’t catch him in the act. Si Xi’er claims that its no wonder Miss Yu drew general Zhao’s attention prompting him to want to marry her. She replies it is an old story, no need to mention it. He replies that since she is from a rich background, she had no problem turning down the proposal, unlike someone else who is latching on to a handsome, thick and suave powerful businessman. OH LE SHADE. Well, then again....She replies that she is too much trouble for a man like General Zhao or any other wealthy men to handle, since she has a silver tongue and likes to throw shade. LOL, I’m telling you, I love this girl. No worries, I still love you Gu Dali! She adds that she also likes to be jealous of people who are better than her and that people claims she is a bit like Si Xi’er. OMG THIS QUEEN. She continues her put down by claiming that people like them when dealing with powerful people may get slap in the face. LOL. Everyone’s laugh, including CFT who is probably thanking the woman for coming to his wifey’s rescue. An angry Si XI’er calls out Zhouzi, claiming a coward in public while being bold at home, and orders him to go see Mr. Hong for a private performance. Ewww, I do not like the sound of this and judging for how terrified the boy looks, yeah, I am not liking this. Before he leaves, he gives our penguin another gaze, this time catching his attention. Oh, looks like our penguin is about to add another member to his harem. Well, at least distracted hubby this not see this, still laughing at what he witnessed. Then again, I doubt he worries about any other men around his bae. He knows he has no competition and he is absolutely right. Drama Queen Fan Lian tells him these opera bosses are even more vicious than the performers of Shuiyin House. Er Ye speaks loudly that his bae is an excellent manager and everyone in his troupe is loyal to him, none of the other troupes can compare. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. The wifey turns around and smiles, happy to hear his hubby compliment him like this. Yo, I love my Queen Yu Qing, but girl your timing sucks. Why are you interrupting such a cute moment!!!!! She introduces herself to SXR who is surprised that she knows him. What? Babe, you are a big time star! She tells him she came to Beijing to watch his performance for a month. Wow, what a compliment. CFT and fan boy Fan Lian comes to invite to one of the best room within the theater. Awwwwww. SXR introduces his hubby and business partner, and as he is about to introduce Fan Lian, the idiot introduces himself as the troupe manager. BIsh what? LOL, she does not shake his hand, simply nods at him. SHAAAADE.

Another person enters the room, wearing a beautiful gold chinese attire. It is the man of the hour, Boss Yuan. Fan Lian dips out to go to the restroom, while Si Xi’er looks sourpussed. Boss Yuan seems to stare warmly at someone within the small circle, and at first I honestly thought it was CFT, and even he thought so too. It turns out it is our Queen, Yu Qing who got his attention. Oh Oh. She smiles but then turns away when CFT realizes what is going on. Fan Lian comes out of the restroom and hears a beautiful singing voice. Drawn to it, he goes to the room where the voice is coming from and it turns out to belong to our Zhouzi, singing for some old dude. Meanwhile Boss Yuan thanks everyone for coming to his retirement banquet, telling them that he is looking forward to starting his new chapter, however, he wants to maintain his friendship with the opera circle, hoping they will support him in his new venture. They raise a glass and toast him. On the dining table, hubby Er Ye grabs the pig trotter that perpetual third wheel Fan Lian was eyeing and gives it to his wifey. AWWW Shang Lao Ba is happy while Fan Lian wishes once again that his BIL would pay attention to him. LOL, not as long as a cutie chipmunk is in close proximity. Boss Yuan does the round and comes to their table. An enamored Yu Qing starts to stand up but is cut by SXR who is too happy to speak to one of his favorite performer. LOL, he is such a fan boy. Once again, he is surprised that someone like Boss Yuan knows who he is. Is he being modest, because that kinda don’t make sense. Anyhoo, it is clear that Boss Yuan knows who he is, as he even cites that SXR is well versed in Kunqu operas, having seen his Peony Pavilion, a well known Kunqu opera and being amazed to the point of not wanting to perform afterwards. Damn what a compliment. YOOO, Fan Lian, you be trying with Yu Qing, serving her food and ish.

You are not even on her radar, she is far more attracted to a certain opera performer. Boss Yuan discuss how impressed he was with that performance, which seems to get Zhouzi attention. Sigh, the penguin is far too modest. He thanks Boss Yuan for the compliments but claims that he might be too young and not skilled enough to make the necessary changes to a certain section, that Boss Yuan considers redundant. He gives him pointers on how to fix that. Hmmm, now I see why people consider Boss Yuan an academic and slightly arrogant, judging from Boss Niu’s reaction, but our penguin takes it in stride. It is clear he wants to learn from those he considers greats, no matter if they criticize him harshly or not. He is so respectful to those he admires. Yu Qing looks on, admiring her crush who acknowledges her. LOL, CFT finds the whole thing amusing, while Si Xi’er is about to start trouble. He gets up and class out for attention, walking toward SXR table, and ask for Boss Yuan to perform for the last time. He agrees to do so and ask what they would like to hear.

Shady bish Si Xi’er of course cannot miss the opportunity and calls on SXR to perform a part of Peony Pavilion called Awakened Dream. Our penguin quickly downs a glass of wine and then pretends he is drunk, his head hitting the table. BWAHAHAHA. CFT looks at him wondering if it is true, while Yu Qing calls out for him. Si Xi’er asks if he is going to perform, but SXR claims he is too drunk to do so, afraid of turning Du Li Niang into Yang Pai Feng and accidentally slap Si Xi’er. BWAHAHAHA. Si Xi’er responds a male role is rude, even if he plays a female role, he might be too violent and beat him to death. Boss Yuan tells the crowd since SXR is too drunk, they should not force him to perform. CFT volunteers to take the drunk bae to a room so he can sober up. Everyone wonder if they are leaving, while Zhouzi looks on, a bit chagrined. The others turn to Si Xi’er asking for him to replace SXR and sing. LOL, the old bish that his voice is no match to Boss Yuan, who looks as if he is about to sink 6 feet under if Si Xi’er had accepted. The sly bish asks Yu Qing to sing instead since she was one of Boss Yuan apprentices and actually got into opera because of him, making her the best match to Boss Yuan. Boss Yuan reminds the crowd that she had a long trip and might be too tired to perform, but the old bish is like, traveling in a car is too tiring? We actors still perform when our parents died. He adds that he had forgotten Ms. Yu was just an amateur, which makes her more privilege than other performers. Boss Niu gets incensed, calling out Si Xi for being drunk and inviting him to sit down to sober up. Like the graceful queen she is, she stands up and responds that since that old bish put her on the spot, she must accept. She turns to Boss Yuan and tells him that since he is about to retire, they should sing together like old time. He agrees.

Er Ye brings his bae to one of the rooms and lightly taps his cheek, knowing he is acting. LOL, he knows his bae. Shang Lao Ba asks if Si Xi’er is nuts for trying to put him on the spot and he was tempted to slap him. If it wasn’t Mr. Yuan’s reception, he wouldn’t have held back. Er Ye is proud of his little bae for growing up and understand the ways of the world, mindful of the occasion along with manners. He even pretended to be drunk to avoid a confrontation. He taps his head in pride. AWWWW. Shang Lao Ba sassy self resurfaces as he tells Er Ye that he likes to act like the senior and take advantage of him. YOOOOO, this can be interpreted in so many ways, and of course in my naughty mind, TEEHEEE.. We get the million watts smile that Er Ye only reserves for his bae.

We see Ms. Yu and Boss Yuan performs. Everyone is looking on, including Zhouzi, who is enjoying it. Damn, these two look good on the stage, you kinda see the intimacy flowing between them. Our penguin is listening attentively in the private room and seems drawn, standing up to watch. Er Ye is fixed on his bae who, in turn, is transfixed on the two performers. LOL he stands up in front of his penguin, trying to get his attention. Hold up, you have this prime piece of hot businessman standing in front of you and you are lost somewhere else?! I command you penguin! Finally, tired of being ignored by his bae, Er Ye blows ligthly on his face (YALLL BETTER NOT GO THERE). This finally gets his attention, as he asks what his hubby is doing distracting him from listening to the two performers. Er Ye replies, that is my question, I am standing there looking fine as hell yet you seem bewitched by something else than my presence. In his cute voice, he says Er Ye (god I love it when he says that), I want to ask Yu Qing to perform with me in his new opera Tale of a Hidden Dragon as his consort. They come out as they hear whispers. Shit, its the baby mama. erhm...I mean the wife, calling out Ms Yu. Sigh, jealous spouses are so annoying, especially since it was a time when polygamy still existed among wealthy men. She states that Ms. Yu is sure is a noble woman coming from a wealthy background and so pretty, elegant, demure and educated. Yet behind this exterior, she is a seductress following her crush. Her husband is like, the hell are you talking? Third Wheel Fan Lian runs toward where SXR and CFT are standing. Ms. Yu responds that she did not come to Beijing for Boss Yuan. The old bish Si Xi’er exclaims that it is his fault that Ms. Yu and Boss Yuan are singing together. Our penguin is like, they only perform why the sudden quarrel. Honey, you kinda went through something similar with Er Nainai. It is about the primary wife trying to assert herself against potential concubines. Third wheel Fan Lian catches them up on the drama, and that Mrs. Yuan knew that Ms. Yu was here, and caught them performing. Did the old bish instigate all this? Knowing him, probably. LOL, our penguin is like, this crazy hag is pregnant, why is she getting all uppity. Mr.s Yuan hormones are raging as she asks whether the crowd would have let her husband and Ms. Yu end up together if she hadn’t interrupted. Bish are u cray? Boss Yuan responds they were simply performing, he was her shifu, teaching her all her operas. His cray wife is like, ohhh, so you are her shifu, so that means I am also her mistress, so you have to recognize as so. Geezus xrist it is just as I suspected. The cray wife wants to assert her position in case her husband takes on Ms. Yu as a concubine, since she would probably lose out on the status level, considering Ms. Yu is from a former aristocratic family. YAWN. Her husband just stands there while his apprentice is berated by his wife. YUCK. Well, our penguin who knows how to be a hero and has a sexy husband always willing to protect him, comments how Boss Yuan is a coward. Damn right, sis! He offers to help but is stopped by his hubby who advises to mind his manners while helping out. Our penguin is like, honey, I am well-mannered and takes his sassy self towards the stage. He yells out that Boss Xi said one thing right, that he has a big mouth. LE SHADE. He adds that Ms. Yu was invited by him to perform a new opera with him. Even though this is Boss Yuan’s banquet, since she is HIS guest, Boss Xi shouldn’t have invited her to sing without his consent. The old bish Si Xi’er notes that SXR has sobered up real quick and asks if that is true, since this is the first time he heard of this. SXR says, bish since when were you privy to hear my business? LOL, seriously, this is the same man who did not inform the Opera Association of his costume design, you think he will divulge of his new opera? He tells the old bish that he does not deserves to know and Boss Niu looks, probably thinking damn right, bish! Boss Xi gets up and tries to go bish slap my penguin, but is stopped by the other bosses. Someone asks SXR to perform with Miss Yu. He asks Boss Yuan if it is okay for him to sing since it is his banquet. Cowardly Boss Yuan says if it is not too much trouble, he will gladly allow it. Seriously, he looks like a whipped little man with no balls. He looks back at his wife and steps off. LOL, he does not even help her get off, this task is left to Boss Niu. That cray cray bish sneers at Ms. Yu before she leaves. Seriously, I was ready to throw hands at this bish, pregnant or not. Stay away from elegant queen! Fan Lian invites his BIL to sit down, while our chipmunk asks Ms. Yu to sing another opera called Lady Thirteen. These two dan ju’er look good on the stage. Boss Yuan and his wife are having a cold war, while Zhouzi is looking at his idol but gets caught by his master. Sigh, this poor boy.

SXR and Miss Yu walk through the hallway. She thanked him for saving her against the raging hormonal Mrs. Yuan. He tells that he dislikes Si Xi’er, the instigator of this whole mess. He admits that he was not lying about inviting her to perform in his new opera. She replies that it is a big deal and will have to think about it. He tells her to think quick and offers a big salary if she agrees, on the same level as his. She tells him that she does not care about the money, it is rare for performers to get a good story of their own, adding that performance is one thing while the script is equally important. You can tell she is passionate about the art form as a whole. He replies that his new opera will become a classic. She sighs and tells him his new opera is indeed a wonderful story and agrees to do it. He warns her that he is a strict leader and will be critical of her performance. She tells him she’s looking forward to it.

Third wheel Fan Lian is driving our penguin and his bae. The cutie pie Shang Lao Ba burst in a giggle, happy to have snagged the elegant Ms Yu as his consort. Seeing his bae happy, Er Ye asks if Ms. Yu agreed to join his opera. He confirms it. Er Ye, being ever observant, ask about the weird vibes he got from Ms. Yu and Boss Yuan and comments as to why Mrs. Yuan was so agitated upon seeing a master and apprentice to sing together. Shang Lao Ba excitedly gossips that Ms Yu was mesmerized by Boss Yuan singing, she decided to learn opera, getting in trouble with her renowned family, to the point of breaking off with them. Boss Yuan taught her everything she knows, but when he got married, she refused to become his concubine, but now he has no idea what is happening between the two. The more experienced Er Ye tells him he should now have a better understanding of what is going on between the two. Wait, what? Did he just casually said these words. Is this an acknowledgment of their own intimate gazes they’ve been sharing, their longing for each other? Seriously, what is this line and how did it fly under the censorship radar???? Anyhoo, he explains that seeing how Boss Yuan gazes at Yu Qing when they were singing, it means that she is in his heart. HOLD UP!!!! Oh my god, I can’t!!! MY SHIP. My little penguin is looking at him, astonishing, as if he is surprised to hear his bae admit what we’ve known since episode 2! Er Ye continues stating that when Mrs. Yuan came to make a fuss, Boss Yuan acted as if he didn’t feel anything. He asks what does that mean? Our penguin is like, what, I don’t get it. Er Ye answers these two never got together. OHHHHHHHHHHH, so the gazes you shoot toward Shang Lao Ba is because you guys haven’t gotten together yet!!! FAINTS. LOL, Shang Lao Ba responds that Er Ye is able to see through that, compliments that he has good eyes and I swear I wished they had cut to third wheel Fan Lian rolling his eyes to say that it’s because his BIL is basically the same towards you. Er Ye tells Shang Lao Ba that he must perform a great opera or he will owe him for all his hard work. HMMM, I like where this is going. Our innocent penguin replies that he won’t be the only one standing on stage, it won’t be enough. Er Ye replies that he now has Yu Qing. He complains that his troupe is not up to the task, especially since they don’t have a good young dan performer, like Lie Yue (who left to become a concubine). Oh look, Fan Lian is finally trying to be useful, as he mentions he may have scouted a young dan performer with a bright spirit. Shang Lao Ba congratulates him for the good timing, while Er Ye is basically me in dashing suave businessman form, dropping snide remarks about his useless BIL finally using his fanboyism to do something good. Geezus Xrist, the third wheel is actually proud of it, despite the obvious insult. Don’t you have any same. He mentions Zhouzi and ask if Shang Lao Ba had seen the young and good looking kid. Er Ye asks if he is that good why isn’t he performing. Fan Lian replies that Si Xi’er is a jealous bish who would not tolerate an handsome young man being better than him, abusing him instead. Sassy Shang Lao Ba replies that it is not surprising since it is Si Xi’er. Er Ye glances at him, which draw sassy Shang Lao Ba to look back, with his cute pouty lips. UGH, kiss already! Er Ye is like, baby will you be like this petty when you get older. Shang Lao Ba states he won’t get old because he will simply end his life once he reaches forty years old, and Er Ye should go his own way. They laugh, clearly it is said in jest, even third wheel Fan Lian joins in on the laugh fest. Shang Lao Ba asks where he could find this rare gem, but Fan Lian replies that Si Xi would not let Zhouzi perform on stage, so nix that idea. Shang Lao Ba replies they should go check Yunxi Troupe house instead.

The next day, they go to Yunxi Troupe house, helped by a neighbor (btw, this is one of the opera consultant for the show). He tells them that Si Xi is mean and critical, so he hesitates to enter not to incur his wrath. Shang Lao Ba says he has no idea what Zhouzi looks like, but the guide tells him he would be the one doing the hard labor. GEEZUS. Er Ye asks the guide to stand by and alert them if anyone comes by. They overhear Zhouzi singing and walk toward the area where the boy is working. He says it is a shame, which draws Zhouzi to his direction. The young shy boy quickly walks toward Shang Lao Ba who asks if he is Xiao Zhouzi. The boy says yes shyly. Shang Lao Ba tells him someone asks to come see him. Er Ye sees the bruise on his face and ask what happened. The boy lies and says he fell down, but Er Ye can see he was beaten. He comments how cruel this is and how he could be maimed if this continue. Zhouzi is just like Shang Lao Ba, asking if he sang well misinterpret Shang Lao Ba previous comment. Shang Lao Ba explains what he meant; that his voice sounds similar to Si Xi’er but since he wasn’t well trained, it is lacking. Shang Lao Ba does a demonstration (BRO, you are going to attract people!). LOL Er Ye does not stop him despite the potential danger. The guide comes rushing to make him stop. Shang Lao Ba tells him they will leave so he won’t put him in trouble. Zhouzi is about to have a meltdown and kneels, begging SXR to save him, promising to make him money. Our penguin tells him being a follower will not allow him to sing. He has to become a master of his own fate in order to become a leading performer. He helps stand up and tells him to find any opportunities to seek him out so they can discuss operas with him. The poor boy kneels again, prompting the guide to hurry him out, fearing Si Xi’er return. Er Ye tells his penguin not to worry, he will do whatever he can not to let a young prodigy suffer within Yunxi Troupe. Such a good hubby. I feel so bad for the boy.

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lovelylogans · 5 years

Text

where you lead, i will follow

previous chapter /chapter five / next chapter

start from the beginning!

ao3 | read my other fics | coffee?

warnings: food mentions, complicated parental relationships, mentions of transphobia and homophobia, verbal fighting, top surgery mention, classism,

pairings: moxiety, logince

words: 8,901

"is it healing? it doesn't look like it's healing."

"it's healing, mom, we've been icing it," patton says, trying not to squirm too much with the surroundings of the club. it's a half-day at chilton, because of teacher conferences, so they're doing make-up lunch instead of brunch, in addition to dinner tomorrow. "look, the bruising's already going all yellow and green."

"it'll be gone by my birthday," logan agrees, as all four sanders' follow the waiter to the table. with halloween approaching rapidly, it meant that in a little over a week, it would be november, and on the third, he would be sixteen. which meant he'd be able to take his driver's test, and that he could actually start seriously researching cars and debating if he wants to get one with roman. and on his birthday his dad would wake him up at four in the morning and roman would enact their birthday tradition and they would have coffee cake for breakfast at virgil's with roman, and roman would get him his traditional gift and patton would get him something that's somehow both goofy and sentimental and virgil will get him unexpected yet useful, and virgil would make him his birthday cake at the party that night, which would be full of the people he loves tolerates most in sideshire.

logan likes his birthday.

"well, it had better," emily huffs, sitting in the chair his grandfather pulls out for her. "i have no idea what got into dee slange, he's usually such a shrewd boy."

logan and patton exchange a look.

"and that girl," emily tsks.

"i did business with janlen grant for years," his grandfather provides. "hard to believe."

"yes, well," his dad says, before there can be any parallels drawn there, "they're all in trouble, logan's healing, and he's been staying late for the past few days to get every piece of advice he can squeeze out of the advisor, so—"

"i'm just asking her about it," logan says, "there's no physical contact—"

"—figure of speech, honey—it might be best to just... put it in the past."

"hmph," emily says. "well, i agree."

his dad blinks, startled. "you do?"

"would i have said it if i didn't?"

"well, i just—"

"it's not like logan is about to engage in fisticuffs again," emily says, offering a benevolent smile to logan, who wrinkles his nose on instinct.

"hardly," he sniffs.

"there we go, then," emily says. "though if hanlin thinks it's forgotten—"

"agreed," patton says, and spares a moment to wonder when he stepped into the twilight zone. twice in one day.

"logan," his grandfather says, "did you see the article in the journal today about the progress of the value of stocks within the technology industry?"

logan perks up. "i did. what were your opinions, from the business perspective?"

and it's lunch. it's just lunch. no masked barbs, no out-and-out fights, no pointed commentary under anyone's breath. it's just lunch. talking about news articles, and some distant cousin of his patton's who’s had a baby, and the trip richard's taking to prague, leaving tomorrow before dinner.

emily even remembered patton's favorite dessert they used to get at the club, when his dad was his age, and ordered it as soon as she saw it on the menu.

logan and his dad wander out to the car (well, the valet pulls it up for them, technically) in a bit of a daze, and logan buckles his seatbelt.

"that was... nice," patton says disbelievingly.

for the first time logan can remember, that's not a lie or a forceful attempt at optimism.

"yes," logan says, and frowns. "it was nice."

"pleasant, even," patton says. "i... huh. that's—that's..."

"atypical."

"yes! yes, that too, but i," patton says, and he frowns too. "i mean. it was nice."

"it's probably because i got physically assaulted," logan muses, and patton grimaces.

"i'd prefer for that not to be the only reason we can get together and have a pleasant meal," he says.

"i'm sure we could do the same thing if someone died."

"i thought you were done with thinking everyone was dying!"

"i don't think that everyone is dying," logan says. "i think that someone relatively close to our family dying would be enough to spur on unusual behavior."

"...i mean, you're not wrong, but no one is dying, okay?" patton says. "at least, i don't think that's the reason we had a... a nice lunch."

"it was strange," logan agrees.

"right, it was," he says.

"it'll be interesting to see if it holds for dinner tomorrow," logan says.

"it will," patton says, and, unspoken, i hope it does.

his relationship with his parents hasn't always been strained. not on the surface, anyway. especially when he was little—he'd actually really liked the frilly dresses, the dance lessons, the dolls. he'd been good at acting like a darling little—

but he wasn't. at the core of who he was, he was a he. he'd struggled with that, not having the words for it, and started acting out. that's when what had been below the surface had surfaced. and then he'd learned more about lgbtq things, he'd found the words that fit, and he'd stopped hiding.

that's when any other issue he and his parents lost its last hope of hiding, too.

"dad, the turn," logan prompts, and patton shakes himself.

"right, yeah," he says, and gets over a lane to get on the highway.

"are you...?"

"just," patton says, and sighs. "thinking, i guess. the last time we got along so well, i was pretty little. it's been rocky since i hit puberty, even before i came out."

logan nods, and repeats, "it'll be interesting to see if it holds."

he had a feeling it wouldn't. but patton hopes—patton hopes—

he tells virgil, later, when they swing by for dinner that night.

virgil and logan exchange a look.

"we did get along, once," patton says.

"i'm sure you did," virgil says. "it's just—i don't want you to get your hopes up and then get crushed if it doesn't keep going like this, pat."

"i won't," patton says. virgil sighs. "i won't," patton insists.

"okay, okay," he says, then, "don't think i didn't notice you sneaking a refill, joke's on you, that's all decaf."

patton jokingly shakes a fist at him, and logan rolls his eyes, because did they have to flirt in front of him?

later, when patton's off chatting to some of the other citizens of sideshire, virgil slides into his vacated seat.

"it seriously went... okay?"

"it seriously went okay," logan confirms, making a note on the courant. "no insults or fighting or anything. it was a fluke."

"i've got a feeling you're right," virgil sighs. "just... keep me updated if i need to stock extra of anything, yeah?"

"yeah," logan says, and tries for a sneaky glance at him. "like cake."

"i suppose," virgil says, attempting to be blasé, but an upward twitch of his lip gives him away. "any reason you're thinking of cake?"

"don't try to be cute, you know that only works with dad," logan commands. "you know what dad got me, didn't you? and you always do your shopping early."

"not a chance, kid," virgil says with a snort, standing and stacking their empty plates to haul away.

"just one hint," logan wheedles.

"the last time i did that, you managed to figure out what me, your dad, and rudy got you," virgil says. "i didn't even know what rudy got you. no way."

"it can be a little one!"

"it was a little one, last time," virgil says, rolling his eyes, "be good or sandy claws won't give you presents."

"i haven't believed in santa since i was five," logan says, and virgil snorts again, heading for the kitchen. yeah, he remembers the way that hypothesis worked out—logan had laid a trap for the intruder, and emerged triumphantly from his hiding place to find patton tangled up in rope.

"plus it's not even november yet!" logan shouts after him.

"i was referencing a nightmare before christmas!" virgil shouts back, and disappears into the kitchen.

"why was he referencing a nightmare before christmas?" patton says, sliding back into his seat. "other than halloween, i mean."

halloween's virgil's favorite holiday. it's literally the only holiday he'll ever decorate the diner for—there's pumpkins strewn in random corners, skeletons galore, every single possible scary thing present. except, of course, the conspicuously absent spiders because of one diner regular, in particular.

"where are you hiding my presents?" logan says.

"ahh," patton says, grinning, and pretends to zip his lips shut.

logan's a terrible snoop around this time of year. well, he's a snoop generally, but he tends to limit that to journalism. but now he wants to figure out what people have gotten him, and will break into locked rooms if necessary (see: sixth, eighth, eleventh, and fourteenth birthdays.)

"they're not in the house, i've checked," he says.

"i'm not saying a word," patton says.

"not at the inn, either."

patton takes a large gulp of water.

"did you hide them out at virgil's? are they right on top of us!?"

patton plugs his ears and hums loudly to tune him out, in case he somehow gives something away. (see: fourth, ninth, and thirteenth birthdays.)

valiantly, patton prevails, and he manages to avoid giving away anything about logan's birthday presents. logan tries to pretend he isn't pouting the whole way home.

"i'm going to find out, you know," logan says.

"i'm sure you will," patton says placidly.

"i will!"

"i'm just saying, i have a really good plan this year."

logan groans, and stomps up the stairs, and patton smothers his smile and thanks whoever it is up there that he's got a teenager whose idea of a fight is trying to figure out where patton's hidden his birthday presents.

and besides. it is a really good plan this year.

there's a part of it that's still up in the air, though.

patton brings it up, tentatively, after dinner with emily—just him, logan, and his mom, his dad off in prague for business. logan is glued to his side, though, and sulking about it.

("you are not snooping through your grandparents' house to find your present!"

"i already know what grandpa's getting me, it's just a question of grandma and i already have a few theories that i think could be easily corroborated if—"

"nope, nope, no, young man, you're staying right by my side."

"da-ad.")

"so, um, mom," patton says, "you know it's a special day next friday."

"i know that," she says.

"would it be possible to push dinner to saturday?"

"what are you going to do on friday?"

"well, we were going to have a party in sideshire—"

"oh, we can have a little party here," emily says, stern, and patton sighs, because he knows when he's beat.

"can i bring a friend?" logan pipes up. "from sideshire."

"is it that romeo boy?" she asks, and patton barely manages to stifle his snort against his hand. logan spares him a wounded look.

"roman, grandma."

"all right, all right—"

"and, um," patton says, "when it comes to cake, virgil usually—"

"we'll have a caterer handle it," she says briskly. "give me a hug, logan, it's time you two got on the road, it's getting late."

in the car, patton turns to him. "two parties this year?"

"i suppose," logan says.

patton considers, then grins a little deviously as he starts the car.

"it gives you an extra day to figure out what my present is."

"dad."

(later in the week, patton's mom calls him to help with shopping for a present for logan, and they also get along then. patton's so weirded out right now, you have no idea.)

⁂

"happy birthday, honey."

logan groans and rolls to the side, even as he's trying not to smile. he's sixteen. sixteen. that's old.

"hey," logan mumbles.

"i can't believe how fast you're growing up," patton says, settling on logan's bed and carding his fingers through logan's hair. logan squints up at him. he knows for a fact that it's 4:03 in the morning right now.

"feels slow."

"trust me, it's fast," patton says with a laugh. "how's your life so far?"

"hmph. fairly passable."

"only passable, huh?"

"i'd like to get some more sleep, on the whole," logan grumbles, and patton laughs.

"nuh-uh, buster. for all that you are a great, smart, wonderful kid, and the best friend a dad can have, at this exact time, many moons ago—"

"here we go," logan mumbles, and reaches for his glasses.

"—i had been in labor for fourteen. hours. fourteen! and while having you of course was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life, at that point, i was begging the doctors to just induce me and make it a c-section at this point, and i was swearing—"

"like a sailor on leave," they say in unison, and patton snaps his fingers. "right! and i was surrounded by a hundred prominent doctors, and i was just screaming—"

"eight, dad," logan mumbles very quietly, and patton smiles, cards his fingers through his hair again.

"sixteen, kiddo. so there i was, lying there, and..."

"you shouldn't have to go to school today," patton declares as they're walking to the diner for breakfast, and logan looks horrified, as if patton had suggested that a fun birthday celebration would include going swimming in piraña-infested waters.

"you want me to skip?!" logan says, and patton wonders how he had a kid who dreaded missing school.

"just if you want," patton begins, but there's the thud of footsteps behind them, someone running, and logan barely manages to say "oh no" before he's tackled to the ground. patton, used to this yearly tradition, has stepped out of the way and is trying not to laugh.

"IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!" roman shouts in his ear. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"must you attack me every year," logan says.

it started back when they were in kindergarten, when it was logan's birthday and roman got so excited about the birthday cupcakes that virgil baked and patton brought to class that he hugged logan hard enough that logan fell over and skinned his knee. and to make him feel better, roman did what his mom did to make him feel better (which patton did too, when logan was little), which turned into—

"¿qué tan viejo estás?" roman sings loudly into logan's ear to the tune of happy birthday, logan lying still in the grass, having accepted his fate. "¿qué tan viejo estás? ¿qué tan viejo, qué tan viejo, qué tan viejo estás?"

"sixteen," logan responds, cheeks going pink.

"dieciséis!" roman shouts. "entonces tienes dieciséis besos de cumpleaños!"

—which turned into the yearly birthday kisses. one kiss for each year.

(which was so cute when they were little that patton actually cried, and as they've grown older he's watched each of them get shyer and shyer about it, which was��still so cute, and no, patton does NOT know how they aren't dating yet!!!)

roman smacks three noisy kisses—one on his left cheek, one on his forehead, and one on his right cheek—counting each in spanish, before scrambling off of him, cheeks equally pink, and hauling logan to his feet.

"thirteen more," roman informs him. "i might skip school just to catch the bus up to chilton to make sure i'm spacing them out properly."

"you won't be able to sneak in."

"that sounds like a challenge," roman informs him, taking his hand and swinging it between them for a few steps before dropping it as they approach virgil's diner.

there's a table set up. with balloons. they match logan's favorite tie—indigo and purple and black and white. the pink in logan's cheeks has not faded.

"virge, he's here!" jean hollers into the kitchen, and virgil emerges, hair disheveled (more than usual) and toting a tray.

"happy birthday, kid," virgil says. "i thought i told you to stop growing."

"he'll get right on that," patton jokes, tousles logan's hair a little, and logan sits down at the table, trying to fight little smile that's on his face.

"we'll weigh him down or something," virgil says, and sets down the tray, setting out the coffee cake with a candle stuck in the top, mugs of hot cocoa/coffee, before slipping into the fourth seat. "is there a reverse to that whole a pinch to grow an inch thing? i could use that."

"that's a myth," logan says, as virgil gets out a lighter to light the candle on the cake.

"yeah, you're gonna have to make a wish, too," roman says, nudging the cake closer to him. "and don't tell us what it is or it won't work!"

"it won't work regardless, but fine. as long as you don't sing again," logan says.

"we're saving that for saturday," patton says, squeezing his shoulder. "go on, kiddo."

logan sighs, and pretends as if he is very dismissive of the whole thing, even if he does make a wish.

(what? it's not like anyone knows he does it.)

the other three clap and cheer when he blows out the candle in one go, and virgil begins slicing up the coffee cake, even as he and roman start squabbling over who gets what slice and logan—

well. it's a pretty good start to his birthday.

(the additional birthday kiss roman gives him between bites of coffee cake and sips of hot cocoa/coffee are pretty nice too.)

(shut up.)

virgil sends him to school with a packed lunch of his favorites, and patton sends him off with a ruffle of his hair, and roman sends him off with another birthday kiss, and logan can't help but smile a little the whole bus ride to chilton.

it drops off his face when some sidles up to his locker with a sly little smirk.

"happy birthday."

logan scowls at dee, who opens up an envelope.

"at 4:03 in the morning, logan thomas sanders was born to—"

"what's that?" logan says, narrowing his eyes and snatching it away, scanning it, and—

oh. oh, no.

"see you tonight," dee simpers, snatching the envelope back, and logan grinds his teeth as dee flits away.

he texts roman during class when he can sneak his phone—the first time he's done so since he's gotten a phone.

logan: You are likely going to meet my nemesis tonight at my birthday dinner.

roman responds basically immediately, because he has no such qualms about sneaking out his phone during class.

roman: o shit fr?

logan: Apparently, my grandmother has invited him. Potentially some of my other classmates.

roman: so i gotta like... kill him. fight for ur honor. go full dueling rules. we draw pistols at sundown roman: actually your gparents seem like the type of people to keep decorative swords roman: bc like. i could use those. i could def use those roman: pls let me use the swords

logan: I can understand the temptation, but I would have to insist you didn't

roman: you're no fun

logan: You're realizing this just now?

he tucks his phone into his pocket before he can read what roman responds with, and it takes him until he's waiting for the bus at the end of the day to glance at his screen again.

roman: hey now mr. birthday boy roman: i'm the only one who can talk bad about you it's part of my best friend privileges roman: mock yourself again and i break into your grandparents house to use their fancy schmancy swords on you

almost before he can think better of it, his thumbs are flying and he hits send before he can second-guess himself.

logan: Telling me you'll stab me sounds remarkably like you're trying to get out of birthday kisses

equally fast (equally unthought) the response comes

roman: i'll kiss u in a minute

logan: Is that meant to sound like a threat? logan: Or is it a promise?

roman: wouldnt u like to kno

logan wouldn't say he glues his face to the window to see if a certain someone is waiting at the bus stop (but your author would, so.)

and he is!

...with a guest. logan tries not to scowl too obviously as he descends the bus.

"hey!" roman says happily, from where he's holding jess' hand. but he has what looks like lucy's for him in the other, so logan supposes it's all right.

"hey," logan echoes.

"hear it's your birthday," jess grunts.

"it is," logan says cautiously.

"yeah, well. happy birthday."

"...thank you."

"um, so, your dad's picking me up at 5:30, right?" roman says.

"yes," logan says. "wear a tie."

roman pulls a face. jess looks between them.

"my grandparents are throwing a party," logan says, by way of explanation.

"yeah, i wanna steal all their decorative swords," roman teases, grinning. "you've given me a goal for the evening."

"i suppose i'll have to spend the evening with you, to ensure you don't purloin any of my grandparents' possessions."

"guess you will," roman says cheerfully. "however, i'm gonna have to say a sword would so make up for whatever happens at your grandparents'."

logan tilts his head, conceding the point. jess clears his throat loudly.

"so, uh, roman, we should—"

"right! right," roman says, and bounces over to logan and hesitates. but then there's a rebellious gleam in his eyes. he rocks up onto his tiptoes just slightly, to press a lingering kiss against his cheek.

"seis," he whispers into logan's ear, warm breath making logan shiver in the november chill. roman pulls away and presses the shake into logan's hand. "happy birthday, logan."

jess' face has turned suddenly stormy. logan's responding smile feels rather sunny.

"see you at 5:30," logan says, and roman tugs jess along, to do whatever it is that they'll do.

logan brushes his fingers against his cheek with his free hand, and then he opens up the top of his shake, ready to eat his whipped cream as he walks home.

there's no cherry. roman must have stolen before he'd gotten there. logan spares a moment to wonder if he'd be able to taste it, if roman had directed his kiss just a few inches to the left—

logan clears his throat and hurries his way home.

his phone pings, then, with a notification from his other father, reading Happy birthday!

(logan doesn’t answer. logan never really answers. he’s sick of his other father swinging in and out of logan’s life when he feels like it, and he’s sick of the way his other father treats patton, like everything’s the same as it was when they were sixteen, and he’s sick of the way that his other father bolts and leaves his dad upset, and he’s just. he’s sick of it. so he doesn’t answer.)

he distracts himself by doing homework—his dad said he'd swing by the studio to pick up roman on his way back from the inn—so he loses himself in making a decent dent in his latin homework and reviewing some of the math material from today when he hears clattering on the stairs.

"shoot," he mutters under his breath, carefully marking his page. "i know, i know, i should get ready, i'm nearly—"

his voice dies in his throat.

it's not like he's never seen roman dressed up before, but for some reason, it's different, because he's wearing logan's colors. he's wearing indigo most prominently, his shirt, and black, his coat, and a lighter blue, his tie. he almost does a double take. logan's so used to him in his signature reds and whites and golds, he barely even knew that roman had cool colors in his wardrobe outside of dance costumes. it shouldn't be different but it is and—

("do you think he'll like it?" roman had asked patton shyly in the car.

"he'll love it," patton had said gently, not mentioning how roman has a boyfriend, or how his son would love anything roman wore or did, because he was roman.)

"you look," logan says, and swallows. he’s half-risen from his chair. when did he do that? and there's an odd jolt in his stomach. he's probably coming down with something. "good. you look good."

roman smiles, flits over to him, and rises to kiss logan on the cheek again, a fond little greeting he punctuates with a cheery "siete," and says, "thanks, logan."

"i should get ready," logan says, looking down at his chilton uniform.

"i wanna pick what you wear," roman says immediately.

logan heaves a sigh, but sits on his bed, with a sort of go on then gesture, and roman squeals happily and starts digging through logan's ties and dress shirts.

logan's half-expecting roman to pick something in white and red and gold for him, but no—roman pulls out one of his favorite black shirts and his favorite tie, complete with black waistcoat and jacket.

"classic logan," he decides, and hands over his choices. logan begins to change.

(it's not like they haven't done this, either—changed in front of each other. years of sleepovers and swimming outings and logan recruited to backstage crew and helping roman through quick changes. but now, roman feels the urge to turn his back—like it's suddenly become intimate now. which is ridiculous. he has a boyfriend. this thing with logan is—)

"satisfactory?" logan says, as he fastens the final button of his shirt and drapes his tie over his neck, under his collar.

"hang on, i wanna try doing a fancy knot," roman says, stepping forward, and logan drops his hands and tilts his chin up. he can look down enough to see roman biting his lip in concentration, though.

"look at you, you dapper young gentlemen!" patton says, when roman's tightening the knot and buttoning his waistcoat and smoothing his hands over logan's shoulders, smoothing away imaginary lint. (roman tries to tell himself it's not an excuse to touch him.)

logan turns to investigate himself in the mirror. roman has put a fancy, different knot in his tie, something other than his usual windsor. he brushes his fingers against where the tie's wound over and over itself.

"what's this knot called?" logan says.

"something i know and you don't, we should celebrate this as a new holiday," roman teases. "it's an eldredge."

he tilts his head. it seems fitting for a special occasion. he tells roman so.

"aw, thanks, sheriff of knottingham," roman teases, kisses logan on the cheek with an "ocho." before spinning back to see patton, hovering in the doorway, fingers pressed against his smiling lips.

"should we get going?" logan asks, clearing his throat.

"right, right, your grandma will kill me if we're late!" patton says. "but i figured, since it's technically your birthday, i could give you this early."

he brings something out from behind his back, shuffling a little to hold something else there, but logan's eyes have focused in on the present, wrapped in space-themed wrapping paper.

"thank you," he says in a rush, lest he get lectured on manners, and now he gets to find one out and—

he tears it open with a ferocious kind of glee, and falters.

"do you like it?" patton asks.

"it's a puzzle, you know i like puzzles," logan retorts.

it's true. he does like puzzles. but this does not fit the previous pattern of particularly sentimental gifts from patton established over the past fifteen years he's received presents on his birthday. it's a space puzzle, yes. it's something he enjoys, yes.

sentimental? not particularly.

"you'll have to solve it later," patton tells him.

"right, right, right," logan says. "we need to get going."

"right," patton says. then he bites his lip and lifts his camera from behind his back.

"no," logan groans, at the same time roman is putting on his most picturesque grin and tugging logan closer by the waist.

"i'll be quick about it!" patton defends, but logan has definitely heard that excuse before and it is a lie. oh god. especially if roman is in the pictures. roman loves having photos taken of himself, he's an absolute perfectionist about them so he takes approximately one million photos of himself (no he is NOT exaggerating) and then narrows down from there. how can logan possibly be in—

logan pastes on a smile rather than finish that thought.

⁂

hard cut to patton biting his lip as they pull up to the mansion.

"i told you we should have gotten going," logan tsks.

"we'll be forgiven once i mention pictures," patton says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "okay, um, roman, turn up the charming to eleven, i'm sure she'll love you because you're logan's friend. you're a natural at this. also please keep logan entertained. logan, i know these parties aren't your favorite—"

"ugh."

"—but behave, we're having the sideshire extravaganza tomorrow."

"dad, i should warn you," logan says, as they get out of the car, "i think dee slange will be here."

patton stiffens. "that dee slange?"

"it's not a common name, dad."

"she invited," patton began heatedly, before he huffs, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "i will not fight with a teenager at my son's birthday party, i will not fight with a teenager at my son's birthday party—"

"i could," roman suggests.

"no," logan and patton both chorus, and logan steps forward to knock at the door.

the door swings open almost immediately, like she was peeking through the window. she's beaming.

"there he is, the birthday boy," she declares.

"hi, grandma," logan says, as they step inside. "this is roman prince, he's my—my friend."

emily's eyes sharpen in a way that patton is familiar with at that particular stumble, but roman sweeps forward before she can say anything, taking her proffered hand and bowing to kiss the back of it.

"ma'am," roman says, having taken patton's advice. "it is an honor to meet you. thank you for being gracious enough to invite me to your beautiful home."

emily looks immediately mollified. "well, it's nice to meet you, too. i should have known a friend of logan's would have proper etiquette."

etiquette, roman mouths at logan as soon as her back is turned. logan pulls a face.

"wow, mom, you really went all out," patton says, attempting to shuffle out of the way of a pair of caterers toting trays as some servants straightened up the room.

"well, i wanted everything to be perfect," she says. "what do you think?"

"it looks great," patton says. he wants to keep the peace, he wants it so badly, and—

"grandma, i think i might give roman a bit of a tour, is that all right?" logan says.

"we'll call you down as soon as the first guests get here," patton says, and roman grins, bowing and gesturing the way ahead for logan.

"after you," he says, in a deep voice.

(as soon as they have rounded a corner, logan shoves him a little, which turns into a jostling session, which nearly turns into a hand slapping fight but they're spotted by a pair of decorators just in time to realize where they are.)

they do get called down, right as roman is attempting to bribe logan with even more birthday kisses to convince him to pull off a heist so he can steal a sword. logan is grateful, because his cheeks were so warm it was likely indicative of an incoming fever or something. not for any other reason.

"okay," patton says, juggling glasses as they descend the steps. "shirley temple with extra cherries for roman, a sprite for logan, and—"

"what are you drinking?" roman asks. patton looks momentarily guilty, before tipping his glass towards them so they can smell it. they both pull identical faces at the strength of it.

"sazerac," he says, so no one can hear. it's the strongest cocktail he knows of that can masquerade as just a fancy drink. "i might need you to drive."

"got it," logan says.

"i'd recommend sticking to the foods you can recognize that don't smell funny," he says, in the same undertone. "um, roman, logan's grandparents will probably drag him away, so—"

"i'll stick with one of you, got it," roman says. "how often do you think i should slip into spanish to make the old white people uncomfortable?"

patton looks severely tempted by this offer.

"logan!" emily says, interrupting the conversation before they could settle on a specific code word or gesture. "there you are. come, there's some people i want you to meet."

logan gives roman a help look as he's tugged away. behind roman and patton, a voice says, "patton?"

"yeah?" he says absently, turning, and then— "oh my god! oh, mitzie! wow, i haven't seen you since—"

"your seventh month!"

"jesus christ," roman says, mouth hanging slightly open.

"i was going to say high school, but okay," patton says, shooting roman a patton-ted dad look.

"oh, no, did i say something rude?" she asks, distressed.

"no, no—"

"no, i did, i said something rude," she frets. "i've been trying to work on that."

"well, we've all got things to work on," patton tries.

"ever since my divorce, that's been my line of thinking," mitzie says, nodding rapturously. "you know, i just—i just want to grow."

"yep."

"wow. patton sanders, the scandal g—um, person!"

roman's eyes narrow dangerously.

"now, tell me," she continues, "whatever happened with christopher?"

"oh," patton says. "well, he's out in california, and—"

"oh, god, i'm so sorry, is this painful for you to talk about?!"

"um, well—"

"when did he last call you?!"

"god, you're making progress with that rude thing," roman says, and mitzie blinks.

"do i know you?"

"this is roman prince, he's a good friend of logan's," patton says, happy to change the subject.

mitzie blinks. "who?"

"logan? my kid!" he says proudly, and turns to point at where logan is surrounded by a gaggle of old women.

"oh, wow!" she says. "you can really see the christopher in him, can't you?"

"he's like a carbon copy of patton," roman says, frowning. patton takes a healthy gulp of his sazerac.

"you know what, mitz, it's been great to see you," patton says, "but i see someone i wanted to introduce roman to, if you'll excuse me."

they make a retreat.

"are they all like that?" roman says.

"oh, no," patton says. "not all the time, it's usually—"

roman's staring at him, like, uh-huh, suuuure. patton fidgets, and says in a lowered voice, "this is the first big party i've gone to other than the yearly thanksgiving and christmas parties since logan was born."

"oh," roman says, and that absurdly strong cocktail is starting to make sense now.

"yeah," patton says. "so i'm just a little... nervous. that's all."

logan has managed to circle back, holding a tiny pile of envelopes and looking confused.

"i'll take those," patton says, scooping the pile out of his hands and tucking them into an inside pocket of his jacket. "how are things going so far?"

"i think one of grandma's friends just asked me if i wanted to go for a round of golf, even after i told her i don't play."

patton grins. "big beehive hairdo?"

"yes."

"that's gloria," patton says, and imitates his father's tone in a whisper. "the most odious woman alive. i would have thought that they'd squirmed out of feeling obligated to invite her to most things, by now. god knows mom came up with thirty different schemes when i was in school."

the evening passes like that—patton or roman holding down a corner as logan's trotted around and shown off to various guests. patton's cheeks get pinker and pinker and he gets gigglier throughout the night. roman listens raptly to patton's decade-old gossip, or tries his best to make the old women giggle and blush and pinch his cheeks, or does his best, most daring getaways to sneak off as many birthday kisses in private to logan as he possibly can.

well, it passes like that mostly until logan retreats to their corner and frowns to see patton alone.

"where'd roman go?"

"i think he went to brave the catering," patton says, and presses the back of his hand to his cheek, feeling how cool it is compared to his face. "is it warm in here to you?"

"you're intoxicated," logan says, "and i am not, so no."

"oh, that's what it is," patton says musingly.

(patton's not much of a drinker—he's got a kid at home, after all. he has the occasional glass of wine at a meal, if it's sweet enough, and he doesn't like beer. cocktails on occasion, and almost never more than one. he left most of his drinking days back in his wild teenage years, though virgil did take him out for his twenty-first birthday... but that's a whole other story.)

"i think i might check the catering too," logan says. "see if there's anything other than cheese, crackers, and grapes that are, you know. edible."

"godspeed," patton says, and tilts his cup at logan in a toast.

"you're all right here?"

"i'm fine," patton says fondly. "i'll hold down the chairs, and all your presents, go on."

logan nods, says, "drink some water," and turns on his heel to hunt after roman.

he's waylaid by his grandfather and a group of dour businessmen, who present him with near-identical envelopes that he thanks them for by rote and tucks into his coat's pockets before he chances upon the library, glancing in, and—

logan's striding forward before he can think of it, and dee turns, smiling at logan smarmily.

"roman," logan says.

"hey!" roman says. "i was just talking to someone from your new school, um—"

"dee," logan says. "dee slange."

the smile drops off roman's face. he takes a brief step back. "oh."

"now, now," dee says to roman. "we were getting along so well, weren't we? i see you haven't heard the best things about me. logan, tsk tsk. wasn't this invite a gesture toward letting bygones be bygones?"

"you know full well i didn't invite you," logan snaps.

dee spreads his gloved hands. "and yet here i am."

"yes," logan says distastefully. "you've made your appearance, now go."

dee smirks, tweaking his bowtie. "perhaps i will."

"you should."

"and perhaps you shouldn't tell roman what opinions he should have, he's a big boy who can think on his own," dee says. "or do you not think so?"

"get out."

dee laughs mockingly, even as he leaves the library.

"ugh, what a creep," roman huffs. "i can't believe i thought he was nice."

"he's good at getting into people's good graces," logan says. "good at telling people the exact things they do or don't want to hear, depending on which will further his own interests."

"he wasn't dressed quite as much like a disney villain today," roman says. "i thought patton said he looked like a disney villain."

"he usually pairs a cape with the bowler hat and gloves," logan says dryly.

"oh, okay. now i can see it."

logan realizes that they're now alone in the library, with no fear of interruptions, for the first time since they've been called down to greet the guests. logan wants to reach out and touch roman's shoulder, amongst other things, but instead he sighs and clenches his hands in fists behind his back. he has a boyfriend, he reminds himself, he has a boyfriend, he kisses you because it's tradition and he has a boyfriend now.

“how is everything going? with jess,” leaps out of logan’s mouth before he can really even stop it, and roman looks startled.

“i—oh. i mean it’s.... going,” he says, and then, hastily, “going well!”

“oh?”

“he’s been,” roman says, and glances around, then back up at logan to look him in the eyes,. “i know the way the first date ended didn’t give the best first impression, but he’s been a perfect gentleman. i really... it really is going well.”

logan isn’t sure if he’s pleased that his best friend’s relationship is going well—he isn’t lying, logan can tell by the look in his eye, he can tell that roman really likes him—or, well...

“good,” logan says. “i hope i wasn’t interrupting anything, earlier today. when you met me at the bus stop.”

“oh, no,” roman says. “no, no. we’d just facetimed a friend of his, from back home. we’d just finished when i realized the time and i figured it would be nice to meet you.”

“a friend of his?” logan repeats.

“yeah,” roman says, and smiles up at him. “he reminds me of you, kinda. well, him and jess remind me of me and you. they’ve been best friends since they were in kindergarten, too.”

logan feels the corner of his lip quirk up, bitter, without his meaning to. he reminds me of you. jess and his decidedly platonic friend, who he introduced to his brand-new boyfriend.

“i’d like you to get to know him better,” roman says. “i know that your schedules are kind of exactly the opposite, but—“

“no, of course,” logan says. “of course. if it’ll make you happy.”

and he means that. really. if jess will make roman happy...

then it means that roman will be happy. and that’s what’s important to logan.

roman smiles at him, and there’s something in his eyes that makes logan want to tilt his head, get in closer, investigate, but roman turns his head to glance around the library.

“gotta say,” he says, voice light, “i’d think a few more swords would make me a bit happier. bet we can steal up the stairs right now and make our daring escape from the latest gathering of the walking dread.”

when he turns his head back, his eyes are glittering with mischief, with a joke. the prior thing must have been a fluke. an effect of the lighting. he supposes.

"i know this party can't be very fun for you," logan says. roman shrugs.

"it's not so bad," he says. "your dad's getting tipsy, and that's kinda funny. plus he apparently has a really good memory for super old gossip, i've been hearing all kinds of stories."

"speaking of stories?" logan hedges, and roman grins.

"ah, you've been unusually quiet about it this year."

"just one hint," logan bursts out.

(this is a tradition too—roman is not free from logan's curiosity. roman traditionally writes him a story for his birthday. for example, last year's featured logan gallivanting through old-timey london with hercule poirot. every year the setting is different. every year it seems to get bigger and better.)

"nope," roman says, grinning. "it'd give everything away—"

his eyes widen, and logan looks triumphant.

"you've linked presents!"

"i didn't say that!"

"no, you said it'd give everything away," logan says, eyes gleaming like they always do when he gets a hint of a mystery, the bittersweet news of roman’s relationship with jess almost forgotten. (almost.)

"which means you'd give someone else's present away. whose is it? virgil's? dad's? both?"

"oh, my god, just take me somewhere i can find decent food in this house," roman grumbles, leading the way out of the library.

"but you probably collaborated with them," logan continues, even as he's practically skipping with the reveal of a clue, a clue, a clue!!!

(roman's smiling. it's probably because it's just funny to see logan act undignified. not because of the pleased gleam in his eyes or the way he smiles at roman or the way he turns gleeful about a mystery or anything.)

(shut up.)

"which means that there's likely a common theme or thread to the presents. patton got me a puzzle, which means i could attempt to deduce your story idea with that clue and work from there—"

"logan, there you are!"

logan nearly groans and roman barely manages to stifle a laugh.

"i think it's time you said a few words to your guests."

logan turns from gleeful to slightly panicked so fast it makes roman a little dizzy.

"what?"

"just a little speech to say thank you and tell everyone how it feels to be one year older," emily says.

logan clears his throat. "i'm not one for particularly grand gestures."

"no, but i am," comes out of roman's mouth. "would it be all right if i did a toast instead, mrs. sanders? it's a bit of a tradition back at sideshire for—well, for someone else to toast someone on their birthday."

particularly, it's tradition for patton to toast logan on his birthday, but, you know. partial truths are still true. right?

"logan can thank everyone as they're leaving," roman says, warming to the idea, and logan looks a touch relieved—that's a social script he has memorized, not something sprung on him willy-nilly.

"well—"

"great!" roman chirps over her, grabs his mostly abandoned shirley temple from patton, and an abandoned spoon before she can say anything else. he gently clangs the spoon against it with a subtle ting-ting-ting that has the room quieting obediently.

roman clears his throat, and puts on his most dazzling smile.

"hello!" he says, jovial. "i'm afraid i haven't met most of you yet, so i may as well introduce myself. i'm roman prince. my best friend is someone who happens to be turning sixteen today—just there," he says, pointing unnecessarily. logan's reclaimed his sprite, staring at roman, like the rest of the room is.

does roman love performing? yes, of course, he's a prince, it's in his blood. does he still get a little nervous? yes, of course, he's a human person, it's in his blood.

does it all fall away, when he focuses on how logan's staring at him intently? well. yes, of course. he's roman prince. it's in his blood. how he feels about logan is as unchangeable as his blood.

"so, it's actually a bit of a tradition, where we're from, for someone to toast someone on their birthday," roman says. "usually, it's his dad, but today, logan's letting me take over, which i assure you is not a sentence i can say often."

a soft chuckle.

"but, um. i met logan when i was five, but a lot of my life i can't remember before he was in it," roman says. "i think a lot of it wouldn't be worth remembering, anyway, without my partner in crime, the sherlock to my john watson, the spock to my kirk, the hercule poirot to my arthur hastings. i'm really not sure who i'd be without him. i don't think i ever want to find out."

silence, now. complete and utter silence. logan's still just... staring at him. roman takes a breath in.

"logan. you're smart, you're ambitious, you're witty and clever and funny, you're stubborn as hell. you're passionate and thoughtful and intense about the things you care about. it's been an honor to be one of them. it's been an honor to grow up with you. the first sixteen years of you have been so good, i cannot wait to see how the rest of them turn out. to logan."

he lifts up his glass, and the other party-goers chorus "to logan!" and there's the clinking of glasses as people cheers and drink and roman takes a cursory sip before he steps back toward the corner, where patton had gotten out his phone to record and is pressing his fingers against his lips again, smiling huge, and logan is still staring.

"happy birthday," roman tells him.

logan's staring.

"sorry if you really wanted to make a speech, i know you sometimes like that kind of thing and i kind of took over fast."

staring.

"...hello? earth to logan?"

very suddenly, logan's arms are around him, and just like that, logan is hugging him.

logan is not a hugger. he tolerates hugs for the people around him—see roman's birthday tradition of tackling him every year, or even birthday kisses. roman initiates, logan tolerates. it's the way he is. in moments of weakness, he maybe leans into it. but roman cannot remember a single time that logan has initiated a hug.

roman can't help but close his eyes, though, and squeeze him closer, because—because logan's hugging him.

"i really mean it," roman whispers into his ear.

"i know," logan says.

"but if you tell anyone i meant it, i'll blackmail you with the fact that you hugged me. of your own free will."

"i know," logan says again, except this time there's a laugh in his voice, and he pulls away.

his lips aren't laughing. neither are his eyes. they're staring at roman, like—like he's the clue that logan wants to solve. like he's the mystery that logan wants to dissemble and lay bare and analyze breathlessly, making sure every single little detail is correct before writing an article about it, and—

"well done," emily says from behind him, delighted, and roman forces himself to turn away from logan, from that look in his eyes.

"thank you," roman says.

"are you an orator?"

"roman's the star of sideshire," patton pipes up, and oh god, patton had seen all of that, hadn't he? and patton knew. "he's a dancer and a singer and an actor. triple threat."

"are you?" emily says.

"my mother's isadora prince," he says proudly, and oh, yeah, his mom's name still gets awe and attention. take that, people who thought she wouldn't be a star.

"is she," emily says. "goodness, i wondered, it's not exactly a common last name, and logan mentions the dance studio so often..."

there's an analytical look in her eyes as she stares at him. "have you considered pursuing it professionally? ballet, i mean."

"a lot," roman admits. "i'd want to go back and teach at the studio, too. even if i don't make principal dancer somewhere—"

"you will," logan says. "if you go out for it, you would."

roman smiles at him, just a little.

"i simply must introduce you to my friend at tisch," she muses, and roman nearly chokes on his tongue.

"the—the new york tisch?" roman asks. the widely-regarded-as-one-of-the-best-ballet-programs-in-the-country, tisch?? his-wildest-secret-dream-top-choice-for-college, tisch?!?!?!

"my dear, i'm sure you'll be remarkable," she says warmly. "but when you ascend to stardom, you just remember who discovered you."

roman's over the moon. he's over the stars, in fact. logan and patton exchange a slightly uneasy glance behind his back.

the party passes pretty smoothly from there. logan stands at the door and thanks each person for coming. he returns to find roman and patton and his grandparents in the living room, chit-chatting.

"is there anything we can do to help, mom?" patton asks her warmly.

"no, no, no," emily says. "the servants will take care of it."

"right, yeah," patton says.

"thank you again for inviting me," roman says. "and—and thank you again, for offering to talk to someone at tisch."

"talent like yours, my dear, should never be hidden," emily says. "i must see you dance sometime, and meet your mother."

"the sideshire dance studio loans out with the ballet here in the city for the nutcracker every december," roman says.

"then i have seen you before!" she says. "richard and i go every year."

"i'm the sugar plum cavalier this year," he says proudly, and her eyebrows shoot up.

"my, aren't you young for it?"

"like i said," logan says. "he's very, very good."

roman smiles bashfully at logan, who smiles back.

patton then says something suddenly that he will blame on the alcohol tomorrow.

"mom, you and dad should come to logan's party in sideshire tomorrow."

she looks startled. even a little shocked. then—

"well, that would be... lovely."

"it'll, um," patton says, scrambling, because he just invited his parents to his house for the first time EVER. "it'll be different than this one, but it'll be fun, and—"

"logan is my grandson," she says. "we'll be there."

"right," patton says. "um, great. it's at seven."

"you boys should all get going," she says. she still looks slightly confused, but—pleased? "it's a long drive."

logan tolerates his hug, roman kisses her hand again, and patton says, "um, boys, why don't you warm up the car? i'll be right out."

they take the keys. then patton does something that shocks emily even more.

he leans forward to hug her—quick, bright, heartfelt.

"i'm really happy we're getting to know each other, mom."

"i already know you," emily says. "you aren't some huge mystery to me, you're my son."

it isn't the usual barb that might be, even if there is a slightly sharp undertone to it. but that's better than nothing. especially since she said my son—no hesitation, no sneer. matter-of-fact. my son.

"well," patton says, and draws back smiling. "everyone can get to know someone better, even someone they've known for years. learn something new every day, right?"

"i suppose," she says, then, "you aren't driving, are you?"

patton laughs sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck. "no, no, logan is."

"good."

"the cocktails are stronger than i remember."

"you ordered sazeracs."

"mom—"

"they have absinthe, patton, i really don't know what you could have expected other than an absurdly strong cocktail. are you always this libatious at parties, or is my party a special occasion?"

"okay, mom, gotta go, bye!"

#text #wyliwf #moxiety #logince #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #my fic

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goingknowherewastaken · 6 years

Photo

Meet Allie Bennet

► Allie Bennet was created for the Polyvore group In Love With A Celebrity. As the name suggests, she was made to be the fictional love interest of a real life celebrity (Who wants to guess who I picked for the celeb? ;) ). This set was created for her personal information which is listed below the cut. At the very end I am including the requirements that I needed to follow while creating the set.

Enjoy!! ♥

| FULL NAME;

☾Allison “Allie” Bennet

| NICKNAMES;

☾Allie – basically everyone calls her that

☾ Allison – if the full name comes out, then she did something wrong

☾ Al – Byron is really the only person who can get away with calling her this

☾ Picks – a random nickname given to Allie by her friends due to her being a Picker

| GENDER;

☾ Cis Female

| FACECLAIM;

☾ Emma Watson

| DATE OF BIRTH;

☾ 5 / March / 1989

| AGE;

☾ 29

| NATIONALITY;

☾ American, British – She was born in America, but she and her family have dual citizenship.

| ORIGIN;

☾ Before Allie was born, her parents moved from England to America for her mom's job. While both her parents grew up in England, her father's side of the family has Greek traces and her mother's side has French traces. When she was growing up, she gained their accents and never really lost it.

| HOMETOWN;

☾ Portland, Oregon

| EDUCATION;

☾ Allie double-majored when she went to college. By the time she graduated, she had a bachelors degree for both History and Business.

| OCCUPATION;

☾ Allie is a picker and she co-owns a small shop with her brother. They drive around the country, stopping at places that have 'junk' on the property and buy some of that 'junk' to restore/sell in their shop. While both will go out to find items to buy and sell, she mainly stays behind and runs the shop since someone needs to be there and she has the business background.

| SEXUAL ORIENTATION;

☾ Demisexual Heterosexual

| FAMILY;

☾ Marylin Bennet – Mother – Marisa Tomei – 52

☾ Paul Bennet – Father – Nathan Fillian – 49

☾ Byron (Moore) Bennet – adopted brother – Tyler Hoechlin - 28

| FRIENDS;

☾ Byron (Moore) Bennet – brother/best friend/roommate/business partner – Tyler Hoechlin – 28

☾ Larissa “Lacy” Hanlin – childhood friend/roommate – Rose Leslie – 27

☾ Carrie “CC” Clark – college friend/roommate – Paulina Singer – 25

☾ Robert “Robbie” Martin – friend/part-time employee – Darren Criss – 26

| HOBBIES & INTERESTS;

☾ reading, traveling, collecting Breyer horses, restoring vintage items, baking, cooking, clothes/fashion, collecting salt & pepper shakers,

| LIKES;

☾ getting a good deal, seeing others get excited about history, cats, “Say Yes to the Dress”, traveling, donuts, meeting new people, “American Pickers”, people who are just pure little cinnamon rolls, french fries/chips, books and reading, “Expedition Unknown”, Breyer horses, restoring old items, shopping, England, road trips, those ridiculous tourist traps, “Mysteries at the Museum”,

| DISLIKES;

☾ when people make Pride & Prejudice references because of her name, customers who don't know how to listen, spiders, making a bad call on a pick, the song 'What's New Pussycat?' by Tom Jones, geese, flying, mushrooms, clowns, thunderstorms, people who take advantage of others,

| BIO;

☾ Allison Bennet was born March 5th, 1989, in Portland, Oregon to Marylin and Paul Bennet. It was a difficult pregnancy for Marylin, one that resulted in a hysterectomy, but she and her husband were blessed with a beautiful and healthy little girl. With being born in America and having a majority of her family living in England, Allie's parents worked to get dual citizenship to go between the two countries. It was no surprise then when she ended up with more of an English accent (that never actually faded). When she was 6, her parents took her to her first flea market. She fell in love with the place, begging her parents to bring her (and, eventually, her friend as well) to the markets as often as possible. The items were so cool to look at and the sellers were just as awesome to listen to.

Despite not having any siblings, Allie found a brother, and best friend, in the neighbor boy. Also an only child, Byron Moore attached himself to Allie and they became like two peas in a pod. Even though Byron was one year older, the two pretty much ignored each others classmates. They played with each other, protected each other, and helped each other out over the years. When she was eight, tragedy struck. While the Moore family was heading back one night from a trip to Seattle, their car was struck by a drunk driver. Byron was the only survivor, leaving the wreckage with several scrapes and bruises, a concussion, and permanent damage to his ears. Since he had no other family that could take him in (his grandmother was in a nursing home), the Bennet family brought him into their family and eventually officially adopted him. Allie and Byron became even closer as she helped him deal with the aftermath of the accident, spending hours learning ASL for when he didn't want to wear his hearing aids.

When Allie was 12, she gained a new friend. Allie had just entered the school with Byron when they were pulled into office and placed face-to-face with a small red-haired girl. From that second on, 12 year old Larissa Hanlin, former resident of Scotland, turned the dynamic duo into a troublesome trio. Even though it wasn't the same, it was comforting to Allie to hear Lacy's accent. It was also wonderful to have another female she could talk to. Byron was great, but there were some topics that were just plain weird to discuss with him. With Lacy, Allie discovered a love of fashion and makeup, as well as some cute boys as school.

At the age of 15, the trio was snooping around at the local flea market when Allie met the person who would forever change her life. The lady was a Picker – someone who travels around the countryside looking for places with a lot of junk - “rusty-gold” is what she called it – outside. With the landowner's permission, they then dig through the items and buy old pieces to then resell, and sometimes restore, to prospective clients. Road trips? Antiques? Meeting new people? It was the best thing that Allie had ever heard of! She immediately started making plans to have this future. She could picture it then, having long days of picking before heading back to a cute little shop to display her finds.

A few years later, with Byron having gone off to study mechanics a year prior, new graduates Allie and Lacy both became roommates for their college experience. As Lacy started acting classes, Allie decided to dual major in History and Business. If she wanted to have her dream of picking and owning a business, this is what she had to focus on. Her first year passed without a hitch and in her second year she met a guy who they've come to call D.B.. Attractive and charming, they had English together and D.B. wasted no time with his flirtatious comments. Allie, having no previous dating experience, was beyond flattered. After a few dates they came out with an official label on their relationship, but, since this was all new to her, she wanted to take it slow so she could get comfortable with the concept of dating. The first month was pure bliss for their budding relationship, but after that D.B. grew a little prickly towards her. It was another month before he finally admitted that he was irritated that their relationship hadn't advanced beyond a certain point. Allie was hurt. She didn't understand why he was so upset. They had agreed on the pace at the start of their relationship, yet, here he was, seemingly on the verge of dumping her. Sure she hadn't exactly told him the 'L' word yet, but Allie did care a lot for him. Since she didn't want to lose him, she thought 'why not?'. Weeeeeell, D.B dumped her two days later. Actually, dumped isn't really the right thing to call it. After two days of silence on his end, she more of saw him flirting and hitting on another girl on the campus quad. While Lacy consoled her with comfort food and Byron threatened to beat the guy to a pulp, Allie decided to swear off relationships for the time-being.

It was in her third year, while she was working at the local library, that Allie met Carrie Clark – a first year history whiz with big plans for teaching the newest generations. The two quickly hit it off with their love of history and soon Carrie joined their little squad. It was Carrie that introduced Allie to the second biggest revelation in her life. C.C. had been going on and on for days about this awesome new website she found called Tumblr. When Allie and Lacy couldn't stand her rambling anymore, they each made their own account. A few weeks later, an intriguing post popped up on Allie's dashboard late one night. It was about different sexual orientations and gender identities. Once section in particular caught her attention and the more research she did, the more Allie realized that she was Demisexual. Suddenly, the idea of dating wasn't so daunting anymore.

When graduation loomed on the horizon, the question of 'What to do after this?' came up more and more. For Allie it was easy – buy a roomy vehicle and hit the backroads of America. The only problem was where she was going to live. That was decided over pizza. Since none of the girls wanted to be separated and with Lacy searching for acting jobs, Los Angeles was perfect. They could find a house to rent together and it would offer each of them a chance for jobs.

It seemed like seconds had passed from the time Allie and Lacy had moved to when C.C. join them down in L.A. two years later. Allie had bought and sold enough items to be able to keep up with the picking lifestyle. Although, she hadn't gotten her storefront yet. An online store, yeah, but not her physical shop. Though that changed after three years in the bustling city. Allie mainly focused on non-machine antiques; things like toys, furniture, signs, and the like, but occasionally a vehicle caught her eye. That's when Byron would be called. When she was in the middle of Kansas, she found and bought an old, decrepit Harley-Davidson, Byron was summoned down to L.A. from Portland to see about it's restoration. Three days of talk ended with him quitting his mechanic job in Portland, moving into the group's little house, and becoming Allie's business partner. Together they bought a small storefront using the money they got from selling the old motorcycle (among other items) and set about stocking it with their finds. Allie, with her business degree, took over the shop and dealt with clients and customers while Byron took on the picking aspect and the mechanical restorations. Bennet-Moore Antiques officially opened for business when Allie was 25.

When she was 26, Robert Martin joined their merry troupe. Robbie, a local L.A. mechanic, had come into the shop to look at a bike they had for sale. After chatting with the siblings about their business, Robbie ended up becoming a part-time employee and full-time friend. When he wasn't working his own job, he helped Byron with restorations and learned the art of picking, a skill that Lacy and C.C. helped him develop as well.

Now 28, with a thriving store, a dream career, and great friends, Allie honestly doesn't know how her life could be any better.

♔ REQUIREMENTS ♔

[+] Include 2+ colored pictures of your OC’s faceclaim.

[+] Include 1+ black&white picture of your OC’s faceclaim.

[+] Include lyrics of a song that captures your OC’s personality and link the youtube link here:

If Then // General Ghost // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_lEMsBlH5w

[+] Include 1+ speech bubble.

[+] Include a magazine article.

[+] Tag the members in the comments.

♔ BONUS REQUIREMENTS ♔

[+] Include an outfit your OC would wear.

[+] Include a featured item.

[+] Make your set square.

[+] Include a filler of a person.

♔ DESCRIPTION ♔

↳ All of the OC information listed above

Tagging (using my All taglist and a few others): @red-shirts-always-die4444 @captainsbabysitter-blog @loststarlight @southernbellestatues @jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets @doctorginsberg @kjs-s @feelmyroarrrr @yallneedtrek @haveyouseenmymind @reading-in-moonlight @annathewitch

*previously made with Polyvore (account : popularculture) and currently posted on shoplook. I don’t own the images used to make the set and it was made for entertainment purposes

#oc #allie bennet #polyvore #goingknowhere oc #art set #goingknowhere #goingknowherewastaken

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wangsejabin · 1 year

Text

Chapter 55

Respectfully, they escorted the prince back to his quarters before Jiang Cheng and his father turned to walk outside. "What did you see?"

Jiang Fu rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "This Crown Prince is more profound than His Majesty's thoughts." Jiang Cheng was the current head of the Jiang family. He did not look impressive, just a dry and thin little old man, but in fact he was a master who shook Yangzhou three times when he stomped his feet.

Jiang Fu is his eldest son and is highly valued by him. At a young age, he has been working with his father to manage the family business. Last time when Emperor Cheng'an was on his southern tour, Jiang Fu served his father, and although he could only stand in the most inconspicuous corner, he had seen the nature of the Prince, and this time when he received the Prince, Jiang Cheng brought him along with him, both to open his eyes and to let his son have a good relationship with the Prince.

After all, the Jiang family's fortune is only possible because of the relationship between their clan and the emperor, and the emperor is no one else.In the eyes of the Jiang family, the crown prince has been sitting on the throne for nearly 20 years, if there is no accident he is the next heir to the throne, before the rest of the Jiang family still have a sense of how good the southern tour, the emperor did not come instead sent the crown prince, Jiang Cheng but think it is a good time.

This was the first time that the Jiang family met the Crown Prince, and the banquet was not so much a reception for the Crown Prince as it was a way for the Jiang family to get a general impression of the Crown Prince's character. The words spoken might seem ordinary, but they all contained deep meaning, which was why Jiang Cheng asked Jiang Fu.

"Since you have seen it, then serve well, and remember that even if you can't get a good impression, the Crown Prince must not be vicious to you. You are not young now, you have been with me, your father for more than ten years, so grasp the measure yourself." Jiang Cheng stroked his beard and said. "Yes, father."

"Our Jiang family can have such a good relationship with the royal family because we think what people think and solve their difficulties. These eight words may seem light and feeble, but in reality it is extremely difficult to do well. I have heard that the Crown Prince has only brought one concubine with him on his tour, a woman named Su, who is said to be extremely favoured and jealous, so it is better to see what happens first, don't lose the chicken and underestimate the pillow talk, if the pillow talk causes disgust, the loss will not be worth the gain, you know the Jiang family can have such good relations with the royal family. We don't have such good relations with the royal family just by sending women." Jiang Fu was in a cold sweat at the comment, for Jiang Cheng had hit on exactly what he was preparing for, and now he was keeping a few of the top lean horses in his other courtyard with this in mind. "Yes, father."

"I see that the Crown Prince is mild-mannered and quite articulate in his speech, and I have heard that he has been well read in poetry since he was a child, and has been praised by several great scholars from the Hanlin Academy, so I think he is also a man of letters, so you should hold a few more elegant gatherings, and also let the Crown Prince know that our Jiang family is not one of those crude salt merchants who only cultivate gardens, raise opera singers and enjoy fine food, and are different from those people. ""Yes, father." At that moment, a servant hurriedly marched in. "Master, young master." Jiang Cheng lifted his hand and said, "What is it?"

The servant bowed his head and reported, "As expected, Master, the Xu family, the Chen family, the Wang family and the Pei family have all come, but they were all stopped outside and didn't let in."The top ten salt merchants in Yangzhou had their own order, and this order was ranked according to the strength and heritage of their families. The servant said this precisely because he had heard what Pei Yongchang had said in the concierge's office. However, this person only thought that Pei Yongchang deliberately wanted to find an excuse, so as to get to see the holy face, such and such things are not unprecedented before, so they did not take it seriously, at this time to say that it is only this incident has left him an impression, subconsciously bring out.

It's a good thing that Jiang Cheng waved his hand and said, "Good job, these people all want to eat ready-made, let them spread the public and private floating fees when they are poor, but now they are here, there is no such thing as a good thing in the world."Jiang Cheng then gave a few more words of explanation to his servants and Jiang Fu, and then dispersed without mentioning them.

Pan'er was in a daze when he felt someone else beside him. When she opened a slit in her eye and looked out, she saw his perfectly shaped jaw. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and although it was still early spring, it was not cold anymore. The Jiang family's gardens were well maintained, and the natural view from the Prince's quarters was the best, and listening to the faint sound of running water and the chirping of birds outside made people feel happy for no reason.

Without speaking, she rubbed her face against his chest in one smooth motion and felt a faint vibration, as if he had smiled.She obediently lifted her head and looked over to see the Prince looking at her with a smile in his eyes, and when he saw that she was willing to open them, he rubbed her long, cascading hair, "Why are you acting like a puppy."

"Not at all!"

She yawned slightly and added, "Has Your Highness finished the banquet? Was the food good and the wine good?" That was interesting. "Are you ready for lunch?" She nodded in his arms, "Yes, I did. In the past, I thought I was a Yangzhou native and had eaten a lot of Huaiyang food, but when I came here today, I realised that I was really a frog in a well."

The prince made a questioning sound. Pan'er continued, "There are eight cold meat dishes, eight vegetarian dishes, eight meat dishes, and six large dishes for me today. I remember there was a colourful dish called "Three Stars of Bliss", which was made with beef in sauce, mountain mushrooms, eggs and spring bamboo shoots, which looked good and tasted good, but the portion was too large. There were also prawns in oil, razor clams, crystal delicacies, dried duck in salt water, roasted suckling pig skin, three shreds of sesame oil, amber walnuts, double diced in honey sauce, etc.

There were so many dishes that I can't remember them all. "You say just listening to the name of the dish is actually quite ordinary, and it's not like you've never eaten it before, but it's done in such an exquisite way. There was a garlic pork ribs, the ribs were fried and wrapped in something, the outside was crispy and the inside was tender, I don't know how to describe it except for the word fragrant. "And that crystal delicacy...

"I asked the maid, who said that the dish was still made from pig's trotters, but that it had to be marinated for three whole days with various secret ingredients, and when it was done, the soup was made from whole chickens and ducks, as well as the bones of the pigs, and the soup had to be simmered for twelve hours, then the pig's trotters were boiled, slowly over a gentle fire until the bones fell off and the skin was crispy, then chilled and frozen. I was so big-headed, but it was delicious. And that roasted suckling pig skin, you have to choose a suckling pig that has only twenty pounds for three months as raw material, too short a month and the skin won't be strong enough, too long a month and the skin will be old ……"

As she spoke, the Prince's eyes darkened, he smiled and said, "I didn't see that you were a glutton for food."Pan'er said justifiably, "It's not that I'm a glutton, it's that it's so delicious. But I'm a small eater and I didn't eat much, so I gave a lot of the leftovers to Xiang Pu and the girls, and they were all quite full."

When she said she had been stuffed, she subconsciously touched her belly.After a good night's sleep, she finally didn't feel bloated, but Pan'er was also a bit surprised at her current ability to restrain herself. In the past, if she ate so much, it would be difficult for her to settle down if she didn't eat for half an hour, but today she fell asleep, maybe because she was too tired?

"The feast I ate today was also sumptuous." It was no worse than the one in the palace. No, to be correct, it was more elaborate than in the palace, and the ingredients used were rarer. The ingredients that Pan'er ate were those that could be found in the ordinary course of cooking, but what the Crown Prince used today was rare, not to say dragon's marrow and phoenix liver. The prince was not a man without knowledge, but he knew that many of the things he ate today were not available in this month.

He had long heard that the salt merchants were so rich that they could not be found anywhere else in the world, but today, when he entered the garden, he had really seen it. "You still want to sleep again? It's better to sleep a little longer."

Pan'er was not really sleepy anymore, but seeing that the Prince had just returned and had not yet rested for the day, he lay with him for a while longer, sleeping for almost half an hour. After getting up and having a cup of tea, Pan'er came in earlier and knew that the garden had a good view, so she dragged the Prince to the garden to enjoy the scenery. The scenery of the garden is really good, simply every step is a scene, Pan'er only thought of a few words 'although man-made, but like the work of heaven', simply the garden of Jiangnan to the extreme.

In his previous life, Pan'er had never left the capital since she entered the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was a majestic structure, but if the scenery was anything to go by, the only one with the most Jiangnan characteristics was the Western Garden, which had been built over several dynasties, but if compared to this place, it was noble and elegant, but the scenery was not as good.Of course there are reasons for Yangzhou's natural location, but one can only imagine how much silver was spent on the garden they saw.

It may look elegant, but in reality, it was all piled up with silver. Pan'er's heart sighed a little, and the Prince was not happy, and a cold colour was visible between his brows. The Jiang family is a bit silly. If you have money, you have money, but why show it to others, especially to the future lord of the world, is it to show the crown prince that you have more money than him, or do you want to give away all your family's assets?

In fact, she knew very well that the reception might look very glamorous, but in fact it was difficult. If the reception was too simple, they might think that the hospitality was inadequate, and if the reception was too extravagant, they were afraid of attracting taboos. It is not the first time that the Jiang family has received a ride, as the Jiang family received the ride for the three southern tours of Emperor Cheng'an, even the time of the previous emperor, so it can only be said that the crown prince, who is a grandson, has a different 'aesthetic' from his own father and grandfather.

Although Pan'er saw the Prince's face was cold, but thought he would not be angry, it seems that the former Emperor Jianping has been thinking about the two Huai salt merchants, maybe and this Jiang family has a relationship.At this time, a man dressed as a servant came over, and before he could get close, he was stopped by a small eunuch under Zhang Laishun's hand.

After a while, the eunuch came to report to Zhang Laishun, who then came up to the prince and said: "Master, that servant said that if you are bored with enjoying the scenery, there is a play arranged at the Hearing Sound Pavilion in front of you. The people of Jiangnan love to listen to theatre, especially the people of Yangzhou, and those who have some money at home will usually keep a theatre troupe at home. This later passage was added by Zhang Laishun himself, generally the servants serving beside the masters have to be proficient in this, not to say that they have to know everything, but also have to know a lot, otherwise the masters ask when the servants are blind, then what else is there to do, replace them. "Then let's go and see."

The servant was leading the way, and it was clear that he was a well-trained one, behaving in the right way, not making people feel over the top, but also not losing their manners. The pavilion was also built in an unusual way, right on a small lake. The lake has lotus flowers on it, and there are koi of all colours swimming happily in the lake. It was built as a water pavilion, with the side facing the lake wide open and surrounded by a wooden fence.

Directly opposite from this side, there was a stone platform on which a theatre building had been erected, which was a beautiful sight to behold. Once seated, tea was served. This tea was also different from the usual, not the same, but several kinds. Pan'er's was a bowl of lotus root powder with rock sugar, melon seeds and walnuts as well as apricot cheese, and another was a bowl of Tie Guanyin with small orange cakes, red dates and cinnamon meat to sweeten the mouthful of tea.

For the Prince, there was a bowl of fine rainforest Longjing and a bowl of Eight Treasures tea. For the Prince, there were four dried fruits, four fresh fruits, four snacks and four preserves, making a total of 16 plates. The prince only drank tea, and did not even touch the sweetness of the Eight Treasures tea. A servant came to ask if he could order a play.

The prince had never watched theatre, and if he did, it was only when the palace hosted a banquet, and he occasionally watched it with Empress Fu for a while. In her previous life, Pan'er had not been a big fan of theatre either, but she suddenly remembered the Peony Pavilion she had listened to before she arrived, so she ordered the one about the Peony Pavilion's frightening dreams. Soon after, the sound of music came from the opposite stage. As the music came, a 'woman' with a very distinguished figure and costume came out from behind the curtain.

#yingchong #mtl

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