"Y-Your majesty? Aren't you suppose to stay at the banquet?" He asked, still with a surprised look on his face. He never thought that he'd meet the emperor underneath the willow tree, sitting on its bulging roots, holding a broken stick cut into two.
"Eunuch Xu, you're here. Why aren't you there at the banquet too?" Yin Wenyan still hasn't recovered from the shock but he managed to conceal it. Xu Zhengming saw a few strokes of characters written on the ground. His majesty must have written something with his stick before he broke it into two.
Yin Wenyan saw where Xu Zhengming's eyes were looking and so he quickly stamps his feet on it, erasing the writings and giving him a bashful smile.
Xu Zhengming puffed a laugh and sits beside the prince.
"It's you who said you don't need my assistance anymore, your majesty. You even told me to retreat in the servant's quarters."
"Oh." Yin Wenyan finally got the pieces together. "Sorry, that slipped in my mind. Why are you still not in your room?"
Xu Zhengming scratches his nape. He asks in the back of his head, Is his majesty have short-term memory or he's just neglectful?
"The thing is..." The eunuch smiled bashfully. "I can't find the servants' quarters. I'm lost."
Now, it's Wenyan's turn to laugh. "You just never change. You still have a bad sense of direction."
Xu Zhengming got confused. "I can't recall telling your majesty about that."
Yin Wenyan unintentionally said something he shouldn't. Now he has to lie again. "You did. You just forgot."
He smiled at him. He thought, 'Or rather, you just didn't know it was me.'
Xu Zhengming seems to believe it. For some reason, Yin Wenyan feels a half relief and a half pain.
Mingming has the guts to ask the emperor directly. "Why are you here, your majesty? Did you snuck out of the banquet?"
With his signature smile, he answered, "Hmm... Kind of."
Xu Zhengming speaks again, "Princess Yin Xiulan might scold you again."
Yin Wenyan shrugs, "Maybe." He then looks at the other straight in the eyes. "I'm waiting for someone."
The clueless Xu Zhengming got interested. "Your royal noble consort? One of your concubines? Her highness the empress?"
The prince laughs, "That's a secret."
Xu Zhengming thinks this might be the perfect timing to ask the emperor for his preference for women. Also, he looks like he's in a good mood now so he thinks he better try this out.
"Your majesty, just what exactly is your preference? What kind of partner are you looking for?"
"Why are you asking?" Yin Wenyan questioned.
"Well, I'm..." Xu Zhengming must not tell his majesty about Empress Xue Chi. He makes a fake explanation and reasoned out, "I'm well-informed about love matters. I can give you advice."
Yin Wenyan smiles lazily. "No, you're clueless."
"Aiyah, your majesty, just give it a chance. I promise to advise you." He winks at the nobleman.
He closes his eyes and inhales deeply. He then slowly opens his eyes as he exhales. "Hmmm... let's see."
He stares at Xu Zhengming with bright eyes. "Someone who's aware of one's beauty. However, humble enough not to compliment oneself. Someone who's mentally capable but silly at times. A little short-tempered but gentle. And..." He pauses and retracted his gaze from the little eunuch. "And this someone must love me but doesn't threaten my entire freedom."
Prince Yin Wenyan hopelessly smiles. "I'm afraid the first condition in my last preference is impossible."
"Your majesty, you're mistaken."
Yin Wenyan's eyes widen as he looks at the person sitting beside him. His heart begins to palpitate. Did he just... Did he just recognize himself with those descriptions he just said?
He got so anxious, what if this person who is just a mere centimeters away from himself heard this heart of his?
Eunuch Xu continued, "You can't meet someone who can possibly achieve a single set of your conditions! Not in this lifetime."
With just that, Yin Wenyan starts to calm down. But still, there's a part of him that wants Xu Zhengming to know what he's hiding, to see through him. He wonders how will he respond if only he knows.
He smiled, "Why not? I'm actually describing the person I like."
Xu Zhengming, "Wait... this kind of person exists?"
"Yes." Though it's just a rhetorical question that Xu Zhengming offhandedly sprouts, Yin Wenyan answered sincerely.
The little eunuch pinches his chin and acted like he has a long beard, "Ah, so... maybe his majesty's type is temperamental like himself?"
"What?"
Everyone in the palace knows that his majesty, the emperor, is temperamental... except the triplets and the two old empresses. Of course, who would dare gossip about a member of the imperial royal family around another member of the said family? However, Empress Xue Chi is different. She would happily gossip with her maids especially when it comes to his husband, the emperor.
"Huh? Hahaha... that was just nonsense, your majesty. Please don't mind it." That exact moment he realized his tactlessness, he wanted to punch himself hard. But of course, he won't do that because he loves his face so much. It would be a waste if his handsome face gets bruised.
Luckily for our Mingming, Prince Yin Wenyan let go of the matter and continued the interrupted topic.
"But really, I'm sure this person is not a threat to my freedom but I don't think this person loves me the way I do."
"..."
"Can you give me an advice, Eunuch Xu?" The prince said although he didn't expect too much from him.
"Hmm... Based on your description, I think she's an independent type of woman." Xu Zhengming said, "Your majesty, it's not too hard to deal with this type. You just have to let her know that she isn't alone. This type usually won't show weakness to others so give her a safe place to let her guard down and feel as though she doesn't have to act strong all the time."
"..." Yin Wenyan is quiet for some time. After moments of thinking things over, he smiles at the other. "I see." He said, "I think that would work. Thank you so much for your advice."
"It's my pleasure to be of any help to his majesty."
Prince Yin Wenyan wants to laugh. Look at how clueless he is. He's witty, but in some aspects, he's kind of dumb. Maybe it's for the best that he doesn't know anything. It's alright, he'll just admire him secretly. The prince knows more than anyone else that he, the one who doesn't have a real identity, can't do anything about it.
On the other hand, Xu Zhengming realized something. Isn't he supposed to help Empress Xue Chi? What's he's doing now is advising the emperor to pursue the one he likes? And most importantly, he entered the imperial palace this time to work as a eunuch. Why the hell is he playing the matchmaker's role now?
After that, no one speaks again for a good while. Even the soft howling sound of the wind blowing seems so loud. So tranquil. If he had the capability to freeze time, Yin Wenyan would stop this moment and enjoy it as long as he wants. He'll sit side by side with him, stare at his face as much as he wants. If only he could... but he can't.
Then a piece of mellow music echoed from the Union Hall where the banquet is happening. There's quite a distance between the garden and the hall but the tune made by the ensemble is somehow audible from where they are.
"Eunuch Xu." The prince called.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" The moment Xu Zhengming turns his head to face his majesty, Yin Wenyan is already standing and extending his hand on him.
"Will you dance with me?"
"No, no. I don't know how to dance, your majesty."
"Aiyah. It's fine, I'm not very good at dancing as well." Yin Wenyan chuckles."Don't think too much about it."
"Really... I---"
"My shizun has been into a lot of places. There's this time when he mentioned a certain dance from a place where he once went. He even showed us how to. It's quite easy actually." He said. "This dance requires a pair of dancers."
The two of them stand face to face, inches apart. Yin Wenyan leads Xu Zhengming's left hand to his broad shoulder while holding the eunuch's other hand up to shoulder level. He then put his right hand on Xu Zhengming's waist.
"I think this is it." The prince cheerfully smiles. "We dance like this until the music ends."
Xu Zhengming on the other hand finds their position strange and a little funny.
"Your majesty, I think it's better if we dance like this with female partners." To him, this position seems intimate and intended for couples. He thought, how innocent could this temperamental emperor be? Does he even know anything about romance? He even has an absurd preference for women.
"Really? Why so?"
"This..." Xu Zhengming gives up. His face is totally clueless. He suddenly felt shame looking at this 'pure' man in front of him.
Yin Wenyan gives it a thought and realized something. Now that he thinks about it, they're so close to each other. His one hand holding Xu Zhengming's hand, and the other hand placed on his hip.
In an instant, the prince feels his face getting warmer and his heart skipped a beat. Good for him, tonight is darker than most of the nights. His little eunuch couldn't see him blushing like a young lady over her first love.
He draws a bashful smile on his lips. "Don't think of it that way. I saw my shizun and Wang-shifu dance this way so I think whoever your partner is doesn't really matter."
But now that he also gives it a thought, his shifu and shizun seem to have a relationship more than sworn brothers. This thought made him even more anxious. To him, "embarrassing" is the right word to describe this scene.
"Then, how will we dance like this?" Yin Wenyan got dragged back to reality when Xu Zhengming asked him a question.
"Right." He gives him his signature smile. "Just move your feet. Follow my steps wherever I go."
"Okay."
"Keep your feet largely stationary, shift your weight back and forth and sway with every movement."
All Xu Zhengming did was to do all his instructions and follow the other's lead. This eunuch is not just good-looking, he's also a fast learner too. And so, he quickly familiarized the steps.
"Oh, this is actually easy. But I say, this dance is still strange for me."
Yin Wenyan chuckles, "I told you."
He raises his hand that's holding Xu Zhengming's hand. "Turn around."
"Like this?" Mingming slowly spins himself without their hands parting.
"You're perfect." Yin Wenyan said absent-mindedly as if he's enchanted by the person's face in front of him.
"Huh?" Xu Zhengming tilted his head slightly.
Only then did the prince realized that he just said his thought aloud. He immediately corrected himself. "I mean, that turnaround is perfect."
Still, Yin Wenyan is uncomfortable with the atmosphere so he decided to initiate a change of topic. "Say, Eunuch Xu, will you agree with me if I say this garden is beautiful?"
Deep inside his mind, Yin Wenyan wants to put his palm on his face. He can't think of any interesting topic plus he's not good at interacting with others. He just simply sucks at socializing.
"Honestly, I think this is the most beautiful part of the entire imperial palace." The other answered straightforwardly.
"Ah, I see."
After that, another silence came between them again. Though the music still goes on, it still feels quiet. This made the prince anxious.
Yin Wenyan thought, "Did I just ended the conversation?"
"Your majesty, If you don't mind me asking..." Xu Zhengming hesitated but he totally got the other's attention so he got no choice but to continue what he was about to say. "In the past, have you noticed someone around the palace who always wears black robes? Also, wears a conical hat with a black veil around it that conceals the face."
"..."
This eunuch of his is literally asking him his whereabouts. Of course, he's happy that even though years have passed, he's still remembered. But the issue here is that, can he reveal his identity? He can't.
Sensing that the emperor doesn't seem to respond soon, Xu Zhengming quickly retracted, "It's okay if you don---"
"I haven't." Yin Wenyan interrupted him with a smile on his lips, but his eyes don't match. "I haven't seen someone like that, Eunuch Xu. Are you sure that old friend of yours is not the death reaper?"
Terrified, Eunuch Xu's eyes bulged. "Is that possible?!"
Yin Wenyan can't help himself but let out a laugh. He didn't expect him to believe that such a thing is possible.
"..." For some reason, Xu Zhengming feels embarrassed.  He won't deny that his reaction was silly. He stops dancing, retracts his hands on Yin Renshu, and takes a step backward, "I'm going."
"Aiyah. I'm just messing around, I'm sorry. Eunuch Xu, don't leave me alone. This friend of yours might come for me." Yin Wenyan tries his very best to stop his laughter but failed in the end. He pulls his eunuch closer and put the other's hand back to his shoulder and continued to dance slowly.
"His majesty is so sincere." Eunuch Xu said in a sarcastic manner.
"Really, sorry. Stay a little longer, will you?" Yin Wenyan finally collected himself but still, a wide grin is on his lips.
Xu Zhengming thought, the emperor looks like he's in the good mood. He laughs evilly inside his brain. He clears his throat and said, "15 gold coins. I'll stay."
"Okok." The prince temporarily let go of the other's hand and hip to get his money purse in his sleeve. "I don't know how much is that but that isn't lesser than 15 gold coins."
Xu Zhengming, with a wide grin, happily accepts the purse and keeps it on his sleeve. "I'll make sure to return your purses next time. I already have two of your purses with me."
"Mn. No need to rush."
Since his majesty paid for his eunuch's time, Xu Zhengming initiated to continue their slow dancing. But now that he thinks about it, why does he feel like his whole self got sold? However, he immediately dissolves that thought. He's priceless. A mere 30 gold coins aren't enough to buy his person. He's good-looking after all, and witty, and a fun companion too. A three-in-one package!
"Eunuch Xu, why are you asking for this person?" Yin Wenyan asks.
"Uh, no reason at all. It's just I always met this person here before. And for some reason, your majesty somehow reminded me of this someone." He answered.
"Somehow?" Yin Wenyan repeated.
Xu Zhengming debated against himself for a second whether he should tell the other or not. However, in the end, he decided to dare speak boldly, "Yes. This old friend of mine has a gentle personality like yours but this friend is consistently nice."
Yin Wenyan puffs a laugh, "So you really mean that I am temperamental?"
Mingming forced a laugh, "Uh... hehe, don't get offended, your majesty. It's good to be yourself."
This eunuch really knows what to say. "It's good to be yourself."
The truth is, Yin Wenyan has already forgotten how long has he been hiding in his brother's shadows. Now that Xu Zhengming is by his side, he can be himself again. To smile genuinely, to laugh without restrictions, to act like Yin Wenyan and not Yin Renshu. It's indeed good to be one's true self.
Mingming continued, "We used to meet here. In this exact place. Chatting together. Enjoying literature together. But one night, this friend of mine stopped coming until the day I finish my studies in the imperial academy. I didn't know why." His face filled with confusion, "My friend isn't dead, right?"
The prince smiles at his eunuch. "Don't worry. I'm sure, wherever he is, he's just doing fine."
"He?" Xu Zhengming asks. "How did you know that I am talking about a man?"
The music from the Union Hall finished and the two of them stopped dancing. Maybe it's time for them to end the banquet.
With a gentle smile, he answered, "Just a guess."