Chapter 348: After-Viewing Impressions

At that moment...

A woman in her early forties stepped out from behind, wearing a plain long dress and a silver hairpin, froze when she saw Zhu Yong, then smiled and greeted, "Sir, in broad daylight…"

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly recognized the visitor, her complexion changing at once: "Wu…"

Zhu Yong waved his hand and said, "No need to make a fuss. Take us up to have a look, just a look."

The woman quickly nodded and led the way ahead.

On the second floor were a series of elegant rooms, all with their doors closed.

The woman pushed open one; inside was a round table, a few chairs, and a couch by the window, its cushion covered with silk brocade.

On the wall hung several paintings of court ladies, rendered with delicate brushwork, quite elegant.

Zhu Qiong Jiong walked in, looked around, then crouched at the window to peer down.

Below was a small courtyard, planted with a few osmanthus trees, and beneath them a stone table and stone stools.

"Is that all?" he asked, turning his head.

The woman forced a smile and said, "Young master, it's only lively at night—there are girls playing the qin and singing, and a troupe performing…"

"Where are the people? The girls?" Zhu Qiong Jiong asked again.

The woman glanced at Zhu Yong and dared not answer.

Zhu Yong said, "There are none in the daytime; they appear only at night."

Zhu Qiong Jiong gave a small hum and asked, "Are there many people who come at night?"

The woman answered cautiously, "Many—young masters from Yingtian Prefecture all like to come here."

"What do they all come for?"

The woman choked, unable to speak.

Zhu Yong said, "Drink wine, listen to music, make friends."

Zhu Qiong Jiong nodded and asked, "Anything else?"

"That's enough. Aren't you here to observe? Once you've seen it, go back and write," Zhu Yong interrupted him.

Zhu Qiong Jiong pursed his lips, still wanting to ask, but Zhu Yong pulled him out.

Li Jinglong followed behind, daring not to breathe loudly, wishing he could tuck his head into his neck.

Leaving Zui Xian Lou, Zhu Yong walked back with the two children.

All the way, Zhu Qiong Jiong was unusually quiet.

Li Jinglong, still behind, walked a distance before he could no longer hold back, whispering, "Prince, I…"

"When you go back, apologize to your father; how you phrase it is up to you," Zhu Yong said without turning his head.

Li Jinglong responded, lowered his head, and ran off.

Zhu Qiong Jiong looked at his cousin's retreating figure and suddenly said, "Father, that place isn't interesting at all."

"Oh?"

"It's just a place for drinking wine and listening to music, no different from a restaurant. I thought it would be more mysterious, but it's just this…" he thought.

Zhu Yong smiled, "Will you go again in the future?"

"No more," Zhu Qiong Jiong shook his head, "It's boring."

He paused, then added, "I'll go when I'm older."

Zhu Yong's smile froze on his face.

……

Back at Wu Wang Fu, Zhu Qiong Jiong plunged into the study, hunched over the desk and wrote for a long while.

At dinner, he handed several sheets of paper to Zhu Yong.

Zhu Yong took them and looked.

The characters were crooked and contained several misspellings, but the content was earnest.

"…The upstairs is quiet, with tables, chairs, and paintings, much like an ordinary restaurant. The elegant rooms upstairs are tidy, and outside the windows is a courtyard with osmanthus trees. The manager said that at night there are girls playing the qin and singing, and a troupe performing. I think it's like a teahouse where people listen to stories, only the performers are singing girls. Father said it's a place for drinking wine, listening to music, and making friends; I didn't find anything special. I won't go again, not even when I grow up, unless Father takes me."

Zhu Yong finished reading and placed the paper on the desk.

"Well written," he said, "but the last sentence is unnecessary."

Zhu Qiong Jiong grinned, showing a mouth missing a front tooth.

Guanyin Nu watched the father and son from beside them, a slight curl at the corner of her mouth that quickly faded.

"Prince, you took him to that kind of place today, and if word gets out…" she began.

"So what if it spreads?" Zhu Yong lifted his teacup, "I took my son to have a look, did nothing else; it's better than him sneaking around."

Guanyin Nu said nothing.

Zhu Qiong Jiong buried his head in his food, eating more heartily than anyone.

Zhu Yong looked at his son and suddenly recalled his own childhood.

Back then he was also curious, wondering what lay beyond the mountain, what lay beyond the river.

Later he went, discovering that beyond the mountain was still a mountain, and beyond the river was a military camp, a battlefield.

Some things seem mysterious, but when approached, they're just that.

But he couldn't tell Zhu Qiong Jiong that.

If he said, Zhu Qiong Jiong wouldn't understand; he must see and think for himself.

That's what a father should do.

That night, Zhu Yong went to the Eastern Palace to find Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao was reviewing documents in the study; when he saw Zhu Yong enter, he set down his brush.

"I heard you took Jiong Jiong to Zui Xian Lou today?"

Zhu Yong sits down, pours himself a cup of tea and says, "The news spread really fast."

Zhu Biao laughs, "The whole court, civil and military, is gossiping that Prince Wu took his son to visit a brothel."

Zhu Yong shakes his head, "Just to take a look. That kid is curious; the more we forbid him, the more he wants to go."

Zhu Biao nods, "You did right; blocking is worse than easing. If Imperial Father had blocked us back then, we still wouldn't know what we'd become now."

Zhu Yong says nothing.

Zhu Biao adds, "As for Li Jinglong, don't be too harsh; that kid is timid, and when Zhu Qiong Jiong urged him, he just followed."

"I know; later let Brother Wen Zhong talk about him," Zhu Yong puts down his tea cup.

Zhu Biao glances at him, "Brother Wen Zhong's health has improved lately; don't make him worry again."

Zhu Yong nods.

The two talk a while longer, then Zhu Yong rises and takes his leave.

At the doorway, Zhu Biao suddenly calls out, "Second brother."

"Mm?"

"Did you also be this curious when you were a child?"

Zhu Yong thinks, then smiles, "I was curious—what's beyond the mountain, what's beyond the river. I went later and found it was just that."

Zhu Biao also smiles.

The two brothers lock eyes and say nothing more.

…

Returning to Wu Wang Fu, it is already the Hai Hour.

The back courtyard lights are out; only the main house remains lit.

Zhu Yong pushes the door open and enters; Guanyin Nu sits under the lamp, holding Zhu Qiong Jiong's essay "Afterthought," flipping it over and over.

"Still awake?" Zhu Yong walks over.

Guanyin Nu puts down the paper, softly saying, "Prince, about today's matter…"

"What's wrong?"

Guanyin Nu hesitates, shakes her head, "Never mind, I won't say it."

Zhu Yong sits beside her, "If you have anything to say, speak."

Guanyin Nu remains silent for a while, then says, "Prince, you took him to that kind of place today; I actually… don't oppose it. You're right—blocking is worse than easing."

"I just think this kid has the same temperament as you—too wild. Today he's curious about a brothel; tomorrow what? You can't take him to see everything."

Zhu Yong nods, "You're right. But the kid is clever; for some things, he can figure them out without our teaching."

Guanyin Nu looks at him, "Do you trust him that much?"

"Trust… he's my son," Zhu Yong smiles and says.

Guanyin Nu says nothing further.

Outside the window, the moon rises, lighting the courtyard brightly.

Zhu Yong leans against the chair back, eyes closed.

He recalls the question Zhu Qiong Jiong asked today in Zui Xian Lou, "What are we all here for?"

That kid actually understands everything.

He just wants to see what the places adults forbid look like.

After seeing it, he found it meaningless and stopped worrying about it.

Just like his younger self.

A faint smile curls his lips, and he falls into deep sleep.