Editor: Marcia
Beta reader: Dairytea
Spring Once More chapter 4
(Traditional Chinese cover scanned by Dairytea)
Chapter Four
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Spring Once More by ayszhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Prince Tai, Chai Rong, is the seventh and youngest prince of Daxing
Dynasty and was born of the same mother as the emperor.[1]
Xiao-Shun told me this.
Xiao-Shun is the young prince’s trusted subordinate. The most trusted
bosom servant. This is also what Xiao-Shun told me. He is helping the prince recover
his memories. That’s why he is being so detailed. And the prince who has lost
his memory is none other than yours truly.
It was only yesterday that I used my wealth of wits to mislead the guy
who spoke with me into believing one thing: the prince not only died and came
back to life but lost his memory, too. At that point, the other members of the
prince’s manor split into two groups, one leaving to request a purification
rite of water and earth and another heading to the imperial palace to deliver
the news. When the priest and the Imperial Guards crashed into the ceremonial
pavilion, I was sitting with Master Su on the coffin lid drinking tea and
talking up a storm.
Su Xingzhi, courtesy name Zhengyan, was the guy who chatted with me. I
figured he must be some relative of the prince since both the staff of the manor and the head of the Imperial Guard was very respectful of him. He
seemed like a guy used to being in charge of things. One word from Master Su
beat a million from me. Master Su said the young prince was only in a deep
sleep and indeed regained consciousness rather than being reanimated.
Therefore, everybody believed that the prince came back to life and was not a
zombie. The Guards returned to the palace with auspicious news for the emperor.
As the entire manor knelt down in celebration of my rebirth, I struck the
classic pose of President Mao on the tower of Tiananmen to signify that I
considered the fiasco over and done with. Immediately, a dozen or so people
ushered me to my private chambers to bathe and change my clothes. Some servants
lit firecrackers to celebrate and to chase away the infelicitous atmosphere.
And that brings us to the present. I am now the prince who has lost his
memory. I’m being told by my forgotten bosom servant about the prince’s past.
My guess is that Xiao-Shun is in his early twenties. With a head like a
water deer’s, eyes like a rat’s,[2] the sharp
and jagged features tell me he’s a quick-witted person. His limbs are nimble,
and his speech is clear. I reckon there was more than a dozen who came up to me
claiming to be my bosom servant, and this buddy was the most outstanding of
them all. I appreciate him the most too because he knows the prince’s family
history the best.
Daxing Dynasty has had five emperors since its founding. The previous
emperor had a total of fourteen sons. Three kicked the bucket before the
current emperor took the throne, and four did the same afterward. The remaining
seven were given the title of grand prince. Fu, Ning, Ren, Kang, Duan, An, Tai -
so goes the order. Chai Rong is the youngest, so he received the title of
Prince Tai.
But everybody speaks very vaguely about the prince’s past. Clearly, they
are trying to hide things from me. I think back to the mumbled utterance of the
department head. I gather that this Prince Chai Rong wasn’t a front runner for
Mr. Congeniality, and that’s why he was killed. Well, I’ve got all the time in
the world to figure things out. Right now the most urgent issue is figuring out
how to act and speak so as not to arouse suspicion.
“Oh, right.” After listening to
Xiao-Shun recite a bunch of stuff about the dynasty’s history, I suddenly think
of Su Xingzhi whom I haven’t seen since I left the shrine. “Y’know, that Master
Su, who is he to us?”
The royal we comes
out naturally, like it was meant to be uttered by me.
Xiao-Shun
shifts his eyes for a split second. “Oh, Master Su? He’s more than close with
Your Highness. It’s a pity Your Highness does not remember.”
[1] Most siblings of the emperor are half-siblings because emperors
have multiple wives who bear children. Sharing a mother has significance as
to Prince Tai’s power and proximity to the emperor compared to other princes.
[2] This comparison is used to describe someone who is ugly and
cunning.
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Dairytea: Love interest #1? OuO
Master Su from the manhua
Spring Once More by ayszhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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