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“What’s he doing here?”
“…”
The two princes stared one another down, Lu Xuechen in the middle looking pained as he glanced between them with a tight smile.
“Ah…I must have mixed up the dates somehow,” he let out a light laugh. “My bad, my bad.”
Liu Mu narrowed his eyes at the man. Did he truly make a mistake, or…
“Come! Come sit down, you two,” Lu Xuechen ushered them to the table by the pavillion, and Liu Mu felt his irritation slowly ebb away as Xuechen grabbed his elbow and gently steered him to his chair, indignant but feeling more than a little gracious when they were all finally seated.
Liu Chu—his Seventh Brother—attempted to smile at him as Lu Xuechen poured them all tea, but he pretended like he hadn’t seen anything. Even then, he didn’t need to see him to feel the eye roll his brother gave him.
“It’s been a while since we all sat together, so why not make the most of this opportunity?” Xuechen smiled at them both. After marrying into the Luo Family in Jingyang, eloping at the remnants of her ancestral home, he and Luo Lingyu had broken the news to their families days later, all of them unsurprisingly lamenting the fact that they had missed it.
They ended up holding a proper wedding ceremony at the Lu Mansion, both of them profusely refusing Liu Mu’s offer to hold it at one of the royal family’s mansions since it was much bigger.
Not long after, his Seventh Brother too held his own wedding with Miss Zhuo, and aside from the housewarming parties, they’ve all been too busy adjusting to their new homes and newlywed lives to make time to meet properly. That is, until today.
Liu Mu slowly raised his cup and breathed in deep. As always, it was the Shouzhou tea he adored, Lu Xuechen bringing out the expensive tea leaves whenever he visited. He mildly wondered if Xuechen also brewed this exact same tea whenever he and his Seventh Brother met up…yet something pressed heavily onto his ribs at the thought.
The three of them shared polite pleasantries for a good quarter of a sichen before Lu Xuechen suddenly stood up, stopping them from rising with a single hand.
“A-Yu told me she wanted to cook something delicious for us as this is your first unofficial visit since we moved here,” he explained, glancing meaningfully between them both with his eyes curved. “How could I, her beloved husband, let her do all that work on her own? I’m going to go help her and bring the food here for all of us to enjoy after. You two continue talking without me!”
And with a bow that was more of a tease than a proper one, the man turned with a flourish, his wide sleeves fluttering as he disappeared into a corner.
Awkward silence filled the space between them as they each looked at anywhere but each other, both determined not to be the one to break this fragile peace. Although the two of them had grown more or less amicable ever since they helped Xuechen with his marriage proposal, there was still a palpable distance that neither were willing to bridge, something that had always been present ever since they were kids with Lu Xuechen having to play mediator many times between them.
Yet it seemed his brother was more affected than him by the silence, or maybe he was just too soft-hearted like the fool that he was, because he suddenly let out a pointed cough.
“I haven’t told you this but…” he said, refusing to meet his eyes. “I’m glad you and Xuechen reconciled at last.”
“Oh?”
He shrugged. “You two always were the closest growing up. You weren’t here for the last ten years, but…he really did miss you even though he tried his best to pretend otherwise. I could see it in his eyes, but there was nothing I could do about it.”
Liu Mu clenched the cup in his hand, trying his best not to break it.
“No need to lie to console me, Qi-di,” he said brusquely, shadow in his eyes.
“But I’m not! I’d like to think that I know him well enough-”
“Ha! As if you weren’t happy to have him all to yourself these last ten years.”
“You—!” His brother slammed his cup onto the table, the liquid splashing all over his hand as he rose up like a cat whose tail was stepped on. “Why do you keep putting words in my mouth? You always do this. Aren’t I allowed to be friends with him too?!”
“Whoever says you can’t?” He huffed. Trust this self-acclaimed mild-mannered brother of his to get riled up so easily. “I was simply stating a fact. Can you really claim to not be happy when he grew distant with me back then?”
Liu Chu bristled.
“Fine,” he clamped his jaws. “I admit that I was…more than a bit happy that I got to grow closer with Xuechen after you left, but that’s beside the point. You weren’t there.”
He hissed, leaning closer as his words turned to whispers as sharp as knives, digging deep into the flesh of his heart. “You didn’t see how heartbroken he was after you told him those awful words, right when he was still grieving over his late father and his fall from grace. You weren’t there to comfort him when he couldn’t even bring himself to see you off, too angry and hurt to see your face.”
You brought this onto yourself, he didn’t need to say.
Liu Mu felt like his brother had not only punched him in the face, but threw him into a frozen lake and pulled him out only to kick him in the guts over and over, his words not only mocking him for the mistakes he had made, but also a punishment (and no doubt a payback for all the grievances he’d caused him).
He looked away, his throat closing impossibly tight as he tried to find the words to fight back…only to find none.
It was his fault—it always has been.
His seventh brother sat back down with a heavy sigh, pouring more tea into his cup before swiftly guzzling it down, decorum be damned.
Another round of silence permeated the pavilion where they sat, yet it felt suffocating in a way guilt tends to eat up space and taint everything it touches, his chest heavy with the weight of his mistakes and the plain truth behind his brother’s words.
“…You’re right.” It felt more than a little awkward to say that to Liu Chu, more like he was pulling out his own teeth, but it must be said. “I…it’s fortunate that you were there for him.”
His brother didn’t bother to say anything in reply, the only acknowledgement being the shake of his head as he took another sip of his tea.
After a while-
“He set us up, didn’t he?” It was more a statement than a question, yet Liu Mu could only snort in bemusement.
“Clearly.”
They let their conversation taper off into nothing, both lost in their own thoughts as the morning dew slowly evaporated under the growing heat of the sun, birds chirping and leaving their nest to find food for their young.
He thought they would simply spend the rest of the time waiting in silence, not that he would mind. But to his surprise, his brother cleared his throat yet again.
“I should also mention…other than whenever it’s just us, you seem happier too now, Wu-ge.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you’d at least mope when they’re not looking…but you were genuinely happy even during the wedding.”
“Oh?” He raised a brow. “Did you expect me to be a terrible friend just because Miss Luo ends up marrying my best friend? I know you don’t have the highest opinion of me, but even that’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“It’s not just that. For someone who was determined to marry her, you really seemed like you already fully moved on from Miss Luo—”
“I respect her decision—”
“—and it definitely has something to do with how Xuechen started calling you by your nickname again!”
That quickly shut him up.
Apparently that was more than enough for his brother to perk up, slapping the table with an unspoken ‘Ha!’.
“That was the reason you were so hostile towards both of us in the beginning, wasn’t it?” He pressed further, ignoring the deadly glare daring him to continue talking. “Never mind that you’ve always been suspicious of me…wasn’t it all because Xuechen refused to call you ‘A-Jiao’ after you came back?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Qi-di,” Liu Mu slowly enunciated every word, gritting his teeth.
“I’ve always known how incredibly clingy you are to him since we were kids, but-”
“Liu Chu.”
Said man immediately snapped his mouth shut, memories of Liu Mu truly, genuinely angry when they were kids and the two of them wrestling in the ground until their servants had to separate them burned into his mind forever. He shivered—he had no will to genuinely fight with him, whether it be physical or verbal.
“…Forget it. Pretend I didn’t say anything,” his brother waved his hand, reaching out towards the pot to pour yet another cup of tea. But before he could, Liu Mu slapped his hand away and brought the pot closer to himself.
“Don’t drink up the whole pot so fast,” he frowned. “Save it for when Xuechen returns.”
“Then we can just brew a new one?”
“It’s expensive.”
“Oh, stop it,” his brother rolled his eyes. “You just don’t want me to drink the tea from your precious Xuechen.”
“Qi-di!”
“I honestly don’t even know what you’re so worried about,” his brother muttered. “You visit him almost daily while we only have our chess days every week now. He barely even looked at me earlier because he was too busy laughing at you.”
Liu Mu would never admit it outloud—but hearing his brother say that gave him such a profound, intense feeling of satisfaction, so much so that he struggled to hold back the smirk fighting its way out of his mouth.
It seems his attempts were for naught after all, Liu Chu’s frown deepening into a scowl as he stared at him.
“We haven’t seen each other in years after all,” Liu Mu sniffed. “It’s only natural that he’d gravitate towards me more. No need to get jealous over it.”
Liu Chu’s eye roll count must have reached a new record for how many times he’d done it in one day. Thankfully for him, Liu Mu was feeling plenty gracious and happy enough to ignore this blatant disrespect. Serves him right for keeping Xuechen all to himself for a whole decade.
At the exact same time…
Lu Xuechen took a peek from behind the pillar, Luo Lingyu trying to as well only to be pulled back.
“Not yet, A-Yu!” He hissed. He wished they were closer so that he could eavesdrop on them, but A-Jiao’s instincts were much too sharp for him to sneak on him like that. “They’re still talking…”
“And here I thought the only one I have to look out for was Chen Xiu…” she sighed dramatically, the food box in her hand swaying as she pretended to faint.
“Hey- What are you talking about?!”
Instead of answering, she gave him a far-too-innocent smile before waltzing out of their little hiding spot, ignoring his whispered cries telling her to get back. With a stifled groan, he put on his best smile before walking out of the corner as well, bracing himself for what’s to come.
The two princes immediately perked up seeing them.
“Sao-zi!” cried out A-Man with a wide grin. Ever since he and Luo Lingyu got married, this Prince Changyi seemed much too excited to be able to call her sister-in-law to Luo Lingyu’s eternal embarrassment and yet pride as well. She once told him with that familiar glint in her eyes:
“Well…since I ended up not marrying the prince, being the sister-in-law of one is acceptable too.”
A-Jiao had continued to refer to her as Miss Luo, or Madame Luo, if the situation required, he supposed it was his own way of acknowledging her family’s heritage and Xuechen being her matrilocal husband.
Said man immediately broke into a bright smile when their eyes met, and Lu Xuechen felt his own smile melting into something more genuine, something warm glowing in his chest.
He made his way towards them with the tray of food in his hands, letting A-Yu explain the intricacies of the dishes while he slowly placed each of them on the table before them.
Right as they were about to dig in, Luo Lingyu rose from her seat and bowed delicately.
“Unfortunately, I’ll have to leave Your Highnesses to the poor company of my husband,” she said with an apologetic smile. “I’ve already made plans today with Miss Chen, Yangling and A-Tang prior to this, but I wanted to make sure your stomachs will be full when you leave. Please excuse me and enjoy the food we prepared for you.”
“Of course, of course. Thank you kindly for preparing this delicious spread of food, Miss Luo,” A-Jiao rumbled kindly. “You’ve put so much effort into this…I’ll have to repay your kindness on another day.”
“No need to be so formal, Your Highness,” Luo Lingyu beamed. “You’re family too now, after all.”
“Have fun on your outing, Miss Luo. Please take care of our sister and Yangling for us,” quipped A-Man, nodding to her with a smile.
Luo Lingyu gave them another bow and turned to leave, but not before winking at him as if to say ‘Good luck~’.
He couldn’t tell if he felt incredibly aggrieved or endeared by her at this moment. He may be cunning, but her mastery over manipulation was on another level—it was impossible not to admire it.
“Don’t stay out for too long, A-Yu! Otherwise I’ll have to come fetch you myself!”
“I got it~”
They all watched her go until she was out of sight before he turned back to them with a smile. “Come, let’s eat.”
They ended up talking for hours, sharing snippets of their lives they didn’t get to tell each other these past couple of weeks, laughter and indignant cries echoing throughout the courtyard as the sun’s harsh light softened with the passing time, wind blowing gently from the east carrying hints of past rain.
The food on the table slowly depleted and Lu Xuechen couldn’t remember the last time he felt such a strong sense of comfort and safety, a remnant of his past he never thought he would be able to reclaim ten years ago. He remembered-
“Ah, Xuechen,” called out Liu Mu all of a sudden. The man pointed at his lips and said, “You have something over here.”
He blinked, his hand swiping over his cheek mindlessly.
“No, no. There, right near your-”
He raised his sleeve without thinking, just wanting to get it over with when someone grabbed his wrist, pulling it away from him with a click of their tongue.
“Hold still,” A-Jiao murmured—wait, when did he get so close? He froze when the other caught his chin and meticulously wiped whatever it was away from his mouth with a handkerchief, his touch gentle and slow. Huh? Since when did he bring a handkerchief with him? Was it when he tried to court A-Yu—
“You’d have just smeared it even more,” Liu Mu snorted, finally pulling away once he was visibly satisfied. “I thought you said I’m the one who should be more mature. Then why are you still just as clumsy as you were back then?"
Lu Xuechen finally snapped out of his stupor and batted his remaining hand away with a huff, his heart for some reason beating so fast he thought he'd sprinted across the country right before this.
“Tsk. I’m not a child anymore,” he mumbled petulantly, completely aware he was not helping his own case but…he couldn’t help it. Something about being with A-Jiao brought back the childish, clingy streak he thought he had outgrown, something that nowadays only came out whenever he was with Luo Lingyu.
Even as he grew closer to A-Man all these years, their friendship and understanding of each other deepening in the face of their shared ideals, they never did naturally gravitate towards touch as he always had with A-Jiao. Memories of their frequent sleepovers and adventures together of just the two of them planted themselves stubbornly in his mind like weed even as he distanced himself from him years ago, trying and failing to purge those happy memories from his mind, sprouting in places he had long forgotten.
Speaking of A-Man…
Lu Xuechen turned to speak to him when he stopped. The man had completely pivoted away from them in his seat, seemingly enamored by something he couldn’t even see from here.
“Hey, A-Man, what’s so interesting that you’re ignoring us?”
That seemed to finally bring him back, a forced burst of laughter twisting his lips as he glanced uneasily at the two of them.
“Nothing, nothing. It’s just- the clouds! What interesting shapes they have, and one of them reminded me of my Yangling…”
“Since you’re so keen on returning to her, then don’t let us keep you.” A-Jiao’s eyes curved into sharp crescents, yet his smile was anything but kind.
“Isn’t she still out with A-Yu and the others?” Lu Xuechen interjected.
“I- er-”
“I’m sure that would be no problem for Qi-di,” Liu Mu smirked. “He could wait at home like the good husband that he is.”
The two of them glared at each other again, and Lu Xuechen felt like all his attempts to get them to co-exist had been flushed down the drain. Forget getting along—if these two keep finding new reasons to fight, then he might as well stop trying. Even though all he wanted was for his dearest friends to get along…
“Fine,” A-Man bit out after some time, his eyes narrowed dangerously at his brother. Yet when he turned to him, his smile was as gentle and kind as it always had been. “Xuechen, I’ll take my leave now. Send my regards to Sao zi and the rest.”
With a nod towards him and a quick, flippant bow at A-Jiao, A-Man finally left the courtyard to just the two of them.
He sighed.
“Must you two really antagonize each other all the time?”
“Xuechen, ah Xuechen…you have no experience growing up with someone everyone expects you to compete with, so I don’t expect you to understand,” A-Jiao shook his head slowly. “When every single person around you whispers how there could only be one successor, trying to pit us against one another for their own gain…it’s impossible to not develop a certain wariness towards each other, whether we want to or not.”
“…Hm, I suppose you’re right.”
“Just be glad you weren’t born into the royal family,” A-Jiao gave him a crooked smile before sipping his tea.
“…”
“Besides, we’re not wary of each other anymore,” he sat down his cup of tea carefully. “But some things…are too far too ingrained to change overnight. No matter how much you try to force it.”
His last words were accompanied by a small, pointed glare, and Lu Xuechen forced out a cough or two.
“…”
“…”
“Alright, alright…I hear you,” he sighed, long and hard. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“And?”
“…and I’ll stop meddling between you two.” He leaned in close and nudged him with a shoulder, his lips curved gently. “Happy, A-Jiao ah?”
He tried his best to meet A-Jiao’s eyes only for the other to evade his gaze, pretending to still be annoyed for a solid three seconds before he finally folded with a small:
“…Mm.”
His smile deepened. A-Jiao really was much easier to please now.