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"This is unacceptable".
The Crown Prince of the lands of Xuan Zhen is known to be slightly capricious. Only on some occasions. Very rarely.
Like this one.
"Your Highness, the artists who erected the statue tried their best to detail the dimensions of its beauty, but it is impossible to do a great job in such a short time!"
"I am not complaining about the time," Mu Qing moved away from the eunuch's side, who was nervously wiping his sweat with a damp cloth, and moved even closer to the stone statue towering above their heads and carved by inexperienced hands, "but about the quality. Even if it takes a year, I'd rather that than look at this kind of gift. It's Her Majesty's birthday, I need competent artists. Not beginners or regulars".
"B-but, Your Highness! The gift was commissioned a month ago, and Her Majesty the Queen's birthday is fast approaching. By the time that day arrives, the artists would only be able to complete half of the project!"
Mu Qing rolled his eyes. They were paying a significant amount of money to give his mother a worthy gift, after all. This hired artist was just one of many who worked incessantly in the different areas of the palace, and he could understand that he had other occupations to attend to, but this kind of work was crude and ungraceful. It was not worthy of his mother's eyes. Not on such a special day for her. In fact, it wasn't the kind of extravagant gift he would deliver either. While his mother deserved anything money could buy, he knew she preferred simple things like a handmade gift or a set of robes that was pretty to look at. That's why Mu Qing had been making - in secret from everyone, of course - a special outfit for his mother.
It had an embroidery of clouds and flowers with silver thread that stood out against the dark fabric, like stars shining in the night.
Mu Qing was particularly proud of that work, even if it wasn't finished.
But this gift was his father's, and he had been instructed to be as strict as a tyrant for this task. His father was even more demanding than he was, and his love for his wife burned brighter than a thousand lanterns overhead. He could consume his entire kingdom unwillingly, and he knew he needed to give her such an extravagant gift to reflect all his adoration.
"There must be someone," he complained. "We have tried everything, Your Highness: paintings, statues, poems, songs, but nothing can match His Majesty's dazzling beauty! It is something impossible to capture with ease and I-"
The door to the room rang in a special pattern. One, two, three, four. Pause. One, two.
"Your Highness, breakfast is served," a servant's voice could be heard behind the wood. The eunuch was already sufficiently excited, but he couldn't complain to royalty. That would cost him more than his own head! So he was biting his tongue, waiting for the right moment to find someone to take his anger out on.
"How dare you interrupt His Highness at a time like this?"
"You may come in," Mu Qing raised his voice above his and gave him a sidelong glance at the end.
The eunuch had to bite his tongue again and his face flushed with embarrassment. He had been scolded without the need for words - humiliating, humiliating, humiliating!
The doors slid aside and a young brown-haired man entered with his head bowed and a silver tray in his hands. The eunuch could not help but notice that, despite having coarse white robes, this young man's beauty could rival even that of His Highness the Crown Prince, which was quite impressive, for the prince already possessed the gift of being graceful in every respect. Including, of course, the physical.
"Your Highness, the cook was instructed to serve breakfast at His Highness's disposal, and received a message from His Majesty to be conveyed to you. Do you wish to hear it now?"
Mu Qing rubbed his temples. Right in the middle of his eyebrows, and then on the sides of his head.
"Speak".
"His Majesty instructs you to 'rest a bit, don't overexert yourself' " the servant bowed at the end, to indicate that the message was finished "I can send breakfast to the royal chambers if you wish".
The young man was bright and vivacious. With just a glance, the eunuch could notice the confidence in his actions, as if he knew exactly what His Highnesses would want to hear. He spoke in a soft but firm voice and used no jargon, so I assumed he came from the capital and was not one of those servants who were sold from other parts of the country and took much longer to shed their ways. Still, such overconfidence could stoke the prince's temper, especially if they discussed these kinds of matters, so the eunuch was about to interrupt.
"His Highness is-"
"Let's go, then".
The eunuch had to swallow his words again.
"But, Your Highness, we here...."
"I don't want to hear any more complaints about this," Mu Qing gave him one last look before he began to retreat to the servant, who lowered his head and led him out of the room, "no matter how much money they asks for, or what art he is versed in. Get an artist who does a perfect job".
Then they left.
The eunuch felt his legs shaking. Maybe this would be the year where they would make him lose his head.
(...)
On the way to the royal apartments, through one of the narrow corridors of the palace, two people kept a rhythmic pace.
"You have been biting your lip for fifteen minutes," Mu Qing's voice broke the silence of the lonely corridor. Not many servants possessed the Crown Prince's confidence, so it was unusual for the hallway to be crowded, "Do you have something to say?"
"His Highness is attentive to detail" when they were in front of the door, Xie Lian mentally prepared to juggle the tray in his hands and the door handle, but Mu Qing spared him the trouble and went through the room by himself.
Mu Qing's room was not a small space. It was large and full, with a carpet floor and round windows, covered by white curtains. It had a traditional look, with tea tables and a shelf full of neatly arranged scrolls. His closet was organized by color and her bed perfectly tidy. This was another reason why there were not so many servants at his disposal - the prince was perfectly functional on his own, with the exception of 'major' chores such as laundry or sweeping the room, which he was not allowed to do.
Xie Lian walked to one of the tea tables that Mu Qing usually used to eat at and placed the tray on top, arranging each plate and glass on it. After tidying everything, he pushed the tray aside and went straight to help Mu Qing remove the heavy ornaments and clothing.
As Mu Qing removed the jade crown, Xie Lian struggled with his belt and tried to conceal his difficulty. Despite the confidence noted in his actions by the royal eunuch, in reality Xie Lian was a somewhat clumsy servant. He was not good at cooking or removing garments he did not fully understand. But he was not bad at all other activities. In those he was quite good, to tell the truth.
"I'll do it," Mu Qing ordered, removing Xie Lian's hands from his clothes and replacing them with his own. He untied the knot in a matter of seconds and handed it to him, leaving Xie Lian to remove the first layer of robes on his own.
He did not stop to wait for him to do all the work and preferred to maintain a slightly casual appearance. He indicated to him that all was well and proceeded to sit down in front of the tea table, his back straight and knees touching the floor. Xie Lian bent down for a moment to pour the bubbling tea over one of the cups and returned to his usual position: standing with his arms behind his back, right next to Mu Qing.
Mu Qing unwrapped the wooden chopsticks and dug into his plate a bit before taking the first bite of rice. The prince's meals were strictly pertaining to a vegetarian diet and were exempt from ingredients such as egg, because Mu Qing disliked its taste. Everyone in the palace was aware of how picky the prince could be about his tastes, so they avoided any texture or flavor that might be unpleasant. In general, the prince was quite reasonable and polite in his requests, but still - they didn't want to risk inflaming the temper of a royal. That would be like putting their own heads on the chopping block!
"So?" Mu Qing finished chewing and spoke, covering his lips with a napkin.
"Today's training was enlightening," Xie Lian said tentatively, raising his head.
(Still, there was a slight detail that the servants could notice. A break in that framework of refined and strict tastes their prince maintained: this was a person. A servant, in fact. So clumsy that he could have ruined a ceremony with a dish under his care and who did not know how to completely remove a garment. They could not explain how, but their prince likes Xie Lian).
Mu Qing choked on his tea.
"Ah" Xie Lian rose from his seat to begin rubbing the prince's back, who had begun to cough. He tapped gently and slowly until he stopped.
Then Mu Qing gave him a suspicious look, clearing his throat and wiping his eyelashes, which had caught the moisture in his eyes in tiny droplets.
"Victory is good for you?" he used the napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth. All with graceful movements and perfect etiquette: the picture of elegance and refinement.
"It's not about that," Xie Lian hastened to explain, waving his hands in front of his body, "today I discovered that His Highness is much better with the saber than with the sword".
Mu Qing undid the uncomfortable tension in his shoulders and decided not to think too much about it (although, inevitably, he would end up doing so). He had started on the path of cultivation from an early age, but he had to admit that he envied certain aspects of Xie Lian's skill, such as his ease in learning the art of swordsmanship or using any weapon at his disposal without really being affected by its characteristics. It was as if anything in his hands could become a formidable weapon if he needed it.
His master flattered him too much, unlike Mu Qing, who didn't seem to like him too much. He liked Xie Lian's boldness and resilience, and it was something Mu Qing shared, even if it seemed like Xie Lian was trying to prove that he was better than the rest. He was a bit of a show-off.
"Fighting with His Highness has been one of the most intense emotions I have ever experienced in my life," he added, "it really is a high level. I have always loved exciting fights".
Xie Lian's eyes emitted a golden glow, as if they had been illuminated by sunlight.
"Adulator" Mu Qing took a sip of his tea and swallowed the swampy essence. It had a particular smell and the wet steam warmed his face. Mu Qing likes Xie Lian. No matter how snooty or clumsy he might be, he really liked him. He took him in when he first started cultivating at Mount TaiCang, found him trying to copy from outside one of the classes Mei Nianqing was teaching at the Sacred Pavilion and decided that he could have a new friend if he allowed him to come in for training. He was about eight years old at the time.
Since then, they had not been separated.
"By the way," Xie Lian stopped his chatter suddenly, "did the artist who erected that statue...."
"It's not worth it," Mu Qing rolled his eyes at the memory, "I could do a better job than that if I had the time".
"Ah, hahaha, well...." Mu Qing noticed Xie Lian's foot twisting nervously. He used to do that when he had a request he wasn't sure about making, which didn't happen concurrently, but enough that Mu Qing would have picked up on that pattern every time.
"What's wrong?"
"I think someone I know might be able to help you with Her Majesty's gift".
Mu Qing looked up from his half-finished breakfast.
"Is that so?"
"He's... a young artist, but his work is excellent!" Xie Lian hesitated for a moment, "I could offer him the job. He has a sick mother and needs the money".
"You have a peculiar taste in art," Mu Qing teased, "is he as good as you say?"
"He is".
"Well," he stood up, and Xie Lian reached for the tray to begin picking up each plate from the table, "I'll believe it if I see it, so I hope it's here as soon as possible. Mother's birthday is coming up soon".
Mu Qing only referred to the queen as his mother in private. The title of Her Majesty was more of a courtesy rule than a reality, because the Royal Consort was his biological mother and his father's love. It was the reason he had only one heir, too: he had refused to accept concubines and take them to his bed.
Xie Lian used to listen to Mu Qing talk about his mother all the time, and the queen knew of his existence because Xie Lian was hovering around him all the time, serving here or accompanying him on some important mission. It was a close relationship.
"Really?" Xie Lian's eyes glittered. Mu Qing's insides twisted.
"Yes, and I hope your judgment is decent," he said, waving a hand and stepping out of his field of vision.
Mu Qing likes Xie Lian. Even if it's an unconventional kind of liking or if he would wish to avoid any kind of inappropriate feelings for those close to him, he has remained that way for a long time now.
They met at eight, managed a complicated friendship for years. Mu Qing had mixed feelings for Xie Lian - he envied, loved (loved?) and admired his attitude to the world. Mu Qing is a prince and Xie Lian his servant, not too complicated relationship. There is no risk of such strong negative feelings or deep-rooted feeling of hatred.
In another universe, Xie Lian was a prince. He was born with a golden spoon in his mouth and the weight of the kingdom under his feet. He excelled in all activities and was loved by his subjects. And Mu Qing, accordingly, was born in the slums of the capital. He worked all his life to find dignified treatment and resigned himself to serving royalty. He hated Xie Lian for believing that it helped him to feel good about himself, and he hated admiring Xie Lian when his feelings were supposed to be limited to negativity.
Even across the universe, their personalities underwent drastic changes, but their relationship always ended at the same point.
In another universe, Mu Qing also liked Xie Lian.
He believed that, at some point, all universes would face this event.