Chapter 72
Note: Early chapter release, thanks to Sakuradahl's support on Ko-Fi
That day, a group of people took a plane back to the capital.
As soon as Qin Zhongjin stepped into the courtyard, Mu Cai came out of the painting. He was carrying a chubby baby in his arms, who was the little peach tree that they had left in the painting before. At this moment, the little peach tree was covering its eyes with its plump little hands, sobbing.
Before they went to Yong Residence, the little peach tree didn't want to be separated from Cai Cai, so it stubbornly left the warm earth and followed Cai Cai into the painting. At first, living in the painting felt like living a heavenly, wonderful life for the little peach tree.
The scenery in the painting was beautiful, and there were no annoying people looking for Cai Cai. Cai Cai would only play with the little peach tree. However, it didn't expect that it only took a nap on Cai Cai's lap, and when it woke up, Cai Cai was gone!
Fortunately, there was a skylight in the painting. The little peach tree saw Cai Cai leave it behind and go outside. It also wanted to go out, but it didn't know where to find the exit, so it could only sit among the little rabbits and kittens, watching Cai Cai follow the big villain.
The little peach tree felt wronged, but it didn't speak up. It obediently waited for Cai Cai to come in, then stretched out its two small chubby hands to hug it and cried with a pool of tears. Mu Cai still hadn't managed to comfort it by this point.
Mu Cai was somewhat troubled, but he still patiently held the little peach tree while standing next to the pit where it had previously taken root. He tried to console it, saying: "Alright, alright, don't cry. I went out to take care of some business; the little peach tree wouldn't be so unreasonable, right?"
The two leaves on the top of the little peach tree shook slightly as it buried its face in Mu Cai's chest. Its small chubby hands tightly clung onto him, clearly demonstrating how unreasonable it was being.
Shrugging helplessly, Mu Cai held the weighty bundle in his arms, his arm beginning to ache. Frustration furrowed his brow and cast a hint of worry in his eyes, as bright as the morning stars.
Qin Zhongjin watched from a distance. Mu Cai, dressed in red standing in a courtyard bathed in dappled tree shades, would have made a pleasing sight if it weren't for the bundle in his arms. Qin Zhongjin stepped forward and looked at the tantrum-throwing ball of chubby flesh. His voice deep and stern, he warned, "If you keep being disobedient, Cai Cai won't want you anymore."
When Mu Cai first heard these words, he thought Qin Zhongjin was being too harsh. But when he saw the little peach tree suddenly stop crying, clutching his arm tightly and looking at him with tear-filled eyes, he had to admit that Qin Zhongjin was right.
Seeing the little peach tree on the verge of crying again, he felt a pang of sympathy but also found it rather amusing. Mu Cai raised the little peach tree slightly higher, leaned down to kiss its soft cheek, and said, "Little fool, as long as you're not causing a fuss and behaving well, I won't abandon you."
Watching them, Qin Zhongjin disapproved, "Children should not be coddled."
Despite the stern voice, the little peach tree wasn't scared at all. It knew that the big villain was just jealous that Cai Cai was kissing it! However, as much as the little peach tree thought this, it didn't have the courage to say it openly. Its chubby arms clung to Cai Cai's shoulders, it leaned forward, and cooingly called out, "Cai Cai, kiss, kiss..."
Qin Zhongjin's gaze at the little peach tree became even colder.
Mu Cai was charmed by Little Peach Tree's big, innocent eyes and softly planted a kiss on his forehead. A lingering trail of teardrops glistened at the corner of Little Peach Tree's eyes. The little kid giggled immediately at the tender touch of Mu Cai's lips. He took back his chubby little hands, fumbled in the pocket of his belly, and from this seemingly invisible space, he fetched a large peach. Offering it to Mu Cai, his words slightly jumbled, he said, "For Cai Cai, Cai Cai, eat!"
Holding the peach that had almost hit his face, Mu Cai now had to accept it. He found himself in a dilemma. The little peach tree was eagerly watching him, apparently looking forward to him taking a bite. Mu Cai didn't want to disappoint Little Peach Tree, but the very thought of how the peach was procured made it difficult for him to take a bite.
Turning to Qin Zhongjin for guidance, Mu Cai hoped he would decline on his behalf. Unexpectedly, the man with his eyes closed responded, with a hint of a smile on his lips, "Go ahead and eat it. We have a Qi-gathering array here, and this peach is the result of the little bundle absorbing the positive energy in this courtyard."
With Qin Zhongjin’s assurance, Mu Cai felt relieved. He bit into the peach in front of the Little Peach Tree. It was abundant in juice and very sweet. After chewing and swallowing it, he felt a wave of warmth spreading throughout his body, which left him completely relaxed and comfortable.
Seeing that Mu Cai had finally eaten the fruit of his hard work, Little Peach Tree's big, bright eyes twitched into a squint. He clapped his hands in delight. Unable to resist praising him, Mu Cai said, "Our Little Peach Tree is truly awesome. The fruit you grow is exceptionally sweet!"
Mu Cai's words elicited an even happier reaction from the Little Peach Tree. Without any prompting from Mu Cai, the little tree wiggled its buttocks and jumped into the pit from his lap, transforming in mere seconds into a peach tree brimming with blossoms.
The little Peach Tree had grown. He was now a tree capable of forming peaches by harnessing the spiritual energy of the earth and sky! Cai Cai loved eating his peaches! He decided to exert more effort to produce as many peaches as he could!
Mu Cai hadn’t anticipated that without coaxing, Little Peach Tree would voluntarily return to the pit. This change was quite different from their first visit to this courtyard. Qin Zhongjin, however, commented from the side, "It's good, the child has finally grown up."
Being overly dependent on Cai Cai was not a good habit.
As Mu Cai took small bites from the fruit, the juice saturated his ravishingly red lips, lending them an alluring, glossy look, akin to a flower inviting a kiss. As he continued to eat, he couldn’t resist remembering the previous conversation and asked, "You mentioned there is a Qi-gathering array in this courtyard too? It's to collect positive energy, right? No wonder I feel so relaxed here, more comfortable than at Zhang Rongfa's house."
On hearing Mu Cai's question, Qin Zhongjin paused, seemingly recollecting his thoughts, then said, "Though the location of his house naturally creates a 'ghost-nurturing' environment, making it comfortable to reside, it's not beneficial in the long run for nurturing souls. There are too many fortune-collecting formations in and around his house, which are, in essence, types of Qi-gathering arrays. Being at the foot of a locust tree-surrounded mountain alone enhances the environment's Yin energy.
"If the house continues to gather energy, it becomes an ideal place for powerful ghosts to strengthen. But for ordinary souls, it's not a sustainable nurturing plan, as they'll eventually dissipate. Only a balanced and auspicious Yang energy is the best choice for nourishing souls. Much like the peach you're eating now, the Yang energy it embodies gives you a comfortable feeling."
Mu Cai contemplated, nodding in agreement. Nonetheless, upon listening to this, he inevitably thought of Nurse Zhang that they had previously encountered. The image of her fading into thin air, parting from him, still brought a hint of melancholy to his heart.
Qin Zhongjin was very sensitive to Mu Cai's emotional changes and immediately guessed what he was thinking. He consoled, "After death, only the souls with unresolved obsessions will stay in the human world and become ghosts. For the old lady Zhang, her obsession was likely seeing you one last time, with a warning. It shows her deep affection for you. Her obsession being fulfilled and her return to the cycle of rebirth is something you should be happy for."
Mu Cai clearly understood the logic, but it still made him feel somewhat heavyhearted. He nodded in silence, not uttering anything but busying himself further with the remaining part of his peach.
Qin Zhongjin gently draped his arm around Mu Cai's slender shoulders. He admired those long lashes, reminiscent of butterfly wings, speaking in a voice tinged with an affectionate tone, "Cai Cai, do you have any obsessions?"
Qin Zhongjin felt conflicted. On one hand, he was glad that Cai Cai had an obsession, which allowed his soul to linger in this world and gave him a chance to meet him. On the other hand, an obsession often implies that one's previous life was not satisfactory. He wanted to resolve Cai Cai's emotional attachment, especially since he had the means to let Cai Cai stay in this world without needing an obsession.
At his question, Mu Cai seemed momentarily lost in thought.
Because upon carefully recalling the original body's memories, he realized there wasn't any significant obsession. Despite being disappointed in love and having an unsatisfactory life towards the end in his previous life, the original soul was broad-minded, understanding that love was an individual's matter. His only grudge was with Qin Zhongjin, who had heartlessly taken his life.
However, the original body had no desire to see Qin Zhongjin or those taunting others accompanying him, thus choosing not to entangle himself further with them and opting to let go. Logically speaking, he should've entered the cycle of rebirth directly. But as soon as his soul left his body, it directly entered a scroll painting, forcibly keeping him in this world and thus, turning him into a flirtatious ghost.
Mu Cai thought about this, and then thought about the ghost-nurturing formation in Zhang Rongfa's house, feeling that something wasn't right. Perhaps the original body's demise and becoming a spirit were all calculated by someone, but for some reason, an error occurred when being sent to that house.
However, he couldn't figure out who would do such a thing.
Although he couldn't think of anyone, Mu Cai didn't suspect the previous life's Qin Zhongjin. In his view, although he was cold and heartless, he was a profit-driven person. His death would not benefit Qin Zhongjin and might even hinder his romance with the zhuangyuan-lang. Qin Zhongjin would probably prefer him to enter the cycle of rebirth and not care for him.
Seeing that the person across didn't answer but seemed to be lost in memories, Qin Zhongjin couldn't help but gently remind, "Cai Cai?"
Mu Cai came back to his senses. He looked at Qin Zhongjin in front of him, remembered his question, and lazily answered, "An obsession? I might have one, I guess."
Qin Zhongjin asked, "What is it?"
Mu Cai lifted his eyelids.
It was a very ordinary movement. However, with his long eyes and slightly flushed-red eyelids, as his eyelashes trembled slightly when he looked up, he appeared both innocent and charming.
Mu Cai glanced at Qin Zhongjin, then his dark, shiny eyes shifted toward Su Yao, who stood silently several steps behind. His eyes shone with a cold light, and he sneered, "Of course, I can't stand seeing you two happily together."
He spoke the truth. After all, the original body's biggest wish was not to see this couple, especially not wanting to witness their life flourishing and prosperous. What they do in places he couldn't see was their business.
Su Yao had been greedily observing Mu Cai's every expressions and movements. Hearing his name mentioned with such a disgusted attitude, he couldn't help but feel disheartened.
He thought that Cai Cai might have some misunderstanding about him and Qin Laozu.
Su Yao wanted to speak up, but he heard Qin Zhongjin say solemnly, "Fine, I won't be with him."
Mu Cai: "???"
Did the protagonist-gong misunderstand the main point?
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Late at night, when all was quiet.
Mu Cai had entered the painting to rest early, while Qin Zhongjin turned on the desk lamp and began searching for historical information on the Da Liang Dynasty, which he had previously asked his assistant to collect.
Although his eyes were closed, it didn't hinder his ability to see. Even walking and recognizing people were not difficult for him, let alone reading. After browsing for a while, Qin Zhongjin realized that, as he had expected, there was little useful information.
The Da Liang Dynasty was a time of multi-factional warfare. This period lasted only over two hundred years and saw multiple dynasties rise and fall. The territories were not unified but were ruled by different forces. The number of different countries that were established varied from three to more than ten, depending on the period.
Most of these countries were short-lived, soon being replaced by new regimes. The Da Liang Dynasty was one of them, lasting only a short twenty years and encompassing three generations of emperors. Among these three emperors, only the founding emperor lived a relatively long life, while the other two had short reigns.
Qin Zhongjin found his name in a few official historical records.
He was the short-lived second emperor of the Da Liang Dynasty, ascending the throne at a young age and passing away in his twenties. He didn't leave any significant achievements, and the history books only recorded a few phrases like "smart since childhood". Emperors submerged in history like this were barely known to people. Hence, no one ever told Qin Zhongjin that his name was the same as that of an emperor.
As for Mu Cai's name, it wasn't recorded in the official history either; only the Mu family had been mentioned as royal relatives of the Da Liang Dynasty.
Qin Zhongjin then examined the local annals of the Yong region, which mentioned Mu Cai's activities. It was said that Mu Cai, the son of the Mu family, was exiled to the region for his disrespectful behavior in a specific year, fell ill and passed away six months later, and was buried with great honor by the emperor.
With these historical records being sparse and already known by Qin Zhongjin, he felt no need to read further and pushed the two books aside.
Qin Zhongjin then opened the unofficial history snippets that the assistant had compiled or transcribed.
This content was much richer, with some stories being vividly described and quite legendary.
Qin Zhongjin's gaze landed on a classical Chinese text excerpt from a photocopy of an ancient book. The translated content was roughly:
Mu Cai, the son of the Mu family, was intelligent ever since he was little and was selected to be the study companion of the third prince, Qin Zhongjin, by the founding emperor. Mu Cai was born incredibly handsome, pure yet charming, captivating people of all genders and ages. This even led to the second and third princes fighting and arguing over him.
In the end, the third prince, Qin Zhongjin, emerged victorious and won Mu Cai's favor. Unfortunately, Qin Zhongjin became unrestrained after gaining the beauty, indulging in endless feasting and reveling, eventually dying under a peony flower. As for Mu Cai, he was fought over by different parties and finally ended up being secretly murdered by a former lover at the home of his new master in the Yong region.
Qin Zhongjin suddenly closed the folder with a "slam".
Unofficial history is as expected, they dare to write anything, what messy stuff!
How could he be the type to neglect his duties and die under a peony flower?
Of course not, he was in excellent health and would never live such a hedonistic lifestyle.
This was utter nonsense!
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Author's Note:
Qin Zhongjin: To be honest with you, I would like the author to expand upon these eight characters: "Unrestrained, indulging in endless revelries."
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