The Bridge part II
An HHYL fanfic
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Once back in the mansion, facing the guest in question Lu Cang realized how stupid he had been. Of course he would be the guest, he thought to himself.
“Mu Yue?!” Lu Cang exclaimed without hiding his surprise. Of course it would be him, this guest, no one else knew where they were at and the people in the village wouldn’t dare to come visit without announcing it beforehand, also they didn’t even know that the Emperor was having his vacation in this mansion. Still, why would the maidservant announce him as ‘a guest’, she could have just said it was General Mu Yue.
After respectfully greeting His Majesty he turned to greet Lu Cang. “Lord Lu” with a light bow. That’s when Lu Cang realized he had been outrageous. He returned the greeting politely by also bowing.
Even though it was obvious to the whole court that Lu Cang was Jing’s favourite. Lu Cang remained his humble self. He had never, ever taken advantage of his position. It might also be the reason why the courtiers were able to support his presence. They never, nor will they ever, fully accept him. Yet, seeing that Lu Cang doesn’t make their life miserable like some of the previous concubines, that used to enjoy His Majesty’s favour, used to do, makes it for them difficult to hate him with all their heart.
Mu Yue who had grown up together with Jing, had never thought that someone as modest as Lu Cang could be able handle Jing’s temper. Not only is Lu Cang able to handle it, it even seems that he can control it. Whether Lu Cang knows it or not, Jing’s mood depends on how Lu Cang feels.
From the courtiers in the palace to the children playing outside in the streets of Tong’An, everyone knows no good comes from harming Lord Lu Cang. Whether physically or verbally.
“Your Majesty, May I have a moment?” Mu Yue was struggling to find the right words to not awaken suspicion in Lu Cang.
Since Lu Cang had moved to the inner court, he had learnt to read into people’s behaviour. He used to just judge people by their appearances, what still happens every now and then, but now he had become less naïve. He clearly could tell there was something off, but he just couldn’t figure out what.
“If you will excuse me, I’ll take my leave first.” Lu Cang understood the clue. It was not the first time that Mu Yue would have a private audience with Jing, nor will it be the last one. Yet this time it felt different. He couldn’t shake the idea of something bad that might have happened away from his mind.
As he walked away he felt Jing’s eyes following him until he took a turn going back to the garden. Jing wished Lu Cang wouldn’t worry as much as he knew he was. However he couldn’t go comfort Lu Cang right now, he will have to wait.
Lu Cang had been, absent minded, reading a few writings of a local writer when he saw the silhouette of a fine shadow approaching. The sun was starting to set making the shadow even longer. Jing was anticipating Lu Cang’s mood. At his surprise, Lu Cang seem to be alright.
Proof that even Jing can be fooled. In hindsight, Lu Cang might be the only person to be able to fool Jing. It was during dinner that Jing noticed Lu Cang’s weird mood. Was he mad?
“What’s wrong Xiao C..?”
“Where is Mu Yue?” Lu Cang interrupted Jing by asking him the thing that has been bothering him. No one told Lu Cang Mu Yue had left. It was not the fact that he wasn’t able to pay his goodbyes to Mu Yue that bothered him so much. It was the way he was being kept in the dark like that. What in the world was going on?
“He had urgent matters to attend to. He told me to pay his respects to you for him.” Normally Jing would never try to explain himself. However it was very important to keep Lu Cang in a good mood, or else all this would be in vain.
After locking his eyes with Jings for a long period of time, he concluded that he won’t get more of an explanation out of this stubborn man. He sighed and broke their eye contact to continue savour this delicious meal set in front of him. The maids had really outdone themselves this time. The food they made was worth being served on a royal banquet.
What Lu Cang didn’t know is that Jing had made sure to take with him the maids who were known for their exquisite cooking capabilities.
“What’s wrong Lu Cang?” this time Jing added some authority in his voice. He’d rather never use this with Lu Cang but Lu Cang had this skill to get under his skin that Jing found hard to ignore.
“Depends on what you’re hiding from me.”
Jing raised one of his sublime eyebrows, “What makes you think I’m keeping things from you?”
“What did Mu Yue wanted to discuss with you earlier?”
“Nothing to cause you restlessness.”
“Why won’t you tell me then?”
“I’ll tell you when ‘I’ feel like telling you.” Using the royal ‘I’ Jing was enjoying this little game, you could tell by the way the smile his lips formed got bigger with each answer he served Lu Cang.
Lu Cang knew that Jing could go one with this game for a long while. He decided to forfeit before things would get nasty. He swallowed a comment he was about to make and got up from his chair.
Just when he was about to leave the dining room, he saw a servant bringing yet another good looking dish. He hesitated for a moment and decided to return to his seat. He wasn’t going to let Jing make him miss out on such a scrumptious dish. He ignored the mocking expression on Jing’s beautiful face and sat.
As he tasted the first bite of the dish, he forgot about all the nonsense Jing had pronounced just a moment ago.
Under the eye of an amused Jing, Lu Cang finished his dish without paying attention to the sly Emperor opposite him.
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Hope you liked it :) third and probably last part will be up soon, promise!
Sorry for the long wait, I'm kind of avoiding the internet for the moment, as a way to avoid responsibilities... so much to do, so little time :(!!
I'm also sick at the moment.. F*** winter!!
Hope you're all well!
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_____
Once back in the mansion, facing the guest in question Lu Cang realized how stupid he had been. Of course he would be the guest, he thought to himself.
“Mu Yue?!” Lu Cang exclaimed without hiding his surprise. Of course it would be him, this guest, no one else knew where they were at and the people in the village wouldn’t dare to come visit without announcing it beforehand, also they didn’t even know that the Emperor was having his vacation in this mansion. Still, why would the maidservant announce him as ‘a guest’, she could have just said it was General Mu Yue.
After respectfully greeting His Majesty he turned to greet Lu Cang. “Lord Lu” with a light bow. That’s when Lu Cang realized he had been outrageous. He returned the greeting politely by also bowing.
Even though it was obvious to the whole court that Lu Cang was Jing’s favourite. Lu Cang remained his humble self. He had never, ever taken advantage of his position. It might also be the reason why the courtiers were able to support his presence. They never, nor will they ever, fully accept him. Yet, seeing that Lu Cang doesn’t make their life miserable like some of the previous concubines, that used to enjoy His Majesty’s favour, used to do, makes it for them difficult to hate him with all their heart.
Mu Yue who had grown up together with Jing, had never thought that someone as modest as Lu Cang could be able handle Jing’s temper. Not only is Lu Cang able to handle it, it even seems that he can control it. Whether Lu Cang knows it or not, Jing’s mood depends on how Lu Cang feels.
From the courtiers in the palace to the children playing outside in the streets of Tong’An, everyone knows no good comes from harming Lord Lu Cang. Whether physically or verbally.
“Your Majesty, May I have a moment?” Mu Yue was struggling to find the right words to not awaken suspicion in Lu Cang.
Since Lu Cang had moved to the inner court, he had learnt to read into people’s behaviour. He used to just judge people by their appearances, what still happens every now and then, but now he had become less naïve. He clearly could tell there was something off, but he just couldn’t figure out what.
“If you will excuse me, I’ll take my leave first.” Lu Cang understood the clue. It was not the first time that Mu Yue would have a private audience with Jing, nor will it be the last one. Yet this time it felt different. He couldn’t shake the idea of something bad that might have happened away from his mind.
As he walked away he felt Jing’s eyes following him until he took a turn going back to the garden. Jing wished Lu Cang wouldn’t worry as much as he knew he was. However he couldn’t go comfort Lu Cang right now, he will have to wait.
Lu Cang had been, absent minded, reading a few writings of a local writer when he saw the silhouette of a fine shadow approaching. The sun was starting to set making the shadow even longer. Jing was anticipating Lu Cang’s mood. At his surprise, Lu Cang seem to be alright.
Proof that even Jing can be fooled. In hindsight, Lu Cang might be the only person to be able to fool Jing. It was during dinner that Jing noticed Lu Cang’s weird mood. Was he mad?
“What’s wrong Xiao C..?”
“Where is Mu Yue?” Lu Cang interrupted Jing by asking him the thing that has been bothering him. No one told Lu Cang Mu Yue had left. It was not the fact that he wasn’t able to pay his goodbyes to Mu Yue that bothered him so much. It was the way he was being kept in the dark like that. What in the world was going on?
“He had urgent matters to attend to. He told me to pay his respects to you for him.” Normally Jing would never try to explain himself. However it was very important to keep Lu Cang in a good mood, or else all this would be in vain.
After locking his eyes with Jings for a long period of time, he concluded that he won’t get more of an explanation out of this stubborn man. He sighed and broke their eye contact to continue savour this delicious meal set in front of him. The maids had really outdone themselves this time. The food they made was worth being served on a royal banquet.
What Lu Cang didn’t know is that Jing had made sure to take with him the maids who were known for their exquisite cooking capabilities.
“What’s wrong Lu Cang?” this time Jing added some authority in his voice. He’d rather never use this with Lu Cang but Lu Cang had this skill to get under his skin that Jing found hard to ignore.
“Depends on what you’re hiding from me.”
Jing raised one of his sublime eyebrows, “What makes you think I’m keeping things from you?”
“What did Mu Yue wanted to discuss with you earlier?”
“Nothing to cause you restlessness.”
“Why won’t you tell me then?”
“I’ll tell you when ‘I’ feel like telling you.” Using the royal ‘I’ Jing was enjoying this little game, you could tell by the way the smile his lips formed got bigger with each answer he served Lu Cang.
Lu Cang knew that Jing could go one with this game for a long while. He decided to forfeit before things would get nasty. He swallowed a comment he was about to make and got up from his chair.
Just when he was about to leave the dining room, he saw a servant bringing yet another good looking dish. He hesitated for a moment and decided to return to his seat. He wasn’t going to let Jing make him miss out on such a scrumptious dish. He ignored the mocking expression on Jing’s beautiful face and sat.
As he tasted the first bite of the dish, he forgot about all the nonsense Jing had pronounced just a moment ago.
Under the eye of an amused Jing, Lu Cang finished his dish without paying attention to the sly Emperor opposite him.
_____
_____
Hope you liked it :) third and probably last part will be up soon, promise!
Sorry for the long wait, I'm kind of avoiding the internet for the moment, as a way to avoid responsibilities... so much to do, so little time :(!!
I'm also sick at the moment.. F*** winter!!
Hope you're all well!