Langhua: The Codependence of a Prince and His General

Senior Brother

After the initial furore from the case died down, each of them settled into their new status quo.

For Hua Yuheng, that meant getting used to the capital, his new home, and most troublesome of all, his new family.

"How's your calligraphy going, junior brother?" Lin Xiangyang peeked over Hua Yuheng's shoulder, his trademark folding fan tapping into the back of the latter's head. Hua Yuheng shooed him away like a fly.

"Master said you are not to disturb me when I'm practicing."

"Come now, he's away attending morning court. He won't be here to scold you, so lighten up a little."

Hua Yuheng still could not understand how a prim and proper gentleman like Lin Junli managed to raise a student as rambunctious as Lin Xiangyang. The young man strutted like a peacock and did not seem to understand the concept of understatement.

"Unlike you, I have a little something called discipline."

"Ouch." Lin Xiangyang hid his face behind his open fan, trying to look hurt. "You don't have to be so harsh, junior brother. We're both orphans that Master took in from the street, aren't we? Shouldn't we behave more like brothers?"

"I'm not like you," Hua Yuheng snapped.

"Sure you are. It just hasn't sunk in yet." Lin Xiangyang ignored the fury that flared in Hua Yuheng's eyes and continued, "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? Does it have something to do with that fancy young man you socked that day? He's been dropping by quite often, hasn't he?"

"That's none of your business." Hua Yuheng turned back to his parchment, but his focus was already completely shot. As usual, it was all Lin Xiangyang's fault.

"His clothes looked real expensive," Lin Xiangyang continued as though he had not heard Hua Yuheng at all. Hua Yuheng's brush strokes grew a tad more vicious as Lin Xiangyang prattled on. "I haven't heard anything about any new families of wealth moving in, nor was there word about any esteemed visitors to the capital lately. If someone like him appeared in town all of a sudden, I'd know."

Hua Yuheng could not help a snide comment. "That's because you spend too much time in teahouses and brothels."

"Aw, don't be jealous. You'll get your turn in a few years." Lin Xiangyang rubbed his chin. "But your young man looked completely unfamiliar to me. Could he be a pampered young master whose family only recently loosened his leash?"

"Don't talk about him like that!" Hua Yuheng snapped, finally throwing his brush aside. Try as he may to ignore Lin Xiangyang, the guy just had a way of getting on his nerves. See, even the way he clicked his tongue sent Hua Yuheng's blood boiling.

"Tsk-tsk, there goes all your hard work." Lin Xiangyang shook his head at the ruined parchment. "But aren't you rather protective of your little friend? Where did you meet him, I wonder? You only moved to the capital last month, and you've mostly stayed home since then. I babysat you whenever you went out so I'd know if you met him recently.

"That must mean you met him before you became Master's pupil and came here. That only leaves one possibility, doesn't it? And right on cue, I think that's him outside."

Hua Yuheng had to look at him then. "What?"

"I hear Caicai's chatter, don't you? She couldn't shut up after the last time your friend visited. She must be ecstatic right now." Lin Xiangyang stepped out of the study and greeted the newcomers as soon as they came into sight, before they even walked past the arch in the courtyard. "Your Highness! We were just talking about you."

"...I see." Xuanyuan Lang was visibly taken aback. "Master Lin, right?"

"I'm honored you remember me." Lin Xiangyang gave the prince a showy little bow. "Nice to see you again so soon, too. But don't worry, I won't get in your way. Do have a pleasant chat with my junior brother."

"Sure. I will."

"Caicai, we shouldn't disturb them." Lin Xiangyang unabashedly threw his arm around the handmaid who had led Xuanyuan Lang to the study, sweeping her away. The girl Caicai seemed accustomed to his touch, looking unperturbed as she tried to steal a few more glances over her shoulder at the dashing young visitor.

"Young Master, you said 'Your Highness'... Is that man really important?"

"Ah, now, you shouldn't pry. It's rude."

Hua Yuheng had to roll his eyes as their voices faded around the corner. When he turned to face Xuanyuan Lang, he saw the prince looking at him somewhat wistfully.

"You told him who I was? I thought you said we should keep it a secret."

"No! He just—" The dejection in Xuanyuan Lang's expression left Hua Yuheng feeling strangely frustrated. "He kind of deduced it by himself. Based on his knowledge of the people in the capital and his observations of us."

"He did?" Xuanyuan Lang was surprised. "As expected of Lord Lin's first disciple."

Hua Yuheng had to agree grudgingly. "He's been with Master for almost ten years. I suppose he must have learned some things in that time."

"What about you?" Xuanyuan Lang circled over to the table. "Have you learned anything lately?"

Hua Yuheng hurriedly grabbed the soiled parchment and crumpled it, keeping it out of his view. The ink smudged, but that barely made a difference now. "Nothing much. You asked that less than a week ago, Qilang. There's only so much progress I can make in that time."

"Right." For some reason, Xuanyuan Lang sounded quite down today. Hua Yuheng looked at him, frowning subconsciously. When he caught sight of the fading bruise on Xuanyuan Lang's cheek, however, he quickly averted his eyes.

He still could not believe he had done that. But more than that, he could barely believe it when Xuanyuan Lang kept dropping by to visit after that.

The least he could do was show Xuanyuan Lang some basic concern in return.

"Qilang, what's the matter?"

Xuanyuan Lang opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Hua Yuheng waited patiently. Finally, the prince said, in a voice almost too soft to hear,

"Am I being a bother?"

"Huh?" Where did that come from?

"I know I've... been coming by a lot lately." The courage Xuanyuan Lang had mustered while facing the most powerful people in the kingdom seemed to vanish now that he was in front of Hua Yuheng. "Am I getting in the way of your studies? Should I cut down on the visits?"

Hua Yuheng instinctively wanted to deny it, but this time it was his turn to hesitate. After Xuanyuan Lang's previous visit, Lin Junli might have hinted over dinner that Hua Yuheng should be careful about how often he interacted with the Seventh Prince.

His master was a wise and wary man.

Even so, Hua Yuheng was not going to forget the reason why he was here in the first place.

Hua Yuheng picked up Xuanyuan Lang's hand. "Let's go for a walk around town.

"I promised you, right? Wherever you want to go, I'll take you."