《The Emperor’s Fake Second Son (rewrite available as ju hua ci)》


 Crown Prince of Xi

    "Grandma, grandpa, I''m off," yelled Yang Guang from the the door way of the shabby old shack. He adjusted the bandages covering his forehead and right eye before kicking open the flimsy door.


    "Oh, ok darling. Don''t forget to drop off lunch!" the raspy voice of a woman called out from another room.


    "Ok," Yang Guang replied while walking out of the house, one hand holding a shovel and the other holding a basket. He walked down the dirt roads already filled with people in the early morning, earning a wave or two along the way. He smiled in response, quite enjoying the friendliness of a small town.


    It was a surprise when Yang Guang, or as he was known, Er Lang, showed up at the village, in tattered clothes and on the brink of death, with only a necklace that he clutched the whole time. Before he could even call for help, he collapsed on the ground, blood trickling out of his forehead right in the town square. The townspeople were quick to help clean up his face and help carry him to a safe place, especially an old couple, granny Yuan and grandpa Lang.


    At first they thought he was mute because he refused to talk, but soon he opened up a bit, talking occasionally. Before long, his good looks, hardworking attitude, and decent manners had won everyone over, even the ones suspicious of him.


    Yang Guang almost felt guilty for not telling them.


    Along the way, he walked past a small breakfast shop and the owner waved at him.


    "Er Lang, care to get a meat bun?" she asked, smiling and tapping the steamer beside her.


    "No thanks, jie jie, I''m not hungry, but thanks for the offer," Yang Guang replied, about to continue on his way when the shop owner started again.


    "Ah, not even for free? I''ll give you an extra two to give to granny Yuan and grandpa Lang," she said.


    "Oh, then thanks jie jie," Yang Guang replied, shifting the shovel to his other hand so he could receive a bun.


    The shopkeeper took a steamer and placed it into Yang Guang''s hand.


    "Careful, it''s hot," she warned.


    Yang Guang nodded before placing it in his basket for lunch alongside his breakfast from grandma and grandpa.


    "Thank you jie, I''ll make sure to eat it!" he called out before walking away. Gently humming in the spring breeze, Yang Guang enjoyed the scent of the flowers and the song of the morning birds. Quite a stark contrast to his old lavish life.


    Yang Guang walked downhill for a while, the road getting bumpier and bumpier the further he got into the rural areas. When he got to the fields, most of the other farmers were there already. Yang Guang took the towel on his shoulder and wiped his sweat before going down toward the field to join them.


    "Hey, little guy, hurry up! It''s the first day of the year!" the leader of the farmers yelled.


    "Coming!" Yang Guang yelled back, quickening into a jog toward the field. He set his basket on the ground and got to work, overturning the dry ground to loosen it up, just like the other people who were already getting to work.


    Slowly but steadily, the dirt was loosened up all across the field and looked almost fertile enough to plant. Before the farmers started plucking weeds in the afternoon, there was a lunch break.


    Yang Guang sat down to eat his breakfast and lunch, both untouched since the morning, and suddenly remembered to go back to his house and drop off lunch. Swiftly, he grabbed his basket and made his way back up the road and toward his house. Along the way, he gabbed his rice cake and ate while walking.


    He waved at the shopkeeper who gave him the buns from earlier before finally arriving at his house.


    "Grandma, grandpa, I''m back!" Yang Guang called out.


    "Oh, Er Lang''s back. Here, here, put the lunch on the ground," said an old man who was sitting on a dirt chair in the corner.


    Yang Guang put the steamer from earlier on the ground and took a meat bun before turning around and getting ready to leave.


    "I''m off, see you later," he called, but before he could get out of the front door, granny Yuan called out after him.


    "Er Lang, I just heard from our neighbor that the crown prince of the Xi dynasty will be coming either today or tomorrow. Make sure you don''t make any messes."


    Yang Guang''s eyes narrowed as his brain toyed with the idea of this news before ultimately responding with an "Okay."


    Yang Guang didn''t quite believe it, considering their neighbor Mr. Wang was wrong about quite a few things, big or small, but he had to admit, even the notion of a crown prince coming to his town was exciting to think about. Although he was excited, Yang Guang was also equally confused.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Xi dynasty, not Sui? I thought fifth brother was emperor, which would mean it was still the dynasty of the Sui," Yang Guang muttered, looking down at the ground.


    It took a very short time before Yang Guang got back to the fields and was ready for work.


    ''Hey, you''re back. Quick, go prune some weeds," another farmer said to him.


    "Ok," Yang Guang replied, not looking at him, his brain still stuck in the thought of this "crown prince of Xi." Although from far away, Yang Guang seemed to move fast and swift, if you get up close, you could see that his eyes were narrowed and had a far away look. If you had ever met Sui Yangdi in the past, you would know that this was a clear sign of him thinking.


    But Er Lang was a completely different person than Sui Yangdi. After three years of living in the village, Yang Guang had barely ever had to narrow his eyes, save for once or twice while solving a problem. It almost hurt his eyes as of now.


    "If my fifth brother isn''t emperor, then that means someone else is. Who else led the rebellion against me?" Yang Guang quietly thought out loud.


    "Hey, Er Lang what''s up with you today? Feeling stiff after the winter?" Yang Guang''s fellow farmer teased.


    While thinking, Yang Guang had stopped picking weeds, instead his hands automatically moved under his chin, an even clearer sign of him being deep in thought.


    As if just awoken from a dream, Yang Guang jolted up, his eyes widening as his heart rate sped up. However, quickly he calmed down, going back again to picking weeds. Bit by bit, the field was finally rid of its weeds, and now it was time to plant.


    The farmers all gathered around to take some wheat to plant from a large basket of already ready to plant wheat. Yang Guang placed a few handfuls of the grain into his basket before methodically walking across the field, sprinkling a few grains every ten steps or so.


    "Wait, it''s gotta'' be him. That rat," Yang Guang realized, finally picking up the clue as to who the emperor was.


    Of course it was him. Who else could it have been except the general that led the final charge of Luoyang? Bah, after not having to use his brain after so long, Yang Guang had gotten dumb. From the scheming prince of Jin to a peasant, what a disgraceful fall.


    However, Yang Guang had no time to lament about his past failures, as he was one of the last workers still in the field planting wheat. Quickening his pace, before long, Yang Guang had planted all his wheat.


    He took his basket and scythe as he bid goodbye to the rest of the worker, and especially the leader, who was still planting a large basket of wheat, about a couple of times more than Yang Guang had planted.


    "Bye, Mr. Yu!" he called out, waving.


    "Ok, bye!" the man called back, barely looking up at Yang Guang. By now it was getting late, the last few rays of the sun barely peaking out from behind the clouds, and the crows of evening birds sounded, shrill as ever.


    Yang Guang was making his way back home when he was stopped in his tracks b a large crowd standing at the edge of the road. Almost certain that it was the crown prince carriage-or at least hoping it was-Yang Guang tried pushing past a few people to get a view.


    "Excuse me!"


    "Ah, sorry!"


    "Allow me to pass through," Yang Guang said, gently squeezing his way through the crowds of people.


    When he got to the edge of the crowd, what he found wasn''t the crown prince carriage, but rather a wreckage of it. It seemed as if the horses had gone completely wild, crashing into everything before ultimately running into the ground, bringing the golden carriage down with it.


    The two horseman at the front were dead, their heads right on the ground, blood leaking out. In the middle of the overturned carriage was a small, sobbing figure, layers of fine cloth covering his body.


    "Crown prince Ming," Yang Guang whispered.


    The crowd was in shock, some almost traumatized by the sudden wreckage of the carriage, and whisperings were rising.


    "Who is he?"


    "Is that the crown prince?"


    "What happened here?"


    "The horses went crazy!"


    For a second, Yang Guang ran a few possibilities through his head, before ultimately walking out into the middle of the road.


    He knelt down before the crown prince, and upon seeing his old robes, Yang Guang immediately felt a searing anger, almost identical to the anger he felt as Sui Yangdi. But he repressed it not only because he was Er Lang, a supposedly kind person, but also because helping the crown prince would be greatly beneficial to him.


    "Are you His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Yang Guang asked, eyes fixed at the sobbing figure. He had a small, round face and delicate white skin, as if he was carved from jade. his eyebrows were thick, and his eyes, brimmed with tears were big and wide, like a doe''s. He looked young, only about 23 if not younger.


    Looks nothing like that rat general, Yang Guang couldn''t help but think.


    "Y-yes," he stuttered between sobs.


    Yang Guang gently extended his hand and lifted the boy up, brushing his clothes off. And no surprise, it was the same white robes Yang Guang wore during his years as the prince of Jin, so much so that he knew where all the cloud embroideries were. The boy''s hair was messy and his gold hairpin had gotten crooked during the crash.


    Yang Guang examined his face and arms, finding a particularly deep gash in one of his arms, presumably from one of the sharp metal parts of the carriage.


    "Can someone get a bandage for His Highness the Crown Prince?" he yelled.


    The crowd quieted, before a lady, the village healer, took out a bandage from her bag. Yang Guang gladly accepted it, and bandaged the crown prince''s cut.


    "Does it hurt?" he asked, as if asking a child.


    The crown prince nodded, his eyes still teary, although not as much as before.


    "Well, looks like we can''t use the horses and horsemen anymore," Yang Guang observed.


    The crown prince looked so wronged that Yang Guang wanted to sigh. This crown prince reminded him of his brother, a useless prick who didn''t deserve his title.


    "My father the emperor''s going to get worried, and I shouldn''t do that," the crown prince muttered nearly incoherently.


    "Well, I guess we can get some new horses," Yang Guang tried to comfort him, although he wasn''t good at it.


    "Those horses were expensive and well trained, so I don''t know what happened," the boy sobbed.


    Yang Guang offered the boy a hand.


    "Can you walk?"


    He nodded.


    "Okay, that''s good. Is anyone going to accompany me and the crown prince?" Yang Guang asked, looking at the crowd.


    Nobody said anything.


    "Well, tell grandma and grandpa I need to do something and I''ll be back in a few days," he said before looking back at the boy.


    "May I ask your name, Your Highness the Crown Prince of Xi?" Yang Guang asked.


    "Ming-Ming WanFeng," he replied.


    "Ming WanFeng," Yang Guang muttered. Who knew that someone as icy cold as the general could come up with such a poetic name?


    "Okay, well then I''ll be accompanying prince Ming WanFeng to Luoyang. I''ll be back," Yang guang shouted toward the crowd.


    "Ok, let''s go," he said to Ming WanFeng, allowing him to lean on his shoulders as they walked.


    "We''ll get you back to Luoyang."


    And also get me back to the throne.

 Crown Prince of Xi II

    However, before Yang Guang could walk any further, the crown prince''s body fell limp. In a panic, he set the boy down, hoping he wasn''t injured, only to see that he was gently snoring. Shaking his head, Yang Guang realized that it was probably pretty late by now and he should probably take a rest before setting off tomorrow.


    Half carrying the crown prince, Yang Guang dragged himself back to his house, almost tripping over himself along the way. It was evident that the crown prince had been well pampered, his body weighing maybe even as much as Yang Guang despite being much shorter.


    "Granny, grandpa, I''ve brought back a guest," Yang Guang called out when he got back home. He kicked the door open, dragging the crown prince inside before setting him down.


    The old couple immediately stood up from their chairs and walked over to Yang Guang.


    "Er Lang, who is this?" granny Yuan asked.


    "The crown prince of Xi, Ming WanFeng," Yang Guang replied, casting a look at the sleeping crown prince. He was snoring gently, a calm look on his face, the tear marks from earlier streaking down his cheeks.


    Grandma gasped, her jaw nearly dropping on the ground. In a worried voice she asked:


    "What happened? Why is his face so dirty?"


    "Oh. Earlier the horses went wild and killed themselves for some reason and the crown prince had a cut on his arm so I decided to bring him here," Yang Guang replied, his voice strangely nonchalant. Maybe it was because he had witnessed so much he didn''t care anymore.


    "That''s terrible. We can let him stay at our house until he''s ready to leave," granny said.


    "Well, actually, I''m planning on going with him to Luoyang tomorrow," Yang Guang said.


    "Er Lang, that''s a horrible idea. He''s still injured and not well, at least rest him for a while," granny said.


    "It''s not that bad," Yang Guang said.


    "Er Lang, just because you can stand it doesn''t mean he can. You''ve nearly died before," grandpa interjected.


    True, Yang Guang thought. He had been hurt a lot more than this "crown prince," especially in his earlier years. His hand instinctively went toward the bandage on his forehead which covered his scar.


    "Well, I guess we can let him stay here for a week before I leave with him for Luoyang," Yang Guang said.


    "Fine, that''s fine."


    "Ey, Er Lang, he took you blanket, where are you going to sleep then?" grandpa asked.


    Yang Guang thought for a second.


    "Well, I guess I''ll just sleep next to him," he said.


    "Are you really fine with that?" granny asked.


    "Yeah, I''m fine," Yang Guang replied.


    Granny took a look at Ming WanFeng before nodding.


    "Okay, well, it''s pretty late. You should sleep," granny said as she slowly walked back over toward her and grandpa''s room. Yang Guang looked at the sleeping crown prince before slowly sitting down next to him and pulling the blanket over himself.


    For a while, Yang Guang lay awake, thinking over what happened today.


    Why did the crown prince carriage crash? What Ming WanFeng said was true. The royal horses were quite well trained. I wonder.


    This was one of the first times Yang Guang didn''t have an answer, though probably not one of the last. Tired of his ignorance and feeling sleep overcome him, Yang Guang closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber.


    When he awoke, the sun was barely coming out from behind the hills and the birds had not yet started singing. Ming WanFeng was still sound asleep, the gentle rise and fall of his chest the same as ever. Yang Guang shrugged and grabbed his basket and shovel before walking out of his house like yesterday.


    Along the way, quite a few people asked him how the crown prince was doing, and a few of them even gave him food.


    "He''s fine," was what he said to all of them.


    Yang Guang took one of the hot steamed buns from one of the villagers and bit into it, savoring the sweet bean. The crown prince probably didn''t need it anyway. Yang Guang arrived early at the field to see that Mr. Yu, the hardworking leader was already there, watering the plants with water from a nearby well.


    Yang Guang had always admired Mr. Yu''s perseverance, even from day one. He was always the first one at the field, and always the last one to go home, helping everyone grow the food they needed. In fact, when Yang Guang first came to the village as the nearly dead Yangdi, he was the one that brought him food and water every day.


    "Hey, Mr. Yu, good morning!" he called out, running down into the field and setting his basket down on the thin walkway between the two halves.


    "Hello Er Lang. How''s crown prince Ming?" he asked, still watering.


    "Fine, doing pretty okay actually. Grandma and grandpa are both pretty fond of him for some reason," Yang Guang respond.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "That''s good to hear," was all Mr. Yu said.


    Yang Guang nodded and got to work, picking up a bucket and walking to the well. Once he got there, he dipped the bucket in, lifted it up, and carried it back toward the fields. On the way back, he saw many more of his peers coming to get water, all of them waving to him.


    Before long, all the wheat had been watered and it was time to plant the other crops. There would be a short break before everyone started working again. All the farmers sat down in a small dirt circle, laughing and chatting, all except Yang Guang.


    He sat silently at the side, listening to the middle aged men joke about the most trivial of things. He was never one to socialize on his own, and that day when he tried to openly help the crown prince was one of the most awkward decisions he had made.


    Dumbass, Yang Guang sighed. Their talking was interrupted by a loud shout.


    "Oh, there you are!"


    Yang Guang looked up to find a figure in tattered golden robes, a jade hairpin fastened in his hair. Yang Guang''s eye twitched in annoyance, thinking: him again?


    He walked down, trying to look commanding and regal, but his small stature and doe eyes didn''t help.


    "The guy with the b-bandages, what''s your name?" he asked.


    "Tsk, tsk," Yang Guang clicked his tongue under his breath.


    "Your Majesty the crown prince, my name is Er Lang," he said.


    "Yes, Er Lang. For s-saving me yesterday, I will re-reward you," the crown prince said, still stuttering.


    He dropped a money pouch in his hand, the cloth silky and smooth. Yang Guang weighed it with his hand and rolled his eyes slightly.


    "Thanks," he said.


    He went back toward the circle, putting down the money pouch.


    "Hey, guys, have some, have some," Yang Guang said, taking out some gold from inside and splitting it among his peers.


    "Ha! Er Lang, you''re so lucky! Good riddance," another farmer said. Torrents of gratefulness and thanks came rushing at him from the farmers. Of course they were so happy, they had never seen something so valuable in their life! However, after being the scum emperor for so many years, Yang Guang was almost indifferent to the color of gold, its splendor was just like any other thing to him.


    Yang Guang nodded. He looked behind him to find Ming WanFeng looking very unhappy, his cheeks puffed out in a pout. He looked like he wanted to say something but was too afraid to say it. YangGuan shook his head and turned back toward the circle, wondering how a boy with the mental-and physical- age of a baby could become crown prince.


    After a short while, the break ended, and everyone got back to work. Nearly nobody paid attention to the crown prince still standing at the edge of the field looking very out of place with his fancy jewelry. Nobody except Yang Guang, who was very disturbed at the crown prince''s gaze following him around wherever he went. Even though he was pretty sure the prince wouldn''t do any harm to him, the way he stared at him brought back some rather unpleasant flashbacks.


    However, Yang Guang pushed those to the back of his head and continued to take a dried gourd and gouge out the seeds to put in his basket. He continued this for about ten minutes before he just about had it with the weird staring from the crown prince.


    "Your highness the crown prince, aren''t you going back?" he asked.


    "No, I-I''m staying here-here with you," Ming WanFeng said.


    "Why?" Yang Guang asked.


    "It-it''s interesting watching you work," he said.


    Rolling his eyes, Yang Guang turned around and sauntered back to his basket, sprinkling a few seeds here and there. He took a few more gourds and pried out their seeds at a surprisingly fast pace, depleting the supply of gourds about 20 minutes later.


    Yang Guang took his basket and walked around the field, sprinkling seeds while his eyes- or rather eye- peeked out from under his hair to track the movement of the crown prince. He was walking around the place, looking very uncomfortable.


    Night fell and everyone was getting ready to go home, packing up their baskets and getting ready to leave. Ming WanFeng was still there, sitting on the ground now, crossing his arms and looking like a child.


    Yang Guang slowly walked away from the field and up the hill, dragging his shovel and basket behind him.


    "Your highness, it''s time to leave," he said as he passed by the boy.


    "Okay," the crown prince muttered.


    When he looked up and found that Yang Guang was already a good 15 steps away, he scrambled up and ran after him


    "Er Lang, w-wait!" he yelled.


    Yang Guang turned around and looked at him, face cold.


    "Oh, I''m sorry, your highness," was all he said when the crown prince caught up to him and they started walking side-by-side.


    After a while of awkward silence, Ming WanFeng looked curiously at Yang Guang''s bandages, and even reached a hand out to touch his forehead. Yang Guang flinched, resisting the urge to push the boy onto the ground. He never liked people touching his scar, especially not random clingy royalty he met a day ago.


    "Er L-Lang ge, what happened here?" Ming WanFeng asked.


    "I went just went blind in my right eye, nothing much," Yang Guang lied casually.


    "That''s  horrible!" Ming WanFeng yelled.


    "Hahaha, it''s not that bad," Yang Guang said.


    Ming WanFeng looked toward the ground and back toward Yang Guang.


    "Er Lang g-ge, I''m h-hungry," he said.


    Yang Guang nodded and reached down into his pocket to pull out a small piece of gold which he tossed into the prince''s hand.


    "Go buy your own food," Yang Guang said.


    "Ah, ge, why don''t you come with me?" Ming WanFeng asked.


    Yang Guang''s eyes twitched again. This boy needed someone to help him buy food. To buy food for heaven''s sake! How well must he have been treated?


    "Why?"


    "This place is s-scary," Ming WanFeng looked around and inadvertently shivered.


    Yang Guang''s would have slapped himself in the face right then and there to make sure this wasn''t a dream, but because he was in the presence of someone he was supposed to be polite to, he suppressed that urge. The real imperial system and power struggle was much, much more scary than this quiet, harmless little village.


    "Fine," Yang Guang grumbled.


    By now, the streets were slightly crowded with people going back home. Along their way to get food, someone bumped into Ming WanFeng, not noticing at all and just walking past. However, Ming WanFeng winced in pain and nearly toppled down onto the Yang Guang besides him.


    Yang Guang cursed under his breath and helped the boy up, observing that he was holding his arm. Yang Guang took his arm and led him toward the local medicine shop, which the owner wasn''t present at*.


    *A/N: mainly because the author didn''t want to write dialogue.


    Yang Guang tossed a few coins into a small jar and took a roll of bandages and a few herbs before grabbing Ming WanFeng''s hand and leading him out of there. Yang Guang unwrapped the already bloody bandage and rubbed some herbs on it before taking the new bandages and slapping it back on his hand.


    "Ok, let''s go now," Yang Guang said, acting as if nothing just happened. Ming WanFeng timidly walked by his side and held his hand inside and tried to avoid touching other people. A few times, he tried reaching for Yang Guang''s but retracts his hand at the last moment, almost afraid to touch it.


    They got some food and headed back home, where grandma and grandpa were waiting for them. Yang Guang smiled and set down the steamer full of buns, enough to feed the whole family. It was probably the best dinner Yang Guang had his whole life, and probably the only dinner for the past three years.


    "Er Lang gege, c-can we leave for Luoyang t-tomorrow? Father said I was supposed to be back by tomorrow, and I don''t want to worry him."


    Yang Guang pressed his lips together and sighed.


    "Ok, that''s fine. We might be a day late though, at the earliest." Yang Guang knew this from personal experience. After running nonstop for two days on end, he found his way to this small village, which nobody would of noticed unless it suddenly exploded with the force of a million stars. And after the charge of Luoyang, Yang Guang wasn''t even sure he could go back there.

 Road Back to Luoyang and the Golden Palace

    That night, Yang Guang couldn''t fall asleep no matter what he did. He tried to count sheep, think about happy things, and even not think at all, but just the thought of Luoyang would make his stomach churn.


    When he thought he could finally fall asleep, it was already morning. Before he knew it, Ming WanFeng was shaking him awake, screaming at him to wake up.


    "Er L-Lang ge! Wake up!"


    Yang Guang rolled his eyes under his eyelids and groggily sat up.


    "W-we need to go t-to Luoyang!" the boy yelled, desperate.


    "Don''t be so loud," Yang Guang said, standing up and checking to make sure grandma and grandpa were still asleep.


    "Also, you''re the crown prince. Why don''t you just summon some workers or something?" Yang Guang asked, not looking at him.


    "I-I left my n-notices at the palace," he said.


    Yang Guang didn''t even want the throne any more. As long as he could push off this crown prince, he was happy with anything.


    "Why don''t you just write a letter then?" Yang Guang asked, but instantly realized the stupidity in his question. There was no mail delivery, and for the time that the letter would take to deliver, they would probably already be at Luoyang.


    Just as the crown prince was about to talk, Yang Guang cut him off.


    "Never mind, ok. We''re leaving after we eat. Especially you," Yang Guang said. For the first time in the past two days, the crown prince smiled and nodded.


    Honestly, the crown prince looked quite charming when he smiled, his lips slightly trembling and his eyes squinted into a crescent. Yang Guang couldn''t help but be reminded of his nine year old self.


    Wordlessly, Yang Guang grabbed a pouch of money and walked off, opening the door and waiting for Ming WanFeng to close it. Yang Guang walked down the street and saw the little shop from a few days earlier. He waved to the shopkeeper turned around, gesturing for Ming WanFeng to follow him.


    "Hi, jie, we''re here to get some flour cakes," he said, passing a few coins into her hand.


    "Two, one for you and one for the crown prince," she said, retrieving two flour cakes from the Frying pot.


    "Thanks," Yang Guang said while passing a flour cake to Ming WanFeng.


    "Your farming tools aren''t with you, where are you going?" the shopkeeper asked.


    "Taking him to Luoyang," Yang Guang replied.


    "Tell me about it when you get back! I''ve always wanted to see the magnificent city of Luoyang," she said.


    "I will," was all Yang Guang said before he walked away, the crown prince following behind him.


    However, before Yang Guang set off on the path away from the town, he walked toward the small stables where a single horse was kept. This was the only horse in the village and only used for special occasions. Yang Guang tossed a piece of his flour cake into the horse''s mouth before unleashing it and holding on to the reins.


    "Haha, well I guess the road to Luoyang has to depend on you," Yang Guang chuckled while stroking its hair. The horse neighed in annoyance.


    "Er L-Lang g-ge, where are w-we taking this horse?" Ming WanFeng asked.


    "What, you want to walk to Luoyang? No offense, but your highness the crown prince might not last a day," Yang Guang replied.


    "Oh," the crown prince said, looking at the ground. Yang Guang mounted the horse and looked back at Ming WanFeng.


    "Get on."


    "Huh?"


    "Get on," Yang Guang said, reaching out a hand toward Ming WanFeng. He took it, climbing on to the horse. After a moment of silence, Yang Guang spoke again.


    "Hold on to my shoulders," he told the crown prince as the horse began into a slow trot.


    "W-what?" Ming WanFeng responded.


    "What, are you embarrassed? You can even touch my forehead, so why not my shoulders?" Yang Guang mused.


    "Um-m is that ok?" the crown prince asked.


    "Do you want to fall off?" Yang Guang said.


    "No," the crown prince replied.


    He put two hands onto Yang Guang''s shoulders, one on each side. They were surprisingly warm, like a hot water bag.


    "Hold on tight,"Yang Guang said, tightening his grip on the reins. He flicked the reins and the horse sped into a gallop, faster and faster until the road went by like a blur. The winds flowed by them like water, blowing increasingly fast.


    Ming WanFeng kept trying to push away Yang Guang''s hair, but it kept coming back due to the winds. At the end, he gave up and just lowered his head and ignored it. Awkwardly, the crown prince tried to strike up some conversation.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Er Lang g-ge, how do you know the w-way to Luoyang?" he asked.


    "I lived in Luoyang until the rebellion when I got injured and ran away," Yang Guang said. He wasn''t lying, he had lived in Luoyang until the rebellion and he did run away after the death of¡ª him.


    "How old are you?" Ming WanFeng asked.


    Yang Guang was quiet for a second before deciding there was not much to hide from this boy.


    "Twenty-nine. And you?" he said.


    "I-I''m 25," Ming WanFeng replied.


    "Hm."


    Yang Guang''s eyebrows raised at this notion, surprised at the age of the crown prince. All this time he had been calling him a "boy", thinking he was merely in his teens. Turns out that he was only four years younger than him.


    After almost two hours, the sun was high in the sky, beating down on the duo as they traversed the empty fields and forests. Abruptly, Yang Guang pulled on the reins, causing the horse to reel back, almost throwing them off. Yang Guang grabbed Ming WanFeng''s arm and hopped off in one swift motion.


    "What are y-you doing?" the crown prince yelled.


    "Geez, can''t you quiet down? There''s a stream nearby and we should rest a bit before moving on," Yang Guang replied, grabbing the horse''s reins and walking toward a nearby forest.


    "How w-would you know?" Ming WanFeng asked, following behind him.


    Yang Guang rolled his eyes and merely pointed toward a small stream of water nearby.


    "How''d y-you see that?"


    Yang Guang shrugged, continuing to walk toward it and tied the horse''s reins onto a nearby tree. He sat down on the banks taking a handful of the water, putting it to his mouth. However, before he could drink it, Ming WanFeng shouted.


    "Wait!"


    "What?" Yang Guang asked.


    Ming WanFeng summoned a small ball of spiritual energy on his fingertips and brushed it over the water, creating a shiny silver layer above the water, which then sank into Yang Guang''s hands and disappeared.


    "What''s that for?"


    "P-purifying the water," the crown prince said.


    "Tsk, tsk," Yang Guang clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes before drinking down the water. It tasted a lot cooler after Ming WanFeng added spiritual energy. It actually felt quite good for a body which hadn''t had any spiritual energy for so long.


    Ming WanFeng did the same process for the entire river, allowing the silver layer to sink before he picked up a handful and drank it. The two sat in the shade for a while before Yang Guang started to drift to sleep after not getting any sleep last night. Ming WanFeng sat at the edge of the stream, looking from Yang Guang to the stream and back. However, after just a few minutes, Ming WanFeng looked at the bandages on Yang Guang''s head and got curious.


    What were under those mysterious bandages? They never had any blood on them, signaling that there was no active wound underneath. However, Yang Guang did say he had a blind eye. It wouldn''t hurt to look.


    Ming WanFeng scooted over to the sleeping Yang Guang and started to unwrap his bandages slowly. However, right before he unwrapped the final layer, Yang Guang jolted awake and violently pushed him away.


    "What are you doing!" he yelled. Ming WanFeng looked at him with a big frown, his eyebrows scrunched up. Yang Guang rewrapped his bandages around his head and softened his voice.


    "I''m sorry, your majesty. It was just instinct to push you away. Hope you don''t mind too much," he said, finishing wrapping up his bandages.


    "W-what''s under them any-anyway?" Ming WanFeng asked, standing up and brushing himself off. Yang Guang sighed and replied:


    "My blind right eye is a very ugly shade of white. It would be unsightly for you."


    Yang Guang untied the horse and grabbed the crown prince''s arm, roughly pulling both of them onto the horse. Yang Guang adjusted his grip cast Ming WanFeng a sideways glance. The crown prince put his hands on Yang Guang''s shoulders before Yang Guang jerked the reins and the horse dashed forwards.


    The rest of the day went similarly, with the only exception being Ming WanFeng getting increasingly clingy, his grip tightening on Yang Guang''s shoulders, even so much as to almost back-hugging him.


    Yang Guang rolled his eyes almost constantly and only moved the horse along faster, which caused the crown prince to grip onto him even tighter. When the last few rays of sun were barely peeking through, the two could finally see a small shadow of the city walls.


    They were the exact same one Yang Guang''s dad built so many years ago, albeit slightly dirtier and more worn down. Ming WanFens originally white and gold robes were now a dirty brown from the dust and in serious need of washing. They rode down the final patch of road before arriving at the city gates where a large row of guard stood on attention. Yang Guang casually hopped off the horse and pushed Ming WanFeng toward the reins, which the crown prince grasped tightly.


    "Who are you two plebeians and what prints you to the capitol, villagers like you have no business here! Your horse isn''t even properly groomed!" one of the guards at the front yelled at them, holding up a lantern to see their face.


    "Oh, so rude? You can''t even recognize your own crown prince any more?" Yang Guang asked, still sauntering as if nothing ever happened.


    As they got closer, the guard squinted and dropped to his knees.


    "I''m so sorry Your Highness the Crown Prince! Please excuse my rudeness!" he said, as all the other guards dropped to their knees and bowed.


    "Just open the gates already," Yang Guang said.


    "Who are you?" the head guard asked.


    "Crown prince Ming''s friend, is that right?" he looked toward the crown prince.


    Ming WanFeng nodded quite vigorously as if he actively agreed with this point.


    "Open the gates!" the head guard yelled and, slowly, a group of people pulled open the gates enough to let the crown prince through.


    "The crown prince is here!" all the guards yelled in unison just as the gates opened. Yang Guang hopped on his horse and pulled the reins, speeding up into a slow gallop. Sounds of "The crown prince is here!" spread through the whole street as the crowd parted way for the incoming Yang Guang and Ming WanFeng.


    Although Ming WanFeng couldn''t hear it, the crowd was whispering about him.


    "What happened to him?"


    "Who is that guy?"


    "What an indecent appearance for a crown prince!"


    There were all kinds of whispers, from simply questioning to straight up insulting. All of them were quietly uttered in fear of getting their heads chopped off by the imperial family.


    Along the main road they went when Yang Guang finally saw the massive building that was the palace.


    Haha, saying my lavish lifestyle was a curse to the citizens. And now look at you living in the palace I built!


    Yang Guang was amused at how right after they mocked him for being frivolous, they lived in the same frivolous mansion as him, except now it was even more decked out with jewels and gold. Although Yang Guang felt somewhat excited at the sight of this giant red building protruding hundreds of feet in the air, it also evoked a deep-seated fear of the past, whether distant or not.


    At the sight of the crown prince, the soldiers scrambled to open the doors all while looking suspiciously at Yang Guang. Yang Guang stopped the horse and hopped off. Based on old customs, it wasn''t polite to have a horse enter into the emperor''s living quarters unless you had just won a major battle. He grabbed the crown prince''s arm and pulled him off the horse before chaining the horse onto a tree, once again.


    "Do you need me to accompany you any further?" Yang Guang asked.


    Ming WanFeng nodded and started walking up the massive flight of stairs. Yang Guang followed suit behind him. When they finally reached the top, there was another guard which opened the door for them.


    "The crown prince is here!"

 Scummy Second Prince

    "The crown prince is here!" yelled the shrill voice of a eunuch. The cry resounded throughout the imperial palace, sparking more and more shouts of "The crown prince is here!"


    Leading in the front of a long procession was the crown prince, Yang Yong, just back from his hunting sessions. Or as the emperor liked to call them, frivolous killing sessions. Ever since his crowning, the emperor Wendi was especially conservative and barely ever spent any money, which was why the imperial palace looked no different than a village house, albeit a little bigger. So when his eldest son would don golden armor and go out in shiny chariots shooting animals with silver arrows, he was no doubt pissed.


    Following behind Yang Yong were his three brothers¡ªno, four brothers. There was a small boy lagging way behind the other four. Compared to the silk and satin of his brothers, the boy looked nothing like a prince in his rough wool robes. Albeit being the second oldest of the brothers, the small boy was frail and short, barely taller than the fifth prince, who was only six while he was already ten.


    Behind the boy were many, many soldiers all dedicated to protecting the crown prince, who was not to be hurt under any circumstances. That is, if they didn''t want to die. Behind those soldiers were slaves, carrying all of the crown prince''s prey.


    "Father emperor, your child has come back from hunting," Yang Yong said, kneeling before the throne of the emperor. His other four brothers kneeled beside him, all except his second brother. He kneeled behind them, his small figure invisible behind the others.


    "What did I say about hunting? You disrespectful child, wasting money like that. Money doesn''t grow on trees!" Wendi raged.


    "B-but I brought back prey!"


    "Don''t talk back to me! You think that a few petty animals matter to me?" Wendi shouted.


    "Oh, emperor, don''t be so angry. A-Yong is only trying to make sure we eat well," the empress said softly.


    "Go kneel in the Fa Shi*, all of you. Don''t come out until I tell you to. Also, copy your studies one hundred times."


    *A/N: translates to "the punishment room"


    "Father-" Yang Yong whined.


    "GO!"


    Scared shitless, Yang Yong quietly slunk away from the grand room with his brothers tailing behind him. When they were certainly out of earshot, Yang Yong let out a loud sigh and proclaimed:


    "That old man has no idea what he''s doing. it''s not my fault all he does is make us do studies and never lets us have fun."


    "Um, I don''t think you should say that," the third Yang brother, Yang Mo, said.


    "Bah, who cares! I''m the crown prince of Sui! There''s not a single person under the sun which can hurt me!"


    Yang Mo shrugged and continued his way down toward the Fa Shi, the oh-so-familiar cold room of punishment. They''ve been it so many times already, the Yang brothers could practically walk there with their eyes closed. Sometimes, they were even sent there multiple times a day, each time for escaping the last time.


    Yang Yong pushed open the door of the Fa Shi and found the scrolls, books, and bottles upon bottles of ink already waiting for them. The crown prince grabbed a scroll and some ink and knelt down on the mat and began copying.


    The rest of the brothers did the same, climbing onto the bamboo mats. However, after only a few minutes, Yang Yong threw down his brush and leaned back onto the wall.


    "This is so stupid! Let''s go out!" Yang Yong exclaimed.


    "Didn''t we get caught nearly every time?" Yang Cheng, the fourth brother asked.


    "So?" Yang Yong replied nonchalantly.


    "I''m leaving, who''s coming with me?" he asked.


    Nobody responded.


    "You guys are no fun, all goody-two-shoes. Especially Yang Guang," Yang Yong said.


    The second brother said nothing, continuing to copy down the scriptures. By now, he was almost done with a quarter of the text, the farthest out of all the brothers.


    "Come on, we''re leaving. A-Mo, A-Xiang, A-Liang, we''re going," Yang Yong said.


    When nobody answered, Yang Yong finally snapped.


    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THIS IS SO STUPID! I''M LEAVING!" he shouted, kicking over Yang Guang''s ink tray. Then, he jumped up and leaped out of the window. Just after Yang Yong jumped out, the door gently slid open.


    The empress and the emperor walked in to the Fa Shi to check on them. The first thing Wendi noticed was the missing crown prince. The second thing he noticed was that Yang Guang''s ink tray was knocked over.


    "Where''s A-Yong?" he asked the four remaining Yang brothers. Nobody dared to say anything about their brother. Ever since they were little, their brother was especially violent, attacking anyone who dared to talk bad about him. And not only that, their mother would always find a way to punish whoever touched a single hair of the crown prince.


    Empress Cui grit her teeth and clenched her fists, an action barely noticeable from under her many layers of sleeves.


    "A-Yong''s probably just out to get water," the empress said.


    "Isn''t that right?" she continued as she turned toward the Yang brothers.


    "Yes, ma''am," the four all said in unison.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Wendi cast a look at the window before averting his gaze toward the ink splattered all over the ground and Yang Guang''s completely ruined scriptures.


    "A-Guang, what happened here?" he asked.


    Yang Guang lowered his head replied:


    "Sir, I was just being clumsy and knocked it over. I''m very sorry. I will go clean it up right away."


    Wendi looked very suspiciously at the rest of the boys and asked:


    "Is what he said true?"


    The Yang brothers looked at each other and then looked at Yang Guang, who was sitting as still as a rock.


    "Yes sir," they all said in unison.


    "Qie*, what a clumsy child. Clean it up and then take him to the beating room. The rest of you should finish your scriptures," Empress Cui said, her voice dripping with spite.


    *A/N: kind of like a phrase someone says when they''re annoyed. Kind of like "Pei" but passive aggressive.


    Yang Guang got up and walked toward the door, his head held low, especially when he passed by the empress. The empress looked down at him, as if wanting to slice him in half with her eyes. She slightly extended her leg toward the unsuspecting second prince just as he passed by, causing him to fall.


    Yang Guang climbed back up again speed walked away from the Fa Shi, ignoring the empress''s snickering , as if not wanting to spend a second more in that place. And probably for good reason too. During his time at the Fa Shi, he had been beaten the most out of all the brothers, no matter by his parents or his siblings. Every time his siblings climbed out to escape, he was the one copying their scriptures, and by the time Wendi came to check on them, Yang Guang had only barely finished the others'' work and had just started his, causing him to be called illiterate by his mother.


    When the well was finally in sight, Yang Guang grabbed a bucket from nearby and dipped it into the well, drawing only half a bucket of water. His little arms dragged this bucket all the way back to the Fa Shi, to see that the empress was still there, although Wendi was now gone.


    He silently sucked in a breath because, without his dad to protect him, Empress Cui could do whatever she wanted to him. Heck, she could even kill him and blame it on an accident! The only reason he was still alive was that the empress found far too much fun in ridiculing him.


    He silently walked into the room and grabbed a towel, feeling the ice cold stare of the empress trained on his back.


    "Nobody help him. Do your own work," she said flatly to the other brothers.


    For a while, Yang Guang scrubbed the floor, desperately trying to get the ink off the ground. Fortunately, it was wet enough to be scrubbed off with only a little bit of effort, but even that much was a lot for the small and fragile boy.


    When he was finally done, the other brothers were almost halfway through their scriptures.


    "Oh, you''re done. Now go and receive your punishment," the empress said once she noticed that Yang Guang had finished.


    Shakily, Yang Guang stood up and walked out of the Fa Shi and toward the ever inevitable beating room. It was merely a small shack with a couple of servants stationed inside, and always the faintest scent of blood. He opened the small door and walked in.


    Upon hearing the sound of the doors opening, the servants looked up from their small circle on the ground.


    "Oh, you''re back? What did you do this time?" one of them asked.


    "Knocked over an ink tray," Yang Guang said almost matter-of-factly. In front of these servants with whom he was comfortable with, he almost sounded like an entirely different person. Although his voice was still soft, it was no longer shaky and scared.


    "You knocked over an ink tray?" another servant asked. After spending his entire life stepping on eggshells, Yang Guang was possibly one of the most deliberate people they''d met, and added with the fact that he worked extra hard on his physical cultivation, it was unlike him to knock over an ink tray.


    "Well no, but you didn''t hear that from me," Yang Guang said while kneeling down on yet another bamboo mat. This mat was pretty much engraved with his knee prints by now.


    The servants looked at one another and turned back toward Yang Guang. He was still sitting completely still and his face was almost serenely calm.


    "Who''s...whipping him?" one of the servants gently whispered.


    All of the servants went silent and sucked in a breath of cold air. Nobody wanted to whip this child, but if they didn''t they would be threatened with punishment themselves.


    "Well then, who has the weakest arm?" one of the servants asked.


    Nobody answered until another servant stepped up and said;


    "I guess I''ll do it."


    He took the whip on the wall and unraveled it.


    "Make sure to go easy on him," the servant from earlier called.


    "There''s no need," Yang Guang said, his voice stone cold.


    The servants looked at each other once again and tried to understand his words. However, only after a few seconds, the first whip fell.


    Yang Guang clenched his fists and tried not to flinch, reminding himself that he was used to it. Every whip hurt like irons thrown across his back, but even this was one of the lighter punishments. When he had committed some horrible atrocities like kicked his brother on his first day, he was practically beaten to death with a giant wooden board.


    At the end of the twenty whips, Yang Guang felt an overwhelming urge to fall onto the ground and faint. His head was spinning and his eyes felt like they were going to pop out.


    The servant who whipped him quickly threw down the whip and picked the small child off the mat and carried him out the door. He was about to walk even further when he heard a shout.


    "The empress told us not to help him!"


    The servant paused for a second and set Yang Guang down. He looked between the prince and the servants before squatting down and patting the prince''s head. The small boy smiled politely before turning away and limping toward the Fa Shi.


    There, waiting for him, was a brand new sheet of paper and a new ink tray. Yang Guang looked gratefully at where his brothers were, thinking it was probably the work of one of them.


    Awkwardly, he picked up a a pen and flipped open his scriptures before starting to copy. By the time he was done with the pages upon pages of his book, he closed the book and put it away. His back was aching with pain and the fact that he had to walk all the way back to his bedchamber at the other end of the palace didn''t help. The sky was already dark, and in the shadow of the imperial palace, it was even darker around the boy.


    After slowly limping around for a while, Yang Guang saw a servant running toward him. At first he ignored him until the servant ran right up to him and grabbed his shoulders. Yang Guang flinched.


    "Second prince, our emperor know''s you''ve been punished and gave you this for your back, but don''t let anyone see you use it." With that, the servant ran off again, as if he didn''t want to be seen with this second prince. Nobody could really blame him either, as Yang Guang was frequently called "dirty" and "messy" and other names that were much, much worse, and unless you were the lowest of servants, being with him would ruin your reputation. And if you were the lowest of servants, you never had a reputation to begin with.


    Yang Guang gazed at the little medicine pouch in his hands and was about to shrug when he remembered the condition of his back. Silently, he walked back to his room, went inside, and closed the doors.


    He took a cold bath and applied some of the medicine on his back before putting on his nightgown. For the entire night, he slept on his stomach, and when morning came, he really wanted to puke.


    When he was awoken by a knock on his door, the sky was still dark. However, this was completely normal, as usually the Yang brothers would have to wake up earlier than even the birds to go to lessons. That is, except for special cases where the crown prince throws a tantrum and then gets to go and play outside.


    Personally, Yang Guang really hated school. He was practically forced by his brother to do poorly on the tests so that his brother could look better. This would lead to hours of scoldings and being forced to copy everything 100 times. By now, Yang Guang could write "Third ancient text of the second century" with his eyes closed. His least favorite part, however, was cultivation. It was basically just an excuse for him to be beat up by everyone else.


    Yang Guang wasn''t sure what was worse: the streets of Luoyang or the (horribly shabby) imperial palace. Probably the former though.