Chapter 56: Tales from Within the Story

It was already late in the night.

The drum beating for the second watch drifted from afar.

As the candles were blown out, Zhu Hao and Jing Hong each climbed onto their beds.

No matter how resilient Jing Hong’s psychological state might be, he still displayed the loneliness and sorrow of leaving home. If Zhu Hao hadn't been right beside him, he probably would have burst into tears.

The unfamiliar environment made him exceptionally uneasy. Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, he would lift his head to look around at the slightest sound of wind and grass outside.

Zhu Hao wasn't asleep either.

Unlike Jing Hong, Zhu Hao hadn't had the habit of sleeping early when he was healthy in his previous life. If he were living alone, he could find something to occupy his time and dispel the boredom, but with Jing Hong right next to him, it was always inconvenient.

"Rest assured, no one is coming tonight. Just pull the quilt over your head and sleep soundly."

Zhu Hao muttered a sentence when Jing Hong sat up to check the situation yet again.

Jing Hong’s gaze fell upon Zhu Hao, whose figure was somewhat blurry on the other side of the room.

At this moment, Zhu Hao had his head pillowed on his arms, staring blankly at the ceiling. He looked far more composed than Jing Hong, and naturally, Jing Hong did not want to show a cowardly side... Having already lost a step in scholarship, he certainly could not lose the battle of mental fortitude as well.

"You arrived a few days earlier than I did; it seems you've already grown accustomed to living here."

Jing Hong remarked.

Zhu Hao didn't dignify him with a response. At such a tender age, he had already learned to find all sorts of excuses; admitting that one's skills were inferior was not disgraceful.

Kid, why must everything be made a contest of victory and defeat?

Seeing that Zhu Hao ignored him, Jing Hong asked, "You can't sleep either?"

Zhu Hao replied, "Your stomach is rumbling too loudly, keeping me awake."

Jing Hong glanced down at his own sunken belly.

Perhaps he hadn't eaten his fill in the evening, or perhaps the meals at the Prince's Estate did not suit his pampered stomach and had upset it, causing a constant commotion in his gut ever since he lay down.

"You're like a rat biting into a wooden box—all teeth and stubbornness! If you're homesick, just say so, instead of blaming my stomach for keeping you awake?" With that, Jing Hong imitated Zhu Hao, pillowing his head with his arms and staring at the ceiling.

There was no fun in this whatsoever!

He truly couldn't understand why Zhu Hao could stare at the ceiling for so long.

Zhu Hao said, "I'm not homesick, after all, missing home is futile anyway."

Homesick?

Reborn into this world, which home was he supposed to miss?

Where the heart finds peace is one's hometown, but what kind of hometown was that?

The two remained silent for a long time.

Jing Hong broke the silence once more: "You said you've been in the Prince's Estate for some days now, what did you study before? Master Sui didn't seem to mention you today."

Zhu Hao casually replied, "Oh, I underwent some training within the Prince's Estate previously."

"Training!? What is that?"

"Training means experiencing the ways of the world. As the verse goes: The sharp edge of a precious sword is forged from grinding and sharpening, the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold... Life requires training; if you don't understand that, you are destined never to become a master... By a master, I mean one who studies to take the imperial examinations, wins the highest honors on the golden list, and becomes the literary champion of the realm."

It was a rather absurd speech, but Jing Hong took it to heart and hurriedly asked, "Then how did you study? How... does one count as undergoing training?"

Jing Hong found yet another excuse for his failure in the screening examinations: So it wasn't that I lacked ability, but rather that my training was too scarce, and this kid beside me possesses some unorthodox shortcuts to master unfathomable knowledge.

Zhu Hao curled his lips. "If I could tell you, how could it be called a unique secret skill?"

Their conversation fell into an impasse once again.

Zhu Hao actually wanted to tell him that the unique secret skill was to die once and be reincarnated into a new life, bringing the knowledge of this lifetime into the next—though whether one would succeed was anyone's guess, and ordinary people simply couldn't copy it.

...

...

After a long while, there was no movement from Jing Hong’s side. Zhu Hao still couldn't sleep; looking at the bright moon outside the window, the urge suddenly arose to go out for a walk.

However, Jing Hong on the adjacent bed was a troublesome factor.

This kid was both his roommate and a spy; whatever he did might be leaked, especially since many of the things he did were detrimental to the Prince's Estate.

"Asleep?"

At that moment, Jing Hong suddenly spoke up again to ask.

Zhu Hao turned his head sideways. "No! What?"

Jing Hong asked, "I want to go to the outhouse. Is it... possible that thieves might sneak in here at night?"

Zhu Hao couldn't help but smile. "This is the Prince's Estate. If thieves could just wander in at will, the guards outside wouldn't even need to keep their jobs... Do you often have petty thieves visiting your county magistrate's office?"

Jing Hong thought about it, hesitating with words on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to ask Zhu Hao to accompany him to the latrine, but felt it would make him lose face. In the end, he stubbornly got up and braved the trip to the outhouse alone.

When he returned, he was panting heavily, clearly having hurried back and forth in great haste.

"Were there any thieves outside?" Zhu Hao asked deliberately.

Jing Hong made no reply.

Once Jing Hong had lain back down, Zhu Hao said, "I know a story called 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. Would you like to hear it?"

Jing Hong asked, "Is it a story about a gang of bandits?"

Zhu Hao hadn't expected Jing Hong's train of thought to leap so far, but since he had nothing to do, he began to tell it to him.

"Long, long ago, in a city in a kingdom to the west of the Great Ming, two brothers lived together. The elder brother was named Cassim, and the younger brother was named Ali Baba. After their father passed away, they each divided a limited amount of property, split up to live independently, and each sought their own livelihood..."

This story clearly didn't quite fit the national conditions of the Great Ming, and the reasoning made no sense in many places. Jing Hong interrupted him from time to time.

"...Cassim frantically gathered gold coins, moving them bag by bag to the entrance, preparing to transport them out of the cave and load them onto his home. When everything was ready, he came before the tightly shut cave door, but because of his previous excessive excitement, he actually forgot the opening password that his younger brother Ali Baba had told him, and shouted: 'Barley, open sesame!' But the cave door remained tightly sealed..."

"Aiyah, this older brother is so stupid, isn't it 'Open Sesame'?" Jing Hong chimed in with a critique.

"Cassim panicked, shouting out all kinds of names belonging to beans, wheat, and grains in one breath, but the name 'Sesame' was the one thing he couldn't remember... Aiyah, it's already late in the night, go to sleep!"

Zhu Hao yawned and fell silent.

This was precisely his objective: to make Jing Hong interested in the story, then leave him hanging, step by step making him his follower. For instance, the methods he used to entice Zhu San and Zhu Si were rabbits, revolving lanterns, and ice cream; for a proud and haughty young master like Jing Hong, some tactics were required.

Just as Zhu Hao anticipated, Jing Hong was deeply captivated by this exotic tale.

"What happened next? Tell me a bit more!"

Jing Hong had long since forgotten about homesickness and pleaded aloud.

Zhu Hao sighed. Speaking of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves naturally brought back memories of his life in his previous life. Ever since a certain corporate giant rose rapidly, this story seemed to have taken on a different meaning...

"I've talked for so long, my throat is about to smoke, I don't want to talk anymore... How about I tell you a story about Keli-Kelibaba instead?"

Jing Hong: "..."

The two of them exchanged remarks back and forth until, at some unknown point, Jing Hong actually fell soundly asleep, and soft snores began to echo in the room.

Zhu Hao found that he was quite good at coaxing children; he had actually lulled Jing Hong—who had been helpless and lost on his first day away from home—into slumber. This kid always tried to put on an air of arrogance, but in Zhu Hao's eyes, he was just a little brat who liked to act like an adult and pretend to be sophisticated.

...

...

The next morning.

When Zhu Hao opened his eyes, Jing Hong was sleeping soundly, his snores still echoing.

A commotion arose in the courtyard as the night-shift guards returned, planning to have a simple breakfast before going home to catch up on sleep.

Zhu Hao got dressed and came out to wash up, running right into Lu Song coming in from outside, followed by Lu Bing, who was holding a bamboo horse.

From this perspective, Lu Bing’s upbringing was indeed quite good, at least lacking the bad habit of sleeping in.

"You stay here first, don't run around blindly. After we have breakfast in a moment, I'll take you to the study hall..."

Lu Song instructed his son, sweeping a warning gaze toward Zhu Hao, and then led several guards off to inspect various posts.

After his father left, Lu Bing rode his bamboo horse, bouncing and hopping over to Zhu Hao with a smile. "I'm here."

Zhu Hao spat out his mouth-rinsing water, sized up the jubilant kid, and asked, "What are you so happy about? Do you like coming to the Prince's Estate to study?"

Upon hearing the word "study," Lu Bing immediately knitted his brows.

Clearly, to him, studying was hard labor.

The Lu family held high expectations for Lu Bing, but the problem was that he was too young. Both the Lu family and the Prince's Estate were somewhat pushing his education too fast, like pulling sprouts to help them grow.

Zhu Hao poured out the washing water in the basin, carried the empty basin back toward the room, and Lu Bing followed right behind him like a little tail.

Entering the room, he saw that Jing Hong had already gotten up and dressed.

"Zhu Hao, that story you told yesterday, *Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves*—did Ali Baba end up killing all the bandits?"

As soon as he woke up, Jing Hong began obsessing over the unfinished tale.

Zhu Hao smiled without answering.

Lu Bing looked bewildered and asked, "What story?"

Zhu Hao remained silent.

Right through breakfast, Jing Hong maintained a pensive look, trying to figure out what the ending of the story was, while Lu Bing took a few bites and shoveled his food into Zhu Hao’s bowl—one's family background was clear at a glance.

The living conditions in Lu Song's household were evidently quite good. In an ordinary family, it was difficult for women to find work, but the Lu family belonged to the dynamic of "a strong wife and a weak husband." Lu Song might look like a bailiff of the Prince's Estate with a certain status and position, but much of it was due to his wife's favor. Who told his wife to be the wet nurse of the Heir Apparent?

"Lu Bing, where is your dad?"

Zhu Hao didn't have much of an appetite either; he took a bite of food and asked.

Across from them, Jing Hong looked over with eager anticipation.

Zhu Hao and Lu Song ate very little, whereas Jing Hong, because he was hungry, had been looking forward to breakfast since waking up, hoping to eat a bit more so he wouldn't starve before noon.

Lu Bing replied, "My dad has things to busy himself with. If he doesn't come, I know the way, you guys just follow me."

At this, he looked immensely proud.

Although Lu Bing was the youngest of the three, he clearly wasn't newly arrived at the Prince's Estate. Because of his mother's connection, he must have frequently come to the estate to play in the past, blending in just like the children of the estate.

"Good, then you can lead me inside later. If possible, introduce the places along the way and show us how to get around."

Zhu Hao naturally wanted to make use of Lu Bing's familiarity with the Prince's Estate to learn more about the surrounding environment.

"Mmm."

Lu Bing nodded heavily.

Zhu Hao prepared to go out with Lu Bing to get some fresh air, casually pushing his bowl toward Jing Hong.

Jing Hong cast aside his modesty, his chopsticks and mouth moving simultaneously to eat his fill in the shortest time possible.

...

...

The blazing sun hung high in the sky.

Before the three youngsters entered the study hall in the inner courtyard of the Prince's Estate, Lu Song hurried back.

If it were only Lu Bing and Jing Hong, Lu Song could have completely let them enter the inner quarters on their own; the guards of the Prince's Estate wouldn't have had any misgivings and would have helped out readily.

However, with Zhu Hao around, Lu Song could never truly rest easy; he had to personally deliver this "pest" to the estate's schoolhouse.

"Dad, Zhu Hao, and Jing Hong are already my friends... Can I play with them from now on?"

In front of the two older kids, Lu Bing was as blank as a sheet of white paper; his words were full of childishness, and his innocent nature was completely unmasked, which made Lu Song feel quite worried.

Lu Song glanced at Zhu Hao with a worried expression, clearly afraid that Zhu Hao might bruise and batter this piece of unpolished jade that was his son.

"Master Bailiff, when school is dismissed at noon, will we still return here to have lunch?" Zhu Hao asked, trying his best to look more like a child.

Lu Song replied, "Whenever you leave the inner quarters, you must be accompanied by someone; wandering about alone is not permitted."

Zhu Hao asked with a cheeky grin, "Even if we know the way back here, we still have to find someone to watch over us? What if we can't find anyone?"

Lu Song's face darkened without a reply.

Lu Bing volunteered heroically, "I know the way, I'll bring you guys over when the time comes... Dad, leave everything to me, I can handle it!"

"Mmm."

Lu Song nodded in approval.

Just a moment ago, he had felt his son was too naive, but suddenly he felt his son had grown up, thinking to himself that if he had his son constantly keeping an eye on Zhu Hao, his son wouldn't hide anything from him if anything unusual happened, right?

Having such a little spy...

That would do quite well!