Nostalgia

"Don't you think it's weird?" Lei Yong asked.

"What is?" The Emperor calmly asked.

"He showed up too close to the capital. He was just two cities away. Also, we can't find out where he has been all this while. Isn't it weird? Why would he come so far into the country? Shouldn't he have been going in the opposite direction?"

"Well, there was a battalion on his heels in the other direction." The Emperor coolly responded while reading a memorial. The two of them were currently alone in the royal study.

 "True...but there's also the fact that Molin is missing. We still have not been able to locate his whereabouts. It's strange he would leave him unattended."

"Maybe he fell off a cliff somewhere and died." The Emperor offhandedly said.

"Doesn't it feel like there's something else going on here...Don't you think so?" Lei Yong turned to look at the Emperor.

The Emperor glanced up at him and shrugged, and looked back down.

 Lei Yong looked at the Emperor and seriously asked, "Why are you not bothered?"

"There is no point in being bothered."

"You don't think HE could have something to do with this, do you? It really doesn't make sense for him to come this close, even if he wanted to hide, there are so many cities closer to the border that would have served the same purpose. Unless he had some purpose coming this far, otherwise this is a foolish move and is basically asking for death, he wouldn't be able to leave if you didn't -"

Lei Yong abruptly stopped and narrowed his eyes at the Emperor, the Emperor glanced up at him with a questioning glance.

 "You said he needs to arrive safely...You know what is going on, right?"

The Emperor just smiled at him and looked back down.

Lei Yong climbed up the steps and stood before the Emperor's desk, "You're doing something risky, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it risky."

Lei Yong's mouth twitched, "Did he really...?"

The Emperor sighed, dropped the memorial on the table, and looked at Lei Yong.

{...Can't you be a bit less smart?...}

 "Why do you keep putting up with all this?" Lei Yong asked, a bit annoyed.

The Emperor remained silent. Lei Yong felt even more irritated with this, "We are no longer children, the situation has changed and you should adjust accordingly. For him to even do something like this - "

The Emperor smirked, "What do you think he did? There's nothing wrong, he's not an idiot. You think too much."

Lei Yong looked at the Emperor with a worried frown on his face.

 The doors opened and Eunuch Li entered, bowed and informed, "Your majesty, Prince Yi is requesting an audience."

The Emperor smiled and he stood up, "Oh, in that case, I should go to receive him."

"Receive him?" Lei Yong said aghast.

"It's the first time he's come to see me personally since my ascension, it is only right that I receive him properly. Let's go together." He smiled and pat Lei Yong's shoulder, and started walking off, Lei Yong begrudgingly followed along with Eunuch Li.

 When they got outside, Prince Yi stood by the entrance waiting, Lei Yong greeted him and left.

Prince Yi bowed to the Emperor, and the Emperor smiled and said, "The weather is great today, how about a walk?" and then strutted off, leaving the other person with no option but to follow.

They walked for quite a long time. Prince Yi was getting annoyed by this "walk" and was thinking of it as the Emperor's stupid show of power to annoy him, but as he looked around, the area became familiar, and then he spotted a small pond and grassy area nearing and frowned.

When the Emperor stepped on the grass heading towards the pond, Prince Yi stopped, "Why are we here?"

The Emperor stopped and turned to look at him and smiled, "To admire the scenery." and then continued to walk and stopped near the pond's edge, and then glanced back at Prince Yi, who begrudgingly moved his feet forward as well.

 The two of them stood like that for a while, one with a small smile on his face and the other with a deep frown looking at the pond.

In the end, Prince Yi turned to the Emperor and bowed, "The compilation of the annals for the late emperor is complete."

"Isn't it interesting how this place hasn't changed at all? Even though the palace feels different, this place somehow seems the same, don't you think?" The Emperor asked, seemingly not having heard the words Prince Yi said.

Prince Yi straightened and looked at the scenery with a deep frown and said, "It is not the same, even the water has changed with many rainfalls, and the grass around has died and been replaced many times over. It is not the same..."

 The Emperor laughed, "That is true too..."

Prince Yi's frown deepened, he bowed and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now." and turned to leave.

After about two steps, the Emperor's voice came behind him, "If you find it becomes tiring, there are other ways..." Prince Yi kept walking as if he didn't hear it, clenching his fists tightly under his sleeves.

{...Are you mocking me now?...}

 The Emperor looked at the seemingly unchanged scenery that held a lot of memories, indulging in the nostalgia of the scene.

"Are you crying again?" A little boy said slapping on the back of another smaller boy who was sitting on the grass with his face buried in his knees.

"I'm not." The smaller one glanced up at the older one.

The older one laughed and then pinched the younger one's cheek, "Look at your face, you're really embarrassing as a younger brother, how can you be crying for everything?"

The younger one shoved the hand off and rubbed his cheek, "I'm not crying!" and then hesitantly asked, "You're not angry?"

 The older one blinked, "Why would I be angry?"

"I pushed you down..." The younger one mumbled.

"Is that why you were crying? Here I thought your mother punished you again, and you were dying of hunger." The older one knocked the younger one's head.

"Ow!" The younger one held his head and disgruntled, mumbled, "I also don't cry when I'm hungry."

"Oh, you only cry when you're starved."

The younger one's mouth twitched. The older one laughed and then rubbed the younger one's head, "It was a match and I lost...that was all."

 "But...1st brother and 2nd brother were laughing...and father even said..." His voice trailed off as he spoke.

"That I'm incompetent." The older one completed the sentence.

"I'm sorry." The younger one mumbled, lowering his head to his knees again.

The older one laughed, "There's nothing to be sorry about, it was a fair match and I lost. It is me that is lacking. Plus, a prince has no need to be competent."

The younger one frowned and looked at him a bit confused, "But my mother said..."

"Forget that. Let me rephrase it, a prince like me has no need for competence. A prince doesn't need to be competent, but an Emperor does. For me, it's enough that I can protect myself and my mother when we leave."

 The younger one raised his eyebrows, "You're leaving?"

"Of course, the moment I am old enough...We'll go traveling, even sail across the seas and explore different places. My mother has told me many stories about the world, and I've also read some myself. There's a waterfall that is as tall as a mountain..." The older one talked excitedly.

"A mountain? I don't think so." The younger one said in disbelief.

"What do you know? I read it in a book, ah...I don't remember where it is exactly, but I am sure it is real. You have heard of the desert, haven't you? How nice would it be to see the endless desert plains? There's the endless grass plains, the Yangling mountains...Ah, there's also a mountain that's covered in peach blossom trees that are always in bloom, isn't that amazing? There's also...."

 "It will be nice to go with you..." The younger one mumbled looking at the grass on the ground.

The older one sat beside him and looked at the pond in silence for a while, then sighed and said, "Our paths are different...but don't worry, I will paint the worthy sceneries and send them to you. How about it? Although my art skills are not the best, it can be developed, there is hope for you." The older one finished laughing and patting the younger one on the back.

The younger one looked at him disbelievingly, "Then you must work very hard to improve."

"What's up with that face? Are you looking down on my superb skills? In that case, there will only be walls for you!" The older one said putting on an exaggerated stern expression.

 The younger one looked at his face, smiled, and then burst into laughter.

The older one also laughed and rubbed the younger one's head, "See, you look much better smiling and laughing. You look ugly with all that frowning like you're at war with the world, stop hurting other people's eyes and smile and laugh more, if not you'll age faster."

"That's a lie." The younger one said with a disbelieving frown.

"It's not, my mother said so." The older one indignantly said.

"Xiao Shan, come in to eat!" A voice called from behind, The boys turned to see a woman in simple clothes waving them over.

 The older one got up, "Ah, the food is ready. I will treat you to a good meal today." He said as he held a hand out to pull the younger one up, then he smiled and suddenly said, "You know there are some things talent cannot help..." the younger one looked at him confused, his smile widened, "...for example, your short legs. Let's race." He started running off even before the words landed.

The younger one sprinted after him and the two boys raced off laughing towards the courtyard nearby with open doors.

Eunuch Li silently watched the pair with a small smile on his face and followed from a distance.

**(Note: Yi is Prince Yi's title name - whereas his actual given name is Shan. Also, this royal family's last name is Jun. So emperor is Jun Kai. Prince Yi is Jun Shan)**