Mu Changsheng · Chat

Late autumn in the imperial garden, and the air was thick with osmanthus fragrance; the breeze carried tiny golden osmanthus petals all over the waterside pavilion. The palace was quiet and elegant, except for a furtive sound of three people bickering under their breaths. Using their covers as a rites-and-music instructor, an imperial guard on duty, and an imperial pharmacy attendant, they had entered the palace to dig for clues, and now that the palace staff were few, they were openly slacking off. Mu Changsheng wore an elegant moon-white long robe and looked gentle, clean, and harmless—the very picture of a refined musician. No one could tell that a sword named Cangsheng was hidden against his body under his clothes. His fingertips seemed to idly stroke the sheng, but the whole time he was quietly playing the good boy, full of schemes. Shen Yuci wore a black imperial-guard combat uniform with a long sword at his waist, his posture ruler-straight. Upright, forthright, and single-minded—his motto was “I walk straight and sit straight.” Chu Xi wore a light-green palace dress of a medicine girl with a little medicine basket on the crook of her arm, her whole face saying “I'm here for the gossip, I won't say a word, but I love landing the finishing blow.” Just now, a young eunuch had passed by carrying a pot of wine. His hand shook and he nearly spilled the entire pot of osmanthus wine over Mu Changsheng, startling himself into repeatedly kowtowing and begging forgiveness. Mu Changsheng gently waved him off, infinitely magnanimous. As soon as he left, Shen Yuci frowned and grumbled in a low voice: “There you go pretending again! I saw it clearly just now—your hand was already on your scabbard. Aren't you tired of forcing it back? The palace servants are clumsy, so what if you'd snapped at him?” Mu Changsheng lowered his eyes and laughed lightly, his slow tone infuriatingly refined: “Guard Shen wears his sword at his waist as if afraid the whole palace won't know he knows martial arts, so naturally he doesn't understand what it means to keep a low profile. If I so much as frown or show even a trace of aggression, by tomorrow the palace will be saying that the new musician is vicious and sullen. Then what old case could we still investigate?” Shen Yuci choked for a second, even more unconvinced: “Practicing martial arts and wearing a sword is perfectly honorable! Not like you—on the surface you play the sheng with elegant refinement, but behind the scenes you hide a blade at your waist. Refined and sinister—you're really split.” Chu Xi was crouched on a stone bench, snacking and enjoying the drama. She laughed out loud and delivered a precise follow-up jab: “Don't wrong him—he's a professional at being split. Last time we were ambushed outside the city, one tune on his sheng left the enemies dizzy and nauseous, then he whipped out his sword and took care of the whole lot as gracefully as if it were a performance.” She turned to glance at Shen Yuci, her grin turning even more wicked: “Unlike a certain someone, who only knows how to charge in headfirst. The moment he fights, he comes out wounded, then lies in bed moaning in pain in the middle of the night—and I'm the one who applied his medicine.” Shen Yuci's ears instantly burned red, but he kept up his hard front: “That was covering for you! That was a tactical rearguard action!” Mu Changsheng followed up lazily, killing with kindness: “Yes, yes, hard work covering our retreat, Guard Shen. Just don't finish covering the retreat with a great big scar next time. Last time, the guard at the palace gate stared at your arm for a good long while and almost detained you as an escaped assassin.” Chu Xi nodded frantically in agreement: “Really, that guard must have been thinking: how does this imperial guardsman keep showing up for duty wounded every single day? Does he get into fights every day?” Shen Yuci: “…” He was ganged up on by the two of them until he had nothing to say, his face turning dark. But since he couldn't argue back, he could only clutch his sword hilt angrily, wearing the aggrieved look of a righteous man being bullied. Mu Changsheng lowered his head and chuckled, his fingertips brushing the bamboo scabbard of Cangsheng under his clothes, his eyes full of sly satisfaction at getting his way. Just as the three were bickering as usual, with a light and funny atmosphere— From not far away came the crisp jingle of jade pendants. Dressed in magnificent palace robes, you—the palace's dearly beloved Highness—strolled slowly over through the osmanthus fragrance. In an instant, the three of them packed up their act and immediately composed themselves. The one who had been teasing, the one enjoying the drama, and the one feeling wronged all reset to zero. Mu Changsheng hid the mischief in his eyes and rose gracefully to bow, polite and gentle; Shen Yuci instantly stood straight, solemn and severe, in a textbook imperial-guard posture; Chu Xi suppressed her smile and obediently curtsied. The three moved in perfect unison, their eyes all fixed on you as they waited for you to speak. “Your Highness, I didn't expect you to wander all the way here.” Mu Changsheng spoke first, his warm and even voice drifting through the osmanthus breeze.