"I'm going to the village to pick up letters when it's still a bit warmer. Do you want to go with me?" Jingting asked, already heading towards the stables, passing by Liu Sheng.
They haven't been together for a long time, actually, it would be accurate to say that Liu Sheng was avoiding Jingting since the night he finished his couplet. But somehow Jingting wasn't afraid or offended. Because every time he passed by the person, his ears would burn bright red and sometimes even his cheeks would change color into deep red. And it wasn't because of the cold. Yet, today, Liu Sheng frowned and nodded. Without a word in his padded clothing from training, he went inside, and for a while, he was nowhere to be seen, but later he emerged from the clothes his brother sent him.
He was so sharp and handsome that Jingting had to blink a few times. He had never before seen such an exquisite work. The yuanlingpao[1] was dark blue, but what had stunned Jingting was the squared buzi[2] on the chest. There was an embroidered tiger. And Jingting read enough books to know what it meant. Liu Sheng was a really high official, a third-rank official. How was it possible?! Then what was total overkill was not the black gauze cap, but the outer coat that was not embroidered with anything, but it was lined with dark, almost black fur.
"Isn't it a bit of an overkill?" Jingting suddenly felt ashamed of his clothes. They weren't even silk, but cotton, and it was dark brown jiaolingpao[3], a color that he found out covered most of the splashes or other stains he would get. And his outer coat was not lined with anything, it was just plain thick clothes to keep him warm. And then he had his shoulder bag made out of linen. Also, very poor cloth.
"I'm an official. I can't be seen in shabby clothes, no matter where I am, in case someone recognizes me." Jingting jerked himself with the word shabby, and every tiny bit that was admiring Liu Sheng's clothes just disappeared. He turned around and walked down the lotus staircase that was the only connection between the mansion in the mountain and the valley down where the stables were.
He did not look back to see whether Liu Sheng followed him or not. His pride suddenly couldn't take it. He felt shabby, poor, and somehow not enough in every aspect of his life.
"Wait for me." Liu Sheng ran to him, it was just a short jog before he slipped on the path and actually tackled Jingting to the ground. Well, he ended up sliding on his ass, while Jingting was sitting in his lap, sliding with him. They slid the few remaining stairs, and Sheng's eyes welled with tears. Half of it was because of laughter, the other because of the pain that he felt around his pelvic area… front and back.
The pressure when smacked Jingting from his feet sent him sitting directly onto Sheng's private parts, and to be honest, Jingting wasn't the lightest feather. And the other was from sliding down the stairs with his ass. He was shaking, covering his face, and tears that were flowing down his face, hoping Jingting wouldn't see it.
"Are you okay?!" Jingting exclaimed, obviously worried, checking his head from behind, the movement of his neck, then his hand ran down his back. It looked like an embrace, and that was how the stable boy found them.
Liu Sheng started laughing. He just couldn't take it anymore, how funny the situation was, and laughed out loud. And though his laughter startled both the stable boy and Jingting, Jingting joined him, laughing, after a few moments of the initial shock.
"I didn't plan it this way," Sheng said in between his laughter, and Jingting nodded. It wasn't how it was supposed to be at all. Not even the beginning, now, Liu Sheng's robe was dirty, his back and ass were slightly wet, and the perfect head bob he had… Well, a few of the strands had escaped it, and he suddenly wasn't so glamorous anymore, more like down to earth, just as Jingting was used to seeing him.
"Let's go. Or do you want to change?" Liu Shen shook his head and went to get his horse, but Jingting could see his ears were burning red. He followed him and took his own horse.
"It's really surprising how healthy they look even through such a cold," Liu Sheng said after a cough and patted the horse's neck.
"I pay the caretakers a lot of money. Of course, they will take care of everything perfectly. And also, their father was a caretaker for my own father, he came from the burning house with him. They are pretty loyal." Jingting smiled at Xiaoqi, who was sitting by the stables, and nodded at him as a gesture of appreciation. He also got up onto the horseback and gently nudged him into motion. He didn't wait for that little soldier of his because he knew he would follow. It wasn't a long ride, but it was long enough to make Jingting spiral into his overthinking again.
After riding out of the valley, Liu Sheng had kept the same pace and rode next to him. And Jingting, whose only riding teacher was his father until he was seven years old, well, just to say he envied Liu Sheng's posture. He looked elegant but powerful at the same time. Even in this attire, he could imagine him yielding his bow, killing people left and right.
"How long had you been learning horse riding?" he asked thoughtlessly. Liu Sheng furrowed his brow because he didn't understand this out-of-nowhere question.
"I'm still learning. With these animals, you have to be respectful and keep learning how to behave towards them. But if you think about the posture and the basics… Since I was a little child. I wanted to keep up with my older brother, so I stole a horse and tried to ride it…" Liu Shen laughed at the memory of how it ended up with him being punished by dozens of lashings because he had almost died that day. The very next day, his father brought him to the army barracks and put him next to the young recruits. Since then, he has been part of the army.
"Maybe since when I was five or four," he finished his thoughts. And noticed the shift in Jingting's behaviour. Well, he noticed it since he emerged after changing his clothes. At first, he really didn't want to go out like this, but he had no other things… His brother only packed his army attire with armor, the official robe, and a few training robes, and those were worn every day, so they were in the laundry. It was better than going around in the new armor.
"We are here," Jingting said. Liu Sheng looked at the small gate. He wasn't even slightly impressed. Yet, when they stopped in front of the biggest building in the town, he thought was a restaurant or a tea house, he was utterly stunned, because it bore the name: Bright Pavilion - Jing Ting.
[1] The round collar (圆领袍) robe dominant as form of official attire, long enough to cover the entire body of its wearer.
[2] Rank badges (補子) - a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of officials, completely covering the chest and back. The specific birds and animals used to represent rank differ for civil and military officers.
[3] Jiaolingpao (交領袍) cross-collars robe which overlapped on the front and closed on the right side. In Ming dynasty worn by commoner men.