No matter how fast Jingting raced towards the sanctuary, it still took him more than two whole days, and that time wasn't unnoticed by his friends. He knew that the moment he had led the horse into the stable in the dead of night, Xicheng and Xuhua were pacing inside and yelled at him the moment Jingting stepped his foot in.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Xicheng shouted and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him around. Even though he was only seventeen, thanks to his training, he was really strong.
"Hey, you are going to shake my brain out of my head," he chuckled. It was nice to see someone worried about him. But there should be limits, this was… acceptable.
"We… we were afraid you went to the battlefield…" Xuhua said, suddenly meekly, not shouting like her twin.
Jingting furrowed his brow. That wasn't her style at all. Then his sight came upon the book she was holding. It was the Wen family records he recently found in the secret compartment of their library.
"Did anyone see you there?" Xicheng snapped, occupying Jingting's attention. Jingting shook his head.
"Only Liu Sheng. Not even a servant. I jumped a wall." He chuckled to himself, recalling the way he climbed the tree to get over the wall and almost broke his leg landing.
"That's good. At least something…" Xicheng muttered.
But Xuhua didn't look relieved. She silently reached her hand with the book towards him. Before Jingting could take it, Xicheng snatched it and threw it his way. It was weird behavior; even though he was in his teens, Xicheng knew the responsibility he had and never behaved like that. He was always mature.
Jingting caught the book and opened the pages. There were surnames, places of living, history with the Wen clan. If the family had been somehow involved in the Wen family massacre, the name on the page was in red ink. If they were friends, the name was in black. Many of them were red, many were black, some were black with a downward swirl-like line. Three were black with a dot.
And one was red with a red circle around it.
"ZHU??" he asked, or more like whispered. How did he not notice this name before? Or did he just not remember when he was in Datong? He continued reading the red-circled name.
"Do you think he is the imperial family Zhu, Zhu?" he continued silently. It hit him a bit. Especially since Madam Liu told him how much he was looking like his father. It was dangerous to be seen.
"Outside there are whispers of the Emperor being in a battle," Xuhua explained, her voice shaking a bit from the fear.
"That he is not in the capital. He is traveling around his realm, making sure everything is okay. And apparently father sent word that we should be careful. He is up here in the North, leading an army." When Jingting heard Xuhua, he wanted to find a swear word. But none were strong enough. None carried as much power as he needed to vent. He had just snuck into a military barracks right under the nose of the Imperial family.
"I, apparently, escaped death?" He looked at Xicheng. No wonder he was pissed and scared for Jingting. Somehow this realization made him accept anything Xicheng had to say.
"Come on. You can start... I'll let you nag me… I deserve it. Somehow I did not think everything through." Xuhua opened her mouth but only breathed in loudly. Xicheng was watching her, and when she did not start nagging, he took the initiative.
"Do you think with your head? Since the Imperial Guard came in, you lost all your caution. Before, if you saw an army, guard, or nobles, anything that had to do with Capital, you would run to the other side of town, or back to the sanctuary. But now? You are voluntarily sneaking into a Duke's mansion! Duke, who is reporting to the imperial family! In a town where the Prince of Dai resides!" Jingting hung his head low.
Did he lose his brain somewhere along the way? Why was he so reckless when it came to Liu Sheng?
"And you?!" he turned to his sister. Once he was in the zone, it was hard to get him to stop.
"You made up a new cipher just to communicate with the Duke, while you should be carefully hidden away until Father needs us. You went to his mansion and lived there for a few months! In a mansion that was frequently visited by the Prince of Dai! OUR CLAN ELDER! You are supposed to stay hidden so they can't use you for political intrigues, but you still head headfirst into the schemes!" he took a breath, wanting to continue, but Xuhua placed her hand over his mouth.
"That's enough. You shouldn't talk like this. Once you fall in love, you will know how it is. How hard it is to be apart," she said, smiling knowingly at Jingting.
"I'm not in love…" he said, shaking his head. No. He did not know what love was. And why be in love? His parents were in love, but one died saving the other, and the second died longing for the other.
"Love is bothersome. Clouds your brain." Now the two of them were staring at him as if he grew a second head. Xicheng then looked at Xuhua and shook his head.
"You are so hopeless. Both of you. I'm not even going to talk about it." He walked away, but in the middle of opening the stable door, he halted his steps.
"Father knows about the Liu family. He said if you can't stop, send Lele at least from the clinic and with ciphers. Both of you. He also talked to Madam Liu. I was supposed to tell you that two days ago when I got the letter." He then walked away. Xuhua stared at the door for a long time, and so did Jingting.
"He somehow grew up to be really serious, right? It feels a bit arrogant, as if he is looking down on you, thinking you are too stupid and irresponsible compared to him…" Jingting chuckled, but Xuhua did not.
"We are all the same. Childhood fun is not for us." She smiled and walked away. At the same place as her twin, she stopped and smiled back at him.
"I will make you a new cipher to talk with Liu Sheng. I will send the key to Liu Cheng in our code so he can explain it and it will still be safe." He nodded and thanked her.
"I would also think about what you said… I think you should look into your heart more because your head is not exactly working…" She ran away. Jingting was staring at the closed door for a long while, his head completely empty, before the horse nudged him.
"I don't have to think. I know I'm not in love," he said, and patted and kissed the horse's head. He was sure of that.