Prince and His Fool

A day went by with Rong Zian stewing in bed for the better part of the day dealing with a massive hangover. He barely had any memory of what happened last night but due to merging with his other persona, a new set of memories flashed before his eyes. Like how he strangled Wu Yinyou for the first time in the imperial palace but then his brain short-circuited when a mind-blowing memory etched into his mind. A memory so embarrassing he couldn't help but have a major break down.

Shoulders drooping with a pitiful face, Rong Zian set out while reprimanding his persona for such bad behaviour. His mother was right, he should have merged earlier so as not to offend people. "AHAHAH! Wu Yange must have thought me wanton. Fuck this is too embarrassing!' squealing in his mind. He was so absorbed in his own problems without looking where he was going when a dull pain on his nose brought him back to earth as he rubbed his nose vigorously while hissing in pain.

"Oww, that fuckin' hurts," said Rong Zian looking up only to see Ying Tie giving him a quizzical look, "it's like hitting a wall, what are you even made off?"

"Says the guy who walked right into me. What's wrong with you? Are you embarrassed physician Rong? Your patient would love to hear the details once he wakes up," said Ying Tie with a maddening smirk, a smile that was half sardonic and half-amused.

Rong Zian's brows creased as he said, "What the hell are you talking about?" genuinely surprised as though he really had no idea what Ying Tie was blubbering.

"Uhm, you don't remember," replied Ying Tie keenly observing Rong Zian. He couldn't help but wonder how his brain worked, a demigod who can get drunk enough not to remember his drunken ventures.

"I do remember something more embarrassing," he replied with a haunted expression leaning towards another freakout but Ying Tie just gazed at him thinking, 'Is there anything more embarrassing than last night's performance.'

"I fuckin' cuddled Wu Yange in the imperial palace, I cuddled him all night and told him the next morning that I dreamt myself cuddling a maiden. Fuck me! Why didn't he say anything?" confessing his crime that he only had a memory of committing long after statute limitation.

'Okay, that crime definitely comes first,' he thought with a set smile. "And you still kept your head after that. Is that why he kicked you that day? Uh, I bet if it was me, there wouldn't be any ashes left for my family to bury. Wu Yange really hates being touched by strangers but with you, he seems weirdly handsy."

"That's not the worst of it. Remember that lip hickey on his lip," he panicked as he asked while pointing at his own lip, "I fuckin' did that. Fuck!" he confessed crouching down on the ground with his hands on either side of his head.

Ying Tie really wanted to laugh as he found this whole thing amusing but had to maintain a straight-face and ease the panicking idiot who obviously had nothing to worry about. "Well if he didn't like it, he would have said it." Now he knew who provoked who first.

***

Recovered from his panic attack, Rong Zian head for the beautiful city of Nuwang, a prosperous luxurious city doused in unique trinkets said to have been designed by the empress herself. Poverty or homelessness was a foreign word to Nuwang's locals, the empress governed her city in such a way that even servants earned enough to afford a few things only nobles enjoyed in the rest of Hepeng. Her army might not have large numbers as those owned by the emperor but they were unmatched when it came to skill. She also had a personal regiment known as the Red Guard, highly effective mercenaries.

No one dared to speak ill of empress Tao because one would disappear without a trace but it rarely happened because the citizens of Nuwang loved their empress. On the surface, the empress was an angelic figure but underground there were whispers. It was rumoured that she planned on overthrowing the emperor when all her chess pieces were in place and that the Red Guard's overall goal was to defend against Wu Yange as the most powerful being in Hepeng,

The angelic image she had created for herself meant her people were only loyal to her so when the time comes she expected them to rally on her side against the emperor. Even Rong Zian was fooled by her façade as he explored the city in admiration. He had always been all for feminism and having more women in power, to him Nuwang was an example of what great success a woman can achieve when given the reins.

After playing enough, Rong Zian finally found the shop he was looking for. It was time to put his plan into action. A stout old man tended to him as he eagerly detailed what he needed from them. When he mentioned the number of lanterns he wanted, the old man was sceptical and didn't bother hiding it.

"Your request is highly expensive, can you even afford it? I have to get some help to write on each and every lantern. Young man, please don't waste my time I have other things to do," he scolded Rong Zian walking back to the back of his counter.

An irritated Rong Zian took out all his earnings and placed them on the counter. The old man's attention was grasped by the sound of money spilling on his counter with a wide-eyed expression. "Will this be enough?" asked Rong Zian and the tongue-tied shop owner nodded like the earth during an earthquake, "Can you get the job done by sunset tomorrow?"

The man wanted to refute, the deadline was just too close but that money was secretly calling for him as his pupils could only see dollar signs. "I can," though he wasn't even sure if he could deliver in the prescribed time. He just brushed it off, hoping Rong Zian would be understanding if his late by a couple of hours but what the young man said next made him throw that idea out of the window.

"I will stay here and supervise, I will also lend a helping hand with the calligraphy. Let's start now." He said taking over the shop sifting through various colours and designs. The old man would have blown his top off if any other customer had done such a crude thing but the money he had just pocketed restrained him wearing a stiff smile.