Continuing forward, Hua Chun initially felt somewhat restrained, since she wasn’t close with these two people, and their status was too noble to act recklessly around.
But looking at the antique-style shops lining both sides of the street, and the various trinkets displayed on the small stalls, Hua Chun’s collector’s instincts kicked in. Back in the modern era, she’d had a whole box dedicated to hairpins, bronze mirrors, and other items she’d picked up from online shopping — and now, before her eyes, were the genuine original antique-style products. How could she resist?
So as they walked along, He Chang’an eventually noticed the person beside him had disappeared.
“Second Brother.” He called out to the person ahead, and He Chang’an turned to look for her.
Hua Chun was crouched by a small stall set up outside a nearby shop, rapidly browsing and selecting — she picked out two bronze mirrors inlaid with gemstones and five hairpins.
Yuwen Jie: “…”
He wanted to pick him up and beat him again — a grown man, interested in things like this?
She quickly paid and ran back to their side, and upon seeing the Emperor’s expression, promptly explained, “These are gifts for the young ladies at home.”
Yuwen Jie’s look at her grew even stranger.
He Chang’an beside them teased, “Your household’s precious daughters would like these little trinkets?”
“They’d absolutely love them!” Hua Chun lied through her teeth. “Look at these bronze mirrors — though not expensive, they’re finely crafted and quite sturdy, they probably wouldn’t even break if dropped!”
As she spoke, she threw one straight onto the ground!
“Crack!”
The back of the bronze mirror remained intact, but the mirror surface shattered into pieces from the impact.
Hua Chun felt somewhat embarrassed.
Yuwen Jie gave her a look like she was an idiot, then turned his head and continued walking without another glance.
He Chang’an chuckled softly and put his hand on her shoulder to guide her along. “Let’s go. If it’s broken, just leave it.”
“But… the gemstones on top…”
“Those are fake. If you like them, I’ll find you real ones to give you.”
Hua Chun looked at him with deep gratitude, then shook her head. “No need, it’s fine if it’s gone.”
She’d only wanted it for the look anyway.
Tucking the bronze mirror into her robe, Hua Chun glanced at the Emperor walking further and further ahead, quite gracefully, and couldn’t help but ask He Chang’an, “Do we have a destination?”
“We do.” He Chang’an stopped and pointed to a restaurant nearby. “It’s right here.”
Hua Chun looked up at the four characters on the plaque, “Zhengdu Restaurant,” then glanced back at the Emperor, already far ahead. “What about him?”
“He took a wrong turn. He’s probably thinking about something — he’ll come back eventually.” He Chang’an seemed already used to this, and simply abandoned the Emperor, leading her into the restaurant first.
Business here was thriving — the first floor was packed with people drinking and shouting, the atmosphere lively. A waiter led them upstairs to the second floor, which was much quieter, with only a few tables of people drinking quietly.
There was a spot by the window; He Chang’an led her there. They’d just sat down when the Emperor arrived upstairs too, half his face darkened.
“Told you not to worry about hierarchy and formality, and you two really took me at my word.” Yuwen Jie glared at He Chang’an and snorted coldly.
This was clearly a joking tone, and He Chang’an wasn’t the least bit afraid of him, smiling as he said, “It’s rare to have a chance to relax — wouldn’t it be boring to worry about so many formalities? Isn’t that right, Jinghua brother?”
Every time she was called by this name, Hua Chun felt deeply embarrassed. But ancient times apparently didn’t have any special associations with “essence/refined,” so she could only smile and agree, “That’s right.”
Yuwen Jie sat down across from Hua Chun, right by the window. He lowered his eyes, glancing sideways for a moment, and pursed his lips.
Seeing this expression, Hua Chun felt nervous.
Based on years of watching TV dramas, she was certain the tables nearby must be assassins! In a moment, someone would leap up and overturn that table of food and wine — though she’d never understood why, when going to kill someone, the food and drinks had done nothing to deserve being overturned.
But after the food and wine got overturned, there would definitely be a fierce battle, and the protagonist might even be forced to jump off the second floor.
So Hua Chun quickly leaned over to check the height outside this window.
Just the second floor — about the same height as the roof beam at Zichen Hall. Even if she fell, at worst she’d break a bone, not die.
Looking at the other two at the table, Hua Chun hesitated, then said quietly, “Second Brother, I feel like the atmosphere here isn’t great — why don’t we change locations?”
Yuwen Jie looked up at her. “I quite like the atmosphere here.”
A pervert, right? Hua Chun gritted her teeth. Both of these men were highly skilled and daring, while she couldn’t fight and was a coward. If this outing had a purpose and they knew danger was involved, why insist on dragging her along?
“You don’t need to be so nervous.” He Chang’an accepted the wine the waiter handed over and generously poured a bowl for each of the three of them. “The wine here is the finest in Yanjing. And speaking of which, I’d like to take this opportunity to become sworn brothers with Jinghua brother.”
What? Hua Chun stared at him wide-eyed.
The Emperor also turned to look at him, frowning. “What are you scheming now?”
“Not scheming, I’m serious,” He Chang’an said earnestly. “Prime Minister Hua has both learning and character — being able to become sworn brothers with him would be my good fortune.”
Hua Chun laughed awkwardly a couple times.
Given Hua Jinghua’s current identity, she could only ever become sworn brothers with men for the rest of her life, bound by loyalty and righteousness. The Marquis Gongyu was a favorite in the Emperor’s court, and a Marquis of exalted status — becoming sworn brothers with him was essentially gaining a powerful backer. She’d only benefit from this.
Realizing this, Hua Chun quite straightforwardly picked up the wine bowl in front of her. “Do we need to say some kind of oath?”
He Chang’an smiled and had the waiter bring scissors, naturally reaching over to cut off a piece of her lapel.
“Joining lapels makes brothers — no other oaths are needed,” he said, cutting off a piece of his own lapel as well, layering the two pieces of fabric together, cutting once more, splitting it into two halves, tying them with thin string, and handing one to Hua Chun.
“I’m older, so I’ll reluctantly be your Second Brother,” He Chang’an said. “Aside from formal occasions, you may call me Second Brother directly from now on.”
“Sure thing!” Hua Chun happily agreed, then, after putting away the fabric, thought of a question. “Why Second Brother?”
Across from them, Yuwen Jie said nothing, his face turning ashen.
“Ah, it’s like this.” He Chang’an smiled and reached out to put his hand on the Emperor’s shoulder. “Second Brother and I have also become sworn brothers before. He’s the Eldest Brother, so I can only be Second Brother.”
Hua Chun: “…”
In Great Liang, the custom of forming sworn brotherhoods was widespread. According to convention, if two people were sworn brothers, and one of them formed another sworn brotherhood with someone else, the brotherhood relationships extended universally.
She felt that having the Marquis Gongyu as a backer was already impressive enough, but now there was also a hidden Eldest Brother — it gave her an inexplicable sense of grandeur, like calling in reinforcements with a single signal arrow.
However, the Emperor didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture at all, his face darker than a burnt dish, staring coldly at her.
Shrinking her neck, Hua Chun felt wronged — becoming sworn brothers had been the Marquis Gongyu’s idea, not something she’d sought out herself. Why blame her?
“Alright, you should relax too,” He Chang’an said to the Emperor. “We’re all on the same side — why be so confrontational?”
Wanting to become sworn brothers with Hua Jinghua also carried an intention to smooth over the relationship between the Emperor and the Prime Minister — after all, the Emperor’s throne wasn’t entirely secure these days, and with a loyal minister like Prime Minister Hua, they should be trying to win him over, not push him away.
Though he knew Yuwen Jie’s temperament well — the classic “those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish” type — keeping Hua Jinghua around this long already counted as remarkable benevolence. But if things could be even more harmonious, presenting a united front, he wouldn’t mind playing peacemaker.
The Emperor actually understood his intentions, but… he simply couldn’t tolerate a man being as effeminate as Hua Jinghua currently was. Not targeting him directly was already his limit — and now he had to be sworn brothers too?
Wouldn’t sworn siblings be more appropriate?
Frowning, he glanced at the person across from him again, closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and said flatly to He Chang’an, “Suit yourself.”
Did this count as tacit agreement to becoming sworn brothers with her too? Hua Chun blinked and looked at He Chang’an, who looked delighted and raised his eyebrows at her.
Sealed the deal!
Now that they were sworn brothers, surely he couldn’t just execute her in a fit of anger, right? Hua Chun thought happily — wasn’t there a saying that went something like, not asking to be born the same year, month, and day, but hoping to die the same year, month, and day? Being sworn brothers with the Emperor was essentially having an immunity pass from execution.
For a moment, she felt she could forgive them for dragging her out to court death today.
But before she could enjoy the moment for long, at the neighboring table, a cup suddenly dropped and shattered on the floor with a crack.
Hua Chun’s heart skipped a beat.
The sound of a group of people climbing the stairs of the pavilion drifted over. He Chang’an and Yuwen Jie both remained seated, unmoving, allowing more than twenty people to come up and surround their small table.
“Oh my god!” Hua Chun, terrified, quickly grabbed onto the window frame beside her. “What’s going on here?”
“Do you even need to ask?” He Chang’an said. “Obviously they’re here to cause trouble for us.”
Hua Chun’s eyes went wide, and she gasped. “So what do we do?”
“Nothing to do.” He Chang’an stood up, stretching his joints. “Just wait for them.”
There were three tables total on the second floor. The one whose cup had broken was in league with the group coming up from downstairs; the other two tables turned out to be guards, immediately shielding them in the middle.
Apparently caught off guard that they’d come prepared, the leader hesitated briefly, then waved his hand.
The crowd surged toward them.
As a resident of the peaceful twenty-first century, Hua Chun hadn’t even participated in elementary school scuffles, let alone witnessed this kind of large-scale brawl in broad daylight. She immediately, quite spinelessly, climbed onto the table to avoid being crushed.
He Chang’an had already led the men charging toward the intruders. Unexpectedly, the scene didn’t look like a fight so much as a hawk catching chicks — anyone injured was grabbed and thrown down to the first floor.
The clash of blades rang out fiercely, but the guards the Emperor had brought were top-tier fighters — just eight of them, and they managed to keep the twenty-plus attackers from getting near. So much so that Yuwen Jie continued sitting smugly at the table drinking wine.
“What are you doing?” Looking at the person on the table, the Emperor said with displeasure, “Get down. Don’t embarrass me.”