Chapter Text
“Yin Yu, would you run out to the market and get me a few more potatoes?” Xie Lian called.
Yin Yu was about to ask why he needed more when the smell of smoke assaulted his nostrils.
He held back a cough and replied, “Of course, Dianxia.”
“You know you don’t have to call me—”
The door shut behind Yin Yu before Xie Lian could finish his sentence. Yin Yu let out a sigh. Why did that man always insist on cooking without any assistance? That pot was going to be a nightmare to clean later if the charred scent was any indication.
Yin Yu picked up a basket and began the short walk to the nearby city. This wasn’t technically part of his job description, but when Xie Lian asked for something, who was he to say no? Besides, it was a beautiful day. There was a call of birdsong in the distance, the sun directly overhead.
Yin Yu’s life was more peaceful now than it had been in over a decade. He was not running from guards, he was not working himself to the bone for only a handful of coins on the streets, and Hua Chengzhu had finally found his beloved. Xie Lian brought new life to the house, and he had never seen Hua Cheng smile so much before. Things had never been better, but now that there was nothing so pressing to be worried about, he had a little too much time to think.
The market was crowded, as usual. Colorful stalls selling who knows what filled the street. Vendors called out to Yin Yu, but he mostly ignored them, only stopping at a simple produce stall at the corner. As he examined the potatoes and selected which ones to place into his basket, his mind started to wander.
Jian Yu’s scowl flashed across his memory. What was he doing now? Yin Yu hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since the incident. Was he still mad at Yin Yu for accepting his banishment without any resistance? He hoped he had found some peace. He smiled slightly, remembering those bygone days when his friend was still by his side. When had it gone so wrong?
—.—..—.—
“Yin Yu,” General Bai said.
“Yes,” Yin Yu inclined his head.
“As you know, the king has no heirs.” The general waited for Yin Yu to nod before continuing. “He recently adopted a child off the streets after seeing him fight off a whole crowd of boys who had attacked him. His highness believes the boy would have great potential with the proper training. I have recommended you for the task. The boy is only a few years younger than you. Do you accept this assignment?”
“Of course, sir.”
Yin Yu was led into the throne room, where a small boy stood struggling against the guards that were attempting to keep him from running around the hall. He had a black eye and a number of cuts and scrapes across his cheeks from the fight the day before, but he still had a determined look on his face. Combined with the crown of wild, curly hair that hung around his shoulders, he looked almost formidable despite his size.
At the sound of the door opening, the two guards looked in Yin Yu’s direction. This proved to be a mistake. As soon as their attention was diverted, the boy broke his wrists out of their hold and swept a foot at their ankles, causing the two men to fall to the ground. Then he jumped a few feet away, avoiding their attempts to resume their hold on him. The boy narrowed his eyes at Yin Yu, holding up his fists like he expected another fight.
“Woah, wait!”
The boy raised an eyebrow.
“That was pretty impressive,” Yin Yu said, ignoring the guards’ glare at him. “Do you like fighting?”
The boy nodded very seriously.
“I’m sure with the proper technique, you could fight even more impressively. Would you like me to teach you?”
The boy stared at him intently, before lowering his fists. “Can we, right now?”
Yin Yu let out a laugh at his eagerness. “Well, first I think we should get you cleaned up. You have cuts on your face that we don’t want to get infected, and it’s hard to fight with your hair in your eyes like that.”
The boy let out a puff of air, trying to blow a strand of hair out of his eyes.
He held out a hand. “My name is Yin Yu. I’ll be your Shixiong from now on.”
“Quan Yizhen.” The boy took his hand.
Jian Yu scoffed as Yin Yu attempted to pull a comb through his new shidi’s wild hair to put it up into a ponytail.
“They’ve got you on babysitting duty now? What a downgrade.”
“Jian Yu, it is my honor to help train the new prince. You’ll see; he’s very good at martial arts already.”
Quan Yizhen just stared at him through the mirror’s reflection, a small smile on his face.
—.—..—.—
“Sir.”
Yin Yu blinked. “Huh?”
“Sir, you’ve been staring at that potato for fifteen minutes. Is there something wrong with it?”
A blush climbed Yin Yu’s neck as he laughed nervously. “Ah, so I have. Nope, all fine here.” He shoved a handful of coins into the vendor’s waiting hands and walked away.
He weaved in between the stalls, not quite looking where he was going. Eventually, he came to face a table piled high with fans, masks, jewelry, and other such decorative items, nearly tripping into it.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He apologized to the vendor and made a move to leave. Before he could do so, though, a shine of silver caught his eye. He wasn’t sure what drew him to it, a simple white mask with a thin silver filigree pattern around the edges. It had three crescents imprinted into its surface, looking like a slightly woeful smile, and simple black silk ties on it to hold it to the face.
“How much?” He asked the man behind the table.
The old man with a ghost mask glanced over lazily. “Eh, three. It’s nothing special.”
Yin Yu dug into his own money pouch, placed three coins on the counter, and disappeared into the crowd once again.
—.—..—.—
It was the Mid Autumn Festival.
“Shixiong!” Yizhen cried out in awe as they stepped out from the alleyway into the bright lights of the lanterns lit up across the city.
Yin Yu smiled. They would probably get in trouble later, and Yin Yu usually didn’t like to break rules, but Quan Yizhen had never attended the festival before. Plus, Yizhen had just mastered his basic forms, and at a record pace, too. Yin Yu thought he deserved a reward.
So, he watched his shidi look at the colorful stalls, and back at him with shining eyes. “Can we go closer?”
“Yes, but first we need to put these on. We don’t want anyone recognizing you, Your Highness.” Yin Yu pulled out two ghost masks, one gold and one silver, that he had bought a few days prior.
As expected, Yizhen pointed at the golden one, which Yin Yu gave him. Once the two were properly disguised, Yizhen pulled him into the street from stall to stall by the hand. His excitement was contagious as they tried the delicious treats offered and played games. Yin Yu smiled wide behind his mask. Music floated in the air.
“Yizhen, would you like to light a lantern?”
The golden mask nodded, so he led him over to a cobblestone wall and sat atop it, patting the spot next to him. Yizhen scrambled up, excited to send up a lantern. As the little light floated up into the sky, Yin Yu turned to him.
“Did you have fun tonight, shidi?”
“I always have fun with you.”
Yin Yu huffed out a little laugh. “I’m glad. You know, I should save this for your birthday, but I got this at one of the stalls earlier. I think it’d be a good reminder of your first festival.” He pulled out a small bag from his pocket and handed it to Quan Yizhen.
Quan Yizhen tilted his head. “Why would you need to save it? My birthday is today.”
“Shidi! Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Quan Yizhen shrugged. “Nobody asked me.”
Flabbergasted, Yin Yu laughed again. “Well, I guess it’s the perfect time to give it to you, then. Go ahead.”
Quan Yizhen undid the bow tying the pouch closed and dumped the contents into his hands, then held them up to the light. It was a simple pair of golden tassel earrings. They shimmered slightly in the lantern light.
“What do you think?”
Arms were suddenly thrown around Yin Yu’s waist as Quan Yizhen hugged him tightly.
“It’s the best present ever! Help me put them on?”
“Of course. Happy birthday, shidi.”
—.—..—.—
Yin Yu realized he had been walking in the wrong direction for the past… well who knows how long. Shaking his head, he turned back towards the manor, stuffing the mask into his bag. What was wrong with him today?
By the time he arrived back home, it was nearly sunset. He opened the side door, closing it quietly behind him. Apparently not quietly enough, because Xie Lian’s footsteps immediately approached.
“Yin Yu! Where have you been? I was worried.”
“Sorry I’m late; you’ve probably already finished dinner at this point. I got a bit… distracted.”
“Oh, it's okay. Since I couldn’t…” Xie Lian looked to the side. “...finish what I was cooking before, San Lang made us some congee instead. We were just about to sit down. Would you like to join us?”
Yin Yu shook his head. “Actually, I’m not very hungry tonight. I think I’m just going to go to bed. I’ll drop these in the kitchen on my way, and you can use them another day.”
Xie Lian bit at his lip worriedly as Yin Yu walked up the stairs.