Mo Yuan looked at his brother and sighed, Ye Hua looked overworked, even more so than usual. He'd been angry when the younger twin showed up to interrupt his time with Bai Qian but that had quickly vanished at the sight of the deeply concealed fatigue on his brother's face. Bai Qian had spent a little time with them before excusing herself and Ye Hua had attempted to tease him about making a move so quickly but the statements fell flat. Ye Hua seemed to be trying too hard to stay positive. Mo Yuan took one more deep breath and let it out loudly.
"Is da ge alright?" Ye Hua asked, finally looking up from his work table
"I should be asking di di" Mo Yuan replied, staring directly at said twin
"Oh." Ye Hua replied before schooling his face and picking up his tea "I am alright. I just have a lot to get through but your awesome di di will be done soon"
Mo Yuan sighed "Ye Hua, did you take on more responsibilities again?"
Ye Hua's ears and face went pink for a second before returning to their usual color, he looked like a toddler caught with their hand in the sweets jar.
"Just a little, the heavenly emperor is getting old, he can't be expected to continue doing a lot of work" he replied. Trying but failing to not sound like a defensive child.
"why haven't any of the other princes taken on the work? Or better yet, why haven't you assigned them more work?" Mo Yuan continued
"The heavenly emperor doesn't trust them to do the work, he would not let anyone but me take it off his plate"
"Then give them some of the ones you've handled since you were young, surely they can handle that" Mo Yuan pushed
"Yes, but..."
"Delegating is not slacking off" Mo Yuan said, then muttered as he stood "I should have sent you to Bai Zhi for training when you were younger"
"Da ge"
"Fine, you're an adult. Do what you want but make room for yourself before nature forces you to. I'm going to make lunch and you are going to put away those papers and eat it" Mo Yuan concluded as he left the room.
Ye Hua stretched as he walked out of the house after lunch, he'd decided to take a break to please his brother. He wasn't entirely certain what had annoyed Mo Yuan and why his twin was is a bad mood but lunch had been delicious and even if he had refused to acknowledge it on his own, this break, although in its early stages was entirely necessary.
His mind was happy to be free of demands even for a short while as he mindlessly followed a trail of peach blossoms until he found himself outside Zhe Yan's peach forest and at the entrance to Qing Qiu's royal compound. He paused briefly to consider his next steps, he didn't want to barge in but going back seemed like a cowardly thing to do so he took a step in and waited. He knew from experience visiting Bai Zhen that someone, usually Mi Gu, would show up to escort him in, He would usually go in directly when Bai Zhen was waiting for him but this was a surprise visit and not even aimed at his friend, he also didn't know in Bai Qian was available so this approach made the most sense.
Mi Gu greeted him and informed him Bai Qian was in the fox den then escorted him there while they made small talk along the way.
"Ye Hua greets Bai Qian" Ye Hua said with a small bow as Mi Gu left the room.
"Bai Qian greets Crown Prince Ye Hua" Bai Qian replied. She was already standing and had been about to leave the den. "What brings the crown prince here" She asked, hoping she did not have to go back to work due to this visit.
Ye Hua glanced at Bai Qian's standing form and wished with all his might that she was not about to head out for a function.
"Ye Hua and da ge have been staying in Zhe Yan's house and I thought this would be a good time to learn more about Qing Qiu. I've never had a chance to walk through the territory before" He said with a face the showed none of his excitement.
Bai Qian smiled and nodded at Ye Hua "I was just about to head out for a stroll, you should come along with me, I'll show you around"
Ye Hua let out the breath he was unconsciously holding as he walked out of the den behind her.
Bai Qian pointed out places to him as they walked together on a path leading away from the fox den. They walked past Yanxua cave where Ye Hua managed to get in an invitation to Bai Qian to come see the Lord of Luminous treasures' healing bath in the nine heavens. He was fairly certain she would not come but being able to offer the invitation makes him feel better.
The next memorable location they walk through is the market and it was a lot to absorb. There was also a lot of culture shock for him in the ways that the common folk interact with Bai Qian and how she interacts with them. Outside his immediate family, nobody treated him with such lack of expectation, no one came to him without wanting something or just for his presence or laughed so freely at something he said. He spaced out for a while as he watches them and wondered when she would be that free with him, she was pouting at the trader, for that single moment he was jealous of the trader. He blinked as she absently stretched a hand holding a loquat towards him, continuing with her conversation with the trader while some women giggled at the interaction.
Bai Qian turned back to Ye Hua and bit into her fruit "When I was a little cub and one of my pranks had gone out of control I'd live entirely off donations from the market people until si ge found me or I was sure the smoke had blown over. It wasn't until I was grown up that I realized da ge would always heavily tip the store owners when he visited to more than cover for anything they gave me while I was hiding" She finished as they got to a fork in the road and she stopped, seemingly considering their next path.
"Seems like you had a lot of fun activities with your brothers growing up" He said, wanting her to continue sharing about herself
She shrugged and started walking forward "Si ge and I were close. All my brothers are amazing but their personalities are very different. Er ge was strict, I think I'm still afraid of him. San ge was the most absentminded person that ever existed but he always told the best stories. First time I met Da ge, I hid behind father the entire time but he was patient and determined. He always knows where to find me as long as I'm within the realms and he always shows up when I need him. Other than that, nobody knows where he is most of the time. He is so much older than me that we should not be considered the same generation; I guess you know a lot about that. Let's get close to the river."
The walked away from the path they were taking and turned towards the river.
"Although Da ge and I are twins, I think he, more than anyone else, raised me. You know he saved me from an assassination attempt when I was a child. He ..."
"I didn't know that. Who attempts to kill a child outside a war?"
"The Ghost tribe; long before the actual war"
"Cowards"
Ye Hua smiled "Da ge said the same thing too. Qing Qiu is so calming"
"That's because our streets are not paved with gold and jade" Bai Qian laughed
"You've been to the nine heavens" Ye Hua said, fighting the disappointment he felt at not being the one to show her his home
"Briefly, I accompanied your brother once when I was his disciple"
Ye Hua bit his cheeks to avoid frowning and to stop himself from saying something he might regret. He knew Mo Yuan had known Bai Qian longer than he had, he should have expected something like this.
"Gu gu, Crown Prince"
"Your majesty, your highness" Jian Yun greeted with a low bow at the same time with Mi Gu then stood up and continued "Your highness, second prince has just arrived in the nine heavens and seeks an audience with you urgently"
"Did he say why?" Ye Hua asked. Mo Yuan's words from earlier in the day were still in his head and he wanted to spend more time with Bai Qian so he quashed his drive to to deal with the issue immediately
Jian Yun glanced at Mi Gu and Bai Qian silently.
"Speak. Qing Qiu is an ally territory" and Bai Qian was his future wife. He trusted her even if he didn't say the last part out loud
"The remnant communities of the black boar and ghost tribes have aligned with each other and declared war on the Southern seas" Jian Yun said
Ye Hua sighed, unfortunately, this was one of those things he had to deal with directly. He turned to Bai Qian "Ye Hua had a good discussion with Bai Qian and is looking forward to continuing some other day"
"Ye Hua is welcome back any time he wishes" Bai Qian replied
"Thank you. I will take my leave now"
Bai Qian nodded and he turned to leave "Qinq Qiu does not fight unless she is attacked or offended but she will always help her allies. Bai Qian hopes then the nine heavens will ask for help if this situation requires it"
Ye Hua smiled to himself and nodded before cloud jumping.