The man’s eyes rolled around,
“If you guys are going to ask so much, are you going to let me make a sale or not? These rare and exotic beasts I brought are things Daxing doesn’t have at all. But the people here don’t know quality; nobody dares to ride them. Sigh, and here I thought I could make a fortune.”
Qin Duan looked at the large bird with big eyes and a sharp beak. It was his first time seeing such a huge bird, and to say he wasn’t frightened would be a lie, but he was also genuinely curious.
“Will it, bite people?”
Hearing that there was a chance of a deal, the man hurriedly said,
“It won’t bite, it won’t bite at all! I’ve already trained it, as you saw just now. Besides, with a delicate young master like you, it won’t have any temper at all carrying you.”
Qin Duan nodded and said,
“Alright then, I’ll trouble it to take me for a spin. But afterwards, you must tell me about your country of Ceylon.”
“Hehe, easy to talk about, easy to talk about!”
Seeing Qin Duan taking such an interest, Xie Zhengming also said with high spirits,
“I… cough, I’ll come and see how this mount of yours differs from ours in Daxing. Zhou Ji, you come along too.”
Hearing this, the Ceylonese man was overjoyed,
“Honored guests, leave a fifty-liang deposit. Ride this zebra out, and if you return within an hour, the deposit will be refunded in full.”
Zhou Ji pulled a piece of gold from his bosom and tossed it over,
“Is this nugget enough?”
The Ceylonese vendor caught the gold, bit it with his teeth, and then grinned:
“Enough, enough! Have a wonderful time, you honored guests!”
Not feeling at ease with Qin Duan riding on that giant bird, Xie Zhengming followed closely at a moderate pace to protect him. Zhou Ji, on the other hand, let loose and galloped away joyfully.
Seeing this setup, the vendor was frightened out of his wits. When he started this business, he had only intended for customers to ride around the temple fair once or twice to make a little money. He never expected these fellows to treat a bustling crowd like a racetrack! Racing horses in the middle of a crowd—wouldn’t that summon the government guards any second now?
Weighing the heavy nugget of gold in his hand, he thought to himself: This money is enough to buy ten ostriches and zebras! Better run for it now~
Seeing that rascal Zhou Ji letting loose and running wild again, Qin Duan knew that the unconstrained military camp demeanor would never do in the capital; otherwise, he would likely face impeachment by civil officials tomorrow. He hurriedly said to Xie Zhengming beside him:
“Ah-Zheng, quickly stop him. Racing horses and causing a commotion in public is a punishable offense.”
Xie Zhengming had been looking at Zhou Ji with a hint of envy, but prompted by Qin Duan’s reminder, he snapped back to reality. However, he still worried about Qin Duan.
“With you riding that thing yourself, how can I rest easy?”
“It’s fine, go ahead quickly. I’ll get right down.”
“Alright, then first take this bird back and wait for me.”
“Mn.”
Qin Duan led the ostrich back to find the Ceylonese vendor, but there was no sign of him. Thinking it over, Qin Duan understood the situation instantly. For now, however, he had no choice but to wait here for Xie Zhengming and the others.
Curiously enough, while that dark-skinned Ceylonese vendor had stood here for half a day without a single person paying him any mind, the moment Qin Duan stood here holding the ostrich for just a short while, numerous young maidens and newlywed brides came over to inquire out of curiosity.
Qin Duan was dressed in a moon-white robe, his ink-black hair half-tethered; his features were cool and refined, and his temperament otherworldly. Right beside him was a lantern stall where rows of varied lanterns cast a soft, warm glow against his side, half mortal warmth, half solitary chill. Standing beside him was an unprecedented divine bird, making him look entirely like an immortal from the nine heavens who had just descended into the mundane world of dust.
When Xie Zhengming and Zhou Ji returned leading their horses, what met their eyes was a cluster of young women surrounding the giant bird, vying to step forward and strike up a conversation. The pair of eyes they were all fixed on was not some divine bird at all, but the person holding the divine bird in the middle.
Qin Duan, with his good-natured temperament, was explaining to everyone that this giant bird was not a divine bird, but came from the distant realm of Ceylon.
Yet the expressions on those young women’s faces seemed to spell out:
“What is his mouth moving and saying? Didn’t catch it clearly. I want to kiss him!”
“Cough, cough!”
Approaching, Xie Zhengming deliberately let out a cough. Hearing his voice, Qin Duan waved at him as if encountering a savior,
“You’re back!”
Xie Zhengming pulled Qin Duan’s hand, looking defiantly at those women as if to declare his ownership. At once, the young women scattered in a flock. Even so, some looked back reluctantly as they walked further away. Ah, what a pity. But the one who came up from behind is also so handsome, and fierce as well. However, upon realizing that these two men were a pair, they stamped their feet in frustration and quickly strode away.
Xie Zhengming looked at Qin Duan, then glanced at the ostriches and zebras the three of them were leading, and asked with suppressed laughter:
“Duan’er, it seems we were played by that Ceylonese man, spending ten taels of gold to buy these creatures.”
Qin Duan looked at the ostrich beside him blinking its large, watery, innocent eyes, finding himself caught between laughter and tears.
“Let it be, let’s just take them back first. Oh, and Ah-Zheng, while I was waiting for you just now, I thought of something. I’ll talk it over with you properly when we get back.”
“Mn, alright.”
Returning to the estate, the group delivered the ostrich and zebra to the manor’s stables and retreated to their chambers to rest.
Unable to resist Xie Zhengming’s relentless pestering, Qin Duan ultimately bathed with him. True to his word, however, Xie Zhengming behaved and did not mess around. Yet whenever Qin Duan lowered his gaze, he couldn’t help but catch sight of Xie Zhengming’s… which made him feel so awkwardly mortified that he quickly finished his bath and stepped outside.
It took Xie Zhengming quite a while to calm down before stepping out of the tub, mentally berating himself for being so utterly useless.
Returning to the bedroom, Xie Zhengming assumed Qin Duan would be fast asleep, but to his surprise, Qin Duan was still awake and looked quite energetic.
Seeing him return, Qin Duan sat up in bed,
“Ah-Zheng, are you sleepy?”
Seeing Qin Duan looking so lively, Xie Zhengming’s heart instantly leaped with excitement; how could he possibly say he was sleepy? He cheered inwardly: Little Xie, prepare for battle at any moment!
“Not sleepy at all, not sleepy whatsoever!”
Yet Qin Duan’s next sentence caused him to deflate instantly.
“If you’re not sleepy, I want to chat with you about something I thought of earlier at the temple fair.”
“Ah? Ch-chatting? Oh, hehe, right, chatting. Go ahead, Duan’er.”
“Mn. I was thinking just now: while we don’t have these exotic beasts brought by the Ceylonese merchants here, I imagine Ceylon likely lacks many of the treasures we have in Daxing. Since the two countries have had trade relations since ancient times, it was only later that the previous dynasty grew arrogant and self-important, with some Confucian scholars preaching that maritime trade violated ritual teachings, which led to the previous dynasty’s persistent maritime ban.
However, a new dynasty has now been established, and our Emperor aspires to be an unprecedentedly wise ruler. Therefore, opening ports and increasing trade and exchanges with other nations is extremely necessary. Ah-Zheng, right now you are not only Daxing’s foremost martial general and the Mighty General, but also the Prince of Ding personally conferred by His Majesty. If you could.”