“Young Master, I shall come with you directly,” The owner said as he came out from the back of the store with an old a.s.sistant.

Luo Wei and Wei Lan shared a look, and smiled at each other, “Let's go, then,” Luo Wei said to the owner.

Fu Yun let out a sigh of relief finally as he watched Luo Wei walk out of the door. When he turned around to look at Long Xuan, he was immediately tensed with fear again, “Y-Your Imperial Highness?” The cup in Long Xuan's hand had already been crushed into pieces by its owner. Long Xuan's blood dripped onto his clothes, and had stained a swathe of his clothing.

It was only when Long Xuan heard Fu Yun's shout that he lowered his head and realized what he did.

“Your Imperial Highness, I'll go fetch a doctor for you right away,” Fu Yun said as he go ready to rush outside.

“It's but a small wound,” Long Xuan looked at the cut on his hand. The skin had been cut open deep, as if it was going to split his palm in two, but Long Xuan didn't seem to care as he ordered Fu Yun, “Bandage it for me.”

Fu Yun took a look at the wound on Long Xuan's hand, “Your Imperial Highness, this is going to need some ointments before I can bandage it.”

“Wrap it up for now,” Long Xuan offered his hand, the blood wasn't stopping, but he didn't seem to feel it at all.

Fu Yun wrapped the wound up for Long Xuan, his hand shaking all the while.

“Who was that man who came in with Luo Wei?” Long Xuan suddenly asked.

Fu Yun answered, “I only know him as Wei Lan, the third young master's personal guard.”

“Wei Lan?” Long Xuan repeated the name. It was only today that he realized there was someone like this beside Luo Wei. That scene out in the store just now felt like pins in Long Xuan's eyes. No matter if it was the lovers' buckle, or the warmth and innocence in Luo Wei's smile when they shared that secret look at one another, Long Xuan thought to himself, he was only a guard, does he really deserve you treating him like this?

Lovers' buckle. Long Xuan's thoughts suddenly drifted far away.

“What is this?”

“This is a lovers' buckle.”

“You're giving this to me? Luo Wei, have you gone crazy?”

“Xuan?”

“I've told you before, I'm ‘Your Imperial Highness' to you, not ‘Xuan'. How many times do I have to tell you for you to understand? Or is your skull so thick that you can't understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!”

“Then, this…”

“You're such a bother!” And thus the buckle was tossed away.

Long Xuan remembers how Luo Wei had stood by the lake behind the Hall of Literary Transcendence for a long time after Long Xuan tossed his half of the lovers' buckle into the water. In the end, some maids saw Luo Wei tossing the other half into the water as well. After that, Long Xuan remembered that he heard Luo Wei had been injured by the Zhao brothers on the streets. He didn't go to visit him while he was injured, because this youth had always followed him closely. Long Xuan thought that when Luo Wei had healed, he'd still be back his side, just like before, hanging on him left and right. He couldn't chase Luo Wei away.

“Your Imperial Highness,” Fu Yun did his best but still wasn't able to stop the blood, “We need to put something on this wound.”

“Go ask someone in the store for some wound ointment(1),” Long Xuan said, irritated, “What are you freaking out for?”

Fu Yun quickly rushed to find someone in the store.

Long Xuan still sat there, looking dejected. He didn't think that when Luo Wei had healed after that injury, the Luo Wei he'd known before would be one. Lovers' buckle, that smile, they should all be for him. Why were they for someone else now? Long Xuan's heart ached. Wei Lan? Long Xuan carved this name into his mind, he'd actually hated that person so much that he'd wanted to kill him in that instant. Long Xuan had always gotten what he wanted, like power and control, and the same goes with people.

Fu Yun brought over the ointment and even dragged a doctor over. A wound this deep, he'd never dare to bandage it himself for Long Xuan.

The doctor was fairly practiced and an old hand at this sort of injury.

Long Xuan was quiet, watching the doctor work on his wound, and didn't even so much as frown.

Fu Yun watched at the side, unable to help. Long Xuan's injury must be related to the third young master, but as a servant, he didn't dare ask the reason. The only thing he knew was that the thoughts and inner workings of this master of his were growing less and less predictable each day.

When the doctor had finished wrapping the wound and prescribing more of the ointment, he reminded Long Xuan that he shouldn't let the cut touch water for the next few days. Only when he was finished did he take his fee and leave.

Fu Yun watched Long Xuan sit there, immobile, but he didn't dare rush Long Xuan. The only thing he could do was stand aside and wait. As he stood, he started blindly guessing again. If Luo Wei found that this shop was his own master's business, what would they do then? Seeing as how Luo Wei neither listened or allowed Long Xuan anything, perhaps this shop was another one of his master's businesses that he wouldn't be able to keep.

Long Xuan sat in the shop until dark, until even the workers in the shop all felt like today was hard to endure. It was only when the sky turned dark that the owner came back to the shop, with a big cart he'd rented on the way.

Long Xuan looked at the owner and the workers unload everything from the cart and put them all into the shop, asking coldly, “How much money did you pay for all of this?”

The owner quickly responded, “The third young master told us to just sell these for now.”

Long Xuan looked at the jade stones, coral, and fake bonsais on the ground. These were all things Luo Wei used to like, but now they were being tossed out here for silver? The young master of the chancellor's estate wouldn't want for money, this could only mean that these held no interest for him now.

“Your Imperial Highness?” Fu Yun looked at Long Xuan's face as he held back his anger, and saw the raw jade stone sitting at Long Xuan's feet was the one he'd hand delivered for Long Xuan to Luo Wei when he was sick. Fu Yun quietly lamented his bad luck to himself, afraid that Long Xuan would direct his anger at this hapless servant.

The rage in Long Xuan's heart was almost uncontrollable. All of the things he'd given to Luo Wei were all here. He hadn't gifted Luo Wei with many things, only a few pieces, and they were all given after he'd let his anger out on Luo Wei, felt bad after, and used to coddle him. Because of this, Long Xuan still remembered all these things.

“Master?” Long Xuan's sullen face was scaring the owner of the shop now too. Was he not supposed to take this business? But his master had nodded when he reported it, was he going to turn around and get mad?

“This one, this one, and that one,” Long Xuan pointed out the things he'd given to Luo Wei from all the various objects on the ground, and told the owner, “I'm going to take them.”

The owner quickly nodded, “I'll wrap these up for you right away.”

“When you went to the third young master's estate, was he the one who dealt with you?” Long Xuan asked.

The owner responded, “The third young master said he was tired, so it was the chancellor estate's head overseer who dealt these objects to me.”

“Was the overseer the one who gave you these things?”

“No, it was a little attendant of the third young master's. I heard the overseer call him ‘Xiao Xiao'.”

So it was Luo Wei's own decision after all. Long Xuan held on a shred of hope just now, but it turned into disappointment soon enough. “Grab these things and let's go.” Long Xuan ordered Fu Yun.

So Fu Yun and the owner quickly wrapped up the few items Long Xuan pointed out together.

Long Xuan carefully examined the collection of objects again, watching to see if there were any that were gifted by his imperial father, things that cannot be sold. After taking a careful look, he realized there wasn't a single item officially bestowed by the palace. Long Xuan suddenly found himself rather funny. How could Luo Wei do something that'd give other people a chance to trip him up? Even now, was he still intent on thinking of Luo Wei as the fat little kid who used to follow him around?