The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 051 A Good Man You Can't Find Even With A Lantern

Not long after, the kitchen served a table of dishes: fried shad, bamboo shoots braised with pork, and winter mustard soup—all familiar Jiangnan dishes to Tang Shen.

Although Tang Shen hadn’t intended to stay for a meal, Wang Zhen had already spoken, and he found it hard to refuse.

Holding his chopsticks, Tang Shen looked at the simple but flavorful dishes on the table and felt no appetite. With one hand holding a bowl, he was lost in thought but tried to keep a calm exterior. After a few seconds of various emotions, Tang Shen picked up a piece of smoked pork and placed it into his bowl, then ate it with a taste like chewing wax.

After eating like this for a while, a clear, gentle voice suddenly sounded: “Little Junior Brother, I’ve never seen you speak during meals before.”

Tang Shen was taken aback and looked up at Wang Zhen: “Senior Brother Zi Feng?”

Wang Zhen had barely eaten any of his rice or dishes. He set down his chopsticks and, without waiting for Tang Shen to respond, continued speaking: “You weren’t like this at Sir’s place. You often talked with him while eating.”

Tang Shen was silent for a moment and said, “I thought you might believe that a gentleman should not talk while eating or sleeping.”

Wang Zhen smiled: “You see, you’ve misunderstood me. I never said that I was like that. By the way, I heard you’ve been promoted to a junior chamberlain recently.”

“Yes, that was last month.”

“Have you encountered anything interesting?”

The two gradually started chatting.

In November, the weather grew colder. When Tang Shen visited Wang Zhen, it was already dark. By the time Wang Zhen returned and they had dinner, it was past the hour of xu shi (7-9 p.m.). After finishing their meal, Tang Shen was adamant about not staying any longer. Wang Zhen tried to persuade him to stay the night: “It’s late, little Junior Brother. Why not rest here?”

Tang Shen replied seriously: “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m on duty tomorrow. The Tanhua Residence is very close; it’s more convenient for me to return.”

Wang Zhen was both amused and helpless: “So even proximity becomes a reason now.”

Tang Shen didn’t catch what Wang Zhen said: “What did you say, Senior Brother?”

“Nothing.”

Wang Zhen personally escorted Tang Shen to the door. Tang Shen said, “Senior Brother, you needn’t see me off. I’ll be going now.”

But Wang Zhen said, “Little Junior Brother, you haven’t answered me yet. What were you really angry about today?”

Tang Shen felt a headache coming on. 

Why are you still bringing this up!

In the dark night, only a crescent moon faintly illuminated the sky. The steward stood at a distance with a lantern, while Tang Shen and Wang Zhen faced each other. Due to the darkness, even though they were close, Tang Shen couldn’t see Wang Zhen’s face clearly, only his smiling eyes.

Wang Zhen was asking questions that were hard to answer, yet he maintained an outwardly untroubled demeanor.

Tang Shen couldn’t answer. He thought it over and decided to give a childish response since he was only sixteen. Tang Shen said: “I’m angry because you tricked me. I went out of my way to bring you Gusu specialties, waited for you at the Minister Residence for a long time, only to find that when you came back, not only did you not wake me, but you also tricked me.”

Wang Zhen: “So that’s it.”

“That’s right.”

“Little Junior Brother, what kind of person do you think I am?”

Tang Shen was taken aback, looking at Wang Zhen’s smiling face, unable to respond.

Wang Zhen instructed the steward to go back first, then took the lantern from him and said to Tang Shen, “Do you think I’m like this lantern?”

Tang Shen was puzzled. How did this relate to the lantern?

Tang Shen didn’t understand Wang Zhen’s meaning, but he knew his senior brother’s thoughts were often unconventional.

It seemed Wang Zhen was testing him, and Tang Shen didn’t dare answer casually, but he thought, “Flattery is safe.” He said: “Senior Brother, you are like this lantern—noble and bright. I’ve been in Shengjing for two years, and you’ve always looked after me. At first, I was just a xiucai, but looking back, it’s been quite a change. You’ve illuminated my path.” As he spoke, Tang Shen spoke with genuine feeling. Indeed, Wang Zhen had been very considerate of him since he arrived in Shengjing.

Wang Zhen shook his head: “So, this is how you see me.”

Tang Shen asked, “Then what is the meaning of you holding this lantern?”

Wang Zhen shook the lantern and said with a smile: “Do you not think that I’m the kind of good man you wouldn’t find even with a lantern?”

Tang Shen: “…”

Wang Zhen, when did you start telling corny jokes!

Wang Zhen didn’t mind; he held the lantern next to his face: “The lantern lights up my face but not my feet. It lights up my feet but not my face. Little Junior Brother, how could you find me with such a small lantern?”

Tang Shen sensed there was a deeper meaning in Wang Zhen’s words but couldn’t grasp it right away. At this moment, Wang Zhen had already handed the lantern to Tang Shen and said with a smile, “But whether you see my face or my feet, little Junior Brother, it’s still me. And I am your senior brother. Go on, I won’t see you off.”

Tang Shen stared at Wang Zhen in a daze.

Back at home, Tang Shen placed the lantern Wang Zhen had given him on his desk and stared at it quietly.

After a while, the candle in the study made a faint popping sound, and Tang Shen suddenly came to his senses.

“He says I don’t really know the true him, and I don’t know what he’s really like. But how many people truly understand Wang Zifeng? He hasn’t given me that chance…”

The study was silent again for a while.

“…You are my senior brother?”

Tang Shen’s eyes lit up, only to dim again quickly.

“How should I deal with you, Wang Zifeng!”

Wang Zhen said he was Tang Shen’s senior brother, implying that Tang Shen didn’t need to be so wary or nervous around him. But while Tang Shen sensed his meaning, he couldn’t fully trust Wang Zhen or treat him casually.

Tang Shen looked at the lantern and sighed: “You, even with a lantern, would be hard to find, let alone with a flashlight…”

He didn’t seek out Wang Zhen again. Three days later, it was Tang Shen’s day off. Early in the morning, he changed into simple cloth clothes, disguised as a servant, and got into a carriage with Yao San and Shopkeeper Lu. As the day fully dawned, the carriage quietly left Shengjing, heading north.

Traveling north, a day later, the three arrived at Luohe Town.

Luohe Town was located at the border between the Song Dynasty and the Liao State.

Tang Shen always felt that the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Liao State was quite odd. On one hand, the two nations had fought a fierce war, ending in mutual injury with neither able to truly defeat the other. On the other hand, after signing a peace treaty, they maintained a superficial peace, while secretly their relationship was fraught with tension.

Occasionally, there were reports of bandits plundering villages on the northwest border. As a junior chamberlain, Tang Shen had heard officials report on this. At the time, an official had sneered, “Your Majesty, bandits? Where do these bandits come from! They are nothing but Liao soldiers in disguise!”

The Song Dynasty, naturally, was also unwilling to be outdone.

Today you play the bandit, tomorrow I’ll play the horse thief, and they would end up in scrimmages with each other.

But the Song Dynasty lacked horses and sheep, while the Liao people lacked silk and grain. Therefore, the two nations had to engage in trade, leading them to choose the northwest as their battlefield, while the northern part of Shengjing was open for trade between merchants of the two countries.

Luohe Town, situated between the two countries, was the largest trade town in North Zhili.

When they arrived in Luohe Town, Tang Shen got out of the carriage and sat with the driver at the front, observing the town.

Luohe Town didn’t differ much from other small towns; it belonged to the Song Dynasty, so its architectural style leaned towards Song characteristics. However, the street was filled with people half from the Song Dynasty and half from the Liao State. The Liao people had a variety of hairstyles—some with numerous braids hanging from their heads, resembling dreads; others had even more alarming styles, such as a bald spot at the center on top of the head, which they actively shaved off, leaving only a ring of hair around the edges.

Tang Shen felt a chill on his head and couldn’t help but touch his own hair.

He had heard of hair transplants but had never seen someone voluntarily go bald...

The Liao people in Luohe Town were easy to recognize; their clothing and peculiar hairstyles were distinctly different from those of the Song people.

Yao San was very familiar with Luohe Town, so the three of them found an inn to stay at in the town. In the afternoon, they went to a fabric shop.

As soon as they entered the shop, the shopkeeper, who was standing behind the counter and doing some accounting, saw Yao San and immediately came over, saying, “Oh, isn’t this Shopkeeper Yao? You’ve returned from Shengjing?”

Shopkeeper Lu was taken aback and looked at Yao San in surprise, you’re a shopkeeper now?

Yao San gave him a meaningful look, you know the situation.

Shopkeeper Lu… I don’t understand.

Tang Shen, as a servant, stood behind them. Yao San snorted and said, “No need to say more. I’ve already returned to Shengjing and discussed the matter with our master. As for our master, this person here is our master!” He pointed at Shopkeeper Lu.

Shopkeeper Lu was taken aback and then smiled slightly.

…You didn’t mention this when we arrived!

AN: Old Neighbor Wang: Little Junior Brother, where’s your lantern?

Little Tang Lang [expressionless]: I swapped it for a flashlight.

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The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 052 Junior Brother Must Really Miss Me

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The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 050 Wang Zifeng! Part 2