At the present moment, inside one of the guest residences in Ping Tian Palace, a still mentally shocked Heng curled himself up in bed. Feeling unprotected he cocooned himself inside the quilt, trying hard to soothe his heavily wounded heart. "It's not true. It's not true," he kept muttering whilst rolling on the bed from side to side. He refused to accept that Ding Ding was the ugly Consort Liu he saw two days ago. "It's just not true..." he rolled to his left side again. [Impossible. How is it possible] his brain couldn't work it out. For once his brilliant mind had failed him terribly. [But Wan Xin confirmed her identity, so that ghastly looking Consort Liu is definitely Ding Ding]. Heng felt wetness building in his eyes. How he wished he could deny this reality? "Someone tell me why. Someone explain to meeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"
"Explain what to you?" a deep pleasant-sounding voice spoke up.
Heng rolled to his right side to face the doorway. Leisurely walking into the room was Qian Ping. He was wearing his usual maroon court robes, so it was obvious he had only just returned from the Royal Palace. Despite wearing the standard and plain court dress, Qian Ping still managed to give off a mysteriously tempting aura, making it undeniable that he was one handsome existence. This secretly annoyed Heng's already wounded little soul, so he rolled to face away from the Second Prince.
"You're awake Heng," Qian Ping stated the obvious. There was no response from Heng, so Qian Ping held in a sigh. [What is he doing] he wondered. Studying the ridiculous looking Sima Heng, Qian Ping's eyebrows naturally raised up in a curious manner. [This idiot has been sulking in the bedroom for the past two days after fainting. When is he planning to stop?] Deciding he needed to take the initiative Qian Ping half commanded, "Heng don't sleep, face me and talk."
"QIAN PING!" Heng immediately cried out, rolling back to face him. Through Heng's ears, those commanding phrases sounded like a heartfelt consolation. He was touched that Qian Ping was worried for him, and mistook that as the signal for him to share his grievances. "I'm scared. I'm very scared. I've finally met the scariest thing in my life."
Qian Ping could only quizzically raise his eyebrow at Heng. Knowing Heng's mischievous and boundless nature, Qian Ping couldn't imagine what could scare him so much. He was a little curious to find out.
"Ahh...in this world I have just learnt that nothing is too scary. Murderers aren't scary, ghosts aren't scary, incurable diseases aren't scary, even death isn't scary," Heng said with despair shinning in his faintly wet eyes. "Qian Ping, the scariest thing in this world is actually woman's' make-up."
Time appeared to freeze as the two friends stared at each other. It took Qian Ping a good few seconds to register Heng's words in his mind. His initial curiosity dwindled away to nothing. He was now convinced Heng was only being silly and perhaps attention-seeking.
[Woman's' make-up] Qian Ping repeated in his mind. [How badly does Heng want my attention to be saying such absurd things?]
"It might just be some face paint for women but if used incorrectly, make-up is actually the culprit of many evil doings," Heng continued. He said every word in a dead serious tone. The seriousness emphasised by the hints of fear in his wet eyes. "Listen Qian Ping, make-up is true evil!"
"Stop spouting nonsense so early in the morning. It will ruin the mood for the rest of the day," was the best snappish response Qian Ping could offer poor old Heng. It took all the strength in his body to keep himself from overreacting to Heng's silliness, and after debating on what to say for less than a second, Qian Ping decided he had nothing to comment.
The corner of Heng's lips instantly drooped towards the ground. Seeing Qian Ping's clear non understanding expression, a surge of compassion rushed from the depths of Heng's heart to his head and a drop of tear rolled down his cheek. "You honestly don't understand anything," Heng said pityingly at Qian Ping, shaking his head. [No wonder you spent a year stupidly searching for Ding Ding when she was always in Ping Tian Palace].
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Heng had to turn his face away from Qian Ping to wipe his tear. He now felt nothing but bottomless pity towards his clueless best friend. [Ah, my best friend Qian Ping. I'm sorry I've wronged you all this time] Heng mentally apologized. An image of Consort Liu, who was actually Ding Ding with make-up on popped up in his mind. This caused him to let out another great, long sigh. [It's no wonder you couldn't recognize Ding Ding as Consort Liu. I'm also extremely frightened by how much make-up can change a person's face. I no longer have the heart to blame you for not knowing Ding Ding is Consort Liu. However....] Unable to control himself, Heng looked with steady eyes straight at Qian Ping and said, "you're still a clueless dumbass."
WHACK!
Qian Ping's fists had splendidly left a small lump on Heng's head. [Good. That felt very good. I wanted to do that for a long time now] he secretly thought, letting out a smirk onto his face. "Who are you calling a clueless dumbass," he said in an irritated manner, though his mood had lightened up.
Seeing Heng hide himself inside the bedroom for the past two days had caused Qian Ping and Jing Ke to become extremely concerned. Even when the imperial physicians confirmed Heng was physically healthy, that didn't rid the worry from them.
[There is definitely something wrong with Heng. He's been acting weird recently too. Like how he suddenly took notice of 'her' and... Could the cause of Heng acting oddly be related to 'her'] were the thoughts that kept occupying Qian Ping's mind. The more he thought this way, the more disturbed and confused he became. In the end he could only constantly check in on Heng, like a parent would to a child.
However, after listening to Heng's silliness just now, Qian Ping realized there was nothing to worry about. Heng was obviously just moping around. [Women's' make-up being scary... honestly....] he recalled Heng's ridiculous claim. [He totally deserved to be hit].
"You brute. How can you hit your best friend in the head?" Heng wailed in disbelief, both hands firmly on top of his head as a protective cover. "What if I become an idiot from that one hit?"
"My bad. Should I whack it again to make it two hits? Chances of you becoming an idiot could be lower," Qian Ping suggested. "It may also make you feel better as well. Shall we try?" His smirk twisted into a blatant evil smile.
Qian Ping's mischievous expression was too sinister for Heng to look at for even another second longer, so he vigorously shook his head and swiftly replied. "Don't worry Qian Ping. I am fine. I've recovered." He threw off the duvet around him and sat properly on the bed to prove his point. "See, I am completely recovered. I feel great now."
Qian Ping eyed Heng carefully with an unreadable expression. Heng knew the prince was expecting a more detailed explanation from him. [But what do you want me to say? I promised Ding Ding not to reveal her identity until we cleared her name of the cursing incident]. Heng did a very small unnoticeable pout. [In the end isn't this all your fault Xia Qian Ping? Why didn't you investigate the matter further? Why couldn't you have trusted Ding Ding more?]
"Heng," Qian Ping prompted.
Just when Heng thought he had no hopes of escaping from Qian Ping, and he would have to give up some truths, three loud knocks saved him.
"Hurry and come in," Heng shouted towards the door.
Qian Ping rolled his eyes at the perfect timing of the knocks. [Damn, I almost got Heng this time] he held in a sigh. [Although, as long as he's normal again whatever the cause probably doesn't matter] he secretly told himself, deciding to let go of the matter.
Swiftly entering the room, Jing Ke properly greeted Qian Ping with a formal bow of the head, "your highness."
Qian Ping motioned for Jing Ke to lift his head. "Jing Ke, I've told you many times not to act so formally around me when it's just the three of us."
Raising his head to look at Qian Ping, Jing Ke smiled, "well I'm not as shameless as Heng." He looked over at Heng who sat with a very straight back and upright posture on the bed. "Heng, you're feeling better now?"
"Ahem, I heard that COMPLIMENT my dear Jing Ke," Heng said, deliberately emphasising the word 'compliment'. "I'm happy to teach you a thing or two about shamelessness. How about calling me master from now on?"
[Yep, Heng's definitely back to normal now] Jing Ke observed, feeling very relieved. He gave Heng a fleeting grin before totally ignoring him. "Anyway Qian Ping," Jing Ke became serious again. "I'm actually here to find you."
"Oi, weren't you here to visit me?" Heng spoke up, dejected that Jing Ke was such a biased friend. [Even if you didn't come to visit me, at least pretend that you care about me too] he whinged in his mind.
Once again Jing Ke disregarded Heng's passing comment. "I've got some troublesome news for you," Jing Ke said looking at Qian Ping.
A rather unfazed Qian Ping merely lifted the corners of his lips into an indistinct smile. The tranquil vibe coming from him made it look as though he had long been expecting trouble and there was nothing to fuss over.
"Is it regarding the Anle tribe?" Qian Ping simply asked.
Jing Ke nodded.