Courtesy Names

The capital's streets were colorful and lively. A group of people dressed decently, led by imperial soldiers, are decorating the streets. The merchants along the road offer a variety of goods and snacks that are exclusive to the empire. Performers entertain people with their exceptional skills in singing and dancing. Hyunhei and Daiyu were fascinated by the scenery of the capital.

The young master gave Daiyu the list of items they needed to purchase and told her to meet him at the Yanghao restaurant before noon. Hyunhei continued to sightsee along the lively road and bought some snacks to munch on. He often witnessed these things at some manhuas and series in his past life. This is a dream come true for a historical fan like him.

As he gobbled on his last pork bun, a man came rushing from behind, bumping into him, which caused them to stumble and scatter his snacks.

"Ouchy, my arms hurt," Hyunhei muttered as he tried to stand up. "Young man, I advise you to please be careful and watch where you're going."

"Who are you to command me? You are just a mere stranger—" The man suddenly stopped yelling and was somewhat astonished by the appearance of the young master. Hyunhei was wearing a delicate white Hanfu with traces of blue on the sleeves. His hair was adorned by a green jade hairpin, which stood out along his shiny silver hair. His golden eyes gleamed, and the veiled hat he wore a moment ago flew off when he stumbled. Some of his fringes swayed with the wind, which made him more attractive.

"Master, please pardon this humble man, but you might want to stand up. You're h-heavy."

Realizing their awkward position, the man stood up and shook off the dirt with his white handkerchief. He also picked up Hyunhei.

"Hmph. My apologies." The man picked up Hyunhei's hat and gave it to him.

"M-master, there's no need to apologize. Also, are you hurt anywhere? I'll pay for your medical fees. Or if you want, I'll treat you to a nice restaurant."

Before the young man could answer, another lad rushed and pounced on him.

"Brother! I finally caught you! You need to treat me to a nice meal this time." The lad caught a glimpse of Hyunhei and was dazed by his beauty. "Who are you, beautiful young man?"

"This humble man is named H-Haiji. I'm just a mere traveler who happened to pass by this capital." Hyunhei chose to hide his true identity to avoid any issues.

The young man pointed at Hyunhei as he spoke to his brother. "Brother Haiji will treat us to a nice meal in my stead. How's that?" The lad agreed with the young man. "By the way, just address me as Jianyu."

"I'm Yanlin! My brother is a bit grumpy, so he yells at people sometimes. Please be nice to him. Nice to meet you, Haiji Gege!"

They strolled around the capital for some time and arrived at Yanghao Restaurant, the most popular in that area. They booked a table on the second floor, near the balcony, to see the people passing by. The two brothers ordered the food they liked, and Hyunhei also ordered a set of spicy meat dumplings for himself. Jianyu asked the waiter for their best tea because he could not withstand the taste of alcoholic drinks. They enjoyed their meal as they talked about their hobbies and the like, though Hyunhei is not used to chatting with people.

Jianyu's appearance is quite familiar to Hyunhei. He has a pair of hazel eyes and long eyelashes. His brown hair was neatly gathered in his high ponytail, and his fringe made him appealing. Yanlin has the same features as his brother, but he's acting slightly immaturely. They have a 2-year age gap.

"Young Master!" Daiyu shouted from the outside of the restaurant. Hyunhei was startled by her voice and gave off a don't-call-me-that look. She understood this and went upstairs to meet him. Daiyu whispered to Hyunhei something about the goods they needed to purchase. She instructed the merchants to deliver it to the residence before sunset.

"Haiji Gege, who's this young man? A friend of yours?" Jianyu asked him. Daiyu looked in Jianyu's direction and was astounded.

"M-Masters, it's a pleasure to meet you here."

Jianyu invited her to dine with them. Daiyu asked her young master about the lively gathering. Hyunhei explained the accident and gave Daiyu two pieces of spicy dumplings. He also introduced her to Jianyu and Yanlin as travel buddies. After a moment, Daiyu gave her young master a cup of rib soup while whispering.

"Young Master, they're somewhat familiar to me. Despite their appearances, they looked like they came from a noble status." Hyunhei accidentally choked on his drinking tea, and Daiyu helped him recover.

"Haiji Gege, there's so much tea available. Don't rush into drinking it." Yanlin chuckled as he happily munched his bun.

After they had cleared off their meal, they bid their goodbyes and parted ways. Hyunhei ordered another set of spicy meat dumplings to take home. He also ordered some mooncakes and two jars of tea for themselves. They continued their afternoon stroll and reached a nearby lake. The lake was surrounded by maple trees covered in beautiful orange leaves, which flutter as the fresh autumn breeze caresses them. They found a nice rock to sit on and enjoy the scenery.

"You're right. Those two are quite familiar. But why would someone from a noble status want to disguise as commoners?" Hyunhei asked while munching his mooncakes.

"Ah! I remembered now! I accidentally overheard them somewhere." Daiyu told Hyunhei that when she went off to the capital last month to buy accessories for him, he encountered those two looking at the same stall she was at. She overheard their conversation with a man, whom she's sure is their bodyguard based on his stance, and instructed that man to avoid addressing them as Your Highness. "Instead, they wanted to be called using their courtesy names, Jianyu and Yanlin, which I did not comprehend last time," Daiyu continued.

"I see. Good thing I also faked my name as Haiji. Daiyu, you can have this last mooncake."

After finishing their snacks, they rested a bit and went home. Hyunhei proceeded to his study room and saw the diary. He took his time to read its contents and gained more knowledge about the original Hyunhei's life. Since he will do the mission, there's no need to continue the diary. It had already served its purpose.

Hyunhei read about when Clan Head Jingyue told him about his mother. His mother died a few hours after his birth due to the pain. But before she died, she managed to complete an ancient forbidden spell on her daughter that was lost centuries ago, though the spell's effects are unknown since it has not been used on a human before.

The diary also stated the reason for this. One time, Hyunhei's father mentioned the background of his mother. The original identity of Lady Mingxia was Lady Liu, her family's clan name. Due to an imperial decree to annihilate Liu Clan after betraying His Late Majesty, Liu Clan's Head Master hid his daughter's birth, and she managed to escape the death penalty. Unaware of Lady Mingxia's birth, the officials confirmed the clan's eradication, and the issue finally ceased. Xin Clan's heir, Jingyue, found Lady Mingxia in the marshes during his travels. He cared for her and changed her identity to Mingxia until he became the Xin Clan's Head and married her. Knowing that their fourth child was a girl and exactly resembled her, they agreed to let Lady Mingxia perform an ancient spell that caused the change in their daughter's sexual orientation. They decided to name him Hyunhei (hyun meaning wise; hei meaning black), for he was born on a dark winter night, hoping that their child would grow to be a wise man. This information was known exclusively to the Xin family.

After spending some time reading, Hyunhei burned the diary, changed into his training garments, and went to their backyard with a wooden sword to practice the swordsmanship he had gained from his memories. He also took the wooden bow nearby and started to practice shooting. To his surprise, all his shots were precise. Hyunhei also studied his physique. His body resembles some feminine features due to his smooth and fair skin. He also has well-formed muscles, which a young man like him must have.

He noticed Daiyu helping the other servants fetch the orders from a distance. Recalling the encounter with Jianyu and his little brother, he is suddenly embarrassed by how he stutters while chatting with them. However, he feels at ease when he's conversing with Daiyu. After much thought, he summoned Daiyu to prepare his bath and dinner so he could rest.