Chapter 4 :Male Bloom

Mizi Yue returned from backstage and found Xue Yao still searching around. Mizi Yue was still wearing his mask.

"Little brother what are you looking for?"Mizi Yue asked as he approached Xue Yao.

"His Highness...I mean my Young Master has gone missing."

"Who is your Young Master?"

"He was wearing a black fur cloak and a black cloth mask."

"Come I'll help you look for him."

"Really?" Xue Yao asked his voice rising in excitement. Mizi Yue nodded in assurance.

Xue Yao took off the black cloth mask he was wearing and followed Mizi Yue upstairs. They searched through all the rooms. On opening the door to Mizi Yue's room, Wen Mingye was there lying on Mizi Yue's bed carefreely. On the floor there were scattered pieces of broken porcelain which probably belonged to the wine pots Wen Mingye had broken. There were wine spills on the floor making the room look messier.

"What is going on?" Xue Yao asked rushing in. He immediately squatted to collect the broken porcelain pieces. Mizi Yue didn't know how to react but for some reason he wasn't angry at all. The fact that Mizi Yue still wore his mask made Xue Yao even more uneasy as he couldn't tell or see the intensity of Mizi Yue's reaction.

"Little brother I will clean the room myself."

"I'm really sorry for my young master's negligence,"Xue Yao apologized sincerely and bowed.

"It's fine. I understand it's not your fault."

"It's my fault. I thought he was still outside and now little I know he was in your room and created such a mess."

"Maybe he tricked you by going outside and ended up using another door to get in because he knew you would try to stop him from drinking more alcohol,"Mizi Yue deduced.

Mizi Yue took Xue Yao to another room to crash there and came back to clean up the mess in his room. He also went to sleep in another room. The next morning,Wen Mingye woke up experiencing a little hangover. He was surprised when he looked around and found the surrounding rather unfamiliar.

'How did I end up here?' He questioned himself still scanning the room. Mizi Yue's room was large with beautiful paintings mounted on the walls. There were two bookshelves full of different books. There were two tables inside ,one was a dressing table and another seemed to be a working table since there was a number of stationeries on it.

Wen Mingye got up and walked towards the dressing table where there was Mizi Yue's black mask. The mask was made of black jade with intricate patterns. He gently traced the intricate patterns on it with his fingers.He even tried putting on the mask. The mask only left the eyes and mouth exposed. Something more interesting on the working table caught his attention. On the working table there was a brush rest with several writing brushes. There was a closed exercise book on the table. Wen Mingye suddenly became curious and he opened the exercise book,perused through a few pages.

"What characters are these?" Wen Mingye wondered. The characters written inside were foreign and he couldn't tell a single character.

'These are probably characters from the Northern Region. But why does he know these characters?'

The door suddenly creaked open and Wen Mingye dropped the book from his hands. He froze for a moment, waiting for the other person to speak up.

"Your Highness, you're awake."

Wen Mingye turned around and sighed with relief when he saw Xue Yao.

"How did I get here?"

"You don't remember?"

Wen Mingye shook his head in denial.

"You disappeared last night and you ended up getting asleep here. You even broken wine pots here and the room was quite messy but Mizi gongzi tidied it up,"Xue Yao explained.

"Mizi gongzi? Where is he?"Wen Mingye asked still flabbergasted by his own actions.

"I don't know."

"Let's go back to the palace first. Mother Empress must be worried about me."

Yuhua Hall which was the Empress' residence was one of the eye catching buildings there. The hall was enclosed within a private garden and was surrounded by a tranquil lotus pond, pavilions for tea ceremonies, and bamboo groves that rustled gently in the breeze.

The hall featured hip-and-gable roof with green and blue glazed tiles, reflecting the Empress' grace and elegance. The eaves were decorated with delicate carvings of flowers and birds.The hall had lattice ceiling inset with colored glass, casting a soft, diffused light that mimicked the gentle hues of dawn.

Low rosewood tables and silk-cushioned chairs were arranged to foster intimacy and elegance.The halls had silk hangings embroidered with scenes of legendary heroines and auspicious symbols like the phoenix. The floor was made of warm-toned hardwood, covered with hand-woven carpets featuring floral motifs.

Empress Bai was seated on her favourite seat with a regal and serene expression on her face as she sipped her tea gracefully.

"Your Royal Majesty,bad news !" Empress Bai's maid Wan Wan came in yelling in panic.

"Wild girl ,what are you yelling for so early in the morning ?" Empress Bai spoke with her slightly deep elegant voice completely unbothered by her maid's paranoia.

"Your Royal Majesty,His Highness has been missing since last night."

"Is that what you're yelling for? He's just a sane male bloom,he can be wherever he wants."

"But His Highness rarely leaves Tianming Hall. He might have..."Wan Wan hesitated for a moment afraid to jump into any rash conclusion.

"What's wrong with my brother?"Princess Wen Xiang asked walking in.

"He...He..."

"He...what?"

To their surprise,Wen Mingye walked in looking hale and hearty. Wan Wan was taken aback and she froze for a moment.