Chapter 31 Part 2

 

He spoke for a long while, but did not hear Xuyu’s response. He turned his head and glanced at her: “Why don’t you say anything?”

“Under the sunlight is shadow. There are bad people and good people in the world, but comparing both, there are still more good people.” Xuyu said.

“I sympathize with your mother’s situation, but this cannot be an excuse for you to be angry at the world and hate people.”

Yuwen Zhi sneered again and said nothing.

“Yuwen Shizi, if it weren’t for the good people who tip me off that day, I probably wouldn’t be alive today, don’t you think?”

Yuwen Zhi paused, looked at her, and showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

Xuyu stopped talking and turned around to organize her work.

He looked at her back.

After Xuyu finished sorting out her things, she then turned back again.

“Shizi, it’s getting late. I’m tired too. I have to paint again tomorrow. I’m going to rest now. Please do as you please.”

She bowed and was about to leave when she heard him ask from behind: “What’s your relationship with that Pei guy?”

Xuyu suddenly paused and turned around. She saw that his expression was no longer as resentful as it was a moment ago. Instead, he looked serious and stared at her closely.

“What do you mean? What relationship can I have with him?” Xuyu immediately became alert, but she responded casually on the surface.

Yuwen Zhi walked towards her.

“Really? Didn’t you have an engagement and a close relationship?”

He stopped in front of her and spoke slowly and playfully.

…

Chengping was on duty at the Zuowei General Office all day, and returned to Zouyuan in the evening. He got off his horse, threw the reins to his attendant, and walked inside with a heavy heart.

The maids had been waiting for him for a long time, and all of them came to greet him with smiles on their faces.

He was not used to the meals provided by the general office, so he must have been starving by now. They had already ordered the cook to prepare a suckling lamb, his favorite dish, which was now slowly roasting over the charcoal, with its skin crisp and meat tender. Golden lamb fat sizzled and oozed out, with a small silver knife embedded in the meat.

At this time of night, he would usually change his clothes, sit down at the dining table, and use the knife to slice strips of meat, dipping them into a gilded eight-petal lotus-patterned dish. The dish was filled with a fragrant mixture of fermented black beans, pepper salt, scallions, and mustard sauce. The meat, coated in the savory sauce, would be wrapped in a freshly baked, lamb fat-soaked soft flatbread, making it impossible to resist. After indulging in the delicious lamb rolls, a plate of glistening cherries, kept in an ice jar since the previous night, would be brought out for him to cleanse his palate with their cool and sweet softness. Once he was full, night would have fallen, and he would rest his head on the soft thigh of his favorite maid, her face beautiful and fair, as she waved an agarwood-scented fan over him, lulling him into a peaceful sleep, to enjoy a long and carefree night of dreams.

But this moment was different from usual. He drove away all the maids and forbade them to disturb him. He angrily tore off the court futouheadgear that official wear he had never really grown accustomed to wearing, untied his belt, and, under their anxious gazes, walked straight to his bedroom and lay down. After closing his eyes for a brief moment, he opened them again, and this time, he had finally made up his mind.

He strode out and was about to ask someone to change his clothes and prepare his horse as he was about to go out again, but then he stopped.

Pei Xiaoyuan was standing in the hall, talking quietly with the maids. When he suddenly saw him appear, looked over, and nodded with a smile.

“A Suan’er, I was wondering how long you will be angry with me. This time it’s been more than three days. Since you don’t come to me, then I’ll come to you.” He said with a smile, pointing to the two jars of wine he brought.

“This is osmanthus wine, your favorite Chang’an wine. Just now they mentioned they have roasted suckling lamb, why don’t you drink it and treat me to a good meal?”

Chengping was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grinned, strode forward, and with a thud, punched Pei Xiaoyuan hard in the chest.

“Who said I was angry! I was just about to go to your place!” He picked up the wine with his own hands, turned around and told the servants to prepare the table.

The maids hurriedly set up fire sticks on an open-air pavilion beside the green pond in the backyard, spread a mat, set the food table, and brought out the roasted suckling lamb. The two men took off their boots, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began slicing the lamb, savoring it with the rich, fragrant osmanthus wine.

Both had hearty appetites and empty stomachs, and they devoured the entire lamb like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves. After washing their hands and drying them with a plain silk handkerchief, the maid brought them a dish of olives soaked in cloves, which were a tribute from Lingnan.

Pei Xiaoyuan picked up an olive, popped it into his mouth, casually draped one arm over the back of the low table behind him, stretched out his legs, and reclined comfortably, half-lying against the armrest.

Chengping on the opposite side was still not satisfied and still drinking the wine cup after cup.

“A Suan’er, I was wrong that day. I told you–” Pei Xiaoyuan looked at him and spoke.

“You’re not wrong!” Chengping interrupted him.

“It’s my fault! You clearly told me not to disturb her, but I couldn’t help but go back to look for her! I almost got her into trouble. I should have waited a little longer until she left the palace.”

Gradually the moon rose to the zenith.

Chengping was already tipsy but seemed not to be satisfied yet. He threw away the silver wine cup with grape pattern in his hand, picked up the whole wine jar, tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine from the mouth of the jar. Then he suddenly waved his arm and the empty jar in his hand flew out, leaving an arc-shaped shadow in the night sky. With a last thud, it sank to the center of the pond in the distance where lotus leaves were floating. Several fat koi carps bubbling underwater nearby were startled and suddenly arched their bodies and jumped up, their tails hitting the water surface, making loud popping sounds.

“It’s so refreshing! Great wine! I haven’t felt so refreshed in a long time!”

Chengping laughed loudly, stood up from the mat, swayed again, and sat down on the ground again.

“I’m telling you, I went back to find her because I wanted to explain to her that the nonsense she heard from me that day in the County Governor Mansion was all my fault and had nothing to do with you. But I didn’t expect that the little bastard from the Yuwen family would follow me. Do you know what the first thing he said?”

His face was flushed and he couldn’t even sit still, his body leaning to one side.

“He actually said a single man and a single woman!”

He burped.

Pei Xiaoyuan’s eyes moved slightly. He leaned on the table, put his arms together, and slowly sat up straight.

“He must have overheard what I said to her and found out that she was a woman! At that time, I wanted to kill him, and I was so angry that I didn’t care about anything else… Don’t blame me…”

His voice gradually became unclear, and he fell on the mat and fell into a drunken sleep.

“… Pei Er… I know that… We’re no longer the young men we once were, and now we have responsibilities to bear… But that’s just my nature… Whoever is good to me, I can peel my skin and scrape my bone to return them… Whoever is my enemy, I will dig out their heart and liver and use them as a side dish for the wine…”

He closed his eyes, mumbled something incoherently, and slowly stopped moving, falling into a complete sleep.

Pei Xiaoyuan stared at him for a moment, waved to the maid who was standing in the distance, and asked her to cover Chengping with a quilt. Then he got up from the mat, put on his boots and left.

That night he rode back to his residence, and on the way, he felt restless and uneasy.

On the day Qingtou came back with the medicine, he said that he confessed to her how Pei Xiaoyuan had been looking for her. This made Pei Xiaoyuan feel inexplicably ashamed, and scolded the servant and forbade him to go to her again. In the middle, he also wanted to find her to explain, but he couldn’t make up his mind.

The day after her foot injury healed, she was ordered to go to Ci’en Temple to paint for county princess consort Xiping. Since the first day, he already knew about it, and in order to facilitate the painting, she had slept in the temple for several days in a row.

He also felt that it was strange that the son of the Yuwen family specifically asked her to paint, so he sent his confidant to check it out. The confidant reported that she was indeed painting and nothing else, so he gradually let the matter rest.

Perhaps it was by chance that the shizi knew of her outstanding painting skills and specifically asked her to do it.

But tonight, the words that came out of Chengping’s mouth made him suddenly frightened, like a thorn in his back. It also confirmed what the old man who sent water from the West Mountain had said, that on the first day she came to Chang’an, she was almost hit by a horse outside Kaiyuan Gate, and that person was this shizi.

Things couldn’t be that simple anymore.

It would be fine if they knew each other in the past, but he was afraid that since this shizi also knew that she was a woman, that person would have an ulterior motive and might do something bad to her.

While he was pondering over it, he had arrived at his residence without realizing it.

Qingtou, who knew that running his mouth that day had angered his master and fearing he might be sent away, had been acting timidly for the past few days. At this moment, he was still obediently squatting by the door, waiting. Suddenly, he saw his master returning on horseback and quickly stood up to take the reins. After settling the horse, he returned to see his master still standing in the courtyard, seemingly deep in thought. Eager to please, he approached and asked if he would like to wash up and rest.

It was indeed late. It was rare that he could get off work early tonight, so he took some time to go see Chengping. Now that he was back, it was time to go to bed.

He came to his senses and continued to go inside.

Qingtou followed closely, praising himself: “Master, I have learned more and more Hu language recently, and it no longer sounds like gibberish. Maybe I can help you in the future…”

So please don’t send me away, he thought to himself.

Although he could not read many words and was too lazy to learn, he did have a talent for languages. He had learned some simple words when he was in Ganliang, and recently, with a Hu woman at home, his progress had been rapid as they gestured and conversed like chicken and duck in mix of languages.

After he finished boasting, he saw that his master still didn’t show any reaction. He looked at his face and said carefully: “I heard from Amu that when she came back that day, Young Master Ye drew two pictures and asked the time when Master would be back. Knowing that you would be back late, she seemed a little disappointed.”

Pei Xiaoyuan stopped and turned to look at Qingtou.

“Maybe she has something to talk to you, Master?”

Qingtou said his own speculation, but then quickly waved his hand, “It’s just my own random guess! If I’m wrong, please don’t scold me again, Master.”

Pei Xiaoyuan stood there for a moment, then suddenly turned around and strode away.

“Master! It’s so late. Where are you going?”

Pei Xiaoyuan did not respond. He led the horse out of the courtyard, climbed onto its back, urged the horse with his heels, and headed into the vast Chang’an Street at night.

Previous     TOC     Next