Chapter 40 Part 1

The next day, all officials took a day off, including the painting department.

In the morning, Qingtou led two strong servants to the inn and took Xuyu to Yongning Lane.

He had been looking forward to moving here for a long time. Not only had he lost hope of this before, but he was also worried that he would be sent to Lord Pei because of his rash words. Unexpectedly, his luck changed in a moment.

Just last night in the second half of the night, the master came back from outside, and for some reason, he suddenly said that he wanted to move, not only that, but he also wanted to move with young master Ye. Qingtou was so excited about the future that he didn’t sleep well the whole second half of the night. As soon as the lane gate opened at fifth watch, while the sky was still dark, he got up, wishing he could drive the master out of the door immediately so that he could roll up his bedding and move over.

The house was located in the southwest corner of the lane, which was convenient for entry and exit, and also avoids the hustle and bustle of the cross street. While they were on their way, Qingtou had already told her everything about the past and present of this new residence.

This was the old house of the Pei family in the capital, where Master Pei was born and raised. After the Pei family fell from grace, in the past twenty years, this house changed hands several times. The most recent owner was an old prince from the imperial family. According to Qingtou’s description, the old prince lived a luxurious life, spending tens of thousands of coins on a single meal as if it were nothing. He kept several hundred maidservants of similar height, weight, and appearance, solely to hold lamps. Whenever he held a banquet, he asked these hundreds of maids to replace the candle holders and hold the lampstands to illuminate the living room, and they were called “lamp maids”. In winter, when the wind was cold, he picked many fat maids to gather around him to block the wind, they were called “flesh formation”. If his hands were cold, he had courtesans warm themselves by the fire until they were hot, then he would place his hands inside their chests to warm them—they were called “warm bag.” Such was his level of debauchery and extravagance. Three years ago, he was reported to be dissatisfied with his lack of power and took advantage of the war between the imperial court and Xifan to secretly contact the descendant of the former Crown Prince Jinsheng and another prince, Prince Xiu, who was serving as a governor outside the capital, to plot a rebellion. Before he could commit the rebellion, he was sentenced to death by the emperor, and all his property was confiscated. This house was once again ownerless and had been vacant ever since.

When Qingtou talked about these things, besides feeling contempt, he couldn’t help but secretly feel a bit of envy.

He was still young and inexperienced, unfamiliar with the intoxicating allure and pleasures of such indulgences, so he had no interest in things like the lamp maids, flesh formation, or warm bags. But when he came to clean up the place early in the morning, although he was busy like a spinning top, he still secretly searched around here and there, hoping to find some treasures that were missed when the house was searched before.

Unfortunately, although the house was big, it had been rebuilt by the dead old prince with a tower in the east and a pavilion in the west, and it was like walking in a maze, he could not find any gold, silver or treasures, not even a single copper coin. This really disappointed him.

At this moment, as he led Xuyu through the courtyard, around the winding corridors, and finally into the place called Ziming Courtyard that had been prepared for her to live in early in the morning, he had already begun to worry in his heart about how his master would afford to support this mansion in the future.

Master Pei lived a simple life and had no extra money. His total salary was not as much as He Amu’s private money.

The most valuable thing on his body was a golden belt issued by the government to match his official robes. It was said that if it was lost, he would have to pay for it himself. Therefore, Qingtou always paid special attention when storing it up before, fearing that he would have to spend money if it was lost. Now that he was accompanying Young Master Ye here, he looked again at this honeycomb-like house that cost money everywhere, and felt that he finally understood why his master was unwilling to move in before.

Xuyu stopped in the courtyard and looked around.

This place was chosen by master himself. He came here personally before dawn, looked around, and ordered the guards he brought with him to cut down the several large fragrant trees that looked at least ten years old and the wisteria trees that were in full bloom outside the courtyard wall. At this moment, all that could be seen were the bare courtyard walls.

To be honest, although the new house was now full of wasteland and ruins, the foundation of carved beams and painted buildings was still there. After Qingtou spend some time to tidy it up, there would be many places better than this courtyard. Although this courtyard was located in the center and has a wide line of sight, it was certainly not suitable for a tranquil, leisurely residence for a lady.

Although she was called the young master, she was a girl after all. Being placed in this less refined location, Qingtou couldn’t help but suspect that his master did so to save money, thus reducing the need for additional furnishings. Seeing her glance around the courtyard, he quickly tried to cover for his master: “This courtyard has plenty of sunlight, the wind is gentle and the air is fresh. The name is even auspicious, ZimingZi = purple, Ming = bright Courtyard, isn’t it symbolizing the arrival of noble guests with purple clouds and radiant light? We just arrived today, so it’s a bit messy. Please bear with it for a while and wait for me to clean it up. I will make sure that you live happily!”

Xuyu smiled and thanked him for his trouble. She walked into the house and began to set up the painting table according to her own preferences. The Hu Amu who came with them was busy gluing and replacing some new window screens.

While they were busy, Qingtou led a palace eunuch, who was a subordinate of Eunuch Cao, and said that she was ordered to go to Prince Ning’s Qujiang Lake Villa to paint.

Whenever the imperial family had a palace banquet, hunting trip, or other activities, they would often bring painters with them to record the various scenes in the form of paintings. This was a common practice and was also one of the duties of the court painters.

Xuyu knew that Pei Xiaoyuan had gone to Qujiang Lake for a banquet today, but she didn’t know why they suddenly summoned her as well. She could only stop what she was doing, took her painting supplies, and ride out with the eunuch.

Qujiang Lake was located in the southeastern suburb of Chang’an, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the lake was vast. Every spring and summer, the scenery here was very pleasant. It was not only a place for Chang’an people to go outing, but also surrounded by many villas of the imperial family and dignitaries.

When they were leaving the city and approaching Prince Ning Villa, passing by a lakeside area, Xuyu suddenly saw Pei Xiaoyuan riding out on horseback, and the two met halfway. The palace eunuch who was traveling with her hurriedly dismounted to greet him. He sat on his horse and said that he was ordered by Prince Ning to come out to see if the painter had arrived.

Today, Prince Ning held a banquet to celebrate his return to the capital. The banquet was full of distinguished guests, including officials and renowned scholars in Chang’an who were on good terms with him, as well as younger figures from prominent families who had risen to prominence in recent years. The emperor also specially ordered officials from the Imperial Music Bureau to select dancers and actors from the Jiaofang and Liyuan to provide entertainment for the banquet. As the banquet was being set up and the guests and hosts were having a great time, Prince Ning suddenly realized that without a painter to capture the scene, the moment might be lost. So, he turned to the Eunuch Cao, who was ordered to serve here today, and inquired whether someone from the palace could be summoned to paint the scene.

Eunuch Cao recommended Ye Xuyu, saying that although this person had just entered the painting department and became Fang Shanjin’s apprentice, his painting skills were quite good. In any case Fang Shanjin’s health was not getting better, so Xuyu could be summoned to paint for him. Prince Ning readily agreed, and thus Xuyu was summoned.

The palace eunuch saw that Pei Xiaoyuan was acquainted with the painter, so he tactfully left first.

Pei Xiaoyuan nodded slightly to Xuyu, then turned his horse and walked forward slowly.

Xuyu understood and urged her horse to catch up with him.

The two people loosened the reins of their horses and rode side by side along the lakeside, heading towards the gate of the villa.

Pei Xiaoyuan first explained to her the reason why they summoned her here to paint today, and whispered in an apologetic tone: “Princess, you are a noble daughter, but you have to come here to serve as a painter. This is truly wronging you.”

“I entered the palace as a painter and was summoned to paint. This is my duty and I cannot say I am wronged. Please do not say such things again in the future.

“Besides……”

Xu Yu begged him, “Master Pei, please call me the same way you did before. Don’t call me Princess anymore.”

He turned slightly, looked at her, and spoke again. Although his tone was still respectful, he had indeed changed his words.

“After sending you back last night, His Majesty summoned me to the palace to inquire about the arrest of people in Pingkang Lane—”

Xuyu’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately turned her head and looked at him nervously: “My father knows that you let people go? Is he going to punish you?”

“No, no, don’t worry. His Majesty may have guessed that the person I tried to arrest the night before was Li Yan, but he has no evidence. Perhaps he doesn’t fully trust me either, so he summoned me, threw out a few threats and probes, and gave me a bit of a warning, that’s all.”

Xuyu heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, though a wave of guilt washed over her. “It’s all my fault, putting you in a difficult position in front of my father.”

“It’s no problem.” Pei Xiaoyuan raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“I came out to meet you here for another reason. As you know, after I found you, I didn’t want anyone to know that we knew each other, so as not to cause you unnecessary trouble. But now it seems that things are not going as I wish, and I’m afraid it cannot be hidden. Last night, even His Majesty asked me about my previous search for you. Besides, it’s impossible for you to move in without being seen. So I have something that I would like to ask for your permission first.

“Before you return to the palace to resume your identity, if anyone asks, just say that you are the son of an old friend of mine. Then, it will be natural for me to let you live in Yongning Mansion.”

“Alright.” Xuyu nodded.

Pei Xiaoyuan continued, “To be honest, I have many enemies in the capital, all of whom are powerful people. If you get too close to me and you don’t want to return to the palace immediately, I’m afraid it will be bad for you. You must be prepared.”

Xuyu smiled.

“Master Pei, you are not afraid of being implicated by me, so how could I be afraid of being implicated by you? Truly, if anyone should be speaking of dragging down the other, it should be me saying it to you.”

As the two conversed, their horses gradually slowed and eventually came to a stop, their heads lowering to greedily nibble on the tender clover hidden in the roadside grass. Amid the soft crunching of leaves being torn, a faint, refreshing fragrance of crushed grass wafted into the air, gently enveloping the pair and spreading out in all directions.

Near them, the rolling banks were covered with lush grass and white and purple wild flowers blooming everywhere. When the breeze blew, the water on the shore rippled, and sparkling golden light was reflected in her smiling eyes.

Pei Xiaoyuan watched all this silently, and suddenly remembered the incident that he had tried to explain to her several times but failed. After hesitating, he finally said, “That Qingtou guy is always outspoken and loves to make a fuss and talk nonsense. If he tells you how hard it was for me to find you, don’t believe him.

“It’s just my duty. Besides, it’s not hard at all.”

After he finished speaking, he added this sentence.

Xuyu glanced at him; his expression was solemn.

She pursed her lips, but did not answer.

Pei Xiaoyuan saw it all, but he didn’t know what she was thinking. He could not help but guess in his heart, only his expression became more solemn. After a while, he finally heard her speak.

“I also have something to tell you. I wonder if you have been to Ci’en Temple at midnight before?”

Previous      TOC     Next