Chapter 169 – Sweet and Refreshing Daily Life (III) Part 2

 

Yuwen Zhi was talking to his beloved wife in the corridor. Judging from it, he had likely followed her here on purpose. He said, “Princess, I am getting married soon! Before I came, His Majesty granted me a marriage. I’m also taking my cousin from my mother’s side as a secondary wife. Two brides at once—you must congratulate me!!”

The snow fell with the wind from outside, drifted into the corridor, and in the shadow of the swaying lanterns, fell on Yuwen Zhi’s handsome, smiling face. His voice was light, almost teasing, as if slightly drunk. He even used her old title, as if nothing at all had ever changed.

Xuyu smiled and congratulated him.

He smiled back and continued, “When you and Pei Er got married, I never congratulated you. Since I have received your congratulations tonight, I should return the favor. I hope you won’t blame me for being too late.” After he finished speaking, he took a few steps back, the smile on his face disappeared, and he stared at her opposite him.

“I wish the Princess and Master Pei Er a happy marriage and a thousand years of unity.

“Yuwen Zhi will take his leave, no need to send off!”

After he finished speaking, he bowed to her respectfully, then turned around, leaned on the pillar for a while, and left with slightly staggering steps. His figure gradually disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Pei Xiaoyuan could not help but be stunned for a moment. After a moment, when Yuwen Zhi disappeared, he looked at her figure who was quietly watching him leave. He was just hesitating whether he should come out at this time, when he suddenly heard her say, “Why are you still hiding? Come out!”

He laughed dumbly and walked over. They smiled at each other, held each other’s hands, and thought of Chengping again.

He had been drinking heavily in the past two years and his health was not as good as it used to. Pei Xiaoyuan was very worried, and it was unknown how many times he had advised him, but Chengping just kept doing what he wanted.

The two of them came to the banquet hall.

All the guests had left, leaving Chengping alone there, leaning crookedly. As expected, he was already drunk. Qingtou was covering him with a thick coat, his expression full of sympathy. Pei Xiaoyuan also sighed secretly, turned to Xuyu, and asked her to go back to rest first. Just as he and Qingtou were about to take Chengping to bed, they saw him open his bloodshot drunken eyes and called Xuyu.

“Did Wenjun tease me on purpose? You must know! Tell me!”

Xuyu stopped, looked at him, and said nothing.

Pei Xiaoyuan glanced at her and immediately scolded Chengping unhappily: “Shut up! You are drunk! What are you talking about?”

He immediately covered Chengping’s mouth with his palm, not allowing him to speak again. Then, he forcibly helped him up and was about to send him away. Suddenly, Xuyu said, “Wenjun is here.”

Not only Chengping, but even Pei Xiaoyuan was shocked. He stopped and turned to look over.

“Wanwan doesn’t want to get married, so she came to my place to relax and brought Wenjun with her. The two of them arrived three days ago, but I didn’t tell you because you were out hunting.”

She looked at Chengping and spoke slowly.

The border town was covered with snow. After a day of noise and celebration, the military commissioner mansion fell into a silent dream. At the third watch of the night, a figure sneaked into the inner courtyard where a female guest was staying. He climbed along the courtyard wall and scaled the rooftop, his boots stepping softly on the snow. Leaping down into the courtyard, he paused for a moment before a window still lit with the warm glow of a lamp, then walked up to it.

Placing one hand on the windowsill, he lightly vaulted inside through an unlatched window. His tall figure landed silently on the floor and moved toward the bed, and finally stopped in front of it.

The young woman who had arrived three days ago lay reclined on the bed, her dark hair spilling across the pillow, one bare arm resting outside the quilt. At the sound of footsteps entering, she opened her eyes and turned her head. When she saw the unexpected visitor at her bedside, she did not seem particularly startled. She merely sat up slowly, pulled a garment over herself, and covered the stretch of snow-pale skin that had been exposed.

Chengping stared at the woman on the bed, the one he had been thinking about day and night for the past few years but could no longer get close to.

She was twenty-two years old, the most beautiful age of her life. Having shed the naivety of her younger years, she looked beautiful as a flower soaked in nectar, so charming that one could not take their eyes away.

“Wenjun, you are lying to me, aren’t you? I have long suspected that you are deceiving me. You haven’t forgotten me!”

He turned his head and looked at the window he had just jumped into.

“You have forgiven me too, haven’t you? Without your nod, how could the Supreme Grand Princess will inform me of your arrival? And why did you leave this window open, allowing me to enter easily and see you?”

When he said this, the corners of his eyes turned red and his voice trembled slightly due to the excitement that he was trying hard to suppress.

Wenjun slowly tidied up her clothes and messy hair, hugged the quilt and continued to sit, looking up and said: “Yes. I lied to you. And, I came here because of you—”

“Wenjun! I knew you had never forgotten me—”

The Hu guy was instantly overjoyed and rushed to her. When he was about to extend his hand to her, he heard her continue, “I came here to tell you something. I am getting married and you don’t have to feel guilty about me anymore. You should appoint your own Khatun.”

“What did you say?” Chengping’s eyes widened, looking at her in disbelief. “Wenjun, what did you say just now?”

“You heard it. There’s no need for me say it again.”

She stared at him and responded calmly.

Chengping’s broad shoulders turned stiff like towering peaks, his figure completely still.

“A Suan’er, I’ll tell you the truth. I indeed forget things for a brief period of time. But after I thought of Mother and the others, I remembered everything. Naturally, including you.”

After a moment’s silence, Wenjun spoke again.

“At that time, I hated you, I hated you so much. To get back at you, to make you feel guilty and unable to forget me, I deliberately deceived you, toyed with you like that. But now, years have passed, and I’ve come to understand. I don’t hate you anymore. And since I no longer hate you, there’s no need for you to carry any unnecessary guilt over what happened between us. So I came here, to make things clear.

“You should go. From this moment on, we owe each other nothing.”

After she finished speaking, she no longer looked at the man standing at her bedside. She lay back down and turned her back to him.

“By the way, the door is actually open. When you go out, just go through the door.”

She closed her eyes and lay quietly, no longer making a sound, nor turning her head, as if she was fallen asleep.

Chengping remained frozen in front of her bed, staring at her back with his eyes fixed. His eyes were bloodshot and his breathing became more and more rapid.

Suddenly, a flash of anger flashed in his eyes. With a sullen face, he went up to her, and amidst her shocked scolding, he wrapped her up with the quilt, and walked out with her in his arms.

He slammed the door open with his shoulder, and his arms—like iron—wrapped around Wenjun, holding her in a forceful grip. Her struggles and resistance were as feeble as an ant under his strength. The commotion startled the night guards. When they rushed over, they saw him—eyes bloodshot—carrying a writhing woman, still wrapped in her quilt, striding swiftly through the courtyard. Though they hurried to stop him, how could they possibly stand in his way?

Someone had already run ahead in a panic to alert Marquis Jingbei and his wife. When Pei Xiaoyuan and Xuyu hastily threw on their clothes and rushed out of their rooms, Chengping had already flung the young woman onto a horse, mounted behind her, and galloped out through the gates.

“That little bastard! Still a thug at heart!”

Pei Xiaoyuan watched him ride away with Wenjun on horseback, and his figure quickly disappeared in the snowy night. His face darkened with fury. He barked an order for someone to bring Jinwuzhui immediately, then turned to Xuyu, who had just rushed out and stood by the gate. Struggling to restrain his anger, he tried to soothe her: “Don’t worry too much, I’ll catch up to him right away. Even if he makes it out of the city, he won’t get far. I will bring Wenjun back. If he dares lay a single finger on her, I will whip him to pieces!”

Xuyu stared ahead for a moment and said, “I’ll go with you.”

After leaving the city, the night wind was strong. Amidst the blinding flurry of wind and snow like torn cotton, Chengping spurred his horse into a wild gallop. He had no idea how far he had ridden. At some point, the person wrapped in quilt in his arms stopped struggling. She curled up in his embrace, motionless. He felt her bare legs under the thin robe, ice-cold to the touch. Through the curtain of swirling snow, he caught sight of faint, flickering embers in the distance. He rode toward them. It was a winter encampment of nomads who moved with the water and grass. He dismounted, carried her in his arms, and stepped into the nearest tent.

Inside the tent was a husband and wife, engaged in intimacy. They were suddenly startled by the abrupt entrance of a tall, richly dressed young man—clearly a person of noble status—who barged in carrying a bundle wrapped in quilt. From the edge of the blanket trailed a slender, pale leg. The young man’s face, once handsome, now looked contorted with rage, his eyes filled with a violent gleam, terrifying as a demon. The couple leapt up in shock.

As the woman shrieked and scrambled to cover herself, Chengping laid the bundle down on the felt carpet by the stove, which the pair had just vacated. Then he drew a small knife from his belt, pried off a golden hair ring that was binding his hair, and tossed it at the feet of the terrified, kneeling couple, who trembled in fear.

“Get out!” He ordered sternly, his long black hair falling down in an instant.

The couple finally understood what was going on, looked at each other, and their frightened spirits subsided, their eyes showing joy. They picked up the golden ring and hurriedly left.

Hearing that there was no one else in the tent, Wenjun finally dared to stick her head out from under the quilt. She sat up, looked around this completely unfamiliar place, and noticed that Chengping was staring at her with his crimson eyes, and he began to untie his belt. Her pale face suddenly flushed with an unknown hue, whether from anger or something else.

“Ashina, what are you doing? Get out—”

As she yelled, Chengping pounced on her like a wolf and pinned her down. She opened her mouth and bit his shoulder fiercely.

The hot, metallic scent of the Hu guy’s blood slowly seeped into her mouth, staining her lips and teeth. He held her down, letting her bite into his flesh without resistance, yet made no further move—just locked in this tense, almost painful standoff with her. No one knew how long passed before Wenjun suddenly let go of that piece of flesh she had bitten deep into, her body going limp. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks.

“You wretch… debt collector…”

She choked softly, stretched out her two snowy arms, and suddenly pulled his head close, tight against her. Then, she opened her mouth again—this time, she bit down on his lips.

Chengping’s hair fell wildly around him, tangled and loose. He knelt, pressing desperate kisses all over her body, trying to appease her with every breath. “Please… don’t be so cruel. Whatever you want, I’ll do it—I’ll obey everything you say…”

The crazy love words accompanied by his gentle lips and tongue murmured endlessly, blending with the howling sound of wind and snow outside the tent, reaching Wenjun’s ears.

When the wildness receded, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up again. When she was about to get dressed, he took her clothes away and held her in his arms again.

“Wenjun, do you still love me? Marry me! When dawn breaks tomorrow, I will go to Chang’an with you again. I’ll ask His Majesty to grant us marriage; he will not refuse. You will be my Khatun…”

Lu Wenjun leaned on his arms, looking at his soft eyes which were gazing at her with a smile. She looked into his eyes for a moment and shook her head.

Chengping’s expression shifted subtly. He lowered his head to look at her for a moment, then suddenly withdrew his arm from beneath her and turned over, sitting up. He grabbed a piece of clothing to cover his waist, hiding his nakedness, then crossed his legs and sat, looking at her with a cold sneer: “Don’t tell me the man you’re going to marry is your cousin, Prince Guan? I heard about the two of you last year when I was in Chang’an. Wenjun, if the man you’ve chosen were some upright gentleman, I wouldn’t dare stand in the way. But your cousin? Not to slander him deliberately, but that man once begged me to send him a beauty—never mind that. What I heard later is that he has a taste for young male attendants as well. What do you see in him? I don’t believe that he can make you happier than me!” As he reached the end of his sentence, his face was nearly livid with rage, his voice gritted between clenched teeth.

Lu Wenjun sat up and stared at the handsome and strong young man in front of her.

“Ashina, I like you.” She said softly.

“You’re the person I’ve liked since I was still my teens. Even during those years when I hated you most, I still remembered, and couldn’t let go of, the first time I saw you. No other man in this world could ever move me the way you do. However, I will no longer dream of marrying you like before—”

She paused.

“You’re a wild wolf, meant to roam the open wilderness. You were never born to be bound by anything. You’re not—nor could you ever be—the husband I once dreamed of. That’s why I won’t marry you. And precisely because I fell in love with you, there will never be such a husband for me in this world at all. So who I marry… what difference does it make? I’ve grown up. I know now what kind of life I truly want.”

Her eyes were red, but a faint smile curled at her lips.

“These past few years, you’ve come once every year to meet the appointment I left for you. That was something I never even dared hope for. I truly believed you might come once—twice at most—and after failing to see me, simply give up. But I’ll admit that I was moved by you again. I learned from my sister that your drinking has worsened in these past two years, that your old wounds flared up, and you ignored them entirely. I guessed… maybe you were doing it on purpose, wearing yourself down, to test if I still cared. You won. I can’t let you go. That’s why, borrowing this chance with Wanwan, I came.”

“Wenjun, you are so cruel to me. What do you me to do?” Chengping asked in a trembling voice.

“As you said, I am going to marry my cousin and become his princess consort. I don’t love him, but I don’t hate him either. It’s just a marriage of convenience. He is the most suitable person for me now. This time, I came here to make things clear with you, and then I will go back. I will live a good life in the future, and you should also live your life well. If you miss me again one day, come to Chang’an. No matter when, I will go to meet you, and truly fulfil our promise…”

Chengping’s eyes were red, and suddenly, he pounced on her again and pressed her heavily on the felt carpet beside the fire.

Outside the tent, Xuyu, who had stayed quietly in the snow for a while, turned around and left quietly.

Pei Xiaoyuan ordered his followers to keep watch nearby. After making all the arrangements, he helped Xuyu onto the horse and climbed onto Jinwuzhui’s back. The two of them braved the snow and headed towards home. After traveling for a while, she said she was cold, so he immediately dragged her onto Jinwuzhui’s back and wrapped her completely in his snow cloak.

Xuyu huddled in the warm embrace formed by the thick snow cloak and his chest and arms. She felt him lower his head and kiss the top of her head. Then, he whispered softly in her ear, “Sit tight. I’ll tell Jinwuzhui to hurry up so we can go home faster.”

She hummed softly, comfortably leaning against his arms that shielded her from the wind and snow, inhaling his fresh and crisp scent that resembled green wood, and closed her eyes slightly.

The rest of life is still long. Everyone was still so young, with so many beautiful years ahead of them. She didn’t know whether Wenjun might one day change her mind, and end up, like herself and Pei Xiaoyuan, becoming a regular couple with Chengping—bearing children, growing old together. Who could say it was impossible?

But people live in the present. To understand what one wants now, and to follow the heart freely—wasn’t that a kind of fulfillment, too?

Being kind to oneself is a kind of wisdom.

She offered blessings to Wenjun, Wanwan, Zhenfeng and others, as well as…

As Jinwuzhui galloped forward in the wind and snow, she suddenly felt an irrepressible surge of love in her heart. It was a strong love for the man behind her. She couldn’t help but stick her head out from his cloak, turned her head and looked up, giving him a kiss wrapped in the smell of wind and snow, causing Pei Xiaoyuan to almost lose control of the reins.

“What’s wrong?” After promptly stopping her dangerous action, he couldn’t help but ask again.

“I still want a daughter. My dear, you have to work hard!”

She laughed.

Postscript:

Li Hui held great respect for the Supreme Grand Princess and Jingbei Marquis, Pei Xiaoyuan, privately called them aunt and master throughout his life. He continued to confer titles on them over the years. When Pei Xiaoyuan was 40 years old, he was conferred the title of County Prince of Xingyang, which was hereditary title. Later, when he wanted to confer the title of Prince again, Pei Xiaoyuan declined firmly and refused to accept it. Li Hui had no choice but to give up and instead conferred the title of County Duke of Huaiyang on Pei Fuxuan, the eldest son of the Pei family who was only 16 years old at the time, as a form of compensation.

Pei Fuxuan passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi at the age of 22. He inherited the achievements of his grandfather and father and eventually became a great Confucian scholar.

Post Postscript:

After Emperor Shizong, the Holy Dynasty lasted for another 162 years before it fell. The world was once again plunged into chaos—foreign tribes invaded, warlords carved up the land, petty kingdoms sprang up, and warfare never ceased. Amidst the turmoil, a descendant rose to meet the times: Pei Shiying, the sixth-generation grandson of County Prince Xingyang, Pei Xiaoyuan, and Supreme Grand Princess, daughter of the former dynasty’s Emperor Shizong. Gifted in both civil and military arts, brave and battle-hardened, he rose in rebellion from the remote region of Qinzhou. With the merit of five generations behind him, he waged war across the land, quelling disorder and unifying the realm. Upon ascending the throne, he once again made Chang’an the imperial capital. To honor the legacy of his illustrious ancestor, he took the first character from the marquis title of Pei Xiaoyuan’s youth and declared the new dynasty as “Jing” ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity.

The Zhenguo Tower next to Kaiyuan Gate was fortunately not destroyed in the war. Inside it was the world’s most famous painting, “Celestial Being and The Capital”—a masterpiece said to have been co-created by the legendary painter of the former dynasty, Ye Zhongli, and the Supreme Grand Princess, the illustrious grandmother of Pei Shiying. Though more than a century had passed, the scroll remained vivid in color and remarkably well-preserved. After ascending the throne, the young founding emperor of the Jing Dynasty, honoring the teachings of his ancestors, did not lock away this national treasure. He personally came to pay homage and, ensuring its protection, continued to allow the people of the realm to view and appreciate it.

Art endures beyond time; its legacy eternal.

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Translator’s note: 

I like that Chengping’s story is open-ended. The author is actually left it to the reader’s imagination how they want it to end.