Chapter 25

 

The corridor was dilapidated and drafty, and when it got dark, it was usually filled with countless small, scattered noises—echoes of faint footsteps, the chirping of insects hidden in unknown corners, or the soft sound of dust falling through cracks in the roof tiles.

But in this moment, as twilight descended, the surroundings were too quiet and unusually silent. As the man’s low whisper reached her ear, she suddenly felt as if she was surrounded by a vague and intimate atmosphere.

In an instant, she came to her senses from her daze, responded to his words, and walked in quickly and hastily.

She groped slowly in the dark room, and after a few breaths, she finally lit the light in the room.

The candlelight gradually brightened, slowly dispelling the darkness and illuminating the walls.

By this point, she had recovered from the shock of seeing him. Calming her mind, she stood by the flickering candlelight, turned to the person still standing outside the door, and with a smile, invited him inside.

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at the woman in the light inside the room.

The candlelight shone on her, reflecting her face as bright as the moon.

On her face, he could see no trace of the joy or relief that he himself felt at having finally found her.

She was still the same impression he had when they last met at the county governor mansion: gentle, courteous, and with a bit of distant politeness.

In fact, he had been waiting under the lantern at the stairs for a while.

In his imagination, when she climbed up the wooden ladder, he would stand there to greet her. But as if possessed by some strange pull, when he heard her footsteps approaching and the wooden ladder made the first creaking sound, he retreated, hiding himself in the shadows, watching her walk past the lantern halo only three feet away without noticing him.

It must have been because finding her had been so incredibly difficult. From the windswept deserts of Ganliang to the southern Jiangnan, then turning west to the capital, he had traveled thousands of miles. When he finally saw her again, the events of just a few months ago felt like they had occurred in another lifetime, and countless words rushed to the tip of his tongue.

But at this moment, as the candlelight illuminated the surroundings, he looked at her who once again smiled and invited him in, all those indescribable emotions vanished in an instant.

After hesitating for a moment, this time he finally stepped inside and stopped opposite her, with the table holding the candle between them.

“Did I scare you just now? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

He never expected that the first words he would say when they met again would be this.

Xu Yu laughed when she heard that, looked at him and shook her head: “Its fine. But I really didn’t expect that you would come to the capital.”

Pei Xiaoyuan nodded: “Yes, I didn’t expect it myself. Just after you left, I received a call from the court, so I set off…”

He paused for a moment, then continued, “I have come to Chang’an and now serving under the Jinwu Guard.”

Xuyu took a glance.

He should have come here after finishing his court work for the day, and had not even changed his clothes yet. He was still wearing the deep crimson uniform of a Jinwu Guard officer, with a shoulder embroidered with a zhior xiezhi, which is a mythical creature resembles an ox or goat, possesses the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and known as a symbol of justice beast and a gold belt around his waist. In the narrow, dimly lit room, his tall figure stood out even more, and his posture as upright as a green pine tree.

She knew that this was a position of the fourth or fifth grade, and for someone in his early twenties, it was indeed considered prominent.

She smiled and said, “Congratulations on your promotion!”

Pei Xiaoyuan also smiled with her and waved his hand: “Don’t make fun of me.” He lowered his head and glanced at himself, then explained, “I left the government office today in a hurry and didn’t even change my clothes, so I came here like this, but it made you laugh…”

Xuyu said: “I’m not laughing at you! You look very good in this official robe.”

It was not an empty praise. She had been learning painting since she was young and had her own views on aesthetics.

The young man, with his stern and handsome features, clad in a crimson robe and gold belt, the two elements complemented each other perfectly, creating a refined and distinguished aura. If captured in a painting, it would undoubtedly be a striking scene.

This was Pei Xiaoyuan’s third meeting with her.

He never dreamed that she would praise him like this. Seeing her eyes on him, he couldn’t help feeling his heart beat faster and his ears became hot, so he had to keep silent.

After she finished praising, she walked over to the table, picked up the teapot, and took an unused cup that had been placed upside down. Carefully, she rinsed the bottom of the cup with a bit of tea, poured out the residual tea, and then refilled it with fresh tea. Only then did she bring the cup over with both hands, offering it to him.

“I don’t have any good tea here. I hope you won’t mind making do with it.”

Pei Xiaoyuan hurriedly took it with both hands.

The tea was just as she said, at first sip it was bitter, and the cup was a coarse porcelain cup, but it was the most special cup of tea that Pei Xiaoyuan had ever drunk. The aftertaste was long, making the throat fill with delicate sweetness.

“You said in your letter that you went back to where you came from. I thought you were going back to Luzhou. How did you end up in the capital?”

After finishing his tea, he was finally able to speak and ask the question that had been bothering him the most.

Xu Yu didn’t want to talk about the hidden story, so she just smiled apologetically and said, “After I left the letter, I changed my mind and wanted to try my luck in the capital, so I came here.”

“Prince Ashina was traveling the same way as you, but he never met you.”

“I took the northern route. Although the road is a little difficult to travel, it is shorter. His Highness should have taken the southern route.

“By the way, how do you know I stay here?” Xuyu asked.

Do you know how many places I have traveled to in search of you?

“After you left the letter, Uncle was very worried. He couldn’t feel assured and kept looking for you. After I came to Chang’an, one day Qingtou seems to saw you from afar in the West Market and told me about it. I started looking for you and found you here tonight.”

He suppressed the emotions that were stirring in his heart at this moment, and spoke in a very calm tone.

Xu Yu had anticipated that something like this might happen, so she looked at him and apologized sincerely, “I’m so sorry! I knew Lord Pei would be worried, so I specifically begged him in the letter not to look for me. I didn’t mean to make him worry. If it’s convenient, please apologize to him on my behalf in the future. Please rest assured that I’m really fine.”

Looking at the pair of eyes full of guilt reflected by the candlelight, Pei Xiaoyuan quickly came to his senses.

It was his own idea to look for her, and she did try to dissuade him earnestly in the letter she left behind.

“Don’t worry, Uncle won’t blame you. He will be very happy to know that you have been found,” he said.

Xuyu smiled sweetly and bowed to him: “Thank you.”

Her bright smile brightened the room.

Pei Xiaoyuan turned slightly, pretending to look around, and asked, “What are your plans for coming to Chang’an?”

“I do have one thing—”

Xuyu hesitated for a moment, then quickly made a decision.

She didn’t know that he would come to the capital and joined the Jinwu Guard, not to mention his official position seems to be quite high. Once she entered the palace, she would go in and out every day. Even if she didn’t tell him now, he would find out sooner or later.

“I came here for another purpose. I want to enter the palace to be a court painter.”

Pei Xiaoyuan turned his head suddenly.

“Enter the palace to be a court painter?”

He repeated her words, his expression filled with undisguised surprise.

Xuyu knew he would react like this, and she guessed what he was thinking at the moment, and explained, “Yes. And I have been admitted to the painting school.”

He seemed to be about to say something, but was interrupted by Xuyu.

“I understand your good intentions; you don’t need to worry. Ever since I started following my grandfather around at the age of four or five, I have lived as a man. I know how to conduct myself.”

“Why do you want to do this?”

He was silent for a moment, looked at her and asked.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you.”

The lighthearted atmosphere that had accompanied their meeting moments before was gone.

Pei Xiaoyuan’s expression became solemn.

“Sister, I have no intention of digging into your private affairs. But if someone were to discover your secret and reveal your identity, you would be guilty of deceiving the emperor.”

“I understand. I’m sorry I can’t tell you the reason. I won’t change my mind on this matter. It just so happens that -”

Xuyu paused.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Master Pei for taking care of me before. From now on, you and I have nothing to do with each other. Master Pei, please do not regard me as your sworn sister, and I don’t have you as a brother. Whether in front of others or behind others, we should just pretend that we do not know each other.”

After listening to this, Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her and frowned slightly.

“Do you think that I, Pei Xiaoyuan, am such a coward? I know that when you first came, your intention was not to marry me. That morning, you overheard what Chengping and I said, and while there were some misunderstandings, it’s true that I no had the intention of taking a wife. Later, I recognized you as my sworn sister, which was entirely out of my own will, and not from my uncle’s coercion. What you are going to do now, in my opinion, is unreasonable and highly inappropriate. But if you are determined and refuse to change your mind, it must be as you said, that there are reasons behind it, and I won’t force you to stop. Since I have already recognized you as a sister that day, why would I be afraid of being implicated by you and going back on my word?”

“You worry too much!”

“I know Master Pei Langjun is upright. But I have my own reason.”

Xuyu met the gaze of the man opposite her and hardened her heart.

“I am a loner by nature. Apart from Grandpa, I don’t want to get involved with anyone else. When Master Pei proposed to take me as your sworn sister, if I knew that you would come to the capital later and we might meet again, I don’t think I would agree.”

Pei Xiaoyuan was speechless for a moment, his eyes fell on her face, and his brows unconsciously frowned again.

“Are you saying that you acknowledged me as your brother out of perfunctory attitude?”

Xuyu bowed deeply to him again.

“Please forgive me, Master Pei. I know I shouldn’t have said that, it was extremely rude. But it was true that under the circumstances at that time, I really couldn’t refuse Master Pei’s kindness, so I could only accept it temporarily. I thought that you and I would never meet again in the future, but I didn’t expect that you would come to the capital as well.”

The narrow room fell into deep silent. The dim candlelight reflected two opposing figures, neither of them spoke for a long while.

Xuyu suppressed the great sense of guilt that welled up in her heart, raised her eyes again, and cast her gaze on the slightly tense handsome face of the man opposite her, and said softly: “Master Pei, you are a good person, a really good person. Apart from Grandpa, you are the best person I have ever met…”

“No need to say more!”

Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly spoke.

“I understand what you mean. Do whatever you want. I won’t interfere. As I said just now, it’s because you left without saying goodbye, so when I arrived here and learned that you might also be in the capital, I searched for you. Finding you today and knowing that you’re safe is the best news.

“Just one last thing.”

He looked around again.

“It’s not appropriate for you to live here. Come with me and live somewhere else first.”

Xuyu subconsciously continued to refuse: “Thank you for your kindness, here…”

“You can’t live here!”

Pei Xiaoyuan intercepted it directly this time.

“Don’t worry, I won’t disturb your peace in the future. But your grandfather entrusted you to my uncle, so I have to fulfill my uncle’s responsibilities. Otherwise, I won’t be able to explain myself when he asks in the future. This neighborhood is remote and the security is not as good as that in the north of the city. There are all kinds of people, and gamblers and drunkards are rampant in the streets. You can’t live here.”

The impression he gave to Xuyu was that he was calm and gentle, and he would not force her to do anything. But at this moment, his words were quite tough, implying that there was no room for negotiation.

Xuyu hesitated for a moment, then struggled again, “…I will enter the palace in a few days. I don’t plan to stay here for long. A few days at most, I will move out myself…”

He listened.

“If you don’t come with me, I will close this inn tonight.”

He said calmly, with a hint of coldness between his brows.

Xuyu was stunned.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs. You pack up.”

After saying this, he turned and walked out, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floor of the corridor, gradually fading into the distance.

 

Translator’s note:

Not so rosy reunion we’re expecting

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