Chapter 14

Chapter Summary: The True Self.

Xie Xuan had already found Su Siyang somewhat strange, and now, hearing his words, he was taken aback. Su Siyang was the Grand Secretary, so it was obvious that he would fawn over anyone, but the fact that he didn't even have servants by his side was truly unacceptable.

"I am often stationed on the frontier and am not very attentive to detail. Since Lord Su is drunk, I will go out and call someone in to serve him," Xie Xuan replied with a slight bow.

Xie Xuan's meaning was quite clear.

Su Siyang stood there, chuckled, and replied, "No need to be so meticulous. It's just a simple farewell. Lord Xie practices martial arts year-round. If I fall, it would be enough if you could help me up. Surely you wouldn't refuse such a small favor, Lord Xie?"

Since Su Siyang had already said so, Xie Xuan naturally couldn't refuse, so he could only bow and reply, "Okay."

As the group walked out, they bumped into the palace maids and eunuchs who were cleaning up the mess. When they saw Su Siyang and Xie Xuan coming out, they all bowed and said, "This servant greets Lord Su and Lord Xie."

"Get up," Su Siyang replied lazily, his voice still slightly nasal, perhaps from the alcohol.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." The group stood up and filed in.

Two eunuchs, seeing that they were about to leave, cleverly brought over umbrellas. Xie Xuan glanced at the eunuchs but didn't say anything. Instead, he gave Su Siyang a serious look.

Su Siyang had obviously noticed it too, and turned slightly to the side, extending his hand and saying, "Give it to me."

The young eunuch was taken aback, clearly not expecting Su Siyang to do this. He didn't respond, but instead handed over the umbrella he was holding. Seeing this, Xie Xuan reached out and took the umbrella from the young eunuch, glanced at Su Siyang, and said in a low voice, "Let me do it."

Although Xie Xuan disliked the formalities of officialdom, it didn't mean he was unaware of them. Xie Xuan opened his umbrella and walked down the steps with Su Siyang. Because it was the New Year's banquet, the eunuchs were constantly cleaning to facilitate the movement of the officials, so the steps and the path were spotless.

Su Siyang walked slowly, with Xie Xuan following behind, holding an umbrella. The wind and snow were heavy, and the passageway was long. Neither of them spoke.

After a while, Xie Xuan felt his hands were a little stiff. He looked ahead and saw that there was still a long way to go before reaching the palace gate.

"This servant greets Lord Su and thanks Lord Xie."

Along the way, a few palace maids bowed and greeted them.

"Get up," Su Siyang replied.

The two continued walking. Xie Xuan thought Su Siyang would remain silent, but to his surprise, Su Siyang asked calmly, "Lord Xie, are you settling in well in the capital?"

“Yes, the winters in the capital are warmer than those on the frontier, so naturally I won’t find it difficult to get used to it,” Xie Xuan replied.

"Have you gotten used to guarding Cining Palace these past few days?" Su Siyang's tone didn't change much, but his manner of speaking was clearly different.

Xie Xuan glanced at Su Siyang with some curiosity. Su Siyang had been intently watching the road ahead, his expression unchanged, as if he were simply walking. But for someone of his high position, and in the political arena, concealing his emotions was extremely easy. After all, people in officialdom were very good at acting. Xie Xuan couldn't quite figure out Su Siyang's intentions, but still honestly replied, "Yes, it's alright."

Then came a long silence; Xie Xuan wasn't really in the mood to think about these issues. Because the wind was stronger than before, the oil-paper umbrella was under a lot of pressure and difficult to hold, so Xie Xuan had to keep his attention on it.

"Then, what does Lord Xie think of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?" Su Siyang asked, staring at the palace lanterns swaying under the city wall in the distance.

Xie Xuan was taken aback, thought for a moment, and replied, "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is graceful and virtuous, talented and kind, and has been very considerate to us officials."

These were all words that couldn't be faulted, Xie Xuan thought, this way of answering would never be wrong.

Su Siyang chuckled softly when he heard Xie Xuan say this. His voice was very soft, but Xie Xuan, who was close by, could still hear it clearly.

As they approached the carriage, Xie Xuan helped Su Siyang onto it and said, "Please take care, Lord Su."

"Thank you very much for seeing me off, sir," Su Siyang said politely.

"You're too kind, Lord Su."

After seeing Su Siyang off, Xie Xuan headed towards Cining Palace. His mind, however, couldn't stop thinking about Su Siyang's purpose in asking him to do that. He hadn't known Su Siyang much, and his refusal earlier had been quite obvious. Su Siyang wasn't oblivious, and besides, Su Siyang had seemed rather strange when he entered the palace.

After thinking for a while, I still couldn't figure it out. When I looked up again, I was already in front of the Cining Palace.

Yu Jing sat in the room for a long time, watching the flickering candlelight, her mind a jumble of emotions. As the candlelight flickered more and more violently, Yu Jing finally realized something was wrong. When the shadow beside the candlelight gathered and transformed into a person, Yu Jing was completely stunned, staring at the figure without moving.

He was a boy who looked to be about ten years old, dressed in a white Taoist robe with his hair tied in a bun. The robe was embroidered with white cranes by Xuan Hui, and Yu Jing recognized the red on the top of the cranes as the condensation of the afterglow of the setting sun. He wore a string of translucent white jade bodhi beads on his wrist. Although he looked young, he had the air of a sage.

Judging from his appearance, he didn't seem like a demon. Having spent too long in the mortal realm, he was quite surprised to see a deity and it took him a while to react.

Just as Yu Jing was about to ask a question, the child spoke first.

"Could it be Fairy Yu Jing?"

"Yes," Yu Jing replied.

"I am the Night Wanderer. The Old Man of the Moon is currently attending a banquet at the Jade Pool and cannot leave. He has specially instructed me to deliver something to you, Fairy." As the Night Wanderer spoke, he floated in front of Yu Jing and reached into his sleeve to take out a letter.

As Yu Jing watched the Night Wanderer drift over, he inexplicably thought of the vengeful ghosts described in storybooks, except that he was dressed more neatly than any vengeful ghost.

Yu Jing reached out and took the letter from the Night Wanderer, saying, "Thank you."

"You're too kind, fairy." The Night Wanderer said with a smile, his face still showing some childlike innocence. "Today is the beginning of the year in the mortal world. Since you are now a mortal, I wish you peace, health, and all your wishes fulfilled year after year."

"Thank you." Yu Jing felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing Ye Youshen's words before even opening the note, and responded.

"There are many people staying up to welcome the New Year today, and the tasks are numerous and complicated, so I will take my leave now," the Night Wanderer continued.

"Okay." Yu Jing replied with a smile, watching the Night Wanderer disappear into the darkness.

After the Night Wanderer left, Yu Jing opened the letter in her hand.

"My dear disciple, today is the beginning of the year in the mortal realm. I wish you all the best and that all your wishes come true. Follow your heart and do not worry too much."

After Yu Jing finished reading it, the letter vanished instantly. Looking at her empty hand, Yu Jing pondered the words in the letter.

The Old Man of the Moon is currently attending a banquet at the Jade Pool, yet he has gone to such lengths to have the Night Wanderer bring this letter down; there must be more to it than meets the eye. Aside from Su Siyang's matter, nothing else has changed today; what the Old Man of the Moon is saying must be related to Su Siyang. Follow your heart, and don't worry too much. Yu Jing suddenly felt everything understood, and everything became clear.

Regardless, since the Old Man of the Moon had said so, she felt relieved. Her earlier annoyance vanished completely; she hadn't noticed it before, but now she felt incredibly hungry. She was about to call out to Ayu when she realized she'd been sitting for quite a while, so she decided to get up and go for a walk.

As soon as Yu Jing opened the door, she saw a familiar figure in the corridor. Xie Xuan was already wearing armor, but underneath he was still wearing the same crimson official robes he had worn earlier. The scene of Xie Xuan supporting her in the small garden suddenly flashed through her mind, and she suddenly felt a little uneasy.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to the Empress Dowager." Xie Xuan and his guards bowed and greeted Yu Jing.

"This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." The palace maids and eunuchs at the door also knelt down.

"Get up, everyone." Yu Jing looked at the people kneeling on the ground and suddenly regretted coming out.

"Does Your Majesty have any instructions?"

"Where is Ayu?" Yu Jing asked.

"Sister Ayu is currently in the small kitchen brewing a hangover soup for the Empress Dowager," the palace maid whispered.

"I'll go take a look," Yu Jing said, and started walking towards the small kitchen.

A large group of people wanted to follow her, but Yu Jing felt uncomfortable and turned around, saying, "You don't need to follow me. I'll go by myself."

The men below exchanged glances before replying, "Yes."

Before they could finish speaking, Xie Xuan's voice rang in their ears: "Your Majesty, an assassin broke in at night not long ago. To ensure that nothing goes wrong, I beg Your Majesty to allow this humble subject to accompany him."

Since Xie Xuan had already said so, it would be rather ungrateful of Yu Jing to refuse again.

"Alright then." Yu Jing agreed and turned to go to the small kitchen.

Seeing Yu Jing take a step, Xie Xuan grabbed his sword and followed. Yu Jing hadn't changed her clothes; she wore a vibrant red dress. The two figures, bathed in the dim light of the lamplight, walked one after the other. Yu Jing was tall and elegant, her heavy clothes causing her to walk slowly, each step swaying gracefully. Xie Xuan was also tall and imposing, wearing armor that made him look quite imposing, but he followed closely behind Yu Jing. Outside the corridor, snow was falling heavily, creating a picturesque scene through the eaves.

When they arrived at the small kitchen, Ayu was diligently simmering a hangover soup. Hearing the noise at the door, she glanced over and saw Shenghua. She was still somewhat incredulous, and after a moment of hesitation, she called out, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager?"

"Ayu." Because of the letter from the Old Man of the Moon, Yu Jing felt very relaxed, and calling out to Ayu was also quite cheerful.

Xie Xuan was standing slightly behind and to the side of Yu Jing. Looking over, he could see Yu Jing's profile. The warmth of the wine had dissipated, leaving only a faint blush of powder. Her face looked clean, with red lips and white teeth. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes were bright, radiating obvious joy.

"Why has Your Majesty the Empress Dowager come?" Ayu walked up to Yu Jing in a fluster and said, "The small kitchen is dirty and messy. If Your Majesty needs anything, just tell us to do it."

"Aci, escort the Empress Dowager back," Ayu then instructed Aci beside her.

"yes."

Aci responded and walked to Yu Jing's side.

"I've been sitting in my room for a while, so I thought I'd come out for a stroll. It's freezing cold, and there's nowhere else to go. Just wander around the small kitchen. You all can do your thing," Yu Jing said.

Yu Jing said this, and A Yu couldn't say anything more, after all, Yu Jing was her master.

After Yu Jing finished speaking, they continued with their work, and Yu Jing walked inside with some curiosity. This was the first time she had ever seen a kitchen in the mortal realm.