Chapter 24 Chapter 24 It’s too... too ambiguous!

The vehicle drove along the bank of Qingxi River and finally stopped in front of a rather elegant garden.

Yuan Wangshu was apprehensive, her heart racing. It was only a short distance from the entrance to the main hall, but when she thought about facing her mother's accusations, she wished the road would never end. Even with this thought in mind, she didn't slow down her pace.

A woman in elegant clothes stood in the corridor, teasing a yellow bird in a golden cage with an indifferent expression. Beside her stood several women with their heads bowed, waiting quietly.

This person wore a wide-sleeved lake blue robe, under which lay an emerald green skirt embroidered with gold. The collar was embroidered with red peonies. Her hair was piled high in a bun, and her earlobes were adorned with gold and jade earrings. Above her bun, she wore a jade comb with jade bone and coral beads.

Yuan Wangshu walked over cautiously, crossed his arms in greeting, and said respectfully, "Mother."

Yuan Zhaoyun continued to play with the bird, not even glancing away. She said coldly, "Are you here?" After feeding it a few more grains of millet, she finally looked at Yuan Wangshu and said, "Come with me."

Yuan Wangshu clenched her hands in her sleeves, lowered her head and followed, thinking in her mind how her mother would scold her later.

Yuan Zhaoyun walked slowly down the corridor, his sleeves unmoved, and sat down on a carved chair. He picked up the Shi Yao Lun beside him and flipped through it slowly. "I heard from the servants that the emperor has given the post of envoy to Xie who just returned..." Someone leaned over and whispered, "...Xie Tingyu."

"...Well...this matter is not a big deal. The current emperor does not believe in the stuff of alchemists. Just give him the official position." Yuan Zhaoyun kept turning the pages, stroking the edge of the pages with his fingertips.

Yuan Wangshu looked up at his mother's expression. There was no expression on her face, which was always serious, making it difficult to understand.

Her mother, Yuan Zhaoyun, once led the Yuan family's Qingluan Army to participate in the Northern Expedition against the Xianbei. Even though she had not been on the battlefield for a long time and had served as the Minister of Agriculture, an important position in the court for many years, her murderous aura had faded a lot, but the fierce momentum she had when she led the army still remained.

Yuan Wangshu breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes."

Yuan Zhaoyun took a sip of tea. "The weather's been unfavorable this year. Droughts are frequent in the north, leaving farmers with nothing to harvest. Many refugees have been forced to migrate south. Xie Qingyan and I just returned from there. Even though we opened our granaries and set up checkpoints to help them escape, a large number of refugees still broke through our defenses and are now gathering on the outskirts of Jiankang." She placed the teacup on the small table. "Has Fuxue returned?"

The Fuxue she was referring to was the young master of the mansion, the third son, Yuan Fuxue. He had studied under the palace physician Wang Shuhe and was still out collecting herbs.

Yuan Zhaoyun now has three children. The eldest, a young prince, entered the palace at a young age and was given the title of Feng Jun, but unfortunately died young due to complications during childbirth. Yuan Wangshu, the second child, is the oldest child in the palace.

Yuan Wangshu shook his head. "My third brother hasn't returned home yet. However, according to his schedule, it will probably take more than half a month. I will send someone to meet him on the official road outside the city when he arrives. Mother, don't worry."

Yuan Zhaoyun nodded. "You're so thoughtful. I'd like to entrust this matter to you, and it's a good opportunity for you to show your face in front of the emperor. The refugees must be properly accommodated, otherwise there will be problems. I will send you to work with Yuan Jiao and others from the workshop to build houses and porridge sheds for them."

After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "It just so happens that your garden is about to be built, and you will soon marry the eldest son of the Fanyang Lu family as your legal husband. Do your best to show the Lu family our Yuan family's responsibility. By then, with the Lu family speaking for you in the court, you will have a better chance of entering the Fengge."

Seeing that her mother had only lightly brushed aside the question of the oracle, Yuan Wangshu felt secretly delighted, and even more delighted that her mother had given her such a good job. She thanked her mother cheerfully and left the courtyard briskly.

This is indeed a lucrative job.

Yuan Wangshu had just bought some rare and precious stones in the East Market to decorate her garden, and she particularly liked the Hetian jade chair, which was warm in winter and cool in summer. She also spent a lot of money raising a beautiful man and a famous horse in the backyard.

Now that there was a job to provide relief to refugees, she thought that if she deducted 20% or 30% from the money, she could fill the hole. Anyway, the money her mother had approved for disaster relief was sufficient, so no one would care if she was shortchanged by a little.

"It's just to move some money." Yuan Wangshu stepped onto the carriage and didn't take it seriously.

Yuan Wangshu thought nonchalantly, "I'm just a lowly person. It's a great blessing to receive charity. How dare I find fault with it?"

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The main garden of the Xie family.

The next afternoon, four men emerged from a side door, pushing two oxcarts. Over twenty bags of grain were neatly stacked on the carts, and three bulging money bags hung from the shafts. These weren't filled with gold leaves or ingots, but rather strings of copper coins strung together with red string. Each string was just enough to cover a small vendor's living expenses for half a month.

Xie Tingyu followed behind, holding Jiaoxuecong.

Since Xie Tingyu officially took charge of the imperial guards, she had worn a narrow-sleeved riding uniform every day. Today, she wore a black tortoise-colored brocade riding uniform, with a bluebird pattern embroidered in gold thread on the front. It was paired with a dark red collar. A sash at the waist outlined her slender figure, and a lotus-shaped silver crown was tied high on her horsetail.

He was neat and sleek, looking exceptionally handsome and dashing. He was no longer the gray and gloomy Taoist priest he had been when he first returned to the mansion.

Xie Tingyu had gone out today precisely to make amends to the common people who had been harmed yesterday. She rode her horse, exiting through a side gate and slowly making her way along the alleyway lined with whitewashed walls and green tiles. When she reached the southwest corner wall of the Wang Clan's residence in Langya, she heard the crackling of branches swaying from within, mixed with the rustling of clothing against tree bark.

Xie Tingyu reined in her horse, paused, and listened intently through the wall for a moment. She pulled the reins closer to the wall, and with a push, she scaled it with the swiftness of a swallow. With her hand resting on the old locust tree just inches from the wall, she looked down with interest at her lover clumsily climbing up, clinging to the trunk.

"Why are you climbing the wall today instead of going through the main gate?"

Wang Qiwu's pale blue brocade robe was stained with bark debris from climbing trees, the hem of which had been snagged by branches, and a few locust leaves were caught in his hair. Hearing this, he looked up, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Sister Xie, I was just looking for you."

Xie Tingyu reached out his hand naturally. "What do you want from me? I'm going to apologize to someone. Do you want to come with me?"

Compared to yesterday's hesitation, Wang Qiwu readily grasped her hand today. Xie Tingyu exerted force with his arms, lifting Wang Qiwu onto the wall in an instant, like a puppy. They both sat astride the eaves of the blue brick wall, facing each other only a few feet apart.

Wang Qiwu untied the sachet from his waist and displayed the gold leaves inside. "Yesterday, you helped me catch the thief, so of course I have to go with you to make amends." He took out a handful of gold leaves and spread them on his palm. "I have a lot of them." He said rather embarrassedly, "My father has me in solitary confinement because of what happened yesterday. He won't let me go out, so I ran away secretly."

Xie Tingyu laughed and pressed Wang Qiwu's hand back to the sachet. "Your heart is good, but your excessive kindness will only lead to resentment. These ordinary people only need a few dozen strings of cash a year, and your handful of gold leaves will make them unable to sleep or eat."

She pulled out a string of one-string coins from her sleeve and said, "This is the right thing to do. Helping people in times of need is essential. This will be enough for them to rebuild their stall without causing any trouble."

Xie Tingyu pushed off the wall with both feet, landed gracefully, and reached up again, "Come down, I'll catch you. Since you're so willing, let's go together."

Wang Qiwu looked at the oxcart filled with grain, then at Jiao Xuecong, and said blankly, "Sister Xie, there's only one horse. How...how can I share one with you?"

How can a woman and a man ride on the same horse? It's too... too ambiguous!

Xie Tingyu: "Get off first. This snow-white horse is for you to ride."

After catching Wang Qiwu and setting him down, Xie Tingyu cupped his hands to his lips and blew a series of clear whistles. Soon, a jet-black horse with snow-white hooves, known as the "Moon-Stepping Horse," galloped from the end of the alley.

The two men each rode a horse and returned along the route they took to catch the thief yesterday.

Any vendor whose stall was overturned for no reason would receive a bag of grain and one tael of silver as compensation.

Aunt Liu was still brooding over the few flower-shaped steamed cakes she'd dropped yesterday, her face sullen. But when someone presented her with a banknote and a bag of high-quality glutinous rice, her mouth stretched from ear to ear, her eyes narrowing into slits. Rubbing her hands together, she said, "Madam, you're truly a kindhearted person... Oh... I'm so sorry," as she accepted the money and food.

Xie Tingyu had no intention of spreading her good name, but the four maids who came out with her were instructed by Wei Fenghua to deliberately remind them when delivering food, "This is the second wife of our Chenjun Xie family", "This is our lady, Xie Tingyu, the beloved daughter of Grand Tutor Xie", "The heroic girl who caught the thief yesterday was our lady", and so on.

Wang Qiwu was also helping to distribute money and food. Suddenly, he heard a shout and turned his head to see a girl of seventeen or eighteen holding a small boy in a pigtail standing in front of the steamed cake stall.

The vendor opened the bamboo steamer, revealing a dozen small and cute crystal cakes in the misty white fog.

Memories came like a tide, swallowing Wang Qiwu up unexpectedly.

"Sister Xuanji, I want this crystal cake and that brown sugar cake."

"Shh... I bought it for you, but don't tell your mother that I secretly brought you out to buy these to eat."

"Hehe, I knew you were the best."

The innocent words of a child still ring in my ears, but the person's voice and smile have become blurred. At that time, I just thought it was ordinary. The person is gone, and many of the past joys have long been like withered flowers, scattered into the mud, and it is difficult to find even the slightest trace.

Immersed in memories, I suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance from my side.

Wang Qiwu looked up in surprise and saw Xie Tingyu handing him an oil-paper bag with a few freshly baked flower-shaped steamed cakes inside.

Xie Tingyu: "I think these cakes are good. Try them, maybe they will suit your taste."

The expression on her face when she said this was subtly similar to the Sister Xuanji in her memory.

Wang Qiwu lowered his head, his eyelashes trembling slightly. He took the oil paper package, picked up the flower-shaped steamed cake and took a bite. A few drops of clear tears unexpectedly fell on the cake.

Xie Tingyu was surprised, with a look of confusion on his face: "... Could it be that this cake is so delicious that it makes you cry?"

Wang Qiwu's Adam's apple rolled with difficulty as he swallowed the sweetness in his mouth, along with the old memories. He nodded, forced a few more bites, and then carefully wrapped the remaining pastry. "Thank you, sister. The pastry is delicious, but..." He forced a smile, "It's just that I'm not as fond of sweets as I used to be. Eating too much of these things will make me fat if I can't digest them. I'd better eat less."

The real reason he didn't say it was that when his mother's coffin was brought back from the northern border, the little boy knelt in the mourning hall and cried until his voice was hoarse. He looked forward to his mother and Xuan Ji returning home every day, but what he waited for was the tragic news that his mother had died in battle and Xuan Ji's body had been lost.

From morning till night, he could not stop crying as he saw things that reminded him of someone.

When he saw the steamed cake stall on the street, he remembered Xuanji sneaking out of the house with him to buy snacks. When he saw the bows and arrows and targets, he remembered his mother watching Xuanji practice archery. When he saw two girls walking side by side on the road, he remembered his mother and Xuanji walking together in the house.

I cry while eating my favorite pastries. I cry while gazing at the Jinwu Guards patrolling the streets. I cry even more when I dream of Xuanji and my mother. It truly lives up to that saying: searching, searching, yet finding nothing, desolate and desolate, filled with sorrow and misery.

After more than ten days of weeping day and night, Wang Qiwu's plump cheeks quickly became thinner. As he grew older, he asked his grandmother to hire a martial arts master, where he began learning horseback riding, archery, and some basic martial arts. Thus, he completely grew from a chubby child into the handsome, slender young man he is today.

Xie Tingyu saw the red corners of Wang Qiwu's eyes and flicked his whip. "Shall I take you for a walk?"

Wang Qiwu couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes and nodded hesitantly.

The two men rode side by side along the Qinhuai River.

As the sun set, the river shimmered, reflecting the lights on both banks. From the painted boats, adorned with blossoms and flowers, came the melody of stringed instruments. The melodious lyrics of the actors drifted on the wind. Those boats were often used as venues for entertainment, but Xie Tingyu deliberately avoided the bustle, taking Wang Qiwu for strolls along the quiet riverbank.

After a while, several river lanterns floated down the stream.

Here, vendors constantly sell a variety of river lanterns, each with its own unique charm. For example, the plain white lotus lantern is crafted specifically for commemorating the deceased. It's often said that if you place your thoughts on a lantern and wait for it to float away, the heavenly beings will receive your thoughts.

Seeing Wang Qiwu buy two white lotus lanterns, Xie Tingyu couldn't help but utter the words that had been on his lips for several times, "This kind of lantern is for the deceased."

Wang Qiwu picked up a brush and wrote on one of the lanterns: "To my mother, Wang Zhuozhang." "I know." He then picked up another and slowly wrote: "To my beloved, Wang Xuanji." "I bought this for my mother and... my sweetheart."

Xie Tingyu was utterly bewildered and puzzled, thinking to himself: When I was at the Wang family's garden, I never heard anyone mention a childhood marriage for Wang Qiwu. Wang Qiwu was only sixteen or seventeen, and how... how... did he suddenly have a... deceased lover? Why didn't the Wang family do anything about it?

Wang Qiwu carefully held the lotus lantern and lowered it into the river. The two stood by the river, silently watching the two lotus lanterns drift away with the current.

In the autumn of the sixteenth year of Jian'an, my mother and Xuanji went to war, and in the early winter of the seventeenth year, news of her death came back. Eleven years later, the old friend's smile is still before my eyes, but I can only express my grief through the lotus lantern.

Wang Qiwu wiped his tearful eyes and said in a low voice, "Sister Tingyu, let's go back."

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The author has something to say: Searching and searching, cold and desolate, sad and miserable - Li Qingzhao in "Sheng Sheng Man"

Wang Lanzhi: I tried to control it, but I couldn’t.