Chapter 30: Was the affair discovered?

"Hmm," Qi Xin glanced at her in confusion before continuing, "You've seen me before in the Moon Nation. You must have noticed that my internal energy had been dissolved by He Lianzhu. I'd lost my Qinggong skills and was unable to defend myself. He then taught me this archery technique, saying it was taught by a master with exceptional skills, but unfortunately, he's passed away."

"He told you this?" Frost's tone was full of disbelief.

"What's wrong with this?" Qi Xin could hear the hidden meaning in the words, but he was confused and didn't know what it was referring to.

"Nothing." Frost finally returned to her cold and frosty self.

"But you did remind me," Qi Xin, who didn't like to force things, simply changed the subject. "Xiao Ba wields a double-edged sword, while you and Sister Bai seem to use mostly short blades, or whatever's available. And what about Chen Yu? He's a military scion, after all, so does he specialize in archery? Has he never practiced other techniques?"

"How could it be?" Frost's tone finally showed some fluctuations:

"Seventh Master is incredibly gifted. He's proficient in everything he learns, from troop formations to weaponry and the Eighteen Martial Arts. He's given us some pointers during our previous training sessions on the training grounds. Because he always finds new and innovative approaches, often proposing techniques not found in manuals, this often prevents the enemy on the battlefield from predicting our next move, giving us more opportunities to survive."

"Is that so?" Qi Xin finished speaking, his eyes moving as he rubbed the two silk ribbons hanging from his legs in his hands. "By the way, your coming here this time was fake to escort me. The real purpose was to spy on the inner circle of Zilin Palace for your Seventh Master, right?"

“…” Frost pursed his lips and remained silent.

"Noble Consort Chu was a Western Dan noble, and the old Duke was killed on the Western battlefield against the Western Dan. Therefore, your Seventh Master wants to find out some clues during this troubled time, is that right?"

“…” Frost remained silent.

"Okay, I won't embarrass you anymore. I've probably guessed it." Qi Xin tapped his forehead with his index finger, nodded and smiled softly, "Well, that brown-black creature with a little white on its tail, you can at least tell me about it."

"Oh, Rongrong?" Shuangjiang said, "That's the white-tailed sea eagle that Master Qi adopted. The power of the blood pill enhances the five senses and can connect with the spirits of all things. He simply allowed me to control it."

Qi Xin nonchalantly teased, "You're using a double character to name a bird of prey like this? So, which character?"

Shuangjiang gestured: "The radical is grass, and the character for ear is below it."

Qi Xin thought to herself, after all, he had been a commander and a duke for so many years, so why did he give his beloved pet such a harmless name? She pondered Shuangjiang's words and asked, "Can the power of the blood pill also connect with the spirits of all things? Why can't I?"

She didn't know that the power of her blood pill had such benefits. Otherwise, when she was in Zilin Palace, she could have controlled the magpie in the back window to be quieter, and she wouldn't be so passive.

Frost replied good-naturedly, "You haven't yet resonated. Some of your unlocked skills will be weakened accordingly. Correspondingly, the Blood Pill's control over you will surpass your control over the Blood Pill, causing you to often suffer from its backlash."

"But what if Ru Ruo plants a Night Devouring Gu on me?"

"Xiaojiu, you're joking." Shuangjiang curled the corners of his lips for the first time in history and sighed:

"No one who is inoculated with the Night-Eating Gu is willing to do so. It's just like the pain you endured when the blood pills merged, it's ingrained into your heart and bones. Furthermore, the person holding the Mother Gu must be someone you trust and skilled in controlling it. Do you think such a person is easy to find?"

Qi Xin said sadly: "But I don't think about myself, it's useless."

"No, you're just not familiar with it." Shuangjiang shook his head and said:

"I've been a 50% Blood Surplus for four or five years, and you've only been here for less than a year. Besides, you've inherited the true archery skills of Master Qi, and with the increased agility and perception from the blood pills, you should have no problem protecting yourself if nothing unexpected happens."

The two of them chatted back and forth, not realizing that the time had passed from morning to night.[1] Outside the window, the dusk was lingering, as if hiding the girl's thoughts, lingering in the sky like misty waves and painted willows.

Some people take advantage of the twilight to meet in the pavilion and confide in each other, while others take advantage of the twilight to secretly observe the secrets of heaven and fish in troubled waters.

Obviously, Murong Fei belongs to the latter.

The underground gambling city of Shicha is still bustling with people.

Murong Fei was lying outside the tent, thinking secretly. He almost suspected that the person inside was a substitute from the beginning to the end. He had visited so many times, and each time it was the fox-faced woman beside him who conveyed the message on his behalf. As a result, he had never heard the voice of the city lord, nor seen his face in person.

Murong Fei said respectfully:

"I, Murong Fei, request to see the City Lord."

The fox-faced woman walked lightly with lotus steps, her skirt stained with vines and stone green swaying in the wind, and came out gracefully from behind the gauze curtain and stood in front of Murong Fei.

Seeing that it was the fox-faced woman again, Murong Fei straightened up, clasped his fists, and said with a sly look:

"I beg you to inform the young lady that your subordinate——"

Suddenly, the fox-faced woman attacked, handcuffed his hands behind his back, pressed her right knee against his back, and slammed his forehead hard onto the wooden floor.

Murong Fei was so frightened that he cried out loudly: "Please, please spare my life, my lord, and allow me to talk it out!"

The fox-faced woman turned a deaf ear to him, and then her Shura-like voice rang out:

"Master Murong, the Lord has given you many chances, yet you lost both your wife and your army. Qi Xin's lack of Chinese medicine would have been fine, but she's a weak woman who has lost her martial arts skills and has been locked in a wing room with a man from another family. With such an easy opportunity within reach, you still let her escape, and even let her make a big fuss about it. You're truly a good person!"

The blood from the bump on Murong Fei's forehead had already soaked his eyelashes, causing his vision to blur. In such a life-or-death situation, Murong Fei dared not neglect it. He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"My Lord, my Lord, haven't you always wanted to expand your faction? I, your subordinate, am still useful to you. I, your subordinate, have found evidence against the Minister of Rites, Wen Shao!"

The gray figure in the gauze curtain raised her hand to signal, and the fox-faced woman stopped torturing Murong Fei and said harshly, "Speak!"

Murong Fei was so frightened that he couldn't even speak straight. He trembled and said, "Rites, Minister Wen Shao and Chu, Concubine Chu, had an affair. I have irrefutable evidence. I will definitely prove that Lord Wen obeys the Lord and makes him serve the Lord! May I personally present this to the Lord?"

The fox-faced woman dodged and blocked his trembling momentum as he was about to break in, saying coldly, "Just give it to me."

Murong Fei eagerly peeked inside the gauze curtain, but unfortunately the angle was too off, so he couldn't see anything at all. He could only reluctantly take out the collection of "The Peony Pavilion" from his arms and offer it with both hands, saying, "Thank you, young lady."

The fox-masked woman took the booklet and handed it to the person in the gauze curtain. Before the person opened it, he threw the booklet out, hitting Murong Fei in the face.

Seeing this, the fox-faced woman quickly stepped forward and pulled his crown back, as if to tear his head off. "Dare to play tricks on my master? I will definitely choose the most glorious way for you to die."

Murong Fei's eyes widened as he wailed, "Master, Master, please, please don't underestimate this as a play for girls. There are hidden mysteries hidden within it. Please, please, please give me a chance to speak."

The person inside the gauze curtain raised his hand again, but the fox-faced woman still didn't let go. She said indignantly, "This man is good at flattery. It would be better if he died once and for all. Why does the Lord have to be deceived by him again and again?"

Before she finished speaking, an extremely thin silver needle flew out from the gauze curtain. The fox-faced woman dodged sideways and finally let go of Murong Fei. She knew the warning was meant to warn her, so she withdrew her attack and said to Murong Fei disdainfully: "The master gave you a chance, why don't you tell me quickly."

Murong Fei rolled and crawled away from the fox-faced woman and said:

"Noble Concubine Chu was married into the country during the early years of friendly relations between the two countries. She was reluctant at the time, but she was forced to marry as an envoy because it was the emperor's order. In those early years, when Lord Wen was traveling around the countries to preach the sacred rituals, the two fell in love at first sight and secretly pledged their lives together. However, Noble Concubine Chu came from a Western Dan noble family with strict family rules, so the two rarely had the opportunity to meet. They could only secretly express their feelings by borrowing this copy of 'The Peony Pavilion' from the bookstore."

"Turn to the chapter 'Awakening from a Dream' and you will find the running script annotations on the side." Murong Fei picked up the booklet that had just fallen beside him and placed his hands on his head respectfully. The fox-faced woman took the booklet without saying a word, bowed to the side of the tent, and handed it over again.

Murong Fei's voice then rang out:

"Even if you don't recognize Concubine Chu's handwriting, you must recognize Master Wen's. Master Wen's running script is unrivaled in the capital, and everyone recognizes it. Although there are some concealments in the strokes, the strength and charm are still there."

Murong Fei didn't know if it was his illusion. He just felt that the gray shadow in the gauze curtain flashed for a moment, as if he had discovered some shocking secret, and his heart was shocked.

But he quickly dismissed his thoughts. The man within the curtain was the mayor of the Shicha underground casino, a figure who wielded both black and white influences. His primary business was unknown. He'd seen it all, even himself, and things he wouldn't find surprising. The mayor's only concern was maximizing his profits.

Murong Fei Siding added with a flattering smile:

"Look at this "Drunk and Helped Home"[3], where the three places are highlighted: no one sees, beauty that makes fishes sink and geese fall, and shame flowers and the moon. The first part of the note says: Mumu enters into a state of meditation, at dusk in the old pavilion. Then it goes back to: Thousands of black hair, will the knife's edge swear? "Mumu enters into a state of meditation," doesn't that just mean the word Chu? "Silk" plus the knife's edge, doesn't that just mean the word Shao? These parallel lines are probably about Miss Chu lamenting the loneliness of being imprisoned, using black hair to represent her love. But one wonders if Wen Shao, the top scholar in the Mingjing exam and the most successful man at the time, gave up his promising career for her and went against the royal families of the two countries, thus provoking him to express his stance first."

The fox-faced woman was clearly uninformed about poetry and literature, so she simply asked, bewildered by Murong Fei's explanation, "But Wen Shao, who held the position of Shangshu for many years, has already given up on our relationship? What's the point of this?"

"Don't worry, young lady." At this moment, Murong Fei only felt that his life was saved, and his words became more natural:

"Look at the poem 'Chai Tou Feng: Reincarnation Together' [4] next to the title 'Jing Meng'. It should be the notes from the last few months. The poem is divided into two parts, the upper and lower parts. Don't be fooled by the fact that they are both written in running script, which would suggest that they were written by the same person. The upper part is graceful and the lower part is moving. It is likely that Miss Chu and Wen Shao wrote this poem together based on the title of the ci tune 'Chai Tou Feng'."

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The author has something to say: ps——

This humble poem (after some adjustments, it will be at the beginning of the next chapter) pays tribute to the Song Dynasty, which is my favorite era from beginning to end. Some of the imagery is fabricated in this book, and I will explain it later.

(Regarding “The Golden Hairpin”, in addition to the popular version by Lu Shao [4], there is actually another version by our Lu Shao’s sweetheart, the beautiful girl Tang Wan. Those who are interested can search for it.)

Note:

[1] The description of the scenery here uses the underlined sentence [3].

[2] Leaning back and smiling flatteringly, one suffers from the summer heat. —Mencius, Teng Wengong, Part 2

[3] (I am indeed quite fond of Tang Xianzu’s depiction of the Four Dreams of Lin’an, and I was fortunate to have studied them in depth during my undergraduate studies. The following only presents the excerpts from “Awakening from a Dream” that are relevant to the plot of the novel. Interested readers can search for them on their own.)

Swim around the pool

[Dan comes on stage] In a dream, I hear the chirping of orioles, and the years pass by in a blur. Standing in a small courtyard. [Tie] The incense has burned out, the embroidery thread has been discarded, and are you as sentimental this spring as you were last year?

Bu Bu Jiao

[Dan] The gentle breeze of clear air blows through the idle courtyard, swaying spring like a thread. Pause for a moment, adjusting my flower ornaments. Without the water lily in my hand, I steal a glance at you, the winding clouds tilting. [Xing Jie] How can you reveal your whole body when you enter the boudoir? [Tie] Today's outfit is well-dressed.

Drunk and Helped Home

[Dan] You think the emerald green dresses and the shimmering hairpins adorned with eight jewels are so beautiful, but you know I've always loved nature. Spring's beauty is unseen. If you don't watch out for the beauty that captivates the fishes and geese, or the birds' cries of alarm, you'll be afraid of the flowers that shame the moon and tremble with sorrow. [Tie] It's time for morning tea, please go. [Xing Jie] Look: "The gallery is half-scattered with gold dust, the pond is covered with green moss. Stepping on the grass is afraid of muddying my newly embroidered socks, and the flowers are so precious that they hurt my little golden bells." [Dan] If you haven't been to the gardens, how can you know how beautiful spring is!

Black robe

So, all the vibrant flowers are in bloom, yet all are left to the broken wells and dilapidated walls. What can be done about the beautiful scenery? Whose yard can enjoy the joy? My master and grandmother never mention such scenery again. [Chorus] Morning flies and evening rolls up, clouds and mists emerald pavilion; raindrops and wind flutter, misty and painted boats - the people behind the brocade screen really look down on this beautiful time! [Poster] All the flowers have bloomed, but it's still early for the peonies.

Good sister

[Dan] The cuckoo's cry has reddened the green hills, and the smoke from the tea blossoms is intoxicatingly soft. Oh, the fragrance of spring, though the peony is beautiful, how can it come before the return of spring! [Tie] Pairs of orioles and swallows. [Chorus] Gazing leisurely, the swallows' chirps are as clear as scissors, and the orioles' songs are melodious. [Dan] Go. [Tie] This garden is definitely not enough to be seen. [Dan] Why mention it! [Xingjie]

next to last

If it's not enough to be seen, then it would be in vain to admire all the twelve pavilions. It's better to go home and relax when the fun is over. [Act as if entering] [Post] "Open the door of my west pavilion, spread out the bed of my east pavilion. Put the purple flowers reflecting the mountain in the vase, add the water incense to the stove." Miss, you take a rest for a while, I will go to see the old lady. [Exit] [Dan sighs] "I quietly wander around the spring, try some Yichun noodles." Spring, I have to stay with you, how can I let spring go? Alas, this kind of weather is so drowsy. Where is the spring fragrance? [Act as if looking around] [Then lowers his head and mutters] Oh, the spring scenery is annoying, is it true? I often read poems and Yuefu, and I know that the ancient women were moved by spring and hated by autumn. It is indeed true. I am already 28 years old this year, and I have not met a husband who won the laurel. Suddenly I yearn for the love of spring, how can I get a guest in the palace of moon? In the past, Madam Han met Yu Lang, and Zhang Sheng encountered Cui. They wrote "The Story of Red" and "The Biography of Cui Hui." These beautiful women and talented men, first secretly arranged to meet, later married. [Long sigh] I was born into a family of officials and raised in a prestigious family. I have reached marriage age, but have not found a good match early on. My youth has truly been wasted, and time has flown by like a fleeting moment. [Tears] What a pity! My beauty is as beautiful as a flower, but my life is as fleeting as a leaf!

[4] Chai Tou Feng: Red and Soft Hands

Lu You of the Song Dynasty

Red, tender hands, yellow Teng wine. The city is full of spring colors, and the palace walls are covered with willows. The east wind is harsh, and joy is thin. A heart full of sorrow, years of separation. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Spring is the same as before, but I am thinner. Red tear marks soak through the silk gauze. Peach blossoms fall, and the pool pavilion is empty. Although the mountain oath still exists, it is difficult to entrust a letter. No, no, no!