Chapter 40: Scenery of Shengjing, Daily Playful Antics...

In the sixteenth year of Tianchen, in Shengjing.

August 11, afternoon, Orange Courtyard.

Wen Chuan and Qin Tianshu were busy in the kitchen tidying up, preparing food and cooking.

Zhang Xuan brandished his knife in the Orange Garden courtyard, wielding it with great force as he chopped the weeds into pieces.

Qingyu remained silent. The girl frowned sincerely and asked in confusion, "You asked me to prune the vegetation... do you mean to kill all this grass?"

Zhang Xuan: "...You're eating oranges and not doing any work, and you're criticizing me?"

Qingyu: "Excuse me, who was sleeping soundly at noon, and who went to buy the groceries?"

Last night, only Qingyu slept for a while. At noon, everyone else was asleep, but Qingyu went to the street to buy various things and ingredients.

Lin Fanxiang, who was sitting in a rocking chair under the tree basking in the sun, obediently raised her hand upon hearing this.

"We were all asleep, only Qingyu went out to buy things for us."

Qingyu nodded to Lin Fanxiang with a "Very good, very good, you are absolutely right" expression, then turned to Zhang Xuan, raised an eyebrow and waved her hand—Do you have anything else to say?

Zhang Xuan had nothing to say. Zhang Xuan swung his knife and began to kill the weeds.

August 11th, night.

The group ate dinner early and then went about their own business under the tree.

Zhang Xuan practiced his swordplay in an open space, while Lin Fanxiang played the zither beside him.

(When Qingyu heard that Lin Fanxiang could play the zither, the young girl specially climbed over the wall of the Princess's mansion and carried Fanxiang's zither over.)

Wen Chuan and Qing Yu sat under the orange tree, with Qing Yu leaning against him, counting the stars in the sky one by one.

Cai Cai nestled obediently beside them, while the chicks admired the moon and listened to the zither.

Qin Tianshu said he wanted to digest his food alone after the meal, but he ended up walking into the Demon Suppression Pavilion. Unfortunately, the person he wanted to see was not there.

August 12th, morning, Orange Courtyard.

Wen Chuan caught the group of children who had come to steal oranges. Before Qin Tianshu, the owner of the courtyard, could say anything, the eldest of the children started crying and shouting at Zhang Xuan, who was trying to slip away.

"Brother Xuan, save us! Brother Xuan!"

"Brother Xuan! It's me, Xiao Feng! Don't you remember me?!"

"Brother Xuan!"

The scholar turned to look at Zhang Xuan with a cold smile, gritting his teeth, "Brother Xuan?"

Lin Fanxiang and Qingyu leaned together, watching the scene unfold. The girls' hair intertwined in the sunlight. They exchanged a glance and watched the spectacle together.

Zhang Xuan's face was contorted with anger, while Qin Tianshu squinted at him.

Under the sunlight, Wen Chuan watched this scene with a smile. He gently patted the children's heads and told them that oranges are delicious, but they shouldn't eat too many. Sneaking into other people's homes is also not allowed, and in serious cases, it can lead to jail time.

The children nodded blankly, their faces streaked with snot and tears. Qingyu couldn't help but laugh, and Lin Fanxiang, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but laugh as well.

Perhaps it was the laughter that broke the atmosphere. The sun was shining so brightly. Qin Tianshu pointed at Zhang Xuan with his fan, meaning he would settle the score with him after the child left.

Zhang Xuan touched his nose and frantically tried to wink at the group of children. Cai Cai was still beckoning him, and as a result, Zhang Xuan himself was amused by their sobbing.

Qin Tianshu went into the kitchen and brought out a large bag of oranges, which he then tossed to the group of children. The boy gently tapped each of them on the head with his fan.

"Once a year, come to my yard and pick this bag of oranges. Less is fine, but more is not allowed."

The group of children's mothers looked blank, as if they hadn't understood Qin Tianshu's words. Qingyu smiled, got up, and walked closer to them.

The girl squatted down and first stretched out her empty hand to a group of children, showing that she had nothing in her hand. Then, with a flick of her wrist, a small yellow flower instantly appeared in her palm.

Several young children made small "wow" sounds.

Qingyu smiled and said, "These are orange blossoms. The orange tree gave them to my sister, asking me to tell you all to be content—"

"I heard from the orange tree that it likes you guys coming to keep it company all these years, but you've become more and more greedy, you've almost stripped the orange tree bare—from now on, you can only pick this bag of oranges at most each year, otherwise, it will get angry."

Some children believed it, but the older one, who was in the lead, muttered with his head down, "How can a tree talk? I don't believe it..."

Qingyu wasn't angry. She patted his head, her smile gentle. "Go home, everyone. When you get home, you'll hear what the orange tree is saying to you."

Xiao Feng silently carried a large bag of oranges and went home with a group of children.

After arriving home, every child who had visited Orange Garden over the years received a pale yellow, long oval, fragrant flower, either from their pocket, on the table, or on their bed.

Those are orange blossoms; they are commonly seen in spring.

It turns out that trees really can talk.

...

In the orange grove, Zhang Xuan stammered out the truth of what happened back then—

Several years ago, at a banquet, the family of a wealthy businessman surnamed Song secretly mocked Lin Fanxiang for not having a father and for having a promiscuous mother. Lin Fanxiang was so angry that she cried when she heard this, and Zhang Xuan, who came to find her by climbing over the wall, learned about it.

After feeling upset, Lin Fanxiang didn't say anything. After all, what they said was true. Besides, she stayed in the princess's residence every day, and the outsiders couldn't really hurt her. The girl composed herself and forgot about the matter, but Zhang Xuan didn't forget.

Since the kid couldn't do it himself, he found a few kids who often played on the street and every few days they would throw stones at the Song family's wall and then run away.

Coincidentally, the Song family was indeed plagued by demonic possession during that period. With these two events combined, everyone assumed that the sound was made by a demon.

After this situation persisted for a while, Qin Tianshu arrived. The thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy quickly broke the demonic chaos, and the children no longer dared to smash the walls of the Song family.

Later, Zhang Xuan was still angry, thinking to himself, "Who is that kid? A book cultivator? Does he think he's the king of all paths?"

She's only a few years older than him, yet she's so amazing and got such a big courtyard. How come she got that?

The young master, who had been angry the whole way, eventually changed course and let the child throw small stones into the orange grove a few times. He wouldn't throw them into the yard to hurt anyone, but he would throw them at the walls, especially at night.

Qin Tianshu's problem was that he couldn't be disturbed while sleeping at night, so this method really hit a brick wall for him. Later, when he found out that they were a group of children, he got annoyed too. A group of children, and he had to find the leader and the people behind them. Forget it, it was too troublesome.

Having had enough of Shengjing, the young scholar, after being woken up again one night, simply carried his large book basket and left Shengjing.

The rest of the story is quite clear. Seeing that the yard was empty and the orange tree was so big, the children would often climb over the wall to play, as if they had found a secret base.

The wind blows through the orange leaves, and the little oranges hang swaying on the orange tree branches, watching the children play here year after year, just like now.

Qin Tianshu sat on the recliner like an old man, while Zhang Xuan busied himself serving him tea and massaging his legs—although this state lasted for less than half a quarter of an hour.

Lin Fanxiang felt helpless, but she still apologized to Qin Tianshu, realizing that it was all because of her.

Qingyu didn't think there was anything wrong with it. At least Fan Xiang was right. It was Zhang Xuan who was too naughty back then. The girl was eating oranges and laughing. Wen Chuan was next to the girl and watching her laugh. He laughed too.

August 12th, afternoon.

The five of them and the chicken went out into the streets and had a good stroll around Shengjing.

Qingyu and Fanxiang went to a clothing store and bought a lot of clothes. The girls put on the new clothes directly, and the rest were packed up and sent to Orange Courtyard.

They also visited jewelry and jade shops, buying hairpins, earrings, and tassels. They dressed each other up, bathed in warm sunshine, laughing freely and easily.

Qin Tianshu took Cai Cai to the bookstore. For some reason, the scholar was determined to make Cai Cai a cultured chicken. As a result, because he brought a chicken with him, the scholar almost couldn't enter the bookstore.

Cai Cai: "Gurgle gurgle gurgle da da da!"

Zhang Xuan then dragged Wen Chuan to the weapons shop and blacksmith shop for a "review." In Zhang Xuan's words, "A man should come here to see some real weapons!"

Wen Chuan, who chose to watch the scene of Ji Jinshufang over Zhang Xuan going to forge iron, was speechless.

In short, no one was idle.

Later, they went together to the most famous Fenghua Terrace in Shengjing. They sat together, laughing and talking. When they looked up, they saw the best dance and music in Kyushu. They even went backstage to meet the top musicians and dancers in Kyushu, including the makeup artist and the wine maker.

As dusk fell and the Feng Hua Terrace was brightly lit, the crowd laughed and chatted. Zhang Xuan, however, led the group to various food stalls in the alleys of Shengjing, where they ate many local delicacies, such as duck oil sesame cakes, assorted tofu pudding, and white cloud slices, among others.

Oh, along the way they also watched acrobatics, circus performances, listened to songs and lyrics, and even saw cockfighting. Cai Cai even went up and played with the cocks, and the chicks flapping around made them burst into laughter. It was truly a scene of splendor everywhere, a carefree youth.

They ate and strolled around until Cai Cai's legs started shaking, and then the boy felt too tired to go home.

Qin Tianshu went to the Demon Suppression Pavilion again late at night, but still found nothing.

August 13th.

They were on the ship that day.

They rented a pleasure boat and cruised along the Yunlan River from one end of Shengjing to the other.

Lin Fanxiang played the zither, and the gentle zither music flowed out. Qin Tianshu was reading a book opposite her, while Zhang Xuan was whispering to his Blood Moon Blade.

Qingyu lay half-reclined at the mouth of the painted boat, the girl extending a section of her fair wrist, her slender fingertips lightly touching the ripples, as if she were trying to scoop up the sky in the river.

She moved gracefully, raising her eyes to meet someone's gaze with a smile. Wen Chuan was sitting next to her, studying a map of Shengjing.

At night, the Yunlan River presents a different kind of beauty.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, lanterns and decorations are everywhere, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

As they passed the Cloud Bridge, they saw many talented young men and beautiful women strolling around. In the distance, the lights flickered, filling the air with orange-red hues, and the laughter of young people filled the air.

Passing by houses and pavilions, one house's light flickers faintly, while thousands of lights twinkle like stars in the sky. The lively shore is filled with the aroma of food and the laughter of people, everywhere exuding the joy of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.

Occasionally, a painted boat would brush past, and the sounds of zithers, flutes, and zhengs would drift across the sky, while the music of silk and bamboo instruments would ripple across the river—this was the so-called "heavenly music flowing with water," a tribute to Shengjing.

So beautiful.

The boys watched quietly.

This is Shengjing, the happiest home for the common people, the most prosperous place in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the proudest star of the dynasty.

...

August 14th.

The boys didn't get up until almost noon.

Zhang Xuan lazily walked out of the room, while Qin Tianshu coldly moved tables and chairs in the courtyard—they were going to make mooncakes today.

Zhang Xuan stretched, the boy yawning and squinting, still showing concern for his older brother.

"So, did you find your sweetheart last night?"

Qin Tianshu slammed the table down. "No!"

Zhang Xuan was jolted awake by the noise. He pouted and grumbled at Qin Tianshu, "If you don't have one, you don't have one, tsk tsk tsk—"

As they were talking, Wen Chuan came out of the kitchen with various ingredients.

Qingyu helped him carry it too. The girl walked gracefully, but her hands were steady as she followed Wen Chuan out.

Just then, Lin Fanxiang came over carrying a basket of tools, including molds, brushes, and other items they had bought the night before.

Qingyu looked around and smiled at them.

"Perfect timing, the filling is ready!"

Qin Tianshu moved the table, and Wen Chuan brought the jujube paste and red bean paste fillings he had made to the table. He also took the osmanthus sugar taro filling and fresh meat filling from Qing Yu. There was also some lotus seed paste and egg yolk filling in the kitchen—since we were going to make mooncakes, we should try our best to make more.

Soon, the table was filled with various fillings and wheat dough that had already risen. Wen Chuan divided the dough into small, evenly sized portions and placed them in front of the five people.

Regardless of whether it's possible or not, Zhang Xuan thought, "I'll just wrap it up and put it in the mold anyway."

He started wrapping it up with great care, but it kept leaking here and bulging there, which made Qin Tianshu laugh at him.

Zhang Xuan: "Before you laugh at me, can you at least look at yourself?"

Qin Tianshu cooked extremely slowly; at his pace, it felt like he wouldn't even have time to eat dinner.

Qin Tianshu: "Take it slow, you can't rush things."

Upon hearing this, Qingyu thought for a moment and said frankly, "Actually... cold mooncakes are also delicious."

Qin Tianshu: "..."

...

Lin Fanxiang and Qingyu huddled together, discussing which mold looked best. They were wrapping slowly, especially Qingyu, who kept choosing the strangest molds, some of which she had even insisted Wen Chuan make the night before.

For example, monkeys, tigers, deer—basically, whatever she can think of.

While Wen Chuan was busy, he quietly wrapped the mooncakes. Last Mid-Autumn Festival, he and Qing Yu made mooncakes together. This year, there were more people, it was more lively, and they were closer.

On August 14th, under the orange tree, they celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival together.

The boys made many mooncakes, with all sorts of fillings and shapes. They ate them while admiring the moon, laughing and joking happily, waiting together to step into tomorrow hand in hand.

Late at night, the boys looked up at the moon.

Zhang Xuan: "Where do you think we'll be at this time tomorrow?"

Qin Tianshu: "Wherever you want to be, that's where you'll be."

Lin Fanxiang: "The stars are beautiful tonight... It should rain tomorrow night."

Wen Chuan: "Yeah, the road is just a bit difficult to walk on."

Qingyu: "The night road is difficult to walk, whether it rains or not."

Moreover, no matter how difficult the road is, the moon will always shine on them.