Chapter 46 Knee Clothes

Xie Anfeng grabbed the teacup on the table and took a sip. The cold tea dripped down his beard onto his chainmail. "The floor heating in the imperial study is scorching hot. I'm kneeling on the blue bricks listening to the lecture. My sweat has soaked the memorials!"

He suddenly grabbed the breastplate on his chest and said, "Even when the Dongling spy put a knife to Wuqi's neck, I was not so cowardly!"

Outside the window came the sound of armored guards changing shifts. Madam Xie suddenly grabbed her husband's sleeve and said, "But didn't the Luo family accept the apology? The pair of emerald unicorns."

"Do you think Luo Dinglian is a pushover?" Xie Anfeng shook her hand off, his knuckles crackling. "Today, he was saying something like 'the fate of young men and women is determined by heaven' in front of the emperor, and then he turned around and asked for permission to inspect the Northern Frontier camp!" He suddenly picked up his horsewhip and lashed it against the beam. "Everyone in the court thinks I'm ungrateful!"

The tip of the whip swept away the dust accumulated on the beams. Mrs. Xie looked at the flying dust and suddenly remembered the snowy night seventeen years ago.

At that time, Luo Dinglian came to congratulate Zhao Han, who had just turned one month old. The two men drank and talked about marrying their children into in-laws.

"Master," she suddenly knelt down among the scattered map fragments, "Wuqi knelt in the ancestral hall that day and said that Miss Yueli saved his life."

"Bullshit!" Xie Anfeng kicked over the copper charcoal basin, and sparks flew onto the Persian carpet. "I've investigated it clearly. That night he secretly dispatched the patrol battalion to look for someone, and Liu Yueli clearly took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the carriage!" He pulled off the wine bag at his waist and drank it in one gulp. "A girl from the Luo family can see through the Dongling spies at the age of ten. How could she..."

The words stopped abruptly. When Mrs. Xie looked up, she saw her husband staring at the Longquan sword hanging on the wall—the one Luo Dinglian had given him for his birthday the previous year. The pearls adorning the tassel dazzled, making her eyes ache.

The sound of the night watchman came through the wind and snow, and Xie Anfeng suddenly grabbed his cloak and walked out.

Madam Xie rushed over and grabbed the corner of his cloak: "Are you still going to the camp so late?"

"Go to the training ground." Xie Anfeng pried her fingers apart, his voice hoarse as if he had swallowed charcoal. "I taught this wolf cub, I will break his legs myself!"

As her black iron combat boots crushed the icicles under the eaves, Madam Xie suddenly shouted at the back: "Didn't you escape military service for me when you were fourteen?" After shouting this, she slumped down in the mess on the ground, looking at the bloody marks on her palms caused by the cloak buckle, and suddenly remembered that her son had grabbed the general seal when he was one year old.

In the cold winter, wisps of green smoke rose from the carved copper stove in the main hall of the general's mansion.

Xie Anfeng slammed his palm on the rosewood table, causing the teacups to clink.

"Drowning a child is like killing him. This evil creature's character is twisted to the core! If he doesn't repent, his life will be ruined!"

"Go tell Xie Wuqi that if he can't bring himself to admit his mistake, he should get out and start his own business!"

"I, Xie Anfeng, don't need a son. There are plenty of people to inherit the General's family business!"

Mrs. Xie's fingers, clinging to the back of the Peony Chair, suddenly tightened, their knuckles turning pale. She watched her husband's back as he left, his sleeves swung aside, until the hem of his dark python-patterned robe disappeared behind the hanging flower gate. Only then did she feel her knees weaken, and she stumbled and fell to the cold blue brick floor.

"Madam, be careful!" Nanny Chao hurried forward to support her.

"Mammy..." Madam Xie clutched the old servant's sleeve, her voice trembling, "Master, are you going to abandon Wuqi? Are you going to pass the title to that bitch Zhang's son?"

She straightened up suddenly, her gold and jade hairpins swaying wildly at her temples: "Absolutely not!"

Nanny Chao was about to offer some comfort when Madam Xie's eyes suddenly darkened. "Last time we went to the Jingxi Villa, that bastard was telling all sorts of lies about coming back from the dead. He even made up a lie that the Master would die in battle two years from now..." She shuddered. "He's so mad now, I'm afraid he's really going to ruin his future! By the way, how's the thing I asked you to do going on?"

"Madam, think twice. Miss Wu Yu is the master's flesh and blood after all."

"Bone flesh?" Madam Xie sneered, "Something that crawled out of Mrs. Zhang's belly is worthy of being called Xie family's flesh and blood?"

The north wind from the courtyard blew the remaining snow against the window lattice. Madam Xie gathered her fox fur coat tightly around her. "Do as I say and make sure the evidence is solid. Also, prepare another five hundred taels of silver. I'll go to the villa myself tomorrow."

Outside the Chuihua Gate, General Xie’s roar was still ringing in my ears.

Madam Xie gritted her teeth: She would never allow her illegitimate son to get his hands on the title, and she would never let the story of the rift between father and son spread out and become a laughing stock in the capital.

…

As dusk fell, the vermilion gate of the Imperial College creaked open.

Xie Wuchen walked through the snow, wrapped in a half-worn raven-blue cloak, his dark hair speckled with fine snowflakes. He had deliberately stayed an extra night in prison to avoid the awkwardness of meeting his brother, Xie Wuqi.

"Second brother!" Xie Wuyu ran into the yard holding up her rabbit fur-trimmed skirt, silver bells jingling in her hair.

Aunt Zhang stood in the corridor, lifting the cotton curtain with her bare hands: "Come in and warm up, Aunt Zhang made some shepherd's purse dumplings for you."

The charcoal fire in the warm room was burning brightly, and three plates of snacks were placed on the eight-immortals table: plum blossom pastries with the aroma of honey, emerald dumpling wrappers as thin as paper, and a few crooked rabbit steamed buns.

"I made this!" Xie Wuyu picked up the bun as if presenting a treasure, "My aunt taught me to put red beans on my ears."

Xie Wuchen took a bite of the rabbit ear, the red bean paste mixed with jujube paste melting on his tongue. He looked into his sister's sparkling eyes and suddenly remembered the gossip among his classmates at the Imperial College this morning: "I heard that Master Xie is staying at his other courtyard, and General Xie was so angry that he threw the imperially bestowed jade ruyi!"

"Chen'er, try this." Aunt Zhang took a piece of preserved pork with preserved vegetables and said, "Your sister has been squatting in the kitchen watching the fire before dawn."

Xie Wuchen swallowed the hot soup, feeling his internal organs warm. He suddenly reached out and rubbed his sister's head. "There's a new doctor of painting at the Imperial College, and he's especially good at detailed flower and bird paintings. When spring comes, I'll take you to get a painting of peonies, okay?"

"Really?" Xie Wuyu excitedly went to rummage through her dressing box, "I have a piece of pine soot ink that I'd like to give to you, sir.

The wind and snow outside the window are getting stronger, but the warm room is filled with the warmth of spring.

Xie Wuchen lowered his eyes to hide the worry in his eyes - when he entered the mansion just now, he clearly saw Nanny Chao taking two unfamiliar servants to the west wing!

I hope I'm not here to cause them any trouble!

Born as a concubine, in such a huge general's mansion, he asked for nothing but a peaceful life!

As the sun was setting, Aunt Zhang saw that Xie Wuchen had eaten half a bowl of extra glutinous rice porridge today, and the smile lines at the corners of her eyes deepened.

She stood up, straightened her lilac jacket, and went to the small kitchen to add more porridge.

The carved wooden door creaked shut, and the room suddenly became quiet.

Xie Wuyu's fingers tightened and loosened around the embroidered handkerchief, and he couldn't help but ask softly, "Second brother is in the Imperial College...is there anyone bullying you?"

"Silly girl." Xie Wuchen placed the celadon teacup on the rosewood table, and the bamboo leaf pattern embroidered with silver thread on his cuffs swayed slightly. "Brother is going there to study, not to fight." He reached out and tucked the loose hair on his sister's temples behind her ears, and the agarwood beads on his wrist exuded a warm fragrance.

Xie Wuyu paused as she twisted the handkerchief, biting her lower lip lightly with her pearly teeth. "Then... is Young Master Luo still giving Brother a hard time?"

"Luo Jince?" Xie Wuchen raised his eyebrows slightly. Seeing his sister's ears suddenly turn red, he explained with a smile, "It was just a sparring match during the competition last month. He came to apologize the next day. After all, he is the son of a military family, so he behaves with integrity."

Before he finished speaking, Aunt Zhang came in with a gilded lacquer tray with steaming freshly cooked chicken porridge.

Xie Wu Yu hurriedly stood up and took the jade bowl, and did not let go even though his fingertips were burned red.

As dusk deepened, Xie Wuchen packed his school box and prepared to return to school.

Aunt Zhang straightened the collar of his white New Year shirt, her fingertips lingering on the cloud embroidery: "Go and pay your respects to your father before you leave. It's cold at night..." She choked before she finished her words and hurriedly pressed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

"My son, please don't worry about that." Xie Wuchen bowed, the jade hairpin in his hair reflecting the candlelight. "Auntie, please take care of yourself too. Don't keep kneeling in the Buddhist temple until the third watch."

As they walked down the corridor, Aunt Zhang suddenly remembered something and smiled, covering her lips with her hands, saying, "Yu'er has prepared a birthday gift for you. It's been hidden in the west wing for three days. Go and take a look."

When Xie Wuchen pushed open the carved wooden door, he saw his sister hurriedly stuffing something into the embroidery basket.

In the sunset light shining through the red gauze window, the girl's rosy cheeks are three times more rosy than the crabapple blossoms on the desk.

"What good stuff is it?" He deliberately moved closer to take a look, which startled Xie Wu Yu so much that he jumped up, and the indigo bundle in his arms fell to the ground with a "thump".

The two sets of knee-length coats were neatly folded. The navy blue one was embroidered with pine and crane patterns, while the light blue one was decorated with silver cloud patterns.

The stitches at the edges are crooked, which shows that it is the work of a beginner.

"The weather is getting colder." Xie Wu Yu's voice was as soft as a mosquito's. "Brother always studies on the stone steps, so he should protect his knees." She lowered her head and stared at the pearls on her embroidered green shoes, and suddenly took out a black bundle from behind the treasure chest.

Xie Wuchen paused as he was untying the laces: "What is this?"

"For, for Young Master Luo!" Xie Wuyu was so anxious that she was incoherent. "Last time he hurt my brother, I, I wanted to..." Her knuckles turned white as she clutched her sleeves. "My brother has no one to take care of him in the Imperial College. If he could make more friends..."

Before he could finish his words, a light laugh came from above his head.

Xie Wuchen carefully put the knee-length coat into the bookcase and rubbed his sister's head: "Yu'er is so thoughtful, brother will send it to her tomorrow."

When the sound of evening drums came from afar, Xie Wuchen stepped onto the bluestone road with two bags in his pockets.

Behind him, inside the vermilion courtyard gate, Xie Wu Yu leaned against the crabapple tree, looking at the lotus pattern he had secretly embroidered on the black bundle, his cheeks flushed redder than the sunset in the sky.

Naturally, she didn't dare to say that her fingertips had been pricked by silver needles countless times while embroidering the pair of crane-patterned knee-length gowns.

Not to mention that every time the Luo family's carriage passed by the wall of Xie's mansion, I would always stick to the diamond-shaped window to listen to the sound of horse hooves coming from near and far, as well as Luo Jince's high-spirited laughter!

The green-curtained carriage bumped along the official road. Xie Wuchen stared at the indigo knee-length gown in his hand, his fingertips stroking the fine stitches of the quilted lining.

This was sewn by Xie Wu Yu after three nights of hard work. There was a dark brown blood stain on the crooked needle hole - it must have been because his sister pricked her hand while secretly working on it.

The carriage curtains were suddenly lifted by the north wind, letting in a few snowflakes. He remembered how, when he left the Imperial College this morning, Sun Honglei had deliberately thrown his inkstone at his feet: "Are students from the Imperial College even worthy of using pine soot ink?" Luo Jince leaned against the porch pillar with his arms folded. His dark robe accentuated his stern features, making him look even more stern than his elder brother, Xie Wuqi.

"Sir, we're just ahead at Zhuque Street." The driver whipped and shouted.

Xie Wuchen suddenly woke up, and the edge of his knee-length shirt was wrinkled in his palm.

He suddenly remembered the family dinner at the Luo Mansion half a month ago, when his sister held up a lacquer box with a lotus pattern and said she wanted to give him a gift.

When Luo Jince took it, the jade ring knocked against the lid of the box with a "ding" sound, which startled Xie Wuyu so much that the tips of his ears turned red.

"Impossible..." He shook out another pair of moon-white knee-length shirt and looked at it carefully in the snow light coming through the car window.

On the dark pattern of the indigo knee-length gown's lining, the word "Yu" the size of a grain of rice was embroidered, but the stitches were neat - completely different from the crooked seams.

Oh no!

The carriage shaft made a harsh sound as it rolled over the bluestone slabs. Xie Wuchen suddenly lifted the curtain and said, "Turn around! Go back home!"

At three quarters past ten, the lanterns in Caifang Garden swayed in the wind and snow.

Xie Wuyu ran out in her embroidered shoes, her lilac cloak half slipping off her side: "Brother, why are you back again..."

"Get a book." Xie Wuchen avoided his sister's outstretched hand, and the silver fox fur on the collar of his cloak was covered with snow grains.

He stared at the red plum blossom under the corridor - when Luo Jince came to appreciate the plum blossoms last year, his sister specially picked the most beautiful branch and put it in a vase.

Aunt Zhang lifted the flower-sprinkled curtains of the eastern warm room, her armor grazing across the Annotated Analects of Confucius on the kang table. "Is this the copy Chen'er is looking for?" When Xie Wuyu was persuaded by the nanny to rest, her expression suddenly darkened. "What happened?"

The indigo knee-length gown landed on the lotus-shaped screen with a "pa" sound. Xie Wuchen pointed at the dark pattern, his Adam's apple rolling, "Sister wants to give it to Luo Jince."

Before she finished speaking, Aunt Zhang had already staggered and held onto the Duobao Pavilion, and the Ru kiln celadon glaze bottle on the pavilion made a crisp sound.

"This..." Her nail-stained fingertips traced the embroidered characters, and Aunt Zhang suddenly tore open Xie Wuchen's moon-white knee-length gown. The dark patterns on the indigo lining of the gown, in contrast, looked like a venomous snake spitting out its tongue.

Outside the window, the north wind blew snowflakes against the window paper, and the charcoal brazier emitted a few sparks.

"mother!"

"Do you want Yu'er to be drowned?" Aunt Zhang gripped her son's wrist tightly, the jeweled armor digging into his flesh. "What kind of family background is the Luo family? What are our origins? That Luo Jince is the eldest grandson!"

Xie Wuchen looked at his pale mother and suddenly remembered Luo Zhaohan's coming-of-age ceremony last month. His sister stared at the golden phoenix hairpin in the Luo family's hair and said enviously, "Sister Luo, this hairpin really suits her."

At that time, Luo Jince was standing at the foot of the Chuihua Gate, with his hair tied up in a jade crown and a seven-treasure sachet adorned on a belt around his waist.

Before Xie Wuchen could respond, Aunt Zhang felt her legs become weak and she could hardly stand.

Seeing this, Xie Wuchen hurriedly stepped forward, extending his hand to support her, tears glistening in his eyes, "Auntie, there must be something fishy going on. My sister has always been naive, I'm afraid she's been deceived—"

After all, Aunt Zhang was a woman who could stand on her own two feet. Although her previous shock had made her momentarily at a loss, she quickly regained her composure when faced with the facts.

She knew very well that anger and worry alone could not solve the problem at hand!

Aunt Zhang took a deep breath, slowly stood up straight, and said in a heavy tone: "Chen'er, you should go back to the Imperial College now and don't let anyone know anything. Aunt Zhang will take care of the affairs of the mansion."

Xie Wuchen's fingers, clutching the hem of his clothes, turned pale. He was worried about his sister being severely punished, and also worried that his aunt would be too tired to handle it alone. He hesitated and said, "How about I take a leave tomorrow... I want to accompany you to see my sister."

Looking at this child whom she had cherished since childhood, Aunt Zhang's eyes were filled with bitterness. She shook her head, the pearl hairpin on her temples swaying slightly: "It's Aunt Zhang's fault."

"No!" Xie Wuchen took half a step forward anxiously.

A rough palm gently patted his shoulder, and Aunt Zhang's voice was filled with rare fatigue: "Aunt's mistake was to protect Yu'er too well, letting her know the dangers of the world. Some falls must be experienced by oneself before you know the pain."

Xie Wuchen's throat tightened when he heard this.