0144 The Golden Winged Envoy (Nine)

"What, what, what is this..." Chen Yu's face was pale, as if he had rolled in the snow. The once handsome young man now looked disheveled and helpless.

One of them asked curiously, “Why does my lord look so troubled? We just mentioned it. Before, when Xi Yunzhu was invited to join her entourage, she set a couplet as the theme, which is the one above: ‘At dawn, I gaze at the moon over Luzhou, the moon hides behind the western mountains, the morning dew chills the green ant wine.’ Many of us wrote matching lines, but none of them caught Miss Yunzhu’s eye. Only Liang Dalang’s line, ‘I wish to form a wish-fulfilling vine, each bead carrying my longing,’ was appreciated…”

"This is impossible! There's absolutely no way this could be Liang Dalang's poem, it's clearly, clearly..."

The attention of everyone in the pavilion was immediately drawn to this, and someone chimed in: "What is it clearly? This young master Liang is a Jinshi from the Gengzi year, and he is now working in the Hanlin Academy. How could he not be able to compose a single poem?"

Chen Yu suddenly turned his face and stared intently at the man: "I don't care how talented he is or how many poems he has written, but this one is absolutely not his work! Because, because this poem was written by my own hand, every single word is true!"

The Kuai Zai Pavilion was immediately thrown into an uproar. Although some people questioned Liang Zhiyan, more people clamored for Chen Yu to produce evidence to prove that the poem was written by him. Otherwise, how could they believe that a Hanlin official would plagiarize the poem of an unknown bookstore scribe?

After a period of commotion, a man stepped forward from the crowd. He was dressed in a round-necked robe of crimson silk, with auspicious birds flying on the lapel and a sash hanging at his waist. One glance revealed him to be incomparably noble.

It was none other than Li Qiao, the Prince of Wuwei.

Li Qiao raised his hand, his fan ribs unfurling, and smiled slightly, "Since I am here today, I will naturally bear witness for you. If you have any grievances, feel free to speak them out."

"..."

The sky over Chang'an was clear and bright, a vast expanse of blue stretching as far as the eye could see. A gentle breeze swept by, thinning the already thin clouds even further.

Gui Niang hadn't seen such a bright and clear day in a long time. Today, seeing it by chance made her feel cheerful. She walked briskly to Kuai Zai Pavilion in Pingkang Ward, bypassed the bustling main pavilion, and walked through a small alley with a boudoir-like path to the back door.

"Guiniang, here she is!" Shixiang had been waiting for her by the door for a long time. When she saw her finally arrive with flowers, she immediately smiled and quickly took her hand. "Come, come upstairs with me! Miss Yunzhu has already started the banquet. She said that when you arrive, you should also go upstairs for a drink!"

Gui Niang was a little flustered, a blush rising on her fair and delicate face: "Miss Yunzhu invited me up? I'm afraid that's not appropriate. I have no connection with Miss Yunzhu, I've only given her flowers a few times, how could I possibly accept her invitation to drink?"

Shi Xiang smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Today is Miss Yunzhu's best day. All guests are welcome, so let's wish her a smooth journey ahead. You should also have a drink!"

Upon hearing this, Gui Niang no longer hesitated and followed Shi Xiang upstairs.

As soon as the door was opened, the laughter inside stopped, and several women sitting around the sandalwood table turned around. These women were all young ladies from the pavilion, each with a beautiful face and a genuine smile on their cheeks.

Xi Yunzhu remained as radiant as the moon, only her complexion seemed even better, and her whole body appeared to glow.

"You must be Gui Niang, right? Thank you for bringing me flowers!"

Xi Yunzhu stood up to accept the flowers, instructed Shixiang to present the ingots for buying the flowers, and then personally poured a cup of Yuxie wine and handed it to Gui Niang: "I haven't had much fun in the past few years at Kuai Zai Pavilion, but when the flowers you carefully nurtured are delivered, I always feel that there is still some spring in the world. This cup of wine is my way of thanking you for selling the flowers."

Gui Niang drank the wine heartily: "Then Gui Niang wishes Miss Yun Zhu a bright future, and that wherever she goes, she will always be accompanied by flowers!"

After drinking, Gui Niang did not wish to linger and immediately asked Xi Yunzhu for her leave. Xi Yunzhu nodded and asked Shi Xiang to see her out.

As I walked to the door, I heard whispers behind me again.

"Sister Xi has such a decisive mind. She said she would go to the government to reinstate her status, and she really did. Strangely enough, the madam actually made you redeem yourself and let you go obediently. If this happened to me, I would find it laughable..."

Xi Yunzhu turned to look at her and smiled, "When I first made the contract with the madam, it was because I was young and ignorant. I thought that with the contract, everything would be easy, but I never thought about whether others would recognize it or not."

"Later, as I grew older, I realized how foolish and naive I had been, actually believing a brothel madam who sold women, thinking that I would be trapped in this for the rest of my life. But I never expected that the princes and noble ladies in the palace would still remember us and would grant us the grace of redemption and restoration of our status."

"It is enough that they have this little bit of compassion for the weak. I am now just taking the lead, which can be considered as complying with the imperial decree. As for what will happen in the future, that is not something I can worry about."

The listener's eyes also revealed longing: "That's good, that's wonderful. It would be great to be able to tear a hole in this pitch-black mess. In the future, I..."

Gui Niang had already closed the door, and the rest of what she said was unclear. She hadn't received much education and knew nothing about profound political policies, but the cheerful mood of those around her easily influenced her.

Some things are done out of courage, and some things are done out of daring to be the first.

But she doesn't need to know all that; simply taking good care of her flowers is a pleasant thing in itself.

Gui Niang came down from upstairs and was about to leave the pavilion along the same route when she inadvertently heard a commotion in front of the pavilion.

What happened over at the front building?

Shi Xiang shook her head: "I don't know either. How about... we go and take a look together?"

Gui Niang had nothing to do and was really curious, so she went along with them.

Inside the Kuai Zai Pavilion, Li Qiao, behaving like a gentleman who would stand up for others, said gently to Chen Yu, "If you have evidence to prove that Liang Zhiyan plagiarized you, I will certainly stand up for you."

After speaking, he gestured to his attendants, indicating that they should prepare pen and ink for Chen Yu.

Chen Yu regained some color in his face and said firmly, "There's no need for paper and pen. Bring this young master Liang here, and I'll confront him personally!"

The pavilion was in an uproar. Some busybodies immediately sent their servants to the Liang family to invite people, while others chased after them with plenty of tea, wine, and fruit, all looking forward to watching a good show.

Unnoticed by anyone, Gui Niang's face grew paler and paler as soon as she entered the pavilion. Her once bright and beautiful crescent-shaped eyes were now devoid of any smile, instead fixed intently on Li Qiao, as if she had witnessed something unbelievable.

Seeing that Gui Niang's expression changed several times, Shi Xiang couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Gui Niang, what's wrong? You look so pale."

"Who is that person, the one standing in the hall, dressed in purple and holding a bone fan?"

Shi Xiang glanced over and laughed, "That's Prince Li Qiao of Wuwei, a regular at our Kuai Zai Pavilion!"

Prince of Wuwei.

A frequent visitor to romantic escapades.

For a fleeting moment, the world seemed to twist and turn. Gui Niang's vision went white, her ears rang, and her feet felt as soft as cotton. She almost stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Miss Gui, Miss Gui! What's wrong? You look so pale!" Shi Xiang quickly helped her up and asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Gui Niang said, leaning on her hand to steady herself, forcing a weak smile. "It's just that I can't watch this spectacle with you any longer."

After saying that, she could no longer hold on and turned to leave quickly.

Shi Xiang was puzzled by her sudden change of mood. Watching her departing figure, she raised her voice and said, "Miss Yunzhu will be leaving Chang'an via the Wei River in two days. If Gui Niang wishes, she may come to see her off!"

When she came to her senses, Gui Niang was already standing in the bustling street.

The spring sun shone brightly in the sky, and the wind rustled softly. When it blew on her face, it evoked a bittersweet feeling, a mixture of hot and cold. Her nose tingled, and tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes.

After leaving Pingkangfang, Gui Niang's chaotic and pounding heart finally calmed down a little. She wiped the cold tears on her cheeks with her sleeve. When she arrived at her residence in Xuanyangfang, as soon as she pushed open the door, a neighbor poked his head out from the door next to hers.

"Gui Niang is back? It's still early. Do you need me to come and help you take care of the flowers we'll be selling in the summer?"

Gui Niang raised her red and moist eyes and gently exhaled: "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm afraid I won't be able to plant the flowers this summer."

She walked into the courtyard, slowly lay down on the cold stone table, and stared blankly at the sky outside the courtyard wall. The sun was gradually setting, and sparse stars appeared. There were occasional chirping cicadas and barking dogs.

After an unknown amount of time, her gaze returned to focus, as if she had made up her mind, and she turned and went back into her room.

On the morning of the third day, the Wei River ferry was shrouded in thick fog. The reddish sun was bathed in the white fog, as if it had been licked by the river water, giving off a hazy light.

Xi Yunzhu boarded the boat with Shixiang and bid farewell to the girls who were seeing her off.

Just as he turned to leave, a clear voice suddenly emerged from the white fog: "Miss Yunzhu!"

Xi Yunzhu craned her neck to look and saw a graceful young woman carrying a bag on her shoulder, coming through the clouds and mist.

Before she could ask any further questions, Gui Niang approached and looked up, saying, "Miss Yunzhu, please take me with you. If you don't mind keeping me by your side, I can tend to your flowers and plants; if you can't keep me, then you can leave me wherever you like once the boat docks!"

Xi Yunzhu asked in surprise, "You want to come with me?"

"Yes, I stayed in Chang'an before because I thought I had a lover here. But now I've woken up from that dream and realized it was all wishful thinking on my part. So naturally I must stay away from this place of trouble and never continue to be someone's amusement!"

"But you still have businesses in Chang'an, are you going to abandon them all?" Xi Yunzhu frowned.

“Those who abandon me cannot be kept. That house has already been sold to a broker and is no longer related to me. As for my flowers…” Gui Niang gritted her teeth, “My flowers are so beautiful, they can grow anywhere, from north to south, across the vast land!”