Chapter 18 The Green Boy
Ji Mingxiu once said that Guanyan and Qiushui were very different. Women's academies in the Sui Dynasty were not official schools; they were all private institutions. Like Qiushui, all women's academies, large and small, were founded by local gentry or retired dignitaries. They had few students but many rules, and the master made all decisions, big and small. Guanyan Academy was the only exception. It was funded half by the imperial court, thanks to a decree from the Empress Dowager, who ruled from behind the scenes of the previous dynasty. It was built jointly by the retired Imperial College chief priests and chief clerks. Even so, it could be considered an official school, earning it the nickname "the Imperial College for Daughters." Guanyan Academy was divided into two sessions, each with two rooms, ten students, based on the age and time of enrollment. Ji Mingxiu used a few letters to smooth things over and got Yanru, a newcomer with limited academic knowledge, into the first session and second room this year. As for Zheng Sirui, she had already been enrolled for a year and had been promoted to the second session. After another six months of study, she would be eligible to take the Spring Examination.
Just as Si Rui couldn't understand Yanru's obsession with finding a wealthy husband, Yanru couldn't understand why Si Rui was so obsessed with studying. Her devotion wasn't typical, forgetting food and sleep; it was more like someone struggling in a torrent grasping at a small piece of driftwood, hoping to escape danger. Back at Qiushui Academy, it was understandable; Lu Tianwen, after all, loved to force everyone to attend classes, and Zheng Sirui's shrewdness in the classics pleased the teacher. But Guanyan Academy was a relaxed place. With as many as six teachers, none of them would stand over a student, urging them to recite, or glare at them, demanding their opinions. The classmates were easy to get along with, though they occasionally looked down on others, but their words and actions were gentle, generous, and courteous. In addition, there was a long distance between Jinling and the capital, and no one could verify Yanru's true family background. She restrained some of her previous habits, spent the silver notes promised to her by Ji Mingxiu, wore the small jewelry Ji Mingxiu had given her before, wore the newly embroidered clothes by Pei Lan, and occasionally revealed a word or two about her close relationship with the world-famous painter, and quickly integrated into the circle of young ladies in the capital.
In short, in the capital, Zheng Sirui was eager to study, and You Yanru was very comfortable in socializing.
Of course, Yanru's academic performance remained the same, as she remained in a daze, longing for the end of class before class, and wondering if she could skip the next day. Sitting at her desk, her imagination wandered, speculating about the family backgrounds of all her classmates. While dreaming of becoming a noblewoman in the capital, she also hoped to maintain her connection with her husband, Xiu, and continue their relationship for a while longer. After all, Ji Mingxiu had sworn that his devotion to Yanru was evident to all, and that their separation was forced upon him by his wife and family. Yanru couldn't truly hate him, and secretly retained a certain amount of love for him.
"Since Xiulang can sleep with Qi Fengning, yet have an affair with me, why can't I snag a rich husband and quietly continue my relationship with Xiulang?" Yanru, confident that her charm rivaled that of Xia Ji during the Spring and Autumn Period and Zhao Ji during the Qin Dynasty, had heard that Ji Mingxiu was still in Jinling. She tried various methods, sending letters through others, but to no avail. Gradually, frustration fermented into anger, and Yanru firmly believed that the vicious old woman, Qi Fengning, was behind all this.
Yanru spent her days in idleness and despair. Zheng Sirui, struggling to balance her studies and household expenses, saw how bored she was and asked her to run an errand. She arrived at the entrance of the second dormitory, carrying a few books and saying, "Yanru, I have to go out after school. Could you please help me get to the Imperial College?"
Yanru was puzzled: "Going out? Where are you going?"
"I was assigned to copy Buddhist scriptures for a few ladies, and it's due today. I also happened to be returning the books I borrowed a few days ago. I don't want to keep them waiting in vain," Zheng Sirui pleaded. "Yanru, can you help me? He's a student at the Imperial College. He's at the side gate of the Imperial College near our academy, not far away."
Imperial College? Huh? There are a lot of men there. Yanru agreed readily: "Okay."
"Great! I'll bring you some snacks when I get back!" Zheng Sirui cheered. "Go through the main gate of the academy, walk a little way to the right, and when you see a fork in the road, turn right again, and you'll reach the side gate of the Imperial College. There are some trees at the gate, and he'll be standing there. Call Liu Xiang, and if he responds, you've found the right person. Hey, I originally thought that since I borrowed something from someone else, I should go find him myself when I return the book, but I didn't expect to bother you."
Yanru said, "It's not a big deal. Liu Xiang, right?"
Liu Xiang, Liu Xiang, Liu Xiang...
Yanru, fearing she'd forgotten, muttered the name as she walked. The bluestone brick path leading to her destination was lined with maple trees. It was early autumn, and the maple leaves were as brilliant as fire, like layers of morning clouds and evening glow stacked in the sky. Atop the red-pillared, green-tiled archway, the three characters "Guozijian" (Imperial Academy) painted in gold on a blue background loomed, creating a dreamlike illusion from afar. Thousands of people came and went, but a single figure, dark green, stood alone beneath the tree by the threshold. Approaching, she saw a tall figure draped in a loose green robe, his slender waist accentuated by a dark-colored belt. He tilted his head back, leaning sideways. The light filtered through the maple leaves, casting shadows. In the semi-darkness, though his features were indistinct, the lines and angles were more distinct. "Liu Xiang!" Yanru called out. The man turned to face her, frowning slightly, and looked at her curiously. The light falls perfectly on his forehead, his eyebrows like mountains, his eyes like lakes, and the shadows cast by his eyelashes resemble willow branches along the Jinling River. In the bleak autumn wind, which brings both harvest and withering, his appearance inexplicably makes one feel the vitality of spring.
Yanru was startled. If Zheng Sirui's features were picturesque, then Liu Xiang's face was like a sculpture of white jade. Having spent so much time with Ji Mingxiu, that middle-aged man in his forties, Yanru hadn't paid attention to a man her own age, especially one so handsome, with bright eyes and thin brows. She couldn't help but ask softly, "Is this Liu Xiang, Liu Jiansheng?"
The other party said: "It is me, may I ask the young lady..."
"I'm a friend of Miss Zheng from Guanyan Academy." Yanru handed over the book in her arms. "Sometimes she can't come, so I come in her place."
"Oh!" Liu Xiang took the book, a little embarrassed. "If I had known earlier, I would have gone to Guanyan. I'm so sorry to bother you to go. I originally wanted to lend her a few books, they are quite heavy. Since you are here, it would be inappropriate to ask you to take them back. Please tell Si Rui for me, I will send them to her tomorrow."
In ordinary interactions, outsiders would not call a girl by her name, but would usually call her "girl" along with her surname. Yanru heard him calling her "Si Rui" and "Si Rui", and she felt that the relationship between the two was unusual. Coincidentally, a carriage slowly came out of the Imperial College, and stopped suddenly three feet away from the memorial archway. The coachman jumped off the carriage, walked over with his back half lowered, and interrupted the conversation between You Liu and the other two: "Miss You, my girl just sent clothes to her brother, and is now returning to the academy. Our girl asked me to ask Miss You if she would like to take our carriage and go back together?"
A corner of the brocade blue curtain with a subtle Ruyi pattern lifted slightly, revealing a small face that greeted Yanru. It was Wen Yue, a classmate from the first and second quarters. If someone had a car, they'd be foolish not to take it. Yanru gave Wen Yue a look of happy agreement and turned to Liu Xiang, saying, "It's okay. I'll take my classmate's car back. Liu, please give me the book so you don't have to go all the way."
Liu Xiang smiled and nodded: "Thank you, young lady."
After helping Zheng Sirui check out and return books, Yanru jumped into the Wen family's carriage as Liu Xiang silently watched. Before she could even settle down, Wen Yue impatiently asked, "Yanru, you actually know Liu Xiang."
Yanru was surprised: "Do you know him too?"
"Yes, I recognize him, but he doesn't recognize me. He's in the Imperial College, in the same department as my brother. He's handsome and said to be a righteous man, but his family background is ordinary. It seems his father was just a seventh-rank official in Sichuan. My brother said he's a master at polo and cuju, and he's also good at playing music. There's no musical instrument in this world that he can't play, except for those that don't exist. He's truly a miserable young man."
Yanru exclaimed, "Huh? A miserable young man? Why are you saying that about him? Is his wife seeing someone else?"
"Haha, Yanru, you're so funny. He's the same age as us, and we're not even engaged... 'Green and youthful' is a compliment... I was praising his elegant demeanor. Let me change the word to 'Lang! Yan! Unique! Exquisite!' Yes, Lang! Yan! Unique, you know what that means, right?" Wen Yue felt a little embarrassed. Suddenly, she thought of something and slapped her thigh. "Yanru, you're looking for him for Senior Sister Zheng, right? Senior Sister Zheng seems to be very close to him. They often meet to borrow books and stuff. I've seen him several times."
"Oh? Is that so?" Yanru threw the book in her arms to her feet, silently complaining about Zheng Sirui's hypocrisy: Humph, before there was Lu Zhiling, and now there is Liu Xiang. How come this woman can always associate with handsome men, and likes to hide them, afraid that I will snatch them away? She keeps saying that she is focused on the imperial examinations, but when she meets a conspicuous man, she pounces on him quickly. More than a year ago, she secretly laughed at Zheng Sirui for being toyed with and ruthlessly abandoned by Lu Zhiling. Today, Ji Mingxiu, the old man who has served her so hard for a year, ignores her, while Zheng Sirui came to the capital to study early, and can even flirt with young and beautiful men in the Imperial College. Humph! I am so angry!
Yanru felt extremely awkward and sullen, angry at her friend. As the sun set and the sky grew darker, Zheng Sirui came looking for her with some snacks. Yanru tossed the stack of books heavily into Zheng Sirui's arms, "It was like this before, and it's still like this now."
The temper came on so quickly like a summer thunderstorm, and Zheng Sirui was a little confused: "What's wrong?"
Yanru said, "When I had a lover before, I even asked him to buy me food. Now I have a lover again, and without even asking him to send things to your lover, Senior Sister Zheng, are you treating me like a toy?"
"Ah—" Zheng Sirui sensed a misunderstanding and quickly explained, "You're overthinking it. If I were really in love with him, I would have just asked him to deliver the book. Why would I say sorry and ask you to make a trip for me?"
That made sense. Hearing that Zheng Sirui hadn't found a good husband before her, Yanru breathed a sigh of relief: "Then what's your relationship with him? Others say you two are a good couple."
Zheng Sirui was puzzled: "Why must there be a relationship? There are thousands of emotions in the world, why must the relationship between men and women be that of men and women? I am good friends with him, just like I am good friends with you. Hey, let me tell you, about three months ago, three months ago, he and I went to work in a bookstore to supplement our family income. Since we were both outsiders who came to the capital to study, we were of similar age and could talk to each other. Guanyan was close to the Imperial College, so we would walk together for a while. As time went by, our relationship became better. This Liu Xiang has a warm heart. Knowing that I couldn't keep up with my studies in the capital, she occasionally gave me guidance and helped me borrow some books to read. Don't listen to other people's nonsense. We are all good sisters, so there is no need for all that nonsense."
Hearing the words "subsidize the household expenses," Yanru felt even more relieved. She'd thought he was just a poor boy, but she'd thought he was a wealthy and powerful young man. If that was the case, then even if he had something going on with Zheng Sirui, it didn't seem like a big deal. She patted Zheng Sirui's shoulder, detached from the situation. "I'm worried you'll run into someone like Lu Zhiling again, and that's why I'm doing this. Since you said you're just good sisters, then it's fine."
Zheng Sirui waved her hands frantically: "No, after that incident, I've already discovered that if you want to live a healthy and long life, you have to eat more porridge and have fewer men."
Hahahaha! For a moment, the two of them were in a state of laughter, and the air was filled with a happy atmosphere. Zheng Sirui was tired of laughing, and took out a pink thing from her pocket: "By the way, when I came back just now, the doorman asked me to pass it to you. Take a look, what is this?"
Yanru looked out. Inside the post was an envelope made of peach blossom paper, the scent of peach blossoms tinged with rouge. She brushed the crumbs off her hands, opened it, and scanned the words on the letter. Her hands trembled, her tongue felt sore, her heart tightened, and she felt a sudden, violent beating. A wave of dizziness washed over her.
There were only three lines of text on the post:
"Yanru,
Tomorrow after school, I will invite you to Yue Restaurant. See you there.
"Xiu Lang"
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