Chapter 87 The Butterfly Lock "Second Young Master, I'm waiting for you to come and marry me."...
It was already late.
When Xue Chan returned to the temple, the sound of drums could be heard from afar.
She waited for a while, but Xue Chenghuai still hadn't returned. Fearing he might be dragged out drinking, she had someone prepare a hangover remedy in advance.
Chu Tao helped her remove her hairpins and hair ornaments, Yun Sheng gently combed her half-loose hair, and Xue Chan opened the box.
Inside was a wooden lock, which he pondered.
She muttered to herself, "Why would you give me a child's toy?"
However, the lock was made of twenty-four wooden blocks, making it somewhat difficult to unlock.
Chu Tao put the jade hairpin back into the box, shook her head and said, "Why give such an incomprehensible gift?"
"Who knows, there might be treasure inside," Yun Sheng joked, smoothing his hair.
The lock was turned several times in Xue Chan's hand. After a moment's thought, she picked at the top wooden bar, gently twisted it, and pulled it out. Then she gently pried open the wooden bar below it, and the wooden bars in all directions began to move as well.
After Xue Chan had dismantled most of the wooden lock, there was nothing difficult to dismantle it, leaving only a few wooden strips.
She looked inside; it was hollow, not like it could hold any "treasures".
When only the last two pieces remained, a small scroll of notes fell out.
Xue Chan unfolded the scroll, revealing tiny characters that read, "Who sends a letter from the clouds?"
"Hmm?" Just as she was wondering, there was a sudden knock on the window to her right.
The three looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yun Sheng, being bolder, held his breath and stepped forward, suddenly opening the window.
"Huh?"
It's neither human nor ghost.
A sparrow with blue feathers and a long green tail was perched on the windowsill, tilting its head and looking at the three of them.
As soon as the window opened, it fluttered to the dressing table, jumped up at Xue Chan, and began to speak.
"Receive email"
Xue Chan noticed that a bamboo tube, less than half a finger's width, was tied to its leg, so she removed the tube and carefully opened it.
Inside was also a roll of small paper, still with tiny, fly-by-night writing on it.
"Banana leaves outside the window, lamplight inside"
Xue Chan frowned slightly. This Jixiang Temple does not grow banana trees. What did he mean by this?
Chu Tao broke the pastries into small pieces and fed them to the sparrow, then she and Yun Sheng teased it together.
The bronze mirror reflected Xue Chan's head as she pondered. After a while, she raised her head, already having found her answer.
"Where are you going, young lady?"
The two were engrossed in playing with the sparrow when they saw Xue Chan get up and walk outside. They quickly grabbed their lanterns and followed her, reminding Yingyue to take care of the sparrow as they left.
The three left the Zen temple and walked west to a mountain corridor that led to the Guanyin Pavilion.
Xue Chan slowed down and stopped halfway down the wall. There was a banana-shaped latticed window on the wall.
Yun Sheng held up a lantern and shone it on the window, revealing a love knot on the latticed window, with a small note still hanging on it.
Xue Chan took it down and saw that it read "Green Fields and Nestled Ponds".
Chu Tao and Yun Sheng leaned over to take a look, and both frowned.
What does this mean?
Xue Chan pondered this as well, but the four characters seemed very familiar; she must have seen them somewhere before.
But where is it?
She lowered her head, her gaze shifting slightly as she noticed the lotus pattern on her sleeve.
"So this is it."
Chu Tao and Yun Sheng only heard Xue Chan murmur once, and then saw her take two steps down the mountain corridor. They immediately picked up their lanterns and followed her down.
We descended the mountain corridor, passed through a short bamboo alley, and stopped in front of a stone wall.
The group looked up and saw the Guanyin Pavilion inside the wall.
Stepping up the stone steps and into the courtyard, I saw a lamp lit in the corner of the east wall, illuminating four large blue and red characters on the wall.
"Green Fields and Ponds"
Following the words down, there was a lotus pond. Summer was over, and only a few withered brown lotus leaves remained, with a few red fish leaping out of the slightly shimmering water.
Xue Chan walked to the lotus pond, searching for the next hidden "treasure." After searching for a while, they heard Chu Tao's voice.
"Here it is!"
A slender lacquer box lies horizontally in the hand of a small Buddha statue beside the lotus pond, with a delicate butterfly lock hanging on its body.
She twisted the butterfly to one side, revealing a keyhole.
Without the key, the lock was difficult to open, and the group fiddled with it for a long time but still couldn't open it.
Xue Chan loosened the lock somewhat angrily, sat down directly by the lotus pond, and couldn't help but complain.
"This guy, he's always tinkering with these things."
The harder it was, the more she refused to give up. So, after sitting quietly for a moment, she began to ponder the things from before.
She first held the silver incense ball and smelled it; the fragrance was very sweet. The scent was familiar, like the one Jiang Ce wore at the banquet in the Chengbi Palace.
Back then, I even asked Jiang Ce for incense just to tease him.
Xue Chan lowered her eyes and absentmindedly weighed the sachet in her hand. Then she held the sachet to her ear and shook it, listening to the faint metallic clinking sound inside.
She immediately told Yun Sheng to take off his sachet, pour out the incense inside, and then pour the incense from the silver sachet into the sachet.
Then, a small key was poured out.
When the butterfly lock was opened, there lay an excellent pen inside, but there was only one pen.
Xue Chan examined the pen again and again, but it was a jade pen, without any patterns or paintings, extremely simple and clean. As for the wooden box, it was even more unadorned and without any inlays or paintings.
There's no pen, no box, so there's only...
Because it was dark at night and the butterfly lock was too small to see clearly, Xue Chan gently touched it with her hand. As she touched it, she drew the pattern on the butterfly wings in her mind.
The fine, intricate lines gradually became clear. After removing the unnecessary lines, the remaining lines, though seemingly chaotic, were orderly and formed a character.
"Gui"
Xue Chan immediately stood up and looked around the courtyard walls of Guanyin Pavilion. As she looked, she gently smelled the air and followed the scent to the wall behind the pavilion.
Outside, there stands an old osmanthus tree, reaching as high as the eaves, its branches lush and verdant like an umbrella. Half of it is inside the wall, and half is outside.
There was a small, closed door there.
Xue Chan went up and heard a laughing voice coming from behind the door.
Do you like all those things?
Xue Chan asked, "Is it fun?"
Jiang Ce continued to smile, but his voice softened slightly.
"It's fun if you can solve it, and not fun if you can't."
Xue Chan almost laughed at his answer, so she asked him again, "Aren't you afraid I won't be able to solve it by making it so complicated?"
"No, you won't." His gentle voice became more firm. "You will definitely be able to solve it, and you will definitely find this place."
"What if I get angry and refuse to come?"
Jiang Ce replied, "But you still came, didn't you?"
Xue Chan did not respond immediately.
A gentle evening breeze stirred, and delicate osmanthus blossoms fell, filling the ground with their fragrance.
Xue Chan reached out, trying to push the door open. But she only managed a slight push before the door was blocked and wouldn't budge. Then she heard Jiang Ce anxiously trying to stop her: "Don't open it, don't open it!"
"You came to see me, didn't you? Why won't you see me?"
"No, no, it's not that I don't want to see you," Jiang Ce quickly explained.
She asked, puzzled, "Why is that?"
The person behind the door cleared their throat twice before replying, "They said... that it's bad luck to meet before the wedding."
Xue Chan couldn't help but laugh and said, "I didn't expect you to believe in these things?"
Jiang Ce said, "I don't really believe in these things, but the wedding has been prepared for a long time, and I don't want to have any regrets about this matter."
Their wedding could not tolerate the slightest flaw.
He wanted them to be fulfilled, he wanted Xue Chan to feel that things were wonderful.
"Weren't you busy? Why are you back?"
"I went back this morning, and I'm leaving again tomorrow."
Xue Chan released her grip on the door knocker, leaned back, and spoke softly.
“If that’s the case, you could have written to me. Why bother going up the mountain at night, in the cold wind and heavy dew, and bringing up these uncertain things?”
Jiang Ce also turned his back to the door and spoke to her.
"I haven't seen you for many days and I miss you very much. I originally wanted to write a letter, but as soon as I was about to pick up the pen, I couldn't write a single word. You have no idea how many sheets of paper I've wasted, but not a single one is satisfactory."
Xue Chan wanted to say something, but she was stopped by his rambling before she could even open her mouth.
"I originally intended to endure it until the wedding. But then I counted on my fingers, from the 35th to the 30th. I realized there was still a month left, so I couldn't resist coming to see you. But then, I remembered what they said, and that's when I came up with this plan."
"I...actually, I lied just now. I wasn't so sure if you would come. The only thing I was sure of was that I had to wait here."
"Before you came, I sat on these stone steps watching the moon, counting the clouds that drifted by. As I counted, you arrived. At that moment, I knew that all the waiting had been worthwhile."
His voice had been lowering as he spoke, but now it was extremely light and cheerful.
"Look, there isn't a single cloud now, and the moon is so bright. It means that even the clouds and the moon are blessing us."
Xue Chan looked up and saw a full, milky-yellow moon hanging from the eaves of the Guanyin Pavilion.
On such a chilly autumn night, the moon in the sky is round and bright, the osmanthus flowers are fragrant, and his voice is tender and affectionate.
Two hearts, separated by a door, are close together.
The dew made the long night somewhat damp, and a thin layer of mist appeared in her eyes as well.
"Yes, it will definitely be a success."
"Xue Chan," Jiang Ce called her again.
Xue Chan responded, "What's wrong?"
She listened to him exhale, and after a moment, she said, "Our marriage was originally a gift, not our original intention. Even... even our first meeting was like that, we had countless disagreements, many arguments, and stumbled along the way to where we are now. You asked me before, and I answered, but even so, I still want to say it now. I love you very much, and I truly want to be your wife, to grow old together, to be inseparable in life and death. This marriage is my own choice, something I couldn't ask for more."
"But you..."
He seemed to hesitate, and didn't ask any further questions for a long time.
Perhaps it was trepidation, perhaps anticipation, perhaps unease.
"I...I've come here today to ask you again. Are you...are you willing to accept this marriage, to embrace my feelings, and to allow me to come to your side and spend the rest of my life with you?"
Xue Chan smiled slightly.
"Don't you think it's a bit too late for you to ask me now? Whether I'm willing or not, is there any room for negotiation?"
Jiang Ce's voice lowered further: "I...I know it's pointless to ask these questions now, and it makes me seem like I'm pushing my luck. But I really am a little greedy..."
It's already quite an achievement to have come this far; it's even the best she could have done.
However, he loved her so much that he was always greedy, wanting to get closer and closer.
Get more, and get even more.
Okay, he admits that he was greedy and that he was pushing his luck.
Jiang Ce lowered his head, his eyes slightly stinging.
Osmanthus blossoms drifted down onto Xue Chan.
Because she wanted to.
She wants to be together, so let's be together, there's no other reason.
Because she wanted to.
Xue Chan's voice drifted through the crack and gently settled in his heart.
"Second Young Master, I'm waiting for you to come and marry me."
Jiang Ce suddenly smiled. Dewdrops fell from the branches and leaves into his eyes, then spilled out and slid down his cheeks to the corners of his mouth.
He tasted it; it was sweet.
Jiang Ce looked at the moon, which had already reached the mountain peak, and said, "It's late autumn, and the dew is heavy. We're in the mountains. You should go back soon, or you'll get sick."
Xue Chan said, "Okay."
After saying that, she turned back, letting Yun Sheng Chu Tao lead her back with a lantern.
Although she couldn't see Jiang Ce, Xue Chan knew he had been following her all the way, so she felt extremely at ease on the journey.
Until they entered the Zen temple.
When he saw that two of the lights in the house had gone out, Jiang Ce landed on the wall from the eaves.
He hopped and skipped across the narrow wall like a sparrow. His movements were light and agile, and the melody flowed from his lips, slowly dissipating into the damp mist.
So it got wet and became very, very heavy.
Jiang Ce climbed over the walls, landed, and stood up, pausing briefly.
Two steps outside the moon gate stood a clean-faced, handsome man with a fine beard. He leaned on a cane with one hand and held a lamp and wine in the other, silently watching the person climbing down the wall.
Jiang Ce took two steps back and looked around.
I can't move left, right, forward, or backward.
He suppressed the urge to run away, thinking that even if he did run, the person in front of him would probably be furious.
If he gets angry, Xue Chan will definitely get angry, and he'll be the one who suffers.
So Jiang Ce pressed his back against the wall, averted his gaze, and, steeling himself, called out in a weak voice.
Father-in-law
Xue Chenghuai seemed to be venting his anger from his chest, his hand gripping the cane tightening and loosening several times.
He closed his eyes, took a breath, and said coldly, "My daughter is not yet married, so you are calling her that too early."
Jiang Ce, being very obedient, swallowed hard and then changed his address to "Lord Xue".
He saw Xue Chenghuai walking up to him on his cane, the lantern illuminating his tightly pursed lips, and he felt even more uneasy.
The world was silent, as if in death.
Jiang Ce dared not speak, nor even look at him, and could only force himself to withstand those sharp gazes.
Xue Chenghuai's cold and indifferent voice fell into his ears.
"I have just acquired a jar of fine wine tonight, and I have also happened to meet Jiang Erlang late at night. Would you do me the honor of having a couple of drinks with me?"
Jiang Ce could only suppress his nervousness and answer with a forced smile.
"What are you saying? It is my honor to invite a junior like myself to drink."
Xue Chenghuai laughed, but his voice remained cold.
"So Lord Jiang still has regard for me, otherwise why would he come so late at night?"
Jiang Ce finally understood where Xue Chan's sarcastic and strange attitude came from.
He bowed respectfully, trembling with fear, saying, "This junior has been impolite!"
Xue Chenghuai sneered and turned around, leaning on his cane.
Let's go.
Jiang Ce could only obediently follow him and leave.
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A note from the author:
Note:
① "Who sends a letter from the clouds?" - Li Qingzhao, Song Dynasty, "A Spray of Plum Blossoms: The Fragrance of Red Lotus Fades, the Jade Mat is Cool in Autumn"
②“Banana leaves outside the window, lamplight inside” – Song Dynasty, Wan Qi Yong, “Longing for You in the Rain”
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