Chapter 31
They went out together.
Wei Mingsu raised his head.
Above the temple was a gloomy, dark sky, with thin light sinking into the mountains, and a frigid northwest wind blowing through the empty courtyard, carrying a biting chill.
After dark, the wind became even more biting.
It's going to snow soon.
From behind the wall came the sound of Tongjin talking to the woman in the courtyard. Wei Mingsu listened quietly. After a while, the sound stopped, and footsteps turned back into the courtyard. Tongjin returned and said, "Ah Lang, she has gone back."
Wei Mingsu stood still, remained silent for a moment, and then stepped out.
When I pushed open the courtyard gate again, there was no one there.
If it were Lu Huaying four years ago, she would never have left just because of a few perfunctory words from Tong Jin. When she wanted to see him, she would rush over with her whip in hand, and no one could stop her.
But all of that was fake.
Wei Mingsu returned to his courtyard. His attendants, unaware of his busy schedule, found the house completely dark, with no lights on.
Tong Jin forgot to bring a flint, so he took a candle and went to the neighboring yard.
Do you have any wine?
Suddenly, Wei Mingsu's hoarse voice came from behind.
Tong Jin was taken aback. Apart from social engagements, Wei Mingsu rarely drank alcohol, and he and Afu never prepared any.
He turned around.
Wei Mingsu sat by the window, his slender figure shrouded in darkness. A gust of wind blew in through the crack, causing the turban strap on his shoulder to flutter slightly. He gazed at the desolate night, his expression cold and stern, his dark eyes unfathomable.
Tong Jin thought he had misheard and asked, "Does Ah Lang want wine?"
Wei Mingsu nodded.
He nodded in agreement and walked out, still puzzled.
Wei Mingsu opened the window a little, letting the cold wind blow on his face and sweep away the chaotic emotions in his heart.
Footsteps sounded under the window, and two figures slowly approached.
A voice said, "Did you hear that? They all say that four years ago, when Governor Wei was in Yangzhou, he was helped by the Xu family, but later he repaid kindness with enmity and cut off the heads of the Xu family members."
Another voice let out a scornful laugh: "No poison, no manly man. How could someone of Governor Wei's background become a high-ranking official without resorting to such methods?"
The first person to speak sighed: "You're right, the Chief Clerk wasn't ruthless enough, that's why he was arrested by Governor Wei."
"How can you compare the Chief Clerk to Governor Wei?" the disdainful voice exclaimed, "Governor Wei became a high-ranking official, but he was also a disloyal and unjust official, a dog official whose infamy will last for ten thousand years! The Chief Clerk refused to betray his benefactor's son; he is a hero. Everyone in the world knows that the Chief Clerk was arrested because of his loyalty and righteousness!"
The speaker paused, then lowered his voice: "Grandma is so old... Just you wait and see, in a few years, these sycophantic opportunists will not have a good end!"
With a snap, Tong Jin, holding a candle in his left hand and a pot of wine in his right, gently kicked open the courtyard gate.
The two figures who were whispering were startled and turned to walk towards the backyard.
They entered the room together, lit the candles, placed them on the table, and took out wine and a wine bowl: "Ah Lang, we only have wine."
He put down the wine and went outside, then brought in two plates of mutton to accompany the wine.
Wei Mingsu turned around, but instead of touching the mutton, he picked up the wine pot, poured a bowl of wine, and took a big gulp.
The wine from Xizhou is a tribute wine, with a mellow and rich flavor.
He drank it down sip after sip, but found the wine to be slightly bitter.
Wei Mingsu lowered his eyes, looking at the bright red wine in the bowl, and then took another sip.
Lu Huaying loves alcohol and has a naturally high alcohol tolerance; she has almost never been drunk.
She was a young lady from the Duke's mansion, and drank the best...
The wine served in the tribute wine was not served in ordinary cups; sometimes it was a translucent, emerald-green jade cup, and sometimes it was a gold cup.
Wang Yu once gave him a pot of wine, and pointing to the wine cups on the table, she smiled and said, "Only expensive jade cups and gold cups are qualified to hold wine."
Later, Wang Yu's words reached Lu Huaying's ears. Holding a jug of wine, she winked at Wei Mingsu and said with a smile, "I'm drinking the wine, not the wine cup."
If it's good wine, I won't even need a glass; I can just drink it with my hands!
The candlelight flickered, and only half a pot of wine remained.
Wei Mingsu was a little drunk, the effects of the alcohol lingering in his mind. He put down his bowl and didn't drink any more.
"Wei Mingsu!"
A bright laugh came from above.
Wei Mingsu looked up, only to see the flickering candlelight.
He lowered his eyes, and there was a silk cloth spread out on the table in front of him. He held a pen in his hand, his sleeves rolled up, and he wrote Buddhist scriptures on the silk. Writing on silk was not easy; the strokes had to be precise, and the pressure had to be both substantial and not too heavy. He wrote with concentration, his forehead covered in sweat.
A gentle breeze blows, and sunlight shines into the quiet courtyard, casting swaying tree shadows onto the silk.
"Bang."
A pink lotus petal, glistening with dew, drifted gently down from the sky and landed on the silk.
Wei Mingsu was stunned and raised his eyes.
A beautiful scene unfolded before my eyes.
More lotus petals drifted down, brushing against his face and landing on the table, the silk, and his clothes.
He looked up.
The sunlight was so bright that he couldn't adjust to the light and couldn't open his eyes.
Laughter came from the wall. The young woman who was perched on the wall blew the lotus flower in her hand off. Seeing that the petals had fallen on him, she smiled and said, "Wei Mu Tou, I picked these lotus flowers for you."
She had just drunk some wine, and her face was flushed with a rosy glow. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, her radiant smile more dazzling than the sunlight that illuminated the valley.
Wei Mingsu lowered his head and brushed the petals off his shoulder.
The petals fell to the ground and rolled into the dust.
The young woman frowned, glared at Wei Mingsu, let go of his hand, and jumped off the wall.
"Bang!"
The half-open window swayed precariously in the cold wind, then slammed shut with a loud bang.
Wei Mingsu woke up with a start and looked up.
The candlelight flickered, dimly lit the room, and on the table were two untouched plates of mutton, half a pot of wine, and a wine bowl.
He rubbed his temples, turned around, and tried to close the window.
The courtyard gate was open, and a figure carrying a lantern walked in from outside. When he reached the gate, he whispered, "My lord, Lu San Niang is here again."
Wei Mingsu gripped the window, the wind blowing against his hands, a biting chill in the air.
It's snowing.
A few snowflakes landed on the back of his hand.
It's very cold outside.
He was silent for a moment, then opened the window a crack and said, "Please let her in."
...
Lu Huaying walked into the courtyard, shivering from the cold.
It wasn't dark yet when she came out, and it wasn't this cold; she forgot to wear more layers.
He invited her inside, saying, "It's warm inside."
Lu Huaying entered the house.
The room was dimly lit by a single candle on the table. As she approached, she saw a slender figure standing with his back to her, hands clasped behind his back, by the window.
Lu Huaying's gaze fell on the half-burnt candle.
Wei Mingsu remains as frugal as ever.
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Candles were expensive, and ordinary people couldn't afford them. He used to use an oil lamp. One night, he was reading very intently when she quietly moved the oil lamp away. He didn't notice, but then he noticed the light was getting dimmer and dimmer. He picked up a bamboo stick and started adjusting the wick, but after a while, he realized the oil lamp was gone.
Lu Huaying smiled slightly, various thoughts flashing through her mind. She opened her mouth, her throat tightened, and she suddenly coughed.
The air was somewhat stuffy.
Wei Mingsu didn't turn around to look at Lu Huaying. After her coughing stopped, he asked, "What do you want?"
He still had his back to her, his tone indifferent.
Lu Huaying lowered her eyes.
“Governor Wei, I know you don’t want to see me. I promised I would never appear in front of you again… but there are some things I want to tell you in person.”
She smiled.
"I dare not come to see you, but after everything that has happened, I am afraid that I will not have such an opportunity again."
She was going to be sent back to Liucheng, and she might never see Wei Mingsu again for the rest of her life, so she had to muster up the courage to see him.
Looking out the window, Wei Mingsu said, "I have already forgotten what happened four years ago."
His tone was even more indifferent than before.
In short, sever all ties with her.
He didn't need her apology or explanation.
Lu Huaying's face was burning hot.
The atmosphere grew colder, and snowflakes drifted down outside the window.
Lu Huaying composed herself, raised her eyes, and looked at Wei Mingsu's retreating figure: "It happened four years later... Governor Wei, thank you."
Upon arriving in Xizhou, she was exonerated, the real culprit was arrested, the chief clerk confessed, and there was no conflict or chaos. The situation in Xizhou was stable, seemingly peaceful. However, these were just the tip of the iceberg.
Why didn't Wei Mingsu take Tongjin and Afu to the Protectorate General's Office? Why did he arrange for them to hide in the pagoda beforehand?
He didn't know if the standoff would escalate into a life-or-death struggle.
How many deadly schemes lurked beneath the calm surface, only he knew.
He alone bore all this pressure.
Wei Mingsu said calmly, "If anyone else were falsely accused and imprisoned, I would do the same."
Lu Huaying smiled: "I know that you will help either Wang Sanniang or Pei Sanniang."
The two fell silent again.
The candlelight flickered.
Wei Mingsu said, "Then please go back."
Lu Huaying didn't leave. "Prefect Wei, I still owe you an apology..."
"No."
Wei Mingsu interrupted her.
“Prefect Wei, I think it’s necessary.” Lu Huaying took a step forward. “That night, I shouldn’t have begged you to spare my family, and I shouldn’t have doubted you when I saw you come in.”
Wei Mingsu remained silent.
Lu Huaying said softly, "Prefect Wei, you must have heard about the changes in the Lu family... My father's retainers and subordinates betrayed him, and all his relatives and friends took advantage of his misfortune. People's hearts are unpredictable... So when I saw you four years later, I thought you had changed too and wanted to take revenge on me..."
Wei Mingsu never did anything to hurt her. Even after she abandoned him four years ago, he simply left silently.
Four years later, when they met again, he still wouldn't hurt her.
Lu Huaying raised her head and looked at Wei Mingsu's back: "Prefect Wei, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."
The sound of the wind outside the window quieted down.
Wei Mingsu's figure was the same as when she entered the house.
"Please leave."
He listened to her finish speaking and then said calmly.
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