Chapter 4 (Third Sister's given name is Hua Ying)
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Not far away, the dancer suddenly tripped over some loose stones, lost her balance, and fell backward. She staggered a few steps to regain her footing, let out a long breath, and continued climbing.
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Under a clear blue sky, a west wind blew across the earthen city walls and streets, carrying the rich aroma of camel bells and perfumes. A pure white horse with a silver saddle stood on the hillside. The young man on horseback wore a purple-brown round-necked robe with a black gauze turban, a belt with a jeweled waist knife and dagger, and tall black leather boots.
He was tall and sturdy, with an upright posture, dark skin, deep-set features, and eyebrows that reached his temples. He did not look like a Han Chinese, but judging from his demeanor, he was a pampered son of a prestigious family.
The dancer and the boy exchanged a glance, then indifferently looked away.
A bright smile appeared on the young man's dark face. He dismounted and strode towards her, his eyes bright and clear, handsome and heroic, full of youthful vigor.
Such vitality made the dancer feel dazed, and she suddenly recalled some vague memories that had settled deep in her heart: Chang'an in spring when apricot blossoms filled the branches, Qujiang with its lush reeds and continuous pavilions, the football field with flying yellow dust and galloping horses, the spacious and flat Leyouyuan with its lush green grass, and the banquets where people in their finest clothes gathered and drank wine worth ten thousand coins...
In my youth, I wore a thin spring robe, rode a horse, leaned against a slanting bridge, and was surrounded by red sleeves beckoning from all around.
Those unrestrained, extravagant, and willful years have flowed away like the mighty river, never to return.
The approaching footsteps interrupted the dancer's reverie. Chai Yong walked up to her, raised his hand, and gestured for her to release the person on her back. He said, "Your brother's injuries are quite serious. I wonder which doctor in Liucheng is skilled in treating sprains and bruises? I'll take you there."
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“I’m sorry for the offense!” Chai Yong immediately withdrew his hand, his face apologetic, and explained his purpose, “My surname is Chai, I am the third son, and my given name is Yong. I come from the capital. I met you last night, and I have no ill intentions toward you. Is your surname Lu, and are you from Huainan? Did you live in Chongrenfang in Chang’an? Did your family suffer a misfortune about four years ago? My friend Pei Jingyao, the fifth son, also lived in Chongrenfang. He is an old friend of yours, and I am accompanying him to visit you.”
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Chai Yong didn't mind and continued, "Qu Yuan's poem 'Far-off Journey' says, 'I drink the fine liquid of the flying spring, and cherish the precious brilliance of jade.' Is the name of Third Sister Huaying?"
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Several years later, when she heard her own name spoken by someone else again, she felt completely unfamiliar with it.
A sticky, wet sensation ran down Lu Huaying's neck as blood flowed from the back of the man's head, soaking the towel covering her face.
Chai Yong examined the man's wound and frowned, saying, "Your brother's injuries are serious and require immediate attention."
Lu Huaying put the man down, untied her face towel, and tightly bound it to the man's wound.
The western region was plagued by continuous warfare, and the governor issued an edict to all counties to strengthen their vigilance. When the magistrate of Liucheng County heard that war might break out, he was terrified and ordered laborers to repair and reinforce the city walls, refusing to let them go home for more than two months.
Lu Hongbi had been frail since childhood, even more pampered than his younger sister Lu Huaying. After two months of hard labor, he had become emaciated. Today, while moving a huge rock with other laborers, Lu Hongbi fell off the city wall, bleeding from a head wound. The laborers' leader, finding it troublesome, ordered his men to carry him away and throw him away.
Lu Huaying found her brother Lu Hongbi in a pile of rubble.
He lost too much blood and is unconscious; he must be taken to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible.
Lu Huaying no longer hesitated, raised her head, and cupped her hands in thanks to Chai Yong: "Thank you for your help, Young Master Chai."
"You're too kind, Third Sister." Chai Yong smiled, helped Lu Huaying lift Lu Hongbi onto the horse, pulled the reins and put them in her hands, and smiled, "Third Sister, we're both third in the family, it's fate. Pei Wu and I are of the same generation, so you can just call me Third Brother. Third Sister, please take your brother to find a doctor. I'll go find Pei Wu first, and I'll be there soon!"
He patted the horse's back, and the white horse, seemingly understanding human nature, reared up, neighed, and galloped towards the market.
Lu Huaying was taken aback.
Chai Yong's steed was plump and strong, with a glossy coat, a silver saddle and jeweled bridle, and its mane trimmed into a three-petal pattern. Such a fine and precious horse...
Yong casually handed the horse over to a disheveled dancer he had only met once, not even worried that she would sell the precious horse and run away with the money.
Chai Yong had already walked far away to the east without looking back.
A young man of chivalry, with a heart full of courage.
Lu Huaying withdrew her gaze, tightened the reins, and spurred her horse toward a secluded, winding alleyway by the roadside.
The alley was narrow and winding, and silent. The man and his horse walked deeper and deeper into the alley. When they reached a fork in the road, Lu Huaying jumped off his horse and led it to the right.
The strong aroma of spices filled the air, and the sounds of bargaining and hawking filled the air, while banners fluttered in the wind.
Lu Huaying walked towards the pharmacy across the street.
Upon seeing the white horse behind her, the waiter eagerly came forward and helped lead the horse to the back room.
There was a doctor sitting in the pharmacy, offering consultations. Lu Hongbi was covered in blood. When the doctor saw him, he frowned, waved for his assistant to carry him to the courtyard, and glanced at Lu Huaying.
Both her sister-in-law and brother are ill. Lu Huaying has been visiting the pharmacy almost every month for the past three years. Understanding the doctor's meaning, she took out the few dozen coins she had left after buying the medicine: "This is all I have. My brother's injury can't be delayed any longer. Could you please make an exception and help stop the bleeding for my brother first? I will definitely raise enough money for the medicine and bring it over later. I will never renege on my debt."
The doctor remained motionless, his gaze lingering for a moment on the beautiful mane of the white horse in the back room.
Lu Huaying said, "That's not my horse."
The doctor's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Your brother is seriously injured this time. The medical expenses must be paid on the spot, no credit! If you don't have the money, just carry him home! I'm not a bodhisattva, and this pharmacy isn't a charity!"
The pharmacy clerk and the customers looking up all looked up with mocking eyes.
Lu Huaying was used to such disdainful looks. She lowered her head, took out a small, crescent-shaped jade comb with a phoenix and lotus flower pattern from her sleeve, and handed it to the shop assistant. "This jade comb is something I brought from Chang'an. Although it is an old item, it is worth at least twenty bolts of silk."
The shop assistant presented the jade comb to the doctor, who took it and examined it carefully in the light shining into the pharmacy.
The jade comb has a warm and delicate texture, and the carving is exquisite and vivid, making it look very valuable.
The doctor, all smiles, put away the jade comb: "Hurry up and bring the injured person in!"
Lu Huaying and her colleagues carried Lu Hongbi into the house.
The doctor examined Lu Hongbi's wound, took his pulse for a moment, and said, "It was very dangerous. If it had been any later, even a god wouldn't have been able to help... Luckily, he was brought here, so there is still hope."
Lu Huaying breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that her whole body was sore and weak, and she could no longer stand up.
The doctor cut open Lu Hongbi's clothes to treat his wounds.
The shop assistant gathered all the medicine, and Lu Huaying counted out a few coins. She borrowed the stove from the pharmacy from the shop assistant, lit a fire, and started to boil the medicine. Suddenly, she felt a blackout before her eyes, and the flint slipped from her fingers.
A tall figure walked in through the door, took a few quick steps, bent down, reached out and caught the flint steadily.
"Third Sister, take a rest. I'll start the fire."
Chai Yong laughed and said, lifting the corner of his robe and tucking it into his belt. He squatted down casually, lit a flint, and blew air into the stove.
Flames suddenly erupted, instantly scorching his face. Startled, he fell backward, landing on his bottom. He frantically touched his face, his expression tense: "Are my eyebrows still there? They weren't burned off, were they? Have I become ugly?"
Lu Huaying looked at Chai Yong quietly: "I appreciate your kindness, Young Master Chai. You are very witty."
Chai Yong immediately felt embarrassed. He used to be able to use this trick to make his sullen wife laugh. He straightened his back silently and said, "I don't know where Pei Wu went. I made an appointment with him to visit Third Sister's house."
Lu Huaying looked at the medicine furnace and asked, "Is the Pei Wulang you mentioned the fifth son of Minister Pei of the Ministry of Revenue?"
"Yes, that's him!"
Chai Yong nodded with a smile. It seemed that Lu Huaying remembered Pei Jingyao. That kid would be happy to know.
Lu Huaying fell silent, not asking any further questions about Pei Jingyao. Her expression was calm and indifferent, showing no joy at the reunion with an old friend. Instead, there was a hint of worry between her brows.
Chai Yong was secretly puzzled.
Lu Hongbi's bleeding stopped, and his face gradually regained some color.
The doctor breathed a sigh of relief: "You can take him back now. He should rest and recover well."
Chai Yong rushed forward to help: "I just hired a donkey cart in the market. Your brother is so badly injured, it's safer to use a cart."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a bell rang at the door, and a burly man with a full beard pulled up in front of the pharmacy in a donkey cart.
Lu Huaying glanced at Chai Yong, thanked him, and carried Lu Hongbi out of the pharmacy, placing him on the donkey cart.
Chai Yong followed behind on his white horse.
By the time the donkey cart returned to the narrow alley south of the city, it was already dusk, and the sound of its bell echoed through the dirt lane. Suddenly, a barefoot girl emerged from a corner and stopped the cart: "Third Sister, there's a stranger standing in front of your house for a long time. He doesn't look like a good person!"
Chai Yong followed the girl's gaze, jumped off his horse, and said, "It's Pei Wu."
Wang Yu was clearly a frail patient, which made her cry. Pei Jingyao felt embarrassed and ashamed. Seeing that she had stopped crying, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "The Empress Dowager has issued an edict, ordering us to escort the scriptures and eminent monks to Xizhou to preach the Great Cloud Sutra..."
Lu Huaying lowered the curtain, found a dry, hard pancake on the stove and swallowed it, wiped the pestle clean, and sat at the door pounding the *Polygonum multiflorum*.
Pei Jingyao realized his slip of the tongue and quickly corrected himself, saying, "We are acting on His Majesty's orders..."
After exchanging a few casual words, Lu Huaying entered the earthen house. Although her face was smeared with red paint, she looked exhausted.
Pei Jingyao didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only look at Chai Yong awkwardly.
The earthen house was low and cramped, like a hole dug out and then chiseled out, divided into several rooms by cloth curtains. The house was dimly lit by some kind of lamp, and the smell was unbearable. As soon as the two entered the house, they felt dizzy from the stench and barely managed not to cover their noses.
Lu Huaying saw them out.
Lu Huaying stood in front of the earthen house, her figure thin and frail, her gaze fixed on Pei Jingyao.
Chai Yong understood her unspoken meaning and also understood why she immediately became wary after Pei Jingyao recognized her. That subconscious reaction indicated that she had been bullied by an old acquaintance.
As the weather gets colder, grain prices are also expected to rise.
Chai Yong chuckled and nudged Pei Jingyao's arm: "Jealous?"
Chai Yong turned to look at him: "What's wrong with you?"
The two rode away, and after walking about half a mile, Pei Jingyao looked back, but Lu Huaying was no longer in front of the earthen house.
She glanced at Chai Yong a few more times. "Is this young master Chai the heir of the Duke of Huo's mansion? Your mother, Princess Jinxiang, is filial, loving, gentle, and dignified. The Emperor has repeatedly praised her as a role model for the imperial family. How has your mother always been?"
She injured Zhou Wei, and Zhou Wei will not let it go.
Chai Yong rolled his eyes, not yet figuring out how to smooth things over. Wang Yu wiped away her tears and smiled, "My family has suffered misfortune and my life has been adrift. I never expected to see old friends from Chang'an in this barren land. Wu Lang and San Lang are young and full of life. How could your elders bear to let you travel thousands of miles to the Western Regions?"
Chai Yong looked around the house. The earthen house was sparsely furnished. The earthen stove and stove were made of yellow earth, but it was very clean. The floor was flat and the walls were covered with yellow mud, with a few old blankets hanging on them.
Lamp oil is not cheap.
Chai Yong stopped smiling, finished his water, looked up at Pei Jingyao, and said solemnly, "Fifth Brother, something bad has happened to the Lu family. Third Sister and her brother were first demoted to Qianzhou, and then exiled to Xizhou, five thousand miles away. You saw the scene at the banquet. She survived by suffering countless hardships. If you are still so easily startled, then don't come in, lest you say the wrong thing and upset her."
Lu Huaying carried Lu Hongbi into the house and walked straight past him.
Wang Yu came from the Wang clan, a prominent family in Shandong. As a daughter of a distinguished family, she could recite the family genealogy before she could even read. Moreover, she had been the matriarch of the Lu family and was well-versed in genealogy. She had dealings with the Chai and Pei families, which were both prominent clans.
Lu Huaying turned around and went back into the house. She filled a bowl with medicine for Wang Yu to drink, wrung out a towel to wipe the unconscious Lu Hongbi's body, and kept the water for washing clothes instead of throwing it away.
Even so, she still looked worried.
Chai Yong pulled Pei Jingyao aside to say goodbye.
In the darkness, Wang Yu opened her eyes and looked at Lu Huaying, who had almost fallen asleep as soon as she lay down, her eyes stinging with tears.
Wang Yu looked distressed and closed her eyes.
Pei Jingyao looked at Lu Huaying, who stood to the side with her head down and an indifferent expression, and his tongue got tied again, unable to speak.
"Sister-in-law, don't overthink it." Lu Huaying helped Wang Yu lie down. "Young Master Chai and the others are escorting the scriptures to Xizhou and won't stay in Liucheng for long."
A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang Yu lowered her eyes and said sadly.
Pei Jingyao stammered, "Third Sister has changed too much, and she even put on red makeup. I was afraid I was mistaken. I mentioned it to Cheng Can and the others last night, but they only saw Third Sister from afar a few times four years ago, and they all said it didn't look like her..."
The night wind made Lu Huaying's face stiff.
Pei Jingyao immediately smoothed out his words, and a sentence slipped out: "Third Sister has really changed a lot..."
Pei Jingyao's momentum immediately deflated. After stammering for a long time, he said, "Actually, I have never spoken to Third Sister... When I saw her, I, I, I didn't know where to put my hands and feet, and I couldn't say a word!"
"
Pei Jingyao seemed rooted to the spot, too afraid to enter the house. The two were still struggling when Lu Huaying came out carrying two bowls of water. She handed one bowl to the burly man driving the cart, saying "Thank you for your hard work," and handed the other bowl to Chai Yong.
These were all problems that urgently needed to be solved. She pondered them one by one, working until midnight, before finally crawling into bed in the dark.
Lu Huaying said, "I'll think of something tomorrow."
After Pei Jingyao and Chai Yong parted ways, they couldn't find Lu Huaying and didn't know where Chai Yong had gone, so they went to Lu Huaying's house to wait for her. When they saw Chai Yong and Lu Huaying return together, he clutched his chest and glared fiercely at Chai Yong.
Lu Huaying said, "Could you two gentlemen please not mention our encounter in Liucheng to anyone else? Please do the same when you return to the capital. I thank you both for your great kindness in advance."
Lu Huaying said softly, "I have a request, and I ask that you two gentlemen grant it."
Pei Jingyao was stunned.
Chai Yong frowned.
Pei Jingyao stood up straight abruptly.
Lu Huaying turned and went into the house.
Chai Yong took the water and drank a big gulp.
You can know a person's face but not their heart. In Qianzhou for one year, and Xizhou and Liucheng for three years, the old acquaintances they encountered initially sympathized with their plight and offered enthusiastic help, just like Pei Jingyao and Chai Yong, but then quickly revealed their true colors.
Chai Yong thought for a moment and said, "Third Sister must still have relatives and friends in Chang'an, Shendu, and Huainan. We can help you send a message. Your father is in Qianzhou and must be very worried about you."
Pei Jingyao was dumbfounded.
Lu Huaying helped her sister-in-law, Wang Shi, out. Wang Yu greeted Chai Yong and the other man with trembling hands, and looked at Pei Jingyao with a smile, saying, "When I last saw Wu Lang, you were only this tall. After a few years apart, you have grown into a grown man, with an extraordinary appearance, just like your father when he was young."
In the past, it was his older brother and his group who fawned over Lu Huaying. He was only thirteen years old at the time, not even up to Lu Huaying's shoulder. He was short and clumsy, and he would get tongue-tied when he saw her. How could he have the courage to get close to her?
Chai Yong only regretted that he hadn't shut him up.
"Young Master Chai, you've worked hard too."
Lu Huaying shook her head: "Young Master, you are kind and generous. Thank you, Third Sister. To be honest, our family offended some important people in the past."
As they were talking, a shout suddenly came from outside, spoken in a foreign language. Lu Huaying responded in the foreign language and went outside to talk with the person who had come.
Wang Yu froze for a moment, tears welling in her eyes, a bitter and sorrowful smile appearing on her face: "Fifth Brother, if you knew what Third Sister has gone through these past four years..."
Chai Yong pushed him into the house: "If you want to be mute, I can't help you."
"Thanks to the Crown Prince and Fifth Prince, Second Prince was able to be saved today."
Pei Jingyao shook his head, his face full of disbelief: "No... I'm not jealous of you... The former Third Sister... was arrogant and willful, looking down on everyone. How could she possibly hand water to a man pulling a cart?"
The sound of horses' hooves faded into the depths of the alley.
He nodded and said, "Don't worry, Third Sister, I will keep my mouth shut."
The two men took the gifts from the horse and carried them into the house.
She choked up and sobbed uncontrollably.
She's already very skilled; she doesn't need a light.
Wang Yu coughed, leaning against the headboard, her delicate eyebrows furrowed: "Feifei, the Pei and Chai families have decent family traditions, and Pei Wulang and Chai Shizi don't seem like bad people..."
Today, she used her only remaining valuable possession, a jade comb, to pay for her medicine. Two family members are ill, and she'll need to get more medicine in the future; the shopkeeper has already hinted that prices will rise. The land in Xizhou is barren, and many medicinal herbs are brought from the Central Plains by merchants; prices rise every year, and with the invasions of Xiliang and the Turks, they rise even faster.
Chai Yong glanced at him.
Chai Yong kicked Pei Jingyao in exasperation: "Where did your usual cleverness go? Why aren't you helping?"
Chai Yong could only roll his eyes at him and start chatting with Wang Yu.
Pei Jingyao hesitated for a moment, then said, "You...you can say it, I...I will definitely do my best!"
Another concern of Wang Yu was that Lu Hongbi was seriously injured and unable to perform hard labor, so the Lu family had to hire someone to do so.
Pei Jingyao sighed, "Then I'll just pretend I'm mute."
The climate in the western region is harsh, with hot days and sudden cold nights. At this moment, it is almost completely dark, and the night wind carries a biting chill.
Wang Yu sighed, "How is Second Uncle's injury? He can't serve, and the fire chief won't let us off easily..."
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