Chapter 11
Qiuniang brewed tea, fanning herself and glancing at Yechen in between moments. The teapot gurgled, and she grasped her handkerchief, lifting it and pouring the new tea into the cup. After it cooled, she passed it to Gu Luoyan, who was concentrating with her eyes closed.
"Miss, drink something to warm yourself up." Qiu Niang served tea and looked at the sky again: "I think it's time to marry someone."
Gu Luoyan took it and took a sip. Outside the half-open porch, the wind swayed the shadows of the trees, and the white moonlight was quiet. She said lightly, "I think you can see Guilun every ninth day of the lunar month."
"Now that you mention it, it's true." Qiu Niang's expression softened. "That girl loved the moon the most when she was little."
Gu Luoyan stood up, put down the teacup, and took Qiu Niang's hand. That hand, covered with traces of time and calloused with calluses, was a mother's hand. "Let's go," she said. "The cat is waiting for us."
There were no lights on in the room, and this was a secluded place. The vase on the dark table was empty, and a thin layer of dust covered the tea sets. There were also some cobwebs in the corners, indicating that it had not been cleaned for a long time.
Qiu Niang supported Gu Luoyan as they walked up the dilapidated wooden steps into the courtyard. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and the chirping of night insects was hidden among the green grass. Looking up, they saw a bright moon.
Qiu Niang let go of Gu Luoyan's hand and ran to the low wall alone. She put her hand on the crack in the wall and called softly, "Cat, cat."
The usual solemnity and harshness turned into hope in her eyes. Qiu Niang's expression softened, and she lost the daunting majesty in the Red Pavilion. Under the moonlight, only her silver hair was hidden in the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"Cat, cat..." Her eyes were filled with tears.
White moonlight streamed across the mountains and seas beyond the wall, pouring in. A white cat had appeared on the wall, a peachwood sword in its mouth. It sat quietly on the wall, watching Qiu Niang.
"Good boy cat, you are my mother's treasure." Qiu Niang stepped back, tears in her eyes, and looked to Gu Luoyan who was standing behind her.
The white cat jumped down from the wall, ran through the weeds in the hall, ran to Gu Luoyan's feet, and put down the wooden sword.
Gu Luoyan wanted to lean over and touch her, but she stopped in the end. She looked at the white cat and saw it meow, then move closer and try to rub Gu Luoyan's legs.
The white moonlight silently gazed at the deserted courtyard. The cat's body rubbed against the skirt and became vague. However, it seemed to be greedy for this intimate action, repeating it several times. Even though it could not touch, it squinted its eyes in satisfaction.
Unable to bear watching any longer, Gu Luoyan pulled out a piece of broken jade stained with bustard feathers from her sleeve. She squatted down in front of the white cat, staring at it intently. "Cat, I'm counting on you."
Its ears trembled, and it leaned forward, holding the jade piece in its mouth just as it had when it came. This was the cat's only connection to the world.
The dragon pattern carved on the jade piece was covered by the bustard feathers. The white cat turned around and walked through the weeds to the wall.
Qiu Niang stood there, watching the cat running towards her. The wind shook the weeds, but the moonlight could not illuminate the cat's shadow.
She smiled through her tears and said to the cat, "My dear, see you next month."
"Mother misses you."
——
The moment he finished speaking, the white cat penetrated Qiu Niang's body, passed through the wall, and disappeared into the moonlight.
·
In the capital of Ming Dynasty, the night watchman struck the gong to announce the third watch.
Bai Lang sat on the roof of the top floor of the escort agency tower, drunk but still awake.
He still looked unkempt, his hair and beard untidy. The escort agent at the escort agency advised him that girls would be scared of him in such a horrible state, let alone have anyone willing to propose marriage to him.
If you take good care of it, you will definitely be able to find a good family.
Shiro thought, feeling amused, and tilted his head back to take another sip of his drink.
Come to think of it, it seems like it's been a long time since anyone has seen his full appearance beneath his unkempt beard and messy hair.
He looked at the moon in the sky, and his eyes suddenly felt sore. He simply lay down on the rubble, crossed his legs, and raised his glass to the moon.
“I raise my cup to the bright moon, and my shadow and I become three.”[1]
Then he poured more wine, spilling a lot of it. He suddenly sneered, "I'm just a warrior. How can I have such a refined interest?"
I remember how I answered at that time. The girl recited this sentence and we drank together facing the moon.
He said, "I just want to be with my shadow."
Bai Lang looked at the crescent moon and laughed out loud. His laughter rose and fell until he burst into laughter.
It seemed as if the liveliness of laughter could cover up the loneliness of the night, even for a moment.
There was once someone who was angry with him because of his drinking, but now that no one is in charge, he gets drunk every night.
It was as if she had returned to that time again, when she taught Bai Lang to invite the moon to drink, saying that this was an elegant thing.
Why was I so stupid back then? I was so focused on seeing her smile that I couldn't even remember the shape of the moon. But now, her face is engraved in my heart. It appears as soon as I close my eyes and I can never forget it.
Dizzy, drunk.
Bai Lang looked at the moon again, opened his eyes wide, and saw that it had become a bubble, like waves on the water, and the sky had become a river.
Longing grew between his brows, stirring bitterness in his eyes. He recalled the joke the young escort had told him. This was best; the day you left, bury my heart with you.
Suddenly there was a sound beside me.
Bai Lang opened his eyes in a daze, and the last thing he saw was the shadow of a white cat.
A piece of broken jade was placed on the tile before his eyes. Bai Lang leaped to his feet, shaking his head to sober up, thinking, "It's finally here."
When I picked up the jade piece and looked at it carefully, the sticky bustard feathers on it were eye-catching.
Dragon-patterned jade, bustard feathers...
Bai Lang was shocked. The night was cold, and it made him feel a chill.
He held up the jade piece and examined it in the moonlight. Who wouldn't know the double-headed dragon pattern worn by the current crown prince? This was a broken jade with a bustard feather inserted into it. The jade represented the crown prince, and the bustard resembled a housewife.
I'm afraid the prince has already died in the Hong Kong Coliseum. The person who did this is obvious to everyone.
Bai Lang quickly descended from the rooftop and entered the escort agency's tower. He summoned the woodblock carvers that night and opened a papermaking workshop. He said to the woodblock carver, "Only print seven words: The madam will be chopped to death, and the East Palace will perish."
"Don't hesitate, hurry up!"
At cockcrow on the second day, the streets of Mingjing were covered in countless words. A shocking rumor broke out, sending the city into a state of panic.
Even the vendors selling morning cakes hurried home with their loads on their shoulders after hearing this.
Within half a day, the uproar had spread throughout the city. The chief eunuch knelt hastily before the emperor, crying out, "Oh no!"
Jia Yuan, already in his twilight years, sat on the dragon throne in a yellow robe, his face sinister. He was about to chop off the eunuch's head.
"Your Majesty, please understand!" The eunuch spoke in a shrill voice, with his head bowed to the ground, not daring to raise it even a little.
"I am so anxious because I heard rumors that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has passed away."
"The madam of the Hong Kong Coliseum must be cut into pieces. Her crimes are unforgivable!"
The sound echoed in the huge front hall.
·
The crushed bronze objects were scattered all over the ground.
The madam turned her back to the door, staring at the three reincarnations on the mural.
The person who reported the incident knelt on the ground, not daring to look up.
Suddenly, the madam sneered, "It's the prince..."
"Good girl, so stupid."
·
"Girl! Why are you idle again!" Li Shisan ran out of the kitchen with a spatula in his hand, and got angry when he saw Nian Qing.
"Don't you see how much work there is to do? You're too lazy!" After saying this, he hurried back to check the food in the pot, fearing that it would be burnt and lose its flavor.
"I can't do your cooking." Nian Qing stretched lazily. "I wanted to make a delicious dish yesterday, but you kicked me out."
"Nonsense! If I don't kick you out, do I have to let you burn down the kitchen before I'm satisfied?" The sound of Li Shisan stirring the wok inside the door mixed with the thick smoke and squeezed out together. Li Shisan repeated the curse words every day, and Nian Qing's ears were callused from listening to them.
Out of fox instinct, she changed her position when the smoke came out, fearing that her tail would be burned.
While listening to Li Shisan's scolding, Nian Qing looked up at the sky. A bird flapped its wings and flew by, but it could not fly out of the crisscrossing alleys of the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Her gaze slowly shifted from the sky to the present. The uniform houses, hung with red lanterns, resembled a giant spider web.
The busy people, their joys, sorrows, anger and happiness, are all trapped in this web, flapping their wings helplessly and struggling in vain.
Nian Qing suddenly felt a little breathless, so he jumped onto a tree branch and looked into the distance, and finally he could see the end of the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Be more at ease.
——I am different from them. I am not in the net and I am not bound.
Nianqing told herself this.
"Are you listening or not? The food is out!" Li Shisan's voice came from under the tree. Nian Qing jumped down from the tree without making much noise. Before Li Shisan came out, she went into the house first.
"Oh, you're actually willing to work," Li Shisan mocked her. "I think you're just lazy. I let you do all the work that's not dirty or tiring. What else do I need a slacker like you to do?"
"Chi-chi-chi, stop scolding Master Thirteen."
But with just a few nice words, Li Shisan softened his ear and stopped being sour. He waved his hand and let it go.
After finishing this, they had some free time after noon. The fire was no longer burning, and Li Shisan took Nianqing to dinner. Seeing that she didn't like cooked food, he scolded her and complained for a while. Then he set up two rocking chairs in the yard, one on each side, and relaxed comfortably.
He was almost falling asleep after being rocked so much, when Nian Qing finally said, "Li Shisan, what do you think of Gu Luoyan's night?"
"Tsk, you're the only one who spoils the fun..." Li Shisan, feeling somewhat annoyed, closed his eyes and replied impatiently, "What else could it be? It's just a one-time affair. There's nothing I can do about it."
"Sharing the same bed?"
"That would be great," Li Shisan said with a wry smile, closing his eyes. "None of the girls in this red hall are willing to do what they want. They are all forced to do what they want."
"She, Gu Ji, is no exception."
Nian Qing opened her eyes and looked sideways at Li Shisan, still not understanding. "Tell me more details."
"No wonder she handed you over to me... maybe she couldn't bear it." Li Shisan murmured, and after a moment's silence, he said, "But living in this red hall is too clear, huh? It's not a good thing in the end."
Li Shisan opened his eyes, and Nian Qing could see his eyelashes trembling slightly. He seemed to have exerted great effort before he could utter the words: "That night, in exchange for a thousand gold."
"They use money to buy women's bodies and vent their desires."
Their dignity was trampled to the bottom, humiliated, mocked, thrown away, torn to pieces, and finally licked clean, leaving her to live a life worse than death, endured spitting, tied to moral criticism, and even condemned for crying.
“At dusk, the east wind complains about the birds’ cries, and the falling flowers look like people falling from a building[1].
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