Chapter 31: A Chance Encounter
What happened after dawn was surprisingly simple.
Xie Huailing did nothing. After applying the medicine, she wrapped herself in her clothes and left, neither making things difficult for him nor saying anything impolite. She didn't even show any sign of pushing her luck; her expression remained unchanged. The only things she did that might have been somewhat related to retaliation were leaning against the doorframe as she left and saying, "This counts as a work injury, the landlord will pay extra," and leaving her loose hair ornament, Yu Yingying, on his blanket, which he guessed she wanted him to clean up.
This very fact made Su Mengzhen even more uncertain. The injury he inflicted on Xie Huailing had disfigured her; the red mark meant she would have to wear a veil for several days. Giving her the Lord's token and allowing her to act with discretion was a promise he had made. Now, if she did nothing, it would only make him more suspicious. Regardless, Su Mengzhen first sent over his private vault key. He dared to send it, and Xie Huailing dared to take it, but she returned it immediately afterward, without any of the follow-up actions he had anticipated.
The matter ended just like that, without any further complications.
.
Xie Huailing is hardly a person with a bad temper.
In a sense, she has a very good temper. Although she likes to tease Su Mengzhen, she won't get angry if Su Mengzhen has the ability to tease her.
She's a person with facial paralysis, and she's a person with facial paralysis in every way. Since birth, she has never been angry, and her emotions are extremely stable. Specifically, she doesn't have much emotion. The only time she had a major emotional fluctuation was when she was dealing with the system that had messed with her.
It sounds surprising, but her interactions with Zhu Qiqi reveal a lot about this. Zhu Qiqi brought her up three times in five days, at the crack of dawn, and she didn't do anything in the end. When Zhu Qiqi dragged her out without explanation and caused trouble, making her and Shen Lang clean up the mess, she only scolded her and made it clear there wouldn't be a next time, and that was it. Someone who can ignore gossip and rumors is equally accepting of what happens to them, so Su Mengzhen's accident was far from something she would take to heart.
As long as she accomplished what she wanted to do, that was enough. Since she had achieved her goal of disturbing Su Mengzhen and even had something to gain, it was only natural to end things at the right time. Just like she had no hobbies and didn't care much about food, there was nothing in the world that she cared about. So once her wound stopped hurting after applying the medicine, the unsightly bruises didn't matter. In that case, it was simply not worth spending time holding a grudge.
Although Xie Huailing caused Su Mengzhen a lot of trouble, hobbies are hobbies after all, and she didn't like to find work for herself.
Getting back to the point, the situation was urgent, and after a good night's sleep, she had other things to do.
"You only know how to line your own pockets and be a greedy scoundrel, forgetting your parents who starved to death at the bridgehead. You only know how to take people's money and judge wrongful cases, forgetting the suffering people you escorted for ten miles! You, the third-ranked scholar, have wasted your studies and become an unrighteous, unjust, lawless, unkind, immoral, shameless, and talentless scoundrel!"
On stage, the old actor let out a mournful cry, as if torn from his very soul, accusing those who had lost their true selves. His deep, sorrowful voice lingered, a lament that had nowhere to rest. But the audience was sparsely populated; how many could truly appreciate it? It seemed as if the play and life itself were both empty, a fleeting dream from which nothing would remain. When the drums sound, everyone must draw the curtain, their lives nothing more than a fleeting, drifting existence.
Fortunately, after he finished singing, a few coins were thrown down from upstairs and landed on Xie Huailing, who was leaning against the second-floor railing. She hummed along with the singing, the breathy sounds causing the plain white veil to flutter slightly, completely concealing the faint blush under her chin.
She didn't bring Shaman today; a beautiful woman with a swordswoman's aura was too eye-catching and would significantly interfere with her plans. Xie Huailing assigned Shaman another task. Since Shaman was often away and the Six and a Half Hall hadn't yet gathered much information about her, she sent her to do some things with Chu Liuxiang before returning to the theater to retrieve something.
The waiter nodded and bowed, running up the stairs in small steps. He tucked the towel hanging in his hand into his pocket and politely stopped behind the maid: "Miss, the private room you requested last time is already occupied. Would you like another one? They're all the same."
Xie Huailing shook her head, not bothering to listen to his words any longer, and said, "No need, forget it—did you manage to talk to your troupe leader about what I asked you to do?"
It seemed the deal was done, and the waiter's face immediately lit up with a smile, though he still looked a little shy at first glance: "I already told you, the troupe leader said he'd sell it, but the original has been sitting at the bottom of the cabinet for two or three years, and it looks rather shabby, so I'm afraid you won't like it. If you really want it, I'll go get it for you right away. As for the money, the troupe leader said you're a distinguished guest, so just give me whatever you think is fair."
Xie Huailing gave the maid a look, and the maid understood, stepping forward to place a silver note into the waiter's palm. The waiter, after carefully reading the amount written on the note, swallowed hard, folded it neatly, and tucked it into his undergarment. He bowed again to Xie Huailing, uttering flattering words, and went to collect the money for Xie Huailing.
The aroma of tea wafted through the air as Xie Huailing counted down the time. Finally, someone arrived downstairs—a woman who emerged from behind a red cloth curtain. She stood with downcast eyes and weeping, resembling a seated Guanyin, yet dressed in white mourning clothes, her steps faltering and her garments motionless, like a ghostly figure, exuding an eerie aura. She remembered this scene: the scholar's young, deceased first wife, the neighbor girl who had brought him meals daily during his arduous studies, was to tear at her husband in the dead of night, stripping away his gilded exterior to reveal his rotten core.
She remembered the lyrics, having specifically memorized them; every word was precious. When the female lead opened her mouth, Xie Huailing softly sang along:
"Do you know, my soul is not yet scattered, my hatred is not yet extinguished! I still remember the porridge still warm under the broken eaves, the oil lamp blackening the corners of my old sleeves. You pointed to the sky, making a solemn vow, determined to slay the jackal's waist. My heart is like a silkworm cocoon, each thread binding your robe. I only hope that your heart is like a rock, far removed from the mud..."
"Miss Xie."
It was a clear yet suppressed sound, the sound of jade being crushed by sand and gravel, its crystal clear surface falling into the mud and ash—a sound all too familiar.
Xie Huailing seemed not to hear, or rather, she was deaf to all the sounds, as if all the sound waves blocked her out, even though they were right next to her. When she finished singing this part in a faint voice, the maid lowered her head again, and only then did she realize that it was good that Shaman was not there. She turned her head slightly to look behind her.
She and Di Feijing were truly destined to be together, but they shouldn't have been.
The young man, standing with his head bowed, was only a few feet away from her. Today, he, like her, was dressed in plain clothes, his headdress extremely simple. Yet, given his appearance, even the slightest embellishment in his headdress would appear like a flower adorning a pond on his handsome face, a striking contrast against the old table and chairs, making him stand out like a wild crane among chickens. His refined demeanor exaggerated his bearing, and Xie Huailing sometimes felt that he was more suited to be a girl than she was.
"Master Di," Xie Huailing called out to him.
Di Feijing didn't approach, but simply greeted her, saying, "Miss Xie, you've come to see the opera, why don't you find a private box to sit in?"
Xie Huailing got up from the railing and said to him, "I just came to take a look. I have some things to do, so I'll be leaving in a bit."
Whenever she spoke, the veil would move with her breath, sensing her breath and reflecting her words. Di Fei's gaze couldn't help but move to her neck. He saw a hazy red dot, or perhaps it was an illusion, embraced by the gently blowing white, bidding him farewell. This made him even more inclined to ponder.
He asked, "Excuse me... Miss Xie, why are you wearing a veil today?"
Xie Huailing took a few steps toward him. This wasn't a difficult question to answer: "You're injured and have been disfigured for several days. You can't be seen by anyone."
How was the injury caused?
"Making a small mistake is nothing to worry about."
She seemed completely unconcerned about the wound beneath her veil, glossing over it lightly. Di Fei realized she wasn't unwilling to talk about it; she genuinely didn't care. He too had once had red marks on his neck, but much thicker, so thick they were an indelible part of his being, something that would remain forever etched in his memory, no matter how many years passed. Many heavy snowfalls had occurred.
Because of her attitude, Di Feijing didn't apologize. Once she got close, he had to look up to see her face, and sometimes he didn't look at her at all, just staring at her veil: "Master Su should have already seen Miss Xie with the doctor, she should be better in a few days."
Xie Huailing disagreed, saying, "It's fine, any number of days is fine." As long as I don't look in the mirror, I can be presentable no matter what.
When it came to her turn to ask Di Feijing, she was very direct from the start, saying, "Master Di, you've come to see the show again? I heard from the waiter that the private room I invited you to last time was booked, and then I saw Master Di again. Are we perhaps some rare destined people in Bianjing?"
Di Feijing avoided the most meaningful part of her speech, refusing to answer, and said, "I just happened to be passing by and came in to listen to a short passage, that's all. Is Miss Xie leaving soon?"
Xie Huailing responded. Of course, she couldn't stay with Di Feijing any longer, but she had to put it nicely: "I can't stay even a moment longer. It was something we agreed on a long time ago, so of course I have to go."
This was a way of saying goodbye. The maid took Xie Huailing's hand, and Di Feijing also turned to the side, heading upstairs.
But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when someone tugged at his sleeve. It was a barely perceptible tug, yet it pulled him back. The person who was about to leave turned back, bending slightly to let him see her. She murmured something, then used two fingers to lift a corner of her veil, secretly revealing her face beneath. It was a pitiful crimson more severe than he had imagined, covering her entire neck—a shocking sight.
She asked, "That's strange. Master Di asked so many questions, but why didn't he ask me if I was in pain?"
The veil fell away, obscuring the view. Di Fei's voice was a little hoarse as he replied, "Miss Xie will be taken care of by Master Su."
She became even more persistent, as if she genuinely wanted an answer: "What if I wanted you to ask? You know I don't care about this wound either."
Di Fei fell silent in shock.
Without him needing to formulate an answer, she quickly released him. Her expression from just moments before was fleeting, and she remained unmoved: "Never mind, it doesn't matter. The injury will mostly be healed by the time we meet again."
After saying that, he strode away, his flowing robes leaving no trace of his presence.
She's lying; not a single word she says is true. He thought to himself. This is the best actress in Bianjing; everyone on stage should come down and let her go up and sing.
But to put it bluntly, who knows better than him where the injury is, whether it hurts, and how painful it is?
.
The sunlight outside was blinding; late autumn might bring a mild winter. Xie Huailing raised the back of her hand to shield her eyes, only lowering it when the maid held up an umbrella, avoiding being blinded by the sunlight before she could do anything. In the afterglow, she recalled Di Feijing's actions when she had taken his hand. Her attempt to take his hand was undoubtedly a suspicious test, yet his surprise and hesitation seemed so natural, as if he truly didn't know martial arts.
But this shouldn't be taken too seriously. Xie Huailing thought that many things cannot be overlooked. What if he really is a famous actor, a famous actor who should be thrown onto the stage to perform a grand opera?
Fortunately, the original manuscript was obtained by another quick-thinking maid, who had already put it in the carriage. She knew that the maid would probably start writing an essay on the way.
However, it wouldn't matter if Di Feijing bumped into it; she always had a backup plan, and she knew that.
Many things were swirling in her mind. She quickly sorted through each one; during the remaining carriage journey, she still needed to compose an article. Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel that everything was piling up at once, even though she had only been working for an hour today. But it didn't matter; they were all things that could be finished without overtime.
Xie Huailing thought and thought, the hunger burning in her stomach reminding her that she had only eaten a little bit today, less than Su Mengzhen, whom she used as a unit of measurement for thinness. But for her, it wasn't a big deal. Whether she ate or not, she wasn't a very energetic person.
“Go and visit the former East Garden,” she said to her maid.
This is the real business.
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