Chapter 20: Ten Wonders of a Beautiful Boudoir
The system initially thought it was going to rot inside the box.
It had even written the email to the main system. Fortunately, although it was desperate and helpless, fate still smiled upon it. Just when it thought it was about to fail after more than half of its three-month period had passed, its host, who had ignored it and even looked down on it, opened the box.
After smelling the wood for almost twenty days, even a piece of iron would be at risk of being soaked through. Xie Huailing's aversion hadn't subsided in the slightest. She carefully sniffed the system, and only after not smelling anything strange did she toss it onto the bed.
Due to inertia, the system rolled twice on the tatami mat, bumping against the wooden backrest and making a loud, tooth-ache-like sound before finally stopping. The small, dark screen regained its golden glow after many days, though much weaker than before; if it were to be compared to a candle flame, it would probably be only the size of a bean. Then, flickering characters appeared intermittently, piecing together to form a line of text.
It was terrified of being locked up again, and this time it didn't move an inch: "[...Host, have you changed your mind, or do you have other questions? I can answer them all for you, please don't lock me up again.]"
"Sign the contract," Xie Huailing said succinctly. "What are you still standing there for? Everything is ready. If you want to go back to your hometown first, I don't want to die again."
Such a stroke of good fortune! The system cursor moved faster than ever before; the contrast was too great. It needed to confirm further: "Are you sure, host? I can explain the assistance I can provide again. I've prepared a plan these past few days—please calm down! I'll print the contract right away. Please put down your weapons and don't resort to violence!"
With a "whoosh," a coin-thick slit appeared on each side, revealing a completely dark interior with only a sliver of silver light shining through. A faint rumbling sound followed, and a deep blue electronic screen was projected onto the screen. The upper half displayed a clearly defined contract, and the lower left corner bore the system's serial number, HS-007, which glowed faintly.
Xie Huailing then lowered the wooden box she had been holding high. The method of signing with just a finger was exactly what she wanted. After reviewing the terms, she neatly signed her name.
The screen shattered the moment she stopped writing, vanishing into the room like drifting petals, along with the black iron block itself, turning into specks of blue light, as if it had never existed. At the end of the blue light, a childish girl's voice rang in Xie Huailing's mind, timid, delicate, yet trying to sound mature: "[The cooperation is officially established. Please take good care of the host from now on. If you need anything, you can call my number, and I will appear immediately.]"
She couldn't speak as fast as Xie Huailing could read the instruction manual in his mind. Before she could say, "I won't bother you in your daily life," Xie Huailing clicked the "X" in the upper right corner and forcibly said goodbye: "You little good-for-nothing, I'll contact you again if I need anything."
Then she lay down on the couch, found the most comfortable spot, stretched, and curled up into the deepest part of the quilt. As if nestled comfortably in someone's embrace, Xie Huailing began to rummage through her useless beginner's guide. Two hours of staring at the account books was irreversible damage for a lazy person accustomed to a nocturnal lifestyle. Although she wasn't exactly exhausted, life's hardships are endless; why suffer more when you can suffer less today?
Perhaps out of guilt for having tricked her, the gift bag contained more items than she expected. Xie Huailing had prepared to find only two or three items, but she actually found seven when she opened the backpack. But no matter how many there were, useless things were useless. What help could items like the "Proficiency in Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting Voucher" and the "Sinking Fish and Falling Goose Jade Pill" provide her?
No, perhaps it's possible—Xie Huailing tentatively took out a "Proficiency in Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting Coupon" and added it to her calligraphy specialty. Given a maximum value of one hundred, it only showed a pitiful single-digit number, exuding an untamed beauty.
[Failed to activate. The host's value for this statistic has not met the requirements for activating the perk.]
"..." Xie Huailing fell silent for once. She threw the props back into her backpack, picked up the blanket, and quickly covered her head with it, deciding to go to sleep as soon as possible.
.
The night sky was cool as water, soaring above the towering and imposing Jade Terrace. Looking up through the gaps in the roof tiles, one could see the moon shining like a mirror, the stars meeting in a line, as if reaching out a pair of hands to touch the human world. The night market lights that illuminated Bianjing like daytime admired themselves by the river and rejected it, pretending not to recognize it. Suddenly, heaven and earth felt resentment, and in the surging darkness, there seemed to be a hidden hatred growing.
Su Mengzhen was resting with his eyes closed. To make time for the evening, he had gotten up an hour earlier today and hadn't had dinner. His cheeks were becoming increasingly thin, with only a thin layer of skin clinging to his bones. The carriage wheels rolled over the ground, and a cold wind that rushed in from under the curtains was mixed with a lingering, chilly fragrance. Xie Huailing was rubbing her head against the carriage wall, even more drowsy than him.
The sound of the waves gradually subsided, and the faint outlines rose and fell in the distance. Behind them, the eaves appeared as ridges and the pagoda as peaks. In the golden wind and drizzle, the buildings receded into the distance.
Xie Huailing, who was sitting crookedly, lost her balance at a certain corner and crashed into the window frame. In that brief moment, Su Mengzhen considered whether or not to teach her a lesson, but in the end, kindness prevailed. Not wanting to disfigure the girl, she grabbed her by the collar and lifted her back like a child.
Sitting up straight again, Xie Huailing exhaled a breath of soul energy, lowered his head, and covered his face with his ten fingers: "Master, when will the treasure appreciation banquet end... Will you be back in an hour?"
Su Mengzhen coughed twice, his voice muffled by illness, making it somewhat unclear, but the dark circles under his eyes were clearly visible under the night-shining pearl: "It will take at least two hours for Chu Liuxiang to appear. I remember you usually go to bed later than me."
He was implying that he knew she always stayed up even longer than him, and that dozing off here wouldn't help. Xie Huailing said, "That's not the same thing," and moved closer to the window. The moonlight, which had just pierced through the window frame and carriage curtain—a section blown by the wind—was so clear it was as if the shadows were submerged in water. After a few shifts, the moonlight reached her face. Her ethereal beauty was draped in a thin veil of watery light, and the cold wind also stirred her hair.
She glanced at the night view, finding it rather dull. Su Mengzhen said to her, "When we get to the banquet, I'll go see Jin Banhua first. You don't need to come with me to wander around. He's not a very important person. Remember to be careful with your words and actions. There are quite a few people you need to remember tonight."
Xie Huailing pressed down on the window frame and said he understood, then added, "Then should I still call you cousin?"
The two titles each had their own meaning. Calling her "Lord" would be torn up the first identity Su Mengzhen had given her, and would expose the fact that she belonged to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. Su Mengzhen didn't hesitate; he had obviously already thought it through: "Calling me 'Cousin' is still the right time."
He wanted to wait for the perfect moment, when everything was in place, to use Xie Huailing's almost supernatural wisdom to gain the greatest advantage and make her sit gracefully at the chessboard. Although it was inevitable that the Six and a Half Hall would eventually be unable to keep it a secret, before that, the less guarded others were against Xie Huailing, the better, just like when he returned to the capital, everyone was caught off guard by him.
Xie Huailing had guessed the arrangement pretty accurately and had no objections: "Alright, cousin, I understand."
The carriage had been traveling for nearly half an hour when it stopped in front of a tall building adorned with about ten bolts of red silk. The building seemed to be dressing up in front of a mirror, its facade covered with lanterns from several floors. A rich but not cloying fragrance wafted from the gate, the terraces, and the wooden windows, making one's heart flutter with desire and wishing to spend a fortune. Melodious music mingled with laughter, drifting away to who-knows-where.
Xie Huailing hadn't even gotten out of the car when she exclaimed "Wow!" and turned to look at Su Mengzhen: "Holding a treasure appreciation banquet here?"
Su Mengzhen said, "Yushanlong is a newly opened music hall by Jinbanhua. Today is its first opening day, and the name has only just been put up. The name says that it will not discuss romance but only poetry and music, but whether it will be like that in the future is hard to say."
Upon hearing the name of the building, Xie Huailing was silent at first, then a thought struck her. Reading too many unconventional books can have unconventional uses; she pondered these three words for a moment, feeling that it couldn't possibly be a coincidence.
Xie Huailing said to Su Mengzhen, "It's impossible not to talk about romance in the future. Since it's already called 'Yushanlong,' the fate of this building is sealed."
Su Mengzhen was puzzled. He had always been completely clueless in this area. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with those three words: "Is this name inappropriate?"
Xie Huailing met his gaze, hesitated for a moment, and considering his status, suddenly found it somewhat amusing. She stared at him and asked, "The Master is twenty-five this year. Do you truly not know, or are you feigning ignorance?" She didn't hold back much, and could easily explain it as a reminder, so she spoke boldly, reciting: "A delicate white snow-white skirt, shrouded in crimson, infinite charm in its curves..."
She spoke in the small carriage, barely the size of a bed frame, her face half-hidden by moonlight. Su Mengzhen felt as if struck by lightning; the fragrance lingered in front of his nose, neither rising nor falling, and a tingling sensation ran down his spine: "Enough!"
Xie Huailing shrugged, her face saying, "Look, you're in a hurry again, OP." Being able to make a poker face so expressive is quite a skill of hers.
Su Mengzhen was so embarrassed that she almost couldn't stay in the carriage any longer. It was something that could be explained by a single lewd phrase, yet she dared to say it out loud. He closed his eyes briefly, and Xie Huailing couldn't see any reaction from him. She only saw that when he opened his eyes again, Su Mengzhen had calmed himself down: "Get off the train first. I'll deal with you when we get back to Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou."
This time, it seems she's stirred up a not-so-small trouble. Xie Huailing whistled inwardly without the slightest regret. Whatever, it's her skill to say it out loud; she hadn't even finished reciting it yet. And even if we take a step back, without her "extensive knowledge," would Su Mengzhen know the significance behind the name? Probably not.
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Interested readers can search for "Ten Wonders of a Fragrant Chamber," and the second poem in it is the source of Yushanlong's work.
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