Chapter 44 Father and Son
"Haven't you seen his good qualities long ago? Just be kind to this child." Old Chu's words were like silver needles soaked in coptis, piercing her heart. Warm tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking the pillowcase embroidered with twin lotus flowers.
It's rare to be ignorant.
She had no choice but to act crazy and stupid to make up for the child she had tortured for ten years.
When this life ends, if Ji'er is willing to come to my grave and take a look, that would be great. If not, he should be cut into pieces. I only hope that in my next life, Ji'er can be reborn into a kind family, with a loving and protective mother.
In the study, Lord Changning stared at the cricket cage on the desk in a daze.
He had deliberately sent the servants away so he could be alone with his eldest son, but now he felt something stuck in his throat. The "Ever-Victorious General" in the cage began to chirp at an inopportune moment.
"Cricket—cricket—"
"Ahem..." Earl Changning cleared his throat awkwardly. "The court doctor said your mother might have been traumatized and her memory is having trouble recovering. I think... this is a good idea."
As he spoke, he stole a glance at Pei Ji's expression. The young man stood by the window with his head bowed, clutching his brocade robe soaked in pool water. Water droplets dripped from his fingertips onto the floor tiles.
Uncle Changning supported his aching waist and sat down in the armchair, staring at his son's straight back in a daze.
This child always stood like a green bamboo, as if he was tireless. Over the years, Madam had treated him harshly, and hadn't he just been a bystander?
I still remember the day I quietly went to see Pei Ji. The young man was lying on the couch, covered in blood, mumbling "go home" in his dreams. Those whip wounds must have left scars, right? Chang Ningbo's throat was swollen, but he didn't dare to ask, "Where is your home?"
"Tomorrow I will go to the Fuyuan General's Mansion to express my gratitude on behalf of my father." Earl Changning broke the silence. "It was Miss Luo who saved your mother today. Logically, I should bring a generous gift and go to express my gratitude."
Before he finished speaking, Pei Ji suddenly looked up and said, "No!" Realizing his mistake, he softened his tone and said, "Miss Luo's reputation is important. Father should not come to visit."
Earl Changning was shocked by this sudden toughness.
He had never been so defiant before. His always downcast brows were now as cold as cold stars. He said awkwardly, "Then when your mother is better, please invite Madam Luo to come over and have a chat?"
"No need." Pei Ji's knuckles turned white as he clenched his wet clothes. "My father knows my situation. Please don't involve others."
The sound of the night watchman sounded outside the window, and the young man bowed and took his leave.
The moonlight stretched his shadow long and thin, as if a lone bamboo had risen from the ground. Earl Changning looked at the cricket cage on his desk and smiled wryly. This "Ever-Victorious General" had been caught by Pei Ji when he was ten years old.
The lanterns in the corridor were swaying in the night wind. When Pei Ji turned around the corridor, a small celadon bottle suddenly rolled out of his sleeve.
He bent down to pick up the medicine bottle, and rubbed the word "Zhao" engraved on the bottle with his fingertips - this was left behind by Miss Luo when she rescued someone during the day.
The medicine bottle still carried the warm fragrance of a girl's sleeve. Pei Ji thought of the pair of hands that held his mother, their white fingertips stained with the light green medicine.
At that time, the jade hairpin in her hair was wet by the pond water, and the water droplets rolled down her temples, which were more translucent than the pearls on the hairpin.
"Young Master, be careful!" the maid's exclamation interrupted his thoughts. Pei Ji then realized that he had almost bumped into the corridor pillar, and the tip of his ear felt slightly hot. He put the medicine bottle carefully into his arms and quickly walked through the moon-shaped door.
In the west wing, an old servant was adding silver charcoal to the charcoal basin. Seeing Pei Ji return, he hurriedly brought warm pajamas and said, "Master, change your wet clothes quickly. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Pei Ji waved his hand to dismiss the servants, then stood alone before the bronze mirror, undoing his belt. Candlelight illuminated the crisscrossing scars on his back, the most hideous of which ran from his left shoulder to his waist. This was the scar he had received when he was sixteen, when his mother, accusing him of stealing offerings from the ancestral hall, whipped him with a horsewhip soaked in salt water.
As his fingertips brushed across the raised scar, he suddenly remembered what Old Chu had said during the day: "Madam has been pretending to be confused these days, so you should just live your life as if you were truly confused."
The sound of night watchmen was heard outside the window. Pei Ji locked the medicine bottle into the bottom layer of the dressing box, where half a faded patchwork quilt was also kept.
…
When dusk fell over the Changning Earl's Mansion, Lai Cai slid along the wall and entered the study.
The candlelight stretched the shadow of Lord Changning very long, and he was staring at the incense burner on the desk in a daze.
"Master?" Lai Cai wiped the sweat from his sleeve, "Master Chu sent someone to bring me some tranquilizing soup."
"Come here." Earl Changning took out a gold melon seed from his purse. "I'll trouble you to run errands for today."
Lai Cai waved his hands hurriedly, and suddenly leaned forward, saying, "I just heard the young master mention Miss Luo outside."
His green eyes rolled around, "When the fire broke out in the west courtyard, Miss Luo grabbed the young master's robe and ran out. The young master chased her through three corridors!"
With a "crack", the paperweight hit the inkstone.
Earl Changning looked at the talisman paper fluttering outside the window, and suddenly remembered the day when Pei Ji came of age. Old Chu stroked his beard and said, "Your son's destiny is indescribably precious, and he needs to have the destiny of a phoenix to match him."
Laicai was still mumbling: "The young master just came back with a woman's outer garment, it must be Miss Luo's..."
"Prepare the sedan chair!" Earl Changning stood up suddenly, and the jade pendant on his waist hit the desk and made it shake.
Ten years ago, when he and his wife treated their young son harshly, did they ever imagine that one day they would have to rely on their son to get close to the Luo family?
…
At this moment in Pei Ji's courtyard, the talisman paper was rustling in the night wind.
Jiang Xi knelt on the bluestone slab, his forehead resting on the cold tiles. "I took the initiative to insult the mistress and nearly harmed her."
"Get up." Pei Ji took off his outer robe that was stained with night dew. "I said you don't have to kneel."
"Young Master!" Jiang Xi raised his head suddenly, revealing the whip marks on his neck. "I was at the fire scene today, and heard Madam say, 'Ji'er will come to save me'. Suddenly I remembered the past..." He stopped speaking here, his Adam's apple rolling violently.
Pei Ji ran his fingertips over the burn marks on the corner of his robe.
Two hours ago, Luo Zhaohan was wearing this dress. He grabbed his sleeve at the fire scene and said, "If your mother dies, you will never be able to wash away the label of matricide in your life."
The sharpness in the girl's eyes was exactly the same as the look on her master's face when he taught her the art of diplomacy.
"Jiang Xi." He suddenly lifted the lid of the incense burner and threw his outer robe into the charcoal fire. "Do you know where you went wrong?"
The dancing flames engulfed the brocade, making Jiang Xi's face pale. "I shouldn't have been soft-hearted."
"My mistake was miscalculating people's hearts." Pei Ji used copper tongs to stir the ashes. "Do you think my wife is seeking death to force me?" He chuckled.
Jiang Li's pupils suddenly contracted.
"She knew you would be soft-hearted, that Mr. Chu would come, and that my father would feel guilty about it." Pei Ji crushed the lock. "If Miss Luo hadn't seen through the mystery today, I'm afraid we would all be kept in the dark."
The copper bells under the eaves suddenly jingled.
Jiang Xi looked at the silhouette of the young master reflected on the window paper, and suddenly realized that the weak little boy back then had already grown into a chess player.
"I am willing to be whipped!"
"I don't want my skin to be torn apart." Pei Ji suddenly leaned over and put a porcelain bottle into his palm. "This is the golden wound medicine left by Miss Luo. Take it and use it."
Jiang Xi was shaking as he clutched the porcelain bottle.
In the firelight, the young master's eyes and brows were as cold as the moon, but it reminded him of that snowy night eight years ago - the ten-year-old Pei Ji held him, who had a high fever, and walked through knee-deep snow to knock on the door of the clinic.
"If there's a next time..." Pei Ji turned around and looked at the wall covered with talismans, "I'll go back to Master and cultivate the medicinal fields."
"Master!" Jiang Xi took two steps on his knees. "I swear to heaven that this will never happen again!"
The oath was blown away by the night wind, along with the talisman paper.
The candle wax accumulated half an inch thick on the bronze crane lampstand. When Pei Ji picked up his pen and dipped it in ink, the tip of the pen spread out a ball of ink on the memorial.
Jiang Xi glanced at the extinguishing candle on the table and carefully replaced the wick with a new one. A warm yellow glow instantly spread over the five iron-written and silver-hooked characters "Join the General Wuwei".
"This robe..." Jiang Xi picked up the black brocade robe from the shelf. The hem was covered in mud and grass juice, and was wrinkled like pickled vegetables.
He stole a glance behind the desk and saw the Buddhist beads on the young master's wrist swaying lightly as he moved his pen. Only then did he dare to retreat to the corridor holding his clothes.
The night wind carried the scent of ink across the corridor. Pei Ji suddenly put down his brush and said, "Wash it and put it away."
Jiang Xi almost tripped over the threshold and nodded repeatedly.
…
After leaving the Changning Earl's Mansion, Xie Wuqi rode his horse across the stone bridge, startling the crows that were roosting on the willow branches.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the reins, and his chest felt like it was stuffed with a ball of water-soaked cotton wool - just now, Luo Zhaohan had tied the jade chain given by Pei Ji to her skirt in front of him.
The sound of horse hooves crushed the moonlight all over the ground. When I came to my senses, the vermilion lacquered gate of Wuwei General's Mansion was right in front of me.
The concierge came trotting towards them, lantern in hand. The warm light illuminated a familiar figure within the doorway. Xie An's python-patterned sleeves rustled in the wind, and a thin layer of frost formed on the blue bricks at his feet.
"Dad..." Xie Wuqi rolled off the horse with a staggering movement.
The three months of wandering turned into a sore throat, but he swallowed it down when he caught a glimpse of the sword at his father's waist - it was the Longquan sword that the emperor awarded to the deputy general during the autumn hunt last year.
Xie Anfeng snorted coldly: "Master Xie, are you going to be a door god?" The end of his words was blown into pieces by the night wind.
Xie Wuqi stared at the newly grown white hair on his father's temples, and suddenly remembered how this man taught him how to draw a bow on the training ground on his birthday last year.
"General!" The personal guard Xie Shiliu stamped his feet anxiously, "The young master has caught a cold sleeping in the villa these days..." Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Xie Anfeng's knife-like eyes.
As Xie Anfeng walked out of the mansion, he ran into Xie Wuqi standing alone at the foot of the stone steps, leading his horse. The young man's frail figure in the twilight made the iron-blooded general's heart suddenly tighten.
After all, this was the son he had raised since he was a child... but his father's strict manner had become a habit for many years. He frowned and shouted, "What? You can't make a name for yourself outside, so you come back and admit your mistakes?"
Xie Wuqi was ready to give in. He had been frustrated at every turn these days and had truly suffered a lot.
But his father's sneer made him stiffen his neck and jump on his horse. Xie Anfeng was so angry that veins on his forehead jumped, and he turned back, shaking his robe sleeves.
Xie Wuqi gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles turning white. Just as he was about to whip, he saw his father's trusted confidant, Xie Shiliu, panting and chasing after him. He bravely grabbed the reins, "Young Master, don't worry! The general has been sending people to inquire about you daily. He heard the other day that you had caught a cold and was so anxious that he dropped his teacup..."
Xie Wuqi stared blankly at his father's stiff back. The figure seemed frozen in place, as if waiting for something. His heart suddenly burned, and he was about to dismount when he heard a roar: "Xie Shiliu! If you keep talking nonsense, get out and feed the horses!" The old servant stumbled back in fear. The light that had just flickered in Xie Wuqi's eyes was abruptly extinguished.
The horse's hooves pounded heavily on the bluestone slabs, and Xie Wuqi twitched his lips in self-mockery. In his previous life, when he was pierced by arrows, his father didn't come to his rescue. What was he expecting now? The night wind blew dust and sand against his face. He whipped the horse's rump hard and rushed into the inky night without looking back.
Xie Anfeng looked at his son's receding back, and the veins on his hand holding the hilt of the sword bulged.
Just now, Xie Wuqi actually jumped on his horse without even looking back. The sound of horse hooves hitting the bluestone slabs seemed to crush the twenty years of father-son relationship.
"General, why are you doing this..." Xie Shiliu looked at the smoke and dust rising from the alley entrance and finally couldn't help but speak.
He had followed Xie An in the army since he was young, and had witnessed with his own eyes how the general rode his horse to break through the encirclement while holding his baby in his arms.
Xie Anfeng turned abruptly, his dark cloak sweeping across the snow on the steps. "My son should be responsible! When Deputy General Yao was pierced through the heart by arrows while trying to save him, he was only nine years old, yet he knew how to hug the corpse and cry out, 'I disobeyed military orders and ran away.'"
The moonlight shone on the scar on his forehead, causing it to turn red. "Now, look what you've done! You've dared to cancel the Luo family's engagement for a woman of unknown origin!"
The two red lanterns in front of the mansion gate were swaying in the north wind. Xie Shiliu looked at the new white hair on the general's temples and suddenly remembered the gossip she heard when she was patrolling the camp the day before.
Those new recruits said that General Hu Wei's only son ran to the villa in the south of the city all day long and did not even visit Miss Luo when she was seriously ill.
"But Master, you are...?"
"He's my son, Xie Anfeng, so he should understand!" The general suddenly shouted, sending snow cascading down the eaves. He pointed southeast, toward the beacon towers that bordered Western Wei and Eastern Mausoleum. "Eastern Mausoleum has two hundred thousand troops stationed at Hulao Pass. Their spies have even learned Miss Luo's favorite tea! With Wuqi's character, if he were to fall for a honey trap someday, he'd die without even knowing how!"
The latter half of his words vanished into the night with the chill wind. Xie Shiliu watched the general stride through the palace gates, his black iron boots carving deep indentations in the snow, and suddenly recalled that bloody dawn twenty years ago.
At that time, the general was holding a one-month-old baby and he stepped on the bloodstains on the sand to make them into plum blossoms.
In the southern courtyard of the city, Liu Yueli was adding silver charcoal to the charcoal basin.
As the sparks crackled and exploded, she heard the courtyard door creak. The bronze mirror reflected her instantly relaxed brows, but she deliberately knocked the silver hairpin in her hand heavily against her makeup box.
"Yue Li!" Xie Wuqi rushed in, enveloped in a chill, his cloak still stained with the scent of plum blossoms from the gates of the Luo Mansion. He gazed at the thin shoulders of the plain-dressed woman in the candlelight, and suddenly remembered Luo Zhaohan wrapped in fox fur.
When Liu Yueli turned around, she had put on a gentle smile: "There's ginseng chicken soup simmering on the stove. I'll bring it over right away."
Before she could finish her words, she was embraced. Xie Wuqi sniffed the jasmine scent in her hair and suddenly said in a muffled voice, "I went to see Luo Zhaohan." Before he finished speaking, he felt the person in his arms stiffen. He quickly added, "I went to make things clear! I promise I will never let you down in this life!"
The window lattice paper rustled in the wind. Liu Yueli stared at the flickering candlelight and suddenly remembered what happened in the main hall of Xiangguo Temple three days ago.
She deliberately "ran into" Madam Xie praying for blessings, and the string of sandalwood Buddhist beads hurt her knees, but in return she got the room full of golden charcoal today.
"Wuqi," she gently stroked the young man's blue eyes with her fingertips, "you have lost weight these days." As she spoke, she suddenly started coughing violently, and her pale cheeks flushed with a sickly color.
Xie Wuqi hurriedly took off his cloak and wrapped her in it, but was stunned when he touched her cold hand.
In his past life memories, Luo Zhaohan's hands were always warm. When he was a child, he stole wine from his father's wine gourd, and that little girl wrapped snow in a handkerchief and applied it to his forehead.
"Yueli, I will ask the imperial physician to treat you tomorrow."
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