Chapter 53 Cousin
Luo Jince chased after the tall figure: "But my sister!"
"Your sister is extremely intelligent." Pei Ji paused at the threshold, half of his body bathed in the morning light. "Since she has declined, she must have had her reasons."
After saying that, he walked away quickly, and the silver fish bag on his waist emitted a string of broken light.
When Pei Ji walked a dozen steps away, Luo Jince looked at his tall figure and suddenly felt unsure. He took two quick steps to catch up with him and asked in a low voice, "Master Pei, what do you mean if you use the phrase 'moon in the sky' to describe someone?"
Pei Ji didn't stop walking, but the smiling face behind the veil appeared in his mind. Last month, when they met the Luo family carriage on Chang Street, Luo Zhaohan lifted the curtain to express her gratitude. The sunlight just happened to shine through the pearl tassels on her temples, and sprinkled the corners of her eyes like broken gold.
Moon in the sky?
He suddenly felt that this metaphor was very apt.
Luo Jince was waiting for a response when Qiu Ping came running from the other end of the corridor, panting: "Master! The eldest lady has come to the Imperial College and is waiting at the gate!"
"My sister is here?" Luo Jince's eyes lit up, and he was about to run out. After running seven or eight steps, he remembered something and turned to look at Pei Ji in the corridor.
The man still had an indifferent look on his face, and even the corners of his clothes were not wrinkled at all by the spring breeze.
Luo Jince was deflated, but he was unwilling to give up. When he turned back, he deliberately raised his voice: "Master Pei, the person who said you are Tianshangyue is waiting outside!" After saying that, he ran away.
Pei Ji stood there, his expression finally surfacing. Beneath his wide, bamboo-patterned sleeves, his fingertips unconsciously caressed the jade pendant at his waist. Last month, on a rainy night, this same jade pendant had fallen onto the hem of Luo Zhaohan's woven gold skirt. As she bent to pick it up, her fingertips brushed against the scabby wound on his palm.
"Master Pei?" The servant came out of the duty room, carrying a bookcase. Seeing him standing there in a daze, he gently reminded him, "Master Jijiu said you should go to the library at 3 p.m."
"Got it." Pei Ji turned and headed east, but paused at the corner. The spring sun slanted across the eaves, casting a long shadow on the pink wall.
Finally, the shadow turned and headed towards the main gate of the Imperial College.
The century-old locust tree in front of the Imperial College had just sprouted new buds, and the Luo family carriage was parked under the shade of the tree.
When Chunxi lifted the curtain for the third time to look out, he suddenly noticed a gray carriage parked by the side door. A man wearing a conical hat sat on the shaft, his bulging muscles faintly visible under his coarse cloth.
"Miss, look at that carriage," Chunxi lowered her voice. "The curtains are fixed with iron hooks. It's as airtight as an iron barrel. No one is allowed to approach."
"Don't stare." Luo Zhaohan covered half of his face with a round fan, his eyes glancing at the calloused hands on the shaft of the carriage. "To be driven by such a master, the person sitting inside must be a noble."
Before he finished speaking, Sun Honglei hurried out from the corner gate.
Chunxi hurriedly tugged at her master's sleeve: "Isn't that Master Sun?"
Luo Zhaohan followed his gaze and saw Sun Honglei quickly step onto the carriage. When the curtains were lifted, she caught a glimpse of the corner of a blue satin robe embroidered with gold thread. Such a cloud-and-thunder pattern was only worn by members of the imperial family in the entire capital.
The locust flowers were blown into the carriage by the wind and landed on the hem of Luo Zhaohan's goose yellow skirt.
She suddenly remembered that she had seen a similar pattern at Wanfu Temple during her outing last month. At that time, a young man wearing a white jade crown was waiting outside the meditation room, and the abbot personally led him in through the side door.
Could it be him?
When Sun Honglei lifted the carriage curtain, the incense burner was emitting the third wisp of green smoke.
Sandalwood wrapped around the glass lanterns hanging on the walls of the carriage, casting tiny spots of light on the Persian carpet.
His movement to kneel down and bow was stopped by the person opposite him who raised his hand and lightly tapped the plate of lotus cakes on the low table with a silver-inlaid horsewhip.
"Sweat's dripping onto my blanket." Chao Yinlong flicked open the carved window, letting in the warm May breeze, accompanied by the chirping of cicadas. "I've told you so many times, call me cousin in private."
Sun Honglei looked at his cousin in the sunlight coming through.
His tall figure was wrapped in his black arrow-sleeved uniform, his hair tied up with a jade crown was not a strand out of place, and even his hand resting on the rosewood table maintained the arc of holding a bow - His Royal Highness Prince Rui, who was famous as a "scholar-general", kept his muscles tense even when he was resting.
"Cousin, you're making such a fuss." He picked up a piece of pastry, and the pastry fell into the gilded cup. "Are you trying to coax me into being a lobbyist again?"
Chao Yinlong suddenly leaned forward, and the mutton-fat jade buckle on his waist hit the edge of the low table, making a crisp sound.
In the flickering light of the glass lamp, the arrogance in his eyes turned into a sharp edge: "Princess Jieyou is coming back."
Sun Honglei's hand shook, and the lotus pastry rolled onto the velvet carpet, covered with a layer of fine gold threads.
A peddler happened to pass by outside the carriage shaking a rattle, and the sound of the rattle coincided with the morning bell in the Golden Palace in those days. The twelve-year-old boy knelt at the foot of the Danchi, listening to the eunuch reading out the imperial edict of marriage for the third princess in a shrill voice.
"Cousin, are you talking about..." His throat tightened, "the princess who held both the Southern Tang Khan and his son in her hands?"
"That's right." Chao Yinlong pulled a yellowed scroll of official documents from his sleeve. "Two months ago, there was civil unrest in Southern Tang, and her second son was appointed crown prince. Now she's returned to the capital under the pretext of visiting relatives, but she's brought her daughter with her."
Sun Honglei stared at the words "Princess Liuyang" on the official newspaper, and suddenly he noticed that the tassels hanging from the roof of the car were spinning.
He recalled sneaking into the cold palace at the age of ten and seeing the third princess treading on the snow to tie a red silk ribbon around a withered plum tree. She hadn't even reached marriage at that time, and was as frail as a piece of paper that would shatter in the wind at any moment.
"Who could have imagined it?" He traced the tea stains along the edge of the official newspaper with his fingertips. "The abandoned girl from the cold palace who was even deprived of charcoal would now hold half of the Southern Tang Dynasty."
Chao Yinlong suddenly grabbed his wrist, the calluses on his palm rubbing painfully: "I need you to go to the Honglu Temple for me."
The chirping of cicadas outside the car suddenly stopped, leaving only the slight crackling sound of the incense burner.
Sun Honglei looked at the brocade handkerchief on the low table. A small "Rui" character was embroidered on the edge of the snow-white satin. This meant that he was asked to arrange the eldest princess's return to Beijing in advance as the prince's attendant.
"Cousin, do you know..." He placed his hand on Chao Yinlong's wrist, feeling his rapidly beating pulse, "that the Eastern Palace sent twelve carts of coral to the Honglu Temple last month?"
The glass lamp suddenly exploded, startling the birds that fluttered outside the carriage curtains. Chao Yinlong chuckled softly, but the force in his wrists increased by three points. "That's why I want you to take the 'Snow Plum Painting' with you."
Sun Honglei's pupils shrank slightly. The withered plum blossom tied with red silk in the cold palace had long been included in the eldest princess's dowry. And this old painting, forgotten by the Imperial Household Department, had just been unsealed from his family's storeroom three days ago.
The carriage jolted suddenly, and the teacup on the low table fell over, leaving a snaking trail of brown liquid on the brocade. Chao Yinlong dipped his pen into the mess and wrote, "October 9th." The watermark, before it had dried, was swallowed up by the velvet carpet. This was the day the Third Princess left the palace.
"My cousin is very calculating." Sun Honglei took the handkerchief with the inscription "Rui" and wiped his hands. "He even calculated the exact time when an old friend would be reminded of his past."
A strong wind suddenly lifted the carriage curtain, revealing the vermilion eaves of the imperial city in the distance. Chao Yinlong leaned back on his soft pillow, becoming the leisurely and graceful prince again. "I heard that the eldest princess loves lotus cakes the most."
He picked up a piece of cake and examined it carefully. "It's a pity that the ones made in the imperial kitchen are always not cooked properly."
Sun Honglei understood and put the golden cup with the puff pastry crumbs into his sleeve.
Back then, the third princess secretly hid half a bag of osmanthus candy in the small kitchen of the cold palace, and asked him to bring it from outside the palace.
As the clatter of horse hooves subsided, Chao Yinlong suddenly handed over a jade ring. Carved into the mutton-fat white jade was the Southern Tang wolf totem, a rare tribute presented by the envoys the previous year.
"This is the new favorite of the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple." The sharpness in his eyes faded, and he returned to his gentle cousin demeanor. "I heard that his wife loves to listen to 'Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier' the most."
Sun Honglei weighed the jade ring and felt it was warm.
This play was the last palace banquet that the third princess watched before her marriage.
When the curtain of the carriage was completely dropped, he caught a glimpse of Chao Yinlong playing with the jade button on his waist.
The newly added cracks on it looked like the mountain range on the map that marked the border between Southern Tang and Western Wei.
Sun Honglei pursed his lips and stopped asking questions. He just bowed and said, "What do you need me to do, cousin?"
Chao Yinlong's tense brows relaxed as he casually fiddled with the teacup on the table. "Princess Jieyou returned to the capital this time, bringing with her the sixteen-year-old Princess Liuyang. She said she wanted the Princess to choose a husband in the capital and stay in Western Wei."
The celadon cup lid made a crisp sound. "After all, the frontier is not as prosperous as the capital. Moreover, the Southern Tang still has the old custom of the younger brother inheriting the throne after the death of the brother. If the eldest princess cannot take power, I am afraid she will not be able to escape this fate either."
Sun Honglei's fingers, gripping the back of the chair, turned pale. The cicadas outside the window suddenly chirped shrilly, and he heard his own dry voice: "So, what does the emperor mean?"
"The Emperor wishes the Princess to marry into a prominent family in the capital." Chao Yinlong raised his gaze, his eyes like a sharp, quenched blade. "You should understand that the Princess commands a hundred thousand Southern Tang cavalrymen."
The tea rippled in the cup, and Sun Honglei looked up suddenly. He could clearly see the candlelight reflected in his cousin's eyes, flickering like stars in the dark night.
His throat felt like it had been rubbed by sandpaper, and he spoke with difficulty, "Cousin, do you want me to marry the Princess of Liuyang?"
"Marriage is a common thing." Chao Yinlong interrupted, tapping the table with his fingertips, "What's more, you are the same age as the princess, and you are my cousin-"
The voice stopped abruptly.
Sun Honglei stared down at the cracks in the blue bricks, and in a trance, he caught a glimpse of a goose-yellow skirt. The image of the girl on the wall of the Imperial College that day, with her hands on her hips and her eyes wide open, suddenly came to life.
"Hong Lei?" Chao Yinlong's voice was tinged with laughter. "But is there someone in your heart?"
"No!" Sun Honglei blurted out, his ears burning. The candlelight on the table flickered, and amid the crackling sound, he could hear his own heartbeat.
"Is it Miss Zhaohan from General Luo's family?" Chao Yinlong stood up and walked around the desk. "That night at Prince Duan's mansion, you returned with a soaking wet cloak, but your eyes were frighteningly bright."
Sun Honglei staggered back half a step, his back resting against the cold pillar.
Moonlight seeped through the window screen, casting tiny specks of light at his feet. The chill of the pond water soaking through his clothes that day seemed to come back to him, but the most vivid memory was the scorching warmth of the person in his arms.
"When we first met, she scolded you in front of all the students at the Imperial College, but you just smiled like you were lucky enough to get a treasure." Chao Yinlong raised his hand to brush away the fallen petals on his shoulder. "Later, when portraits of young ladies from various families were brought to you, you always said, 'Let me take a look.'"
The night wind blew through the hall with the fragrance of lotus, and Sun Honglei suddenly remembered Luo Zhaohan dancing with the sword.
The wind from the silver spear piercing the air would blow her hair everywhere. If they got married... As soon as this thought came to mind, it felt like someone was grabbing her chest tightly.
"The greater cause is more important." He heard his own hoarse voice, "Hong Lei will be entirely under the control of my cousin."
Chao Yinlong suddenly smiled. He turned and pulled out a scroll of maps from a drawer, his fingertips tracing the border of Dongling. "If war breaks out in the spring, General Luo, though he will retreat to the background, holds greater prestige within the army than General Xie."
Sun Honglei suddenly looked up and met his cousin's smiling eyes.
The candlelight flowed on the man's black brocade robe, like a starry sky in the dark night.
"If you are truly interested in the daughter of the Luo family," the map snapped shut, "I will ask for the hand of Princess Liuyang on your behalf."
"Cousin!" Sun Honglei hurried forward and knocked over the teacup on the table with his sleeve.
The brown tea spread on the rice paper, just like the ink stains on Luo Zhaohan's skirt that day.
Chao Yinlong raised his hand to stop him from speaking. "Although Miss Luo broke off the engagement, it wasn't her fault. If we can marry into the Luo family, in the future Dongling war—" He paused meaningfully, "wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Sun Honglei stared blankly at the dripping candlelight. It turned out that his cousin had already calculated everything, even the little thoughts he had hidden in his heart had become pieces on the chessboard.
But why did a burning heat surge in my chest when I thought about being able to stand next to that girl openly?
The sound of a night watchman's drum came from outside the window, startling the birds sleeping under the eaves.
Amidst the fluttering of wings, he heard his own trembling voice: "It's all up to my cousin."
Chao Yinlong knocked on the stove with his fingers, and the agarwood in the stove spread out ripples with the vibration.
When his palm landed on Sun Honglei's shoulder, a bird happened to fly over the roof of the car, startling a few pine needles from falling from the tiles.
"We were born into a world of splendor..." Prince Rui's fingertips brushed across the ice-cracked teacup on the low table. "Just like this official kiln porcelain, it looks shiny, but in reality, it will break at the slightest touch."
Sun Honglei stared at the pine needles floating in the lamp, and suddenly felt a lump in his throat from the plum pit he had swallowed that year - the same pain he felt when he was forced to give up his hobby of falconry at the age of twelve.
"The Jiangnan Salt Case three years ago." Chao Yinlong suddenly changed the subject, the Buddhist beads on his wrist sliding across the back of Sun Honglei's neck. "If I had forcibly saved the Liu family girl, I would have no regrets."
The cold sandalwood beads made Sun Honglei's back tremble slightly.
He remembered that snowy night when the prison van carrying the entire Liu family rolled across Zhuque Street, and the red plum hairpin that had fallen from the girl's hair was mixed in the ruts.
"So this time—" Chao Yinlong pulled his hand back, the Buddhist beads hitting the car wall with a dull thud, "Grandfather agreed. You can choose your own marriage."
Sun Honglei's Adam's apple rolled, and the knuckles that were clutching the hem of his clothes turned blue and white.
The spots of light that filtered through the gaps in the curtains moved across his brocade robe, just like the flickering candlelight when he was copying calligraphy as a child - at that time his father always said, "Your handwriting must be worthy of Prince Rui's Palace."
"Cousin, you're joking." He was interrupted as soon as he opened his mouth.
Chao Yinlong suddenly opened the secret compartment and took out a yellowed scroll of Geng Tie.
The gold-lacquered seal was stamped with the Sun Mansion's unique Panchi seal, which was the proof of his visit to Old Master Sun three days ago.
"Do you think I'm using marriage as bait?" He tore open the seal, revealing the "Cold Plum Blossom Painting" hand-painted by Luo Zhaohan. "Last month, when you were lost in thought at this painting in the Treasure Pavilion, I was standing in the private room on the second floor."
When Sun Honglei's fingertips touched the icy silk of the scroll, he was surprised to find a faint mark of lip balm on the plum blossom.
That day, in order to prove the authenticity of the painting, Luo Zhaohan actually used the temperature of his lips to test the age of the silk.
"Pei Ji saved her." Chao Yinlong suddenly lowered his voice, just like when he taught him to identify tiger tracks in the hunting grounds. "Last time, when the Changning Marquis's mansion caught fire, he was the one who carried Miss Luo out of the fire."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
