Chapter 8 Climbing High She was a spirited, bouncy kitten…
"The silk for Lady Xue is in the box with the lotus pattern, and the incense for Uncle Xiaoguan's widow is in the box with the orchid pattern. Keep them safe and don't mix them up." Lady Xianyu directed the servants to load the treasures into the carriage while tightening Changsun Wuji's turban. "If you encounter Anye at the Xue family's villa, remember not to get angry with him, and absolutely no violence. Just greet him like any other relative. I'm worried that your aunt might be reminded of the past when she sees people, and she might become sad when she sees young people. If she insists that you stay, chat with her for a while, play a few tunes on the pipa to cheer her up. Tell her that her grandmother is doing well and not to worry. However, don't linger in either place, and don't go to the dangerous parts of the mountains... Go home early."
The day for the ascent was the very next day after Li Shimin's visit to Gao Shilian. Li Shimin had already made all the preparations and was lingering near the Gao family's villa. Seeing Changsun Wuji being lectured by his aunt for a long time, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He also remembered that Changsun Wuji had mentioned that the Gao couple had no children, which suggested they treated him as their own son. Thus, his seemingly long-winded but entirely reasonable words became more endearing.
“Wuji isn’t a child anymore.” Gao Shilian couldn’t help but interrupt his wife, who was still nagging him. “He’ll decide for himself. Besides, what if the elders get along well with them and want the children to stay a little longer? How can he refuse?”
A head wearing a black hood suddenly popped out from behind the gatepost: "I want to go too." Changsun Qingjing was dressed in a neat dark-patterned Hu-style robe, his face very lightly made up, making him look like a healthy-looking young man. His personal maid, A Cai, pointed to the food and drink items and several pairs of Xie Gong clogs in his bag with a showy air.
"Alright then." Gao Shilian chuckled at the androgynous attire. "After you visit your aunt, stay at the nunnery and chat with her. The young men will come down the mountain to pick you up..."
"Of course, I'm fine, I won't be a burden to my brother and Young Master Li." She promised earnestly, but in her heart she had other plans: "First, I need to keep my uncle calm so I can get away. Today I must climb to the top of Zhongnan Mountain to see the whole view of Daxing City... Calm down, calm down, don't let my brother see through my scheme again. I can't let him discover any trace of my plan to show off, it would be embarrassing if he dragged me home halfway..."
The three children walked gracefully, protected by servants and surrounded by maids. Just then, a servant from the Xue family villa announced that the Duke of the Heir Apparent was accompanying Old Madam Zheng on an outing. The three children were delighted to deliver their gifts and then left.
Arriving at the nunnery at the foot of the mountain, the three visited another woman, Madam Zheng, who lived in seclusion there. When the old lady saw the two nephews of the Gao family, her eyes, which had been lifeless for a long time, lit up again. She led Wuji and Qingjing into the inner room and lit incense.
Qingjing kept her aunt's advice to "not mention the past" in mind, and happily chatted about the Liren and Duhui cities in Daxing, the liveliness of Yuanzheng, the fashionable clothes, and the Gao family's friends.
"Alright, I'm fine with being a porter. It's a shame you don't use your mouth to tell stories about joining the army. You should at least dress up as a falcon to make the elders happy, so as not to live up to everyone's love." Changsun Wuji raised his whisk high and gently flicked it over his sister's head.
The two children joked around, filling the room with a cheerful atmosphere. "Tell Auntie that I am a convict and she often worries about me, for which I have no way to repay her. I will definitely come to your house to admire the flowers next time!" The old lady was once a jewel in Yecheng's social circle, and she joked with the children without any restraint.
“It’s a deal. Your nephew will definitely start training hard from today to come and fetch you.” Changsun Wuji made a gesture of carrying a palanquin with his bare hands, which made his aunt and sister laugh heartily.
...
Madam Zheng glanced through the bamboo curtain at the young people who were anxiously waiting in front of the Dharma Hall. Hearing that her nephew and niece had made plans to climb the mountain with their friends, she worried that they might encounter danger if they came down late, so she urged the group to set off quickly.
"There's a domineering old lady Zheng in the Xue family mansion, and a poor old lady Zheng in the nunnery. Who knows when a relative of the Zheng family from Xingyang will appear. Emperors come and go, but you can always encounter the children of powerful and noble families who never fall from grace in different places. It's quite interesting!" Li Shimin, who was waiting, was lost in thought for the time it takes to drink a cup of fruit wine when he reunited with his eldest grandson and his sister.
"I knew you wouldn't stay here and wait for us. You little brat, you're just here to cause trouble for me." Changsun Wuji told the servants to prepare for the climb while joking with Changsun Qingjing.
Changsun Qingjing adjusted his hood, which was adorned with gold foil embroidered with peony patterns, and walked ahead triumphantly, playfully teasing, "My brother is knowledgeable and strong; he will surely protect me! What do I have to worry about?"
As she turned to the side, she bumped into Li Shimin, who was slowly walking with his horse holding the reins. Mistaking him for Wuji and fearing that she would trip, he was about to grab her arm. So she instinctively pressed her fist against his chest, intending to push him away.
"Ah, it's you." Changsun Qingjing, unable to push him, turned around to hit Changsun Wuji, only to be met with Li Shimin's bright smile. Realizing he had mistaken him for someone else, Qingjing's face flushed red, and he turned and nimbly slipped away like the wind.
In Li Shimin's eyes, there was a lively, bouncy little cat ahead, its movements tickling his heart.
The group, familiar with the route, soon arrived at a high, open spot in the Zhongnan Mountains. They found a flat rock and spread out a felt mat. Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin sat to the side, while the maid Ajiang added water and firewood to the teapot and fanned it. Guanyin waited for it to boil a second time and added salt to the water.
As the morning mist gradually dissipated, Daxing City suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes like a neat chessboard.
"You've been in a bad mood and haven't been very talkative since you returned from Zhuojun," Changsun Wuji asked. "Is something on your mind?"
Changsun Wuji sighed softly, "...It's a pity...My uncle has some dealings with Minister Husi, and he heard from the Minister that His Majesty is going on another northern tour..." He shook his head and continued, "I heard that several officials who tried to stop the northern tour have been executed, and now it's a time when bandits are rampant and chaos is frequent..."
Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said, "The future of the country is still uncertain." He shrugged with a cold smile.
The maid, Ajiang, crawled to the two men, holding a tea tray in her hands: "Today, it is Madam who personally prepared the tea. Madam said that you two gentlemen should stop arguing and simply relax and enjoy Madam's cooking."
The two sat up straight and accepted the cups. The tea foam in Changsun Wuji's cup, stirred by the spoon, resembled an angry, round face; he could only shake his head with a helpless smile. Li Shimin vaguely discerned that the tea foam in his cup resembled an eagle soaring over a mountain peak, and couldn't help but give Changsun Qingjing a grateful smile. Qingjing pulled his hood tighter, turned his head slightly, and nodded gently.
Changsun Wuji took a sip of tea and said, "A person who can write such magnificent poems and essays as 'Ode to the Book of Documents' and 'Eulogy for Emperor Wu of Wei' must have lofty aspirations. I wonder what Shimin's aspirations are?"
Qingjing moved closer to the two boys with great interest, making no attempt to hide her anticipation.
Li Shimin glanced at the girl cautiously, then concealed his sharpness and said, "You are the host, and I am the guest. It would be inappropriate for the guest to take the lead. Why don't you speak first, Wuji?"
Changsun Wuji gazed at the distant mountains, sighed, and seemed to want to pour out his heart: "Don't laugh at me, but my family affairs are quite complicated. Back then, my mother didn't want me to be born groveling before my half-brother after my father's passing, so she at least preserved the last shred of dignity for me as the true legitimate son of the Right Valiant Guard General..."
He glanced timidly at Changsun Qingjing, full of apology: "This matter has also implicated Guanyinbi... So I naturally want to revitalize the family's reputation and do something even more earth-shattering than my father's plan to dismantle a powerful enemy nation with a million archers! It's laughable, though I speak wildly, in the eyes of the world I am nothing more than a 'rebellious son' who was expelled from the family by my elder brother. All of this is truly laughable to you."
"I believe you can achieve great things, brother!" Changsun Qingjing moved closer to Changsun Wuji, her cheek hovering in the air as if leaning against Wuji's shoulder, like a curled-up comforting raccoon, shedding her claws and grooming her smooth fur in front of her beloved, obedient and understanding.
"Ah, you really make me feel bad. I really want to leave you here on this desolate mountain." Changsun Wuji choked up a little, rubbed Qingjing's hood, then gulped down the rest of his tea and turned away. He wanted to be a good son his mother could rely on, a good brother his sister could trust, and a good nephew his uncle could be proud of, but everything seemed to have fallen through.
His feigned strength, stubbornness, and arrogance were shattered by his sister's affirmation that he would eventually achieve great things.
Changsun Qingjing pursed his lips and made an exaggerated lip movement as if to "persuade him".
Li Shimin accurately received the distress signal from "Little Fox" and began to analyze himself: "Sometimes I am full of ambition, always feeling that if I raise my arms, many will respond; sometimes I am disheartened, feeling that time flies by and people are like ants stealing life." He looked up at the blue sky, wanting to shout out where to go, but in the end it turned into a plain but heavy sentence: "The sky is too high, I try desperately to touch it but I can't grasp its edge."
"Thank you." A star flashed across Changsun Qingjing's eyes, calm yet dazzling.
All three seemed lost in thought. A gentle mountain breeze brushed against Changsun Qingjing's cheek, blowing off his slightly heavy hood. Changsun Qingjing also looked up at the blue sky, his clear eyes reflecting the ever-changing clouds.
Li Shimin raised his cup and drank the tea in one gulp, but the bitter tea made him cough repeatedly.
Changsun Wuji had already calmed down and asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong?" His eyes darted around. "Guanyinbi, you didn't sprinkle anything strange into the tea, did you? I remember there's a wild fruit on the mountain that can relieve bitterness and has an excellent flavor. Let me look for it nearby. Ajiang, you know all kinds of herbs, come with me." He got up despite Shimin's objections.
"Double pepper!" Qingjing blinked her innocent eyes.
"His belly's practically soaked in pepper, hasn't it? Why don't you just throw the two of us into the teapot and boil us up?" The older brother could only lament that his sister was chasing after flashy and impractical trends. "What did you put in my tea last time? Camphor or mint? It was so cold it made my seven orifices ache! Next time, just put salt in!"
Li Shimin, calming his violent cough, waved his hand and said, "No need! Although this tea is a bit bitter at first sip, the aftertaste is endless and lingering, almost like 'lingering in the air for three days.' It can be called a top-grade tea. How can fruit wine and dairy products compare to it! Who says I don't like it? Please trouble Jiang Niang to brew me another cup."
Ah Jiang stepped forward, holding the teapot, and said, "Young master, according to the rules, you can only drink three cups of tea." He then covered his mouth and chuckled.
Changsun Qingjing's face flushed slightly. He gave a soft "humph," pouted, and turned his face away to look at the scenery, muttering, "No rules or regulations, no wonder he writes such rambling and arrogant articles..."
Ajiang found some sweet wild fruit, quickly washed it with spring water, cut it open, and stuffed it into the fruit. After the two boys finished eating the fruit, they lay down on the rock for a short rest.
Li Shimin pointed to the eagles that occasionally soared across the sky: "How I wish I could possess one of them!"
Changsun Wuji smiled and replied, "Yes."
“Me too…” Changsun Qingjing stared at the two of them, lost in thought.
A note from the author:
Let's make more time for romance! O(∩_∩)O Haha~
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