Chapter 40 Xiangbu: She forgot her drunken madness and uncontrolled kisses...
Time flowed by monotonously, and the dull ticking of the water clock began to be drowned out by the sporadic crowing of roosters, barking of dogs, and the clanging of bells on the roadside in the ever-reappearing world.
Chaos gave way to order, and light and darkness began to separate. All that shimmered rose high, while all that was dark settled and fell, and the boundary between heaven and earth gradually became clear. The morning mist, like a strange vessel of life, flowed and spread across the ground.
Changsun Qingjing knelt with his hands clasped together in the morning mist.
She scoffed at divination or any form of fortune-telling, but this time was different; she hoped it would come true.
When the wind blows, her hearing is always exceptionally sensitive. Every spirit attached to the mountain trees, every insect or beast that occasionally awakens during hibernation to eavesdrop on human conversations, and the souls of ancestors that occasionally pass by on the wind and water will answer her thoughts.
As long as one's heart is sincere and honest enough, one can surely communicate with all the mystical things in the world. Unlike divination by tortoise shells and yarrow stalks, the final interpretation of divination by sound always rests in the hands of the person making the prayer.
This girl, who had always respected ghosts and spirits but kept them at a distance, gained boundless power from the prophecy of nature.
She plucked a budding wintersweet and hurriedly ran to the warm pavilion, wanting to tell this good news to anyone she saw.
Unaware of what was happening, A-Cai was forced to put down the bronze fish basin and was pulled around several times by her willful wife until Changsun Qingjing bumped into her husband, who had not slept all night and whose eyes were red and swollen.
"Erlang!" The joyful girl sniffed the flower bud in her hand, unable to contain her delight at being blessed by the elves. "Guess what the mountain god said to me?"
"Did you go to the courtyard to pray? I saw you kneeling under the plum tree with your hands clasped together." Li Shimin's voice was hoarse with exhaustion.
"Hmm, not yet, not yet." Her voice was as clear and melodious as a nightingale emerging from a valley, with an undeniable and soaring quality.
"Did Mother sleep well last night?" she asked, turning her attention to the question.
"Just as good as the mountain spirit told you."
Changsun Qingjing practically skipped into the warm pavilion.
The young woman's cheeks, flushed with an unusual rosy hue after kneeling for so long in the fierce westerly wind, warmed up as the wind subsided.
The clouds above her head were askew, her temples were damp, and her hair was disheveled. Her arms were numb from the prolonged cold and involuntarily pressed against the dryer.
She rubbed her hands together, occasionally getting up to circle the drying jar and stomp her feet. She was just like a charming, mischievous child.
After a long while, Changsun Qingjing smiled shyly and sat down next to Li Shimin.
She had clearly forgotten the drunken frenzy and near-out-of-control kisses of the previous night, treating it all as a fleeting dream dissipating in the dawn, and dismissing it with a laugh.
Tiny, warm water droplets bounced out of the fish basin, colliding and splashing onto Changsun Qingjing's peach-like cheeks, creating an even more complex and fine mist that lingered around her face for a moment before reluctantly falling back into the basin. This perfectly mirrored Changsun Qingjing's enigmatic personality and Li Shimin's bewildered and lost state of mind.
Because she had overworked herself the day before, Madam Dou did not wake up until noon. She still instructed her maid to help her wash and dress. The verdant mountains in front of her window were obscured by angry clouds, and she couldn't help but feel a little regretful that she no longer had the strength to climb the steps to see the magnificent and abundant scenery.
"Mother, the letter from yesterday and the precious items I purchased have all been sent. If you have any important matters to attend to today, please tell me to take care of them." Changsun Qingjing had already sent Li Shimin to rest, and she and her maidservant stayed by Lady Dou's sickbed.
She casually flipped through "The Tale of the Goddess of Beauty," but her mind was troubled by Madam Dou's illness, and she felt a sense of frustration at not understanding what the book was about.
While Madam Dou was asleep, the eldest grandson Qingjing found some white wax paper and wrote letters of thanks to his three elder sisters, niece Wang Wan, and cousin.
Changsun Qingjing was momentarily at a loss for words, feeling that her pen had nothing to say, so she simply threw away the manuscript. She then began to think of her mother, her brother, and other family members.
The candle that I had kept burning brightly in the Gao family bedroom for three days should have been extinguished after the temple visit. Would my mother feel a sense of loss when she blew out the candle? She must be looking forward to her daughter's return home.
I wonder if my brother has sorted out his feelings after her wedding, renovated another new house, and started discussing marriage with Lady Yan. Lady Yan would definitely not look down on him.
My maternal grandmother had blurred vision and didn't know if the maidservants who served her were attentive or if they provided detailed explanations when she accompanied her to watch song and dance performances or listen to music.
My aunt, Xianyu, is suffering from pregnancy and doesn't know how her appetite is. She hopes that her cousin will not cause her any more trouble in the womb.
I wonder where my uncle's carriage has gone, and whether the wild geese released at the wedding passed him by on their southward journey.
"Qingjing, why do you look so troubled? Can you tell me what's on your mind?" Madam Dou woke up with a series of rapid coughs, a kind smile appearing on her pale face as she asked considerately.
Changsun Qingjing then truthfully expressed his concern for everyone in the Gao family.
“I was too willful yesterday and didn’t think things through,” Madam Dou said thoughtfully. “I wonder if your mother received the letter and spices I sent? Do you want to go to Chongde Lane to visit your mother? I’ll have Vitiha escort you to Daxing City.”
Therefore, Madam Dou's words were not empty talk; she was indeed prepared to make an exception for herself, and there was an extra sense of pity in them.
"That's absolutely unacceptable," the girl said half-jokingly, covering her mouth. "When my mother sees me returning home, she'll surely mistakenly think that I've only been married for three or four days, yet I've already caused countless troubles in the Duke's mansion, leading to my husband's family's disapproval and sending me back home. She'll lose face, and I won't even be able to defend myself. She'll be so angry that she'll have a stroke. Mother, please don't bring this up again."
"Alright! Then let's not mention it again." Knowing that she was wholeheartedly taking care of her, Madam Dou did not press her further and agreed with a smile.
This is a sick woman who is doing her best to maintain her dignity on her own, and even when she is bedridden, she is unwilling to show her sick appearance to others.
Changsun Qingjing and his maid helped her to the mirror stand, where the bronze mirror reflected her thin and pale face.
Changsun Qingjing picked up a silver comb and began to comb Madam Dou's disheveled hair. The dry, frizzy hair hindered the comb's movement, breaking off in strands and twisting into tangles between the teeth. She carefully removed these strands of hair, weathered by time, and secretly hid them away.
I heard a maid sobbing behind me.
"What kind of scenery would you like to see, Mother?" Changsun Qingjing did not advise Madam Dou to rest at home; he only wanted to satisfy all her whims and fantasies as much as possible.
She vaguely remembered that in the months before her father's death, he seemed to have an unusual obsession and passion.
He would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and urge his mother to write down his observations of the northern kingdoms; sometimes he would also be very eager to have Anye invite his uncle Changsun Chi to the mansion to denounce the emperor's lenient treatment of the Turks.
His death did not follow the trajectory of being extinguished like a flame; rather, it was more like a shooting star skimming the water, collapsing after disintegrating all its remaining light before crashing to the ground.
Mrs. Dou's recollections pulled her back from this chaotic and strange association.
Changsun Qingjing clapped his hands and said, "I'm good at these absurd things too. Mother, let's go down the mountain to a sunny spot and call on the young maids to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with me. Let's have a four-person round-robin Cuju game called 'Meteor Chasing the Moon,' and Mother will keep track of the balls for us."
Madam Dou nodded: "You understand my temperament best. This is our little secret, we're sneaking out. We can't let Vidyaraja know. Quickly prepare the sedan chair, while Vidyaraja is fast asleep, I need to go for a walk to clear my head. Quickly take me away from this enormous birdcage..."
Upon hearing that her mother was so "afraid" of her son, Changsun Qingjing's eyebrow pencil trembled slightly in her hand. She gave a bright and sly smile: "Can a mother be afraid of her son's discipline?"
“I understand. This person is like a bamboo, capable of bearing immense weight, and will not shirk his responsibilities even in the face of a hundred hardships. He is so rigid that it frightens everyone…” Changsun Qingjing’s words, which were both criticism and praise, made Madam Dou very happy.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled together, acknowledging that Li Shimin was a resolute and diligent person.
The master and servants then took curtains, a stove, bamboo, woolen balls, and nets. The men and women changed into light, loose-fitting shirts, lifted their sedan chairs, and went down the mountain to find a spacious and warm place.
A rock face happened to block the cold wind, allowing sunlight to gather. With everyone's help, a curtain was erected, and the palanquin was placed inside. Lady Dou then watched the football game from this spot.
The maids planted bamboo stalks on the ground in front of the rock wall and spread out nets. The group, who rarely had any free time, were eager to try. Changsun Qingjing was taller than his peers, so he chose a maid of about fifteen or sixteen years old to "fight" with him.
The ball nimbly weaved and darted between the two men, never falling. This drew applause and cheers from the onlookers. After several such attempts, Changsun Qingjing grew bored and kicked the ball higher. Before the servants could even applaud, the ball was already firmly wedged into a pine branch emerging from a crevice in the rock face. The ball wasn't hanging too high; the brave would grit their teeth and climb up the protruding rocks, retrieving it seemingly easy. But it wasn't too low either; the timid would feel dizzy looking up and could only resignedly await help.
Everyone picked up stones and thick branches and threw them upwards, but unfortunately, they always missed. The young man then ran back to his villa to fetch a ladder.
Several maids sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting idly.
“I’ve spoiled things. It will take a few more minutes to get there and back. I won’t wait for them, I’ll go get it myself.” As soon as Changsun Qingjing finished speaking, he stepped on the protruding rocks on the cliff face and began to climb upwards.
The maids were so frightened by this astonishing act that they pleaded with Lady Changsun to reconsider and quickly descend from the steep cliff so as not to frighten Madam Dou.
Changsun Qingjing, however, pretended to be deaf and dumb and went his own way.
"Silence! No one is allowed to shout under the cliff. We'll start the game after I throw the ball down!" She mischievously grabbed a protruding rock with one hand, swung herself out, and moved two or three people's widths on the cliff face.
Indeed, no servant dared to loudly offer advice anymore.
The author notes: Divination during the Sui and Tang dynasties was divided into tortoise shell divination, yarrow stalk divination (using yarrow), sound divination, chicken bone divination, and tile divination.
Divination relies on sincerity; find a quiet time and place, and interpret whatever you hear. It's very convenient. [Winking face]
Believe it or not.
The empress in my novel definitely loves reading and sports; these two things don't contradict each other.
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