Chapter 48 The gift fulfilled her wish.
Night deepened. The streets were brightly lit and decorated, and the sky was shrouded in a golden mist.
A woman in a blue and white robe alighted from the carriage. A waiter from the Mansheng Restaurant approached her, intending to invite her inside, when the woman handed him a familiar wooden plaque. The waiter took the plaque and, upon examining it, his expression immediately became extremely respectful.
"So you are a distinguished guest. Please follow me, Miss."
Yue Yining followed the waiter inside. The sound waves from the lobby on the first floor were enticing, carrying the aroma of roasted venison tendons and braised lamb.
Once you reach the private seating area on the second floor, the noise begins to fade away, and by the time you reach the private rooms on the fourth floor, it is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
A maid dressed in a crimson gauze dress opened the door for Yue Yining. The first thing she saw was a mountain-shaped wall base carved from a single piece of Hetian jade, an eight-panel screen with floral and bird patterns made of purple bamboo silk, and pine wood flooring. The whole room was filled with a faint, cool pine scent.
A figure dressed in black sat by the window, his profile hidden in the shadows, gleaming like jade. It was unclear how long he had been waiting.
Yue Yining stepped forward and sat down opposite Xie Qingyu: "Have you been waiting long?"
The man replied gently, "Not long ago, I just arrived myself."
Yue Yining could tell he was lying because the tea on the table was already lukewarm and no longer steaming, so he must have been waiting for almost half an hour.
Xie Qingyu did not change her clothes like she did; she wore the same outfit she had seen at the banquet during the day: a robe adorned with jade pendants and a black brocade draped over her body.
Xie Qingyu gazed at her, her eyes sliding from the hairpin holding her hair down to her collar, and suddenly smiled: "Miss really prefers simple and plain clothes. Today is the first time I've seen Miss dressed up like this."
Yue Yining paused, her hand still holding the teacup, as she recalled her attire at the flower banquet that day, including the makeup she had worn. She chuckled and said, "I was forced to wear this. I always feel uncomfortable wearing such gorgeous and expensive clothes, and I'm sure you'll find it amusing."
Xie Qingyu: "Miss looks beautiful in everything. She looks beautiful in her formal attire at the banquet, and she also looks beautiful in her simple dress now."
Yue Yining was taken aback by his straightforward and passionate words. "Is that so?"
Xie Qingyu smiled and said, "Miss, are you hungry? I just instructed them to serve some of their seasonal signature dishes first, and then you can decide whether you want anything else."
Yue Yining responded, took the menu, made a couple of marks, and handed it to the waiting maid beside her. The maid put the menu away and went to the kitchen. Presumably, the kitchen would put the orders from the private rooms at the top of the menu. Not long after, the two dishes that Yue Yining had ordered arrived.
Yue Yining ordered two dishes: crab meat lion's head meatballs, golden in color, like bright pearls; and squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, glistening with red oil, like agate. As the maids brought the bowls and plates to serve the dishes, Yue Yining glanced at Xie Qingyu as if by accident.
Xie Qingyu's gaze swept over the dishes that were served, and settled on the crab meat lion's head that was placed right in front of Yue Yining. Suddenly, she said, "Take this dish away."
The maid, thinking she had brought the wrong dish, hurriedly looked down to check and apologized. Yue Yining, seeing her actions, said, "She didn't make a mistake; this is the dish I just ordered."
Xie Qingyu was taken aback and looked over in surprise: "I remember that Miss used to be unable to eat crab, why would you order this dish?"
Yue Yi looked at him quietly, then smiled and said, "Yes, you remember correctly, I can't eat crab."
Xie Qingyu and Yue Yining met eyes with smiles, and suddenly they understood everything.
The maid had already taken her leave. The two people sitting at opposite ends of the table looked at each other. Xie Qingyu shook his head, his eyes flashing, and he chuckled, "So, Miss was deliberately testing me?"
She deliberately ordered a dish she didn't eat, to test his reaction. After all, the joy of reunion could be acted out, but it was impossible to remember the exact eating habits of someone who didn't care. This way, she could tell whether he was just putting on an act or whether he genuinely cared for her and hadn't forgotten her, as he claimed.
Yue Yining stroked the pen-shaped tea set on the table and continued in a teasing tone, her words seemingly carrying a deeper meaning: "I'm also afraid that you might harbor resentment but won't say it outright, and that you're just being insincere with me. That would be a burden for both of us."
The person opposite her looked at her with a hint of sadness in their eyes, their bright, jade-like eyes dimming. "So that's how you think of me, Miss."
Yue Yining paused her fingers as she played with the porcelain tea brush, thinking he was angry. But Xie Qingyu's next words were: "However, it's normal for you to be suspicious of me since I haven't seen you for a long time and our identities have changed."
"There is still a long way to go, and I have plenty of time to let Miss see my heart clearly."
Yue Yining was slightly taken aback, her fingers trembled, and the expensive tea brush almost fell and shattered on the ground.
Xie Qingyu didn't think he had said anything extraordinary. He turned his head, waved to a maid, and had the dish removed from the table, his manners elegant and refined.
Yue Yining looked at his profile, a complex light flashing in her eyes.
Yue Yining knew one thing well: People can lie, but divination cannot.
Before she arrived at the appointment, she had a sudden idea and calculated the birth chart of Xie Qingyu, the eldest son of the Xie family. The result was completely unexpected.
The divination indicates that Xie Qingyu is dead.
The eldest son of the Xie family was only supposed to live to be twenty-five, and he died in a foreign land last midsummer. She even suspected that she had made a mistake in her calculations, but she calculated it three times, and the result was always the same. Unless the Black and White Impermanence came to the mortal world and took the wrong person, "Xie Qingyu" should not still be alive.
So, who is sitting across from her now?
Xie Qingyu spoke first: "Miss, have you been staying at the Princess's residence for the past three months?"
Yue Yining snapped out of her daze: "Yes."
Yue Yining smiled and said, "And you? After you went home, did you regain all your past memories?"
Xie Qingyu nodded and said, "After I got home, my family told me everything that happened in the past, and I gradually regained my memory."
Yue Yining: "You were found by your family when you were in Jinling, right? You left in such a hurry that we didn't have a chance to say goodbye properly."
"I thought you were the son of some court official in Jinling. I never imagined your family was in Yanjing, and I never imagined you were the eldest son of Prime Minister Xie."
Xie Qingyu gently shook her head and looked directly at her: "No matter what my identity is, Miss is still my Miss, and my savior."
Yue Yining was taken aback, but then he continued, "After returning home, I did not tell my father about meeting the young lady."
“I told them that I had found a chance to escape from the slave shed, and apart from a few slave traders in that alley, no one else knew my true identity. Not long after, I heard that a slave trader named Wang Gui in Jinling had died a violent death in the street, and the several slave traders next to him had also closed their doors and gone into hiding.” Xie Qingyu lowered her eyes as she said this, “I knew then that I had guessed correctly, and I was glad that I hadn’t told Miss.”
"But in any case, it was my fault for leaving without saying goodbye, and I have no intention of making excuses or justifying myself. I will gladly accept whatever punishment you wish to give me."
Yue Yining rested her chin on her hand and smiled softly: "Okay."
"Then I order you to punish yourself with three cups as an apology."
Xie Qingyu knew she had been lenient; she had no intention of punishing him at all. She was simply going along with his words and offering him a way out. A maid brought over a wine pot and cups, and the amber-colored wine was poured into a golden goblet. The fragrant mist filled the air; it was a fine aged wine, but he found her smile even more intoxicating than the finest liquor.
Xie Qingyu lowered her trembling eyelashes and drank the wine in her cup in one gulp.
After three shots of strong liquor, he still gazed at her with clear eyes, his voice low and mellow: "Miss clearly saved me, yet I have to try my best to hide it from everyone. Will Miss blame me?"
Yue Yining: "No. You're doing this to protect me, aren't you?"
"As for the life-saving grace, it's nothing much." Yue Yining lowered her eyes, looking at her reflection in the wine cup.
The sip of fine wine she took warmed her throat, making her tongue feel hot and burning, and she felt thirsty again.
“You took good care of me during the six months I spent in Jiulian Town. Now that you have returned the money you paid to redeem me, we will be even.”
Xie Qingyu shook her head, her eyes misty: "But I want to repay Miss's kindness."
Yue Yining smiled and said, "How do you want to repay me? Think it through before you speak, and don't make promises you can't keep later."
Xie Qingyu wanted to say that there was nothing he couldn't do. As long as Yue Yining asked for something, he would give her anything. Power, status, and money were all worthless in his eyes, not even a fraction as valuable as her. His only worry was that she would discover he was such a complete madman.
Xie Qingyu smiled, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and said gently, "I have prepared a gift for you, Miss. Would you be willing to accept it?"
Yue Yining nodded in agreement. She assumed it would be some gold, silver, jewels, or jade, or at best, fine tea and teaware—gifts, nothing more. But Xie Qingyu led her to her feet and downstairs, eventually taking her to the Xie residence's carriage.
Yue Yining hesitated for a moment when getting into the carriage, which Xie Qingyu noticed.
He held her arm through his sleeve. Yue Yining looked down at him. Xie Qingyu's eyes were clear and bright, like moonlight. "The gift cannot be delivered, so Miss needs to go and receive it in person."
Yue Yining nodded, dispelling her doubts. "I see."
In her entire life, Yue Yining had only ridden in two top-class carriages: one was the golden palanquin of the Eldest Princess, and the other was Xie Qingyu's painted carriage. With its frame of purple sandalwood, its roof of seven-jeweled tassels, its walls decorated with embroidered flowers and hanging bells, its floor covered with a blue brocade carpet, its gilded incense balls exuding auspicious fragrance, and its white porcelain tea baskets holding dragon-shaped tea cakes, every detail revealing the noble demeanor of a prominent family.
It was a spring night, and the walls of the carriage were inlaid with shimmering pearls, as bright as candlelight. Xie Qingyu's face was bathed in a faint glow, her fair and clear skin making her stunning beauty seem even more unreal.
Afraid that he would notice she was secretly watching him, Yue Yining quickly looked away.
The wheels rolled on and finally came to a stop in front of an ebony-clad iron-cornered gate.
Yue Yining followed Xie Qingyu down from the carriage. The wooden gate opened slightly, and several stalks of Xiangfei bamboo leaned out from inside the three-zhang-high pink wall, while the stone-blue path was covered with pine needles.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of flowing water. Following the sound, I entered the courtyard and saw a wooden lotus-shaped pavilion floating on the winding pond. Fish suddenly leaped in the clear water. The world enclosed by green tiles and white walls was filled with bamboo, cypress, and orchids. Everywhere I looked, there was a pure and beautiful spring scene.
Passing through the cloud-shaped gate made of slender stones, one comes to the main house. A single section of yellow cypress wood is carved into the lintel, untouched by cinnabar. Pushing open the door, one sees all twelve lattice windows raised, allowing the pine breeze to flow through the hall and stir the five-tiered bamboo dew-collecting trays hanging from the beams. In the corner sits a Yue ware celadon plum vase, filled with freshly plucked flower branches.
The further Yue Yining walked in, the more surprised she became, until she was stunned when she stood in front of the door of this house.
The landscape of the entire courtyard and the layout and furnishings inside the main house are almost identical to those of the house in Jiulian Town.
If one had to pinpoint the difference, it would be the greater extravagance in the furnishings. Even seemingly insignificant ornaments, upon closer inspection, revealed themselves to be priceless treasures. Furthermore, while the mansion in Jiulian Town was dilapidated and shabby, the walls and interior of this mansion were brand new, and its size was also much larger.
Yue Yining arrived at the door. A tea table was set up on the long corridor outside the door, with a pair of purple clay teapots on it, and tea utensils lying quietly on the table. Yue Yining looked at this scene without moving, letting the crystal clear moonlight, like salt sand, cover her body.
Xie Qingyu had already sat down at the table, his slender, fair fingers picking up a teaspoon. As he rinsed the tea leaves, he smiled and called her over, "Miss, please sit down. I'll make you some tea."
The scenery at this moment almost made Yue Yining believe that the past three months had been a dream. She had never left Jiulian Town, and Ayu had never returned to the Xie family. He was still looking at her with those gentle eyes, waiting for her to sit with him under the bamboo shadows and enjoy the flowers and the moon together.
Bamboo bed and paper curtains, clear as water; a pillow of pine breeze, listening to the tea brewing. After a stroll, take a nap; upon waking, a cup of tea; after a hearty meal, the fragrance of books; when sleepy, go to bed.
This is the life she has always wanted, but has never been able to have for long.
Xie Qingyu handed her a warm teacup, which Yue Yining took, sipped, and savored its delicate fragrance. She put down the cup, only to find a bronze key, its surface covered in ancient, mottled yellow rust, now placed on the table before her.
Looking at the key, Yue Yining finally understood what Xie Qingyu meant by "gift".
She looked up in surprise. Xie Qingyu was looking at her. The wind blew his long hair at his temples aside, and a ray of moonlight fell into his clear eyes.
“This mansion is a gift I gave to Miss. Every item was personally selected by me, without any help from others.” Xie Qingyu smiled, her eyes gleaming. “I heard from Miss Fu that the mansion in Jiulian Town was one that Miss insisted on buying. I imagine Miss must be very happy with that mansion.”
“Miss once said that what she wanted most was a peaceful and carefree life, a cup of tea, a wooden house, enough to shelter her from the wind and rain. Now I can repay Miss’s kindness. A house is not difficult for me. If it can be a gift that makes Miss happy, that would be the best.”
Yue Yining was at a loss for words. She opened her mouth, but her mind went completely blank.
She never told anyone that she actually didn't quite adapt to life in the Princess's residence. The Princess's residence was magnificent, with carved beams and painted rafters; every step revealed a scene of paradise, but she wasn't used to it. She wasn't used to the vast, empty bedchamber, the strict rules governing entry and exit, or being meticulously attended to. When she first arrived at the Princess's residence, she often woke up very early, staring blankly at the sky just beginning to lighten.
She knew that Wei Yihua treated her very well. But ultimately, she didn't belong here, nor did she belong to the bustling and vibrant city of Yanjing.
She misses her life in Jiulian Town very much.
But she also knew that she had chosen this path herself, and she had to walk it to the end.
She didn't feel that she had worked hard, but that she was just not happy. She was living a life of luxury, while many ordinary people couldn't even afford a full meal. How could she have the right to feel that she had worked hard?
However, she felt a mix of sadness, joy, and a touch of sadness at the fact that someone wanted to fulfill a wish that even she herself found unattainable.
"Thank you, I really like it." Yue Yining's voice was a little dry. She slightly raised the corners of her lips and smiled, "But you're losing out by giving me such a nice gift, since I can't give you a gift in return."
She smiled. It was her most genuine smile of the night.
Upon realizing this, Xie Qingyu's breath hitched, and the emotions that had been suppressed in her heart for so long surged forth like magma, completely eroding away her hesitation, expectations, and worries.
“No need for a return gift,” Xie Qingyu said in a hoarse voice. “I am already content that Miss accepted my gift and seemed pleased.”
Under the bright moonlight, the young man in black, with eyes like flowing spring waves and a face like a jade god, smiled. He was truly a handsome man.
Xie Qingyu's gaze was hidden among the swaying bamboo shadows in the courtyard, blurred into a gentle mist. Yue Yining looked at him and couldn't help but clench the bronze key in her hand.
She suddenly remembered that it was already March, springtime. The peach tree in the mansion in Jiulian Town should have already reached its full bloom.
[Volume Two: Let the White Deer Roam Free Among the Green Cliffs - The End]
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