Chapter 3 May I ask... who is this young lady?
As long as there is breath, there will always be many tomorrows to look forward to.
After a few breaths, she felt much calmer.
He stood up, leaning on the table, and tiptoed to hang a bird-startling bell on the eaves.
The wind rustled the bells, making a clear, ringing sound.
It also sways the flower branches, facing east, towards the direction where the sun pierces through the clouds.
The clean breeze and the sound of bells cleansed away the noise in the yard.
Yan Chun was also tired of cursing. He walked to the back eaves, panting, and saw Xue Lanyi leaning on the windowsill, wiping the raindrops off the petals with a silk handkerchief.
She completely ignored Yan Chun's advice.
He's lazy and gluttonous all day long, and just pretends to be cultured!
"If you put the same effort into tending flowers and plants into serving the young master, why can't you even be a concubine?"
Seeing her sullen demeanor, Yan Chun's anger flared up. She glared at Granny Liu and said, "Go and sprinkle the medicine powder from Yingchun Tower into her flowerpots. Let her take good care of them for a couple more days."
"This..." Granny Liu turned green with fright upon hearing this. "This... The day after tomorrow is the young master's birthday banquet, and the eldest young master has also returned to the manor. We mustn't let anything go wrong."
"Useless old thing!"
Yan Chun glared at her. "Ha! She's too shy to serve her master properly. I'll teach her how!"
As for what might happen if he does something against brotherly ethics in the Duke's mansion, he'll just be beaten to death with sticks. What does that have to do with anyone else?
Yan Chun rolled her eyes.
During the rainy season, the time when the sky is clear is always exceptionally short.
Soon, dark clouds covered the sun again, and a cold wind and rain began.
That night, Xue Lanyi felt inexplicably unwell and tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The next morning, Xue Lanyi, carrying lilies, followed the route pointed out by Granny Liu to the Duke's Mansion.
The Duke's mansion was brightly decorated, and guests began to arrive as soon as it was time to go.
Because of her special status, Xue Lanyi had to wear a veil and enter through a side door.
She had just stepped one foot across the threshold when someone's arm blocked her way.
"Where did this blind fool come from? How dare he trespass on the Duke's mansion?"
The gatekeeper looked her up and down; she was dressed plainly, without even a decent hairpin or jewelry, and looked like a dead man. Impatient, he was about to close the door.
Xue Lanyi quickly caught the door that was about to close, curtsied, and said, "Excuse me, elder brother at the door, I am..."
Xue Lanyi herself couldn't even explain her own identity.
He decided to stop talking, put down the flowerpot, and went to retrieve the token Wei Zhang had given him from his purse.
The doorman had no patience for these opportunists and kicked the flowerpot she had placed on the threshold.
The flowerpot suddenly rolled down the steps.
Xue Lanyi quickly squatted down to help her up.
The flowerpot rolled faster and faster, and the lilies rolled around at breakneck speed as well.
The delicate petals bumped and bruised themselves on the bluestone steps a dozen times before rolling onto the street.
Xue Lanyi stumbled and struggled all the way to the street.
Just as I was about to catch the flowerpot, I suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves.
"Make way, all of you make way!"
At the end of the alley, a tall horse was galloping towards Xue Lanyi.
The horse's hooves kicked up dust and gravel, overturning several stalls on both sides of the street.
These are clearly fierce horses from the Xiongnu; everything they trample is pulverized.
Xue Lanyi's pupils contracted, and she quickened her pace to gather the lilies into her arms.
Originally, I wanted to snatch the flowerpot from under the horse's hooves, but the warhorse was faster than I expected and charged around uncontrollably.
"Run! Run!" the horseman shouted desperately.
It was too late. The raised front hoof stomped straight at Xue Lanyi's head, stirring up a long, whistling wind.
A flash of white light filled Xue Lanyi's vision. She instinctively closed her eyes and shielded the flowerpot beneath her...
But the expected pain did not come.
A clear whistle rang out nearby.
The horse leaped into the air and flew over her.
With just one long whistle, the horse regained its composure and trotted away into the distance.
The rider looked on from afar and exclaimed, "Young hero, you are truly skilled!"
Silence returned to the surroundings, and Xue Lanyi breathed a sigh of relief before quickly checking the lilies beneath her.
The flowerpot was upside down, and the lilies had fallen to the ground.
The soil weighed down the flower stems and stuck the roots together. The flower buds, which were originally about to bloom, drooped listlessly and were about to wither.
She waited three years, but in the end, he never blossomed?
Something collapsed in her heart. Xue Lanyi lowered her long eyelashes and silently scooped the flowers and soil back into the flowerpot.
"Are you alright, young lady?" A gentle male voice came from above.
Xue Lanyi stared blankly, without answering.
The man squatted down, his well-defined knuckles gently touching the crooked flower stems and buds along the soil.
Then, she said softly with relief, "It's okay, I can live."
He didn't say what method he could use to survive, but his confident tone had a magical power that made people feel that survival was indeed possible.
Xue Lanyi was willing to believe such comfort, and slightly parted her lips.
The words "thank you" were still on her lips when she opened her eyes and saw the man just an arm's length away.
He was stunned for a moment, and even forgot to close his lips.
A soft breeze after the rain brushed against the man from behind.
It rustled his clothes and the white ribbon covering his eyes.
A white veil and a few strands of hair intertwined and floated toward her, unintentionally brushing against the lily petals in her arms and the back of her hand.
Her black hair was mixed with white hair.
Is it an elderly person who is quite old?
But just now, the whistle he used to tame the horse clearly carried a youthful spirit of galloping across the land.
Xue Lanyi had never seen anyone who combined such a sense of vicissitude with youthful spirit, and she couldn't tell his age for a moment.
Why are you still lingering here?
The gatekeeper, seeing a clueless young maid and a blind man stubbornly lingering outside the Duke's mansion, swung his stick and pointed it at Xue Lanyi's nose, "Get out of here! You're disrespectful and lack manners, or I'll send you to the authorities and have you skinned alive!"
During the Dayong Dynasty, women pierced their ears and wore hairpins and rings from a young age. Those who did not wear them were mostly women whose fathers, brothers, or husbands had passed away.
Although Xue Lanyi wore tea stems to decorate her pierced ears when she came this morning, which is not a violation of the law, she is a slave. If the matter is brought to the authorities, she will have no room for defense.
Xue Lanyi twisted her fingers tightly, feeling lost and helpless.
The man stood up, his long shadow obscuring her small frame.
“Princess Zhaoyang had long ago abolished the custom of women piercing their ears by imperial decree of the late emperor. Everything was done voluntarily by the women, so how can it be considered a matter of etiquette?” The man’s voice was steady.
The gatekeeper laughed, "What night is this? Still thinking of Princess Zhaoyang! She probably can't control the mortal world..."
"Hey, Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, drag this foul-mouthed drunkard away and give him twenty lashes!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man with a goatee, presumably the steward, hurriedly stepped forward and kicked the gatekeeper, shouting, "You bastard, go down and get twenty strokes of the cane! No, fifty! Beat him until he's breathless!"
The butler bowed awkwardly, "Young Master, the new lad is a bit naive, please don't take it to heart."
"I'll escort you to Chong'an Hall. The old lady is eagerly awaiting your arrival." The butler wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gestured for you to proceed.
The man was slightly distracted, then said after a moment, "No need."
He turned to Xue Lanyi and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting. "Would it be convenient for you, young lady, to show me the way?"
Xue Lanyi was still in shock. She nodded stiffly and followed the man into the mansion.
The man did not speak again.
Xue Lanyi followed closely behind, looking at the man's back with a puzzled expression.
Granny Liu once said that the eldest son, Wei Xuan, was a general who crossed the Liao River. At the age of seventeen, he had already swept across the western border and should also be a young hero.
How could he have aged prematurely and gone blind?
Xue Lanyi sighed deeply.
The man in front, whose hands were calloused from swords and knives, now skillfully gripped a bamboo staff, lightly tapping the ground as he cautiously made his way forward.
The high-frequency knocking sound was incessant.
Stumbling and fumbling, they entered the Nine-Turned Corridor from the front hall.
The winding road ahead was even more difficult to walk; his legs kept bumping into the stone blocks at the corners, causing him to stumble and search endlessly.
I was about to bump into the black pine bonsai just five steps away.
Xue Lanyi opened her mouth, but swallowed back the words of reminder, and quietly quickened her pace to move the black pine.
The glazed pottery basin was very heavy, and Xue Lanyi gritted her teeth, determined to move it in one go.
The bamboo cane touched the back of her hand, and a drop of dew slid down onto Xue Lanyi's skin, spreading out, cool and refreshing.
She looked up.
Wei Xuan had already walked up to her and felt a softness through the bamboo cane.
He paused for a moment, then quickly put away his cane. "I'm sorry, and besides, there's no need for that, young lady."
He guessed that the girl he couldn't see had deliberately moved the obstacle in front of him because she was afraid that reminding him would hurt his pride.
Actually, what difference does it make whether we can see it or not?
But fearing it might bother her, I reassured her, "The doctor said that once the ointment is removed tomorrow, her sight should be restored."
Xue Lanyi felt a little relieved.
In any case, it is too tragic for a young man to lose his ambition or for a hero to grow old. It is wonderful to be able to see the light of day again.
She bent down and gestured for him to proceed, then said, "Young master, turn right."
A soft, gentle voice escaped from her lips and reached Wei Xuan's ears.
Wei Xuan's expression hardened, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Her lips trembled slightly, and her voice was hoarse: "May I ask... who you are, young lady?"
A note from the author:
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