Chapter 66 Are all men this childish?
Pei Zhiwei, who was lying on the stone table, suddenly jumped up when she heard Yan Jinghong say, "Maybe I know."
She moved too quickly and her elbow slammed against the stone table with a "thud," making her hiss in pain as she rubbed her elbow.
She stared intently at Yan Jinghong, asking, "Mother! You really know? What is it? Is it available right now? Is it easy to find?"
A barrage of questions popped out like beans, even making Pei Lin laugh.
"Speak slowly, your mother isn't running away."
Xiao Yunzhan also put down his teacup, and when he looked at Yan Jinghong, the anticipation in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Yan Jinghong's eyes crinkled with amusement at her daughter's appearance. She reached out to tidy her wind-blown hair, speaking slowly and deliberately drawing out her words.
"What's the rush? It's not like we're about to fly away. We don't need to look for this thing; it's readily available."
"Ready-made?" Pei Zhiwei's eyes widened even more. She shook Yan Jinghong's arm and said coquettishly, "Mother, stop being so mysterious. What is it?"
Xiao Yunzhan couldn't help but lean forward. He had guessed countless times in his mind that it must be the luminous jade that the late emperor had hidden, or a rare gemstone that was a tribute from the Western Regions.
Unexpectedly, Yan Jinghong's next words caused the pavilion to fall silent instantly.
"This object is you." Yan Jinghong smiled and gently tapped Pei Zhiwei's nose.
Pei Zhiwei froze, blinked twice, and remained stunned for a long time, unconsciously repeating, "Me?"
Pei Lin, who was standing next to him, was also stunned. He turned around to look at Yan Jinghong, clearly not expecting the answer to be like this either.
Xiao Yunzhan's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air, his surprise almost overflowing.
"Mother, you...you're not kidding me, are you?" Pei Zhiwei scratched her nose, which was a little itchy from her mother's tap, looking completely bewildered.
"How can I lure Lu Yinzhou out?"
He's a notorious master thief, but I've never even met him.
Yan Jinghong gently stroked her wrist with her fingertips, her tone softening, "You don't know him, but your maternal grandfather does."
Back when your maternal grandfather was still alive, he had a connection with Lu Yinzhou.
“Grandfather?” Pei Zhiwei’s eyes widened suddenly. She had never met her maternal grandfather since she was a child, and had only heard her mother mention him occasionally.
They say my maternal grandfather was a formidable figure, but I've never heard of any connection between him and Lu Yinzhou.
"Mom, you've never told me this before."
"You were young then, what did you know?" Yan Jinghong's voice softened, her gaze drifting to the moon hanging outside the courtyard, as if seeing the past through the night.
"Your maternal grandfather's family was falsely accused back then, and they passed away before they could be exonerated."
I rarely mentioned these things afterward, for fear of being reminded of them.
Besides, these are all things from decades ago. If you hadn't brought up Lu Yinzhou today, I would have almost forgotten about them.
Pei Zhiwei held Yan Jinghong's hand and said, "Mother, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up and reminded you of painful memories."
She knew that her mother always cared about her maternal grandfather, but she never showed it.
So she usually didn't dare to mention it much. She never expected that Lu Yinzhou would bring up so many past events and make her mother sad.
"Silly child." Yan Jinghong affectionately patted her head.
"So much time has passed, the Yan family has long been exonerated, what's there to be sad about?"
Besides, bringing this up today has helped your maternal grandfather fulfill a regret; you should be happy about it.”
"Regret?" Pei Zhiwei's eyes were full of doubt.
"Mother, what exactly is the origin of this story? Is it related to regret?"
Yan Jinghong smiled and slowly began to recount the past.
"When your maternal grandfather was young, his lightness skill was one of the best in the martial arts world."
Later, by chance, he met Lu Yinzhou. At that time, Lu Yinzhou was not yet famous, and the two hit it off immediately.
But how can two tigers share one mountain?
These two always claim their lightness skill is the best in the world, and neither of them will admit defeat.
"Didn't they compete?" Pei Zhiwei asked curiously. Even Xiao Yunzhan and Pei Lin listened attentively, forgetting to put down their teacups.
"Why didn't we compete?" Yan Jinghong couldn't help but laugh as she recalled what happened back then.
"Every time those two meet, they have to drink several jars of wine first, until they're so drunk they can't even speak properly, and then they start banging on the table arguing for first place."
In the end, the two of them ran into the yard, either leaping from the flower trellis to the treetops or scaling the eaves and climbing over the walls.
But they were so drunk that they often lost their footing and would either fall into haystacks or onto the blue bricks.
Then they accused each other of cheating.
It was as if she were seeing that scene again.
"After each competition, the two of them would deny it the next day after they sobered up."
Your maternal grandfather said Lu Yinzhou was drunk and took the wrong step, while Lu Yinzhou said your maternal grandfather took advantage of his blurred vision and played tricks on him. And so it's remained unresolved.
Pei Zhiwei blinked, first looking at Pei Lin beside her, then at Xiao Yunzhan.
After holding it in for a long time, she finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Mom, are all men... this childish?"
Pei Lin couldn't help but chuckle softly, then shook his head without saying a word.
Xiao Yunzhan's ears turned red instantly. He hurriedly poured a fresh cup of tea, but didn't notice that the tea was too hot, so he quickly pursed his lips.
He wanted to explain, "That's a senior colleague, different from me," but the words caught in his throat. He felt it was wrong; wouldn't that be like protesting too much?
Pei Zhiwei didn't notice his series of subtle movements and pressed on, "Mother, what happened next? Did Grandfather and Lu Yinzhou never reach a conclusion?"
Yan Jinghong's smile faded slightly, and her voice deepened.
"Later, the Yan family suffered a misfortune. Your maternal grandfather was falsely accused of treason and was killed in prison by his enemies."
Lu Yinzhou happened to be on business outside the Great Wall at the time. When he returned and heard about this, he went to great lengths to find me, saying he was determined to avenge the Yan family.
"So, did you agree?" Pei Zhiwei asked.
"I didn't agree." Yan Jinghong shook her head.
"At that time, I thought that Lu Yinzhou was a man of the martial arts world and there was no need for him to get involved in the mess of the imperial court."
We must not implicate him in the affairs of the Yan family.
He tried to persuade me many times, but the last time he remained silent for a long time before finally whispering, "I haven't even settled things with Lao Yan yet, how could he leave like this?"
She looked at Pei Zhiwei with eyes full of tenderness.
That day was the last time I saw Lu Yinzhou.
Before he left, he said that if anyone in the Yan family could master lightness skills to the same level as his maternal grandfather, he should definitely tell him.
He wants to have another match with the descendants of the Yan family, as a way of fulfilling the promise he made to your maternal grandfather years ago.
Pei Zhiwei finally understood.
Pointing to her own nose, she said in disbelief, "Mother, you mean...?"
"With my current lightness skill, can I compete with Lu Yinzhou in place of my maternal grandfather?"
"Yes." Yan Jinghong affectionately pinched her cheek.
"Back then, Lu Yinzhou even regretted that my lightness skill was not even 30% as good as your maternal grandfather's."
But you are different; you inherited your maternal grandfather's talent.
You mastered the light-body techniques that your maternal grandfather taught me in less than three years.
He's even more agile than your maternal grandfather was in his youth.
If Lu Yinzhou knew, he would definitely come.
Pei Zhiwei's heart was suddenly filled with mixed feelings. She felt sorry for her maternal grandfather and mother's past experiences, and she also felt regret for the friendship between her maternal grandfather and Lu Yinzhou.
She was silent for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "Mother, I promise you, I will definitely compete with Lu Yinzhou well and fulfill my grandfather's wish."
But then she frowned and asked, "But Mother, how can we let Lu Yinzhou know about this?"
"Passing on a message is easy, isn't it?" A clear voice suddenly interrupted, and Xiao Douzi broke free from Xie Ji's hand that was gripping the back of his neck.
Her hair was still wet with water droplets as she ran all the way from under the eaves.
He had just finished showering, and his body still carried the fresh scent of soap. He stood in the pavilion with his hands on his hips, looking very proud.
"Our brothers from the beggar's den are scattered throughout the streets and alleys of Yangzhou!"
Let the brothers bang on their clappers and shout in the alley, and then make up a catchy tune.
"In less than half a day, I guarantee I'll have heard so much that not only Lu Yinzhou, but even the stray dogs in Yangzhou will be sick of it!"
Xie Ji followed behind and complained, "You? What good tunes can you come up with? Don't let Lu Yinzhou hide even further away when he hears them."
"You're the one who makes up a terrible story!" Little Bean immediately snapped.
"You useless piece of trash who can't even tell the truth from falsehood, yet you dare to question your Bean Master!"
The two started arguing again, each saying something and neither willing to give in.
Pei Zhiwei looked at them, and her previously heavy mood instantly lightened considerably.
Yan Jinghong smiled and said to Xiaodouzi, "We have ready-made doggerel."
After their competition, the two of them even made up a few lines on the spot.
I picked one, made a few minor changes, and asked Xiaodouzi to sing it aloud.
Little Bean immediately straightened his back and patted his chest, promising, "Leave it to me!"
Tomorrow morning, I'll let everyone in Yangzhou know!
Xie Ji started undermining Xiao Douzi again.
Everyone watched the two bicker with amusement.
No one expected that Xiaodouzi wasn't exaggerating.
The next morning, as soon as Pei Zhiwei stepped out of Yaoguang Garden, she heard little children singing in their soft, sweet voices:
"With a smile, I tread the heavens; I walk on the moon and chase the wind, untouched by the dust of the world."
The shadows lingering in the corridor seem to transform into butterflies, the sounds piercing through the vermilion doors seem to communicate with the divine.
Her body is like a white ribbon cut through autumn water, her will is like a blue dragon shedding its bones and scales.
Who can follow in the footsteps of the cranes of yesteryear? Today, the path through the clouds is one I can freely traverse.
As she approached, she saw two children dressed in coarse cloth short jackets, one holding a skewer of candied hawthorns and the other holding a music box.
They would sing a couple of lines every two steps they took, and even the auntie selling steamed buns at the alley entrance would smile and chat with them: "You two kids, what are you singing? It's quite nice."
Before noon, Pei Zhiwei went to Liu Jingchang's office to discuss the Yuhuchun case.
Along the way, whether it was tea drinkers in teahouses or street vendors selling sugar figurines, everyone was discussing this poem.
Even the yellow dog tied to the door wagged its tail and came over when it heard someone reciting poetry, as if it understood as well.
Pei Zhiwei couldn't help but admire Xiaodouzi.
For three consecutive days, Yangzhou remained calm and peaceful. Not only did Lu Yinzhou not appear, but there was not even a trace of news about him.
During this time, the secret guards that Xiao Yunzhan sent to investigate Ding Jin returned and reported that Ding Jin had vanished into thin air since he last appeared at the alley entrance, and there was absolutely no trace of him.
By the time of Chou (1-3 AM) on the fourth day, Yangzhou City had already quieted down, with only the distant sound of the night watchman's clapper echoing and slowly dissipating in the wind.
Pei Zhiwei, who had been fast asleep, suddenly opened her eyes, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.
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