Chapter 112 Xie Lingjiang: I'm asking on behalf of my senior brother.
The night was still and quiet.
The pitch-black night was like an endless expanse of thick ink covering the sky.
The Su family mansion has two adjacent boudoirs.
One plaque reads "Yilanxuan" and the other "Meiyingzhai".
The former planted orchids, the latter planted plum trees.
The two courtyards are very close to each other, with a narrow bluestone path about three steps wide between the two walls. Looking down from above, it looks like a narrow strip of sky.
Inside Meiyingzhai, the chirping of insects could be heard, and a boudoir lay dormant in the pitch-black night.
The second floor of the boudoir is made of precious nanmu wood for the doors, windows and wall panels. The furniture is classical, with rows of bookshelves and an empty chaise lounge by the window, with two or three books scattered around the pillow.
Every detail in the room reveals the woman's personality: a woman who is always engrossed in reading and possesses a languid and elegant demeanor.
Inside the room, in a place where moonlight cannot reach.
An elegant embroidered bed sits quietly, complete with embroidered bed curtains and canopies.
A gauze curtain embroidered with lush green flowers, insects, and grasses hung up, obscuring the view inside the bed.
However, only Su Guo'er knew that this gauze curtain was quite special; looking out from inside, one could see the general view outside.
Su Guo'er woke up naturally again in the middle of the night.
She dreamed again of the old fortune teller with his lowered eyes and his words of wisdom.
Su Guo'er curled up slightly, holding the embroidered quilt and turning to the side. Her clear, cold eyes peered through the gauze curtains at the half-open window not far away, where she could vaguely see the scenery outside.
It seemed as if he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
Su Guo'er's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She silently pursed her slightly dry red lips.
Immediately, a slender, jade-like hand reached out from the gap in the curtain, pulled back the gauze curtain, and a pair of long legs under the skirt bent their calves and reached down from the bed. Two small feet, like ice cream cones, wrapped in light pink socks, tried twice before touching the embroidered shoes under the bed.
A young woman lazily got up, wearing slippers.
He wrapped a blanket around his arm, walked to the window, tilted his head and looked up at the lonely figure under the moon on the roof of the neighboring house.
Su Guo'er paused for a moment, then suddenly pushed open both windows completely and climbed onto the windowsill.
The girl with the plum blossom makeup, who originally looked elegant and quiet, was like an agile cat. She climbed over the balcony and easily climbed onto the roof.
She didn't even glance at the narrow gap between the eaves of this roof and the eaves of the roof next door, nor did she hesitate before gracefully leaping across it.
Look at that set of movements, so smooth and skillful, not even a single roof tile was knocked off.
If one of the chubby-faced maids, fast asleep in the downstairs room, were here right now, she would surely rub her eyes and mouth and say, "Oh, Miss has flown away again..."
Su Guo'er wrapped herself lightly in a thin blanket and came to the roof of Yilan Pavilion. She walked to Xie Lingjiang, who was staring blankly at her beautiful face, and sat down calmly without caring about the dust on the eaves.
The two women sat side by side on the roof.
Above their heads, bright, twinkling stars were set against the dark night sky.
Amidst the stars, a lone bright moon hangs, like a gleaming jewel.
Xie Lingjiang suddenly felt that this moon looked exactly like the luminous pearl that her senior brother had given her, but unfortunately she hadn't gotten it back yet.
At this moment, the youngest sister of the Su family unceremoniously reached out to Xie Lingjiang, who seemed lost in thought, and asked calmly:
"liquor."
The latter shook his head slightly.
From the moment Su Guo'er climbed onto the roof until now, when she came over and sat down to ask for wine, Xie Lingjiang didn't look at her at all.
Su Guo'er couldn't help but glance sideways.
Xie Lingjiang sat alone under the moon, one hand wrapped around her knee, her right hand holding a miniature wine jar.
She tilted her head and gazed at a dark courtyard next to a plum grove in the distance, her pretty face seemingly in a daze, while the side of the small wine pot in her hand with red paper attached was almost touching the girl's fair face.
Sitting on the sloping rooftop, with her knees bent, her long, shapely legs pressed against her already bulging, fabric-wasting chest, causing it to deform slightly.
Even the amount of fabric overflowing from her legs, in Su Guo'er's eyes, who had already ruled herself out, was larger than Cai Shou's.
Xie Lingjiang seemed oblivious to all of this, her eyes, reflecting the starlight, silently gazing in the direction of the Deer Garden.
Su Guo'er silently withdrew her gaze.
“It would be so boring to drink it all by myself,” she said, staring straight at the moon.
Xie Lingjiang shook her head, "There's no more wine."
She silently put down the wine jar in her hand and let out a long breath.
Su Guo'er pouted, "Then why are you still holding a wine jar? To quench your thirst with a mirage?"
Xie Lingjiang ignored him and suddenly turned her head and said, "Some wines can dispel sorrow, and some sorrows can be dispelled by wine."
"..." Su Guo'er.
“You don’t understand.” Xie Lingjiang shook her head gently.
There was a moment of silence between them, then she turned and asked:
"Has the poem 'Returning Home' been found?"
Su Guo'er sighed softly:
"It may have been burned down. Either it was the Lotus Pagoda that caught fire a hundred years ago, or it was the Merit Pagoda that was rebuilt later. Anyway, it seems unlikely that it has survived."
Xie Lingjiang nodded. "Is this thing very important to you?"
Su Guo'er was silent for a while, then looked up at the moon and said, "Time is running out for the Su family."
Xie Lingjiang glanced at her and said:
"These are things that Uncle Su and Aunt Wei should say. You, a young lady of marriageable age, are worrying about all this. Besides, what does it have to do with anything?"
Su Guo'er turned her head and asked, "Do you believe in fate?"
I don't believe it.
After a pause, Xie Lingjiang looked into the distance, her eyes fixed straight ahead, and said, "My senior brother doesn't believe in fate either. He says that things are up to human effort."
"So you don't believe it either?" Su Guo'er glanced at her sideways.
“No, I just think what he said makes sense.” Xie Lingjiang lowered her eyes.
She turned her head and said seriously, "Actually, it's quite good to be safe and sound like this now."
Su Guo'er looked away: "Perhaps."
There was silence between the two for a while, with only the howling of the night wind. Su Guo'er tightened the blanket around her body.
Xie Lingjiang asked curiously, "Is your birthday coming up soon?"
How did you know?
“I’ve noticed that some of the maids and servants in the manor have been quite busy lately, it seems they’re preparing for your birthday celebration.”
"Hmm." Su Guo'er said casually, "It's just that some relatives or strangers will come, and it will be noisy for a while."
Xie Lingjiang chuckled.
Your distant relatives are all quite remarkable.
However, she didn't say it aloud, maintaining a certain tacit understanding.
Su Guo'er's mind was clearly on something else. She turned her head and said:
"After the fifteenth of this month, find some free time to accompany me to Donglin Temple again. Without you as an excuse, Mother won't feel at ease letting me go out."
“It’s because you’ve been there too many times.” Xie Lingjiang shook her head, then asked curiously, “Why is it after the fifteenth of this month? Isn’t there still half a month left?”
Su Guo'er pouted and said:
"Those monks from Donglin Temple are not good at all. They want to hold some kind of temple fair on the fifteenth of the month to ask for marriage, and trick some believers into going there to burn incense and pray for marriage."
"I heard they're getting ready these past few days. It looks like it's going to be lively up in the mountains for a while. It's best not to go before the fifteenth. It wouldn't be good if my parents misunderstood something."
"The Temple Fair for Marriage and Love..."
Xie Lingjiang's expression froze for a moment, she muttered something, and then asked calmly, "Is Donglin Temple very effective for praying for marriage?"
"I don't know, you can ask them yourself if you're interested."
Su Guo'er answered casually, then paused, turning her head:
"What? Why are you interested in this? Didn't your father say before that you turned down many marriage proposals from promising young men, wanting to dedicate yourself to Confucianism and Taoism?"
Noticing the suspicious look on her female companion's face, Xie Lingjiang feigned a frown, keeping her eyes fixed on the night view ahead, and waved her sleeve, saying:
“What nonsense are you talking about, Sister Su? I was just asking for my senior brother. Every time we go over for a meal, Aunt Zhen asks all sorts of questions, worrying about his marriage. She even wants me to recommend some sisters from the clan to him. It’s really so boring.”
"I see." Su Guo'er nodded. "You treat your senior brother very well, you even take care of this matter."
Xie Lingjiang did not answer, but looked around at the night view and glanced discreetly in the direction of a courtyard in the Sika Deer Garden.
The eldest brother still owes her a small wish.
At this point, a certain Ms. Xie began to believe in fate again. When you're sleepy, a pillow comes to you. Isn't this destiny?
Hmm, I can be a little more trusting in the future.
But unexpectedly, Su Guo'er, who had been silent all along, suddenly turned her head and said:
"You said that Aunt Zhen wants to find a woman from one of the five noble families to marry your eldest brother. Well, that's quite normal. Women from the five noble families are highly sought after by men in the Great Zhou Dynasty. They are even more popular than women from the Li and Wei clans."
She pursed her lips, paused, and then continued with a smile:
"However, I have a feeling that Aunt Zhen has her eye on you, Sister Xie. It just so happens that you are the junior sister and have a good relationship with Ouyang Lianghan. If I were his aunt, I would definitely do the same..."
"Well, Sister Xie, you should be careful. You don't want Aunt Zhen to propose to your father by accident. It would be awkward if you had to refuse."
Su Guo'er finished speaking with a half-smile, but immediately noticed that the Xie family sister beside her had changed her expression, though it was difficult to see clearly in the darkness.
"What's wrong, Sister Xie?" she asked curiously.
"No...it's nothing."
Su Guo'er glanced at Xie Lingjiang's slightly stiff face again, and then said with a sudden realization:
"Oh, I see. So Aunt Zhen has already tried to propose to your father, which is why Sister Xie is too embarrassed to say it now?"
She nodded slightly, relieved for her female companion beside her.
"Then it's alright, that's normal. So she had already refused. No wonder she felt comfortable asking you about matchmaking. It seems she doesn't dare to mess with Sister Xie anymore. That's easy. Sister Xie, do as you please. Go introduce a cousin to someone; who knows, it might even strengthen your relationship with your eldest brother."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Guo'er, who was smiling and tilting her head, suddenly heard a "clanging" sound.
A tiny wine jar that had been placed at a young woman's feet rolled down from the eaves, and a moment later, a crisp sound of a bottle shattering broke the silence of the night.
"No...it was an accident, please don't be offended, Sister Su."
Facing the slightly probing gaze from Su Guo'er, the noble lady of the Xie family forced a smile and explained.
"It seems Sister Xie is really drunk. She should get some rest. Be careful when you go down from the roof later."
Su Guo'er chuckled.
Xie Lingjiang didn't reply, and the atmosphere between the two became awkward.
Seeing this, Su Guo'er didn't think much of it and took her leave.
But he didn't see Xie Lingjiang sitting alone under the moon, her face somewhat pale.
After Su Guo'er left, she sat alone on the rooftop, hugging her knees, for an unknown amount of time.
Until a passing cloud in the sky obscured the bright moon, darkening the world, then the cloud cleared again, and the moon's clear light shone down once more.
Her figure was no longer visible on the rooftop.
Only the howling night wind intercepted half of the woman's murmur:
"Man proposes, God disposes... Man proposes, God disposes... that's how we won't believe in fate..."
...
Inside the Sika Deer Park, in the plum grove courtyard.
It was pitch black.
Inside the house, one could faintly hear the sound of the night wind blowing against the doors and windows.
The air inside the room seemed even more tranquil.
On the bed, the synchronized breathing of the handsome young man and the white-haired maid seemed particularly loud.
The master and servant were fast asleep.
At some point.
"Master... please... please stop hitting me... Master..."
The white-haired maidservant would occasionally smack her lips, turn her back to the handsome young man, and hug the quilt tightly as if it were her master. She would mutter a few words in her sleep from time to time, and it was unknown what unforgettable things she was dreaming about.
Meanwhile, the blanket covering the sleeping, wronged master was pulled aside by the white-haired maid, exposing most of his body. It was unclear whether he would catch a cold.
Presumably, if he had a runny nose when he woke up in the morning, the white-haired maid would inevitably be "disciplined" by her master again.
Unfortunately, there was a faint, sandalwood-like fragrance wafting through the room, which had been there for some time.
The two fell into a deep sleep and never woke up.
The bright moon outside the window seemed to be obscured by a dark cloud, and the room became darker as a result.
In the darkness beside the bed, a strange, slender hand suddenly reached out, trembling as it reached out in the air, finally landing on Ouyang Rong's face.
Her delicate hand gently stroked the angular curves of his face.
From thick eyebrows to a high nose and cool lips.
Gently stroke downwards with the pads of four fingers.
Like willows drooping by the water, gently brushing the surface of the water in the breeze.
So gentle, it's as if she's afraid of scratching the fish swimming at the bottom of the water.
In the room besides Ouyang Rong and Wei Lai's breathing, there was another breathing sound for no apparent reason.
When the gentle touch stroked Ouyang Rong's face, the breathing sound was initially rapid, but later seemed to be suppressed, gradually becoming softer and eventually inaudible.
Just then, the bright moon outside the window seemed to break free from the dark clouds that had been covering it.
The light and shadow in front of the bed brightened up a bit.
A slender, dark figure could be faintly seen standing still.
A slender, dark figure carried a straight, long, hard object on its back.
Facing the bed, with his back to the window.
The head of the slender black figure seemed to turn slightly at times, and in the moonlight, a pair of eyes as clear as autumn water could be seen for a fleeting moment, before disappearing back into the darkness.
Only that slender hand remained, reluctantly clinging to Ouyang Rong's face.
And in the halo of moonlight by the bedside.
I could vaguely see that this slender hand had only four fingers.
It's missing a little finger.
"Hmm..."
Just then, the sleeping Ouyang Rong mumbled something, as if he was cold, and subconsciously hugged the right arm that the slender black figure was reaching out to him.
He turned to his side, hugged his arms, curled up slightly, and buried his face in his hands to sleep.
"ah."
The slender black figure seemed startled, shrinking back and making a soft sound.
However, once she realized what was happening, she stopped in her tracks, letting Ouyang Rong hold her right hand, which was missing its little finger, tightly.
The atmosphere remained silent.
Before the bed, the moonlight was as gentle as water.
On the bed, her gaze was as gentle as water.
It's finished, 4,000 words! Sorry guys, I'll try my best not to do it again next time, sob sob...
(End of this chapter)
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