Chapter 607 Candle in the Snow: You're full of rhymes, looks like I really can't let you stay! [5k views, please vote!]
Yu Nianyuan returned to the house.
On the deck of the merchant ship bathed in the cool moonlight, only the tall, back view of a woman in a flowing Wu-style dress and with golden hair reaching her waist remained.
A snow-white longsword lay horizontally in front of him, and under the moonlight, the blade appeared to be covered with snow made of moonlight.
Shining brightly.
Xuezhongzhu made a sword-finger gesture with one hand and slowly traced the blade of the snow-white longsword, unable to sweep away the snow-white moonlight.
The sword's point stopped at an inconspicuous inscription on the narrow blade.
The fingertip of the sword-shaped finger gently stroked the two small seal characters engraved in intaglio.
Zhi Shuang.
Under the moon, Xue Zhongzhu looked down at the sword, and the sword also looked at her.
The snow-white sword light illuminated the upper half of the face of the Great Queen of Yunmeng. The sword light was dazzling, but her pair of blue eyes did not blink at all.
The scene of that day faintly flashed before my eyes in the snow.
"...Hey, hurry up, Miss Zhishuang! If you're not coming soon, forget it, I can't be bothered waiting for you, you're so fussy..."
"Ah, it seems I guessed right. It really is your maiden name. In the end, it's still the delicate sentiment of a young lady, to have it engraved on your sword. Hmm, did you not expect that someone in this world would disarm you..."
Even though it had been a long time since the night had passed, the annoyingly flippant tone of a certain young man in a bronze fox-faced scholar's robe still lingered in my ears.
That day, he strolled leisurely in the courtyard, casually quoting classical texts.
"There is a bell on Fengshan Mountain. It rings when the frost falls, hence the saying 'knowledge.' The name is quite meaningful..."
"Tell me, who would have thought that the famous Empress Xue Zhongzhu would have such an elegant and playful nickname, Zhishuang, tsk tsk..."
Xue Zhongzhu had a fair, mixed-race face, as cold and unchanging as a thousand years of frost and snow.
After a while, she, whose maiden name was "Zhishuang," slowly lowered her eyes, murmured softly, and repeated:
"There is a bell on Mount Feng; it rings when frost falls, hence the saying 'knowledge'... So that's what it means. Is this where it comes from?... I see..."
The tall, haughty woman, seemingly unaware of the origin of her given name, was momentarily confused. She tilted her head slightly, a thoughtful expression appearing in her blue eyes.
"Where is Fengshan...and where is that bell that rings when the frost falls...is this the place my master longed for...?"
Standing alone on the deck, facing the evening breeze for who knows how long, Xue Zhongzhu sheathed Zhi Shuang's sword, turned around, and prepared to return to the cabin.
Halfway around, the tall Orchid woman's face turned cold and her voice chilling in an instant:
"You know so much, and you spout rhymes all the time. It seems we really can't keep you here."
...
After a fresh rain in the empty mountains.
At midday, there was a light drizzle, but the sky was very bright.
Deep in the forest, there is a bamboo house with its door open.
A small table was placed in front of the door.
The three sat cross-legged at the table, eating quietly.
The only sounds during the meal were the soft clinking of porcelain bowls and silver chopsticks against teeth, occasionally punctuated by a hoarse, aged cough.
The old man's cough was not severe, but intermittent, as if it were an old ailment.
It came from one of the three, a short and thin old man.
The short, thin old man had no outstanding features; he was just an ordinary little old man with a kind face.
He was wearing a faded musician's robe, which was vaguely visible that the robe should have originally been blue.
At the table were two other people eating with him.
They were a cold, elegant young girl in palace attire and an old woman with white hair and purple robes.
The girl in the cold palace attire had her hair pulled back in a high bun, a standard style for a female official in the palace, secured only by a single jade hairpin with mandarin ducks. Apart from that, she wore no other feminine adornments.
Pure and aloof, like a white lotus in the snow.
An old woman with white hair, deep-set eyes filled with white, a chin like a sharp cone, and her full head of silver hair neatly tied up, just like the hairstyle of a cold, palace-dressed girl.
She wore a dark purple brocade palace dress with elaborate and simple cloud and crane patterns embroidered on the lapel, and every move she made was solemn and dignified.
The old woman and the young girl, both ladies, ate with their backs straight, holding their rice bowls and taking small bites.
They lowered their eyes and chewed slowly, without making a sound.
Strict and methodical, following all the rules.
Ignoring age and appearance, they look exactly alike.
"Cough cough cough..."
During the meal, the old musician's occasional coughs, which he covered his mouth with, became the loudest sound in the room, echoing inside and outside the bamboo house.
Halfway through the meal, the old musician glanced at them and couldn't help but put down his chopsticks:
"You two, the older and the younger...aren't you going to say anything?"
His tone was somewhat helpless.
Rongzhen and Granny Song didn't even lift their eyelids, as if they hadn't heard anything.
Perhaps because her deep-set eyes were filled with white, it was unclear whether Granny Song was looking at the old musician. She silently picked up a piece of food and put it into her toothless mouth.
Rongzhen seemed to be lost in thought the whole time. When she was eating, her little face was blank and she was staring at the nearest dish in front of her. The old musician noticed that she seemed to only be staring at the plate of stir-fried lettuce in front of her and hadn't touched the other dishes.
"Are all the female officials in your Imperial Observatory like this? Haha, that's really interesting."
The old musician clapped his hands and laughed heartily.
After he finished speaking, there was complete silence at the table.
Granny Song slowly took out a neatly stacked handkerchief from her bosom, wiped her mouth, and continued eating.
Rongzhen, standing next to her, seemed to be reminded by her actions, and came back to her senses. She also took out a neatly stacked handkerchief from her sleeve, wiped her lips, put the handkerchief away, and continued to eat with a blank expression.
Old musician: ...
Nobody paid any attention.
It was a little awkward.
The old musician picked up the bowl again and glanced at the door.
A thin curtain of rain hangs from the eaves of the bamboo house.
The spring rains that lasted for several days have stopped, but there is still a light drizzle on and off today.
Through the newly revitalized lush bamboo forest outside the courtyard, the outline of a headless, open-air stone-carved Buddha can be faintly seen.
The old musician's face grew lonely as he listened to the soft sound of rain for a while.
This time, without turning his head, he said:
"As agreed, the matter of the Xingzi Lake Buddha is over, and it's time for this old man to leave."
"no."
"No."
The usually silent Song Mama and Rongzhen answered almost in unison.
The old musician turned around, his tone curious:
"So you two aren't deaf or mute after all."
Granny Song snorted coldly:
“Old Yu, if you’re bored, go ahead and say what you want. I’m not stopping you from speaking.”
Rongzhen glanced at Deputy Supervisor Song, then remained silent, continuing to chew her food slowly.
The old musician touched his thin, white head:
"This meal is rather lonely. It's better for me to be alone. You two are here just to keep an eye on me and not to chat, right? There's not even a moment of tender conversation."
Granny Song frowned and rolled her eyes at him.
Without uttering a word, everything was understood.
The old musician smiled:
"Alright, even if that's really the case, can't you two at least pretend a little? Don't be too forceful, try something softer. I've always been more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. Why are you two so... so inflexible in your work?"
"Hey, you Imperial Observatory officials are still the same as before, utterly devoid of humanity. Let me tell you, it's fortunate you encountered me; if it were anyone else, trouble would have been brewing sooner or later..."
The old musician muttered to himself, occasionally taking a bite of rice.
Finally, someone started talking, and I started to enjoy my meal a little more.
Granny Song's face was cold, and her tone was impatient:
"Old Yu, this is simply your duty, a way of repaying the Emperor's kindness. How did it become that our company is forcing you? Do you think you're some three-year-old child who needs us to coax you?"
“Oh, Miss Song, you should know this.”
The old musician leaned back slightly:
"People really do become more like children as they get older. When I was young, I didn't like to talk much either. I would hardly speak more than a few times a month. I would never say a word to anyone who wasn't a kindred spirit in music..."
"Now that I'm older, I've realized how interesting it is to talk. If music is considered elegant, then human speech is considered common. The most common is the most elegant; simplicity leads to truth, and careful reading reveals a world of possibilities."
The old musician, beaming with joy, shared with the two ladies, one old and one young, before him:
"Now I feel that after being quiet for most of my life, every extra word I say is a gain. As for Miss Song, you've had this cold face your whole life, it's time to smile, don't take it to your grave..."
The muscles on Granny Song's gaunt face twitched, as if she were about to change her appearance at any moment.
At this moment, Rongzhen spoke softly to ease the atmosphere:
“Mr. Yu, Senior Song and the younger generation have no intention of spying on you. Everyone in the Luoyang Astronomical Bureau respects you greatly, and the Emperor also remembers your hard work.”
She paused here, looked at the gentle-faced old musician, and spoke in a clear voice:
"I have heard the Emperor mention you more than once before him, saying that you are a national hero."
The old musician thought for a moment and asked cautiously:
"Then may I ask Miss Rong, how does a sage treat national heroes? Is there a set procedure or something?"
Upon hearing this, Rongzhen hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
Granny Song interrupted, her voice somewhat shrill:
"Enough with the nagging, old man Yu. Look at the Master, isn't he older than you? Yet he's still diligent and conscientious, serving the country loyally, shining brightly as long as he's alive."
The old woman with the white eyes raised her pointed chin, looking down at the old musician opposite her with a somewhat condescending gaze:
“Look at me again. I have served His Majesty for decades and am a role model for the younger generation in the prison. Unlike you, who are indecisive and always bargaining.”
The old musician's smile faded, and he became solemn and respectful.
He rested his hands on his knees, leaned slightly forward, and tentatively asked:
“That makes sense, but Miss Song shouldn’t be considered a national hero, right? Miss Rong, have you ever heard the Emperor mention this before him? Aside from praising the Master and myself as national heroes, have you ever praised Miss Song like this?”
Rong Zhen:......
Granny Song's face immediately changed, unable to suppress her anger:
"That old codger surnamed Yu, half-buried in the yellow earth, still trying to talk his way out of things?"
The old woman's shrill eyes had just begun to turn purple when the old musician waved his hand and declared righteously:
"Alright, alright, whether they are national heroes or not, they are all serving the Sage and repaying the Sage's kindness. There is no distinction between high and low, noble and lowly. Miss Rong, don't worry, right? So, Miss Song, don't be in such a hurry."
Seeing the dining table in front of him creak and groan as if it would fall apart at any moment, he helplessly shrugged.
"Alright, Miss Song, I never said I was leaving now. If you're going to work late, then so be it. Let's keep working hard together, these two old bones, to repay the Emperor's great kindness."
"snort."
The old woman rolled her eyes and snorted coldly, then picked up her porcelain bowl and continued eating with a stern face.
Rong Zhen glanced sideways.
I was a little curious. Had Senior Song and Mr. Yu been at odds ever since they met? I used to think that these legendary seniors in the Luoyang court were all very serious and proper.
Granny Song had a stern face, cold and ruthless. Rong Zhen frowned, lost in thought; she was also a woman of few words.
Silence fell once again around the dinner table.
At this moment, the sound of rain outside the door stopped, and the bamboo house became empty and quiet.
The attempt to create a lively atmosphere failed.
The old musician sighed.
People say that a hundred years is but a fleeting moment, and that seventy years is a rare age in life.
But he...
The septuagenarian musician shook his head.
Seventy, working overtime, afraid of workplace bullying...
Just as the three were quietly enjoying their meal and it was almost over, the bamboo door of the courtyard where the bamboo house was located creaked open.
The three of them turned to look.
Two slender female officials, each holding an umbrella, stood in front of the bamboo gate of the small courtyard.
"What's wrong?"
Rongzhen picked up some food, her tone indifferent.
A female official holding an umbrella made a gesture, seemingly pointing towards Xunyang City in the east.
The next instant.
The old musician, carefully chewing his food, noticed that the seat opposite him was empty.
His expression froze for a moment.
He turned his head and saw that the cold, palace-dressed girl was no longer in the courtyard. She had hurriedly left with two female officials holding umbrellas. Her rather short figure was leading the way, and the two female officials holding umbrellas for the lady behind her almost had their umbrellas chased away by the wind and couldn't keep up with her.
"Just bring him next time... Do you expect me to pick him up? What a hassle..."
The old musician could still faintly hear the intermittent voice of the young lady Rong coming from outside the courtyard, as if she were instructing the female officials who came to report.
His bowl and chopsticks froze in mid-air.
"What happened?"
Granny Song barely raised her head, and said coldly:
"People have arrived from Xunyang City."
"who?"
"Who else could it be but Ouyang Lianghan, the newly appointed scholar of the Xiuwen Academy by the Emperor and currently acting governor of Jiangzhou?"
The old musician stroked his beard and asked curiously:
"How did you know, Miss Song? I saw that the messenger didn't even say anything. Do you female officials of the Imperial Observatory now have a set of sign language?"
The old woman with the white eyes remained expressionless.
I have absolutely no desire to answer this question.
The old musician smiled:
"Miss Rong is really busy, and so are these younger ones. Looking at it this way, I'm quite relaxed. But Miss Song, with the statues being made outside in such a frenzy, aren't you busy at all?"
Granny Song replied calmly, "If you have nothing to say, you don't have to say anything."
Old musician: ...
Before long, the two finished their lunch.
Granny Song didn't leave. She paced around the bamboo house, stopping occasionally to examine the old musician's belongings, though it was unclear what she meant by it.
The old musician wasn't annoyed at all and started clearing the table of dishes.
After the rain, a spring breeze stirs in the bamboo forest in the empty mountains, drifting into the bamboo gate.
It is refreshing and clear.
The old musician rolled up his sleeves and, halfway through tidying up, his eyes, full of crow's feet, squinted comfortably. Then, he suddenly clenched his fist, covered his mouth, and bent over.
"Cough cough cough..."
As Song Mama walked to a desk, she seemed to catch a glimpse of a manuscript on the table out of the corner of her eye. She picked it up and glanced at it when she suddenly heard a violent coughing sound behind her.
She turned around and frowned immediately:
"Why isn't your tuberculosis cured yet? Last time you came, didn't you tell me that this was a northern ailment and that the further south you went, the better?"
The old musician coughed for a while, then calmed down and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
He turned around, a cheerful smile on his face, and said:
"Didn't they stop and stop heading south?"
The old musician, his body hunched over, swayed slightly in the spring breeze at the doorway, seemingly somewhat weak, yet his voice was anything but weak, and he laughed heartily:
"There's no rush to go home; repaying the Emperor's kindness is more important first. Don't worry too much, Miss Song."
Granny Song put down the manuscript in her hand, her face stern, her tone stiff:
"I have no worries."
The old musician smiled.
Granny Song stood silently in place for a while.
"Once the Buddha statue outside is completed and we deal with some insects, I will definitely let you go. I will personally see you off then."
"OK."
The old musician smiled.
After a while, Song Mama heard him add another sentence:
"But judging from the current situation, the peach blossoms at the entrance of my village, which bloom late in April, probably won't live to see this old man again."
Granny Song frowned slightly, seemingly not liking to engage in such gossip.
"Thump thump—!"
She tapped her fingers on the transcribed manuscript of "The Peach Blossom Spring" on the table:
"Old Yu, is the original copy of 'The Peach Blossom Spring' in the collection of the Yuan family of Jingzhao really without any problems? It's not a sword manual, nor... a cauldron sword?"
The old musician immediately shook his head:
"No, it's just an ordinary work of art by a famous person... Heh, it might not even be an original, but a forgery by later generations. After all, there are too many fake works of calligraphy and painting by famous people in the world, haha."
He chuckled to himself for a while, then continued laughing:
"Anyway, it's definitely not a sword technique, so don't worry about that. As for whether it's a sword or not, Miss Song has seen the real thing before, so surely she can tell the difference between a fake and a genuine one?"
Granny Song nodded slightly, passed by the old musician, and walked towards the door, preparing to leave.
The old musician suddenly called out to her:
"By the way, Miss Song, do you know where there are peach blossoms around here?"
"You can't even wait this little bit of time?"
Granny Song frowned, her tone impatient:
"What's so interesting about those few peach blossoms? Your hometown's peach orchard and village are probably long gone, yet you still think about them every day."
The old musician paused for a moment, then chuckled, his tone apologetic:
"I'm sorry, I've been dreaming about it a lot lately. My head is foggy during the day, and I sometimes confuse my dreams with reality. I really miss it so much, and I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until the peach blossoms bloom next April."
"Don't say such discouraging things. Just stay put and take good care of yourself. If you need anything, just tell us. Do you think we'd let you die? Judging from the progress of this statue, the day you leave... is coming soon."
She paused here, and before leaving, Song Mama reluctantly added a sentence;
"I will ask around about the peach blossom grove for you later, but if it is too far from Xunyang City, you are absolutely not allowed to go there."
The old woman with the disdainful look waved her hand without turning back, and her hunched figure disappeared through the doorway.
The old musician quietly watched her leave.
The bamboo house returned to silence.
He finished tidying up his bowl, stopped in the yard, and looked around.
The lush bamboo forest and spring breeze seemed to be missing something.
The old musician returned to the room, came to the table, picked up the handwritten copy of "The Peach Blossom Spring" that had been put back by Granny Song, and looked at it carefully.
"...Suddenly, a peach grove appeared, stretching for several hundred paces along both banks, with no other trees, fragrant grasses, and fallen petals in abundance..."
"At first it was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass. After walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area... The land was flat and wide, with neat houses, fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees, bamboo groves, and the like..."
He paused briefly, then softly recited:
"Their comings and goings, their farming activities, and their clothing were all just like those of outsiders. The elderly with gray hair and the children with their hair in tufts were all enjoying themselves... When asked what dynasty it was, they knew nothing of the Han dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin dynasties..."
After reading one of the articles, the old musician suddenly closed the book, his face beaming with sudden enlightenment:
"Hey, there are peach blossoms here too."
His face showed a look of sudden realization:
"What a secluded paradise! You really know how to find a place to hide from gratitude, Tao Yuanming!"
...
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