ink
When Xichun returned to Qingwu Garden, she busied herself in the courtyard. She pulled out the weeds that were growing wildly in the flower bed against the wall and cleared a space to plant mint.
When Mozhi saw her return, it scurried down from the sycamore tree and ran to her side, acting coquettishly. Xichun stayed by her side every time she came and went. When Xichun squatted down to pull weeds, Mozhi would run to the lush green weeds and roll around. When it was done playing, it would sit at Xichun's feet and chew on the weed leaves that Xichun had pulled.
Xi Chun affectionately stroked Mo Zi's fluffy head. Its glossy black fur was like a piece of fine silk, and Xi Chun sometimes couldn't bear to touch it. Mo Zi never refused Xi Chun's touch, and whenever Xi Chun stroked it, it would make a happy purring sound.
Mozhi wanted to run out to play, and a maid came to bring her food. The gates of Qingwu Garden were never closed during the day. Xichun had no possessions; any maid in the Wei household might live a more comfortable life than her, and Xichun never had any worries.
After planting the mint and clearing away the weeds, Xichun wanted to call Ink to come inside. Just as she was about to call, Ink, who was standing at the gate, pricked up its ears, seemingly having heard something, and dashed out. Curious, Xichun followed and saw Ink swagger into the Cedar Hall across the street.
The weather was fine today. After returning from his duty at the palace, Wei Qiao instructed A Gui and Zhao Yu to air out the books, while he himself took a travelogue and sat on a stone bench in the small stone pavilion of Xuesong Hall to read. The travelogue was written by the former director of the Imperial Observatory, recounting the scenery and anecdotes of his travels in the northwest. The author's writing was excellent, and the stories were vivid and engaging, which Wei Qiao found very interesting.
Lost in thought, I heard a few birds chirping. Looking up, I saw a black cat perched on the wall among the trumpet creeper bushes, baring its teeth and claws, threatening a thrush not far away, and making squeaking noises. The thrush, frightened by the cat but confident it couldn't catch it, flew into the air, chirping tauntingly at the cat. The cat, caught off guard, slipped and fell from the wall, luckily managing to grab onto a trumpet creeper vine to land safely. The thrush, seeing the cat's mishap, was even more delighted, circling twice in the air and chirping happily before flying away. Seeing its chance of survival was gone, the cat stood there watching the thrush fly off, seemingly still wanting to climb the wall and fight it again.
"Ink, come here."
Hearing someone call her name, Mo Zhi immediately changed her expression, ran to Wei Qiao in a few steps, and jumped lightly to snuggle up to his lap and began to act coquettishly.
The ink-like creature throbbed against him, revealing its grayish-black belly. Wei Qiao had no choice but to put down his book and stroke its belly. The soft touch of its palm melted away the frost on Wei Qiao's face. Feeling Wei Qiao stroking its belly, the ink-like creature shifted into a more comfortable position and squinted its eyes in enjoyment.
Wei Qiao couldn't help but chuckle, a doting smile spreading across his handsome face. "You really are a cute guy."
Mozhi had been coming to Xuesongtang from time to time ever since Wei Qiao returned a few days ago. Wei Qiao often saw a small dark figure in the courtyard. At first, Mozhi was very afraid of him, running away when it saw him and hiding in a secluded place to observe his actions. Until one time, when Wei Qiao returned from work, he saw Mozhi stuck on a crape myrtle tree next to the rockery in the large garden, unable to get down. Wei Qiao went over and picked it up. From then on, Mozhi was no longer afraid of him. Based on his intuition, he thought that Mozhi liked him very much. Whenever he returned to Xuesongtang, Mozhi would appear there in no time. Being clung to by a cat, Wei Qiao felt quite good.
Xi Chun was somewhat surprised that Mo Zhi had run into Xue Song Tang. Mo Zhi had lived in Qing Wu Yuan with her for over a year, and she had never seen Mo Zhi go in before. However, she didn't mind. No matter where Mo Zhi went each day, it would always come back before the maid brought it its food in the evening.
Time flew by, and July arrived once again. The Ghost Festival, the 15th of the seventh lunar month, was not only the legendary festival for ghosts but also a joyous occasion for the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Not only were officials granted three days off, but even the curfew in the cities was lifted. At night, people went out to release river lanterns, watch lantern displays, and enjoy fireworks displays, having a wonderful time. In the capital, there was a custom of eating duck during the Ghost Festival. On that day, Caihuan again placed a large piece of duck breast in Xichun's rice.
In Xichun's hometown, the customs of the Ghost Festival differed somewhat from those in the capital. People firmly believed that ghosts roamed the streets during the Ghost Festival, and that children who encountered them would catch illnesses. Therefore, before and after the festival, every household closed their doors very early, and children were strictly forbidden from playing in the streets. Xichun had never experienced the lively Ghost Festival, and her impression of it remained that of her childhood. It wasn't until she heard Caihuan's description of Caihuan playing in the streets last year that Xichun's fear of the festival lessened somewhat.
On the evening of July 16th, Wei Qiao was dragged by Yue Jiu to the Wanhua Tower by Xiujin Lake for drinks. Wanhua Tower was the capital's premier brothel, filled with beautiful courtesans and serving the strongest Zhuye wine in the entire city. Wei Qiao disliked drinking and wasn't good at it; after a few cups, he felt dizzy and hurriedly said goodbye to Qiu Jiu, asking A Gui to escort him home. After returning and drinking a cup of cool tea, he felt somewhat clear-headed again. Zhao Yu insisted on going to see the lantern festival along the Dongyang River. After seeing Wei Qiao off, the rest of the Xue Song Tang group boarded carriages and left.
As night fell and the world grew dark, Xichun lit a lamp and was about to close the courtyard gate. Just as she reached the gate, she bumped into Xiaoshao, the maid who was bringing Mozhi her meal. Both were startled by each other.
When Xiao Shao came to her senses, she realized that Xi Chun was about to close the door. "Young Madam, aren't you closing the door too early?"
"I'm a little sleepy and want to go to bed early," Xichun said. She didn't reveal the real reason, afraid that Xiaoshao would laugh at her.
Xiao Shao put out the cat food and found that the ink was missing. She felt a little panicked, but she had made an appointment with her cousin to release river lanterns, and the time was almost up.
Xi Chun didn't see Mo Zhi come to eat, and called out to him several times but received no response. Only then did she realize that Mo Zhi wasn't in the room.
“Young Madam, Inkje always eats on time, so it might have fallen somewhere and can’t come back. Inkje loves to play around in the garden, and it would be terrible if it fell into the Moonlit Pond. I have important matters to attend to, so please help me look for it, Young Madam.” Xiao Shao deliberately made the situation sound serious. Although Inkje was kept in the Green Wutong Garden, taking care of the cat was her duty. Madam would call her over every month to ask about Inkje’s condition, and if something happened to Inkje, she would definitely be punished.
Xi Chun was startled by Xiao Shao's words. Mo Zhi was so naughty that he might really fall into the pond while chasing butterflies and birds. Ai Yue Pond was so big, and Mo Zhi was a black cat. It would be terrible if he fell in.
Seeing Xichun's nervous expression, Xiaoshao raised her eyebrows smugly, picked up her lunchbox, and turned to leave.
Xi Chun became increasingly alarmed as she thought about it, her delicate eyebrows almost knotted together.
Inkstone was Wei Kang's favorite cat, and she absolutely couldn't let anything happen to it. But seeing the increasingly dark ink outside, a deep sense of fear gripped her heart again. The image of Inkstone helplessly thrashing and struggling in the water flashed through her mind, and Xi Chun's worry took over.
She gritted her teeth; she wasn't afraid!
Xichun turned around, took a bamboo lantern from the house, put the candle in the lampshade, and with the lantern in hand, bravely went out of the courtyard.
"Ink, ink!" Xichun called out the name of the ink while carefully observing the road for any traces of ink.
Because it was the last day of the Ghost Festival, Zhang Yunyao gave everyone in the mansion a rare day off. As a result, most of the servants in the mansion went out to play, and those who did not go out were entertaining themselves in their rooms. There was hardly anyone to be seen in the garden.
Xi Chun searched the Love Moon Pond but found no trace of Ink. She was about to return to the crabapple and plum trees in the small garden to look for it, as Ink sometimes slept there. She quickened her pace, and as she passed the path connecting the large and small gardens, a flock of crows perched in the crape myrtle trees were startled by her approach and took flight, cawing mournfully in the air. The cries sent chills down Xi Chun's spine, and she forced herself to continue. After only a few steps, a sudden gust of wind swept through, extinguishing the lantern in her hand. Terrified, Xi Chun dropped the lantern, covered her head with her hands, and crouched on the ground, trembling. The rustling of the leaves in the wind sounded to her like the wailing of a thousand ghosts.
Xi Chun kept her eyes tightly shut, refusing to see any possible ghostly figures.
"Meow."
Suddenly, a meow broke the silence. Xi Chun knew it was Mo Zhi, and without even being afraid, she opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. Mo Zhi was standing under the wintersweet tree in the small garden. When she saw Xi Chun, she gently wagged her tail at her, the white tip of her tail like a snow-white feather swaying in the wind.
The moon parted the clouds and appeared, its bright silver light illuminating the earth. With the moonlight, Xichun was no longer so afraid. She got up and walked towards the inkstone, intending to take it home and then close the door to sleep.
As if sensing Xichun's intention to catch it, Ink nimbly dodged the instant Xichun approached, waddling and swishing its tail as it gracefully ran out of the small garden. It sat coiled up on the open ground in front of the Cedar Hall, its eyes wide with excitement as it watched Xichun. When Xichun reached it, it immediately trotted back into the Cedar Hall.
Xi Chun was so engrossed in chasing the ink that she unknowingly followed it into the Snow Pine Hall. The ink had vanished, and Xi Chun's gaze swept across the courtyard, but she didn't see it. Instead, she spotted a man's figure—an extremely handsome man.
The man, dressed in white, sat with his back to her, one hand propping up his head on the stone table, the other hand hanging naturally at his side.
Xi Chun was too far away to see clearly, but she did see an extremely handsome profile; his skin was very fair and his nose was very high.
There was a lamp on the stone table, and the flickering candlelight shone on him, making his white clothes reflect a faint glow.
At this moment, Xichun felt that this man was like the moon, a moon that had fallen to earth.
Xi Chun was mesmerized, until Ink rubbed its head against her dress, bringing her back to her senses. She bent down to pick Ink up, but it hopped onto the steps beside the stone pavilion. Seeing that the man made no move, Xi Chun guessed he must be asleep. She tiptoed closer to Ink, picked it up, and turned to leave. The moon above the stone pavilion called to her.
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