Chapter 103 A Glimpse of Beauty He feared he might lose her in a moment of distraction
In the West Street night market, Mu Chenbi had already strolled around several times. He appeared to be browsing, but he didn't look, buy, or eat. He walked straight from east to west, then turned back from west to east, not knowing how long it would take. The Eagle Guards, who had been complaining about being bored just a few days ago, were now groaning incessantly. Walking a little further wasn't a big deal, and missing a few meals wouldn't kill them. The real problem was that the night market was overflowing with delicious food—all sorts of dishes that you could see, smell, and eat with just a copper coin—and after wandering around for hours without tasting any of them, that was real torture.
Taking advantage of Mu Chenbi's inattention, the starving Eagle Guard squeezed next to Luo Yichen and whispered, "Your Highness must be hungry after wandering around for a while. I just heard the freshly baked meat pies smell delicious. Shall I go and buy some to tide us over?"
"You son of a bitch." Luo Yichen swung his sword hilt, making the ignorant eagle guard wince in pain. "You guys are just living too comfortably. Why aren't you sticking close to His Highness?"
"What's wrong with him today?" The unlucky fellow rubbed his chest. "Has His Highness gone mad? What's wrong with Chief Luo this time? He's always rushing to buy food before we even have to say a word. Can't he smell the delicious meat patties?"
The experienced Eagle Guard pressed his index finger to his lips, warning him to keep his voice down. "Don't mess with Chief Luo these next few days. I heard he was kicked out of Gongcheng Money Shop again today, carrying a huge sum of money. The Mei family just won't take his business. If you were in his shoes, you'd be furious too."
"The leader of the Eagle Guard Battalion, the Mei family dares to do that?" The unlucky fellow scratched his head, puzzled.
The Eagle Guard feigned shock, "You don't know? Miss Mei is Chief Luo's natural nemesis, his life's curse."
The unlucky guy blinked his bewildered eyes, conjuring up an image of a fierce and monstrous shrew in his mind, and covered his mouth, too afraid to say anything more.
"Luo Yichen." Mu Chenbi called out, but there was no response. "Luo Yichen?"
"Yes, Your Highness." Luo Yichen perked up. "Is Your Highness hungry?"
Mu Chenbi was stunned for a moment, then looked back at the Eagle Guard who was swallowing his saliva as he walked, and realized that it was already past 7 p.m. "You still have your salary on you, right?"
Luo Yichen's eyes widened. "How did you know? Whoever is so ill-mannered tells His Highness this?"
Mu Chenbi was both amused and annoyed. "Look at you, walking heavily and weakly. Isn't it because you're carrying so much money that you can't walk? Do you need anyone to tell me that? I'm not stupid or blind."
"Speaking of which, it's really a ghost story." Luo Yichen tapped his palm. "I swear to God, I have never done anything to wrong the Mei family. Everything was fine before. Every time I went to the bank, Miss Mei would serve me tea and fruit. Ever since her cousin met Your Highness, Miss Mei has been like a different person. Today, I went and even bought some fruit, but I was kicked out again, along with my things... The bank is open for business. According to the Mei family's ancestral rules, no matter how much silver is deposited or how high or low the customer is, everyone is treated equally. Why did they kick me out? This is unreasonable."
Listening to Luo Yichen's incessant chatter, Mu Chenbi also felt some doubts. He had a very pleasant conversation with Mei Shiyu that day and even felt a sense of regret for not having met him sooner. He had been thinking that he would have the opportunity to visit Mei Shiyu someday and have a good chat with him. But what Luo Yichen said made it sound like the Mei family and the Crown Prince had a feud.
"Is Gongcheng Money Shop far from here?" Mu Chenbi asked in a low voice.
Luo Yichen casually pointed and said, "It's just past West Street, not too far."
There's no time like the present, so today is the day. "You haven't eaten for two meals, and you can still walk?" Mu Chenbi stood with his hands behind his back on the long street, gazing in the direction of Gongcheng Money House.
Luo Yichen sighed listlessly, "I'm so angry I'm full, how can I eat anything? It's getting dark, Your Highness, are you going to the Mei family?"
"You don't dare?" Mu Chenbi frowned.
"What wouldn't I dare?" Luo Yichen said, head held high and chest puffed out. "Miss Mei said my skin is thicker than a city wall. If that's the case, what am I afraid of? The Mei family wouldn't be so bold as to kick you out too. If they really did..."
"What if that's really the case?"
Luo Yichen lifted his stubble-covered chin with one hand and chuckled, "Then Miss Mei is even more adorable and interesting."
For a mere brute to utter such nonsense, the entire Eagle Guard camp made gag gestures. Let alone meat pies, they would probably vomit up any delicacies they tasted.
"Your Highness," Luo Yichen glanced across the street, "Isn't that Pei Yuan's newly adopted son from Xingguo Ward?"
Mu Chenbi looked in the direction of the sword and saw a young man with a long sword hanging at his waist in front of the shop across the street. He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts as he walked. Upon closer inspection, he recognized him as Lou Cangyu, the swordsman from Xingguo Ward and Pei Yuan's newly adopted son.
“Pei Cangyu?” Luo Yichen remembered his name. “Yes, that’s him. Why is he all alone?”
“The night market is open for business, what’s so special about strolling around?” Mu Chenbi withdrew his gaze. The young man was preoccupied with his own thoughts, just like himself at this moment. “Perhaps… he’s waiting for someone. You’re looking around like that, are you still going to see Miss Mei?”
"Yes, of course I want to see her." Luo Yichen strode forward, his eyes fixed straight ahead, and led Mu Chenbi along the street toward the Mei family.
For Lou Cangyu, this was not his first time in West Street, but it was the first time he had come alone. Without Feng Shisan's loud talk, Ji Fang's gossip, Xiao Ma's chatter, and A Jiu's sarcasm, Lou Cangyu did not feel lonely as he walked through the streets. On the contrary, he felt more comfortable than ever before.
Painted boats swayed gently on the river, red silk ribbons fluttered in the wind, music and dance filled the boats, the night stars shone like jewels, and tourists in brightly colored clothes filled the streets. Lovers walked hand in hand, friends clinked glasses, and all sorts of sounds mingled together. Although it was noisy, it was exceptionally moving to Lou Cangyu's ears.
Lou Cangyu scanned the unfamiliar faces. He had been in Rongdu for several months, and almost every day he was confined to the neighborhood. The faces around him were the same few he had seen countless times. Outside Xingguo Ward, he didn't recognize many people. But why... did he feel a longing in his heart, a longing to see that face among these faces, the face that made him toss and turn at night whenever he thought of it?
Lou Cangyu opened his palm; the galaxy Wushuang had left him had vanished. Lou Cangyu looked up at the night sky; the galaxy was still there, but he didn't know when he would see her again. The inner quarters were only one street away from West Street, yet it seemed as if there was an unbreakable barrier between them, one that he could never cross.
Perhaps it's better to stop thinking about it.
"Lou Cangyu?"
Lou Cangyu suddenly stopped, as if a whistling wind was blowing past his ears; he must have misheard.
"—Lou Cangyu? Or Pei Cangyu? I called you by the wrong name. Aren't you even willing to turn around and look at me?"
It felt like a dream. If he didn't turn back, the dream wouldn't shatter. Lou Cangyu shook his head self-deprecatingly, took a step forward, and thought, "Lou Cangyu, you've had a tough life since you were little. What good thing didn't you achieve through hard work? What do you think you can just come true? You're being far too greedy."
Even if it was all a dream, Lou Cangyu clenched her fists, and realized there was nothing there. Lou Cangyu stopped and looked back. The stars were dazzling, and figures swayed. She was backlit by the stars, her face covered by a jade-colored veil, with half of her face hidden by the shadows of the trees. Even so, Lou Cangyu recognized her at a glance as Wushuang.
In the darkness, Wushuang's eyes shone even brighter. When Lou Cangyu finally turned to her, she laughed heartily, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons.
"Is it really you?" Lou Cangyu couldn't believe his eyes. He reached out to Wushuang as if possessed, mustering his courage to touch her and confirm that the person in front of him was the real Wushuang, and not just an illusion in his mind.
"Are you stupid?" Wushuang regained her cold expression, her eyes still shining like stars. "I'm standing right in front of you, and you don't recognize me after all this time?"
"I'll never forget your face once I've seen it." Lou Cangyu lowered his hand, not daring to touch it again. "It's not that I don't recognize you, it's just... I dare not recognize you."
"Just you alone?" Wushuanghuan looked around at the other young men who didn't carry swords. "It's past 7 PM already. Did Pei Yuan really allow you to sneak out?"
Lou Cangyu blushed and said, "I didn't sneak away. I came out openly and honestly. Rongdu is a prosperous place, and the ward master didn't restrain us."
Beneath her mask, Wushuang couldn't hide her smile. She approached and said, "I forgot to congratulate you. I heard that you've become Pei Yuan's adopted son and changed your surname to Pei. Is that true, Pei Cangyu?"
Lou Cangyu's face grew increasingly hot. With each step Wushuang took closer, his body became hotter. If she got any closer, he feared he would be engulfed in flames. He wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. He was completely exposed to Wushuang's eyes. He wanted to escape, but he couldn't.
"You're making fun of me," Lou Cangyu squeezed out. "Xingguo Ward has a legitimate young master. I, with the surname Pei, am nothing."
Wushuang leaned down to look at his flushed face. "Whether it's Lou Cangyu or Pei Cangyu, the Cangyu I thought of was the one on Lingbo Terrace who could use the stones from other mountains to polish jade. But now you seem to have become a stone."
Mentioning the stone made Lou Cangyu blush even more. From childhood to adulthood, he hated it most when others called him "the Lou family's little stone." Stone is stone, but why add "Lou family" and "little"? It's one thing for others to call him that, but Wushuang actually said that to him. If Lou Cangyu continued to tolerate it, he would be unworthy of being a human being.
"My older brother is a stone, but I'm not." Lou Cangyu said indignantly, but realized his tone was too harsh as soon as he said it. He looked at Wushuang's face, afraid that she would turn around and leave him.
Wushuang seemed to be waiting for him to lose his temper and retort to her. She even seemed to smile and softened her voice, coaxing him gently, "I was wrong. How about I invite you to the tavern?"
A tavern? Lou Cangyu's ears were ringing. He must have misheard. Wushuang actually invited him to a tavern?
After waiting a while without Lou Cangyu's reply, Wushuang sighed mournfully, "Oh dear, you must have already eaten dinner, then never mind..."
"No." Lou Cangyu only knew that she would regret missing this opportunity. "I...I'll go."
"That's enough since I've already eaten." Wushuang deliberately turned around, the veil covering her face curving gracefully. "Next time..."
Lou Cangyu took a step and blocked Wushuang's path. His heart was pounding in his chest. Even if Wushuang's sword was pressed against his throat, he could not let Wushuang leave. "I haven't had dinner yet." Lou Cangyu mustered all the courage he had in the first half of his life. "If I go back to the neighborhood now, I definitely won't be able to get a hot meal. I'll go."
Wu Shuang smiled brightly, her beauty rivaling the starry sky. Lou Cangyu gazed into her eyes, feeling his own reflection so small yet so clear. Lou Cangyu felt a surge of joy, for in Wu Shuang's eyes, there was also Cangyu.
"Do you still have the galaxy in your palm?" Wushuang pointed at Lou Cangyu's hand.
Lou Cangyu clenched his fist, not daring to show it to Wushuang. He couldn't keep the starry river in his hand. He cherished the mark Wushuang left him and had already treasured it very much, but... when he woke up one day, the starry river had still disappeared.
"You're so stupid." Wushuang's eyes sparkled as she opened her arms to Lou Cangyu.
Lou Cangyu secretly peeked over and saw that Wushuang's palm was clean and clear, and the green color of that day was gone. Lou Cangyu slowly opened his hand, about to offer it to Wushuang, but then suddenly pulled it back behind him.
"You're so silly," Wushuang laughed. "Your hands were stained that day, and you were worried that you couldn't get rid of it. Now that it's gone, why are you still reluctant to part with it? It's just mineral powder. If you like it, next time, I'll make you a new one that I guarantee you'll like."
Lou Cangyu parted his lips slightly. He wanted to say that he really liked the color Wushuang had left him, that he cherished it dearly, but he still couldn't keep it. He had so much to say to Wushuang, but he didn't know where to begin.
Lou Cangyu also wanted to tell Wushuang that although his sword was broken, it wasn't her fault, and that Guan Ye's provocation in the inner quarters wasn't instigated by him... How could he embarrass her?
Wushuang ignored Lou Cangyu and walked towards the side of the street on her own. Lou Cangyu's eyes gradually dimmed, and she sniffed and frowned.
"Lou Cangyu, are you leaving or not?"
Lou Cangyu looked up in surprise, while Wushuang stopped in her tracks in annoyance. What was clearly a rebuke sounded like a startled swan to Lou Cangyu.
"Let's go." Lou Cangyu stumbled as he started to walk, almost dropping his sword. "Let's go."
West Street was bustling with cars and horses, enveloping the two of them as they walked one after the other. Lou Cangyu followed closely behind Wushuang, walking cautiously, afraid that the surging crowd would separate them, and even more afraid that he would lose her if he were to lose sight of her.
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