Chapter 2 A Pure Dream (Revised 9.14)
Chu Wangshu noticed that he was wearing a black cloak, and reached out to touch the fur on it. "Yours?"
Shen Qingmeng shook her head.
[This is for you; I just gave it to you.]
Before Chu Wangshu could react, Shen Qingmeng picked up the calligraphy she had just written, sat down next to him, and showed it to him.
Don't sit by the window in the cold wind; you're already feverish. If you really want to see the view, put on a cloak, or wait until it's warmer.
The cloak is a new one I bought; I'm giving it to you. There's also some painkiller here. Seeing that you took some last night and it seemed to help, I made some for you to keep on hand. I added a sugar coating so it won't be as bitter as yesterday.
Chu Wangshu looked at the words on the paper, then at Shen Qingmeng, and after a long while, she slowly spoke: "Shall I cast a divination for you?"
Shen Qingmeng shook her head decisively, frantically using sign language: "I didn't come here to ask you to tell my fortune!"
Most of the people Chu Wangshu met came because of his astrological and divination abilities. Some showered him with favors like an emperor, while others offered him gold and silver or flattered him, seeking a way to make money. Of course, there were also those who asked him to divine their fortunes to help them out of trouble, and naturally, many others harbored resentment, malice, and murderous intent.
But the girl in front of him wasn't there to ask for a divination.
"Then...why?"
Shen Qingmeng shook her head; she didn't know either. She had never met Chu Wangshu, yet she felt a strange sense of familiarity; he was the high and mighty Imperial Advisor, while she was merely a commoner, yet she felt a strong urge to protect him.
Shen Qingmeng suddenly thought of the general and his wife from the previous dynasty, and she asked, "Will you suffer retribution for divining my fate?"
Chu Wangshu chuckled: "No, everything has a cause and effect. All disasters can only be prevented, not eliminated. If I protect the royal family from disaster, then the disaster will naturally fall on me. If I reveal the calamity and change the fate of others, then I will naturally have to make some repayment. But I am only doing divination for you to resolve your doubts, not to eliminate disaster, so there will be no retribution."
Shen Qingmeng nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, before continuing, "I'd like you to calculate our destiny. I always feel like I've seen you before."
“I have never left Lingtai Mountain since I was four years old, except for sacrificial ceremonies,” Chu Wangshu shook his head this time: “I can predict your marriage, but not with me. No one can predict the future related to themselves.”
Shen Qingmeng shook her head in disappointment. She had no interest in marriage; her father said he would take care of her until she grew old, and she didn't necessarily have to get married and suffer mistreatment from her in-laws. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
"Let's do some calculations, otherwise, since you've been so good to me, I don't know what I can do to repay you." As she spoke, Chu Wangshu had already brought out her compass and placed it on the table.
I didn't expect anything in return.
Shen Qingmeng sometimes envied those who could speak. She sometimes had so much to say, but her frantic gestures were difficult to understand. Writing…writing was too tiring, and it seemed to lack any real power. For example, right now, if she could speak, she would want to ask Chu Wangshu: "What is there to repay with just a cloak and a few pills?"
Unable to dissuade Chu Wangshu, Shen Qingmeng could only quietly watch him perform divination.
Marriage? Shen Qingmeng had considered it, but she really wasn't interested in those men. Even Wang Wanwan's excited appearance when the top scholar was parading through the streets puzzled Shen Qingmeng. What was there to see? A weak scholar, powerless, would he really need Qingmeng to save him if something happened?
Shen Qingmeng had even less interest in the brothers in the escort team; they were all big and burly, and not a single one of them was handsome.
Wang Wanwan kept saying that Shen Qingmeng was definitely delusional from reading storybooks, and that her mind was probably filled with thoughts of that General Chu from seven hundred years ago.
Shen Qingmeng didn't know what General Chu was like, but Chu Wangshu was handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. He was gentle and kind, and his frail body made him both admirable and pitiful.
Shen Qingmeng felt that if she told Wang Wanwan that she had taken a liking to the Imperial Advisor, Wanwan would probably think that Qingmeng had really gone mad.
Shen Qingmeng noticed cold sweat on Chu Wangshu's forehead and realized that he was probably lying to her. She wasn't sure if interrupting his divination would hurt him, so she dared not act rashly and simply sat aside, watching quietly.
After a long while, Chu Wangshu suddenly collapsed, leaning against the table and panting heavily. Shen Qingmeng quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from Chu Wangshu's forehead.
Chu Wangshu shook his head dejectedly: "I...can't see through your destiny."
Then I won't watch it.
You said you wouldn't be affected.
Chu Wangshu stared blankly at the girl in front of him. For the first time in his life, he couldn't predict the fate of the person in front of him, but it was also the first time that the person was worried about him rather than the divination.
What exactly is she asking for?
"I...I'm fine, just a little tired."
For the first time, Shen Qingmeng realized how troublesome it was to be unable to speak. She picked up her pen and continued writing on the paper:
"Rest if you're tired. I'm just here to bring you some things. It's a gift from me, not an exchange, and I'm not here to ask for a divination. Besides, I don't believe in fate. If I can't predict it, I can't predict it."
Chu Wangshu felt increasingly unable to understand this girl. If it weren't for his ability to divine, he wouldn't have been sidelined by the emperor, yet she claimed that she didn't believe in fate.
Unfortunately, Chu Wangshu couldn't predict her fate.
Chu Wangshu looked at Shen Qingmeng with a complex expression, a mixture of curiosity, longing, and reluctance. From the first glance, he had been attracted to this girl, but it was clear that the Imperial Advisor should not have any lingering attachments.
He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "You...don't come again."
Shen Qingmeng was stunned upon hearing this. For the first time in her life, she had considered pursuing someone, and she had only just begun...and she'd been rejected?
That makes sense, though. No matter how approachable Chu Wangshu may seem, he is still the Imperial Advisor, while Shen Qingmeng is just the adopted daughter of a bodyguard.
Shen Qingmeng nodded slowly and climbed out of the window again. After taking only a few steps, she turned back and tossed a sachet into Chu Wangshu's arms.
Its scent can help you sleep well.
Chu Wangshu looked at the person outside the window, and even after she turned and left, she still did not give any response.
The wind chimes hanging on the window were made by the servant who had been with Chu Wangshu since childhood. But he was forever left at the age of twelve because he had spoken out of turn to the emperor when he saw that Chu Wangshu had a persistent high fever, asking him to let Chu Wangshu have at least one less divination session.
The cloak Shen Qingmeng draped over him last night was made of fox fur—the pelt of the white fox Chu Wangshu had raised for over a year. Chu Wangshu was fifteen when the First Prince came to the Astrology Pavilion to ask him to predict how he could win the autumn hunt. Chu Wangshu replied that he could only predict celestial calamities, not the hunt itself. The First Prince, defeated, returned to the Astrology Pavilion and, in front of Chu Wangshu, skinned the fox alive, asking if Chu Wangshu had foreseen the fox's impending death. Afterwards, he had the cloak made and sent over.
Chu Wangshu placed the white fox cloak in the most conspicuous place and looked at it every day, but he was not quite sure what he wanted to do.
Then came the caning by Chu's mother, which was only stopped when Chu Wangshu threatened to kill himself. But he knew that if he made a mistake in his divination even once, the people he cared about would be implicated, even if he had to suffer half a month of excruciating pain.
But he couldn't do it. He couldn't actually use his skills to help the emperor expand his territory, let alone use his divination abilities to aid and abet tyranny.
Except for the annual sacrificial ceremony on the first day of the first lunar month, when Chu Wangshu would descend the mountain, he was not allowed to leave the Astrology Pavilion and could only sit by this small window, gazing at everything below the mountain.
That girl must have been very skilled, managing to traverse mountains and valleys for two consecutive nights to find him. Unfortunately, those who came near him all met with misfortune.
Chu Wangshu looked at the sachet in her hand. It was embroidered with some uneven patterns, which seemed to be a full moon reflected in the mountains. In the corner, there was also a small embroidered character for "dream".
Is her name "Dream"?
Her needlework skills were indeed lacking, but since she was skilled in martial arts and could wield swords, she naturally wouldn't be troubled by a small embroidery needle.
Later, the girl who fell from the eaves never appeared again for a long time.
The winter wind is cold, harsh, and carries the smell of rust; it's anything but comfortable to feel on your skin.
But Chu Wangshu still loved to sit by the window at night. He no longer stared blankly at the sky, but instead hoped that the girl he had driven away would reappear.
Humans are strange like this: they are attracted, yet they are bound by the status quo and push it away; they are worried and stuck in the quagmire, yet they still have expectations for that unexpected light.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the Astrology Pavilion remained deserted. Chu Wangshu held the sachet in her hand and sat by the window, watching the sparrows on the terrace.
He scattered a handful of rice, attracting a flock of sparrows. Perhaps only these birds can be so free, and perhaps only in the cold winter when food is scarce, would they be drawn to these grains of rice.
That girl is probably enjoying a happy reunion with her family now.
Will she reappear?
Chu Wangshu couldn't help but shake his head in self-mockery. How ridiculous! He was the one who drove the person away, so what was he still hoping for?
The weather grew colder, but Chu Wangshu had no intention of closing the window; at least there was a sense of freedom in the air.
He stood there in the cold wind, gazing into the distance, listening to the sparrows pecking at grains of rice, and then leaned against the window frame and drifted off to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Chu Wangshu smelled the aroma of food and slowly opened her eyes.
Shen Qingmeng had already climbed back in through the window, placed the food box on the table, and now the window was closed.
There was a large note on the food box.
I'm back again!
"Why...why have you come here today? The city gates were locked at night, how could you..."
Shen Qingmeng looked helpless; the Imperial Preceptor probably thought she was an illegal immigrant.
She had only drunk some wine tonight, and felt more and more that she shouldn't give up like this, so she climbed up to the attic under the influence of alcohol.
What's wrong with a bodyguard's adopted child? What's wrong with a young lady pursuing someone? The young lady of the Shen Family Escort Agency is pampered and spoiled; what's wrong with her being with the Imperial Advisor?
Besides, Chu Wangshu was clearly a coward. Looking back, Shen Qingmeng realized that there was only reluctance in his eyes at the time, not disgust.
She took out dumplings and candied melon from the food box and handed them to Chu Wangshu: "They're still warm, have a taste."
The astrology pavilion, utterly devoid of any human warmth, had no festive atmosphere whatsoever. Shen Qingmeng secretly decided that she would bring some red paper tomorrow to cut paper-cuts for Chu Wangshu and decorate the desolate pavilion.
Shen Qingmeng found paper and pen and started writing something. She suddenly looked up and found that Chu Wangshu was just looking at her and hadn't touched his chopsticks.
Shen Qingmeng reached out, picked up a dumpling, threw it into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
It's not poisonous, and it tastes great.
"That's not what I meant," Chu Wangshu said, seemingly to prove that he wasn't really afraid of poison. He imitated Shen Qingmeng, picked up a dumpling, and put it in his mouth.
Shen Qingmeng laughed, her eyes still slightly drunk. When she laughed, her eyes narrowed into slits, making people unconsciously want to squint their eyes and laugh foolishly like her.
Eat slowly, I won't fight you for it.
Chu Wangshu chuckled and nodded, "Mm."
The dumplings were made with ordinary fillings, not as refined as those made by the Astrology Pavilion, but they tasted like a delicious flavor that Chu Wangshu had never tasted before. Perhaps it was the kind of "homely atmosphere" that the book described.
Perhaps because she couldn't speak, Shen Qingmeng wrote very quickly. She put down her pen and handed the paper to Chu Wangshu.
Shen Qingmeng, eighteen years old, is an adopted daughter of the Shen family's security escort agency in the capital. She is unable to speak, but is literate, enjoys reading storybooks, is skilled in martial arts, can cook simple meals, is not good at needlework, and is unmarried.
Looking at the words on the paper, Chu Wangshu understood even less what Shen Qingmeng wanted to express, but she still took the paper and pen and neatly wrote down a message that echoed Shen Qingmeng's.
[Chu Yueqing, courtesy name Wangshu, age nineteen, is the only son of the Chu family of the North. He possesses the ability to astrology and divination, and is literate...]
Chu Wangshu couldn't think of any hobbies or talents for the moment; it seemed that divination was the only thing in his life. As for things he didn't want to do, there were many, too numerous to list, and it didn't seem convenient to write them down at this time.
In the end, he only left four words: [Never married]
Shen Qingmeng took the paper with their information written on it, blew on the ink to dry it, folded it into a small square, and put it into her clothes.
Nothing else matters, being unmarried is enough.
Chu Wangshu looked at Shen Qingmeng and said, "Qingmeng, a boat full of dreams pressing down on the Milky Way, is a very nice name."
[A line of poetry?]
Chu Wangshu nodded, “In my drunken stupor, I knew not the sky reflected in the water; a boat full of sweet dreams pressed down on the Milky Way.”
[It sounds great!]
How about I come teach you how to cut paper snowflakes tomorrow night?
Chu Wangshu looked at her, confused, but neither accepted nor rejected her.
Seeing that Chu Wangshu didn't agree, Shen Qingmeng gestured and said, "If you like it, you should nod."
Chu Wangshu then slowly asked, "Do you know what kind of person I am?"
Shen Qingmeng nodded and wrote down two words on the paper that Chu Wangshu never imagined would be used to describe him:
Charlatan
Author's Note:
I added some things. I was in a rush when I wrote it, so many parts were not very coherent. I also improved a lot of settings later, so I made a few changes. People really should keep a complete draft at the beginning, otherwise you might remember something and have to revise each chapter overnight...
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