Chapter 30 Will General Satsuki-ga let me lose?
During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, if Yue Shanling stayed home, Zhou Zhuang and his wife wouldn't go out. He told his wife that he was returning to the Yue residence that evening and didn't need to leave the door open for him, and then he prepared to go out for a stroll.
There were already people waiting outside the door. As soon as the door opened, they came up and grabbed Yue Shanling without saying a word, saying, "I have been waiting here for a long time. General Yue, please come with me. Don't let the princess wait in vain."
Yue Shanling was pulled along, trotting a few steps, and before he could even see who it was, he was pushed into a carriage. The driver, as if afraid he would run away, cracked his whip and spurred the horse on.
As the sun rose high in the sky, the banks of the Qujiang River were already packed with people. Peddlers and merchants, pushing wooden carts and carrying loads on shoulder poles, weaved through the crowd, calling out their wares as they sold mugwort dumplings and beverages. Twelve dragon boats stood side by side on the river, their boatmen dressed in short brown robes, distinguished by colorful ropes tied around their waists.
There were several boat-viewing platforms along the riverbank for the use of high-ranking officials and nobles. Fu Sui leaned alone on one of the boat-viewing platforms in the middle section, watching idly as an old woman sold calamus cakes below the platform.
Footsteps sounded, and Fu Sui turned around to look. Yue Shanling was wearing an indigo round-necked robe today, and for the first time ever, a string of colorful zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) hung from his waist, looking exactly the same as the ones sold by the little girl by the river.
As the man approached, Fu Sui brushed her fingertips across the bits of mugwort clinging to his sleeve, and chuckled knowingly, "General, you're quite the refined gentleman today."
He swerved to avoid the mountain ridge, and the hidden patterns of the lion and the precious flower were faintly visible in the morning breeze.
"Everyone is provided with orchid and mugwort, so why is the general's waist empty? Did your household not prepare any for the general?"
Yue Shanling lowered his gaze and swept it over Fu Sui's waist. Today, Fu Sui was wearing a two-tone skirt, revealing her snow-white neck and delicate collarbone. A light green shawl was draped over her arm, its soft texture fluttering in the wind, making Fu Sui appear as if she were floating in a mist.
"Why doesn't the princess wear a sachet?" Noble ladies in the capital love to use spices, but I have never seen Fu Sui use one in the Yue Mountains.
Fu Sui's lung disease began treatment as soon as she arrived in the capital, and it only improved in the last two years. The Imperial Pharmacy holds several large volumes of Fu Sui's medical records and prescriptions, more than all the princes and princesses in the palace combined. Because of her chronic illness, Kouyun and the others dared not let her prepare incense, and even when sprinkling realgar, they avoided it.
"Naturally, it's to match the general." Fu Sui put on a tender and affectionate look, as if he really didn't need to use incense just to please Yue Shanling.
Yue Shanling remained silent for two breaths before abruptly changing the subject: "I have not yet congratulated the princess on her birthday. I humbly wish the princess a long and happy life."
The mere mention of her birthday made her angry; it wasn't a birthday celebration for her, it was practically a death knell. "Hmph." She turned her head to look at the dragon boat poised to set sail in the distance. "Is this all the General's sincerity is a set of mud whistles? Just so the General knows that I'm celebrating my fifteenth birthday, not my fifth."
The clay whistles were exquisitely made, each producing a different, melodious, and clear sound. However, Fu Sui wouldn't say any of this; she wasn't some child playing in the mud.
The man behind her spoke softly, but his words were full of vicissitudes: "Fifteen years old is still young, unlike me who is already halfway to the grave."
Fu Sui's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not turn around.
The drums thundered, and the crowd surged toward the riverbank. A piercing horn blast cut through the air, and the lead drummer roared, swinging his drumstick, wrapped in red silk, and slamming it heavily onto the drumhead. The boatmen of the twelve dragon boats simultaneously plunged their oars into the water, stirring up turbulent waves with each push and pull.
"Someone's betting on the first prize in the dragon boat race, the odds are very high, General, guess which boat I'm betting on?" Fu Sui's tone was casual, but it was not very clear amidst the noisy drumming and shouting.
Their observation deck was some distance from the starting point, and at this moment, they could only see the bow of the boat breaking through the water, white waves splashing as it approached. Yue Shanling honestly replied, "I am incompetent and truly cannot guess."
"Does the general know Ren Daozhen?"
Ren Daozhen was not a government official, and Fu Sui should have had no dealings with him. Why was this person suddenly brought up? Yue Shanling's gaze fell from the flying dragon boat to behind Fu Sui: "I've met him a few times." When Ren Daozhen was the governor of Qingzhou, Yue Shanling's army passed through Qingzhou and he had dealings with Ren Daozhen.
"What is the general's opinion of this man?"
Yue Shanling stood two steps away from the edge of the platform, looking at the slender figure in front of him with a puzzled expression. Although she was talking to him, she kept looking out of the platform, as if she was neither watching the dragon boat race nor admiring the scenery.
"Ren Daozhen's writing is magnificent and he is highly regarded."
Two ducks that had landed at the competition are fighting, and Fu Sui has been watching them for a long time. As the boat gets closer, the river water driven by the oars splashes and ripples, startling the two ducks so much that they frantically scramble to hide in the crevices of the rocks.
The battle ended hastily, and Fu Sui sighed regretfully, his tone full of melancholy: "When Princess Yongjia surrendered to Ren Daozhen, she was only sixteen years old. It is said that Ren Daozhen was already forty-seven at that time." If crossing mountains and ridges is considered half-dead, then wouldn't Ren Daozhen be an old coffin inside?
Princess Yongjia was the daughter of Prince Xu, and she was married to Ren Daozhen by the emperor's arrangement. Within a few years of her marriage, Princess Yongjia had a long line of children, and Ren Daozhen showed no sign of being old and frail.
Fu Sui secretly glanced at the sky. People who are supposed to be fifty years old aren't ashamed at all. What kind of gentleman is he, who is just approaching thirty, pretending to be?
Yue Shanling was startled by Fu Sui's sigh; he had completely overlooked Fu Sui's status as a member of the imperial clan. Royal marriages were primarily driven by political considerations, and no matter how much he refused to acknowledge it, Fu Sui had already come of age and might one day become a tool for the emperor to show his favor.
Yue Shanling thought through all the young men from noble families he knew, but there wasn't one he could trust to be relied upon.
If she were truly like Princess Yongjia… Yue Shanling’s eyes churned with dark waves. Fu Sui was still so young, so frail, so struggling to walk. She was the only bloodline of the Prince of Jin. Yue Shanling thought of Ren Daozhen’s plump belly and graying temples, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, an uncontrollable nausea.
Two dragon boats passed by the stage side by side. Suddenly, the drummer on the black-hulled boat changed the rhythm, and the oarsman shouted, plunging the oars three feet deep, splashing high towards the other dragon boat.
Fu Sui stepped back slightly, as the river water had almost splashed into her eyes. She raised her hand to gently wipe the water droplets from her cheek and turned to complain to Yue Shanling. She saw Yue Shanling standing there blankly, his face ashen, his dark eyes radiating a chilling coldness.
"General?" Fu Sui called out softly, unaware of what had happened.
There were still traces of water in the corners of her eyes. Had she been crying? Yue Shanling squinted, searching for traces on Fu Sui's face. She had cried the last time they met. Yue Shanling had also secretly cried several times when he learned of the Prince of Jin's death and was punished to go to the border. Fu Sui was not even as old as he was then.
"General Yue?" Fu Sui called out again, raising his voice, seeing Yue Shanling seemingly lost in thought.
Suppressing her emotions, Yue Shanling stepped forward and asked, "What are your orders, Princess?"
Fu Sui was speechless. What could she possibly order him to do? It was one thing for him to stand far away from her, but why was he lost in thought? She stepped in front of Yue Shanling, looked up at him, and asked, "General Yue, what are you thinking about so intently?"
Yue Shanling looked down and saw Fu Sui glaring at him, her face full of reproach. But she was so pretty that even when she was angry, she only seemed adorable. The man, who had just been so stern, softened his tone and coaxed, "It's nothing, Princess, aren't you watching the dragon boat races? That boat is going to win, is the one you bet on leading the pack?"
Fu Sui gave a small "humph" and turned her head away: "The general isn't on the boat, so what can I bet on? If the general were to compete in the crossing, I would bet the entire Princess's mansion on the general to win."
Yue Shanling found it amusing; she had just been crying, and now she was full of energy again, trying to provoke him: "Isn't the princess afraid of losing?"
"Will the general let me lose?"
Fu Sui stood on the high observation platform, the wind carrying the hem of her skirt and shawl, full of vigor, her brows radiant with the vibrant beauty of summer flowers, emerging amidst the clanging of weapons and the rising of battle flags.
The clamor faded away, leaving only the soft, rhythmic breathing chasing each other on the high platform. The emerald green silk gauze also became menacing, binding him without warning and dragging him towards that crimson abyss called the Land of Gentleness.
"Boom!" The heavy drumbeats fell, signaling that the champion of the dragon boat race had been chosen.
Yue Shanling watched as the little girl, who hopped and skipped like a bird to the edge of the platform and peered out, breathed a sigh of relief. Even in his first battle, he had never suffered such a crushing defeat.
Fu Sui leaned on the platform and watched for a while. The people gathered on the shore clapped and stomped their feet in a frenzy, and the noise from other high platforms was incessant. Fu Sui didn't place a bet, unlike those who placed bets who were either happy or angry. She naturally, as if pulling on a cloud, pulled on Yue Shanling's sleeve and was about to descend from the platform.
Pulling a man's sleeve like that in public would be bad for Fu Sui's reputation if seen by others. Yue Shanling wanted to pull back, but was afraid that Fu Sui's movements would cause him to lose his balance and fall down the steps, so he had no choice but to let Fu Sui lead him down the viewing platform.
After stepping down from the stage, Fu Sui did not let go of Yue Shanling's hand and continued to pull him away.
Looking around the mountain ridge, he couldn't find any of the people who usually followed Fu Sui, not even the two servants who brought him here. There were only a few young men scattered in the crowd at a distance, cautiously observing their surroundings.
He understood immediately; it must be that Fu Sui didn't want them to follow. He couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, wondering if his rotten blood and decaying bones were worth her scheming like this.
There were many people on the riverbank. Yue Shanling carefully protected Fu Sui from being pushed around, and it took some effort to get out of the crowd.
Fu Sui followed his memory to find the little girl who sold colorful glutinous rice dumplings, but he couldn't find her anywhere. So he just wandered around aimlessly, looking here and there.
Along the way, she bought a string of bells, two strings of colorful fish-shaped ropes, and a bracelet made of porcelain beads from the small vendors, and put them all on her body. Her beautiful soft gauze dress was now covered with these worthless trinkets.
Under a sturdy tree on the bank, Han Zhenyi had his maids and servants surround him, preventing anyone from approaching, and touched his temples with a displeased expression.
In previous years, she would travel with Wang Lingshu, with the Wang family's servants clearing the way, and she could simply enjoy herself. This year, however, a senior member of the Wang family had recently passed away, and Wang Lingshu could not go out freely. She asked several other young ladies, but they all had already made arrangements, so she had no choice but to travel alone.
She hadn't expected there to be so many people today, and she almost got touched by those dirty, smelly men along the way.
Not far from where the Han family parked their carriage, Han Zhenyi was about to get in when she turned around and caught sight of a familiar face. She stopped and looked closely: Princess Yong'an was with a man?
The man had his back to Han Zhenyi, and Han Zhenyi stood on tiptoe, straining to see him, but she couldn't make out his face no matter how she looked. However, Han Zhenyi was certain that she had never seen this man before, and he was definitely not one of Princess Yong'an's cousins.
Han Zhenyi chuckled. Today was truly worthwhile; she had actually managed to uncover Princess Yong'an's secret. She casually summoned a servant: "You, go and follow that person."
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