Chapter 56: Whispers of the Milky Way
After the Qixi Festival banquet ended, the mansion gradually quieted down. The maids nimbly tidied up the mess of cups and plates in the waterside pavilion and corridors. The colorful lanterns were still lit, swaying gently in the night breeze, reflecting the shattered light and shadow on the water.
Su Wanrou returned to Qiwu Courtyard. After bathing and changing, she felt tired but not sleepy. The tranquility after the day's hustle and bustle made her mind exceptionally clear. She opened the window, and the cool summer night air, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees, rushed in. Looking up, she saw a sky full of stars, the Milky Way stretching across the sky like a ribbon, with the stars Altair and Vega shining brightly on their banks.
"Madam, it's getting late. Would you like to rest?" Yunbin asked softly, draping a thin cloak over her shoulders.
Su Wanrou shook her head, her gaze still lingering on the starry sky: "Wait a little longer, it's Qixi Festival today, I want to look at the stars a little longer." Such a dazzling Milky Way, when she was in the Yongchang Marquis's mansion, was always difficult to see clearly because the courtyard was cramped. Now, in the open courtyard of the Duke's mansion, she finally felt the vastness of the universe and the moving legend.
As she gazed into the distance, she heard familiar footsteps approaching from outside the courtyard gate, steady and powerful. It was Gu Yangui. Su Wanrou was overjoyed and turned to greet him.
Gu Yangui had changed out of his formal robes and was now dressed in a dark-colored casual suit with subtle patterns, which made him appear even more upright. As he entered the courtyard, he saw Su Wanrou standing under the eaves, wearing a moon-white cloak, looking up at the starry sky. Her profile appeared exceptionally gentle and serene in the moonlight.
"Husband." She turned around at the sound of his voice, her eyes reflecting the starlight, a faint smile on her face.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Gu Yangui walked to her side and naturally adjusted the front of her cloak, his fingertips inadvertently touching her warm neck.
"I can't sleep, I want to look at the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars." Su Wanrou pointed to the sky. "Husband, look, that bright star is Weaver Girl, the slightly dimmer one opposite is Cowherd, and that vast expanse in the middle is the Milky Way drawn by the Queen Mother of the West with her golden hairpin." Her voice was soft and sweet, typical of a young girl, and it was especially clear in the quiet night.
Gu Yangui looked in the direction she pointed. He was a frequent soldier, and observing the stars at night was commonplace for him, but mostly for navigation and weather prediction. He'd never had the leisure to identify stars from myths and legends. Now, listening to her eloquent narration, those cold, distant stars seemed to have acquired a touch of human warmth.
"Yes, I saw it." He replied softly, his gaze shifting from the starry sky back to her face. "Thank you for your hard work managing the banquet today."
“It wasn’t tiring,” Su Wanrou shook her head, her tone light. “Everyone had a great time, and Princess Anhua and the ladies all praised the elegant decorations of the mansion.” She paused, her voice lowering slightly, with a hint of barely perceptible dependence, “It’s just… I haven’t seen my husband in a long time.”
After he tied on the purse she had given him and wore the love knot she had made, the thin veil between them seemed to completely disappear. In front of him, she gradually dared to show such girlish feelings.
Gu Yangui sensed the lingering affection in her words, and his heart softened. He glanced at the bamboo couch placed under the eaves and said, "Since you don't want to sleep, you might as well sit down and admire the stars for a while."
two
The couple sat down side by side on the cool couch under the eaves. The maids had already cleverly retreated to a distance to wait, leaving only the two of them under the eaves. The evening breeze rustled through the flowers and plants in the courtyard, bringing with it a delicate fragrance, and the faint sounds of the Qixi Festival celebrations still lingering in the distance added to the tranquility and peace of the place.
Su Wanrou hugged her knees, rested her chin on them, and continued to gaze at the starry sky. Suddenly, she said softly, "When I was little, my wet nurse told me a story. She said that on the night of Qixi Festival, if you hid under the grape trellis, you could hear the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl whispering in the sky." As she spoke, she laughed first, her eyes curving into crescents. "I don't know if it's true or not."
Looking at her childlike side, Gu Yangui's lips curled into a slight smile: "I suppose you're just fooling children." He paused, looking at her profile bathed in the silvery moonlight, and suddenly asked, "Did you... pray to the Weaver Girl for skill today?"
“I beg,” Su Wanrou turned her head, her eyes sparkling, “I beg to be skillful so that I can embroider more beautiful purses for my husband and make more suitable clothes for Xuan’er in the future.” As she spoke, a blush rose on her face and her voice lowered, “I also beg for… peace in the home and for my husband… good health.”
The last few words were almost inaudible, yet they struck Gu Yangui's heart clearly. Looking at her shy, downcast eyes, a warm current, melting the ice in his heart, gradually surged. He reached out, not to hold her hand, but to gently place it on the back of her hand resting on her knee. His palm was large and warm, rough like that of a martial artist, yet possessed a reassuring strength.
Su Wanrou trembled slightly, but did not flinch. Instead, she quietly turned her palm over and intertwined her fingers with his. The warmth from his fingertips made her cheeks burn from ear to ear, and her heart raced.
"I also have a request." Gu Yangui's deep voice rang out in the night, sounding even more magnetic than usual.
"Hmm?" Su Wanrou looked up at him curiously. In her memory, a man as cold and resolute as him seemed to never believe in such ethereal wishes.
Gu Yangui's gaze was deep as he stared into her eyes, speaking each word clearly and slowly: "I do not seek wealth or immortality. I only wish that the person by my side may be as peaceful and joyful as I am tonight, year after year."
There were no flowery words, no vows of eternal love, just the simplest and most sincere wishes, yet because they came from his mouth, they seemed incredibly solemn and genuine. It wasn't even a love confession, yet it was more moving than any love confession.
Su Wanrou felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears. Starlight twinkled in his eyes, and she seemed to see the vast, deep sea beneath the ice, melting just for her. She gripped his hand tightly, her voice slightly choked with emotion: "My husband..."
A thousand words were stuck in my throat, and they all turned into this one soft call.
Gu Yangui looked at the tears glistening in her eyes, and a thought struck him. He raised his other hand and gently wiped away the moisture from the corner of her eye with his fingertips, a tenderness he himself didn't even realize. "Silly," he whispered, his tone full of indulgence.
three
The two nestled together quietly, neither speaking, simply enjoying this rare tranquility and intimacy. The Milky Way flowed across the sky, and time seemed to slow down.
After a while, Su Wanrou seemed to remember something, gently shook their clasped hands, and asked softly, "Husband, when you were young...did you ever celebrate Qixi Festival?" She asked cautiously, with curiosity and a hint of barely perceptible inquiry. She wanted to know what his past was like, a past she had never been a part of.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yangui remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the distant starry sky, as if lost in memories. The night breeze ruffled his hair, scattering some of the dust of the past.
“In my youth…” he began slowly, his voice carrying a distant indifference, “I spent most of my time in the army. The borderlands were bitterly cold, and on the night of Qixi Festival, I might have been on high alert, or perhaps patrolling the camp. Occasionally, I would look up and see the Milky Way, no different from tonight, but my thoughts were only on the victory or defeat of the war, and the lives of my soldiers.” He paused, his tone flat, “As for the Qixi Festival, legends, whispers under the grape trellis… those were the leisurely pursuits of young women in the capital during a peaceful and prosperous era, too far removed from my life then.”
His words contained no complaints, no sorrow, but merely a recounting of a past devoid of tenderness, befitting his cold and hard life. Yet, this plain narration caused Su Wanrou's heart to clench slightly. She imagined that young general, in the desolate frontier, gazing at the same starry sky, his heart filled only with the heavy burden of his country—how lonely and burdened he must have felt.
She unconsciously gripped his hand tighter, as if trying to convey the warmth and peace of the moment to the heart of that distant boy.
"Then... what about the late Madam?" Su Wanrou finally asked, her voice barely audible. She regretted it immediately, afraid of ruining the atmosphere.
Gu Yangui sensed her sudden tension, glanced at her sideways without looking away, but his tone remained calm: "Qin Shi... she was aloof and disliked crowds. On the Qixi Festival the year after their marriage, I was in the Northern Border, not in the capital. And then... there was no more."
A few words sketched a marriage marked by mutual respect that was as cold as ice, and a marriage where couples rarely saw each other. Su Wanrou suddenly understood why the people in the household rarely mentioned the late Madam, and why Gu Yangui always carried an air of aloofness that kept everyone at arm's length. Perhaps, he had never experienced the warmth of an ordinary couple, or the comfort of home.
But by a twist of fate, I entered his world, saw the cracks beneath his icy exterior, and tried to warm him with my meager strength.
Four
“Husband,” Su Wanrou gently rested her head on his shoulder, her voice soft yet firm, “Every Qixi Festival from now on, I will watch the stars with you, okay? We won’t eavesdrop under the grape trellis, we can just stay here on the veranda, I will tell you the stories I know, or we can just watch the stars without saying anything, that would be nice too.”
Her dependence and promise brushed against his heart like a feather. Gu Yangui stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed, even adjusting his position to make her more comfortable. He hummed in response. After a while, he added, "Okay."
The faint scent of jasmine lingered in her hair, her soft breathing filled his ears, and her soft little hand rested in his palm. Gu Yangui looked up at the river of light that stretched across the sky, separating the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and for the first time, a strange yet abundant sense of satisfaction welled up within him.
It turns out that the starry sky with someone is truly different from when you're alone. The Milky Way is no longer cold and distant, and the legends are no longer nonsense. He even absurdly thought that if there really was a Milky Way separating lovers, he would rather be the magpie that builds the bridge than the immortal who watches from the other side.
"Jiaojiao," he suddenly called her by her childhood nickname. This was a name he would only occasionally blurt out in extremely private moments.
"Hmm?" Su Wanrou looked up at him.
Gu Yangui lowered his head, gazing deeply into her eyes in the hazy moonlight and starlight. The soft glow of the lanterns under the eaves cast a warm hue on his features. He said nothing more, but slowly, tentatively, lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
The warm touch, carrying his unique, refreshing scent, was fleeting, yet it stirred Su Wanrou's heart more deeply than any words. She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, savoring that moment of tenderness, feeling as if a thousand fireworks were bursting forth in her heart.
This kiss was not about lust, but more like a solemn mark, a silent vow.
five
As night deepened, the dew grew slightly cool.
Gu Yangui felt the person leaning on his shoulder breathing become even and deep. Looking down, he saw that Su Wanrou had fallen asleep against him at some point. In the moonlight, her sleeping face was serene, with a faint smile on her lips, as if she were having a sweet dream.
His heart softened, and not wanting to disturb her, he gently lifted her up in his arms. Su Wanrou murmured softly in her sleep, instinctively snuggling closer to him to find a more comfortable position, before falling into a deep sleep again.
Gu Yangui carried her, his steps steady as he walked back to the inner room. He gently placed her on the bed and covered her with the quilt. He stood by the bed, gazing at her for a long time in the moonlight streaming through the window. His fingers lightly brushed the spot on her forehead where he had just kissed her; the warmth that still lingered there seemed to stir his heart.
Then, he also took off his clothes and lay down. As if sensing something in her sleep, Su Wanrou automatically rolled into his arms, her small hands unconsciously grabbing the front of his nightgown, and muttering a vague murmur in her sleep.
Gu Yangui pulled her into his arms, gently resting his chin on the top of her head, and closed his eyes.
Outside the window, the Milky Way still shines brightly, with the stars Altair and Vega gazing at each other from afar. Inside, we breathe in each other's ears and feel each other's warmth.
That night, there was no eavesdropping under the grape trellis, only whispers under the eaves; no earth-shattering vows, only simple prayers and a light kiss on the forehead. Yet, the last trace of awkwardness and distance between them vanished completely on this night, with the Milky Way flowing and the stars as witnesses.
The bridge of hearts has been built, surpassing countless bridges of magpies.
End of Chapter 56
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com