Chapter 31: "With me here, how do you know if we are not destined to be together?"...
The rapid beating of her heart almost drowned out Jiang Xu's sarcastic remark. Tears welled up in Shi Wan's eyes, forming a pool of salty tears that dripped down, leaving a mark. But this time, she cried very softly, almost inaudibly.
It seems that this way, one can stop caring.
With her eyes brimming with tears and tears streaming down her face, how could she remain silent? Jiang Xu noticed this almost instantly. He didn't think he had spoken too harshly, but he secretly sighed, guessing that Wan'er would probably start using these little tricks again.
He said, "I haven't done anything to you yet!"
"Why...are you crying again?"
Shi Wan tried to hold back her tears, her nose flushed red. She subconsciously bit her lower lip, but this act of restraint caused the tears welling up in her eyes to burst forth, falling one after another onto her overlapping clothes, soaking through her garments.
Summer shirts are already light and thin, and this three-layered plain pink and moon-white fabric, after being soaked, reveals an even deeper pink tone, just like a blooming peony, delicate and beautiful. It truly is a sorrowful beauty with furrowed brows all day long, with thousands of tear stains.
Jiang Xu was momentarily moved. Seeing her so helpless after being bullied by him, and crying so movingly, he instinctively felt his anger subside a little. He then returned to his usual indifferent expression and advised, "Actually, if you hadn't insisted on making me angry, I wouldn't have treated you like this."
"Wan'er, even now you still conceal your real name, but I... have never used this as an excuse to make trouble, have I?" Normally, he would need to investigate everyone around him thoroughly, but this young woman in front of him is a mysterious place that Jiang Xu has reserved for him to explore himself.
In recent years, people have been suffering everywhere. If we insist on digging into the background of a person, it will waste too much material and financial resources.
Furthermore, he also wanted the other party to tell him in person.
“But Your Majesty is now…” Shi Wan was a little out of breath, her voice choked with sobs, “…is just using this as an excuse to make a fuss.”
In truth, she knew perfectly well that all she had to do was give in, but with Jiang Xu's fickle nature and being watched so closely, she never had a moment of peace.
It would be better to draw clear boundaries from the beginning.
They've become neither master nor servant; he's already taken the blame; he's already...
Therefore, we should do our best to protect what needs to be protected.
The beauty held back her tears and pretended to lower her face, her tone gentle and alluring. For some reason, Jiang Xu thought of the advice his deputy had given him earlier that day: "You have to coax women."
The only sound in the room was Shi Wan's sobbing, like pearls falling onto a jade plate. After a moment, Jiang Xu looked gloomy and said indifferently, "I was just acting on impulse. I did not mean to reprimand you."
He thought for a moment and continued, "When I have some free time tomorrow, I will take you to the border to see some new and interesting things." It was probably the first time he had done something like this, and his tone was a little strange, but it didn't really affect anything.
When it comes to her own personal benefits, Shi Wan is naturally very concerned, thinking, "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there?"
"If Your Majesty wished, you would have brought it today. Why then do you come here to belittle me..."
"Tomorrow is the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, the festival is just beginning. It's not that I don't want to take you." Jiang Xu saw that her crying had gradually stopped and her tone had softened. Wan'er's eyes were fixed on her cheeks, which showed an amber color.
After a moment, he said as if possessed, "If you feel bored, there are many books here that you can use to pass the time."
Shi Wan was not about to let this opportunity slip by. She quickly composed herself, nodded slightly in response, and then, with a hint of coquettishness in her voice, called out to him, "Jiang Xu."
This was the first time Wan'er had called him by his name while she was conscious.
Jiang Xu's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked over. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Shi Wan keenly noticed the man's subtle change in that instant. Her eyes darkened, and her voice instantly became as delicate as a pear blossom reflected in spring water, her eyes blurry with tears. "It's just, just now..."
"You bit me hard."
*
Youzhou, Lianchuan Prefecture.
The Lesser Heat has passed, and the scorching heat bakes the earth. The air is filled with dryness. Near the hitching post, several warhorses stand with their heads bowed, their manes matted with sweat, and their tails lazily shoo away swarms of flies.
The main house.
Mao Maochong stood before the public opinion map, his expression unreadable. After a moment, when a scout rushed in to report, his tense body relaxed slightly, and he asked, "What is the situation at the border?"
The scout quickly straightened his expression and said, "The Turkic army of 200,000 has arrived, but for some reason, the Prince of Jingbei is stuck at a distance of several dozen miles from the border and has not advanced an inch in more than two days."
At the lower seat, an advisor asked doubtfully, "Is the Prince of Jingbei trying to hide his true colors?" He then realized he had spoken out of turn and quietly shut his mouth, staring at the person at the head of the table with a fearful expression.
Jiang Xu did not make a move, which Mao Maochong had anticipated. His face was expressionless, and he raised his eyebrows. "How are things in those three prefectures that rebelled in Youzhou?" They sent troops to support them and have a fairly sufficient amount of food. Judging by the days, they should be sending good news by now.
Upon hearing this, the scout trembled even more, and forced himself to say, "The battle is currently at a stalemate, and the rebels are in high spirits. For the time being, our soldiers will stand on equal footing with them."
"...to stand on equal footing?"
Lianchuan, as a hub of the Grand Canal, had its administrative center located in the plains and granary area, connecting to Taoyuan City in the west and the northwest border to the north, bordering the Turks.
This is also the fundamental reason why Mao Maochong was determined to station his troops here.
The rebels were nothing but a motley crew, essentially farmers who had spontaneously formed their own group. They had no handy weapons and no real skills in things like riding horses and fighting.
He had done his research; many of the men in this group were not yet of conscription age, and there were quite a few children as young as ten years old. Such a group...
Is this the kind of force that can now rival his soldiers?
How is that possible?!
Mao Maochong's tone turned serious. "Did you find anything in this search?" He was supposed to be on equal footing with the rebels, and even if he only had a slight advantage over them, there must be something fishy going on!
If it wasn't a complete rout, then someone else must have also entered the game.
His thoughts shifted, and he sneered, "Go and send someone to secretly investigate the rebel army's armor and supplies, as well as their granaries." They were clearly on their last legs before, almost starving, but now they've become a strong army?
That's ridiculous.
Coming to his senses, Mao Maochong drawled, "Chu Yun." The aide he called abruptly stood up, his tall figure blocking most of the blurry halo. He stood backlit, the scar at the corner of his left eye clearly visible, even appearing somewhat terrifying in this setting.
Beside him, several advisors couldn't bear the sight and quietly looked away, while secretly envying their Grand Marshal's high regard for this man. Their expressions were complicated.
"Take it down."
......
*
The eighth day of the seventh lunar month is the Qixi Festival for soldiers guarding the frontier. Here, the Qixi Festival for the soldiers is destined to be completely different from the brightly lit city of Luoyang.
On this day, the sky was clear, and the pale blue light gave it a unique sense of tranquility and peace.
Since Shi Wan had received Jiang Xu's approval last time, she had been planning to have Hua Lan and Hua Hui help her find some travelogues and books. Unlike Ji Chuan, the camp did not have a library, nor would there be maids to organize them. Therefore, the books were all taken from the surrounding area, and the variety was extensive.
From military and political classics to folklore and anecdotes, and even less popular poems, essays, and picture books, he has covered a wide range of subjects.
As soon as it was light, Shi Wan couldn't wait to find a desk and began to read it without eating or sleeping. When she was at Liushaotai, she never had to learn these miscellaneous things. She only needed to learn some music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and know a little bit about them. The most important thing was to match her appearance so that she could sell it for a good price.
Now that I've acquired this vast collection of books, I'm naturally like a mouse trapped in a rice jar, completely unable to extricate myself.
On the left was a volume titled "Records of Strange Things in Longyou," and on the right was a volume titled "Travel Notes." Since she was just starting out, she naturally chose to read the easier-to-understand books, which were accompanied by appropriate explanations and illustrations, making them even more interesting. As for the other books on military and political matters, she put them far away.
When Jiang Xu arrived, this was the scene he saw. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Wan'er's little head almost buried in the pile of books. "With your superficial approach, I'm afraid these books won't even last seven days." His gaze swept across the book covers, and seeing that she was looking at mostly unimportant categories, he looked again. "The absurd tales in 'Tales of Demons and Monsters' are indeed good for passing the time."
"No wonder you see this hour."
Upon hearing Jiang Xu's words, Shi Wan suddenly realized that it seemed much darker outside, and asked somewhat bewilderedly, "What time is it now?"
"At three-quarters past the hour of You (5:45 PM)," Jiang Xu said.
She was thinking about going out for a stroll during the Qixi Festival, and hurriedly asked, "Has the festival started yet?"
No rush.
"You should change your clothes." Almost as soon as the man finished speaking, the two maids who had just left came back in.
The short, narrow-sleeved blouse was tailored in a unique style, with a few bell-shaped beads adorning the lapel. The skirt transitioned subtly from moon white to water red, seemingly using some special dyeing technique.
This outfit is quite different from the attire in Jichuan or Huzhou.
Everyone loves beauty, and she fell in love with the dress almost at first sight. She was just about to find an excuse to send the man away when, to her surprise, Jiang Xu actually behaved much better this time and went to wait outside the tent on his own.
After Shi Wan carefully put on her clothes, as soon as she moved, the beads on her lapel made a crisp sound. She found it novel and couldn't help but linger for a moment. Beside her, Hua Hui hurriedly said the words she had been told, "I heard that this dress was specially made for the Qixi Festival and seems to have a special meaning."
Such festivals are common even in the heart of the Central Plains. Now that we are stationed on the frontier, although the general direction of the festivals is similar, the details are quite different.
As soon as he stepped out of the tent, he saw Jiang Xu waiting outside. At this moment, the sky was not completely dark yet, and a few rays of sunset enveloped him, giving his outstanding features a unique charm. He was wearing an indigo brocade round-necked robe, and the gilded belt ornament hanging on his waist had been specially modified in shape. Upon closer inspection, it looked very much like a love knot.
The two continued forward, and at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, they saw a carriage quietly parked in the shade of a tree not far away.
"Shall we take a carriage?" Shi Wan asked, somewhat puzzled. "To be honest, I don't even know where the festival celebrations are being held."
"It's less than ten miles from here." Seeing her bright eyes, Jiang Xu couldn't help but ask, "Or perhaps you'd like to try a different method?"
"Anything else? Besides riding a fast horse, it's just walking. But in this hot summer, we should take a carriage." Shi Wan quickly shook her head, "No, that's not it." She lifted the carriage curtain and saw that it was already filled with a basket of ice, so she moved even more quickly.
Once inside the car, the two sat at a distance that was neither too close nor too far apart. The interior space of the car was neither too big nor too small, so it wouldn't be very convenient for Shi Wan to sit further away if she wanted to.
However, since the other party had specially prepared these things today, and she wasn't the type to spoil the mood without understanding the situation, the two of them, one looking at the scenery and the other lightly closing her eyes and pretending to sleep, actually found it quite harmonious.
A short while later, as Shi Wan reluctantly turned her gaze away from the car window once more, the person beside her suddenly spoke, "You seem... quite curious about this festival?"
There's nothing to hide, Shi Wan nodded and said, "My knowledge is not as great as Your Majesty's, and this is my first time here, so it's naturally novel."
"Your Majesty...could you enlighten me?" Her voice softened again, adopting a completely pleading tone. "For example, what do women stationed on the frontier do on this festival?"
"The Qixi Festival on the Frontier... Women on the frontier hang colorful silks on the city towers and compete in a moonlit armor-piercing contest using armor scales instead of seven-holed needles. The winner receives some novel trinkets." Jiang Xu had encountered this festival many times in his childhood, so he was familiar with it and could even recite its customs by heart. "These winners' rewards are mostly small items, which are regarded as tokens with beautiful meanings and are often given by the winning women to their sweethearts."
Shi Wan was indeed very interested in these customs. This morning she had read a bunch of miscellaneous books and browsed through a lot of interesting anecdotes. Now she was itching to take a look. "Then I'll have to take a good look later."
Her voice unconsciously carried a hint of anticipation, "It will definitely be very lively." Turning her head, she added, "Your Majesty is truly learned and talented."
Seeing that she was really interested, Jiang Xu couldn't help but talk more, "Besides this custom, the nomadic peoples of the grasslands have always had a tradition of horse racing. Around the Qixi Festival, they hold nighttime horse races."
Shi Wan treated this person as a living book, someone who would answer any question asked, and couldn't help but ask, "Then are women also participating in horse racing?"
“Men and women can ride together,” Jiang Xu said gently. “Participants need to hold a lit mugwort torch and run all the way to the finish line, where an archway simulating a magpie bridge will be built.”
"The winner will naturally have a 'Magpie Bridge Meeting'."
"In this respect, it is... different from Jichuan and Huzhou."
The two chatted casually along the way, and soon arrived at the celebration site. The streets were brightly lit, and the sounds of men and women laughing and joking filled the air, making it extremely lively, just as Shi Wan had imagined.
Throughout the journey, Shi Wan seemed quite interested, and whenever she saw men and women walking side by side, she would stare intently at them.
"If you keep staring at him, I'll start to suspect that you've taken a fancy to a married man."
"No," Shi Wan said shyly, "I just think there are so many men and women walking side by side here." Some of them even look very young. Surely they can't all be engaged at such a young age?
Seeing her grape-sized, watery eyes blinking incessantly, Jiang Xu knew that she was overthinking again, and unconsciously explained, "The separation of men and women on the frontier is not as severe as in some northern regions and the Central Plains. In addition, this place has been plagued by war for many years and has a small population, so they encourage having children to preserve the bloodline."
Upon hearing Jiang Xu's words, Shi Wan suddenly recalled the scene she had witnessed at Liushaotai when she was younger.
She was only eight or nine years old at the time, and had only been there a short time. Her older sisters treated her like a child, and would often think of her when they had something interesting. Among them was a very learned older sister named Lü Yao. Shi Wan only remembered that she had read many books, knew many characters, and possessed a lot of novel knowledge that she, as a child, did not know.
But later, she died in childbirth.
It was Wu's mother who provided a straw mat, which served as a form of burial.
Old memories resurfaced, and she couldn't help but drift off for a moment. When she came back to her senses, she saw that Jiang Xu had stopped and was staring at her. "What are you thinking about?"
"Still daydreaming?" His tone wasn't friendly.
Shi Wan quickly tried to soothe him, "No, I just found it novel and my thoughts wandered for a moment."
Seeing that she obediently offered him a way out, Jiang Xu's expression softened after a moment. He simply said, "There are crowds of people moving around here, one after another. If you stand there like this, you might get separated from them."
Only when Shi Wan heard this did she realize that this time, Jiang Xu used "I".
Without the honorifics that highlighted the gap between their social statuses, their interactions seemed to become more comfortable.
As if bewitched, she gently leaned towards Jiang Xu, their fingers first lightly intertwining, and then her cool palm was suddenly enveloped by the man.
"Don't move." Jiang Xu grabbed her hand that she was about to pull back, and tightened his grip on it again. "There are people coming and going. Be careful that someone doesn't have bad intentions and tries to cause trouble because you're beautiful." He added a vague warning at the end, "And don't even think about taking advantage of the situation."
The man stood aside like a Buddha, his smile forced and unsatisfying. Shi Wan saw this and couldn't understand what he was worried about.
But she always knew the principle that those who are wise will yield to circumstances, so she naturally wouldn't interrupt at this moment. "I won't run."
"This place is a mixed bag, and I'm not in good shape." Only a fool would run at this time.
Hearing this, Jiang Xu seemed satisfied, and the two of them walked forward with the flow of people, one in front of the other.
Not far away, colorful ribbons hanging from the watchtower fluttered in the night wind, and wisps of smoke rose from the burning bonfire, giving everything a unique and warm atmosphere.
Jiang Xu led her to a tall building. As soon as they stood there, they saw a gasp of surprise from the crowd at the city gate, which was some distance away.
Standing on the high ground and looking over there, Shi Wan saw that young men and women were all blocked outside or to the sides, while a small open space was faintly surrounded by the crowd directly below the city gate, where a row of men stood.
The moonlight was hazy, and Shi Wan could not see clearly when she heard Jiang Xu say, "There are eighteen people in total. This should only be the preliminary round."
"After going through the preliminary and semi-final rounds, only the final five people will have the opportunity to compete for the token."
"Are those women standing up there the ones who correspond to them one by one?"
“Exactly.” Jiang Xu nodded slightly.
The two hadn't exchanged more than a few words when the competition began as scheduled at the city tower not far away. Jiang Xu had chosen a spot that was almost the best for watching the game. The distance was just right, not too far, but not too close, enough to see clearly. However, it was nighttime, so only someone like him who had practiced martial arts for many years could see the details clearly.
Shi Wan watched silently, listening to the waves of noise from the other side, which grew louder and louder. Before long, five women were selected to participate in the final round of the competition.
With fewer people, they naturally stood further apart. Under the shimmering moonlight, she could finally see a little more clearly. Seeing that the women were all completely focused on their loved ones, she couldn't help but sigh softly, "Their relationship is so good, so devoted to each other."
As soon as she said this, she immediately came to her senses. Sure enough, she saw Jiang Xu standing beside her. Shi Wan quickly tried to make amends, "After all, lovers in the world... I think they would all be like this."
After the competition ended, one person was surrounded by people and received a golden trinket. Jiang Xu saw Shi Wan trying so hard to cover it up and sneered, "You've been so eager to watch this competition, do you even know what this person got?"
The golden color was too broad a range, so Shi Wan honestly replied, "I don't know, I... I didn't see it clearly."
Jiang Xu pulled her downstairs, saying, "It's alright."
Shi Wan didn't understand his meaning and could only follow along in a daze, thinking that he was going to take her to see the horse race, or the lantern festival that he had just briefly mentioned.
The latter is similar to the customs in Huzhou, where people release floating lanterns into the stream together. The lantern boats carry slips of paper with wishes written on them and drift all the way to the deeper parts of the water. If people are more particular, they will also scatter some special kinds of beans on them.
The two of them drove in a winding path and soon arrived at a small stall. The stall owner was over fifty years old and had many trinkets scattered on a sheepskin mat.
This is the novel thing Jiang Xu was talking about...?
It was a gilded arrowhead. Shi Wan took it and felt that this small arrowhead was quite heavy. The forging technique was not superb, but it was ingenious. The arrowhead was crafted skillfully and beautifully.
"What is this for?" Shi Wan asked, puzzled. She didn't fight in battles, and this thing didn't seem like something a woman would wear.
The proprietress smiled and pointed to the last arrowhead on her stall, "Oh, you're just in luck, it's the last one, I'm closing up shop!"
After the two completed the transaction, paying for the goods and receiving the money, Shi Wan was still feeling a little lightheaded, her ears burning. It wasn't until the surrounding noise quieted down that she realized she was already quite a distance from the crowd.
"How did we end up here?" She and Jiang Xu seemed to have gotten along quite well today, but despite that, Shi Wan still couldn't help feeling nervous about being alone with him.
Seeing the barely suppressed wariness in her eyes, Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow. "If I wanted to abduct you, why would I go through all this trouble?" He had taken a long, winding road, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
He said, "The racecourse is just ahead."
As Shi Wan listened, her heart clenched involuntarily. She immediately thought of the journey here, the days of riding horses that had left her thighs aching. She was still shaken, but she really wanted to participate in this kind of competition. After hesitating for a few moments, she asked, "This competition... you said earlier that it was also for women, with men and women riding together?"
Wan'er's eyes were completely occupied by him. Jiang Xu knew it was for some other reason, but he was still pleased and couldn't help but smile. "Although both men and women can participate in this horse race, it is customary for men to invite women to ride a horse together."
"The two riders will ride together for the entire race, not just the first or second half."
"Oh, I see." Shi Wan said dejectedly. "Then it seems we're out of luck when it comes to winning first place."
"You really want to participate?" he asked.
Shi Wan had finally gotten this opportunity, so she naturally wanted to have a great time, just like a death row inmate enjoying a good meal before his execution.
She nodded. "I really want to."
Since she could remember, she had rarely had the opportunity to be so carefree and experience so many new things. Everything felt like a dream, making her reluctant to wake up.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xu slowly glanced over.
His eyes were dark and bright, a deep, dark expanse against the completely darkened sky, as if they could see into the depths of her heart. In a daze, even the words he uttered carried a stronger sense of promise, "...I'm here."
It seemed like an overconfident confidence, yet it also seemed like he just wanted to reassure her with a few words: "How do you know if we're not meant to be?"
-----------------------
The author says: 1. “Sorrow gathers on his brows, he frowns all day long, a thousand tear stains, ten thousand tear stains.” This is from “A Spray of Plum Blossoms: Rain Beats Against Pear Blossoms, the Door Is Closed Deeply”, written by Tang Yin of the Ming Dynasty.
2. The full phrase “忍泪佯低面” is “忍泪佯低面，含羞半敛眉”, which comes from “女冠子·四月十七”, written by Wei Zhuang of the Tang Dynasty.
3. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows there are!" This is from "Song of Tomorrow," written by Qian Fu of the Ming Dynasty.
4. The books mentioned in "The Strange Tales of Longyou" and others are all made up by the author.
5. The Qixi Festival for border defense was also created by the author. It is actually the same as our traditional Qixi Festival. It references the border defense system in "Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi", "Tang Fenglu", and "Tang Huiyao". All of these were referenced and then slightly adapted.
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