Chapter 12: Coming and Going
What’s more important is that Jiaoran likes him. When he looks at others, there is a childlike innocence in his eyes. The little boy who was raised in the mansion and has never been out to see the world is kind to everyone he meets.
Mu Jin is different from Senior Brother Bu Yue, and different from all of her fellow disciples. Mu Jin never speaks rudely or uses a single curse word.
He wouldn't stare blankly at the white arms of the maids as they cleaned, nor would he act frivolously, nor would he get drunk like his senior brothers and go to the town's brothels. However, he didn't seem to have any friends either.
It would be great if he was also in Huiyingmen. They could go hiking together and work as a waiter in the inn. He wouldn't look so pale when he moves.
He must complete everything arranged by the governor on time. Where to go, what to do and how long to stay are all controlled by the governor.
Most of the time, Jiaoran felt like a bird in a cage.
She thought he was almost asleep.
But he started talking non-stop, "I'm afraid of having that dream again."
Jiaoran didn't pay attention to what he just said, "What dream?"
"Oh - that's the dream I had where a snake crawled into my bed." He had some barely perceptible dissatisfaction with Jiaoran's perfunctory response.
Jiaoran tutted his words, "No."
My mother said that if a woman dreams of a snake, she may be pregnant. What about if a man dreams of encountering a snake?
"The Governor's Mansion has countless mountains and gardens, so there are naturally many snakes, insects, rats, and birds. How do you know there are no snakes?"
"Because I checked the bed and under the bed, there were no snakes. I checked the doors and windows too, I guarantee there weren't any. I'm not lying to you."
"Then tell me, why did I dream about snakes?"
"Maybe you accidentally saw a snake, so you dreamed about it last night."
"I'm really afraid that the snake will poison me to death. It's spitting out its tongue and its fangs are full of poison."
Jiaoran looked him up and down, wondering where these strange ideas of his came from.
He sighed, "I went out to get some fresh air, but you caught me back."
Jiao Ran said helplessly, "It's so cold outside. You'll freeze if you stand there any longer."
She suddenly thought, "Oh, right, I was guarding outside the door just now. How did the young master get out?"
He pointed to the window.
"It's strange. You made so little noise that I didn't even hear you climbing through the window." Jiaoran said with a smile.
He let out a smug smile, "It seems I'm still quite capable."
"sharp?"
"If I escape through the window, you won't even know when I'm gone."
Jiao Ran laughed and said, "How could that be?" "Even if you leave the courtyard, there are guards everywhere outside the gate, outside the garden, and inside the mansion. They..."
Jiaoran was halfway through his words when he suddenly felt too sad to continue. If the man in front of him wanted to escape from this cage, it would be almost impossible. As long as this flying bird wanted to flap its wings, the governor's big hands hidden in the darkness would gather and hold him.
However, since he was so weak, it was understandable that the governor did not dare to let him go.
"It's very late, sir, you should go to bed." Jiaoran wanted to end their conversation with this sentence.
He said he wasn't sleepy yet.
Jiaoran asked him to read for a while.
"I'll only get more excited the more I watch."
Jiaoran said it was strange, "I get sleepy as soon as I read, don't you?"
He shook his head. "Reading a book is as clear as a mirror, and discussing things can make one feel confident. How can reading make one sleepy?"
She felt she had nothing to say to him.
Jiaoran picked up the lamp and was about to leave. He quickly propped himself up and called out, "Are you going to take the lamp away?"
"This is a night watch lamp," Jiaoran explained.
"I'm a little afraid of the dark, so don't take the light away."
Jiaoran said okay, "I'll put the lamp here."
"You...don't leave either. I don't want to be alone."
Compared to the outer room, there was a heater here, so it was much warmer. Jiaoran didn't want to leave, so he sat down on the round stool beside the bed and said, "Okay, I won't leave. You can sleep."
"Why don't you read to me? Ranhong used to read to me often."
Jiaoran didn't say anything, but cursed in his heart.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot you can't read." He looked very sorry.
Jiaoran really didn't want to bother with him anymore.
"How about you tell me a story?"
I won't.
"I'll fall asleep if you tell me a story." He was as annoying as a child and would not give up until he got what he wanted.
"I can't tell stories. I'm not a storyteller."
Jiaoran refused, even though she had told many stories to the children.
"Light some incense. There's a chill in the room. Light some warm incense," he said.
What is warm fragrance? Jiaoran asked.
Mu Jin, wrapped in a quilt, walked to the incense burner, hastily spread the spices in it, lit the incense and closed the lid. A milky white smoke rose from the incense burner.
Jiaoran dozed off. If he didn't sleep any more, it would be almost dawn. How could he have the leisure to prepare incense?
"Young Master, it's too late. You should go to bed." Jiaoran urged him.
He said, "Okay, tell me a story."
"I..." She was confused for a moment. She was already very sleepy. She was not careful and was led back to the topic by him. "What are you talking about?"
"Ghost, can you tell ghost stories?" The inexplicable thoughts in his mind always left her speechless.
Jiao Ran was helpless, "There are no ghosts in the world."
"Have you never heard of ghost stories?"
"No." Jiaoran said, supporting his head with heavy eyelids.
"My wet nurse told me a story before. Do you want to hear it?" He said to Jiaoran while lying on the pillow. His eyes reflected the light of an oil lamp beside the table like the scales of fish in the water.
Jiao Ran said, "Just say what you want to say."
He began to talk non-stop, "Once upon a time, there was a scholar who was very skilled at painting ghosts. Once, he invited his friends to appreciate his paintings. Many of them praised his ghost paintings as being of perfect quality. However, only one friend disagreed, thinking that his paintings were just waste paper."
"Why does that friend have a problem with him?"
"No, the friend said, 'You've never even seen a ghost, how can you draw a real ghost?'"
Jiao Ran laughed and said, "Who in the world has ever seen a ghost? It's all just word of mouth, a lie spread from one person to another."
"Then the scholar asked his friend who had raised the objection to come back in three days. Three days later, his friend came to their window and saw from afar a messy painting in his hand. He knocked on the door to see what it was.
Then he heard a strange roar from inside the door, not a human voice, more like the neighing of a horse or the chirping of a bird. After that, the scholar inside sighed and fell to the ground, dead. When his friend opened the door, he saw the painting in his hand, but the scroll was blank. The scholar on the ground, his hair disheveled, his eyes wide with fear, was no longer breathing.
Jiaoran slowly sat up straight and felt a cool breeze in the room. He looked at the person on the bed and saw that he was yawning and wanted to fall asleep.
From time to time, she looked into the darkness behind her, and no matter how she looked, she felt that the house was full of ghosts.
Now it’s her turn to be unable to sleep.
"Sir, are you sleepy?" She pushed his shoulder.
Mu Jin hummed, closed her eyes and didn't answer her.
"Sir, the moonlight outside is quite nice. Do you want to put on your clothes and go out to take a look?" She pushed his shoulder again.
Mu Jin frowned slightly, turned over and went to sleep inside, "I can't get up, I'm too tired."
Just now you said you couldn't sleep, and now you can't get up?!
Jiaoran pushed the round stool away and sat down on the edge of the bed, close to Mu Jin.
He noticed someone sitting on the bed, and with great effort he pulled out the sleeve that was pressing against Jiaoran's buttocks. He turned his head and asked sleepily, "Why are you sitting on my bed?"
"Oh, I was just worried that you might kick the quilt off, so I wanted to tuck you in. Go back to sleep."
He turned his face inwards and raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "Okay."
"Sir, are you asleep?"
"not yet."
"Let me tell you one."
"But didn't you say you couldn't?" Mu Jin asked in confusion.
Night is the best cover. In the night and darkness, no one needs to wear a mask.
"Alas, it's rude not to reciprocate. Do you understand?"
"Go ahead."
"A long time ago, there was a scholar who thought he was very good at playing the qin. He played and played, but no one appreciated his skill."
"Really? I can play the guqin too."
"Sir, don't interrupt. This scholar was saddened by the lack of a soulmate in the world, and he was depressed and unhappy. One day, he had nothing to do, so he played the zither to amuse himself. Suddenly, he heard a sigh from his neighbor next door."
“Is his neighbor his soulmate?”
Jiaoran tried desperately to suppress his laughter and continued, "Yes, this scholar was just as you imagined. He was overjoyed, thinking he had finally found a soulmate. Not long after, he knocked on the door of his neighbor's house and asked to see her. He asked if she could hear the emotion in the music. The neighbor lady opened the door and said, 'No, it's not true. When my son was still alive, he used to make a living by beating cotton.' The sound of your playing is exactly like the sound of my son beating cotton. When I heard it, I was filled with sadness."
He was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing and leaned over the bed, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe.
"Okay, okay, it's my turn. I'll tell you another one."
"Don't tell ghost stories, they're scary."
"Okay, then I'll tell you a fairy tale."
"Do you see the big tree at the entrance of Shenshui Garden?"
"The Shenshui Garden we passed by after leaving Siyu Garden?"
"That's right there. Do you remember there was a huge tree there?"
"I remember. It was very thick, the thickest tree I've ever seen in my life." Jiaoran leaned in closer, her sleepiness long gone. "The oldest woman in the Governor's Mansion said that her childhood companion saw a dragon coiled around a tree trunk. When humans approached, it transformed into a human form."
"Are there really dragons?"
"I haven't seen one either. Later, it was said that the maid who saw the dragon fell seriously ill. They said she had offended the Dragon God."
"And then she died?"
"Of course not. She knelt under the tree. When no one was around, she cut her wrists, watered the tree with her blood, and begged the Dragon God to forgive her for revealing her experience with it."
"Has the Dragon God forgiven her? Or is she dead?"
"She didn't die. The old man in the Governor's Mansion said that the Dragon God took pity on her and forgave her. He also gave her a fruit. She ate it, and her appearance remained unchanged from then on. Even after ten years, she still looked like a young girl. Everyone in the mansion was very surprised. One day, many years later, she suddenly disappeared. They all said that she had become an immortal."
Jiaoran's eyes widened like cow eyes. "Is it true that someone can stay young forever and live forever?"
"Maybe it's just hearsay from the people in the mansion. They also say that the tree is a fairy tree, and if the chance is right, someone else will become a fairy like that woman."
…
A sleepless night.
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