Looking at the Sword by Lamplight (I)
In the 16th year of Shengyuan, Huangquezhou.
A damp rain quietly faded, filling the streets and alleys with the fresh air of spring. Perfect sunlight cleared away the dust swirling with the moisture. Vendors wheeled steaming baskets through the streets, mingling with the white smoke from the simmering herbs wafting from the inner chambers of Renjitang.
The vendor took a palm-leaf fan from his waist and fanned the slightly bitter white smoke with a few puffs of wind. The street was sparsely populated at that moment, with the occasional elderly woman and man, looking worried, emerging from the Renji Hall. He stretched his waist and peered out, seeing a young man emerging from the curtain, carrying a medicine box. His eyes lit up, "Doctor Meng, are you seeing patients so early?"
The young man was tall and slender, and he had to bend down slightly when crossing the threshold.
He wore a simple cyan gown, his waist seemingly only a finger's width wide, yet at first glance, his figure didn't suggest he was frail. The hand holding the medicine box had slightly bulging veins, looking delicate and powerful. The other hand wasn't quite as impressive, with bandages loosely wrapped around the fingers all the way to the wrist, leaving a moderate amount of excess, leaving the exposed wrist slightly thinner than the left.
There was no color on his lips and face, and his facial features were very attractive due to their depth, but it was only because of his eyes that were always as bright as wildfire that he looked energetic.
Seeing someone greeting him enthusiastically, he just nodded slightly, sat down behind the table in front of Renjitang, and took out the things he needed for the consultation from the medicine box.
The vendor paid no attention to his cold attitude and deliberately slowed down his cart. Not long after, he heard Doctor Meng shouting into the room, "Liu Lang, buy some steamed buns and share them with the ladies inside who haven't eaten yet."
Then, a series of brisk footsteps were heard.
The young man's voice arrived before anyone else: "I'm here, brother."
A young man, about fifteen or sixteen, clutching his purse, emerged from the inner room and greeted them with a broad smile, the lively and cheerful air typical of someone his age. He knew the shopkeeper well enough to strike up a conversation while buying a steamed bun. "...Why is the price ten cents off? Even if you're a regular customer, it's not worth it. My brother's watching, he'll definitely scold me."
As the young man spoke, he kept taking out the copper coins, but the boss stopped him.
The boss wordlessly opened the oil bag and gestured for him to look. The boy was slightly surprised: "Why are there mixed grains in the steamed buns?"
The boss forced a wry smile.
"You've been buried in your studies in Renjitang all day, haven't you been out for a long time? There's a notice outside saying that vendors will be taxed and have to change their nationality." He lowered his voice a little, "I have two sons at home who are waiting to get married. Even if I'm poor, I can't change my nationality. I'll close my stall after I sell out these few days."
Liu Lang's face showed a flawless worry: "But after closing the stall, what else will you do, uncle?"
As the sun grew higher, the boss fanned his palm-leaf fan more vigorously. White smoke drifted forward, illuminating the young man's handsome face. He said, "The prefecture has said that those without a livelihood can farm government-owned land. They'll all be paid as farmhands, and their taxes will be reduced by half." As he spoke, a look of uncertainty crossed his face. "I don't know if this is true or not."
Liu Lang didn't continue the conversation, instead speaking innocently, "This is different from the rules my brother and I heard before we returned to Huangque Island. Isn't the prince of the imperial court still negotiating with our prince? If the Eighteen Continents can be governed by the imperial court again, you won't have to worry."
Before he could finish his words, he was pulled hard by the boss.
The boss looked around in bewilderment, thinking to himself, "This guy is just a ignorant little scholar, obsessed with reading sage books. He made a beheading gesture and said, 'It sounds like negotiation, but it's nothing more than a pretext for war.'"
"Besides," he forced a half-mocking laugh, "this prince has occupied the Eighteen Continents for nearly twenty years. If the court could have taken them back, it would have done so long ago." There had been some disturbing news in recent years, saying the court was thriving and reviving. But improving people's livelihoods and recovering lost territory couldn't be accomplished simultaneously.
The boss fanned the fan a few more times, and white smoke drifted away from both sides of Liu Lang's face. He was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but turn to look at Liu Lang's brother. The other brother didn't have any patients to see at the moment, and was staring blankly at some flowers across the street.
These two brothers are really handsome, each one more handsome than the other.
pity.
He thought about the brothers' life stories.
Originally from Huangquezhou, they followed their father to Jiangnan to pursue a side business. Five years ago, their father fell seriously ill, and unwilling to see him die in a foreign land, they journeyed thousands of miles back home. Considering the brothers had inherited a considerable fortune from their father, if it weren't for the handsome face and lavish spending spree of a young, beardless doctor—Dr. Meng's consultation fees were more than half of those of ordinary clinics, and he always included herbs and meals—he would likely be unable to open for ten days or half a month.
He also had a younger brother who was preparing to take the imperial examination, but he was living off his savings day by day.
Although the boss was very grateful to the two brothers for taking care of the business, he still couldn't help but grumble that they might not be smart enough.
It was said that by the time they returned home, all of Dayu's eighteen prefectures, except Zuodan, had been taken over by the central government, people's livelihoods were gradually recovering, and the imperial examinations were back on the agenda. Why would they return to the eighteen continents, far from the imperial court's control, at this very moment, hoping to achieve their dream of becoming the top scholar?
He sighed silently in his heart, but still had a polite smile on his face. He chatted casually for a few irrelevant words, then pushed the cart away to do business elsewhere.
Liu Lang, holding the steamed bun, turned and headed back to the backyard to continue boiling the medicine. He exchanged a glance with his equally mentally challenged brother, then naturally moved away, each returning to their own tasks. As noon approached, Doctor Meng, who hadn't seen a single patient all morning, closed his stall, entered the inner room, put down his medicine box, and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook two bowls of noodles for himself and his brother, who ate plain rice.
He had just rolled up one sleeve when an old woman came up to him beside a wooden bed in the inner room, wiping her tears. "Doctor Meng..."
Doctor Meng remained unmoved by the torrential downpour of tears.
But he has become famous in the city - in addition to his handsome appearance, he is also known as a "sucker" and "prodigal son", or "kind-hearted" and "cold-faced but warm-hearted", which means the same thing in practice.
So even though it was a one-man show, the old lady sang very enthusiastically. At the end, she finally asked shyly: Can I get credit for the expenses I spent at the clinic these days?
Doctor Meng nodded coldly and decisively as always.
The old lady immediately smiled happily and praised him as a "good man". She circled around him several times, asking him what kind of girl he liked and said she was happy to be a matchmaker.
Doctor Meng remained motionless, staring at the other person coldly, just as he had nodded just now: "No, thank you very much."
The old lady was choked by his "long-dead father" look. But she also knew she wasn't the first to be rejected. Many families in the city with two daughters considered "eating up the whole family" when they saw a rich, handsome, unmarried man with a rich, handsome brother. But it never came to fruition.
There was no other reason. It seemed that apart from asking questions, treating patients and prescribing medicine, Dr. Meng only knew how to say "no" and "thank you", and then stared at the person talking to him with a pair of extremely sharp and bright eyes. If you looked past him and talked about his rather likable younger brother, he would just say three words, "young brother", and then scare everyone away with his eyes as usual.
The old lady smiled awkwardly, turned around and sat down to continue taking care of her old man.
Doctor Meng walked into the backyard with a serious expression.
In the backyard, his "younger" brother had already packed up all the medicine jars he'd used that day and was lying on the trunk of an old willow tree, reading a book. Seeing his brother come in, his face didn't show the exaggerated and flamboyant expression he wore to outsiders. He hooked his leg from the tree and landed on the ground. "Brother, today is the fifteenth day of the month. I'm going out tonight. Besides sending a message to His Highness, Grandma has also managed to send a message to me."
The two prodigal brothers in Renjitang were none other than Meng Shizhuang and Liu Lang, who forged their identities and sneaked into the western border.
Meng Shizhuang was tired of dealing with outsiders, so she always had a cold expression on her face. But now she relaxed and became more lively. She told Liu Lang: "Be careful even in familiar places. I'll wait for you at the back door tonight."
Liu Lang's real name is Rong Zhen, and he did not hide it in public. Whenever people asked him about it, he would use the excuse that "one of us has our father's surname and the other has our mother's surname." Fortunately, they did not hold a big funeral, and there was no third person looking at the spirit tablet in the house, otherwise the truth would have been exposed - two brothers and one father, three surnames.
He touched the letter that had been delivered every month for the past few years in his arms and asked, "Brother, do you want to deliver a message? You haven't seen His Highness in ten years, right?" He secretly sighed that he was a double-faced spy and could not be thorough with either side. On the one hand, he kept it secret, and on the other hand, he tried every means to let Meng Shizhuang reveal some secrets.
However, Meng Shizhuang obviously did not understand his unnecessary efforts.
Meng Shizhuang fished the basket out of the well and, while picking vegetables, said without looking up, "You've always been the one taking over. The city isn't under martial law, so you can handle it. Adding me would only be a hindrance." After a moment's thought, he added, "Has it been ten years?"
None of his words touched upon what Liu Lang wanted him to mention, so Liu Lang had to be more direct: "Yes, it's been ten years. Do you want to see His Highness?"
Meng Shizhuang was completely baffled by his nonsensical words: "Why should I see His Highness?"
He shook off the water droplets on the leaves and said, "Go boil some water."
Liu Lang agreed with a pale face, but after a few steps, Meng Shizhuang called him back. He turned back in surprise, only to hear Meng Shizhuang ask, "What did they say when you went back last time? The Huangquezhou government wouldn't cross the border to issue a decree from the Western King. This must be the intention of the royal palace. Now even ordinary people are being tricked into farming. I'm sure the situation will get even more tense soon."
"Are they going to ask us to evacuate?"
Rokuro shook his head, "Just let us keep everything as it is."
Meng Shizhuang asked again, "Are you short of money?"
Liu Lang still shook his head, but tactfully added, "Sister Song said there's plenty."
Then, the stick in front of him nodded, no longer worried, and waved his hand: "Quick, boil some water and cook some noodles. You had a good time playing in the yard this morning, right? After your nap, go read the book to me."
Liu Lang had no choice but to lower his shoulders and move into the kitchen dejectedly.
Meng Shizhuang couldn't understand his feelings. After dinner, she went to the room where the ancestral tablets were kept to burn a few sticks of incense for the old man. The front and back yards of Renjitang were both quiet. He was very careful about the business of the clinic. Those with money and a big heart would not come here for treatment. After all, he could tell that he was disabled just by stretching out his hand, which would scare away many people who really wanted to see a doctor.
This season is not the time when colds are prevalent. If there is something important, they will go directly through the clinic's interior to the backyard to call for help.
He had previously learned some basic skills from Mr. Zhou at the Liang Palace. After bidding farewell to everyone at the Liang Palace, he took Lao Ju south, where he took a venerable sage as his disciple—promising to take care of his master's affairs after his death. This was just enough to help him acquire these skills. It wasn't until the standoff between the two sides of the Huai River intensified and Lao Ju's medical supplies ran out that he brought him back to the western border.
As for meeting Liu Lang and getting on the big ship of Prince Liang's Mansion, it was indeed an accident.
Meng Shizhuang stared at every word carved by herself on the memorial tablet of Lao Ju. When she saw the three words "Ju Qieyun", she felt a tightness in her chest.
He leaned against the windowsill and slowly sat down cross-legged. Behind this place where he usually sat, he took out a brand new dagger.
He felt that he could not change this bad habit.
It was clear that he once held a tremendous hatred for that sword.
Thinking about it, Meng Shizhuang suddenly couldn't remember the name of the sword.
In fact, after he arrived in Gusu, this feeling of peace of mind in the presence of a weapon disappeared for a while, only to reappear after he settled on Huangque Island. He held this new sword, purchased just for him, but he felt no more at ease with it than any other sword he had used before. This sword was so clean, unstained by blood, that it seemed unable to quell the inexplicable nightmares that constantly plagued him.
Meng Shizhuang sighed towards Lao Ju's spirit tablet.
It was hard to explain the feeling. He felt like he was back on the West Flow Sea—a sea he had only set foot on once in his life, yet it was unforgettable. Surrounded by a cold, white fog, he was trapped, unsure of what to do or where to go. It was even more unsettling than when he was on Sujian Mountain.
He was immersed in his own thoughts when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door three times. He turned around and saw that it was Liu Lang who came in.
Liu Lang first looked at him with eyes full of worry, then stepped in and lit three incense sticks for the old house before speaking: "Brother, I knocked on your door last night and you didn't answer. I've warmed the meal in the stove. If you're too tired, don't wait for me. I'll be back safely."
Meng Shizhuang sat cross-legged and reached out to open the window above. It was already midnight.
He stood up, feeling that he was not in a good mood, and decided to prescribe a prescription for himself. He did not agree to Liu Lang's request not to wait, and waved Liu Lang to go back early.
Liu Lang changed into ordinary clothes that he had never worn in front of outsiders, pushed open the back door and went out. As the back door closed, a gentle breeze blew through the yard, carrying the soft branches of the old willow tree, making them sway gracefully in circles.
—
Ripples swayed across the pond. Although the lotus flowers were not in bloom at this time of year, the willow trees on the pond were a delightfully green sight.
Under the willow tree, the person in charge of Kailanzhou was looking at the moon with his coat on. He looked bored, but in fact he was anxious and expectant.
Song Jingyan knew that he would never go to sleep without hearing the news that day, so she came at night.
She stood in front of the willow tree, separated from others by a vivid "jade curtain". She was hazy under the moonlight, as if there was a fairy behind her.
She said in a voice that was neither light nor heavy: "Your Highness, Liu Lang has sent a letter."
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