Chapter 49 "Who is your father?"
Pingjiang Street, Jiangyang Prefecture Government Office.
The sun shone in the west, its path winding down. The entire Pingjiang Street was bathed in the golden spring sun, scorching the streets with warmth, neutralizing the desolate atmosphere of the deserted streets. Instead, it felt like a vibrant, vibrant spring scene, a vibrant and vibrant world, a truly breathtaking spectacle.
Since most people had gone home to rest, only two majestic stone lions stood guard at the Jiangyang government office day and night. Today, there were no officers on duty at the gate.
Going straight into the backyard of the government office, most of the courtyards where officials were resting were idle, just like the prefect's courtyard, which was empty at the moment.
After walking a little further past the courtyard of Prefect Song, there is another courtyard with a similar renovation style. The eaves are connected at different heights, and ridge beasts sit on them. From the roof, you can see that the courtyard is spacious and bright, which also shows that its owner is extraordinary.
The gate of the courtyard was open, facing the six-panel carved nanmu door of the main house. From outside the courtyard, one could see the Sichuan embroidery screen embroidered with lotus flowers emerging from the water on the side of the main house.
It's only spring now, not the time for lotus blossoms. Yet, this folding screen, embodying the saying, "the fragrance grows even more distant, the stillness of the lotus stands tall." Just looking at the lifelike silk threads, it's as if one can actually smell the lotus fragrance, filling the courtyard with its aroma.
A man dressed as a servant was holding a soft cloth and gently wiping the embroidered joints at the four corners of the screen to remove dust.
He rolled up his sleeves and, in the golden light slanting in from the doorway, half-crouched, inspecting the corners and crevices most prone to dust accumulation. The setting sun, peeking through the clouds, cast a shadow on the screen, his hair and figure, creating a small, playful shadow, like that of a famous painter.
He was looking intently when he suddenly felt a darkness above his head. He could not see the mortise and tenon joints clearly. Then the shadow on the screen also spread over a large area, far covering his previous figure.
The boy then turned around to check, and saw a man standing behind him with his hands behind his back.
The man was dressed in a dark blue gown, a deep, dark look that betrayed no sign of activity. His hair was gathered back in a bun, held together with a ribbon of the same color. He wore no other ornamentation, save for a hint of frosted hair at his temples, which was hidden among the indigo of his head.
His expression was as calm as an ancient well, showing no emotion.
He was startled and quickly put the handkerchief in his hand on his elbow, then stood up straight. Then he smiled and called out with a look of surprise:
"Father!"
The man walked into the house calmly, and as he walked, a voice drifted in the wind, "Who is your father?"
"I told you not to call me that."
The young man showed no sign of embarrassment, and followed quickly without changing his expression. He tried to please the man in front of him in a very flattering way, not caring at all about his calm tone and demeanor.
"Today, all the masters in the palace have gone home to rest, so there aren't many people around! We won't let anyone hear about it!"
He naturally took the man's cloak and put it on his hand, but it just happened to cover the soft cloth he had used to wipe the screen. He glanced at the person in front of him, tiptoed out, took the soft cloth and put it on his other hand. He followed the person in front of him, walked around the screen, and entered the inner room.
The man remained silent, but did not refute his words further.
The young man chuckled, but he didn't look cunning at all. Instead, he seemed honest and simple.
"Didn't Dad say we were going fishing in the Yuan River today? How was the catch?"
Seeing that his father came with nothing and didn't even have a fish basket, he felt even more confused. But then he thought, maybe he had thrown the fish and the basket directly into the small kitchen when he entered the house. He thought this was very reasonable, so he opened his mouth and asked.
Spring has arrived recently, and it is the season when mandarin fish are fat. If he can catch a few mandarin fish and steam them to eat, he will have a feast today!
The man entered the inner room and walked in as if he knew the way there. He didn't stop until he reached the low couch in front of the window. It was obvious that he was quite familiar with this courtyard.
The four square windows were not closed, but propped up with a horizontal beam, allowing half of the sunlight to leak in. As the setting sun gradually set, it cast a thin layer of light on the couch.
He lifted his robe, turned around and sat on the low couch, half of his back was immersed in the sunlight, but his face was sunken in the shadow of the room. The two colors were blended together in an extremely clever and mixed way, two sides of the same coin, without any strangeness at all.
Although he was sitting, his body did not relax, his spine was straight. After he lowered his head and sat down, covered his robe back over his legs, and adjusted it, he raised his head.
He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a very heroic appearance.
Although he looks a bit old-fashioned, one can still see the charm of his youth.
This person was none other than the co-magistrate of Jiangyang Prefecture, Lord Jia Ren.
He frowned slightly, supported the table with one hand and held his forehead with the other. He ignored the boy's words for a long time, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Dad? Dad?"
The young man was neither embarrassed nor annoyed, as if he was always in high spirits. He turned around, spread out Master Jia's cloak, shook it, and hung it on the screen, thinking of warming it in the indoor stove to drive away the cold, and then put it away later.
Then he walked to the table, picked up the tea that was simmering in the ceramic stove on the table, took a teacup, and while pouring tea, he talked happily with Lord Jia.
"Dad, drink some water! I heated this up early this morning."
"Although it's spring, the wind is strong on the Yuan River and it's cold outside. Dad, please have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up."
Jiangyang's weather was just like that. Although it generally had many sunny days, there were also many times when the wind howled. He had grown up in Jiangyang and was no stranger to the weather there. He knew it like the back of his hand.
Lord Jia took the tea and brought it to his lips, but then he paused. Worry clouded his brow, but he couldn't tell what it was that was troubling him.
In the end, Lord Jia was unable to drink the cup of hot tea. He tried to drink it several times, but he put down the teacup and pushed it aside.
"Yangsheng, I've put the fish and all the fishing gear in the small kitchen. If you want to see them, go ahead!"
"Remember to bring back the fishing gear later..."
It turned out that the servant's name was Yangsheng. Lord Jia gave him a few simple instructions and sent him out. He seemed unwilling to say more, and his words were meant to tell him to go to the small kitchen first.
Yang Sheng saw that Lord Jia did not drink the tea. The hot steam that was originally lingering for a while then slowly dissipated, until finally, there was no trace of temperature left.
A pot of water still needs to be simmered in a ceramic stove to keep it boiling, so a cup of water is naturally unable to withstand the cold spring weather.
He lifted up the teacup, leaned out the window, and poured the cold tea to the foot of the wall. After completing the action, he placed the teacup back on the tea tray.
"Really? Are there any mandarin fish?"
Yang Sheng's face was filled with surprise and joy, his harmless, round, lychee-shaped eyes bright and lively. Judging from his appearance, he looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.
He withdrew his hand from fiddling with the tea tray and carelessly wiped the water stains he had accidentally stained himself with. Perhaps due to his simple mind, he didn't notice anything amiss with Master Jia's expression, and was completely focused on the mandarin fish he was worried about.
"There's only one mandarin fish, and the rest are a few black carp..."
Lord Jia's voice was somewhat hollow as he recounted the results of today's fishing in a dry voice, but without any of the joy of an angler. It seemed as if his mind was not on this at all, and he just muttered.
Yang Sheng couldn't help but raise his voice, and said hurriedly: "Very good! Very good! Then I'll go to the small kitchen first."
"Dad, if you want to drink water, pour it from the teapot in the stove. Don't drink the cold water—"
He spoke in a long voice, and before the last word fell, he had already flashed behind the screen and disappeared.
His movement created a breeze that made the corner of his cloak draped over the screen sway gently, and the embroidered pattern of lotus emerging from the water on the screen became faintly visible under the shade of the cloak.
Lord Jia stared intently at the hem of his robe, swirling in the wind. It was so light, so rootless, that wherever the wind moved it moved. But what about the human heart? As the saying goes, the heart changes with the circumstances, and the balance in his heart also swung back and forth...
Can human hearts be so easily swayed?
That night, Jiangyang government office, Tongzhiyuan.
As dusk fell, the sun and moon alternated, and the night sky above the four corners of Tongzhiyuan also drew a dark curtain. Looking up, I saw the stars and the bright moon, shining casually among them, making the night a little more lively and not so gloomy.
This was the scene Yang Sheng saw as he walked towards the Tongzhi Court with his lunch box. He lifted the lunch box to the same height as his face and sniffed gently, only to be greeted by a delicious aroma that filled his face.
Today, the aunt from the small kitchen went home, so he steamed the mandarin fish himself and poured some fermented black bean sauce on it. It was already extremely delicious without any additional seasoning.
He had him fillet some of the remaining herrings and stew the rest. When they were bubbling and steaming, he sprinkled a handful of spring onions on them. The spring onions were green, the soup was white, and the steam was rising. This was the perfect time to serve.
He didn't even steal a bite, but packed everything into a lunch box, thinking of bringing it to Tongzhiyuan to eat with his father.
The excitement of Shangsi Festival hadn't completely passed yet. The adults in the mansion had all gone home to rest, and even the aunt from the small kitchen had gone back to the countryside to look after the children. He and his father were probably the only two people in the entire Jiangyang government office, so it was a bit quiet. He had to go to the Tongzhiyuan to join his father in the fun.
Yang Sheng walked hurriedly, fearing that if he walked too slowly the food would get cold. He just wanted his father to have something hot to eat, so he held the food box against his chest with both hands to keep it warm, and took faster steps.
He was concentrating on rushing to the Tongzhi Courtyard. Just as he was about to step into the courtyard, he saw a man wrapped in an ink-black cloak walking out quickly, almost blending into the night.
He looked in the light from the lanterns hanging in the courtyard, and the person who came was actually his father, Lord Jia.
"Dad! Where have you been? I made soup and steamed mandarin fish—"
His voice was crisp, cutting through the inky night and sounded particularly pleasant in the silent Tongzhi Courtyard.
Before he could finish his words, he asked Lord Jia to interrupt him:
"Leave it in the house for now. Go and notify the officials who are supposed to be on duty. Call all those who live nearby and come with me out of the house!"
Yang Sheng exclaimed "Ah!", but before he could say anything regretful like how it was a pity that the steamed mandarin fish had gone cold, he saw his father rushing out like an arrow from a bow.
He didn't have time to say anything, he put down the food box and chased after him!
"Master Jia! Wait for me!"
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