Chapter 31 – Xiao Yu

The moment he walked through the door, Hai Lian regretted it.

The times he left Bainiao District were not few, but on those days, he flew free like a swan, unafraid and unbothered. Conversely, now he felt like a sparrow pretending to be a phoenix. It was another kind of feeling altogether. Hai Lian forced himself to calm down. He suppressed the nervous twitch in his eye and counseled himself not to act too much like a peasant who had come from the Mud District. However, when the pads of his fingers, heavily calloused from wielding a knife year in year out, brushed across the glossy silk satin seat, the young man’s slender eyebrows involuntarily twitched.

He knew that even if he cleaned himself up properly, wiped away the blood that stained his body and changed into fine clothes, he still wouldn’t fit in with the atmosphere of this place. Earlier, he felt the surreptitious glances of each lord and lady walking past him stabbing into his frame. He felt how immediately afterwards, they would carefully circle around him while staying half a foot away, as if he was a thief dressed in splendid attire or was carrying an infectious disease.

If only Fang Tinglan came, then at least I’d……

Raising his head, he looked around in all directions. It was the first time he actually looked forward to seeing that perpetually slyly smiling face.

Unfortunately, he found nothing. All that was visible was an unchanging sea of russet hair and cerulean eyes. Intricate clothing and resplendent gems rippled within the hall like a brightly-colored river.

Granted, back then, that guy had said he’d only come if he didn’t “have any other arrangements”. Most likely, he was busy again with some affairs Hai Lian wouldn’t understand and had long pushed this invitation to the back of his mind. Hai Lian thought like this self-deprecatingly, and unbeknownst to him, the corners of his lips had formed a despondent arch.

Only this afternoon, he had rushed over from Shengxiong city outside of Baili. The road was not smooth, making him jolt up and down the whole way. Such an experience gave him another reason to detest horse carriages. When he got home, he barely had enough time to drink a sip of water and change into his clothes before he had to sprint to the theater. Now that he was finally able to sit down and take a breather, he couldn’t help but feel sleepy.

Holding his forehead, he looked towards the stage. Because he was too far away, he only saw two people in white garb dancing to and fro on the stage. The libretto was fragmented and indistinct. However, the sound of the guqin was crystal clear. It was so gentle and mellifluous that Hai Lian couldn’t help but yawn, again and again.

At least he should survive till the end of the act Ahbri An had written. After seeing it, he would leave. Hai Lian sighed. Pinching his thigh, he bolstered his consciousness to continue watching the performance.

Heretofore, the seat beside Hai Lian remained empty.

※※※

“After the Amber Emperor ascended to the throne, Abale declared that since his niece’s health was not well, she needed a place to quietly recuperate. And so, he moved her to the eastern Chuizhi Pavillion. While she was said to be convalescing, in fact, she was basically under house arrest.”

“However, Long Rong has been gradually getting older, and furthermore, she has always been an honest girl. In the last two years, she has occasionally been allowed to go out to see a play or to go to Chenming Palace to listen to a lesson. In spite of this, she is still very rarely seen in public. It took me a lot of effort to find out she would be coming to see this play today,” Qin Weiyu paused, then said,  “Tinglan, I would like to pay my respects to Her Highness The Princess during intermission.”

Fang Tinglan didn’t really need to think much to know what Qin Weiyu was thinking. In his heart, he really didn’t agree with the other party; he felt this play of using marriage alliances to connect nations was a hackneyed and unhealthy old tradition, a custom which had been done only by their ancestors hundreds of years ago. But, seeing Qin Weiyu’s eager look, Fang Tinglan couldn’t bear to discourage him. Besides, he was only paying a formal visit to the princess. It might as well be a good opportunity to feel out the other side. Considering all of this, Fang Tinglan nodded.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“Of course you need to go with me,” Qin Weiyu’s smile was soft and harmless, “I am such a chicken. If I were to go alone, I’m afraid my legs would turn to jelly before I’ve even reached the entrance of their box.”

A while back, Fang Tinglan had heard from Zhou Buyi the stories of Qin Weiyu’s glorious deeds. To these tales, Fang Tinglan only smiled and set them aside.

※※※

“Ah Yu1? You’re daydreaming again?”

The girl whose name was called turned her head. Originally, she looked very young, but her slight stature made her appear even more petite and slender. She seemed so delicate that it was as if she would collapse under the weight of the pretty long light yellow dress on her body.

“I’m still thinking about the book I read today.” The girl said softly as she blinked her ink black eyes.

“You really are a little bookworm.” Her companions burst out into laughter.

“How can books be more interesting than people? Wouldn’t it be better for you to come over and take a look at the lead actor of this play? I heard from the people outside that he was a man handsome enough to cause a sensation throughout the city!” A slightly older flaxen-haired girl beckoned her over with a hand.

Ah Yu didn’t stand up, but she leaned forward slightly in her seat and took a cursory glance before curling her lips in disappointment: “I guess he’s okay, but I still think my older brother looks the best.” 

“You’re always saying that you have an older brother, but how come we’ve never seen him?”

“Is this older brother you’re talking about Viscount Yener’s son? I think I remember he looked rather scholarly; as for good-looking…that is debatable.”

“How about you bring him over sometime and let us take a look at him?”

“The shirt that you had Older Sister Gehru make a collar for the last time, it couldn’t have been a gift for your brother, could it?”

The curious girls chirped non-stop, their questions incessant. But Ah Yu clenched the corners of her skirt, “My brother…I think…he doesn’t want me anymore.”

“How could that be?” The girls were amazed. They all knew that the Dongzhounese girl had been the last to arrive at Chuzhi Pavillion. They also knew that she was the adopted daughter that the Yeners had picked up off the streets. At first, they were vigilant against her and felt contemptuous of her background, but after living together, sleeping together, and getting along together for three years, the young girl’s sensibility and intelligence had caused this slight vigilance and contempt of theirs to dwindle down into nothing and disappear from their daily lives. 

“Ah Yu is so excellent, how could someone not want you?” Everyone rushed to comfort her when they saw that the young girl’s eyes had turned red.

“Bring your brother over here; we’ll all teach him a lesson together for you!”

“Alright, alright,” A voice rose up from behind the group. Princess Long Rong, who up until this time had not spoken a single word, gently said, “It was so hard for us to come out and play, so you’d better not make Ah Yu cry. If you want to see beautiful men, in a moment you will be able to see two of them.”

“Huh?” Everyone turned their heads.

Long Rong revealed the visiting card that she had just received from the attendant outside the box. “The friend of the Chen Emperor of the Great South, Qin Weiyu, said they would come over to pay me a formal visit in a little bit.”

“Qin Weiyu?”

“Oh…that foreign prince,” one of the girls looked disappointed, “I don’t like him. In the past, I attended a banquet at home and got a glimpse of him. Although he looks pretty, his face is meek and weak. Any good looks are wasted with his vapid expression. I still prefer handsome and manly young officers like Fuluo. It’s a pity he’s been sent to the border these past years. Otherwise, I’m sure the girls wanting to be his lover would be lining up the streets.”

“He’s also a Dongzhounese like you, Ah Yu,” The flaxen-haired girl from before whispered into Ah Yu’s ears.

“Yes…Jiumeng City has a lot of Dongzhounese people.” Ah Yu was uninterested in the arriving two people and the pretty male actor on the stage, her reply absent-minded and perfunctory.

The young flaxen-haired girl didn’t didn’t want to see her friend looking lonely and pensive like this, so she tried to find something fun for her to watch. The young girl’s eyes leisurely scanned the entire auditorium; suddenly, she started laughing.

“Haha, how could there be someone sleeping in the Grand Theater? And so soundly at that? Could it be that even the enthusiastic applause just now was not enough to wake him?”

“……Actually, I also want to sleep in the Grand Theater,” Ah Yu whispered.

“Hey…wait, this person’s undershirt, why does it look a little familiar?” The young girl nudged Ah Yu’s arm, “Look, look! Doesn’t it seem familiar?”

“What do you mean a familiar undershirt….” Ah Yu turned her head helplessly.

To her, this was not an urgent matter, but she still looked anyway to humor her friend. When her eyes actually landed on the familiar undershirt, however, she nearly jumped out of her seat, “This is—!”

“What’s wrong?” Everybody was frightened.

The young girl could not believe her eyes. Hurriedly, she took a couple of steps forward. Grabbing onto the balustrade, she confirmed the scene before her eyes many times.

“Your Highness, may I not return with the rest to Chuizhi Pavilion today?” She suddenly turned around and gave Long Rong a solemn curtsy.

Long Rong was initially astonished, then soon after smiled and nodded her head.

“Chuizhi Pavilion is not your prison, nor am I your jailer. If you wish to go, then go. But just remember to return to us safe and sound.”

“Thank you!” Ah Yu beamed brightly at Her Highness The Princess before lifting the hem of her skirt to scamper out of the box. She walked very hurriedly with a lowered head and nearly crashed into the two distinguished guests arriving to pay their respects to the princess. The girl did not raise her head but recited an apology to the two guests before circling around them, hastening her pace down the stairs, and causing them to do a double take at her.

“This girl’s eyebrows……” Fang Tinglan’s expression was thoughtful, but before he could turn his head to get another look, Qin Weiyu had pulled him into the box.