"I went to the pleasure quarters today to get this. The top courtesan there only uses this; it was specially bought from the capital. Just a small box of rouge costs twenty taels of silver."
"Are you really going to get this?"
He said seriously, "Of course. Go ask them if you don't believe me."
I naturally wouldn't ask, but I suddenly felt a sense of comfort. The evening breeze blew in from the window, and the candlelight flickered slightly. He stood before the lamp, like a pearl covered in dust, the dust dissipating with the wind, regaining its pure and flawless quality, radiant with beauty.
I opened the rouge box with a smile, but when I looked at it under the light, I frowned again.
"Isn't this one already used?"
"What?"
I pointed to an uneven spot on the rouge and showed it to him; it looked like someone had scratched it with their fingernail.
He looked at me with disdain: "You country bumpkin, those are two 'little' characters, okay?"
"What words?" I leaned closer under the light and sure enough, I saw two faint characters.
He whispered, "Red Bean."
I looked at him curiously: "Red beans for making porridge?"
He took a deep breath, then sighed softly, looking at me with a disappointed expression. After a long while, he said, "Do you know Wang Wei's poem? 'Red beans grow in the south, how many branches will sprout in spring? I urge you to pick more, for this is the most evocative of longing.' This rouge is called red bean, not the red bean used to make porridge." After saying that, he snorted, "No romance."
Oh, I see. I remembered that he had once given me a box of rouge like this, but Yunzhou and I thought it was used and put it away at the bottom of a box. Sigh, Yunzhou and I are indeed both unrefined people. We glanced at it and assumed that some girl had used it with her fingers. We never thought that there were two small words on the rouge.
Thinking about this, I felt a little apologetic towards Jiang Chen, as if I had been misunderstanding him all along.
I sincerely thanked him: "Thank you, Senior Brother Jiang, for the coming-of-age gift."
Although the gift was a day late, I was still very touched. He went to a dangerous place, risking his life to get such a good thing for me from the jaws of a tiger. I must thank him for his kindness.
He paused, then said in a low voice, "This is not a coming-of-age gift."
"ah?"
He cleared his throat and said, "Well, don't you know that if you give a girl a coming-of-age gift, such as a boudoir, it means you intend to marry her? That's why I didn't give one yesterday, so you wouldn't misunderstand."
I said frankly, "Oh, it's okay. Even if you had given it to me yesterday, I wouldn't have misunderstood."
A womanizer like him will be surrounded by admirers in the future, and I can't keep an eye on him. I prefer a carefree life. So, even if I misunderstand someone, I won't misunderstand him; even if I choose someone, I won't choose him. Yesterday, my master asked me to pick someone I liked, and he was the first person I eliminated.
He frowned and asked, "Really?"
I nodded solemnly: "Of course it's true. Between us, even if mountains crumble and the heavens and earth unite, there will never be such a misunderstanding."
He glared at me fiercely, then suddenly put the makeup box on the table into his bundle, picked it up and left, his brows furrowed with a menacing rage.
I was baffled. I sighed twice at his stiff back, but he ignored me and walked away.
Are there really people like that? Giving me something and then taking it back—isn't that just harassing me?
I stood there, hands on my hips, fuming, and called Xiao Hebao to go for a walk in the back hills to calm down.
I ignored Jiang Chen for a day, and perhaps he himself felt that he had gone a bit too far. On the fourth day after my birthday, he suddenly had a whim and gave me an extremely "unique" birthday gift: a pillow.
This pillow is so heavy! When he threw it at me, I never expected it to be so heavy. I barely managed to catch it and almost strained my back.
"What's this?"
"Pillow."
"Of course I know it's a pillow. What's so heavy inside? Ah, could it be gold?"
He gave me a disdainful look and snorted, "Money-grubber! Would I be that vulgar? There's a cherry pit in here."
I chuckled and said, "I've never heard of a pillow made from cherry pits. Actually, I like things that are a bit tacky."
He cleared his throat and said, "Cherry pits can ward off evil spirits, dispel misfortune, and improve health. You're not feeling well, so I'm giving you this."
Thank you.
"The cherry pits need to be thoroughly dried after boiling. It's been cloudy these past few days, so I'm late in sending them. Actually, the value of a gift isn't in its price or the timing; it's the sentiment that matters, don't you think?" He spoke with rare seriousness, his expression one of deep affection, as if I were his confidant and best friend.
Hugging my pillow, I exclaimed with genuine emotion, "Senior Brother Jiang Chen, you're so kind."
"Just call me Jiang Chen. Aren't you tired of calling me by four characters?" He glanced at me, then walked away with his hands behind his back.
I excitedly hugged the pillow back to my room and used it that very night.
The next morning, a question suddenly occurred to me. Where did these cherry pits come from? How many cherries would it take to get so many pits?
I can't keep things to myself, so I immediately ran to ask Jiang Chen.
He was practicing his sword by the bamboo grove on the back of the mountain, his clothes tucked into his waist, looking dashing and heroic. In fact, to be honest, he was never anything but dashing; even when he was cursing, he had the air of someone who commanded the world.
The Jade Night Sword danced in his hand, its sword energy sharp and powerful like a raging torrent. The sunlight shone brightly, and the light emanating from the sword shimmered like flowing jade and gold. He moved amidst the interplay of light and shadow, like a fleeting glimpse of a sunset.
A gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo grove, making the bamboo leaves whisper and enhancing the tranquility of the streamside.
I leaned against a large bamboo grove, watching him, not wanting to interrupt. My master always said my swordplay was precise and disciplined, but lacked momentum and speed. He often had me observe Yunzhou and Jiang Hao, but I seemed to have observed Yunzhou more than him. Today, however, I calmed down and observed him closely; he wasn't much worse than Senior Brother Yunzhou.
This set of carefree sword techniques concludes with the move "Sunset Over the Long River," where the sword is swung back and the killing intent vanishes instantly.
I couldn't help but praise, "Senior Brother Jiang Chen, your swordsmanship is becoming more and more exquisite."
Jiang Chen turned around and said lightly, "Xiao Mo, when you compliment people, it's like your tongue is borrowed; it's not very fluent."