Luzhou-Mond - Kapitel 125
Chapter word count: 3580 Update time: 09-09-08 12:02
Upon arriving at Kuaiyixuan, I found two people already seated at the table: Shen Haoyu and Prince Qing. Shen Haoyu gestured for me to sit down. Since my indenture had been destroyed, I had no longer any master-servant relationship with Prince Qing's household. I didn't refuse, bowed to Prince Qing, and sat down next to Shen Haoyu. I had assumed it would be a banquet for Shen Haoyu and the old acquaintances of Qiufengyuan, but it turned out to be a strange meal for the three of us.
"Thank you for taking care of Haoyu along the way, Miss Mo," Prince Qing said, raising his wine cup.
I reluctantly picked up my cup and responded to Prince Qing, but inwardly I found it somewhat amusing, and a little...grateful, that he called me "Miss Mo" instead of "Miss Mu." But should I say I took care of Shen Haoyu? We're even. Without Shen Haoyu, I would either have frozen to death or drowned in the river.
The atmosphere at the dinner was not very good. Most of the time, Shen Haoyu was the only one talking, while Prince Qing listened quietly. I focused on eating.
After I had eaten and drunk my fill—or rather, just by myself—Shen Haoyu saw Prince Qing off, but told me to wait there. Since I had nothing else to do, I stayed at Kuaiyixuan.
Seeing Shen Haoyu return, I got up from the stool and asked, "Is there anything else, Your Highness?"
Shen Haoyu glanced at me and said hesitantly, "It was supposed to be just the two of us, but for some reason, Father King came too."
I said "Oh," thinking there was no need to explain this to me. Besides, he had just returned home and should have been with the Prince and Princess, but instead he was still in Qiufeng Garden and didn't even talk to the Princess much.
"If...if you're not tired, could you accompany me for a walk outside the manor?" Shen Haoyu asked hesitantly, which wasn't like him. However, since I was no longer his guard, it was only right to be polite.
He chuckled and said, "Sure." Anyway, I have nothing to do, so it wouldn't hurt to go out and see this city that's quite famous in the east.
But Shen Haoyu immediately smiled and said, "I'm leaving now." He then turned to walk out.
"Like this?" She quickly stopped him, glanced at her own attire, and said with difficulty, "How am I supposed to go out like this?"
Shen Haoyu looked me up and down, then shook his head and said, "This is good enough. Why can't we go out?"
I flicked my sleeves, lifted my skirt, and thought, "Walking around the manor is fine, but wearing this to go shopping would be exhausting!" Before I even left Qiufeng Garden, I abruptly stopped: "Young Prince, please have someone bring me some lighter clothes. I really can't walk like this." Let alone walk faster.
Shen Haoyu smiled and finally turned back. He asked someone to bring me a new set of clothes to change into before the two of them went out.
Although Takigaki doesn't have the wide streets of the capital, it still possesses its own unique prosperity, a testament to Prince Qing's more than twenty years of painstaking management. It was dusk, and the setting sun slowly sank behind us, casting long shadows of us on the smooth stone pavement.
Shops lined both sides of the street, bustling with merchants and travelers, their cries of vendors rising and falling. Some elderly farmers, having sold their vegetables, hurried home with their empty baskets, while night vendors prepared for the new day's business. Restaurants and taverns were packed with people, every seat filled.
As they followed Shen Haoyu, they discovered that there was a small river flowing through the city. The banks were lined with neat rows of stones, and the willows along the banks swayed in the wind, though their leaves were no longer green.
"It seems you'll have to wait a long time to see the willows of Pingcheng. Let's look at the ones of Longcheng first, although the time and place aren't quite right," Shen Haoyu said softly as he stood on the embankment.
He actually remembered? I turned my head to look at him beside me. Because he was backlit, I couldn't see his expression. Only the outline of his profile was outlined with a gold border.
Shen Haoyu turned around and walked slowly down the embankment. I followed him slowly. Not far ahead, there was a stone arch bridge, and further away, there was a pavilion in the distance.
There were also stalls selling things on the stone arch bridge, but there weren't many people there yet. It would probably get lively after dark. Further on, a three-story pavilion came into view, with dazzling glazed tiles, octagonal eaves, and a crane holding a string of horn bells in its beak, which rang melodiously in the breeze.
Walking around to the front of the pavilion, a plaque hung above the main entrance: "Sunset Pavilion." Looking up from downstairs, a few figures were sparsely gazing into the distance from the railing. Shen Haoyu said, "Let's go up and take a look too." I nodded and stepped onto the stone steps.
Standing on the third-floor corridor, beneath my feet flows a gently flowing stream, shimmering with golden light. Across the stream are crisscrossing streets and neat, clean houses. Wisps of smoke rise from the houses in the breeze. Further away are the thick gray walls of Taki Castle, which appear as dark shadows from here. Beyond that, at the horizon where heaven and earth meet, lie the indistinct silhouettes of distant mountains.
Shen Haoyu turned around and looked at me standing behind him: "Isn't it beautiful here?"
I nodded honestly, "It's beautiful." Although it lacks the natural scenery of green mountains and clear waters, the tranquil and peaceful living environment is something that not every place can offer. Takishiro is well-planned, with just this small river. The opposite bank of the river is full of residential houses, while this side of the river is naturally the commercial area.
Shen Haoyu said that Riwan Pavilion was built by Prince Qing in his early years, specifically for the city's residents to enjoy the scenery. On good days, some literati would also gather there to drink wine, compose poems, and exchange verses. Looking at the few people upstairs, it seems that today is not a good day.
The two of them enjoyed the evening breeze upstairs until the sun had completely set and a crescent moon slowly climbed onto the treetops. Suddenly, a line of poetry popped into my mind: "The moon rises above the willow branches, and we meet after dusk."
Shaking his head to dismiss this somewhat absurd idea, he said to Shen Haoyu, "Young Prince, it's getting dark, let's go back."
Walking on the stone embankment again, I noticed that many food stalls had been set up on the roadside, and many people were sitting at the small tables in front of the stalls, engrossed in eating something. The aroma of food wafted over, and I realized that I was actually quite hungry after walking such a long way.
I pulled Shen Haoyu down the embankment and looked at each of the stalls. There were many foods I had never seen before, as well as a lot of seafood. Dongjun is located by the sea, so I wasn't surprised that there was so much seafood here, but I had never seen most of the snacks before, and for a moment I didn't know where to eat.
She looked up and asked Shen Haoyu with her eyes, only to see that Shen Haoyu was also frowning. She then heard him say, "I was planning to find out more about the night market in Longcheng in a couple of days to make up for the regret in Ningzhou. Since you want to eat here today, let's ask around and have a little something to eat first."
When we asked passersby what was good to eat, they irresponsibly replied, "Everything's good." We exchanged a glance and decided to sit down at the busiest stall, observing what everyone was eating before ordering seafood noodles, seaweed jelly, and two skewers of grilled squid. Still wanting more, we also packed some crystal shrimp dumplings and spicy stir-fried clams to take home and enjoy with drinks.
On the way, I patted my round belly and took a satisfied breath, secretly glad that I had changed my clothes before leaving home. Otherwise, with those tight clothes, it would have been difficult to bend over, let alone eat so much.
Seeing my delighted expression, Shen Haoyu smiled and said, "Since you like it so much, I'll take you to the beach in a few days. The sunset will be even more beautiful, and the seafood will be even fresher."
"Okay." I agreed without much thought. I'd never seen the sea here before. It's only a couple hundred miles from Takishiro to the beach, a day or two away. But I didn't realize at all that this was already very much like a date.
Before they even reached the gate of the Prince's residence, a middle-aged man who looked like a steward came up to them and said, "Young Prince, you've finally returned! His Highness has been waiting for you in the study for a long time. Please go and see him." He then bowed and prepared to lead the way.
Shen Haoyu glanced at me and said, "Then I'll go take a look first. You go back to Qiufeng Garden by yourself and I'll come find you again tomorrow."
I nodded; there was no need for him to say all this. Shen Haoyu took a step forward, then suddenly stepped back, tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear, and strode away. Holding the lock of hair he'd placed behind my ear, I wondered to myself: When did we become so close?
Back in my room, I slept the most restful night in the past six months. I woke up groggily the next day when I heard a knock on the door. When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar, distinctly feminine pale purple bed curtain above me. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. It took me a while to realize that I was in the safe city of Takishiro.
After quickly tidying herself up, she opened the door a crack and saw Xiaolan standing outside with her toiletries. She quickly opened the door wide and welcomed Xiaolan inside. Xiaolan placed the basin on the washstand and smiled, "You were sleeping so soundly, miss. I've come over three or four times already. If Sister Yuying hadn't said lunch was almost over and she couldn't let you sleep any longer, I really wouldn't have wanted to wake you."
He glanced at the sky outside and couldn't help but ask, "What time is it now?"
"It's almost past 9 AM." Xiao Lan said as she reached out to help me wring out a handkerchief to wash my face. I quickly took it and did it myself. Then I heard her say, "The young prince returned after meeting the prince and princess and said he would wait for you to have lunch together."
I hummed in agreement as I wiped my face, then picked up the simple toothbrush on the tray and started brushing my teeth with salt.
After washing up, Xiaolan took the dirty water out, then sat back down on the stool, casually tied a lock of her hair up, secured it with an agate dragonfly hairpin, straightened her clothes, and went out.
As soon as I entered the corridor, Yin Yan, whom I had only met once yesterday without exchanging a single word with, walked towards me. Upon seeing me, she quickened her pace, and the two of us stopped together only when we were right in front of each other.
Yin Yan stared unblinkingly at my face, her eyes slowly welling up with tears. Before I could say anything, she spoke, "Why are you so thin and so dark?" As she spoke, her hand touched my cheek. "And your face is so rough." Before she could finish speaking, tears rolled down her cheeks. "Yesterday, when Sister Yu Ying told me, I didn't believe it, but seeing it today..."
Seeing Yin Yan like this, I couldn't help but choke up: "Isn't she back? I thought I would never see you again. You've lost so much weight..." I didn't get a good look at her yesterday, but seeing her today, I realized that she looked very haggard and had lost her former radiance. She must have been very sad these days, worrying about Shen Haoyu's comfort... and me.
The two of them stood facing each other in the corridor, their eyes filled with tears. After a long while, I chuckled softly, and Yin Yan pretended to be angry and punched my shoulder.
"Come on, Master is waiting for you to eat." Yin Yan reached out and took my hand, quickly walking towards Shen Haoyu's courtyard. The scene was exactly the same as yesterday, except that it was Yin Yan instead of Yu Ying.