But Mu Xing, who was once just a curious passerby, now knows that Mu Xing's feelings for her go beyond mere admiration and pity.
“You saved my brother, and Mu Yuan will definitely repay you. Besides money, there is nothing else in the family to thank you, nor is it necessary,” Mu Xing added.
“If you take this money, you can not only buy your freedom, but also find a good place to settle down. You can continue writing, or do other work that you want to do.”
Bai Yan realized what was happening too late.
An idea gradually took shape in her mind, and her heart trembled violently, making it hard for her to catch her breath.
“I told my mother that you are a very, very good girl. She doesn’t need to force herself to accept you because of your kindness. You are worthy of it and will definitely be able to make her like and accept you.”
Mu Xing looked at her with a smile, his usually sharp eyebrows softening and becoming gentle.
“I love you. I will catch you when you fall, I will cook for you, I will cherish you and hug you, but I will not save you. I don’t want to control your life, and you don’t need a hero. You can be free, but not because of my love, not because of my money, but because of your courage and your help to the Mu family. Wan’er, you can save yourself.”
"You don't have to depend on me or sing for me; you're not my foil or someone who needs to adorn me. You can have your own will, your own choices, and your own dignity."
"You are free, and I stand beside you, ready to move forward with you at any time."
Before Bai Yan could even process what was happening, tears had already welled up in her eyes and fallen.
At that moment, she remembered many things, things she had talked about with Mu Xing, things that had troubled her...
She once told Mu Xing that even if she were redeemed by a wealthy person like Fei Hua, she would still be a caged bird. She also said that she didn't want Minister Cai to retrieve the deed for her, because it meant a great deal to her.
She only mentioned these things to Mu Xing on a whim, but Mu Xing remembered them all.
She had to admit that she had secretly hoped that the Mu family would allow her to be with Mu Xing because of her help. Even if it was against her will, even if it was filled with resentment, even if it was... illegitimate, she didn't care. She was willing to give everything to Mu Xing: her freedom, her reputation, everything she had.
As long as she can be with Mu Xing.
But Mu Xing gave her another option.
Because she loves her, she is willing to give her freedom, independence, and the power to choose.
She is no longer a bird to be played with; she is no longer confined to a small world; she is no longer the helpless little girl she was ten years ago.
She could finally take off her gorgeous prison uniform, stand in the sunlight, and become a truly free person.
"Cry, Shu Wan." Mu Xing stepped forward and hugged Bai Yan, gently kissing the corner of her eye. "From now on, you can shed your tears for yourself."
Chapter 99
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Bai Yan and Mu Xing traveled together to Yuejiang. Having not set foot there for months, they found it still exactly as it had been.
It was Wang Mengwei who brought Bai Yan out of the brothel under his name. This time, it was inevitable that Wang Gongzi would have to accompany Bai Yan to the brothel to negotiate with the brothel madam to get her redeemed.
As Bai Yan had estimated, her mother-in-law, after much polite conversation, finally set a price of 20,000 yuan. Bai Yan didn't want to waste time arguing, but unexpectedly, the young master Wang, who hadn't said a word the whole way, suddenly displayed his business acumen, engaging in a heated debate with her mother-in-law, reasoning and presenting the facts, and managed to reduce the ransom to 15,000 yuan.
Bai Yan was utterly stunned.
After leaving Yuejiang, Mu Xing still needed to take Bai Yan to register her household registration, so the three parted ways at the intersection. Wang Mengwei looked at Mu Xing, then at Bai Yan, and after a long while sighed: "You... take care of yourselves. I have nothing to say. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."
Mu Xing hugged him tightly: "Don't worry, I won't hold back."
Wang Mengwei gave her a disapproving look, nodded to Bai Yan as a greeting, and strode away.
According to regulations, women who work in brothels must obtain a license from the police station. If they want to remove the sign, they must also have their license revoked and their household registration information changed. Because Uncle Mu had contacted the police station beforehand, Bai Yan quickly had her license revoked and her household registration information changed at the personnel department.
As Bai Yan walked out of the police station, she suddenly stopped, looked at the ordinary resident's household registration card in her hand, and took a deep breath.
Mu Xing thought she was going to say something, so he waited to the side, but Bai Yan put her documents into her bag and then turned around and said, "Let's go."
Mu Xing raised an eyebrow: "I thought you would say something."
Bai Yan smiled and said, "There's nothing to be surprised about. It was something I had already expected. Why make such a big deal out of it?"
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Grandma asked me to invite you to our house for a visit," Mu Xing said as the two walked side by side down the road.
Bai Yan was somewhat surprised: "I thought...wouldn't that be a bit too abrupt? What did your mother say?"
Only a few days have passed. Even if Madam Mu and the others have tacitly approved of their relationship, it would be better to slow things down and give Uncle and Aunt some time to adjust.
Mu Xing shrugged: "Grandma brought this up at breakfast in front of everyone. My mother didn't say anything, but my uncle did say that you should indeed be invited to the holiday."
Bai Yan didn't speak, remaining silent for a long while before suddenly stopping, and then, as if waking from a dream, she whispered, "Should I bring a small gift? Usually, a gift is expected in this situation, right? What would be appropriate? What does Grandma like…?"
Seeing her anxious, Mu Xing couldn't help but chuckle: "No need, we're all family, there's no need to say such things."
Bai Yan insisted, pulling Mu Xing towards the ocean: "No, no, the last two times I visited your house it was very undignified. Today is a holiday, we should at least be more formal."
The two spent half a day browsing through several foreign shops. Finally, on Mu Xing's suggestion, Bai Yan selected several pairs of brooches for her grandmother and two aunts, and also picked out two fountain pens to give to her two uncles.
At 5:30 p.m., Mu Yuan's car stopped right downstairs at Bai Yan's house. Bai Yan got into the car and realized that all the people in the car were familiar faces.
"Hello, Miss Bai." After closing the car door for her, Fu Guang sat in the passenger seat and said with a smile to the driver next to her, "Uncle Song, let's go. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and my mother is waiting for me to come home."
Hearing this, Mu Xing snorted from the back seat, "You've been resting at home for almost half a month, haven't you had enough rest yet?"
Fu Guang said with a grin, "Oh my lady, I would like to serve you, but I'm afraid that if I become that big, imported Western electric light, you'll find it annoying!"
The two chatted back and forth, laughing non-stop, as if they were making up for the lack of conversation they had taken over the past two weeks.
Despite the noise around her, Bai Yan didn't find it annoying at all. Instead, she became more and more relaxed. Her initial anxiety gradually dissipated, replaced by endless peace and joy.
Upon arriving at Mu Garden, Bai Yan did not perform the traditional tea ceremony, as it had been agreed beforehand that this was not a formal visit. The elders of the Mu family treated her as always. The family chatted and ate naturally, without any awkwardness or formality, and without any deliberate pretense or difficulty.
From then on, everything returned to normal. Mu Xing continued to shuttle between the clinic and the pharmacy, and Bai Yan continued to work at the bookstore. Whenever they had free time, the two would meet at their small home. The only difference was their mindset: there was no more anxiety or fear, no more worry about gains and losses. Every night when they said goodnight to each other, they knew that there was still tomorrow.
On October 1, 1931, Zhang Haipeng, the garrison commander of Taonan Town in Heilongjiang Province of the Northeast Army, defected to the enemy.
On November 19, 1931, the Japanese army captured Qiqihar.
On January 28, 1932, the Japanese army invaded Shanghai.
On February 5, 1932, the Japanese army occupied Harbin, marking the fall of the entire Northeast.
Although the flames of war had not yet spread to Wenjiang, panic and anger permeated the hearts of every patriotic citizen through the newspapers. In the past six months, numerous student-organized demonstrations erupted, which the government tried every means to suppress, leaving the streets and alleys filled with unease.
At that time, Mu Xing and Bai Yan had just finished their trip to Nanjing and paid their respects to Minister Cai for the New Year. The two had planned to travel to Beijing and visit Peking Union Medical College before returning home with their second brother for the New Year. However, after the tragedy in Shanghai at the end of January, rumors of the Japanese invasion of Beijing were rampant. After much deliberation, the two decided not to go north and had to return home.
As the New Year approaches, although the smoke of war hasn't completely cleared, red lanterns are gradually being hung in the streets and alleys, and New Year markets are springing up, with red tents erected and stretching out in a row along the streets. The vendors inside the tents are all beaming with joy, their faces flushed red by the reflection of the tents. Fine snowflakes patter softly into the tents, creating a charming contrast of red and white. Unaware of the world's troubles, children frolic in the snow, throwing firecrackers haphazardly, some rolling under the feet of passersby, startling them. Looking at the children's innocent smiles, no one dares to say a harsh word.
Song Youcheng's bookstore closed for the holidays early. Several days before New Year's Eve, Mu Xing couldn't wait to invite Bai Yan to stay at Mu Garden to help the two ladies prepare for the New Year, including gifts for relatives and New Year's money for the servants. After all the matters were settled, on the 29th, the family returned to the old house in Tonghua as usual.
The next morning, as soon as the family sat down in the main hall of the old house, Bai Yan first served fragrant tea to her grandmother, followed by her uncle and aunt, and then her father and mother. Madam Mu couldn't help but shed tears, but she still accepted the tea.
Bai Yan blushed and her eyes were red as she said to everyone, "Grandma, Uncle and Aunt... Dad, Mom, Eldest Brother, Second Brother. You are A-Xuan's family, and from now on, you will also be my family. I will definitely be filial to you together with A-Xuan and will not let you down."
After saying that, she glanced at Mu Xing, and the two of them knelt down and kowtowed.
"Get up, get up." The old lady smiled and had someone help the two up. She took Bai Yan's hand and patted it. "Good children, from now on, we are entrusting our Ah Xuan to you. You two must take good care of yourselves. As the old saying goes, marriage is preordained. 'Those who are destined to meet will be together even if they are a thousand miles apart, and those who are not destined to meet will not be together even if they are face to face.' Now, fate has brought you together. How you treat each other and stay together in the future depends on how you treat each other."
Bai Yan naturally nodded in agreement, then turned to Madam Mu and her husband, saying, "Dad, Mom."
Waving her hand, Madam Mu wiped away her tears and said, "Your father and I have nothing to say. We'll be at ease as long as you both do well in the future."
Mu Yiqian also said, "Ah Xuan has always been impulsive, while Shu Wan is more composed. You'll have to keep an eye on her from now on. If she bullies you, or if you can't control her, come and tell us, and we'll definitely teach her a lesson."
Before Bai Yan could answer, Mu Xing snorted, "Dad! How could I bear to bully Shu Wan! I cherish her even more..."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yan quickly tugged at Mu Xing secretly, blushing as she replied, "Dad, I understand."
After serving tea, the family packed up to go to the ancestral hall to pay respects to their ancestors. Suddenly, the old lady called Mu Xing over and handed her a key: "This is the key to Fu Xue's dowry chest. I'm giving it to you now."
Mu Xing knew, of course, that her aunt had a dowry chest, which her grandfather had personally made for her when he was still alive, just to hold some of his most precious treasures for her. Thinking of what she had heard about her aunt before, Mu Xing frowned: "Dowry chest? Grandma, how come you have the key to this?"
Grandma shook her head: "This is what Fu Xue... gave me before she left. The box is in her room, and I've never opened it all these years. I think Fu Xue would have preferred you to open it..."
With some time to spare before heading up the mountain to pay respects to their ancestors, Mu Xing took the key and quietly led Bai Yan to open his aunt's room.
Because someone regularly cleans the room, it is very clean. The brush holder and inkstone on the painting table, the Xuan paper and Huzhou brush; the long-necked lotus in the vase, the rouge box on the dressing table; the half-worn blue curtains on the canopy bed... everything is kept as it was, and you can even faintly smell the bitter fragrance of lotus that my aunt liked the most in the air.
Entering the room, Mu Xing didn't head straight for the box under the dressing table. Instead, she wandered around the room, with Bai Yan following her. After a while, Mu Xing chuckled softly, "I have a feeling my aunt will rush in from the yard soon and scold me for being naughty and touching her paintings again."
Bai Yan looked around: "I vaguely remember an oil painting at Madam Fu Xue's art exhibition that year. It seemed to depict a Western-style boudoir, and I longed for it for a long time. Now, it seems that this kind of room suits Madam better."
“That’s just how my aunt is, a mix of Chinese and Western styles.” Finally reaching the dressing table, Mu Xing slowly moved the box from under the stand and placed it on the table in the main room.
The key in his hand felt incredibly heavy. Taking a deep breath, Mu Xing opened the box.
"Is this... a painting?" Bai Yan wasn't quite sure.
"There's another envelope." Mu Xing took out the scroll and the envelope; there was nothing else in the box.
Looking at the two items in front of him, Mu Xing suddenly felt a little nervous: "These should be my aunt's real belongings, right? Which one should we look at first?"
Bai Yan thought for a moment, then said firmly, "Let's look at the envelope first."
Taking a deep breath, Mu Xing opened the unsealed envelope.
“‘My dear wife Yingtian, seeing this letter is like seeing you in person’… This, this is written for Aunt Feng?” Mu Xing exclaimed softly, biting her lip as she read on with Bai Yan.
After silently reading the letter, neither Mu Xing nor Bai Yan spoke.
Gently placing the letter back into the envelope, Mu Xing opened the scroll.
This is a figure painting in ink wash. In the center of the painting, a set of costumes of Yu Ji from Peking Opera is depicted with bold and colorful brushstrokes: a yellow cloak with blue trim, on which a few strokes outline a golden pheasant embroidery. The cloak is half-open, revealing the fish-scale armor-style cloud shoulder and sword underneath.
However, the cloak's drawstring did not bind Yu Ji's neck.
"This is... a lily?" Mu Xing was somewhat unsure.
A delicately colored lily peeked out from the bodice, blooming proudly.
After a long pause, Mu Xing murmured, "Yellow background with blue trim and a sword... that's Yu Ji's attire. It should be Aunt Feng..."
Bai Yan was silent for a moment before saying, "Ah Xuan, do you remember last August when we went to pay our respects to Aunt, we met that guy from the Feng family? Later, when we arrived at Aunt's grave, we found a bouquet of lilies."
Mu Xing was taken aback: "And my aunt's letter just now said..."
After a moment of silence, she continued, "To sleep in the same grave, to know the seasons by the dawn and dusk, perhaps Aunt... only wishes for this."
Looking at the treasure chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ruby, delicately carved with pomegranates, grapes, and peonies, Bai Yan said, "I've heard that Wenjiang has a tradition of using trees in the courtyard to make dowry chests for daughters. When Grandpa made this chest, he must have been full of love for it."
Stroking the delicate patterns on the box, Mu Xing whispered, "So Aunt didn't disappoint Grandpa in the end." Biting her lip, she looked up at Bai Yan, "Wan'er, I feel like crying."
Bai Yan tiptoed slightly and pulled Mu Xing into her arms, smiling as she said, "I'm here."
(End of text)