Dou Akou happily accepted it: "Oh! Thank you, sir!" Then she turned and left satisfied, her next target being Xu Liren.
She searched the entire Dou residence but couldn't find Xu Liren. She asked the servants, who all looked at her blankly: "Xu Liren? Never seen her before."
Dou Akou was a little depressed. She chose a secluded path to turn back to her room. This path passed by the back gate of the Dou residence. As she passed by, she saw Xu Liren.
Xu Liren stood at the back door, seemingly talking to someone. He had deliberately lowered his voice, but he couldn't hide the anxiety in his tone.
"Xu Li!" Dou Akou walked over in confusion. When she arrived at where Xu Li was standing, she only saw him. The door was empty, and there was no one else around.
“Xu Li, I think I just heard you talking to someone…” Dou Akou stopped mid-sentence, stunned. She saw Xu Li’s face turning pale rapidly, sweat pouring down his forehead. He was clutching his chest, and if he hadn’t been leaning against the door frame, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to hold on.
Dou Akou stared at Xu Liren, who was biting her lip and frowning. This deliberately restrained, masochistic expression was both breathtaking and beautiful. She was stunned. Only after Xu Liren stumbled did she react: "Xu Li! You...you stay here and don't move! I...I'll go get someone!"
Xu Liren, quick-witted and agile, grabbed Dou Akou. Even such a simple action caused him so much pain that he almost couldn't breathe. He quietly endured the pain, then looked up at Dou Akou and said, "You are not allowed to tell anyone about this."
Before Dou Akou could react, Xu Liren took out a bottle of pills from his pocket, tilted his head back and poured them into his mouth. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed them all.
After taking the medicine, he breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes wearily, but then, still feeling uneasy, opened them again and said fiercely, "Don't let anyone know about this, or I'll kill you."
Dou Akou nodded blankly: "Oh. I won't tell anyone."
Xu Liren was momentarily speechless at the sight of the stunned man. Just then, someone rushed over: "Xu Liren, we're looking for you! Don't you know how to play the zither? You were supposed to play at the banquet today, Miss. Come with me!"
That person came and went like a gust of wind, and when he left, he even swept Xu Liren away with him.
Dou Akou scratched her head, then, remembering her aunt's words about not messing up her hairstyle, she quickly put her hand down and went back to her room, puzzled.
At noon, the banquet began. Gifts from those coming to offer congratulations filled the hall. Fu Jiuxin, who was both the steward and the accountant, was extremely busy. He took a moment to call one of his subordinates, gave him some instructions, and then went to the hall himself.
In the hall, Dou Akou obediently followed her aunt's instructions and completed a series of rituals. Fu Jiuxin leaned against the door, watching her aunt comb her hair and insert a hairpin into her bun. As Dou Akou lowered her head slightly, the hairpin trembled in her hair, like ripples spreading across the center of a lake. As for whose heart it touched, that remained a mystery.
After Dou Akou completed her coming-of-age ceremony, Dou Jincai announced the start of the banquet. Amidst the clinking of glasses and the lively atmosphere, Dou Akou glanced around. Among the bustling crowd, Xu Liren sat alone in a corner, playing the zither as if it were none of her business.
Amidst the laughter and chatter, his music was occasionally drowned out, and no one cared what he was playing.
Dou Akou tugged at Dou Jincai's sleeve: "Father, let Xu Li bear with it. I don't need to play the zither to entertain him."
"What?" Dou Jincai was a bit drunk and didn't hear what Dou Akou was saying at all. He leaned close to Dou Akou's ear and said in what he thought was a low voice, "Akou, what do you think of that one? That's the young master of Uncle Zhou's family, a family friend of your father's. Hey, I think he's quite good-looking, with delicate features... Or that one, the son of a high-ranking official, he's always wanted to befriend your father... Hmm, a fifth-rank official..."
Dou Akou was so annoyed by the commotion that she said, "Father, I didn't want to get married so soon..."
She searched for an excuse in her mind, and suddenly remembered what Tang Xunzhen had said about the ancient kingdom's ruins and treasures the night before she left Qingyong City. So she said happily, "Father, I remember now. I want to go out into the world and dig up the treasure before I come back to get married."
Her response was Dou Jincai's snoring; he had begun to doze off.
Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, a servant rushed in excitedly from outside the door: "Master, the Crown Prince has sent someone with gifts!"
The sound wasn't loud, but in an instant, everyone in the hall fell silent. Dou Jincai was startled and half-sobered up. He hurriedly stood up, straightened his clothes, and led Dou Akou out to greet the guests.
The visitor was a highly regarded retainer under Xu Lichi, who bowed with a smile on his face: "I have come on the orders of the Crown Prince to congratulate the Dou family's daughter on her coming-of-age ceremony. I offer this small gift as a token of my respect."
Dou Jincai was trembling with fear when he received the gift. Afterwards, he invited the man to drink, but the man smiled and said that he had something to attend to and could not delay, so he left.
The room was filled with discussion. Although Crown Prince Xu Lichi did not come in person, he sent a retainer to deliver gifts, clearly showing his intention to win over Dou Jincai. It seemed that the factional struggle in the court was about to escalate again.
Dou Akou didn't hear anything, and even if she had, she would have felt it was none of her business. She only noticed that Xu Liren suddenly disappeared the moment the guest entered.
Dou Akou's coming-of-age ceremony ended as dusk approached. As the guests gradually took their leave, Dou Akou slipped into the kitchen.
She spent the whole day just sitting there pretending, not daring to eat what she wanted. Finally, after everyone had left, she prepared to rummage through the kitchen.
The cook gave her some taro cakes, saying they were made by cooking taro with milk, and that they would become fishy if they got cold, so she had to eat them while they were hot.
Dou Akou carried three pieces of meat. She held two in her hands, taking a bite from one on each side, and kept the third warm in her arms. As she ate, she walked towards Dou Jincai's study. She planned to talk to her father about her adventures in the martial arts world, hoping to dissuade Dou Jincai from marrying her off.
She barged into Dou Jincai's study and had just called out "Father" when she looked up and saw Fu Jiuxin standing to the side, while Dou Jincai was rummaging through something in the inner room of the study.
Dou Akou obediently called him "sir," quickly licked the remaining taro cake from her fingertips, and then put her hands behind her back.
Fu Jiuxin looked at her: "Miss, you look quite good today."
Dou Akou immediately beamed with joy; it wasn't easy to receive praise from her husband!
"If Miss wasn't eating while walking."
Dou Akou cried. She knew that nothing could be hidden from Fu Jiuxin. She explained, "Sir, I haven't eaten anything all day. I'm really hungry."
Fu Jiuxin nodded: "That's true. I'm really hungry after a long day."
Dou Akou was stunned for a moment. Normally, with her limited intelligence, she would not have been able to understand Fu Jiuxin's deeper meaning. But at this moment, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and, as if she had a sudden enlightenment, cleverly took out the taro cake from her bosom: "Sir, there is another taro cake. Why don't you fill your stomach first?"
"Did you bring this especially for me?"
For some reason, Dou Akou instinctively felt that she had to answer yes to this question.
So she said, "Yes."
Fu Jiuxin's lips curled up slightly, a barely perceptible smile. Just as he took it, he saw Dou Akou skipping and hopping out the door, having completely forgotten why she had come to find Dou Jincai in the first place.
Dou Jincai was still rummaging through things in the inner room when Fu Jiuxin picked up the taro cake, neither eating it nor throwing it away. The thin oil paper still held Dou Akou's body heat. The taro cake was shaped like a little lamb, a small, plump, white ball lying on the oil paper—it looked a lot like someone.
He was indeed hungry, and after examining the taro cake for a long time, he ate it anyway.
The first taste is a blend of milk and honey, soft and sweet. Fu Jiuxin didn't even need to bite it before the pastry melted, warming her all the way to her stomach, leaving a sweet fragrance lingering in her mouth—it also reminded her of someone.
He had just finished eating when Dou Jincai came out, holding an account book in his hand, sighing, "Jiuxin, what do you think the Crown Prince means? This is clearly an attempt to drag our Dou family into this."
Fu Jiuxin did not answer. He thought to himself, "Logically speaking, the rumored Second Prince Xu Liqian is weak and sickly and has been living in the deep palace for a long time. He poses no threat to Xu Lichi in the struggle for the crown prince position. Why is Xu Lichi making such a big show of winning over the imperial merchant Dou family today?"
It seems that this rumored second prince is no pushover.
They discussed things inside the room. Dou Akou wandered carefree in the garden, intending to go to the kitchen to ask for a few more taro cakes.
Xu Liren suddenly appeared just as she was focused on running towards the taro cake. Silently, he appeared again, dressed in white, startling Dou Akou so much that she screamed.
Xu Li, unable to contain his impatience, said, "Dou Yacai, shut up. What are you yelling about?"
“Xu Li, it’s you.” Dou Akou patted her chest.
Xu Liren hugged his guqin and said, "Tell me, what do you want to hear?"
"ah?"
"What do you want to hear? I'll play the piano for you as a gift!" Xu Liren, who never had much patience, explained with a frown and annoyance.
Dou Akou thought for a moment with delight, then stammered, "Xu Li, could you play 'Willow Branch' for me?"
"What?" Xu Liren asked again.
"It's Yang Liu'er. My teacher often sang it to me when I was little."
Xu Liren wanted to smash his zither and leave. He had played "Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank" and "Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute" before, but today he was going to play a children's song!
But he held back in the end, and said with a straight face, "You hum it once, and I'll play it."
Dou Akou hummed along as instructed, and Xu Liren memorized the rhythm after just one listen. He adjusted the pitch, and a cheerful melody sprang from his fingertips.
This is a plum blossom grove under the moonlight. Dou Akou listened to the familiar melody and couldn't help but sing along softly. This nursery rhyme was one her teacher sang to her when she was very young, to lull her to sleep.
In those days, the years were long, the clothes were cool, and the seasons changed. After the spring flowers came the summer months, and after the frost came the beginning of winter. In a corner of the Dou family mansion that no one noticed, the two children quietly grew up relying on each other.
In the empty, dark night, Fu Jiuxin softly sang "Willow Song" to lull Dou Akou to sleep. He sang until the willows grew taller, and until they, too, grew up. And so, Dou Akou never heard Fu Jiuxin sing that nursery rhyme to her again.
Willow branches are alive, spinning tops;
The willows are green, floating in the air;
Willow Tree died, and then she played shuttlecock.
The willows are sprouting, time to pull them up.
The song was still the same, but the person by her side was no longer the same.
Liu Wansu
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. Fu Jiuxin stood in the hall, checking the gift list and preparing the New Year's gifts to send to each family.
Dou Akou came running over from a distance like a cannonball, covering her face with her hands and stamping her feet: "Good morning, sir, it's so cold!"
Today she wore a soft, bright red cotton-padded jacket, with white rabbit fur trim around the cuffs, collar, and hem, making her look chubby like a ball. Two red pom-poms on her ears swayed back and forth—it was a birthday gift from Fu Jiuxin.
Dou Akou ran up to Fu Jiuxin and touched her earlobe: "Sir, is it pretty?"
Fu Jiuxin reached out and scooped up her pom-pom earring in his palm. After a long while, he smiled and uttered two words: "Beautiful."
Dou Akou rarely saw her husband smile. In her memory, the only time he was ever cheerful was during their childhood; after they grew up, he rarely smiled. So this smile was absolutely breathtaking for Dou Akou. Xu Li's suppressed laughter carried a nonchalant yet alluring charm, while her husband's laughter was like a spring breeze brushing across ice, like thawing streams tinkling and leaping down a mountain ravine. Dou Akou was completely mesmerized.
Fu Jiuxin was indeed in a good mood. He had ordered these pom-pom earrings from Zhenfangzhai, a famous shop in Jiangnan, when he went south to collect debts. At the time, he had wondered how Dou Akou would look wearing them, and now it seemed that they suited her very well.
Seeing that her master was in an unusually good mood today, Dou Akou couldn't help but snuggle closer to him. Fu Jiuxin was wearing a black fox fur coat, which looked very warm, but Dou Akou was so cold that she couldn't stand it, so she couldn't help but snuggle closer to her master again.
So when Fu Jiuxin came to his senses, there was already a chubby little dumpling stuck to him. The two of them were close together, like a red tail growing on a black fox fur coat.
When Fu Jiuxin was distracted, it was as if he had returned to the time when Dou Akou clung to him when they were children.
A moment later, Dou Akou suddenly jumped up again: "Oh dear, sir, I forgot to greet my aunt!"
She hurriedly ran out again. A momentary sense of melancholy flashed through Fu Jiuxin's mind, but when she looked up, those emotions quickly disappeared.
After Dou Akou stole the spring rolls made in the kitchen for the fifth time, it got dark, and it was finally time to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.
All the members of the Dou family had arrived and sat in rows around the round table. At the head of the table was Dou Jincai, to his left was Dou Akou, and to his lower left was Fu Jiuxin, followed by several concubines. Dou Jincai valued Fu Jiuxin highly, treating him like a son, and always included him in important family events like the New Year's Eve dinner.
Dou Akou craned her neck, her eyes fixed longingly on the meatballs on the round table opposite her. She glanced at Fu Jiuxin, who was being teased and urged to drink by several concubines. So, mustering her courage, she shakily reached across the table to pick up a meatball. Halfway there, a voice rang out from the side: "Miss—"
"I was wrong." Dou Akou hurriedly put down her chopsticks and honestly admitted her mistake before Fu Jiuxin could say the word "appearance".
Fu Jiuxin glanced at her and moved a plate of green vegetables in front of her: "Miss, it's not good to eat meat all the time. You should also eat vegetables."
Dou Akou pouted and picked at a few green vegetable leaves. Dou Jincai's second aunt couldn't stand it anymore and picked up a meatball for Dou Akou: "Here, Akou, eat if you want." Then she turned to Fu Jiuxin: "Oh, Jiuxin, it's the New Year, don't be so fussy. You're making our Akou not even eat properly. I still remember how you spoiled Akou when she was little. You would even pick out the fish bones for her when she ate fish. When I first came into the family, I thought you were her older brother—even if you were a brother, not many people would treat their younger sister like you."
Dou Jincai took a sip of wine and said cheerfully, "How can he not be my biological brother? I treat Jiuxin like my son, so naturally he's Akou's biological brother. Jiuxin, as your older brother, you should keep an eye on Akou for her. If you see any young masters or sons who seem promising, just tell me. You young people's judgment is usually pretty good."
Fu Jiuxin tightened his grip on the wine cup, tilted his head back and took a sip, saying calmly, "I know."
Dou Akou was completely unaware of the turbulent emotions raging within Fu Jiuxin. At first, she was thinking about asking her master to find her a husband, but she hoped he wouldn't be like him. Then, as her thoughts wandered, she suddenly thought of Xu Liren.
On New Year's Eve, aside from the servants who went home, the other servants of the Dou family would gather in the kitchen for a New Year's Eve dinner. Xu Liren should have been among them, but Dou Akou knew that, given his personality, he would certainly disdain eating with them. She wondered where he would find dinner, all alone.
Thinking about this made Dou Akou feel uneasy. She absentmindedly ate a few mouthfuls of rice, trying to think of an excuse to slip out.
Just then, Fu Jiuxin said, "Where's Xu Liren? Let him come up and eat with us."
Dou Akou was overjoyed; she thought her husband was truly kind.