The Third Scholar of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 8

Liangzhou, a harsh and desolate land beyond the Great Wall. Wang Zhihuan's poem, "The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass," perfectly captures the desolation and loneliness of Liangzhou. Why would Prince Xin abandon the perfectly good capital and run off to Liangzhou with them?

To be honest, Li Yuxuan was still a little nervous about dealing with the Western Xia people. In her mind, the Western Xia at this time were still typical uncivilized barbarians who would turn their backs on people at the slightest mistake and fight first and ask questions later. With her limited skills, they could crush her with a single finger.

Oh, I mean, I'll strangle her and Xu Qingzhi to death.

She shared her concerns with Xu Qingzhi, but the silly boy replied with righteous indignation: "A true man should dedicate himself to his country, even unto death."

When Su Shi was told this, the young master Su had no choice but to say, "It is the Emperor's decree that you, elder brother and third brother, take care."

When Ouyang Xiu was told about this, the Grand Scholar Ouyang said with a serious face: "This is a good opportunity for you to make achievements and establish your careers. Duanzheng and Yuewu, you two must seize this opportunity!"

"Then, Lord Bao, lend me Brother Zhan as your bodyguard!" ...I dared not say this aloud; I could only mutter it to myself in my mind.

Or Your Majesty, please give me more troops! Three thousand is not enough, five thousand will do.

The imperial court stipulated that five hundred soldiers should be allocated each year to escort the annual tribute. Not a single one more would be given.

Could we, for the sake of Prince Xin, assign all five hundred of them to the position of Imperial Guards?

The person who heard this glared at him and said, "You're dreaming. Prince Xin is highly skilled in martial arts and can protect himself more than enough."

What should I do then?

Leave it to fate!

Yinzi gently comforted her, "Don't worry, girl, everything will be alright. Didn't the people who deliver the New Year's money every year return safely?"

Li Yuxuan leaned back in his recliner with his eyes half-closed: "Yinzi, in previous years it was always military officers who went. What do you think the Western Xia people will think this year when they see that the Song Dynasty sent two weak, greenhorn kids to deal with them? Will they think the Song Dynasty is really kind, or will they think the Song Dynasty is really easy to bully?"

"Young lady, don't you always say that the way to socialize is to be flexible rather than to use force? You've asked me this question several times already."

"Alas, I fear that a scholar might encounter a soldier, and reason will be useless against him. My words are no match for their steel blades!"

...

A maid came in to report: "Master, Madam, a woman outside is requesting an audience. She says she is an acquaintance of yours."

"Understood. Tell her to wait in the study." Li Yuxuan stood up from the recliner. "That's strange. I usually only see handsome men, why would a woman come looking for me?"

He and Yinzi walked to the front hall, where they saw a woman with bright eyes and white teeth, dressed in red, standing there. It was none other than Miss Haitang.

Li Yuxuan was very surprised by Haitang's sudden visit. Hadn't this woman always disliked her? Why would she come to her residence to see her? Could it be that she saw how good her relationship with Su Shi was and wanted her to act as a matchmaker for the two of them? No way, she absolutely wouldn't do that. She would never act as a go-between for a mistress.

She longed for a lifelong, monogamous love and disliked seeing men with beautiful wives and concubines, their homes filled with fragrance. She simply disliked men with multiple wives. It was an inescapable poison of the monogamous system from her past life, which had manifested as a psychological obsession in this society. Any man with multiple wives was beneath her silent contempt and disdain.

When Haitang saw Li Yuxuan come out, she immediately gave a graceful bow: "This humble woman greets Lord Li."

Judging from her posture, Li Yuxuan knew that she must want something from her, but she was certain that she wouldn't agree to it. She sat down in the main seat and waved her hand, "Miss Haitang, please sit down."

Haitang sat down to the side, but remained silent, as if she was considering how to say it.

Li Yuxuan smiled and said, "Miss Haitang, just say what you have to say. I won't hold a grudge against you for sleeping on the floor that night."

Haitang blushed and said, "Lord Li, you are too kind. I have been disrespectful to you in the past. Please forgive my past mistakes."

Li Yuxuan remained noncommittal, accepting the tea offered by the maid and slowly sipping it. Yinzi, unaware of the situation, watched silently from the side.

Haitang suddenly stood up, knelt down in front of Li Yuxuan, and said, "This humble woman has a request, please grant it, sir!"

"Finally, you're going to say it? Fine, I'm open to anything except being a mistress." He stood up, feigning surprise, "Oh dear, Miss Haitang, what are you doing? Get up quickly! Madam, help Miss Haitang up! Just say what's wrong. We've known each other for a while, and I'll certainly help without hesitation. Even if not for Miss Haitang's sake, then for Brother Su's sake, isn't that right?"

Out of respect for Brother Su, I absolutely cannot help you. There are two things I regret most in my life: being a mistress and others finding out I'm disguised as a man.

Haitang adopted a sorrowful demeanor, an appearance that would evoke pity in anyone else, except in Li Yuxuan's eyes, which saw it as a blunder in front of Guan Yu—a misdirected attempt. She had used this trick far too often, to the point that she knew without even looking that Haitang's act was feigned.

Begonia, give me a break. The guy in front of you is a fake man. He's immune to beautiful women. Sorry.

Haitang, of course, was unaware of Li Yuxuan's thoughts. Seeing that Li Yuxuan readily agreed, she immediately blinked her large eyes, and a few pearl-sized tears fell from them: "I heard that Lord Li will be sending this year's tribute to Liangzhou. My home is in Anxi, not far from Liangzhou. Years ago, my brother and I fled our hometown and haven't been home for many years. My brother has wanted to go home all these years, but he dares not travel alone, fearing he might encounter bandits or the Western Xia people. My brother knows that every year the imperial court sends troops through Anxi to Liangzhou, and he has been begging me, hoping I can ask some official to take him back with him. So today, I have dared to come and ask Lord Li for help..."

Li Yuxuan never expected that Haitang's request had nothing to do with the mistress, but was such a simple matter—giving someone a ride, a small favor.

She looked at Haitang: "Why didn't you go back? Why did your brother go back alone?"

"A woman like me, past her prime, would only bring shame to my parents if I went home."

"Your parents are far away in Anxi, how would they know what you're doing in the capital? Besides, aren't you supposed to be performing artists, not selling your bodies? Where does this talk of 'worn-out flowers' come from?"

"There are no secrets in this world. If I go back, my family will find out about my affairs one day, and then I will die without a burial place."

"Is 'crabapple' your flower name?"

"yes."

How many people in the capital know your real name?

Nobody knows.

"Hehe." Li Yuxuan chuckled, recalling how sharp Prince Xin's eyes were. This Miss Haitang was probably a seasoned underground worker from some organization, now plotting against her, Li Yuxuan. Did she look so easy to fool? "Miss Haitang, this matter is beyond my control. Prince Xin and Lord Xu will be going with us. I need to discuss it with them first."

"My lord!" Haitang was clearly anxious. "This is a small matter. You can just have my brother disguise himself as one of your attendants. Don't alarm Prince Xin!"

"How can that be?" Li Yuxuan deliberately slowed down, pretending to think. "I am young and naive, but I know the seriousness of this matter. If something happens to me, Lord Xu, or Prince Xin on the road, or if something happens to the silver we are escorting, and I happen to have a stranger with me, Miss Haitang, aren't you trying to put me in a deadly situation? It's better to be frank. If everyone agrees, I can at least save myself some way out in the future."

Li Yuxuan noticed that Haitang's facial muscles stiffened immediately upon hearing this, and then she forced a smile: "Lord Li is joking. I have no such intention. If it is difficult for you, I will not force myself. I will go back and think of another way for my brother."

"It would be better to think of another way. Aren't there caravans that frequently travel that way? Just go with the caravans. Don't get involved with government affairs. You might lose your head for nothing. I'm also risking my life while carrying out my duties." Li Yuxuan really wanted to earnestly persuade Haitang to turn back from the wrong path and let her and Xu Qingzhi go. However, Haitang didn't say it outright, and she couldn't say anything based on guesswork. If she said something wrong, and Haitang accused her of having ulterior motives and plotting rebellion, she would be in even more trouble.

"Yes!" Haitang gracefully said, "This humble woman takes her leave."

After seeing Haitang off, Li Yuxuan's worries deepened. It seemed someone else was still eyeing Suiyin. She knew absolutely nothing about gangs and江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) at this time. How tragic.

Her departure was like a lamb entering the wolf's den—

Hopefully she's Pleasant Goat and he's Big Bad Wolf—

...

Two days later, Xu Qingzhi, looking smug and imposing, Li Yuxuan, looking dejected, and Prince Xin, with a half-smile, led five hundred soldiers sponsored by the Nine Gates Admiral, and a long line of carriages carrying silver, cloth, and tea, departing from the capital.

High Mountains and Flowing Water

Yinzi, still disguised as a servant, followed Li Yuxuan.

The grand procession left the capital and headed northwest. Five days later, the group reached Shaanxi province. At dusk, they rested at an inn in a town called Qinglong.

Five consecutive days of riding horses had left Li Yuxuan with a sore back and aching muscles, making him miserable. In order not to arouse Prince Xin's suspicion, he had to straighten his back and force himself to endure it. On this day, he could no longer bear it, and as soon as he arrived at the post station, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep, not even going out for dinner.

He woke up in the middle of the night, ate a few of the sesame seed cakes that Yinzi had saved, and found that Yinzi had fallen asleep by the bedside. He helped Yinzi up and put her on the bed to sleep, and then went to the kitchen to get hot water to take a bath.

The wind and sand swirled all the way, and by the end of the day, everyone looked like a gray, toad-like creature. Taking a bath was absolutely necessary. Speaking of bathing, Li Yuxuan was filled with bitterness. These past few days, he could only fetch water to wash late at night when everyone was quiet. Because there were no proper bathing utensils, not only was he not clean enough, but he also had to live in constant fear—there were five hundred men lying in the courtyard outside!

Li Yuxuan stepped out of the room and found the courtyard brightly lit. A bright moon shone through the treetops, illuminating the courtyard and the soldiers on duty. The soldiers, assuming she was out on night patrol, straightened their posture and saluted her.

She then realized that it was the night of the full moon again. Ever since she became the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, she had lost all sense of time.

When she arrived at the kitchen in the backyard, she found a wooden bucket filled with water. The hot water was gone, but the water in the earthenware jar on the stove was still slightly warm. She filled the bucket with water and reached out to lift it, only to find that the weight was far beyond her capabilities. She gritted her teeth and could only lift it up a centimeter before it fell with a thud.

How could this damn clumsy wooden bucket be so heavy? She looked at the bucket at her feet, dejected, wondering how Yinzi had managed to move the water into the room all those days…

"Third Brother!" A gentle voice came from the doorway, making Li Yuxuan's heart skip a beat. Had the boy seen what he had just done? How embarrassing! Luckily, it was this silly boy; he was honest and wouldn't think of anything else.

She flashed a smile at the person who entered: "Brother, why aren't you asleep yet?"

The moonlight shone on her smiling face, sparkling with a dazzling brilliance. Paired with her phoenix eyes that seemed to flow like autumn water, Xu Qingzhi felt a momentary choking in his heart, thinking that the person standing before him was the beautiful goddess from the moon. If it weren't for her official robes, if it weren't for her calling him "elder brother"...

Xu Qingzhi shook his head in annoyance, wondering why he kept imagining his third brother as a woman. Perhaps it was because his third brother looked too frail, or perhaps it was because he was getting old and now that he had passed the imperial examination, he wanted to find a woman to marry.

He walked to the wooden bucket. He had just seen Li Yuxuan's helpless expression as he struggled to lift it. It was so endearing; every smile, every word, stirred something within him. He couldn't help but shake his head. "Ah, Third Brother, if only it weren't for you—"

Li Yuxuan watched Xu Qingzhi come in and shook her head repeatedly, wondering what he was thinking. When she saw him walk straight to the wooden tub, she knew he must have seen her embarrassing moment, and her pretty face flushed slightly, but fortunately the moonlight was dim and she couldn't see it clearly.

Xu Qingzhi reached out and lifted the wooden bucket: "Third brother, where are you taking this?"

"Oh, I just wanted to go back to my room to take a shower."

"Take a bath? There's a special bathhouse over there. I'll carry it over for you." Xu Qingzhi picked up the wooden tub and walked towards the door. "Third brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but every time I see you taking a bath, you do it secretly in your room. Why are you, a grown man, so shy? Are all men from Jiangnan this petty?"

Seeing that he was really carrying water to the room next to the kitchen, Li Yuxuan smiled wryly and couldn't say anything. He could only quickly step in front of him and press down the hand carrying the bucket: "Brother, just leave it there. You don't need to help. I just have some shoulder pain from riding horses these days. I'll be fine after stretching it out."

"Let me carry it over for you first. After you take a shower, I'll massage your shoulders. My medical skills are quite good." Xu Qingzhi said as he pulled Li Yuxuan's hand off his arm. He then discovered that Li Yuxuan's hand was as white and delicate as mutton fat, and it felt very soft when he pulled it.

His hand froze, remaining on that small hand, unable to move. He gazed at Li Yuxuan, a thousand words surging within him, yet he couldn't utter a single one. Subconsciously, he reminded himself, this person is a man, you can't do this, he's a man, you can't do this—.

When Li Yuxuan saw that Xu Qingzhi stopped mid-sentence, she felt strange and looked up to speak, only to meet Xu Qingzhi's gaze, which was deep and intense, staring at her without blinking.

She suddenly felt a heat rising in her body, and forcefully pulled her hand away, pretending to be slightly angry as she asked, "Big brother, what's wrong with you?"

Xu Qingzhi also withdrew his hand as if it were on fire. Looking at Li Yuxuan's slight reproach and anger, his heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't utter a word: "I—"

Ignoring his discomfort, Li Yuxuan chuckled and patted his shoulder generously: "Big brother, I just wanted you to help carry the water back to the room. Why are you spacing out?"

Xu Qingzhi hurriedly dodged Li Yuxuan's hand: "I didn't—I'll help you carry the water over right away!" What's wrong with him? Tonight is too abnormal; he must go back and reflect on himself. Yes, reflect again and again; this situation can never happen again. If his third brother knew he had such thoughts, he'd definitely break off all ties with him. No, he absolutely cannot let this happen again.

He carried the water to Li Yuxuan's door: "Third brother, you can take it in yourself, I won't go in. Also..." He took out an oil paper package from his pocket and stuffed it into Li Yuxuan's hand: "This contains local specialty ghee cakes. I originally brought you some food because I saw you hadn't eaten dinner, but I forgot about it when I saw you."

Li Yuxuan took the paper package, feeling touched: "You've been waiting for me all this time?"

"No!" Xu Qingzhi shook his head: "I couldn't sleep either, so I just waited for you. I didn't expect you to actually come out."

Li Yuxuan smiled gratefully: "Big brother, thank you!"

"No—" Xu Qingzhi blushed inexplicably again and could only leave in a hurry: "Then I'll go and rest. Third brother, you should rest early too."

"kindness!"

Li Yuxuan moved the water into the room. Yinzi had already woken up and quickly took the bucket from him, saying, "Young Master, let me do it!" Looking at the paper package in Li Yuxuan's hand, she said, "Brother Xu is so thoughtful. Sigh, Young Master, if only you weren't that... How wonderful it would be. Brother Xu is a good person."

Li Yuxuan placed the paper package on the table, and thinking of Xu Qingzhi's embarrassed appearance, he couldn't help but smile: "Yinzi, this Brother Xu is indeed an honest man. You mustn't bully him in the future."

Yinzi glanced at her sideways and said, "Young Master, you're saying that to yourself, aren't you? I wouldn't dare."

Li Yuxuan raised his eyebrows: "That's true. I need to be more careful in the future and not be alone with him. You should also be more clever and not let us be alone together. The same goes for Prince Xin. Also, sew the necklines of my underwear higher, preferably to cover my entire neck."

"Also," Li Yuxuan thought for a moment, "don't wash my clothes too often in the future, let them develop a bit of a sweaty smell."

"Girl!" Silver howled in a low voice, "Are you trying to be a man or a homeless person? How can your clothes smell of sweat! I can't stand it."

Li Yuxuan chuckled, "The smell of sweat is nice; it keeps people away." He opened the paper package, picked up a ghee cake, put it in his mouth, and went to wash his hair and take a shower.

In the quiet moonlight, a melodious flute tune drifted in from outside the window. Li Yuxuan listened intently and recognized it as the tune of "High Mountains and Flowing Water." He immediately realized it must be Xu Qingzhi playing it, and he understood his intention: he was using this piece to apologize to her for what had just happened, demonstrating that he and she, like Zhong Ziqi and Bo Ya, were kindred spirits and soulmates...

She couldn't help but laugh: "This fool—"