I recalled what Lou Xiyue had said earlier and discussed it with him, "You said before that men like women with talent, and that anyone who can compose poetry can be considered talented?"
Lou Xiyue raised an eyebrow. "Master, are you intrigued?"
I laughed and said, "Actually, I know one or two of them too."
Lou Xiyue poured two cups of wine and looked at me with great interest.
I cleared my throat and leisurely recited, "A slender waist, green and graceful, naturally fragrant, she loosens her clothes to offer herself to her lover. Poets have lofty ambitions, yet dare to break their hearts by the Miluo River."
Lou Xiyue was holding the wine glass to his lips when he suddenly stopped and stared at me in astonishment.
I took a rice dumpling from the plate, peeled it open, and said as I ate it, "This poem is about rice dumplings."
Lou Xiyue's hand trembled, "..."
"A few days ago, Miss Wan'er from Rouge Garden married the governor. The ceremony was quite grand; anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was a respectable family's wedding," someone at the next table gossiped.
I nudged Lou Xiyue, signaling him to listen closely. The group at the next table, in a few words, dug up the entire backstory and ancestry of He Tingzhi and his two wives. The gist was:
Su Wan'er was the only daughter of Su Qing, the former prefect of Xuzhou. Su Qing treated He Tingzhi as his own daughter, not only recommending him for the imperial examinations but also supporting his studies for ten years. Su Wan'er and He Tingzhi were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love. After He Tingzhi achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, he immediately betrothed to the Su family, intending to walk the road to prosperity with Su Wan'er, inseparable until old age. However, an imperial decree punished the Su family, leading to their downfall. He Tingzhi was exiled as a criminal, and Su Qing died of illness not long after. Su Wan'er was forced into prostitution.
At that time, He Tingzhi was favored by the General of the Southern Cavalry and rose rapidly through the ranks. He was granted the title of Prefect of Xuzhou, a sixth-rank official, by imperial decree, and married Lu Xiaoyue in the capital.
They were still newlyweds, Lu Xiaoyue was visiting her family in the capital, and He Tingzhi went to Xuzhou alone to take up his post. The first thing he did was to decorate the house with lanterns and invite Su Wan'er into the family.
Lou Xiyue and I meticulously pieced together the information, creating a love triangle rife with power, greed, conspiracy, betrayal, and romance. I remarked, "He Tingzhi is nothing more than a hypocrite like Chen Shimei. Lu Xiaoyue is a female warrior version of Cui Yingying. The most pitiful one is Su Wan'er, who is practically the reincarnation of Chen Yuanyuan and Du Shiniang."
Lou Xiyue agreed, "The summary is pretty good."
"Then I'll continue, 'I believe that He Tingzhi truly had Su Wan'er in his heart. His marriage to Lu Xiaoyue was a means to climb the social ladder. As a top scholar with a fervent desire to serve his country, he was unable to fulfill his ambitions because he lacked powerful backers. When he met the Southern Cavalry General and Lu Xiaoyue, it was as if his dream was just one step away, and so he fell into depravity. Later, he discovered that Su Wan'er was his true love, so he turned back to pursue her.'"
I wanted to delve deeper into He Tingzhi's psychology, but suddenly I felt a chill on my neck. Looking around at the diners, I saw that they were all staring at me with a mixture of sympathy, regret, and amazement.
Looking down, I saw a sword held to my neck.
"What did you just say? Say it again!" I looked up along the sword and saw Lu Xiaoyue in a peach-red dress, her eyebrows raised, her lips pursed, and a fierce glint in her eyes.
I trembled and cast a sorrowful glance at Lou Xiyue.
Lou Xiyue nodded slightly, understanding the implication.
I felt a little more at ease and said with a forced smile, "No... I was just admiring the moon with my friends and reminiscing about Jiangnan."
Lou Xiyue readily recited a poem, "Remembering Jiangnan": "The flowers have all fallen, leaving only lonely, withered red petals. In my dream, I return to the empty moonlight behind my butterfly-shaped bed curtains; the people in the phoenix tower are gone, and the east wind blows in vain. Spring's affairs are now all in vain."
Even I, someone who has spent my entire life listening to the poem "Ode to Zongzi," can hear how sad the poem is and how it alludes to Lu Xiaoyue's current loneliness and desolation.
I don't believe it's a coincidence that Lou Xiyue recited such an inspiring and passionate poem at this critical moment when Lu Xiaoyue had a sword to my neck.
Upon hearing the poem, Lu Xiaoyue was furious, just as she had hoped. She shouted, "You people, always gossiping behind people's backs. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll never know your place!"
I trembled all over; I died before I could even begin my mission.
Just as Lu Xiaoyue's sword was about to send me to reincarnation, a rice dumpling flew past, momentarily distracting her. I felt someone grab my hand, and heard Lou Xiyue say to me, "Run!"
Lou Xiyue moved with incredible speed, grabbing my waist and running wildly. Sensing a sharp gust of wind behind me, I turned around to see Lu Xiaoyue thrusting her sword straight at me. Lou Xiyue pushed me away, and I heard a hiss as his arm was cut by the blade, drawing blood. Lu Xiaoyue bit her lip and swung her sword, but Lou Xiyue pulled me aside just in time to avoid it.
I panicked, "Lou Xiyue, why didn't you stop her?"
Lou Xiyue, light as a swallow, held me as we flew through the air, stepping on the eaves as we ran towards the He residence.
After walking a while, I looked back and, not seeing Lu Xiaoyue chasing after me, breathed a slight sigh of relief. "That Lu Xiaoyue is such a spoiled brat. Why didn't you teach her a lesson earlier?"
He pulled down his sleeve and roughly wrapped the wound, saying, "She's a woman, I can't very well hit her."
I glanced at him and snorted, "You really do know how to cherish women."
Back at the He residence, I took out the medicine box to apply medicine to Lou Xiyue and sighed, "I completely understand why He Tingzhi wanted to go back to his ex. Such a gentle Su Wan'er and such a fiery Lu Xiaoyue are like heaven and earth."
Lou Xiyue glanced at me and said, "Not everyone likes gentle and tender women. All women in the world have their own charm."
I solemnly said to him, "Not bad, not bad, you've grasped it very well."
His eyes shone brightly as he looked at me with interest and smiled, “Of course, I’ve seen the most unreliable people. Compared to her, Lu Xiaoyue is much better.”
I praised, "You truly know countless women; I admire you greatly."
After wrapping up Lou Xiyue's clothes, I left the house intending to go back to sleep. The night was still, with dappled shadows in the courtyard. In this evocative scene, I saw a clear shadow cast on the eaves of the house, right in the center of the full moon.
The figure swayed slightly, her steps unsteady. In the moonlight, it seemed to be Lu Xiaoyue. My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately turned and went back into the house to find Lou Xiyue.
When I pushed open the door, Lou Xiyue was already lying flat. I said nervously, "Lou Xiyue, I saw Lu Xiaoyue on the roof. Could it be that she was provoked by us just now and is now going to jump off the building to commit suicide?"
After he finished speaking, I pulled him up and walked towards the courtyard, pointing to the figure on the eaves. "Look, it's right there. Take me up there quickly."
When Lou Xiyue and I approached Lu Xiaoyue, I realized that I had misjudged her.
She was carrying a large jar of wine, quite drunk. I tugged at Lou Xiyue's sleeve, "Now's your time to shine. Carry her away. If she's out drinking like this in the middle of the night, people might think the Moon Goddess Chang'e is doing a sexy dance."
Lou Xiyue sighed, "It's not wine that intoxicates, it's people who get drunk; the affectionate are always hurt by the heartless."
Lu Xiaoyue murmured something, her eyes gradually becoming misty, and tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing that spirited young woman from the daytime now stripped of her armor, licking her wounds alone like a small animal, filled me with a deep sadness.
She tilted her head back and took a big gulp of wine, saying indistinctly, "He Tingzhi, I, Lu Xiaoyue, misjudged you."
Based on the shared perspective of being a woman and both of us caught in the same misguided class position of loving someone we shouldn't have, I felt a sense of belonging to Lu Xiaoyue. I went to her side and comforted her, saying, "Actually, I understand the pain you're feeling right now."
Lu Xiaoyue sobbed, "Wouldn't it be better if we went back to the Western Regions?"