He Yiyi walked to the edge of the pond and said softly, "They've all dried up."
She looked up at the plaque in front of the main hall. It was covered in dust and the vermilion paint had peeled off badly. I could roughly make out the character "He".
She said to He Ye, "It seems like it's been seven years since you last came back, right?"
He Ye nodded in agreement, "Madam, please come inside and take a look."
After they entered the house, Lou Junyan calmly instructed the servants, "Fill this pond with water."
[45] Flowers in the Mirror (Part 3)
After settling into the He residence, Lou Junyan, at the invitation of the Prefect of Yangzhou, took He Yiyi to a banquet.
Before leaving, He Yiyi said to me, "Miss Qi, there is a play at Yihonglou tonight. If you have time, please go and listen to it."
"Would Madam like to go listen?" Before footsteps could be heard, Lou Junyan strode in, smiling at He Yiyi.
He Yiyi lowered her eyes and said calmly, "I won't go. I have to attend a banquet today."
He Yiyi's words implied that Fu Yi was at Yihonglou at night.
What Lou Junyan meant was, "He Yiyi, do you want to go see Fu Yi tonight?"
These two people spoke in a very roundabout way, thinking that they had concealed their meaning so that the other party would not understand. However, they did not conceal it well enough, so everyone understood. Then, in order to prevent the other party from knowing that they understood, they pretended not to understand.
I picked up a long gown, changed into it, tied my hair into a man's bun, and ran towards the Yihong Building.
Although Yihonglou was a stage, the audience was still surrounded by women and cosmetics, and all sorts of artistic and non-artistic activities gathered there. The main reason was that it was a theater but had the name of a brothel, making it hard not to have impure thoughts.
The red building is decorated very complicatedly, with cornices and raised corners. The four pillars are carved with auspicious birds, auspicious animals, Qionghuayao grass.
The couplet, inscribed in regular script and gilded on both sides, reads: "Listen to it calmly and you'll smile on the spot."
The audience area was divided into four large rooms for spectators and two tea and wine rooms. Pavilions stood on both sides of the stage, for wealthy families and officials to watch the play.
The audience had gradually taken their seats. I found a seat close to the stage, grabbed a snack from the plate, and waited for the show to begin.
Today's performance is "The Drunken Beauty," a play I've heard before. It mainly tells the story of a concubine who, after getting drunk, expresses her resentment towards the imperial family and the deep emptiness she feels as the emperor's wife.
The female lead in this play is the beautiful Yang Guifei, while the male lead is a minor eunuch; this reveals its aim is to capture the hearts of young noblemen. Therefore, I fall asleep every time I listen to it.
With a sharp "——", the soy sauce eunuch sang a line, flicking his sleeves: "The heavenly abode of immortals, the earthly home of a prime minister; if you want true wealth and honor, you must go to the imperial family."
The show has begun.
After the eunuchs and palace maids filed in and out, I realized a very important issue.
This question is directly related to whether I can fulfill He Yiyi's request today and cure Fu Yi. The problem is: there are so many passersby coming and going on the stage, I have no idea which one is Fu Yi.
Since Fu Yi is mute, he is definitely not the one who will play the lead role.
But he was made up and dressed in costume, making it very difficult to tell whether he was male or female.
I planned to ask around after the show, and then I fell asleep with my head propped up, feeling completely at ease.
"The Drunken Beauty" was indeed very effective, captivating the audience and causing me to oversleep. When I woke up, the play had ended and the audience had left, leaving the staff to clean up the mess.
I was about to go up to him and ask about Fu Yi when I saw the shopkeeper holding a brocade bag. He smiled at the pavilion and said, "Thank you for your reward, young master."
In a corner of the pavilion, a young man turned and left. I caught a glimpse of his back; it looked like Lou Xiyue.
The pavilion was high up, and from this distance, with shadows cast, I couldn't really make out who the young man was. But as I stepped out of the theater, I had a chance encounter with Lou Xiyue in the vast sea of people, and I have to admit, my eyesight is really good.
Lou Xiyue was dressed in a dark blue silk brocade robe, his eyes lowered as if deep in thought, unaware of me standing before him.
I thought about it for a moment, then changed direction to try and avoid it.
Suddenly, I was pulled back and pinned against the wall. Lou Xiyue looked down at me.
I said, "This isn't right, it's too much to be so enthusiastic right after we met."
He lowered his head and whispered in my ear, "Why are Fifth Brother's men following you?"
I said, "Is someone following me?"
Lou Xiyue nodded, frowning as she looked at me. "He wants to kill you?"
After a moment's thought, I said to him, "It might be like this. Your sister-in-law asked me to treat someone, and your brother might be a little jealous, so he sent someone to follow me to see if your sister-in-law is going to meet someone else in secret, so that he can act accordingly and nip the mistress in the bud."
He listened, nodded slightly, released me, pursed his lips, and said nothing.
Nearly a year later, when they met again, Lou Xiyue seemed to have lost some weight.
I asked, "Shall we all laugh together?"
Lou Xiyue paused for a moment, then said, "She's gone."
I hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and I couldn't help but worry about Qi Xiao. "Where did she go? Why did she leave? She didn't come to Medicine King Valley to look for me. Where could a young woman go?"
Lou Xiyue looked at me for a long time before saying, "He's probably gone back to the East."
I was completely baffled. "Why would I go back to the East?"
He said, "Your sister is a princess of the Eastern Lands."
I was taken aback. "Your sister is the Imperial Princess of the Eastern Lands."
Lou Xiyue said solemnly, "I saw her when I was in the East. She was wearing a veil at the time, but I could still vaguely make out her features."