"Then what are you doing here?"
"sleep."
Upon hearing this, Qian Bao'er chuckled, "Why did you choose to sleep here of all places?"
The scholar patted his old clothes and said with deep emotion, "I am penniless, with no money to buy rice or stay at an inn. Fortunately, this place offers pastries and soft seating, which is better than nothing."
Lin Yuan and Xian Yu, the two maids, immediately realized they were in a bad mood. Wasn't this blatant disrespect? They feared the Second Miss would be furious. Sure enough, when they turned back, Qian Cuiyu's face was already incredibly dark. She coldly asked, "May I ask your honorable name?"
Lin Yuan whispered, "His name is Yin Sang." She was the one who registered the guests every day, so she naturally knew his name.
"Yin Sang, is it?" Qian Cuiyu pondered for a moment, her cold smile deepening. "The poem you submitted on your first day was 'Boring Poem':"
'Boring, so incredibly boring. The Red Chamber is like a talented scholar, youth wasted in vain.' The second day's poem was 'Boring Poem,' the third 'Fearless Poem,' the fourth 'Heartless Poem,' and the fifth 'Helpless Poem.' Am I mistaken?
The scholar's eyes flickered, and he smiled, saying, "Indeed. People say that Miss Qian has an extraordinary memory, and it is indeed true. I did not expect that you could remember such a few low-class doggerel poems so clearly, and in the correct order. I admire you."
"What is it today? Shameless, shameless, unjustified, or unintentional?" Qian Cuiyu reached out, and the two maids behind her immediately rummaged through the pile of manuscripts before finally finding the manuscript that this old man Yin Sang had submitted today.
The only sentence written above is: Crying, anger, sorrow, and grief are all unacceptable.
Qian Cuiyu glanced at it only once before tearing the paper to shreds, angrily shouting, "How dare you mock me like that!"
Lin Yuan nudged Xian Yu, "What do you mean?"
Xianyu shook her head, equally confused, wondering what had angered the Second Miss with those words.
So Lin Yuan sought help from the Third Miss. Qian Bao'er leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Cry, anger, sorrow, grief—all are missing the word 'laughter.' Everything else is unacceptable; explain that the rest will suffice."
Lin Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that 'ridiculous'?"
Qian Bao'er sighed and said, "What a fine saying, 'crying, anger, sorrow, and grief are all unacceptable.' Second Sister is really angry this time. Let's see how this arrogant scholar will get out of this mess."
The arrogant scholar said nothing, but simply looked at Qian Cuiyu quietly. For some reason, under his deep, ocean-like gaze, Qian Cuiyu felt a sudden unease.
How dare this person mock her like that! Absolutely despicable!
He immediately turned around, walked to the nearest table, scribbled a few lines with a pen, then threw the pen down and glared at him, clearly intending to provoke him.
Xianyu, curious, leaned closer and read aloud: "Yin Sheng is delusional! He loves the new and forgets the old, his words, though fragmented, are hurtful, his crimes are blatant, and he acts recklessly. In the end, he will reap what he sows, fearing only the fleeting shadows of fame. He wanders through mountains and rivers, finding only the name 'mulberry'."
What is this? I don't understand at all!
Qian Bao'er clapped her hands and laughed loudly, "Not holding grudges, slandering with malicious words, committing heinous crimes, reaping the consequences of one's own actions, fearing the shadow of evil deeds, living in desolate and treacherous places. You gave my second sister six 'no' characters, and she will return six 'evil' characters to you."
Qian Cuiyu said coldly, "No, there are seven!" She picked up her brush again and wrote three large characters before the poem—"Damn Poem."
Duan Sang remained silent for a while, then clapped her hands. "Excellent, what a detestable poem! She's known as the most talented woman in the world; she truly lives up to her reputation."
Qian Cuiyu glanced at him, her face full of disdain.
Yin Sang laughed heartily, "I did come here to freeload, but your talent, Master, has filled me with admiration. A literary test for the Dream of the Red Chamber, is that it? Please give me the questions."
Qian Bao'er bit her lip and giggled, "What, you want to challenge my sister?"
"Something is better than nothing."
Another blank! How dare this scholar look down on her like that! Qian Cuiyu waved her sleeve and angrily said, "Fine, I'll see what you're really capable of!"
The people in the hall hadn't all left yet. The few remaining people, hearing that this scholar was going to challenge Miss Qian, didn't leave either, and each sat down at the table to watch the show. Lin Yuan and Xian Yu quickly set up two jade tables for the two to compete. Just as they were setting up the chessboard, Yin Sang suddenly said, "Wait a minute."
Qian Cuiyu turned around and said, "What? Are you admitting defeat?"
Yin Sang smiled slightly, "Does it mean we'll be comparing all four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?"
"certainly."
"I'm giving up on the game."
Qian Cuiyu was taken aback. "What did you say?"
Yin Sang sighed softly and said, "There are three things in my life that I would never dare to do. The first is cooking, the second is taking care of children, and the third is playing chess."
Qian Bao'er laughed out loud, "Cooking is to be expected. As the saying goes, a gentleman keeps away from the kitchen; I can understand the child's dislike of trouble; but why do you dislike playing chess?"
"Playing chess is the most mentally taxing yet utterly pointless thing in the world," Yin Sang said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Qian Cuiyu glared at him and said in a deep voice, "Alright, remove the chessboard. Set up the zither."
Yin Sang interrupted, "Wait a minute."
"You want to give up again?" Qian Cuiyu couldn't help but get angry. Was this guy just playing with her?
"Of course not, I just think it's boring for us to play one piece at a time. How about you play the zither and I play the flute, and we play a duet?"
"So how do we determine who is better?"
Yin Sang smiled slightly, "It's very simple. You play first, and if I can't keep up with your melody, I lose. If I do, I win."
Arrogant! Qian Cuiyu snorted coldly, flicked her sleeves and sat down, her fingers lightly gliding across the strings of the zither, producing a few ethereal sounds.
Miss Qian's zither playing was renowned throughout the capital; countless high-ranking officials and nobles longed to hear her play, yet none could gain her favor. The men present were already overjoyed upon hearing she would play. "Scholar, oh scholar," one remarked, "you dare challenge her to a duel? Aren't you courting death?"
With a flick of her fingertips, the music began, opening like a babbling brook, its rhythm sometimes fast, sometimes slow, elusive and difficult to follow—clearly a deliberate attempt to intimidate him, to make him unable to keep up with her melody. But Yin Sang simply held her flute to her chest, listening quietly, neither agitated nor impatient, leaving one unable to fathom what she was thinking.
As Qian Cuiyu played faster and faster, and the music became more and more urgent, a flute suddenly rang out, as if a knife had cut off the course of a rushing torrent, or as if a sword had struck the vital spot of a venomous snake. With a "bang," the corner string of the phoenix zither broke. Although Qian Cuiyu withdrew her hand in time, she was still shocked and turned pale.
Yin Sang stroked her flute and smiled slightly, saying, "You flatter me, Second Miss."
Upon seeing this, Qian Bao'er abandoned her playful mood and began to feel wary. Her second sister's zither playing was like a dense, intricate net; she should have had no chance of winning. Yet, he found the only flaw and struck it hard, disrupting her concentration and causing the strings to snap. This scholar's musical skill was indeed remarkable, but his deep cunning was even more frightening! Just who was he?
Qian Cuiyu stared blankly at the broken string for a long time before finally biting her lip and saying, "Fine, very well. So this is how you pursued me!"
Yin Sang smiled very elegantly, "As long as we catch up, the process... is not important."
Qian Cuiyu pushed her zither aside and stood up. After pondering for a long time, she turned to Lin Yuan and said, "Bring down the painting I painted the day before yesterday."
"Yes," Lin Yuan replied and left.
"It's getting late, so why don't we compete in calligraphy and painting together? What do you say?"
Yin Sang readily agreed, saying, "I'll do whatever the Second Miss says."
At this moment, Lin Yuan brought down the scroll from upstairs. Qian Cuiyu slowly spread it out on the table. Everyone peeked out to look, and saw a dot of ink in a reddish color. They couldn't tell what the painting was, but they knew that the colors were layered and spread out, which was quite beautiful.
Can you tell what I've drawn?
Yin Sang walked around it once, gently touching his chin as if deep in thought. Seeing him like this, Qian Cuiyu couldn't help but feel a little smug, and said with a sneer, "My test is this painting. If you can't figure it out, you lose."
"What's so difficult about that?" Yin Sang raised her head, her eyes bright. "The Second Miss painted—'The sunset glows and a lone wild goose flies together, the autumn water blends with the vast sky.'"
A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Without his explanation, no one could have discerned what the painting depicted, but after he pointed it out and they looked closer, it truly was a sunset on the horizon, and the ink dot was, of course, a lone wild goose flying far away. It was so subtly rendered; it was truly remarkable that he had been able to decipher it!
Looking at Qian Moyu again, her face changed from white to red and then back to white, her expression was very strange, like both fury and joy, extremely complex.
Yin Sang raised her eyebrows and said, "I wonder if I guessed right? Hmm?" The last "hmm" was almost a nasal sound, extremely soft, like a lover's whisper.
When Qian Cuiyu looked up at him, his eyes were as black as ink, almost dripping with water.
“Then…” she began, her voice hoarse, “please inscribe a message for it.”
Yin Sang seemed momentarily stunned by her gaze, his frivolous demeanor vanishing. He picked up his brush and wrote each character slowly: "The setting sun casts its gentle glow, its form like water, its shadow following. The faint traces of fading crimson fade, leaving only a few strokes, like the brows of a woman in the evening sun. I do not regret sharing a drink with you across the ends of the earth, though the time is late, we still have a cup of wine. If life could always be like our first meeting, even if it were a thousand years later, let us not hasten our passing."
"Exchange for a thousand years... Do not hasten..." Qian Cuiyu's gaze moved from the inscription on the painting to the hand holding the brush, slowly moving upwards to Fang Yi's chin, and then to those bright, shooting eyes. Once they met, it was hard to look away.
"Yin Sang..." When his name was uttered for the second time, it became a mark of destiny. From then on, no matter how the world changed, she knew she would never forget him, never forget that name, never forget that person.
"You win," Qian Cuiyu said, enunciating each word clearly. "I concede."
Everyone stood up and cheered for the man who had finally made the world's most talented woman admit defeat. No one saw how dazed and confused the man's eyes were, as if he was regretting that he had made a huge mistake.
A moment of competitiveness led to a tragic love affair. If she had known back then that the ending would be so disastrous, would she still have been so arrogant and put on that "Dream of the Red Chamber" test?
Seven years later, when Qian Cuiyu stood in the hall of Emerald Villa, facing Ye Mufeng's probing and pitying gaze and Gu Yucheng's astonished face, when all the past events had become dust in the wind, she asked herself—if she were given a chance to start over, would she still choose to be as willful as she was back then, like a moth drawn to a flame?
Her eyes held more than just tears!
He turned around and ran out of the hall without saying a word. This time, Gu Yucheng was too shocked to stop him.
Artificial rock formations and emerald ponds flashed past her. She knew she was running frantically, but she didn't know where she was going. The world was vast and boundless, yet why was there nowhere for her to belong?
Her left foot struck a protruding piece of white jade, causing her to fall to the ground. She clung to the railing beside her, crying uncontrollably.
He is not himself.
She thought, Shui Wuhen is not Yin Sang.
Yin Sang considers playing chess the most boring thing in the world, while the young master loves chess; Yin Sang can't live without spicy food, while the young master vomits after eating spicy food; Yin Sang is arrogant and gloomy, while the young master is gentle and refined... They have so many differences, but the most important one is that Yin Sang loves her, he is the only person in the world who loves her, while the young master does not.
Qian Cuiyu stood up, gritting her teeth as she hugged the railing. Her vision was blurred, but through her teary eyes she could still vaguely see the lush greenery and picturesque scenery of Emerald Villa. Such a wealthy family and such a peaceful life belonged to the peerless young master of this world. How could it be the destitute and impoverished Yin Sang who had fallen on hard times?
"Ha! Haha! Hahaha..." She suddenly burst into laughter. Several passing servants were terrified and stood at a distance at the other end of the corridor, unsure of what to do with her.
"If Heaven has eyes, why does it not see me adrift alone? If the gods have spirits, why do they place me at the ends of the earth?" She murmured only two lines before her voice trailed off. She clutched her chest and bent over. The servants, seeing something amiss, rushed forward to inquire, only to see blood gushing from her lips, dripping onto the white jade floor. Immediately, a servant cried out, "Mr. Mu? Mr. Mu, what's wrong?"
Qian Cuiyu raised her head, her face ashen. Gazing at the crimson sunset, she cried out in despair, "So...in the end, I can't win against you, God. I can't win against you, I surrender..." Before she could finish speaking, she was already...
He fell to the ground with a thud.
When the servants hurriedly helped her up, they found that her eyes were closed and she had already fainted.
Chapter Four
The jeweled curtains had been gently drawn back, and two maids stood by the jade screen with their hands at their sides. Although they did not speak, their faces showed undisguised joy, because their young mistress had finally woken up after being in a coma for half a month.
"Have I become ugly?" Gu Mingyan leaned back on the bed, smiling slightly at the young master. Although she had been seriously ill and looked haggard, her smile still retained her charm. Her eyes were so soft and moist that they seemed to drip water. No one would associate such a beauty with the word "ugly".
The young master then asked, "How could that be?"
"Then look at me. Why do I look so strange? I seem absent-minded."
The young master was slightly taken aback, unsure how to respond, when Gu Mingyan burst out laughing.
"Are you so happy you're stunned because you can't believe I'm awake? Silly girl, it's because I couldn't bear to leave you! I knew you were waiting for me to wake up, so I desperately tried to open my eyes, and finally succeeded!"
Gongyu, amused by her teasing, affectionately tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Gu Mingyan grabbed his hand and said coquettishly, "Tell me, are you very worried about me? Have you been unable to eat or sleep, worried about me to the point of going crazy? If you dare say no, I'll bite you to death!"
The young master smiled and said, "Hearing you talk like that, I'm sure you're really cured."
"Ugh, so annoying." Gu Mingyan wrinkled her nose and suddenly lowered her voice, "Wuhen..."
"Um?"
"Once I've fully recovered in a few days, let's get married, okay?"