Сун Синчжи жил во времена правления императора Хуэйцзуна

Глава 10

“Alright! Tomorrow at dusk, the western cliff!” Perhaps he had heard the place name so familiar these past two days that he blurted out “western cliff” without thinking.

"Okay, it's a deal!"

"Just you alone. Too many people would be a hassle."

"What is there to fear!"

"Okay! I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."

"Fine! I won't wait for you tomorrow."

He paused, then a strange smile crept onto his lips. With a snap, he deliberately broke another tile... He heard a sigh of relief, and his smile widened.

After a long while, there was silence below. The wine in the pot was all gone, and it was time to leave. He stood up and looked down, only to see that the person below had already begun to doze off.

He chuckled inwardly, then suddenly tossed the empty wine jug he was holding, intending it to hit her. However, she abruptly stood up, and the jug nearly struck her head. Seeing her jump away in a panic, then look up and glare at him with renewed brilliance, he found it amusing. He deliberately pointed mischievously at the hole in the ground and said, "This hole isn't that big, is it? My wine jug barely fits in. Looks like you won't need to use a vat to catch the rain tonight; a few chamber pots will do." The more he said this, the funnier it became, and he laughed as he left.

He had already walked home, but he felt it wasn't right to leave her roof tiles broken. If someone asked tomorrow, and that big mouth (in his eyes, all women were big mouths) told others that he had spied on her roof like a lecherous thief last night, it would be an insult to his lifelong reputation. So, he decided to fix it himself, to prevent her from using it as a pretext for rumors. And so, he went back, and indeed, he patched the hole. But he was too lazy to find more rubble, so he used what he could find – tiles from the house next door to Tian Xiri's, patching her roof instead. As for who lived next door to Tian Xiri? That was none of his concern.

…………

The next morning, before Xiri even got out of bed, she heard her wet nurse, Liu Mama, yelling from next door, "Who tore a hole in my roof?!"

Upon hearing this, Xi Ri nearly jumped out of bed.

In the end, the blame for the hole was still placed on the stray cat, but the real culprit went unpunished, leaving the stray cat to suffer an injustice. It was truly unfair to the stray cat.

At dusk, I heard that a notorious flower thief was to be executed at the vegetable market. It was originally scheduled for noon, but for some reason it was changed to dusk. How unlucky! She had just stepped out when a flower thief lost his head. Coupled with what happened this morning, I had a bad feeling all day.

She wasn't completely unprepared today; she carried a dagger with her, though she didn't know if it would be useful, it would be good to have some courage.

To avoid being recognized, she dressed as a man today, drawing her eyebrows thicker, making a fake Adam's apple, plugging her ear piercings with flesh-colored dye, wearing a hat, and carrying a folding fan, looking every bit the young master as she swaggered down the street.

Along the way, I not only arrived unharmed, but I also occasionally received flirtatious glances from several young women. Ah... Suzhou is truly a place of great romance!

However, along the way, she also heard a lot of gossip about her on the streets and alleys. She knew that her affair with Long Ming had been widely discussed these past few days.

She was very proud of her mask, and she was well aware of the impact it would have if it were revealed, so she didn't ignore what people were saying.

Actually, the mask was made by Soge. Two years ago, after Soge rejected her marriage proposal, she was in a state of extraordinary darkness and created it. She originally hoped to wear the mask one night to scare Soge, but she didn't get the chance to scare Soge. Instead, she used it on his cousin, so it was worth it.

She lived in the east, and it was quite a long way from east to west. Long Ming said they would meet at dusk, but she went out at dusk, strolling leisurely westward. Anyway, Long Ming had said he would wait for her; if he didn't, all the better. She felt it wasn't a good day to go out. She had agreed to the appointment last night, though he had pressured her, but thinking about it now, it seemed too hasty. She had played him for a fool the last few times, and she was genuinely worried about how he would deal with her this time.

She wasn't familiar with the road and had to ask for directions. But for some reason, the people she met looked at her with rather suggestive eyes when they heard she was going to the western cliff, almost making her think her identity had been exposed. Finally, after asking for directions several times, she arrived at the western cliff. It was almost dark, and the setting sun made the cliff appear even more steep, causing her to shiver. Looking around, she saw no one, and a chill began to run through her. Surrounded by desolate mountains and deserted areas, she, a weak woman unarmed, couldn't stay long. Since she had already come, she hadn't broken her promise, so she should hurry and leave.

Just as she was about to turn around, she heard the sound of a flute. She turned around and looked in the direction of the sound. In the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches, a young man sat leaning against the branch of a century-old pine tree, his clothes fluttering in the wind, a bamboo flute pressed to his lips. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was none other than Long Ming.

She said she couldn't find anyone; it turned out they were hiding in a big tree.

He then shouted, "Hey, what do you want me to do here?" He had come alone that day and didn't want to waste any time.

Long Ming glanced at her, ignored her, and continued playing her tune.

Although Xi Ri found the flute music melodious, she had no interest in listening to it at all. She jumped around under the big tree and said, "Stop playing! It'll get dark soon, and I'm leaving."

Long Ming stopped playing the flute and said coldly, "Alright then, let's climb the cliff together."

What? Climb a cliff? "Why should I climb a cliff with you?" Xi Ri retreated repeatedly, turning to run away. Sure enough, Long Ming wouldn't let her off easy today.

Long Ming wanted to explain, but then he remembered hearing that all couples who climbed this cliff were lovers, destined to be devoted to each other, even eloping despite strong family opposition. This cliff must be a must-climb for lovers, right? But they weren't lovers yet, and how could he bring himself to say that? So he suddenly snapped, "You're climbing today, whether you like it or not!" He leaped behind Xi Ri, grabbed her collar, and launched himself towards the cliff. *Thud, thud, thud...* He took several leaps, reaching about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) up the cliff face before letting go. Seeing Xi Ri clinging nervously to the cliff, her hands and feet trembling, he found it amusing, but threatened, "Start climbing from here. If you dare go down, I'll put you even higher!"

He had barely finished speaking when he heard Dao Xiri let out a mournful sigh, "Long Ming, if I fall and die today, I'll haunt you even as a ghost..."

The main text lied to him again.

A smile returned to Long Ming's lips as he said, "Let's talk about it after you fall and die."

That was infuriating! She almost cried from the frustration, but then she steeled herself and decided she wouldn't budge today. What could Long Ming do to her?!

Seeing Xi Ri clinging tightly to the mountainside, completely motionless and looking like he was saying "What can you do about it?", Long Ming found it even more amusing and deliberately said, "It gets dark so early. Soon all the wild animals in the mountains will come out. Sigh, I wonder how long you can hold on to this cliff?"

Xi Ri was secretly depressed, turned her face away, and ignored him, sighing inwardly: Today I've really fallen for Long Ming's tricks.

Long Ming gripped the corner of the rock with one hand, his clothes fluttering, relaxed and at ease. He leaned against the rock, smiling as he looked at the back of the woman's head. Occasionally, he could hear a sound like grinding teeth, which made him want to laugh.

As the sunset faded, the golden hue gradually lost its dazzling brilliance. Time passed slowly, and Long Ming noticed that the woman beside him's fingers were gradually stiffening and trembling rhythmically, like a quirky musical note. Her body grew increasingly rigid, and her legs began to tremble slightly. Only her stubbornly turned-away face remained unchanged, which, unfortunately, prevented him from seeing her expressive face. However, the occasional grinding of her teeth almost made him burst into laughter. Even with his eyes closed, he knew she was gritting her teeth, probably cursing his ancestors to the eighteenth generation in her heart.

As darkness gradually fell, he continued to wait calmly...

Time really drags on.

Xi Ri suddenly turned her head, clearly unable to bear it any longer. She originally wanted to glare at the person beside her to express her strong dissatisfaction, but unexpectedly, when she turned her head, she saw the man hanging leisurely on the mountainside next to her with an expression of trying to suppress his laughter. She was so angry that she almost jumped off the cliff to commit suicide.

Long Ming finally saw Xi Ri's expression at this moment, and it was indeed as wonderful as he had imagined. He could no longer hold back and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

It was completely dark, and the stars filled the sky. Normally, this western cliff would be deserted by now, but today seemed different. From the far distance, a roar echoed from the center of the cliff, sounding almost like a woman's… Then came the sound of a man's unrestrained laughter, so joyful that even the owls in the trees seemed to laugh. The surrounding silence and darkness made the sound truly terrifying…

As darkness fell, the moon quietly rose, bright and clear.

Looking sideways, Xi Ri saw Long Ming standing gracefully in the wind, carefree and elegant, quite unlike the person she was currently hanging on a steep cliff with a distorted expression, clearly having just laughed so hard that she had cramped up.

Looking at herself, she realized that she was on the verge of death. Her fingers were stiff and painful, and her legs were wobbling, unable to support her any longer.

The contrast between the two fueled his anger, and he roared, "What do you want! You..." He had never cursed anyone before and was momentarily speechless. After a while, he finally thought of a word and shouted, "You vixen!" Seeing Long Ming's stunned expression, he suddenly realized that he had cursed her wrong and added loudly, "Vixen husband!" But that didn't seem right either; she didn't think she had ever heard of that word before.

Seriously, I'm so angry I could faint.

Long Ming was taken aback. It was the first time he had ever heard someone insult him, especially a woman, and in such a way. Instead of being angry, he found it quite novel. He felt an urge to laugh more and more, and found her increasingly amusing. He leaned forward and suddenly brought his face close to hers. He saw her trying to dodge in a flustered yet innocent manner, but finding no way to avoid it, and he secretly gloated. He then whispered and teased, "I am the demon husband, and you are the demon wife."