Одна улыбка может обрушить город

Глава 19

The backyard of the Lu residence was separated from the front hall by a garden. In Dongjing (Kaifeng), due to its high land prices, even the imperial gardens of the capital were considered cramped, let alone the homes of ordinary officials. Tongzhou, however, was different; the land was vast and expansive. While the Lu residence itself wasn't considered particularly luxurious among Tongzhou's official families, its garden still featured artificial hills and rocks, flowing springs, pavilions, and terraces—far larger than the garden of the Grand Commandant's residence. At this moment, the front hall was bustling with guests, while the garden was remarkably quiet; even the maids and servants who usually moved about were nowhere to be seen.

Xu Shirong followed the flower-lined path towards the back house. Looking at the lush flowers and trees on both sides, she walked through several forks in the path before realizing she was getting lost. Just as she was about to retrace her steps, the sun's heat and the effects of the wine she had drunk suddenly surged up, making her chest pound wildly, and she felt as if she were about to collapse. Suddenly, she noticed a small pavilion hidden among the bamboo groves. She hurried over and saw a small lacquered table with plum blossom patterns inside, and a chaise lounge beside it, with a gold-painted gauze fan lying on it. Since this garden was considered part of the inner courtyard, men rarely entered unless the owner wished to accompany them; this must have been where Madam Lu usually cooled off and rested in the afternoon. Because her eyelids were heavy, she leaned against the chaise lounge, intending to rest for a while until the effects of the wine wore off before returning home. Unexpectedly, a cool breeze blew through the pavilion, and as the wind blew, it felt as if every pore on my body opened up, and I fell asleep instantly.

Xu Shirong was taking a nap in the pavilion when she never dreamed that not far from her, behind a rockery in the corner of the garden, two people were whispering and plotting something. One of them slipped something into the other's hand. After looking around and seeing that no one was around, they immediately split up and disappeared along the path.

The two men, having reached an agreement, hurriedly disappeared into the flower-lined path, thinking they had left unnoticed. Little did they know, a man was lurking behind them, like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. While they were talking, a man who had followed them was eavesdropping from behind the bushes. Although the conspirators kept their voices low, he overheard everything. Only after the two men had vanished did the man emerge, frowning as he pondered for a moment. A sudden chill flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "That's fine, saves us from future trouble."

The man didn't linger and hurried towards the front hall. As he walked along a flower-lined path, he saw a clump of green bamboo with a corner of a pavilion peeking out from its end. He didn't pay it any mind and was about to turn away when a gust of wind suddenly blew by, making the bamboo crowns rustle. This made him turn his head again, and there he caught a glimpse of a woman, who was leaning against a smoky-colored chaise lounge, her eyes closed, as if she were fast asleep.

As the wind subsided, the rustling of the bamboo ceased, and silence returned. The man, however, stopped, gazing at the woman's sleeping face from afar. She seemed vaguely familiar, as if he'd seen her somewhere before. Suddenly, he paused, as if remembering something, and hesitated to approach. He took only two steps before stopping, a look of hesitation on his face. He was about to leave when his eyes couldn't help but glance at the woman again. Seeing her sleeping soundly, he finally couldn't suppress his curiosity and moved closer.

Upon closer inspection, the man was absolutely certain that the woman reclining on the chaise longue was indeed the same woman he had encountered a few days prior at the inn in Tongzhou. Last time, she had appeared cold and indifferent, but now she lay there reclining, her face flushed, her lips cherry-red, her eyes slightly closed, revealing only long eyelashes. One hand was supporting her head, while the other loosely held a round fan, her fingertips slender and delicate. Her body was slightly curled, and the hem of her gold-embroidered satin skirt revealed the pointed toes of her lotus-colored hibiscus-embroidered shoes.

What a coincidence that they met again! The man looked at the woman in front of him with some doubt and uncertainty when he suddenly heard the sound of a woman's laughter coming from afar, as if she was coming in this direction. He frowned slightly, looked around, and immediately slipped out of the pavilion and hid behind the bamboo grove.

The visitors were none other than Madam Lu and Xiao Que. It turned out that Madam Lu had been stopped by the wife of a high-ranking official, who wanted to introduce her to her niece, Madam Yang. They had searched the entire flower hall but couldn't find her. When they asked Xiao Que, the girl had only been whispering with the other maids and knew nothing about the matter. Fortunately, a maid standing by the flower hall said she vaguely remembered seeing her go out and head towards the back garden, so the two of them came looking for her. Seeing no one in the house, they assumed she was hiding in the garden. That's why they searched the area.

As soon as Madam Lu turned the corner of the flower-lined path, she saw Xu Shirong reclining on her usual chaise longue, seemingly asleep. She hurried over and gently patted Xu Shirong's face, waking her with a start. Realizing she had fallen asleep, Xu Shirong quickly sat up, smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, and said apologetically, "The ladies forced me to drink some wine, and I'm a little tipsy. I was thinking of going back to my room to rest, but my aunt's garden is so big that I got lost and ended up here. I was feeling sleepy and just wanted to rest for a bit, but I ended up falling asleep."

Seeing that she was still radiant after waking up, Madam Lu couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, "Jiaonian, 'a beauty lies on a beauty's couch,' isn't that exactly you? Your aunt set up a couch here because she wanted to cool off. Although this is supposed to be the inner quarters, you never know when a man might wander in. It doesn't matter that I'm old and past my prime, but if someone were to see a delicate beauty like you, and your nephew-in-law found out, wouldn't he make a scene in front of me?"

It turned out that the day before yesterday, Xu Shirong got up early and left her room, while Yang Huan was still fast asleep on the bench. Unexpectedly, a maid from Madam Lu's room, sent to summon her for a meeting, barged in and saw what was happening. She must have gone back to Madam Lu and told her what had happened. Madam Lu then learned that although the two were young lovers, they slept in separate beds. She secretly questioned Xu Shirong, who explained that they had only had a temporary argument, which was why she didn't want him to share a bed. Madam Lu, a seasoned woman with experience in the world, was somewhat skeptical of this explanation, but seeing Xu Shirong's reluctance to elaborate, she didn't press further. However, in the past few days, she had frequently teased the two of them.

Hearing her teasing her again, Xu Shirong stood up from the couch and smiled slightly, saying, "There are many guests ahead today, and Aunt is the host, so she must be very busy. I just took a nap and feel much more awake now, so let's go together. It wouldn't be good to keep the guests waiting."

Madam Xu chuckled, took Xu Shirong's hand, and walked out, saying with a smile, "I've seen you when you were little, but you were so chatty and impatient back then. I never imagined you'd be so much more composed now, completely different from how you were as a child. No wonder they say girls change so much as they grow up; not only has your appearance changed, but your personality has too. Looking at you, I really wish you were my own daughter..."

Hearing her praise, Xu Shirong smiled and said a few words of humility. She then took Madam Xu's arm, and Xiao Que followed behind, as they left the pavilion together.

The man waited until the footsteps faded into the distance and all was quiet before emerging from behind the bamboo grove. He glanced at the chaise longue where the woman called Jiaoniang had been lying, and was about to leave when he suddenly paused.

On the inner side of the tatami mat lay a delicate kingfisher feather butterfly hairpin.

~~~~~~

The birthday banquet hosted by Magistrate Lu was extremely lively that evening. The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely until late into the night before the guests gradually dispersed. Those who lived nearby were helped away, tipsy, by their servants and attendants, while those who lived further away and were also quite drunk stayed overnight at Lu's residence.

Yang Huan's alcohol tolerance had grown increasingly high. He drank a great deal of wine and was still able to hold it in when he returned to his room, only managing to linger with Xu Shirong. Lying on the bench, separated from her by the bed curtains, he talked about how the male guests at the banquet outside that night had taken all the beautiful courtesans in Tongzhou City; then he boasted that he was a reincarnation of Liu Xiahui, remaining completely unmoved in the face of such beauty, and insisted that Xu Shirong smell his clothes to see if they smelled of cosmetics. He chattered on and on until nearly four in the morning, when finally, exhausted, they both fell into a deep sleep.

"Oh no! The water's boiling over! The water's boiling over!"

Xu Shirong was fast asleep when she vaguely heard a sharp scream. She was startled awake and saw through the curtains a faint red glow of firelight flickering in through the window.

"Fire! Fire! The south wing is on fire!"

Soon, more noise came from afar, along with the sound of footsteps running back and forth.

The night, which had been peaceful and deep in sleep, was suddenly and completely awakened by this unexpected event.

Chapter Thirty-One

Xu Shirong grabbed her outer garment and wrapped it around herself, then flung open the curtains and strode to the window. Pushing open the windowpane, she was shocked to see flames raging in the south-facing room, which was separated from her own by only a wall. The fire, fanned by the wind, crackled and popped, and sparks flew over the wall, occasionally landing on the ground. In just a moment, she even felt her face burning from the heat.

This row of south-facing rooms, numbering over a dozen, was occupied tonight by drunken guests. It's astonishing that such a large fire could break out so late at night!

Xu Shirong glanced back at Yang Huan. Outside, flames raged and chaos reigned, yet the man remained sprawled out, fast asleep. Fearing the fire might spread, she rushed to the bench and called his name several times. Seeing no response, she slapped his face hard twice. Only then did Yang Huan open his eyes, looking completely bewildered.

"My lord, my lady! Fire! Fire outside!"

Just then, there was a series of urgent knocks on the door, where Little Sparrow was chirping incessantly.

Xu Shirong went to open the door, and sure enough, it was Xiao Que. She looked extremely anxious and was panting as she said, "Madam, Madam Lu was afraid you were still asleep, so she sent me to tell you to come and get out of the way..."

Where is Madam Lu?

"After giving me the instructions, he seemed to head towards the south room."

Xu Shirong glanced in that direction, lost in thought, when Yang Huan suddenly snapped out of his daze. He yelled, hurriedly grabbed his clothes, jumped off the bench, and ran towards the door. After a few steps, he suddenly turned back and shouted, "Keep out of the way, don't go over there!" before quickly leaving.

"Madam, this place is closer to the south room, let's go to the front hall to take shelter..."

Xiao Que's face was flushed red by the firelight, and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

Seeing that the collar of her dress was still a little twisted, Xu Shirong reached out and helped to straighten it before saying, "Since Aunt has gone over, I'll go and see if I need any help."

Although Xiao Que was somewhat reluctant, she saw that she had already left the house and headed in that direction, so she had no choice but to follow.

Although Xu Shirong's room was separated from the south room by only one wall, it required a long, circuitous walk along a corridor to reach it. The two made their way there and entered the main hall of the south room, where they found it in complete disarray. Several disheveled people sat haphazardly, their faces still showing signs of fear. Some even seemed to be still drunk; these were likely guests who had slept there earlier. Many more were frantically rushing back and forth, trying to put out the fire. But once the fire started, how could it be contained? It only grew larger, with the sounds of beams and pillars collapsing echoing intermittently.

Xu Shirong looked around and saw that Madam Lu was being supported by a maid. She was leaning against a pillar and stamping her feet repeatedly. Xu Shirong hurriedly went over to help her.

Madam Lu turned around and saw that it was her. She forced herself to be cheerful and said, "Jiaoniang, there is a fire here. What are you doing here? Quickly go to the front yard to take shelter, or you will get splashed by the sparks."

Just as Xu Shirong was about to speak, he suddenly noticed that Prefect Lu was still barefoot and exclaimed, "This fire can't be contained anytime soon. If it burns, so be it. As long as everyone is safe, that's all that matters. Have all the guests inside come out?"

The steward of the Lu residence hurriedly replied, "Don't worry, sir. There are about ten guests staying here tonight. The fire was just started when the night watchman noticed it, and they should all have come out."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Lu wiped his sweat and then directed his family members to splash water to put out the fire. When Madam Lu heard this, she murmured a Buddhist prayer, and her legs went weak. If Xu Shirong and the maid hadn't supported her, she probably would have already sat down on the ground.

Seeing that she couldn't stand, Xu Shirong quickly helped her up with the maid and tried to take her back to her room. However, Madam Lu shook her head vehemently, saying that she wouldn't move an inch until the fire was extinguished. Helpless, Xu Shirong looked around and saw a screen in the corner of the hall. She quickly asked Xiao Que to bring a few chairs over, and then half-walked, half-carried her into a chair, sitting down beside her herself.

The fire burned until nearly dawn. The original row of houses was reduced to mere frames, and the flames spread to several adjacent rooms. The ground was littered with blackened rubble and haphazardly scattered beams and pillars, still emitting wisps of smoke. A pungent, acrid smell filled the air. In just one night, what should have been a joyous occasion for the Lu family turned into a catastrophe.

Xu Shirong stayed with Madam Lu until dawn. She saw that some of the still-shaken guests had been taken away by their families who had rushed over after hearing the news, while the rest were helping with the cleanup. She noticed that Yang Huan was also caught in the middle, directing the Lu family members to keep busy. His face had several black marks, probably from the smoke.

"Auntie hasn't slept a wink all night, she should go back and rest now."

Seeing that Madam Lu's face was pale and her eyes were sunken, Xu Shirong whispered some words of advice.