“Yes, this old servant will send people to watch them closely, and guard strictly against them causing any trouble.”
Wen Kui agreed, but in his heart he knew clearly that the reason his master was not acting rashly was not because some literary gathering was imminent, but because of Qinglian Mountain.
The literary gathering only concerned the master’s face, and at most it concerned the Wen family’s face. But Qinglian Mountain concerned the family’s very foundation.
The abnormal situation involving Qinglian Mountain disciple Zou Yunting and that Niu Youqing had probably aroused the master’s vigilance.
What the master wanted to know even more was whether Qinglian Mountain had played any role behind this matter.
For this reason, the master did not hesitate to go with the flow, using his own granddaughter as bait to let that Niu Youqing enter the Jade Garden.
The night in Ningzhou City was no less prosperous than the capital of Jin Kingdom. If one really compared them, the capital, because of many taboos, probably could not match the night liveliness of Ningzhou’s main city. Moreover, because of its excellent climate and superior geographical location, Ningzhou was already one of the richest places in Jin Kingdom.
That the Wen clan could occupy such a large place to build a mansion in such a prefecture city was indeed extraordinary.
The night outside the mansion was very lively, but inside it was rather quiet, with lights dimming everywhere.
In the Jade Garden, Yu Qing carried a lantern on patrol, lighting up all the places that needed illumination.
Even though he knew he could not stay much longer in the Wen residence, he still did the work he should do. He did not feel it was menial, because he had done it for so long before.
When he returned carrying the lantern, he discovered a figure outside the pavilion. Going closer, he saw it was Little Red. She was walking back and forth with her hands behind her back, and he did not know what she was thinking.
Seeing him return, Little Red stood still and waited.
Yu Qing raised the lantern to shine on her face and asked, “Something the matter?”
“Hey, you annoying man!” Little Red pushed aside his lantern with a light pout. She felt as if he was teasing her.
“Uh…” Yu Qing had to move the lantern away and asked again, “Something the matter?”
Little Red stood with her hands behind her back, pouting. Her upper body swayed as she turned this way and that. Her face was all scrunched up as she humphed, and finally she informed him in an arrogant tone, “I warn you, you had better not have any wild ideas. Male and female servants in the residence also cannot be casual. Without the master’s permission, no one can force anyone. Do not think I am easy to bully, humph!” With a cold humph she threw her hands and left.
At first Yu Qing thought she was talking about him and Wen Xin. He thought Wen Xin had told her something. But then he got confused. Between him and Little Red there seemed to be nothing, right? He could not make head or tail of it. He was blank, and simply could not understand what it meant.
“What nonsense is this maid talking about?”
Yu Qing muttered this and also raised his lantern to look. He wanted to chase after her to ask what she meant, but in the end, because his mood was low today, he gave up.
Carrying the lantern back to the small room in the pavilion, he lit the oil lamp, hung the extinguished lantern on the wall, and then sat by the table to observe Big Head.
Big Head did not know what was wrong. All day today it had not climbed onto him.
Big Head was still lying in a corner of the table. It seemed to have lain there quietly all day without moving. Its belly was still round and bulging, but it was clearly already much smaller.
He really suspected whether it was dead. He picked it up to look, found it was still alive, and so had to put it back.
Yu Qing could sense that the reason Big Head was like this was definitely because it had randomly eaten something. This stuffed belly was obvious.
What would happen in the end, and how to handle it, he could not find a suitable person to answer. In raising fire crickets, as Yun Xi said, he might be the first person, so he probably could not find any precedent. The key point was that this matter was not suitable to ask others about.
Big Head could not communicate directly either.
There was no way. No matter how anxious he was, he could only let Big Head bear it by itself.
Big Head’s value in his mind now was quite high, so he could only pray in his heart that Big Head would be fine.
After washing up, Yu Qing, who had no heart for cultivation, lay on the bed. He was blind in the dark, and the regretful emotions from his daytime impulse surged up again.
The scene of confessing his feelings to Wen Xin kept replaying in his mind.
What he regretted most was not understanding why he had brought out the Tanhua Scholar to speak. Even if he got her to relent by using A Shiheng’s identity, what then? Even if they really got together, she would sooner or later discover that he, Yu Qing, was a fraud.
In the study, Wen Xin sat before the desk. She was gentle, quiet, and melancholic, always guarding before two pieces of calligraphy. One was something Fifth Brother had bought at great cost, and one was something she had stolen from the miscellaneous courtyard.
The scene of being confessed to during the day also kept echoing in her mind.
She clearly remembered that he had almost spoken his real identity. What she felt at that moment was unease.
Once she let him speak his real identity, how could her status allow her to associate with a man who was not a family servant?
This made the repentance in her heart endless. Some thoughts of passion and impulse went beyond her etiquette teachings, and she felt her own evil.
The four words “run far away” that he spoke gave her an extremely strong shock. The Tanhua Scholar, famous throughout the world, the number one talent under heaven, had actually spoken words of eloping with her.
It was unimaginable. Her heart surged and could not stop, and her emotions even now still could not calm down.
To her this was like a dream, a beautiful dream, the most beautiful, most beautiful dream.
But she had strangled this beautiful dream with her own hands.
At that moment, how she wished she had no betrothal upon her.
If there were no betrothal, just based on that person being willing to put aside all pride to say such words to her, she would be willing to pay any price for her choice. She would elope with him at all costs.
However, reality was reality. No matter whether she had seen Yu Wenyuan before, no matter what Yu Wenyuan looked like, no matter whether she liked him or not, since it was a betrothal set by the elders of the family, she must abide by it.
No matter good or bad in the future, she knew she must follow etiquette teachings. She must become Yu Wenyuan’s wife. Were not all women like this?
Moreover, she vaguely knew in her heart that Old Master Yu had many students serving as officials in court. Some even held high positions. Many, many people in the family did not want this marriage to have any accidents. When Grandfather had betrothed her back then, he had vaguely informed her that whether she was willing or not, this was the responsibility she should bear for the family’s thousand year heritage.
Three days. Elder Fan Wuchou on that side was true to his word. Saying three days meant three days. Song Pingping and Zou Yunting together brought Zilong back.
The little dog was probably starving. It was so hungry that its four limbs trembled as it lay in the cage. The moment it saw Wen Xin it howled pitifully, and tears welled up.
What a pitiful little thing. Wen Xin quickly took food to feed it.
There was no longer any question of liking or disliking to eat. The “dog food” that the little dog had previously hated, now it pounced on it and ate with wu ang wu ang sounds. It was wolfing it down. Taste and such no longer mattered. As long as there was food to eat, that was enough.
Taking this opportunity, Yu Qing gave Zou Yunting a look.
The two left one after another from among the people surrounding the little dog, going to the side of the waterside pavilion.
From afar it looked as if Yu Qing was attending to Zou Yunting.
Zou Yunting, who was secretly observing the surroundings, said in a low, hateful voice, “Did you not say we should keep our distance, that I would not look for you and you would not look for me? Do you know how many pairs of guard eyes are watching around this Jade Garden?”
Yu Qing said, “A small matter. Help me out.”
Zou Yunting secretly gritted his teeth but could do nothing, and asked, “What matter?”
Yu Qing said, “I want to enter the Wenshu Pavilion to look through classics and find some things. Help me find someone who can enter and exit the Wenshu Pavilion.”
Having put aside romantic feelings, he began to handle proper business cleanly and efficiently.
Zou Yunting was stunned. He had not expected this matter, and asked, “Find what?”
Yu Qing said, “When you have found a suitable person and confirmed we can enter, then I will tell you.”
Before matters were confirmed as doable, he could not spread it around beforehand so everyone knew.
Zou Yunting was puzzled. “That is the Wen clan’s place of revering literature. Plus it houses many precious ancient books, so it is not suitable for people coming and going. Strict rules were set because of this. Without proper reason it is hard to enter. By the way, Wen Xin is someone in the Wen family who can relatively easily enter. Why do you not just look for her? Why go around in circles to find me?”
Yu Qing muttered in his heart that if there was a situation, silencing him would be easier. But he said, “The reason is simple. I hold your leverage, so you are not likely to leak secrets.”
He was not lying. This was indeed one of the reasons. The other party was indeed someone who dared not easily leak his secrets.
Spoken so bluntly, Zou Yunting was silent and speechless.
Yu Qing also said, “The Wen clan relies on Qinglian Mountain, and you are a Qinglian Mountain disciple. Can you not even enter a lousy book storage pavilion?”
Zou Yunting said, “Qinglian Mountain disciples are not unable to enter, but in someone else’s home one must follow someone else’s rules. One must first get my master, that elder, to consent. Then one can find steward Wen Kui to get an entry permit. Moreover, what would a Qinglian Mountain disciple go to that place for? Suddenly asking is very abnormal, and easily arouses my master’s suspicion. My master might not agree, and even if he agreed, he would be watched.”
He was very resistant because he understood in his heart that the more he did, the deeper he would sink.
Yu Qing would not let him go. “Then go find that old flame of yours. Does she not have two sons? They are both proper descendants of the Wen clan. Can they not enter to read books? Let her think of a way to get her son in to search through the classics. If you feel it is inconvenient for you to find her, then I will go find her myself to discuss. You decide for yourself.”
Zou Yunting’s face darkened.
“Hey, what are those two doing there?”
Song Pingping, who was watching the little dog eat, suddenly looked around. She saw her senior brother and that servant talking together, and could not help being curious.
Little Red thought nothing of it. “Talking, that is all.”
A gentle breeze swayed the skirt hems. The graceful and slender Wen Xin looked over accordingly, gazing. Her eyes carried complex emotions.
Since that day, whenever Yu Qing and she met again, they had nothing to say. Their eyes no longer met. They even deliberately avoided any exchange with each other. But they would both quietly gaze at the other when the other was not paying attention.
Once, she had purely admired someone, amazed by his talent. She had never thought of having a relationship that crossed boundaries with him. But Yu Qing broke that purity, stirring ripples in her heart’s lake, like breaking a floodgate. This made her thoughts often drift involuntarily in that direction. It also made her fall into a kind of torment, unable to sleep or eat in peace.
Although Yu Qing did not say it, Wen Xin somehow clearly felt that he was going to leave. Because of her, he would leave her. He would leave the Wen clan. After parting, they would never meet again.