Chapter 5: The Red Fades, the Fragrance Disappears; Who Will Pity It (5)
In a flash, two months pa.s.sed by.
Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival1. Officials third-ranked2 and higher brought their wives and children into the imperial palace to attend the banquet. The Xie family was also included in this category.
Xie Fei sat in a carriage rushing to the imperial palace, pa.s.sing by the shops on the street. For some reason only the demons and G.o.ds knew, he had the driver stop.
Precious Soulmate3 was a famous jade ornament shop in the capital, and was also a store managed under Xie Fei"s name. Now, it was already dusk; the store didn"t have many customers anymore.
Manager Lu was calculating the day"s profits on an abacus. When he raised his head and saw the Young Master walking towards him, he immediately set down his account book, excitedly bringing Xie Fei into the private room to sit. He said, "Young Master, coming today, are there some matters to instruct this humble one?"
Xie Fei asked, "Are there any special ornaments suitable for young ladies to play with?"
Manager Lu"s shrewd eyes circled the room. He chuckled. "Don"t say any more, there really is. Just the day before yesterday, a perfect piece of milky white warm jade was sent back from Jiangnan, but one side had two red dots. Originally, I thought this was a flawed product. I never thought that w.a.n.g De"s magic hands could compete with nature, creating an ornament in the shape of a rabbit. It"s so good that even I, this kind of rough person, was interested!"Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
"Bring it here to let me see." Xie Fei instructed, casually lifting his eyebrows.
Manager Lu made a noise of agreement, turning and leaving the private room. Not a moment later, he brought a box inside: "Young Master, please have a look." When he finished, he opened the box and pa.s.sed it to Xie Fei.
Xie Fei took it, taking out the jade ornament from the box, a piece of warmth turning in his palm. This piece of jade looked like a rabbit, exquisitely wrought, the two red dots exactly like the Moon Rabbit"s red eyes. It was exceptionally cute. The other side was a l.u.s.trous white, fine and smooth. The entire piece of jade exuded faint traces of spiritual influence. It really was a hard-to-come-by item of the highest quality.
Seeing this jade ornament, Xie Fei inexplicably thought of Xi Wen. That day, her eyes were red just like this, smiling to Xie Fei that she "believed in him". His heart suddenly softened. Xie Fei blurted, "This jade ornament, I want it."
When he was leaving, Xie Fei also instructed Manager Lu, "If there"s any similar jade ornaments in the future, send them directly to the residence."
Manager Lu nodded in agreement.Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Because he delayed for a while, by the time Xie Fei arrived, the partic.i.p.ants of the banquet had already gathered in the guest hall. Men and women were separated into seats on two sides. On one side were the ladies and young misses; on the other side were the officials and young masters. As for the imperial family"s princesses and princes, they were all arranged at the host"s seats on an elevated platform.
Xie Fei had just stepped into the hall when he attracted everyone"s eyes. There were even some women who exclaimed in low voices, "Young Master Xie, it"s Young Master Xie!"
The crowd"s gazes were full of exceptional beauty. Although this Young Master Xie was famous everywhere, he rarely appeared in public. Many people had only seen the painting of him pa.s.sed around the marketplace; it was the first time seeing the real person.
Xie Fei wore a plain white brocade robe. The robe used gold thread to outline a few strokes, looking unexpectedly like a delicate luxury. At his slim waist was a gold silk jade belt. His head of dark hair was also only tied simply with a white jade crown.
His face was handsome and bright, his eyes clear and cold, thin lips slightly pursed, giving off an aura of someone who didn"t attract dust4, just living a simple life.
It was obviously an extremely simple and elegant way of dressing, but as he stepped closer and closer, it gave everyone a thrilling shock. The young ladies in the banquet blushed lightly, unable to move their eyes away, raising their silk handkerchiefs and starting to secretly covet the positions of Xie Fei"s secondary consort and concubine.
Xie Fei walked directly to his seat. As soon as he sat, Tang You, Chen Yuyan, and the others surrounded him. Tang You circled Xie Fei, clicking his tongue: "Fei-ge, your face is really good. If I, this young master, was as charming as you, how would chasing girls be so difficult?"
"Forget it," Xie Fei said indifferently. "Your temperament can"t support this face."
Tang You: "…" Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Chen Yuyan and the others at the side couldn"t hold it back, snorting aloud, then raising their voices in loud laughter.
Tang You"s face turned green: "What "haha", "haha" you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, are you still my brothers? Do you know the code of brotherhood, the meaning of anger against a common enemy?"
Chen Yuyan stopped laughing, waving his hand to signal the others to also stop laughing, then looked at Tang You with a straight face. He said, "My apologies. I just want to tell you, we are bad influences, since when was there a code of brotherhood?"
As soon as he said it, Chen Yuyan and the others started laughing again. Tang You looked at them, then stomped back to his own seat.
When Chen Yuyan and the others had laughed enough, they cupped their fists and returned to their seats one after the other. Not long later, a eunuch"s sharp voice came from the raised platform: "The emperor and empress have arrived—"
Xie Fei raised his head to look, and saw the emperor and empress, escorted by palace maids and eunuchs, walking slowly in. The graceful figure of a peerless beauty followed at the empress"s side. Her lively pupils had a look of intelligence and refinement. She wore a red palace dress with Chinese crabapples that contrasted her skin to look even better than snow. As she moved, her long ta.s.sels and necklace swayed. Nothing could be more beautiful. Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
This incomparably elegant girl was Xi Wen. At first, she was unwilling to attend the banquet, but she was stubbornly pulled along by her empress mother, saying to meet Young Master Xie before marrying and cultivate some feelings.
Xie Fei"s appearance and temperament were all outstanding. Even in a crowd, he was particularly eye-catching. As Xi Wen walked, she saw her fiancé-in-name from a distance. She had to admit that he really was attractive; even she, used to her own beautiful face, was stunned to the point she couldn"t move her eyes away.
Thinking this way, Xi Wen raised her head to look again, by chance directly meeting Xie Fei"s gentle gaze. His eyes looked like they contained bottomless heartfelt feelings. Xi Wen"s heart skipped a beat; her cheeks also slightly warmed. She shifted her gaze away as if hiding.
Xie Fei stared fixedly at Xi Wen, furrowing his eyebrows with some hesitation. This was his second time meeting her, but that moment when he saw her eyes, his heart filled with an indescribable familiarity. And this kind of feeling was something that wasn"t present the first time he met Xi Wen.
How strange.Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Xie Fei curled his hand into a fist, balancing it against his thin lips, slightly lifting the corner of his lip in a smile.
The emperor, face was full of smiles, declared the start of the evening banquet.
They drank and gambled in a large group, drinking until half drunk. Then, a small eunuch ran hastily in. He kotowed, then said, with fear and trepidation, "Reporting to the emperor, General— General Liang Shao… returned! He brought a woman with him, General Liang said it was his w-wife."
The banquet hall that was incessantly lively was suddenly shocked silent. The crowd couldn"t help but marvel in their hearts. This Liang Shao"s guts were really too big. This was simply slapping the emperor"s face! He asked the emperor"s princess to become his fiancée, but unexpectedly even dared to privately take a wife. Was he resenting that he had lived too long? Luckily this time the emperor had already given Anping Princess to Young Master Xie early on, otherwise the imperial family"s reputation would really be thrown away!
On the platform, when Xi Wen heard the news of Liang Shao"s return, she excitedly looked towards the kneeling eunuch. Who knew the next moment the smiling lips would stiffen on her face?Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Wife…
Liang Shao unexpectedly took a wife. When she was constantly worrying about his disappearance, he was in the gentle countryside merrily dreaming. Was this what he called… love?
In the capital the rumors of herself being a husband"s death omen had just pa.s.sed, This time what other ugly words would appear after the banquet? Wasn"t she already used to them, why was she still afraid?
The empress heard, widened her eyes in disbelief. She unconsciously turned to look at Xi Wen. Her head was lowered, sitting in her seat with a pale face, white hands tightly squeezing the hem of her robe, her entire body shaking slightly.
A surge of doting expelled itself from the empress"s heart. She surrept.i.tiously reached out her hand to cover the back of Xi Wen"s hand, warmly patting it. She said softly, "Xi Wen, don"t cry, you must laugh.
"Remember, you are Great Qi"s honorable princess. Only the most outstanding man under the heavens can match up to you." The empress enunciated clearly, "And this person is Xie Fei."Please read this at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Xi Wen slightly lifted her head, the tear tracks on her face still wet, looking at her empress mother"s steady gaze. She suddenly understood her empress mother"s meaning— whether Liang Shao married or didn"t marry long had nothing to do with her. Her future had already been tied tightly to Xie Fei.
As he heard the little eunuch"s words, the emperor"s heart boiled with thick fury. This Liang Shao had slapped his left cheek, now he was slapping his right; he really thought of this emperor as a clay sculpture!
The emperor was furious. In his heart he had already showered Liang Shao with a torrent of abuse. He raised his head and unexpectedly saw Xie Fei calmly drinking fine wine and eating delicacies. In a split second, the fury coursing through his veins subsided cleanly.
Liang Shao took a wife, so what? Today, zhen"s5 son-in-law wasn"t him, it was Xie Fei.
If you count it as humiliating, it wasn"t humiliating6 zhen. If you count it as mockery, and people would only mock Liang Shao"s heart for being blind and eyes for being unseeing, mistaking a fish eye for a pearl.
In the blink of an eye, the emperor"s mood became good. Now, he was especially eager to see Liang Shao"s expression when he knew about the change in marriage partner.
The little eunuch climbed up in reverence, bowing out in hurried steps. Not long later, a tall and st.u.r.dy handsome young man walked in. Following next to him was a cowering, delicate young woman wearing a hemp garment.
Liang Shao strode towards the platform, kneeling alone and cupping his fists in salutation: "This humble official greets His Majesty. May His Majesty live and reign for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years." The woman behind him followed him in kneeling, apprehensively opening her mouth to mutter the few phrases.
"Beloved subject, you may rise." The emperor raised his hand, waiting for Liang Shao to straighten, then continued, "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a night of reunion. Today beloved subject has safely returned, zhen is very happy. But who is that woman behind you?"
"This…" Liang Shao looked guiltily at the Anping Princess. He was also very ashamed, but being with Bing"er over two months, together from day to night, he discovered he had already been moved by her gentle infatuation and naive kindheartedness. The princess not only had exquisite beauty, she also had the emperor and empress as her parents. If he withdrew the marriage, she could still live a good life. Bing"er was different; her appearance was just delicate and pretty, she was lonely and without support. Except for himself, she had no one else she could rely on.
The scales in Liang Shao"s heart gradually tilted towards Chen Bing"er. The guilt in his eyes was replaced by resolution. He shakily said, "Would His Majesty please forgive me. This woman saved this subject from the river two months ago. This subject has already sworn with her to stay together all of our lives, keeping each other company for a lifetime, without any unfaithfulness."
"Oh?" The emperor looked at the two of them, surprised, and immediately clapped his hands together, laughing heartily. "This is a good thing! Beloved subject just escaped from calamity, and even found a wife. Zhen is happy, what is there to blame General for?"
Liang Shao originally thought he would have to speak more to convince the emperor, and maybe even face imprisonment. Who knew the emperor not only had no anger, but was even happy enough to smile so widely?
His instincts felt that something wasn"t right, Liang Shao lifted his head to look at the empress and the Anping Princess. He found they were both smiling, without censure, without scolding, and even without crying. Even the guests" happy sounds were heard around, except no matter how you looked at them their smiling faces looked like mockery.
"This subject… kowtows gratefully to His Majesty." Liang Shao kowtowed in thanks, at a loss. He frowned, thinking for a moment. He still couldn"t restrain himself, and curiously asked, "It"s just this subject"s marriage agreement with the Anping Princess…"
T/N: I"m gonna be honest I thought he was being super shameless with that last part you already came and broke off the engagement in front of everyone and now you"re going to push for more ( ￣︿￣)
1↩: A harvest festival held on the 15th of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, typically around late September or early October, with a full moon at night. In modern times, people celebrate in ways such as gathering with friends and family, eating mooncakes, and watching the moon. Traditionally, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also an ideal time to celebrate marriages.
2↩ In ancient China, officials were separated into nine ranks with two sub-categories each. First-ranked officials were the highest ranked and most powerful, while ninth-ranked officials had much less influence and income.
3↩: I took liberties with this name (￣ω￣;) The original text says 金玉良緣. 金玉 literally means "gold and jade", or something valuable, while 良緣 is a term used for happy marriages/people who pair well together.
4↩: Someone who is free from bad habits and bad influence and lives cleanly
5↩: 朕, a p.r.o.noun used by the emperor.
6↩: In Chinese, "humiliating" is literally "throwing away face". In this line, it"s sort of a pun: Even if it"s throwing away face, it"s not throwing away zhen"s face. But even though it"s literally "throwing away face" I hear this term used more in the sense of embarra.s.sing, so I translated it that way in the chapter.