Over thistime Xia Ling Mei was not relaxed and comfortable as she appeared.
w.a.n.g YunFeng’s demotion appeared to be a compromise between the emperor and theinfluential families, beating w.a.n.g Yun Feng down, as if compensating the influentialfamilies he had offended in the past. As if to say, look at me, executionerw.a.n.g Yun Feng has been demoted, they found their opportunity, the emperor isn’thappy, that’s why the emperor punished him, pulling him down from third rank tofifth rank, see the emperor pays attention to everyone’s opinions.
In realty, peoplewho use their heads inevitably think further into the future. Back then w.a.n.gYun Feng was given the imperial decree to investigate, in a short half a yearhe went to quite a few places, getting in touch with a lot of officials andordinary people. Supposedly the accounts book he handed over when he came back,it was enough for a case to be spread over an area, it was clear how manypeople how many dirty things were reported.
But after handing the things overthey never left home, and had little contact with the outside world, theemperor even after seeing all those accounts book did not do anything, it wastoo strange.
It was likesomeone shouting `a storm is coming, concentrated black clouds were headingover, the sun was blocked, clothes had been taken inside, but waiting foraround a month, that gale shower simply did not come, making people feel theymade a fuss over nothing, were they played by w.a.n.g Yun Feng?
The ratshiding in the government offices stealthily stuck their heads out, afterconspiring together they decided to make the first move, pulling w.a.n.g Yun Fengoff his horse, then once more negotiate with the emperor.
Afterwards,w.a.n.g Yun Feng, w.a.n.g Yun Feng was off his horse, the emperor then did not showany wish to sort out the corrupt officials.
All wasquiet.
But, noteven two days later, w.a.n.g Yun Feng was sent out on a mission. This disasterrelief, when he was to return was truthfully uncertain. Maybe, there were somany victims of the disaster, resettling once more needed quite a lot of time,and the dam had to be fixed, fertile land re-established, and to socialise withthe local officials, around a year would be
necessary. If the matter wasn’tsettled, w.a.n.g Yun Feng may have to stay there unable to come home for severalyears.
This wasequivalent to being appointed to a post outside of the capital, and might aswell be holding the power of a local simple official.
Over thesedays she went to pry news from each family, and on the way coax a fewrelations, allowing w.a.n.g Yun Feng to b able to return home a bit quicker. Ifthere were people helping inside the imperial court, w.a.n.g Yun Feng would nothave to suffer so much.
She wasanxious, even though she kept a relaxed and comfortable joyous appearance.
When BaiYan asked, she then dragged up the anger from the bottom of her heart.
“Where thismistress goes, when she returns, is beyond your criticism.”
Bai Yansimply was not afraid of Xia Ling Mei’s anger. He was w.a.n.g Yun Feng’s personalguard, from start to finish he only listened to w.a.n.g Yun Feng’s orders, when heconsidered things he stood in the viewpoint of w.a.n.g Yun Feng.
To Bai Yan,he really couldn’t bear seeing Xia Ling Mei leave! He also believed, insidethis w.a.n.g residence the people who were wholeheartedly felt for w.a.n.g Yun Feng,felt restless in their hearts every time Xia Ling Mei left the house.
Only, usuallyw.a.n.g Yun Feng didn’t say anything, these people could only endure it. Like XiaLing Mei said, they simply weren’t in the position to ask. One was the master,the other was a servant, when was a servant ent.i.tled to ask where their mastergoes.
Xia LingMei furiously returned to the rear court, a young maid scared witless pouredtea for her, and presented a few plates of light refreshments. The lightrefreshments had just come out of the kitchen, soft and warm smelling sweet.
At the endof the month, the dark red and green maple trees added colour against the greysky, even looking at it, you can feel the cold hovering in the air. This sortof cold came from the deepest level, rubbing the both hands vigorously yetwarmth could not be felt, only seeing a dry palm, but the fingertips feltsticky and unbearable.
Xia LingMei stamped her feet with all her strength, pacing around the house a fewtimes.
Xiu Yu and Ying Shi saw she was fidgety, suggesting to embroider ormaybe look at paintings and calligraphy.
“I’m notyou, how can I be calm enough to do such things.”
Taking twomouthful of light refreshments, she simply ran to the courtyard with her whipand brandished it a few times, shipping the limestone floor that clay flewupwards from the cracks.
On the halfdried up tree trunk, many yellow leaves were also shaken off, falling vastlyand variously, decorating her dark red long sleeves, very much resembling w.a.n.gYun Feng’s nostalgic portrait. In the seven years, w.a.n.g Yun Feng painted manyportraits of Xia Ling Mei, there were ones of her in her childhood learningmartial arts, clumsily falling onto the ground waiting; and there were ones ofher as a young lady, arrogantly laughing in a tyrannical manner; and ones whenthey first married, extremely tired sleeping on the soft bed. The most were,the silhouette of her brandishing her whip over and over in all four seasons.The Xia Ling Mei in the portraits was like a fireball, now and then ignitingthe man’s intellect.
From theservants view, the Xia Ling Mei today had been angered quite a bit by Bai Yan,treating the floor like Bai Yan as she flogged it. Everyone waiting upon her,couldn’t help take a step and another back, making all the effort to hide theirfigure, hoping the mistress wouldn’t spread the destruction.
Under theold housekeeper’s armpits was wedged a thin cloth, swaying unhurriedly pa.s.s thedoorway of the courtyard, he took a furtive look, he asked laughing: “Mistress,do you want this old slave to truss up Bai Yan for you to vent out your anger?”
“Humph!”
“Aiya, thatboy Bai Yan has been difficult since he was a child. The more he cares aboutsomething the more he speaks lightly, its rather a trivial matter, he wishesfor the whole world to be in chaos…a matter as small as a sesame seed.”
Could it bethe reason he went to find Xia Ling Mei was for `a big matter` the size of sesameseed?
Xia Ling Mei couldn’t get angry atthe old housekeeper, she flicked her wrist, relaxing the long whip, the asked:“Does the old housekeeper want to say something to me on behalf of Bai Yan?”
The oldhousekeeper gently laughed: “It’s nothing, it’s only a matter as big as asesame seed.”
If it couldmake the old housekeeper warn her cautiously and seriously, how could it be atrivial matter.
Xia LingMei put away the long whip, taking the handkerchief offered by a young maid towipe her sweat, and went to change her clothes, once again drank some hot tea,before then sitting down calmly to listen to the old housekeeper.
“Mistress,this old slave’s words may be right, or may not be right. But, as an old personwho has lived in the w.a.n.g residence all his life, I hope you will carefullylisten to this old slaves words, then consider it before again making adecision.”
Xia LingMei nodded, both hands holding the teacup, compared to just now she was cold tothe bones, at this moment at least her palms were a little warm.
“This oldslave has said to the mistress before, a pained heart is true suffering. Thesuffering our master had when he was young was from the old master, it’s a typeof suffering every son of an imperial censor has to experience. The position ofan imperial censor, an average person cannot do it, it offends many, very fewclose friends. As a child the master had a gentle temper, the common saying avirtuous person will be taken unfair advantage of by people, when the masterwas bullied, for the most part he was used to suffering in silence, over timepeople didn’t even know he was suffering.
By the timehe was a young man, the mistress has also experienced it, that is the matterwith the Zhao princess. At that time, the master finally for the first timefaced up to his own capabilities, he discovered he was too weak, unable tocontrol his own future. His suffering at that time, was a suffering we allexperienced, an unattainable suffering.
During thattime, the master almost had a setback which ruined him.”
Xia LingMei lowered her head, concealing the pain in the corner of her eyes. At thattime, far more than w.a.n.g Yun Feng being unable to obtain Xia Ling Wo, she XiaLing Mei married w.a.n.g Yun Feng, but could not obtain his heart, how much morewas that sort of bitter pain compared to w.a.n.g Yung Feng?
“That year,the master found himself to be too weak, on the wedding night the old mistresswas seriously ill, afterwards, the old master also pa.s.sed away. Only themistress was left by his side, and three years later, even the mistress wasgone forever. Even the master didn’t know, at that time there was a child inmistress’ stomach. Almost in a night, he lost the people closest to him. He became aloner.”
Turning herhead, Xia Ling Mei’s gazed at the middle of the courtyard. The leaves which hadjust fallen had already been trampled on, pulverising them into slush, yellow,black and brown, clumping into a dumpling, representing those heart wrenchingdays.
“Saying afew disrespectful words, sometimes this old slave look at him, he only seemslike a large dog having been abandoned by his family, alone guarding his den,afraid to wander too far, dreading when the mistress returned she wouldn’t seehim; yet he didn’t dare to stay at the den every day, because guarding such ahuge house by himself, day by day, year by year, from hope to fear, again todespair, then desperation, until finally, he didn’t even know why he wasguarding this place, who he was waiting for…”
The oldhousekeeper couldn’t help take out a smoking pipe, trembling he opened the packof tobacco, unintentionally he grabbed a lot of tobacco threads pushing it intothe spot of the pipe, using all his strength to push, striking it withenthusiasm with his finger. His movements were too great, he didn’t even glanceat the accounts book which fell out.
“The masterwas promoted very quickly, depending entirely on the relations the mistress hadestablished for him at that time. Later the emperor summoned him, speaking tohim for a night, the next day when the master came back he immediately wrotethe accounts book, reporting someone to the emperor. That was the first timethe master supervised a beheading, watching the whole family of a corruptofficial regardless whether they were men, women, young or old, all of thembeheaded, blood covered the floor, having washed it away the scent of bloodcould be smelled half a street away. After, he would come across a.s.sa.s.sinationday and night, several times his life was suspended by a thread, sometimes hestayed in bed for a month, having got up for a few days, again he would reportsomeone, that rude and impetuous manner, it resembled jealousy and hatred, whichbrought about his own destruction.
The masterhas been alone for too long, unconsciously he believed the mistress would neverreturn. He didn’t have his parents, the family didn’t want him, he had nomeaning by himself…”
Speaking upto this point, the old housekeeper suddenly started coughing, pulling from thepipe even more fiercely. The cup of tea in Xia Ling Mei had already turnedcold, her bones also felt a slight chill.
“At the endof every year he waited for the mistress to return, becoming the hope whichsupported him to go on with a clear-head.”
“Clear-head?”
“Yes,clear-head. While the mistress wasn’t in Beiding city, the master seemed tolive in his dreamland in general, no matter what finding all kinds of reasonsto hurt himself. Many times, the old slave felt, he hoped to get hurt, becauseonly when he is seriously injured can he fall asleep, when he’s in pain hedoesn’t have to think about anything, even more he wouldn’t have the energy topaint, take a stroll around Bailu academy, go to the Xia residence to bebullied.”
The oldhousekeeper laughed, wrinkles forming on his forehead into the word `川`. Taping the pipe, he disposed somecigarette ash no longer burning, those matters from the past dissipated withthe cigarette ash.
“Themistress has returned, this old slave is truly extremely happy. Even more happybecause, there’s the young master, even if he hasn’t had the time toacknowledge his ancestors, he is still the son of the master’s first wife, thepeople in the residence is genuinely happy for the master. Everyone in theresidence firmly believe it will become better and better, the old master willno longer be harmed, and won’t wander about day and night, he will busily besweet with the mistress.”
Xia LingMei laughed.
The oldhousekeeper also laughed: “And busily catch the young master. The young masterreally is wild, when this old slave first discovered there was such a livelychild of the w.a.n.g family, not abiding by the rules, mischievously stir uptrouble, and commit any imaginable misdeed. He was so naughty, this old slavereally wanted to beat him up.”
Xia Ling Meilaughed even more cheerfully and light-hearted.
“But,” Theold housekeeper brushed away the ash on his knee, that smile of his was like anafterglow, slowly it died out.
Xia LingMei was silent, she faintly knew what the other person wanted to say. The smileat the corner of her mouth also faded, fingertips running along the edge of theteacup, the tea leaves in the cup had already been soaked so long they turnedyellow, the greenish-blue liquid was polluted by the blackness of the person’sheart, yellowish-black evenly contaminated the dark green.
She said:“But the memories of the past are too profound, he will always be worried,afraid I will be disappointed in him, scared Fen Er will be angry with him, dreadingthe family he had obtained with great difficulty will once again leave.”
Xia LingMei incidentally lifted her head, that’s when she notice there was somethingsliding from the corners of her eyes, flowing to her temple: “Bai Yan repeatedlywanted to say something to me but then hesitated, he was afraid I would leaveonce again and hurt w.a.n.g Yun Feng, right…”
“He wantsto ask the mistress to go with the master. Because, no one knows this time with themaster’s departure, if he’ll actually be able to return.”
There was ascar on w.a.n.g Yun Feng’s heart, he was determined everyone could easily abandonhim. His parents, his wife, his son, everyone could leave him, even if theywouldn’t right now, sooner or later in the future they will.
He willforever be alone.
He wantedto protect them, but he also didn’t dare to.
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T/N: An insight into our WYF"s heart >_< and="" why="" xlm="" is="" so="" willing="" to="">