Chapter 68

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

"Sounds like 'Melon pi'." Ji Jin's expression was somewhat awkward: "Roughly means a fool, an idiot; my Mother once scolded my Father this way."

Shaowei nearly flew into a rage on the spot, but fearing Ji Jin would discover these two words had been pinned on her own head, she clenched her teeth and endured the anger, so that her masseter muscles bulged slightly on both cheeks.

Ji Jin still noticed something, and tentatively asked: "Did someone use these two words to insult Jiang Sister?"

"..." Shaowei's brow twitched; she said nothing, only took a stone and fiercely scratched out those two humiliating characters, with such force she nearly ground sparks from it.

Seeing this, Ji Jin couldn't help but say: "If so, it's truly too bullying; this colloquialism isn't known to southerners, even if scolded they'd likely not hear it out easily, it's really—"

Shaowei cut off his words, grinding her teeth: "Cunning to the extreme!"

She tossed down the stone and strode away angrily in big steps.

Ji Jin saw she was actually running toward home, suddenly realized something, his face changed at once, and recalling his words just now, he felt he was clearly a troublemaker reincarnated who fanned the flames, truly very bad.

So he hurriedly followed Shaowei, attempting a belated mediation.

Jiang Fu was sitting on a cool mat under the camphor tree in the courtyard drinking tea; she held a tea bowl in one hand, a bamboo fan in the other, leaning against a small armrest, watching Mo Li clean up those river shrimps under Qingwu's direction, the two people together heading into the kitchen.

Accompanied by the noise of fire-making in the kitchen, Jiang Fu suddenly felt her back also catch fire; sensing something, she turned her head to look toward the courtyard gate, only to see Shaowei sweeping in, her feet as if a gale rose from flat ground, stirring up countless dust and grass scraps.

Jiang Fu went "Ho," involuntarily gripping the fan handle tighter.

That gale stopped before her eyes; from the wind drilled an indignant tone: "—You're the number one 'Melon pi' under heaven! I knew it long ago, you really were insulting me!"

Jiang Fu half-covered her face with the bamboo fan, blinked her narrow phoenix eyes, then realized what she was accusing: "Little ghost, how do you still remember this matter?"

Shaowei glared: "Even if I turn to ash I'll remember!"

A trace of a smile leaked from the lower half of Jiang Fu's face hidden by the bamboo fan, yet she also felt inexplicably relieved; this little ghost was already furious enough to hate turning to ash, yet only verbally accused, not showing any truly rebellious, master-destroying, ancestor-annihilating actions; it showed human nature was indeed gradually gaining the upper hand, beast nature already controlled very well.

Jiang Fu's mouth corners smiled, but her revealed pair of eyes grew even more puzzled and innocent: "That day to provoke you into a heart for learning, I indeed sold a trick, but 'ni pi' is a term of praise; why are you angry?"

"You still want to quibble!" Shaowei turned her head to look at Ji Jin who followed into the courtyard: "Ji Jin, you come testify, say whether these two characters are good words or bad words!"

Ji Jin's feet seemed a thousand catties heavy; he originally wanted to mediate, but now had to become a witness pouring oil on fire, truly in a dilemma, could only say: "In the Shu region, this word seems, appears... to indeed have some playful meaning."

Not waiting for Shaowei to flare up, Jiang Fu said with utmost innocence: "He also says it's Shu; but I'm a Chang'an person, how would I know Shu usage? In Chang'an colloquialism, this is clearly praise; 'ni' is a divine bird, embodiment of strength; 'pi' is pixiu, a wealth-attracting divine beast—"

Ji Jin hurriedly nodded randomly in agreement: "Right, customs differ a hundred li, it's exactly so!"

Words finished, he pretended the stove house badly needed him, and ran off to help.

Shaowei, however, seemed suspended in midair; rationally she didn't believe Jiang Fu's ghost talk, but she had no evidence to puncture it; the more she thought, the more stifled: "You must have thought up this quibbling excuse back then!"

"You wrong me; someday you can go to Chang'an to verify truth or falsehood." Jiang Fu wore a look of painstaking advice: "So in all things don't rush to decide; what you hear first isn't necessarily the whole picture, the truth might be completely opposite—ending up letting yourself misunderstand in vain, isn't that losing face?"

Shaowei secretly took this lesson to heart, but her mouth wouldn't yield: "Anyway I just don't believe you."

Jiang Fu innocently asked: "Then how would you believe?"

Shaowei: "You swear!"

Jiang Fu indeed extended three fingers upward: "Three Pure Ones Ancestors above as witness, if I Jiang Fu use these two characters to disparage my disciple, then let me..."

She spoke here, paused, and consulted Shaowei: "Let me what, so you'll believe?"

In Shaowei's mind flashed many vicious words in an instant; not to mention heaven-striking thunder, the starting point would be feet sprouting sores, head top flowing pus—

But before she could open her mouth, seeing Jiang Fu sitting there perfectly intact, she suddenly didn't want to speak those words.

Jiang Fu claimed to believe in fate; if she stubbornly swore and it actually came true, then... then wouldn't she still have to attend to her?

Shaowei huffed angrily, sat down on the cool mat, gulped down Jiang Fu's tea in big swallows, counting it as revenge.

Jiang Fu put her hand down, smilingly asked: "Why not speak? Know you misunderstood Master? Then how will you compensate and apologize?"

Seeing her still pushing her luck, Shaowei "bang" set down the tea bowl, ignored her, and also ran to the stove house.

Shan Gu who had just returned saw this and went too; the not-large stove house was momentarily packed, vegetable choppers, fire stokers, shrimp cooks, and one with back turned daring not to look in the pot, only loudly directing and dispatching; the scene was truly lively.

Jiang Fu smiled, chin propped, watching this scene, until a sigh seeped from the corners of her smiling mouth.

Qingwu's group had all told their families early they'd return late; relying on the river delicacies fished up, and the melons and vegetables Qingwu sent in the afternoon, they together had the late meal in this small courtyard.

Summer night stars dense; a group of youths sat together in the courtyard; Jiang Fu drank some wine, teaching them to distinguish constellations.

"... Shaowei Star is also the name of a Star Official, located in the Taiwei Enclosure, to the west, arrayed north-south." Jiang Fu's tone was leisurely with a smile, like a summer night clear breeze: "Shaowei Star Official also has the title of Recluse, much loved by poets, often used to imply a recluse's heart."

Shaowei, sitting cross-legged listening quietly with everyone, gazed up at the sky full of stars.

So many stars in this night sky, Mother uniquely named her Shaowei — was it hoping she could hide away, never again be intimidated and harmed by Qin Fu?

Looking back now, after she returned to the Feng Family in her previous life, she indeed was hidden away.

This time she followed Jiang Fu to this Taoxi Township, also concealed within this Taoyuan.

In the dark, it truly fulfilled the destiny of this Shaowei Star in heaven.

When later she becomes a xiake, thus hiding into the rolling jianghu, carrying a bit of divine-dragon-showing-head-not-tail mysterious color, it seems also not bad.

Shaowei pressed down that trace of bitterness in her heart after realizing Mother's intent, looking at the vast starry sky, seriously imagining the future.

Jiang Fu was still speaking of her star-observation method: "The 'dou' in 'dou zhuan xing yi' refers to the Big Dipper's handle..."

The Big Dipper's position changes with the four seasons; when that star handle gradually turns from south toward the western route, scorching summer departs, autumn arrives.