Chapter 779: Clothes, Jewelry, Fun and Tasty Things [Thank You! Again, Thank You!]

June 24,

the birthday of the God of Shenbao Temple,

Last night a heavy rain fell, and by morning the sky remained densely overcast.

Only when the sun rose did the clouds slowly begin to clear.

By morning,

the sky was a deep blue,

white clouds drifted lazily with the wind,

the moving clouds occasionally blocked the sunlight, casting patches of shadow on the ground.

Those standing in the cloud shadows felt an instant coolness.

Outside the western gate of Bianjing,

on the third floor of Wu Tower, not far from Jinming Pond, a cool breeze stirred the curtains.

“Young Master Liang, last night’s rain was just what we needed—this breeze is so pleasant!” Liang Han said comfortably, seated at the table.

Too comfortable, he couldn’t help yawning.

“You’re right, Sixth Brother,” Qi Heng nodded.

Speaking, Qi Heng rose and walked to the window, gazing north. After a moment, he said: “Pity—Jingge is stuck at home studying today and can’t see this beauty.”

Liang Han followed Qi Heng’s gaze.

Their position on the third floor was high; looking north, they could see the clear, beautiful landscape after the rain, beneath blue sky and white clouds.

The two tall flagpoles in front of Shenbao Temple were clearly visible, their massive paper dolls fluttering in the wind as if alive.

Though Wu Tower was nearly two li from Shenbao Temple, today’s crowds outside were so thick that even from the tower, they could hear the distant clamor.

Liang Han laughed: “You’re right, Young Master.”

Gazing at the distant scenery, Qi Heng sighed softly for no clear reason.

Liang Han, just then tilting his head for another yawn, didn’t notice Qi Heng’s troubled expression.

Qi Heng sighed helplessly: “Sixth Brother, why do you look so tired today?”

Wiping away the tear from his yawn, Liang Han shook his head: “Ah, Young Master, you don’t know—I stayed up late last night admiring the rain at Yuqing Temple, then got dragged early by Mother to Shenbao Temple to burn incense. How could I not be sleepy?”

Qi Heng looked at Liang Han: “Madam Wu was praying for the Marquis House!”

“Ah!”

Seeing Qi Heng sigh, Liang Han quickly asked: “Young Master, why are you sighing?”

“Sixth Brother, what do you think a girl of fourteen or fifteen likes?”

“Young Master, you’ve asked the right person!” Liang Han said proudly. “Girls love beautiful clothes, fine and precious jewelry, and fun, tasty things!”

Seeing Qi Heng nod, Liang Han smiled: “Young Master, are you planning to give something to a girl?”

“No, no,” Qi Heng waved his hand in denial.

Liang Han smiled as he watched Qi Heng: “Young Master, your expression and words might as well have ‘I have a girl I like’ written on your face.”

Qi Heng froze, touching his face in confusion: “How could that be?”

He glanced at Bu Wei, who stood beside him.

Bu Wei said nothing, only smiled.

Watching Qi Heng’s expression, Liang Han asked curiously: “Young Master, which girl is it?”

Qi Heng opened his mouth to answer, but seeing Liang Han’s look, he smiled and changed course: “Sixth Brother, I was just teasing you! I have a cousin coming of age soon—I was just asking what gift to give.”

Liang Han’s eyes lit up with understanding: “Ah—I see! Then give jewelry! That way her elders and sisters will all see it. If you give ink or brushes, it won’t stand out.”

“Ha!” Qi Heng’s eyes brightened; he praised Liang Han: “Sixth Brother, you’re absolutely right!”

Standing beside him, Bu Wei sighed helplessly at Qi Heng’s beaming smile.

At that moment,

“Tap tap.”

Someone knocked on the door.

Diao Che hurriedly gestured to Bu Wei, signaling he’d go.

Walking to the door, Diao Che looked at the maid and whispered: “What is it?”

“My lady says she wants to take advantage of today’s coolness and play polo at the horse field,” the maid whispered.

“But—it just rained,” Diao Che said helplessly, seeing the maid’s frown. “Never mind. Wait outside—I’ll ask the young master.”

Saying this, Diao Che closed the door and walked toward Liang Han.

After whispering a few words, seeing Qi Heng smiling, Liang Han grinned proudly: “Young Master, it’s still quite cool today—why not head to the polo field and stretch our legs?”

Qi Heng shook his head: “Wait for Jiulang and the others. It wouldn’t be right without them.”

Liang Han smiled: “You’re right, Young Master! I’ll go play a bit first, then come back.”

“Fine!” Qi Heng laughed.

After a while,

Qi Heng, bored, stepped out of the room and stood by the railing outside the private chamber.

Outside, the wind had grown stronger, rustling his sleeves.

“Ha!”

From below, not far off, came a girl’s bright cry.

Qi Heng turned to see Liang Han playing polo with a girl on the field.

The vast field held only two people.

Bu Wei stood beside Qi Heng and whispered: “Young Master, that girl is a relative of Sixth Brother’s stepmother’s family—she’s surnamed Wan.”

“Mm, I know,” Qi Heng nodded.

Suddenly,

Qi Heng narrowed his eyes.

On the field, Liang Han and the Wan girl had both halted their horses. Then Liang Han dismounted—and mounted the Wan girl’s horse behind her.

Now, the two of them rode as one, chest to back, galloping across the field.

From Liang Han’s movements, it seemed he was teaching the Wan girl the proper polo stance.

Sometimes he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Oh! Sixth Brother, you’re so naughty!”

From the field came the girl’s sweet, playful scolding.

Watching this, Qi Heng froze, lost in thought, a foolish smile spreading across his lips.

“Cough! Young Master.”

Bu Wei’s voice came.

Qi Heng snapped out of his reverie, frowning at Bu Wei: “Huh? What?”

Bu Wei said: “Jiulang and the others have arrived.”

He pointed below, where Qiao Jiu was waving and smiling up at them.

The next day,

“You’re so naughty!”

Mo Lan clutched a crumpled paper ball, glaring at Ru Lan behind her, who was smirking.

“Swish.”

A glance shot over quickly.

Sensing Qi Heng’s gaze, Mo Lan met his eyes, blushed slightly, pressed her lips together, then turned away, fixing her gaze on the paper and brush before her.

After a moment, she couldn’t help turning back to look at Qi Heng.

But now Qi Heng had lowered his head, writing on the paper.

Seeing this, Mo Lan felt a pang of disappointment, glanced at him once more, then sat upright again amid Chang Feng’s puzzled stare.

On the other side, Xiao Tao, who had just served tea to Chang Zhi, was walking back from the front.

She smiled at Xu Zaijing, who looked up at her with a smile, then returned to her wooden platform behind.

Qing Cao held a round fan, fanning Xiao Tao, and whispered with a grin: “Xiao Tao, I swear you’re getting fatter.”

As she spoke, her free hand pinched Xiao Tao’s arm.

“I’m not!” Xiao Tao frowned, rolling up her sleeve to reveal her plump, pale arm.

Ming Lan, hearing the exchange, turned and laughed.

By the wall,

Gu Tingye turned, smiled at Ming Lan, and said to Xu Zaijing: “Fifth Brother, guess what I saw at Fan Tower yesterday?”

“What?” Xu Zaijing put down his brush and smiled. “Was it Shishi?”

“Pfft—I’m married now! What Shishi? I saw a revolving fan in a private room at Fan Tower!”

“Oh?” Xu Zaijing paused in surprise, then said: “A revolving fan at Fan Tower? That’s a good gimmick—it’ll draw plenty of customers!”

Chang Feng, overhearing, laughed: “How does that fan compare to the one in our study? Which is more exquisite?”

Gu Tingye waved his hand and smiled: “About the same! The difference is, the fan’s box underneath is open—metal gears and all are exposed.”

“Hiss! Then the key mechanism is visible to anyone?” Chang Feng frowned.

Gu Tingye nodded: “Exactly. I asked the staff at Fan Tower—they said it’s the Ministry of Works’ design.”

Xu Zaijing smiled: “Second Brother, if someone’s determined to see it, they’ll find a way. Better to let them see it clearly.”

“That’s true,” Gu Tingye nodded.

By July,

the weather was still somewhat hot,

and as school ended,

Xu Zaijing, riding his horse, saw stalls along the street selling Mohele, Gu Ban, and Shuishangfu items.

Boys with lotus leaves on their heads often held lotus flowers for sale in their arms.

Stopping his horse before a stall, Zhaozhang smiled and said, “Little Wu, what do you think of this Mohele?”

Xu Zaijing nodded. “Brother, this one’s good—looks beautiful.”

“Good! Let’s buy a rattle too—your little sister and Dai Ge will surely love it.”

After buying plenty of items, the two brothers returned to Quyuanjie.

The sky was still bright,

and as they walked toward Sun Shi’s courtyard,

they could hear the craftsmen in the mansion still hammering away, building the Qiqiao Tower for the coming days.

At the courtyard gate,

Yunjin, just stepping out, saw the two brothers and called out cheerfully into the yard, “Third Young Master and Fifth Young Master are back!”

After speaking, Yunjin bowed with a smile and went about her duties.

Zhaozhang entered the courtyard, glanced back at Yunjin’s retreating figure, and smiled: “This maid is called Yunjin, right?”

“Mm,” Xu Zaijing nodded.

“She really does resemble Minglan, as your sister-in-law said—especially her eyebrows and eyes.”

“Heh,” Xu Zaijing chuckled. “But this maid is much darker than Minglan from the sun.”

“Hah, true,” Zhaozhang laughed.

Inside the room,

Dai Ge and Zhong Ge were overjoyed to see the toys.

As Xu Zaijing reached to pick up his niece Qing Jie as he usually did, Dan Mama stopped him with a smile: “Fifth Young Master, why don’t you and Third Young Master wash your faces and hands first?”

Xu Zaijing chuckled and touched his face—he’d sweated and gotten dusty on the way home, and hadn’t washed up at his own courtyard, so he was indeed dirty.

After washing his hands and face, Xu Zaijing picked up his little sister. As he looked around the room, he noticed a delicate bamboo basket beside his mother Sun Shi.

Seeing Xu Zaijing’s gaze, Sun Shi smiled: “This was sent by Anmei. She heard from Tingyi that girls in the capital have taken to reading storybooks and miscellanies, so she bought some and had them sent over.”

Xu Zaijing turned to his smiling niece and said, “Won’t it be a bit too much to ask Qing Jie—who can’t read a few characters—to read these?”

Sun Shi frowned at him. “What nonsense are you talking? These are for the Sheng girls to pass the time with—not your niece.”

“Oh!” Xu Zaijing stared at the bamboo basket, larger than a usual food box, and said, “Looks like quite a lot.”

Sun Shi nodded and instructed: “Tomorrow, have your brother deliver them. You stay away.”

“Why?” Xu Zaijing frowned.

“Your brother is the brother-in-law of the Sheng girls—sending these is fine. But you, still unmarried, sending such things might raise improper suspicions.”

Xu Zaijing thought it over and realized: it was simply that written materials given to girls might cause misunderstandings.

Xu Zaijing nodded. “Mother is absolutely right.”

The next day,

when Zhaozhang arrived at the Sheng household, he first went to Shou’an Hall and presented all the books to the old lady.

Along with the books came a pair of lotus blossoms growing from a single stem.

The old lady inspected the books before distributing them—this was more proper.

A few days later,

on the seventh day of the seventh month,

the Qixi Festival,

scholars like Xu Zaijing recited poetry before the Qiqiao Tower.

Women and young ladies, meanwhile, threaded needles by moonlight to pray for skill, burning incense in devotion.

On the offering table before the Qiqiao Tower, sealed spider boxes were a must—if the spider inside spun a neat web the next day, it meant success in the prayer.

A few days after Qixi,

came the Zhongyuan Festival.

As usual, Xu Zaijing and his brother took the Hou Fu’s old retainers to Daozhe Yuan.

There, on the towering mountain of paper money, they offered their ancestral sacrifices.

The former infantry and cavalry under the Northwest Brave Marquis had fought a battle against the Northern Liao—though they won decisively, many soldiers from Bianjing had died.

Thus, before the great mountain of paper money, many families wore white cloth.

After the Daozhe Yuan’s abbot made his rounds, the great mountain of paper money was set ablaze again.

As the flames roared, the wails of grieving families rose.

Thin paper money turned to ash, carried by the wind into the air.

Xu Zaijing watched the scene, silently praying: war is cruel—may his father and brother remain safe on the battlefield.

The already hot weather, standing before the burning mountain of paper money, made everyone feel their cheeks grow warm; sweat poured out and dried quickly.

When Xu Zaijing and his brother turned to leave, they touched their faces and felt a gritty texture.

It was the fine salt crystals left behind when sweat dried.

On the way back to the Hou Fu,

the air outside Daozhe Yuan was thick with the smell of burning paper money.

“Yi Xiong.”

“Yi Xiong?”

Hearing the call beside him, Xu Zaijing turned to see his sworn brother Lu Zezong riding beside him on Ma Er.

“Zong Ge, what is it?”

“Yi Xiong, just now you were staring north—what were you thinking? I called you, but you didn’t respond,” Lu Zezong said, puzzled.

Xu Zaijing shook his head and looked at his nephew Xu Xingdai, who also looked confused. “Zong Ge, nothing. I was just remembering—once, not far from here, I met a few fine men. Now...”

Xu Xingdai’s eyes lit up—he understood his uncle was referring to the Yue family lord he had visited in Xiangzhou.

So Xu Xingdai also glanced north and said, “Uncle, will Yue’s son come to the capital next year?”

“Yes.”

Xu Zaijing nodded.

(End of Chapter)