Song of the Bright Moon Chapter 20

“Done. So long as you’ll marry me, not three but a hundred things, I’ll agree.”

Xie Wuling hooked his lips into a smile and straightened. “Go on, what three?”

She circled to the side of the table, gesturing politely. “Sit down first. Let’s talk properly.”

It felt almost like a negotiation, so formal.

He snorted inwardly but still brushed his robe sleeves, dragged over a bench, and sat with an easy sprawl.

Facing him, Shen Yujiao composed herself, then spoke evenly. “First, I hope you can guarantee, at least in clothing and food, you won’t neglect Ping’an and the child in my belly. That you’ll raise them with me until they grow up.”

“No problem. If I dare ask you to bear them, I dare raise them.”

He looked at her. “But the names have to follow mine. The elder called Xie Tian, the younger called Xie Di. That’s fine, right?”

Shen Yujiao could not agree with his taste in names.

Her rosy lips pressed together. Then she said gently, “The child I carry can take your surname Xie, call him Xie Tian or Xie Di as you wish. But Ping’an… he is the only bloodline of the Tao family. His name was given by his parents. If possible, I’d like him to keep both his name and surname.”

“Oh? So you mean, when he’s two or three and begins to understand things, you’ll tell him he’s an orphan with no father or mother, that he’s an outsider under another family’s roof, forced to call us uncle and aunt in fear? Or should he instead believe we’re his real parents, grow up carefree and happy?”

Shen Yujiao choked. “I…”

Seeing her at a loss, Xie Wuling knew she hadn’t thought that far. He idly picked up a rouge box, turning it in his long fingers. “Honestly, whether they bear my surname or not, I don’t care. Once we’re married, we’ll have our own children anyway.”

At that, the young lady across from him flushed scarlet.

He chuckled lazily and went on. “But just so those two brats don’t get chased and called b*stards, you’d best let me handle their names. At worst, when they’ve grown, settled down, and matured, you can tell them their original names and lineage. That won’t be too late.”

Though his tone was still careless, his reasoning was sound.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Yujiao lowered her gaze in shame. “I didn’t think it through.”

“You must’ve been pampered at home, a cherished darling. Of course you wouldn’t think of such things.”

The casual words jolted her. Perhaps being cursed as a b*stard… was something he had personally endured.

An orphan with no parents, no protection, wasn’t that someone anyone could bully…

Her lashes trembled. Lifting her gaze again, she said softly, “Then let’s do as you say. I have no objection.”

Xie Wuling raised his chin. “Good. Now, the second thing.”

“Second, you must find an honest trade. Don’t keep on being… a ruffian.”

The last word was spoken so low it was almost inaudible, as though she feared offending him, her eyes holding a trace of unease.

Seeing the man across from her raise his brows without speaking, his face showing no sign of displeasure, she secretly let out a breath of relief before continuing: “I heard from Aunt Liu that you’re currently working under Sixth Master Chang, that wealthy despot, usually leading a group of men to collect debts, chase payments, and gather rent…”

In her private thoughts, she suspected Aunt Liu had prettified things. After all, that night at the Earth God temple, she had personally heard them mention playing with blades and such, perhaps behind the scenes they even engaged in kidnappings or extortion.

“I may not know exactly what you do, but you’re still young and strong. Even if you were to go to the docks to work as a laborer, or settle yourself to learn a proper trade anew, it would surely be better than being a ruffian.”

Xie Wuling saw her speaking in that soft, gentle voice, her gaze looking timid, like a little snow-white rabbit. He found it funny, but his hands also itched, wanting to catch her and knead her hard in his arms.

His long fingers stroked twice along the smooth porcelain of the rouge case, then set it down. He looked at her: “Fine. Once we’re married, I’ll ask Sixth Master Chang for a proper position. Anyway, I’m a little tired of this errand work.”

Not that he was truly tired. When there was work, he and his brothers would bring their weapons, make a round at someone’s door, collect the money, and hand it over to Sixth Master Chang.

When there wasn’t work, he would sit in a teahouse, fish outside the city, or lie at home in the sun and sleep in.

Thinking carefully, being a small-time boss under Sixth Master Chang was actually a pretty comfortable life.

But that won’t do now. He was going to take a wife and raise children, 

What’s that saying again? A man must establish a family and a career.

Now that he was to build a family, he had to build a career too. Staying a hoodlum for life was indeed no long-term path.

All the more since the delicate young lady before him, though she didn’t say it outright, by her manner, her bearing, even the straight bamboo-like posture she held while merely sitting, he could tell she had once belonged to a wealthy household, someone who had never really suffered.

He, Xie Wuling, couldn’t promise her shark’s fin and abalone every meal or silk and satin every day, but since she was marrying him, at the very least he had to ensure she ate meat with every meal, had new dresses for each season.

No, that wasn’t enough. She was so pretty. He ought to have a new gown tailored for her every month, so she could change into fresh ones every few days.

Having made up his mind, Xie Wuling looked again at the little lady before him, his long narrow peach-blossom eyes lifting lightly: “The second thing, I’ll agree to that too. Now tell me the third.”

“This third…”

The first two he had accepted so easily that when it came to the third, Shen Yujiao became shy instead, lowering her head: “…I don’t know when you plan to set the wedding date, but before the child in my belly is born, you… you must not…”

“Speak up! You sound like a mosquito buzzing!”

“You must not…” Shen Yujiao bit down and raised her voice slightly, “touch me.”

The words fell, and the main room turned briefly silent.

Then Xie Wuling flatly refused without hesitation: “No way! Who marries a wife and isn’t allowed to touch her, what kind of sense is that?”

“I didn’t say you could never touch me! I only said, after the child is born, then… then…”

Shen Yujiao’s delicate face flushed scarlet. She was, after all, a young lady from a noble family, raised in etiquette and propriety, later wed to someone like Pei Xia, a gentleman of upright conduct. The people she interacted with were always refined and polite, even those Pei clansmen who looked down on her still kept their manners on the surface.

Yet here in broad daylight, she had to throw away all the lessons of propriety, decorum, and maidenly restraint to discuss matters of the bed with a man she had barely known for long.

The shame pressing on her heart nearly bent her spine, yet the cruelty of reality forced her to brace herself, lift her chin, and try to reason: “During pregnancy, it is… improper to share the bed.”

The two words share the bed slipped from her lips, and her ears burned so hot she thought they’d melt. She didn’t dare even glance at the man opposite, quickly lowering her eyes.

She had actually said it.

To a man other than her husband, she had spoken such things…

No, she corrected herself in her heart, she was no longer a woman with a husband’s family. And the man before her was to be her husband.

Shen Yujiao shifted her understanding. Across from her, Xie Wuling’s gaze wavered a little.

Share the bed.

So that’s what she called that thing, how refined.

What did they usually call it? Probably just… sleeping with one’s wife?

She was so delicate and small. That night when he carried her back from the Earth God temple, it had felt like holding a cloud.

Though she had been filthy then, hair stinking sour, face hidden for disguise, she really had thrown all caution aside.

But now she was washed clean and fresh. He had even bought her rosewater, gardenia water, clove balm, if she used them, she must smell sweet. And with her snowy skin, if she wore that red little “mandarin ducks playing in the water” undergarment, lying in bed at night…

His mind suddenly conjured inappropriate images, his body heating with restless desire.

Xie Wuling’s jaw tightened. Looking at the little lady opposite, sitting like a quail with her head down, he pressed a fist lightly to his lips and coughed: “Cough!”

As though startled, her long lashes trembled, and she quickly raised her eyes.

“So that’s what you meant by touch, sharing the bed.”

His tone was careless, though his gaze slanted toward her: “Cough, well, I’m not that impatient. What I meant is, after we’re married, at night, we sleep on the same bed. If I want to hold your hand, hug you…”

The words “kiss you” hadn’t even come out before he saw her look as though she wished she could crawl under the table.

She had already been married once, how was she still this shy?

Mm, clearly it was because with the last one she hadn’t spent enough time, still just a tender, inexperienced little wife.

Xie Wuling coughed again, his tone resolute: “Anyway, at night we’re definitely sleeping in the same bed. There’s no such thing in this world as marrying a wife and then sleeping in separate rooms!”

Hearing this, Shen Yujiao thought to herself: There is.

Aside from common folk, most noble families, officials, and wealthy clans had husband and wife in their own separate quarters; they did not sleep together every night.

Like her and Pei Xia, she lived in her Tingyun Pavilion, he in his Mingjing Study.

But the rules she once knew did not apply here. In this small courtyard, there was only one bedroom and one bed. If they married, then naturally they would have to share it.

Shen Yujiao secretly reminded herself to hold the right measure. If she overstepped and angered this rogue, and he insisted on touching her, what could she do? A weak woman without the strength to truss a chicken, at most she could only dash herself to death to preserve her innocence.

“You must keep your word,” Shen Yujiao fixed her gaze on him. “We may share a bed, but not yet share the bedchamber.”

Xie Wuling said: “Done.”

Anyway, being able to sleep holding his wife… he could adapt for now. If they really did the rest, he was afraid of harming her.

“Just these three things? No more?”

Shen Yujiao shook her head. “No more.”

For greed invites loss, she dared not ask for too much.

“Then it’s settled.”

Xie Wuling stood, both long arms braced on the table. The thin cloth of his robe outlined solid muscles; his handsome young face broke into a dazzling smile as he looked down at her:
“Little Jiaoniang, from today on, you are my fiancée.”

His tone could not hide his joy. “Tomorrow I’ll go find Blind Liu at the Shingwong Temple and have him pick out an auspicious date!”

Tomorrow, already to pick the wedding date?

Everything had gone more smoothly than Shen Yujiao imagined, so smoothly she felt dazed. “…All right.”

Besides “all right,” she did not know what else to say, 

In just two short days, another engagement was set.

And this time, with a man she had only just met two days ago.

Too hasty.

But, fallen to this state, what choice was left?

She lowered her gaze, sitting with a tranquil expression, but inside her heart was in a tangle, confused, fearful. Was this choice right?

Last year, when Pei Xia brought her back to Wenxi from Baqiao, she had felt panic too, but at least she knew what kind of man the Pei clan heir was.

But this man, just Aunt Liu’s few words, just two days’ acquaintance… was she not bargaining with a tiger for its hide?

“What are you dazing off for?”

A snap of fingers before her eyes jolted her soul back.

Shen Yujiao lifted her gaze to see Xie Wuling standing in front of her without her noticing, tall and straight, brows furrowed as he slanted her a look: “That expression, don’t tell me you’re thinking of backing out?”

“Don’t even think of trying to play rogue in front of a rogue. When it comes to roguery, you’ll never beat me!”

Shen Yujiao: “…”

Was that really something to be proud of?

“I’m not thinking of going back on it.”

She said softly: “I was just thinking, after marriage, will I still have a chance to see my family again?”

Xie Wuling was silent for a moment, then asked: “Where are the relatives you’d seek out? What relatives are they?”

“Lingnan.”

After a pause, she lifted her bright apricot eyes. “My elder brother and his wife are there.”

Xie Wuling asked: “Blood brother and sister-in-law?”

Shen Yujiao nodded. “Mm.”

“Then they ought to be invited for the wedding feast.”

Xie Wuling stroked his jaw, pondering: “But Lingnan is awfully far. Even if we send a letter tomorrow, by the time they get it and come to Jinling, the round trip would take half a year at least.”

Shen Yujiao lowered her head. “They won’t be able to come. Only… later, if there’s leisure, or if you’re willing to accompany me, we could make a trip.”

As to why they could not come, she did not say.

But from the droop of her shoulders, Xie Wuling understood.

Lingnan, wasn’t that the place where this dynasty’s disgraced officials were sent into exile?

So this little lady’s background, as he had guessed earlier, was not far off.

“I will.”

The voice above her head was calm, neither heavy nor light. Shen Yujiao thought she had misheard.

When she looked up again, she met those peach-blossom eyes, eyes that looked tender, carrying a faint smile, yet this time solemn. “As long as you wish it, once the child is born, I’ll take you there.”

Shen Yujiao did not know if he was deceiving her. But in that moment, gazing at those smiling eyes, her heart grew inexplicably sore.

Her heart ached, and her nose prickled. She quickly turned her face aside, murmuring in a muffled voice: “Th-thank you.”

“All right, enough talk. If we go on any longer, the plum blossom cakes will be cold.”

Xie Wuling picked up a paper package and opened it. “These things must be eaten hot. Cold, they’re no good.”

Inside the paper lay four neat, sweet pastries, snowy white and soft, shaped like plum blossoms, sprinkled with chopped candied fruit, still faintly steaming.

“Try one.”

“Mm.”

Shen Yujiao picked one up.

Xie Wuling watched her nibble daintily, like a rabbit gnawing greens. The corners of his mouth lifted. “I had wanted to buy roasted duck from Wan’s, their ducks are the best in all Jinling. But I went too late today, just as they were closing. I’ll see if I have time tomorrow, and if so, I’ll bring one back… Jinling’s roast duck is famous, you won’t find the like anywhere else.”

Shen Yujiao’s movement paused as she ate the pastry, then she lifted her eyes to him: “Xie Wuling, don’t spend money on me…”

This household, there probably wasn’t much family wealth, was there? she thought.

“Spending money on my own wife, how can that be called wasting?”

Looking at how seriously she cared about money, Xie Wuling’s hand itched again, wanting to rub her head.

He clasped his hands behind his back, curling them into fists, and said: “You eat, I’ll put these away in the room first.”

The warm orange sunset quietly draped over the shabby little courtyard with its blue-tiled roof, a light breeze passing by.

Staring for a while at the figure carrying things in and out, Shen Yujiao lowered her head again, looking at the half piece of plum blossom cake left in her hand.

Suddenly she recalled what Old Lady Tao once said: ‘When your stomach is full, your heart won’t feel so empty, and you won’t feel so sad.’

So it was because she had eaten her fill?

Inside, suddenly… she felt not quite so panicked anymore.

—

After supper, Xie Wuling cleaned the dishes, then moved the dining table aside and laid a pallet on the floor of the main hall.

“I may not have studied books, but I still know some of the rules for marriage. Before we are properly wed, I’ll sleep in the hall.”

His movements were quick and skilled; with just a couple of swishes, the pillow and bedding were laid out neatly. “Lucky it’s still the autumn tiger season, the weather is hot. If you had run here in winter, then I wouldn’t bother with all those rules, I’d definitely squeeze into the same blanket as you.”

Shen Yujiao, who had been feeling guilty watching him make his bed on the floor, had that guilt instantly replaced with shame and annoyance at his shameless, flirtatious words. She turned her face away: “You rest. I’m going back to my room.”

“Shen Yujiao.”

Suddenly, the man’s clear voice rang behind her: “Besides this name, don’t you have any other truths you want to tell me?”

Her steps halted.

Turning slightly, she saw the tall figure sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dim lamplight. That handsome face still carried a smile, but the dark eyes staring straight at her were unusually deep: “My situation, Aunt Liu should have told you all about. If there’s anything unclear, you can ask me. But what about you? When do you plan to lay your cards on the table with me? We’re about to marry, and I still don’t even know what background my wife comes from?”

Shen Yujiao pressed her lips together. After a long moment, she slowly spoke: “The past is meaningless. All you need to know is, my name is Shen Yujiao, I am seventeen, born in a farming-and-studying family in Chang’an, later married into… a wealthy family in Luoyang. Because of a flood, my family was destroyed, I was left homeless and displaced. From now on, I will be the wife of Xie Wuling of Jinling.”

At first, Xie Wuling’s gaze was heavy with thought.

But when he heard that last line, his thoughts stopped. Then his thin lips curved upward, and his narrow eyes lit up like fire: “Good! With those words, I won’t ask any more!”

Whether she had been a rich family’s young lady or an official’s wife, from this day forward, she was his wife, Shen Yujiao! Even if the King of Heaven himself came, that wouldn’t change.

“It’s dark. Go back to your room and rest.”

“Mm.”

Shen Yujiao gave a small nod, then closed the main hall door for him.

Though he said he wouldn’t come before they were wed, when she returned to her chamber, she still slid the bolt from inside.

Ping’an, just recently fed goat’s milk, was sleeping soundly on the bed.

Moving lightly, Shen Yujiao lay down, propped herself on one arm, quietly watching the child’s sleeping face.

Though still skinny like a bean sprout, perhaps because he was now well fed, his sharp little face showed a touch of healthy color, and even his crying had become louder. Surely after more days of raising, he would also grow chubby and white like other babies.

Granny Tao, Brother Tao, Sister Cuilan, if you have spirits in heaven, you can be at ease now.

She whispered in her heart, glanced at the child again, then blew out the lamp.

Lying in the darkness, her hand unconsciously touched her flat belly.

Even after a full day and night, she still felt dazed, hardly able to believe it.

There was a child here.

Like a dream, yet undeniably, quietly present for three months.

“Xie Di*…”

*earth or ground or land

This name, sigh.

Shen Yujiao sighed softly. If Pei Xia were to name him, it would never have been so careless…

As soon as this thought rose, she frowned in frustration. How could she think of him again?

Now that the Pei family’s principal wife was buried in Mang Mountain, the half-year or so of husband-and-wife bond she’d had with him should also be buried with a handful of earth, not to be remembered.

But reason was reason. Once she thought of that man, her thoughts spun out of control— Was his battle in Huainan going smoothly?

Did he know about the flood in their homeland? Did he know the news of her “death”?

If he knew, would he suspect her cause of death?

And would he… grieve for her?

Yet, with his cold, restrained nature, he surely wouldn’t allow himself to wallow too long in a wife’s death. After all, compared to feelings of love, he had far greater things to do.

One wife gone, just remarry, such a simple thing. Most likely Madam Wang had already picked out several candidates.

All kinds of thoughts tangled in her mind. She didn’t know how long she drifted like this until drowsiness finally overtook her and she fell into heavy sleep.

—

The next morning, the sky was high, the clouds scattered, endless blue overhead.

Xie Wuling had dreamed of carrying his wife in a bridal sedan chair, and when he woke, he was brimming with energy, in the best of moods.

Just as he pushed open the hall door and stretched his arms in a lazy yawn, he saw smoke billowing out from the kitchen door.

His eyelid twitched, and in two or three strides he rushed over, cursing: “Which blind fool dares to steal from my house, ”

When he finally saw clearly the small figure in front of the stove, coughing hard in the thick smoke, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

“What are you doing here?” He strode forward.

“I… cough cough…”

Shen Yujiao bent over, waving her hand to fan the smoke away, lifting her tear-filled eyes to him:
“The child woke up hungry, I wanted to warm some goat’s milk, and also make breakfast. But this fire, for some reason… cough cough… just won’t catch.”

Yesterday, she had watched him cooking supper in the yard, he lit the fire so easily, and the stove burned strong in no time. But she had fiddled for ages, burning bundle after bundle of dry grass, yet the firewood refused to catch. She truly couldn’t figure it out.

“You stuffed in so many thick logs, and didn’t give it any air, of course it won’t burn!”

Looking at her snow-white face smudged with two streaks of ash, those apricot eyes streaming from smoke, Xie Wuling felt both annoyed and amused. He snatched the hay from her hand. “Go, go, is the kitchen a place for you to be?”

Shen Yujiao was driven to the doorway, feeling both wronged and a bit lost, fingers twisting together nervously: “I thought it was simple…”

“Lighting wood looks simple, but it takes skill.” Xie Wuling poked at the stove hole with iron tongs, then glanced at her face. “You look like a little tabby cat now, go wash your face.”

Shen Yujiao froze, instinctively lifting her hand to wipe her cheek, but seeing her palms were grimy, slowly lowered them again: “Then… this side…”

“I’m here.”

Shen Yujiao pressed her lips together, then gave him a graceful little curtsey: “Many thanks.”

Even after that slender figure drifted away from the doorway, Xie Wuling was still wondering, what kind of bow had she just given him?

It looked awfully nice.

Breakfast was simple: steamed goat’s milk custard with egg, and four wheat flatcakes.

Xie Wuling originally meant to have two for each, but Shen Yujiao shook her head, taking only one, and said softly: “One is enough for me. You work hard to earn money for the family, you should eat more.”

Her voice was gentle and refined, flowing into the heart like a clear spring, more soothing than drinking a whole bowl of honey water.

So this was what it felt like, having a woman at home?

Xie Wuling’s lips curved faintly. Without ceremony, he stuffed another flatcake into his mouth, then pushed the whole bowl of custard to her: “You’re carrying a child now. You need to eat more to nourish yourself. Supporting the family isn’t for a little wife to worry about, you just stay home and rest.”

Shen Yujiao wanted to refuse, but facing his unyielding gaze, she only lowered her eyes silently:
“…Thank you.”

Before the words had even fallen, her forehead was tapped.

Not hard, but sudden.

She covered her forehead, staring at the man before her in surprise.

“From now on, every time you say thank you, I’ll knock you once.”

Xie Wuling chewed a big mouthful of flatcake, slanting her a lazy look: “You’re my wife, not some outsider guest. What’s the point of being so polite?”

Shen Yujiao choked, then, face reddening, tried to argue: “This is propriety. The Book of Rites says, ‘Propriety is humbling oneself to honor others. Even a porter deserves respect…’”

“Don’t talk to me about rites. I’ve never studied, I don’t understand.”

Xie Wuling snorted: “You thank me for lighting a fire, you thank me for giving you egg custard, at this rate, you’d be thanking me eight hundred times a day.”

Shen Yujiao was left speechless again.

Xie Wuling said: “Maybe your first husband’s household had too many rules. But with me, just do whatever feels comfortable. None of those endless rules. Got it?”

Shen Yujiao: “…”

After a moment of silence, she nodded. “I’ll try.”

“That’s better. Eat.”

After the simple breakfast, Xie Wuling went out to handle business, same as the past two days, and again called over Aunt Liu.

This time, Aunt Liu brought her grandchildren too: a five-year-old girl named Xiuxiu, and a three-year-old boy called Gouwazi.

Common folk liked to give children “cheap” names, the meaner the name, the easier they were to raise. When she heard Xie Wuling wanted to name the baby Xie Tian and Xie Di, Aunt Liu shook her head: “As a formal name, that’s fine. But the nickname has to be humbler. You and Ah Ling think again later.”

Shen Yujiao said nothing, moving a stool into the courtyard, working on needlework while listening to Aunt Liu chatter about neighborhood matters.

—

Xie Wuling first went to the Shingwong Temple, to find Blind Liu and calculate an auspicious wedding date.

When Blind Liu heard he was getting married, his blind eyes opened wide: “Which family’s young lady? Don’t tell me it’s one from Qinhuai River?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! My wife is a proper daughter of a good family, a fairy among women!”

Xie Wuling pulled a string of coins from his robe and tossed them on the table with a clatter: “Do the math properly. I’ll head to Sixth Master’s first and come back later.”

Blind Liu weighed the money in his palm, grinning from ear to ear: “Good, good, rest assured, I’ll find you the best of dates!”

“That’s more like it.”

With those words, Xie Wuling turned a few alleys and arrived at the Chang residence.

As one of the most prominent gentry households in Jinling, the Chang estate was naturally grand, vermilion gates with golden plaques, stone lions crouched left and right, their fierce shapes in the blazing sun looking all the more majestic.

Xie Wuling was a trusted aide of Sixth Master Chang. So when the household servants saw him, they immediately came forward respectfully: “Oh, Master Xie! What wind has blown you here today?”

By reason, just yesterday, the thirtieth, all the underlings had already paid respects to Master Chang. Normally they would wait several days before coming again, unless Sixth Master summoned them for something.

“Got a bit of a personal matter, I need Sixth Master’s help. Is Sixth Master at home?”

“He is,” the servant of the Chang residence replied. “Please sit and have some tea, I’ll go in and report at once.”

“Go ahead, I’ll watch the gate for you for a bit.”

Xie Wuling strode in with his long legs, lounging in the gatehouse as if it were his own home.

Not long after, the servant returned. “Master Xie, the master is fishing at the pond, he invites you over.”

Though Xie Wuling was well familiar with the layout of the Chang residence, since the pond was in the back garden, to avoid suspicion he still had a little maid lead the way.

The gardens of Jiangnan were famed for their delicate elegance. Although Sixth Master Chang had made his fortune in ways not exactly respectable and was rather coarse by nature, his mansion was built with refinement and quiet charm, pavilions, terraces, winding bridges, covered walkways, everywhere breathed the grace of a scholar’s retreat.

But this cultivated air instantly vanished upon sight of Sixth Master Chang at the pond: a rotund figure in a brocade robe embroidered with golden coin patterns, fishing rod in hand.

“Sixth Master.”

Xie Wuling strode forward, cupped his hands, and said, “I came at the wrong time, disturbing your pleasure in fishing.”

“No need for such polite words.”

Sixth Master pushed aside the plate of melon offered by a lovely maid, sat up a little from his rattan chair, and let his bean-sized eyes sweep over Xie Wuling’s face with some amusement. “So, what good fortune have you stumbled into, that you look so pleased with yourself?”

“Knew nothing could slip past your eyes, Sixth Master.” Xie Wuling grinned, joy lighting up his brows and gaze. “I’m going to take a wife.”

“Oh-ho!”

Sixth Master’s beady eyes widened. Not even caring about scaring the fish, he set his rod aside. “And which young lady has such skill, to win your heart?”

Xie Wuling chuckled, dragging a sunflower stool closer to him. “The reason I’ve come today is precisely because of her status. I want to ask you for some help.”

Sixth Master frowned. “She’s not of a proper family?”

“She is,” Xie Wuling said. “But she’s not from Jinling. She’s a refugee from the north.”

Since the age of sixteen, when he had taken a blade meant for Sixth Master, Xie Wuling had been working under him for five years. Sixth Master, remembering the life-saving debt and liking this lad’s forthright and loyal nature, had gradually come to see him almost like a son. With no sons of his own, he even felt some genuine affection of an elder for a junior.

He often sighed, if only this boy were truly his son, or at least kin. Properly cultivated, he could have inherited his estate.

But alas, being no blood relation, he could only be treated with more care than most, but not too much, lest the adopted heir he had formally taken feel resentful.

Xie Wuling recounted how he met Shen Yujiao, then added, “Now she’s agreed to marry me, to share a life together. I want to take her to the yamen to have her registered. But since she fled famine, her old travel papers and household records are long gone, and our Jinling prefecture does not accept refugees… So I’ve come shamelessly to beg Sixth Master for help.”

“A small matter. I’ll send someone to have a word with Clerk Wu at the yamen.”

Sixth Master gave a mild reply, then laughed. “But tell me, what’s so special about this girl that you’re so smitten, after only two days together, you’re already set on a settled household?”

At this, a faint blush crossed Xie Wuling’s face. He coughed lightly. “She’s… quite pretty.”

A youth drawn to beauty, nothing unusual.

Sixth Master stroked his beard, squinting at him. “How pretty? Prettier than Merchant Sun’s third daughter? Or the Tofu Beauty at the end of Suoyi Lane? Or the courtesan Lady Furong of Drunken Immortal Pavilion?”

Xie Wuling laughed, showing a flash of white teeth. “Prettier than them all.”

Sixth Master drew out his “ohhh.” “And compared with Prefect Cui’s Sixth Daughter?”

Cui Prefect’s sixth daughter was acknowledged as the number one beauty of Jinling.

That spring, Sixth Master had attended a banquet at the Cui residence and brought Xie Wuling along.

Her kite had gotten tangled in a tree. Xie Wuling, seeing this, had scrambled up with a couple of agile steps and retrieved it for her.

That day, he wore a brand-new crimson robe, black hair tied high, lips bright as cinnabar, handsome, dashing beyond words.

Those peach-blossom eyes of his, that could look soulful even at a dog, curved with a smile as he handed her back the kite. “Here.”

Cui’s sixth daughter had blushed on the spot, heart stirred.

But once she inquired and learned he was nothing but a street ruffian, her tender feelings instantly shattered, because a well-bred girl knew clearly, no matter how much she liked him, with such disparity in status she could never marry him.

Later, when Sixth Master learned of this, he teased Xie Wuling: “A pity Cui Prefect doesn’t take sons-in-law. Otherwise you’d win both beauty and status at once.”

But Xie Wuling, unusually, had dropped his roguish air and replied seriously: “It concerns a lady’s reputation, Sixth Master. Best not to mention it again.”

Now, with Sixth Master bringing her up once more, even comparing her looks to Shen Yujiao’s,  Xie Wuling thought for a moment, then said honestly: “In beauty, Cui’s sixth daughter is more delicate. But my Jiaoniang… I don’t know how to put it. The moment I laid eyes on her, that was it.”

That night, when he lifted the curtain of the household shrine, he had been caught by her eyes.

Like glazed gems, limpid and bright, and within their panic, a thread of desperate resolve.

He had thought at once: what a beautiful pair of eyes.

And if a woman bore such eyes, how could her face not be lovely?

As he wiped her face clean bit by bit, her brows, her eyes, her nose, her lips gradually revealed themselves before him.

Truly, everything about her was just right, as if she had grown straight into his heart.

“So, she’s the one who caught your eye.”

Sixth Master sighed like someone who had lived through it, smoothing his little tuft of beard. “Back when I was young, there was a girl who lived across the river from my house. She wore a peach-pink skirt, her long braid was dark and glossy. One spring day, she was at the riverside washing clothes with a basin in her arms. She looked back at me and gave a smile… Ah, that smile, though half a lifetime has passed, I still can’t forget it.”

Xie Wuling raised an eyebrow. “And that young lady, compared with the thirteen concubines you now keep in your courtyard?”

Sixth Master chuckled at his teasing. “In terms of beauty, that girl was nothing remarkable. But back then, I thought there was no one in the world lovelier than her.”

“And afterwards?”

“Afterwards? What afterwards? At the time I was just a cowherd boy, couldn’t even keep my belly full. How would I dare to dream of her? In the end, I could only watch as she was carried off in a bridal sedan chair to another household.”

Sixth Master’s thoughts drifted for a moment, then he came back to himself and said to Xie Wuling: “You’re lucky, boy. To meet the one you fancy and be able to take her home. As for the household register, I’ll have Qian Gui run to the yamen shortly.”

“Many thanks, Sixth Master.” Xie Wuling rose and bowed.

Sixth Master smiled. “But marrying a wife costs money. Do you have enough silver?”

“I do. All these years following you, I’ve been saving up for a wife’s dowry.”

“Good. And if it’s not enough, just come to me. On the day of your wedding banquet, I’ll be there for a cup of wine.”

“Your words are too heavy. I, with no father or mother, would beg Sixth Master to do me the honor of presiding over my wedding.”

“Good, good, since you have the heart, I’ll certainly take that role.”

The two of them chatted merrily by the pond, their laughter ringing bright, though not a single fish was hooked.

Xie Wuling remembered he still had to buy Wan Ji’s roast duck, lest it sell out if he went too late, so he did not linger, and took his leave of Sixth Master.

But just as he rounded the corridor, at the moon-gate ahead appeared a man in a sapphire-blue brocade robe, carrying a little yellow birdcage, humming a tune as he strolled leisurely forward.

“Well, if it isn’t Brother Xie! What brings you here? I recall it was only the thirtieth yesterday, wasn’t it?”

This man was named Chang Song, originally Sixth Master’s second nephew. But since Sixth Master had grown old without a son, he adopted him as his heir, making him the young master of the Chang household.

“I had something to discuss with Sixth Master.”

Xie Wuling stopped, looking at this foppish idler who knew only wine, women, gambling, and song. His thin lips curved in a perfunctory smile. “Second Brother Song, judging from your radiant expression, which lady’s boudoir have you just come from?”

“Heh, the Ruyi House just received a new batch of Yangzhou courtesans, white-skinned, slender-waisted, charming and coy.” Chang Song said this while stepping forward, hand reaching for Xie Wuling’s shoulder. “If you’re free tomorrow, let your brother treat you there?”

Before the hand could land, Xie Wuling shifted aside. “Your kind offer, Second Brother Song, I accept in spirit.”

Chang Song caught only air, his face stiffening as he awkwardly withdrew his hand. “At your age, you’ve never even touched a woman? If word got out, people would laugh.”

“Let them laugh. I’ve never cared about dogs barking.”

Xie Wuling had always despised Chang Song’s petty, dirty ways. And since this scoundrel had often tripped him up in the past two years, he had no desire for idle chatter. He cupped his hands. “Second Brother Song, I’ve matters to see to. I’ll take my leave.”

Once that tall figure disappeared beyond the moon gate, Chang Song’s smile chilled. He spat viciously. “Pah! Born of a whore, and he thinks just because he once took a knife for the old man, he’s someone important?”

The servant at his side quickly tried to soothe him. “Second Master, no need to let that rascal vex you.”

“Hmph. As if he were worthy.”

After walking a while, Chang Song suddenly halted, and ordered: “Go find out why he came to see the old man today.”

He had only been at the residence yesterday. For him to come again today, it must be something urgent. Could it be some trouble with the accounts?

But an incense stick’s time later, the servant returned with news: “This Xie Wuling is getting married. His bride-to-be seems to be a refugee from the north. He asked our master to help with her household registration.”

“What? Xie Wuling is marrying?!”

“Yes. The maids at master’s side heard clearly. He even asked our master to officiate, and the master agreed.”

With a snap, Chang Song closed his folding fan, his eyes narrowing. “Strange. Very strange, ”

He had always suspected the brat either had some hidden ailment, or fancied men.

After all, with that face of his, how many beauties had he enchanted? Yet never a one had stuck. Even the famed courtesan Furong of Qinhuai had offered herself to his bed, and he could refrain? Was that still a man?

And now, he wanted to take a wife? And not just any wife, but some refugee girl from the north.

“You there.”

Chang Song crooked a finger at his servant. “Go to Xie Wuling’s house and see what this fiancée of his looks like.”

The servant understood at once. “Yes.”

Chang Song reclined back on his couch, lazily fanning himself with his gilded fan. He thought to himself, he must see, what kind of beauty could it be, to make Xie Wuling lose his heart?

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