Chapter 114: Beauty
Yun Ce had always wanted to go to Chang’an to see it for himself, to see just how majestic and grand this great city was, but Lin Weizhou always put him off saying the entry token was hard to get.
He knew this was just another load of nonsense.
Yun Ce had no choice but to listen; in his view, Lin Weizhou’s assessment of him was not yet over.
Lin Weizhou also knew that Yun Ce knew he was making excuses, so he didn’t give any further explanation; perhaps he felt it was something completely unnecessary.
So, he no longer deliberately chatted idly with Yun Ce, but instead liked to wander around the Yun Clan Manor that was undergoing major construction, finding everything new and novel, and even finding people novel.
Sitting under the eaves playing the flute became Yun Ce’s new hobby; he didn’t know how to play the flute before, but An Ji thought Yun Ce had great musical talent, so she taught him to play it.
In the Great Han, music held a very high status; any scholar with a certain level of cultivation basically knew one or several instruments, with the guqin, guzheng, and pipa being the most common.
Yun Ce had heard An Ji play the guqin that Lin Weizhou brought; honestly, the piece wasn’t that great, though the tune High Mountains and Flowing Water might be an authentic copy, Yun Ce couldn’t discern the artistic conception of “towering like high mountains” or “vast like flowing water.”
It was probably just hard to judge, like how bosom friends like Zhong Ziqi and Yu Boya are hard to find.
An Ji had tested it, and Yun Ce wasn’t suited to play the guqin, nor the guzheng; as for the pipa, which requires ten nimble fingers, Yun Ce was even further from it.
1 So, the flute was pretty good.
1 After Yun Ce learned the flute, the 《Herd Boy》 he played sounded better and better each time, until it was so good that it mesmerized An Ji, a woman who had studied music with her mother since childhood.
1 So, she brought out many more flute pieces, hoping Yun Ce could play them, but unfortunately, he didn’t play them as well as she did.
1 Until Yun Ce started playing the 《Wild Geese》 haltingly again, An Ji could no longer gauge whether this man’s musical talent was low or high.
1 “The seeds have sprouted.”
1 E Ji ran back quickly from the field, her little face flushed red, her joyful expression utterly endearing.
1 Everyone at Yun Family Manor ran toward the fields.
1 When they reached the field edge, Yun Ce stopped; at this point, the first-planted wheat had sprouted, looking like a patch of light yellow from afar, but less obvious up close.
1 This was the highest realm of “the grass color looks distant but is absent up close.”
1 Yun Ce went to the field edge and pulled up a thin seedling, seeing that the wheat kernel at the root was still plump, filling him with hope for this wheat field; the wheat’s own nourishment hadn’t been exhausted yet.
2 Looking again at E Ji’s favorite beans, there was still no movement there; so far, only the wheat and millet fields had sprouted.
2 “If it sprouts, there’ll be a harvest.” Feng An stood with hands on hips, as if he were a seasoned old farmer.
2 The wheat and millet sprouting was within Yun Ce’s expectations; he dug into the bean field and found a bean the size of a ping-pong ball inside; the bean had split into two halves, pulled apart by a fat tender bud.
2 Yun Ce replanted the bean, covered it with soil, and said to E Ji: “The beans have sprouted too; when the beans mature, I’ll make you tofu to eat.”
2 E Ji’s expression was indifferent upon hearing Yun Ce’s words; she pulled him up and said: “Is Young Master unhappy?”
2 Yun Ce shook his head: “I’m not unhappy.”
2 E Ji leaned her head on Yun Ce’s shoulder and said: “Concubine will accompany you fishing today.”
2 With that, she pushed Yun Ce back to the courtyard, got the fishing gear, and headed toward Dragon Lake.
2 Once the fishhook was in Dragon Lake, E Ji said softly: “Young Master dislikes that Lin Weizhou guy so much; why not just kill him tonight.”
2 Yun Ce shook his head: “He’s grinding down my wildness.”
3 “How so?”
3 “Papermaking in the Great Han isn’t exactly a world-shaking achievement, but at least it’s a Great Han auspicious sign; a meritorious official like me should logically be brought to Chang’an to see the Emperor, not left ignored in Lantian County like this.
3 I’ve mentioned going to Chang’an for fun to Lin Weizhou several times, and he’s brushed me off with excuses each time, and more casually each time.
3 This means they’ve already used my secret recipe to make paper, and my importance is rapidly declining.
3 I estimate that once paper starts selling on the market, no one will pay attention to me anymore.”
3 “Then what to do? Young Master’s papermaking was given away for nothing.”
3 Yun Ce laughed: “Where there’s investment, there’s return; sometimes the return is just different from what we expect.”
3 E Ji couldn’t understand Yun Ce’s calculating words and didn’t want to; often, E Ji just wanted to hear him speak, not caring what he actually said.
3 The fishing rod twitched, and Yun Ce yanked it up; no technique needed in between, relying on the sturdy rod, tough line, and his strength, pulling up a three-foot-long big fish.
3 This fish had a large head, bulging eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a ring of white bead-like caruncles around its neck.
4 Chang’an people like to call this fish a fine fish; they especially love eating the ring of bead-like caruncles on its neck, said to be very nourishing.
4 Yun Ce wasn’t used to accepting such fish, let alone their “nourishment.”
4 After reeling in the fish, he casually tossed it back into the lake.
4 The big fish splashed once in the water and dove into the depths, who knows if it had any gratitude.
4 E Ji said softly: “That crazy woman who always carries a spear is coming.”
4 Yun Ce turned to look; that grubby woman, now cleaned up and after eating her fill, had become like a lotus emerging from water.
4 This wasn’t Yun Ce’s flattery; she was truly a lotus emerging from water; as for this woman’s appearance, from any angle, it was perfection.
4 And she was wearing a crude yi tree cloth garment.
4 Yun Ce nodded to the woman: “Are you leaving?”
4 The woman smiled radiantly, giving the illusion of a hundred flowers blooming; she bowed deeply to Yun Ce: “Heng Ji thanks Young Master for saving her life twice.”
5 Yun Ce frowned: “Why does a woman perform a man’s rite?”
5 Heng Ji laughed: “The gratitude for Young Master saving my life is not something a weak woman like me can repay.”
5 Yun Ce said again: “I was masked at the time, and it was pitch black; how did you recognize me?”
5 Heng Ji bowed again: “The one who could and would save our mother and sons without seeking reward—probably only Young Master in all of Chuyun City.”
5 Yun Ce tossed a gold bead to Heng Ji with a laugh: “Don’t tell anyone about me entering and leaving Chuyun City that night.”
5 Heng Ji laughed: “Naturally.”
5 Yun Ce looked at Heng Ji for a moment: “Then go; have Steward Qiu prepare a horse carriage for you.”
5 Heng Ji laughed heartily like a man and left.
5 E Ji hurriedly said: “You killed someone and she saw it?”
5 Yun Ce nodded: “Yeah, she saw it.”
6 “You killed the Daizhou Inspector, and Miss Hong, Pei Chuan, and they saw it too?”
6 Yun Ce nodded.
6 E Ji sighed deeply: “You have to silence her.”
6 Yun Ce laughed heartily: “Can’t silence her, so I can only hope she has a conscience.”
6 E Ji whispered in Yun Ce’s ear: “This woman is so beautiful; she must have a great background.”
6 Yun Ce said: “Not only is she beautiful, her luck is good too; most importantly, this woman’s heart is like iron and stone.”
6 “Is that why Young Master doesn’t want her?”
6 “I don’t have the ability to be her stepfather, nor to raise her son as my own; with someone like this, just leave a bit of favor, don’t think too much about the rest.”
6 When Heng Ji reached the limit of Yun Ce’s sight, she supported herself on a yi tree, gasping for air in big gulps; sweat instantly beaded on her forehead, condensed at her nose tip and chin, dripping down drop by drop.
6 She knew that if she and the children continued living at Yun Clan Manor, there wouldn’t be much danger; but once she asked to leave, knowing many of Yun Ce’s secrets, it was likely a dead end.
7 But she couldn’t wait any longer; if she did, little Huo Qing would have no more opportunity, and Lin Weizhou might see through her identity, which would be the greatest peril for their mother and sons.
7 Today, she deliberately showed off her beauty, but Yun Ce didn’t care; he was the first man to ignore her looks, making her both relieved and a bit unconvinced.
7 Under the yi tree, she wiped her sweat, then spread her arms to let the cool wind pour into her sleeves…
