Chapter 82: Hua Lian’s Affection
The Zhu Family’s house guards, upon hearing this, realized the person before them was the prospective son-in-law.
Fearing they had caused trouble, they all stopped.
The Miss of the Zhu Family did not realize she had spoken out of turn. She was merely annoyed that Zhu Xifeng was shouting about “not getting married” over a wild girl, which was undignified. Angrily, she turned and entered the shop to complain to Master Zhao.
After a moment, Master Zhao came out and, as the prospective father-in-law, lectured Zhu Xifeng a few words.
He had originally thought Zhu Xifeng would seize the opportunity to say a few conciliatory words, and the matter would be over.
Who would have thought that Zhu Xifeng not only did not apologize but also grabbed Hua Lian and ran off.
In front of everyone, Master Zhao’s face was filled with embarrassment.
Immediately, he sent a servant boy to return the betrothal gifts to the Zhu Residence.
The Zhu Family’s servant boy told my father about the day’s events and said, “Our Master says that your Young Master’s disposition is unstable and he disrespects his elders. My Miss is not worthy of him. Your family should find another suitable match for your Young Master.”
Upon hearing these words, my father became agitated. He spat out the medicinal soup he had drunk and, pointing directly at Zhu Xifeng, cursed, “Rebel! Rebel!”
Zhu Xifeng knelt outside the threshold, muttering, “If her family is unwilling, I am unwilling too. If I were to marry, I should marry someone I like. That Miss Zhao has a heart as narrow as a pinhole…”
My father said, “Beast! How dare you talk back?”
I quickly tried to placate him, “Father, there’s no need to be angry. Perhaps Xifeng and that Miss Zhao were not destined to be together.”
Hua Lian knelt outside with Zhu Xifeng.
She always felt that the failure of this marriage was her responsibility. She deeply regretted not causing a scene at the entrance of the rice shop. My father was already in poor health, and the broken engagement from the Zhao family only worsened his condition.
At dusk, he coughed up blood three times.
Qin Mingxu was busy everywhere, and he hired a renowned traveling physician at great expense to treat him.
In the evening, after my father had fallen asleep, I helped the two of them up.
Hua Lian lowered her head and said, “Owner, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken the Young Master out to fool around.”
Zhu Xifeng looked at her expression, his palms clenching and unclenching.
After a long while, he gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and mustered his courage, saying, “Hua Lian, you ruined my marriage. Why don’t you compensate me by becoming my wife!”
Hua Lian was stunned.
She spat, “Nonsense!”
She almost fled back to her room.
Seeing this, Zhu Xifeng sat on the threshold, his round face filled with disappointment.
“Elder Sister, Hua Lian doesn’t think highly of me.”
His thick eyebrows drooped downwards. “Elder Sister, am I too useless? I can’t study well, and I haven’t succeeded in martial arts. I’m just a good-for-nothing.”
He had been spoiled by Lin Yue since childhood, becoming willful and overbearing.
I never imagined that one day he would be able to reflect on himself so clearly.
I sat beside him and patted his head. “You, my dear, lack perseverance in everything you do, so how can you expect to succeed? Even with Hua Lian, perhaps you were just acting on a whim, saying it casually to tease her. No wonder Hua Lian is angry!”
He shook his head desperately.
“Elder Sister, it’s not like that, it’s not like that. I don’t know how to tell you, but I’m serious about that girl… The fiercer she is with me, the more I want to be near her. Even if she hits me or scolds me, I don’t get angry… I’ll tell you a secret—”
He leaned in mysteriously, his face blushing. “Elder Sister, although I had two women in my chambers before, those were decided by Mother, not because I wanted them. Mother said it was common for young masters from prominent families to have three wives and four concubines. I… I… I was too young then, it was all a blur… After Mother passed away, I asked Father to send them away… Can you tell Hua Lian, tell her, tell her I’m not that bad… I’m afraid she’ll dislike me if she hears about those things…”
I asked, “Do you truly like Hua Lian?”
He raised his hand and said earnestly, “Elder Sister, I swear, I swear I’m serious about her. If I’m lying, may my throat grow sores, my head grow scabs, and may lightning strike me…”
I got up and said, “If that’s the case, I’ll go and talk to her. If this matter is settled, you are forbidden to ever betray her. Hua Lian is a good girl, and I’ve always treated her like a sister.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
He was so happy his hands and feet didn’t know where to go. “Thank you, Elder Sister, thank you, Elder Sister. Elder Sister is the best person in the world. Don’t worry, how would I dare betray her? I’d be grateful if she didn’t hit me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh and cry. “You stay put. I can’t guarantee it will work out. Ultimately, it depends on Hua Lian’s own wishes. We people of the Zhu family cannot force others.”
He nodded, looking at me as I left with a mixture of nervousness, worry, and anticipation.
The door to Hua Lian’s room was ajar.
I raised my hand and knocked.
She called out, “Young Master, stop fooling around!”
“It’s me,” I said softly.
“Owner.” She quickly opened the door.
The room was unlit and dark.
I walked in and said, “Hua Lian, I’ve come to see you tonight as Xifeng’s Elder Sister. Don’t treat me as the Owner, and I won’t treat you as a shop assistant.”
She took out a tinderbox and lit a lamp. The room gained some light. The dim mirror was bright again.
She seemed a bit unsettled.
“Owner, I’m sorry.”
“Hua Lian, you don’t need to apologize. You haven’t wronged anyone. Say what you truly feel. From the first moment I saw you, I liked your straightforward nature and how you lived authentically.”
I paused and said, “My father has fallen ill and cannot recover. His greatest wish is to see Xifeng married while he is alive. Xifeng told me he wants to marry you. Are you willing?”
She slowly sat down.
“Owner, I’ve never thought about this. My mind is a mess. I’m just a wild girl from the mountains; I wouldn’t know how to be a young lady of a manor.”
I said, “You don’t need to think about whether you want to be a young lady of a manor. You just need to think if you are willing to be Xifeng’s wife. That child Xifeng, I grew up with him. I know him. Although he’s not accomplished, likes to cause trouble, can’t speak well, and is simple-minded, he…”
Hua Lian blurted out, “The Young Master isn’t that bad. When the Young Master is serious, he’s more meticulous than anyone; he even keeps a record of the goods loaded onto the ship. The Young Master is kind-hearted. When we were on the road, we saw an injured sparrow, and the Young Master brought it back and released it after it healed. The Young Master is also very brave. Last time at the ferry terminal, even though he knew he couldn’t win, he held onto the man’s waist tightly just to prevent him from harming my snake…”
I smiled. “I never knew Xifeng had so many good qualities.”
She suddenly realized something, lowered her head, and twisted her hands back and forth.
After a long while, she looked up at me. “Owner, have you ever experienced the feeling of running in the dark?”
I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
She stared at the lamp oil burning on the table and said, “I lost my mother when I was young. My father had consumption and couldn’t do heavy labor, so I started working in the fields at six and went into the mountains to hunt with the villagers at eight. One spring, my father’s illness flared up again, and I wanted to go into the mountains to catch a snake to sell and buy medicine for him. It was the rainy season in spring, and my feet were covered in mud. By nightfall, I still hadn’t caught anything. I heard the calls of wild beasts, but I wasn’t afraid. Because I knew I had to be the pillar of the family, I couldn’t afford to be afraid. I caught a mother snake. But I discovered she was pregnant. I couldn’t bear it, so I let her go. A wolf spotted me, its eyes glowing green. I ran desperately. Thin mist covered the mountain ridges, moonlight shone on the stream, and the wind blew from all directions. At that moment, I thought, life is sometimes very short, it passes in the blink of an eye. But sometimes it’s very long, like an endless mountain range, with one peak after another. Every time I crossed a hillside, I thought, if only I could meet someone to save me. But there was no one. Never anyone.”
“I ran until dawn that day. The wolf didn’t outrun me. I was covered in sweat and fell asleep on the small path back to the village. Later, I experienced many such things. I became more experienced. I knew how to take shortcuts, how to climb trees, how to cross cliffs. I no longer needed anyone to accompany me. I killed all my expectations.”
“The day I met the Owner on the street, my father had died. I was selling mountain goods, wanting to buy a coffin to bury my father. The Young Master was grinning playfully, and I immediately concluded he was not a good person. I prepared to fight him.” She smiled. “I’m always like this, easily thinking of fighting. Perhaps, deep down, I feel my life is worthless. Everyone in our village says they’ve never seen a girl as fearless as me.”
“The Young Master said he didn’t want the snake to kill me because I would be sad. The people at the dock all laughed. Everyone thought such behavior was ridiculous, right? The Young Master was beaten until his face was bloody. I suddenly felt that he was not cowardly at all.”
“I ran in the mountains countless times. In spring, wild flowers covered the branches, lively and bustling. In summer, birds returned to their nests in flocks, and the scorching sun shone overhead. In autumn, leaves danced and fluttered. In winter, snow fell from the plum blossoms on the trees. I had many things to say to the trees, to the snakes, to the birds, to the flowers, but never to people.”
“No matter how far the mountain stream ran, it always flowed into the river. That dusk, returning from the dock, I secretly cried. No one, like the Young Master, cared if I was sad or if my snake would die. I chased and hit him, running all over the courtyard, and he didn’t get angry. He pretended to be afraid of me. He probably wasn’t afraid of me, but cared about me.”
“If I could go back to that night ten years ago, I wish that the person waiting for me after climbing the hillside would be the Young Master.”
“I don’t want the Young Master to fight alongside me. I’ll fight alone. It would be enough for the Young Master to wait for me; that would make me very happy.”
The night was quiet.
The bright moon shone directly in, with no intention to be guessed.
I had never heard Hua Lian speak so much.
She was still the girl who caught snakes bare-handed in the deep mountains, her eyes pure and wild.
On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Qixi Festival.
Qin Mingxu and I made arrangements and held a wedding for Zhu Xifeng and Hua Lian.
Zhu Xifeng’s mouth was stretched into a grin and never closed. He shuttled back and forth in front of and behind his house, his voice booming as he distributed wedding candies and invited guests to drink.
It seemed as if his body could not contain such immense joy, and it spilled out, flowing along his path.
My father initially had reservations about Hua Lian’s status and family background, but I quickly persuaded him. A person’s life is very short, and many things are fleeting, cold, and indifferent. But love can make people brave, to resist the impermanence and turbulence of the world.
Seeing Zhu Xifeng’s smile at the wedding, my father was completely relieved.
He was gratified and content. Mustering his strength, he got out of bed, was helped by the servants, and sat in a chair to drink the tea served by Hua Lian, the new daughter-in-law.
That evening, after the guests had dispersed, Qin Mingxu and I were busy until the third watch.
As I walked through the corridor, my vision blurred, and my strength seemed to fail. My steps faltered.
Qin Mingxu anxiously supported me and ordered a servant boy to call for a doctor.
The doctor arrived, took my pulse, and repeatedly congratulated Qin Mingxu, “Your wife is with child. Congratulations. Congratulations.”
Qin Mingxu seemed to have fallen into a rich dream, incredulous. “Really?”
The doctor said, “I have been practicing medicine for many years; how could I misdiagnose a pregnancy? Your wife is only one month pregnant. She must take good care of herself and must not overexert herself.”
A month ago, Qin Mingxu and I spent a night together in the small house in the backyard of the wine shop.
It was on that night that the child was conceived.
I caressed my lower abdomen, thanking the Bodhisattva for her mercy.
After losing Pea, my heart always felt like a piece was missing.
Now, the Bodhisattva has returned Pea to me.
On the seventh day of the seventh month, double happiness was received.
Qin Mingxu gave the doctor six gold ingots and ordered the steward to reward the servants of both the Qin Manor and the Zhu Residence with three months’ monthly silver.
Everywhere, there was joy.
He supported me as we returned to the room. We sat on the couch, and he leaned down, pressing his face against my belly. “Sang Yu, how fortunate I am. How fortunate I am. For the rest of my life, I will treat you and the child well with my life…”
His tears seeped into my body through my clothes.
Warm and hot.
