Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 102
Fourteenth of the ninth month, the 17th year of Yuanqing.
The earthquake in Shu that Taoist Master Ge had predicted finally happened. Fortunately, the earthquake occurred in the afternoon when every household was having dinner, so the casualties were probably the lightest in history.
Sui Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was the disaster relief ambassador this time.
When Sui Yu left the Capital and Chu Xun was returning to Yangzhou, so the three good friends had to have a small gathering.
This time it was the place Chu Xun had chosen – Hongxiu Tower in Nanqu, Pingkang Lane.
Hongxiu Tower can be regarded as the most elegant place in Pingkang lane. As soon as you enter the door, you will find that even the furnishings were different from other places.
Entering the courtyard, they saw that the ground was clean and tidy, the hall was spacious and clean, chrysanthemums were blooming on both sides, and there were occasional strange rocks.
Hongxiu Tower has three floors. The first floor was for watching singing and dancing banquets, the middle floor was for storing calligraphy and paintings, and for reciting poems and composing music. As for the upper floor, it had a series of side rooms connected to each other, where beauties were hidden.
Generally, dignitaries would drink and listen to music here.
All year round, no matter how big the events in the country, there are always carriages and horses flowing like water around Pingkang lane.
The autumn sunset glow was cold and dim, but the sky was not yet completely dark, and candles were lit on the eaves.
As soon as Lu Yan, Sui Yu and Chu Xun entered the yard, the drizzle outside suddenly became heavier. As the saying goes, every autumn rain brings a chill. Just by taking a deep breath, it seems that one can guess how cold the wind will be tomorrow.
Lu Yan lowered his head and shook off his rain-stained sleeves, frowning and saying, “With disasters happening one after another, how many officials dare to come here openly?”
Chu Xun smiled and said, “Brother Xiaoyu is going to Shu to work for the court soon. Can’t you do it for him?”
Sui Yu shook his head and rolled his eyes at him.
All three knew that Chu Xun came here to meet his new lover, Li Niang, the most talented woman in Hongxiu Tower.
When the madam lifted the curtain of the side room, Lu Yan and Sui Yu saw a woman with a scholarly air. Although she was not stunningly beautiful, she was at least one of the most beautiful women in Pingkang lane.
Li Niang put down the pipa in her hand and called softly, “Maste Xun.”
Then he continued, “Miss Li, this is the Governor of Jingzhao, Lu Yan and Minister Sui.”
The identities of the three men were more noble than each other. For a noble family like theirs, even the maids around them are well-proportioned, not to mention the beauties he has seen.
So they just took a look and then looked away, complaining in their hearts that Chu Xun’s taste remained the same no matter where he went.
Li Niang half-knelt and served wine to the three people. Sui Yu raised the cup and said, “I was ordered to go to Shu to provide disaster relief. I didn’t expect that you would also leave the Capital at this time.”
“There are many things that the Chu family cannot do without me. If someone comes to our house, I can’t leave my grandmother alone to deal with it.”
Lu Yan asked: “What about your cousin?”
Chu Xun bowed his hand and said, “Forget it, let’s not talk about him.”
Lu Yan asked: “When will you set off?”
Chu Xun said: “Tomorrow.”
It was said that the girls in Pingkang were the most knowledgeable and tactful, which is indeed true. When Li Niang heard that her patron was leaving, she just paused while pouring the wine and said nothing.
She can only assume that this person is saying his farewell to her.
At this moment, Chu Xun suddenly took out two calligraphy books and handed them to Lu Yan, saying, “This is the calligraphy book that Shen Hong asked me for. I don’t have time to give it to him, so you can give it to him for me.”
Speaking of Shen Hong and the Shen family, Sui Yu and Chu Xun’s expressions instantly became subtle.
With Li Niang around, some things were inconvenient to say. Chu Xun raised his hand and patted her waist, whispering, “Go play a song for me?”
Li Niang stood up obediently.
Chu Xun looked at Lu Yan and said, “Lu Shiyan, there are no outsiders here. Tell me the truth, you hover around in front of Shen’s house when you have nothing to do, it is on purpose, right?”
The girls of the Shen family were stunningly beautiful and have always been the white moonlight in the eyes of the young men in Chang’an. Shen Shu and Shen Yao were both married, so naturally no one would miss them anymore. Therefore, Shen Zhen has become the most popular among the popular ones.
But because of Lu Yan’s overbearing behavior, not only did Shen Zhen’s popularity plummet, not to mention that even the business of the stores in the East and West Markets has deteriorated.
Hearing this, Lu Yan raised his cup, took a sip, and said calmly, “Since she’s sick. I’m going to take a look, what’s wrong with that?”
Chu Xun said: “Young ladies all value reputation.”
Lu Yan raised his lips and replied: “What about my reputation?”
Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and Sui Yu looked out the window, only to see a circle of perfect yellow on the edge of the lush leaves. From a distance, it looked like a layer of gold inlaid.
Sui Yu chuckled.
Great.
Our Lord Lu is indeed a dignified and upright person.
When people bid farewell, they always talk about the past unconsciously. Chu Xun rubbed his forehead and started talking about what they said when they went out for a drink when they were young.
Even though a young man in his twenties was full of ambition for a career, he was still young and hot-blooded. When he occasionally drinks, he can’t help but talk about which woman he will marry in the future.
Sui Yu, needless to say. Everyone in Chang’an knows that the Heir Apparent of Xuanping Maquis mansion has his heart set on the second daughter of the Shen family. When Shen Yao celebrated her birthday, Sui Yu carved a poem in a jade with his own hands.
Otherwise, he would dress himself up and stand in front of the Yunyang Marquis Mansion, looking for every possible reason to see Shen Yao.
The excuse was so stupid that neither Lu Yan nor Chu Xun could stand it.
Every time, he would wait until Yunyang Marquis’s face turned black before he knew to restrain himself.
To talk about Chu Xun. The Chu family of Yangzhou was also a century-old aristocratic family. It goes without saying that their noble status was self-evident.
When Chu Xun was nineteen, he fell in love with a skinny girl from Yangzhou, a poor young lady from an official family. He was thinking of marrying her no matter what, but his cousin got there first and took the girl as his concubine.
From then on, I became tainted in the world of fireworks[mfn](red light district)[/mfn].
Young men in their twenties have either experienced love or desire, but Lu Yan has always sneered at these things, with his eyes only focused on the black hat on his head.
Sui Yu once asked him, “Lu Yan, you will get married sooner or later. Are you going to close your eyes and just marry anyone?”
How did he answer?
“Chang’an is a deep place, with many aristocratic families intertwined. I don’t ask for a high family background, but a clean family of scholars is the best.”
Marrying someone of equal status, that is, a marriage between two families, was often beyond your control. If you find a troublesome woman, you will inevitably have to deal with a bunch of troublesome things.
Therefore, Lu Yan’s first criterion for choosing a spouse was to save trouble and not cause him any trouble.
Sui Yu had asked him again, “What about the temperament?”
Lu Yan had replied: “She should be virtuous, filial, of high moral character, and tolerant. It would be best if she has the skills to control the rear court.”
Sui Yu asked in disbelief: “After all your efforts, you actually like this kind of personality?”
Lu Yan had said: “As the wife of the Lu family, she must be courageous and scheming.”
A man who could say such a thing was a typical man whose heart was outside and not inside.
Finally, Chu Xun couldn’t stand his words anymore, so he slammed the table and asked him, “What about the appearance?”
Lu Yan had said uprightly: “Of course it can’t be bad.”
Looking back now, I’m afraid that the Third young Master of the Lu family only kept the last one of his standards for choosing a wife.
As for the first two…
Just look at what he has done in the past year and you will know. In order to marry Third Young Lady Shen, was there anyone he would not scheme against?
Sui Yu felt embarrassed for him.
The night dew was heavy. After three rounds of drinking, Lu Yan asked Sui Yu, “When will you come back?”
Sui Yu suddenly fell silent and took a sip of wine. “Maybe at the end of the year.”
At the end of the year, all nations came to pay tribute, and mentioning this was tantamount to mentioning Shen Yao.
Lu Yan can be openly happy now, because if nothing unexpected happened, when Shen Wenqi returned to the capital, the Grand Princess would come to propose marriage. But, Sui Yu could not be happy at all.
He was married, but there is someone in his heart that he will never be able to forget.
Chu Xun knocked on the corner of the table and whispered, “The evening drum will sound soon. We should hurry back before curfew. There is still a long way to go.”
After coming out of Hongxiu Tower, Lu Yan got on the carriage. The evening breeze blew by, and he was drunk. That sorrowful gaze inexplicably appeared before his eyes.
Although he knew that there were many spies in Baoning lane recently, he still couldn’t control his feet and went to the Shen Mansion.
At three quarters past the hour of Xu Shi (the period of the day from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m), he skillfully avoided everyone and entered Shen Zhen’s inner courtyard.
The lights in her room were bright, and it seemed that she had not gone to bed yet. When he pushed open the door, Qingxi was standing beside the couch with medicine in her hand.
Shen Zhen leaned on a soft pillow, looked over when she heard the sound, and immediately sat up straight.
She exclaimed in a low voice, “My Lord?”
Qingxi stood beside the couch at a loss, and could only nod and say, “This servant greets Lord Lu.”
Lu Yan walked over calmly, took the medicine from Qingxi, and said slowly: “You go out first, I’ll do it.”
This man who had been in a high position for a long time always spoke in an imposing manner, so much so that when Qingxi handed the medicine over, she did not realize how inappropriate this shameless act of taking the initiative was!
It wasn’t until she went out and felt the cool breeze that she suddenly realized.
Someone broke into her young lady’s boudoir at night, why would she be the one to leave?!
Lu Yan sat down next to her, scooped a spoonful of medicine, and put it to her lips, ” Third Miss, you have been sick for almost a month, why haven’t you recovered yet?”
