Love in Red Dust - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

It was as if he had died once and returned; even now, the mere memory made his heart tremble. Having lived for twenty-four years, he had never experienced such a thing—to think that a moment of such ecstasy could be so soul-shaking. He felt his chest spasm, the very sensation pulling at his tendons and veins. Because he knew it was her, there was a deep-rooted sense of satisfaction; he no longer had to worry about anyone else cutting in. If Old Seven came to nag him again, he would tell him loudly and bluntly that Dingyi was his, and tell him to get as far away as possible.

Like a child clutching a precious treasure, he couldn't bear to let go for even a moment. He tightened his grip on her waist, their noses brushing against each other as he softly called out to her, "Are you asleep?"

She kept her eyes closed, unwilling to speak, only letting out a soft "Mn" after a long while. He studied her closely; her face was somewhat pale, yet her lips remained a fierce, vibrant red. He wiped her cheek with his thumb. "What is it? Does it still hurt?"

She felt embarrassed and shrank downward, tucking herself into the quilt. He did not press her, only smiling in blissful contentment as he murmured to himself, "I am so happy... We shall organize our wedding as soon as we return to the capital. I won't care about anything else—let the Censorate and the Grand Council busy themselves as they please. I must first settle the most important event of my life; as for what comes later, we will deal with it later." He reached out to scoop her up, cradling her in his arms as he shook her gently. "My Fujin, when we return home, take a look and see what we need to add, then order Guan Zhaojing to handle it. The palace will send rewards, and the bedding and furnishings are already there, so you needn't worry. Think about where you want to depart from for the wedding; the Wen family compound in Shanlao Alley is currently in the hands of a Junior Vice Minister of Rites. I will go and ask Fourth Brother; Kangtai is a bondservant under his house and can speak a good word for us. We will redeem that estate and leave it to you as a memento, alright?"

He had considered everything so far into the future that Dingyi could not answer him; anything she said would seem like a deception. He was treating her with all his heart, yet she was currently plotting how to leave—it was truly a betrayal of his kindness.

In truth, there really wasn't much to explain. From the beginning, she hadn't left much of a trace, and her coming and going was of little consequence. She simply couldn't bear to leave him, feeling that leaving him all alone was a cruel trick—at the very least, he would not be happy for a long time to come. She had nothing with which to repay him; offering herself to him could be considered a conclusion to these past six months of affection, and for her, it was a fulfillment of her own duty. As for the future, she hadn't thought about it. Perhaps she would never marry again; having experienced one bone-deep, heart-searing love in this life was enough. No one could ever replace him.

She caressed his forearm lingeringly, her eyes half-closed. Her lazy appearance had a charming allure. "I am sleepy. You are chattering away so much—are you not going to let a person sleep?"

He hurriedly said, "Very well, let us not talk of this now. We shall discuss it again when we wake."

She was bare, her body as smooth as satin beneath the quilt. She slowly wound herself around him, making his heart race and his breath grow short. Young people always had endless energy; his ragged breathing was amplified infinitely in her ears. She gently stroked his broad shoulders and back as he ignited sparks of fire upon her, burning all the way through. She closed her eyes and tilted her neck back, calling his name in a daze, half in pain and half in relief. It was good that she could make him happy at this moment; it was enough.

The sun moved upward, gradually reaching high noon. Since it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, one could occasionally hear the sporadic sound of firecrackers. Sha Tong stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves at the corner of the veranda waiting for a report. After waiting for so long, his legs grew tired and weak, so he turned to sit on a stone stool. No sooner had he settled down than he saw a figure cloaked in a crane-patterned cape appear on the veranda—as if materializing from thin air—walking extremely fast before turning and vanishing into a side passage.

He was struck with wonder and was just about to chase after the person when someone behind him called out: "Lord Lu has ordered this subordinate to come and report. Please ask the Anda (attendant) to relay this to Prince Chun: all one hundred Aha (bondsmen) in the barracks have been captured, and Solontu was taken alive from the embroidered bed of a brothel prostitute. Only Yue Kundu has escaped; when we went to his residence to make the arrest, the place was already empty. Should we continue to investigate thoroughly, or should we officially report to the Imperial Court to issue a public warrant? Please ask the Prince for instructions."

Sha Tong told him to wait a moment, then bent his waist and pushed the door to enter the room. The chamber was silent, and the light streaming through the window left diamond-shaped spots on the blue brick floor. Using the light, he hurried forward, knelt on the footstool, and nudged the Twelfth Prince, whispering, "Master, wake up. There is news from Lu Yuan's side."

Hongce was drifting between waking and sleeping. Seeing the person before the kang, he was struck by a surge of anger and hurriedly reached out to block him, only to find he was grasping at thin air. Terrified, he turned to look: the bedding was laid out flat and neat, as if no one had ever been there. His mind went blank, unable to distinguish reality from dream. Suddenly, his expression changed as he asked Sha Tong, "Where is she? Where has she gone?"

Sha Tong was utterly confused and said blankly, "What is the matter, Master? Are you speaking of Eldest Miss Wen? Miss Wen went missing and has not been found yet. Lord Lu's men have just come to report that the Aha and Solontu have all been caught, but only Yue Kundu has slipped through the net; they are still searching everywhere. Master, looking at the situation, Miss Wen's disappearance has a great deal to do with the one surnamed Yue. You must guard against the possibility that the one surnamed Yue will use her as a bargaining chip for his life..."

Hongce sat there unable to recover his wits. Was it another dream? But it was so vivid; it absolutely could not be! He couldn't care about anything else, waving his hand to throw off the quilt. There was a stain of blood on the bedsheet that had been there for a while, dark and stained. He felt as if struck by lightning, frantically bracing his body as he trembled violently.

Seeing his master like this, Sha Tong was stunned, trembling as he said: "Master, please cover yourself, lest you catch a cold..." Following his gaze, he glanced forward and stood frozen after seeing it. What was going on? He hurriedly and clumsily examined the Twelfth Prince's body—he was whole and intact, with nothing wrong, so where did the blood come from? He then thought about how his master had been stripped of every last thread of clothing—could it be that a supernatural being had harmed him, or had Xiaoshu truly appeared?

Only Hongce knew that her words just now had deep meaning. She had come to say farewell; perhaps she would never return. What on earth had happened? His heart felt as if it had been crushed by ten thousand wheels; in the span of one gain and one loss, he was already shattered. If she intended to leave, why leave him with such memories? How was he to spend the next several decades?

He grabbed his clothes and buttoned them haphazardly, stumbling off the bed. His legs failed him and he nearly collapsed, only saved by Sha Tong catching him. He had no time to consider the advice being offered to him, pointing outside the door as he spoke in a broken voice: "Lock up the proprietor of the 'Guest Arriving with Clouds' inn! This inn has a secret passage; make him confess truthfully, otherwise, have him sliced to pieces immediately! Send out more troops to capture Yue Kundu—I will reward anyone who catches him heavily! If he escapes, the entire army will be punished, and I will show no leniency!"

Sha Tong responded with a "Yes" and ran off. Hongce tried to dress and button his jacket, but he couldn't align the buttons with the loops—he was frantic and felt as if he were being roasted on a fire. He felt a bitterness so deep it reached the extreme, and tears streamed down his face. So, his feelings were so worthless in her eyes. When she encountered a problem, why didn't she tell him? She had even entrusted her life to him—what else was there to hide?

His mind was a tangled mess with no beginning or end. After a period of chaos, as he calmed down, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. What kind of hidden hardship in this world could force her to leave without a word? He gasped in a breath of cold air. Could it be that the Wen brothers were still alive, and she, unable to choose between familial affection and love, had left herself with him before quietly walking away? If this were truly the case, he felt resentment and grievance, but what about her? She must be a hundred times more miserable than he was.

He didn't remember those days in Ningguta very clearly; in any case, they were spent in an endless, ceaseless search. Ultimately, she was not found, but it was certain that the border defense was very strict—not even a fly could have flown out. She must still be within the territory of Great Ying. He dispatched a party of men specifically to investigate Yue Kundu’s background. There is no wall in the world without cracks, and eventually, it was discovered that Yue Kundu was none other than Wen Rugong. Of the three brothers, he was the only one left alive. He hated the Imperial Court and he hated those with the surname Yuwen, so once he found his sister, he took her away from Hongce's side, effortlessly taking half of Hongce's life in the process.

The case of the Imperial Estates trafficking in slaves was thoroughly investigated starting from Solontu, and it didn't take much effort to close it. Vice Commander Daoqin was found guilty of corruption and malfeasance; his official hat was removed, and he was escorted to the capital to await trial. Although they were originally scheduled to set out in early March, Hongce lingered, fearing that if he left, he would miss her—even though she was perhaps long gone from this place. Old Seven wanted to issue a warrant for arrest, but Hongce adamantly refused. Hongtao only knew that he wanted to find his "tree" again, but he did not know what kind of waves would be stirred up if the Wen family reappeared under these circumstances. By then, it would not just be the power of the Imperial Court searching for them, but perhaps others as well. He could not let her fall into such a crisis.

For a time, he truly felt overwhelmed. Day after day he waited, and day after day he was disappointed. She was like a drop of dew, evaporated without a trace. He had never had her, yet she had taught him how to love someone, only to vanish. For him, this injury was unprecedented—it even far exceeded the pain of his childhood exile to Khalkha.

He had originally intended to stay in Ningguta, but he was burdened with the duty of an Imperial Commissioner. No matter how much he could not let go of his private feelings, for the sake of his public duty, he had to conclude the case so as not to betray the heavy trust of the Imperial Court and the Emperor.

The journey back was very smooth, and the further south they went, the better the climate became. It was the season of spring warmth and blooming flowers. Sometimes, when they could not reach a courier station, they would camp by the side of a lake, and it didn't feel as unbearable as he had expected.

Old Seven had lost his love for his birds; a hwamei and a red-billed leiothrix became his objects of yearning. He looked after them himself, often sighing at them: "How did you two have such great fortune to survive in such cold weather and return alive? Where is your older sister? She is gone; she has flown away..."

Hongce did not want to hear such things; his heart sank bit by bit, and he turned to walk away into the distance.

He always had a premonition: as long as she was still alive, she would return sooner or later. Wait a little longer—perhaps tomorrow, perhaps the day after... He now had only one wish: to overturn the verdict for Wen Lu as quickly as possible. Since Wen Rujian did not trust the Imperial Court, Hongce would show him. He would perform better, and even better, and then he would let Dingyi return to be reunited with him.

Old Seven's attitude changed at some point. Seeing Hongce looking so dejected, he would curse: "You are a Prince, and your rank is even a grade higher than mine. Can you not have some backbone? To become such a spineless wretch because of a woman—it is shameful even for me to look at! A real man need not worry about lacking a wife. Once we return to the capital, we shall marry both a primary and secondary wife at once, and fill the house to the brim. There, you won't remember anything!" He would then curse Xiaoshu: "That ungrateful little white-eyed wolf. We men poured out our hearts and souls for her—two Princes, brothers, both fawning over her. If she wanted the stars, we wouldn't dare give her the moon, yet she was still unsatisfied and walked away. Does she think there are better husbands waiting for her out there?"

Hongce frowned and cut him off: "Do not speak of her in that way. She had her own hardships."

Old Seven stared blankly, finally summarizing everything into one sentence: "You foolish brother. In Khalkha, you not only blew out your hearing, but your mind has been blown hollow as well." In reality, Old Seven did not feel good himself; most of those harsh words were spoken to himself. He would walk slowly with his hands behind his back toward a secluded spot, where he would sit for the entire night, unseen by anyone.

Another four or five months passed. The day they reached Beijing was exactly the Cold Dew solar term. The fire of the seventh month had faded, and the ninth month was the time for the giving of clothes. At the fifth watch, while checking in at the朝房 (morning court office), his stone-blue official robes clung to his skin, feeling bitingly cold. He sat by the window, slowly playing with his court beads. The corner of the window frame gradually turned red, and he stared in a daze. The court officials, seeing he had returned, came forward one after another to pay their respects; he stood up and returned the gesture with a bow, remaining polite yet distant.

No sooner had he sat down than someone else entered the doorway, his face full of smiles. Respectfully, he performed a bow and grinned, calling out to him, "Twelfth Uncle, I greet you."

Hongce smiled faintly. "Is the Sixth Prince well?"

The Sixth Prince was the Empress's cherished son and was thirteen this year. By order of rank, he had a formal name, but everyone had gotten used to calling him "Tiger Prince." At thirteen, he was in an awkward age, half-child and half-teenager. If he strictly followed the doctrines of the Imperial Study, he should have been trained to be rigid and upright, but he had the favor of the Imperial Father, so he was much more lively than his other brothers.

He leaned over with a sheepish face. "Thank you for your concern, Twelfth Uncle. I am well, but I have encountered some unpleasantness recently, and I have been looking for an opportunity to speak with you. You have been away from the capital for over a year; it is all because my Father would not let anyone go, otherwise I should have been following you to learn how to manage official business."

Hongce looked at him with indulgence. "You are not ready; you are too young. That is a place of bitter cold, and going there would only mean suffering."

"My Father lived in a cave dwelling in northern Shaanxi at twelve, and you went to Khalkha at twelve. My ancestors were of humble, bitter beginnings, so why can't I?"

The Sixth Prince was a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, full of drive and unable to comprehend his father's deep, protective love. Hongce smiled. "The situation back then was different from today. If you want to learn to manage official business, you must take it slow; start from Jiangnan, moving from the shallow to the deep so that you are not exhausted." He changed the subject. "The north is a bad place with nothing fun, so I brought a cow-bone bow for each of you brothers. I will send someone to deliver them to you later."

The Sixth Prince made a sound of acknowledgment and, avoiding those around them, whispered: "Twelfth Uncle, my Father has granted me a title, and I am not even fifteen yet. My mother (the Empress) thinks I am too noisy and wants to drive me out of the palace to build my own mansion. That is not the main thing, but once I establish my own household, I must marry a Fujin, and she says she wants to find someone to keep me in check. I am unwilling. What if I meet the woman I love in the future? You see, twenty xiunü (maiden candidates) were selected this year to stay in the palace; not only mine, but even the Fujin for you and Thirteenth Uncle are among those assigned. I asked Thirteenth Uncle, and he just played the fool, saying whoever wants her can marry her. I do not have the guts for that. You are of the same generation as my Father, so perhaps you have room to negotiate. If you all refuse, then I can use your momentum."

He was somewhat surprised. "Where did you hear this?"

The Sixth Prince said, "The entire palace knows. Don't ask where I heard it; in any case, the matter is real. You are all of age, so it doesn't matter if you are betrothed. I am only thirteen—am I to bring someone into my house just to play games? My mother comes up with crazy ideas every day, and it is a pity my Father listens to her... Twelfth Uncle, what are your plans? Are you going to comply or resist? Give me a straight answer.”