Spring of the Blade - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The jade pendant had returned at last. It seemed that the connection between her and Shen Run had always been maintained by this object. Seeing it again felt like reuniting with an old friend, a sense of familiarity washing over her.

Qingyuan picked it up and held it in her palm, sighing, "Long time no see." Yet, given her current predicament, she could not bring herself to feel any joy. Thinking back on her life, she had always been living under others' roofs—from the Chen family to the Xie family, and now, the Shen family. She could not change her origins; her only hope was marriage—to find a suitable person, have a few rooms of her own, and live in peace and contentment. Unfortunately, even this small hope now seemed like a pipe dream.

The lattice window here faced his flower window. Within that reddish-brown, hexagonal, elaborately carved frame, a silk-material lamp and a long console table were enclosed. On the table, a plum vase held two peacock feathers, their deep blue patterns resembling a pair of eyes peering in from the outside.

He had likely already fallen asleep; the room was deathly quiet, save for the incessant, noisy chirping of insects. She walked over and reached out to remove the wooden stick propping up the window. The window sash caught on the branches of a begonia tree growing beside it, stirring a series of soft, rustling tremors.

She gently lowered the window and turned back to look. The so-called side chamber was not a side chamber in the ordinary sense—it was not just a single room, but a masterfully designed suite, complete with primary and secondary spaces and partitions made of screen frames and treasure shelves. Everything was just right, everything prioritized comfort. Qingyuan even began to suspect that perhaps this room had been conjured out of thin air by some dark magic of Shen Run’s.

She shook her head. She couldn't worry about all that; grieving was an exhausting business. After washing up and changing her clothes, she lay down. From childhood until now, she had never slept alone. There was always a maid setting up a bed in the outer room to keep watch. Today, even Baoxian had been sent away by them to who knows where... Being alone inevitably made her feel desolate. When she thought about the road ahead, she realized that pure, simple moments like this evening would likely never happen again. Once the woman he was set to marry entered the door, what would she be? It was no wonder he had joked before about making her a concubine; if things continued like this, she feared his words would truly become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Her thoughts were too heavy, and she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Eventually, she drifted into a hazy, half-conscious state, and grotesque dreams emerged one after another. She dreamed of the Mu family’s young lady, who greeted her with cold eyes and a cold tone, saying frigidly, "The Fourth Young Lady of the Xie family is, after all, a daughter of a prominent house. How did you fall to this state, begging to become a concubine for our Commander?"

In her dream, she choked up slightly, tears flowing and gathering in her eye sockets. That tiny patch of skin, no larger than a fingernail, became a small puddle, bearing the weight of her countless sorrows. The person crouching by her bed sighed softly, "Little girl, why be so stubborn? If you just softened up and said you loved him, he would hold you in his palm and never let you suffer another grievance."

Calculations aside, the people he sent out had departed for Hengtang on the same day as Li Congxin. The elderly Chen couple were advanced in age, so the long journey would take twice as long, but they shouldn't be too far from Youzhou. At most, in three to five days, she would be able to see them. This silly girl was still grieving, still heavy-hearted over her uncertain future, yet he found teasing her rather amusing. Commander Shen had poured all the roguish wit of his life into her; who told her to always put on such airs, always refusing to honestly admit her heart and say she wanted to be his wife!

She sobbed again, eyes closed, calling for Baoxian, "Water..." After finishing, she covered her face with her wide sleeve and continued to choke back tears.

He had no choice but to stand up and pour her a cup of water. Hearing the footsteps coming and going, she propped herself up to sit, still feeling dazed. Seeing that it was him who had brought the water, she let out an "eh," stunned for a long while, as if she didn't recognize him at all.

Shen Run extended his hand, "Weren't you thirsty?"

Qingyuan stared blankly, watching that fair, slender hand holding the fine porcelain cup toward her. It took a long time for her to regain her senses, and she glanced at the door, "How did you get in?"

He took the opportunity to sit on the footstool by her bed, his tone very casual, "I was sleeping in the middle of the night and remembered you were in my courtyard. I suddenly missed you and wanted to come see you."

The door was closed, so she looked at the window again, "So you climbed in through the window?"

He tutted, " 'Climb' sounds so unrefined. I vaulted through the window." He pointed toward the lattice window to the east, "This room has no other advantages, except that it has many windows." After saying this, he smiled with shameless charm.

Whether climbing or vaulting, running into her room in the middle of the night was truly improper. Qingyuan hurriedly took a sip of water and handed the cup back to him, "Thank you, you can go back now."

He casually placed the cup on the table, rested one arm on the edge of the bed, and propped his chin on it, whispering, "I'm not going back. You sleep; I'll watch over you."

Qingyuan felt deeply stifled, "With you here, how can I sleep?"

"Can't sleep?" He thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll stay here and talk with you."

She felt disheartened, "It’s not that I can't sleep; it's that you are here, and it is inconvenient for me to sleep. Please, leave! What would it look like if someone saw you!"

He was unconcerned, "This is my residence; who would dare whisper a word of gossip? From now on, you don't need to carefully watch the faces of the Xie family anymore. In this mansion... before the main wife enters the door, you are the empress of the Commander's mansion."

But what about when the main wife enters the door? How long could this stolen self-indulgence last?

Qingyuan shook her head, "Let me leave tomorrow. I cannot stay here with you."

Shen Run frowned, "Where do you intend to go?"

"Back to the Xie family," she said. "I must find a way to get my things, and then fly far away—back to Shengzhou, back to Hengtang."

His expression turned cold, "Does the young lady not want me anymore? You only think of flying far away, and have never thought of me?"

Qingyuan looked at him awkwardly, "You are a high official with a generous salary, eating well and sleeping well; you don't lack someone to care for you. Look at me—I'm currently neck-deep in trouble. Staying here would only be a burden, and if the Xie family's deadlock isn't resolved, I'll be criticized by them anyway. Why bother?"

He looked gloomy, pillowing his head on his arm, and said, "I will head to the capital tomorrow to request an imperial decree to mobilize the Imperial Guards stationed in Jiannan."

A high-ranking official who stood at the head of the three yamen was speaking with such desperate courage. Perhaps, no matter how old a man gets, there is always a childlike side to him.

Qingyuan did not understand court matters, so she only said, "The Commander should act according to his ability. Even if the Xie family’s crisis is resolved this time, I fear there will be more in the future. As one man, how long can you drag them along?"

Shen Run laughed when he heard this, his gaze filled with even more lingering tenderness, "It is truly Shen Run's blessing that you think so much of me. You needn't worry; I know what I'm doing. There is no reason to help someone to the point where one ends up stumbling oneself. Hey, lie down and talk..." He patted the bedboard, "Why are you sitting? Lie down."

Qingyuan felt he had ulterior motives, "Don't think that just because I've entered your mansion, I've become meat on the chopping block. If you dare to bully me, I will still take my own life to prove my resolve."

He was astonished, "If something were to happen to you, wouldn't that just play right into the Xie family's hands, giving them an excuse to extort me?"

So now, she could neither live nor die. She felt somewhat discouraged and propped herself up on the bed, "Why do you insist on me lying down? Do you have some indecent thoughts?"

It seemed she still had the vigilance of a young girl, just not enough awareness of the current situation. He kindly enlightened her, "You are living in my courtyard, sleeping in my bed, and it is the middle of the night—everything is still and silent, and there is no one around... If I wanted to do something to you, would I have to wait for you to lie down? Do you underestimate Shen's methods, or overestimate your own ability to resist?"

Qingyuan had no choice. Fortunately, the bed was wide enough. She moved to the inner side and reluctantly lay down.

He rubbed his chin, "Let me see... the space is big enough. It seems it could accommodate me lying down..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than she scooted toward the edge, saying awkwardly, "I'm closer to you so I can hear what you're saying more clearly, okay?"

He pursed his lips and smiled, looking quite satisfied. Just like that, one lying on the bed, the other sitting on the footstool, leaning in and pillowing his arms, their faces could be very close. Qingyuan remembered the storybooks she had read as a child: young lovers, sweethearts from childhood, one unable to leave the house, the other unable to enter, so one would climb the window wall, and the other would crane their neck to look up from below. That innocent, tender feeling flowed through her heart like water. She never expected that Commander Shen, at his age, would still be willing to lower himself to strike such a deeply affectionate pose.

Their gazes met, and they stared at each other. They had never examined each other from such a close distance before, and it felt somewhat strange. Qingyuan studied him carefully. He had a pair of heroic brows and long, deep eyes. Whenever those eyes narrowed slightly, they revealed an inexplicably bewitching quality—as if he didn't need a blade to capture one's soul, just a single glance would suffice.

And he, looking at her gently—she was only fifteen, a charming age, a charming person, the most brilliant time of a girl's youth. With her hair loose in the night, devoid of makeup, she was as clean and transparent as a gardenia; no dust in the world could pollute her. She was meant to be carefree. If she hadn't returned to the Xie family and learned of the fickleness of the world, she would have lived better, and there would not be such heavy light in her eyes.

Shen Run reached out to smooth her slightly exposed collar, "You just said you wanted to return to the Xie family... Do not go back. Even if the dowry is large, there will be time to take it back later. If you go back now, you will only be humiliated by them."

Qingyuan blushed at his action. Sometimes she was very confused; at night, she wasn't as cautious as she was during the day, so she held down her collar with one hand and said, "I just can't let it go. I didn't get a single penny from the Xie family, but I left behind the things Grandma Chen gave me."

Girls were just narrow-minded, Shen Run thought. He said, "The mansion has everything; if you need anything, just say the word. Aside from the carriage back to Hengtang, I will do everything in my power to satisfy you."

She fell silent, suddenly realizing that the current him was no different from Li Congxin—holding on with the left hand, and not letting go with the right, "sister," "my dear," lingering in ambiguity for a lifetime.

"I've been pondering all day, and there's one thing I've wanted to ask you. Was the incident I encountered at the Danyang Marquis's villa arranged by you beforehand?"

Shen Run was quite straightforward and told her, "Yes."

Qingyuan was somewhat annoyed, "Is it not too despicable for you to do such a thing? Is there any meaning in something calculated with such painstaking effort?"

He frowned, "What was calculated wasn't a thing—it was you. Why would it have no meaning? Besides, I only sent the person to him; I couldn't control what happened in bed. As a man walking under heaven, where are there no flirtatious distractions? The Young Marquis of Danyang’s reputation for playfulness has long been known across the court and the public. Without the Zhang San I arranged, there would still have been a Li Si that he favored. I only helped you see this person clearly earlier, so you wouldn't regret it in the future. You must understand: with the Xie family's clan ethics, they would never offend the Danyang Marquis's residence for your sake. Did you want to be hidden away in a boudoir by him, having him send you a concubine to manage one day, and bringing home an illegitimate child to register under your name the next?"

Qingyuan was stunned by his words. Naturally, she understood in her heart that these were all hard truths, and she had already prepared herself that the inner-chamber battles would not end in the future. Her requirements were not high; she only wanted that person to be abstinent for the period before their marriage, but unfortunately, even that he could not do. The Young Marquis was born that way—he wasn't a bad person, just too kind to everyone. Seeing him fall into the trap Shen Run had set, she felt he was somewhat pitiful.

"What about the East Gao Night Banquet that night?" She asked him miserably, "That was also a trap set by you, intended for me to hear, right?"

Shen Run’s gaze shifted, "For such a small matter, there is no need to dwell on the past."

Yet she felt somewhat angry and said frigidly, "Why did you use every means necessary to break my engagement? When I went to the government office to see you that day, hadn't we made it very clear? I would marry my Young Marquis, and you would betroth your Mu second young lady; we had nothing to do with each other. Yet now you've gone back on your word, setting traps and tripping me up everywhere, harming me to this extent. I want to ask you: are you truly kind, or are you intentionally taking revenge on me because I didn't follow your lead?"

She glared at him with anger. A beautiful girl, even when angry, was lovely. Shen Run was so distracted by her beauty that his brain couldn't keep up with his mouth. He teased, "I did this merely to bring you back to my side."

This sentence truly infuriated her. She kicked out at him, "Shen Run, you scoundrel!"

He was startled, but fortunately, he was quick-witted and avoided it. He gave an "eh" and said, "What's wrong with you?"

Qingyuan was incredibly angry. She jumped up, clenched her fists, and shouted at him, "What do you take me for? Do you think that just because I broke off my engagement, I must become your concubine? I originally thought you were better than Li Congxin, but who knew you were also 'eating from the bowl while watching what's in the pot.' Get out! If you dare to sneak into my room again, I will perish together with you!"

Although Shen Run didn't know what she meant by "perish together," he saw that she was genuinely angry, and he felt a bit panicked in his heart.

"Young lady, I was just teasing you..."

She hurled her pillows and quilts at him all at once, "Get out!"

He scrambled to catch them, hoping at that moment that she would be so enraged that she would throw herself at him, and he would definitely be able to hold her firmly in his arms. Unfortunately, she didn't; she was stomping on the bed with a thumping sound, and he realized for the first time how terrifying a woman’s anger could be. He carefully stepped forward a few paces, returned the pillows, and smoothed things over, "Alright, alright... I'll get out. It's late; you should rest early." As he said this, he retreated toward the lattice window, intending to return the way he came, but then thought better of it. Instead, he went out the proper way and closed the door behind him.

He left, and the world finally became quiet. Qingyuan sat on the bed and cried for a long while, truly unable to understand if all the men in the world were like this. In any case, she could not stay in the Commander's mansion; she had to find a way to leave at dawn. Filled with anxiety and fear that Shen Run would come again, she drifted in and out of sleep until morning. She hazily heard footsteps and voices outside, sounding like Baoxian, who asked in a soft voice outside the partition door, "Is the young lady awake?"

She gave a start and propped herself up, saying, "Come in."

The door opened. The first to enter was not Baoxian, but the maids of the mansion. They laid out the washing utensils one by one and then bowed and retreated.

Baoxian stepped forward, and once everyone was far away, she grasped her hand tightly and asked, "Did Commander Shen do anything to you? I wanted to find you last night, but they kept blocking me..."

Qingyuan shook her head, "In that regard, he counts as a gentleman, but we cannot stay here. We must find a way to return to Hengtang."

Baoxian thought for a moment and said, "Later, I will quietly ask someone to pass a word to Chuntai and Nanny Tao. No matter what, we must get your private savings out; we can't let the mistress have them for nothing. Once we have money in hand, we will hire a carriage and return to Hengtang..."

"You two are thinking too simply. Can you just leave whenever you want after entering the Commander's mansion?" A person outside the door shattered their plans. It was Fangchun, arriving while holding her pregnant belly. Unlike the anxiety of Qingyuan and Baoxian, her face was piled with smiles as she clapped her hands, "I have long been hoping for you to come. The household has few people, and once they go to the capital, I am the only one left, which is terribly lonely. Now that you're here, thank goodness, I finally have someone to keep me company. I wanted to come see you yesterday, but unfortunately, Shen Che wouldn't let me..."

Qingyuan, as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw, seized her hand and said, "Sister Fangchun, you’ve come at the right time. Only you can help me this time..."

Fangchun was a straight shooter and laughed, "Don't call me sister; I can't afford that honor. It should be me changing how I address you to 'Elder Sister-in-law'.”