Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Yan Shisheng exited the main house and walked a few steps along the eaves, where he saw his family huddled anxiously under the corner of the wall.

By the fence outside the gate, torches flickered like distant stars. Accompanied by the pitter-patter of the rain, the townsfolk and villagers stood on tiptoe, necks craned, wanting to see what had become of the Yan family, whose home was now guarded by soldiers.

As Yan Shisheng emerged, his family rushed to meet him, their eyes fixed on him with desperate expectation.

Father Yan was middle-aged but remained imposing and elegant, possessing a certain refined aura. He paced over with his hands behind his back, looking like a wizened old scholar. But as soon as he reached his son, he agilely extended his thin, long arms and gripped the hem of Yan Shisheng’s robe in a panic: “Erlang…”

Yan Shisheng pulled his sleeve away from his father’s grasp: “One moment.”

Instead of calming his family first, he bowed toward the concerned villagers on the other side of the fence to express his gratitude. He caught the village head’s eye, signaling that his family’s problem was resolved and that everyone need not worry.

In the slanting wind and drizzle, the young scholar’s voice sounded clear and gentle: “…With that settled, I shall visit another day to offer my thanks. Thank you all for your concern.”

The village head laughed: “A trivial matter, we didn’t really do anything. In any case, now that you’ve returned, Yan Erlang, we knew your family’s issues would be resolved. Staying here wasn't about anything other than finding some peace of mind. Since all is well, everyone, let’s disperse.”

Yan Shisheng bowed once more.

The third Yan brother, possessing a voice as loud as thunder, remarked bluntly: “Second brother, we’re all family in the village; why be so overly formal and pedantic…”

Yan Shisheng glanced at him, and the third brother was immediately pulled aside by their younger sister, who signaled him not to cause more trouble for their second brother.

Once the people outside had dispersed, Yan Shisheng recounted his conversation with Mu Wanyao to his family.

Hearing that they were still permitted to live in their home, Father Yan let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his careworn face. He had been too afraid to approach the visitors himself, waiting stubbornly for Erlang to return to solve the problem.

The rest of the Yan family nodded. The third brother had some complaints about only being allowed to stay in the side rooms, but under Yan Shisheng’s steady gaze, he did not voice his discontent.

Satisfied that they had been settled, Yan Shisheng turned to his younger sister, Yan Xiaozhou, and said softly: “Little sister, you will stay in one room alone tonight, so get to sleep early. Tomorrow, wake up a bit earlier and take out the Lingxi Boluo that we buried under the tree at the back door last year. Lingxi Boluo is a famous Lingnan liquor; Lady Mu is a newcomer and has likely never tasted it. Burn some wine and serve it to her tomorrow morning.”

Younger sister Yan Xiaozhou was astonished.

She opened her clear, bright eyes and argued weakly: “But Lingxi Boluo is very precious! I brewed it for a whole year, and we agreed it would be saved for when Eldest Brother gets married. Why give it to that strange lady now? She’s just a passerby!”

Yan Shisheng replied: “No matter how good a thing is, it must be brought out and used at the appropriate time. That Lady Mu has a noble status; not only must we avoid offending her, we should try to build a friendship with her. You all… never mind, I will handle this myself.”

Yan Shisheng shook his head, not trusting his own family to approach the lady.

The scene from earlier—the room filled with kneeling maidservants and Mu Wanyao’s utter indifference—still made his heart race. It felt as though she was so used to being knelt to that it had become second nature. He could not allow his family to approach her; if they accidentally annoyed that lady, they might bring a death sentence upon the whole family.

For matters like this, it was best he take extra care himself.

Once his thoughts were settled, Yan Shisheng asked his eldest brother: “Eldest brother, I am having little sister fetch the Lingxi Boluo, do you mind?”

Eldest brother Yan was burly and tall, possessing the aura of a man capable of wrestling tigers on the mountain; he was the strongest and most robust of them all. He trusted his second brother implicitly and immediately patted his chest: “No matter, no matter. I don’t even know when I’ll be able to find you a sister-in-law to marry, so let the wine be drunk.”

Yan Shisheng nodded in approval.

Only the third brother curled his lip in disdain. But given Yan Shisheng’s authority in the family, the third brother dared not speak again.

At daybreak, behind the gold-threaded silk screens, Mu Wanyao slowly drifted awake. The maidservants stood outside the curtains with clothes in hand, drawing back the drapery for the young lady, whose long hair trailed to her ankles as she stepped out languidly.

Her bare feet, white as snow-crows, stepped onto the warm floor mats. She wore no shoes or socks, and her toenails were painted with red henna, bright and vivid like petals. The sight was crystalline and translucent, stirring the imagination.

Mu Wanyao sat down, and Chunhua and the other maids stepped forward to comb her hair and assist with her attire.

Suddenly, Mu Wanyao smelled a fragrance.

She frowned.

Before she could ask, Chunhua, observant of her mood, answered while combing the Princess’s dark, lustrous hair: “It is the Yan family’s youngest daughter; she has been outside since dawn, burning a fire to heat wine. She said it was on her second brother’s orders to take their family’s stored ‘Ling-something-luo’ wine to offer to the Princess.”

Mu Wanyao was surprised. She had not expected that the Yan Erlang from last night, who had said a single word about his sister bringing her the wine she had brewed, would actually go through with it.

Such a trivial matter, yet he had not lied to her.

Mu Wanyao looked down at her slender, fair fingers and laughed to herself.

Chunhua observed the Princess’s unreadable expression and judged hesitantly: “…I fear the Lingnan countryside doesn’t have much good wine. If the Princess does not like it, I shall tell the Yan girl to withdraw.”

Leaning against the couch, Mu Wanyao glanced at the maidservant with disdain.

She said leisurely: “Lingxi Boluo of Lingnan, Jiannan Shaochun of Sichuan, Wucheng Ruoxia, and so on. These are all the world’s famous liquors. You are quite interesting; you are already in Lingnan, yet you have not even heard of Lingnan’s most famous Lingxi Boluo.”

Maidservant Chunhua forced a smile: “This servant is shallow and ignorant; how could I compare to your learned and talented self, my lady.”

Perhaps it was because the compliment was pleasant, but Mu Wanyao smiled and curled her lips.

A peony blossom was painted on Mu Wanyao’s forehead, with golden ornaments dangling down, reflecting the crimson of her skin—fresh, vibrant, and alluring.

Yan Shisheng had set out before dawn, leaning on his umbrella and braving the rain to head to the academy. As for the Yan family’s youngest daughter, Yan Xiaozhou, she was incredibly obedient. While the sky was still grey, she had dug up the wine jar buried under the ancient tree by the back door and, following her second brother’s instructions, had spent the morning heating the wine.

Who would have thought that this female guest had such high airs? Yan Xiaozhou had come holding the wine jar, hoping to serve it, but the guest’s maid had blocked her outside the door, coldly saying: “My lady has not yet awakened; you shall wait.”

Yan Xiaozhou was somewhat dissatisfied, but she was timid. Seeing her home surrounded by soldiers, she dared not show anger and had to wait aggrievedly for the lady to wake up.

Yan Xiaozhou’s feet were nearly numb from standing in the corridor when a maid finally pushed the door open and told her to enter.

From a distance, Yan Xiaozhou stood inexplicably at the lower end of the hall, not understanding why she, too, had to wait for the guest to summon her like a servant. As she stood there in confusion, Mu Wanyao finally stepped out, wearing her upturned slippers.

Yan Xiaozhou opened the wine jar and gestured for the maid to pour. She had not only brought the wine, but also opened a food box to reveal a bowl of fragrant, soft cheese.

Her voice was light, soft, and sweet as she placed the bowl and plate down with great agility: “My lady has just awakened, and it is not good to drink wine on an empty stomach. I have also prepared lychee curd for you; I hope you like it.”

Mu Wanyao sat down, resting her cheek in her hand as she watched the nimble young woman. She asked with a mysterious smile: “Who told you to prepare this curd?”

Yan Xiaozhou looked down and whispered: “My second brother said you are from the Central Plains, my lady, and he feared you would not be used to our local food. He said that people in the north eat dairy, and our region produces lychees, which are rare in the north. By combining the two, he thought you might enjoy it as a morning meal.”

While she spoke, the maid had returned to Mu Wanyao’s side with the dish.

Mu Wanyao extended a finger and tasted a bit of the curd. The soft, buttery food melted on her tongue like milk. At the same time, the lychee’s fruity aroma neutralized the natural muskiness of the cheese; it was truly soft and delicious.

Mu Wanyao took a sip of wine.

She looked thoughtful: “This wine tastes like more than just Lingxi Boluo.”

Yan Xiaozhou was surprised, believing for the first time that this lady truly was, as her second brother had said, of noble birth, for she had even tasted Lingxi Boluo before.

Because even though it was produced in Lingnan, it was not something an ordinary person could afford. Their family had only hidden this one jar, and she felt a pang of heartache just drinking it herself, yet this lady could immediately tell if the taste was authentic.

Yan Xiaozhou explained: “My second brother said that the rain has not stopped, and since you have been traveling for days, my lady, he feared you were physically exhausted. He told me to add some red dates to the wine to calm your heart and nourish your spleen.”

Mu Wanyao: “...”

Maidservant Chunhua: “...”

Chunhua felt dazed and sensed a threat. This Yan Erlang was far too attentive, having snatched away all the work that the maids were supposed to do. Would the Princess think they were too incompetent?

Mu Wanyao took another sip of wine.

She scoffed: “Who asked for a ‘calmed heart and nourished spleen’? Some hick is truly doing things that are entirely unnecessary.”

Yan Xiaozhou was slightly angry. Even though she was afraid of this lady, she gathered her courage to look up and speak: “You cannot speak of my second brother that way!”

There was fire in her eyes, bringing a touch of vibrant vitality to the Yan family girl’s otherwise delicate face.

Mu Wanyao let out a sharp laugh.

She asked lazily: “Why didn’t your second brother come to serve me himself?”

Hearing this lady suggest that her second brother was someone to be ordered around like a servant, Yan Xiaozhou felt even angrier. As she was about to retort, she saw Mu Wanyao gazing at her with shimmering, beautiful eyes. Shards of ice were hidden behind that smile.

Yan Xiaozhou shivered, her voice weakening once more: “…My second brother went to the academy.”

Mu Wanyao gave a dull “Oh” and pushed the curd and wine away in boredom.

She was not a glutton for food or drink.

She was simply missing an interesting person to amuse her.

The rain continued to fall.

The Yan family lived in fear, worrying that Lady Mu would find more trouble for them.

However, she did not. Since the morning when Yan Xiaozhou delivered the wine, the lady had not come out to walk about. Apart from the unnerving presence of the extra maids and guards in the courtyard, nothing else happened in the household.

In the afternoon, Yan Shisheng requested leave from the academy and returned home. He had already asked for several days off; firstly, the noble guest in his home was difficult to deal with, and secondly, the rain made travel truly inconvenient. He decided to study at home instead of going to the academy.

After Yan Shisheng returned and heard from his family that Lady Mu had not sought them out, nor even stepped outside, he felt a sense of relief.

He thought it over and decided that it was perfectly fine to leave each other undisturbed and live in peace.

After calming his family and telling those who should practice martial arts to do so, and those who should study to focus on their books, Yan Shisheng pulled a book from his bag, preparing to study.

He felt anxious; he knew that at the end of every year, the prefectures and counties would select qualified students to send to Chang’an to take the exams early the following year. Only then would there be a possibility of becoming an Imperial Graduate.

But he had already taken the exam for three consecutive years without being recommended by the prefecture to go to Chang’an. This year was the fourth; he wondered if it would be possible…

Yan Shisheng cleared his mind of distractions and spread out his scroll, preparing to read. But when he lowered his head, he realized that the lighting in the side room was poor, dim, and murky, making it hard to read the characters.

Yan Shisheng hesitated, but he could not bring himself to light a candle during the day. He rolled up his scroll and, braving the rain, went out to the corridor to find a suitable place to read.

Sitting under the eaves, listening to the murmuring rain, Yan Shisheng contentedly opened the Classic of History.

The Yan family’s youngest daughter, Yan Xiaozhou, snuck over to complain to Yan Shisheng about how terrifying the lady was, and asked him with great concern when the lady would be able to leave.

Mu Wanyao leaned against the window, sitting upright in front of a chessboard, playing against herself. She found the game boring and gradually grew drowsy, her head bobbing against the window as she drifted into a light sleep.

The maidservants, seeing this from behind the curtains, whispered among themselves, but none dared to approach and ask if the Princess wished to rest.

In her doze, Mu Wanyao dreamt she was riding a horse through the Thousand Barriers of stone tablets. The long wind brushed against her robes, and she galloped freely, feeling incredibly joyous, sweeping all the gloom from her heart.

The white horse threw back its head and neighed, and the Princess, riding atop it, looked back at the tablets and the thousands of soldiers and horses she had left behind. She couldn’t help but laugh with pride. However, before she could provoke those chasing her, she suddenly stumbled; her horse stepped into a void, and she fell from the great height…

“Thump!” Mu Wanyao’s head knocked against the chessboard.

The sound was crisp and startled the maidservants.

Mu Wanyao opened her eyes. She lifted her skirts, stepped onto the chessboard, and lay over the window frame, listening intently to the deliberately lowered voices outside—they were the culprits who had startled her awake from her dream.

The maids looked at the Princess’s lack of decorum and exchanged awkward glances, their faces looking strange.

With a “snap.”

Yan Shisheng was sitting on the steps, lowering his voice to urge his sister not to talk nonsense, when the window behind them opened and a bowl of chess pieces rained down upon their heads. The pieces pelted down like hailstones, almost killing Yan Shisheng.

This was murder.

The Yan siblings stood up in a panic, Yan Shisheng hugging his sister to protect her. The chess pieces clattered against him; he grit his teeth and endured it. He looked back to see the window open and Mu Wanyao peering out, eyes lifted.

The misty rain brushed her face, and her fragrance swirled about.

She smiled: “Are you asking when I am leaving?”

Yan Shisheng immediately replied: “I fear there is a misunderstanding between us…”

Mu Wanyao smiled brightly: “There is no misunderstanding. I heard that you wish for me to leave sooner. I was originally going to leave tomorrow, but now, I intend to stay here for a long time. Yan Shisheng, you are going to be tormented by me for a few more days; are you angry?”

Yan Shisheng: …