Qingshan

Chapter 66 : Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Good Times

I watched my brother, Chen Wenzong, stand by the desk, holding the Xuan paper and silently reciting the verses about autumn, as serene as jade.

For some reason, an expression of pity and regret appeared on his face.

He seemed to regret that apart from the line "Withered vines, old trees, evening crows," all these poems were only single lines. A single line of poetry, while exquisite on its own, always lacks a complete artistic conception and cannot be considered a complete work.

Just as he was about to put down the Xuan paper, he picked it up again... It was as if these incomplete regrets made his heart itch unbearably.

He examined the handwriting of the poems: the script was elegant and graceful, certainly not written by the Heir.

I saw him recall something. When the maidservant had taken down the curtain earlier, it was Princess Baili who was holding the brush. Was it written by the princess? He must be thinking that the next time he saw the princess, he had to ask what the complete poems were like.

This eldest direct son of the Chen Mansion in Luocheng was so captivated by the poetry that he had completely forgotten I, his own younger brother, had also been at the banquet.

“Elder Brother, what is it? Why are you standing there motionless?” Chen Wenxiao asked.

“Hm? I’m looking at the poems,” Chen Wenzong came back to his senses.

At this moment, Lin Chaojing also got up and strolled over, wanting to see what Chen Wenzong was holding in his hand: “Are those the poems written by that Heir? Back at the Donglin Academy, I advised him not to cause trouble in the academy, but he just wouldn’t listen…”

As he spoke, when Lin Chaojing saw the nine lines of poetry in Chen Wenzong’s hand, he too was stunned.

More and more people gathered around this desk. Princess Baili had written on three pages of Xuan paper in total, so these three pages were passed from hand to hand.

Two maidservants walked up, smiling as they said: “Gentlemen, our lady is here!”

I saw Courtesan Liu slowly ascending the wooden staircase. She looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, her appearance not particularly stunning; in fact, compared to the meticulously made-up women in Red Cloth Lane, she was somewhat plain.

But there was a lively charm in the way her eyes moved between her brows.

When Liu Su came upstairs, she saw all the literary scholars gathered around one desk, and no one paid her any attention.

The maidservant wanted to call out to remind everyone again, but Liu Su smiled and stopped her. She tiptoed over lightly and asked a scholar with a beaming smile: “What are you all looking at?”

Only when the fragrant breeze hit his face did the scholar react: “Ah, we are looking at poems.”

Liu Su looked at the poetry on the Xuan paper and asked curiously: “Eh, which young master wrote this?”

“The Heir of Prince Jing’s Mansion wrote it. He has already left.”

“Left?” Liu Su went to the window, rested her hands on the sill, and looked down at the Embroidery Building below. She saw the Heir’s party talking, laughing, and playfully roughhousing as they walked out of the building.

The scene downstairs was much more interesting than the one upstairs.

Liu Su said with a smile: “They are so lively. I quite wanted to keep them for a drink, or go drinking with them.”

The maidservant was taken aback for a moment: “Miss, what should we do now? Shall I go and invite them back?”

Liu Su smiled: “No need. Interesting people are best watched from a distance. Get too close, and they become less interesting. Let’s go, we still have to deal with those uninteresting men.”

“Those three empty private seats, shall we find others to fill them?”

“Of course. It’s all the same whose money we earn.”

……

……

The Heir emerged from the Embroidery Building. Though he had clearly been angered into leaving, he walked with the swagger of a general who had just won a great victory.

Someone at the entrance saw him come out and asked curiously: “Didn’t the Heir go into the Embroidery Building? Why are you out again so soon?”

The Heir laughed openly: “I can’t write poetry, so I came out!”

“Did you see Courtesan Liu?”

“Didn’t see her. Good thing I didn’t spend any silver, or it would have been a huge loss!”

At this time, along the bluestone slate road of White Cloth Alley, every household had hung beautifully shaped lanterns, some in the shape of koi, others like buildings, all exquisite and interesting.

The street was filled with scholars and refined gentlemen, who knew everything from astronomy to geography.

The Heir and his group walked nonchalantly down this small road, appearing completely out of place.

Once they were far from the Embroidery Building, the Heir asked Baili in a low voice: “I didn’t do anything wrong today, did I?”

Baili said with a smile: “You didn’t. You’re truly my brother. One should be so decisive and straightforward.”

“Hehe,” the Heir said, smugly straightening his clothes: “They look down on us, but we look down on them too! Since we can’t beat them in poetry, we won’t compete anymore!”

Baili’s eyes curved as she smiled: “Right, what’s the point of competing back and forth.”

Liu Quxing added: “Did you see how Lin Chaojing was showing off just now, like a peacock spreading its tail.”

She Dengkang said in a muffled voice: “You haven’t learned much of Master’s medical skills, but you’ve certainly mastered the art of insulting people…”

Everyone burst into laughter, and the earlier unpleasantness was swept away.

At this moment, Liang Gou’er asked: “Heir, where are we going now? To Jin Fang in Red Cloth Lane or somewhere else?”

The Heir waved his hand and said: “We’re not going to Red Cloth Lane just yet. The little monk should be done with his chanting by now. We’ll pick up the little monk, and then go to Jin Fang together! How can we leave him out of such a happy occasion? We’ve even carried out the one with the lame leg, what’s one more monk?”

I said: “…Then when we get back to the Prince’s Mansion, can you just leave me at the clinic and not care if I live or die? I don’t want to go drinking.”

“No!”

“Let’s go, back to the mansion to get the little monk, not one less!”

“Get the little monk!”

I watched helplessly as this group of lunatics, arms around each other’s shoulders, laughing and joking, were about to walk for over half an hour just because of a whim, go back to the Prince’s Mansion to pick up the little monk, and then walk for another half an hour back to the East Market…

It was as if when everyone was young, they could be recklessly wild and waste time. As long as you still stood gracefully in your youth, you could sleep it off, and the world would forgive you.

At a certain moment, you would be convinced by the secular world that this was wrong.

But when you stood in your twilight years and looked back, you would suddenly realize that there was no right or wrong, success or failure in this world. The days you stood on tables with your friends singing until dawn, and smiled foolishly just by looking at the girl you admired, those were the truly good times.

Because you could never go back.

I asked: “Princess Baili, are your brother and his friends always this crazy?”

Princess Baili smiled faintly: “They’re usually much crazier than this. During the Lantern Festival two years ago when we returned to Luocheng, he got drunk and insisted on going to Tuoluo Temple to strike the bell. He and a few of his cronies secretly climbed over the wall in the middle of the night. The sound of the bell woke up hundreds of nearby residents. Father hung him from the rafters and beat him for a whole day.”

“Why did he want to strike the bell?!”

“He said he wanted to wake up the people of the world who could not be awakened…”

I was filled with awe: “He certainly did wake up a lot of them.”

“I follow him out now because I’m worried he might do something that ridiculous again.”

“You feel sorry for your brother getting beaten?”

Baili shook her head: “Last time, my father fell ill from exhaustion after beating him for a day, and it took a full half-month for him to recover. Father is already busy and tired; it wouldn’t be good if he got angered by him again.”

I said: “…Such deep father-daughter affection.”

……

……   

By the time everyone had picked up the little monk and returned to the East Market, it was already late at night.

Red Cloth Lane was still brightly lit, two rows of red lanterns hung from the head to the tail of the street, like fireworks that would never extinguish.

As Liang Gou’er carried my bamboo chair through the buildings, a girl on an upper floor waved her handkerchief with a charming laugh: “Isn’t that Brother Gou’er嘛, which rich patron did you latch onto for drinks today? Don’t go to Jin Fang to find Miss Yan'er了, you can’t outdrink her, come drink with me嘛, I’ll be down after two cups喽!”

Liang Gou’er laughed and cursed: “I’m not drinking with you, I’m afraid you’ll suck my yang energy!”

The girl upstairs started cursing: “Liang Gou’er, you’ve bought enough wine for that Yan'er to open another Jin Fang了, you won’t listen to reason even when you’re being fooled, what she’s drinking with you isn’t wine at all, it’s water!”

Liang Gou’er continued to carry the bamboo chair forward, responding with a laugh as he walked: “I’m happy to!”

At this moment, a stunningly beautiful girl came out from Jin Fang to greet them: “Brother Gou’er, you’re here!”

Liang Gou’er laughed heartily: “Miss Yan'er, don’t entertain any other guests today了, call the girls to take good care of our table, and don’t neglect my new friend.”

Yan'er glanced at the silver-threaded, dark-patterned python robe on the Heir, and immediately responded with a smile: “Alright!”

She led us to the second floor and arranged a very spacious private room. Dishes and wine were served like a flowing banquet, with no repetitions.

In a short while, a group of girls rushed in, bringing a fragrant breeze with them. Baili glanced at them, then pointed at me: “He doesn’t need company, he’s injured.”

At this time, a girl wanted to sit on the Heir’s lap. The Heir glanced at Baili and said with an embarrassed smile: “I can’t allow that, I can’t allow that. Just drinking is fine.”

Just then, a guest outside said: “Have you heard? That worthless Heir from Prince Jing’s Mansion wrote twelve lines of poetry at the Embroidery Building.”

“Oh? How were they?”

“Haha, you know Lin Chaojing, right? The one most likely to compete with Chen Wenzong for the top scholar position this year. He said the Heir’s writing was utter nonsense. Each poem was only half a line, every line incomplete. Who knows where he picked them up from, or perhaps bought them.”

“What did the others say?”

“The others said the same thing, that the Heir’s level is only good enough for piecing together half a poem.”

“A worthless Heir, after all.”

It was quiet in the Heir’s private room. He drank a large bowl of wine, breathed out the alcoholic fumes, and asked: “Miss, let me ask you, how is this line of poetry: ‘Autumn arrives beyond the frontier, the scenery is strange; wild geese fly past Hengyang, with no intention of staying’?”

The girl said with a smile: “Good brother, I don’t understand any of that.”

The Heir scratched his head and asked again: “‘After fresh rain in the empty mountains, the weather in the evening turns to autumn,’ is this line well-written?”

The girl refilled his wine and said with a smile: “Heir, don’t make things difficult for me. If you want to use poetry to attract girls, you should go to White Cloth Alley. In our Red Cloth Lane, it’s better to just fill up the wine first. We don’t have room for literary scholars here!”

The Heir was taken aback, then burst into laughter: “This place is good, this place is good! I don’t like those literary scholars either!”

The girl covered her mouth and giggled: “There are also middle-aged scholars who like to sneak into Red Cloth Lane. Before getting into bed, they’ll secretly take sea dog pills for impotence with their wine and ask me to wait, not to rush. Before the medicine takes effect, he’ll talk to me about Han history, about the classics, from astronomy to geography. At that time, I admire him so much. When the medicine takes effect, I ask him where the star Sirius is, and he says, stop asking, hurry up and take off your clothes.”

The little monk’s face turned red as he listened, chanting sutras while listening, and listening while chanting sutras.

The Heir thought back to what the other guests had said. It turned out that the poetry he had longed for was not as important as he had imagined: “When I first arrived at Donglin Academy, seeing Chen Wenzong and Lin Chaojing reciting poems and composing couplets, I was so envious. How could they be so elegant, so romantic, while I couldn’t? I wondered if I could stand with them if I also wrote good poetry, wrote good lines like ‘If life were only like the first time we met, why would the autumn wind sadden the painted fan.’ Today, I suddenly understand. It turns out we are from two different worlds, there’s no need to force it.”

The Heir raised his large bowl and gestured towards me: “I’m sorry for letting your poems be insulted along with me.”

I smiled and comforted him: “It’s fine, you paid for them.”

The Heir had drunk a lot and became more talkative: “And the teachers in the academy, they always demand that we be self-reliant, yet they themselves bring their concubines into the academy… Heh, the Donglin Party.”

Baili frowned and pinched the flesh on the Heir’s waist hard: “Brother, watch what you say.”

“Haha, I won’t say any more, I won’t say any more. Drink, drink!”

That night, I didn’t know how much wine the Heir drank. I hadn’t wanted to drink, but somehow, I ended up drinking until I was dizzy.

The Secret Spy Division, the Military Intelligence Division, the art of killing, the path of the Sword Seed, all were thrown to the back of my mind, leaving only the sweet wine of Red Cloth Lane.

I forgot why I drank so much. I only remember that in my daze, someone shouted ‘Let’s go, to the Drum Tower to watch the sunrise,’ and then a group of people carried me out the door.

Before leaving, Liang Gou’er held Yan'er’s hand and asked: “Are you going to see the sunrise or not?”

Miss Yan'er said with a smile: “There’s still business at Jin Fang.”

Liang Gou’er asked again: “Are you going or not?”

Miss Yan'er answered: “I’m going.”

They ran wildly through the night to the front of Luocheng’s Drum Tower. Baili slipped a silver peanut to the soldier guarding the tower, and only then did he let them pass.

Upon reaching the top of the Drum Tower, a cool autumn breeze blew, and I opened my eyes.

I saw the Heir sitting dejectedly on the railing, looking as if a gust of wind could blow him off at any moment.

The Heir asked loudly: “Liu Quxing, what do you want to do in the future?”

“I want to take over my master’s mantle and become an imperial physician!”

“Good, from now on, you will be the imperial physician of my Prince Jing’s Mansion!”

The Heir asked loudly again: “Liang Mao’er, what do you want to do in the future?”

Liang Mao’er thought for a moment: “I want to buy a few acres of land.”

“I’ll send them to you tomorrow!”

The Heir then asked: “Chen Ji, what do you want to do in the future?”

I said in a daze: “I don’t know… I really don’t know. I just want to survive for now.”

Everyone burst into laughter: “Surviving doesn’t count as an idea.”

“Heir, what do you want to do in the future?” Liang Mao’er looked up and asked.

“I want to be a great hero!” the Heir said with a smile: “I’ve just realized that reading those classics is useless. From now on, I’ll read whichever page the wind blows to, and tear out whichever page is too difficult! Beat the drum!”

With that, he picked up the drumstick and was about to strike the giant drum on the tower.

However, Baili pulled him back: “Brother, think carefully. The moment you strike that drum, the soldiers guarding the tower below will be exiled to the army!”

The Heir sheepishly let go: “Then I won’t strike it.”

I looked to the other side. Liang Gou’er was staring at the sky in a daze, while Miss Yan'er leaned gently against him, I didn't know what she was thinking.

Liang Gou’er put his arm around her: “Liuxian, where have you been all these years?”

Yan'er gripped Liang Gou’er’s lapel tightly, as if to hold onto the warmth of this prodigal son. She said softly: “I’ve come back.”

“It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back.”

As the words fell, someone shouted: “The sun is coming out!”

I looked up and saw a red sun slowly rising at the edge of the world. The clouds flowed, and the orange-red light gradually shone on everyone.

There was a group of fools around me, drunk and acting crazy, yet even the morning sun in autumn was so gentle.

Baili looked at me: “What are you thinking about?”

I smiled and said: “I want to make that cloud in the sky stop.”