Chapter 37: Suppressed by You for Five Years, Don't You Hate It?

Chapter 37: Suppressed by You for Five Years, Do You Not Hate It?

Saying she was "on her way back to the manor," it was only after careful inquiry that they learned Xiao Jinghong had just set out from Guangyuan in northern Shuzhou, and was expected to arrive in five days.

As for the birthday gift she had prepared, it was quite beyond Chen Yi's expectations; he had not thought that she, like Xiao Wan'er, would be so meticulous.

Yan Hong carefully directed his subordinates to carry the chest into the Spring Lotus Garden, introducing it by saying:

"Carved from a giant tortoise shell specifically sought out from Guangyue Prefecture, it is named 'The Confluence of the Three Elements: Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity'."

One could see three figures of varying demeanors carved in openwork across the back of the nearly ten-foot-long tortoise shell: one holding a peach, one cradling a gold ingot, and one grasping a scroll with the character for good fortune.

Meanwhile, the interior of the tortoise shell was filled with some sort of translucent, resin-like substance.

At a single glance, one knew it was of immense value, and certainly not something that could be carved overnight; it must have been a magnificent gift Xiao Jinghong had prepared months or even a year or two in advance.

After Chen Yi finished looking, he closed the chest once more.

Reflecting for a moment, he instructed Xiaodie to find the previous mounting master and ask about the progress of that birthday poem.

Seeing that ten days had already passed, even if it were inlaid with gold and encrusted with jade, it ought to be finished by now.

Then, Chen Yi took Xiao Wuge back to the pavilion, brought out his fishing rod, and began his grand fishing enterprise for the day.

He refused to believe that he couldn't catch a single fish from this pond—could they truly be born antagonists?

Watching his retreating figure, Yan Hong was slightly dazed, and asked Wang Lixing beside him in a low voice:

"Has the young master always been like this?"

Wang Lixing did not answer immediately, but waved his hand to signify they should speak outside.

Coming outside the Spring Lotus Garden to join Ge the Third and the others, Wang Lixing swept his gaze around, "Where is Fourth Brother?"

Ge the Third said, "Fourth Brother said he had some business and went back for a bit, he should be back soon by my estimate."

Wang Lixing frowned slightly, then quickly smoothed his expression, turning to Yan Hong beside him to speak:

"The young master has been much more settled during this period; initially, he spent the entire day in the wing room reading and copying the family rules."

"Afterward, the Eldest Miss let him stay in the garden, so the young master spends all day fishing and drinking tea, occasionally practicing calligraphy and reading books, and it was only when the Second Miss's letter arrived that he was able to leave the manor."

Mentioning Chen Yi's two consecutive departures from the manor, a slight unnaturalness appeared on Wang Lixing's face, the subsequent words being truly difficult to bring to his lips.

The first time was to the fireworks lane in the south of the city, and because he took the Little Marquis along, it provoked the punishment of the Second Master.

The second time was even more bizarre, claiming he went to watch the third-ranked scholar parade through the streets.

As a result, in order to help Li Huaigu and Yunniang, he actually feigned being a villain to forcibly seize a commoner woman, and was nearly taken by the manor's punishment hall to be beaten with boards.

After listening, Yan Hong said thoughtfully, "The young master seems to have changed a great deal compared to before."

"Oh?" Wang Lixing recalled for a moment, "I had actually forgotten, after the young master came to Shuzhou previously, you were the one responsible for accompanying him."

Yan Hong nodded, a trace of emotion surfacing on his face, "The young master's flight from the marriage that time nearly ruined me entirely."

Wang Lixing wore a look of sympathy, "When the news of his flight from the marriage came at that time, Fourth Brother and I were guarding inside the manor, and it was indeed entirely unexpected."

Yan Hong smiled bitterly, "Speaking of which, it is rather strange; on that day, the bridal procession departed from the Fengchun Tower in the north of the city, and before they had gone very far, they encountered another bridal procession, and while yielding back and forth, the young master vanished."

"Fortunately, the Second Miss later took us to find him and bring him back, allowing us to atone for our crimes with merit, otherwise I and several other brothers would have lost our heads."

Wang Lixing patted his shoulder, offering a few words of comfort, and asked, "Did the Second Miss discover anything during her inspection of the three towns this time?"

Yan Hong glanced at him and shook his head, "Nothing for the time being."

Seeing how secretive he was, Wang Lixing asked no further; many matters involving military affairs were confidential.

To be able to receive a phrase like "nothing happened" was already sufficient.

...

The front courtyard of the Xiao Manor.

Liu the Fourth was clad in full armor, his helmet fastened tightly and his neck guard pulled low, obscuring nearly half his face.

Without haste or panic, he came to the gatehouse room on the right side of the main gate, knocking open the innermost door.

Without waiting for the occupant inside to speak, he flicked his wrist and threw a sallow slip of paper inside, whispering, "Urgent circumstances require emergency measures, do not blame me for not keeping to the rules."

"This is the last one for the recent period, the Second Miss is about to return to the manor."

With these words dropped, Liu the Fourth reached out to take the ladle hanging inside the door, while loudly shouting a word of thanks, he retraced his steps along the way he came.

Uncle Gui inside the room watched him walk away with an expressionless face, only then opening the secret missive in his hand to take a look.

Then he found a play script, re-wrote a secret missive against it, and after destroying the one provided by Liu the Fourth, he stood up and leisurely walked out of the Xiao Manor.

An hour later, a carrier pigeon flew out from a tailor shop in the Eastern Market of the city east.

A day later, the carrier pigeon landed at a certain courtyard in the small city named "Guangyuan" in northern Shuzhou. Before an incense stick's time had passed, a falcon, far larger than the carrier pigeon by several circuits, spread its wings and flew out from this courtyard, soaring straight into the clouds.

Another two days passed.

As the falcon rose and fell, it traversed tens of thousands of miles, flying from Shuzhou to the Imperial Capital Prefecture.

The majestic and vast Imperial Capital Prefecture was like floating clouds in its eyes, as it flew swiftly and straight toward the northern Imperial Palace, landing atop a five-story cloud tower named "Fengyue Tower" to the south of the Imperial Palace.

It was clearly not its first time here; after landing, it casually pecked at the insects and snakes in the feeding box, swallowing them whole into its stomach.

Soon, a man dressed in black robes, wearing a plain white mask upon his face that revealed only a pair of eyes, arrived in a hurry.

He untied the letter box from the falcon's leg, then hurried downstairs once more, pushing open a rosewood door, paying no heed to the equally masked person sitting quietly at the desk inside, and went straight to the side bookshelf to find a volume of Capital Opera.

Carefully checking and deciphering, and confirming there were no omissions, he only then breathed a sigh of relief, taking the translation to hand over to a red-robed figure who had long been waiting outside the door.

"Sir, a letter from Shuzhou, B-plus."

"Wait here."

The person wearing the red robe also wore a mask upon his face, only that mask possessed a few more patterns than the black-robed person's, resembling tiger stripes.

Carrying the deciphered letter, he came to the deepest part of the third floor, lightly knocking twice upon a wooden door with lattices.

"Pavilion Master, a letter from Shuzhou."

Seeing no sound from within, he did not speak again, still maintaining a slightly bowed posture, motionless like a wooden statue.

After approximately the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a slightly raspy voice finally drifted out: "Come in."

The red-robed man offered another salute, softly pushed open the wooden door, closed it, and then without lifting his head, knelt upon the ground.

This was an extremely spacious room, open from north to south, with sunlight and fresh breeze passing through the windows to strike the gold-and-red floor, illuminating everything within the room.

Yet the surroundings were empty and desolate, with only a single desk, a single chair, and a single figure seated before the desk.

He wore a pristine white robe, the voluminous robe accentuating the breadth and thickness of his waist and back, and upon his face he wore a white mask with black patterns, the character for "King" clearly visible between his brows, which was strikingly the pattern of a white tiger's head.

"Read."

The red-robed man gently opened the paper in his hand, "Xiao Jinghong will return to Shuzhou in a few days to celebrate the birthday of the Marquis of Dingyuan, the cup bestowed upon the Marquis of Dingyuan by His Majesty is broken, and the fledgling has associated with the third-ranked scholar Li Huaigu."

After finishing the reading, he folded the paper and knelt down once more.

The white-robed figure before the desk had his eyes fixed upon a piece of paper on the table, the rightmost edge written with the words "Shu Diao Ge Tou: Celebrating Marquis Xiao", while the signature at the bottom left corner was strikingly—The Twenty-First Year of Anhe, Chen Qingzhou congratulates the Marquis of Dingyuan on his sixtieth birthday.

Looking at it, the white-robed figure softly opened his mouth to ask, "Has it been discovered who aided the fledgling in fleeing the marriage that day?"

The red-robed man paused for a moment, "No news has come through for the time being, the sparrow-hawk side only said that someone designed it."

The figure in white let out a soft hum, speaking in a measured tone: "It is nothing but the leading clans of Shuzhou who do not wish to see the Xiao family rise again."

"Was the lord referring to the Liu family?"

"It matters not who it is. The messenger hawk is to be sent, and the fledgling bird given some bait. It is high time for him to taste the flavor of power."

"Additionally, order someone to report to the palace, inquiring whether the Sacred Emperor intends to bestow upon the old marquis a seven-colored jade cup as a birthday gift."

"Yes."

The man in red dared not speak further, bent to exit the room, closed the door, and only then straightened his posture to hasten away.

After a while.

The figure in white raised the piece of pine paper before him, scrutinizing it carefully.

"The characters are strong, the strokes fluid, the artistic conception distant... Good characters, good characters."

Alas, the ambition and resentment within the lines have vanished.

When he finished, his fingers pinched the pine paper and gave it a gentle shake. Lo and behold, the entire sheet turned into fine dust, carried out the window by a wind from somewhere unknown.

The figure in white twisted his finger, and a faint ripple passed through his eyes like a still pond. He murmured softly, "I have restrained you for five years, yet you harbor no resentment?"

(Chapter End)