Chapter 27
Xie Yao lowered his head and his eyes, and no one could see his expression.
Yuli saw his coldness and distance. That faint, subtle fragrance appeared at the tip of her nose again. She wanted to ask, but the words were swallowed back several times.
“You go to sleep first,” Xie Yao said after a long moment.
Calm and without any abnormality.
“This…” Yuli looked at the still steaming custard buns.
“Go quickly.”
These two words could even be considered gentle, but Yuli felt her heart tighten.
“Then you should also sleep early,” Yuli said, forcing a normal tone and smiling before leaving.
Yuli walked out of the room and called for Xiyun to have someone bring water for a bath.
After Yuli had bathed, there was still no one in the bedchamber. She sat for a while, and Xiyun came in.
“Where is the Young Master? Has he left?” Yuli asked.
Yuli’s face was pale, as if she were tired, or as if she were worried about something.
Xiyun held her hand. “The Young Master is still in the study. What’s wrong? Did the Mistress have a quarrel with the Young Master?”
How could Yuli possibly quarrel with Xie Yao? She was afraid that before she could express any dissatisfaction, Xie Yao’s gaze would frighten her.
Yuli felt that all of this might be related to that fragrance. Her thoughts were a little chaotic, and perhaps she was overthinking it. It was not good to tell Xiyun.
“He’s probably tired. It’s nothing,” Yuli said.
Yuli went to bed but left a lamp on for Xie Yao.
Perhaps he was really tired today. He was covered in sweat and looked as if he had done something physically demanding outside. Or perhaps he had encountered a problem and didn’t want to bring his bad mood to her, which was why he was not being intimate with her.
Yuli was in a drowsy sleep, but she knew that Xie Yao had not entered the room all night.
It was almost dawn, the time he usually left. In the past, he would always kiss her forehead and leave with the morning star.
Even if he hadn’t left last night, he wouldn’t be coming in now.
Only then did Yuli’s heart settle, and she fell asleep.
She slept until nearly noon. Yuli woke up and had her meal.
Yuli wanted to ask when Xie Yao had left last night, but she was afraid that Xiyun would worry, and Jingyu had been frowning in a place she couldn’t see since early in the morning.
It was as if she had returned to the time when she had just arrived here. Everyone in Mingyue Residence was cautious, including Yuli herself, who was also very uneasy.
Fortunately, Yingniang came and sang a few songs, and Yuli temporarily forgot about those unpleasant things.
Today, Yingniang came early. She didn’t go to the stage by the lake but was in the study of Mingyue Residence, talking and singing with Yuli.
Besides the two of them, Xiyun also sat on the side, while Jingyu stood at a distance, serving.
Yuli held a thick stack of paper in her hand, selected the lyrics, and had Yingniang listen to her hum it once, then adapt it and sing it in her own style.
Yuli was mesmerized by her singing of love songs. Every line she sang was like the sound of heaven, making her bones go soft and her heart tremble.
After singing a few, Yuli took out the cheesy love songs.
“Give me a piece of blue sky, a rising sun…” Yingniang read the lyrics, and Yuli couldn’t hold back her smile. “…Man, you are mighty and strong, a galloping horse like a gust of wind.”
Yuli finally burst out laughing.
Yingniang felt something was wrong with the beginning. Compared to the poems she had just seen, one was as elegant as the heavens, and the other was as vulgar as the earth.
Seeing Yuli bent over with laughter, Yingniang was surprised. “What’s wrong? Although the lyrics are a bit vulgar, the mood is unrestrained and free, with a sense of great vulgarity and great elegance.”
“Is it?” Yuli straightened up, flipped through the pages again, took out another piece of paper, and handed it to Yingniang with her lips pursed.
“Betray my love—” Yingniang read the first line, and the rest she only read, her expression becoming more and more indescribable.
Yuli covered her mouth but still couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Yingniang also burst out laughing, looked at Yuli, and raised her phoenix eyes slightly. “The Mistress is deliberately making things difficult for me.”
“No,” Yuli waved her hand. “I’m just curious what it would be like for Yingniang to sing such a song.”
After saying that, she laughed again.
Yingniang was a little helpless.
Yuli didn’t stop, laughing and stumbling as she hummed the second song for Yingniang to hear. After Yingniang heard it, she actually sang it for her.
When she sang, “Love is not something you can buy just because you want to,” she finally broke her ten-year composure and also laughed.
The two of them laughed together, and the study was filled with joy.
After laughing, Yuli took out some more inspirational lyrics.
“This one, I often sing to encourage myself,” Yuli said, handing the paper to Yingniang. It was a song called “My Future is Not a Dream.”
Yingniang did not rashly read it out loud. She scanned it once and said, “It’s too plain, without any artistic conception, not as good as ‘The Man Taming the Horse.'”
Being criticized for her aesthetic taste, Yuli was not annoyed and said, “When I was having a hard time before, I sang such songs to hold on to hope.”
Yingniang couldn’t guess Yuli’s background. She looked like an eighteen-year-old girl, but she seemed to have experienced a lot, yet she had managed to maintain her innocence. No wonder the master of this house liked her so much.
Yuli softly sang the song for Yingniang to hear. Yingniang listened quietly. Such a straightforward song was also sung very movingly by Yuli.
More than half of the afternoon flew by. Yuli had to go to the kitchen to make some delicious dishes for Xie Yao, so she had to let Yingniang go first.
“Is Yingniang free tomorrow?” Yuli asked her, and Yingniang knew it was time to leave.
In fact, as long as Yuli wanted, Jingyu would send a message, and people from the palace would go to the Chunxiao Tower. Even if Yingniang was not free, she would have to come.
Hearing Yuli ask this, Yingniang thought that she probably didn’t even know the man’s identity, and a sense of pity arose in her heart.
“Mm, I’m free tomorrow,” Yingniang said. Even if she wasn’t free, she could postpone her own affairs and come on her own initiative.
Yuli smiled. Although she was living seriously in this time and place, she always had a sense of loneliness of being in a foreign land. Meeting a friend who could sing the songs of her hometown made her feel very close, and she wished she could keep her by her side, talking and singing with her every day.
Yingniang was about to leave. Jingyu went to get the reward money. Yuli suddenly wanted to give her something different. She asked her to sit for a while and went to the west side-room.
She rummaged through the boxes and cases, took out a round fan that had not been used, and when she was about to leave, she saw the box of incense, stopped, and took it with her.
Before entering the study, she found an excuse to send Xiyun away. Only Yuli and Yingniang were in the room.
Yuli’s round fan was exquisite. It was the one Yuli had taken a fancy to but had not bought when she went out a few months ago, and Xie Yao had given it to her.
It was very exquisite. Although it was not extremely expensive, its aesthetic was good, and it was clear that it was something Yuli cherished.
Yingniang accepted it and was about to curtsy to thank her. Yuli took her hand and pulled her up. “Help me look at this.”
Yuli pulled her back to her seat, took out a piece of agarwood, and let Yingniang smell it.
“Yingniang is knowledgeable. Can you tell what kind of people usually use this incense?” Yuli asked, her expression a little more serious than before.
Yingniang sniffed it carefully, looked at Yuli for a while, and said, “This incense is made of the finest agarwood, and its price is comparable to gold. Among the people I have seen, only the young masters of aristocratic families have used it.”
Yuli pursed her lips. “What if it’s also mixed with some floral fragrance?”
Yingniang was taken aback.
Then it must be a noble lady of an aristocratic family. But this incense was always kept in the inner chambers and was used to enhance the atmosphere. If it were mixed with floral fragrance, the occasion should be even more private.
Yingniang had indeed experienced many storms. Just from Yuli’s actions and expression, she guessed that Yuli might have finally discovered that she was not the only woman of the man she thought was good.
Thinking of the flower Yuli had once given her, “I would rather die with fragrance on the branch,” Yingniang did not answer directly, but said, “Does the Mistress care about chastity?”
Yuli was not prepared for Yingniang to suddenly ask such a question. She had not thought about it before, but her intuition as a modern person was that she did not care.
Yuli shook her head.
Yingniang: “Since the Mistress does not care about chastity, why bother with this? If you ask me, a man’s chastity is also not something to care about. We are all people who cannot control our own destinies. The most important thing is our own health and happiness.”
Yuli looked at Yingniang without a word.
Yingniang said a little more clearly, “If he has a woman outside, be generous and take the initiative to bring her into the residence. By retreating, you can make him feel guilty, gain a good reputation, and get some practical benefits. That is the foundation of our women’s standing.”
Yuli now understood. Yingniang had confirmed the trickery just from this fragrance and was advising her to be generous, even to bring the person into the residence and openly give her to Xie Yao.
Yuli’s face turned pale. She clearly could not accept it.
Yingniang just thought she was young and had not experienced the dangers of the world, and was unwilling to accept it.
But she had seen a lot in the deep courtyards and noble circles. It was common to have three wives and four concubines. Keeping a mistress was despised, but it was not uncommon for people to keep one secretly.
Yingniang had seen a dancer from the brothel who had left the profession and become a concubine to a powerful man. But she thought she was the only one in his heart and became arrogant with his favor. In the end, she annoyed him and was secretly harmed by his legal wife, and was finally wrapped in a thin mat.
She had also seen a legal wife who could not tolerate a noble concubine and was dealt with by the master of the house, losing all face. She, a songstress, had also encountered a legal wife who had come to make trouble. As long as she used a little trick, pretending to be cold and weak, it was the legal wife who was blamed.
Even more so. Yingniang thought of an old story that had been passed down.
Yingniang’s heart was already as hard as iron, but she wished that Yuli could remain innocent forever. But the world would never let go of any weak woman.
Yingniang told this old story to Yuli. “Many years ago, there was a courtesan in Pingkang Fang whose beauty was fading. In order to find a good home, she would deliberately not take contraceptive medicine when she met a distinguished guest, thinking that if she got pregnant, she would be taken in as a noble concubine. Who would have thought that she got pregnant three times in a row, but was abandoned by the guest like a worn-out shoe. She had to take medicine to have an abortion. The fourth time, she finally succeeded. That distinguished guest was a regular visitor to Pingkang Fang. He redeemed her, giving her a home, but it was just to keep her outside, as a mistress like several other women. She successfully gave birth to a child and survived among the many mistresses. But ten years later, when the child was grown up, just because the distinguished guest’s legal family would not accept them, she was personally poisoned by the man.”
Yingniang’s voice was calm, as if she were telling an ordinary story from the streets, but Yuli felt a chill all over.
She felt that Yingniang’s talent for writing stories should also be good.
Yingniang looked at her expression and knew that she had never heard of such things. She smiled and said, “It’s just a rumor. No one has seen it with their own eyes. The people in the brothels love to tell these stories to scare people.”
Only then was Yuli relieved. But her brow was still furrowed.
Yingniang looked at Yuli’s personality. She was not the type to be arrogant with favor, at least she would not anger the master of the house, just suffer in her heart.
But after the suffering, it would pass.
The women in the deep courtyards, without exception, all went through this.
Yingniang wanted to say something more, but a figure flashed outside the door. Jingyu walked in with a tray.
Yingniang took the tray and bowed to Jingyu. Jingyu looked at her, her smile very faint.
After Yingniang left, Yuli sat in the study for a while. The sun was setting in the west. Only then did she hurry to the kitchen.
Yuli made Xie Yao’s favorite dishes and prepared them at the time he usually arrived, and laid them out in the parlor of Mingyue Residence.
At dusk, he returned, treading on the green stone path.
Yuli stood for a moment and went to meet him.
He was wearing a gambiered canton gauze scholar’s robe, the fabric as dark as lacquer, without a trace of luster. His face was the same, without a trace of emotion.
Yuli hesitated for a moment but still raised her hand to link her arm with his.
Xie Yao did not stop walking, but Yuli froze.
The scent of flowers, wood, and cosmetics filled her nose, and it was even different from yesterday.
Jingyu and Xiyun came out. Yuli forced herself to be calm and maintain her usual demeanor.
Yuli stepped into the room. There were many lanterns in the room, illuminating Xie Yao’s face clearly.
Yuli could see a rare look of fatigue on his face.
Yuli sat down beside him and habitually served him food. Xie Yao would still eat all the dishes she served him.
Xie Yao ate seriously, not even looking at her.
Yuli also ate on her own.
There was no doubt that he had been in contact with other women.
It turned out that the person who had loved Song Yi to death in the original novel would also have a change of heart in the face of a plain life.
When her unscrupulous father had money, the first thing he did was to take two concubines to play with, let alone someone as powerful as him.
If not for the entanglement in the original novel, he would have had more thoughts to put elsewhere. Even if not for desire, but for power, as the regent, it was impossible for him to have only her, and to place her in a secret place, not to be seen by others.
Yingniang’s words were still ringing in her ears. Just now, she had thought Yingniang was too realistic, but now that she thought about it, those were the most beneficial choices for herself.
Yuli counted the grains of rice in her bowl, finding it almost difficult to swallow.
Xie Yao didn’t eat much, and Yuli didn’t eat much either. Yuli put down her chopsticks first.
Jingyu led people to serve clear tea. Yuli held the teacup, and her heart gradually calmed down.
Rather than letting Xie Yao hide the person in a place she didn’t know, or suddenly bring the person before her one day and tell her, “This is my concubine. You will still be in charge of the residence in the future. Don’t be jealous,” it was better for her to be generous and be a virtuous wife, so that he could enjoy himself without any worries.
“Does Husband want to take a concubine?” Yuli said.
Xie Yao looked at her, and the teacup landed heavily on the table. “Why do you ask?”
The air in the room seemed to stagnate. Yuli found it difficult to breathe. She saw Xie Yao’s expression was deep, with no joy or anger. She forced a pale smile. “Husband, don’t overthink it. Husband is very good to me on ordinary days. I just want to repay you. Even if you take a concubine, I will still be devoted to you.”
Xie Yao’s eyes were like a dark sea, and waves suddenly rose. “Devoted, yet you want me to take a concubine?”
Yuli felt a chill. She looked away. Xie Yao suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, forcing her to look at him.
Yuli sensed that Xie Yao was angry. He was of high status and naturally did not like people to guess his thoughts, and even more so, he tabooed people guessing them and bringing them up.
Perhaps now was not the time to bring this up.
Yuli said, “It was my presumption. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”
The force on her wrist was so great it hurt. Yuli didn’t dare to move.
Xie Yao moved his wrist and pulled Yuli onto his lap, his palms tightly imprisoning her shoulders and back.
“Tell the truth.”
After getting close to him, the smell on him became clearer. Yuli felt repulsed. She held her hands in front of her chest, not wanting to touch him. He increased his force, and Yuli felt her entire shoulders, back, and arms were being pressed until they hurt.