Chapter Thirty-One: Life and Death Are Not Separate (Four)

  "This young lady has an extraordinary appearance, may I ask for her birth eight characters?" The Taoist asked politely, although he had just looked calm as water.

  I looked at Fei Bai in confusion, and he was also full of suspicion, casting his gaze towards Yuan Qingjiang. Yuan Qingjiang smiled: "This young lady's name is Mu Jin, and she is a twin with Ruo Ran's inner brocade, their birth eight characters should be the same."

  "What?" Qi Dao shouted loudly, startling everyone present.

  Then he circled around me a few times, as if he was showing off his skills, or as if he was admiring a sculpture exhibition. In any case, I became more and more annoyed, until even Non-White couldn't take it anymore and stepped down. Without caring whether he was an honored guest of the Original Qingjiang or not, I took a step forward to block his line of sight and asked coldly: "Master Dao, what exactly did you see?"

  He finally withdrew his gaze, nodded at me repeatedly, then bowed deeply and backed away with a smile, ignoring the stunned looks from both of us.

  Everyone's eyes swept towards me in unison, filled with doubt, shock, deep thought and gloominess. I was so frightened that I didn't understand what this Taoist priest meant.

  Later, Fei Bai told me that this Qiu Daozhang was the host of Qingxu Temple, a famous Taoist master in the world, who was good at observing the celestial phenomena and predicting disasters. He was originally an object of admiration for those seeking immortality, and Duan Yinghua heard his name and brought his family to Qingxu Temple, asking him to divine the fortune of the Duan family for the next ten years. This Qiu Daozhang initially declined, saying he was not a worldly person and did not want to perform divination. Duan Yinghua then coerced him with force, but Qiu Daozhang remained unmoved and coldly said, "Rebellious ministers and treacherous sons." Duan Yinghua became enraged, sealed off Qingxu Temple, arrested all the Taoist priests, and wanted to execute Qiu Daozhang by fire on charges of heresy. Fortunately, he was rescued by Yuan Qingjiang, and from then on, he became a very special guest in the Yuan household.

  My heart is exhausted, I just want to return to Xifengyuan and see Feijue, but Yuan Qingjiang unexpectedly invited me enthusiastically to watch the play together, so I had no choice but to follow Feibai's group back to Mengyuan.

  In the dream garden, a group of women with colorful silk dresses and jade hairpins came fluttering in, their bright eyes shining as they curtsied and said "Wishing you good fortune, Master". Ten or so young women from Qingjiang covered their fans and revealed their sparkling eyes, whispering to each other beside me.

  The gong was struck on the stage, and I stood up nervously. Fei Bai pulled me to sit beside him, while Pearl respectfully prepared a jade cup for me. But when she glanced at me, I recalled Rong Baotang's terrible experience, and my heart shrank with fear.

  "Must be hungry!" A gentle, non-white voice sounded in my ear, I raised my head, half a time ago, he was still with me in the laurel garden, but now it's like nothing happened. I suddenly felt scared, but Non-White smiled and added another piece of osmanthus cake to me: "Eat more, Mu Xi, this is the only thing that can enter my eyes in this Zi Garden." Wei Ji smiled harder than crying, forced himself to take a bite, hmm? ! It's actually not bad. Seeing my face ease up, Non-White smiled again and added another piece for me.

  Yu Qingjiang returned to his seat, with Yu Furen sitting at the left end of the table, her expression icy cold. The right end was empty, and below them sat Yu Feiyan, who had not been seen for a long time, dressed up and radiant. Her gaze kept drifting towards Song Minghui across from her. Above Song Minghui sat Xuan Yuan Benxu, looking intoxicated as he listened to the play, occasionally chatting with a young man beside him whom I had never met before. The young man wore a high crown, dragon-embroidered robes, and jade belt, his skin as white as snow, with eyebrows and eyes that bore an uncanny resemblance to Yu Feiyan. As they talked and laughed, he seemed to resemble Yu Qingjiang as well. He must be the current Crown Prince, Yu Feiqing, but I didn't know why he hadn't arrived with the princess at the same time. When he saw me sitting with Yu Feibai, his warm eyes flashed with a sharp glint for an instant. Meanwhile, Song Minghui's expression changed from surprise to a gentle smile when he saw me, which miraculously calmed my heart.

  After a while, Jinzhu and Chuhua appeared. She changed into a light purple gauze dress, her face was newly made up, and she looked even more exquisite.

  She walked up to Lord Hou's presence, curtsied and said something, then sat down in the empty seat on Lord Hou's right side. The smile she had initially painted on her face was somewhat forced, and her gait was also slightly slow.

  Jin Xiu saw me, pretended to be surprised, and whispered to Yuan Qingjiang with a stiff smile, immediately recovering to normal, full of joy. The original wife's face was extremely ugly, I was puzzled, Zhenzhu had already presented an intricately carved box in front of me: "Report to Third Master, this is the birthday gift that Jin Xiu gave to Mu Xiang."

  I thanked her and Pearl left with a cold face, I slowly opened the box, a bright red golden silk knot quietly lay on the black velvet, I was stunned, Yuan Fei also lost his mind for a moment, we both looked up at Jinxiu without saying a word, but she was whispering and laughing with Yuan Feiyan, covering her mouth with her sleeve.

  My heart is filled with unbearable bitterness, the dialogue on stage can't seem to enter my ears. At this moment, Song Ming Lei gets up as if to use the restroom, his eyes intentionally or unintentionally glance at me, and I immediately understand. Also not in vain, he says a word and gets up to leave the table.

  As soon as I came out of the vertical gate, I didn't see Song Minghui, but instead a tall and majestic figure greeted me. It was actually the young man Feng Ding from yesterday. He bowed his head and smiled at me, saying: "The master has ordered it, Miss, please follow Feng Ding."

  He was extremely polite to me, but his eyes had a hint of coldness and disdain, and his tone was not to be refused. I quietly looked around, but didn't see any sign of Song Mingyue.

  "Are you looking for Song Wei or Bai San Ye? No need to, they're both very 'busy' now. Even if they have time, you'll still have to follow me." Feng Ding looked at me with a mocking tone, I secretly cursed and forced myself to calm down, smiling: "Then please lead the way, sir."

  Feng Ding smiled at me and turned around to leave. I followed him from behind, and after many twists and turns, we arrived at a small and elegant garden.

  I gazed at the four characters "Mei Xiao Zhu" above, and my heart skipped a beat. I remembered that Xie San Niang had once casually mentioned to me that Madame Xie's maiden name was Mei, and she particularly liked plum blossoms. Therefore, Xie Wujin opened up a plum garden in Xi Feng Yuan to commemorate Madame Xie. People often said that Xie Qingjiang didn't favor Madame Xie, so why did he build this so-called "Mei Xiao Zhu"?

  I was deep in thought when Feng Ding turned around and gently opened the door, saying "Please come in, Mu Niang".

  I swallowed a mouthful of saliva, stepped across the main hall, and the interior was extremely simple. In the middle of the house, a person in a majestic purple robe was carefully appreciating a painting, which was actually Yuan Qingjiang's "Lotus and Mandarin Ducks" by Ruan Wenhua, while beside him was Mu Xi's "Love Lotus" said.

  I was stunned, and Yuan Qingjiang turned around, smiled slightly at me: "Mu Jin has arrived." I made a curtsy, feeling uneasy in my heart, and humbly lowered my head: "I don't know why Master called me here, what are your orders?"

  "Is this 'Ode to the Lotus' written by you?" Yuan Qingjiang asked. "Yes, it's one of my inferior works."

  Yu Qingjiang nodded and sat down on the first seat, pointing to the chair with a smile: "Mu Ge's body is not fully recovered yet, don't stand up, sit down and talk."

  I didn't dare sit, but he waved his hand and stood up himself: "We're all one family, don't be polite to me." I thought to myself that we were still quite far from being one family, but I quickly sat down with a thud: "Thank you, Master, for allowing me to sit."

  He was satisfied and returned to his seat, at which point Gong Ding came forward with tea, then stood behind Yu Qingjiang. Yu Qingjiang took a sip of tea: "Mu Jian's literary talent is so high, it's not just that Guangyuan has been surpassed, I'm afraid even Bai Juyi's poetry can't compare!"

  I was naturally flustered and replied, "Your Excellency's praise is misplaced. At the time, I happened to have some feelings and casually came up with a poem. How dare I be mentioned in the same breath as Song Erge or Bai San?"

  Mu Ge was too modest, yesterday I examined Fei Gong's homework at Yu Bei Zhai and saw two volumes of Western poetry collections. The poems inside were exquisite and unforgettable, and it was quite interesting that the two books were full of needle holes. Later, I asked Guo Sheng, and only then did I know that they were given by Mu Ge to Fei Gong...

  My heart skipped a beat, here it comes, the main topic is about to emerge. Wen gathered his courage and looked at Yuan Qingjiang, and indeed, his gentle eyes had retreated, revealing sharp edges, as if wanting to pierce into my innermost being: "Does Mu Xi know how Qiu Da Zhang criticized you?"

  I was sweating profusely and trying to remain calm: "I don't know, sir. Please enlighten me."

  Finished, don't tell me that old Taoist said I'm some kind of national demon or witch, after all my reputation isn't great, and Yuan Qingjiang saw me peeking at Yuan Fei yesterday, is he here to execute family law today?

  Yu Qingjiang's warm smile remained unchanged: "Whatever Master Qiu says is always accurate, and he just told me that congratulations are in order for you, sir. Your wife-to-be has the appearance of a noble person, but this one is nobility beyond words, a phoenix descending from the heavens, a queen who will bring peace to the world."

  I stared at Yuan Qingjiang, as if struck by a thunderbolt from the nine heavens, and stood there in a daze. I never expected that old cow-nosed Daoist to say something like that.

  "I was shocked, and suddenly Qing Jiang recited a poem: 'Ten years of life and death are vast and vague, not thinking about it, but can't forget. A thousand miles of desolate grave, nowhere to talk about the bleakness. Even if we meet again, we won't recognize each other, dust on our faces, hair like frost. In a dream, I suddenly returned home, in front of the small window, just dressing up. We looked at each other without speaking, only with tears streaming down. I knew that every year would be a heart-wrenching place, under the bright moon, and the short pine tree.'"

  Isn't this Jiang Chengzi from Su Shi's poetry collection? Only to see a dazed look on Yu Qingjiang's face, after a while, he came back to his senses, but his eyes still lingered with a hint of sadness. He smiled at me: "I've heard that Mu Xi has extensive knowledge and many wonderful stories in his belly, today I'll tell you one too!"

  Ah! You even know this?! Is there anything you don't know?! I'm searching in my mind for the possible informant.

  But Yuan Qingjiang began his story: "Once upon a time, there was an arrogant young master who thought he was above everyone else. One day, while visiting the Fahmen Temple, he met a beauty like jade and fell in love at first sight. He secretly remembered the surname on her sedan chair, which belonged to the Qin family's daughter. He begged his father to arrange a marriage, and coincidentally, the Qin family also wanted to form an alliance with this young master through marriage. So, he successfully obtained her hand in marriage. However, when he went to the Qin residence to welcome his new bride, he was shocked to discover that his heart's desire wasn't sitting demurely under a red veil in the sedan chair, but rather standing beside it. It turned out that this young master had made the biggest mistake of his life - his heart's desire was merely a maidservant of the Qin family's daughter."

  That night, he dazedly lifted the red veil, beyond his expectation, his son was also very good-looking, almost comparable to his heartthrob. At that time, he was too young, and could only listen blankly as others said, "How is this? Husband and wife are a perfect match?"

  However, he gradually discovered that his son was a very jealous person, relying on the power and influence of his mother's family, being arrogant and domineering every day, speaking disrespectfully to his parents-in-law and husband, and not even allowing her husband to touch anyone. Even when he glanced at his heartthrob, she would sulk for half a day. He wrote many love poems on silk handkerchiefs and secretly handed them to his heartthrob, but unfortunately, his heartthrob always foolishly told him that she had enough handkerchiefs and didn't need any more. It turned out that his heartthrob was illiterate! Yu Qingjiang smiled silently, his thoughts seeming to return to a long time ago, with simple joy and tenderness floating in the bottom of his eyes. However, his tone suddenly changed.

  "He then taught his heartthrob to read as an excuse, spending more time together, but inadvertently discovered that his heartthrob had already fallen for another man. The young master of the aristocratic family finally took her heartthrob by force in a fit of rage... He would never forget the pain in her eyes."

  The men of the Yuan family are indeed all crazy, I couldn't help but tremble with the tea in my hand, my heart wildly shouting, don't say anymore, don't tell me any more secrets about your family, although I'm already short-lived enough, at least I still want to live until I'm thirty years old, if you keep talking, I might not even see tomorrow's sun.

  But Yuan Qingjiang continued to speak: "After Min Yi died in childbirth, I successfully helped Mei to the throne. As a result, I became enemies with my former father-in-law's family, and even my own father was killed by the Qin family. But I still don't regret it. In order to deal with my father-in-law, I had to spend every day in brothels and taverns, contacting anti-Qin forces. When I finally defeated Ming Hui Zhong, the biggest supporter of Prime Minister Qin, I happily returned to Mei's residence, wanting to reunite with her. Unfortunately, she had already passed away..."

  "Mei is the most virtuous and beautiful of all my concubines, yet also the most unfortunate. Everyone, including those who are not white, thinks that I do not dote on Mei, but only I know how much I like her. It's just that I don't want her to be destroyed by excessive pampering, and even if I try to protect her, it's impossible to keep her completely safe... Even our children cannot avoid being hurt..."

  Yu Qingjiang was suddenly melancholic, and I felt like I was in an ice cellar one moment and on a charcoal fire the next. Even secrets that weren't known to Fei Bai were revealed to me by Yu Qingjiang without reserve. He told me what he wanted to do, then suddenly lifted his head and smiled at me, saying "Mu Xi, tell me, if you were in my position, how would you handle it?"

  I forced out a voice: "If I were Lord Candidate, I would certainly try my best to make up for Third Master Bai..."

  Yu Qingjiang nodded: "Yesterday, I saw a young girl who subdued the notorious bandit Qi brothers with just a few words. Out of curiosity, I followed her to see which family's concubine she was from. Unexpectedly, she went to the Beiyu North Studio and then heard that Fei Ge had taken Xuan Yuan's surname, which made her so heartbroken that she almost spat blood."

  "At that time, Ben Hou thought to himself, 'If it's not for the sake of being a good person, I can endure what others cannot. I've practiced the art of having no tears, and yet this talented young man has fallen deeply in love with me.' So Ben Hou made up his mind that even if he didn't like this young man or couldn't make him his official wife, he would still find a way to let this lovesick young man follow him for all eternity, fulfilling the young man's heart's desire. However, what Ben Hou never expected was that this lovesick young man turned out to be Mu Jin, the very same Mu Jin mentioned in both Fei Bai and Jin Xiu's letters."

  "Fei Bai was only ten years old when his mother passed away, but he was extremely like me, stubborn and independent. He resented me in his heart and never asked me to do anything for him again. But this time, he wrote to ask me to allow him to take you as his, and Jin Xiu also wanted me to give you to Fei Bai. So," Yuan Qingjiang said with a firm tone: "In this world, anyone can follow Fei Jue, but only you, Mu Xi, cannot."

  I couldn't help but feel a wave of bitterness, and I finally couldn't bear it anymore, speaking out: "What you don't want for yourself, don't impose on others. Since Master knows how much pain Lady Xie and her lover suffered back then, why must he still press her so hard?"

  "Just because of Fei Bai." Qing Jiang looked at me with a serious expression: "As his personal maid, you should know how extraordinary and talented he is." Indeed, Fei Bai's talent was undeniable, but what did that have to do with me?

  Only Yuan Qingjiang continued to speak: "He is the only one who is my true son, and the only one who can inherit the family business. Now that you are destined for greatness, you must be the mother of the world, and you cannot remarry with other heroes. Although Fei Bai has ambitions, he will not go as far as to invade the Turkic lands in the north. As for Fei Ge, although he is currently a foolish child, he will recover in the future and become a hundred times more powerful than Fei Bai. With your talent, if you follow Fei Ge, it would be easy to conquer and swallow up the others. When the time comes, Fei Bai will lose his army and die, and the others will also be trampled under the iron hooves of the Tartars."

  Feng Ding looked at Yuan Qingjiang with a face full of worship, the latter slightly calmed down his excitement, smiled at me and said: "Ben Hou can see that he can't leave you either."

  I was about to explain, when Qing Jiang called out to Feng Ding. Feng Ding held a red lacquered tray with a small porcelain bottle on it: "As someone who has been through similar experiences, you naturally understand that your heart is wavering. However, I don't believe you didn't have any feelings for Fei Bai at all. Otherwise, you wouldn't be helping him put on this show today."

  My hand trembled, the teacup fell to the ground, shattering into powder. Feng Ding's mouth curled up, revealing a hint of mockery. The lazy voice of Yu Qingjiang sounded: "Mu Jin, why not let me help you thoroughly cut off your thoughts about Fei Ge?"

  Yu Qingjiang laughed with a carefree and serene expression: "The medicine in this bottle is our family's secret recipe, called 'Sheng Sheng Bu Li' (Eternal Separation). It's for the most beloved but also the most disobedient person of the Yu family. If you take this medicine, any man who ** with you will either have their martial arts skills rendered useless or die instantly, and that child will be infertile unless the man has an antidote. As of now, among all my children, only Fei Bai has taken this medicine when she was very young, and as for the antidote, only I possess it." Yu Qingjiang's smile seemed like a venomous snake's eyes, and my body couldn't stop trembling: "You helped Fei Bai achieve her ambitions, before I die in a hundred years, I will naturally pass on the antidote to Fei Bai. If she is willing, she can set you free, even if you want to be with Jin Xiu and the others by Fei Bai's side, it's just a small matter."

  He smiled so warmly, just like a kind father who was earnestly advising, without realizing that what he said was such a cruel thing: "If you are not willing to take it, I can let Jinxiu take another pill, which will make her stupid and foolish for the rest of her life. At that time, whether it's you or Fei, you'll only get a madman. Muqi is an intelligent person, he understands that I don't want to do anything to Jinxiu either, so everything depends on your decision."