Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 31 Chapter 31: Riverside Scenery

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When Lin Rufei and Meng Lanruo returned to the Meng residence, they happened to meet Meng Youyue who was sitting in the garden tending to the flowers and plants. With a long pair of shears in her hand, she was fiddling with the flowers in front of her, and two maids were standing behind her, holding the flowers she had just picked.

He didn’t know how the Meng residence accomplished this; hundreds of flowers in the garden were vying for beauty as they bloomed at the same time. These buds were either budding or in full bloom. Not a single flower withered. They probably spent a lot of effort to take care of it.

“Meng Lanruo, I see that your skin has tightened[1] again.” Meng Youyue said, but her eyes contained a smile, “Look at your body covered with rouge powder if mother knew where you have gone—”

“Ah, sister, sister, my good sister, you mustn’t tell mother, ah.” Meng Lanruo said nervously, “I just went to listen to a little song, I wouldn’t dare do anything else.”

Meng Youyue grumbled at Meng Lanruo: “Nevermind that you went out to fool around, you even brought Lin gongzi with you……”

Lin Rufei smiled and indicated that there was no harm. He said that it was actually quite interesting.

Meng Youyue smiled and said, “Lin gongzi, my brother is unreliable, if he does anything that offends you, please bear with him.”

Meng Lanruo muttered that he had not, but was nudged on the head by Meng Youyue’s finger so he finally stopped.

Although Lin Rufei mistakenly ate the pastries in the flower house yesterday, he actually slept quite well. However, Meng Lanruo couldn’t stop yawning and rubbing his eyes, he seemed low-spirited. He and Lin Rufei got some dim sum and the two of them ate one thing after another.

Meng Lanruo’s attention was not on the food. He was twisting in his seat and had a completely absent-minded look.

Lin Rufei thought he was sleepy at first, but after noticing that he wanted to say something several times, he hesitantly put down the half-drunk milk in his hand and asked, “Does Meng gongzi have something to say?”

“Lin gongzi.” Meng Lanruo blinked his eyes and said, “Have you read ‘The Story of Yang Hua?’”

“The Story of Yang Hua” was a very popular novel and had been widely distributed. The story was about a girl in a flower house and a poor scholar. Although the content of the story was old-fashioned, the author’s writing was good, so it was good to read it occasionally for fun. Only, these types of books were popular amongst women. The reason why Lin Rufei bought it was because when he visited the bookstore, Yu Rui saw it and wanted to bring a copy.

If Meng Lanruo had asked this question before, Lin Rufei would have thought he had a wide range of knowledge. However, after what had happened last night, Meng Lanruo’s question seemed to have taken on a different meaning.

Lin Rufei looked at Meng Lanruo and said, “I’ve read it.”

“Really?” When Meng Lanruo heard that Lin Rufei had read it, he immediately got excited. He brought his head closer and whispered, “My parents say that these are leisure books. They won’t let me read it and said that if I read too much, my brain would deteriorate……”

For some reason, when Lin Rufei listened to those words from Meng Lanruo, he really wanted to laugh. Instead, he let out a low cough to cover up the hidden laughter in his words: “It is indeed leisure books.” As for whether the brain will become bad after reading more, then he doesn’t know.

Meng Lanruo was energized and continued, “Then what do you think of the story?”

Lin Rufei said, “It’s not bad.”

Meng Lanruo said, “I think Xiao Yu is the girl in the picture book ……” His voice was not loud, but he said it seriously, “It’s exactly the same as in the picture book.”

The oiran in “The Story of Yang Hua” was indeed soft and beautiful and also good at sword dancing. She waited for her favorite scholar in the house and even if others wanted to spend a lot of money to redeem her from the flower house, she refused and would rather die.

Lin Rufei looked at Meng Lanruo and laughed: “But even if she is the oiran, you are not the scholar she desires.”

Meng Lanruo let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, “You’re right, however, even though she has been in Xinzhou City for a year now, I haven’t seen her like any scholars, what if……..” He started to whisper, “What if the person she actually loves is me? But she’s just a little reserved and apprehensive……”

Lin Rufei sensed Meng Lanruo’s restless heart: “What kind of concerns will keep her from leaving with you?”

Meng Lanruo scratched his head: “I also asked her, but she just said it’s not time yet. Although I don’t know what it means by ‘it’s not time…….’”

Lin Rufei looked at Meng Lanruo and his lips curled into a smile. Meng Lanruo’s teenage angst carried a bit of innocence and it doesn’t make people feel bored. Rather, it had a child-like brilliance to it. The Meng family’s youngest son was indeed well protected by the family. Looking at him, he somehow understood the occasional helplessness that arose when his second brother looked at him.

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The flower house was not an easy place to survive in. The girls that could live a wonderful life in it, were probably not pitiful creatures who didn’t understand the world. Underestimating them would lead to suffering.

The actual situation between Meng Lanruo and Xiao Yu, Lin Rufei could not say, but obviously, Meng Lanruo was very deep in this matter.

Meng Lanruo dwelled on it for a while, then got sleepy. He yawned and said he would go to sleep for a while and when he woke up, he would come back to play with Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei told him to go as he drank up the rest of the milk in his hand.

As soon as Meng Lanruo left, Gu Xuandu sat down in his place and leaned back in the chair with his hands crossed against his chest. He watched as Lin Rufei ate.

“What?” Lin Rufei felt that there was something strange in his eyes.

“What do you think of Meng Lanruo?” Gu Xuandu asked.

“What do I think? What do you mean by that?” Lin Rufei was puzzled.

Gu Xuandu said, “Do you like him?”

Lin Rufei was confused by the question, but still replied, “I guess ……”

Gu Xuandu stopped talking and instructed Lin Rufei to continue eating. Lin Rufei felt that Gu Xuandu wouldn’t ask such a question for no reason, and was about to ask a follow-up question, but Gu Xuandu lazily said, “Yes, who would not like such a cute young master.” After he finished, he sat up straight, and seriously looked at Lin Rufei, “You see, I like you quite a lot.”

Lin Rufei: “……” Why did he always feel that Gu Xuandu was scolding him?

But Gu Xuandu seemed to not want to continue on this topic. He proposed that while the weather was nice, they should go around and see the view of the Meng residence.

Lin Rufei agreed.

The Meng residence was indeed large, but it was not empty. There were servants walking around everywhere. It was probably not easy to maintain ten thousand flowers, so most of these servants were taking care of the flowers and plants.

A small and not-too-deep river runs through the entire Meng residence. The water in the river was clear and one could see beautiful fishes of all colors in it.

But after strolling around for a while, Lin Rufei noticed a strange phenomenon. That is, the fragrance of Qilin grass could be smelled in almost every part of the Meng residence. After looking carefully, he found that Qilin grass was almost all over the Meng residence, and it looked like it was planted deliberately.

“Why does the Meng residence like Qilin grass so much?” Lin Rufei asked curiously, “It’s all over the place.”

Gu Xuandu said slowly, “Maybe it’s to keep the flowers in this room flourishing.”

Lin Rufei said, “There’s this kind of effect?”

Gu Xuandu said, “Yes.” And he briefly introduced the effect of Qilin grass, saying that this grass was usually used to calm the mind, but in fact, it also has other uses; such as retaining things that easily decay. With so many flourishing flowers in the residence, Qilin grass most likely also played a role.

The good thing was that Lin Rufei didn’t hate this kind of aroma. It’s just that after smelling it so much, it was a bit like living in an orchid room for a long time without smelling its fragrance[2]. The rich aroma also became common.

After walking around the Meng residence, Lin Rufei intended to go back to his room. However, when he passed by the cloister, he saw a familiar person—the one who was hated by Meng Lanruo, Qi Yansheng. He was sitting in the cloister, holding a fishing rod in his hand, and was actually fishing leisurely.

When he saw Lin Rufei, he greeted him with a smile as if he was not the one who confronted Lin Rufei a few days ago.

Lin Rufei nodded back in reply. He had no intention to talk to him any further. When he intended to leave, he was suddenly stopped by Qi Yansheng’s voice.

“If Lin gongzi has nothing to do, can you accompany me to chat for a while?” His tone sounded quite sincere.

Lin Rufei said, “What is Qi gongzi doing?”

Qi Yansheng laughed and said, “I have so much free time that I decided to fish for a while, but unfortunately the fishes wouldn’t take the bait, so it was even more boring.”

Seeing that Lin Rufei was still a bit hesitant, he apologized for yesterday’s incident, saying that he had indeed been impetuous. However, he had no ill will towards Lin Rufei and asked him not to take it personally.

Since the words have come to this point, Lin Rufei also could not refuse. He walked to Qi Yansheng’s side and sat down in the corridor.

“I heard from Youyue that you and Lanruo went to the flower house yesterday? How was it? Do you like it?” Qi Yansheng smiled and picked up the topic.

Lin Rufei said, “It was okay.”

“Just okay?” Qi Yansheng said, “I’ve been there before. But unfortunately, now Lanruo dislikes me so much that he refuses to take me there anymore.” Even though he was saying such words, his face was full of a doting smile.

Lin Rufei was silent for a moment and asked, “How many years have you and Lanruo known each other?”

Qi Yansheng said, “It’s been some years.” He spoke with some nostalgia, “It’s a pity that at that time, Lanruo was still a silly boy. The older he got, the more disobedient he became.”

His tone was strange. It wasn’t like a friend of the same age, but more like an elderly senior.

Lin Rufei and Qi Yansheng continued to talk. After dropping the hostility, Qi Yansheng also gave people a good feeling. He was knowledgeable and had his own unique insights on many things.

The two talked until close to noon before Lin Rufei got up to say goodbye. He said that he was going to go back to his room to rest. And before leaving, he casually asked why the residence had so much Qilin grass. Who knew that when he heard these words, Qi Yansheng’s expression stiffened slightly. However, it quickly returned to normal. He smiled and said that the people of Xinzhou are very fond of this fragrance. Not only do they plant them, but they also use this scent in aromatherapy. Even on the streets, the smell would also be present.

The change in Qi Yansheng’s expression was quick, but it was still caught by Lin Rufei. After listening to his explanation, although Lin Rufei had some doubt in his mind, he did not continue to pursue it. He simply nodded and then turned to leave.

The sound of water suddenly rang out behind him. Something seemed to have bitten Qi Yansheng’s fish hook, but Lin Rufei remembered that Qi Yansheng’s fish hook was clean and dry, it didn’t even have the simplest bait.

When Fu Hua and Yu Rui saw Lin Rufei come back, they breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

He noticed that his two maids both had a fearful expression. Lin Rufei joked that he was at least a grown man and not a child, so they didn’t have to worry so much.

Yu Rui pouted and complained about the young master’s big heart, saying that Jianghu is treacherous and there are many bad people.

Lin Rufei pinched her cheek and laughed, “Shouldn’t the bad guys like clumsy maids like you the most?”

Yu Rui didn’t know how to retort and left in tears.

Lin Rufei had just sat down when a paper crane flew into the room. Looking at the appearance of the paper crane, he knew it must be from Kunlun Mountain. Lin Rufei picked up the paper crane and opened it, and there he saw the familiar penmanship of his second brother. The letter was written by Lin Bianyu, followed by two or three sentences of instructions from his elder brother and third sister. The contents of which were mostly greetings and worries. If one only looked at the contents of the letter, it seemed that Lin Rufei was just a three-year-old child and even a stone on the road could trip him.

After reading the letter, Lin Rufei took out his pen and ink and wrote back to his family, saying that he had sent the invitation to the Meng family and that he intended to stay in Xinzhou City for a few days before heading to the Central Plains, and that his brothers and sister need not worry.

Of course, these words were the same as not saying anything. After all, in the eyes of his brothers and sister, he would always be a weak little guy with no strength.

When he was writing the letter, Gu Xuandu was watching from the side and his eyes were full of laughter.

After Lin Rufei finished writing, he put it away carefully and allowed the paper crane to fly away. He turned his head to ask Gu Xuandu what he was laughing at.

“Nothing.” Gu Xuandu said seriously, “I just think you look cute when you frown and dripped the ink.”

Lin Rufei did not believe his nonsense, but Gu Xuandu refused to say, so he had to put away his pen and ink and go to rest.

He must say that the Meng family was indeed a good place to recuperate from illness. The environment in the courtyard was nice and quiet, and the maid at the door, Zhu Yin, also does a good job. As long as it was something Lin Rufei may need, she always delivered it to the room in advance.

Lin Rufei drank the medicine and had a deep sleep. When he got up, his body felt a lot more relaxed. Although he still had some coughing, his body temperature had completely returned to normal.

After dinner, Lin Rufei was in the courtyard cooling off and Zhu Yin was lighting incense on the stone pillar at the entrance of the courtyard. Lin Rufei watched her actions without saying anything, he only felt that the Meng family’s obsession with this kind of fragrance was really incomprehensible.

Meng Lanruo had slept all day and had finally recovered his spirit. He ran to Lin Rufei’s courtyard to drag him out to go shopping, saying that the city of Xinzhou was very lively at night, and it was a pity not to see the night scenery.

Lin Rufei could not resist, so he had to go with him.

The city of Xinzhou was very large and indeed lively at night. Although it was dark, bright lanterns were hung everywhere on the streets. It illuminated the whole street with brilliant lights and the people on the streets were all raucous and noisy. Lin Rufei even saw a few entertainers selling their art on the street.

From his sleeve, he took out a few silver coins as reward money and threw them over. Meng Lanruo smiled and asked Lin Rufei what the night scene on Kunlun looked like.

“That depends on whether you’re talking about the mountain or the mountain foot.” Lin Rufei walked beside Meng Lanruo and talked about his home, “It snows all year-round on the mountain. There is no Spring nor are there people. The foot of the mountain is slightly better. There’s quite a lot of disciples. However, the disciples are usually very restrained because of the strict rules of Kunlun, and there are only some small markets during sword competition. At the foot of the mountain, there is a small town. There aren’t that many people, but it’s quite interesting. Next to the town, there is a cherry blossom forest. In the forest, there is a group of monkeys who like to bully people ……”

Hearing Lin Rufei’s words, Meng Lanruo showed a look of longing, he sighed: “Sure is nice.”

Lin Rufei smiled: “Xinzhou City is also good, it’s very beautiful.”

Meng Lanruo did not respond. Probably because after so many years, even the most beautiful scenery got a bit tiresome to look at.

The two of them walked along the street and Meng Lanruo asked Lin Rufei if he wanted to go to the riverside, saying that in a few days it will be the Qingming Festival. They had a custom of sending out lanterns to pay tribute to the old ones during the Qingming Festival, so there should be a lot of beautiful lanterns floating on the river these days, which was a beautiful sight at night.

Lin Rufei thought that Meng Lanruo’s personality was really interesting. Ordinary people may feel uncomfortable or afraid when they see such a scene, but he felt nothing, and even jumped at the chance as if the lanterns on the river were not for the deceased, but a toy with a riddle on it.

However, Lin Rufei did not refuse and he accompanied Meng Lanruo to the river.

It was already late, but there were already many people at the riverside putting down the lit lanterns along the flowing water. Little bursts of firelight shone on the dark river. The river seemed to have become a dark galaxy and floating above were the dots of numerous stars.

People not only sent out lanterns, but they also burned paper money and joss sticks on the shore.

Lin Rufei and Meng Lanruo stood on the shore as they felt the river breeze. Meng Lanruo did not speak as if he was thinking about something.

“Hmm?” Gu Xuandu, who hadn’t appeared at all, suddenly spoke up from behind Lin Rufei. His tone held some interest, “Look who is over there?”

Lin Rufei looked in the direction Gu Xuandu said and saw someone he hadn’t expected. It was actually Qi Yansheng who he had just seen in the corridor during the day.

It was very dark and if Gu Xuandu had not reminded him, Lin Rufei would not have noticed that Qi Yansheng was squatting by the river. He had just sent out a flower lantern.

If it was just him then that was fine, but after he sent out the lantern, he said something to the person standing beside him. That person turned their head and Lin Rufei happened to see her face. His eyes widened a little in shock—that was Meng Lanruo’s interest in the flower house, the girl Xiao Yu, who was a very beautiful sword dancer.

The two of them were acquainted with each other? They even met at the riverside?

“This Meng gongzi’s hair is a bit green[3].” Gu Xuandu sighed.

The two seemed to be on good terms and they were talking in an intimate manner. Qi Yansheng even raised his hand to help Xiao Yu straighten her hair, which had been blown by the river breeze.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Rufei looked at the Meng family’s little gongzi who was squatting at his side. He was picking up mud and throwing it into the river. At that moment, he didn’t know what to say. Should he let him take a look or pretend that he didn’t notice as well?

While Lin Rufei was seriously contemplating this matter, Meng Lanruo suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction that he had been looking at. In the darkness of the night, he also seemed to notice the two people who were conversing on the riverbank in front of him. After raising his hand, he rubbed his eyes heavily and his expression froze directly.

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That expression was really hard to describe, almost as if he had seen a ghost but also full of disbelief. He fiercely straightened up. He wanted to roar out loud, but somehow he swallowed it back down hard.

Meng Lanruo obviously saw it. He saw that this annoying Qi Yansheng and his favorite Xiao Yu were being affectionate as if they were very close with each other.

Lin Rufei moved his eyes to the river and pretended that he was looking at the lanterns.

“Lin gongzi.” Meng Lanruo squeezed out a sentence from his mouth with difficulty, “I don’t feel so well, let’s go back first.”

“Okay.” Lin Rufei nodded his head.

Meng Lanruo turned his head and walked away, his steps were so hurried and panicked that he almost tripped and fell. In the end, Lin Rufei gave him a hand so that he didn’t fall to the ground.

Until they returned to the Meng residence, Meng Lanruo did not speak again.

However, when they were about to part, Meng Lanruo suddenly opened his mouth and his voice took on a childish crying tone, “Lin gongzi, you saw it, right?”

Lin Rufei was dumbfounded. He really wanted to pretend that he didn’t see, but facing this appearance of Meng Lanruo, the lies could not come out. Finally, they turned into a low sigh. He stretched out his hands and gently pressed on Meng Lanruo’s shoulder. He slowly nodded his head.

The little gongzi, who had never experienced these things, finally could not help but sob. It was probably because he felt humiliated. While he fiercely wiped the tears from his cheek, he choked out: “How can he do this, how can he……”

Because he used too much force, his white cheeks turned into a scarlet and even faint bloodstains appeared.

“This …… might just be a misunderstanding.” Lin Rufei felt that although Meng Lanruo said that he hated Qi Yansheng, in fact, the relationship between the two was not as bad as imagined. Otherwise, he could have very well rushed over on the spot and questioned why Qi Yansheng was with Xiao Yu. Only when confronted with a friend’s betrayal would one show such an overwhelmed look.

“In front of me, he even advised me to stay away from Xiao Yu, saying that she is not a good person and that the women in the flower house are all insincere.” Meng Lanruo cried, “Qi Yansheng this liar, big liar, I hate him the most. He obviously likes my sister, but actually dares to do such nasty things behind my sister’s back!”

Lin Rufei was at a loss for words and really didn’t know how to comfort Meng Lanruo.

But apparently, Meng Lanruo also didn’t need him to say anything. After he finished venting, he wiped his face haphazardly and revealed an extremely ugly smile: “Sorry Lin gongzi, it was me who lost my temper. You should rest early …… I will go back to my room first.”

Lin Rufei frowned and said worriedly: “You might as well find Qi Yansheng and talk to him about this matter ……” in case there was any misunderstanding.

However, Meng Lanruo heavily shook his head. His expression gradually calmed down: “My family doesn’t want me to have too much involvement with Xiao Yu. Even if this matter was true, no one would stand on my side. Furthermore. Xiao Yu…..Xiao Yu never promised to let me redeem her. Here I was wondering who she was waiting for, now I finally know.”

After Meng Lanruo finished his speech, he said goodbye to Lin Rufei and turned around to leave

Lin Rufei looked at his lost[4] figure and was really worried that he would do something stupid. He frowned and said to himself: “What should we do? This Meng family’s little gongzi will not do anything too extreme, right?”

Gu Xuandu said lazily, “With his capability, are you saying he’s going to break the sky?”

Lin Rufei disagreed: “It’s possible.”

Gu Xuandu said, “If you see your lover meeting someone else one day, what will you do?”

Lin Rufei thought about it: “I would probably stab the adulterer[5] to death with my sword.”

Gu Xuandu: “You won’t blame your lover?”

Lin Rufei said, “I don’t know. Maybe I will, maybe I can’t bear to.” He turned his head to look at Gu Xuandu, “What about you?”

Gu Xuandu said seriously, “I won’t allow such a thing to happen.”

Lin Rufei said curiously, “But what if?”

Gu Xuandu chuckled coldly, “What if? There is no ‘what if.’”

He even guarded a certain someone when they were bathing, how could there be “what ifs.”

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