Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Sword

Chapter 32: Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu

Although Gu Xuandu felt that Meng Lanruo couldn’t do anything too drastic, Lin Rufei still had some concerns in his heart.

In the next few days, Lin Rufei did not see Meng Lanruo at all. After some thorough thinking, he felt that something was not right, so he sought out Zhu Yin and asked her why he had not seen Meng Lanruo.

Zhu Yin replied, “Oh, Lin gongzi doesn’t know yet, my young master caught a cold a few days ago and has been recuperating for the past few days.”

Only then did Lin Rufei know that Meng Lanruo was ill, “Is it serious?”

“It’s not serious, just a little cold. However, Lin gongzi is also sick, so I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you would catch his cold.” Zhu Yin replied.

Lin Rufei asked where Meng Lanruo was recuperating since he planned to visit him. He believed that his sudden illness was related to what he saw that night. But looking at Zhu Yin’s expression, he guessed that Meng Lanruo didn’t talk about that incident.

Zhu Yin led the way and brought Lin Rufei to Meng Lanruo’s door. He didn’t even enter yet when he heard the voice of Meng Youyue, who was patiently persuading him, “My little ancestor, how can you get well if you don’t drink the medicine. Be good, don’t be naughty. If mother found out, do you still want your ears?”

Meng Lanruo said in a strained voice: “Then I don’t want them anymore, let mother pull them off.”

Meng Youyue was helpless: “You think mother doesn’t have the heart to do that, right? If you don’t drink it, I’ll force it on you.”

Meng Lanruo was about to say something when Zhu Yin raised her hand and knocked on the door, “Young master, young miss. Lin gongzi heard that young master was sick so he came to visit.”

“Come in.” Meng Youyue said.

Lin Rufei entered the room and a strong scent of Chinese medicine permeated throughout. It was a smell that he was familiar with. After smelling it for years and years, it was indeed tiresome.

The lively Meng Lanruo from a few days ago was now lying in bed with a haggard complexion. His small face was pale beyond comparison and it was a bit similar to Lin Rufei’s. 

When he saw Lin Rufei, his eyes lit up but then dimmed, “Lin gongzi, you’ve come to see me.”

“Mnn, I came to see you.” Lin Rufei walked to the bedside, “How do you feel?”

“It’s just a small cold. Sister always likes to make a big deal out of it.” Meng Lanruo complained, “This medicine is so bitter that it makes people’s brains hurt. Even if I don’t drink it, I will be fine in a few days. Why do I have to suffer from this?”

When Meng Youyue heard that, she irritably nudged him on his head, “You, ah. Look at how old you are and you’re still afraid of the bitterness in the medicine. Aren’t you afraid of becoming a laughing stock in front of Lin gongzi?” 

Meng Lanruo stuck out his tongue and made a playful face, however, he still refused to drink the medicine.

Meng Youyue sighed and helplessly gave up her persuasion. She told them to talk first as she went to summon her mother so that she could keep an eye on Meng Lanruo as he drank his medicine.

Meng Lanruo was not afraid at all. He asked Meng Youyue to bring him a packet of candied plums from Wang Ji’s place near their residence. Meng Youyue glared at Meng Lanruo and said that she didn’t have the time to buy him plums. Furthermore, he was still sick. If he didn’t want to drink the medicine, no way was he getting plums. Dream on!

Meng Lanruo only laughed at her words and did not refute.

Meng Youyue left the room and the smile on Meng Lanruo’s face faded a little. He furrowed his brows sadly and coughed a few times. He murmured: “I have not been sick in a long time……”  

Lin Rufei consoled, “It is common for people to get sick once in a while.”

“The last time I was sick, it was a year ago.” Meng Lanruo said, “I was very sick, but fortunately I was able to meet Xiao Yu afterward ……” Mentioning the name Xiao Yu, Meng Lanruo looked gloomy, “But I didn’t expect that she and Qi Yansheng……”

Lin Rufei said, “So what do you want to do now?”

Meng Lanruo forced a smile: “What else can I do? Although I say I hate Qi Yansheng, in fact, we have been friends for many years, he is a valuable guest at the Meng residence. And has been in the Meng residence for many years. Although I think he is sometimes particularly obnoxious, he is indeed my only friend …… ” As he spoke, he became sad again and choked heavily.

Lin Rufei was speechless. A good friend and his most beloved woman together, there was probably nothing more tragic in this world than this.

“And I always thought that Qi Yansheng liked my sister.” Meng Lanruo shrunk into the bed like a little pitiful boy who was bullied miserably, “But now when I think about it, he actually never said such a thing. I usually joked about it, he just didn’t refute.” He thought that the silence meant he was agreeing. However, he didn’t realize that the silence turned out to be rejection. 

After seeing the truth, a lot of things that he didn’t understand could finally be explained, but this truth, Meng Lanruo would rather not have seen.

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Lin Rufei had been silent, but it seems that Meng Lanruo didn’t need him to say anything. Meng Lanruo rambled several old stories about him and Qi Yansheng, and it could be seen that he does have some special friendship with Qi Yansheng. This Qisheng had been in the Qi family for nearly ten years, even if it was a dog, there should be some feelings. What’s more, he could be considered an interesting person.

“You’re not going to find him and ask?” Seeing that Meng Lanruo was a little tired of talking, Lin Rufei asked this crucial question.

Meng Lanruo smiled bitterly: “I’m not going to ask him, I’m afraid I’ll be more upset if I do.”

Lin Rufei was slightly surprised.

“But I probably will still go find Xiao Yu once more to see if she is willing to go with me.” Meng Lanruo said, “If she is really unwilling, then so be it.” Although he said it lightly, but the great grief contained in his tone was clear to Lin Rufei.

It seemed that this oiran, Xiao Yu, had indeed taken up a big part in Meng Lanruo’s life.

When Lin Rufei heard Meng Lanruo’s words, he thought that the matter was over and Meng Lanruo had decided to give up and give Xiao Yu to Qi Yansheng.

But for some reason, Lin Rufei always felt that there was something unusual about this matter. He wanted to look into it, but couldn’t catch any traces.

In a short while, Meng Lanruo’s sister and Madam Meng came over. She was carrying a packet of candied plums that they had just bought. Meng Lanruo had expected this and took it with a smile and even called out to his sister in a spoiled manner. Madam Meng urged him to drink the medicine with a darkened face. Meng Lanruo refused to open his mouth and it made Madam Meng so angry that she wanted to pull his ears again. 

Seeing the happy atmosphere of the family, Lin Rufei had the sense to get up and say goodbye.

After the conversation just now, Meng Lanruo told Lin Rufei that he wanted to talk to Xiao Yu. Lin Rufei thought Meng Lanruo would go after he recovered, but who knew that in the evening, he saw Zhu Yin lighting incense in the room with a sad face. He casually asked what was wrong.

Zhu Yin said, “Sigh, the young master has done something stupid and his condition has worsened again.”

“Something stupid?” Lin Rufei’s heart thudded, “What did he do?”

“Isn’t the young master still sick?” Zhu Yin said bitterly, “Who knew that if I didn’t watch him for a while, he would actually sneak off to the flower house to meet the oiran. He was finally caught by the young miss and dragged back.”

Lin Rufei froze slightly. He didn’t expect Meng Lanruo to be so impulsive.

“Now look at what he’s done. Madam already disliked the young master going to the flower house, so she simply grounded him.” Zhu Yin muttered, “I don’t know how beautiful the little demons in the flower house are to be able to seduce the young master so much.”

Lin Rufei said, “Then where is he now?”

“He’s in solitary confinement.” Zhu Yin said, “I don’t know when he will be released.”

Lin Rufei frowned slightly. He felt that this matter was getting more and more troublesome.

After Zhu Yin left, Lin Rufei sighed and said to himself, “It’s really troublesome..”

“Yes. It’s so troublesome that it feels annoying.” Gu Xuandu sat lazily in the chair. He wasn’t interested in the matters of the Meng residence, including the love-hate relationship of the Meng family’s youngest son. In fact, as long as it did not threaten Lin Rufei, he always looked lazy.

Lin Rufei’s heart was not as big as Gu Xuandu’s. He sat on the edge of the bed for a long time without speaking before he finally hesitantly spoke up: “Do you think Qi Yansheng knows about this?”

Gu Xuandu said, “That Qi Yansheng is a smart man.”

Lin Rufei: “So he knows?”

Gu Xuandu said, “Most likely he knows.”

Lin Rufei said, “If he knew, why didn’t he show any indication?”

However, Gu Xuandu simply laughed, “He will definitely show it, but whether the little gongzi of the Meng family likes it or not is a different matter.”

Lin Rufei frowned. He always felt that Gu Xuandu’s words were hiding some dangerous message.

“Just wait, things will end.” Gu Xuandu repeated flatly, “Completely——end.”

Meng Lanruo was locked up for three days.

During these three days, Lin Rufei could hear his screams whenever he passed by the courtyard where he lived. This little gongzi was obviously still sick, but his screams were still full of vigor. At first, Lin Rufei was a bit worried, but then he gradually got used to it.

Lin Rufei’s illness was gradually recovering and he thought it was time for him to leave the Meng residence after he recovered, so he planned to say goodbye to Meng Lanruo.

Lin Rufei went to the place where Meng Lanruo was confined. The servants all knew Lin Rufei and knew that he was an honored guest of the Meng residence, so they did not stop him and let him in directly.

“Lin gongzi, Lin gongzi, you’ve finally come to see me!” Meng Lanruo was jumping up and down in the room. He was like an excited monkey who was coming out of the mountain. The table in front of him was decorated with all kinds of food. There was basically everything and a lot of leisure books like fairy tales. Besides the fact that he couldn’t go out, he didn’t look confined in the slightest. His illness had apparently been cured. His face was not sickly, rather it was red and glowing.

“I was thinking that you would never be that heartless and that you would definitely come to see me!” Meng Lanruo handed Lin Rufei an orange. He smiled and gestured for him to eat it.

Lin Rufei did not take it and helplessly said: “Even if you are in a hurry, you can’t run out of the house while you are sick.”

Meng Lanruo shook his head and said with a smile, “You don’t know how worthwhile this trip was for me.”

“Oh? You met Xiao Yu?” Lin Rufei asked curiously.

“I did, and asked her about that day.” Meng Lanruo said, “It really was a misunderstanding. She and Qi Yansheng have nothing to do with each other. They just coincidentally met, and …… and something happened …… for them to be that intimate.”

“Something happened? What happened?” Lin Rufei, however, still felt very suspicious.

Meng Lanruo was a little bit hesitant. He thought about it for a while before lowering his voice: “Xiao Yu encountered some things and was a little bit depressed so she went to the river. Coincidentally she encountered Qi Yansheng who was releasing lanterns and as a result, she was saved by him.” 

Lin Rufei immediately understood what Meng Lanruo meant: “She wanted to kill herself?”

“Shhh …… shhh …… keep your voice down.” Meng Lanruo said, “I didn’t believe it at that time either, so as she spoke, she took off her clothes. ” At this point, his face reddened for a moment before it went back to being serious, “I found that on her skin there were a lot of densely packed old wounds.”

Lin Rufei frowned as he listened.

“Apparently, before she came here, Xiao Yu had met someone unsuitable. She managed to escape and arrived in Xinzhou. In order to survive, she entered the flower house which was how she met me.” Meng Lanruo continued, “I wanted to redeem her, but she felt that she was not worthy of me.” 

Lin Rufei said, “That’s why …… she was depressed?”

“Yes.” Meng Lanruo laughed, “I also asked Qi Yansheng about this and he said the same as Xiao Yu, only ……” he continued bitterly, “He still doesn’t like Xiao Yu. He thinks that Xiao Yu is not as innocent as she looks, and also advised me to stay away from her.”

Lin Rufei listened to Meng Lanruo’s explanation and was silent for a long time.

This explanation was perfect, but in the midst of perfection, there was a sense of disharmony, like a flawless lie. Although it was impossible to find the oddity, it always made people feel a little uncomfortable. Lin Rufei did not want to arbitrarily classify it as a lie, but deep inside his heart, layers of suspicion did arise.

And Meng Lanruo obviously did not think that much about it. He believed in Xiao Yu’s words and also believed in Qi Yansheng. He felt that Xiao Yu did not betray himself and was still the girl he loved.

He talked about his next plan, saying that he would pick up Xiao Yu as soon as he got out of confinement. And that no matter how much his mother objected, he would definitely marry the girl. This was the best ending in a fairy tale. 

Lin Rufei wanted to say something, but in the end, he was not able to say the words that would dampen his enthusiasm. 

Meng Lanruo said regretfully: “It’s a pity that you have to leave and can’t attend our wedding. How about you stay for a few more days?”  

Lin Rufei smiled and politely refused.

After talking with Meng Lanruo for a while, Lin Rufei came out of the room and saw Qi Yansheng standing at the door. It seemed that Qi Yansheng had also come to visit Meng Lanruo and he came just after Lin Rufei had left.

“Lin gongzi.” Qi Yansheng smiled and nodded his head at Lin Rufei.

Lin Rufei simply returned the greeting.

Without much conversation between the two, they brushed past each other. Lin Rufei’s nose once again picked up that strong aroma of Qilin grass.

After planning to leave, Lin Rufei asked Fu Hua and Yu Rui to pack their luggage. However, who knew that the weather would not cooperate. The next few days were cloudy and rainy. Fu Hua was afraid that Lin Rufei would freeze so she went to Xinzhou city and spent a lot of money to buy a carriage. She took out a talisman and let the craftsman inlay it into the carriage. This delayed them for a few more days.

Meng Lanruo’s confinement also just ended. Like a freed bird, he scurried around the Meng residence and dragged Lin Rufei to see him off.

When Lin Rufei saw him so happy, his heart was a little relieved. He thought that no matter what, Meng Lanruo was also the most favored young son of the Meng residence. Even if something were to happen, his parents would also protect him.

The quiet days continued for a few days and in these days, Lin Rufei would see Qi Yansheng sitting in the corridor fishing. He didn’t greet him like the first time they met, rather Qi Yansheng’s back looked extra lonely and indifferent.

Lin Rufei didn’t get along with him so he did not take the initiative to ask.

It wasn’t until a few days later when the carriage was about to be finished that Lin Rufei happened to pass by the corridor, and Qi Yansheng, who was sitting in the corridor fishing, suddenly opened his mouth, “Lin gongzi, are you leaving?”

Lin Rufei answered yes.

“Although Lanruo is a jumpy person, he actually only has a few close friends, and you are one of the few people he calls a friend.” Qi Yansheng said, “It’s a bit of a pity to just leave like this.”

“There is no banquet that doesn’t end under Heaven[1].” Lin Rufei said indifferently. Although he also liked Meng Lanruo, he couldn’t stay at the Meng residence all the time. Besides, Meng Lanruo was in good shape these days, he was smiling and laughing every day.

“That’s true.” Qi Yansheng smiled lightly, “But if it’s not urgent, can I ask Lin gongzi to leave a few days later?”

Lin Rufei said, “Why?”

But Qi Yansheng did not speak again. He put away the fishing rod in his hand, turned around, and walked away.

Lin Rufei looked at his back and frowned. Gu Xuandu lazily said: “Poor little gongzi of the Meng family …… he is going to be unlucky.”

Lin Rufei looked at Gu Xuandu with a puzzled expression.

But Gu Xuandu just smiled: “But this matter doesn’t relate to you.” 

Lin Rufei asked again, but Gu Xuandu refused to say no matter what.

Lin Rufei’s heart was still uneasy, so he pushed his leaving date back a few more days.

Who knew that the day before he decided to leave, an accident really happened. 

The flower house girl, Xiao Yu, that Meng Lanruo had wanted to marry, left a suicide note, and threw herself into the river, and died. It was said that Meng Lanruo was in her room at that time and had watched her jump off the flower boat into the river—perishing like jade[2].

When Lin Rufei heard the news, he just so happened to be drinking tea and the cup of tea in his hand trembled, almost falling to the ground.

Zhu Yin cried and said her young master was so heartbroken and desperate that he was forcibly taken back to the Meng family by the madam. Now he was alone in the room and not willing to see anyone. Everyone was worried, but they didn’t know what to do.

The back of Lin Rufei’s white hand was red from the hot tea. Yu Rui hurriedly took away the teacup and wanted to bring some ice over, but was refused by Lin Rufei.

“Where is he? I’ll go over and take a look.” Lin Rufei said.

“He’s in the loft next to Lin gongzi’s.” Zhu Yin cried, “What should we do about this ……”

Lin Rufei got up. He didn’t even put on his outerwear as he hurried to the loft. Outside the loft, many people have already gathered. Once he saw their faces, he knew that they were all relatives of Meng Lanruo. Everyone had a sad expression and Madam Meng had already fallen into the arms of Meng Youyue as she sobbed with grief. She muttered out, “How could this happen? I had promised him to bring that woman into the house, how could she still throw herself into the river!” 

Meng Youyue also looked sad and her eyes were full of worry for Meng Lanruo.

Lin Rufei remembered what Qi Yansheng had said to him a few days ago. He thought that Xiao Yu’s death must have had something to do with him. However, he was nowhere to be seen in the crowd. 

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No matter how much the people outside tried to persuade, Meng Lanruo, who was inside the room, refused to open the door. They didn’t have any other methods, so they gradually dispersed. Madam Meng was worried that he would have an accident so she sent someone to guard the outside of the room.

Lin Rufei also left. On his way back, he actually saw Qi Yansheng in the corridor, still fishing. He walked behind Qi Yansheng and said coldly: “Did you do this?”

Qi Yansheng had his back turned to Lin Rufei and smiled, “I wonder what Lin gongzi is referring to?”

Lin Rufei said, “Do I need to tell you?” Naturally, it was about the matter regarding Xiao Yu. He didn’t believe that the girl would throw herself into the river for no reason and the bruises might also have something to do with Qi Yansheng. The story could fool the naive and innocent Meng Lanruo, but not others.

Qi Yansheng was silent for a moment and said: “The child is not a fish, how can he know the joy of fish[3]?”

Lin Rufei said indifferently, “I don’t know if the fishes are happy, I only know that dead people can’t get happy.” Looking at Meng Lanruo being fooled by Qi Yansheng, even if he had a good temper, he couldn’t help but still get a little angry. That Meng Lanruo had taken this Qi Yansheng as a friend, but in the end, he didn’t know what this so-called friend had done.

Qi Yansheng laughed. He put down his fishing rod, stood up, bowed to Lin Rufei, and said seriously, “Thank you, Lin gongzi.”

Lin Rufei stared at him, waiting for his next words.

Qi Yansheng said, “Thank you, Lin gongzi, for becoming Lanruo’s friend.”

After saying these words, Qi Yansheng turned around and left without a moment’s hesitation. Lin Rufei held the sword at his waist and stood in silence for a long time until Gu Xuandu asked him what he was thinking about. He only coldly said: “I was thinking if I killed this Qi Yansheng with one strike, would the aftermath be troublesome.”

When Gu Xuandu heard those words, he could not help but laugh and he laughed until he was out of breath: “Xiao Jiu is angry, ah.” The cold look when he said he wanted to kill someone, somehow also looked cute. And then with a doting look, he turned to Lin Rufei and said softly, “If you want to kill, then kill. Anyone that makes Xiao Jiu unhappy all deserves to die.” 

Lin Rufei only thought that Gu Xuandu was teasing him so he glared and left without saying anything. 

The death of Xiao Yu really broke Meng Lanruo’s heart. He did not drink or sleep for three days so Madam Meng had no choice but to drug him into unconsciousness and then force-feed him some medicinal soup.

Lin Rufei also saw the unconscious Meng Lanruo. In just a few days, this little gongzi had lost a lot of weight. His originally quite round cheeks instead revealed a thin chin. His eyes were closed, but he was still frowning as if trapped in a nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from.

The person you love died in front of you, that was far more horrible than any nightmare.

After sleeping for half a day, Meng Lanruo woke up. He opened his eyes and saw the Meng family and Lin Rufei sitting at the bedside waiting for him. He was about to send everyone out when he heard Lin Rufei’s voice, a little light but gentle like usual. “Shall I keep you company and talk?”

Meng Lanruo hesitated for a moment but agreed.

The Meng family retreated and only the two people were left in the room.

Lin Rufei looked at him. He hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: “Cry if you want to. You’re still a child, it’s not embarrassing.”

In the next moment, Meng Lanruo howled in tears. His crying was so loud it could cause a major disaster. While crying, he kept calling out Xiao Yu’s name with a grief-stricken look. When Lin Rufei saw this, his heart flooded with some grievance. He didn’t try to coax and just sat there quietly. He waited until Meng Lanruo grew tired from crying before he handed him a cup of warm tea, indicating for him to drink.

Meng Lanruo drank the tea and his emotions calmed down slightly. He looked at Lin Rufei in a dull manner and said, “Xiao Yu is dead.”

Tears flowed down the corners of his eyes again, “I can never fight with her in Jianghu.”

Lin Rufei raised his hand and patted his head soothingly.  

Meng Lanruo wailed again.

He cried for almost the whole night until he was tired of crying and fell into a deep sleep.

After Lin Rufei came out of the room, he was surrounded by the Meng family and he briefly told them about Meng Lanruo’s situation.

When the Meng family heard that he had cried out, they were slightly relieved and said that there would be others guarding him in the second half of the night, so Lin Rufei could go and rest first.

Lin Rufei did not hold out and intended to go back to sleep for a while.

He walked slowly through the Meng residence and went to his room. Through the window, he saw the light inside the room.

After entering the room, Lin Rufei saw Gu Xuandu sitting in the candlelight. He looked tired and seemed a bit exhausted, when he heard Lin Rufei’s footsteps, he didn’t even raise his head: “Back?”

“Where have you been?” Lin Rufei asked.

Gu Xuandu said, “I went to pick up some things.” As he said this, he lifted up two lanterns from under the table.

The style of the lanterns was very familiar, they were the same lanterns that Lin Rufei had seen at the riverside that was used to pay tribute to the ancestors. Lin Rufei was wondering what Gu Xuandu was doing with them when he saw Gu Xuandu handing them over.

Lin Rufei reached out to take it and when he looked inside the lanterns, his expression froze.

There were two lanterns with two names written on them, one was Xiao Yu, and the other was …… Meng Lanruo.

********

The author has something to say: 

Lin Rufei: Can’t be cut, still in disarray[4]. 

Gu Xuandu: Then what should we do? 

Lin Rufei: Use a sword to end it all.

Gu Xuandu: Cut, cut, cut. Anything that makes our Xiao Jiu unhappy should be cut!

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[1] “Everything comes to an end.” 

[2] Or to wither like a flower; a metaphor for the death of a young woman. 

[3] Meaning; “one should not always look at others from one’s own perspective—do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

[4] It means that “it can’t be settled, nor can you make sense of it. Foretells the entanglement and complexity of feelings; want to rationalize it, but it becomes more complicated.”