Love Like the Galaxy

Chapter Thirty-Three:
Taking Refuge

At that moment of refuge, the twins Shaoshang and Shaogong were standing on the corner of the street, looking up at the sky. The fine snow falling from the sky was seeping down on her face and neck, damp and cold, leaving her at a loss.

Half a quarter of an hour ago, Cheng Shaogong took her to the residence of the three brothers for a while to take shelter, and then ran back to the Nine Zhui Hall to inquire about the news. Shaoshang squatted in front of the fire and encountered Fu Deng, wo had just tidied up arrows, bows, and strings for Cheng Song and entered the room.
[Fu Deng is the oldest son of A’Zhu. There was A’Mei, A’Liang, and Deng.]

The old friends reunited and inevitably began to talk. Shaoshang learned from Fu Deng that Fu Liang followed her little brother, Cheng Zhu, and Fu Deng learned from Shaoshang that his little sister had grown two inches taller. Fu Deng couldn’t help but ask her why she was there. After learning the story, he became even more worried.

“Madam has never failed to punish the person she wants to punish,” Fu Deng looked confused. “I have followed my father for many years in front of the Master’s tent, and Madam always punishes the son no matter where the son hides, she always finds him and punishes him.”

Now, Shaoshang couldn’t sit still.

Under her earnest encouragement, Fu Deng described how the punishment of the staff was carried out, how much harm it caused, the frequency of screams from her brothers, the speed of healing, and the physical and mental recovery after.

The original intention of Fu Deng was to make the Young Mistress know that she could avoid it for a while, but never for a lifetime. It was better to have a correct attitude and sincerely admit your mistake, and then reconcile the mother and daughter.

Shaoshang’s approach was to ‘confess leniently, reform through labor to move bricks, resist strict measures, and go home for the Chinese New Year.’

She still cherished her skin and flesh very much. She wasn’t afraid to be hit by Yin Xu’e but she instead fell into the hands of Madam Xiao. She became momentarily flustered and decided to go out first to avoid it, just like when she was a child.

At first, Fu Deng was shocked and stopped her. Seeing that the Young Mistress had already made up her mind, he could only escort her out. The two of them went out of the side room of the Cheng Mansion. Fu Deng remembered two leading horses, but it was only after walking fifty or sixty zhang that Shaoshang realized they had made a big mistake.
[50-60 zhang is roughly 500-600 feet.]

First, she could not ride a horse.

Second, she was not wearing a fur coat for going out, and her feet were still wearing those light blue embroidered toe shoes.

Third, the temperature outside was below zero, and it was snowing again.

Finally, she was not in the alley of her old hometown, where there were Wonton stalls at the corner of every street, oil dunzi stalls at the side, stinky tofu stalls at the end and, just a few more steps away, the video hall opened by her Older Sister.
[She means the gang sister.]

It was almost dusk now, and smoke was rising from the roofs far and near. The streets were sparsely populated, and restaurants and inns that could be temporarily settled in must only be found in designated neighborhoods, unlike in later generations, where they could be seen everywhere.

She and Fu Deng looked at each other; Fu Deng was ashamed of his poor behavior.

Shaoshang didn’t blame him. Fu Yi and A’Zhu trained their son to become a soldier, not a companion. So, she hesitated to decide whether she should go home honestly, even if she was beaten up, it would be better than the cold wind.

In other words, she also became accustomed to the days of having a maid to accompany her. In her previous life, all she would leave the house with were her keys and wallet, nothing else. Now, regardless of wind, rain, or snow, the maids who followed her would be busy with umbrellas, cloaks, and comforted her.

It really was difficult to transition from extravagance to frugality.

Shaoshang sneered at herself and was just about to surrender and go home when she heard a familiar carriage bell –

“Cheng Shaoshang!” ­– and the voice of a more familiar young man.

Shaoshang looked up and saw Yuan Shen, dressed in fur, half protruding from the magnificent carriage of the Yuan family. His snow-white face was frozen with a shallow blush. As soon as he saw Shaoshang, he was happy and immediately worried. “Why are you wearing such clothes? Hurry and get in the carriage!”

Fu Deng hesitated. He had also met Yuan Shen, who was a banquet guest at their house. Although he knew he wasn’t a villain…

Shaoshang didn’t much care about it, so she quickly took a few steps forward and climbed into the carriage. Yuan Shen smiled and moved his body to let her in. The driver sitting in front of the carriage also thoughtfully threw a felt coat to Fu Deng. Fu Deng silently took it and put it on, then turned over and rode on the horse, holding the other horse’s reins in his hand, and followed the carriage. He was worried about the Young Mistress’s health, and he still remembered how hard his mother worked to save her little life a few months ago.

Shaoshang’s situation was indeed not very good. The thinness of her body exceeded expectations, and after such a short period of time, she had frozen from her fingertips to her heart cavity. Fortunately, the Young Master of the aristocratic family’s carriage not only had a magnificent appearance, but also had everything inside the cabin – a bookshelf, leaning table, sheepskin wall lamps, a small brazier made of exquisitely carved white iron tung wood, and even the walls of the cabin were covered in a layer of soft brocade velvet. Unfortunately, Shaoshang’s fingertips were already frozen stiff, unable to feel the comfortable touch.

Yuan Shen frowned and looked at her. The little girl was shivering with cold, and the fine snow on her temples melted and became wet. However, due to the bruise on her nose and face, it was hard to see how her face had turned.

He moved his arm and wanted to drape his fur over her, but it felt presumptuous. Shaoshang had already spontaneously pulled a woolen blanket spread on the wall and hugged it in her arms.

Yuan Shen remained silent and let go of his fur. “Where do you want to go?”

“Mother is going to punish me, so I’m hiding.” Shaoshang got as close to the brazier as possible for warmth and said with a worried expression, “I wasn’t thinking and didn’t bring anything with me. Why don’t we go back?”

Yuan Shen frowned. “Don’t go back yet, let’s walk for a while.” It wasn’t really feasible. He had several other villages to hide in, but this was not appropriate…

Shaoshang quickly nodded, she also needed to think about what to do next.

Yuan Shen picked up the iron fork next to the brazier and slowly poked at the charcoal fire. “You’re doing a good job of using bitter meat tactics. Before I left the Yin mansion, I heard that Young Mistress Yin was unwell and didn’t show up at the banquet.” In fact, he had specifically inquired about it.

Shaoshang breathed a sigh of relief. “What kind of bitter meat trick? I am young and energetic, and I can’t bear the anger of Young Mistress Yin, which was why I lost my sense of propriety. Young Master Yuan, speak cautiously.”

Yuan Shen put down the iron fork, hesitated for a moment, and picked up a broad mouthed lacquer wine jug with a black bird pattern from a basket behind him. After thinking for a moment, he poured out half a cup of warm rice wine and handed it to Shaoshang.

Shaoshang was impatient with his cautious demeanor. She pressed down on the fluffy blanket with one hand, taking the cup with the other, and flipping her wrist to drink it all in one gulp. How could someone who aspired to be a delinquent not drink alcohol? Before junior high school, she had tasted beer, yellow rice wine, Baijiu, and fake wine mixed with sugar. Of course, a little bit of rice wine was no problem –

Shaoshang coughed fiercely, sputtering and tears came to her eyes. Okay, so she forgot again.

Yuan Shen was both angry and amused, his palms opened and clenched. He refused to pat the girl’s back.

“…Since you know that if you hurt an enemy by one thousand, you will lose eight hundred, why take such a bad move?” he whispered. “Of course, Young Mistress Yin was punished, but did you just retreat?”

Still coughing, Shaoshang raised her head and sneered. “’Just retreat’ is something that can only be said by someone who can rely on it. Young Master Yuan, do you think I look like myself?” She didn’t believe that someone like Yuan Shen, who took one step and watched three steps, would not inquire about her situation.

Yuan Shen was calm. “Not everyone in this world has parental ties,” he said. “Since we were born in this world, we must strive to live a good life.”

Shaoshang felt depressed. She had lived a good life; whether she was a delinquent or top student. In her previous life, she worked hard every day, and with a promising future ahead of her, it was cruel that the gods asked her to start all over again!

Yuan Shen saw that she was silent. “The past is over, and this time it isn’t entirely wrong,” he said warmly. “If it weren’t for your family’s festivities in the future, I wouldn’t have intentionally embarrassed you.”

Shaoshang reluctantly nodded. “By the way,” she asked, “why were you at my doorstep?” Her home was not a marketplace, and the people living around were either wealthy or newly recruited civil and military officials.

Yuan Shen didn’t answer and averted his gaze. “Actually,” he said, “I have something else to tell you. My mother originally thought of inviting the ladies of the Cheng family to visit the mansion for a plum blossom viewing in two days, but who knew…”

“Plum blossom viewing? Isn’t your mother a devout Taoist?” Shaoshang was surprised.

Madam Yuan was one of the wonders of the capital city. The Imperial concubine of a first-class feudal office, whose family was a wealthy family, had threatened to avoid the world and practice Taoism for some reason. Not seeing guests, not entertaining guests, not even attending palace banquets. Except for the occasional need to enter the palace to receive rewards and titles, almost no one had the opportunity to see her, and her level of seclusion is only slightly lower than that of the extraordinary Yan Shenxian.

It would be an exaggeration to say that the most recent large-scale banquet the Yuan Mansion held was for Yuan Shen’s first birthday banquet. Over the years, except for sporadic small family banquets, even Yuan Shen’s crowning ceremony was held at his mentor’s house.

“It’s not proper to interrupt someone when they’re talking to you.” Yuan Shen glared at Shaoshang. “My mother originally wanted to invite your mother over to the mansion, but His Majesty is going on a tour of the east the day after tomorrow. My mentor urgently called for me to accompany him, so it will have to happen after I return…” He casually stared at her to see her reaction.

He didn’t know that Shaoshang’s thoughts would be so strange: “Huh? If you want to leave, you can’t have a banquet at home? … You are in charge of your home!”

She thought to herself, ‘Is it possible that Father Cheng has such a promising future and the Yuan family is wanting to create an alliance?’ At the same time, she pointed at the young man in front of her. “Since your mother doesn’t like to take care of things, why didn’t you marry a wife earlier to avoid these inconveniences?” she teased.

Yuan Shen thought to himself, ‘Because there was no one to talk about it. When I was young, there was an aunt in the clan who helped take care of these things. After several years, the aunt gradually grew up and not only had unclean hands and feet, but also dared to secretly connect with other noble families.’

After driving away the aunt of that family, he managed the general affairs of the mansion by himself at a young age – it was not very difficult to appoint a new steward and regulate new regulations. However, when he gradually emerged in the court and the demand for interpersonal socializing became greater and greater, he realized that it was indeed inconvenient.

Yuan Shen feigned anger and said, “Do you think getting married is like buying vegetables or picking melons? Regardless of the relationship between the two families, my wife will be the clan wife of the Yuan family in Jiaodong in the future. Naturally, she will be dignified and virtuous, pity the weak and the old, not to mention offering sacrifices to guests, leaders, and other wives…”

Looking at his picky appearance, Shaoshang groaned and thought to herself, ‘Your mother is also a religious woman. She can live in seclusion for more than ten years under the feet of the emperor, and she has almost cultivated herself into an immortal. Isn’t she doing well?’ However, she also knew in her heart that Madam Yuan must have hidden secrets. In the past decades, the world was in turmoil and gods knew what happened.

“Okay, Young Master Yuan, you are precious in gold and jade. The bride must be the best in the world so please, take your time when choosing,” she said coolly.

Yuan Shen stared at Shaoshang. “… It’s especially important to be proficient and lenient and be able to distinguish right from wrong. She could never be like you, talking back and getting into arguments if you don’t agree with what someone says. What would I do if you turned around and chased all the guests away?”

Shaoshang first wanted to ridicule him, but then she felt that something wasn’t right – was this a prank?

Before she could open her mouth to respond, someone called out her name in a loud cry. She was taken aback for a moment, recognized the voice, and couldn’t stop from blurting out, “It’s Second Brother!”

Thinking that Cheng Song was chasing after her, it was reasonable to think that their family matter had reached its end. Shaoshang was overjoyed and didn’t wait for Yuan Shen’s reaction before climbing out of the carriage on her own. Fu Deng, who was riding beside her, also looked cheerful (he really didn’t know how to deal with the runaway Young Mistress) and called out, “Second Young Master, we are here!” He stopped the driver.

Shaoshang’s feet landed firmly on the ground. She turned her head and bowed her knees to Yuan Shen, who was poking his head out of the carriage. She said with a smile, “Thank you for saving me, Young Master, otherwise I would have frozen to death before my Second Brother found me!”

She turned her head to leave but Yuan Shen stopped her. He took out a small white jade jar from his sleeve and handed it to her, whispering, “This is the purple jade ointment made by the family pharmacist, you…rub it into the injury…”

This time, without waiting for the girl to bid farewell, Yuan Shen gave an order and the driver drove away.

Shaoshang stood still, holding the white jade jar in her hands, the heat from his body temperature still there. Wait – was he specifically wandering around the Cheng mansion, wanting to deliver the ointment and say goodbye?

After a moment, Cheng Song had followed Fu Deng’s call.

Shaoshang turned around and immediately smiled. Her brother was reliable; Cheng Song deliberately didn’t ride a horse and instead drove a small and compact carriage out.

“You foolish girl! On such a cold day, if you come out wearing such a thin outfit, it’s better for you to go home and be beaten by Mother!” Cheng Song loudly reprimanded, hating that iron was not made of steel. He took Cheng Shaogong’s mink coat from the carriage and covered it on Shaoshang, then turned around and ordered the entourage next to the carriage, “You go find Eldest and Third Brother and say I found Sister. Tell them to rest assured and return to the manor.”

“A’Deng, you are also foolish. You didn’t know that the Young Mistress can’t ride a horse!” Cheng Song slapped Fu Deng on his back. “Shaoshang can’t ride a horse, so how did you two walk so far?” He looked up and down at his sister’s expression, not looking as if she had been freezing.

Fu Deng moved his lips but didn’t dare speak, glancing at the Young Mistress.

Shaoshang adjusted her coat with a smile, stuffed the white jade jar into her sleeve, and said indifferently, “Not long after I left the door of the house, I met with Young Master Shanjian. He was kind and gave me a ride… If you don’t believe me, ask A’Deng, it’s true!”

Cheng Song looked at Fu Deng, who quickly nodded his head and confirmed it was true. Cheng Song was puzzled and asked, “Why was Young Master Shanjian so enthusiastic?”

“Forget it! It’s better not to let Mother know of this matter.” Cheng Song could feel the headache coming on when he thought of the battle between his mother and sister. Families should only have one tigress in the family, yet he had two. There would be a huge argument.

Since Madam Xiao couldn’t know of this, it would be best if the other elders didn’t say anything. Cheng Song thought for a moment and decided to only tell his tight-lipped elder brother Cheng Yong.

Shaoshang climbed up onto the carriage and asked pleasantly, “Second Brother, if Mother’s anger has dissipated let’s go home.”

Cheng Song ignored the question and asked one of his own, “Where did you originally want to go with the Yuan family’s carriage?”

“I wanted to go to Dehui Square to find a restaurant, have a meal and wait. Maybe Mother won’t hit me if she saw I ran away.”

Cheng Song rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Mother doesn’t mean to hit you. This time she’ll punish you by writing.”

Shaoshang was speechless. Director Xiao was really relentless. She sighed. “…Okay, I’ll go back and write…”

“Do you know what you’ll be writing?” Cheng Song shook his head. “Eldest Brother went to Aunt Qing’s place to take a peek. Mother prepared hundreds of wooden slips, each as big as a pottery pot, densely covered with a half-inch square grid and you have to finish it within three days! You have to write well, too, otherwise there might be other punishments!” Her brothers looked out for her.

Shaoshang paled. “So much?! I can’t finish that in three days!” This was calligraphy and if it wasn’t written well, Madam Xiao would wash off the wooden book and ask her to rewrite it after it dried.

“What should we do then?” she asked pitifully.

Cheng Song glared at her and said, “What else can you do? Go hide. I’ll ask Father to persuade Mother to avoid you for a few days. It may be able to grant you some time.”

“Where am I going to hide?”

“The Wan family!”