Chapter 46 (2/2)

“You have to have more faith in your brother’s eloquence. He can’t beat anyone with his fists, but he can  beat ten times as many people in a debate.” Situ smiled.

“Woahhhhhh!” Feng Luodi looked in admiration at Jiang Moyin.

Lu Bo walked in with a few rolls of bamboo slats. “Your Grace, these are the statements from the two aides. Both of them have been signed and endorsed by themselves.”

“Good.” Situ took over the slats, and got up from the bench. He turned to the other two. “I will have to head into the palace now. No worries, I’ll send word regarding any further developments.”

“Send them straight to Dream Mirrors instead.” Jiang Moyin suggested. “I’ll be with Luodi at Dream Mirrors for the next few days.”

Situ looked at him, and paused for a moment. “Alright then. Till the next time we meet.”

When Situ was out of earshot, Feng Luodi looked at Jiang Moyin, surprised. “Why are we going to Dream Mirrors? I’m not a fan of dances; I prefer music.”

Jiang Moyin smiled. “I’m asking on behalf of a certain someone, who had been rejected at the door of the Feng household when she went to feed you.”

“Jianqiu?” Feng Luodi blinked a few times, and looked a little displeased. “Has she went to look for me before? Why wasn’t I informed of this by Fu Bo?”

“You’re supposed to be grounded these days, aren’t you.” Jiang Moyin said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Let me guess: they’d found out about your involvement in Autumnal Ombre?”

Feng Luodi smiled lightly, and placed the pot of tea over the small stove. “Let’s just take it as that.”

If it was before, Jiang Moyin would not have pushed the subject any further once he saw the despondent look on her face. However, he reached over and gently pulled her hand away from the kettle.

“Hmm?” Feng Luodi looked at Jiang Moyin, and turned back down to her hand.

“Aren’t you always very careful with your hands? If you had left your hands on the kettle any longer, it would have been scalded.” Jiang Moyin carefully inspected her hands, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her hand was perfectly unscathed. “Can’t you tell me about it?”

Feng Luodi sighed. “I guess you could say that I had upset some people when I tried to stand up for my mother.”

Her tone was casual, but a rage burned deep inside of her. Father had loved Mother dearly. Even though she was no longer able to bear child after she had given birth to me, he had not taken another concubine until the pressure from his relatives was too much to bear. I can understand his decision, but his lack of concern for Mother from then onwards is unacceptable to me. Now that the Second Lady is pregnant, he cares even less for Mother. She may take it lying down, but I have to stand up for her. Feng Luodi had been kept her frustration within her, but was scolded by her Mother after having a disagreement with the Second Lady a few days ago. That, coupled with the realisation that she had continued seeing Situ and her involvement in Autumnal Ombre, resulted in her being grounded for the past few days.

“Is it really acceptable to forget about Mother once you had gotten yourself a new wife?” Feng Luodi could not keep her anger down any longer. “Has he forgotten about all the vows he had sworn to her?”

“I cannot understand that, seeing as how I am still single.” It was the first time Jiang Moyin had seen this side of Feng Luodi. She was sad and vulnerable, even more so than she was when the First Lady was in critical condition. His voice was grave and serious when he spoke. “I will only marry one person in my life, and I will stay by her side forever.”

“But you are not my father.” Feng Luodi pressed her lips in a thin line. “He has already married two women.”

Jiang Moyin was at a loss for words. In the Xuan dynasty, it was commonplace for a men to have many wives, but also not unacceptable for a man to only have one wife. It was all dependent on the man’s love for his wife.

“Then do your best to ignore it, and use your intelligence to help your mother.” Jiang Moyin poured a cup of tea for Feng Luodi from the heated kettle.

“I don't want to waste my energy in such affairs.” Feng Luodi glared at him. “What’s more, Mother doesn’t need my help at all. She is much more beautiful, smarter, and gentle than I am.”

“Woah! Are you serious! How amazing of a woman can she be, if you’re already so attractive and mesmerising?”

Feng Luodi couldn't help but smile at his tone. “Brother, you are pretty sweet with your words too, aren’t you?”

Jiang Moyin smiled, and waved to an attendant. “The day is still early. Why don’t you play a song for me, my mesmerising lady?”

“Stop teasing me!” Feng Luodi glared at him. “I didn’t bring my zither today. Why don’t we head to Dream Mirrors tomorrow and listen to music as we watch their dance?”

Jiang Moyin shook his head. “The mood is already set – it calls for a musical performance. No worries; I have many zithers in my household.” As he spoke, the attendant brought forward a zither, and Jiang Moyin handed it to Feng Luodi.

Feng Luodi refused to take the zither from him, and smiled mischievously. “I’ve always heard that the Second Gentleman of Chang’an is well versed in the arts of the zither. It’s such a pity that I, as his sister, had never heard him play before! Will I be graced by your music today?”

“It is my pleasure to play for one such as yourself, Miss Luodi.” Jiang Moyin smiled warmly and put his hands to the strings. Music flowed from the zither as he gently plucked at the strings.

Feng Luodi’s mouth opened in surprise. The song that he’s playing is “Blue-flower Porcelain“! She smiled, and waved to the attendant again. As he returned with another zither, Feng Luodi looked at Jiang Moyin, and set her fingers to the strings as well.

Under the blue sky, two pairs of hands weaved a duet tinged with nostalgia into the autumn air.

Although the Xuan Dynasty is supposedly based off the historical Tang/Song Dynasty where paper has already been invented, it is safe to a.s.sume otherwise in this series. If disregarding this fact, cloth would be the cheaper alternative to bamboo, and it would be a preferred medium for simple, non-official doc.u.ments used by the general population. ↩