c14 (2/2)
Huo Guang startled, then he looked torn “It’s just……..ay! I know what to do, but thinking about my daughter, I can’t bear to be that vicious.” (He’s talking about his other daughter, Huo Cheng Jun’s older sister, who is married to Shang Guan An).
Can’t be vicious? The underhanded people cannot ever deign to be a gentleman. The Infante of Yen’s fakeness was but one millionth of what Huo Guang was capable of. Meng Jue silently sneered at Huo Guang, who was pretending to be a good person despite plotting to do ill. Meng Jue said “Lord Huo is a gentleman, but facing those underhanded people you must guard against them. Your safety involves the safety of the entire Huo family. Plus right now society is shaky and needs Lord Huo’s guidance.”
Huo Guang sighed loudly and looked like he was torn “Man may not want to harm the tiger, but the tiger wants to harm the man. One can only be careful.” Suddenly he changed the subject “What do you think of the Emperor?”
Meng Jue smiled but inside he wavered for a moment “There is a likelihood that he may become a sage ruler in the annals of history.” Huo Guang grew silent and sat there, Meng Jue realizing he didn’t intend to talk anymore so he excused himself.
Huo Guang smiled in a paternal way “I noticed Cheng Jun was unhappy but she won’t tell me why when I ask her. When you have time go chat with her.” Meng Jue didn’t respond and just smiled and he made a bow and left.
The walls of the Palace are high, so the sky is barely visible. He was walking on a path that few in this entire world could ever hope to walk on. He was heading towards his goal, but it wasn’t as happy as he imagined it would be.
Even though he knew it was very late, and she ought to be asleep already, but he couldn’t stop his footsteps from heading in her direction. He just wanted to stand by her window and quietly look at her, but who knew her room would be empty and the pallet in disarray.
His breathing stopped.
Was it the Infante of Guang Ling? Or Huo Cheng Jun? Or……..
Right when he was fretting, he saw the items on the pallet. It was three pieces of medicinal herbs – sheng di, dang gui, and mei yao. He started to laugh.
Yun Ge was telling him that she couldn’t stay, she went home, and that she was fine. When did that girl turn her spice packet into a medicine drawer. Meng Jue smiled and pick the herbs up in his hand. He felt a sliver of warmth that seemed to seep in through his palm.
He suddenly realized that the first two herbs already told him why she left and where she went, so why even leave the third herb? Mei yao (no medicine)? No medicine! Longing is the only disease where there is no medicine to cure it!
This was the message Yun Ge left for him? What did she want to say to him? Would she ever say that to him? For the first time, Meng Jue raged at how complicated and full of different meanings the Han characters could mean.
As he thought and couldn’t come to a conclusion, he smiled at himself. He usually hated this feeling of uncertainty, but right now he felt a sense of sweetness.
He grasped the herbs in his hand and walked out of the room. He felt the sky outside was suddenly higher and the moon was brighter.
When Meng Jue returned to Chang An, he settled matters and then immediately went to find Yun Ge to clear up what he was thinking. When he arrived, he heard a loud noise inside the kitchen. When he pushed open the door, a black smoke rushed out. Meng Jue quickly grabbed a bucket of water and rushed inside and dumped it over the stove.
Yun Ge yelped and rushed out from behind the stove to yell at the person who ruined her hard work. When she saw it was Meng Jue, she swallowed her yelling. Meng Jue dragged her out of the kitchen “What are you doing? Trying to burn down the house?”
Yun Ge’s face was blackened and all he could see were her white teeth as she explained that she was brewing medicine and wanted to use the fire to smoke out the white ants under the stove to use as rare medicinal ingredients. Meng Jue laughed, asking when she decided to stop being a chef and become a doctor, but she was indeed right, white ants are rare medicinal ingredients. Where did she learn about that?
Yun Ge pouted “Haven’t you heard about books? And reading? So what are you here for?” Men Jue didn’t answer and instead laughed “Nothing. You tabby cat, let’s clean you up first before you start baring your claws.”
Meng Jue dragged Yun Ge next to the water pail and grabbed a cloth. She reached for it but got nothing as Meng Jue already held her head and was wiping her face. Yun Ge’s face turned red and she tried to grab the cloth as she stuttered “Let me do it.”
Meng Jue let her grab the cloth but his one hand still held her wrist.
Yun Ge grabbed the cloth and started wiping randomly over her face, and she wasn’t sure if she was wiping her face or trying to avoid Meng Jue’s gaze. “Stop, if you keep wiping, you’ll wipe your skin off. Let’s go see if your white ants can still be used.”
Meng Jue’s hand holding Yun Ge never let go, so she followed him back into the kitchen while in a daze. Meng Jue leaned down and peered under the stove “No problem, some died but there are likely more underneath the ground. Let’s get someone to smash the stove and dig down, see how many we can find.”
Yun Ge heard this and smacked herself on the forehead “Why am I so stupid? So simple, so straightforward, so rough and tumble. Why didn’t I think of that? Clearly I’m not violent enough when I do things!”
As Yun Ge was talking, she walked forward to look at the stove. Meng Jue wanted to get up so Yun Ge’s face ran into Meng Jue’s head. She yelped in pain and he rubbed it for her. The kitchen was already small, and now the residual smoke had dissipated but the heat was still there. Yun Ge felt herself growing more and more warm.
Meng Jue was rubbing and rubbing when he started lowering his head. Yun Ge subconsciously knew what was about to happen so she opened her eyes wide and stared at Meng Jue.
Meng Jue’s hand softly glanced over Yun Ge’s eyes and he whispered in her ear “Silly girl, it’s not the first time, haven’t you learned that you’re supposed to close your eyes?”
Yun Ge closed her eyes and raised her face, nervously awaiting her second, though in truth her first real kiss.
After waiting for some time, Meng Jue still hadn’t made a move, so Yun Ge decided to sneak a peek at what Meng Jue was doing. When she opened an eye, she saw Liu Bing Yi and Xu Ping Jun standing in the doorway.
Meng Jue didn’t have any awkward reaction, only smiling and slowly straightening himself, with his hands still embracing Yun Ge. Rather it was Liu Bing Yi who had a very stiff smile on his face.
Yun Ge’s sneaking a peek was totally caught by Liu Bing Yi and Xu Ping Jun, and she felt like all her blood rushed to her brain and she was so embarra.s.sed she wanted to faint right then and there. She pushed Meng Jue away and jumped to the side “I, I………” She couldn’t say any more so she just rushed off mumbling “I’m off to buy groceries.”
Before she ran out of the courtyard, she turned back but didn’t dare meet Meng Jue’s eyes “Meng Jue, you stay for dinner, okay? Yeah, from now on, when you are in Chang An, you have to eat at my place, got it!”
Xu Ping Jun smiled “Meng dage, got it? You have to listen to her from now on.” Meng Jue smiled “How’s your arm?”
Xu Ping Jun shot him a knowing look “Your medicine is incredible, even Yun Ge is bouncing around, of course I’m all fine. You guys go inside, I’ll make some tea for you.”
Meng Jue got the hint and didn’t mention the injury any more. Liu Bing Yi also started talking about random topics with Meng Jue. Xu Ping Jun relaxed and went out to make tea.
Liu Bing Yi waited until Xu Ping Jun was out of the room and his smile immediately disappeared “How did they get hurt? They told me they accidentally got bitten by a wild beast in the forest.” Meng Jue replied “The Infante of Guang Ling released his hunting hounds to eat them. They were saved by the Infante of Chang Yi. Ping Jun must have already told you that Da Gong Zhi is Liu He.”
Liu Bing Yi looked solemn and Meng Jue said “Ping Jun lied to you for good reason, she didn’t want you to worry, though she underestimated your intelligence and personality.” Liu Bing Yo continued to sit there quietly.
Xu Ping Jun brought tea and both Liu Bing Yi and Meng Jue gave her a natural smile. She placed the tea down and said to Meng Jue “Tonight eat at my place, I no longer dare to eat Yun Ge’s food. She’s been cooking all this weird stuff at home these days. If I didn’t see you two already happily together, I would have thought Yun Ge was making poisonous food meant for Ms. Huo.”
Meng Jue smiled and didn’t react to Xu Ping Jun’s teasing, only asking “Who is sick? Yun Ge doesn’t appear to be cooking, more like she’s infusing medicine into the food.” Xu Ping Jun looked at Liu Bing Yi and then shook her head “No one is sick! You guys talk and let me start the dinner fire. You guys wait for Yun Ge to come back and then head on over togther.”
Liu Bing Yi saw a Go board in the corner of Yun Ge’s bookshelf and he went to grab it “Any interest?” Meng Jue smiled “Sure, since we have nothing else to do.”
After it was set up, Ling Bing Yi as the white side went first. He placed a piece and said “You seem to know me very well?” Meng Jue immediately followed “Even more than you can imagine.”
“A friend’s understanding or an enemy’s understanding?”
“Originally an enemy, but seeing how far you’ve fallen, it’s become shades of a friend with the remainder an enemy. In the future, I don’t know.”
The two of them placed pieces so quickly that in scant minutes, Liu Bing Yi’s white pieces have taken over 2/3rd of the board. Meng Jue’s black pieces may only have a corner of the board, but he was like a dragon’s attack with the head of the dragon barreling forward without giving up any weaknesses.
Liu Bing Yi’s speed began to decrease but Meng Jue’s return speed was still as fast. “Meng Jue, your Go is vastly different than your personality. Or perhaps the more accurate description is that your outward personality is merely an illusion you present to the world.”
“No more than you. Isn’t your casual, lazy outward demeanor just a front?” Meng Jue smiled and placed another piece. Liu Bing Yi considered his next move “I always felt that I can see through you not because I’m so intelligent, but because you don’t even want to waste the time to present an image to me. You always have a hidden antagonism towards me, and it’s not because of Yun Ge. So what is it?”
Meng Jue saw Liu Bing Yi contemplating his move so he took a sip of tea “Liu Bing Yi, you need only remember that what happened to you wasn’t all that pitiful. There are people out there who have experienced worse than you. No matter how much you struggle, there are those who would protect you. Some people don’t even have that.”
Liu Bing Yi dropped the piece in his hand and he looked at Meng Jue “What do you mean by that?” Meng Jue smiled “Perhaps one day I will tell you. When we become real enemies. Or real friends.” Liu Bing Yi stared at Meng Jue, and then picked up his piece and placed it on the board. Meng Jue held his cup of tea and placed his piece.
Yun Ge walked in and stood there watching them.
Even knowing it was a game, but it got more and more intense to watch them. She suddenly reached out and messed up the board “Stop playing. Right now you are evenly matched. If you keep going, it’ll become a life and death match to the end. The winner won’t even feel happy, so let’s not ruin our appet.i.tes.” Yun Ge turned towards the kitchen “Xu jiejie must not want to use my kitchen so let’s go to big brother’s place. You two go first, let me grab some items.”
Liu Bing Yi lazily got up and stretched “Next time we’ll determine a victor.” Meng Jue smiled “There will be many more opportunities.”
Liu Bing Yi glanced over at Yun Ge, who was scrounging for items in the kitchen. He softly said to Meng Jue “No matter what you experienced, at least you can fight for what you want. Even if you are unhappy, you can rail at the Heavens and fight to the end. I can’t even do that. I can’t fight for what I want, I can’t back away from anything. I am not even given an opportunity to give up. Because my life doesn’t just belong to me, so I can only sit and wait to see what the Heavens have in store for me.”
He looked at Meng Jue “Is Yun Ge who you really want? Yun Ge might be innocent and somewhat spoiled, and really sheltered. There are too many people who are complicated and always plotting their way through life. I would rather she stay innocent and happy forever.”
Meng Jue turned to look at Yun Ge but remained silent. Yun Ge raised her head and saw them looking at her. She smiled, beautiful and open, and combined with her candid happiness, it was like the clouds in the sky, a lone lily blooming in the mountainside.
Liu Bing Yi solemnly said “I implore you to not let a precious otherworldly pearl get stained with the dust of this mortal world.”
Yun Ge came out holding a basket “What are you two doing just standing there?” Meng Jue smiled and walked forward to take the basket from Yun Ge “Waiting for you.”
Yun Ge’s blushed and then quietly walked beside Meng Jue. Liu Bing Yi hurried his footsteps and ran past them “I’ll head back first to see if Ping Jun needs some help.”
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