Zheng Chun could not accept it.
This family was clearly happy now. He had changed, and Yan Liangrong had increasingly taken on the graceful, dignified bearing of the lady of the household.
Everyone was clearly becoming better.
Wouldn’t it be enough to be content with what they had and live on in peace and happiness?
Zheng Chun asked, “Would you truly be happier after we part than you are in this family of ours? Liangrong, tell me what you want. Tell me, and I’ll do everything you ask. Our family is happy and whole now. Think of Ke’er—you’re his mother. Do you really want to tear this happy family apart?”
“I once compromised for the sake of that kind of happiness…” Yan Liangrong’s gaze was clear as a mirror. “But later I realized that when a separation is caused by someone else’s wrongdoing, the power to decide always remains in that person’s hands. The moment they correct their mistake, the separation suddenly seems unnecessary.”
Yan Liangrong’s expression was calm and untroubled. “This time, I’m choosing separation for my own sake. So there’s no question of who holds the reins. Perhaps the future will be better; perhaps it will be worse. But either way, it will be me—my true self, my pure, genuine, selfish self, the self that still has desires, that is stubborn, that is a tigress.”
“Then you don’t have to change. I’ll adapt to you.” Zheng Chun reached for Yan Liangrong’s hand and pleaded desperately, but she pulled away.
Yan Liangrong drew in a breath, letting the biting cold fill her lungs. She needed that icy pain to keep herself rational, to stop herself from wavering again.
“Zheng Chun, we’re not suited to each other. You won’t be able to bear it.” Her voice was steady, every word striking like a chisel. “Because I will keep raising the stakes, relentlessly pushing you to improve. Because I’ve placed my own desires upon you. They are desires that are vibrant and surging. I still don’t know how to face them, but I do know that I’ll have to live alongside them for the rest of my life.”
Zheng Chun pressed his lips tightly together and stared fixedly at her.
Suddenly, he rose from his chair and demanded loudly, “I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this. What kind of desire could possibly be so important that you would place it above our family, above Ke’er? I already told you—you don’t have to change. I’ll change. I’ll adapt to you. Whatever you want, go after it. I’ll adapt to you! That damn desire of yours, that ambition…”
Zheng Chun had meant to lose his temper, but weakness was simply part of his nature.
The fury that surged to his throat could only turn, in the end, into a helpless, anguished sob.
With tears streaming down his face, Zheng Chun asked Yan Liangrong, “Can’t I change? Is it because you’ve already seen through me? You know I’ll only ever be an ordinary, mediocre man, so you want to find someone else, cultivate him, and have him fulfill your wishes—your ambitions?”
Zheng Chun crouched before Yan Liangrong. “Liangrong, your desires are wrong. Happiness is supposed to be peaceful and warm. You’ll regret this someday. You’ll realize that a plain, uneventful life is what truly matters. Liangrong, you’re a woman. Even if you find another man, he may be willing to serve as your puppet for a year or two, but sooner or later he’ll resent it and turn against you… When all is said and done, men and women in this world are all the same.”
Yan Liangrong shook her head. “I no longer want to force my desires upon anyone.”
She had thought about it for far too long, and understood it all too clearly.
Yan Liangrong said, “My mother’s fond of gold, silver, and jewels. After Father died, she married Boss Qian, and she won’t be satisfied until she has every last piece of gold and jewelry strapped to her body. In truth, I’m the same. I like power. I like status. The outcome doesn’t matter—I simply love the process of climbing. It fascinates me.
“But Zheng Chun, you can’t do that. Human nature cannot be changed. Just as I can’t change mine. By nature, we’re already fundamentally opposed.
“I can see what will happen if I stay with you. You’ll keep refusing to speak your mind, pretending to support me. Then, one day, when I suffer a setback, you’ll hide away in some dark corner and say to someone, ‘Ah, she’s terrifying. She’s so frightening she’s hardly even a woman—she’s a tigress. She’s dragged our warm, happy family down with her. She’s ruined things for me and Ke’er.’
“After that, we’ll grow increasingly silent, resenting one another until the end of our lives.”
Zheng Chun lowered his head helplessly. “Liangrong… I really don’t understand what you’re saying anymore.”
Yan Liangrong said, “Then let me put it another way. This time, I’m not doing this for Ying Li. Not because you once hurt me, and not because of any fault of yours. I’m doing it entirely for myself—for the three words ‘Yan Liangrong.’ It’s purely selfish. I’m doing this for no one but me.”
She could not see what the future held.
But she could see, with absolute clarity, how she did not want that future to unfold.
Yan Liangrong rose to her feet. For the first time in her life, she faced Zheng Chun without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Calmly, she said, “Once the New Year festivities are over, we’ll submit the divorce agreement. Don’t fight me over Ke’er. You can’t win.”
With that, Yan Liangrong had her maid pack her things, then walked out of the Zheng residence without looking back.
Inside the room, Zheng Chun collapsed over a chair and sobbed uncontrollably.
This time, he still hadn’t fully understood what Yan Liangrong was trying to say.
But he knew one thing: he had been abandoned—completely, irrevocably abandoned.
…
After returning to the Yan family home, Yan Liangrong was happier than she had been in a long while.
But Zheng Ke was unhappy. He didn’t understand why they had suddenly left home, or why he had suddenly been separated from his grandparents and his father.
Yan Liangrong explained it to him word by word, telling him that he would still be the child of both her and Zheng Chun in the future, but that his mother and father would no longer live together.
Zheng Ke remained silent.
Then he continued to remain silent.
There was nothing Yan Liangrong could do but stay by his side every moment, hoping he would eventually come to understand.
Before long, the Lantern Festival arrived.
Yan Liangrong had to accompany her son, while Yan Liangyu had already made plans with Pei Jin’an. Not long after entering the lantern fair, Yan Tongshu parted ways with Yan Liangyu, and the two groups went their separate ways.
“Pearl, Jinbao, it’s a festival today. Everything is on Young Master’s tab!”
Yan Tongshu generously produced a handful of silver. Pearl and Jinbao immediately crowded around her, showering her with flattery and praise.
The entire street where the lantern festival was held had been specially authorized by the imperial court. Normally, no vendors were allowed to set up stalls there.
But today, lanterns blazed like a forest of fire, while the moon filled the bridge of stars.
The crowd stretched as far as the eye could see.
It seemed as though everyone in the entire city of Bianjing had turned up.
There were people everywhere—layer upon layer of them.
Yan Tongshu, Pearl, and Jinbao each carried a small flower lantern they had made by hand.
Yan Tongshu was a panda lantern, Pearl was a carp, and Jinbao was bamboo.
The three of them charged into the crowd, full of swagger.
“Would the three of you like to set a lantern afloat? Offer it to the Lantern Goddess, and she’ll bless you with prosperity and smooth sailing in the coming year.”
The owner selling lotus lanterns nearby kept enthusiastically promoting his wares. Yan Tongshu immediately bought three—one for each of them.
She picked up a brush and wrote on a sheet of red paper:
*Lantern Goddess, please bless me! Let me return to Xianlin Academy next year!*
She tucked the paper into the “belly” of the lantern, lit the candle on top, and pushed it into the stream.
After releasing their lanterns, Yan Tongshu craned her neck to sneak a peek at Jinbao and Pearl’s.
Pearl hurriedly shielded her lantern. “Young Master, I didn’t look at yours, so you’re not allowed to peek at mine either.”
Jinbao hugged his lantern and turned his back to Yan Tongshu. “That’s right, Young Master. You can’t cheat.”
Yan Tongshu gave them a sly grin. “If you won’t let me look, are the two of you praying for romance?”
“No!” Pearl protested hurriedly.
Jinbao was even more flustered. He was only thirteen; he wouldn’t turn fourteen until April of the following year. At that age, a young boy was at his most bashful.
“Young—Young Master, don’t make things up. I—I don’t have a girl I like.”
Pearl huffed. “I don’t have anyone I like either.”
Yan Tongshu let out an “Oh.” She had deliberately tried to trick the two of them, and, just as she expected, neither had received any signal from their hearts yet.
Yan Tongshu looked up at the sky and silently said, “Matchmaker God, Jinbao is still young, so he can be excused. But Pearl, you really need to put some effort into this. If you keep following me around, you’ll only end up delaying things.”
After releasing the lanterns, Yan Tongshu took Pearl and Jinbao to find something to eat.
What a coincidence.
Yan Tongshu looked delighted when she spotted the stall selling roasted pig’s trotters and spit-roasted pork skin and meat. “Boss Hu, you came out to set up a stall for the Lantern Festival too?”
Boss Hu greeted other customers while roasting pig’s trotters, then turned to Yan Tongshu. “Ah, I’m just a poor man. I can take a break whenever I like. But with the festival so lively and so many people out, it’s the perfect time to make money. Young Master Yan, how about some today?”
Yan Tongshu nodded. “Of course! The same as last time.”
Just as Aunt Hu came over carrying a small copper pot, Pearl and Jinbao shouted in alarm, “No rice wine!”
Aunt Hu burst out laughing. “It isn’t wine today. It’s tremella soup. Have a bowl to cool yourselves down.”
Pearl and Jinbao let out a huge sigh of relief.
As long as it wasn’t wine.
From now on, whoever tried to make Young Master drink would be beaten to death.
Before long, the roasted pig’s trotters and the spit-roasted pork skin and meat were ready, and the owner handed them to the three of them.
Each skewer of spit-roasted pork skin and meat was twice the size of an ordinary skewer. Boss Hu beamed as he said, “Everything you’re eating today is on me. Young Master Yan, that pomelo salt you gave me is truly wonderful. Sprinkling it on really cuts down on the gaminess and adds a unique flavor. I’ve been getting more customers, too. Once the pomelos in my fields ripen, I’ll definitely make another large batch.”
Yan Tongshu picked up a skewer of meat. “That’s because your skewers are delicious, Boss. The pomelo salt is only the finishing touch.”
“Haha, anyway, thank you,” the shopkeeper said before returning to roast the meat.
The three of them sat down and enjoyed the delicious food.
By the stream, Qin Yi stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the water flow slowly and peacefully onward.
Countless lanterns bobbed and swayed as they drifted along with the current.
Lu Xi bought a lantern and held it out to Qin Yi with both hands. “Young master, a lantern.”
Qin Yi glanced at it.
He had no wish that required the gods’ help to fulfill.
However, he could fulfill the wishes of certain people himself.
Qin Yi had Lu Xi fish out three lanterns.
The first wish was for the man to save enough money this year to pay the ten taels of betrothal silver he had promised A Li.
The corners of Qin Yi’s lips curved slightly. “Keep it, and find out where the man lives. If the two of them truly love each other, send them a wedding gift.”
It was a good deed—helping two people achieve happiness—and Lu Xi was delighted as well. He immediately bowed and said, “Yes, Your Highness.”
Qin Yi opened the second wish.
It came from a woman, who wished for her father’s illness to heal as soon as possible.
That would be easy too. He could have an imperial physician go over and prescribe the best medicine. As long as it was not a terminal illness, it would be cured.
Qin Yi ordered Lu Xi to keep the wish and opened the third one.
The third wish was utterly ridiculous. A scholar wished that, the following year, he would meet a wealthy young lady who would cry and plead to marry him, bringing her family’s vast fortune as a dowry to subsidize his entire household.
What a beautiful dream.
Qin Yi casually tossed the slip of paper away.
Lu Xi immediately went to fish out another one.
Honestly, these people were something else. They made wishes to the Lantern Goddess, yet all they asked for were things that would cost others their virtue. No wonder they were destined to remain single for life.
Lu Xi scooped up another lantern and brought it to Qin Yi. Qin Yi opened it—
*Lantern Goddess! Please bless me! Let me return to Xianlin Academy next year!*
The tone was exuberant, the wording heartfelt. One could practically see the excitement in the wisher’s heart and the trembling hands with which he had written it.
Qin Yi let out an unhappy scoff.
This one was dreaming even bigger than the previous scholar.
When Lu Xi saw the contents of the note, he secretly smacked his right hand hard with his left.
What was wrong with this cursed hand? His Majesty had finally gotten into a good mood and wanted to fulfill three commoners’ wishes, yet it had fished out two wishes that displeased him!
Qin Yi handed the red slip of paper to Lu Xi. “Keep it, and go fish out another.”
“Yes.” Lu Xi carefully put the slip away.
This time, Lu Xi observed the stream back and forth several times. He even switched to his left hand before finally fishing one out.
As he made his way back to Qin Yi, he prayed silently:
*Lantern Goddess, please bless me. This must be a good wish. If I ruin His Majesty’s mood, it will be my fault.*
Qin Yi took the red slip of paper out of the lantern.
It was the wish of a seven-year-old girl. Her writing was filled with childish innocence. She said that the concubine her father had recently married was bullying her mother nearly to death. Her mother was ill and wanted a divorce, but her father was withholding her dowry. With no way to leave and no money for medical treatment, her mother was on the verge of death.
The little girl begged the Lantern Goddess to send down a bolt of lightning and kill her father, that fickle man who had abandoned his old love for a new one.
“This…” Qin Yi stroked his chin.
Lu Xi’s eyes widened.
His Majesty wouldn’t really find a Daoist priest to perform a ritual and have lightning strike that little girl’s father, would he?
After pondering it for a moment, Qin Yi said, “Have someone look into it. If what the little girl said is true, and her father really has allowed his concubine to abuse his principal wife, have him kidnapped and find a physician for her mother. On a day of thunder and rain, have the girl personally drive a lightning rod into her father, then send him to the Kaifeng Prefecture. If he survives, have the Kaifeng Prefecture grant her mother a divorce from him.”
Lu Xi’s mouth fell open.
Wasn’t this a little too much?
Qin Yi seemed quite pleased with his own instructions. He nodded and said, “Go. And tell the girl that the Lantern Goddess gave her the lightning rod.”
Lu Xi was silent for a moment before replying with an indescribable expression, “Yes, Young Master.”
After giving his orders, Qin Yi turned and headed toward the liveliest area of food stalls.
Lu Xi smacked his left hand hard with his right. “Look at you, you rotten hand. You’re such a nuisance.”
Still…
Although His Majesty’s actions were shocking enough to turn the world upside down, if the little girl had been telling the truth, it was actually rather satisfying.
Lu Xi hurried after Qin Yi.
They had not gone far when Qin Yi and Lu Xi ran into Yan Tongshu.
Yan Tongshu was sitting on a wooden stool at a roadside stall. In one hand, she held a skewer of sizzling roasted pork skin, while in the other she held a bowl of tremella soup. She was eating with utter concentration.
The meat on her skewer was plump and firm, with enough to fill two of anyone else’s skewers.
Qin Yi narrowed his eyes.
If he was not mistaken, the owner of this roasted pork skin stall was the same one from last time.
The fellow had eaten there only once, yet he had already become the stall’s most pampered customer.
What a talent.
Qin Yi sauntered over to the spot opposite Yan Tongshu, lifted his robe, and sat down. He fixed her with a chilly gaze and asked, “Is it good?”
Yan Tongshu stared blankly at Qin Yi for quite some time. Then, as if a sudden inspiration had struck her, an exceptionally radiant smile blossomed across her face.
Lu Xi was terribly nervous. Lord Yan, please, whatever you do, don’t say it’s good. Don’t say it’s very good.
Yan Tongshu raised her hand high. “Boss, two more skewers, please. A friend has joined me.”
Qin Yi raised an eyebrow slightly.
Had she changed her ways? Had the sun risen in the west?
Before long, the freshly grilled skewers were brought over, their fat still sizzling softly.
Yan Tongshu obsequiously handed them to Qin Yi, her tone bordering on ingratiating. “Young Master, give them a try. This stall’s flavor is especially good.”
“I guarantee it.” Yan Tongshu gazed at Qin Yi with an exceedingly special, extremely sincere, and utterly resolute look. “And the owner grills them with a special pomelo salt. You won’t find another stall like it anywhere in Bianjing.”
Qin Yi did not take the skewers. He merely said, “Did you poison them?”
Yan Tongshu ground her teeth, but still forced a smile. “Of course not! How could I? Young Master, you are the best and greatest person in all the world. My admiration for you is like the mighty Yangtze River, flowing endlessly. Young Master, this meal is on me.”
The food-guarding, dimwitted fat goose was up to something.
Qin Yi reached out and accepted the skewer.
Nothing seemed amiss.
Whatever scheme she had in mind, it would be useless before absolute power.
Today, no matter what Yan Tongshu said, he would not agree to anything.
After handing Qin Yi a skewer, Yan Tongshu also offered one to Lu Xi. Lu Xi looked toward Qin Yi, and only after Qin Yi nodded did he cautiously accept it. Turning his back to the others, he began savoring the delicacy.
With his first bite, Lu Xi was moved to tears.
As expected! Anything recommended by Lord Yan was always worth trusting!
He would never tell anyone that the last time he left the palace on his day off, he had bought one of everything from every stall Lord Yan had recommended. It had been an absolute feast, a day of unparalleled enjoyment.
After they finished the skewers, Yan Tongshu took the initiative to invite Qin Yi to try something even more delicious.
Pearl and Jinbao followed behind them.
Jinbao lowered his voice worriedly. “Sister Pearl, our young master isn’t really planning to assassinate the emperor, is he?”
Pearl shot him a look. “Are you insane? Assassinating the emperor would mean the extermination of the entire clan.”
Jinbao said, “Then what is the young master doing?”
Pearl tried hard to work her little brain. “Hmm…”
The three of them said in unison, “There’s a conspiracy!”
Wait—three voices?
Pearl and Jinbao turned to look at Lu Xi at the same time. Lu Xi nodded vigorously and firmly repeated, “There’s a conspiracy.”
His resolute attitude and familiar manner made it seem as though the three of them were part of the same gang.
Pearl and Jinbao: “…”
Yan Tongshu and Qin Yi walked a short distance ahead. Yan Tongshu pointed at a stall and said, “Young Master, the donkey-meat flatbread here is especially delicious. They put in a lot of meat.”
Qin Yi stopped and raised one brow as he looked at Yan Tongshu.
Yan Tongshu immediately ordered two donkey-meat flatbreads.
Sure enough, just as Qin Yi had expected, it wasn’t that this stall’s flatbreads came with more meat. The extra meat was specifically for Yan Tongshu.
The two donkey-meat flatbreads Yan Tongshu had bought contained twice as much meat as everyone else’s.
Now Qin Yi understood why the girl had prayed to the Lantern Goddess to return to Xianlin Hall. As it turned out, she had been using all the time she had freed up at Xianlin Hall to cultivate relationships with the food-stall owners around Kaifeng—and enjoy delicious food.
Yan Tongshu handed one to Qin Yi. “Young Master, really, give it a try. The donkey meat is stewed in an old broth with secret spices in a huge pot. They put a great deal of care into it.”
Qin Yi took it with a hint of doubt and bit into it. The frown he had been wearing because of his suspicions about Yan Tongshu’s unusual behavior instantly relaxed.
Not only was the meat delicious, but the flatbread itself was fragrant and crisp.
Since Yan Tongshu had served him so well, he supposed he could reluctantly hear what her “conspiracy” was about later—before rejecting it, of course.
The donkey-meat flatbread was delicious, but eating it dry made it difficult to swallow.
Yan Tongshu exchanged a glance with Pearl and Jinbao. The two immediately understood. They took two containers of hot milk tea from their shoulder bags, removed the thick cotton covers wrapped around the ceramic containers to keep them warm, and handed them to Yan Tongshu.
Yan Tongshu set down the flatbread in her hand, opened one of the containers, and borrowed a clean porcelain spoon from the neighboring stall. After wiping it clean, she respectfully offered it to Qin Yi with both hands.
“Young Master, try this too. It’s hot milk tea—an improved version. It also has honeyed red beans, herbal jelly, and taro balls in it. They’re soft, chewy, and sweet. This is the perfect season for it.”
Qin Yi accepted the white porcelain spoon. “You’re not going to make me spit it out later, are you?”
Yan Tongshu: “…”
Why did this dog of an emperor always insist on judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty-minded villain?
The smile on Yan Tongshu’s face did not change, and she did not so much as twitch a brow. Yet Qin Yi knew perfectly well that she was cursing him in her heart.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth and leaned slightly toward Yan Tongshu, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. “Yan Tongshu, you’re cursing me as the dog emperor again in your heart.”
Yan Tongshu was stunned.
How did the dog emperor know?
No, wait.
Her smile hadn’t changed, nor had her gaze or expression. There wasn’t a single tell anywhere.
Yan Tongshu looked up and glanced around. Had awakened comment boxes appeared above her head?
No.
Had the dog emperor awakened the ability to read minds?
Yan Tongshu silently thought to herself: The dog emperor is having an affair with the Empress Dowager!
She watched Qin Yi’s expression without moving a muscle, but nothing happened.
So it wasn’t mind-reading, either.
She had drunk half her milk tea before tentatively saying, “Young Master, I’m a cultured person. I absolutely never use foul language, much less think anything disrespectful to His Majesty.”
“Heh.”
Qin Yi cast her a haughty glance.
Yan Tongshu: “…”
Dog emperor. It wasn’t as if he were mute. Why did he have to use that sarcastic tone every day?
Qin Yi didn’t even need to look to know that Yan Tongshu was definitely cursing him in her heart again.
Heh heh. Once he had heard her request, he would reject her thoroughly and without mercy.
After finishing their milk tea, Yan Tongshu took Qin Yi around to eat quite a bit more. By the end, both of them were stuffed to the point of bursting.
Yan Tongshu rubbed her stomach. She really couldn’t eat another bite.
If she did, she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night.
“Lantern riddles! Come try your hand at the lantern riddles…”
Yan Tongshu tugged at Qin Yi’s sleeve. “Young Master, there’s a lantern-riddle stall over there. Shall we give it a try? You’re wise and mighty, brilliant beyond compare. You’re sure to take first place.”
Qin Yi gave a slight nod.
The two of them walked over to the lantern-riddle stall.
The stall owner looked to be in his forties and was full of energy. “Are the two of you here to solve lantern riddles?”
Yan Tongshu answered eagerly, “That’s right. What are the prizes?”
The owner smiled. “Three copper coins per try. Get five in a row correct, and you can choose one box from this row. Whatever you find inside is your prize.”
Wow.
An ancient version of a mystery box.
This owner certainly had a head for business.
“Then we’ll give it a try.” Yan Tongshu paid the three copper coins first, chose a lantern, and took down the riddle. She read aloud:
“Leaves fall when autumn comes,
Flowers bloom when spring arrives.
Across the river, waves rise a thousand feet;
Among the bamboo, ten thousand stalks slant.
Name the thing.”
She gazed at Qin Yi with shining eyes. “Young Master, you go first.”
Qin Yi gave Yan Tongshu a cool look. “Wind.”
The stall owner cried out, “Correct!”
Yan Tongshu was equally enthusiastic in her applause. “Young Master, you’re amazing.”
The two of them played off one another so spiritedly that they immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Yan Tongshu took out another three copper coins. “Next one.”
She took down another riddle and read:
“Spring rain falls without end; the wife sleeps alone.”
She looked at Qin Yi expectantly. Qin Yi parted his thin lips. “One.”
Yan Tongshu clapped as hard as she could.
They cleared all five in rapid succession.
Yan Tongshu went to draw a mystery box. She chose the one on the far left. When the owner opened it, he revealed a round cloth ball about the size of a beanbag. Each side was made from fabric of a different color and pattern; it must have been sewn together from scraps.
It was small and adorable, just the right thing to take back for Yuanzi to play with.
Yan Tongshu held it in her hands, unable to bear putting it down. She tossed it lightly and found that it had a decent bounce, too. Yuanzi would surely be delighted when he saw it.
Qin Yi raised a hand and caught it out of midair.
Yan Tongshu looked at him in displeasure. He said coolly, “I won.”
Yan Tongshu clenched her fists. She’d spent money on it too.
