The torrential rain did not stop. In order to please the tyrant, the Prefect of Gusu had a stage built early on inside the relay station, named the Changyin Pavilion, and specially invited several of the most famous actors in the Great Zhou Dynasty to perform.
The Changyin Pavilion had three courtyards front and back, costing a considerable amount of silver.
Originally, Wei Heng thought his majesty was not interested in watching plays, but unexpectedly, he actually agreed to it.
Early in the morning, while the autumn rain still had not stopped, the actors were sent into the Changyin Pavilion to prepare.
Lu Hexu, dressed in casual clothes, sat under the viewing corridor.
In front was the stage with red railings and green pillars, decorated with colored lanterns and paper crafts.
Behind him were the officials quietly keeping him company.
Lu Hexu sat in the seat of honor, propping his jaw with one hand, and raised his eyes to look at the stage.
"Your Majesty, all the plays are ready. I humbly request you to select one." The Prefect of Gusu stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and offered the repertoire in his hands.
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes to gaze at the repertoire booklet and slowly raised his hand to point.
The Prefect of Gusu took a glance.
"The Peony Pavilion."
The Prefect of Gusu had long known of this majesty's reputation. He originally thought this majesty would watch plays like "Punishing Zidu" or "Capturing Sanlang Alive." Who would have thought he would actually choose such a lingering and sentimental piece.
It really did not match expectations at all.
The Prefect of Gusu respectfully withdrew.
Gongs and drums sounded on the stage, strings and woodwinds soared. The female lead moved her lotus steps lightly, gracefully extending her water sleeves, and began to sing melodiously.
Lu Hexu sat there. Behind him, no one dared to make a sound, not even a single cough. There were only short, almost inaudible sounds of desperately suppressed breathing.
When "The Peony Pavilion" ended, everyone still kept their heads bowed. The scene was dead silent, suppressed to the extreme.
Wei Heng silently stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, do you still wish to watch?"
Although Wei Heng's voice was not loud, because the scene was truly too quiet, his voice stood out exceptionally.
This majesty had always hated noise. There had never been a time when he watched a play so quietly like this.
Amidst everyone holding their breath in rapt attention, Lu Hexu selected another one.
"This one."
Wei Heng looked down and saw "Romance of the Western Chamber."
They were all plays concerning love and romance.
Wei Heng's gaze swept past Lu Hexu's fingertips pressing on "Romance of the Western Chamber," and his expression shifted slightly.
The plays were sung continuously from morning until night.
The Prefect of Gusu had also arranged an evening banquet, but Lu Hexu grew tired of sitting and left directly.
When Lu Hexu arrived at the gate of the small courtyard carrying a glazed lantern, he saw Su Zhenzhen about to go out.
"Where are you going?" The young man grabbed her wrist.
"To the kitchen to find Ah Sui. Didn't we buy a jade pendant yesterday? Once we return to the palace, it will probably be hard to run into him, so I'm going to give it to him now."
The management within the Jinling Palace was very strict; maids and eunuchs from different halls were not allowed to visit each other casually.
Lu Hexu reached out and pulled the jade pendant box from Su Zhenzhen's hand.
"What's wrong? Do you want to go together?"
Lu Hexu lowered his head, meeting the woman's bright eyes.
The drizzle was hazy. Two lanterns hung on both sides of the courtyard gate. The beautiful glazed color seeped into Su Zhenzhen's pupils, magnifying his reflection imprinted in the woman's eyes.
Lu Hexu suddenly realized that he was a little unhappy.
He did not like hearing other people's names coming from her mouth.
The young man reached out. His right hand still could not move freely, so he just slowly pinched the woman's jaw, then rested his fingertips against her cheek, gently turning her face toward him.
Having adjusted the angle, Su Zhenzhen was now facing Lu Hexu directly.
Her beautiful, clear black and white eyes were completely exposed, thoroughly revealing his reflection inside. Her small black pupils were crammed full, unable to hold anyone else.
Lu Hexu's fingertips brushed past her eyes, his slightly cool skin gently grazing her long, slender eyelashes.
"What's wrong?" Su Zhenzhen blinked, her eyelashes dancing against his fingertips, bringing up a ticklish sensation.
Su Zhenzhen was puzzled. "It's getting dark. I need to go and come back quickly. Go back to the courtyard and wait for me." After saying that, she prepared to leave, only to have her wrist grabbed again.
"Ugh..." Lu Hexu grabbed her with his right hand, pulling at his fractured bone.
"Ah, be careful." Su Zhenzhen quickly turned around, a worried look appearing on her face. "How is it? Does it hurt?"
Lu Hexu did not answer. The corners of his eyes just twitched slightly. Then he lowered his head, pressed his forehead against Su Zhenzhen's shoulder, and slowly rubbed against her. When Su Zhenzhen laughed and tried to dodge him, he chased after her to kiss her neck.
Su Zhenzhen wanted to avoid it, but remembering that the young man's arm had not healed yet, she did not dodge. She only whispered, "Not outside."
This courtyard was rather secluded, and it was just the two of them. Lu Hexu leaned on Su Zhenzhen's shoulder, tilted his head slightly, and kissed her rain-dampened neck. There was a thin layer of mist there, as light as cotton.
Lu Hexu stuck out the tip of his tongue and lightly licked across it.
Su Zhenzhen's breath hitched. She subconsciously reached out and grabbed Lu Hexu's arm, but did not dare to use force, until she felt a slightly heavy pressure on her neck. It hurt a little, and tickled a little.
"I still have to go give something to Ah Sui."
After kissing her, Lu Hexu rested his jaw on Su Zhenzhen's shoulder. His gaze passed through the rain-dampened autumn banana leaves in front of them, looking toward Ah Sui, who was standing not far away holding an umbrella, having come to deliver dinner to Su Zhenzhen.
The corners of the young man's lips curled up slightly. Then he spoke closely against Su Zhenzhen, "No need to go. He came himself."
Su Zhenzhen paused, turned her head, and saw Ah Sui standing not far away.
She felt awkward for a moment.
Ahhh, when did he get here? Did he see? He definitely saw, right!
Bad guy!
Su Zhenzhen's face was full of social death.
Ah Sui walked over with his head down and handed the food box in his hand to Su Zhenzhen. "Sister, here."
Su Zhenzhen kept her head down and reached out to take the food box.
She didn't dare to look up at all.
She was too ashamed.
Ah Sui's gaze swept over Su Zhenzhen's neck, where a patch of red marks had been kissed into existence, looking like a deliberate show-off.
"Oh right, this is for you. This is a thank-you gift for you. Last time, you helped watch that thieving eunuch for several days, which finally cleared Mu Dan of suspicion." After Su Zhenzhen finished speaking, she gently tugged at Mu Dan.
Lu Hexu handed the box containing the jade pendant to Ah Sui.
Ah Sui looked down at this jade pendant, his face showing a bit of unconcealed excitement. "It was all what I should have done. Did Sister buy this for me?"
Lu Hexu curled his lips. "I bought it."
Ah Sui's hand holding the jade pendant paused slightly. He turned to look at Su Zhenzhen. "Sister, today my master taught me how to make red bean cakes. The red bean cakes in that food box were made by me. Try them. If they are good, I will make more for you tomorrow."
"Okay." Su Zhenzhen nodded. Ah Sui stood there, laughed once more, and then slowly turned around and walked away with his umbrella.
Su Zhenzhen carried the food box into the courtyard. Just as she stood still, she was entangled by Sushan.
"Didn't you already eat today?" Su Zhenzhen picked Sushan up.
"Meow" Sushan meowed while being held in Su Zhenzhen's arms.
Alright, musical family, stop meowing.
Su Zhenzhen couldn't do anything about it, so she went to find some dried fish for it to eat. Then, as soon as she entered the room, she found that her herbs had been carried off and scattered everywhere by Sushan.
Su Zhenzhen: ...exhausted.
Su Zhenzhen put Sushan down, first tidied up the herbs in the room, then fed Sushan before finally leaving the room.
Inside the main room, the glazed lamp was lit, but Mu Dan was nowhere to be seen.
Su Zhenzhen turned her head and saw the young man sitting under the eaves. Beside him was an empty plate with only a single red bean left.
"Did you finish all the red bean cakes?"
Red bean cakes were usually made by mixing soaked glutinous rice with half-cooked red beans, kneading them into palm-sized flat cakes, and then steaming them over water.
Once steamed, the outside was a soft, sweet, and sticky glutinous rice cake, paired with distinct red beans. They could be dipped in honey or other sweet condiments to eat.
Su Zhenzhen had guessed that Mu Dan would like this traditional dessert, but she hadn't expected him to finish a whole plate of red bean cakes so quickly by himself.
"Mhm," the young man's response was muffled.
"Will you still have room for dinner?"
Tonight's dinner consisted of three vegetarian dishes, one meat dish, and a soup.
Because they were staying at the Gusu post house, the cuisine leaned towards the Jiangnan style.
There was a portion of braised river eel, arrowhead root cooked with baby greens, a mushroom and tofu clay pot, stir-fried Kalimeris, and a bowl of dried bamboo shoot soup.
It was a cold autumn day, so Su Zhenzhen took a sip of soup first, then watched Mu Dan slowly try to pick up his food.
The arrowhead root was cut into rather large chunks and was quite slippery; his chopsticks failed to grip it several times.
Su Zhenzhen used her own chopsticks to pick up a piece and placed it in his bowl.
The young man glanced at her. "I can't pick it up."
He couldn't pick it up even when it was in his bowl?
Su Zhenzhen picked up the piece of arrowhead root again and brought it to the young man's lips.
Lu Hexu lowered his head and bit into the arrowhead root.
"I want some bamboo shoots too."
He was actually ordering dishes now.
Su Zhenzhen glanced down at the young man's rain-soaked arm, where the faint outline of bandages could be seen.
Never mind, taking care of a beautiful, disabled young man was a pleasant task in its own way.
This meal went on quite late.
One fed, and the other ate. When they finally finished, Su Zhenzhen looked at Mu Dan, whose clothes were dampened by the rain.
"Go inside and change your clothes. They're soaking wet, be careful not to catch a cold."
Lu Hexu obediently went into the room.
Sushan squeezed out through the crack in the door and played in the courtyard.
Su Zhenzhen saw it jump onto the water vat in the yard. Worried that it might slip in, she held up an umbrella and walked over to carry it down.
Sushan squatted on the edge of the vat. The rim was slightly slippery, and it wasn't standing very steadily.
Su Zhenzhen walked over, holding the umbrella with one hand and scooping it up with the other.
Sushan refused to leave, its paws still fishing around inside the water vat.
"Stop playing with the copper coin grass. The poor grass is always being pawed at by you." After Su Zhenzhen said this, she looked down and noticed the water in the vat was murky.
Something didn't seem right.
Su Zhenzhen leaned in for a closer look but couldn't see clearly.
She looked around and found a bamboo pole that was originally used to prop open the window lattice.
Su Zhenzhen took the bamboo pole, walked back, and fished around in the water vat. She fished out a... red bean cake.
No, two pieces.
And more, three pieces.
In the end, Su Zhenzhen fished out five red bean cakes from the water.
Su Zhenzhen stood there holding the bamboo pole, holding up the umbrella, hugging the cat, and turned her head to look behind her.
Mu Dan came out after changing his clothes. He stood under the eaves looking at her, his expression appearing extremely innocent, even more innocent than her own face usually looked.
-
Su Zhenzhen finally realized something: Mu Dan didn't seem to like Ah Sui very much.
Likes and dislikes were entirely subjective, so Su Zhenzhen didn't interfere much. She simply told Mu Dan not to throw food away so casually in the future.
The weather had been too damp lately. She needed to quickly dry out the wet herbs to prevent them from molding.
Su Zhenzhen set up a small stove under the eaves and began to roast and dry the herbs.
Once she got busy, she lost track of time.
By the time she snapped back to reality, she realized it was already very late.
Su Zhenzhen let out a yawn, packed up the herbs, and then glanced down at Sushan, who was squatting on the ground keeping her company. The cat was so sleepy it couldn't even keep its eyes open.
As soon as Su Zhenzhen moved, it immediately dashed straight into the room and squatted on the bed, waiting for her to go to sleep together.
"Wait a moment, little kitty. I'm going to light a charcoal brazier."
The weather was getting colder, so Su Zhenzhen needed to place a charcoal brazier in the room when she slept at night.
There was a small kitchen in the courtyard. Su Zhenzhen hadn't noticed it before, but later she found a wooden door and, upon opening it, discovered the small kitchen hidden in the corner.
At this moment, the small kitchen was filled with thick smoke and a strong burning smell.
Su Zhenzhen looked at Mu Dan, who was hiding in the small kitchen doing heaven knows what, and her brain short-circuited for a moment.
"What are you doing?"
Lu Hexu turned his head, saw Su Zhenzhen standing at the door of the small kitchen, and instinctively turned sideways to block whatever was behind him.
Su Zhenzhen: ???
Lu Hexu furrowed his brows slightly, clearly not expecting the thing he made to turn out like this.
It had looked so simple, after all.
"What is it?" Su Zhenzhen's curiosity was piqued.
Lu Hexu stayed sideways, continuing to block her view.
"Let me see."
He couldn't hide it anymore.
Lu Hexu tilted his head up slightly and said very reluctantly, "Red bean cakes."
Su Zhenzhen looked down at the black, burnt lump, fell silent for a moment, and said, "It's quite nice."
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes to look at her. "Then will you eat it?"
Su Zhenzhen shook her head. "No, let's feed it to the fish."
Since even a dog probably wouldn't want to eat it, feeding it to the fish was the best option.
Placing the black lump onto a plate nearby, Su Zhenzhen glanced at the remaining glutinous rice flour and red beans.
She didn't know where Mu Dan had gotten these ingredients. She reached out and pinched a red bean; it was rock hard.
No wonder the glutinous rice cake was burnt while the red beans were still hard.
But it was tough on him. His right hand couldn't move, yet he was still in here trying to make red bean cakes.
"The red beans need to be soaked first."
Su Zhenzhen put the red beans into water to soak, then took out some glutinous rice flour, mixed it with water, and kneaded it into a dough.
She rolled out little glutinous rice balls one by one.
Su Zhenzhen was very confident in this skill; after all, she had spent a long time rolling medicinal pills in the pharmacy back in the day.
Once the little rice balls were rolled, Su Zhenzhen dropped them into a small pot. When they floated to the top, she scooped them out with a soup spoon and stirred in some osmanthus honey.
The weather was cold, so eating something warm at night was very comforting.
Su Zhenzhen also poured two cups of barley tea.
The two of them sat under the eaves, watching the autumn rain in the courtyard.
The lamplight was hazy, illuminating the rain into silky threads.
The barley tea, roasted and then steeped in boiling water, smelled incredibly fragrant. It carried a roasted barley aroma and wouldn't cause insomnia.
Su Zhenzhen loved brewing a cup at night, sipping it while she worked.
She held her barley tea, sitting back-to-back with Mu Dan.
Su Zhenzhen took a few sips of tea and leaned over to look at Mu Dan, who was sitting under the eaves eating the little rice balls with his left hand.
Actually, she had a question, but she didn't know if she should ask it.
"How old were you when you entered the palace?"
[Why weren't you castrated?]
Lu Hexu turned his body and raised his eyes to glance at her.
For some reason, Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but feel that a secret she wouldn't be able to accept was hidden beneath this.
"Alright, never mind. I suddenly don't want to know anymore."
After stopping Mu Dan from speaking, Su Zhenzhen got up to close the window.
The rain was blowing inside.
Su Zhenzhen originally thought that Mu Dan was just like her, an involuntary wage earner with no control over his own fate.
But looking at it now, Mu Dan had far more secrets than she did.
It didn't matter. They were just living together out of convenience anyway, and they could part ways at any time.
It was just a bit of a pity. Su Zhenzhen felt that, if she did not ignore his face, she probably liked Mu Dan a little.
After eating their late night snack, Su Zhenzhen went back to sleep.
Lu Hexu lifted the quilt and lay down beside her.
The young man's hot arm rested on her waist, hugging her from behind.
The two held each other, listening to the sound of the rain outside the window.
Lu Hexu's fingertips brushed across the woman's soft back.
The young man's breathing became slow and rapid, as if he wanted to continue what they were doing at the courtyard gate just now.
Wait, did they not just do that yesterday morning?
Is this the body of a young person?
Did she nurse him back to health a little too well?
"Mhm..."
What are you humming for.
The young man's ending note dragged out, throwing Su Zhenzhen's mind into chaos.
It is fine, just using hands.
"A handkerchief..."
"No need for a handkerchief, Zhenzhen."
The young man's voice was very nice, like the faint youthful voice in a professional radio drama. When he spoke, there was a shallow rise and fall of breath, and the air he exhaled was hot and burning.
He hooked her fingers and moved downwards, pressing directly against it.
Su Zhenzhen subconsciously trembled and was held tightly by the young man's fingertips.
"Then you... wash the bedsheets..." Su Zhenzhen did not know what she was saying either, only feeling that her heart was beating so fast it was about to jump out of her throat.
"Mhm."
My hand is so sore.
Is it not done yet?
Was it not quite fast last time?
Squeeze it.
"Mhm..."
Ah.
So sticky.
The feeling with a handkerchief and without a handkerchief is very different.
The young man pressed against her, panting, and the temperature of his body almost pierced through her skin.
The autumn rain had not stopped, having poured for three consecutive days, and the temperature began to drop, especially in the mornings.
Before Su Zhenzhen even opened her eyes, she reached out to feel the space beside her. There was no one.
Hmm? Did he leave?
Su Zhenzhen opened her eyes and saw Sushan squatting on the edge of the bed, licking its fur.
The bed is a place for sleeping, not a place for taking a bath.
Su Zhenzhen pulled Sushan into her arms and kissed it a bunch of times, then lifted the quilt to get up and wash up.
A fragrant smell wafted in from outside. Su Zhenzhen sniffed and thought it smelled a bit like red beans.
She opened the door and walked out, only to see the young man carrying a plate from the small kitchen.
"Red bean cakes?"
Su Zhenzhen walked over and saw the red bean cakes placed on the plate. They were the size of a palm, and the red beans on top had been steamed until they burst open.
Su Zhenzhen noticed the grease stains on the young man's clothes. "You made them?"
"Mhm."
They really looked quite good.
Su Zhenzhen picked one up with her chopsticks and took a bite.
It was soft, glutinous, and sweet, and the red beans were steamed just right.
"Delicious."
When praise is due, it must be given.
The two sat together and ate the red bean cakes for breakfast.
"It is raining again." Su Zhenzhen looked up at the courtyard outside.
The autumn rain fell along the rain chains hanging on both sides of the gray tiled eaves, dropping all the way down to the front of the stone steps, where it was caught by the small water vat at the bottom.
The water in the small water vat overflowed and ran down the edges.
The drainage system in this courtyard was probably not very good, as rainwater gradually accumulated in the yard. Fortunately, there were stone steps in front of the main house, and the terrain was relatively high.
Who knew how long this rain would last.
If it rained for a long time, they would probably have to stay in the Gusu relay station for a while longer.
Wei Heng organized today's memorials to the throne and placed them on the desk in the room.
He had already tidied up the main room. The doors and windows were closed tightly, letting no sunlight leak in. Two floor standing glazed lamps were placed on both sides, illuminating the room.
The floor was paved with gold bricks. Wei Heng added a layer of wooden boards on top, and then laid down a thick layer of felt.
There were no traces of the bedding being moved on the bed. His Majesty must not have returned last night.
Wei Heng pushed the door open, just about to go out, when he saw His Majesty returning from outside carrying a glazed lamp.
Lu Hexu went all the way back to the main room. He looked down at the memorials on the desk, sat down, and picked up his brush to start processing them.
After reading just two, Lu Hexu paused his movements and started speaking. "I originally wanted to kill him, but I was afraid she would be unhappy."
That eunuch named Ah Sui was very annoying.
Lu Hexu narrowed his eyes, revealing a look of hostility.
Wei Heng stood quietly to the side, listening to His Majesty speak.
The lamplight fell on his thin body. Wei Heng suddenly realized that the Emperor in front of him was still a young man.
Since he was a young man, ignoring factors like having a sick brain or being mentally abnormal, he should still have some youthful matters on his mind.
Wei Heng thought of the theater stage that had been singing all day yesterday. Those romantic tunes were still spinning in his head even now.
Actually, he had heard them in the past too.
Wei Heng recalled his youth. At that time, his family was still at its peak. Someone came to propose a marriage. When Wei Heng went to the temple to burn incense with his mother, he saw that young lady from afar. She had a beautiful appearance and a gentle temperament.
He heard she came from a scholarly family, a prominent household of literature and calligraphy. Such a family was more than a match for him.
Later, the two of them met a few more times at palace banquets, poetry gatherings in the city, and at the Dehe Garden in Jinling City.
Dehe Garden was the largest theater in Jinling City. He heard she liked listening to operas, so he made a rare trip to that theater with his mother.
His mother even teased him in the carriage, saying that someone who never watched operas was actually going to see one.
He could not remember clearly what was being sung at the time.
The first floor of Dehe Garden was the main hall, and the second floor had private seats.
When watching the opera, the curtains of the private seats on the second floor were all rolled up. She had also come with her mother. The two madams sat together talking, and he and she sat behind their respective mothers, separated by a small table.
He only remembered she held a beautiful fan embroidered with lotus flowers in her hand.
When the two of them picked up their teacups, their eyes met and then quickly looked away.
The actors sang melodiously, the tunes lingering in the air, but he only remembered her taking a few sips of tea.
Unfortunately, before that hazy affection could fully take shape, his family met with disaster, and this unsettled marriage naturally became void.
It was a good thing it became void, otherwise it would have delayed that young lady.
Not only delayed, but she would have been implicated by his Wei family.
It was just that in the dead of night, Wei Heng would also think of this marriage, think of that young lady, think of the poems they wrote, and think of those misty eyes under that beautiful lotus fan.
"Wei Heng, I asked her for a gold hairpin, and she bought it for me."
Wei Heng did not know why His Majesty said this out of nowhere. He only knew that His Majesty seemed to be in an extremely good mood today. Even when reading the memorials, he did not have his usual impatient attitude.
Thank you
Thanks to all my darlings, kisses
