Chapter 197: Beauties Die Young
Censor He fell asleep.
He was snoring softly.
It was not until the masseur, carrying his stick, had left that he still hadn’t woken up.
Perhaps the fact that even a blind man could marry, have a job, and dare to look forward to his child being born and going to school, left him deeply shocked yet satisfied. For the first time in ten years, he had fallen asleep just as the sky was turning dark.
The Page Boy leaned cautiously against the soft couch nearby, picked up a piece of dried meat from the small table in front of him, and nibbled on it gently.
Tonight, there was no clinking of goblets; it was rather quiet, and no one came to ask him about the Official’s preferences.
For a long time, the Official showed no signs of waking, his snoring growing louder.
The Page Boy, Jizi, slowly rose and went to the tea room next door. He took down a book, brewed some tea, ate some snacks, and began to read. The rain had stopped, the night was no longer so hot, and a gentle breeze blew outside the window. He could faintly hear the sounds of children playing outside the compound walls.
Later in the evening, someone brought over a bowl of hot noodle soup.
It did not wake Censor He, who was sleeping inside.
After the Page Boy finished eating in the tea room, someone came to clear the things away and lit a stick of incense, filling the room with drifting fragrance.
This Censors Suite, costing a thousand taels a night, seemed utterly unworthy no matter how one thought about it, yet living in it felt comfortable no matter how one stayed.
Xiao Jia also brought two distinguished guests to check in.
This Young Master Liu was very wealthy and generous. He had originally requested the top-tier suite, but the woman beside him dissuaded him.
The woman’s voice was very pleasant to hear; just listening to it made Xiao Jia’s heart itch, and he felt she must be a great beauty.
Young Master Liu booked two rooms.
Because although Miss Qingqing had lost her memory, her every move was that of a noble lady, with everything about her indicating an extraordinary background.
Liu Tong had treated her with great courtesy along the way.
The two chatted about everything under the sun along the way, exchanging glances from time to time.
Liu Tong promised to take her to the capital.
Jiang Wan had been well taken care of along the way, feeling very comfortable. She even thought in her heart that regardless of the things in those dreams, and without seeking out Chu Xi, perhaps it would be quite good to just find a man she liked and live a simple, ordinary life in this lifetime.
Young Master Liu was generous with money, relatively simple in nature, and possessed a touch of scholarly idealism.
The sunset faded, and a half-moon rose.
Although the two rooms were not top-tier suites, they were relatively high-end, costing fifty taels of silver a night. Inside, there was the three-piece set of facial cleanser, toothpaste, and shampoo, which could be used freely.
The candlelight in the room was clean and bright.
The washroom was fragrant.
For female travelers, the most inconvenient things were washing up and using the latrine.
However, in the inns of Jingzhou, it made one not want to go out, but here, the washroom was so comfortable; there was even a pot of flowers in the washroom—not precious, but inexplicably making one feel comfortable.
Jiang Wan lay on the bed alone, having washed away some of the makeup on her face, yet she was still very beautiful.
Like a lotus rising from the water.
What she was wearing had been purchased along the way; since she was in distress, she certainly hadn’t brought such comprehensive belongings.
It was very gorgeous, even more gorgeous than what she had at home.
At home, her father was devoted to Buddhism, and her grandmother cursed every day, always complaining of this ache or that pain, requiring medicine to maintain her health. Her brother’s funeral had cost a lot; hiring priests, the coffin, the cemetery—all were expensive.
When she thought of this, Jiang Wan was suddenly startled; her brother was already gone, yet she was actually still thinking about the expenses after his death.
She felt a bit self-deprecating, wondering how she had fallen into this state.
She remembered that when Aunt Yao was around, she always said she was an extremely kind-hearted girl.
She herself thought so too; seeing others suffer, she would always feel unable to bear it and would always give some alms.
She was also diligent and eager to learn, with no bad habits.
As for those power struggles later in her dreams, she was only doing it to survive; people always have many unavoidable circumstances.
She was not a saint; she had seven emotions and six desires, and had experienced both good and evil thoughts.
But was that wrong?
Everyone is like that.
Jiang Wan lay on the bed, able to see the half-moon hanging in the sky from the window.
A knock on the door sounded.
She got up to open the door.
Outside the door was Liu Tong, and he had brought along an unremarkable-looking little girl.
Liu Tong glanced at Miss Qingqing’s appearance and his face turned red. Somewhat flustered, he said, “Miss Qingqing, this, this is a maid I found for you. It has been quite inconvenient along the way. Do, do you want to have some tea? You, you should freshen up, and then come for tea in a while, alright?”
Liu Tong’s face was red as he spoke, and when he glanced at Jiang Wan in the middle, his face turned even redder.
At this moment, Jiang Wan was not dressed as carefully as during the day; she was more casual, and her hair was slightly disheveled.
But this appearance was even more attractive.
Jiang Wan looked at the little maid who was keeping her head down and nodded in agreement.
In reality, she didn’t want a maid, fearing she might be recognized, but what young lady of a noble family had no one to serve her?
The maid came in, very well-behaved and cautious.
“Miss, this servant will help you comb your hair.”
Jiang Wan did not refuse.
After freshening up and changing into another outfit, Jiang Wan followed the maid out to the tea room Young Master Liu had mentioned.
It was a tea room provided by the inn for guests, which could be locked from the inside, forming a private room. Outside the window, it faced the river, and the scenery was beautiful.
There was also a soft couch and a tea table.
At night, there were boats on the river, the sound of string and bamboo instruments, and flickering starlight.
Jiang Wan went over, and Liu Tong was already brewing tea.
He was brewing it very carefully. When brewing the tea, his slender fingers touched the beautiful porcelain cup, which was very pleasing to the eye.
Seeing Jiang Wan come over, he immediately stood up.
“Qingqing, this is a popular way of brewing tea in Jingzhou. I’ve been learning it for a while. Let me brew it for you; try it, you will definitely like it.”
Hot water poured over the tea leaves caused steam to rise.
The bottom of the cup that had held the tea was especially fragrant.
She didn’t taste anything special from the tea, but the fragrance of the cup was excellent.
It was slightly hot, and holding it in her hands, she lowered her head to sniff it gently.
The evening breeze was not hot, blowing in from outside the window, causing her skirt and the tips of her hair to flutter gently.
The fragrance of the tea flowed, and a sense of ambiguity also rippled through the air.
Jiang Wan was very good at grasping that sense of ambiguity and openness; it seemed she was naturally adept at it.
Liu Tong drank three cups of tea in one breath, as if he didn’t fear the heat, and then he finally gathered the courage to speak: “Miss Qingqing, to tell you the truth, my family has already arranged a wife for me. After this trip is over, I must prepare to go back and get married. The other party is the daughter of my father’s direct superior, and our two families are close friends. Miss Dong is also a good girl; I cannot fail her. You—I observe from your behavior that your status is certainly not ordinary. If you have any unspeakable difficulties, I can help you. I should not have harbored improper thoughts about you; along this journey, I, Liu, have been too greedy.”
Jiang Wan was stunned for a moment.
At this moment, she only felt that the aftertaste of the tea was bitter; there was no sweetness, only bitterness.
There was only her and Young Master Liu in the room.
She held the cup, stood up, and walked to the window.
The window was open, and the pleasure boats outside were like stars in the human world, flickering, not bright enough to light up that expanse of darkness.
Young Master Liu also stood beside her. No matter how ambiguous things had been along the way, Young Master Liu had always remained very respectful.
He tried to avoid suspicion whenever possible.
Upon arriving at the Prefecture City, he immediately found a maid for her.
Standing there, Jiang Wan listened to Young Master Liu speak of Miss Dong, and suddenly remembered such a girl. The New Emperor had ascended the throne, and the Crown Prince was selecting a consort.
At that time, as the Empress’s niece, she was not even considered as a candidate.
Her aunt did not want her to marry Chu Xi.
A girl with the surname Dong stood out. She was innocent and lively; when she smiled, her front teeth were uneven, with one little canine tooth being particularly sharp, and her dimples were especially deep.
Her skin was very fair, and her face was round.
She was very likable and must have been a smart person, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been chosen as the Crown Princess.
But at the final moment, only Miss Dong and the daughter of the Zhang family were left, two chosen from one. Crown Prince Chu Xi clearly liked Miss Dong more, smiling at her several times.
At the last moment, Miss Dong proactively refused, stating plainly that she had someone she liked: “My Liu brother and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts. He does not fail me, and I cannot fail him, so I can only decline His Highness the Crown Prince’s favor.”
At the time, the crowd looked at Miss Dong as if she were a fool.
Jiang Wan was the same, thinking, how could a childhood sweetheart compare to the Crown Princess? That was the future Empress. The Miss Zhang beside her was cautious, yet this Miss Dong had proactively refused.
Jiang Wan stood by the river at this moment, remembering that scene.
She had later entered the Crown Prince’s mansion only as a concubine, yet she never expected that someone would actually directly refuse to be the Crown Princess.
She wanted to laugh.
So that Miss Dong had refused the Crown Prince for the sake of Liu Tong.
Round and round, round and round.
She had observed Young Master Liu all along the way; he was indeed a gentleman and had no major flaws.
The image she projected was that of someone weak and easily bullied. If Young Master Liu liked her, he could at most just take her back to have her by his side as a companion, but Young Master Liu had always maintained his principles.
At this moment, his confession to her actually meant he wouldn’t take her with him.
Jiang Wan, from a widow to a Crown Prince’s concubine, to an Empress.
She was unyielding to the bone.
She was jealous of that little Dong girl’s innocence and liveliness.
She was jealous in her past life, and looking back now, she was still jealous. How could someone so easily refuse such honor? Didn’t she regret it?
She stood at the window, resolute in her heart.
She could nod and agree; Young Master Liu would likely settle her somewhere. If she went to the capital to find her mother, or sought refuge with her aunt, there should be hope.
It was said that in the capital, because the current Emperor was not feeling well, the princes were already heading toward the capital.
It was also for this reason that she saw Young Master Liu as a life-saving straw and ran out following him.
But suddenly, she felt unwilling to accept this.
Why!
She also dared not believe that without the help of affection, loyalty was as thin as paper, easily pierced.
Even in her dreams, most of the content was about life-and-death struggles.
She didn’t trust others.
She stood at the window, and crystal-clear tears fell from her beautiful eyes.
When she looked up at Young Master Liu again, she was already a tearful beauty, sorrowful and moving.
She tilted her head slightly to look at Young Master Liu, the two of them very, very close. Her tears flowed, she bit her lip gently, looking at him. She said nothing, her gaze unfathomable.
Young Master Liu turned his head, not daring to look at her, feeling flustered.
However, she leaned into his embrace.
She buried her head in his embrace, her tears wetting his lapel.
“I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how I should act. I am very afraid. Brother Liu, if you leave me, what will I do? I am just a weak woman, with no one to rely on. I only have you, no one else.”
Jiang Wan’s voice was aggrieved, her body trembling slightly, soft, helpless, and charming.
Young Master Liu’s hands were tense, not knowing where to put them, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. With her delicate, soft body leaning against him, at this moment, Miss Dong’s deep dimples and that smile all vanished.
His hands rested on her soft waist, pulling her heavily into his arms, fitting together without a sliver of space. He surrendered to the simplest of physical desires.
He liked her, admired her. From the first glance he saw her—beautiful, flamboyant, aggrieved, weak, noble—she was like a mystery.
“I’m sorry, Qingqing, I’m sorry.” Young Master Liu said sorry, flustered, lowering his head to kiss her lightly, because he couldn’t help but take liberties with her, kissing her, embracing her.
From the pleasure boats outside the window, a song drifted over:
“Since ancient times, beauties have been ill-fated, drifting east and west, it is hard to find pity.”
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