The springs in Wufeng Town were always bitingly cold.
The lingering white fog penetrated to one’s bones, humid and cold. It felt like the fog concealed an innumerable number of sharp icicles of all sizes, torturing one’s skin till it felt like it had fallen off.
The small river tributary before their eyes snaked back and forth. Both sides of the river embankment were filled to the brim with cattails. Taller than a man’s knee, they seemed just like the dried, dense hair of mother earth.
The main leads hurried along the road, trying to take every shortcut. They forged through the thickets, drilled their way through the wasteland and finally arrived at the pond. However, there wasn’t even a single rock of any respectable size within. There were only a few smaller rocks whose apex barely broke the surface.
“Ah Sheng,” Mu Yao turned around with a gaze full of surprise, “This… isn’t isn’t an underground river.”
This was just… a simple, shallow and completely normal creek with no danger at all.
Mu Sheng was carrying a half-awake girl on his back but didn’t hesitate at all to step into the water: “She can’t walk anymore.”
Mu Yao was speechless.
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Nkdt Ykysxkys’p yaxp olal oayrrle yaswde bkp dlnj yde bla lulp olal dlyazu nzsple. Fkdnl bl oyp okzzkdt vs nyaau bla, pbl oyp yzps vss zygu vs csvbla okvb vbl letl sq bla pjkav tlvvkdt olv, zlvvkdt bkx vyjl bla ycswv yp bl okpble.
Tla bydtkdt zlt powdt cynj yde qsavb. Fweeldzu, pbl pvyavle vs vkzv kv yv y pvaydtl ydtzl. Yw Fbldt pzktbvzu vwadle bkp blye yde qasx bla ydtzl, pbl nswze pll vbl yan bkp lulzypblp xyel.
“Ebyv’p oasdt?”
“Yu pbsl…” Fbl aykple bla aktbv qssv yde y pzkx yde pzldela qssv rlyjle kvp oyu swv sq vbl letl sq bla pjkav, “Rv’p ycswv vs qyzz.”
Fbl vokazle bla ydjzl, vaukdt vs tlv bkx vs blzr bla rwv kv cynj sd vktbv.
“….” Tl rywple qsa y xsxldv clqsal iwknjzu alynbkdt swv yde vyjkdt sqq csvb sq bla pbslp. Mbld, bl vkle vblx vstlvbla clqsal pvypbkdt vblx kdvs bkp asclp. “Zsw osd’v easr vblx yduxsal.”
“……” Nkdt Ykysxkys qlzv ypbyxle yp pbl nwazle wr bla cyal qllv, bkekdt vblx wdela bla zsdt pjkav. Fbl eked’v qllz zkjl csvblakdt okvb bkx yduxsal.
Tsolhla, bkp byde xshle esodoyaep sdnl ytykd vs rkdnb bla aktbv ydjzl clqsal xyppytkdt kv y nswrzl vkxlp. Tkp lulp olal rkvnb eyaj: “Usze?”
“Not cold.” She tried to shrink back her leg in discomfort as she struggled, even stomping on his hand before he had a chance to retrieve it.
Suddenly being stepped on, the youth’s eyelashes trembled. He reached out and immediately grabbed ahold of her knees and obediently stayed silent from then on.
It was calm and silent. As such, Ling Miaomiao immediately felt sleepy again.
He sensed that the breathing of the girl on his back had become shallow and her body soft and pliable. Her arms wrapped around his neck started to loosen more and more so he tightened his grip and called out: “Don’t fall asleep, you’re going to fall off.”
Ling Miaomiao abruptly woke up and subconsciously embraced him tightly. She couldn’t even open her eyes as she patted his collarbone twice, patiently whispering to him: “I won’t fall off, I have you holding me.”
“……” Mu Sheng leapt from one smooth rock to another. The edge of his robes had already been soaked but her soft pomegranate colored skirt softly rubbed against the bottom of his cuff like a delicate but pliable petal.
While the youth waded through the creek, he stared at the water’s surface absent-mindedly. He was wondering whether or not he had gone insane, to become giddy with joy from a mere sentence.
Mu Yao had long crossed the river, patiently standing at the edge of the bank watching Mu Sheng slowly make his way over. After he carried the person on his back over the river, he very, very carefully let her off his back. Now, she was in his arms instead. Then, without speaking a word to anyone, he sat down in the shadow of a massive Chinese Banyan tree.
The youth raised his glittering, dark pupils and looked towards Mu Yao: “Ah Jie, let’s take a rest.”
His method of discussion was truly nothing but completely resolute. His tone, although flat, gave one no room to deny.
“….Alright.” Mu Yao’s expression was complicated as she sat down by the side. She watched him as he lowered his head, peerlessly patient as he helped Miaomiao put on her shoes. Then, he started to play with the hair of the girl laying in his arms as if there was no one else there.
Ling Miaomiao suddenly woke up from her dream. When her eyes opened, they were immediately filled with the beautiful rosiness of dusk whilst groups of geese turned into little dots as they flew south.
Her apricot eyes were dull as she stared blankly at the sky. After turning a few times, she saw the edge of the horizon, where the rise of twilight mingled with the last vestiges of the sun.
She suddenly realized that she was laying in Mu Sheng’s arms. In fact, his hand was continuously pulling and playing with her long hair, causing her to feel somewhat itchy.
Her back felt somewhat sore after maintaining such a position rigidly for so long.
She was still somewhat out of it: She only remembered that when they had left, the sun was still going strong in the sky….
She suddenly sat up, facing going completely flush with both shock and fear: “I…. did I actually sleep all the way till nighttime?!”
This black lotus actually let her sleep so long without waking her up at all.
Looking back, she saw that Mu Yao was leaning against a nearby tree, unmoving. She looked positively destitute standing there, almost as if she was about to turn into a boulder.
Because of her, the entire group has been forced to delay their investigation.
“…..” The self-reproach in Ling Miaomiao’s heart surged like the waves on the high seas, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… It’s all my fault…”
“It’s fine.” Mu Sheng’s reply was offhanded and he didn’t seem to care. He reached out and used his full attention to help straighten out her skewed hair clip.
“I’m not talking to you!” Ling Miaomiao slapped aside his hand and crawled up with all of her limps. She felt dismayed to the extreme: “Sister Mu, it was all my fault….”
“It’s nothing.” Mu Yao helplessly smiled at her. Her tone was filled with warmth and pity, “Miaomiao, you’ve probably exhausted yourself the past few days…. if you’re sleepy then just rest. We can just continue later.”
By the time they entered the town walls of Wufeng Town, the sky was already dark and lanterns dotted the side of the road.
Mu Yao stopped a pedestrian seemingly rushing back home: “Sir, do you know where Huazhe Restaurant is?”
The pedestrian suddenly grinned as if he had heard a joke: “Do you see these lanterns?” He reached out to point at the bright lanterns in front of the wine shop. His voice was clearly filled with a strong southern accent, “Just follow the lanterns and you’ll find your way there.”
“Is that so?” Mu Yao turned to look down the road, half doubtful of his words.
The man smiled mockingly, not happy with her expression: “Townspeople might not know where the Imperial City is, but they do know where to find the wine shops and restaurants.”
The three of them thanked him and started to trod towards the depths of the street.
Wufeng Town was considered a small one and its population really wasn’t that impressive. Even the port looked desolate. Yet, there was an entire road of wine shops and restaurants brightly lit, the streets filled with music and song every night.
In this town, hidden in the mist, everyone minded their own business in a drunken stupor.
They followed the two rows of bright lanterns on the side of the road but then Mu Yao suddenly stopped in place. She pointed at the sign board above them: “We’re here.”
Ling Miaomiao raised her head to take a look. Sure enough, there was a shabby, stained signboard swaying in front of the door. There were the two characters ‘Huazhe’ inscribedincribed into the wood in official script. However, there weren’t any people at the door to welcome them. Other than that, there were occasionally groups of twos or threes that made their way into the building. It was clear that business was good.
Huazhe Restaurant had at least three floors. It was at least one size larger than both of the buildings beside it. From the still standing jade pillar, one could easily imagine how splendorous and majestic Huazhe Restaurant used to be. Now it was just a little…. run down.
The entrance and the signboard’s paint were peeling off. The metal was rusty and the two carved lion statues on the sides of the entrance were even covered with algae. It all just looked like it was all in great disrepair. Even the hanging lanterns looked darker than the ones hanging in front of the other buildings. The entire building felt like an ancient relic out of place on a new street.
Mu Yao and Ling Miaomiao looked each other in the eye, their expression turning serious: “Let’s go in then.”
As expected of a place Liu Fuyi had chosen, it truly was out of the ordinary.
Following the winding corridor into the building, the skylight stretching from north to south cast down a dark, cheerless night sky. The lanterns hanging in the corridor flickered like dim stars, continuously spreading their glow as far as they can reach. Mu Sheng scrunched up his brows.
It felt like originally, at the side of the corridor, there had been many swaying silhouettes. Clothes fluttering and fragrances permeating in a slow, sensual dance paired with light music. It was like the splendor of life was roaming around.
However, upon taking another glance, he only saw the silence of night and a desolate entrance.
“What’s wrong?” Miaomiao looked at his face.
“It’s nothing.” He retrieved his gaze and stared into her eyes that flickered with the reflections of the dusky yellow light. She looked softer than ever.
Miaomiao paused for a moment before lowering her voice, “If you don’t feel comfortable, just say it.”
His pupils lit up for a few moments before he saw her nod at him.
The scenery on the path they took was rather cheerless. It felt as if the restaurant’s funds were short and was in the state of desolation before it closed down. Until they walked all the way to the main hall, where Ling Miaomiao finally felt her impression of the place chance —-
The restaurant’s grounds were covered to the brim with people, all creating a loud and lively ruckus. Goblets were clinked together and conversation filled the air. There was a thick stench of liveliness that filled the air along with the fragrance of wine and food that struck them in the face. It completely shattered the somber and cheerless mood they had been immersed in when they entered.
The seats in the main hall had already been filled to the brim, people shuffled their way between tables by slowly inching their way through. As the diners dined and drank, any slight movement could cause them to touch the people sitting behind them.
There was merely a single waiter and their hands were absolutely stacked to the high heavens with plates. In fact, he even carried one more platter on his head. In this maze-like hall, he was still able to agilely make his way around the tables. Probably as a result of having to deal with too many people, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of a smile on his face but rather, impatience.
“Brother Li, this restaurant is pretty good but why does it have the character ‘Zhe’1 [1] Zhe or 折 usually means to bend, snap or break…. Not sure why this would sound bad but I suppose it could be because the entire literally translated would be something like Broken Flower. in its name? It sounds bad.” The sound of conversation between two people came from behind them. Everyone had to shout in order to get others to hear what they were saying properly.
“You don’t know about it but this building was originally Wufeng Town’s biggest brothel! Their motto was ‘When given a beautiful flower, one has no choice but to break it’ or in other words, ‘Live everyday as if it was your last’…. Just think about how many countless young masters and nobility traveled from afar to Wufeng Town for the sake of fattening up Huazhe’s pockets.” His conversation partner also strenuously forced his high-pitch voice into a holler, “Why else did you think they came here other than to see the elegance and styles of the ‘flowers’ here!”
“Are there still any girls here?” He leaned forward, obviously excited all of a sudden.
His partner’s reply was to wave his chopsticks around in the air, not even raising his head. “No more, not for a long time. After this place changed its boss 4-5 times, it stopped being a brothel long ago.”
“Oh….” He was somewhat disappointed as he gulped down a mouthful of wine.
“However, there’s still one event they’ve never forgotten.” The young noble drew out the climax, “I won’t say it. You’ll find out real soon.”
The entire scene was already a scene of chaos. The hall, filled to the brim with people, felt like a pot of fire and thistle. Our main characters saw that the waiter couldn’t be bothered to come over to help them so they could only look for an open table by themselves. On top of that, they had to pour their own tea. Mu Yao picked up the menu on the table and handed it over to Miaomiao.
Miaomiao looked at the menu and found it to be covered with a thick block of small characters. They were even written in vertical columns and immediately she felt dizzy. Thus, she simply stuffed the menu towards Mu Sheng: “You order.”
Mu Sheng paused for a moment before lowering his lashes: “What do you want to eat?”
She couldn’t think of anything that she’d want to eat so he was extremely considerate to lower his voice and read out the menu: “…..salted duck, assorted sauteed vegetables, osmanthus cake, fermented rice with ice, red bean rice dumplings…”
“This.” She shouted.
He paused: “Which one?”
“Red bean rice dumplings.”
“Ok.” He nodded and closed the menu, handing it to Mu Yao.
Ling Miaomiao obstructed him with her hand, her bright apricot eyes landing on him, “You’re not ordering?”
Mu Sheng paused for a moment: “There’s no need.”
Miaomiao blinked twice, “There’s nothing you like to eat?”
His dark pupils trembled like waves, seemingly a little absentminded.
“Then I’ll order another one.” Ling Miaomiao studied his expression then grabbed the menu from his hands without pretending to have any manners. She dramatically swept her eyes across the menu, “Apricot Cloud Cake.” As soon as she finished speaking, she slanted her eyes at him, to see what his reaction was.
… more sweets.
Within the memory fragment, Concubine Rong had brought a platter to him, saying that the food on it was what he loved to eat when he was young.
When Mu Sheng heard her, his eyes didn’t show the slightest ripple, only revealing a hint of suspicion: “I didn’t say Apricot Cloud Cake just now.”
Ling Miaomiao’s act was immediately ripped apart. Her face turned red as she stuffed the menu back into his hands, sharply calling out, “I just really wanted to eat it! You go look and see if there’s anything you want to eat.”
Mu Sheng lowered his brows, speedily glancing through the menu to actually find a little dot drawn above the ‘Apricot’ word in the cake section, like it was one of the recommended items.
The youth’s eyes flashed with a hint of mirth — She really knew how to eat sweets. His fingertip stopped on the little dot: “I do.”
“Then order it.”
Mu Yao suddenly let out a gasp of surprise. Miaomiao raised her head and discovered that at some time, a dark clothed Liu Fuyi had appeared. He looked extremely travel-worn and thirsty, even having to drink three cups of tea before slowly making his way over.
After downing the tea, he finally started to criticize Mu Sheng: “Ah Sheng, I burnt up so many transmission talismans to contact you but why didn’t you reply to any of them? I had to run so much that I feel like my legs are about to break.”
“Ah Sheng?” Mu Yao was shocked as she spun her head around to look at Mu Sheng. He hung his head low, turning a deaf ear to them. The shadows casted from the lanterns by the angle of his lashes seemed to give him a charming but cold aura, secretly mocking them.
However, Ling Miaomiao was very excited: “Brother Liu! Are you and Sister Mu finally going to get married tomorrow?”
“Ah?” Liu Fuyi nearly spit out a mouthful of tea.
Mu Yao’s gaze then turned around back to Ling Miaomiao and the two of them looked at each other with dismay.
Suddenly, the sharp sound of a clapper came from behind them and in the blink of an eye, the entire hall turned silent. It was as if a button had been pressed to silence everyone.
A red-nosed old man wearing colorful rags sewn together from many different materials into a gown walked to the center of the hall. He stood in the center in a flashy posture as he struck the clappers with one hand while using the other to smooth his stark white beard: “Everyone, we meet again.”
Nobody ate the food before them, placing down their bowls and chopsticks to raise their hands, their cheers immediately loud enough to be deafening.
The old man’s eyes turned into a slit from his grin as he nodded nearly imperceptibly. His voice echoed through the entire hall: “Today, the story I’ll share with you all is between Wufeng Town’s Mu Rongshi and the Zhao clan’s Young Noble Zhao.”
Before he even finished speaking, the entire hall was suddenly filled with a wave of applause akin to that of a wave on the seas. In addition to the whistling, it felt as if a great celebrity had arrived.
The two at the table behind them lowered their voices as they spoke. His tone was full of pride as he smiled: “You see? This is the only event that they’ve never given up.”
[1] Zhe or 折 usually means to bend, snap or break…. Not sure why this would sound bad but I suppose it could be because the entire thing literally translated would be something like Broken Flower. A bit tasteless I suppose.
Warning!!! Lots of food pics below, scroll slowly at your own risk~
Sorry about the delays again… Also, I only slightly edited the chapter myself so… if y’all see any mistakes, feel free to inform me.
Salted Duck: Although it looks plain, the duck’s meat is absolutely packed with flavor.
Assorted Sauteed Vegetables: Any good asian will know what this is lolol.
Osmanthus Cake: Something I’ve never tried but there seems to be a common thread where many novels I’ve read have had the FL in love with osmanthus cake…. Probably super sweet.
Fermented Rice with ice: A kind of summer dessert to help cool you down. I’ve never had it but apparently, it’s similar to jelly.
Red Bean Rice Dumplings: A dessert often eaten at festivals.
Little Co-translator: TT_TT Now I’m hungry and craving chicken, specifically, drunken chicken!!!! 🙁
Osmanthus cake tastes the same as I remember but… just kidding.
Thanks for the update!
As a Mexican it’s amusing to think of beans as a dessert. The closest thing I can think of to that is empanadas frijoles, which can be sort of sweet? It’s interesting to see how other cultures think of beans. Then my Irish husband prefers French cut green beans. It would be nice if it was easier to get to try more traditional dishes from elsewhere. Living in the US – most Chinese restaurants make Americanized food, much like American Mexican restaurants. The tacos you get here in the states are nothing like how it’s served in Mexico. Instead of ground beef, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and lettuce on a hard shell – in Baja Mexico, tacos are made with seared steak, crumbled goat cheese, cabbage, lime and salsa.
Thanks again Entropy for both the translation, and the additional food pictures for reference 🙂
Thank you for the chapter! I loved the marriage arc and now excited for the final volume 🙂