Chapter 97 – Hosta Flower
It rains in the south of the Yangtze river, the wind fills Changchuan,
The smoke of the blue tiles is dim and the willow bank;
The fragrance of red silk runs into the plum sky,
And it floats just finely.1TL: This is a Chinese poem
—— Flashback Begins ——
The autumn rain in the mountains swept away the temperature left behind by the day. It also washed away the blood trails left behind by Su Fu when he escaped from the ambush. The pursuers chased all the way to the vicinity of the Yuncong temple when the trail ran dry.
Su Fu lay sideways on the ground, carefully distinguishing the movements of his pursuers. When the footsteps gradually disappeared, he relaxed a little.
—— Flashback Ends ——
Ran Yan stared straight at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She turned over and looked at Su Fu through the gap between the bamboo curtains. His back was turned to her – motionless. She was unsure if he was asleep at all. There was also a cloth bag containing someone’s bones. It was an incredible feat that Su Fu would rather work for this corpse for five years. Why would he subjugate himself to that kind of burden?
Inside the quiet room, the two gradually relaxed their defenses; their consciousness occupied by sleep.
Perhaps she thought too much about her previous life before going to bed; as soon as Ran Yan fell asleep, the nightmare that endlessly disturbed and entangled her reappeared.
In a dilapidated factory building, a dozen grinning wretched men approached a young woman, who was about 24 or 25 years old. Ran Yan’s heart was in her throat. She sought something different this time. Unfortunately, she still stretched out her hand. A charming young man had attracted the woman’s attention in front; a scrawny, middle-aged man was next to him, making eye contact from time to time.
Ran Yan shouted: Yunlin, that scrawny man has lime powder in his hands! Get away!
Qin Yunlin didn’t hear her shout. She turned around and did a flying kick to hit the young man’s neck. When the skinny, middle-aged man saw his chance, he quickly took out a plastic bag from his arms, grabbed it open with his hand, and slammed it on Qin Yunlin’s beautiful face.
Immediately, the surrounding men rushed up and bound Qin Yunlin; her mouth was sealed with tape.
Someone took out an already-prepared oil to wipe the lime powder on her face, and said with a lewd smile, “Such a beautiful face. If you can’t see it later, it’ll be a pity!”
Ran Yan, sweating anxiously, rushed forward and kicked those vile beasts. Deplorably, her body was only an illusion. She couldn’t have any influence on them.
“Quickly, put her in the police uniform.” Another man pinched Qin Yunlin’s chin and snorted coldly, “You policemen, don’t you wear police uniforms all day long to show off your prestige? This time, I’ll let you be compelling and prestigious. Why? So, there will be one person serving thirteen of us later. But you have to show the backbone of the police and hold on!”
The two brusquely ripped Qin Yunlin’s clothes, revealing the close-fitting white underwear and the towering chest, and they just put on a fake police uniform on her. One of them felt his tongue run dry, and couldn’t help himself. He put his hand into her panties, rubbed it hard, probed with his finger, and said in surprise, “Ha! Boss, this girl is still a chick!”
“Hey! These young chicks are rare these days; they are delicious!” The man quickly took off his clothes, turned his head, and said to the person next to him, “Take the camera out! Their bloody captain will definitely like this wonderful video!”
Ran Yan watched Qin Yunlin struggle desperately, sweat trickling down her back.
“No!” After seeing the man put on his headgear to cover his face, and pried open Qin Yunlin’s legs, Ran Yan screamed and rushed over.
Immediately afterward, she heard the sound of drizzling rain and sand outside the window. A cool breeze poured into the quilt, and Ran Yan realized that her whole body was soaked and she felt cold on her skin.
“You dreamt too.” The frigid voice outside the curtain said; a trace of exhaustion could be traced.
Ran Yan let out a hum, and Su Fu outside poured her a glass of water and pushed it under the curtain, “Drink some water.”
Ran Yan sat up, and took a sip of water, remembering what he had just said a while ago. “Yes,” and asked, “You also have nightmares?”
“I often dream.” Su Fu paused, “But it’s not a nightmare.”
For Su Fu, there was nothing more cruel dream than reality. All the goodness that he had was in the past, sealed in his memory. Whenever the night was quiet, he would bask in it alone.
“Although you appear to be very cautious, you are not wary enough of strangers.” Su Fu saw the vague figure in the curtain slowly retreating, and when the glass of water was about to fall, he spurred into the curtain, revealing a beautiful hand. Catching the cup, the half glass of water inside was still firmly in it.
He sat down by her couch, staring at Ran Yan’s fainted face, and muttered, “I never trust anyone…”
However, this time he was at a dead end, but his first thought was of Ran Yan. Over the years, he suspected anyone who approached him, whether accidentally or deliberately. Only Ran Yan’s candidness and boldness allowed him to relax his guard a little.
However, this wasn’t a good thing for people like him.
Su Fu casually covered Ran Yan’s quilt, flashed out of the curtain, picked up the baggage on the ground, and turned out the window, taking several leaps as he disappeared in the rainy night.
In early autumn, Suzhou was obscured in night rain and mist, while Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was enshrouded by the bright moon and sky.
There were many large houses and embroidery households in Pingkang square, revealing a solemn look in the moonlight. A pigeon affixed itself to the railing outside an attic, making a cooing sound.
The window of the attic opened, and a gray-clothed servant took a small bamboo tube from the pigeon and quickly returned to the house.
There was no light in the room, and the moonlight passed through the Korean paper on the grid window and reflected on a handsome face. He tilted on the side a few times, supported his head with one hand, and slightly looked down, appearing as if he was asleep. Books piled up all over his body, almost enclosing him.
“Lang Jun, there is a letter.” Xiao Si walked to his side and whispered.
“Yeah.” He slowly opened his eyes, and the daze in his eyes quickly faded, instantly regaining his clarity. He reached out his hand to take the note, and said, “Turn on the lamp.”
Xiao Si took out the fire fold from the small drawer next to him, blew it, and lit the lamp on the table. The room was slowly illuminated by the soft orange light, and a mountainous amount of papers piled up in front of him suddenly appeared.
“Someone can’t wait to squeeze out Provincial Governor Liu.” After reading the content, he muttered to himself, then moved the note to the lamp and lit it.
“Lang Jun, it’s been three hours. You can rest for a while, and get ready when it is time.” Xiao Si advised, bending down.
“All right.” He got up. There were noticeable wrinkles on the legs of his round-necked, crimson official uniform.
Obviously, he was sitting like this for more than an hour or two.
Xiao Si lit a lantern, carefully turned off the light in the pavilion, and held the light in front of him as he walked to the bedroom.
In the empty large courtyard, the autumn wind was bleak, showing a bit of coldness. Xiao Si sighed. In such a large courtyard, only one woman was dwelling inside. It was Shu Niang, Lang Jun’s nursemaid. She was often absent from the mansion, making their Xiao Mansion look like a monastery. With a bunch of men who had poor haircuts.
“Lang Jun, in the evening, Shu Niang asked Xiao Niang to inform you that the old lady asked her to come to the ancestral home. You were busy at that time, so we never dared to disturb you.” Xiao Si turned along the path with the lantern at hand. Looking at Xiao Song’s face carefully, the old lady wasn’t a person who likes to reiterate the old. Every time Shu Niang goes back, it was all about Lang Jun’s lifelong affairs.
“Mother is going to say this again?” Xiao Song paused, frowning and evidently displeased. His magnetic voice was hoarse with a hint of anger, “As soon as dawn arrives, you will let Bai Yi quickly send a letter to tell Shu Niang not to come back!”
The little boy shrank his head and responded with a yes.
Walking to the bedroom door, Xiao Song suddenly thought of something, “What was the result of the secret investigation?”
“It’s a bit eye-catching. I went to find Lu’s wife and forced her to recall the events of that year carefully. The wife said that before Ms. Lu got on the sedan chair, she only took a few sips of tea, and she never ate anything.” Xiao Si replied.
“You call this progress?” Xiao Song coldly snorted. He didn’t believe in fate, and he didn’t believe in his own fate either. He was convinced that someone wanted to deal with him, but he never caught a clue.
As the second in command of the Ministry of Justice, Xiao Song really had no face to express his suspicions. The two wives he married, one died violently in the new house, and the other died on the sedan chair. Both of which were a disgrace! He gritted his teeth and angrily flung his sleeve into the house.
The moon was like water, and the light in the entire Xiao Mansion was nothing but a lantern, which seemed extremely lonely.
The autumn rain in the south of the Yangtze River was sluggish and shrouded the mountains like smoke. As the clouds rang from the temple’s first morning bell, the picturesque tranquility began to have a trace of life. Holding their umbrellas, the monks hurriedly gathered in the front hall of the temple to start the morning class at the beginning of the day.
Xing Niang and the others were already up and awake, busy with their own affairs in the courtyard. Soon after, a little nun came over and said that today’s lecture had been canceled. She was afraid that Ran Yan would meet an empty hall, so she came to send a message.
Xing Niang did not rush to call and wake up Ran Yan and let her continue her sleep instead. She didn’t enter the bedroom until breakfast was delivered from the nunnery.
“Lady, it’s time to wake up.” Xing Niang opened the curtain and approached the inner room. She suddenly saw a person in white, plain clothes, sitting in front of the back window. Xing Niang was startled. When she looked closely, it turned out to be Ran Yan. Xing Niang patted her heart, “The lady is already up, but she didn’t make a sound.”
Ran Yan turned around and said, “I woke up early and wanted to see the scenery in the mountains. The scenic view of rain and mist in the south of the Yangtze River is stunning.”
Xing Niang took the satin coat and draped it on her, sat down on her knees, and looked outside of the window, exclaiming, “Oh! There are such large hosta flowers behind here!”
In the misty rain, a large field of white and slender hosta flowers was soaked in rain and dew. They looked especially delicate, and the wind sent a burst of fragrance.
“It should have blossomed in the past two days.” Ran Yan said.
A few days ago, she hadn’t noticed the scent of flowers; they probably didn’t bloom that much. Early this morning, Ran Yan woke up from Su Fu’s drug and smelled the fragrance of the flowers. Su Fu was no longer there, and the house was as clean as it was previously. As if last night’s encounter was just a dream.
The lady of Suzhou loved the hosta flower the most. Every time the hosta flower was in full bloom, she would pick the flowers and weaved them on a copper wire as bracelets.
“Lady, please wash first. You can watch them again after breakfast. Just now, someone from the nunnery has sent a message. Today’s lecture is canceled. You can watch it as long as you want.” Xing Niang smiled.
Ran Yan nodded, got up and walked to the dressing table, and sat down. Seeing Wan Lu walk in to clean up the bedding, she exhorted, “Wan Lu, the half glass of water I put in front of the couch must not be spilled. I keep it for use.”
Wan Lu responded, took the glass, and placed it on the side before starting to clean it up.
Xiao Man came in with water and waited on Ran Yan to wash.
“Huh? Why is there one missing straw mat underneath?” Wan Lu muttered to herself in confusion.
Chapter 97 – Hosta Flower
It rains in the south of the Yangtze river, the wind fills Changchuan,
The smoke of the blue tiles is dim and the willow bank;
The fragrance of red silk runs into the plum sky,
And it floats just finely.1TL: This is a Chinese poem
—— Flashback Begins ——
The autumn rain in the mountains swept away the temperature left behind by the day. It also washed away the blood trails left behind by Su Fu when he escaped from the ambush. The pursuers chased all the way to the vicinity of the Yuncong temple when the trail ran dry.
Su Fu lay sideways on the ground, carefully distinguishing the movements of his pursuers. When the footsteps gradually disappeared, he relaxed a little.
—— Flashback Ends ——
Ran Yan stared straight at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She turned over and looked at Su Fu through the gap between the bamboo curtains. His back was turned to her – motionless. She was unsure if he was asleep at all. There was also a cloth bag containing someone’s bones. It was an incredible feat that Su Fu would rather work for this corpse for five years. Why would he subjugate himself to that kind of burden?
Inside the quiet room, the two gradually relaxed their defenses; their consciousness occupied by sleep.
Perhaps she thought too much about her previous life before going to bed; as soon as Ran Yan fell asleep, the nightmare that endlessly disturbed and entangled her reappeared.
In a dilapidated factory building, a dozen grinning wretched men approached a young woman, who was about 24 or 25 years old. Ran Yan’s heart was in her throat. She sought something different this time. Unfortunately, she still stretched out her hand. A charming young man had attracted the woman’s attention in front; a scrawny, middle-aged man was next to him, making eye contact from time to time.
Ran Yan shouted: Yunlin, that scrawny man has lime powder in his hands! Get away!
Qin Yunlin didn’t hear her shout. She turned around and did a flying kick to hit the young man’s neck. When the skinny, middle-aged man saw his chance, he quickly took out a plastic bag from his arms, grabbed it open with his hand, and slammed it on Qin Yunlin’s beautiful face.
Immediately, the surrounding men rushed up and bound Qin Yunlin; her mouth was sealed with tape.
Someone took out an already-prepared oil to wipe the lime powder on her face, and said with a lewd smile, “Such a beautiful face. If you can’t see it later, it’ll be a pity!”
Ran Yan, sweating anxiously, rushed forward and kicked those vile beasts. Deplorably, her body was only an illusion. She couldn’t have any influence on them.
“Quickly, put her in the police uniform.” Another man pinched Qin Yunlin’s chin and snorted coldly, “You policemen, don’t you wear police uniforms all day long to show off your prestige? This time, I’ll let you be compelling and prestigious. Why? So, there will be one person serving thirteen of us later. But you have to show the backbone of the police and hold on!”
The two brusquely ripped Qin Yunlin’s clothes, revealing the close-fitting white underwear and the towering chest, and they just put on a fake police uniform on her. One of them felt his tongue run dry, and couldn’t help himself. He put his hand into her panties, rubbed it hard, probed with his finger, and said in surprise, “Ha! Boss, this girl is still a chick!”
“Hey! These young chicks are rare these days; they are delicious!” The man quickly took off his clothes, turned his head, and said to the person next to him, “Take the camera out! Their bloody captain will definitely like this wonderful video!”
Ran Yan watched Qin Yunlin struggle desperately, sweat trickling down her back.
“No!” After seeing the man put on his headgear to cover his face, and pried open Qin Yunlin’s legs, Ran Yan screamed and rushed over.
Immediately afterward, she heard the sound of drizzling rain and sand outside the window. A cool breeze poured into the quilt, and Ran Yan realized that her whole body was soaked and she felt cold on her skin.
“You dreamt too.” The frigid voice outside the curtain said; a trace of exhaustion could be traced.
Ran Yan let out a hum, and Su Fu outside poured her a glass of water and pushed it under the curtain, “Drink some water.”
Ran Yan sat up, and took a sip of water, remembering what he had just said a while ago. “Yes,” and asked, “You also have nightmares?”
“I often dream.” Su Fu paused, “But it’s not a nightmare.”
For Su Fu, there was nothing more cruel dream than reality. All the goodness that he had was in the past, sealed in his memory. Whenever the night was quiet, he would bask in it alone.
“Although you appear to be very cautious, you are not wary enough of strangers.” Su Fu saw the vague figure in the curtain slowly retreating, and when the glass of water was about to fall, he spurred into the curtain, revealing a beautiful hand. Catching the cup, the half glass of water inside was still firmly in it.
He sat down by her couch, staring at Ran Yan’s fainted face, and muttered, “I never trust anyone…”
However, this time he was at a dead end, but his first thought was of Ran Yan. Over the years, he suspected anyone who approached him, whether accidentally or deliberately. Only Ran Yan’s candidness and boldness allowed him to relax his guard a little.
However, this wasn’t a good thing for people like him.
Su Fu casually covered Ran Yan’s quilt, flashed out of the curtain, picked up the baggage on the ground, and turned out the window, taking several leaps as he disappeared in the rainy night.
In early autumn, Suzhou was obscured in night rain and mist, while Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was enshrouded by the bright moon and sky.
There were many large houses and embroidery households in Pingkang square, revealing a solemn look in the moonlight. A pigeon affixed itself to the railing outside an attic, making a cooing sound.
The window of the attic opened, and a gray-clothed servant took a small bamboo tube from the pigeon and quickly returned to the house.
There was no light in the room, and the moonlight passed through the Korean paper on the grid window and reflected on a handsome face. He tilted on the side a few times, supported his head with one hand, and slightly looked down, appearing as if he was asleep. Books piled up all over his body, almost enclosing him.
“Lang Jun, there is a letter.” Xiao Si walked to his side and whispered.
“Yeah.” He slowly opened his eyes, and the daze in his eyes quickly faded, instantly regaining his clarity. He reached out his hand to take the note, and said, “Turn on the lamp.”
Xiao Si took out the fire fold from the small drawer next to him, blew it, and lit the lamp on the table. The room was slowly illuminated by the soft orange light, and a mountainous amount of papers piled up in front of him suddenly appeared.
“Someone can’t wait to squeeze out Provincial Governor Liu.” After reading the content, he muttered to himself, then moved the note to the lamp and lit it.
“Lang Jun, it’s been three hours. You can rest for a while, and get ready when it is time.” Xiao Si advised, bending down.
“All right.” He got up. There were noticeable wrinkles on the legs of his round-necked, crimson official uniform.
Obviously, he was sitting like this for more than an hour or two.
Xiao Si lit a lantern, carefully turned off the light in the pavilion, and held the light in front of him as he walked to the bedroom.
In the empty large courtyard, the autumn wind was bleak, showing a bit of coldness. Xiao Si sighed. In such a large courtyard, only one woman was dwelling inside. It was Shu Niang, Lang Jun’s nursemaid. She was often absent from the mansion, making their Xiao Mansion look like a monastery. With a bunch of men who had poor haircuts.
“Lang Jun, in the evening, Shu Niang asked Xiao Niang to inform you that the old lady asked her to come to the ancestral home. You were busy at that time, so we never dared to disturb you.” Xiao Si turned along the path with the lantern at hand. Looking at Xiao Song’s face carefully, the old lady wasn’t a person who likes to reiterate the old. Every time Shu Niang goes back, it was all about Lang Jun’s lifelong affairs.
“Mother is going to say this again?” Xiao Song paused, frowning and evidently displeased. His magnetic voice was hoarse with a hint of anger, “As soon as dawn arrives, you will let Bai Yi quickly send a letter to tell Shu Niang not to come back!”
The little boy shrank his head and responded with a yes.
Walking to the bedroom door, Xiao Song suddenly thought of something, “What was the result of the secret investigation?”
“It’s a bit eye-catching. I went to find Lu’s wife and forced her to recall the events of that year carefully. The wife said that before Ms. Lu got on the sedan chair, she only took a few sips of tea, and she never ate anything.” Xiao Si replied.
“You call this progress?” Xiao Song coldly snorted. He didn’t believe in fate, and he didn’t believe in his own fate either. He was convinced that someone wanted to deal with him, but he never caught a clue.
As the second in command of the Ministry of Justice, Xiao Song really had no face to express his suspicions. The two wives he married, one died violently in the new house, and the other died on the sedan chair. Both of which were a disgrace! He gritted his teeth and angrily flung his sleeve into the house.
The moon was like water, and the light in the entire Xiao Mansion was nothing but a lantern, which seemed extremely lonely.
The autumn rain in the south of the Yangtze River was sluggish and shrouded the mountains like smoke. As the clouds rang from the temple’s first morning bell, the picturesque tranquility began to have a trace of life. Holding their umbrellas, the monks hurriedly gathered in the front hall of the temple to start the morning class at the beginning of the day.
Xing Niang and the others were already up and awake, busy with their own affairs in the courtyard. Soon after, a little nun came over and said that today’s lecture had been canceled. She was afraid that Ran Yan would meet an empty hall, so she came to send a message.
Xing Niang did not rush to call and wake up Ran Yan and let her continue her sleep instead. She didn’t enter the bedroom until breakfast was delivered from the nunnery.
“Lady, it’s time to wake up.” Xing Niang opened the curtain and approached the inner room. She suddenly saw a person in white, plain clothes, sitting in front of the back window. Xing Niang was startled. When she looked closely, it turned out to be Ran Yan. Xing Niang patted her heart, “The lady is already up, but she didn’t make a sound.”
Ran Yan turned around and said, “I woke up early and wanted to see the scenery in the mountains. The scenic view of rain and mist in the south of the Yangtze River is stunning.”
Xing Niang took the satin coat and draped it on her, sat down on her knees, and looked outside of the window, exclaiming, “Oh! There are such large hosta flowers behind here!”
In the misty rain, a large field of white and slender hosta flowers was soaked in rain and dew. They looked especially delicate, and the wind sent a burst of fragrance.
“It should have blossomed in the past two days.” Ran Yan said.
A few days ago, she hadn’t noticed the scent of flowers; they probably didn’t bloom that much. Early this morning, Ran Yan woke up from Su Fu’s drug and smelled the fragrance of the flowers. Su Fu was no longer there, and the house was as clean as it was previously. As if last night’s encounter was just a dream.
The lady of Suzhou loved the hosta flower the most. Every time the hosta flower was in full bloom, she would pick the flowers and weaved them on a copper wire as bracelets.
“Lady, please wash first. You can watch them again after breakfast. Just now, someone from the nunnery has sent a message. Today’s lecture is canceled. You can watch it as long as you want.” Xing Niang smiled.
Ran Yan nodded, got up and walked to the dressing table, and sat down. Seeing Wan Lu walk in to clean up the bedding, she exhorted, “Wan Lu, the half glass of water I put in front of the couch must not be spilled. I keep it for use.”
Wan Lu responded, took the glass, and placed it on the side before starting to clean it up.
Xiao Man came in with water and waited on Ran Yan to wash.
“Huh? Why is there one missing straw mat underneath?” Wan Lu muttered to herself in confusion.
