Mei Gongqing 48-50

Chapter 48: Clarification

After having whispered to herself for a while, Nurse Ping then turned to Chen Rong, saying: “Miss, young Mr. Sun isn’t that young anymore. He shouldn’t have a wife yet, right? Should I go see him and get a feel for what he thinks?”

Chen Rong shook her head. She stared into the distance and faintly said, “Some things can’t be hurried. If you’re hasty you’ll only be left with nothing.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean, miss.”

Chen Rong lowered her gaze and plucked the strings. After a series of melodious notes was issued, she went on saying: “At present everyone in Nan’yang thinks I’m in love with Wang Qilang. If right away I seek another man to marry, then wouldn’t my affections have been insincere? Nurse, you should know how damaging an insincere reputation can be.”

Anxious, the nurse exclaimed, “Then what will we do? Are you saying that you can’t marry anyone else in your life besides the Wangs’ 7th son?”

Chen Rong’s right hand continued moving along the zither strings as the instrument issued a flow of crystalline notes.

Nurse Ping stood quietly for a while and at last couldn’t refrain herself from crying out: “Miss, miss?”

Chen Rong relaxed her hands and brought the music to a halt. “Nurse,” she slowly began, “I can relax for a few days now that Sun Yan is back.”

She slowly looked up.

Her eyes seemed a bit strange. It contained a faint smile, one that was nevertheless somewhat faraway.

She stared at her nurse and then suddenly asked, “Nurse, do you know where Wang Qilang is?”

Nurse Ping didn’t expect for her to suddenly mention Wang Qilang. She stared blankly and shook her head: “Nay miss.”

“Tell Old Shang to go and see where he is.”

The nurse rounded her eyes. “Miss, what are you planning to do?” she asked with some caution and concern.

“Nothing.” Chen Rong raised her small chin, turned around in the direction of the main compound and said, “Young Mr. Sun has returned, wielding two thousand soldiers in his hands. The whole of Nan’yang is under his protection. Would you say that I am now very safe? And nobody will easily touch me?”

Nurse Ping nodded in bewilderment.

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Chen Rong glanced at her. “Then tell Old Shang to go find out where Wang Qilang is. I want to see him. In fact, I believe he’s waiting for me to come see him and make things clear.” I’ll stop feel guilty once I see him. He, too, won’t develop bad impression because of my intentional dallying.

One should know that it didn’t matter to the scholars whether one had made mistakes. What mattered was when someone had the nerve to talk glibly after not admitting to his mistakes.

It wouldn’t be too late if she could see him now.

Nurse Ping again nodded dumbly.

By the time the sun completely sank to the west and numerous stars emerged in the vast sky, Chen Rong’s carriage made its appearance on the street.

At this moment, cries had taken over the streets of Nan’yang.

There were very few pedestrians out and about; those who were had their eyes glued to their feet. Houses were tightly latched, as if the city dwellers believed doing these things would ensure their safety.

Before long, Chen Rong’s carriage had pulled up to the facade of the Huan estate.

As the third largest family in Nan’yang, the house of Huan was hosting a banquet at this time, its compound awash in light and music.

Old Shang announced himself to the guard and, after showing the Chen estate’s bamboo card, smoothly went into the compound.

When the carriage drove past the Huans’ nine-section corridor, Chen Rong stopped Old Shang and said to him, “Go over there and wait. Let me know when Wang Qilang comes out. He actually doesn’t like to socialize, I’m sure he’ll leave eventually. Pay careful attention.”

“Aye, miss.”

After Old Shang was gone, Chen Rong leaned her hands on the railing and looked down to the bending corridors below. There, acres of azure water rippled and gleamed in the strewing starlight.

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Some time later, a series of rapid steps neared her. Forthwith, Old Shang came up behind her and whispered: “Miss, as you expected, Wang Qilang had gotten to the other side of the South Bridge.”

“Good, you may go.”

Old Shang did not leave. He took a few dithering steps before looking back to Chen Rong. “Why are you in such a hurry, miss? Why can’t we make an appointment to see him at the Wang estate?”

Chen Rong looked up, her eyes dark and gloomy under the starlight. “Old Shang, the literati have always believed that people should be free-spirited. If I wanted to see him, I should do what my heart is telling me to do. But if I made an appointment, my visit would then become deliberate.”

Old Shang only stared at her with a confused expression.

Chen Rong shook her head and walked ahead.

Her wooden clogs made particularly clear tapping that sounded almost like music.

As she walked on, Ah Rong’s feet flitted as though she was dancing. Perhaps because the weight had been lifted from her heart, her footsteps, too, became lighter.

With her dancing steps, she tread on the starlight and went down the winding path.

After making a turn, she took a misstep and saw a handsome man leaning against the railing, his face turning sideway and looking at her with a faint smile.

It was Wang Hong.

Chen Rong lit up at the sudden sight of him.

She quickly stopped her waltzing and retreated backward, then she curtsied to him and said, “Are you just now leaving, Qilang? Ah Rong of the Chen house has waited for you for some time now.”

Under the moonlight, Wang Hong’s eyes were as bright as the stars. He clasped his hands behind his back and quietly regarded Chen Rong, giving a low chuckle: “Have you especially come to see me?”

“Aye.”

“And without the Huan estate’s consent nor a prior appointment, you’ve come and then wait by yourself?”

“Aye.”

Wang Hong laughed. He smirked his lips saying: “Ah Rong, this doesn’t seem like something you’d do.”

Smiling, Chen Rong briskly replied, “Perhaps it’s because I can finally let go of a few things today.”

“Oh, what are you letting of?” Wang Hong watched her with interest.

Chen Rong looked up.

She looked at him quietly, her eyes remarkably bright in the dark.

Watching the man who looked as ethereal as a heavenly being though he was standing under the celestial stars themselves, Chen Rong took a step forward, carefully bowed to him and raised her voice: “I’ve come to see Qilang for I have something to say.”

Wang Hong didn’t ask her what. He only stared at her in silence, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Chen Rong lowered her head, clasped her hands together and continued: “I’ve arrived in Nan’yang only to inadvertently learn that my uncle Chen Yuan was going to send me to the Nan’yang Prince the night he invited the prince to our banquet.” She bit her lips, her originally crisp voice turning timid: “I know I’m only an orphan girl. I have no one to depend on, no one to beg. If my uncle really chases me out, there aren’t any other options for me besides my death.”

“For that reason, you thought of me and how you could borrow me to get rid of the Nan’yang Prince? Is that why you played ‘The Phoenix’s Love Song’ for me?”

Startlingly, Wang Hong sounded a little cutting.

Chapter 49: Kiss

Chen Rong shook her head, prompting Wang Hong to furrow his brow.

Without looking at him, she bowed her head saying: “You are a god on earth. Your aura is so superior that I had had difficulty controlling my heartbeat the first time I met you. My admiration for you has always been sincere.”

At this juncture, she wryly smiled. “Of course, if not for the Prince of Nan’yang, I might never say these words to you nor play that song. And perhaps even when I’m laid six feet under and my soul has returned to my hometown, my hair then gray and my children abundant, you would never know that a tawdry girl called Ah Rong of the Chen house had once harbored such affections for you.”

Her head bowed lower and lower, her voice shaking: “My origin is humble, my nature vulgar. I took advantage of your generosity to express myself, taking this as a gamble hoping to escape from my clan’s arrangement.” She briefly paused, her voice growing even more fearful: “Regardless of whether my feelings for you are true or not, at the moment I did what I did, my motive wasn’t simply to find an escape. Since then, I’ve repeatedly evaded your questions whenever you asked. I’ve always felt sorry about this, so I’ve especially come here tonight hoping to have your forgiveness.”

At this time, she had bowed so low that it seemed she could not rise.

The starry sky and distant lights shed a faint sheen on her graceful and voluptuous curves and on her raven hair. Her tilt of the head gave her a beguilement that turned his mouth dry. Unconsciously, Wang Hong diverted his gaze.

Only an instant later, however, he was turning his head to watch her, his eyes fathomless.

“I already know these things,” he said.

“I am ashamed.”

He slowly approached her.

Coming to stand before her, he lowered his head and watched the beautiful girl under the moonlight. Very slowly, he outstretched his hand to stroke her hair.

“Ah Rong.”

His touch was extremely gentle.

“Aye.”

“Why have you come to explain everything to me today?”

Words were caught in Chen Rong’s throat before she could murmur: “Young Mr. Sun Yan has returned. While he is here, I do not need to be afraid of the Nan’yang Prince. As my fear lightened, I thought of you and felt awful for what I’ve done.”

“Is that so?”

“I would not lie to you.”

Wang Hong suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him.

His movement took Chen Rong by surprise. Caught off guard, she fell forward into a warm embrace.

Wang Hong’s embrace.

Flummoxed, Chen Rong stared at his lapel, slightly gaping her rosy mouth. She stiffened, not daring to move.

Wang Hong held her in his arms and with his head slightly tilting, leaned his mouth against her ear, tickling her with his breath. While she trembled involuntarily, he whispered: “And then what? Do you want me to explain to the world that whatever happened that day was just forced by circumstances? Do you want me to say that though you love me, you are not good enough for me? Would it be best to let the world feel that your admiration for Wang Qilang is a thing of the past? That you can still find a good man to marry?”

His voice sounded in the air like silky tendrils, very gentle, but also very cold. In its elegance hid a wisp of frosty chill.

Chen Rong was too tense to move.

Wang Hong slowly turned to face her, his hands cupping her cheeks. His inky eyes were slightly squinted, but he did not smile. “Have I been so consistently magnanimous that you can just use me when you want to use me and then leave me when you want to leave me?”

Chen Rong finally recovered. Her rosy lips trembled as she hastily tried to clarify: “No, that’s not true.”

Wang Hong’s hands suddenly stilled on her cheeks. He kept them firmly there and lowered his head to catch her lips.

Their lips met.

With her eyes widened, Chen Rong dazedly let him inhale her lips and intrude inside to probe deeper into the depths of her mouth.

Abruptly, Wang Qilang parted her lips with the speed of light in the middle of the fiery kiss and tilted his head away.

He gasped for a brief moment.

Then he pushed Chen Rong away, turned around and, without another word, flapped his long sleeves and strode away.

Chen Rong gave a cry only by the time he was off in the far distance. As quiet as she was, it was uncertain whether she wanted to stop him or to question him.

In a blink, Wang Hong’s elegantly white and spotless figure completely disappeared from her sight.

Some time passed when Old Shang went to her and pulled on her hand. “Miss, what’s wrong? What happened? Why are you standing here stock-still like this?”

Chen Rong looked up in a daze. She vacantly looked at Old Shang and muttered: “He… got angry.” Then she moved her hand to her lips and flushed even redder as she brushed across them.

Her blush soon spread to her neck. Furiously rubbing her lips, Chen Rong railed: “The rotten rogue! He dared took liberties with me…”

At this point, Chen Rong noticed Old Shang’s curious and confused expression and clamped her mouth shut. She leaned on him to stand upright, her knees numbing, as she murmured: “Let’s go, let us leave now.” She repeated herself, sounding a little as though she was crying: “Old Shang, let’s go!”

The elderly man was completely flummoxed to see her angry, embarrassed, and crying. He quickly helped her, replying as he walked: “Aye, we’ll leave at once. We’ll leave at once.”

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……

At long last, Chen Rong found her voice again. “Old Shang, was there any outsider nearby just now?”

“I don’t think so,” he told her after thinking about it. He turned to Chen Rong, asking quizzically: “Miss, is something wrong?”

Chen Rong only blinked, saying nothing in return.

She couldn’t tell him Wang Hong took liberties with her. She wouldn’t believe such words herself, much less Old Shang.

So she clamped her teeth and feebly said, “No, nothing’s the matter.”

“Nothing’s the matter,” she repeated as she angrily wiped her lips.

Chapter 50: Food

All the way until she was seated inside the carriage, Chen Rong’s limbs were still in want of strength.

The vehicle slowly pulled out of the Huan estate and headed for the street.

Old Shang looked back from time to time as he drove along the quiet street. From his vantage point, he could see his mistress’s flustered look, one he hadn’t seen before.

The night passed by with Chen Rong’s tossing and turning.

The weather began to turn cold the next day, chilly wind sweeping by bitingly.

Chen Rong was sitting in her courtyard and absentmindedly plucking her strings. At length, she suddenly called for Old Shang.

The elderly retainer ran to her side and replied, “What is it, miss?”

“What’s the commotion outside?”

“It’s General Sun. He’s lining empty carriages in the middle of South Street, waiting for the major clans to send food over. Haha, this young general really doesn’t give a hoot. Can’t he go to their homes and quietly discuss with them? Making such a big racket is the same as forcing them to provide rations.”

Is that so?!

Chen Rong smiled, her eyes curving. “He is someone who would do such a thing.” This very moment, Chen Rong suddenly came to respect Ran Min. He must’ve known this about Sun Yan’s character, as well as his identity as the direct descendant of the Sun clan of Jiangdong and had thus let him come to Nan’yang, calling it protection but raising rations in reality. Only someone with his background would have the gall to do such things. The major clans hadn’t the courage to resent him. Not only could they not resent him, but if anyone were to mention anything about it, they would also have to praise him for ‘acting in a way the literati would’.

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While Chen Rong was feeling amused, a series of footsteps arrived. They were odd sounding, somewhat chaotic and pressing, and made her look back.

She saw from the corner of her eyes Chen Yuan and several stewards striding toward her.

Why are they coming here?

Chen Rong furrowed her brow, her mind turning almost instantly.

She quietly glanced to the door. Just as their figures arrived at the courtyard, Chen Rong’s voice sounded, calling Old Shang.

“Aye, miss.”

“Luo’yang had fallen and the Hu now run rampant. If not for General Sun’s stationing in Nan’yang, we wouldn’t have our present peace.”

Old Shang peeked up and quizzically looked at her, not getting why she was speaking such banality all of a sudden.

Without warning, Chen Rong gave him a shrewd smile and said in a crisp, resounding voice: “Old Shang, lead the guards to load ten carriages with grains from our warehouse and send them to General Sun.”

Chen Yuan and his stewards were entering the courtyard at the same time these words landed.

Among them, one had already stepped into the door and poised to speak. He froze on the spot when he heard Chen Rong’s words. Whirl – they all turned their heads to look at Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan, too, was dumbfounded.

He stayed silly for a moment before clearing his throat, stepped into the courtyard and called Chen Rong. “Ah Rong.”

Surprised, Chen Rong quickly stepped away from her seat, respectfully curtsied to him and said, “Uncle, you’re here.”

Chen Yuan nodded and then cleared his throat again. “Ah Rong, when I came in, you were saying…”

This was all he had managed before Chen Rong interrupted him. Like a child wanting to win the adult’s praises, she excitedly explained: “Oh, did you hear me? If General Sun hadn’t led his army to protect Nan’yang this time, I as a woman wouldn’t have this peace to enjoy. Uncle, uncle, I just told Old Shang that I want to send them half of my food. I’m sure General Sun will be delighted.”

Chen Rong turned around, shot Old Shang a look and shouted, “What are you freezing there for? Go load the food! Remember, you must bring it over with big fanfare so that the world will know that this food is sent by the House of Chen!”

She said one sentence after another, giving no room for Chen Yuan to interrupt.

After Old Shang left with her orders, Chen Rong turned around to see her uncle. She again curtsied and said to him: “Dear me, I kept talking about my own matter. Don’t mind me, uncle. Is there anything I can do for you today?”

Chen Yuan opened his mouth but could not spit out half a word.

He had come to take Chen Rong’s grains under the pretext of General Sun’s supply urgency. He had intended to take about ten carriages and then with his own name give Sun Yan five while keeping the rest for himself. It should be known that food in Nan’yang at present was becoming increasingly scarcer. Possessing food was much more important than possessing gold and gems.

For this, he even brought four stewards along and thought of all the excuses and pretexts that could be used. Chen Rong was under his control to begin with. If he asked for food from her, it was but for the overall good and there was nothing anyone could say.

But he never imagined that this young girl, whatever mental illness she might have contracted, had taken it upon herself to announce she would be giving food to General Sun and even sent all of ten carriages in her own name before he could open his mouth to speak!

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He was livid, but what could he do? There was no longer any excuse for him to demand her grains.

Chen Rong turned around and blinked her large eyes curiously at a tongue-tied Chen Yuan. “Uncle, uncle?”

Only after she called a few times in a row did Chen Yuan snap awake. He again cleared his throat and wanted to open his mouth, but stopped himself after looking around and seeing the admiration his stewards accorded Chen Rong. After a length, he nodded and somberly said, “Excellent, excellent. Ah Rong, though you’re only a young lady, it is very good that you know how to handle tough situations.”

He gave another cough. “I only came by to visit you. Now I see that you are very commendable.”

Chen Rong blushed as she happily bowed toward him saying: “Thank you, uncle.”

“All right, let’s go,” he barked at the others.

Chen Rong swiftly sent him out with due respect. “Uncle, take you time.”

After Chen Yuan was sent away, Nurse Ping asked in surprise, “Miss, what does the master mean?”

What does he mean? What else but scheming against me? Chen Rong inwardly sneered.

Not receiving a reply, Nurse Ping sighed and muttered: “Miss, aren’t you a little too generous? Gifting all of ten carriages of food. Ten carriages of food, we’re talking about! Even the entire Chen estate cannot come up with so much food.”

Chen Rong lowered her eyes and thought to herself: If I didn’t come up with this number, would Chen Yuan have let me off the hook?

She naturally wouldn’t explain to Nurse Ping, only telling her: “Let Old Shang know that when he gives the grains away, he needs to smile and, if anyone asks, tell them loudly that the person who sends the grains is Ah Rong of the Chen house – a young lady from the Chen estate who’s not yet fifteen. If they seem interested, you may then tell them about my generous act of distributing my wealth in Ping and about the prophecy matter on the way here.”

“Aye,” Nurse Ping answered bewilderedly.

“Go.”

“Aye.”

Staring after Nurse Ping’s retreating back, Chen Rong slowly sat down and again plucked her zither strings.

 

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