Chapter 3: Returning to the Mansion, Yet Thinking of Eleven Streets Away
As she passed beneath the Bridge of Helplessness, she was nearly bumped into by an elderly woman hurrying home to avoid the snow. Just as the woman was about to fall, she reached out and steadied her.
Only then did the elderly woman notice a young lady holding an umbrella beneath the snow-covered bridge. After thanking her, she looked at the girl’s thin clothing and said worriedly, “Miss, dressed so lightly, aren’t you cold?”
Xu Yourong shook her head, held her umbrella, and continued walking into the snow.
From the imperial palace to the southern part of the city, everything she saw along the way was familiar old streetscapes. After crossing another stone bridge, she spotted the flying eaves of her home and the freshly painted white walls.
Even with a heart as tranquil as hers, she couldn’t help but feel a slight stir of emotion at this moment.
From the moment the news arrived that the southern envoy had entered the capital, the central gate of the Eastern Divine General’s Mansion had been thrown wide open. Not to mention the crowds waiting in the snow on the streets, even the stewards and servants inside the mansion had their eyes nearly turning green from anticipation.
Xu Yourong walked over with her umbrella, and under everyone’s gaze, she stepped directly into the Eastern Divine General’s Mansion.
No one noticed how she had entered. The stewards and servants, who had been busy preparing for this day for dozens of days, were all stunned, wondering who this person was.
With a soft sound, she closed her umbrella, tapped it lightly against the mansion’s door, and shook the snow off the umbrella’s surface onto the ground.
A cry rang out as Shuang’er rushed toward the door. But she had been standing for several hours, and her legs were weak. Overwhelmed with emotion, she stumbled as she reached Xu Yourong and nearly fell to her knees.
Xu Yourong reached out and steadied her, saying, “When did you ever bow to me like that before? Who started teaching you new rules while I was away?”
This was, of course, a teasing remark, but Shuang’er couldn’t laugh. She just kept crying, then felt embarrassed and wiped her face with her sleeve, smearing her carefully applied makeup.
It was only then that the people of the general’s mansion reacted. Old Madam Hua hurried forward, her lips trembling, unable to speak.
“The young lady is back!”
Someone shouted, and immediately firecrackers exploded, fireworks lighting up the dim, snowy sky.
Amid the commotion, another voice called out, “You can’t call her young lady anymore! It’s Holy Maiden now!”
“Welcome, Holy Maiden!”
As the central gate was quickly closed, the crowd that had waited long in the snow dispersed with a roar, spreading the news in all directions.
—The phoenix had returned to the mansion.
“Wearing so little, what if you catch a cold?”
Madam Xu held Xu Yourong’s hand, her face full of concern, tears falling steadily.
“My family’s phoenix child—how could she be chilled by the mortal world’s common snow and wind?”
Xu Shiji stroked his beard and smiled, looking every bit the proud, doting father. He sighed with emotion, “After years apart, you’ve truly grown up… and actually become the Holy Maiden.”
Though from the first day she entered Southern Creek Monastery, he and many others had been certain that his daughter would one day become the Southern Holy Maiden, he never imagined that day would come so quickly. Thinking of this, his heart stirred—seven parts pride and satisfaction, three parts relief and ease. He knew that even if he had other thoughts now, the Holy Empress would no longer treat him as before and would at least save him some face. As for the Tianhai family and those court officials, who would dare mock him behind his back anymore? And as for those who had once given him trouble… He suddenly thought of Chen Changsheng, and his mood soured, his face darkening.
…
…
In everyone’s imagination, the Holy Maiden must be beautiful and ethereal, sacred and solemn, unsmiling and sitting upright. This fixed impression, though not necessarily correct, was unbreakable. Even Xu Yourong, when occasionally appearing before the world in recent years, couldn’t walk as windlessly or as purely as a white lotus like her senior and junior sisters at Southern Creek Monastery, but she was still very careful with her words and actions, mostly just smiling silently. Only before the Holy Empress and her master, the Holy Maiden, did she act more naturally, speaking amusingly like a junior. And only before Shuang’er, the maid she had grown up with, did she truly relax—like now.
She rolled around endlessly on the bed, her black hair tangled and scattered everywhere. Finally, she spread her arms and lay flat, sighing, “This bed is still the most comfortable to sleep on.”
“Miss, this is terribly ungraceful.”
Shuang’er quickly grabbed a blanket and draped it over her, then sat by the bed, staring at her happily. But for some reason, her eyes gradually reddened.
Xu Yourong asked, “What’s wrong? Has someone really dared to bully you?”
When she first entered the mansion, she had asked the same question, but it had been a joke then, because she knew no one in the Xu household would dare bully Shuang’er—thanks to her own past instructions, even her mother wouldn’t give the maid a hard time. But now, things seemed different, and she wanted to know why.
Shuang’er wiped her tears, looked at her as if wanting to speak but hesitating, and finally said sadly, “But what if someone bullies you, miss?”
Xu Yourong laughed. “Silly girl, still so silly. Who would dare bully me? Don’t you know, in the Zhou Garden, I ran into Nan Ke—that demon princess I mentioned in my letters. One-on-one, I could…”
“Miss, you know who I mean,” Shuang’er said, looking at her.
Xu Yourong sat up, slowly tied her black hair back, then hugged her knees and fell silent, lost in thought.
Shuang’er knew well that her miss often drifted off like this when alone, even as a child. It made her look pitiful, nothing like the calm, composed figure she presented to the world.
Seeing her like this again, Shuang’er grew uneasy. “Miss, I didn’t mean to upset you. Don’t think about it.”
Xu Yourong stared at the bright lamp on the table and suddenly asked, “There’s something I need to ask you.”
Shuang’er asked, “What is it?”
Xu Yourong turned to her and said calmly, “Back then, you said… she and Lady Luoluo were at the National Academy… Did you see it with your own eyes?”
Shuang’er grew anxious. “Miss, you’re finally home after all this time—why bring up that shameless man?”
Though she didn’t admit it, the words “shameless man” seemed to say enough.
Xu Yourong didn’t ask further. She hugged her knees and watched the snowflakes falling outside the night window, silent for a long time.
If it had been before, returning to the capital, she wouldn’t have thought of going out again. But tonight, for some reason, she didn’t want to stay home. She wanted to go out, to walk, to see.
Perhaps compared to her previous two visits to the capital, Kyoto had changed in some ways: the night lamps in Weiyang Palace had increased by several, the pillars of the Bridge of Helplessness had been damaged by a grain ship last summer and were being repaired, the woods near North New Bridge had grown much denser for some reason, and the old ivy-covered gate of the National Academy had reportedly been replaced with a new one…
That guy was in Kyoto.
Separated from her by eleven straight streets.
For an ordinary person walking, it would take only half an hour, even with the slippery snow.
If she walked, it would take just a moment.
If she rode a white crane, it would take even less time—just a blink of an eye.
The snow outside the night window suddenly grew chaotic, and her mood became slightly unsettled. She blinked and saw the white crane landing in the courtyard.
She stood up, draped a cloak over herself, and walked outside. Shuang’er quickly grabbed a hand warmer and followed.
The white crane preened its feathers in the snow.
A harsh, ugly screech rang out in the night sky, and the gray young roc also landed. It had been off playing somewhere earlier, only following the white crane when it spotted it. As soon as it landed, it burrowed under the white crane’s wing, either trying to curry favor or deliberately provoke attention. The white crane stretched its neck, looking resigned, but didn’t drive it away.
This small courtyard was a restricted area of the Eastern Divine General’s Mansion. Without her permission, no one could enter—not even Xu Shiji or Madam Xu. There was no need to worry about the young roc scaring anyone.
“What kind of bird is this?” Shuang’er asked, looking at the gray, plain bird.
In her eyes, this bird was truly ugly. Yet the white crane, known for its love of cleanliness, didn’t resist its closeness—this surprised her.
“A pheasant,” Xu Yourong said.
The young roc poked its head out from under the white crane’s wing and gave her a resentful look.
“Holy Maiden Peak is no ordinary place—even the pheasants there grow so fierce.”
Shuang’er clapped her hands in admiration, then suddenly remembered something. “Ah, I need to prepare more water and fruit. I only prepared for the white crane before.”
Hearing this, the young roc’s resentment deepened.
It had been eating vegetarian for a full half-year on Holy Maiden Peak, only occasionally getting meat when Xu Yourong went to town to play mahjong and could sneak it some cured pork ribs or the like. Now, arriving in bustling Kyoto, flying over and seeing so many fragrant, tender humans, and those obviously chewy, nutritious cultivators, it was already salivating. And yet…
It was still getting fruit?
Though it hadn’t eaten human flesh in this life, the impressions from its past life lingering in its soul hadn’t been forgotten.
“This pheasant likes meat,” Xu Yourong said, glancing at the young roc.
Just an ordinary glance, but the young roc felt as if its soul had been washed in the coldest ice water for three days and three nights. The burning desires that had just arisen vanished instantly, and it dared not entertain such thoughts anymore.
“If there’s any blue lobster at home, give it some to try.”
Hearing this, the young roc was delighted, shaking its head constantly. The memories from its past life told it that blue lobster meat was delicious.
Shuang’er said helplessly, “There’s none at home.”
Xu Yourong was slightly surprised. She knew her family usually stocked plenty of blue lobsters from Clear Lake House, just like during her previous two visits. Why weren’t there any now?
“The entire capital can’t get blue lobster anymore.”
Shuang’er hesitated for a moment, then said, “Because the National Academy bought Clear Lake House. Only there can you get it.”
Xu Yourong was taken aback, not expecting to hear the name “National Academy” so soon.
The young roc, meanwhile, was wondering what the National Academy was. It would have to find a chance to eat everyone there, then slowly savor the blue lobsters.
The white crane suddenly let out a low, clear cry.
Only then did Xu Yourong realize that the white crane had spent the entire half-day at the National Academy. It must have been… playing with that guy?
Shuang’er went to fetch some other meat. Xu Yourong, draped in her cloak, stood in the night snow, thinking about some things.
—He was in Kyoto, eleven streets away, half an hour, a moment’s reach.