Chapter 5: The Bamboo Dragonfly on the Bookshelf
This was a very simple room, with only one bed, one table, two rows of bookshelves, one wardrobe, and three basins.
After all, she was a woman. The first thing Xu Yourong did upon entering was open the wardrobe.
The wardrobe was also very simple, mostly filled with plain-colored clothes, the majority being the National Academy’s uniform. Aside from the faint scent of soap leaves, there was no other fragrance.
She was quite satisfied with this, but when she saw the fifty neatly stacked towels and handkerchiefs at the bottom of the wardrobe, she fell silent for a long time.
Closing the wardrobe, she walked to the bookshelf and casually pulled out a few books to look at. She found they were all popular tales of strange events and legends that had been trending in the capital in recent years, so she fell silent again.
Having thoroughly read the Daoist canon since childhood, had she now given up on striving for improvement?
Suddenly, she spotted a small object on the bookshelf and was momentarily stunned.
It was a bamboo dragonfly, clearly very old, already yellowed, and it seemed to have been soaked in water, its edges nearly rotted away... She found it somewhat familiar. It took her a long time to remember that this was something she had placed in a letter to him when she was very young.
Thinking back to those childhood matters, she felt a slight melancholy. Looking at this bamboo dragonfly, after so many years, he had still kept it... Well, kept it not too well, but at least it was still preserved. So he was someone who cherished the past? She felt somewhat satisfied, but then, for some reason, she also grew a bit angry. Then she realized that the reason for her anger was also herself. So, should she be angry or happy? Pondering this question, she didn’t realize that a smile had been lingering on her face all along.
Carefully placing the bamboo dragonfly back on the bookshelf, she walked to the bed. Of course, she didn’t sit down, just glanced at it twice.
The bedding was folded extremely neatly, very clean. Neither the sheets nor the pillowcases showed any unclean spots, not even a single strand of hair. Wait... what was that?
—In the shadow of the pillowcase, there was a barely noticeable strand of hair.
Xu Yourong fell silent.
That strand of hair was very long and very fine, clearly a woman’s.
Suddenly, she felt a chill.
After a moment, she noticed that the window in the room was open.
It was snowing tonight. Snowflakes drifted in from outside, wetting a corner of the desk.
She was puzzled. How could someone as calm, steady, and obsessive about cleanliness as Chen Changsheng leave the room without closing the window?
Even if the wind and snow didn’t matter, what about dust and fallen leaves coming in?
Was this open window left for someone?
Xu Yourong suddenly came to her senses.
This suspicion, this endless deduction—she hadn’t used it in battle or cultivation, but was now applying it to uncovering the truth about that strand of hair. When had she become this kind of person?
She shook her head, turned, walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and prepared to take out a towel to wipe away the snow that had fallen on the desk.
But what happened next made her realize that these suspicions and embarrassments weren’t a sign of her own decline, but rather that the guy was truly unreliable to begin with.
Snowflakes danced lightly, a faint fragrance wafted in, and a woman leaped through the window, landing in the room.
At the same time, a sentence fell into Xu Yourong’s ears.
“Don’t blame me for not telling you, big sister. That fiancée of yours has a lot of resentment toward you. You’d better be careful. When she throws her little temper, tsk tsk. Speaking of which, you absolutely must not tell her that I often come here to sleep, or else...”
Suddenly, the teasing voice came to an abrupt halt.
Because the woman suddenly realized that the person behind the wardrobe door wasn’t Chen Changsheng.
Xu Yourong closed the wardrobe door and looked at the woman. She thought her master was right—nothing in the human world is as unpredictable as words. Whatever you say often ends up happening just as you described.
For example, before leaving the Divine General’s Mansion, Shuang’er had asked where she was going. She hadn’t told the truth; she said she was going to see Mo Yu. And so, at this moment... she saw Mo Yu.
Only it wasn’t in the imperial palace, nor in Mo Yu’s residence at the Orange Garden, but in the third-floor room of the National Academy.
...
...
Mo Yu’s mouth hung slightly open, and for a long time, she couldn’t speak. Then, she forced an unnatural smile and said in a slightly hoarse voice, “Can we pretend you never saw me?”
Xu Yourong looked at her calmly and said, “I’ve already seen you.”
Mo Yu propped her forehead with her right hand and pointed at her with her left, saying, “Don’t rush to ask questions. Let me first understand the current situation myself.”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “Take your time thinking.”
Mo Yu was indeed at a loss for words at this moment, her mind in a mess. She had planned to tease Chen Changsheng while Xu Yourong was back in the capital, and also genuinely wanted to warn him. Who would have thought she’d run into the real deal in Chen Changsheng’s room, and that she’d even heard that sentence?
“First, we should reach a consensus: you need to listen to my explanation calmly.”
Mo Yu lowered her hand, looked at her seriously, and said, “That ‘little temper’ remark was me talking behind your back, but as for the sleeping thing, you absolutely must not misunderstand.”
Xu Yourong smiled and said, “Go on.”
Seeing her expression, Mo Yu knew she was truly angry. Sighing inwardly, she said weakly, “Sleeping is just sleeping, not the kind of sleeping you’re thinking of.”
“Oh, then what kind of sleeping is it?” Xu Yourong’s smile grew even gentler.
Mo Yu said helplessly, “Anyway, you must not misunderstand.”
Xu Yourong looked her up and down. She was wearing a red nightgown, barefoot, with black hair draped over her shoulders, slightly damp, and a few snowflakes still clinging to it. Had she just taken a bath?
“Mm, please tell me how I’m supposed not to misunderstand.”
Mo Yu followed her gaze to herself and felt a jolt. Since Chen Changsheng had mentioned it once, she had indeed made it a habit to come only after bathing. Tonight, she had naturally come this way again... Well, this was something that couldn’t be washed clean even in the Star Sea.
As the saying goes, when you’ve hit rock bottom, you can often seize the initiative by striking first. Mo Yu was in that state now. Seeing that explanations were futile, she instead became more assertive. Looking at Xu Yourong, she said, “This is a long story, and I don’t think you’re interested in hearing it. What about you? I’d love to hear your story. On your first day back in the capital, why aren’t you at home? What are you doing here?”
Xu Yourong walked to the window, said nothing, and didn’t look at her. The light from outside the courtyard wall fell on the snow and reflected onto her face.
Mo Yu looked at her face—so beautiful it even made her jealous—and her eyes flickered as she continued, “Has the Holy Maiden’s mortal heart stirred?”
Xu Yourong glanced at her and asked, “Back then, in your letter, you said he and Little Black Dragon were together... was that true or false?”
“Absolutely true. At that time, he was holding her.” Seeing a chance to divert attention, Mo Yu wouldn’t miss it. She was almost willing to swear by the Holy Empress’s name. But then, thinking of what had just happened, she said uncertainly, “But just like when you saw me come in and heard what I said, seeing isn’t always believing.”
Xu Yourong said nothing, lost in thought.
Mo Yu thought of something and asked incredulously, “Why are you asking about that? Don’t tell me you actually have feelings for him? No wonder you came to see him on your first day back!”
“He and I are betrothed. It’s only natural for me to come see him after returning to the capital.”
Xu Yourong was very calm, but her hands clasped behind her back were tightly clenched, showing she was actually a bit nervous.
Mo Yu hadn’t expected her to admit it so calmly. Slightly startled, she said, “That’s not what you said in your letters back then. To break off your engagement, I paid quite a price. You need to understand, Chen Changsheng isn’t an ordinary person now. The person I’ve offended is the dean of the National Academy, the future Pope. If you’re telling me now that you really plan to be with him, I won’t let this go easily!”
Xu Yourong looked at her damp black hair and nightgown and said calmly, “The price was indeed not small, but he probably wouldn’t see it as an offense or grievance, would he?”
Mo Yu had no rebuttal and said indignantly, “Others may not know, but you and I both know that the Pope has already annulled the engagement between you two. Even if he and I do something, what right do you have to interfere?”
Xu Yourong said softly, “That’s none of your business.”
Mo Yu was silent for a moment, then asked, “What are you really thinking?”
Xu Yourong lowered her head slightly and said quietly, “Still none of your business.”
Only those who knew her best would understand that beneath her seemingly calm exterior, she was actually very fragile.
Mo Yu looked at her and sighed, “Just suffocate yourself, then.”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “Where did he go?”
Mo Yu raised an eyebrow and said, “How should I know? Don’t really misunderstand, okay?”
Just then, the sound of string and wind instruments from outside the courtyard suddenly grew louder. Mo Yu looked in that direction. Even the heavy snowflakes drifting on the night wind couldn’t block her vision. There, in the tavern, lights were blazing, and a dancer was performing in the hall.
“Don’t be angry. He seems to be over there.” She glanced at Xu Yourong and said.
Xu Yourong looked in that direction. Sure enough, on the top floor of the tavern, that guy was drinking, with three or four young men beside him, and many women walking back and forth like butterflies among flowers.
Truly unrestrained and dissolute.
She watched the tavern quietly, thinking quietly. Just then, she saw the dancer performing in the hall suddenly seem to lose her footing and fall into that guy’s arms...
For some reason, she found it hard to maintain the tranquility of her Dao heart. Her chest rose and fell slightly.
...
...
“So Xu Yourong is back. What are you afraid of? What are you worried about? Don’t have a mental block. If you have to fight, fight.”
In the tavern, Tang Thirty-Six held a wine jug, with a young singing girl in his arms, looking at Chen Changsheng and saying, “Men and women are equal by nature. As long as you don’t hold onto that outdated worldly view that you can’t hit a woman, this match is winnable.”
As he spoke, the young singing girl in his arms looked up at him, her eyes full of admiration and happiness.
The singing girl beside Chen Changsheng, however, looked somewhat resentful. Not only because Chen Changsheng sat too properly, never even touching a finger from start to finish, but also because the entire continent knew who the young dean of the National Academy’s fiancée was. She was just a woman of pleasure and didn’t want to offend the East Divine General’s Mansion or the lofty phoenix above.
“I’m planning to lose. What do you think?”
Chen Changsheng suddenly said.
At these words, the entire hall fell silent.