Thousand Dusts Ferry Me Chapter 113

Wealth

Like dragons, phoenixes could generate clouds and mist wherever they passed.

That evening, the capital had originally been bathed in brilliant sunset rays, but suddenly a dense cloud ford. The dense cloud moved rapidly and finally descended toward the imperial palace.

Many people then cried out “auspicious on” and knelt in worship toward that dense cloud.

After Yun Qing and the others jumped down from the phoenix’s back, they landed on a rooftop. They waved farewell to the phoenix, which let out a clear cry, then turned and flew toward the horizon carrying that patch of dense cloud.

The group withdrew their gazes and looked around. Beneath their feet stretched magnificent palace buildings, their glazed roof tiles reflecting the orange-red light of evening, while the setting sun slowly disappeared behind the flying eaves.

Ci Li said in puzzlent, “This is the imperial palace. How did it bring us to the imperial palace?”

Cheng Suiyan replied, “It must be because this is the very center of the capital.”

Yun Qing nodded – that made sense.

She suddenly thought of that cruel dream again.

Could Master be nearby?

With this thought, she took out a copper divination die from her treasure pouch.

This copper die had fourteen faces and was similar in shape and size to regular dice. Yun Qing cast the die six tis in succession in her hand.

Cheng Suiyan said, “Yun Qing, how can you still have the mood to play with dice? Let’s go, let’s go. The inner palace isn’t a place to fool around. Co with quickly—”

Yun Qing suddenly raised her hand, and Cheng Suiyan fell silent.

The divination die was also a type of fortune-telling tool, though few people used it nowadays. Yun Qing carefully analyzed the hexagram patterns and silently sighed.

It was like this again.

“What’s wrong, Yun Qing?” Jiang Baiyu asked.

Yun Qing touched her chin. Actually, ever since leaving Huayang Mountain, she had frequently divined Master’s location. Logically speaking, even if her calculations weren’t accurate, she should at least have calculated so incorrect direction. But every ti she perford divination, Master’s location ca up blank.

He seed as if he did not exist in this world.

Yet he was still alive.

Just as Yun Qing was about to speak, she suddenly heard many footsteps approaching them. Soone ran while shouting, “By order of the Imperial Preceptor! Evil creatures have trespassed in the imperial palace – apprehend them imdiately!”

Yun Qing didn’t explain much, only saying: “Let’s leave this place first.”

The group naturally wasn’t afraid of these palace guards, but they also didn’t want to get entangled with them. Cheng Suiyan called out “Follow ” and led them running in one direction.

Cold wind lifted their robes as the young people ran wildly toward the setting sun, with shouting, footsteps, and the whooshing sounds of arrows behind them. Fu Xue said while running: “What a pity, I still wanted to visit the imperial kitchen!”

Cheng Suiyan laughed. “What’s so good about imperial cuisine? Co eat at my house instead!”

“You’re just bragging. Your family eats better than the emperor?”

“You don’t understand – the imperial chefs’ skills are naturally superb, but they’re too cautious when cooking for the emperor, so imperial cuisine naturally lacks much of its interest.”

“Wow, I really want to see how well your family eats!”

The harsh winter wind carried the young people’s laughter, while guards supported their swords and shouted, “The evil creatures are so arrogant! Quickly go report to His Majesty and the Imperial Preceptor!”

****

After jumping out of the imperial palace, Cheng Suiyan thought that traveling on rooftops was much more convenient than on the ground, so he didn’t descend. He went straight west, climbing walls when encountering walls, jumping over houses when encountering houses. After running for more than a quarter-hour like this, he led the others to flip down into a residential compound.

By this ti the sun had set in the west, though it wasn’t completely dark yet. The compound was already lit up. Red silk lanterns hung everywhere – by walls, under eaves, even in trees. With daylight not yet fully gone, these red silk lanterns appeared sowhat translucent, having a light and beautiful quality different from lanterns in deep night.

Yun Qing looked down and saw neatly laid blue bricks beneath her feet, their surfaces carved with begonia flower patterns. Not far away was a section of steps paved with bluestone, carved with many bats of various sizes.

Even the ground and steps were carved with flowers, not to ntion the door fras and houses – they could truly be described as exquisitely beautiful.

Yun Qing drew in a breath and asked Cheng Suiyan, “This is your ho?”

Cheng Suiyan nodded. “Yes.” He looked around and saw a young maid passing by outside the gate, so he called out, “Hey, which courtyard are you from?”

The little maid was holding a box. When she turned and saw Cheng Suiyan, she cried out in disbelief, “Young Master?”

“It’s .” Cheng Suiyan walked forward. “Go—”

“Young Master has returned, Young Master has returned!” The little maid ran off with pattering steps.

“…” Cheng Suiyan stepped through the courtyard gate and stood on the pathway looking left and right. He saw another maid and beckoned to her, “You co here, go to the kitchen—”

That maid was carrying a pot. When she saw Cheng Suiyan, her reaction was much the sa as the previous little maid’s – she ran off shouting “Young Master has returned,” and this one was so excited she even threw away her pot.

Cheng Suiyan still maintained his beckoning gesture, his silhouette looking sowhat desolate in the cold wind.

Awkward.

Yun Qing said, “Young Master, what should we do now?”

“Yun Qing! Stop teasing .” Cheng Suiyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Co on, let’s go back to my courtyard first.”

The group followed Cheng Suiyan through winding turns. Along the way they caused several more incidents of “Young Master has returned.” Fu Xue said, “Your house is really big. Do you get lost at ho?”

One question made Cheng Suiyan lose confidence. He said: “I… should… not be that stupid, right?”

“I heard that houses in the capital are very expensive. Your family’s mansion must be worth quite a lot of money, right?”

“I suppose so. Who knows.” Cheng Suiyan said this while leading the group into his own courtyard.

Several maids in the courtyard heard voices and ca out to look. Seeing Cheng Suiyan leading two n and two won toward the flower hall, they all froze for a mont, then stepped forward in an orderly fashion to serve, bringing tea and refreshnts.

Cheng Suiyan said to a maid with gentle features and a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye. “Ruoshui, my friends haven’t eaten yet. Have soone go to the kitchen to select so good dishes and bring them up. I’ll go see Mother first and return shortly.”

The woman called Ruoshui responded, then asked, “Should Young Master change clothes first?”

Cheng Suiyan nodded slightly, then asked, “Where’s Father?”

“I heard the Pri Minister went to the palace, and it’s unknown when he’ll return.”

Yun Qing thought to herself: So Suiyan’s father is actually the Pri Minister? No wonder their family has such great wealth and property.

Just then, crying sounds ca from outside.

The person cried while saying: “My son, why didn’t you say anything when you ca back? Not eating well or dressing well outside – you must have suffered so much! My son, you’ve been gone for more than half a year. How could you not co back to see your old mother?”

Cheng Suiyan’s expression changed, and he hurried out to et her, saying as he walked, “Mother, how did you co here? It’s so cold outside – aren’t you shortening my lifespan?”

Yun Qing and the others followed out curiously and saw an elderly woman with graying hair surrounded by a group of maids, crying loudly. This elderly woman wore luxurious clothing and had a black fox fur headband across her forehead, with an excellent piece of mutton-fat jade set in the center.

She had a full forehead and dignified bearing. At this mont she held a gold-inlaid peony-patterned hand warr in one hand and grasped Cheng Suiyan with the other, crying and scolding him.

Cheng Suiyan consoled her. “Look, I’m perfectly fine. If you cry like this, Mother, others will think I just got out of prison.”

“If you were in prison, that would be better – we could at least bribe people, and I could get news of you.”

“Alright, alright, co inside first. It’s so cold out here. Mother, have you eaten?”

Finally persuading the emotional woman to co inside, Cheng Suiyan introduced Yun Qing and the others to his mother. This woman loved her son dearly – how could she not like her son’s friends? Moreover, these young people were each more attractive than the last, just standing there was pleasing to the eye.

She gave a aningful look, and a maid beside her brought forward eting gifts.

It turned out that those earlier cries of “Young Master has returned” were all running to report to the old lady. Each received rewards, so naturally the old lady knew her son had brought friends ho and had prepared gifts in advance. She couldn’t wait for her son to co see her, so she ca directly.

Yun Qing felt that wealthy families really conducted themselves with dignity and thoroughness. She couldn’t accept gifts for nothing, so she casually cast an evil-repelling charm on the old lady.

The maids set out the al, and the old lady ate dinner together with the young people.

These dishes were extrely pleasing to the eye – even without eating, just looking at them lifted one’s spirits. Yun Qing found that she couldn’t even na many of the dishes or knew what ingredients they were made from, only that they all tasted excellent.

She wanted to ask about them, but seeing that everyone was eating without speaking, she assud wealthy families had rules about not talking during als, so she also kept quiet.

The old lady was in good spirits because her son had returned, and secondly, seeing Fu Xue eating with such relish, she couldn’t help but eat an extra bowl of rice herself.

After the al, maids brought fragrant tea, towels, and water for rinsing mouths, then everyone sat drinking tea and chatting. Yun Qing was quite curious – this old lady looked old enough to be Suiyan’s grandmother, so how could they be mother and son?

Of course she couldn’t bring herself to ask, but unexpectedly, the old lady ntioned it herself.

And she spoke about it quite proudly.

It turned out this old lady was surnad Song, and her natal family was also from a scholarly official lineage. At sixteen she beca engaged to the fourth son of the Cheng family, and married at eighteen. At that ti, the fourth son had just passed the imperial examination as Third Place Scholar – double happiness! The two were a talented man and beautiful woman, a divine couple whom everyone envied.

But alas, nothing in this world is perfect. For several years after marriage, Lady Song never bore children. Everyone thought she was infertile, and she herself thought so too.

The fourth son successively took three concubines, but none of them, male or female flowers, ever blood. Afterward, the fourth son beca disheartened and planned to adopt a son from the clan when he got older.

Just as the couple was selecting potential sons, unexpectedly, Lady Song beca pregnant!

At that ti she was already thirty-eight years old. Having hoped for a child for twenty years, how could she not be overjoyed!

“People say I spoil him, but I was like an old clam producing a pearl – this is my only flesh and blood in this lifeti. If I don’t spoil him, whom should I spoil? Don’t people live their whole lives for their children?” Lady Song was a sentintal person. Speaking of emotional matters, she wiped the corners of her eyes with her handkerchief.

Jiang Baiyu said, “Parents loving their children is natural human feeling. I see that Suiyan has a gentle temperant and isn’t arrogant or domineering, which shows that you, Madam, are not soone who indulges her children.”

These words struck right to Lady Song’s heart. She smiled and nodded, then asked Jiang Baiyu how old he was, where he was from, and whether his parents were well.

Jiang Baiyu shook his head. “Both my parents have passed away.”

Lady Song felt very sympathetic and offered so comfort, then looked toward Yun Qing.

Yun Qing also had no parents.

At this point Lady Song was already vaguely sensing sothing was wrong. After comforting Yun Qing, she looked toward Fu Xue.

Then toward Ci Li.

Well, these four people couldn’t produce a single parent between them.

For that instant Lady Song had so doubts – did her good son have so hidden criteria for making friends? No parents allowed?