Chapter 19: The Song of the Fox

The singing is clear and melodious, interspersed with the chirping of a fox, as if there really is a fox wandering by the river. The sound of the zither rises higher and higher, and the singing becomes more and more high-pitched. The blind zither player’s hands go from slow to fast, and gradually all you can hear is the sound of the zither, like rain beating on the ground. In the meantime, a white fox is running in the rain, seemingly looking for a warm place to hide.

The guqin is known for its dignified and refined sound, but this noisy music has lost its dignity and stability. I don’t know why it doesn’t sound out of place in the midst of the singing, as if the music was meant to be like this.

Yun Ye was intoxicated, full of sadness, Cheng Chumo’s eyes were wide open as if he was angry, and Chang Sun Chong shook his head and hummed. As for Li Huai Ren, he had already stretched his neck and couldn’t wait to see the beauty.

Yao Niang peered at the gentlemen, seeing Yun Ye, she was pleased, seeing Cheng Chumo, she was worried, and seeing Li Huiren, she felt like she was looking at a pile of excrement.

After the song was over, the blind musician was led away by a child, without bowing or saying goodbye.

“What grass is not yellow? What day is not moving? What person is not moving? Managing the four directions, what grass is not mysterious? What person is not proud? Lamenting my husband, he is alone and not a citizen. Not a tiger or a tiger, leading him through the wilderness. Lamenting my husband, he is busy day and night. There is a fox, leading him through the grass. There is a cart, traveling the road.” Changsun Chong was singing, and Yun Ye didn’t understand what it meant. Cheng Chumo was furious, and Li Huiren was very surprised.

Just as Yun Ye was about to ask, Cheng Chumo was about to beat him, and Li Huiren was about to run away, a clear voice came out, “Thank you, young master, for singing this song, ‘What Grass Is Not Yellow,’ and I am eternally grateful.” Then a young woman in green clothing appeared from behind the screen.

Yun Ye was greatly disappointed. It turned out to be a loli, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with the characteristic baby fat of a loli, not protruding in the front and not sticking out in the back, really not much to see. If it weren’t for the fact that the singing was really good, Yun Ye would have wanted to hit someone.

Changsun Chong had a look of a wise man on his face, and Cheng Chumo grabbed the cantaloupe on the table and stuffed it into Changsun Chong’s mouth, making him turn his eyes white. He then stuffed Li Huiren, who was about to vomit, under the table, and looked at Yun Ye viciously again. He couldn’t stand guys with different sexes but no humanity, so he quickly shook his head to show that he had no desire for Jiuyi.

Yao Niang smiled happily on her face, but secretly she was surprised. That Chang Sun Chong was the Queen’s nephew, and in Chang’an, he was a person who said one thing and did another. Now, he was stuffed with a mouthful of melon, but he wasn’t angry. Instead, he slowly chewed it up, as if he had no awareness of being offended.

Today, because of Chang Sun Chong, I deliberately let Jiuyi out to let him praise her, so that she can have a foothold in Chang’an in the future. I didn’t expect that three guests of equal status would come today, which was really unexpected. I don’t know what kind of person this Cheng San is, and I don’t know if he can protect Jiuyi.

The little girl Jiuyi looked at Cheng Chumo’s domineering behavior in surprise, completely confused as to why they would fight when she came out. She was a little scared.

Cheng Chumo jumped over the table and came to Jiuyi. He was surprisingly polite: “My name is Cheng Chumo. From now on, you are my man. If anyone bullies you, you come to me. If you want to bully someone, you come to me. I’ll beat him up.” After saying that, he took Jiuyi’s hand and sat down in front of his table. He sent away the courtesan who was serving him and looked at Jiuyi with affection.

The three brothers kept their distance from him and looked at him with contempt. Changsun Chong wiped the melon pulp on his face and said, “It seems that Chengsan won’t be able to go home today. He has a beautiful woman to keep him company. What should we three brothers do?”

When he turned around, he found Yun Ye eating melon. Li Huai Ren pulled Yao Niang and Cheng Chumo, shaking his hand angrily, and returned to his seat to talk to the little singing girl who served him.

The melon is good, the grape wine is also good, this puff pastry is not greasy or greasy, the skin is crispy and the inside is soft, I don’t know how to make it, the little girl must like it. He was immersed in the food when he discovered a fragrant body about to be in his arms, but it was the songstress serving him.

Yun Ye was not used to it. The little girl who was still in junior high school in her previous life really couldn’t bring herself to do it. Yao Niang’s words might have worked, but when she looked up, she didn’t see anyone. Li Huai Ren was also gone. Cheng Chumo was holding the lamb-like Jiuyi and chattering away, and Chang Sun Chong was holding the songstress and sneaking into the secret door. Bastard!

Yun Ye decided to discuss life with the little singer, sat the girl down, and gave her a gem to calm her down. Then he began to ask her where she was from and if she could make dim sum, the kind on the table. He didn’t expect that the little girl was also a food lover, and she talked about dim sum in sets. What about the puff pastry from Ping Kang Fang, the sesame food from Rui Ning Yuan, the soup from the old Wang family in the West Market, and the sesame cakes from the Hu people with sesame seeds on them are so fragrant.

After all, she was still young, and once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. Yun Ye was just about to ask her to go find these delicacies, when Cheng Chumo tapped him on the back. He turned his head impatiently, and Cheng Chumo was rubbing his hands. The bastard was in a difficult situation, and this was his demeanor when asking for favors.

“What? Haven’t you seen how happy we are talking?”

“Brother, can you write poetry?”

“What kind of poetry? Whose poetry? When did you become interested in poetry?”

“I just told Jiuyi that my brother is omnipotent and omniscient, and there is nothing he can’t do. Jiuyi was very happy to say that there are many social engagements in the first month of the year, and I hope you can write a few poems to support the scene. I just promised that it would be fine to write ten poems. What are you doing? Hurry up and write it? Jiuyi and I are waiting to use it.” Cheng Chumo was impatient, and Jiuyi covered her mouth and laughed.

“You sister!” Yun Ye completely exploded. You think poetry is like your Cheng family sow giving birth to piglets, all at once ten? His face turned pale, his whole body trembled, and he was speechless. His arm hurt so badly that he couldn’t lift it. If it weren’t for strangling this bastard early, what do you care about me flirting with girls, using me as an excuse, and making poetry? I can only recite a dozen poems in total, and you’ve used them all to pick up girls. What the hell am I supposed to do?

“Just one song, do you want to say something? I’m not in the mood to write poetry today.” As a famous singer in the company, he can sing countless songs, from Cantonese to English. Didn’t Jiuyi like to sing foxes just now? Just teach her to sing the song “Fox Song.” Yun Ye found that he seemed to be unable to refuse Cheng Chumo.

“It is a blessing for a little girl like me to receive a song from you, Mr. Yun. I will listen with all my heart.” The girl’s face was full of mockery. Knowing that she had seen Cheng Chumo’s vulgarity, she also regarded Yun Ye as a vulgar military man. Just now, she asked Cheng Chumo to compose a poem because she was being playful and teasing him. She never expected that Cheng Chumo would ask Yun Ye to replace him to compose a poem without even thinking about it. But in Xiao Cheng’s opinion, it was nothing out of the ordinary. My brother is capable of anything, and nothing can stump him.

“There is a little story to tell you about this song first. During the Three Kingdoms period, there were endless conflicts and wars, and the common people were in a state of destitution, unable to feed themselves or cover their bodies. A young man was fortunate enough to get a white fox that had been shot by someone, and in great joy, he prepared to skin and gut the fox for a delicious meal. Just as he was about to do it, he saw the fox crying and whimpering, as if begging him to let it go. The young man was moved and bandaged the wound, then let it go. The white fox circled him three times and then disappeared into the grass. The young man was soon drafted into the army and died in battle. The white fox never left, and watched the young man die in battle from afar. It saw the young man’s soul wandering the world, and finally reincarnated, becoming an infant, a young man, an adult, and then an old man. Generation after generation. At this point, the fox had already become a spirit, but it could not shed its animal skin and transform into a human form. In the blink of an eye, he had grown up to be a handsome young man again. However, his family was poor, and he was eager to study. After ten years of hard work, he finally succeeded in his studies. After being recommended by the government, he planned to go to Chang’an to take the imperial examination. However, he caught a cold in a dilapidated temple and fell ill. The fox saw this and was very worried, but there was nothing she could do. She went to consult the oldest fox, who told her that if she drank her medicine, she would become a beautiful woman, but she would never be able to become a fairy again, and her tail would never be able to change shape. In other words, a beautiful woman would always have a fox tail. The white fox drank the medicine and turned into a beautiful young woman. She took care of the young man in the broken temple until he recovered. During this time, the young man fell in love with the beautiful girl, and they promised each other to love each other forever. The young man left, and they said that they would come to pick her up for marriage as soon as the exam was over. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned! The young man did extremely well on the exam, was recognized by the emperor, and was even given a marriage proposal by a noble family. On the day the imperial exam results were announced, the young man also married the noble lady. The fox heard the news and rushed to Chang’an, but was injured by a Taoist priest with great magical powers. The fox desperately escaped, but could only watch as her lover married someone else. She sang in the wilderness and danced in the desert to commemorate her joys and sorrows as a human being, knowing that the days and nights would be long.

Yun Ye ignored Cheng Chumo, who had red eyes, and the two singing girls who were crying, and whispered a song he had written himself, “The Fox Song.” He had liked this beautiful and sad story for a long time, and being in the desert was unbearably lonely, so he wrote a song about the foxes in the desert.

The moon is round

My heart is aching

The shadow is small, the back is far away

Can you see

my tears

A heartless person can’t see my sadness

You can’t see

Happy when we meet

The parting is miserable

The candles burn, the beauty is radiant

I have already seen

your good fortune

A thousand years of love cannot stop the beauty of wealth

You can’t see

the stone tablet of three lives has written the wrong fate

There is no sadness in the world of fox maidens

Far from the world

Far from the world

In the mist, my eyelids are wet

Far from the world

Far from the world

In the mist, my eyelids are wet