Section 53: Engagement and a cold shoulder

Rafts shuttle on the Dongyang River. Now on weekends, many people come to ride the rafts, drifting on the clear river, relaxing and not thinking about anything. Leaning your head against the green bamboo, listening to the sound of the rafts gliding across the water is a beautiful melody. The white clouds above your head are like cotton and silk, constantly changing shape, sometimes like a galloping horse, and sometimes like a crouching white rabbit.

No wine, no tea, just an empty vessel, and the mountains, the water, and the clouds can fill your tired and empty heart.

The crowds are thick, there are women flirting with their eyes, there are men singing loudly, and there is a faint fragrance transmitted between the waving sleeves. What does it matter to me?

I only need this mountain, this water, and this white cloud.

Yun Ye was wrong. He still needed to hold the raft. Xiaoqiu was already hanging onto the bamboo pole, crying as she watched the raft float away. Xin Yue was frantically holding onto Xiaoqiu’s clothes, not letting go. She was about to fall too.

Two silly women, can’t you let go of the pole? Yun Ye lifted the pole at the end of the raft and pushed it back. It took a lot of effort to rescue Xiaoqiu from the pole. Only a fool would stick the pole in the crack of a rock and hang onto it.

She ruined a good essay. Xin Yue always said she was smart, but how can she be so smart? She hung herself on a bamboo pole and kicked her legs like a monkey.

The woman on the bamboo raft opposite is the clever one. She rolls up her sleeves and shows off her white arms as she sings and dances, attracting the wolves in the academy to howl endlessly.

“Don’t look,” Xin Yue forcibly twisted Yun Ye’s head around. She had a yellow jade hairpin in her jet-black hair, studded with rhinestones that sparkled in the sunlight. Seeing this, Yun Ye remembered that he had already been betrothed.

The story began three days ago, after Xin Yue had once again stayed in Yun Ye’s room for a long time, he was forcibly dragged to the river by a few old guys for a conversation full of temptation and extremely threatening.

“Kid, you’re getting a bargain. Old Xin’s granddaughter, who is as beautiful as a flower, has taken a liking to you. What do you say? When will you get engaged?” Li Gang’s words sounded like those of a gangster forcing a marriage. He didn’t even look at the seventy-year-old old guy and see how many days he could live. Is there such a thing as forcing someone to get engaged?

“Young people just don’t have a place to go. A man and a woman in the same room. Old Xin, you can rest assured. If it were me, I would have already served the family law. And there is such a good thing as marrying his granddaughter to him?” Mr. Yuan Zhang was beating the drum next to him.

Sun Simiao, who was wandering around, said, “Xin Yue is a good-looking girl. You’re lucky to have married her. Your family won’t have to worry about having no heir to carry on the family business.” Old Sun was thinking about the Yun family in the long run.

“Kid, you’ve ruined the reputation of the girl’s family. Now you’re not giving us an answer. Do you look down on us old men? Well, tomorrow I’ll pack my bags and prepare to return to my hometown in Hexi. I’ll just live out my days and never again roll around in this world.” Mr. Lishi’s face was full of vicissitudes.

“It’s a shame, and I’m only in front of a few old friends, otherwise I wouldn’t have the face to live in this world!” Mr. Yushan’s biggest move is to pound his chest and kick his feet.

The familiar face of Li Anlan flashed before his eyes, and then it disappeared into the darkness. Although he felt like he had been tricked, Yun Ye still smiled and said, “I’m lucky to have married Xin Yue. I don’t have any other thoughts. You old gentlemen are worrying for nothing.”

Although he felt a little pain in his heart, Yun Ye still wore a smile on his face.

Xin Yue is a wonderful girl. It is indeed a blessing to marry her, but why can’t I be happy? Yun Ye asked himself.

The old gentlemen had already reached the bottom line of their moral values. If they hesitated even a little, it would lead to a major disaster, whether for the academy or for themselves.

Yun Ye felt the atmosphere relax and return to its usual peace.

“I told you, who would want to push away such a good child as Yue? You’ve made a big mistake today, little brother. Don’t tell anyone, or I’ll break your legs.” Mr. Yuan Zhang warned Yun Ye viciously.

No one paid any attention to him. The few of them laughed and chatted as they walked to the academy. Mr. Yushan seemed to be accepting their congratulations.

“We haven’t even talked about the engagement yet. Are you all going back a little early?” Yun Ye was very worried that they would let him get married tomorrow, which would be even more embarrassing than a weasel.

Li Gang never said anything nice: “You’re a big shot. I’m only telling you this, otherwise, parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words have no room for you to interfere. I and the others will discuss this with the old lady, so you just shut up, do your job well, and don’t worry about anything else.”

He knew his family too well. Grandma, aunt, aunt, sister, a large group of women, when they have nothing to do, they will gossip about what the future mistress of the Yun family will be like. This gave the family a topic of conversation, and the family is not going to turn upside down.

Grandma really arranged Yun Ye’s marriage as soon as possible, and also gave his yellow jade hairpin to Xin Yue as a family treasure of the Yun family. This made Mr. Yushan, who was a bit dissatisfied, feel very happy. Looking at the hairpin shining in his granddaughter’s hair, he drank three glasses of wine in a row and was very satisfied with Yun Ye’s understanding.

Xin Yue wore the hairpin and showed it off in the academy, winning the admiration of all the women. She pretended to be shy and returned to her room, sat in front of the mirror and looked left and right. After an hour, she reluctantly took off the hairpin, wrapped it in silk and put it in her dressing case, placing it in the most secret place. She smiled and suddenly covered her blushing face, not knowing what she was thinking.

The two people on the Dongyang River each had their own thoughts. One would blush every time she looked at the other, while the other was lost in thought like a goose. Xiaoqiu was the only one who suffered. She bent over and tried hard to control the raft so that it wouldn’t hit the shore.

The river was shallow, only waist-deep, crystal clear, and devoid of large fish. Only small fish, the size of a finger, were playing in the water. Xin Yue untied a lock of her long hair and lay on the raft, teasing the fish, and from time to time she would burst into laughter.

The sixteen-year-old Tang Dynasty woman had developed very well. Looking at Xin Yue’s perfect curves, Yun Ye was a little dry and thirsty. He suppressed the evil fire in his heart and suddenly became playful. He lay down on the bamboo raft next to Xin Yue and parted a lock of hair to tease the little fish.

I don’t know when it started, but Yushan Academy became a new place for the rich and powerful in Chang’an to go to play. The Dongyang River, less than ten miles away, was full of bamboo rafts. There were bearded old men, young women wearing conical hats and veils, and of course there were also the idle young men chasing after bees and butterflies. Some poor scholars who were poor but self-confident in their talent also appeared on the riverbank, holding a scroll of books and mumbling nonsense in their mouths, hoping to attract the attention of the nobles on the river.

Yun Ye and Xin Yue are very eye-catching, not because they are a golden couple, but because they have the most fun and are the most childlike. Their loud laughter makes the gentlemen despise them, and makes young girls yearn for them.

Xin Yue told Yun Ye that in his hometown in Jian Nan, there was also a small river. Every time it was hot, he liked to sit in front of his house and watch the boys swim. It was very interesting.

Yun Ye whispered, and Xin Yue only understood after listening for a long time. He kept muttering, “I’ve lost, I’ve lost, I’ve lost a lot.”

“What’s the big loss? Did you lose money?” Xin Yue was very surprised.

“You see those boys swimming, I feel like I’ve lost a lot.”

“Why? What’s the loss?” Xin Yue was confused.

“When I was a child, I swam in the river without wearing any pants. I was completely naked. Now that I think about it, there must have been some boring girls like you peeking at me, so I lost a lot.” Yun Ye said with a worried look on his face.

“You dead man, you set me up.” The mad Xin Yue twisted hard on Yun Ye’s arm, and Yun Ye’s screams and Xin Yue’s laughter spread across the river.

Li Shi, who had moved the deck chair onto the raft, said to Yushan, who was lying down next to him reading a book, “Old Xin, that’s your granddaughter, she’s screaming so loudly, why don’t you do something about it?”

“Why should I care? Her husband is screaming next to her. I haven’t seen him object. Why should I care? It’s just a little girl’s laughter. Anyway, the girl’s last name is Yun now, not Xin. If she’s well-behaved, it’s the boy’s good fortune. If she’s not, he’ll just have to put up with it.” Mr. Yushan had a laissez-faire attitude.

After playing for a long time, they were hungry. They saw that everyone else was eating, and they were having a good time eating and drinking on the raft. Only the three of them did not bring any food, and Xiaoqiu’s stomach had already started to rumble. Xin Yue had never been so happy, and she was not going to get off the raft even if she starved to death. She planned to live on the raft in the future.

Yun Ye had no choice but to shout at the rat who was taking his wife and children for a river cruise.

Today is a holiday at the academy, and everyone is taking a break. Huangshu has always admired the elegant habit of the nobles of taking a river cruise when they have nothing to do. He went to the manager to ask for a raft, but was spat on. He said that the rafts at the academy are for the nobles. What do you want a raft for, a grave robber? Haven’t you seen that many academy students are waiting to receive a raft? If you can, wait until midnight!

Wiping the saliva off his face, the weasel was furious. What’s the big deal about a broken raft? And spitting in my face? It’s the middle of the night, and the middle of the night is the time for grave robbing. Who goes for a river cruise in the middle of the night?

Huang is also a famous man in the underworld. He made a promise to his wife and children that he would fulfill it even if he had to be beheaded. There are plenty of bamboo trees at the foot of the mountain. He picked the biggest ones and cut down a dozen of them to make a large raft overnight. Today, his family’s raft is the most conspicuous one on the river.

When they heard the lord’s shout, they quickly rowed over to him, and the family of three bowed to the lord.

“Do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.”

Not to mention, Huangshu was well prepared, with chicken and meat, as well as fried dried small fish, and there was no shortage of moromi. Yingniang’s pot-baked pastry was the most chewy.

“Lord, why did our academy take a month off?” Huang Shu asked while the lord was taking a breath.

“We have two months of vacation every year, one in the summer and one in the winter, but this year it’s a few days early.” Yun Ye said to Huang Shu.

“Why is the holiday early? I haven’t finished buying the malt yet.” Ying Niang interjected.

“Because a jinx is coming, in order to prevent the academy from being ruined, we have to take a holiday. Your family’s moromi will be delivered to the kiln, and it will definitely be bought quickly.”

The usually bustling entrance to the academy was quiet today. Xu Jingzong looked at the empty academy and then at the large cart of luggage behind him, shaking his head with a wry smile.