Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Eighty-seven,
Official Xiao

The outside was still raining, in this kind of sunken rainy night, the skies already completely blackened, with not even a sliver of moonlight to be seen. There was only candlelight underneath the corridor swaying from one side to the next from the winds, propping up a warm yellow glow in the span of darkness, shining on the stone tiles beneath the feet with a faint light.

Jiang Nan’s rainy nights always brought about an easing tranquility. The maid beside held up a lantern and slowly walked forward, the flame dragged the shadows very long, then got swallowed into the night colours to the back. The cold winds outside pounded on the rustling fallen leaves, sweeping up the floor of fragrant powder and hit them on the screen wall. The sound of rain pitter-pattered, like the lasting and lethargic breath of the world, dripping and dropping into the pool, falling onto the window, with an empty and desolate lingering feeling to it.

The inside of the room was all warm though, silver-threaded charcoal burned strongly, the four walls were all lit with oil lanterns, casting the people traversing through within to be as red as peach blossoms. The pear blossom wooden table right in the middle was spread with a tablecloth laid with gold trim, the windows on all sides were blocked with thick woollen curtains, like it was blocking off all the solitude and frostiness outside, forming a world of its own.

Xiao Zuo took off his thick fox fur coat, and walked towards He Xuan, “I could smell the fragrance from far away.”

“En, it’s all your favourites, try this one.” He Xuan scooped a spoonful of a golden-yellow jellied bean curd, and put it in a bowl and handed it to him, “Tofu that’s been boiled long in chicken soup, it’s very fragrant.”

“Have some more tonight, starting tomorrow, we must eat milder for five days.”

“Ah?” Xiao Zuo’s hands paused, and vacantly lifted his head up, “Are we setting ourselves as examples?”

He Xuan reached out, his finger wiped a drop of soup on the corner of Xiao Zuo’s mouth, and slightly absentmindedly made an en sound, then after a while, replied, “It will soon be the new year, if you ate an abundance of rich foods repeatedly, at that time, you will get a stomachache.”

“New year?” Xiao Zuo froze, he counted the days inside, it really was going to be the new year in a few days.

“En, this year, we will spend New Years at Qing Ling.”

Xiao Zuo hung his head down and silently stirred the tofu in his bowl, watching them break into petal after petal, muddling them into a ball of glistening white snow.

The charcoal in the room was burning too vigorously, he felt like his forehead and even his entire body was very hot, like he suddenly got a fever, to the point that Xiao Zuo faintly even thought, is he dreaming? Since bidding farewell in a panic that day, he had never deluded himself there would be a day he could so peacefully…… at this moment, his eye sockets ached again, Xiao Zuo could only use his sleeves to cover it and rub them in a fluster, leaving a pretty smear of thin red at the corner of his eyes.

In the evening, Xiao Zuo finishing bathing, the damp hair was wrapped with a towel, and he draped on a wide outer robe and laid on the couch and began flipping through books. A few locks of wet hair hung on the side of the neck, water stains seeped into the clothes along the neck, and left a dubious and faint stain. His features were still lingering with hovering steam after bathing, making his eyes all hazy, like they were filled with water that couldn’t be scooped all out. The two cheeks were shrouded with a bright red, and the lips, because it bathed in water just now, were peeling a bit, Xiao Zuo subconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked them.

When He Xuan pushed open the door and came in, this image of a beauty languidly laying down was in front of him, his footstep stopped, and his gaze stopped on Xiao Zuo’s hair still dripping water, then unhappily knitted his eyebrows and chided, “Why haven’t you wrung it dry? When you get a wind chill or your head hurts, I won’t care anymore.” Is what he said, but he already took up a towel hanging from the rack. When he used his hands, because he was unhappy, it was a bit strong, making Xiao Zuo felt wronged and mutter in a small voice, “You hurt me.”

“Now you know it hurts?” He Xuan kneaded neither heavily nor lightly on his waist, his actions lightened up, but his mouth still did not have any mercy, “A bit pain makes one remember a lesson, remember now?”

Xiao Zuo’s waist was the most sensitive, and when he was kneaded there by He Xuan this familiarly, he felt like his entire body went numb, even the tip of his toes unbearably shook, and the voice coming out the mouth was so soft it was like the tofu they ate tonight, tenderly sticking to others, “I know I know, I don’t dare anymore, good Highness, please spare me this one time.”

He Xuan lightly humphed, but the expression already relaxed, and faintly had a smile. He hung his eyes down and swept by the small booklet in Xiao Zuo’s hands, and asked, “Why are you still reading this one?”

Xiao Zuo closed the book, and rolled up, though it was clearly a red and shy beautiful face, but at this time, it was closer to the stern profound looks old scholars would make when hanging to their book bags. He Xuan felt it was interesting, and watched him clear his throat with raised eyebrows, seriously speaking, “Your Highness, these days, I have drafted ten plans on making Liang prosperous, and have changed it many times, it can be considered passable, and if there are any mistakes, we can discuss it together.”

As he said this, Xiao Zuo got down from the couch with his hair down, and pulled out a memorial pressed down with a paperweight. When passing it to him, his eyes were all sparkling, “Your Highness, please have a look.”

“En.” He Xuan took it, Xiao Zuo’s characters were very pretty and delicate, yet the curves appeared with a swift and fierce brushstroke, sturdiness and tenderness combined together, hiding with talent.The top distinctly lined with ten articles, He Xuan read through it once, the discourse was clear and concise, giving suggestions on erroneous actions, and was quite insightful.

Aside from ridding locusts, the few important articles even had promoting Buddhism, respecting Confucianism, reducing taxes and forced labour, appeasing and keeping in employment Nan Liang’s officials, pardoning bandits and others. He Xuan pointed at promoting Buddhism and respecting Confucianism, and said, “Others, Ig have already drafted up a memorial, and planned on submitting to Father, but these two I have never thought of, can Official Xiao explain to meg?”

Official Xiao at this time turned even redder in the face, the bright-coloured crown stopped with the courtyard filled with burning brocade, he pondered over it for a moment, then explained, “Nan Liang originally took up Buddhism as its national religion, your Highness should also know that the Jia Yi Emperor became a monk in the end- the southern dynasty holding four hundred eighty temples, is not a simple phrase of flattery. Yet since Jin perished Liang, they destroyed the temples and expelled their monks, forced the commoners to not believe in religion, and the monks all returned to the secular life and married. Though having too many monks is not beneficial to land taxes and agriculture, but this move was rather a bit excessive, making it hard to gain popularity among the commoners.”

“Jin rarely has people in religion, this matter certainly was done a bit improperly. At that time, Father only thought that there were too many monks in the temples, that it made the farmlands abandoned, and monks being exempt from taxation and labour, was……” He Xuan deeply hummed for an instant, then nodded his head, “Ig understand, tomorrow, I will add these lines to the memorial tomorrow.”

“As for respecting Confucians, mm, allow me to say something rude, examples of literature used in the world all started in Nan Liang, so the vessels of literature have already been passed down for a long time, while Jin established the country with military power, so there is some parts lacking in literature, this is also something everyone knows.”

He Xuan calmly nodded his head, and clearly did not oppose to this reasoning that made fun of Jin’s literary style.

“So before when his Majesty made Nan Liang’s commoners learn Jin’s characters, it must’ve had the opposite effect. Nan Liang’s Confucianists like Chen Hong Dao, Zhuang Gao Yi, Tan Fang and others are all highly upheld, there are famous writers all over one area, why bother to abandon the close to seek the distant?”

Xiao Zuo took out a paper pressed at the bottom on the table, “The Confucianists I mentioned just now are a bit far from Qing Ling, however, I’ve organized a list of names of high monks in famous temples nearby Qing Ling, we can first start from the Buddhist temple.”

He Xuan hung his eyes down, his thumb stroked over the surface of the paper, his gaze was dark and unclear, he lowered his head and looked at those handsome small words on the top, and lightly laughed, “You went out a few days ago, just to do this?”

Xiao Zuo froze, a sliver of panic passed through the bottom of his eyes, and he avoided He Xuan’s gaze, and nodded his head with a tremble, “Yes.”

“Quite thoughtful.” He Xuan folded the paper and put it back on the table, then reached out and played with the curled lock of hair on the top of Xiao Zuo’s head, the top was still a bit wet, he randomly rubbed his fingers, and said in Xiao Zuo’s ears, with his tone low and hoarse, “With Official Xiao doing his utmost, Ig don’t know how I should reward you anymore.”

Xiao Zuo raised his head, and very carefully licked He Xuan’s chin lightly, his tongue was wet, like a small cat. He Xuan’s Adam’s apple moved, Xiao Zuo blinked, and came up with a bad idea immediately, and very audaciously kissed He Xuan’s throat like he was scratching an itch, “Your Highness…… grant me a time of national peace.”

The hand He Xuan held his waist with tightened, he silently pinched the still wet end of Xiao Zuo’s hairs, and quietly agreed.