Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Ninety-five,
Satisfied

When He Xuan was asking for directions, Xiao Zuo was in the shadows of the apricot blossoms playing the flute.

He was dressed in a moon-white robe, the apricot flowers fell all over his head, there were a few petals that fell onto his closed eyelashes, like crushed and spread fragmented rouge. A sorrowful slight cold, a cutting wind[1], red pistils of the branches fell with a blow, piling into a floor of fragrant snow. The sound of the flute was long, like a swallow flapping its wings about to fly, quickly passing through flowers and whisking by willows, going up the azure skies.

All of a sudden, the sound of the flute suddenly stopped, Xiao Zuo lifted his hand up and rubbed his cheeks, Xiao Zuo heard him say, “It’s been so long since I practised, as expected, I can’t play any more.”

“What was the tune just now?” He Xuan stepped through the fallen flowers, and took two steps forward.

“The Partridge[2].”

“It sounds very good.”

Xiao Zuo proudly swayed the flute, “Of course, this tune is hard to play.”

“En, Li Nu is very amazing.” He Xuan hung his eyes down, and picked off the fallen flowers from his head, then only picked the sole flower that was intact, and stuck it in his hair.

“What are you doing?” Xiao Zuo suspiciously glanced at him, He Xuan put his hands behind his back, and lightly smiled at him, “Nothing, didn’t you want to also go to Mt. Xun Yang?”

Mt. Xun Yang was not far from this place, a mere hour’s journey. The two had lunch at a nearby restaurant, and when they set off, it was a clear skies, expelling the final sliver of frost. Mt. Xun Yang was even warmer with fragrance in the air, with visitors weaving about.

At present, another couple passed by their side happily chatting, and turned their heads to very curiously take another look, He Xuan could not hold it in the end, and asked, “Why are they constantly looking at us?”

“Looking how good-looking we are.”

Xiao Zuo laughed and held He Xuan’s hand, and explained, “This place, in the past, had a legend.”

“En.”

“It’s said that in the previous dynasty, there was a big family’s young miss who came to love a poor young man raising cows. That young man, despite his situation being poverty-stricken, was extremely hardworking, and already risen up to a Xiu Cai[3]. However, the young miss’ parents naturally did not agree with this marriage, and engaged her to the eldest son of a ministry councillor.”

At that time, the poor young man was about to enter the capital for examinations, the young miss did not dare to delay his travels, and lied to him saying that her parents already agreed, and once he succeeded in becoming a Jin Shi[4], she would marry him. But who knew after the young man became a Jin Shi after the results were released and returned home, he instead would discover the young miss already commit suicide, and the dispirited poor young man also followed after her.

“Does…… this have anything to do with us?”

“Of course.” Xiao Zuo pointed to the visitors, “This Mt. Xun Yang, is the mountain that poor young man let the cows graze everyday, and also the place he made the promise with the young miss. Later on, this mountain slope had another name, called the Lovers’ Hill, young people who had strong adoration for each other would promise to come here for a spring outing.”

The corner of He Xuan’s lips slightly curled up, he hooked Xiao Zuo’s pinky, and lowly said, “So Li Nu adores me this much.”

Xiao Zuo lightly coughed, and hurriedly changed the topic, “They are selling kites over on that side, let’s go play with kites.”

The two chose a kite in the style of mandarin ducks, and even drew in that kite-seller’s constant gaze, Xiao Zuo’s face was going to burn red.

“I didn’t think you were so incredible with kites.”

Xiao Zuo lifted his head up and looked at the highest kite in the skies, and clicked his tongue in surprise.

“En.”

He Xuan lightly pulled the string in his hand, “Mother was the one who taught me, then later on…… I never went to fly kites again.”

Xiao Zuo paused, he slightly clumsily held He Xuan’s hand, and when he was going to open his mouth, He Xuan said, “It’s alright, the things of the past, must be put down at some point.”

“En.” Xiao Zuo nodded, the kite in the skies flew higher and higher when all of a sudden, there was a gust of strong wind, and the string pulling it broke apart, then the kite disappeared.

In that instant, Xiao Zuo did not know if he was disappointed or relieved, he slowly lowered his head, and indifferently looked at the coming and going travellers, “There is a legend among the Nan Liang folk that each kite is an injured bird, once their injuries are recovered, the kite would break from the string and fly away.”

Xiao Zuo smiled, “Souls naturally born free, should not be limited to this land in the first place, they are only returning to their homes.”

He Xuan played with the remaining white thread in his hands, and did not say anything.

On the way back, they coincidentally encountered a small peddler selling glutinous rice cakes, lifting a pole on their shoulders, calling out along the road. Xiao Zuo walked up to take a look, then picked a box and asked, “Did you make this?”

“Yes, thanks to the new official, the insect damage in our fields are already gone, so we had more strength, then had time to make these.” The peddler was a young person, and merrily chatted with them, “Would milords like to buy a box?”

Xiao Zuo nodded his head, “Is the harvest now still well?”

“Much better than before, the baby at home is no longer hungry, and is much fatter now.”

Xiao Zuo smiled and poured out a few silvers from his pouch, “Then that’s good, keep some and buy the baby something to eat.”

“No, no, this is too much.” That peddler’s eyes popped out, and hurriedly shrunk his hand back, Xiao Zuo long predicted he would be like this, and stuffed the silvers into his shoulder pole, then pulled He Xuan and ran.

“Aye, thank you, milords!”

“No need!” Xiao. Zuo yelled back, then laughed for a while like had been found himself funny, then opened the box containing the glutinous rice cakes, and picked up a piece and held it to the side of He Xuan’s mouth like presenting a treasure, “A snack from here, try it.”

He Xuan hung his eyes down and looked at him, the black eyes trickled with a dense colour of ink, “Just now……”

He Xuan unnaturally pursed his lips, “Are you satisfied?”

“Wh…… what?”

“I’m saying, the hard work put in these few months, are you satisfied with it?” Xiao Zuo lifted his hand up, all around them were all vast rice paddies, with a white heron occasionally standing between them, “The locust plague has already been suppressed, all neglected tasks have been taken care of, in no time, every family will be able to live and work in peace, and fill the granaries.”

Xiao Zuo halted his breath, he blankly looked at He Xuan, while his hand was still idiotically holding that glutinous rice cake. He Xuan deeply looked at him for a long time, then bent over and held that glutinous rice cake in his mouth, walked ahead, and after a moment, [Xiao Zuo] heard him say, “Acceptable.”

Xiao Zuo seemed like he just woke up from a dream, he lowered his head and pressed the corner of his eyes, and his tone carried a subconscious light tremble, “No, I’m very satisfied.”

On the way, Xiao Zuo ate half of the glutinous rice cakes, the remaining half, he left for Xiao You Ci to taste- she liked eating sweet foods, and in the past in the palace, each day, she would want to eat red bean glutinous rice cakes, and even got toothaches from it.

Xiao You Ci’s room was still lit, and Xiao Zuo knocked on the door from the outside, “Sister, I brought something for you.”

“Come in.”

Xiao Zuo pushed the door in, the room was tidied up very clean, the bed was placed with a blue bundle, especially eye-piercing.

“Sister?” Xiao Zuo paused, “Are you leaving?”

Xiao You Ci did not deny it, she held up a pot of water and poured a cup, “En, I’m planning on returning to Bing Province. Previously I found a residence there, when I go back, the tree sapling I planted should be quite tall now.”

Xiao Zuo opened his mouth, he clearly wanted to say some words to have her stay, but his throat seemed to be filled with iron water, bitter and astringent, he sniffled, and arduously squeezed out a few words, “Must…… you leave?”

“A’Zuo.” Xiao You Ci sighed, “All good things must come to an end. In the future, remember to pay attention some more, wear more when it gets cold, don’t have Sister worry.”

“En.” Xiao Zuo drank the water Xiao You Ci handed him all in one gulp, but his voice still could not cover up its sobbing, “Sister……” Xiao Zuo took two steps forward, and was like in the past and hugged Xiao You Ci, lifting one hand up to hastily wipe his tears, “You must write to me in the future, I will go see you.”

Xiao You Ci’s eye sockets were red too, she took a deep breath in, and lightly patted Xiao Zuo’s back, and said with a restrained voice, “Alright, Sister will promise you…… don’t cry, alright.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

Xiao Zuo froze, “So quick?”

“En, Nan Liang’s circumstances are stable now, no need to worry about me, but you, in the future……” Xiao You Ci paused, she forced herself to squeeze a smile out, and stroked Xiao Zuo’s head, “In the future, marry an able and virtuous wife, don’t make yourself suffer.”

Xiao Zuo choked for an instant, he turned his head and cleared his throat, and changed the topic, “I forgot, Sister, have a taste of this first, I bought it on the way today, it’s very sweet.”

In the evening, He Xuan could distinctly feel Xiao Zuo was in a low mood, he occasionally curled the ends of Xiao Zuo’s hair, and seemingly nonchalantly asked, “What is it? Not happy?”

“En.” Xiao Zuo closed the book, and leaned on He Xuan’s shoulder, and unhappily muttered, “Sister said she is going to leave tomorrow.”

He Xuan’s eyes sunk, he casually played with the hair wrapped around his fingertips, “Where to?”

“To Bing Province.”

“En, Bing Province is quite good, I will have someone protect her in secret, don’t worry.”

“I know, I just……” Xiao Zuo’s voice suddenly stopped, He Xuan lowered his head and blocked his lips, with one hand holding up his jaw, one hand propped beside him, the gentle and sentimental deep kiss spread over his heart, and weakened that sliver of melancholy of parting left inside.

[1] From 《夜深》. The first part is word for word, while the second removes the reference of plums that fall like snow, making it just the apricots red and falling like snow.

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xft92cJB6Y

[3] 秀才- title for scholars who passed county-level imperial examinations

[4] If a Xiu Cai is the title you get passing the first exam, Jin Shi is the title for those who passed the third.