After much commotion, Mudan finally came out to greet Liu Chang personally. She curtsied to him and said with a warm smile, “Oh, it’s Doctor Liu! Please, come in and have some tea in the main hall.”
Liu Chang, seeing her smug smile, felt his anger rise. He looked at Mudan with disdain, putting on an air of contempt and indifference. His tone was extremely harsh as he spoke, “Mudan, you’ve gone too far. You let your vicious servants throw torches, bricks, and tiles into my villa, injuring my beloved concubine. I’d like to let this matter drop, but keeping such evil servants will only lead to more trouble. Why don’t you hand them over to me for punishment?”
As he spoke, he glanced at Mudan with disdain, thinking to himself how her fake smile resembled that of Jiang Dalang, as if cast from the same mold. It was irritating to look at. Was it true that couples grow more alike the longer they’re together? But… he thought with a mix of jealousy and bitterness, why doesn’t she seem to age? Even after bearing so many children, she hasn’t turned into a yellow-faced old woman. Look at that jade-like skin, those alluring eyes, and that waist… Tch…
He forced himself to look at the luxurious Mudan flower adorning her high bun, addressing her with his nose in the air.
“Oh my, one of your concubines was injured? That’s truly unfortunate,” Mudan exclaimed with surprise and regret. “Kuan’er, quickly call for the imperial physician and bring out our best medicine. Let’s see the patient.” She then turned to Liu Chang and said, “Doctor Liu, I’m truly sorry. You see, this was an accident. One of our rooms near your residence suddenly caught fire, and bricks, tiles, and wood were falling everywhere. I was shocked to hear they had landed in your compound. We immediately sent people to apologize and explain the situation to avoid any misunderstanding. Although it was an accident, it’s still related to the fire at our house. Rest assured, I’ll cover all medical expenses.”
“An accident?” Liu Chang pointed at his nose, letting out a strange laugh. “Mudan, are you still dreaming? An accident? Our houses are separated by a road. Which room in your house is taller than your walls? How could it fly into my villa and accurately hit me and my beauties? Why don’t you demonstrate how it flies for me?”
Mudan smiled faintly, “Doctor Liu, that’s not quite right. When your house was being demolished, debris didn’t fly into my house. Normally, fire, bricks, and tiles from my house didn’t fly into yours. Unless… perhaps the bricks and tiles from Doctor Liu’s house have grown wings?”
“Things falling from high places to lower ones is normal,” Liu Chang said angrily. “Don’t try to change the subject. We’re discussing the injury to my people. My beloved concubine’s face was hurt. Do you think this can be settled with just some medical fees? If you want me to spare that evil servant, you’ll have to make my concubine’s face return to its original state.” He looked at Mudan smugly, waiting to see how she would handle this.
Mudan sighed, “Speaking of that, I’m in a difficult position too. The non-flying bricks from your house damaged a priceless exotic stone in my home. I could let that go since stones are inanimate, and you serve in the court with my husband, so I should give you some face…” She glanced at Liu Chang, drawing out her words, “The worst part is that the unique Mudan I’ve been carefully cultivating for five or six years – unparalleled in the world – was damaged. This Mudan was supposed to be presented to the Emperor. Not being able to present it would be a crime of deceiving the monarch. What do you think we should do? Never mind, I won’t ask you to compensate. I’ll just tell the truth as it is.”
Bah! Telling blatant lies, who does she think she’s fooling? Would she leave such a treasure where it could be easily damaged? Mudan has truly become shameless. He bet she wouldn’t dare say such lies in front of the Emperor. Liu Chang’s face turned ashen as he was about to unleash some harsh words when a soft, sweet voice interrupted, “Uncle Liu, did you bring so many people to help put out the fire at our house? You’re so kind.”
Liu Chang was startled, then felt his face grow hot as he glanced sideways at the little troublemaker in a goose-yellow silk jacket with two buns in her hair, peeking out from behind a willow tree nearby. The child had eyes identical to Mudan’s, blinking with pure innocence as she looked at him, making it difficult to maintain his harsh demeanor. But Liu Chang was still Liu Chang. He immediately understood Mudan’s sinister intentions. Hmph, did she think a few sweet words from the little troublemaker would make him let this go? She was dreaming. So he let out a mysterious “hmph” from his nose.
The little girl boldly ran up to him, tugging at his robe and looking up at him. “Uncle Liu, I just learned how to brew tea. You’re my first guest. Would you like to try some?”
Heavens, how he despised this little troublemaker who looked like Mudan and had Jiang Dalang’s blood running through her veins. He wanted to shake off that white, chubby little paw, but as soon as he touched it, the child grasped his hand naturally and led him inside. “Uncle Liu, we have plenty of people putting out the fire. You don’t need these men. You can send them away.”
Liu Chang unconsciously followed Xian’er for a couple of steps before suddenly remembering why he had come. He stopped, put on a stern face, and said, “I—”
“Xian’er, you don’t understand etiquette at all. Go inside,” Mudan cut him off before he could finish, glaring fiercely at Xian’er. The child gave him a pitiful look, reluctantly withdrew her hand, and walked inside with her head down and shoulders slumped.
As mentioned before, as Liu Chang aged, he particularly cherished those who treated him with genuine kindness. His heart softened. What a good child, just wanting to brew tea for him because she liked him. How could Mudan bear to scold such an obedient and thoughtful child? She was truly heartless. He decided not to let her have her way. He held onto Xian’er, looking challengingly at Mudan while stroking the child’s hair, a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing smile on his face. “Good child, I appreciate your filial heart. Uncle will wait to drink your tea.” Then, giving face to Xian’er (actually looking for a way out), he ordered his servants, “All of you, get lost.”
A glimmer of laughter flashed in Xian’er’s eyes as she clapped her hands happily and ran forward on her short, chubby legs. “I’ll go brew tea for Uncle Liu. Little Chestnut, help me light the fire and boil water!”
Mudan watched Xian’er’s retreating figure helplessly, her pride mixed with the typical parental modesty as she said, “This child has been spoiled by her father and me. We’ve made her a laughingstock.”
Come on, you’re so proud you could wag your tail, yet you’re still pretending. Liu Chang curled his lip and strode into the hall. “Where’s your main hall?”
“Mother, do we have guests? Ah, Uncle Liu, how are you?” A sturdy boy rushed out from the shade of the trees, skidding to a halt in front of Liu Chang and bowing respectfully.
Liu Chang felt another pang in his heart. His daughter was older than Xian’er, yet she was much smaller than this little troublemaker who looked so much like Jiang Dalang. Although he was a troublemaker, Liu Chang had to admit that the boy was robust and well-mannered for his age. He sighed and responded half-heartedly, only to see the little troublemaker turn and take Mudan’s hand, saying cheerfully, “Uncle Liu, let your nephew show you the way.”
Liu Chang listlessly followed Mudan and her son into the main hall. Just as he was about to speak, he heard children crying. Nanny Lin entered with a frown, carrying a chubby toddler, and said worriedly, “The second young master is crying terribly.”
Mudan smiled apologetically at him and took the annoying chubby child, trying to soothe him. Meanwhile, Zheng’er put on a serious face, trying to engage Liu Chang in adult conversation. But what could a child understand? He only talked about his dogs and horses, and how well his slingshot worked. Liu Chang was forced to chat with him for a while, feeling increasingly frustrated.
Then Xian’er came in with the tea, smiling as she placed a fine Yuezhou porcelain teacup in front of Liu Chang. She looked at him expectantly, “Uncle, please try it?”
Liu Chang picked up the teacup but looked suspiciously at those around him. Xian’er’s face remained innocent. He cautiously took a small sip, finding nothing unusual, and relaxed. He drank it all, as his throat had become dry from all the commotion.
“Is it good?” Xian’er smiled and poured him another cup, exchanging a glance with Zheng’er when Liu Chang wasn’t looking. The siblings’ smiles grew even more bright and innocent.
Liu Chang raised the cup and continued drinking. “It’s good.” He couldn’t help but wonder how Jiang Changyang would feel if he saw him sitting here, chatting and laughing with his wife and children. His face would probably turn even darker, haha.
However, Liu Chang didn’t get to wait for Jiang Changyang’s arrival. After just three cups of tea, he felt severe abdominal pain, barely able to control himself. He hurriedly borrowed the Jiang family’s latrine, and after squatting down, he could barely get up. Red-faced and flustered, he was helped home by Qiushi. Lying exhausted on his bed, he gritted his teeth, thinking that troublemakers would always be troublemakers, and the Jiang family were all black-hearted and rotten to the core. During the days of his illness, he lay in bed plotting – if he could get his hands on those ill-mannered, black-hearted little troublemakers, hmph…
Pan Rong came to see him and said earnestly, “Why do you bother with this? If there was still some hope, I wouldn’t stop you. But it’s not the case anymore. Why make others uncomfortable and yourself miserable? Do you want the two families to become mortal enemies? You’re just making yourself a laughingstock.”
Liu Chang didn’t want to answer Pan Rong. He knew he no longer had any hope. Even in his dreams, he couldn’t grasp even a corner of her clothes. After a long silence, he asked Pan Rong softly, “Erlong, what do you think people live for in this world? I’ve been thinking, and it seems we should live, and live happily. But when I’m at my happiest, I suddenly feel unhappy, extremely unhappy. What can I do?”
Pan Rong’s eyes darkened as he sighed softly, “Zishu, look at this year’s flower. Although it blooms beautifully, it’s no longer last year’s flower. You should let it go.”
Liu Chang looked out at the blue sky and white clouds, letting out a gentle sigh.