Lou Ao’s birthday banquet was held in the evening. When Li Si, Wu Wen, and Xiao Ning arrived at Budong Manor, the sky was already dark, yet the manor was sufficiently lively. Not only were bright red lanterns hung on the red-lacquered iron gates, but also vivid red silk and ribbons, making everything appear very festive. The Lou family’s third daughter, Lou Tianshe, bounced and jumped outside the main gate, directing servants to busy themselves with this and that. Seeing Li Si and his two companions arrive, Tianshe glared fiercely at Wu Wen, who had already begun hiding behind Li Si. Wu Wen muttered quietly: “Why do we run into this unlucky star as soon as we arrive!” Xiao Ning beside him almost laughed out loud.
Lou Tianshe bounced out in one step: “Why did you come? No one died here today.”
Li Si smiled awkwardly: “Third Miss, we didn’t come to handle a case. Your father invited us to attend his birthday banquet.”
“Invited? How come I don’t know anything about it?” Lou Tianshe tilted her head, murmuring the question. Wu Wen couldn’t help saying: “Could it be that we’d come here to swindle food and drink?”
Lou Tianshe snorted: “Other people might not, but you, you bad little brat, would!”
“What bad little brat? I’m much older than you—how can you be so rude?” Wu Wen finally revealed half his body to argue with Lou Tianshe. Lou Tianshe also seemed to have developed a young lady’s temper, facing Wu Wen: “Just rude, just rude—what can you do about it? Bad little brat, bad little brat—I’ll call you bad little brat a hundred times!”
“Tianshe!” Lou Ao’s tall figure suddenly appeared, calling out to Lou Tianshe. Lou Tianshe indeed stopped talking but still hid behind Lou Ao, continuously making faces at Wu Wen. Wu Wen was so angry his nose nearly went crooked.
Lou Ao looked at Li Si: “Catcher Li, I apologize. Since childhood, I’ve spoiled this child Tianshe.” Li Si shook his head: “Not at all, Third Miss is very adorable.”
Lou Ao nodded and led several people to Budong Manor’s great hall. Li Si saw that the courtyard in front of the hall had also been cleared out, appearing quite imposing and clean. Lou Ao caught Li Si’s gaze and smiled: “Tianfan said I’ve aged considerably these past days, so he invited the most famous acrobatic troupe from Fanbo City to entertain me. That’s why the courtyard was cleared!”
Li Si nodded and followed Lou Ao into the great hall. The great hall was already filled with a large table of wine and dishes, occupying fully half the hall’s space. The adjacent small hall and side halls also had several tables of wine and dishes set out, though much smaller—presumably prepared for the servants.
Lou Ao and Li Si took their seats one after another. After exchanging pleasantries, Li Si raised a cup of wine toward Lou Ao: “Li Si offers this cup to Hero Lou. May Hero Lou’s years be like pine, his age like cypress—year after year, the pine and cypress ever green!” After Li Si finished, Wu Wen and Xiao Ning beside him also quickly raised their wine cups, standing to toast Lou Ao. Lou Ao nodded with a smile, delighted: “Catcher Li, you speak so well! I’ll drink this wine!” Lou Ao laughed heartily, draining his cup in one gulp.
Li Si had just put down his wine cup when Lou Tianfan, who had not appeared until now, emerged from behind. Seeing Li Si and the others, he first froze, then walked straight toward Lou Ao’s side, bending down to whisper a few words in Lou Ao’s ear. Lou Ao’s originally ruddy face looked much worse after hearing Lou Tianfan’s words. He suddenly let out a long sigh, his gaze looking toward the direction from which Lou Tianfan had come.
Li Si was somewhat curious and also looked that way. He saw a slender figure appear in his line of sight—she had a pair of bluish-green pupils. It was precisely Qingdie, the maid from Lou Tianming’s room. Qingdie’s face was calm as still water, her gaze gentle, yet it seemed no one’s reflection rippled within. Qingdie walked to Lou Ao’s side, gracefully bowed and paid her respects, then picked up a cup of wine beside her and offered it to Lou Ao. Lou Ao’s expression eased a bit: “Tianming still refuses to come out and see me?”
Qingdie said: “Second Young Master says he feels unwell and wishes to rest early. Second Young Master instructed Qingdie to toast the master with a cup of wine!”
Lou Tianfan on the side suddenly interjected: “Father specifically arranged the birthday banquet in the evening for him—how can he not even show his face? This is truly infuriating, simply…” Before Lou Tianfan finished speaking, Lou Ao suddenly shouted: “You shut your mouth! You have no right to speak here!” Lou Tianfan’s eyes widened in anger as he looked at Qingdie, not daring to say another word.
Qingdie still said expressionlessly: “Master, will you drink this cup or not?” Lou Ao stared at Qingdie, then suddenly laughed loudly, his voice carrying some helplessness: “Drink, of course I’ll drink! My most intelligent son wants to toast me—why wouldn’t I drink!” As Lou Ao spoke, he took the wine from Qingdie’s hand and drained it in one gulp, then heavily slammed the wine cup onto the table. The small wine cup actually pressed a deep cavity into the sturdiest redwood table. Qingdie, as if seeing nothing, picked up another cup of wine from the table, turned slightly, and actually presented it before Li Si: “This cup of wine is Second Young Master’s toast to Catcher Li.”
Li Si was obviously somewhat surprised, asking: “Toasting me? Why?”
Qingdie’s originally bland face suddenly showed a trace of a smile: “Young Master Tianming says that Catcher Li is, besides Qingdie, the person he feels closest to in these eight years. Therefore, he toasts you!”
After Qingdie finished speaking, Lou Ao on the side suddenly stood up and walked toward the back of the hall without a word. Lou Tianfan originally wanted to follow out but hesitated and turned back. Li Si looked at Qingdie’s gaze like a bluish-green deep pool that seemed able to penetrate everything, and smiled faintly: “Good, I’ll drink!”
Lou Ao walked all the way toward the rear courtyard, turning past the garden and small spring, stopping before Lou Tianming’s bamboo cottage. Thinking of his son whom he had not seen once in eight years, despite being within arm’s reach before him, he couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head.
“Hero Lou!” Behind Lou Ao, someone followed up. Lou Ao slowly turned his head back and saw the person was precisely Li Si. Li Si came to Lou Ao’s side, also looking at the bamboo cottage: “I’m not very clear what exactly happened between Hero Lou and the Second Young Master to cause such a rift. But if Hero Lou doesn’t find a way to break through this barrier, it will keep growing larger and deeper, ultimately forming an insurmountable chasm between you father and son!”
Lou Ao let out a long sigh: “I also want to salvage the feelings between Tianming and myself. However, some things, once done wrong, will be wrong for a lifetime—never possible to remedy.”
Li Si paused slightly: “What kind of mistake could it be that’s impossible to remedy? I wonder if Hero Lou is willing to tell Li Si?”
Lou Ao looked at Li Si: “Catcher Li seems curious about everything.” Li Si also smiled: “This has already become my habit.”
Lou Ao nodded: “Actually, there’s nothing that can’t be said.” Lou Ao looked at the bamboo cottage, slowly saying: “The reason Tianming has always refused to forgive me is actually because of Tianming’s mother.”
Hearing Lou Ao’s words, Li Si suddenly thought of the woman in the wall painting inside the bamboo cottage: “Tianming’s mother?”
Lou Ao nodded. His eyes changed, as if reminiscing about the past, continuing: “Tianming’s mother was named Ziqing. She was a very good woman. When she married me, it was just after I had taken over Budong Manor. At that time, there would always be some jianghu sects wanting to cause trouble at Budong Manor, spying on the martial arts manual that didn’t actually exist. And at that time I was extremely weak, with many worries in my heart. This state nearly tortured me to madness. Fortunately, Ziqing always stayed with me, constantly encouraging me, which allowed me to get through the darkest period of my life. I was very grateful to her and loved her even more. I swore to her: This lifetime I would only love her, one woman! But later…” Lou Ao paused, his expression pained: “But later I met Tianshe’s mother. She was also an extraordinary woman, the most beautiful and glamorous female martial artist in the jianghu. I fell in love with her uncontrollably. At the same time, I also betrayed my vow to Ziqing. Because of this matter, Ziqing in her anger rushed out of Budong Manor. At that time, I should have immediately gone to chase her, but I didn’t. And this became the most wrong decision I’ve made in my entire life.”
“What happened afterward?” Li Si asked.
“Ziqing encountered mountain bandits.” Lou Ao said with a pale face. “When I found Ziqing, she was being forced by a group of mountain bandits to the edge of a cliff. Then, she just like that… just like that, without any hesitation jumped off the cliff—jumped off the cliff right before my eyes!”
Lou Ao’s gaze was filled with painful and sorrowful expression: “Even today, I still remember the look in Ziqing’s eyes before she jumped off the cliff—there was no sadness, no grief, only a kind of desperate heartbreak!”
Lou Ao exhaled: “After Tianming learned of Ziqing’s death, he never saw me again. Until today, it’s been a full eight years.”
After hearing Lou Ao finish, Li Si only felt something blocking his heart—very uncomfortable. After a long time, Li Si finally said: “What about Tianshe’s mother?”
Lou Ao shook his head: “After Ziqing died, I became very despondent. And Tianshe’s mother was also an extremely sensitive woman. She believed she had driven Ziqing to death and caused me such despair. So she left a farewell letter and left me, never returning again.”
Lou Ao looked at Li Si and suddenly smiled: “My one wrong decision destroyed two women and caused two children to lose their mothers. Isn’t this already the worst thing possible? Tianming has always refused to forgive me, and Tianshe—although I often see her smile, I’m also clear that she must miss her mother very much in her heart.”
Li Si originally wanted to say something to comfort Lou Ao, but opening his mouth, he found himself with nothing to say.