Daya was playing the qin with tinkling sounds. She’d learned this from the little songstress across the street and could only play the simplest piece, “Transformation Sound”—a tune for practicing fingers. But Dan Ying lying on the soft couch listened in complete rapture, holding a wine flask in his hand. He’d shake his head and sway for a while, then take a sip of wine. Removing the noise like cotton-fluffing, this was absolutely a supremely beautiful picture.
Daya played with deep feeling, Dan Ying listened enraptured—it left Yun Ye with no way to enter. However, thinking of the consequences—a grown man hiding in his sister’s boudoir for three days—what brother could tolerate that? Gritting his teeth, he lifted the door curtain and walked in.
Seeing her brother storm in angrily, Daya swished behind Dan Ying’s back and buried her head against him, refusing to come out. Dan Ying raised the wine flask in his hand and said to Yun Ye: “Big Brother, how do you have time to come here today?”
“I’ve always been rough and careless. When following my master, I didn’t learn many proprieties either, so the Yun family doesn’t have many rules. But if you continue staying in Daya’s room, the Yun family will have no propriety at all.”
“Big Brother is one of the world’s rare wise men—why also be constrained by worldly taboos? Little brother and Daya are perfectly suited to each other. Who cares about worldly gossip?”
Hearing Dan Ying’s ridiculous words, Yun Ye slapped the back of his head and said in thunderous rage: “We live in the mortal world, not in an immortal’s mansion. In the mortal world, we should follow their principles and rules. Those who are wildly unrestrained are all fools. No one’s stopping you from marrying Daya—hurry up and prepare betrothal gifts, a bridal sedan, find a matchmaker to come to the door, match the horoscopes, choose an auspicious date. Then even if you two stick together every day, I’ll only be happy and won’t say a word.”
Dan Ying scratched the back of his head and said carelessly: “Big Brother, you’re troubling yourself. Little brother is now alone in the world—the Yun family is little brother’s home. Just handle these things as you see fit. Even marrying into the family is fine.”
Dan Ying’s words made Yun Ye’s eyes redden slightly. What kind of words were these for a young hero to say? Ding Yanping’s betrayal of him had left him utterly heartbroken. If not for caring about Daya’s feelings for him, this bastard probably even had thoughts of becoming a monk. Among those who’d hurt him, he himself had a share—perhaps even bore primary responsibility. He’d played schemes and tricks quite perfectly, the only thing he hadn’t considered was Dan Ying’s feelings. After these years together, he truly liked this straightforward young man.
Thinking of this, he came to the writing desk, picked up a brush and wrote a marriage contract, then handed it to Dan Ying. Dan Ying took it and looked, preparing to thank him with a smile, but seeing Yun Ye’s ashen face, didn’t know what to do.
“Now I’m your true elder brother, qualified to discipline you on behalf of your parents. Kneel down!” These words Yun Ye forced out from between his teeth, word by word.
Hearing this, Dan Ying knelt without hesitation. Daya, both shy and frightened, also knelt down. Looking at the two people kneeling before him, Yun Ye took a deep breath, picked up a bamboo ruler from the desk and heavily struck Dan Ying’s back. Daya wanted to speak but was stopped by her brother’s icy gaze. She could only watch her brother beat Dan Ying with tears flowing.
When the bamboo ruler cracked, Yun Ye tossed it aside and asked Dan Ying: “Do you know your fault?”
Having taken a beating, Dan Ying seemed to have gotten a bargain and said with a smile: “Big Brother’s lesson is correct. Little brother shouldn’t have taken family things to give to outsiders, and shouldn’t have angered you.”
“I wanted to throw away that rotten jade pendant long ago—it’s nothing good. That thing was made by me—I can have as many as I want. Was it worth you stealing? If you’d asked me, wouldn’t I have given it to you? Ding Yanping was originally part of my plan. Even if you didn’t take it, I would have given it to him. Don’t you understand the strategy of sacrificing the plum for the peach? Now, do you think this beating was unjust?”
Dan Ying’s eyes nearly fell from their sockets as he stammered: “You originally planned to let Ding Yanping take the jade pendant to shield the family from disaster? I’m the fool who charged in on my own?”
“What do you think? With such a calamity in the house, who could sleep soundly? This time it was Ding Yanping—next time it might be Wang Yanping or Li Yanping and such fellows appearing. Could our family still live peacefully? If this guy hadn’t been useful, would I have let him live until a few days ago to die?”
“You think I don’t have means to send him to hell in one stroke? Big Brother has some methods you couldn’t dream of. I painstakingly arranged traps, and what happened? You foolishly charged in yourself and got yourself severely injured both physically and mentally. Can’t you give me a heads-up about things? We’re all family now—what can’t be said? So this beating isn’t for taking things, nor for staying at Daya’s place for three days. It’s for having no confidence in your own family.”
“Now get to Luoyang and prepare a residence for the wedding and betrothal gifts. Go to the academy and find a gentleman with status to propose marriage for you. The Yun family is a prestigious household in Chang’an—we can’t lose face. Hurry up and get lost.” Having finished the lecture, Yun Ye walked out with his hands behind his back. Not one person in the whole household gave him peace of mind. Xiao Ya’s Hanhan finally did die of obesity after all, causing Xiao Ya to cry on her bed and refuse to see anyone. Just thinking about it was vexing.
Daya watched her brother enter Xiao Ya’s room. When she turned back to look at Dan Ying, she found him laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath. She quickly rubbed his chest and back. After a long while, Dan Ying finally recovered and said solemnly to Daya: “In the future, you can’t mention this stupid matter in front of me. Mention it once and watch me beat you once. Also, I’m this stupid—you’re not allowed to look down on me.”
Daya’s head nodded like a chicken pecking rice. Covering her mouth, she laughed and said: “My husband is still that upstanding man. Though not as clever as my big brother, he’s still a rarely intelligent person. Little sister is very satisfied. However, first let me look at your back. Big Brother struck with deadly force just now—the ruler even cracked.”
Dan Ying bared his teeth and twisted his shoulders, saying to Daya: “Big Brother is frail—trying to hurt me is too difficult. Stay home properly. I’ll go to Luoyang to find a good house, prepare the betrothal gifts, and come fetch you. I don’t have much money—remember to ask Big Brother for more dowry. Several hundred mouths are waiting to be fed over there.”
After saying this, he hugged Daya and strode away in high spirits. Without his psychological burden, he felt completely relaxed, only somewhat regretful for disrupting his big brother’s plan.
Xiao Ya hugged her pillow and curled up at the foot of the bed. Xiao Wu was eating the delicacies Xinyue had prepared for Xiao Ya. Di Renjie occasionally took a bite with his chopsticks, seeming a bit shy, feeling he’d come to comfort Xiao Ya, not to eat her food.
Xiao Wu stuffed a large piece of egg pancake in her mouth and said while chewing: “Xiao Ya, your pig died—what’s the big deal? When my father died, I didn’t even shed tears. You’ve cried your eyes swollen—only Master feels sorry for you. Why make Master worry over a pig? These days the household hasn’t been peaceful. Master has been busy inside and out, battling wits with people, and you’re throwing tantrums—that’s not right. The pine flower cakes Mistress sent taste amazing. I heard they’re a secret recipe from the Hua family in the West Market—they melt in your mouth. If you don’t eat, I’ll finish them. Look, Di Renjie has already eaten a lot.”
“Xiao Wu, you’re slandering me again. I only ate one small piece—you ate all the rest.” Di Renjie couldn’t stand being wrongly accused and rebutted with a red neck.
Xiao Ya saw her brother walk in and, pouting, buried herself in his embrace sobbing. Yun Ye patted her back and said: “Hanhan was probably the happiest pig to die in the world—literally fattened to death. What other pig has such good fortune? It’s because you cared for it well. Whoever Xiao Ya cares for is blessed. Isn’t that right, Xiao Wu?”
“Of course! Just look whose young lady she is. Xiao Ya is mighty!” Xiao Wu’s mouth still hadn’t swallowed the pine flower cake, but the torrent of flattery already came over.
Hearing everyone praising her, Xiao Ya shyly lowered her head. This child had a pair of big ears, and even her ear tips blushed red with embarrassment.
“Then hurry and eat the pine flower cakes, or Xiao Wu will finish them. You know how she eats—there’s never enough.” Just as Yun Ye finished speaking, Xiao Ya climbed down from his embrace and pounced on the table. She’d actually been craving them for a long time.
Instructing the three to play nicely and not fight over food, Yun Ye watched Dan Ying rushing toward the back courtyard and smiled. Household harmony and beauty was the path to longevity.
Yun Ye holed up at home hibernating. For over a month he went nowhere. He vaguely heard that a newly established foreign temple was burned to the ground. When he asked He Tianshang, who came to the house to mooch food, he shook his head very innocently, saying this was a blood case—the murderer spared not even the smallest child servant. Several leading elderly missionaries were all burned alive. As for several leaders of the Fire-Worshipping religion, one of them put himself in the fire to roast, reportedly because he found Chang’an’s winter too cold and wanted to warm up properly.
Whatever words came from his mouth completely lost any need to be believed. If the person handling this wasn’t He Tianshang, Yun Ye wouldn’t believe it no matter what. This fellow had now become the Zhangu of the Ministry of Justice—he’d entered the ranks. The command arrow in his hand hadn’t been recalled by the Emperor—who knew why? Command arrows were supposed to be one-time-use items that must be returned after completing a task. It seemed this fellow’s mission wasn’t finished yet.
The Bearded Stranger finally waited for Hong Funü to return to normal. He said he wanted to accompany his master, the old Daoist monk, back to the Eastern Sea. Li Jing specifically asked to borrow a ship from Yun Ye for this, specifying by name that he wanted a sturdy seagoing vessel. He’d provide the sailors himself and had already sent the ship payment to the military camp early. Needless to say, this was prepared for the Bearded Stranger. The Bearded Stranger moved a lot of wine from the Yun residence. By the looks of it, he wasn’t planning to return—he’d probably restore his might in the Eastern Sea and see how much of his foundation remained.
That jade pendant that caused disputes among all parties suddenly disappeared in Hebei territory. It was only heard that the final possessor was a burly giant. Hearing this, Yun Ye always had a bad premonition. He always felt this jade pendant would grow legs and run back to the Yun family on its own. If that were the case, what exactly had he accomplished? Just to make the jade pendant take a lap?