Xin Shang Xiong Shi Pan Qing

Yang Ruo Ning Chapter 11

When Fan Lou had fresh and special ingredients, it was the time for the lords of the capital to host gatherings there. Today, Tibetan wine had arrived, and the skillful chefs at Fan Lou took the opportunity to introduce seasonal side dishes that paired well with the wine. Before darkness fell, officials who heard the news rushed in, calling friends and inviting companions, to drink and revel in Fan Lou until they were intoxicated.

The manager probably felt that Yang Ruoning was not talkative and appeared to be a relatively smart and agile "old woman," so he temporarily assigned Yang Ruoning to serve in the VIP room. This job was simple: wait in the corner for instructions.

Those high and low officials, scholars, and wealthy merchants who were impeccably dressed during the day, after a slight intoxication, gradually shed their daytime etiquette and decorum, becoming somewhat boisterous. They raised their wine cups in one hand and let the other wander over the women accompanying them, either laughing heartily and toasting, or arguing heatedly with flushed faces. Yang Ruoning found these men annoying, so she withdrew and waited in the long corridor outside the door.

This was a luxurious private room on the top floor of Fan Lou, only accessible to the most distinguished guests. Yang Ruoning stood in the outer corridor, gazing at the imperial city illuminated by the moonlight not far away. She hadn't seen Qingye for several days, probably busy with state affairs. She heard that the northern border had been unstable recently, with Jin Kingdom cavalry frequently harassing them from the south; and the annual imperial examinations were also imminent, which Qingye had to personally preside over and review. Yang Ruoning couldn't quite imagine how Qingye, a playful and innocent person, could live in the seemingly solemn and dull palace.

The guests in the room opposite were clearly much quieter than those on her side. The windows were half-covered, and the gentle sound of silk and bamboo mingled with conversations. At first, they discussed matters of state and border warfare. After a few rounds of wine, the atmosphere relaxed, and they began to chat casually.

Their conversation was likely about one person who was not yet married, and others took the opportunity to enthusiastically promote their own daughters. But that person remained silent, and his intentions were unknown. Seeing this, everyone, fueled by wine, asked him if he already had someone in mind. After a moment of silence, he replied, "In fact, I have already had a beloved." The crowd then began to ask him in a barrage of questions, "Whose daughter is she?" "How did you meet?"

Amidst the crowd's rapid-fire questions, Yang Ruoning did not hear his answer. The crowd likely found it tiresome and did not continue asking, instead turning to drinking and humming tunes.

Shortly after, someone pushed open the door. Yang Ruoning heard the movement and looked back, only to see that the person emerging from the room was Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan was startled to see Yang Ruoning standing outside the door.

She smiled at him and waved, greeting him. "Hi."

The corners of his mouth curved into a handsome arc. "Miss Yang," he said, walking over to her.

They leaned side by side on the railing, gazing at the imperial palace not far away, in silence for a moment. Yang Ruoning was a little curious, trying to guess Luo Yuan's thoughts at that moment, given that he would be its master someday.

"That tallest building is where the Emperor presides over important ceremonies," he suddenly said, pointing to the tallest hall with a golden roof in the distance. "And the one behind it, slightly larger, is the Emperor's sleeping quarters, and the smaller one behind that is the Empress's."

Yang Ruoning followed the direction of his finger. She asked curiously, "Why are the Empress and the Emperor so far apart? Isn't that inconvenient?"

"Hmm... that makes sense. I also think it's too far to live," Luo Yuan replied. "Spouses should live together. The Emperor and Empress should also be like this."

"Ah~ I see. Perhaps the Emperor sleeps with different women every night, so it's too inconvenient to sleep with the Empress," Yang Ruoning continued.

"If he meets the destined woman, the Emperor can also marry only one Empress," he turned his head and said to Yang Ruoning somewhat seriously.

Yang Ruoning glanced at him. "How is that possible? Even if it's not for lust, wouldn't there be many concubines to have more children?"

Luo Yuan smiled slightly. "The Emperor only needs children with the Empress, doesn't he?"

"This is just your beautiful wish. I just saw some data a few days ago that said the average lifespan of Chinese emperors was only 39.2 years. Many died from excessive indulgence in lust." She glanced back at the room behind her. "Look, these people are not even at the pinnacle of power, and they are already like this. How can the Emperor be an exception? Besides, are all these women in the harem truly for love? They are more for wealth and status."

Yang Ruoning saw Luo Yuan fall silent for a moment and felt she had spoken out of turn again. She scratched her head and chuckled apologetically. "Hehe, I just read what others said occasionally. This is not my idea. Of course, you are very different from those people."

Luo Yuan smiled slightly. "I didn't expect you to think that way. But I am very curious, what is it like where you come from?"

"Where I come from? We don't have emperors. We practice monogamy, but people get married and divorced. Marriage is a promise, a contract, a responsibility. Perhaps some are also for love."

"What is love?"

Yang Ruoning was stunned. She felt it was an unanswerable question. What is love? A thousand people have a thousand answers.

Yang Ruoning said, "Love is like a ghost story. Everyone has heard of it, but very few have seen it."

She then remembered what he had just said, that he already had someone in mind. "But don't lose faith in love." Yang Ruoning patted his shoulder to encourage him.

Luo Yuan's bright eyes held a smile. He adjusted his posture leaning against the railing but did not respond.

Yang Ruoning asked again, "Isn't General Luo's beloved also very fortunate? To make General Luo so devoted, she must be very beautiful too, right?" Yang Ruoning asked, looking at the imperial city.

"...Miss Yang heard?"

Yang Ruoning turned back and smiled apologetically at him. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just happened to hear it."

"...But I don't know if she will like me too."

"Hey, don't be discouraged. General Luo is so handsome..." She said it too quickly, almost uttering the word "bewitching" that Sū Sū often used to describe him. She quickly corrected herself. "...tall and handsome. That girl will definitely fall for you."

He chuckled out loud. "Is that so? Then I'll take your good wishes. I hope she falls under my 'robes' soon."

After finishing work that night, Yang Ruoning went to the wine cellar to secretly fetch wine again. Tonight was super lucky; a large jar of wine was placed by the window near the door. Yang Ruoning scooped a ladleful and took a sip. This thousand-year-old wine, lacking the taste of alcohol, tasted more like grape juice. After gulping down a large ladleful, she refilled a large cup and returned contentedly.

She sat in the central courtyard garden, drinking wine and waiting for Sū Sū.

A moment later, the sound of light footsteps echoed from the corridor, and Sū Sū arrived. She immediately spotted the preserved plum cake on the table, her eyes lighting up. "Sister, where did you get this preserved plum cake?"

The preserved plum cake was a special offering at the building recently, made with fresh plums of the season. Since it was a limited special offering for distinguished guests, there was no way for servants like them to get any. But today, a guest had left some leftovers. She managed to get a few pieces and thought of bringing them for Sū Sū to try. She pushed the preserved plum cake in front of Sū Sū. "I saved this for you, eat it all."

Sū Sū shouted excitedly, picked up a piece, and put it in her mouth. While chewing, she said to Yang Ruoning, "Sister, Hua Ma asked you to go to the girls' courtyard tomorrow to attend class with us."

Yang Ruoning stopped her drawing brush and looked up in confusion. "Me? Why?"

"I don't know. Perhaps she wants you to learn some etiquette."

"Okay, I understand," Yang Ruoning said, nodding.

Sū Sū then asked, "Sister, when did you and General Luo meet?"

"Hmm?"

"You seem very familiar with General Luo."

Yang Ruoning frowned. "Do you remember the day we were together? That was the first time I met General Luo."

Sū Sū frowned. "You seem to have known General Luo for a long time. I have never seen General Luo smile at anyone, not even Hui Niang."

Yang Ruoning tilted her head, pretending to think. "Perhaps... because I look very funny."

Sū Sū burst into laughter. "Sister, I think you look very special. But I can't say where exactly. You are not as outstandingly beautiful as Hui Niang, just... um... different from all the girls I've met."

She suddenly lowered her voice and leaned closer to Yang Ruoning. "Sister, you wouldn't be the beloved General Luo was talking about, would you?"

Yang Ruoning found it a bit speechless and amusing. "Hehe, sister is an aunt, an aunt! How could she be that General Luo's beloved? Your reasoning ability is really baffling." Yang Ruoning lightly tapped Sū Sū's head with her brush handle.

Sū Sū pouted and nodded. "That's true. Sister doesn't seem like the type General Luo would like. But why does Qingye always come looking for you?"

"Ha, because he has too much time on his hands."

Speaking of Qingye, through their interactions in the past few days, Yang Ruoning had learned some of his situation from Qingye's rambling drunken confessions.

In general, his father died before he was born, and he became emperor at birth. Due to his young age, his uncle, the Prime Minister, had been the regent and handled state affairs. Qingye said that his uncle always thought he was still a child and knew little about state affairs, so he never let him make decisions on any major or minor matters in court. In earlier years, the Empress Dowager, his mother, would protect him, but in recent years, due to poor health, she went to a temple two years ago to practice Buddhism wholeheartedly and rarely concerned herself with palace affairs.

After learning this, Yang Ruoning felt even more sympathy for Qingye from the bottom of her heart. She felt that Qingye would actually be a good emperor. For example, he had once mentioned to Yang Ruoning that he wanted to establish shelters in various places to provide refuge and food for stray children on the streets; he also wanted to implement tax reduction policies to ease the burden on the struggling poor at the lowest level. However, all these good ideas were rejected by his uncle.

Qingye seemed to have truly regarded her as a friend he could talk to, and Yang Ruoning also liked this simple and lovely young man, considering him her first friend in this world. Perhaps it was also because she knew of his tragic future that a natural instinct to pity and protect him arose within her.