After dinner, Yang Liushi went back to her room to practice the guqin and read books.
A fox spirit with artistic pursuits, it’s indeed a strange and wonderful world.
As for Liang Qin, who didn’t know Yang Liushi’s “good intentions,” the servant said she had returned to the Liang Manor, probably still fuming.
From noble mtl dot come
Wei Changtian didn’t have the enthusiasm to go comfort his childhood friend, and after assigning Ah Chun some training tasks, he also returned to his room to sort out his recent plans.
In the spacious inner room, candles were lit, and many items from his room in the Wei Manor were placed around.
These were probably brought by Yuaner to help him adapt to the new environment.
However, no matter how familiar the environment was, it wasn’t the same as that noisy little courtyard.
Hey, do I count as having a family now?
Wei Changtian laughed self-mockingly, thinking that the things he had dreamed of in his past life were now within reach.
In his past life, he was born into a not-so-affluent family, and his parents worked hard for half their lives, but their salary growth couldn’t keep up with housing prices, making it impossible for them to save up for a down payment on a house for their son working in the city.
But his girlfriend at the time was very demanding, and in the end, his parents decided to sell their own house to help their son buy one, even if it meant renting a place themselves.
When Wei Changtian learned about this, he didn’t hesitate at all, and finally asked his girlfriend the question he had asked countless times before—
Was it true that you couldn’t get married without a house?
My girlfriend replied, “No discussion, and I want 200,000 yuan as a dowry.”
Wei Changtian nodded: “Break up.”
The girlfriend he had been with for over two years had hooked up with a local colleague within a month… That’s another story, and we won’t mention it again.
Before crossing over, he couldn’t even afford a house of his own, and after crossing over, Wei Changtian still lived in the Wei Manor and hadn’t “established his own household.”
But now everything has changed.
Not only has he “established his own household,” but it also means that for the next three years, at least, he won’t have Wei Xianzhi and Qin Caizhen to back him up.
Although he was still standing under the shade of the Wei family’s big tree, in this distant city of Shuzhou, far from the emperor’s feet, most people probably only knew him as “Wei Changtian, the one who killed the prime minister,” and didn’t know him as “Wei Changtian, the only son of the Wei family.”
Everything had to rely on himself now.
He stretched his lazy waist, and Wei Changtian was about to call Zhang San to discuss some serious business.
However, when he got to the words, he suddenly froze.
What day was it today?
The 15th of the tenth month in the lunar calendar?
Damn it!
It was his birthday!
Not the previous owner’s, but his own birthday!
If he hadn’t crossed over, he would probably be celebrating with a few friends, eating birthday cake.
Hmm… or maybe with his new girlfriend.
His parents would have sent a WeChat message early in the morning, with content like “Our son has grown another year older, Mom and Dad will always love you.”
And then someone would send him a 200-yuan birthday red envelope.
Alas, he had already graduated several years ago…
Speaking of which… should he do something to commemorate this special day?
There wouldn’t be any cake, but getting a pastry or a big bun shouldn’t be a problem.
There were candles too.
It was just that…
A scene suddenly flashed in his mind, with a big bun topped with three white candles, and he immediately rejected the idea.
If all else failed, should he sing a birthday song to himself?
That would be too pathetic…
Forget it! Who cares about birthdays!
Wei Changtian finally abandoned these messy thoughts, took a deep breath, and shouted towards the door:
“Zhang San!”
…
“Your Lordship.”
When Zhang San came in, Wei Changtian had already regained his composure.
He sorted out his thoughts and slowly said:
“There are a few things I want you to do, but we don’t have enough manpower now. Just take note for now, and when the Communion Society sends people from the capital, you can arrange it then.”
“I understand, Your Lordship.”
Zhang San nodded, and then listened as Wei Changtian listed out his instructions:
“First, I want to know the daily routine of that Chu Xianping I met at the Suspended Mirror Agency today. Where he went, who he met, what he did – as long as it’s not discovered by him, the more detailed the better.”
“Second, I plan to dig a few secret rooms in this mansion, as well as a tunnel leading directly outside. Find someone to design it properly.”
“Third, we need to investigate the situation of all the residents around us, especially the widow and her son next door.”
“Fourth, prepare some thick gifts for me. I’ll be visiting the Heavenly Luo Temple in a few days, and I’ll also take the opportunity to gather some information about the temple, even if it’s just a rough idea.”
“Do you remember?”
“I remember.”
Zhang San carefully recalled the “no trivial matters” principle mentioned by Wei Changtian earlier and didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he thought for a moment before saying:
“Master, the first and third tasks are still beyond my capabilities for now, but I can handle the second and fourth tasks.”
“Alright, then you can start with those two tasks, and we’ll discuss the rest when more people arrive.”
“Yes, Master.”
Zhang San bowed and accepted the order: “Do you have any further instructions?”
“No… there’s one more thing later.”
Wei Changtian smiled and said: “Go get the wine.”
……
After a while.
No cake, no birthday song, no close friends or family.
Wei Changtian simply leaned against the open window, drinking alone.
Although it was already winter, the coldest time of the year in Shu State didn’t freeze, so the night wasn’t particularly cold. The gentle evening breeze was just right.
This window faced the front courtyard of the residence, where Yang Liu’s room was located diagonally across. A faint sound of the qin (a traditional Chinese zither) came from within.
It seemed that, with nothing better to do, the idle Xiao’er was sitting under the eaves, humming a small tune in harmony with the qin sound.
Neither the qin nor the humming was very clear, but they resonated with each other from afar.
When the qin sound was high, the humming was low.
When the humming was distant, the qin sound was near.
But regardless of the qin or humming, both contained a strong sense of homesickness.
Sister, Xiao’er’s homesickness was understandable, but why was Yang Liu playing this kind of tune?
Or should it be said that “familial demon” was more suitable?
Unbeknownst to himself, Wei Changtian’s thoughts had already become somewhat muddled, as if he was drunk.
In fact, it was difficult for cultivators who had entered the inner realm to get drunk.
However, being drunk or not didn’t solely depend on how much wine one drank.
The saying “one gets drunk on their own” referred to this idea.
He finished the wine in one cup, then poured himself another.
Cup after cup, he didn’t know how long he had been drinking, until Yang Liu suddenly appeared beside him.
She didn’t ask anything, silently accompanying Wei Changtian as he continued to drink for a while, until he became drunk and pointed at the full moon hanging in the night sky.
“Do you know what’s up there?”
“I don’t know.”
Yang Liu lifted her chin, gazing at the moon, then at Wei Changtian, waiting for an answer for a long time.
“There’s nothing.”
“But isn’t it said in books that there are fairies on the moon?”
“There’s no such thing as fairies, it’s all nonsense.”
Wei Changtian “thudded” and fell into Yang Liu’s arms, mumbling and asking again: “Do you know why the moon has phases?”
Yang Liu gently hugged Wei Changtian and softly asked: “Why?”
“Because…”
Wei Changtian buried his face in something soft, his voice muffled.
“Forget it, you won’t understand even if I say it.”
“…”
Yang Liushi was taken aback, but soon broke into a smile.
“Prince, are you thinking of the capital city?”
“Old… I’m thinking of the earth…”
“The… earth?”
“…”
This time, Yang Liushi waited for a long time but didn’t get a response. She carefully listened and discovered that Wei Changtian had fallen asleep.
She was afraid that Wei Changtian would catch a cold, so she reluctantly tried to close the wooden window.
But just then, a broken sentence came from his chest.
“But… wishing we last forever, sharing the beauty of the moon…”
“…”
Yang Liushi was stunned, her gaze lingering on the round moon for a long, long time.
“Prince, from now on, every year on this day, I’ll accompany you in drinking…”
“No more drinking…”
Wei Changtian mumbled in his sleep:
“I’m only drunk this once…”