Chapter 77: The Big Bad Guy is the Wife and Concubine PART 1
They passed through the crescent gate.
Wei Wanlan and Xiao Ji sprinted deeper into the courtyard, both of them gasping for air, their lungs feeling ready to burst. But neither dared to stop.
…After all, they were well aware that their combined combat power was less than five. If some clever guard from the front hall decided to double back and check on things, they’d be done for if they were caught.
Luckily, they were fast enough, and for the moment, no one was behind them.
“Huffâhuffâhuffâ“
The air was filled with the sound of their ragged breathing, a discordant rhythm like two broken bellows working at different speeds.
They ran a good distance from the crescent gate before Wei Wanlan was the first to stop. His legs were sore and aching, and his throat burned. A wave of fear washed over him, a sudden terror that he might cough up a mouthful of hot blood.
Frightened, Wei Wanlan bent over, pressing his hands on his thighs, his eyes growing hotter.
Xiao Ji, being a bit older than Wei Wanlan, had slightly better stamina, but he was also at his limit. Seeing the state Wei Wanlan was in, he panted, “Young… Young Master, we’ve… we’ve survived. Don’t panic, don’t be afraid. I have… have a new line. Let me recite a poem for you…”
Though still bent over and gasping, Wei Wanlan managed to lift his head. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his eyes were red-rimmed. “At a time like this… you still have a poem?”
“Yes… yes, I do,” Xiao Ji said, clutching his chest. He furrowed his brow, and a fine poem immediately came to mind. “It’s one I composed myself, A Difficult Journey. ‘Wind kicks up dust and darkens the sky, the slow journey becomes more arduous. But where the mountain path twists and turns, a bright moon illuminates a thousand peaks. The flower shadowsâ'”
A flower shadow swayed.
A figure landed precisely between the two of them, appearing out of nowhere in the inner courtyard.
The poetic mood was shattered by Fu Jun dropping from the sky.
Wei Wanlan looked up, his gaze unintentionally drawn to Fu Jun. His red-rimmed, doe-like eyes instantly filled with the man’s image, and the stinging sensation grew stronger. Then, he felt a hand press against his back.
Wei Wanlan blinked, his eyelids fluttering.
He didn’t know what technique the owner of the hand was using, but it moved down his spine to soothe his breathing, then back up again. After this was repeated two or three times, Wei Wanlan’s breathing gradually stabilized.
He was so exhausted that he could only rest his forehead against Fu Jun’s chest, his senses filled with that woody, fragrant scent. His heart beat a few beats faster, but it was a different kind of acceleration from what was caused by strenuous exercise.
So, as soon as he could stand steady, Wei Wanlan moved away from Fu Jun.
Fu Jun remained as aloof and arrogant as ever, as if what he had just done was a mere trifle, an act of pity. He was tall and imposing, the golden peonies embroidered on his collar catching the eye. With his hands clasped behind his back, he had the air of a great heroâimpossible to ignore, and even more eye-catching.
“I grabbed a tongue from the guards fighting the fire. Yuan Xizai’s bedchambers are straight ahead.”
Wei Wanlan clapped. “The great hero is amazing!”
It was just a shame about Xiao Ji’s fine poem; the latter half would surely have been even more beautiful. Since Fu Jun had cut it short, Wei Wanlan, trying to be fair, also clapped and said, “The Valiant Warrior is amazing too.”
But the “too” in his praise made it sound less sincere than his compliment for Fu Jun.
Though Xiao Ji was content, a faint sense of rivalry stirred within him. Still panting, he said, “Young Master, in my opinion, the decorative style of this inner courtyard is quite different from the outer one. Have you carefully observed the layout and the ground here?”
“What’s wrong with the layout and the ground?” Wei Wanlan asked.
Xiao Ji explained, “In the outer courtyard, only the couplet on the main hall gives a slight hint of Yuan Xizai’s aesthetic taste. This inner courtyard, however, is an extremely refined scholar’s garden. Let me give you the simplest example.”
Xiao Ji tapped the ground with the tip of his foot.
“This is called a panchang pattern pavement. Panchang is a Buddhist term meaning ‘intertwined and winding, yet completely clear and unobstructed.’ The gardens of ordinary officials are usually decorated with crane or cloud patterns, or sometimes fish scale, swastika, or coin patterns. The paving stones in this rear courtyard are exceptionally well-thought-out.”
Fu Jun had been walking straight ahead, paying no mind to the floor. But Wei Wanlan was fascinated, finding it quite interesting.
Fu Jun stopped, his hands still behind his back.
Wei Wanlan examined the paving stones in the moonlight. Trying not to appear overly curious, he still crouched down and picked at one of the smooth, round stones that formed the panchang pattern.
There’s so much to it? he thought. Who goes to a park and studies the rocks! He couldn’t help but give a mental thumbs-up to Xiao Ji’s vast knowledge.
Xiao Ji continued, “It’s not just the stones on the ground. The ‘twisting mountain path,’ the ‘moon illuminating a thousand peaks’⌠now that I think about it, my poetic inspiration was stirred by the scenery of this inner courtyard as we were running. This is a deliberately crafted landscaping effect.”
Was the rear courtyard of this Governor’s Office really that impressive? Wei Wanlan’s ears twitched slightly.
Fu Jun scoffed and continued walking forward, his gaze fixed ahead, as if he were the only person there, until he reached Yuan Xizai’s bedchambers.
They encountered no more guards after that.
The door to the bedchambers was closed. There were no lights on inside. There were no servants outside. It seemed Yuan Xizai did not keep anyone on night duty when he rested.
What was striking about the exterior of the bedchambers was another couplet in gold characters on a black background. Unlike the plaque on the main hall, the calligraphy here was in the Slender Gold style. The strokes were long, slender, and elegant, yet they possessed a powerful, sinewy strength. Between the couplets was a plaque, also in the Slender Gold style, with four characters written on it.
“Feng Ya Ren Jian? (An Elegant World?)” Wei Wanlan murmured. The characters were similar enough in their simplified and traditional forms for him to read. In the bottom right corner was Yuan Xizai’s personal seal.
Elegant, magnificent, noble, and luxurious. Yuan Xizai’s personal aesthetic taste was becoming clearer.
Fu Jun, however, was unmoved by all this calligraphy and art, acting as if he hadn’t seen it at all.
Xiao Ji was different. As a master of standard and running script himself, he stood beneath the plaque and murmured, almost in a daze, “Exquisite calligraphy. Without decades of daily practice, it would be impossible to achieve such brushwork.”
He’s that skilled? Wei Wanlan wondered.
Because of this calligraphy, this courtyard, this design⌠Wei Wanlan found the man even more inscrutable. Before coming to the Luoyang Governor’s Office, his image of Yuan Xizai had been that of a pot-bellied, evil-doing, fat-headed corrupt official from the book. But since entering the office, Wei Wanlan had found him to be sensitive and suspicious, then two-faced, and now, seeing these highly personal works of calligraphy, he realized that Yuan Xizai was not only wealthy but also quite talented.
The image of the great corrupt official in his mind went from a simple label to something much more complex.
His sense of regret was also very direct. Wei Wanlan sighed softly. “To think that such a man is a great corrupt official.”
The door was bolted from the inside.
Fu Jun strode up the steps to the door and drew his sword. The blade shimmered like flowing water in the moonlight. Wei Wanlan stood beside him, and the blade reflected half of his small, pointed face. Fu Jun’s gaze rested on the sword for a moment before he quickly looked away.
The thin edge of the sword slipped into the crack of Yuan Xizai’s bedchamber door. Fu Jun made a motion to lift it upwards.
Wei Wanlan knew this technique; he was trying to lift the bolt so they could open the door. But Wei Wanlan’s brow furrowed, and he pursed his lips, a little worried. When the bolt was lifted, it would inevitably lose its balance and fall with a loud crash. That would create a huge noise. If Yuan Xizai was inside, or if there were still guards nearby, they would be drawn by the sound, and their mission to find evidence would be a complete failure.
Fu Jun lifted the sword blade higher and higher.
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