008 Dream Revisited

Chapter 8

Zhao Liran watched Sang Hongyun walk away before finally turning around. “Shunzi, help me back.”

From a distance, An Zichen followed behind Zhao Liran, his eyes burning with jealousy. When Zhao Liran turned, his gaze was icy cold.

Shunzi whispered, “Your Highness, Captain Sang truly has a hard life. So many people schemed against her; if she weren’t so clever, the mansion would have been awash in blood last night! Who knows if Captain Sang would have survived until today!”

Zhao Liran replied, “She would never die so easily.”

Shunzi glanced at his master. “That year, Your Highness was besieged by the Tartars for seven days and nights, and no one came to your aid…”

Sitting inside the carriage, Zhao Liran continued, “Only she brought five hundred men…”

As Shunzi and Zhao Liran’s carriage receded into the distance, An Zichen mounted his horse and looked back at the Sang residence for a long while, calculations forming in his mind. Finally, he said, “Let’s go home.”

On the day of the Sang family’s funeral, the sky was heavy with rolling black clouds, as if a storm were imminent.

Sang Hongyun, holding the memorial tablet of Marquis Sang Cheng, led the procession, with the entire Sang family following behind.

As they passed various residences, people stood by the roadside with wine and paper offerings, bidding Sang Cheng farewell.

Sang Hongyun knelt and thanked each one. When they reached the grave, she watched the fresh earth fall onto the coffin, and her eyes grew misty with unshed tears.

Sang Hongyun fell ill, and the Sang manor was thrown into sudden chaos.

Sang Fu summoned the physician.

“The old marquis has passed, and the young lady, grief-stricken and having rushed back from the border without a moment’s rest, is utterly exhausted,” Sang Fu explained.

The physician replied, “I’ll prescribe a few tonics to nourish her body.”

In Marquis Sang Cheng’s study, Sang Hongyun glared at the old marquis. “What absurd banquet? I’m not going. I’d rather return to the northwest. I’m turning into a pampered glutton staying here!”

The old marquis, bristling with anger, retorted, “If you don’t go, forget about ever seeing the northwest again. Your father will go alone, and you’d better marry a good man soon!”

Sang Hongyun turned to leave, but the old marquis’s voice rang out again, “Girl, if you don’t go, you’ll regret it!”

“What’s there to regret? Even if I do, it’s you, Grandfather, who’d be troubled. Not a hair on my head will be lost!” she shot back.

Bang!

Just as she reached the door, a swift sound whooshed behind her. She nimbly dodged, and a brush holder landed right in front of her.

“Grandfather, not again!”

A glimmer of approval flashed in the old marquis’s eyes, though he said, “No propriety at all, you unruly girl. You’re uncouth and wild. Your mother has prepared your clothes and jewelry. If you dare shirk again, it won’t just be a brush holder next time—hmph!”

With a playful pout, Sang Hongyun relented, “Fine, Grandfather, I’ll go, I’ll go! Is that not enough?”

She thought to herself that she never wanted to suffer such indignity again—it was too much, enduring these sneak attacks time and again.

The next morning, the old marquis waited at the door for Sang Hongyun.

Sang Hongyun let the maids dress her. When the last golden cloud hairpin was secured in her coiffure, a chorus of gasps sounded around her.

“The young lady is truly stunning!”

“She looks so different today—so much softer and more graceful!”

Sang Hongyun smiled. “What’s so different?”

A maid answered, “She’s less imposing now, more gentle and refined.”

Sang Hongyun tapped Sang Ye on the head. “Gentle? Gentle my foot! Let’s get moving!”

Sang Yu laughed, lifted the curtain, and Sang Hongyun, gathering her rosy gold-threaded skirt, stepped out the door.

Sang Ling shook her head. “If the young miss returns to the northwest, she probably won’t even bother with skirts anymore!”

Ling Ye nudged Sang Ling. “Enough chatter, let’s go!”

The old marquis watched Sang Hongyun, eyes brimming with affection. This was his beloved granddaughter, blooming like a flower bud; a simple touch of adornment and she outshone all the other women, pleasing to the eye in every way.

“Now, that’s more like it!” he declared.

Sang Hongyun hugged Sang Cheng’s arm. “Grandfather, let me ride in the carriage with you!”

The old marquis pursed his lips and struggled before replying, “We’re the Marquis of the Nation, people who ride to survive on horseback—how could we sit in a carriage and let others look down on us? Go, ride with your cousins, or with your mother if you must!”

Sang Zhongyang sat with Madam Sang in the carriage, peeking out the half-open curtain to watch their daughter clinging to her father, their eyes full of love.

An Residence.

An Zichen and several young officials sat in the lakeside pavilion, admiring the lotuses and reciting poetry, music and laughter mingling in the air.

As An Zichen sipped his tea, five figures emerged gracefully from across the lake. A light breeze sent ripples across the water, and with every step, the woman in the moon-white jacket and peach-pink, gold-threaded skirt, with her slender waist swaying like a willow, seemed to strike a chord in An Zichen’s heart.

He held his breath, transfixed.

Someone teased, “Young Master An, have you been so captivated by a beauty that you’ve spilled your tea without noticing?”

Startled, An Zichen returned to himself, only to realize with embarrassment that a patch of tea had stained his embroidered robe.

“I’ll go change my clothes.”

Sharp-eyed companions were already pointing across the lake. “Look, whose lovely daughter is that? One smile and the world brightens!”

Another exclaimed, “Perhaps she’s from a newly transferred family in the capital!”

“Judging by her bearing, she could be a princess or a noble lady!”

“There’s a beauty in the palace just like her. What are you waiting for? When you’re old, you’ll regret not asking the Emperor for her hand!”

“I’d like to try…”

Sang Hongyun, smiling, said to Sang Ling, “Thankfully, there’s such a pleasant place for us to escape to, so we don’t have to waste time chatting idly with those simpering ladies.”

Sang Ling replied, “Miss, you’re just out of place here. Which other family in the capital has a daughter serving in the army? Just listen to what they say—always about mixing with the men, stinking of sweat as if that’s something to boast about!”

Sang Hongyun laughed, “The capital may be dazzling, but there’s far less scheming at the border—it’s much cleaner.”

She had spent so long on the frontier battlefield that she truly feared she might never adapt to the life of nobility. Only on her own turf could she live freely.

Sang Ye piped up, “Miss, if you keep this up, you’ll never find a husband!”

She really did worry about her.

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