Chapter 47 - The Book of Strange Ambitions
Time swiftly moved into the end of June. The weather grew increasingly hotter. Cicadas incessantly chattered away in the trees. Pei Xuan took Cui Ti to the summer villa to escape the heat.
One by one, boxes were carried out, and the carriage awaited outside. Bai Tang, Hao Zhong, and Rao Liang acted like the tails of their master, following closely and obediently behind.
Pei Xuan assisted his wife into the carriage. The curtain was drawn, revealing an interior where a cooling mirror gave off a chilly aura. Inside, it was spacious and comfortable--- a world away from the heat outside.
A procession of nearly twenty people set off in an orderly manner. The roads of Xi Jing were smooth. The wheels of the carriage traversed the straight long streets. Inside, Cui Ti nestled in the embrace of her beloved. Her delicate hand brushed over the silver embroidery of her collar and asked, "What made you think of going to the villa? Isn't it good at home?"
Given the standards of the mansion, one needn't worry about the cold of winter or the heat of summer. Not only did the mansion have a stockpile, but when the weather grew hot, the palace would also bestow a few barrels of ice as a mark of favor.
Her question hit the mark. Pei Xuan's fair face blushed slightly. "Last night, under the moonlight in the courtyard, our intimate moment was witnessed by my mother."
Cui Ti's face flushed immediately. After a brief moment, she understood the implication. It must be that her mother-in-law disapproved of their overly affectionate behavior and thought it better out of sight, out of mind, thus sending them away.
But having their intimate act caught by an elder, she was immensely embarrassed and said in a playful scolding tone, "I told you we shouldn't be so reckless, but you insisted..."
The stars last night were radiant and the moonlight gentle. Although Cui Ti couldn't witness the beauty of the stars and the moon, she vividly saw the sparkling stars in the depths of Pei Xuan's eyes.
At first, they simply chatted and enjoyed the breeze. But later, somehow, they found themselves hidden behind the flower garden.
She remembered Pei Xuan biting her, and she cried out in pain, losing herself completely. She was so entranced that she couldn't even wait to get back to their room.
During one lucid moment, she was still overwhelmed by him, lost in passionate kisses under the open sky.
Ever since their wedding night, Pei Xuan remained the most sought-after 'M'lord' in Xi Jing. Yet, in front of her, this gentleman too had desires, moments when he'd abandon all restraint.
The strict morals of Da Zhao did not promote the free expressions of intimacy like the previous dynasties. Without firsthand experience, who would imagine that the disciplined and reserved Lord Pei also had a dominant side that wasn't immediately obvious?
Pei Xuan, at a youthful eighteen, was ambitious and advancing smoothly in his career. Harmonious with his spouse, he had begun to relish occasional bold endeavors.
At least, last night, Cui Ti looked ethereal, and the atmosphere was so charged that it would have been a shame not to act on it.
Thinking of that, her heart raced and her eyes heated up, "Actually, it was good she saw. At least from now on, mother won't just come and go from our courtyard so freely."
With a daughter grown and married, it's only right to give them space.
Cui Ti was annoyed at her own rationalization and turned away, ignoring him.
"My wife?"
He teased her by poking at her waist, causing Cui Ti to almost buckle, biting her lip to stifle a sound.
"Cui Ti?"
He received no response.
It was rare for her to show such a temperament. Pei Xuan found it novel. He tried to placate her with sweet words, but it only irritated her more. "This is exactly what you did last night, and you're doing it again. You think this will cool me down?"
Last night, Pei Xuan was a man lost to beauty. Today, he genuinely loved seeing her this animated. He said with a playful arch of his eyebrow, "Being angry is bad for health. How about you punch me a few times to let off steam?"
He grabbed her delicate fist and allowed her to hit his shoulder. After one punch, she followed with a few more.
Seeing herself being playful was too much for Cui Ti to bear. She struggled to pull away, but as she looked up, she met Pei Xuan's fervent gaze. Her heart felt like it was being gently held in a massive hand, making it impossible for her to resist him, causing her to feel flustered.
A soft chuckle.
Pei Xuan let go of her, straightening up, "My dear, I was wrong."
Aware of the hidden meaning in her words, Cui Ti didn't dare to ask, "What did you do wrong?" Her cheeks flushed as she unintentionally brushed her leg against his. Silently cursing him as annoying, a smile unconsciously formed on her lips.
Some things, once crossed, often come naturally.
Their intimacy was a potent potion that awakened Pei Xuan's otherwise naive and unromantic nature, filling the air around them with a sweet fragrance.
He glanced at Cui Ti and noticed she was secretly looking at him too. He opened his arms and softly said, "Come here."
Barely moments into her sulking, Cui Ti nestled back into his embrace, a teasing smile on her face, "Mother saw us. Thinking about it makes me so embarrassed. It's all your fault."
"It's my fault."
After a brief pause, realizing that it wasn't just his doing, she added introspectively, "It's mine too."
Had she not been so yielding, nothing would've happened.
The memory of that evening under the moonlight in the flower garden - the suppressed moans, the ragged breathing, and their intertwined silhouettes - involuntarily flashed through Cui Ti's mind. Her throat felt parched as she traced circles on Pei Xuan's back, "Have you become bolder?"
Their relationship had evolved rapidly. From mutual confessions to their wedding night and now, their secret rendezvous under the moon.
It was too quick.
Too unconventional.
In such a conservative society, even a legitimate 'couple' showing affection in their courtyard at night might be seen as shameful.
It felt illicit.
Cui Ti curled her toes, the hidden thrill and ineffable embarrassment welling up within her.
"I don't know, but I really like it."
Pei Xuan's words were soft, like a spring breeze, warming Cui Ti's heart filled with affection.
The carriage seemed to hover in mid-air, filled with a soft sentimentality. Outside the curtain of the carriage, the sky was a brilliant blue.
The servants lined up outside the gate, waiting for M'lord and the young lady of the house. The plaque reading "Su Shui Villa" was freshly polished, and the gates stood wide open as the carriage slowly came to a halt.
The carriage curtain was lifted.
The servants of the Villa discreetly raised their eyes, eager for a glimpse of the fortunate young lady, but they were momentarily dazzled by the woman by M'lord's side.
Such a delicate beauty!
All the possessions from the mansion were gradually brought in.
In the study, the steward reassured, "Those residing here have been carefully selected and trained. There will not be a repeat of the incident like the one with Yun Hong. M'lord and my wife can rest assured."
This was one of the reasons Pei Xuan agreed to come here.
The strange dreams that Cui Ti had, especially the one where she was pushed into the lotus pond, always weighed heavily on her mind. Until she could solve this mystery, she would not be at ease.
Let's not talk about the dream, just the reality. Between being cursed and having Yun Hong attempt to harm her, staying in the mansion was not only inconvenient but also filled with prying eyes. It was better to move out, to lure the snake out of its hole, to see if the evil lurking behind was human or ghost!
"Dismissed."
"Yes."
Pei Xuan got up and selected a scroll from the bookshelf, leaving the room with enthusiasm.
In the Su Shui Villa, at the Tranquil Heart Pavilion, Cui Ti idly sat enjoying the breeze. The stone table was adorned with an array of freshly made delicate pastries. Bai Tang stood to one side, fanning her.
"That's enough, take a break."
Bai Tang wasn't one to sit still. Being used to constant activity, she felt uneasy doing nothing, "The sun's so strong, my wife's sweating."
They had arrived in haste, and the main residence would need another half an hour of tidying up to be habitable. Besides, Cui Ti, being blind, had long been confined to a smaller courtyard and increasingly disliked that claustrophobic sensation.
Rather than sitting idle indoors, she preferred to be out in the open, feeling the breath of freedom.
She didn't mind the heat.
Compared to regular people, she seemed almost made of water, a faint sweat forming on her temples and neck even while sitting still.
This was also the case when she would playfully wrestle with Pei Xuan in bed, often drenched in a fragrant sweat, looking somewhat enticingly indecorous. Pei Xuan oddly enjoyed it.
Her thin summer dress clung tightly, revealing just a hint of her fair neck and occasionally visible delicate wrist. Cui Ti let her mind wander in the breeze.
It was a hot wind, the world seemed like a furnace.
Pei Xuan arrived quickly.
Seeing him, Bai Tang and the others discreetly stepped back.
He brought with him a faint scent of flowers. Cui Ti groped for a pastry and fed it to him, almost causing him to choke.
"..."
After drinking some tea to swallow it down, he chuckled at her awkward gesture and suggested, "Why don't you try some?"
He personally fed Cui Ti, and after tasting, she found the pastry quite dry too. Trying to change the subject, she asked, "What brings you here?"
"To accompany you. I found an old book I had kept here. If you feel bored, want me to read it to you?"
Curious about the book, Cui Ti nodded slightly, "Read."
With the gentle summer breeze, the two sat close, shoulder to shoulder, lost in the story.
It was a curious book depicting love stories, of endless pursuits and unattainable desires. Cui Ti was so captivated that tears moistened her eyes.
After reading the last word, a wave of unspeakable emotions rose in Pei Xuan's heart. Looking up, he saw a tear drop from Cui Ti's chin, landing on the smooth stone table. She said with a choked voice, "This deity is so foolish."
Pei Xuan also felt the deity was foolish, otherwise, how could he seek the rabbit spirit's affection for countless lifetimes and still not win her heart?
"The rabbit spirit suffered too much. Just as she became sentient, her life ended, and then it began again. It's as if she's forever trapped in a cycle," she said, her heart inexplicably heavy. She clutched Pei Xuan's sleeve, "Is that the end?"
"That's all."
Cui Ti felt a deep sense of disappointment, "It shouldn't have ended like this."
She preferred tales where lovers end up together.
"Which author wrote this book?"
Pei Xuan quietly asked, "How was it written?"
"Not good." She shook her head, "The deity is clumsy and awkward. He doesn't know how to make his beloved happy, like a block of wood. Not half as good as you."
"..."
Such feedback was both amusing and slightly disheartening.
The book was written by Pei Xuan when he was fifteen.
He compiled various stories into this book, and up till now, none had a happy ending.
But he wanted to write them out.
The reserved deity who is naive about love and the enticing rabbit spirit, unaware of her charm. They kept missing each other, unable to express their feelings, not even able to utter words like "like" or "love."
It felt as if this story had been etched into his heart for a long time. Every time he finished writing about one lifetime, he felt suffocated. Once, he even dreamt of himself as the deity in the book, enduring the pain of unrequited love.
Upon waking, he was covered in cold sweat.
"In fact, they have another lifetime."
"Do they miss each other again?"
Pei Xuan gazed at her, "No, they end up together."
He never knew how to depict a perfect happy ending in his books. But now, having Cui Ti, he seemed to understand. He decided to portray himself as the deity, and as for the prototype of the rabbit spirit, he smiled, thinking it could only be his beloved Cui Ti.
"I'll hurry that author along. Once it's written, I'll read it to you."
After all, storybooks are considered lowbrow. Many renowned scholars of Xi Jing would choose interesting pen names and write secretly. Cui Ti understood the mystery of the 'bookish guest' and nodded. She pondered over the hilarious romance between the immortal lord and the rabbit spirit.
Lost in thought, she only snapped back when the moon had risen and the stars blanketed the sky.
She shakily clung to Pei Xuan's shoulder, beads of sweat silently rolling down.
A hard-to-bear palpitation surged within her, and a sobbing sound came from her throat: "Could you... in the future, stop eating rabbit heads?"
Pei Xuan pulled his hand back, gently comforting her trembling back: "Why bring this up all of a sudden?"
Cui Ti, coquettishly, tightened her legs around him: "Xing Guang..."
The thirst that had just subsided seemed to surge again, and Pei Xuan licked his lips: "Okay, okay, I won't eat it anymore."
She lowered her head, "Can I ask why?"
Cui Ti couldn't bear his doting gaze and shyly hid away, "The rabbit spirit is so pitiful. She deeply admires the immortal lord, but she's too timid, and he's too cautious to take that step forward..."
She sleepily recounted the storybook she'd heard during the day, looking utterly adorable.
Pei Xuan felt a secret itch in his heart, a secret fondness, but then he thought about how his beloved spicy rabbit head was being 'sacrificed'. Holding Cui Ti, he couldn't help but laugh, "It's just a story."
"But it genuinely makes me sad."
She whispered softly, "If I could have had you but lost you again and again, I'd be devastated."
Out of pity for the rabbit spirit who couldn't have her beloved, she asked Pei Xuan not to eat spicy rabbit head. It was a whimsical request, but luckily Pei Xuan indulged her whimsy.
Unable to hold back her affection, Cui Ti said, "Could you tell that 'bookish guest' that you'd like to see the rabbit spirit and the immortal lord have a happy ending, and enjoy marital bliss?"
"..."
Huh?
Pei Xuan looked utterly perplexed.
Madam Pei leaned in, planting a kiss on his collarbone, "Would that be okay, bookish guest?"