Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 102 Where do spring flowers await the old moon? Life is not over, yet autumn has arrived.

"My master invites you."

"Please come in." Cheng Heng welcomed the person in and then asked which household the person came from and which official had entrusted him with the task.

This was not the first time that officials had sent people to invite Cheng Heng and Guan Yin after they had settled down.

From initially being overwhelmed, to now, while not exactly handling things with ease, they have developed their own set of procedures to manage.

Most of those invited were protégés of officials or servants who could manage household affairs—although Cheng Heng currently held no official position and had no political achievements, he could not be treated with the slightest disrespect.

To put it more nicely, Cheng Heng relieved the people from their suffering and sought to redress past grievances; it's not impossible that some of these newly appointed officials were relatives of him.

To put it bluntly, your official positions owe a great deal to Cheng Heng. And Cheng Heng's connections in the capital are far beyond what ordinary people can match!

Guan Yin poured tea for the visitor, who dared not drink it, yet felt it inappropriate not to. He took a small sip and smiled, nodding repeatedly at Guan Yin.

"May I ask which esteemed person this is..."

After a few words, Cheng Heng understood: the person he was to meet today had just taken the place of Master Liu, Liu Qingxian, back then.

Inviting me over now is both a polite formality and a way of keeping me in check, as I'm afraid I might break a taboo and end up like Liu Qingxian.

But what did he know about taboos? Cheng Heng sneered inwardly—these officials were all good at dealing with people, but he wondered if they would act like human beings when dealing with ordinary people!
“Since that’s the case, there’s no time like the present. If Lord Wang is free today, I will go and pay him a visit.” Cheng Heng was too lazy to delay, as every day he delayed would make him miss the visit. “However, in this haste, it will be difficult to prepare a generous gift.”

Please offer some guidance.

The visitor naturally dared not give any pointers to the newly appointed third-ranked scholar. He only said that his master had troubled Cheng Heng to sit for a while. If he were to trouble the third-ranked scholar to prepare a special gift, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?

Cheng Heng's politeness was mostly just a matter of courtesy. He had neither an official position nor any skills; he was already doing well just to cover his expenses, and he was not as well off as Guan Yin, who earned more money as a tutor.

On this trip, Cheng Heng didn't stay long, but he heard many stories from the capital, which he told Guan Yin.

"Everyone says the top scholar is devoted to love, but even if the princess were interested, he would still remain chaste... Guan Yin, do you really think there are such devoted people in this world?"

Having been to the capital once and witnessed a life perish before his eyes, Cheng Heng could no longer think that Zhang Shuwen was so innocent.

"Guan Yin, I really want to go back."

When others travel through time and realize their predicament, all they think about is how to ascend to the highest point and reach the highest realm.

Such people either had an unhappy life before they traveled here, or they just happened to travel to an era they "didn't feel at peace with."

But Cheng Heng is different. The stage where people are taught to be good is where he can be at ease. This cannibalistic officialdom is something Cheng Heng avoids at all costs!
What about Guan Yin?
The teachers and students here share the respect for teachers that Guan Yin longs for, but Guan Yin's own identity can only remain "tacitly understood".

As a female teacher who grew up in the new century and matured in the new era, Guan Yin has so many things she wants to say but can't say, and so many things she wants to do but can't do.

"Establishing girls' schools," "the concept of equality," "new ideas"... these are not things that can be achieved simply by talking about them in a novel.

This is not something that Guan Yin could achieve by sacrificing himself.

Moreover, should the people around the original owner, the Cheng family couple, the "Ling Xiao" who finally became her, and Liu Jiao'an who was searching for her aunt and a secluded corner of peace, all be willing to sacrifice themselves fearlessly for Guan Yin's inappropriateness?
Cheng Heng suddenly laughed, seemingly lost in thought. It wasn't until Guan Yin looked at him with a puzzled expression that he finally spoke: "If we could travel back in time, and told others about these memories, they'd probably all say we were the most pathetic time travelers, right?"

There is no system, no cheat codes, and not even the original owner's memories.

As time goes by, the only things that will make the two of them realize they don't belong here are each other's existence and the memories in their minds that will eventually become distant and blurry.

The only things that remain unchanged are the distant green mountains and the local human relationships.

All the two of them could do when they calmed down was to keep telling each other – one day, we will go back.

“When I go to the capital, I will take Ling Xiao with me.” Cheng Heng finally got back to the point. “At that time, she will no longer be bullied by Zhang Shuwen.”

"You think you can beat Zhang Shuwen?" Guan Yin kept the whole question to himself, not uttering it to provoke Cheng Heng.

On the other side, Zhang Shuwen delivered another letter. As usual, it included his own salary to cover Ling Xiao's daily expenses.

“I heard that the Cheng family has been taking care of you recently. After we get married and settle down, if they are willing, they can come to the capital together. I will find them a small courtyard and a few servants.”

“If they are unwilling, I will prepare a gift of money for them as a token of my gratitude for taking care of you these past few days.”

Xin never treated the Cheng couple as his father-in-law or mother-in-law.

“You should know that they know you are the future wife of the top scholar, and they will probably try to curry favor with you. If they always act like your parents, they will be laughed at even more when you go to the capital.”

"A joke?" Ling Xiao looked through the half-open door at the room where the Cheng couple lived across the street and sighed softly.

The Cheng couple took in their adopted daughter, a girl who came from a brothel, and they didn't think it was a joke, nor were they afraid of being laughed at by others... So what right did they have to make them a "joke" in other people's mouths?
Ling Xiao had long known that Zhang Shuwen disliked the Cheng couple, even though they had a son named Cheng Mian who died for the people. Zhang Shuwen still looked down on the two of them.

But... didn't Zhang Shuwen, from a "scholarly family," also produce a descendant who frequented brothels for pleasure?

Ling Xiao picked up his pen, indignantly wanting to write something to tell Zhang Shuwen that he shouldn't look at the Cheng family couple that way.

“My son, be good to him. If he is a good man, your life will be much better than living here.”

“If he is not a good man, then come back to us…”

The Cheng couple had long sensed Zhang Shuwen's attitude towards them through his letters.

“We will not go to the capital with you. We have been guarding this courtyard for half our lives and we can’t bear to leave it.”

How could Ling Xiao not know what the two were thinking? Back in the brothel, Ling Xiao's greatest skill was reading people's expressions and moods.

When he was young, he was ignorant and stubborn, so he didn't understand the intentions of the madam. Now, however, he can see things clearly with the Cheng family parents.

It wasn't that she was reluctant to leave the courtyard; it was clearly that she was afraid of being caught in the middle between her parents and Zhang Shuwen.

When they remembered it as a favor, they turned around and saw Ling Xiao as an eyesore, a "climbing too high" for them. Cheng's parents didn't want their presence to affect Ling Xiao's happiness. Despite having so much to say, Ling Xiao only wrote a few words on the paper.

Behind that single word "good" lies a transformation from initial elation and anticipation to endless heartache and unspoken words...

it is good?
Is Zhang Shuwen really that good?

A good man?

Is Zhang Shuwen truly a good man for her?

The silver ingots were laid out on the table in front of him. Ling Xiao asked himself honestly, the travel expenses he had prepared for Zhang Shuwen back then were nowhere near as much as what the latter had spent on him during this period.

Frowning, Ling Xiao neatly folded the letter he had written and handed it to the person waiting outside to return it. Turning back, Ling Xiao wanted to speak, to ask the heavens from afar, but felt a lump in his throat.

As dusk turns to dawn and the stars and moon revolve, another month has passed.

Ling Xiao received the letter as usual, but there was still no news about when Cheng Heng would return to the capital.

Outside the private school, the sound of students reciting their lessons could still be heard.

“Lingxiao, my wife. What I said that day was my mistake. Originally, I only thought that you should not be deceived by others, but then I remembered that you have been telling me all this time that the Cheng family has been treating you sincerely.”

"If you are willing, bring Mr. and Mrs. Cheng to the capital in the future, and I will treat them as my parents."

“Lingxiao, my wife. Write down your thoughts in my letters. It’s good that I heard from my teacher that my classmate Cheng will be summoned to the capital soon. If you come with him, I can rest assured.”

“In the capital, some people want me to marry someone else, but I have refused several times because of my kindness to you, Ling Xiao… I originally wanted to settle things before welcoming you to the capital, but now it seems that we should move the schedule forward, just to avoid any unforeseen complications.”

"Lingxiao, my wife, the silver has been presented. Please take good care of yourself."

These heartfelt words moved Ling Xiao so much that he didn't even notice a tear falling onto the table.

With a gentle touch, the paper, soaked with tears, crumbled into several pieces. Only then did Ling Xiao realize the need to compose himself. He raised his hand to wipe away his tears, and after much thought, he still didn't know how to begin writing.

Finally, before the paper dried completely, he pieced it back together, restoring the original sheet of Xuan paper intact. Ling Xiao then felt a pang of heartache as the elegant ink characters were smudged and blurred beyond recognition…

“Zhang Lang…”

Ling Xiao wished tomorrow was the day Cheng Heng would take up his post, so he could go to the capital with him and bring Cheng's parents to the capital as well—a family reunion would be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Putting down his pen, Ling Xiao stared blankly at the furnishings in the room, pondering what he could bring to the capital and what he could leave behind...

Having packed most of his belongings, Ling Xiao finally remembered the letter he hadn't replied to yet. He walked back to his desk, picked up the brush that had dried up and stuck together, and rinsed it in the brush washer.

When Ling Xiao picked up his pen again, he didn't know what to say.

Zhang Shuwen discerned her own feelings from his short line of writing. How could that not be considered delicate? With a man like this, her parents should be able to rest assured after she marries him, right?
"Son, what's wrong?"

When Cheng's mother went out, she saw the messenger, but there was no movement from Ling Xiao's side for a long time. Worried that there might be something in the letter that might hurt her daughter, she went to Ling Xiao's room.

"My son, could it be that top scholar..."

"Mother, Shuwen said that you and Father should come to the capital with me." Ling Xiao's face suddenly broke into a smile, and her eyes, still glistening with tears, looked at Cheng's mother, who was frowning.

"Mother, now that we're settled, Shuwen says he wants to treat you and Father as his own parents... Mother, why don't you and Father come with me to the capital!"

Everyone knows that this hometown is a place of sorrow for Cheng's parents. Ling Xiao hopes to bring the two of them to the capital for two reasons: firstly, he wants to take care of the two elders, and secondly, he wants to give Cheng's parents a reason to leave this homeland completely.

Now that Zhang Shuwen has brought it up himself, how could Ling Xiao not be overjoyed?

“My son, your father and I are getting old and can’t take this kind of hardship.”

"If you miss us, come back to visit us often..."

Cheng's mother didn't say that if the two of them went to the capital with Ling Xiao, then everything would be up to Zhang Shuwen.

When you're under someone else's roof, how can you not bow your head? Cheng's mother had already seen the way Lingxiao looked when she replied to the letter last month, but since her daughter was trying to hide it, Cheng's mother pretended not to see it—but in her heart, she felt sorry for her daughter's humble appearance.

“My son, Huizhou is your home. At the foot of Huangshan Mountain are your mother and father, as well as your old friends.”

Cheng's mother spoke cryptically, and Ling Xiao may or may not have understood: "Mother, Shuwen will treat you well."

“Shuwen is a… filial? responsible? or something else?” Apart from never forgetting their bond, Ling Xiao suddenly realized that he didn’t know how to define Zhang Shuwen.

"Shuwen is a good person and knows how to repay kindness."

“Silly daughter, even if he is grateful, he knows it is for your kindness and wants your repayment. What does it have to do with us two old folks?” Having lived as an ordinary person between the yellow earth and the heavens for so many years, Cheng’s father no longer had the desire for his son to become a dragon, nor did he have much of his scholarly air.

All he ever said was: "The words may be rough, but the principle is sound."

“Go and live your own lives with him, and don’t worry about us two old folks… We can still live without you.”

"As for the good conditions in the capital, we've already killed one son, so we can't afford to drag down a daughter as well. We don't have that kind of fortune, so why should we add to the chaos?"

It was clear that Cheng's parents weren't going to come to the capital. Ling Xiao wanted to try and persuade them, but knowing their temperaments, he knew he couldn't win the argument...

Finally, they managed to coax Mr. Cheng away, and Mrs. Cheng stayed behind, sitting opposite Ling Xiao and having a heart-to-heart talk with someone: "My son, it's not that your father and I don't want to stay with you, it's just that if we go to the capital, your father and we are afraid that there will be many things we won't be used to."

"We've been growing tea, flowers, and vegetables in this field for so many years. It would be more appropriate for us to manage the garden of the top scholar's family... But the top scholar's father-in-law and mother-in-law are not people we would do."

“Mother, if I can be the wife of the top scholar, why can’t you and Father be the father and mother-in-law of the top scholar?” Having never received love since childhood, and with the madam of the music academy not knowing how to express her care, Ling Xiao naturally couldn’t bear to part with Cheng’s parents.

"My son...you can write back often."

How long can this relationship, based on gratitude during times of hardship, last? Cheng's mother didn't want to tell Ling Xiao this, so she preferred to stay here. If one day the debt of gratitude ran out, Ling Xiao wouldn't have to return to the brothel…

Despite all her calculations, Cheng's mother was ultimately not a scholar.