Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 76 Who hides their shadow beneath the moon, telling tales of love that lingers through the spring?

"Is Father still unwilling to see me?" The person delivering the food pushed open the door on time, and Liu Jiao'an's gaze fell directly on the person. "You're here to deliver food. I know that whatever I do will make things difficult for you, so please take the food to Father and tell him... I won't eat this food if he doesn't see me for a day."

Whether she throws a tantrum or questions him, it's all just making things difficult for the person who brings her food. It's her father who refuses to see her, and Liu Jiao'an believes that her hunger strike will definitely move him—even if the latter knows it's just a ploy to coerce him.

"Miss, this is not putting you in a difficult position..."

"Father didn't say anything about what would happen to you if I didn't eat this meal." Liu Jiao'an had considered that her father might use the servants' plight to blackmail her. But now that she was back in the Liu family, her father would definitely want to know the whole story. By going on a hunger strike to ask for a chance to meet, she was actually giving her father a way out.

“Miss, Master said that you were the one who wanted to leave back then, but now you’ve come back alone. You’ll probably stay for a while and then leave again… Master said he can’t bear to be separated from you, so he’s decided not to see you at all.”

"In the end... in the end, Miss won't stay for long."

The servant who relayed the message had initially believed his master's words, but now, combined with Liu Jiao'an's explanation, even the most foolish person could discern the "resentment" in his master's words, a veiled expression of his dissatisfaction towards the young lady.

"Don't listen to what your father says." Liu Jiao'an understood that words are meaningless. She glanced at the food that had been brought to her, knowing exactly what her father wanted. As a normal person, Liu Jiao'an naturally didn't want to make things difficult for herself.

"Wait for me a moment."

The house was fully furnished, showing no signs of having been uninhabited for years. It was hard to say whether Liu's father had arranged for someone to clean it up immediately upon receiving the news, or whether he had been diligently working on it for the past few years.

The familiar furnishings, clean and tidy—it's as if its owner has never left.

During the days when her father made countless excuses to avoid seeing her, Liu Jiaoan harbored unspeakable motives and seemed unmoved by anything around her.

It wasn't until now, when she had to test her own father for her best friend and write down a lie, that Liu Jiao'an was truly moved by the unchanging ink and paper that perfectly matched the scenes in her memory.

My nose tingled slightly, and tears were about to well up in my eyes and fall uncontrollably onto the paper in front of me.

Now, Liu Jiao'an even had a growing doubt in her heart: had she been misunderstanding her father all along? Was the marriage her father arranged for her truly for her own good? Or was it that she had been spoiled by her father since childhood, which had led to all these things happening in the first place...?

"Miss?" The person standing at the door had been waiting for quite a while; the food they were carrying was almost cold, and they hadn't received any further instructions from their young mistress. "Is there anything you need me to bring to Master, Miss?"

Realizing her loss of composure, Liu Jiaoan sniffed and secretly wiped away the tears that were about to overflow her eyes with her sleeve. She picked up the calligraphy brush beside her and naturally took the one that she was most comfortable with. She dipped it in ink and began to write on the paper in front of her: "Hmm... wait a moment."

"Here you go, take this to your father." Standing up, Liu Jiao'an handed the neatly folded paper to the young girl who had brought the food, took another look at the girl's size, and sighed almost imperceptibly.

Both being young women, I was living a life of luxury at my age, truly "never lifting a finger," while this young girl had to navigate between two households, knowing full well she wouldn't get any favors, yet she still had no choice but to do it.

“Tell my father not to make things difficult for you... If you are angry, come and vent to me.”

"Did she really say that?" Mr. Liu wasn't surprised that his daughter would say such a thing, but he never expected that she would take the initiative to humble herself before him.

She was willing to disregard her father-daughter relationship to marry the man she "desired," determined to leave the Liu family. Now, however, she's willingly bowing down to him—Liu's father doesn't believe this is a sign that Liu Jiao'an has finally turned back; it must still be for that man!
"What else did she say?"

"Miss said that everything she wanted to say to Master is written on that piece of paper. If Master is still willing to acknowledge her as his daughter, he will naturally go to see her after seeing it."

"And then?" Seeing the little girl's hesitant expression, Liu's father was getting impatient. "How can she be so sure I'll still acknowledge her? Didn't she disown me as her father back then?"

"I was just doing her a favor!"

"What? Now that you need something from your father, you come knocking on my door again, willing to call this old geezer 'father'? Do you really think I, your local official, am someone you can summon and dismiss at will?"

The young girl still relied on the wages given to her by the Liu family to survive, so of course she dared not utter a single word of disobedience. Moreover, the two arguing were the head of the family and his own daughter, and she was caught in the middle. If the two eventually made up, then all would be well.

If the conflict between the two intensifies, neither the father nor the daughter will intend to kill the other; in the end, she will only be the one who suffers.

"Alright, you don't need to be afraid."

"Tell me what you have to say and then you can leave."

Mr. Liu took the paper from the little girl's hand, but didn't rush to open it. He just held it in his hand for a moment, waiting for her to convey all that Liu Jiao'an had said to him: "And then?"

"The young lady also said that if the master refuses to see her no matter what, she will continue to starve herself to death."

"Ha!" Liu's father sneered.

Mr. Liu was clearly amused by his anger. The little girl was perceptive enough to understand his mood. She crouched down and backed away to the door, carefully closing it gently while Mr. Liu wasn't paying attention to her.

It's no wonder Liu's father was so hot-tempered. After all, it's heartbreaking to see any girl or boy so blatantly using their parents' love for their offspring to blackmail them.

"Good, good, all these years I've raised a daughter who threatens her father with a hunger strike!" Mr. Liu didn't beat his chest in frustration, but stared blankly at the door with only a crack in it, as if a hot tear was about to roll down his cheek.

After a while, the light at the doorway was no longer as bright as before. Liu's father finally unfolded the paper in his hand, which was now damp and soft, and saw the words on it, which had become somewhat blurred due to the mixture of sweat and tears.

There wasn't much written on the paper, just a short sentence: "He lied to me, saying he was going to the capital to take the imperial examination, but he's still stuck in Huizhou."

"He originally said he would take the imperial examination for my sake!" Liu's father seemed to hear his daughter's voice, filled with resentment and sorrow, yet also tinged with anger because of his own strength. For a moment, his heart felt as if it had been violently clenched.

It aches and hurts, just like when Liu Jiao'an left without saying goodbye last time.

In an instant, all his dissatisfaction with his daughter seemed to vanish. Mr. Liu stood up abruptly from his chair, as if he had some reason that compelled him to immediately go to Liu Jiao'an.

But Liu's father ultimately maintained his composure, carefully folding the paper in his hand and placing it on the table beside him before sitting back down in his armchair...

"Why doesn't the master go to see the young lady?"

"That Yin Yunshan man... did he really not take the imperial examination?" Liu's father still couldn't believe his daughter's sudden change of heart, and asked the person who slowly walked up to him, "Then what is he doing now?" "No wonder... no wonder those people..." Liu's father only said half of his sentence, the other half seemed to be a secret that even his "ally" in front of him couldn't hear. Liu's father even used the candle next to him with its wick forked into three parts to avoid the evasive look in his eyes.

The visitor wisely refrained from asking what these people did, simply standing quietly a few steps away to the side, waiting for Liu's father's next question.

"I just asked you, how does that Yin Yunshan man make a living these days?"

“Write the stories he was writing in the brothel.”

"Oh..." Liu's father was clearly dismissive of this. "Writing lewd lyrics and songs, it's a wonder that Jiao'an could be interested in such a despicable person!"

The man standing below didn't say anything, just let Liu's father vent his emotions. Then the latter's question followed: "Did they know anyone?"

“There was a schoolteacher named Cheng.”

“A schoolteacher surnamed Cheng? Cheng… what?” This surname is not uncommon, but for no reason, Liu’s father thought of someone, a young man who was not that old.

"It seems her name is Cheng... Cheng Jianwei."

"Oh." The breath that Liu's father had been holding in subtly eased, and he glanced at the person standing before him with a hint of wariness. "Are you sure that's your name?"

"Yes."

"Is someone you've thought of, sir?" The person standing below asked casually, following up on Liu's father's words. Clearly, he wasn't as afraid of Master Liu as the little girl had been before.

Liu's father subconsciously became a little angry because of the outsider's questioning, and glared at the person in front of him: "It's nothing, you don't need to worry about this schoolteacher."

The assailant didn't beg for mercy after hearing that, and Liu's father realized he wasn't in court anymore. His tone softened slightly: "Where are the others? Has your young lady seen anyone else?"

"It seems that Miss went to the music academy with Yin Yunshan."

"A music academy? What music academy?"

"The music academy where Yin Yunshan used to work."

"Oh. What are you going there for?" That brothel? It was just set up by some self-important woman who thought she could be a great philanthropist who saves people from suffering! Father Liu chuckled and gestured for the person in front of him to continue.

"It seems they're looking for someone... That Yin Yunshan man gave money to that courtesan before, and he even sent someone to the small courtyard."

Liu's father believed he had grasped the crux of the matter, and his anger filled half the room, yet his face showed no other emotion: "Ha, what clean goods could come from a brothel? This woman is probably his lover!"

The person standing below did not react to Liu's father's words, but instead continued to say what he had not finished: "I have only heard that the courtesan has a lover who is now going to the capital to take the imperial examination. She must have some skills."

Liu's father's gaze was somewhat obscure. He listened quietly as the person in front of him continued speaking, without offering any further opinions.

A dark purple hue fell into the room from outside the window. Before the moonlight was bright enough, Liu's father finally stood up and said, "Go back and rest."

"Master, Miss hasn't..."

"She said she was going on a hunger strike, so let her starve!" Mr. Liu sneered, clearly angry. "She won't starve to death even if she goes three or five days without food... Do you feel sorry for your young lady?"

Faced with Master Liu's ill-intentioned question, the man who did the dirty work neither admitted nor denied it: "After all, Miss is Master's own daughter."

"You're quite the smooth talker."

"Go down!"

"master……"

"You said it yourself, your young lady is, after all, my own daughter. How could I possibly watch her starve to death?"

Mr. Liu's gaze held a scrutinizing quality, but he concealed his emotions entirely with the slightly upturned corners of his eyes: "Don't worry! Since it was her own request, as her father, I have to grant her wish. Otherwise, how will she learn her lesson in the future?"

The person pleading knew that nothing he said would make a difference, and might even anger Liu's father, so he bowed and left obediently.

The candle flame flickered, but because of the two separate wicks, the flame became wider, and the candle burned much faster. Father Liu paid no attention to it; he simply sat back in his armchair, picked up the crumpled piece of paper, placed it against the candle, and quietly watched it light.

Staring at the ever-growing flames, Liu's father didn't even consider finding a suitable place to put the paper down.

Just as the fire was about to burn his hands, Liu's father's gaze fell instead on the few words that had not yet been completely burned away.

"Hiss!" Liu's father cried out in pain as the flames, carrying the last bit of paper that hadn't been burned to ashes, fluttered to the ground and spread rapidly, devouring the last remaining pale yellow hue.

"He mingled with women from the music academy, yet managed to extricate himself to go to the capital for the imperial examinations... and the money for it was actually raised by that woman."

"This person is interesting, really very interesting!"

That tiny spark seemed to awaken Liu's father; his previously dazed gaze cleared with each fleeting moment of pain. Liu's father went straight to the desk, picked up a pen, and began to write and draw on the paper, filling a page in no time.

"Hmm...that's an interesting thing."

"If Jiao'an hadn't caused this scene, we probably wouldn't have found such an interesting person!"

He put the pen back in its place, picked up the paper, blew on it to dry the ink faster, and neatly folded it...