Chapter 212: Hello Chang’an
Chapter 212: Save him before he saves the world
Li Lu arrived early; his original intention was to have a private word with Chang Suining.
The Chang household did not treat him coldly. After inviting him into the front hall, the steward and Qiao Yubai personally came over to thank him, though their words also made plain that Chang Sui’an had not fully recovered and that the physician had instructed strict rest.
“Then I won’t disturb him.” Li Lu’s eyes were full of worry. “Master Chang has truly suffered; I hope he wakes soon.”
Only then did he ask with concern, “May I ask how Miss Chang’s injuries are?”
“She’s been badly hurt as well,” Qiao Yubai replied. “She’s also under strict rest.”
Those two words—“strict rest”—made the meaning clear.
Li Lu breathed out lightly.
Miss Chang does not want to see him.
So he rose. “Then once Master Chang and Miss Chang have recovered a bit, I will call again to pay my respects.”
After Qiao Yubai escorted him out of the residence, he sent a maid to tell Chang Suining that the guest had been seen off.
Chang Suining was having her early meal; she only nodded in response.
She did not want to see Li Lu right now — or rather, she had matters to attend to, and since it was not necessary to meet him, she could not be bothered to waste attention on his scheming mind.
From then on, when she did not wish to see certain people she practiced selective resting.
She made no effort to hide these two faces of hers. Not long after the Glory Prince’s heir left, Chang Suining’s courtyard became lively.
First came Duan Shi and her daughter, then Yao Xia and a group of young women; among them were several unfamiliar faces.
These were the newest recruits who had followed Yao Xia. Some, having heard Yao Xia and the others praise Chang Suining to the skies, had grown to admire her; some had been genuinely shaken by what happened at the Temple; and in many cases the two reasons coexisted, naturally turning into curiosity and admiration for the Chang household’s maidens.
For some, this was the first time they had seen Chang Suining up close. Someone whispered from behind, “The Chang family’s maidens truly live up to being called the capital’s most beautiful—”
Her companion hissed, “Everyone’s praising Miss Chang’s courage and character; why are you staring at her face like that? How rude and shallow!”
“I don’t mean to stare…” the young woman sighed. “But my eyes refuse to obey me.”
Wei Miaoqing knew that feeling of eyes that would not obey all too well.
She wanted to look past the surface and admire the admirable inner qualities, but the surface was simply too dazzling.
Despite being injured, without any ornamentation and with medicine smeared on her face… how could someone be more beautiful the worse off she was?
Two questions ran through Wei Miaoqing’s head.
One was directed at Chang Suining — how beautiful must one be before they stop?
The other at herself — she knew Chang Suining was hurt, yet her head was full of thoughts of beauty; was she still human?
Relying on her status as Marchioness of Zheng and as an elder, Duan Shi shepherded the group of love-struck girls out to the outer parlor to talk.
Yao Xia’s two attendants left and sighed softly. “…In terms of monopolizing Miss Chang’s attention, Lady Wei and the Marchioness of Zheng are essentially cut from the same cloth. I knew it — the root of it is right here.”
The girls broke off to drink tea in the outer hall or to stroll in the covered corridor and courtyard to admire flowers and bask in the sun. Those who gathered were mostly kindred spirits, so the mood was pleasant.
Inside, Chang Suining leaned against the couch and watched the agreeable scene of young women in the courtyard through the half-open window. It was a beautiful sight.
She could not enjoy it for long.
Duan Shi took her hand and spoke softly, her voice full of pity.
After pity came a sigh. “…Child, you have really done something remarkable. When your aunt was your age she only embroidered flowers and read books.”
And embroidered terribly, so all you saw were things not fit for children, Chang Suining thought.
“In my lifetime, I’ve only done two great things,” Duan Shi said. “One of them was giving birth.”
Chang Suining nodded.
After Duan Zhenyi’s first childbirth, she had written to Chang Suining, telling her the feeling when she first saw the newborn — “My goodness, I actually gave birth to a person. Who would have thought? It’s truly extraordinary!”
Though Chang Suining had never experienced that wonder herself, she fully agreed that giving birth is a great thing.
“And the other thing?” she asked, curious.
“That other thing is a secret… I promised its owner I would keep it well.” Duan Shi’s eyes went a little distant.
That great thing was her involvement in the prince’s greatest secret — to her, even greater and more astonishing than childbirth.
Chang Suining did not probe further. Beneath her obedient, sensible exterior lay a bored resignation that came from seeing through everything.
She had half expected Duan Zhenyi had secretly done something else grand.
When Duan Shi recovered herself, her gaze fell on the girl’s brows and eyes, and her voice softened in a way the Marquis of Zheng had never heard: “Aunt used to say you had a connection with Princess Chongyue… Seeing you day by day now, I find your brows and eyes are somewhat like the Princess’s. Fate is inscrutable; the word ‘connection’ is hard to explain.”
Chang Suining could discern causes beneath any supposed mystery.
No matter how mystical a thing seemed, careful scrutiny always revealed causes and effects.
Duan Zhenyi felt a likeness between her and Princess Chongyue partly because appearance follows the heart, and partly because Chang Suining’s manner of conduct now overlapped with Li Shang’s.
So Duan Zhenyi sensed that indescribable resemblance.
Duan Zhenyi’s mind was simple; she took it as mysterious fate. But had she not already harbored suspicion toward her? That suspicion was also the reason she had to leave the capital.
With those in the capital who were watching — the bright people — it was not a place she could stay long.
She had been resolute about leaving long before her brother’s trouble; she had already prepared. Now she only adjusted the plan slightly.
Speaking of her brother, after a moment, Xi’er hurried in from outside, excited and anxious: “Miss, Master has woken! He’s been calling for you!”
Chang Sui’an was not fully awake yet, hovering between sleep and consciousness.
Now he lay on the couch, clutching the hand of the person beside him, weakly calling “Ning Ning.”
…
Today, when she came to the Chang residence, Yao Xia arrived together with her elder brother, Yao Gui.
Yao Yi had returned to the Ministry of Justice to handle Ming Jin’s case and was too busy to come himself, so he sent his nephew in his stead to visit Chang Sui’an.
Chang Sui’an’s regimen of quiet recuperation was quite flexible, its degree mainly determined by Qiao Yubai. Toward strangers or those with only casual ties, he unfailingly employed the “quiet recuperation” excuse.
Naturally, this did not apply to the Yao family, who had given them much secret support. After Yao Gui sat briefly in the front hall, he was invited into Chang Sui’an’s quarters.
Just after Yao Xia came out from seeing Chang Suining, she learned that her brother was still with the Chang family’s young master, so she also came over to pay a visit.
Wang shi and Qiao Yumián had remained here all along. While speaking to Yao Xia about Chang Sui’an’s current condition, Wang shi, who was sitting by the couch wiping Sui’an’s forehead with a kerchief, could not help but shed a few tears.
Yao Xia stepped forward to comfort her.
Who would have expected that someone would suddenly seize her hand?
Startled, Yao Xia tried to pull away, but the moment she heard that particularly anxious call of “Ning Ning,” she froze in place.
Since last night, Chang Sui’an had been feverish, and the heat still flared intermittently. Physician Sun had said that fever was not a bad sign, only that careful nursing and frequent wiping to cool him were needed.
When Yao Xia looked over, she saw a pair of half-opened, misty eyes brimming with tears at the corners, gazing at her so pitifully.
She blinked, and for no reason recalled a memory from childhood: a large dog she once saw lying immobile in a pile of grass, blood all over its fur from its wounds.
She had rescued that dog and healed its ikiiinjuries, but after only two years it fell ill and died. She had cried for a long time, and even now the memory brought her sorrow.
Chang Sui’an called out again, “Ning Ning.”
Yao Xia stammered, “... She’ll be here soon!”
For some inexplicable reason, she grew anxious, glancing again and again toward the doorway.
Yao Gui stared dumbfounded at his sister’s hand—granted, this wasn’t exactly the time to fuss overburden usuch things, but if his eyes weren’t deceiving him, wasn’t his younger sister now the one holding tightly onto Young Master Chang’s hand??
Yao Xia herself hadn’t realized it yet. She only thought that this Chang family young master was utterly pitiful.
Strangely enough, she had often heard others praise him for being heroic and handsome, she had never thought much of it. Yet today, seeing him in this wretched state like a wounded dog, something pierced straight into her heart.
This kind of Chang family young master made one’s heart ache, stirred pity, and evoked the irresistible urge to protect him.
As consciousness returned little by little, Chang Sui’an seemed to realize that the person beside his couch was not his sister. He tried to withdraw his hand, but it was held firmly.
The weak Chang Sui’an: “...?”
Was this a new jailer come to drag him off for torture?
But Yao Xia, convinced that he needed her desperately, persisted until Chang Suining arrived. Only then did she solemnly entrust that hand to his sister.
Then, with much consideration, she pulled her dazed brother outside: “Ah Brother, why were you just standing there? Did you want to stay behind and eavesdrop on siblings talking in private? Where is your sense of propriety?”
Yao Gui glanced at his sister’s hand: “... Ah Xia, are you sure you want to discuss propriety with me?”
Noticing his gaze, Yao Xia suddenly came back to herself and guiltily hid her hand behind her back.
Inside, through his swollen eyes, Chang Sui’an dimly saw a familiar figure and immediately tried to sit up, but Chang Suining stopped him: “Brother, don’t move.”
“Ning Ning!” At this moment, the grievances pent up in the youth’s chest burst forth like a flood breaching a dam: “... What did we do wrong? Why should they treat us this way?”
Chang Suining clasped his hand, softly saying, “We did nothing wrong. They are the ones at fault. That is why you are home now, and very soon they will receive the punishment they deserve.”
“... Home?”
“Yes, Sui’an!” Qiao Yubai came forward: “You are already back. Wake up properly and see for yourself!”
Chang Sui’an turned his eyes with great effort to take in the familiar surroundings. He was home?
“So... I’m not a murderer anymore, am I?”
“Of course not!” said Qiao Yubai. “The true culprit has already been caught!”
At those words, tears welled up again in Sui’an’s eyes, and in an instant all the tension and dread that bound him melted away.
Qiao Yubai turned aside, weeping as well. He suddenly understood: perhaps this was one of the reasons Ning Ning had insisted on seeking justice for Sui’an. Otherwise, faced with his choked question of “why us,” how could they ever have answered him?
The only true comfort for Sui’an was to restore his innocence.
Without justice, even if he survived, he would no longer be the Sui’an he once was.
At this moment, Qiao Yubai also understood what Ning Ning had told him privately when she resolved never to retreat: My brother has the makings of a general. He has just awakened to the will to protect and save the people. He cannot be cut down before he even begins.
Ning Ning had said—So before my brother saves the people, I must first save him.
Wang shi raised his pillow higher and fed him half a bowl of warm water.
After drinking, his mind grew clearer and his voice steadier, so he asked his sister about what had happened.
Chang Suining said, “It’s a long story.”
Chang Sui’an replied, “It doesn’t matter... Ning Ning, I feel my spirit is still strong. Tell it slowly. I can bear it.”
Chang Suining said, “Let Brother Yubai explain.” Since yesterday, she had already repeated it too many times under everyone’s concerned questioning; she could no longer bear to go over it again.
After Qiao Yubai recounted the whole matter, Chang Sui’an was so shocked and moved he nearly fainted again.
In his ignorance, his sister had done so much to save him!
Truly, his sister was a genius—astonishing even in the way she saved people!
Chang Sui’an’s eyes brimmed with tears. Alongside his pride, he felt a deep guilt: “Ning Ning, it’s all my fault... how could I let you take such risks for me?”
“What silly words Brother is saying.” Chang Suining answered earnestly, “I should thank you for letting me save you.”
Chang Sui’an couldn’t help laughing through his tears: “Now that’s silly talk...”
But only Chang Suining truly knew—she was not speaking foolishly.
The wrong lay with the evildoers, yet she had often thought: if not for her past enmity with Ming Jin, would her brother have suffered this disaster?
Thus, in saving him, she was also saving herself. If she failed to bring him back, she would never find peace.
This was one of her private stubborn resolves.
Her second resolve was this—she would no longer be a pawn in Minghou’s hand, nor allow those around her to become pawns to be discarded at will.
This time, she had struggled with all her might to break free from that fate of being a pawn—both for her brother and for herself.
Fortunately, luck had favored her. She succeeded.
But the process was grueling and perilous. That experience of having one’s life and death dictated by another’s word, of her brother and herself having to fight bloodied just to escape—that, she never wanted again.
Never again would she allow herself to be bound, manipulated, or toyed with.
A pawn, a puppet, a blade in another’s hand, a stone under another’s foot—she had had enough of that in her past life.
And so—
“When Brother’s wounds are a little better, I will take you away from the capital.”
That night, when Chang Sui’an awoke again, he heard the girl who had been keeping vigil by his side say this.
He nodded lightly: “Alright, Ning Ning... I’ll follow whatever you say.”
After resting, his spirit revived somewhat. Recalling what Qiao Yubai had told him, the youth belatedly asked, “But Ning Ning... we must have offended the Ming family and even the Holy Emperor herself, haven’t we? After this, can we ever return to our old days?”
“What is past is past. Why cling to the old days?” the girl answered. “Better to look to the future. I promise you, Brother—things will only get better.”
“Yes!” Chang Sui’an’s eyes lit up. “As long as our family is safe and sound, everything will only get better.”
Chang Suining nodded.
Then she turned toward the curtain and called: “Yaojin, come in.”
Chang Sui’an was puzzled—who was Yaojin?
FOR ADVANCE CHAPTERS, Please read it on Patreon or Ko-fi. Your support helps us continue bringing you great content!
►►CLICK HERE FOR LISTS OF CHAPTERS◄◄
No comments: