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Gao Yunyue × Ren Shiming Side Story · Green Hairpin Journey
[Part 2·Spring Stream Moonrise]
Qu You sent a letter from the frontier, along with two dried apricot flower bookmarks.
In the front hall, Gao Ze greeted newly-minted scholars, laughter and cheerful voices occasionally drifting in.
Behind a screen, Gao Yunyue sat grinding ink and wetting her brush, unsure of what to write. The laughter irritated her somewhat, but she couldn’t directly lash out.
Lost in thought, she rested her chin on her hands until she heard a familiar voice.
“...Student greets Lord Gao.”
“Hehe, it’s Yueshu, rise quickly... You and Young Lord Zhou share a cousinly bond, no need for formalities. Calling me Uncle is fine. I read your article—it’s remarkable, with the ability to shape the world!”
“Lord Gao flatters me. In the past, I was ignorant of right and wrong, causing many mistakes. Reflecting on it now, I am truly ashamed.”
“You’re still young. Correct what needs correcting, and strive harder where there’s none. Your elder brother is extraordinary; naturally, you are commendable too.”
“With Elder Brother Eleven, Yueshu is content.”
“...”
Gao Yunyue belatedly thought, during the spring examinations’ announcement, she paid no attention. Knowing he was participating this year, she should have taken a look.
Sitting upright, she continued to struggle with her writing, though less agitated than before, starting to unconsciously listen carefully to the conversation in front of the screen.
The young man’s voice was warm and low, unchanged from when they met at Fanlou, but with more humility and generosity.
She listened to every word.
Today, Gao Ze invited only a few scholars. Because Ren Shiming was Zhou Tan’s cousin and eloquent, Gao Ze kept him talking for a while.
The scholars in the hall gradually took their leave. Qu Xiangwen intended to wait for Ren Shiming but seeing his hesitation, left first.
Gao Ze didn’t show it, but inwardly wondered until Ren Shiming finally stood to bid farewell, his gaze briefly drifting to the screen.
Maintaining his respectful bow, he seemed momentarily lost in thought.
The evening sunlight cast his shadow onto the screen, indistinct and unclear, but Gao Yunyue sensed his gaze and rose in surprise.
Gao Ze observed a few more times, somewhat astonished.
He coughed, and Ren Shiming snapped out of it, shamefaced and remorseful, bowing again: “Lord Gao...”
But Gao Ze asked: “Does Yueshu have acquaintances here?”
Ren Shiming slowly shook his head, then gently nodded.
Gao Ze’s gaze fell on the shadow that had risen behind the screen, subtly cooling.
After a moment’s hesitation, Gao Ze slowly said: “This screen is blank except for images of mountains and flowers. I intend to inscribe a verse. Yueshu... any thoughts?”
Gao Yunyue stared at the blank stationery, unmoving.
An eerie silence enveloped them.
Until Ren Shiming spoke again, his voice trembling slightly, soft and gentle: “...Mountain recluse, fragrant as sweet-flag.”
Gao Yunyue pursed her lips, unknowingly breaking into a smile.
In a whisper, she softly said: “Flatterer.”
After seeing him off, Gao Ze returned, hands clasped behind his back, to find his daughter sitting properly at the desk behind the screen, writing.
He moved closer and saw she was writing “The Mountain Spirit.”
“...Mountain recluse, fragrant as sweet-flag, drinking from stone springs, shaded by pine and cypress.”
“Thinking of me... doubts arise.”
Gao Ze found it puzzling yet amusing: “When did you meet this acquaintance? To make my daughter start doubting and contemplating so deeply?”
Gao Yunyue glanced at him, pretending not to understand: “Father, I don’t quite follow.”
Gao Ze shook his head and sighed: “Tsk...”
Turning to leave, he muttered: “Young scholars must strive harder. Climbing high is easier, but beware of a maiden’s fickle heart. In the end, it may result in unrequited love, petals falling, water flowing...”
Unable to resist, Gao Yunyue retorted from behind him: “He’s not that kind of person!”
Gao Ze couldn’t help but burst out laughing: “Let’s hope so!”
•
Ren Shiming ranked highly in the imperial exams. Gao Ze originally intended for him and Qu Xiangwen to enter the six ministries through the Qiong Pavilion, but he requested to stay in the Qiong Pavilion, focusing on editing classics.
From the Qiong Pavilion to the six ministries, after being stationed elsewhere and returning, one becomes a top scholar, with many entering the cabinet through this path.
Though the Qiong Pavilion is a necessary step, it mainly handles documents and classics, esteemed but not prestigious.
Privately, Gao Yunyue met Ren Shiming several times.
Extremely polite, he invited her to Fanlou’s “Free and Easy Travel,” or she invited him to “Celebrate Spring Marsh,” sitting across tables.
With maids and servants present, Gao Yunyue sat upright, using two fingers to pick up her teacup, only stealing glances when hiding behind the cup while drinking.
“Why did you choose the Qiong Pavilion?”
The golden bells at the eaves tinkled in the summer breeze. In the evening, the setting sun bathed the bustling crowd.
Human noise was encapsulated in a tiny bell, resonating melodiously.
Ren Shiming held his cup with one hand, gazing out the window, somewhat distracted.
Upon hearing her question, he shifted his gaze and softly replied: “My brother and I are different.”
Gao Yunyue lowered her eyes, remaining silent.
“My brother has ambitions—family, teachers, righteousness, the common people, the bones of the unsettled... Watching his journey, he is insatiably greedy, yet seeks nothing for himself, exhausting his body. I admire him immensely; I once harbored greedy dreams.”
Ren Shiming forced a bitter smile, his tone shifting: “...But after the Burning Candle case, I realized I can’t become the person I envisioned. The world and its people remain too ethereal to me. To spite my brother, I could abandon them without hesitation. Reflecting on this, tossing and turning, I suddenly feel that emotions weigh too heavily on me...”
“Without self-cultivation, I am unworthy of high office.”
Gao Yunyue opened her mouth, about to speak, when Ren Shiming met her gaze directly, softly continuing: “But for me, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
The maids and servants couldn’t understand their conversation; the golden bells continued to ring.
Suddenly, Ren Shiming pulled a grotesque Nuo opera mask from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
Then he stood, bowed deeply, and took his leave.
Gao Yunyue’s gaze fell on a cluster of purple grapes in a crystal dish. On impulse, she picked one, recalling his appearance at their first meeting, and threw it over.
“Hey.”
Ren Shiming caught it, rubbing it a few times.
He raised his head, revealing a spirited, unrestrained smile reminiscent of their first encounter.
“Climb the white marshes and gaze afar, rendezvous with beauty under the evening sky.”
“Why do birds gather amidst duckweed, why is the net hung on trees?”
After the young master’s figure disappeared, Qiuzhi couldn’t resist and curiously asked: “Miss, what did he mean by the lines he recited at the end?”
Gao Yunyue didn’t respond, merely curling her lips and insincerely muttering: “Rake...”
What he meant by “thinking of you but not daring to speak” was already clear as day.
•
As the Lunar New Year approached, Gao Ze received Ren Shiming’s marriage proposal.
Following their usual custom, Gao Yunyue accompanied her mother to worship at Xi Qing Temple. On their way down the mountain, they encountered an old Taoist by the roadside. Moved by his thin clothing, Lady Gao instructed a maid to give him a cloak.
Unexpectedly, after receiving the cloak, the old Taoist insisted on repaying the kindness and, across the carriage, divined a fortune for Gao Yunyue.
Seeing him scribble calculations on the ground after examining her birth chart, Gao Yunyue curiously asked: “Master, what kind of divination is this? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Not Master, but Daoist,” the old man insisted on correcting her, then continued: “The Purple Microcosm Star Method, three harmonies and four transformations... Ah.”
Suddenly, he looked up and glanced behind Gao Yunyue, his gaze filled with pity, muttering: “Kan represents water, hidden harm arises... Meeting calamity and mourning stars, very ominous, very ominous...”
Gao Yunyue didn’t understand the old Taoist’s meaning and was about to ask more when he stopped explaining, simply shaking his head. He casually pulled out an amulet from his sleeve and handed it to her: “In gratitude for your kindness, I’ll save your life. Keep this charm with you always, remember, remember!”
After handing over the amulet, he turned and left without even taking the copper coins Lady Gao had prepared. Gao Yunyue stared blankly at the simple amulet, puzzled: “Mother, this...”
Lady Gao glanced at it: “It’s all fate. If he tells you to keep it, just do so.”
...
After escaping from the Gao residence and falling into the Bian River, the amulet in her sleeve drifted past her eyes.
Only then did Gao Yunyue suddenly understand the meaning behind the old Taoist’s words.
Voices intertwined chaotically around her ears.
“A Yue, you must survive!”
“Father, Mother...”
“You are my daughter. Watching you grow from an infant in swaddling clothes to a graceful young lady, I always thought the best man in the world should match you. But I misjudged someone, and there’s no turning back... Your mother and I will do everything to carve a path of survival for you from this bloodshed.”
“...Go west, find your acquaintance’s husband and seek his protection. If you want to know about the past, ask him. We are mired in decay and corruption, but I believe his choice will bring clarity to the world.”
“A Yue, be righteous, cultivate yourself, don’t be arrogant, don’t be discouraged. In high positions, don’t lose yourself; in poverty, don’t escape troubles due to humility... This is what I taught you and your brother. From now on, your father can’t protect you anymore. You... must take care.”
Gao Yunyang protected her escape from the rear garden of the Gao residence.
He wrapped her tightly in a long black cloak and hurried through the panic-stricken night. However, whether someone betrayed them or not, pursuers soon found them along the Bian River.
Gao Ze had already relented, planning to let Gao Yunyang join the army in spring. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a great general, but in the end, he only became a hero in protecting his sister.
“A Yue, run!”
Gao Yunyue slowly raised her head, feeling blood dripping down her cheek. Gao Yunyang was already covered in blood—he had suffered severe injuries in the fight with the armed soldiers, being outnumbered.
She was pushed and fell awkwardly into the dark Bian River.
In the last moment, she only saw a bright red sword pierce her brother’s chest.
“Search below, bring the person up!”
“Yes!”
...
Gao Yunyue didn’t know how to swim. After falling into the Bian River, she sank deeply with the current.
Perhaps dying here would be fine, she thought.
Her parents and brother were unjustly killed, and there seemed no reason to live on.
But unexpectedly, someone grabbed her arm.
Gao Yunyue was startled and opened her eyes in alarm.
Even the pursuers wouldn’t be this fast!
Before she could see the person’s face, he pulled her close and cupped her face, deeply exhaling air into her mouth.
His lips were cold, and the contact carried no trace of desire.
She finally had the strength to examine him and discovered a familiar face.
Ren Shiming gently held her waist, paddled a few strokes with the current, then swam hard upstream, bringing her to the surface under a dark bridge arch.
“Ha—”
Gao Yunyue exhaled deeply, having held her breath for too long, causing near-death hallucinations.
Ren Shiming wiped the water from his face and helped her onto a small boat prepared nearby.
Gao Yunyue trembled wetly in his arms, unable to say a word. Ren Shiming firmly held her shoulders, seemingly trying to transfer some strength to her.
They drifted with the current for a while before a long pole remotely stopped the boat. In the dim lantern light, Gao Yunyue smelled the scent of “Spring Message in Snow.”
“Spring Sister...”
Ye Liuchun rarely dressed as a man, but seeing her like this, she couldn’t help herself and rushed over to inspect her, asking urgently: “Are you hurt?”
Just after asking, she noticed the long wound on Gao Yunyue’s face in the dim yellow light.
The wound had just been soaked, swollen and inflamed.
Ye Liuchun paused, quickly pulling out ointment from her pocket and sprinkling some on Gao Yunyue’s face.
Gao Yunyue shivered, her gaze falling on Ren Shiming who lay collapsed on the side.
Ren Shiming weakly raised his hand, bowing slightly to Ye Liuchun in thanks, then softly explained to Gao Yunyue: “I knew something was happening at the Gao residence today, but I couldn’t do anything. I could only lie low and save you... I’m sorry.”
No wonder someone saved her immediately after she fell into the water. Her brother clearly knew she couldn’t swim, and seeing Ren Shiming in the shadows, he must have pushed her into the river with confidence.
She wanted to shake her head but couldn’t because Ye Liuchun was applying medicine. She reached out and grabbed his robe hem to express gratitude.
Ren Shiming crawled up from the ground, knelt in front of her, and silently grasped that hand.
Ye Liuchun temporarily hid them in the Spring Rain Tower.
But Gao Yunyue knew she couldn’t protect them for long.
With Ye Liuchun’s connection with Song Shiyu, it wasn’t enough to make him turn a blind eye. Fortunately, Song Shiyu didn’t know about her relationship with Ren Shiming. Ren Shiming hadn’t officially taken office yet and was said to be traveling far, so his family wouldn’t be implicated for now.
Song Shiyu fabricated the Spring Bright Poetry Case and arrested Bai Shating.
She couldn’t stay in Bianjing anymore.
Ye Liuchun entrusted her to Ren Shiming and Ai Disheng. Before parting, she held Gao Yunyue’s hand and spoke many words. The next day on the journey, Gao Yunyue learned that to save Bai Shating and buy time for her escape, Ye Liuchun willingly entered the Crown Prince’s residence as Song Shiyu’s concubine.
She recalled their first meeting when Ye Liuchun immediately recognized her disguise and drank her wine with a smile.
When they met again in the garden, Qu You enthusiastically pulled Ye Liuchun’s hand, asking her to sing a new tune. Ye Liuchun smiled and glanced at her.
At that moment, she knew Ye Liuchun definitely recognized her.
She didn’t dare ask about the identity of the masked gentleman that day, stubbornly believing they would meet again.
Now, Ren Shiming was by her side, but her gentle sister was gone.
Once you enter the palace gates, it’s like entering the deep sea.
Father, mother, brother, sister—all gone. She was left alone, with perhaps only distant friends.
And the... friend by her side.
Gao Yunyue thought she really couldn’t be considered a gentle and virtuous woman.
In the past, she looked down on those she disliked, never placing them in her eyes. Even towards her closest relatives, she often quarreled more than showed warmth.
And the man beside her...
Though she never lorded her status over him, deep down, she felt he was beneath her.
With her family fallen, she lost everything overnight. Yet, showing no emotion, she still treated him as before, even lashing out over trivial matters.
Ren Shiming accepted everything, never uttering a harsh word to her.
Her behavior... perhaps stemmed from fear.
From the moment Ren Shiming saved her, Gao Yunyue had many questions but didn’t dare ask.
—Now I have nothing to offer you. Worse, I might drag your career, future, even your family into hell.
—I have nothing left, no family, no support, even losing the beauty I once prided myself on. Between us, emotions remain restrained...
Will you still travel far with me?
She should have asked earlier, but she didn’t dare. Instead, she kept testing with bad temper and probing with feigned pride for signs of unwavering commitment.
They left Bianjing and traveled westward.
Song Shiyu didn’t give up searching for them and guessed they would head to Ruozhou. To avoid pursuers, they didn’t stay at inns, hiding during the day and traveling at night.
Soldiers at the city gates questioned passersby with inaccurate portraits. Gao Yunyue lost the ointment Ye Liuchun gave her and let the wound on her face swell and fester.
Ren Shiming didn’t notice at first, but later realized when she refused to remove her hat even during rest. He snatched her hat and saw a fresh red scar on her once snow-white beautiful face.
Gao Yunyue snatched the hat back and hastily put it on.
“...Just say I have festering sores on my face. Those checking will be disgusted and won’t look closely.”
Through the gauze curtain, she heard a soft sob from the person in front.
Gao Yunyue once thought Ren Shiming was talkative, but after their reversal of fortunes, she realized he wasn’t much of a talker either. Like her, when extremely sad, he couldn’t say anything.
She leaned over and hugged him. Ren Shiming held her waist and sobbed uncontrollably.
He said nothing, but she understood the meaning behind his tears.
After that, their communication increased.
On windless nights, when Gao Yunyue grew tired from walking, he carried her on his back and whispered things he’d never told anyone.
“A Yue, do you know? Actually... I’m not a good person. By nature, I’m cold-hearted, always thinking I’m the smartest in the world, doubting my elder brother who has always been good to me, even betraying my conscience to oppose him.”
Gao Yunyue tightened her arms around his neck, silently listening.
“Later, I asked myself countless times why. Father and A Yang could trust Brother without hesitation, but I couldn’t... I always thought I feared loss too much, and after losing, I was too heartbroken, needing to fight with a knife to feel better.”
She softly said: “Realizing mistakes and correcting them isn’t too late.”
Ren Shiming chuckled, and only in this laughter could she connect the once vibrant youth with the man before her.
“You too, A Yue,” Ren Shiming earnestly said, “I used to be insincere and cold-hearted towards my closest relatives, regretting it too late. It’s just a sincere word, not so hard to say.”
Gao Yunyue felt a sharp pain of bitterness in her heart.
On his back, she heard the wind, the silent clamor of the night, and the man’s slight panting. Wanting to say “thank you,” she still couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Continuous escapes exhausted their money and strength. Approaching the western border, daylight stretched endlessly. The boundless desert wore them out, even with kind locals guiding them.
Sunlight hit Gao Yunyue’s scarred cheek, bringing a stinging pain.
Ren Shiming found strips of cloth and securely tied her to his back, painstakingly walking step by step. Sensing her drowsiness, he forced himself to stay awake and talk to her, his voice scattering in the yellow sand with the wild wind.
“A Yue, before meeting me, did you have any interesting stories to share?”
“After the Lantern Festival night, I searched for you for a long time, but never found you... Did you look for me?”
“That verse of Chu Ci I recited to you, do you know its meaning?”
“I sent my marriage proposal to your house, but I was very worried... I know your father wants you to marry early. Choosing me, was it truly your wish? If not, I absolutely won’t force you with gratitude... Women don’t have to marry to have vast horizons. The future still holds many paths for you to walk.”
“A Yue, you must hold on.”
“A Yue...”
A Yue.
A tear slipped from Gao Yunyue’s hazy pain, tracing her wound and jolting her somewhat awake.
“Wait, wait until we reach Ruozhou...”
“When the world is peaceful...”
She let tears flow freely, feeling unusually honest for the first time: “...It’s my true wish. I want to marry you because I like you—Yuechu, I liked you since our first meeting on that Lantern Festival night... And you?”
Ren Shiming paused, revealing a smile. His dry, cracked lips parted painfully, tasting blood.
“Me too.”
•
After returning to Bianjing, Ren Shiming accompanied Gao Yunyue to search for Song Shiyu’s body beneath the city walls.
The speeding carriage crushed him to pieces. She patiently gathered his fragmented remains, leaving only a blood-stained garment, which she burned in the wilderness.
She was originally a noblewoman, never having seen a corpse before Bianjing’s upheaval. Now, her hands stained red-black with filthy blood, she remained surprisingly calm, only vomiting palely for a long time after cremation.
The wound on her face healed after prolonged care but left an indelible scar due to delayed treatment.
She joked about being a flawed jade.
Ren Shiming said jade must have flaws to be perfect.
After Song Shixuan ascended the throne and vindicated Gao Ze, he bestowed Gao Yunyue with the title of Princess.
She returned alone to the lonely mansion of the Gao residence, stayed for two days, then moved out, buying a house on East Street and living with Ye Liuchun before her marriage.
Counting it, she had just turned twenty, but inexplicably felt old.
She could no longer recall the days of her innocent youth. Even noblewomen who once were at odds with her now admired and flattered her, but she didn’t want to face their sympathetic gazes.
She was Gao’s daughter, always the one giving favors. How could she bear others pitying her?
This feeling worsened when she saw Ren Shiming receive a handkerchief from a girl at the spring banquet.
Zhou Tan was promoted to chief advisor, and Qu You reluctantly hosted a grand banquet at Zhou Mansion. Gao Yunyue didn’t want to attend gatherings but went due to Qu You.
Zhou Tan, holding the late emperor’s will, was highly regarded by the new emperor, red-hot in popularity. Civil and military officials attended the banquet. Noblewomen brought daughters to admire flowers and drink tea in the garden. Ren Shiming, as Zhou Tan’s close relative, naturally became everyone’s target for flattery.
Annoyed, Gao Yunyue excused herself from Qu You to stroll in Zhou Mansion’s secluded garden corridor.
Not long after, Ren Shiming followed. But thinking of the maiden giving him a handkerchief earlier, even knowing he declined, her words still carried sarcasm.
Unaware, Ren Shiming kept chattering about discussing marriage proposals with Zhou Tan.
Gao Yunyue pondered blankly. With her parents deceased, whom would he propose to?
She recalled seeing a romantic maiden leaning on her mother, remembered herself surrounded by admirers, naive and carefree, recalling memories that tangled her thoughts.
“Jade maiden of humble origins...”
“Dare not aspire to noble virtues.”
She didn’t know what she was avoiding.
The night before Ye Liuchun’s wedding, she invited Gao Yunyue and Qu You to drink at her house.
Gao Yunyue and Qu You had low alcohol tolerance and got drunk after a few cups. The three sat in the garden corridor watching the moon.
Qu You slurred: “Tomorrow, Spring Sister will be married... I should be the youngest, how did I end up marrying first?”
Gao Yunyue laughed: “Then don’t get married, quickly divorce and come keep me company.”
Qu You glared at her, cheeks flushed: “No way, my husband, my husband...”
Unable to continue, Ye Liuchun waved her fan, asking: “A Yue, as for you... Yuechu has feelings for you. He’s a good man, and you’re interested. Why delay?”
Gao Yunyue rested her chin, thinking for a moment, and replied: “I don’t know.”
“I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Qu You leaned against a pillar, barely standing, and told her: “What are you afraid of? Seeing Ren Yuechu and avoiding him. If you no longer like him, just say so. No one will blame you.”
“I don’t know,” Gao Yunyue kept repeating absentmindedly. She closed her eyes and reopened them: “I can’t imagine life after marriage. After all... I only hold a Princess title now. Outside, they all pity me. Ren Yuechu pities me too... And with no one to back me, if I later find the marriage unhappy, do I have a chance to regret? Who will help me?”
Qu You jumped in frustration before her, checking no servants were around before loudly scolding: “Nonsense! Do you think we’re all dead?”
Excited, she often carelessly mentioned heavy words like “life” and “death.” Ye Liuchun tapped her head with a fan: “Watch your words, no respect.”
Qu You covered her mouth, winking at her: “I’m talking to you, Gao Yunyue. What are you afraid of? The world is vast and boundless. You’ve avenged your grudge, you should live freely...”
Sitting beside her, Ye Liuchun also said: “Yes, I heard you previously sought Boss Ai, wanting to do things you like... What do worldly gazes matter? Living well is most important.”
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