YBTS - 11

Since the young lady had an injury to her head, she would get a headache if she didn’t sleep well. From the looks of it, it seemed her old ailment had returned...

Xiangcao was heartbroken, but she had to wake her up.

After she washed up, Luoyun drank some thin porridge and sat by the window to bask in the sun, trying to wake herself up.

Suddenly, a cat meowed from below the window. Luoyun knew there were no cats in her courtyard, so she asked whose it was.

Xiangcao glared at the leisurely cat and said, “It crawled out of the ‘spider’s cave.’ It’s so fat and plump, and it even came to our house to steal the dried fish we hung up to dry...”

Upon hearing this, Su Luoyun walked out and, guided by the sound, picked up the cat.

The cat was well-behaved and let her hold it. Luoyun stroked the cat and found that it was wearing a collar. According to Xiangcao, it had a golden pendant on it, which showed that the cat was deeply loved by its owner...

After petting the cat for a while, Luoyun suddenly asked a completely unrelated question: “Isn’t the anniversary of Emperor Zong’s death coming soon?”

“Huh?” Xiangcao’s mouth was agape and she couldn’t answer.

Luoyun continued, “I remember Father once said that one year, after the New Year, because of the anniversary of Emperor Zong’s death, Emperor Xuan, to show his grief, ordered that there be no banquets or music for a month throughout the Wei dynasty, which even prevented a clan uncle from holding his one-month-old child’s full moon celebration...”

It was easy to verify this. While blending perfumes at Shouweizhai, Luoyun casually chatted with the old shopkeeper and got her confirmation.

After returning, she couldn’t wait to write a letter, and this letter was for her new neighbor.

The letter politely expressed her joy at being able to be neighbors with the young master. At the same time, it subtly reminded the young master that the anniversary of Emperor Zong’s death was approaching, and the current emperor, just like Emperor Xuan, maintained the habit of fasting for three days on the anniversary of Emperor Zong’s death. She expressed her wish to fast with the young master to show their shared grief.

In short, as long as the young master wasn’t an idiot, he should be reminded that the anniversary of his great-grandfather, the former emperor’s death, was approaching, and he should at least pretend to be restrained and stop feasting all night long!

Luoyun was so desperate for a good night’s sleep that she came up with this idea, hoping that the young master’s residence would be quiet for a few days.

She finished the anonymous letter and tied it to the cat’s neck.

She wasn’t in Green Fish Alley, and the young master’s residence was huge, with crisscrossing streets and alleys. There were no less than ten neighboring residences, many of which belonged to court officials. The cat also seemed to be a stray that wandered around. So, the people in the residence wouldn’t know who tucked the letter under the cat’s neck.

The letter contained no offensive language; it was all about respect and grief for the royal family. It shouldn’t offend anyone.

Even if the noble person was unpredictable and got angry, they wouldn’t be able to pinpoint which family it was. So she didn’t even bother to disguise her handwriting. Even if someone came to confront her, would they force a blind person to write and compare the handwriting?

Furthermore, Su Luoyun knew that this young master was not like other royal relatives. Although his reputation was well-known, he had no real power. The Prince of the North’s fiefdom was a notoriously poor region that suffered from droughts and floods every now and then.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that Emperor Wei Xuan had forced his imperial nephew, Emperor Wei Zong, to abdicate to ascend the throne. Although he showed respect for the former emperor to gain a good reputation, he was also wary of Emperor Zong’s lineage.

After two generations, the Prince of the North’s lineage had produced no outstanding talent. They were all mediocre. Each successive eldest son was held hostage in the capital. Once he was deemed useless, he could return to inherit that barren land and continue to be a harmless prince.

Knowing this, Su Luoyun was not as wary of this nominal, paper tiger-like royal noble as her other neighbors were.

The cat was also doing its job well. After eating its fill of dried fish, it went back to the young master’s residence to nap with the letter around its neck.

A servant saw the letter, took it off, and gave it to the steward, who in turn passed it on to Han Linfeng. Han Linfeng had also gotten up very late from a banquet the night before. When he heard that a cat had delivered a letter, he raised his sword-like eyebrows, his long hair a mess, and used his long fingers to unfold the letter.

The content of the letter was easy to understand. On the surface, it was about remembering the former emperor, but in reality, it was a subtle reminder that his days of revelry should be curbed.

But as Han Linfeng looked at the few lines of elegant handwriting, his eyes became even colder. This handwriting... he seemed to have seen it before...

For a moment, he could almost hear the sound of the river and see a slender, fair hand waving and moving...

Could the writer of the letter... be the blind girl he had encountered?

He stood up abruptly. The first thought that flashed through his mind was that the cunning girl had deceived him. She wasn’t blind at all; in fact, she had recognized him and was now writing this letter to blackmail him.

His second thought was that this girl was truly audacious. Such an open provocation, who was backing her?

As his mind raced, he waved his hand and called for a servant, asking if the cat that delivered the letter had always been in the residence. After hearing that the cat liked to wander around, he called for his confidant, Qingyang, to find out which families were adjacent to the young master’s residence.

Qingyang understood immediately and soon got a list from an acquaintance at the official housing registry.

Han Linfeng looked at the names one by one, and his eyes finally landed on a newly added name: “Su Luoyun of the Su family?”

Qingyang added, “This family is in the alley on the east side of the young master’s residence, next to the back garden. I’ve inquired. It’s a new family that moved in. A blind sister is living alone with her brother who is preparing for his exams... Young Master, is there something wrong?”

Han Linfeng didn’t answer. He just stood up, changed his clothes, and went to a teahouse at the alley entrance to drink tea.

A little while later, a carriage appeared in Sweetwater Alley, which was adjacent to Green Fish Alley. The carriage had the Su family’s emblem on it.

After seeing the carriage, Han Linfeng left the teahouse and got on his horse. He slowly and unhurriedly followed the carriage through three streets before it arrived at a spice shop.

Han Linfeng got off his horse and walked to the back of the carriage, where he saw a maid helping an elegant young woman out of the carriage.

The woman held up her long skirt, revealing a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes. But her feet didn’t immediately touch the ground. She cautiously tested the ground before slowly stepping down. From beginning to end, her eyes were looking straight ahead, her gaze vacant.

Han Linfeng was standing close by and could see clearly that this young woman was the same one from the boat that day. Her appearance was still elegant, but she looked a bit haggard, and there were signs of fatigue in her eyes.

When she stepped over the threshold, Miss Su stumbled and almost fell, causing the little maid beside her to complain with a heartbroken tone, “What kind of damn family! They have to feast all night, making the young lady lose sleep for days on end...”

She hadn’t finished when she was gently interrupted by Miss Su. “Don’t say such things in the future. Be careful not to cause trouble...”

The pair of master and servant didn’t notice the man behind the carriage, but Han Linfeng pieced together the situation from their conversation.

It seemed that his recent hosting of guests had disturbed his fair neighbor’s peace. The girl couldn’t sleep well, which was why she had a cat deliver a letter to remind him.

As for Miss Su’s background, Qingyang had also inquired about it later, including the story of how she had injured her head, lost her eyesight, lost her marriage, and was sent to the countryside.

After hearing the story, Han Linfeng was certain that she was a daughter of an ordinary merchant and didn’t have the background or ability to blackmail him. His two encounters with her seemed to be pure coincidence.

Qingyang, following his young master, also saw Su Luoyun. His eyes lit up, and he sighed inwardly. Although he had seen countless noble and beautiful women, this girl getting out of the carriage truly had an indescribable charm and grace. It was a shame that she had to carefully feel her way, as it seemed she was blind. What a pity for such a beautiful woman!

He thought to himself and turned to see that his young master was still staring at the girl’s back. Could he also be captivated by the blind girl’s beauty?

He laughed at himself, thinking he was overthinking things.

His young master might seem to act frivolously, but his heart was not in these things. He was definitely not a person who could be charmed by a woman’s beauty, let alone a blind girl from a merchant family, who probably wasn’t even fit to be a concubine...

Qingyang later also learned about the cat delivering the letter. He didn’t know that Su Luoyun had been on the same boat as the young master, but he felt that the words in the letter made sense. Disturbing the peace was a small matter, but with the anniversary of Emperor Zong’s death approaching, the young master really shouldn’t continue to host guests.

However, Han Linfeng lightly tapped the table with his long fingers and said, “The courtyard in the residence is a bit small and not enjoyable enough. I hear a new restaurant has opened at Yanwei Lake outside the capital, with a stage for singing and dancing. Go and book the restaurant, and invite some courtesans from the capital’s pleasure houses. I want to host a banquet for some of the highly-paid ‘cuju’ experts I’ve invited.”

Qingyang’s eyes widened. He felt that the young master’s behavior was truly absurd. With the anniversary of Emperor Zong’s death approaching, how could he act like this?

But he also knew that his young master was a man of deep thought. He must have a reason for acting this way.

So, after his persuasion failed, Qingyang sighed and went to carry out the orders.

Meanwhile, Su Luoyun had not heard the annoying music since that day. She could finally get a full night’s sleep.

It seemed the soul of the former emperor had finally put a stop to his foolish descendant, who no longer dared to feast all night.

She rested well at night, and her perfume-blending work during the day was also going smoothly. But every time she blended perfume, Old Feng from the shop was like a fly on rotten meat; he just wouldn’t leave.

Luoyun knew that Old Feng must have been instructed by her father to get the secret formula for the perfume from her. She didn’t have to be cold and chase him away. She just used the excuse that the shop was stuffy and had her maid take off her outer robe, so she was only wearing a thin shirt while blending the perfume.

This way, Old Feng couldn’t find an excuse to enter the blending room and could only wait for the young lady to bring out the finished product.

When a small jar of perfume balm was blended, Old Feng and a few other perfumers gathered around the small porcelain jar to observe its color and scent. After studying it for a while, they guessed a few of the ingredients, but they were still not sure what method the young lady had used to so skillfully blend the pear and floral scents.

After all, different methods of steaming the spices would greatly affect their scent. Sometimes, even if you were just behind a paper screen, you still couldn’t figure it out.

When Su Hongmeng heard Old Feng’s report, he was so angry that he slammed his jade-tipped water pipe against the enameled spittoon a few times. “So many tricks! Who is she like?”

His deceased wife, Hu Shi, would never have been so secretive. She had transcribed her five perfume formulas for him one by one. How did this little brat, after going blind, suddenly become so cunning?

Ding Shi, who was serving tea to her husband, comforted him gently. “I think Luoyun now values money very much. You said you would give her a share of the profits at the end of the year, but she can’t wait. She keeps sending Tian Mama to ask for money. Well, the steward has seen her courtyard, and there are many places that need to be renovated. But Caijian is getting married, and you have a lot of social engagements at court recently. The family needs money for everything. A few days ago, I told her that we were having some financial difficulties and couldn’t get the money for the renovations right away and asked her to wait. But she seemed unhappy and suspected that I was deliberately treating her poorly... How about you give her a bigger share of the profits?”