Insufficient balance

  "Get down, all of you." Xue Chongxun said standing at the door to the servants holding lanterns beside him.

  "Yes." Everyone knelt down and bowed in unison, responding with a single voice.

  Xue Chongxun stretched out his hand and gently pushed open the carved wooden door. Facing him was a large lamp stand, on which at least several dozen candles were lit, illuminating the room brightly. The interior of the house was decorated with luxury and precision, but it made Xue Chongxun feel somewhat uncomfortable, because compared to the simple and elegant decoration of his own mansion, this place looked like a boudoir. His mother's mansion, was it also his home?

  He had never thought this way before, but tonight his mother made him feel quite moved, warm in his heart, as if a traveler had returned to his hometown.

  He lifted his long gown and stepped across the threshold into the house. On the north wall hung a beaded curtain, behind which was a woman. The carved windows, embroidered curtains, beaded curtain and incense burner all hinted at another beauty inside. This scene filled Xue Chongxun's heart with joy, and he couldn't help but recite: "A beauty rolls up the beaded curtain, sitting deeply with furrowed brows. Only seeing tear stains wet, who knows whose heart is resentful..."

  This poem was written by Li Bai, but at that time Li Bai was probably only around 10 years old and shouldn't have been able to write such a poem. Xue Chongxun somewhat mischievously recited it first, but since it didn't spread far, there's no big deal.

  As the bead curtain was lifted, I saw a woman wearing a skirt, my mother said her name was Cheng Ting. She stood there with her head down, but she didn't cry like in poetry. Her skirt was light-colored and covered her body tightly, but it wasn't as seductive as the half-opened Luo skirt worn in the temple.

  It wasn't until Xue Chongxun took a few more glances that he discovered the woman had a unique aura about her. Soft and peaceful, like the older sister from next door when he was young, warm and gentle. Seeing her made Xue Chongxun involuntarily think of the bluestone alleys in his hometown, oil-paper umbrellas in the misty rain, and other faintly beautiful things.

  "Raise your head and take a look." Xue Chongxun walked over and sat down beside the bed.

  Ting only lifted her head, but didn't look at Xue Chongxun. Her eyes were fixed elsewhere, it was unclear whether she was shy, afraid or disgusted. She had an oval-shaped face, just like her temperament, gentle and reserved.

  Xue Chongxun had been in the house for a while, and he hadn't heard her make a sound. This silence made him feel a bit awkward. Even Pei Niang, the maid who served him at home, would chatter on about something when she was around... Wasn't this just too boring?

  Xue Chongxun didn't bother to reason with her either. Although she was a descendant of the Cheng family and had a good background, the Cheng family had already disappeared from the stage of power, so what's the point of being proud?

  He grumbled while undressing himself: "It's better to get a maid in to serve me."

  "What's the difference between me and a maid?" Cheng Ting finally spoke up, hesitated for a moment, then walked forward to help Xue Chongxun take off his clothes.

  Because she was untying Xue Chongxun's belt, when Xue Chongxun lifted his head, he happened to see her profile and ear, with a few strands of hair falling down on the white ear root, set off against the jade-like ear, exceptionally beautiful. Xue Chongxun caught a whiff of faint fragrance, which came from her body.

  He then smiled and said: "I thought I had chosen a mute."

  Ting didn't speak again, silently doing her own thing. After serving Xue Chongxun to bed, she began to take off her outer shirt. At this moment, Xue Chongxun suddenly saw a large drop of crystal tears fall from her big eyes and land on her newly exposed white bare shoulder, only to disappear instantly... just like a water droplet falling into the lake, quickly merging into one color.

  Xue Chongxun's smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he stared blankly: "Why are you crying? Don't you want to serve me?"

  Ting Cheng smiled bitterly and choked with sobs: "Of course, how could I not be willing? It's inevitable anyway... serving the young master of the palace, I'm just lucky to have made it this far..."

  Xue Chongxun said: "Don't undress, there's a bed opposite you, sleep on that side."

  Ting looked at Xue Chongxun's dark face with tears in her eyes and said, "How, did my crying affect your mood? Are you regretting it?"

  "What's there for me to regret?" Xue Chongxun said casually.

  Cheng Ting said: "Just now in the palace there were so many beautiful women for you to choose from, you must regret why you chose me."

  Xue Chongxun shook his head and sighed: "Don't worry about these things, I won't tell on you, okay?... I'm not so lenient with everyone, you remind me of a friend, and for the time being, I couldn't bear to do otherwise. Go to sleep, stop crying."

  Cheng Ting seemed to be no longer sad after listening, and directly wiped away her tears with her sleeve. This action was quite cute and lovely, she wasn't a pretentious girl. She curiously asked: "How did I remind Lang Jun of that friend? Is there any similarity?"

  Xue Chongxun happened to be in a good mood tonight, and his patience was also better. He sat cross-legged on the bed, patted the bedside and said: "Sit down, I'll tell you her story."

  Ting Cheng was stunned for a moment, realizing that Xue Chongxun didn't dare to resist her and had nothing to worry about, so she obediently sat down on the edge of the bed.

  Xue Chongxun thought for a moment and said, "Her name is Meng Xiaoyu, she's a courtesan...". He told them how Meng Xiaoyu had helped Xiao Heng pass the imperial examination, how deeply in love they were, and how she had waited for him in vain, only to receive a cup of poisoned wine.

  The story ended and the two of them sat on the bed in silence for a long time. Finally, Xue Chongxun broke the silence, shaking his head: "Xiaoyu is too foolish, even more foolish than Du Shiniang."

  Cheng Ting lowered her head and asked in a low voice: "Who is Du Shi Niang, also a song girl? Lang Jun is really carefree and unrestrained."

  Du Shiniang was indeed a song girl... but Xue Chongxun seemed to have no way of recognizing her in person. He also found it hard to explain, so he smiled and said: "I remembered the first song I taught you about Du Shiniang, sing it for me."

  ……

  "Alone on a boat at night, I sit in the cabin. In the cabin is my Du Shi Niang, waiting for her husband. Suddenly, outside the window, someone calls out 'Du Shi Niang'. With hands on the windowsill, looking all around, why can't I see my husband... Husband, are you feeling anxious? If you're feeling anxious, tell me, Du Shi Niang, and I'll help you relieve your worries; Husband, are you thinking of your parents? If you're thinking of your parents, tell me, Du Shi Niang, and I'll take you back to our hometown..."

  Cheng Ting sang while tears streamed down her face, this woman was indeed made of water. After finishing the song, she suddenly flung herself onto Xue Chongxun's shoulder and burst into loud sobs, wetting a large patch of his white undershirt with her cold tears.

  Xue Chongxun gently patted her shoulder and comforted: "Okay, okay, crying so sadly, it's just a song."

  Cheng Ting sobbed: "Is Du Shi Niang in this song real?"

  Xue Chongxun hesitated and said, "I haven't seen it with my own eyes, others say it's true, but I haven't seen it either... Alright, we don't know her anyway, no need to pay attention. I'm a bit tired, let's sleep. You sleep on that bed over there."

  Cheng Ting finally let go of Xue Chongxun, and saw that his clothes were all wet from her tears. Her face suddenly turned red as she stood up and said: "I'll go get a change of clothes for you to wear, husband."

  As she bowed her head to take off Xue Chongxun's underwear, the tip of Xue Chongxun's nose almost touched her hair, and suddenly smelled a fragrance, which he had always mistaken for the smell of women.

  At this time, Jing saw the gauze on Xue Chongxun's chest and hurriedly raised her head to ask: "Are you okay?" Xue Chongxun shook his head: "I was shot by an arrow and almost lost my life, but I'm fine now." Her fingers lightly slid over Xue Chongxun's solid chest muscles, and her face turned red again.

  At dinner time, Xue Chongxun drank a lot of wine. At this time, his eyelids were drooping and he was tired, so he didn't have much thought about that kind of thing. After changing into dry clothes, he pulled over the quilt to cover his head and fell asleep. In less than an incense stick's worth of time, he started snoring softly and didn't care about what happened to Cheng Ting.

  Ting Cheng stared blankly at the bed opposite where Xue Chongxun had pointed earlier, then turned back to look at Xue Chongxun's calm face. He was sleeping soundly, but she couldn't sleep at all.

  She looked at him, and couldn't help but stretch out her hand, gently placing it on Xue Chongxun's face. His face was a bit dark, but his two sword-like eyebrows were flying high and flowing smoothly, with an air of elegance that was intimidating. The bridge of his nose was high, and the lines of his lips were bold and expansive. The more Cheng Ting looked at him, the more she felt that this man was becoming more and more pleasing to her eyes.

  Cheng Ting herself didn't know how she fell asleep, but when she woke up, she found that she was covered with a quilt, but her clothes were still on, and she was lying in bed. She quickly got up and found that this bed belonged to Xue Chongxun, but he was gone. Cheng Ting's heart suddenly felt a pang of sadness, and she didn't know what had happened. After all, it was just the first time they met, and they couldn't see each other again in the future, their social status was too far apart.

  Just then, a majestic voice came from outside the door: "Qin Xiao Gong relies on the solidness of Cui Wei, possesses the land of Yongzhou, and guards it with his ministers to spy on the Zhou royal house. He has the intention of sweeping across the world, embracing all within the universe, encompassing the four seas, and swallowing up the eight wastes."

  Isn't that Xue Lang's voice? He hasn't left yet. Cheng Ting hastily found a comb and sat in front of the copper mirror, combing her disheveled black hair. After tidying up her appearance, she walked out the door and saw Xue Chongxun standing on a stone bridge over a small stream, reading aloud from a book.

  After a while, having finished reading the "Overcoming Gu Qin", he put down the book and walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, sometimes looking up to sigh, sometimes lowering his head in contemplation, lost in thought.

  Cheng Ting slowly walked over and softly said behind his back: "The land of Guanzhong is like the head of a divine dragon, the spine of China. Controlling Guanzhong means controlling the country, so our Great Tang's capital was established in Chang'an, with Qin people's land as its foundation."

  Xue Chongxun turned around, looking at her in surprise, and couldn't help but say: "You've got some experience... Ah, almost forgot you're from the Cheng family, haha."

  "My knowledge is too shallow, I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself in front of you." Cheng Ting lowered her head and asked, "Are you hungry?"

  "Now that you mention it, I'm really hungry, let's eat first." Xue Chongxun said with a smile.

  "Lang Jun will arrive at the house a little later, and I'll go call the servants to serve breakfast."