Chapter 8: Jinquezi

  Name: Yan Xiang

  Sex: Male

  Age: Appearance around twenty

  Occupation: Host of Swallow Pavilion

  Address: No. 20 Beimeicun North Village

  "Miss, miss, where did you go? Waaahhh..."

  A young girl wearing a green dress and skirt walked unsteadily through the unfamiliar market, her big eyes, swollen like walnuts, desperately searching for the figure of her own miss.

  Everyone is here! Today is the fifteenth day of the first month, and the market is filled with people admiring the lanterns. The paper rabbit lanterns made by farmers, the exquisite eight immortals running horse lanterns sold by merchants, and the magnificent and intricate glass lanterns from official families are all hung on delicate golden threads, extending from the top of one's head, shining brightly as if in a fairyland.

  "Uncle, have you seen the young lady from my house?" The girl bowed down and asked pitifully the old man selling lotus lanterns.

  The old man raised his head, looked at her, pointed to the corner of the street, and then lowered his head, focusing solely on making the skeleton under the swaying light of his own lantern.

  "Thank you, uncle." The girl bowed slightly and walked away towards the street corner.

  Miss is the only daughter of local gentry He Yuanwai, with a good name called Hong Su, 28 years old, proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and also has a dignified and elegant demeanor, with outstanding beauty and talent; The girl is Miss He's personal maid, named Xiao Que, 13 years old this year, has been in the mansion for more than seven years, although not considered a beauty, but looks delicate and pleasant, plus being diligent and obedient, thus gaining the favor of Mr. and Mrs. He Yuanwai. Today, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it's the Lantern Festival, Miss said she wanted to go to the market to relax, Xiao Que accompanied Miss out of the mansion, who would have thought that there were so many people in the lantern market, in a short while, the master and maid were squeezed apart, Xiao Que was anxious and cried all the way, searching for her mistress everywhere.

  Lin'an Prefecture was large, but it had never seen such a huge crowd during the Lantern Festival, nor had it ever seen so many strangely dressed foreigners. Xiao Que swallowed hard and hastily walked past a blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreign woman, turning around the corner of the street, her eyes involuntarily dimming.

  It's like two worlds. The bustling market and the quiet streets, the dazzling flower lanterns and the two simple red lanterns. In front of me is a small quadrangle courtyard with a narrow sign hanging on it, with the words "Quege" written on it.

  "Is anyone there?" The little sparrow plucked up the courage to walk forward and gently knock on the door ring, which was made of some material that emitted a pleasant sound when tapped against the wooden door that gave off a fresh wood scent.

  "Excuse me, is anyone home?" Little sparrow asked again in a slightly louder voice, with a moving and melodious tone like the song of a skylark.

  The door creaked open with a groan.

  The little sparrow was so frightened that it retreated backward and almost fell off the steps.

  "I am Xiao Que, a maid from the He family. I've come to inquire about my young mistress's whereabouts." Xiao Que asked cautiously, her voice trembling as she faced the dimly lit interior of the door.

  No one answered, and a faint fragrance of jasmine wafted from inside the door. The inopportune scent, blooming under the bright moon on Qixi Festival night, unfolded its white petals and swayed gently under the clear moonlight on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

  "Little sparrow... little sparrow has come in..." The little sparrow timidly stepped across the threshold, and the door creaked shut behind her. She stroked her chest, proceeding cautiously through the courtyard illuminated only by moonlight. On both sides of the bluestone path were densely planted white jasmine flowers, their delicate fragrance wafting up like the snow on a winter's day in the capital city under the bright moonlight of the 15th night, exuding an elegant and refined beauty.

  "Excuse me... is anyone there?" Little sparrow lightly knocked on the door of the house with a light on.

  No one answered, just like the master of the courtyard had also gone out to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The little sparrow withdrew its head and turned around in disappointment, but the door creaked open with a soft sound.

  He was a handsome and kind young man, wearing a snow-white shirt like the moonlight, with an incredible pair of clear eyes like red coral on his elegant face.

  The little sparrow was stunned for a moment, is this a man? He's even more handsome than the young lady! Is he dreaming? As she thought about it, she stretched out her hand to touch that unreal beautiful face. Her fingers trembled and advanced in the fragrance of the moonflower, slowly, until they touched something warm and real. It was true, a real person! When she realized this, Little Sparrow's hand jerked back as if scalded, her face turned red like a cooked shrimp, and she thought to herself that she had been too forward with the young man in front of her!! Thinking this way, she felt so embarrassed that she wanted to cry, and the tears she had just held back began to well up in her eyes again. Little Sparrow bit hard on her lower lip, not letting those "shameful" tears fall.

  The young man burst out laughing, a bright and clear laughter like the evening breeze on a summer day. Such a delicate face actually had such a loud laugh, it was really unbelievable.

  "What's your name?" The man bent down to look at the little sparrow, his height, which was more than a head taller than the thirteen-year-old girl, allowed him to see only the top of the young girl's head with two cute little buns, but now, that small face on the verge of tears was clearly reflected in his eyes.

  A pleasant fragrance... The little sparrow smelled the faint scent coming from the young man's body, and unknowingly relaxed its mood.

  "My name is... Sparrow." The last two words were mumbled unclearly, what a silly and unrefined name it was. A name like Sparrow would immediately give away that she wasn't the daughter of a good family. Sparrow's face began to look unpleasant again.

  "Little sparrow?" The young man seemed to be savoring the name, repeating the two words over and over. "What a nice-sounding name! My name is Yanxiang, 'yan' as in swallow, 'xiang' as in fragrance, a name that sounds like a woman's!" He then burst into another fit of wild laughter, like a mischievous child who had just gotten away with something.

  "Swallow... Mr. Yan Xiang, have you seen my young mistress?" The youth's forthrightness seemed to have an effect on the little sparrow, whose courage grew somewhat, "I got separated from my mistress, she's about this tall, wearing a beautiful pink satin dress..." The little sparrow tried its best to describe the mistress's appearance, then looked at the man in front of her with expectant eyes.

  "Seen it? Of course I've seen it!" The man curled his lip, "It's a freak!" He said, waving his hand in disgust.

  "You... how can you say that about my mistress!" Sparrow's face instantly turned red, even someone with a good temper like her would get angry when hearing an outsider belittle the mistress she admired, "My mistress is the most beautiful, everyone says so, you're the one who's ugly!"

  It's against my will to say such things, Little sparrow, turn your head away and don't look at those beautiful eyes that seem to be able to absorb a person's three souls and seven spirits.

  "Hey, let me show you something." The young man tapped the little girl's small head, which was shaking with anger.

  "No!" The little sparrow spoke loudly for the first time in front of a stranger, and that too a strange man, feeling a bit timid, but who let the other be an unscrupulous guy? How despicable!

  "I don't care, I just want to show you!" The young man actually started being stubborn and pulled out a small, warm thing from somewhere and forcibly stuffed it into the little girl's hand.

  "Ah......" The little sparrow cried out in surprise, that thing was a living creature.

  "Hey, hey, don't throw my treasure around like that!" The young man named Yan Xiang seemed to be in a bit of distress as he caught the thing that the little girl had tossed away. He opened his palm and it was a small bird with gray feathers and a soft yellow beak. Its big round eyes sparkled as it looked around, seemingly unafraid.

  "How cute!" The little sparrow looked at the young man's palm and forgot to be angry.

  "It's cute, I'll temporarily entrust this goldfinch to you for safekeeping. You must take good care of it, as I'll want it back in the future." The young man said, and without further ado, handed the small bird over to Xiaojian's hands, rolled up his sleeves, and headed into the house.

  "Oh, right," he suddenly turned around and said to the little sparrow who was indulging in the joy of getting a small bird, "This golden sparrow is also called Little Sparrow, and your young lady has gone out and turned left, you can see her under an elm tree."

  What a strange person! Little sparrow thought with joy, looking at the small bird in his hand, that tender yellow beak opening and closing looked lovely.

  Huh? Is that Miss? And there's a man, it's... Zhang family's older brother. Xiao Que was so excited that she forgot her manners and lifted up her skirt to run forward. What... Miss and Zhang big brother...

  A young girl hid in the shadow of a distant street corner, far from the elm tree, watching as a couple intimately kissed under the colorful lights of the tree. As she watched, her face turned red, and her heart unknowingly fell to the bottom of the valley. Why did she feel so sad? The young girl didn't understand that the piercing pain in her heart was the seed of love withering away, nor did she know that the sudden hatred she felt towards the lady was the work of jealousy.

  That pair of perfect matches, the man refined and handsome, the woman beautiful and noble, in anyone's eyes are a match made in heaven, the most enviable couple. But in Xiaojue's heart, there was a corner that hoped they would break up, hating the deeply affectionate couple who kissed so passionately.

  Zhang Sheng left. Xiao Que looked at the thin and gaunt figure disappearing into the distance before daring to emerge from the darkness: "Your servant has seen Miss."

  Miss He Hongxuan narrowed her eyes and looked at the young maid for a long time before spitting out a sentence from her mouth: "Just now, didn't you see anything?" The tone was cold, although it was a question, but used an affirmative sentence pattern.

  "The little sparrow saw nothing, the little sparrow knew nothing." The young girl said with her head down.

  "That's good, let me know you're careless with your tongue, be careful with your dog legs." He Hong Su said emotionlessly, casually throwing down a white handkerchief, and walked forward without looking back, "Go back."

  From far away, He Hong's cold voice came: "Hmph, what status do you have to dare come find me? The Zhang family of today is not the wealthy and famous family that was renowned throughout Jiangnan in the past... sending such a shabby thing..."

  The little sparrow's hands trembled as she picked up the handkerchief from the ground. The fabric wasn't very good, but the embroidery was exquisite. A row of tiny characters were embroidered on it, which she couldn't recognize, but they must be beautiful and romantic words. Three days later, the little sparrow finally learned that the poem written on the handkerchief was called "The Reed". On that spring morning, the young lady had thrown Zhang Sheng's betrothal gifts out of the door, and he refused to leave. The family servants chased him away with thick clubs, beating him repeatedly on his frail body. The little sparrow watched in distress as Zhang Sheng fell into the muddy puddles after the spring rain, his clothes torn and his arm injured. Yet, he still gazed deeply at the young lady's boudoir with his clear eyes, reciting "The reeds are green, white dew turns to frost, the one I long for is on the other side of the water". It seemed that with each word, the pain in his body would lessen a little, until he fainted and was thrown out of the He manor.

  The little sparrow's heart has collapsed! That beautiful, intelligent and kind-hearted young lady, from head to toe, was just a dream of her own?

  "Do you hate her, that venomous woman?" someone asked in Little Sparrow's ear.

  The little sparrow looked up and couldn't find the owner who was speaking.

  "Give me to her." Xiao Que only then discovered that it was the "Xiao Que" perched on the frame who was speaking. A bird that could talk!

  The little sparrow given to the young lady soon gained her favor, and even the maid's sparrow was treated better than before. Day by day, the little sparrow's feathers gradually changed from gray to white, with golden down appearing at the edges of its white plumage.

  "Like a golden phoenix!" Every time the guests saw Xiaojian, they would exclaim in surprise. At this moment, He Yuanwai and the young lady would reveal a proud expression, while Xiaojian stood aside with his head lowered, his thoughts unreadable.

  A month ago, I heard that Zhang Sheng finally died...

  "Oh, I'm dead..." The young lady heard this and casually inserted the golden hairpin sent by the son of the Golden Prefecture into her hair. The round and big pearls were inlaid on the gold silk knot on the hairpin, swaying back and forth, like a small bird seeing Zhang Sheng's smile revealing a row of white teeth.

  Hate, after all, slowly grew up!

  The little sparrow of Yan Xiang has grown up and finally returned to its nest today.

  The grey feathers have fallen off, and the little sparrow is adorned with glittering golden plumage all over its body. Two long tail feathers are dancing with flame-like golden red color, turning into golden eyes, and still tender yellow beak.

  "Phoenix, it's really a phoenix!" He Yuanwai was overjoyed.

  He Hong's hand stretched out to hug the little sparrow, gentle and clever little sparrow, who had once nestled so obediently in Miss He's arms. The little sparrow unexpectedly pecked at its owner's eyes and flew away, leaving behind a trail of golden red feathers that seemed like flames burning in the air!

  It is said that the He estate caught fire on that day, burning for three whole days and nights. Although only a few servants were injured, it never recovered from then on. People all say that the He family had offended the gods.

  "What's on your mind, little sparrow?" A well-dressed beauty walked in and casually lay down on the sofa in the store, turning on the TV to watch an entertainment program.

  "Master, there are several accounts today..." The clever girl brought over the account book.

  "Alright, alright! I said it's fine if you're in charge of business matters, I'm tired of being bothered!"

  A room full of birds and birds perched on the branches, occasionally flapping their wings to fly in the empty hall.

  It's true that as people get older, they tend to become nostalgic! The girl gazed out at the blue sky outside her window, her eyes distant and far-off.