latelenovela Chapter 534
Chapter 534
Dongfang Wan'er parted her lips slightly, her voice clear and melodious like the sound of jade bells: "This humble woman is willing to pledge the rest of her life to His Highness Jiuchen and fulfill our promise to grow old together." As soon as she finished speaking, the agarwood incense wafting from the gilded beast-head incense burner in the main hall seemed to freeze for a moment, and the young noblemen holding fans by the green jade table looked at each other, their Xiangfei bamboo fans hanging in mid-air, forgetting to wave.
Lady Dongfang's gilded silver filigree nail guard trembled slightly. When she placed the teacup on the mother-of-pearl inlaid table, the bottom of the cup clinked softly against the porcelain plate. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, her fingertips tracing the gold-embroidered twin lotus blossoms on her cuff, repeatedly praising its beauty. The jade bracelet on her wrist slid down her forearm, shimmering softly in the candlelight. The old Duke Ye, stroking his long, three-stranded beard, paused at his chest, his sandalwood cane tapping lightly on the blue bricks. "In that case," he said, "we will request His Majesty to issue a decree for the marriage tomorrow morning at court. This jade unicorn lock and the pearl-embroidered phoenix hairpin…" The old man's gaze swept over the red lacquered wooden box on the antique shelf, his aged voice tinged with amusement.
Just as everyone was immersed in joy, the carved wooden door creaked open, and the black-clad guard, kneeling on one knee, struck the ground, sparks flying. "Your Majesty!" he reported, veins bulging on his forehead from his haste, "Three bronze bells, commonly used by merchants from the Western Regions, have been discovered beside the abandoned well in the west courtyard of the old Dongfang family residence!"
Dongfang Wan'er's fingertips had just touched the golden dates on the table when she heard this and her grip tightened abruptly, her nails almost digging into her palms. The crimson gold nail guard that had come with her mother's dowry gleamed coldly in the candlelight. She suddenly remembered the night of her seventh birthday, also in late spring weather, when her father held her in his arms as they looked at the crabapple blossoms in the old house's corridor. The copper bells on the eaves swayed in the wind, producing a clear sound that was remarkably similar to the description given by the secret guard.
"Wan'er?" Ye Jiuchen's voice, tinged with the scent of pine soot and ink, drifted over. His hands, which had been wielding swords for years, gently covered her cold hand, his thumb tracing the cinnabar birthmark on her wrist. "Do you still remember what you said when you were practicing your sword dance in the plum grove last winter solstice? No matter what happens..."
"I'll go myself." Dongfang Wan'er interrupted him, looking up. Beneath her dark blue eyelashes, her eyes held a cold light as if icicles had been broken. She turned and took the Qing Shuang sword, left to her by her father, from the wall. The two characters "Zhi Ge" (止戈, meaning "Stop the War") on the scabbard left warm marks in her palm. "When my father tied the tassel to my sword, he said, 'As long as the sword is there, I am there.' Today, this is a den of dragons and tigers..."
Ye Jiuchen gazed at the stray strands of hair falling as she tied her hair up, edged with gold by the candlelight. He suddenly recalled their first meeting, when she rode her horse across the hunting grounds—the same stubborn gaze, the same tightly pursed lips. He reached out and straightened the last pearl hairpin for her, the phoenix pendant holding a pearl on her gilded crown swaying gently. "In that case, let the Shadow Guards go and scout out the situation first." He gripped the scabbard of the soft sword at her waist. "But you must promise me, no matter what you see..."
As the dawn's gong startled the birds roosting under the eaves, the two had already ridden side by side out of Xuanwu Gate. Dongfang Wan'er gazed at the pale light of dawn on the horizon, her hand on her sword hilt matching the rhythm of the horse's hooves. The ivy climbing the broken walls of the old house rustled in the morning breeze. She suddenly remembered her mother saying that a Western Regions-language account book was hidden in a secret compartment of her father's study, and the bronze bell the guard had mentioned last night…
"Your Highness, there's movement ahead!" The shadow guard leading the way suddenly reined in his horse. In the moonlight, a few glimpses of dark red clothing flashed behind the collapsed screen wall of the old house. Dongfang Wan'er pressed down on Ye Jiuchen's hand as he was about to draw his sword, her fingertips touching the calluses on his palm—marks left from years of holding arrows. She took a deep breath, smelling a faint scent of milk in the air, which mingled with the agarwood incense from her father's study in her memory, creating a strangely sweet aroma.
Ye Jiuchen removed his outer robe and draped it over her shoulders. The silver thread embroidery on the dark fabric gleamed coldly in the moonlight—the uniform of the royal guard commander. "Keep within three steps of me." He drew his soft sword from his waist, the blade scraping against the bluestone bricks with a harsh sound. "If you see anyone wearing a short jacket with a floral pattern..."
Before the words were finished, several dark figures suddenly leaped down from the roof of the east wing. The leader, his face veiled in blue gauze, had a copper bell at his waist that jingled softly with his movements. Dongfang Wan'er's pupils constricted sharply. The sound of that bell was exactly the same as the one that had fallen from the murderer's clothes when her father fell, a sound she remembered perfectly. Her hand holding the sword suddenly steadied. As the Azure Frost Sword was drawn, it brought with it a sliver of moonlight. The moment the blade grazed the other's throat, she heard her heart pound like a drum—this was a day she had waited six long years for.
In the midst of the struggle, a bronze bell rolled to her feet. As she bent down to pick it up, she noticed the double fish pattern engraved on the bell, identical to the one on her mother's dowry. Ye Jiuchen's sword grazed her temple, severing a strand of hair, but suddenly changed direction just before touching the enemy's throat—the black-clad man's pupils reflected the sword's gleam, revealing a relieved smile.
"Leave them alive!" Dongfang Wan'er cried out, her Qing Shuang sword held against the man's neck. As the morning mist rose, she saw a cinnabar birthmark peeking out from the black-clad man's sleeve, its shape exactly the same as the one on her wrist. In the distance came the sound of a night watchman striking his clapper, his shouts of "Dry weather, be careful with fire!" Behind the abandoned peony garden of the old house, half a broken white marble stele was faintly visible, the two characters "Chastity" on it entwined by vines, appearing inexplicably eerie.
As Ye Jiuchen subdued the man in black, Dongfang Wan'er suddenly noticed the jade pendant with two fish hanging from his waist—it seemed to be a pair with the one her father always wore. She reached out and touched the edge of the pendant, her fingertips suddenly touching the raised patterns. Looking closely in the morning light, she saw that it read "Eternal Silence of Mountains and Rivers," which, together with the words engraved on the inner wall of the gold-inlaid jade bracelet that her mother had given her as dowry, formed half a line of poetry.
"Take him back and interrogate him thoroughly." Ye Jiuchen's voice interrupted her thoughts. He took off his cloak and tied it tightly for her, his fingertips brushing against the corners of her reddened eyes. "Go back to the manor and change your clothes first, so your aunt won't worry." Dongfang Wan'er looked at the lingering murderous intent in his eyes and suddenly remembered that last night when he stamped the marriage certificate, the cinnabar on the plain paper looked exactly like the bloodstains on the jade pendant at this moment.
On her way back, she clutched the bronze bell tightly. Half a withered leaf, its blackened color suggesting it had been soaked in medicine, was embedded within the double fish pattern on its body. Morning dew dampened the stray hairs at her temples. She suddenly remembered the note her father had slipped into her hand before his death, on which were hastily written, "Two fish, tail to tail, cause and effect, cycle." At that moment, the bell in her hand touched the jade pendant, producing a clear, melodious sound that resonated with the rhythm of the morning bells and evening drums of her old house in her memory.
Ye Jiuchen's horse followed closely behind her mount, its hooves splashing through the puddles on the bluestone slabs. Dongfang Wan'er gazed at his straight back, then suddenly reached out and tugged at a corner of his robe. He immediately reined in his horse and turned back, his eyes still showing lingering wariness, but when he saw the bell between her fingers, his gaze darkened considerably.
“Jiuchen,” she heard her own voice tremble in the morning mist, “you said, if cause and effect are cyclical…” Before she could finish, he suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms. The cold fragrance of his dark clothes mingled with the stench of blood wafted towards her. His chin rested on the top of her head, his voice as deep as the still waters of an old well in a historic house: “No matter what you find out, I will always be behind you.”
Dongfang Wan'er closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his embrace. In the distance, the corner tower of the palace peeked out from under the morning light, its eaves tinkling in the breeze. She suddenly remembered the words Lady Dongfang had uttered last night when the wedding date was set: "After hardship comes happiness, after hardship comes happiness..." At this moment, the bell in her hand jingled with the jade pendant, like an echo of fate, quietly binding the red thread of revenge and marriage together.