[BL] Eternal Spring ✔️

第二章

Liu Qingyuan walked up to the large mansion. He paused for a moment to regard the name plate hung proudly over the main gate. Fu Mansion. Stone walls encompassed the dwelling and two guards were posted at the gate. Their armour was simple, but their presence itself indicated high standing.

Liu Qingyuan approached, only to find his path blocked by the guards. "State your business," one barked.

"I would like to visit General Fu." One guard glanced him up and down.

"Who are you?"

"Ah...I'm Liu Qingyuan." He smiled politely and bowed. The guard looked him up and down with distaste on his face.

"Who are you?" The guard clucked his tongue, stroking his chin. "From the looks of it, you're no more than a merchant. Leave, the general has no time for the likes of you. Euh, who do you think you are?" Liu Qingyuan's teeth gritted behind his smile but his expression didn't waver.

"Sir...," the younger guard looked between the two of them uncertainly. He reached out a hand towards the other guard. "Maybe we should-" The older guard slapped his hand away.

"What? Go back to your post!"

"Y-yes sir," The older guard sent one more scathing look at Liu Qingyuan and ambled after his younger companion.

Liu Qingyuan sighed, turning away from the house. He halted as conversation floated back towards him.

"Sir, did you have to be so rude?" The younger guard asked tentatively. The older guard sneered back.

"Let me teach you something. You heard the announcement yesterday right?"

"Uh, yeah. The Queen Dowager wants some new bodyguards, right?"

"And now, sooo many soldiers think they're going to make it big. But of course, you'd need a recommendation from someone in the court. Our job? Just get rid of the pesky flies, they're not important enough anyways,"

"But-"

"Aii, we're helping the general in advance."

"A-ah, yes," The guard stuttered, slowly nodding his head.

Liu Qingyuan turned, calmly walking away. There was his opening.

◆◇◆◇◆

The moon rose high over the courtyard, its pale face reflected in the still waters of the pond. All was quiet, even the fish were sleeping. The only ones awake were the guards on duty, standing stoically at their posts. Fire flickered in the lamps near them but most were cold.

A black clad figure jumped over the wall like a shadow, sliding smoothly into the vegetation bordering the wall. A black cloth covered their face, fluttering once as they darted forward to hide behind the base of a Chinese pergola. They paused there, watching. A troop marched past, firelight glancing over the figure. They wait. A minute. Two. They moved, running swift, the main hall their goal.

The figure circled the large building twice, knowing that every moment meant the possibility they'd be discovered. Finally, they approached a window, an intricate wooden frame screened with rice paper. It didn't open. Frustrated, the figure reached into his belt. There's a flash of metal and the frame is decimated, wood snapped and paper torn. The figure slipped inside.

Within is a study, a grand wooden table, neatly arranged with an ink tray, a brush holder filled with brushes and a small stack of books. The table is backed with a large array of bookcases, holding various books and wooden slips*.

(*Wooden slips - Strips of flat wooden sticks that act like a scroll and are a form of book)

The figure wasted no time, rummaging through the stored documents until they found what they were looking for. He ripped down his mask in triumph. The figure was Liu Qingyuan.

He carefully broke the seal on the tube, rolling out the parchment inside. It bore the names of the individuals recommended and the seal of the left state councillor. Gently, Liu Qingyuan smoothed the paper on the table, taking a fresh sheet from the stack on the desk. He pulled out an ink stick and brush from his robe and began to write, slowly imitating the strokes of words. Liu Qingyuan wrote his name in the place of another's. Because general Fu guarded the northern border, closest to the capital, Liu Qingyuan said he was from the southern border. He finished with a flourish and began the painstaking process of forging the councillor's seal.

When he was finished, Liu Qingyuan found that he didn't need to squint his eyes to see in the candlelight. He glanced up, and cursed at the sight of the lightening sky.

Quickly, Liu Qingyuan rolled up the paper, shoving it back into the tube and re-melting the wax seal using the candle flame. He replaced the tube, snuffed out the candle and slipped out the broken window, snatching a lantern from the exterior of the study. Liu Qingyuan crawled up to the roof, crouching low against the dark clay tiles. He dropped the lantern, watching the candle within dislodge from its place. The flame flickered but quickly caught the lantern on fire, greedily climbing up the torn shreds of the window and eating up the evidence of his blade.

Liu Qingyuan stole away over the rooftops, listening to the growing chorus of "fire!" behind him.

◆◇◆◇◆

It was a few days past when Liu Qingyuan was actually summoned. He sat in the upper landing of the inn, keeping an ear open for information from the various conversations around him, but mostly staring into his tea as his mind wandered.

"Lao ban*, I promise I will pay you later. I swear! Now let me just-"

(*Lao ban - Boss)

"Ey, where do you think you're going? You can't leave until you pay!"

"Xiao jie*...," The servant glanced nervously at her mistress, head lowered in distress.

(*Xiao jie - Honorific title meaning miss or lady)

Liu Qingyuan quietly glanced over at the commotion, wondering if he should leave for a bit. In Gongzhuan, these types of confrontations usually escalated into a fist fight; people didn't have the time or energy to understand your predicament.

"How about you pay with that jewelry of yours?"

"No way!" The young woman stepped back, touching her earrings. "I can't just give these pieces away!"

"Hmmf. Then you're not going anywhere."

Liu Qingyuan set down his tea cup, grabbing his sword and intending to leave. "Hey! You there!" He turned as a cloud of purple silk and womanly perfume practically crashed into him.

"What-"

"You see," the woman waved at Liu Qingyuan. "This is my friend." She turned to him and winked. "PleasehelpmeIlostmywalletandnowth-"

"No." Liu Qingyuan removed her grip on his arm. He bowed to the boss who nodded back and started down the stairs of the upper landing. The woman quickly ran to block his path.

"Please! Wait! Can't you just help me, this once? I promise I'll pay you back."

"I-" Out of the corner of his eye, Liu Qingyuan saw the waiter frantically waving him over. At the door stood three soldiers.. The red inlay of their uniform, and the design of their armour indicated they were imperial guards. Liu Qingyuan's eyes narrowed, wondering if they'd finally come to collect him.

"Hello?" A small hand waved in his face and he focused back onto the frantic face in front of him. "Just this once?"

"Xiao jie..." her maid tried to pull her away, casting a concerned glance at Liu Qingyuan's frustrated expression.

'Hurry' the waiter mouthed. Glancing quickly between the two, Liu Qingyuan sighed and quickly fished out his wallet. He turned to the boss who held up one finger. Liu Qingyuan fished out a small chunk of silver and tossed it at the boss.

"Ah thank you, thank you." Bowing, Liu Qingyuan sent a grimace to the beaming woman and slipped past her. He drew up beside the waiter, inclining his head politely at the soldiers.

"You asked for me?"

"Yes." The captain brandished a piece of paper. "You've been summoned to the palace as a bodyguard."

"Of course," Liu Qingyuan took the paper. The captain gestured for him to follow, demanding eyes scanning the inn one last time.