The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

159 - 160

Chapter 159 : Conferred Marriage

In a private room within Dong Feng Lou, Xiao Jungkook, Mo Cong and Xia Qing were seated together. Looking travel-worn, Mo Cong seemed to have just rushed in from an errand because as soon as he entered, he had immediately plonked himself on to a chair and without any hesitation, lifted the tea pot, poured himself a cup and gulped it down in one motion. It was only after he had drunk his fill that he took a breath before addressing Xiao Jungkook, "Third Brother, it has all been arranged. Everything has been prepared on Xuan Li's side too. This time there will not be any issues, you only have to wait to carry your beloved home."

Xia Qing was absolutely confused as he listened and anxiously asked, "What do you mean by 'carrying his beloved'? Has Third Brother got someone special in his heart, which family's young lady? And what has it got to do with Xuan Li?"

"You're such a dimwit." Mo Cong rapped him(XQ) on his head, "Not only have you not shown any concern for our Third Brother's life, you aren't even aware that our Third Brother has finally been enlightened. Although it's a pity that while the falling leaves are yearning for love, the heartless brook ripples on[1]. Meaning, his lady is very cold so Third Brother is searching for ways to improve and endear himself. However, this young lady is rather beautiful, and her eldest brother has some military troops under him, so it's no wonder that Xuan Li also has his sights on her. Thus Third Brother is unsettled on account of beauty[2], and is intent on tripping up Xuan Li."

[1] 落花有意，流水无情 (luò huā yǒu yì，liú shuǐ wú qíng) - this phrase is from a poem from the Ming dynasty by Feng Menglong, published in 1627 in his compilation of vernacular short stories "Stories to Awaken the World." It refers to the affections between a couple, it refers to twist turns between the two parties wherein one party has deep affections yet the other party does not have these intentions. In the matters of love and marriage, this has similarities to unrequited longing, secretly being in love with another, one-sided lovesickness, and one's own wishful thinking.

[2] 冲冠一怒为红颜 (chong guan yi nu wei hong yan) - this phrase is from a poem, 圆圆曲 (yuan yuan qu) written early in the Qing dynasty, which chronicles the historical events at that time, with the relationship between General Wu Sangui and his concubine Chen Yuanyuan forming the narrative backbone of the poem. The idea is that Wu Sangui betrayed the Ming dynasty to the Manchus (thus giving rise to the Qing dynasty) because Chen Yuanyuan had been seized. (There are doubts as to whether the events in the poem are true.)

Whilst Mo Cong spoke sarcastically, Xiao Jungkook continued to savour his tea in silence, without taking any of his snarkiness to heart. In fact, he was slightly distracted, but it was hard to fathom what he was thinking about.

Then, finally, Xia Qing grasped the full content of the news and hollered exaggeratedly, "WHAT?! Who has caused Third Brother to fall into this one-sided love; to be turned away at the door? Seventh Brother, don't lie to me."

What kind of person was Xiao Jungkook? When he was younger and had ridden on horseback down the streets of the capital, his way had always been paved with fragrance - the young ladies among the bystanders had willingly flung their scented sachets and silk flowers at him. Naturally, the end result was that Xiao Jungkook's mount always possessed a floral scent. Later, when he had gone to Mt. Jianan as a disciple, there were countless young ladies, all with ulterior motives, who loudly insisted that they wished to go to Mt. Jianan to be disciples. This, naturally, was impossible. At the foot of Mt. Jianan was a defensive array created by Teacher Ba Qi himself. Therefore, a person trying to enter would be in grave danger. At that time, many young, unmarried daughters from noble families, banking on Xiao Jungkook's protective feelings for the fairer sex, deliberately 'charged' into the array, but Xiao Jungkook never paid them the slightest attention. Thus, for no good reason, they brought trouble to Xiao Jungkook's fellow disciples who had to clean up his mess[3]. At that time, Xia Qing and Mo Cong were still young, and they had to spend most of their time each day hunting in all directions for such people.