Volume 1 Chapter 53: The Sound of the Xiao

  It's late at night.

  The moon is above the willow branches, the wind blows and the peach blossoms fall.

  Lu Yuang rubbed his sore arm and lifted his head under the bright candlelight.

  She gazed at her younger brother, Lu Yun's handsome and delicate face in the candlelight. The 14-year-old young man had grown taller due to good food and sufficient sleep recently. Looking at her brother who was now as tall as her ear tip, Lu Xuan thought to herself: Ah Yun has been growing fast lately, it seems that meat cannot be stopped.

  Feeling his sister's gaze, the young man lifted his handsome small face, and his black pupils looked at her in confusion, "Sister?"

  "It's okay, you write." Lu Xuan smiled slightly and lowered his head. Without this younger brother, she would be the strongest, but also a drifter without roots. She must let her brother soar to great heights.

  She lowered her eyelids and added some ink, writing a "谋" character on the letter.

  At this time, a melodious zither sound accompanied by the moonlight came from next door, humming and whispering. Today was exactly the fifteenth day of the lunar month, with a bright moon shining like water outside, a clear sky with an occasional drifting cloud, also light as a willow catkin.

  On such a night, with the sound of the sheng, Lu Xuan somehow seemed to hear the gentle rustle of spring breeze, heard the longing yet unattainable heart, felt the pining and endless melancholy...

  Listening and listening, Lu Xuan put down the bamboo slips and walked along with the sound of the flute.

  Before long, she arrived at the wall where the cicadas often crawled. She leaned lightly against the wall, and indeed, the sound of the cicada came from the other side of the wall. So close, it seemed to be right next to her ear, yet so far away, separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

  Lu Xuan leaned lightly against the wall, lowered her head, gazed at the long shadow of herself under the bright moonlight, and listened to the sound of the flute drifting away. After a long while, she couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

  In this flute sound, she heard the concern and longing. Lu Xuan didn't know that since her parents' death, besides her brother, who else had been so concerned about herself? The flute sound was clear and gentle, as if the person playing the flute was the one in his heart, perfect in every way.

  She acts like this, and yet there is still someone who thinks she's perfect. Lu Xuan suddenly felt a pang of melancholy: If he were just an ordinary child from a commoner family in Handan City, that would be great! Marrying such a person would also mean having a secure life.

  Just as Lu Yue was thinking this, a low and gentle voice suddenly came from next door, "Yue, is that you?"

  Lu Ying was stunned for a moment, and after a while, she responded softly: "En."

  Although her voice was so small, the young man heard it clearly. He was delighted and his voice trembled, "It's Ah Yue." After a pause, the young man seemed to suppress his excitement, and his deliberately suppressed voice came through the wall, somewhat hoarse and unclear, "Ah Yue, I miss you so much."

  The young man seemed to have mustered up his courage, wanting to pour out the words hidden in his heart on this beautiful night. "Ah Yue, I dreamed of you again last night... I dreamed that you were dressed in a crimson cup-patterned Luo silk skirt, looking like a noble lady. When you saw me approaching, you were helped down from the carriage by your maids... Ah Yue, the you in my dream was especially beautiful."

  Lu Xuan slightly tilted her head, she blew gently with a hint of impatience in the spring breeze, smelling the fragrance of flowers carried by the wind, listening to the young man murmuring words he couldn't usually say, and for a moment they both froze.

  The boy's voice was low and came as if in a dream, "At that time, I rode on a tall white horse, just looking at you smiling, smiling all the way... But Ah Yue, I smiled and smiled, only to find tears on my face. Ah Yue, I really want to see you."

  “……”

  Just then, Lu Yun's voice came from inside the house, "Sister?"

  Hearing her brother's call, Lu Xuan slightly tilted her head towards the wall and said softly to the person on that side: "I'm leaving."

  The reply was a flute sound that became more and more melodious, but this time the flute sound had less melancholy and more joy and sweetness.

  Under the candlelight, Lu Yun wrote very intently until he finished the bamboo slips in his hand before lifting his head.

  Looking at her sister standing in the doorway, with half of her body bathed in the clear moonlight, Lu Yun smiled and said: "Sister, are you going to listen to the sheng music? This melancholic sheng sound is really well played."

  He lifted his head, with a look of admiration on his face, and said: "Our master always talks about Yin Zhen, and yesterday he even recited an essay written by him. Sister, if I had his literary talent, I would definitely be recommended as a Xiucai before the age of 20. Being a Xiucai is great, knowing all the officials in Kyoto, and being acquainted with everyone! If I had such good literary talent, it would save you from thinking of ways to make me a Xiaolian."

  Xiucai, xiucai, the xiucai of this time is completely different from the xiucai of the Tang Dynasty's imperial examination. At that time, the requirements for xiucai were extremely high, and one had to have extraordinary talent to be recommended as a xiucai. Lu Yun felt that he didn't have that kind of talent, and if he wanted to advance, he could only take the route of being selected by the imperial court through his good character, which was known as "Haoxian".

  As he spoke, Lu Yun looked at his own sister and suddenly had an idea: if his sister were a boy, she would definitely become a scholar!

  Candles were expensive, so the siblings didn't dare to use many. After writing for a while, they blew out the candlelight and washed their hands and feet in the bright moonlight that shone through the windows and doors. After tidying up the house, the siblings returned to their bed.

  Lu Xuan slept on the soft couch, her eyes wide open as she gazed at the bright moonlight outside the window, listening to the distant sound of the sheng flute drifting in the air, and only fell asleep after a long time.

  In her daze, she remembered that the sound of the flute seemed to have lasted for half the night.

  The next day, after seeing her brother off, Lu Xuan also walked out of the house.

  Now, with the writing speed of the sister and brother, it's normal to sell 50 or so words a day. However, as more and more people started writing, Lu Xuan found that her words could only be sold for two bamboo slips and an iron coin from yesterday onwards.

  Logically speaking, twenty or thirty iron coins a day should be enough for the two siblings to make ends meet. However, thinking about the long-term prospects, this is still not feasible. Because his younger brother has grown up and wants to study, travel, buy books recommended by his teacher, and prepare for the imperial examination in the future, calculating the expenses, earning so little every day is far from enough.

  Lu Xiang thought to himself, at home there are also two or three hundred iron coins. If he goes out onto the streets and takes a stroll, perhaps using these iron coins as capital, he can think of an even more profitable business.

  Lu Xuan walked through the market with a basket in hand.

  The market is still the same market, and Lu Xuan is still yesterday's Lu Xuan. However, the glances from left and right have added a hint of probing compared to before.

  Whispers were heard in her ears, "Those four eyes of the cowherd boy were blinded by her?" "A young girl, what a big nerve." "How dare she still go out?"

  After hearing the whispers of the crowd, Lu Xuan smiled. As she passed by the butcher's stall, she heard the butcher's unusually polite and cautious voice, "Ah Yu, today we have some excellent tendon meat, would you like to try some?"

  Lu Xuan turned back, she smiled and said: "No need, not today." After speaking, she continued to move forward. Seeing that her own tall and powerful uncle was so polite to a beautiful little girl, a fat boy asked in confusion: "Uncle, are you afraid of her?"

  As soon as the words fell, the fat boy's head was heavily slapped by his uncle. After being hit, the young man almost fell to the ground. The butcher growled: "You little brat, do you understand? That Ah Yue is a really bold one. Tsk, tsk, those four big men, she disabled their moves with a handful of lime powder and didn't even tremble her legs. Think about it, who dares to provoke such a girl?"