Governor’s Illness

inquiring, so he said, “All right, I know, I never doubted you, I just casually said some things for fun, yet you took it seriously.
I haven’t asked you yet, why did you come to the palace and not stay at home?”

Xiahou Lian picked up the food box and put it in front of him.
He lifted up layers upon layers of lids, revealing the golden Jinling duck inside and the white and tender glutinous rice candied lotus root and steamed cakes.
“Isn’t this me wanting to eat New Year’s Eve dinner with you? Ah, they’re all cold, you have a small kitchen here, right, I’ll go and heat it up and also add a few dishes.”

“Why do you have to eat with me, didn’t Lian Xiang call you?”

“A family reunion is called New Year’s Eve dinner.” Xiahou Lian called someone over to take away the dishes and heat them up.
“These are dishes I made myself, you have to give me some face.”

Shen Jue’s brush paused.
He knew everything that Xiahou Lian did.
Today, an entertainer had winked at this idiot, and he had immediately ordered for that thing who didn’t know its place to be sold away.
He also knew that Xiahou Lian had personally roasted the Jinling dishes and snuck into the palace.
At that time, he had been in the palace’s back yard dealing with the young emperor.
That good-for-nothing had fancifully wanted the palace banquet to be in the Leopard Room, wanting everyone to eat New Year’s Eve dinner together with the tigers.
Heavens knew how much he had wanted to kick that damned child flying and go to the Directorate of Rites to see Xiahou Lian.

Although he and Xiahou Lian lived apart, one inside the palace and one outside, he knew Xiahou Lian’s each and every move; it was just that this fool didn’t know.

After working every day, the only thing worth being happy about was reading the notes his servants reported, on which the whereabouts of Xiahou Lian that day was written.

Shen Jue pressed the corners of his mouth and said indifferently, “All right, do as you like.”

After saying “a family reunion is called New Year’s Eve dinner,” Xiahou Lian was suddenly a little stunned.
He still hadn’t found Chi Yan, and he didn’t know whether he was dead or alive.
If he was alive, he also didn’t know whom he was eating New Year’s Eve dinner with.

Shen Jue saw his alarm and asked, “What is it?”

“Nothing, I just thought of my brother.” Xiahou Lian stood up and leaned on the window.
The sky outside was as pitch-black as ink, and in another two hours, fireworks would be set off everywhere in the palace; the fireworks would make the entire sky as bright as day.
“I’m a little afraid, I’m afraid that my brother is actually already gone, but I still haven’t made a spirit tablet for him.
Without a spirit tablet, he can’t hear my prayers, and he can’t find the way back.
He’ll become a lonely wild ghost without a home to return to.”

Xiahou Lian gazed at the pitch-black night sky, and Shen Jue gazed at Xiahou Lian.
When Xiahou Lian looked at the dome of the sky, he always had an extremely desolate feeling, like a person who had wandered for a very long time, making one’s heart ache.
Shen Jue walked behind him and said, “He isn’t.”

Xiahou Lian looked back at him.

Shen Jue lowered his head and held up Xiahou Lian’s hand.
The star-moon Bodhi beads he had given him hung on Xiahou Lian’s wrist, the glistening red Bodhi beads like red lucky seeds.
It couldn’t be said clearly whether they had originally been like this, or if the lovesickness had made them become so round and full.

“This string of beads is very spiritual.
Wear it, and Buddha will hear your heart’s wishes.” Shen Jue said, “Have you heard of a kind of saying among the Japanese, they say that deities are not bred by heaven and earth, they rely on the beliefs of mortals to be born? If there is a day when people don’t believe in them anymore, this deity will also be gone.”

“No, you understand Japanese, but I don’t.”

“Now you’ve heard it.” Shen Jue said, “It’s the same, as long as mortals keep believing in their deities, their deities will exist forever.
So, it’s okay.
As long as you keep thinking about him, he will definitely survive.”

 ———————————————

On the night of New Year’s Eve, Yunxian Building was brightly lit.
Red sashes hung on the beams and fell straight down, covering dim red light of the bright red octagonal lanterns.
It was as if the entirety of Yunxian Building was enveloped in a faint layer of the color of rouge.
Under this layer of rouge, light flowed on women’s skins like first-class mutton fat jade.
Babbling opera was being sung on stage; that voice was tactfully clear and melodious, twisting and turning, sounding out all the way to very far away.

A young man wearing a tattered sheepskin coat and a pair of cloth boots entered the backyard of Yunxian Building.
He was carrying a patched cloth bundle on his back, and his head was lowered the entire way, silent and not speaking.
The prostitutes of Yunxian Building looked down on this type of rustic people, and some even felt that he was dirty, so they walked around him.

However, the bawd felt that this child was clever, unlike that group of idlers in Yanzhi Alley who were extremely greasy and also liked to hook up with her girls.
Last time, a libertine had made the talent she was planning to support raise a child, and it had angered her so much that she hadn’t slept well for five nights in a row.
However, she could tell at a glance that this child didn’t have those kinds of thoughts, and one could see the bottom of his eyes at a glance.
What he was thinking could be seen in his eyes, making her feel that he was reliable.

“Where are you from?” the bawd piled on a kind smile and asked while leading him into the courtyard.

“The mountain,” the young man said.

“Oh, you really do come from the countryside, I knew when I saw your appearance.” The bawd pulled open a door and lifted her skirt as she stepped across the threshold.
“Why did you come to the capital? You can’t keep farming at home? Did you flee from famine?”

The young man followed the bawd into the door.
Inside was a courtyard, and there were many flowers planted in the center, though they had already withered, leaving behind only messy flower vines.
There were wing rooms on two sides, and the lights were on in all of them.
Warm voices sounded from inside, and halos of light penetrated out from the window gauze, a dim yellow color; every light halo seemed to hint at a secret world. 

“I came to find my little brother.” The young man lowered his eyes.
“I lost him.”

“Ah, the crowds are vast and the capital is so big, he won’t be easy to find.” The bawd took out a key and opened the door of the woodshed.
“Here, sleep here in the future.
Before, someone who helped around slept here, but I don’t know what good luck he got, he obtained the Chief Officer’s favor and became wildly successful.
He left a few pieces of clothing here, see if you can use them, keep them if you can.”

The young man walked inside and put his cloth bundle onto the wooden table.
There were a few coarse clothes in the trunk next to the wall.
He picked it up and took a look, then nodded and said that he could wear them, though they were out of season. 

“You, ah, stay here and work for me, the wages definitely won’t be unfair for you.
If you want to find your little brother, don’t be afraid, there’s a way.
Who doesn’t know that our Yanzhi Alley is the place with the most unimpeded news.
Slowly ask around for information, and you’ll eventually find him,” the bawd said.

The young man nodded.

“Is he a new servant!” A clear voice sounded.
The young man looked up and saw a slim figure turn from the door.
There was a red lantern behind her, and the enchanting light reflected on her face, her exquisite and bright features seeming to be about to melt in the light.

“What’s your name?” A-Chu asked.

Fireworks rose in the sky, and the sounds of the explosions were as loud as thunder.
In the bright radiance, the young man’s figure finally became clear.
He had a tranquil face, his eyes were clean and clear like pure glaze, and his right ear had a bit of a dazzling light. 

“Xiahou.” He said, “My surname is Xiahou, you can call me Xiahou.”

Translator Notes:

Refers to an illusory wish that can’t be realized.