Chapter 52 – Trendsetter

In the dead of night, the conversation took a chilling turn, causing Cui Ti, who was easily frightened, to be deeply unsettled.

However, having been given a second chance at life, it seemed nothing was beyond the realm of possibility. She nervously nestled into Pei Xuan’s embrace, her voice slightly hoarse, “Who was it?”

Pei Xuan paused, feeling as though a heavy stone was lodged in her chest. Her eyes lowered, and her arms tightened around Cui Ti’s waist. It wasn’t until she heard a muffled groan from her lover that she realized what she was doing.

“It was my younger female cousin.”

Saying these words seemed to drain her of energy. She closed her eyes wearily, “I ‘saw’ her push you into the lotus pond. You struggled for a while before giving up, the water eventually covering your head. She stood at the edge, watching coldly with a look I had never seen before.”

She didn’t want to wrongfully accuse her cousin, but this incident had undoubtedly sounded an alarm in her mind.

Cui Ti recalled the despair and fear before her death in her previous lifetime, her face turning pale, “And, and then?”

Pei Xuan’s voice softened, “Then I was awakened by your tears.”

The eerie dream, the terrifying blood debt from a previous lifetime-one was the person she loved most, the other was her cousin who had grown up with her. Pei Xuan couldn’t explain why she ‘saw’ such a scene, but she genuinely cared about Cui Ti.

“We must be cautious of others. From now on, let’s be more vigilant. Fortunately, my aunt is already arranging my cousin’s marriage. Song Zizhen, you know him, he saw her by chance recently and expressed a desire to marry her. The Song Family’s social status isn’t as high as the Dou Family’s, but he is upright and has a promising future. My aunt is eager to marry off her daughter, so I think this marriage will likely happen.”

Cui Ti was speechless.

Pei Xuan looked into her eyes, “Niangzi, if that dream was truly from our previous lifetime, it means I failed to protect you. Please trust me once more.”

“How could I not trust you?”

Cui Ti felt uncertain. She had ‘awakened’ from the fog of the past. What if one day Xingguang also ‘awakened’?

Their previous lifetime was far from as beautiful as the present. She wasn’t ready to face her past ‘Fujun’.

The mere thought made her anxious.

She appeared delicate and frail, invoking a tender protective instinct in Pei Xuan, who couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at her, strengthening her resolve to guard Cui Ti.

Under the lamp, the sight of a beautiful woman became even more enchanting. Feeling her heart pounding, Pei Xuan sensed that something was quietly changing within her.

Her affection for Cui Ti grew deeper.

It felt as if she owed Cui Ti something in this life.

She owed her joy, owed her smiles, owed her a life filled with vivid, exhilarating experiences.

Cui Ti’s breathing quickened, her face and neck flushed. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, “Xingguang, why are you suddenly…”

A hand covered her eyes, blocking her sight. Pei Xuan whispered gently, “Niangzi, I am deeply fond of you.”

The atmosphere turned a delicate shade of peach blossom pink, filled with an unspoken amorous tension. Cui Ti could feel Pei Xuan’s long eyelashes fluttering restlessly against her palm. Shyly, she moved her hand away, feeling overwhelmed by the tender, lingering passion.

Her chest rose and fell, a sight that stirred Pei Xuan’s heart with a strange sense of familiarity.

“Niangzi…”

Cui Ti let out a startled cry, her slender legs trembling.

In the springtime conservatory, there was a faint sweetness in the air, like honey. Someone was thirsty, and with tender affection, took a gentle taste.

Another round of intense, unrestrained passion ensued, blurring the sense of time.

Before dawn, the candles in the inner chamber were still burning. Pei Xuan, draped in an outer robe, sat at her desk writing, her expression unexpectedly serious.

Looking at the flowing ink characters from her brush, it was hard to believe she was depicting the scene of an ‘immortal lord marrying a beauty, with an endless night of bridal chamber festivities.’

This rather risqué scenario was likely inspired by the previous night’s events.

After completing a full three thousand characters, Pei Xuan set down her brush, picked up the manuscript, and gently blew on it. She read it from start to finish, her eyes gleaming with a special light.

“Xingguang…”

Cui Ti woke up thirsty from her dream, and drank a small cup of tea from her lover’s hand. In a sleepy voice, she asked, “Why are you up so early?”

“Writing a manuscript.”

At the mention of the manuscript, Cui Ti’s drowsiness vanished. “The immortal lord and the rabbit spirit?”

“Yes, yes. Do you want to read it?”

How could she not want to read it? According to the story’s progression, it was about time for the two characters to consummate their love and tie the knot.

Blushing slightly, she said, “Bring it here for me to read.”

Pei Xuan brought the manuscript to the large bed, holding her first wife, who was dressed only in her inner garments, with one arm. They leaned against each other, the black characters on white paper coming to life before their eyes.

Under the bright candlelight, after reading just a few lines, Cui Ti’s ears turned red with shyness: “Close your eyes, don’t look.”

She felt unbearably embarrassed, her body heat rising.

Given Pei Xuan’s years of Confucian teachings, she should have acted like an unfeeling block of wood, indifferent and unresponsive. Yet, whether it was the shock from the dream of Cui Ti being pushed into the lotus pond or some unknown impulse, she forgot to look away.

Her heart and mind were filled with thoughts of Cui Ti.

A proper person writing improper things wielded considerable power. As Cui Ti read, images from the previous night involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

“Finished reading?”

Cui Ti was startled and, in her embarrassment, angrily retorted: “Who allowed you to open your eyes?”

Her fierce demeanor was reminiscent of a biting rabbit. Pei Xuan took the manuscript from her hands, her smile gentle: “Is it well written?”

The Literature Star in the heavens and the Zhuangyuan on earth—even though Cui Ti did not yet know Pei Xuan’s true identity, she couldn’t deny the quality of the writing.

Her face blushed crimson, and her waist felt weak and sore. She had intended to embarrass her usually serious bedmate, but once Pei Xuan turned playful, she found herself completely defenseless.

“Please spare me!”

She clung weakly to Pei Xuan’s shoulders.

Pei Xuan’s radiant smile was suddenly illuminated by a realization.

How could a block of wood be as endearing as someone who understands affection?

Even a gentleman has moments of wanton desire.

Her Titi, no matter how reserved and dignified her nature, likely cherished their intimate closeness even more.

She regretted understanding this only now.

Unbeknownst to her, today’s “understanding” was the fruit of many long years of emotional numbness.

In the Ninth Heaven, the Red Luan Star1 and the Matchmaker God had spent the night playing chess and watching the “flowers in the mist.”

Whenever an immortal descended to undergo trials, there would be a Water Mirror to reveal omens. Whenever the heavenly way forbade such insight, the Water Mirror would fog up, and flowers would bloom within the mist.

Hence the term “flowers in the mist.”

With the Red Luan Star’s heart moved and the Matchmaker God weaving their fates, their romance began. It all started sixteen hundred years ago when the Literature Star first felt affection for the rabbit spirit. Their bond had been registered with the Red Luan Star and the Matchmaker God since then.

Who would have thought that the red thread would entwine their hearts for eight hundred years, yet the Literature Star never dared to appear before the rabbit spirit? When she finally mustered the courage, the rabbit spirit had already endured countless lifetimes, with love always hard to express.

For this, the Matchmaker God had torn out several of his own beard hairs in frustration, while the Red Luan Star laughed until she was doubled over.

In this lifetime, the heavens finally had mercy, allowing the two to truly become a married couple. The happiest beings in the celestial realm were none other than the Red Luan Star and the Matchmaker God.

“The Literature Star’s imprint is loosening. She can already glimpse fragments of her previous lifetime. If she goes a step further, she’s likely to awaken her divine nature and recognize the reincarnated rabbit spirit beside her.”

“If that happens, it would indeed be a fulfillment of their destiny.”

“However…” The Red Luan Star chuckled, “After enduring trials for hundreds of years, once she awakens to deep, passionate love, this Water Mirror will frequently show flowers in the mist.”

The Matchmaker God gently stroked his beard: “That is only fitting. After suppressing her feelings for so many years, the Literature Star’s reserved and cold nature should indeed change.”

In the Mortal Realm, the spiritual energy had waned, and for thousands of years, few had achieved ascension to immortality, resulting in a decline in talent and a quiet celestial court.

Nowadays, the heavens were actively relaxing celestial laws and encouraging more births. How could the immortals not keep up with the trend?

In fact, the Literature Star was one of the earliest and longest-standing trendsetters among them.

“Deep and passionate love is ideal. Besides, rabbits are prolific. If the rabbit spirit could bear a litter of little rabbit immortals or little Literature Stars for her, how could the immortal palace not become lively?”

The Upper Realm was highly attentive to the Literature Star’s trials. Meanwhile, back in the Mortal Realm, the Dou Family was also facing its own struggles.

Dou Qingyue was in the midst of resisting her parents’ efforts to arrange a marriage with the Song Family.

Madam Dou earnestly advised: “The young man from the Song Family is talented and handsome, with a promising future. Though the Song Family is not as prestigious as ours, he is deeply devoted to you. My daughter, your father and I both approve of this match.”

“Approve?” She barely uttered the word, and the rising fury made her chest ache, tears welling up in her eyes: “Mom! If I can’t marry my older male cousin, I’d rather remain unmarried for life!”

Her stubbornness had caused turmoil in the Dou Family for two months.

That day, evading the ‘watchful eyes’ of the household, Dou Qingyue sneaked out. She went to the street and found a small child, sending a message to Sushe Villa.

Pei Xuan, upon receiving the letter, stared at the familiar handwriting in a daze for a long while.

“Xingguang?” Cui Ti called out, concerned.

“Niangzi, don’t worry. I already have a plan for this matter.”

Her maternal uncle and aunt had a very high opinion of Song Zizhen, and the Song Family’s proposal was sincere. Although she was staying at the villa, she was well-informed about the affairs of the Dou Family.

Her younger female cousin wouldn’t have asked to meet without a reason; she must be desperate to break the deadlock.

“Go to the Song Family and ask Brother Zizhen to come.”

The servant obeyed and left.

About half an hour later, Song Zizhen arrived on horseback at the villa: “Xingguang, what’s so urgent?”

“I need you to accompany me to Guiming Lake.”

“To Guiming Lake?”

By the banks of Guiming Lake, a large arch bridge spanned from north to south. On the bridge, people came and went. Dou Qingyue, dressed in a pale pink dress, stood with her hair fluttering in the wind, attracting quite a crowd.

She silently counted the time, feeling a deep sorrow as the person she was waiting for did not show up.

“There she is!”

Song Zizhen followed his friend’s pointed finger and saw the woman he admired standing sorrowfully by the bridge. His hair stood on end: “What is she planning to do?!”

“This isn’t good. Stop her quickly!”

The group rushed over in a panic.

Seeing Pei Xuan’s distant silhouette, Dou Qingyue had calculated that Pei Xuan, with her kind and soft heart, would never stand by and watch her die. Filled with the desperate resolve of someone willing to die, she shouted loudly: “I, Dou Qingyue, have loved only my older male cousin Pei Xuan all my life. If I cannot marry her, I will marry no one. Heaven and earth can attest to my heart!”

“No-“

Like a broken kite, she plummeted straight into the lake. Pei Xuan, stunned, was about to jump in to save her, but Song Zizhen, with a decisive push, plunged into the water first.

Fortunately, it wasn’t winter; though the water was cold, it wasn’t freezing.

Dou Qingyue’s leap caused an uproar throughout Xi Jing. Song Zizhen, a strong swimmer, used all his strength to save her, dragging her onto a small boat rowed by a nearby boatwoman just before he exhausted himself.

“Qingyue! Qingyue, wake up!”

Soaked and disheveled, Song Zizhen clung to her, not letting go. However, being a frail scholar, he could only hold on for a few moments before he too fell unconscious.

By the time Pei Xuan arrived, both were drenched, their bodies pressed together in a very compromising position.

This intimate scene and the scholar’s bravery in risking his life to save her were witnessed by the people of Xi Jing, who all began to speculate that a marriage between the Dou and Song families was imminent.

After confirming that both were safe, Pei Xuan took the clothes handed to her by a servant and covered her younger female cousin’s body. As she turned, cold sweat broke out on her back.

Footnote:

1. Red Luan Star(红鸾星): Red Luan Star refers to a deity in Chinese mythology associated with romance and marriage.