Chapter 10: Fragrant Softness Temporary Truce
The Emerald Phoenix perched on the window lattice, secretly peering inside.
After several days apart, its master stood leaning against the desk with hair disheveled. The candlelight cast heavy shadows upward across the face, resembling the damp ghosts described by storytellers.
Having enjoyed freedom outside for days, how had its master gone mad?
The young man before the desk seemed to sense something, his gaze falling upon the small hole in the window.
Moonlight slanted in, perfectly outlining a sparrow’s silhouette against the oiled paper.
“Who’s there?”
“Caw.”
Wen Zhixu suspended his brush and tiptoed outside, breathing slowly lest any sudden movement startle the bird.
“Finally decided to return?” Wen Zhixu snorted inwardly.
Braving the elements outside ultimately couldn’t compare to the warmth of the residence.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered the little creature hadn’t grown thinner but had actually rounded out. Its feathers shone more glossy, and its beady eyes radiated confident composure. The crimson silk ribbon tied around its pale orange feet was particularly eye-catching, with the ends deftly fashioned into a butterfly knot.
Wen Zhixu lightly patted his shoulder, and the Emerald Phoenix flew down to perch steadily.
“Did you encounter kind souls these past few days?”
The Emerald Phoenix’s beak moved, emitting clear chirps: “Bu Bu.”
The Emerald Phoenix spoke?! He had taught it for months without it producing a proper chirp. That raspy voice had once made Wen Zhixu suspect he’d been duped again, mistakenly buying a crow for a myna.
Under its master’s astonished gaze, the Emerald Phoenix enunciated clearly: “Black.”
Of course Wen Zhixu didn’t understand what the Emerald Phoenix was saying, yet he remained profoundly moved. To his ears, this was his beloved pet’s first cry to the world.
He brought the bird inside, softly calling its name: “Emerald Phoenix, tomorrow…”
Emerald Phoenix… such a tacky, vulgar name. Bu Bu suddenly didn’t want to return to the residence anymore—it wanted to return to its fragrant, soft new master.
In an instant, it leaped up, swept past the eaves, and plunged headlong into the night sky.
“Emerald Phoenix…!”
.
Bu Bu had disappeared.
Lin Xihe didn’t sleep all night, and at daybreak she sent people searching everywhere.
“Step aside, I need to leave the residence.” Outside Tinghe Courtyard, the guards dispatched by Lin Zhaoheng remained immovable.
The two doorguards were utterly unyielding. Lin Xihe felt a headache coming on—why were these ancient people so inflexible!
“The master has ordered us to ensure the young mistress’s safety.”
Lin Xihe devised a compromise: “I’m going to search for the bird. Can you two accompany me?”
As she spoke, Lin Zhaoheng arrived with his entourage in grand procession.
They say relationships within noble households are complex. As an observer, Lin Xihe looked at the two women behind Lin Zhaoheng: one was a sidelined concubine, the other a young lady longing for someone unattainable.
Lost in thought, Lin Xihe caught several stares—
Min Shi’s gaze was sharp as knives, while Lin Zhirou’s eyes brimmed with resentment. Most absurd was Lin Pinyan—after just one night apart, he seemed to have grown rounder.
Straining to open his chubby hands, he waved enthusiastically: “Elder sister!”
Lin Zhirou stomped on his foot: “Quiet! Who exactly is your elder sister!”
Looking at her ugly appearance, Lin Xihe nearly rolled her eyes back into her head.
Delighted by his eldest daughter’s restored sanity, Lin Zhaoheng scolded his second daughter before making introductions to keep the peace: “He’er, I’m your father. This is your Aunt Min, you may call her Second Mother. This is your younger sister Zhirou, and younger brother Pinyan.”
Smoothing things over, are we? Lin Xihe could play that game too.
She immediately offered an obedient smile and acknowledged each person one by one: “Cheap dad, wicked stepmother, green tea sister, bratty little brother. Let me make this clear upfront—I won’t be a sibling supporter.”
The room fell silent.
As soon as these words were spoken, several old servants in the residence exchanged uneasy glances, not daring to even breathe loudly.
Oh no, the young lady’s mind seemed to have recovered, but not entirely.
“Truly worthy of being my daughter, Lin Zhaoheng! Deserving of the praise ‘quick-witted and eloquent’!” Lin Zhaoheng broke the silence first, clapping his hands.
Lin Xihe gave him a speechless look. Was this even worth praising?
Lin Zhaoheng awkwardly tried to smooth things over: “Your father thinks that our He’er speaks clearly, even better than… a myna bird.”
“…” The atmosphere grew even more awkward.
The news of his daughter’s recovery had put Lin Zhaoheng in high spirits. For two consecutive days, he rushed over as soon as he returned from court, not even bothering to change out of his court robes. Even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were filled with doting affection.
Lin Xihe couldn’t help but scratch her head. She admitted she was good-looking, but the original host had been foolish for so many years. How could her father dote on her so excessively the moment she woke up?
He clearly had two other children—why was he showering all his paternal affection solely on her? This was strange; there had to be a reason behind it.
Lin Xihe decided to make full use of this paternal love and spoke in a “spoiled” tone: “Daughter wishes to go out.”
“But He’er, your health hasn’t fully recovered yet…”
Lin Xihe steeled herself and shamelessly called out: “Dad~”
Before the trailing tone even faded, she shuddered at her own saccharine address.
Lin Zhaoheng relented: “Take your maid and a few servants with you. Keep a low profile.”
“Understood, must keep a low profile!” Lin Xihe responded promptly and hurried back to her room to change.
Seeing this, Lin Zhirou decided to follow suit. She tugged at Lin Zhaoheng’s sleeve and cooed in an overly sweet voice: “Daddy~ I want to go out too.”
Lin Zhaoheng’s face darkened: “Haven’t you caused enough trouble? Go back to your room and copy the Nüjie (Admonitions for Women) fifty times!”
Lin Zhirou was instantly dumbstruck.
.
A few maids and an unfamiliar servant dressed in coarse, short clothing walked out together.
Lin Zhaoheng scanned the group: “Where is the young lady?”
“Here,” the servant raised a hand and replied.
Lin Zhaoheng looked closely. The person had her hair tied in a simple high bun, looking exactly like a young attendant, and was smugly raising an eyebrow at him.
“You’re the one who said to keep a low profile,” she said. Cross-dressing as a boy—was that really acceptable?
Lin Zhaoheng was momentarily speechless and couldn’t refute her.
Lin Xihe didn’t take a carriage—her servant attire would have been completely out of place in one.
She strolled all the way to the Calligraphy and Painting Street, where many shops had birdcages hanging under their eaves, filled with the chirping of birds. Among them, a black-feathered, yellow-beaked myna was chirping the most energetically.
“Bu Bu?!” Lin Xihe’s heart tightened, and she moved forward to get a closer look, but a vendor carrying a shoulder pole cut directly across her path. Unable to dodge in time, she stumbled backward. A strong hand steadied her arm precisely, releasing her as soon as she regained her balance.
In that brief moment of contact, a familiar scent wafted over—just as the distant chime of an ancient temple bell drifted leisurely through the air.
Lin Xihe’s back stiffened abruptly, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of twilight-purple fabric beside her.
What an unfortunate encounter.
Wait—considering the ink trade agreement they had reached the previous night, her relationship with Wen Zhixu had temporarily entered a “temporary truce.”
She swallowed the urge to greet Wen Zhixu. This servant boy outfit was far too ridiculous, especially the shoes Qingwu had procured from who-knows-where—so large she looked like a child playing dress-up in adult footwear.
Lowering her voice, Lin Xihe mumbled vaguely, “Thank you, young master.”