Chapter 2: Moonlight
Song Yunyao was drunk. When he saw who had come, he was startled and nearly fell off his horse as he dismounted.
He opened his arms and caught Song Hemei as she rushed over, holding her tightly. The shock dispelled most of his intoxication. "What are you doing here?"
Song Hemei's grievances could no longer be hidden before her beloved elder brother. She sobbed directly against his chest.
Song Yunyao's expression immediately darkened. "Did that bastard Shao bully you? This is outrageous! You just got married, and he dares treat you like this? Come, I'll go demand an explanation for you right now!"
He grabbed her wrist from his embrace and was about to leave, but Song Hemei pulled him back. "Brother, I don't want to see him again. I'm not marrying him."
She choked out, "Brother, he took in his personal maid as a concubine. He even has a child with her. But he hid this from me completely, not letting a single word slip."
Song Hemei thought of the Blessing Pillow.
A pillow embroidered by the woman carrying his child, used on their wedding night to wish her an early pregnancy.
Her stomach churned even more violently. She gritted her teeth. "He humiliated me like this!"
Song Yunyao's face was full of distress as he raised his hand to wipe his sister's tears. "Don't cry, don't cry. The Shao family is in the wrong here!"
Song Hemei finally had someone to lean on. She grabbed her brother's hand to go home, but her brother immediately said, "This is really too much! Before you've even entered the household, he's already fathered a bastard son. Where is the respect for our family?"
Song Yunyao promised, "Don't worry, I'll get justice for you. Go back today. Don't let others see the joke. On the day of your return visit, I'll talk to him properly with our parents!"
Song Hemei froze on the spot. The tears in her eyes hung, unshed. She suddenly felt that her brother before her had become a stranger.
"Go back? And stay with him until the return visit?"
Song Yunyao nodded matter-of-factly, raising his hand to grip her shoulder. "That bastard child can't stay. Don't worry, I'll handle it. It won't dirty your hands."
Song Hemei's pupils dilated. Everything before her seemed to plunge into darkness.
She understood her brother's meaning.
Keep the marriage as it is. Just quietly dispose of the child and its birth mother. And then? Pretend nothing happened, swallow this dead fly, and go back to being a daughter-in-law of the Shao family.
In her mind, she recalled her brother's chest-thumping promises from earlier that day. She reached out and tightly gripped his lapels, incredulous. "Is that all?"
Song Yunyao seemed somewhat puzzled. "What else do you want, Mei'er? Just say it, and I'll handle it for you."
A glimmer of hope ignited in Song Hemei's heart. "Call off the marriage. I want to come home."
Song Yunyao was also stunned. Without thinking, he retorted, "How can that be? You've already bowed to Heaven and Earth. There's no reason to come home. Besides, the Shao family—"
He stopped mid-sentence. Facing his sister's wary and shocked gaze, he had no choice but to explain seriously.
"Father just opened a trade route with Lord Shao. The Shao family can also find a path for Third Brother in the Imperial Examinations. If you call off the marriage and come home now, wouldn't that offend the Shao family?"
"Mei'er, listen to me. Shao Wen'ang has you in his heart — I can tell. He just bedded a servant girl. What's so serious about that? I think it's just that Old Master Shao passed away suddenly. The young master was hot-blooded and lost his head for a moment. Once the child is aborted later, if you keep a close eye on him, there won't be any more of these annoying flowers and willows."
Song Hemei's ears rang. She watched her brother's lips open and close. Her mind was dizzy, but every word seemed to force its way into her ears and slam into her heart.
She understood. Her brother didn't want her to come home.
And… what about her parents?
An uncontrollable despair rose from the depths of her heart. She wanted to see her parents and ask them clearly — ask if they would make the same choice. But at this moment, she was terrifyingly calm. Even if she tried to deceive herself, she had to admit the outcome.
No, they wouldn't. Her parents wouldn't agree to let her come home.
Song Hemei felt like she couldn't stand steady. It seemed that from the moment she stepped onto the wedding sedan, her parents and brother were no longer her support.
Seeing her expression, Song Yunyao coaxed her gently. "Be good. Let's go back first. It's not right to stay out this late. Look, you've been gone so long, and the Shao family hasn't come out beating gongs to look for you. Shao Wen'ang must have kept it quiet. He still cares about you."
Song Hemei laughed coldly in her heart.
Cares about her? Or is it that he thinks such a thing happening on the wedding night would lose face for the Shao family?
She only felt so tired. She followed the pull of her brother's hand and took two steps forward, but the road ahead seemed to open a bloody maw, waiting for her to walk right in and swallow her whole.
She suddenly stopped, making Song Yunyao turn back.
She slowly raised her head, as if she had come to a realization. "I understand what you mean, Brother."
"But since I've already run out, it would be too embarrassing to go back like this. You go to the Shao residence first. Tell him to come and pick me up himself."
She saw her brother breathe a sigh of relief after hearing her words. "That's more like it. We need to make him bow his head and admit his mistake. This is his fault. But you shouldn't have run out today either. There's no reason to give the Shao family leverage to turn things around and blame us."
He turned back and shoved the horse's reins into his sister's hands. "Take this. Stay here and don't move. I'm going to the Shao residence to find them right now. But remember, when you get back, you have to endure until the return visit. If you do everything right on your end, then we can negotiate this deal properly!"
Having said that, Song Yunyao turned and left. Song Hemei looked at the reins in her hand and found it laughable.
Was he too drunk? Speaking without any restraint.
Deal. Treating her lifelong marriage as a deal?
As soon as Song Yunyao turned the corner of the alley, Song Hemei swung herself onto the horse and left without looking back.
The wind whistled past her ears. With the horse's jolting, she didn't know where the road ahead led.
It felt like a dream. Wasn't she the most beloved daughter in the family? Didn't she have a marriage that everyone envied?
How had it suddenly become like this?
How, all of a sudden, had she been pushed away by her own family?
She didn't know how long she had fled. The houses around her gradually thinned, became more dilapidated, and then gave way to mountains and forests.
It seemed she had taken an unfamiliar path.
When she came to her senses, she looked around and couldn't even remember which road she had come from.
Her first reaction was relief — after all, if even she couldn't find her way back, her brother and Shao Wen'ang definitely wouldn't find her either.
But immediately after, fear set in.
A woman alone in the wilderness at night. She couldn't tell whether the Shao family was more terrifying, or the pitch-black night and unpredictable dangers.
The horse stopped galloping and slowed to a walk, moving forward bit by bit.
It was then that Song Hemei saw a figure standing not far away.
Tall and slender, dressed in a blue robe, with half-tied ink-black hair that seemed to wrap him into the night. He must have sensed her, for he turned his head to look her way, revealing a handsome, clean face and stern, cold eyes.
Song Hemei recognized him immediately. It was Yu Yeqing.
Yu Yeqing had clearly seen her too. He froze in his tracks. The expression in his dark eyes was unreadable — surprise, confusion — he had probably never expected her to appear here.
Song Hemei gave a bitter smile and spoke first. "Young Master Yu, what a coincidence."
Yu Yeqing seemed to be pulled back from his daze. He took a deep breath and walked straight toward her, but stopped a short distance away. His clear voice reached her ears. "Second Miss Song?"
Song Hemei dismounted. The phoenix crown on her head clinked with the movement.
Young Master Yu was always a man of few words. Now he just stood before her. Though he didn't speak, his slightly furrowed brow revealed his thoughts.
He didn't know why she was here.
Song Hemei felt utterly wretched at this moment. The last time they met had been just yesterday.
She had come to see him secretly, her face full of shyness, begging him to go easy and not make things difficult for the future husband she cared about.
And now, meeting again, her makeup was surely smeared from crying. She was like a stray dog wandering in the dead of night.
She had cried. She had vented to her brother. But the answer she got was to let it go and smooth things over.
Whether it was resentment stirring, or the pride she had been raised with from childhood, or simply not wanting to hear any more sanctimonious advice urging her to compromise — she pulled out the golden hairpin from her head and threw it at Yu Yeqing.
The hairpin struck his chest and fell to the ground. Song Hemei's voice was cold and hard. "I want to stay at your place for one night. Please keep your mouth shut."
She knew that Yu Yeqing was poor and had a sickly younger sister. As long as she offered enough silver, he wouldn't refuse.
And as she had thought, Yu Yeqing stared at the golden hairpin on the ground for a moment, then replied in a low, hoarse voice. "Alright."
He slowly bent down. His long, slender fingers emerged from his sleeve and picked up the hairpin from the ground. When the pointed end was in his palm, he could still feel the warmth of her body.
Song Hemei led her horse and followed behind him.
In truth, she had been to Yu Yeqing's home once before. She had been quite young then, and her carriage had traveled a long way from the Song residence on a winter's day before arriving.
Meeting him had been by chance. He, too, had been young. Around the New Year, he had set up a stall on the street, writing couplets for people.
He was thin and slight, unable to withstand the winter snow. But his eyes remained clear. When Song Hemei had passed by, she couldn't help but take another look.
After she had finished shopping and the snow was falling heavier, she was about to go home when she saw Yu Yeqing still standing there, stubbornly waiting for the next person who would ask him to write couplets. But the street was nearly empty — who was left?
Her heart went out to him. She sent someone to inquire and learned that his parents had both died, leaving him poor. His father had been a renowned scholar in the village, and Yu Yeqing himself was extremely intelligent and fond of reading, but he couldn't take the imperial exams because he had to take care of his young sister.
She thought that since they had met, it was fate. She sent someone to give him silver. Later, when her younger brother needed a study companion, she begged her parents to hire Yu Yeqing as a tutor. She had come to invite him in person and had stepped into his home herself.
Years later, returning again, she couldn't remember what the Yu family courtyard had looked like. She was led inside. The warm glow of the oil lamp reminded her of the auspicious candles and warm incense in the wedding chamber.
"This is my sister's room. She's not coming back tonight."
Yu Yeqing did not intend to linger. He didn't even look at her much, as if she were truly just a passing traveler seeking lodging.
"Wait."
She called him back.
She looked around the room. It was clean and tidy, with a faint smell of medicine. The bedding had been washed until the color had faded, but it still felt soft to the touch.
She watched Yu Yeqing standing at the door. His handsome, cold profile held no emotion. He was only waiting for her orders and then planned to leave. Suddenly, she wondered — did Yu Yeqing resent giving up the imperial exams for his younger sister?
If he were her brother, what would he do?
Or if her brother were Yu Yeqing, would he take her home, or would he send her back to the Shao residence?
Song Hemei felt her heart being churned, and her mind grew dizzy along with it. She pointed at the round stool beside her. "Sit."
Yu Yeqing's body seemed to stiffen for a moment. When he looked back at her, there was confusion in his eyes. But somehow, after a pause, he slowly walked over and sat down on the round stool.
His expression returned to the usual aloof distance. His clear, moist eyes were set beneath his brows. Song Hemei stared at his jade-like face and suddenly asked, "Are you engaged?"
Yu Yeqing pressed his thin lips together. "No."
"Do you have a concubine, or do you frequent brothels?"
Yu Yeqing frowned, a hint of displeasure in his curt tone. "No."
Song Hemei thought, of course. How could a poor man be like the eldest young master of the prefect's family?
She laughed. A thought slowly rose in her heart.
It seemed she couldn't escape.
When dawn came — today or tomorrow — she would be found by her parents and brother, sent back to the Shao family, and a good price would be negotiated.
Though, because she had run away, they probably wouldn't get much of a deal.
Song Hemei's smile grew deeper. Perhaps it was the intensifying bitterness in her heart, or perhaps it was the wedding wine warming her emotions. She took off all the golden hairpins from her phoenix crown.
"Buy you for one night. Are you willing, Young Master Yu?"
She paused, then added considerately, "If it's not enough, I can add more."
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