Chapter 432: Chapter 158 Lover’s Incense_3
Lu Tong nodded.
Though outsiders had difficulty gaining access, Pei Yunmeng could enter, proving money and power to be indeed the most effective pass in this world.
"You wouldn’t be cursing me in your heart, would you?" Pei Yunmeng’s suspicious voice rang by his ear.
He arched his eyebrows at her, his tone carrying an inexplicable note, "I never do so on normal days."
Lu Tong smiled, "Lord Pei is willing to make an exception for me, I am too grateful to even think about cursing you, you’re overthinking."
He scoffed, "Your praise lacks sincerity."
Lu Tong nodded, "It is Lord Pei who is too suspicious."
Pei Yunmeng: "..."
After a round of verbal sparring, Qingfeng had finished speaking with the tea farmer and returned to the duo, saying to Pei Yunmeng, "My lord, we can go in now."
Pei Yunmeng nodded.
Qingfeng did not follow, instead taking the carriage to where the horses were tied. Lu Tong walked alongside Pei Yunmeng.
Though Tuoluo Mountain had tea gardens, the path was easy to find. A clear trail ran between the woods and fields, marked by footprints and the trace of cartwheels, stretching from the tea plantation into the woods and on toward the village where people resided.
This woodland path, though not as rugged as the mountain path they had traversed earlier, also had its protruding rocks and pitfalls, and could hardly be considered easy to walk. Pei Yunmeng walked behind Lu Tong, ready to lend a hand in case she slipped, but upon looking up, he saw the woman swiftly navigating the path with hands lifting her skirt, requiring no assistance at all.
She seemed frail and delicate in her daily appearance, as if walking a few steps more would leave her panting, a veritable picture of sickly beauty. Yet here, she moved unimpeded, as if accustomed to the mountains for years, like a nimble deer darting agilely through the forest.
He was suddenly struck by the peculiar impression that the person before him had known this environment for many years.
Not sensing him follow, Lu Tong turned around, puzzlement evident in her eyes veiled by the face covering.
He simply lowered his head with a smile and caught up.
After walking for about the duration of half a stick of incense, the tea gardens gradually thinned, and the woods were not as dense as before. After passing the last tea garden, houses began to appear.
The narrow path became a broad, earthen road flanked by red mud huts, and several tea farmers sat by the roadside, sieving through fresh tea leaves. Spotting the pair, their gazes orbited around them.
This was Mangming Township, where almost all the tea farmers from Tuoluo Mountain resided.
It was broad daylight, so few villagers remained idle at home; most had gone to work in the tea gardens.
Pei Yunmeng approached a peripheral hut under whose eaves sat a middle-aged woman picking tea with a headscarf. He stepped forward, asking with a smile, "Auntie, could you please tell me how to get to Elder Yang’s home?" As he spoke, he discreetly passed a piece of silver to her.
The woman looked up, finding him handsome and his demeanor friendly and approachable. She accepted the silver, smiling at him warmly. She stretched out an enthusiastic hand, pointing toward the end of the street, "Elder Yang’s place, just follow this street to the end and turn right. You’ll see a charred house; that’s it." Halfway through her instruction, she grew a bit suspicious, eyeing Pei Yunmeng closely, "Their family is gone. What do you want with them?"
"I bought tea from Elder Yang’s plantation before and, upon returning to Shengjing, learned of the incident at his home, so I came to have a look," Pei Yunmeng answered smoothly.
Upon hearing this, the woman said, "I see." Her expression grew somber, "Ah, it’s a tragedy." She added a caution, "That house is now abandoned and feels quite eerie. Young Master and Miss shouldn’t stay too long there... It’s usually forbidden to go near."
Pei Yunmeng responded with a smile, rising to gesture to Lu Tong to continue walking with him.
As soon as Lu Tong heard "charred" from the woman’s lips, she grew puzzled, her lips moving slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.
They were bound to arrive, regardless.
Just as the woman had described, they reached the end of the street, turned right onto a smaller path, and after about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they came upon a desolate and overgrown field. The field had been neglected for a long time, with weeds nearly waist-high engulfing the cottage behind it. Beyond this thicket of weeds, the charred remains of a house stood starkly confronting them.
In the midst of verdant hills, the sudden appearance of such a scorched dwelling was like an abrupt wound in a crowd, with large chunks of blackened wall plaster peeling away like fierce scars, dripping with dry, darkened blood.
A shocking sight.
Lu Tong’s eyes focused: "This is..."
"The Yang family’s house," Pei Yunmeng’s voice came from beside her.
Lu Tong furrowed her brow: "The Yang family?"
Pei Yunmeng took two steps forward.
Behind him, the chaotic wild grass, his pale white robe, and the stretch of verdant greenery combined to form an image. Though it was a lush spring day, it also carried a somber chill.
He said, "You may know, Qi Qing loves birds."
Lu Tong was silent.
Of course, she knew.
The nobility of the Liang Dynasty loved to rear cranes, particularly the literati among them. As cranes have graceful dancing postures and an ethereal bearing, they perfectly match the literati’s pursuit of an elegant and lofty realm. Therefore, noble courtyards would always have a few for appreciation.
The Grand Preceptor’s Mansion had once raised them too.
And it wasn’t just cranes; he had also kept peacocks, mandarin ducks, parrots...
But what Qi Qing liked the most was the Light-vented Bird.
There’s a saying, "Literati favor orioles, warriors favor light-vented birds," implying that scholars prefer orioles while military officers are fond of light-vented birds.
Despite being a scholar, Qi Qing had a particular affection for Light-vented Birds. His mansion had raised several of them, each at a hefty price, and specialized caretakers were hired to maintain the birdhouses and look after these birds.
He also enjoyed "bird fighting" and used to love carrying birdcages around to challenge and compare. Officials who wished to curry favor with the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion often catered to this predilection by spending a fortune on well-bred Light-vented Birds to gift to the Mansion, hoping to ingratiate themselves.
When Lin Danqing mentioned these things to Lu Tong, she felt very puzzled.
Why did Qi Yutai, who had grown up seeing these birds in the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, develop an aversion to Light-vented Birds overnight, leading to the disappearance of any trace of birds within the Mansion for years to come?
It was very unusual.
"The Yang family are tea farmers, all four of them working in the Cuiwei Tea Garden," Pei Yunmeng’s voice interrupted Lu Tong’s thoughts.
"The patriarch Elder Yang passed away five years ago, just after his 60th birthday. He had a hobby, fond of walking his birds in the tea plantation at dawn."
He walked under a charred, withered tree in front of the house.
The tree had been unrecognizable after a fire, with only its blackened branches struggling upwards in disarray. From a distance, it looked like a charred human figure struggling in agony, adding an eerie and ghostly air to the desolation.
Pei Yunmeng looked at the lonely, withered branch, his voice flat, "Elder Yang had once kept a Light-vented Bird."
At that moment, a chill mountain wind blew by, and Lu Tong suddenly widened her eyes.
She abruptly realized something and looked at Pei Yunmeng.
He lowered his gaze, "It was quite an exceptional Light-vented Bird."
Picking singing birds was quite a demanding task. Elder Yang’s Light-vented Bird was well-known far and wide for being outstanding, not just for its graceful appearance and pleasant song, but also for being lively, combative, and entertaining.
More importantly, this Light-vented Bird was his daughter’s favorite when she was alive.
Elder Yang’s daughter had passed away from illness years ago, and she had personally looked after the bird. After her passing, Elder Yang tended to the bird with even more meticulous care, as though it retained the lingering warmth of his daughter’s presence.
The reputation of this bird somehow spread far and wide. Bird keepers from teahouses sought it out upon hearing the news, coming all the way to Mangming Township to find Elder Yang, hoping to pay a substantial amount of gold for the bird, but Elder Yang refused them every time.
The Yang family did not want to sell their Light-vented Bird.
Pei Yunmeng said, "Five years ago, on Qi Qing’s sixtieth birthday, Qi Yutai wanted to collect Shengjing’s finest Light-vented Bird as a birthday gift. Hearing of a Light-vented Bird in Mangming Township, he brought a substantial amount of silver and people with him."
Lu Tong asked, "Elder Yang did not agree?"
Pei Yunmeng did not respond.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"The night Qi Yutai left, the Yang family’s house caught fire. All four members of the household, including Grand Preceptor Qi’s simple-minded son, perished in the blaze."