Chapter 120

Chapter 120

The carriage stopped behind the tavern. Wang Deqi, with Tang Liu on his back, walked to the carriage and was about to place him inside when the person on his back suddenly stirred.

Wang Deqi paused and asked, surprised, "You're awake?"

Tang Liu turned his head, and after a moment, a muffled grunt escaped his throat. "...Where are we going?"

"Taking you back."

"...Oh."

He said 'oh' reluctantly. Wang Deqi picked up on it and said, "You don't want to go back?"

"...Nonsense." Tang Liu's speech was slurred. After these two words, he fell silent again. Wang Deqi knew he was still drunk and, without complaint, carried him into the carriage. Just as he set him down, Tang Liu suddenly spoke again: "It's all your fault for driving the carriage too fast."

He was getting blamed for *that*?

Wang Deqi rolled his eyes and went to drive the carriage. As he turned, he seemed to remember something and turned back, asking Tang Liu, "Tang Liu, do you really not know anything?"

Tang Liu leaned against the carriage wall, sleeping crookedly. His entire face and neck were flushed red. In just this short while, soft snores were already coming from his mouth. Wang Deqi patted his own forehead, thinking to himself, *What could a blind man know?*

He turned to leave, but just as he took half a step, his sleeve was grabbed again. Looking back, he saw Tang Liu, who had been sleeping just moments ago, now sitting upright with a solemn expression. Wang Deqi was puzzled. "Tang Liu?"

"I seem to have forgotten something very important." After a long while, Tang Liu said slowly.

A chill ran through Wang Deqi. "What?" Could it be about that evil spirit?

Tang Liu closed his mouth but still wore a serious expression. Wang Deqi was eager to know what came next but afraid of disrupting the drunkard's train of thought, so he patiently waited. He waited for who knows how long, and just as he was about to urge him, Tang Liu finally spoke.

"Ah! I remember now."

"Remember what? What's it about?" Wang Deqi pressed him eagerly.

"I remember," Tang Liu said with utmost seriousness, "I forgot to bring back two jars of wine. Master Wang ordered several jars, right? There must be some left. He definitely won't want such a small amount. They might as well be mine."

"...Is that what you wanted to say?"

Tang Liu nodded. "Mm!"

"..." Wang Deqi kicked him in the shin. "Just go back to sleep."

...

Wang Deqi, with great trepidation, took Tang Liu back to the Sui residence. He didn't dare enter the inner rooms, so he placed him on a small daybed in the outer area and hurriedly left.

He forgot to close the door. A gentle breeze blew in from outside, causing the red curtains inside the room to sway gracefully, like celestial beings dancing. Gradually, a deeper, more intense red shadow appeared behind the layers of gauze. The red shadow stood still for a moment, then pushed aside the curtains and strode out.

Sui Lanwei walked to the daybed. The person on it was sound asleep, his cheeks flushed from intoxication, his lips slightly parted, revealing a glimpse of white teeth and a pale red tongue tip. Sui Lanwei lifted the blindfold from his eyes and tapped his nose. "You know what's good for you, at least you remembered to come back." After saying this, he bent down and pressed his forehead against Tang Liu's.

Tang Liu was awakened by a light touch on his eyes. He instinctively tried to brush it away, but his wrist was caught.

"Don't move, Husband Liu."

His eyelids felt cool. Tang Liu, still groggy, belatedly realized that Wei Wei was applying ointment to his eyes. He had gone out today and hadn't applied it in the morning. Wei Wei's touch was gentle. Tang Liu, enveloped in the strange fragrance mixing the scent of medicine and a subtle perfume, suddenly gave a low chuckle.

Sui Lanwei paused his movements. "What are you laughing at, silly?"

Tang Liu just kept laughing. He raised his hands and felt around in the air for a moment. Sui Lanwei, not understanding, gently pushed his hands back down. "Don't move around. I haven't finished applying the ointment yet."

Tang Liu shook his head and very persistently raised his hands again. His palms were close together, facing each other, fingers slightly curved. Sui Lanwei watched for a while, then suddenly had an epiphany. He put down the medicine bowl and brought his face closer.

Tang Liu slightly tightened his fingertips, immediately cupping Sui Lanwei's cheeks. His thumbs stroked the corners of his eyes a few times, then suddenly pulled him down. Raising his upper body, he planted a loud, smacking kiss on his forehead.

It was a loud, smacking kiss. Sui Lanwei was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Tang Liu.

Tang Liu, still holding his face, beamed happily, saying cheerfully, "Wife."

Sui Lanwei brought two fingers together and touched the spot between his brows. An unconscious faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "You reek of alcohol all over. It's disgusting."

Tang Liu continued to giggle foolishly to himself. "My wife."

Sui Lanwei couldn't help but laugh. "Who is your wife?"

Tang Liu naturally didn't answer him.

Sui Lanwei narrowed his eyes, pressing the question. "Tang Liu, who is your wife?"

Tang Liu curved his lips in a smile but remained silent. He seemed extremely happy, with joy radiating from the corners of his eyes and brows.

Sui Lanwei's gaze fell on his slightly downturned eye corners. He suddenly shook his head and laughed at himself. *Why am I arguing with a drunkard?*

He straightened up and continued applying ointment to Tang Liu, then tied the gauze bandage for him. Just as he was about to take the medicine bowl and leave, Tang Liu spoke at that moment: "Wei Wei is my wife."

...

Tang Liu was fully sober the next day. When he woke, he was lying in his familiar bed. His clothes had been changed, and his whole body felt fresh and clean.

Tang Liu buried his head and sniffed. He didn't smell any alcohol.

*No way*, Tang Liu thought. *Who wiped me down?*

His temples still pounded from the hangover. Tang Liu rubbed his temples and then touched his eye bandage. Ointment had been applied to his eyes. This ointment dried after a few hours. It still felt damp and soft to the touch, so it must have been applied not long ago.

Tang Liu sat up and called "Wei Wei" a few times but got no response. So he got up, dressed, and put on his shoes. His clothes, shoes, socks, and bamboo cane were all in their usual places. Tang Liu reached out and got them easily. After dressing neatly and washing up simply, he found cold rice porridge and pickled vegetables on the table. Tang Liu ate them and, after some thought, headed towards the backyard.

Sunlight fell on him, warm and comfortable. Tang Liu estimated the time was already quite late. If it were a few months ago, he would be worrying now because he had overslept and missed a whole day of begging. But now, walking on the gravel path with the spring breeze brushing his face and fragrant scents filling the air, his heart was full of ease and contentment.

The backyard was secluded, with only a narrow, winding path leading to the moon gate. Tang Liu passed through several covered corridors and arrived at that serpentine path.

After walking several dozen steps, Tang Liu seemed to sense something. He stopped and called out in a certain direction, "Wei Wei?"

"..."

Tang Liu scratched his head. Had he been mistaken?

He continued walking forward. Suddenly, light laughter, like the sound of jade striking, came from behind him.

"Husband Liu found me."

Tang Liu paused his steps, walked back a few paces, and looked up somewhat hesitantly. "Wei Wei, what are you doing sitting up there?"

Sui Lanwei was sitting on a withered camphor tree. Hearing this, he lowered his gaze and smiled. "Husband Liu is truly amazing, finding me here so quickly. The residence is so big. How did Husband Liu find me?"

"Just a coincidence," Tang Liu said. "From our room to here, you have to cross more than half the residence. I didn't hear your voice along the way, so you were probably near this small courtyard."

"What if I wasn't here? Would you have looked for me elsewhere?"

Tang Liu really hadn't thought about this question and felt a bit guilty for a moment.

Sui Lanwei squinted. "If you weren't planning to look for me, then what are you doing here?"

Tang Liu pointed toward the end of the narrow path, without much conviction. "I came to turn the soil. If I don't hurry, the weather will get hot soon, and the orchids won't survive the heat."

Sui Lanwei didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused. "So, to Husband Liu, flowers are more important than I am."

*It's because you wanted to see them*, Tang Liu thought to himself.

But he had wised up. At times like these, it was best not to argue with his wife, or he might end up searching for her halfway through the night again, just like last time.

He kept his mouth shut, but Sui Lanwei wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily, seemingly quite dissatisfied with his silence.

She said, "Why aren't you speaking? Cat got your tongue?"

"No, you're important. You're the most important," Tang Liu said hurriedly. "How could flowers possibly be more important than you?"

Sui Lanwei gave a soft *hmph*, as if to say, *that's more like it*.

Tang Liu had been craning his neck for a while, and it was starting to ache. "Are you sitting in a tree? Do you want to come down?"

Sui Lanwei then said with mock anger. "It's all your fault."

Tang Liu was taken aback. How was it his fault?

"I only meant to sit for a moment before coming down, but I wasn't careful when I climbed up. I accidentally climbed too high and couldn't get back down. I've been waiting for you to come get me, but you took forever. Now both my legs are numb, and I can't move at all. What are we going to do?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Liu wasn't sure whether to marvel at Sui Lanwei's agility first or figure out how to help her down first. He racked his brains and finally had a flash of inspiration. "...Should I go find a ladder for you?"

"You dummy!" Sui Lanwei broke off a dry twig and threw it at him. "I already said I can't move."

Tang Liu didn't bother to move. "Then what should we do?"

"You come up and get me."

Tang Liu was at a loss. Aside from starting a fire, climbing trees was the second thing he couldn't do.

He said, "Wei Wei, it's not that I don't want to come up and get you, but I'm really afraid we'll both take a bad fall."

Sui Lanwei had lost all patience. "Then take a step forward and catch me."

Tang Liu obediently stepped forward, only then realizing what she meant. "What do you mean, 'catch me'? Don't do anything reckless. This isn't a game."

"You're too late. I've already jumped."

As soon as the words fell, Tang Liu heard a whooshing sound through the air. He exclaimed "Whoa!" but didn't dare move recklessly. Flustered, he spread his arms open, and the next moment, someone tumbled into his embrace. He instinctively tightened his arms, wanting to take a few steps back to cushion the impact, but the person in his arms was incredibly light, almost weightless.

Tang Liu held his footing. It took him a good while to realize what had just happened, and he was immediately horrified. He couldn't help but say, "How could you jump down so recklessly? What if I hadn't caught you?"

Sui Lanwei laughed heartily, seeming utterly delighted. "Husband Liu, what a thrill! I want to do it again."

Tang Liu had originally intended to let her go, but upon hearing this, he was so frightened that he quickly tightened his arms again. "Please, don't. My little ancestor."

Sui Lanwei buried her face in the crook of his neck, laughing. The vibration from her chest transmitted through the point where they were pressed together, and Tang Liu's gradually calming heartbeat sped up again.

Sui Lanwei laughed for a while, then slightly lifted her head, tilting it to look at him. "In the future, if I disappear, Husband Liu must remember to look for me."

Tang Liu held her by the waist, feeling an itch on his chin. He resisted the urge to scratch it and said, "What if I can't find you?"

"You will find me," Sui Lanwei said with a smile. "If Husband Liu looks for me, I'll come out."

Tang Liu gave a dry "Oh," unsure how to respond.

Sui Lanwei added, "Were the words Husband Liu said yesterday true?"

"What words?" Tang Liu asked, confused.

Sui Lanwei pouted. "I knew a drunkard's words couldn't be trusted." She pushed against Tang Liu's shoulder. "Let go. How long are you planning to hold me?"

Tang Liu immediately released his hands. Sui Lanwei glanced at him with a smile, then turned and walked toward the small courtyard. Tang Liu stood in place for a moment, picked up the bamboo cane he had dropped on the ground in his earlier panic, and hurried after her a few steps later. "You still haven't told me what I said."

"Figure it out yourself."