Chapter 52: Courtesy Name
Shen Zhishu took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Xie Jin and the First Imperial Princess were engrossed in watching the fun and did not notice Shen Zhishu’s movements. Only Jiang Yu turned her head, glanced at her, and silently followed.
So, after a cup of tea’s time, when Xie Jin reached out to grab the person beside her to tease her a little, she grabbed nothing—
Her good friend had already slipped out of the crowd without a sound, and her face was nowhere to be seen.
Xie Jin was astonished, “No way, is she angry? Did she just run away?”
Shen Zhishu’s attendant said from the side, “My master said that the General and Your Highness should watch first. She’s going for a stroll and will be back in half an hour.”
“You didn’t go with your master?”
“She didn’t let anyone follow.”
The First Imperial Princess raised an eyebrow and bumped Xie Jin’s shoulder, “Your friend doesn’t seem to want you anymore.”
“Your friend is the one who doesn’t want you,” Xie Jin retorted subconsciously. Only after she had retorted did she notice who she was talking to, and she hurriedly tried to make up for it, “No, that’s not what this subordinate meant.”
The First Imperial Princess shook her head nonchalantly, “By the way, my little aunt seems to be gone too… did she go with General Shen?”
Her little aunt was indeed with General Shen.
Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu were strolling slowly on the road without any attendants.
A large number of people had been attracted to watch the Lantern King make lanterns, so the long street at this moment seemed a little deserted for the occasion.
Perhaps because it was the lantern festival today, apart from the various colored lanterns hanging above the walkway, the lanterns hanging by the small stalls were also novel and colorful.
Shen Zhishu stopped in front of a stall selling masks and pointed to a cat-head-shaped lantern, “Excuse me, this lantern is very beautiful. Where did you buy it?”
The stall owner was a middle-aged woman. She rubbed her hands and smiled honestly, “I didn’t buy it, my child made it himself.”
“Is this for sale?”
“This…” The stall owner was a little troubled. “I can’t sell it. Would you two like to take a look at these masks? Do you like cats? This one is also in the shape of a cat’s head.”
After speaking, the stall owner picked up a mask that was placed in the middle of the shop and held it in front of her face, “This one is beautiful, I like it the most. Do you want it?”
The surface of the mask was covered with a layer of white fur, and the eyes and nose were hollowed out, looking very vivid.
Shen Zhishu took it and couldn’t help but hold it in front of Jiang Yu.
It’s a good match, she thought.
Jiang Yu always wore white, and cats were mostly proud and aloof, which also matched Jiang Yu’s cool and detached demeanor.
Jiang Yu tilted her head, as if she wanted to look around the mask to see Shen Zhishu’s expression.
Shen Zhishu moved the mask away and turned to ask the stall owner, “How much is this?”
“The fur on this was glued on by me bit by bit, and it took a lot of effort, so it’s a little more expensive,” the stall owner smiled. “One hundred copper coins, what do you think?”
Shen Zhishu turned her head and was about to instruct her attendant to give one tael, but then she belatedly realized that she hadn’t brought an attendant, and all her money was with her attendant.
Shen Zhishu: …
Shen Zhishu silently put down the mask.
“Is it too expensive?” the stall owner said hurriedly. “You can bargain.”
Even if I bargain, can I bargain to the point of not paying a single cent?
Shen Zhishu sighed, “Sorry, sister, I’m really broke today.”
She turned to leave, but Jiang Yu raised her hand, gracefully picked up the mask again, and then took another one of a leopard.
“How much are these two in total?” she asked.
Shen Zhishu’s eyes widened, and she lowered her head, whispering in her ear, “I don’t have any silver on me.”
Jiang Yu glanced at her, did not answer, and still held the two masks, nodding slightly at the stall owner.
The stall owner’s face immediately broke into a smile, and she said in a chorus, “A total of one hundred and fifty copper coins.”
Shen Zhishu was wondering how Jiang Yu would handle the situation when she saw that person lightly lift her outer robe, untie her purse, take out a small piece of silver from it, and gently place it on the table.
“Keep the change,” Jiang Yu said with a blank expression.
Shen Zhishu: ?
The stall owner grabbed the silver, her lips stretching to her ears. Perhaps because she was happy and wanted to say some auspicious words, she smacked her lips and said, “You two are so talented and handsome, so in love, you are a perfect match, and you will surely live a long and happy life together.”
Shen Zhishu: ???
Shen Zhishu slapped the table, “Wait, you’re mistaken, old lady. We’re just friends.”
“Ah!” The stall owner’s eyes widened, and she apologized in a chorus, her lips almost creating sparks, “I’m so sorry. It’s just that this leopard and this cat are often sold in pairs, and usually it’s wives or lovers who buy them. I’ve gotten used to it, so I didn’t react just now.”
“Is this a pair?” Shen Zhishu looked at the leopard mask in Jiang Yu’s hand and examined it for a while.
The surface of the mask was also covered with fur, and the outline was similar to the cat’s, so the style did look similar.
Shen Zhishu pouted and thought of explaining, “This is what my friend wanted for herself, not for me.”
The stall owner said, “Yes, yes,” repeatedly and then asked, “Do you two need a paper bag?”
“Do you need a paper bag?” Shen Zhishu asked Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu shook her head.
The two of them walked out of the mask stall side by side.
The lanterns on all four sides were covered with various colored paper, emitting light of different shades.
Shen Zhishu looked down at the two masks in Jiang Yu’s hand, paused, and said with a slightly embarrassed smile, “I left all my money with my attendant today, so I had to trouble Your Highness to help me out.”
“It’s alright,” Jiang Yu said. “But doesn’t the General have the habit of putting silver ingots in your purse?”
“I do have two or three purses on my waist, but they are all filled with various herbs that my mother made by hand,” Shen Zhishu said. “I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll put some silver in them in the future. But does Your Highness like leopards? I can’t tell.”
“Actually, I didn’t buy it for myself.”
“Oh? Then…”
Before Shen Zhishu could finish her sentence, she saw Jiang Yu’s steps pause, and she suddenly raised her hand and quickly pressed the mask on her face.
Shen Zhishu: ?!
She was caught off guard and was a little startled, but she didn’t dodge. She let Jiang Yu reach out and untie her mask, and then tie the mask’s strap to the back of her head.
The mask was not too big or too small, the size was surprisingly suitable. It was covered with a thin layer of cotton inside, which was breathable and skin-friendly, and the feeling of a foreign object on her face was not heavy.
Shen Zhishu lowered her head a little, her gaze on Jiang Yu’s slightly rising and falling chest.
The scent of cedar suddenly became strong, and then was separated by a layer of the mask.
A few breaths later, Jiang Yu said in a faint voice, “Alright.”
Shen Zhishu straightened her head, stood up straight, and her gaze moved up, meeting Jiang Yu’s eyes.
She raised an eyebrow in the mask, “Did Your Highness buy this mask for me?”
“Mm.”
“Why?”
“You’ve been wearing a mask all along, it’s tiring and out of place. Why not wear a mask? I’m sure no one will recognize you.”
The weight of her head had increased a little. Shen Zhishu looked down at the other mask in Jiang Yu’s hand, “Just me wearing it, and Your Highness not?”
“Me?” Jiang Yu shook her head. “I’m not as loved by the common people as the General. Most of them don’t know me—hey!”
The mask in her hand had somehow ended up in Shen Zhishu’s hand and had been pressed on her face by someone.
Shen Zhishu’s speed was very fast, but her force was very light. By the time Jiang Yu reacted, the white cat had been firmly fixed on her face.
Along with it came Shen Zhishu’s low voice, “It’s too strange for me to wear a mask alone. Your Highness can accompany me.”
Jiang Yu pulled her sleeves tighter, raised her head, and looked at her calmly. The white fur on the mask swayed with the wind, “What’s so strange about it? There are clearly a lot of people wearing masks on this street.”
“Does Your Highness know the term ‘sharing weal and woe’?” Shen Zhishu smiled. “Friends should be together.”
“Oh?” Jiang Yu asked. “Then does the General think we are sharing weal or woe now?”
Her usual indifferent expression was completely covered, and the dancing fur on the mask actually made her look more vivid.
Shen Zhishu watched for a while and unconsciously reached out from her sleeve and wiped the fur edge.
She did not answer this question, looked away, and looked at the overpass not far away.
The overpass was crowded with pedestrians, and colored lanterns were hanging from the railings.
This made Shen Zhishu suddenly think of the Laba night.
That night, there was snow on the eaves, and they looked at each other in silence, one on the bridge and one under the bridge, separated by the surging crowd.
She suddenly asked, “Was Your Highness originally unhappy that day?”
“Hmm?”
“The Laba night,” Shen Zhishu turned her head, looked at the thick top of Jiang Yu’s head, and said softly. “That night, we met under the overpass, and then I pulled Your Highness into the restaurant. Your Highness clearly pointed out the two lies I had told before and asked me to be honest in everything—”
She paused and continued, “Now that I think about it, Your Highness is not such a rude person. But were you in a bad mood that day?”
Jiang Yu blinked, “Not really…”
“Your Highness doesn’t have to hide it.”
“Alright,” Jiang Yu laid her cards on the table. “I was a little unhappy, but not because of Jiang Chu. After the General helped me out at the porridge distribution site in the morning, the troublemakers came back after a while and were suppressed by me. Giving out porridge was originally to benefit the common people, but in the eyes of some people, it has become an opportunity to seize power. I was a little tired and sent someone to tell Jiang Chu about this. In the afternoon, I was listless and didn’t have any energy, so I thought of going for a walk on the street.”
Shen Zhishu nodded and couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed, “I didn’t see that you were in a bad mood at that time, and I even argued with you—”
“But I was very happy,” Jiang Yu interrupted her in a faint voice. “In fact, being with the General always calms my mind.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps… the General saved me from fire and water, and is a very good person in herself.”
Shen Zhishu let out a laugh, “You’re flattering me. I have countless souls who have died under my sword. The word ‘good person’ is already out of my reach in this life.”
“Good people also have their own positions,” Jiang Yu said. “In the eyes of the enemy, the General may be a god of death, but in our eyes, the General is a lucky star. Now that I and the lucky star have become friends, I am overjoyed, so much so that I am becoming more and more calm. But… I also thought that there is no feast in the world that does not end, and no one can stay together for a lifetime, so I will be sad again. General—”
She looked directly into Shen Zhishu’s eyes, her tone indifferent but serious, “Promise me, General, that even if we go our separate ways in the future, you will remember that there was once a person named Jiang Yu who was completely open with you and treated you with sincerity.”
The white fur on the mask was smoothed by the wind and lay there in a mess.
Shen Zhishu said, “Mm,” and suddenly asked, “Does Your Highness have a courtesy name?”
“My courtesy name is Wuya.”
“Jiang Wuya?”
“Mm.”
Shen Zhishu repeated the three words “Jiang Wuya” in her mouth several times and smiled, “Wuya, Wuya, who gave you the name Wuya?”
“Myself.”
“What does ‘Wuya’ mean?”
“The sky is boundless, the earth is boundless, the rivers are boundless, and the mountains and fields are boundless,” Jiang Yu said. “Life is ultimately boundless, and the heart must also be boundless.”
“Mm,” Shen Zhishu replied.
She paused, put her arm around the person beside her’s shoulder, and said with a light laugh, “I’ll remember.”
Jiang Yu raised her eyes, “Really?”
“Absolutely true. Once I remember it, I will never forget it.”
“Remember what?”
“I remember that Jiang Wuya is my friend, I remember that Jiang Wuya doesn’t want me to forget her, I remember that Jiang Wuya’s voice is very nice to listen to, I remember that Jiang Wuya—” Shen Zhishu paused. “I remember everything, Jiang Wuya.”
