Once Promised Chapter 11.1

 

Before I delve into the chapter, I would like to mention the title of this chapter.  It was taken from a prose - Song of Golden Tower. Gift to Liang Fen - by Qing Dynasty poet Na Lan Xing De (纳兰性德) as an ode to his good friend.  Since most of this chapter is about love and not friendship, these six words are more a poetic expression of an important promise, but what a nice, poetic ring especially when you get to the end of this post!  Here is the original prose and translation.

  金缕曲·赠梁汾   德也狂生耳。 偶然间、缁尘京国，乌衣门第。 有酒惟浇赵州土，谁会成生此意？ 不信道、遂成知己。 青眼高歌俱未老，向尊前、拭尽英雄泪。 君不见，月如水。 共君此夜须沉醉，且由他、蛾眉谣诼，古今同忌。 身世悠悠何足问，冷笑置之而已。 寻思起、从头翻悔。 一日心期千劫在， 后身缘、恐结他生里。 然诺重，君须记 ！   It roughly translates to:   Song of Golden Tower. Gift to Liang Fen   I am once an arrogant youth.  My involvement in court affairs was but a result of my noble birth.  I once have dreams to lead capable men to contribute to our country, but no one understands.  I do not believe in fate until we become good friends today.   While we are still not too old, let us wipe away our tears. Lift our wine cups; lift our spirits; drink our fill.  Since ancient times, it is not uncommon for leaders to be surrounded unkind rumours or be hurt by them.   Let this trouble not our hearts and let us let go of the hurt with a smile. By chance today we meet and become good friends.  Even if we are to meet a thousand trials, let our friendship remain firm. Our friendship in the future will likely take place in our next lives. A heavy promise like this, my friend must remember!   - Moonblossom -   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  After being imprisoned by the Jade Mother for sixty years, Ah Heng finally got to roam the Vast Wilderness again.  This time, her identity was not the bold and brash Xi Ling Heng, but as Master Xi Ling, a healer.  Master Xi Ling did not charge his patients for treatment but if the patient recovered, he would request that the patient’s family pray towards the direction of Mount Shen Nong twice daily.   Everywhere he went, Master Xi Ling would hold classes to impart his medical knowledge, regardless of the attendee’s status or wealth.  Not only did doctors benefitted from his classes, Master Xi Ling found that his medical skills had improved through the sharing.  Although there were some doctors who remained skeptical of Master Xi Ling abilities, especially when he hem-and-haw through basic questions when he could answer complex questions, overall, his reputation spread with the increasing number of people he helped.   Six years went by and one day, Master Xi Ling arrived at Yun Zhou city in Gao Xing.  In the morning, he had a medical forum with the local doctors and in the afternoon, attended to patients.  His clinic was just a mat on the floor, but many people – be they poor beggars in rags or rich folks waiting in sedans – queued up orderly outside the mat.  Several doctors whom he met in the morning offered to help out, and emulated him by setting up mats besides him.   At a hill slope opposite them, the Second Prince of Gao Xing - Xi Long - surveyed the scene in front of him with the mayor of Yun Zhou city.  The mayor suggested Xi Long to persuade Master Xi Ling to join his camp.  Besides the doctor’s ability, he should be from the ancient Xi Ling family, who although were dwindling in numbers, were related to the other three major families by marriage.   Thinking of the people’s support towards his brother Shao Hao, Xi Long smiled and started towards Master Xi Ling.  Declining the mayor’s offer to clear a path for him, the crowd parted naturally for Xi Long when they saw the noble-looking youth.   When Xi Long saw Master Xi Ling, his first impression was that of a young man dressed in green.  His looks were ordinary but his calm and gentle manner have a way of putting people around him at ease.   Master Xi Ling was startled when he saw Xi Long.  As the Second Prince of Gao Xing, he could not be here to seek medical help since he owned a stableful of doctors. Xi Long nodded politely to Master Xi Ling which the latter reciprocated, before returning his attention to his patients.  Xi Long was not offended and waited patiently at one side.    When darkness fell and whoever was in the crowd had no choice but to go home, Xi Long walked up to Master Xing.  “Sir, my surname is Chang and I greatly admire your chivalrous spirit.  Would you honour me by joining me for dinner tonight?”   Master Xi Ling replied politely. “I am tired after a long day and I need to rest as I still need to tend to people tomorrow.”   Xi Long: “If that is the case, I will invite Sir again after you have finished your work.”   Over the next three days, Xi Long would arrive early at his clinic and would wait quietly at one side for Master Xi Ling.  While waiting, he would also help to group patients according to their ailments and direct them to queue for different doctors who were good in that area, thereby improving the overall effectiveness of the consultation. When the last person has left, Xi Long once again walked up to Master Xi Ling. “Tonight, Gao Xing is celebrating our Light Festival and I would appreciate it if sir can join me for feast prepared in your honour.”    The other doctors had formed a good impression of this young man who has helped out for the last three days and encouraged Master Xi Ling to take a well-deserve break when the latter remained silent.  Finally, Master Xi Ling accepted the invitation.    The dinner was held at an exquisite gallery on a boat. The food was tasty and serving maidens were all pretty with alluring figures.  Whenever the maidens brought up a new dish, they would announce the names of each dish in their sweet voices, which added a charming ambiance to the dinning experience.   Master Xi Ling praised “Indeed, one cannot claim to know the meaning of coquettish if one has not yet visited the South.”   Contrary to his smile, he was mentally on guard and could not taste any of the food.  The more polite Xi Long was, the more nervous he got.  Thanks to her interest in Yun Sang and Nuo Nai, Ah Heng knew a little about the rivalry between Shao Hao and Xi Long and knew that Xi Long was not a simple character.  Looking at the southern beauties before her, Ah Heng was reminded of Yun Sang and Nuo Nai and she wondered once again if both were alright.    Some time back, Ah Heng had written to Yun Sang to ask if the latter wanted her to look for Nuo Nai when Ah Heng was in Gao Xing, but Yun Sang has declined saying that she could not think of anything else now.  Ah Heng knew that the situation in Sheng Nong was very delicate and ‘mental exhaustion’ was probably too mild to describe what Yun Sang was going through now, between taking care of her sickly father and assisting her brother.   Xi Long could tell that Master Xi Ling’s mind had drifted elsewhere and offered to play a tune to help sooth his spirits.  When it came to playing the qin, Xi Long was probably the best player in the land and seldom played for pleasure, much less playing for someone else, so this was a rare honor indeed.   As she listed to the beautiful music, Ah Heng privately thought to herself that Xi Long indeed live up to his reputation.  As the notes flowed harmoniously over her, she felt herself relaxing and she started paying attention to the beauty surrounding her.  Many people had placed floating lanterns onto the river for the Light Festival, and she saw many flower-shaped ‘blooms’ along the river as their boat sailed past.   The sight reminded Ah Heng of another festival that would be held in Jiu Li next month. Soon, she thought, the flowers would soon cover the mountains of Jiu Li and her thoughts drifted to Chi You.  Year after year, they have met under the peach blossom tree.  Although each meeting was short, the happiness from seeing him always lingered long after they have parted.   Suddenly, the coarse sound of a mountain flute shook her out from her reverie.  One of the strings on Xi Long’s qin broke and his face darkened as he gestured for the boat to dock ashore.   They disembarked and Xi Long started to explain the meaning behind different kind of lanterns to Master Xi Ling.  Lanterns that were shaped like lotus flowers symbolizes peace and heath; peach blossom lanterns symbolizes wishes of a good marriage; lanterns shaped like a date symbolizes desire for children, lanterns resembling tortoise-shells were for wishing longevity to their parents, so on and so forth…   Making use of the crowd, Master Xi Ling walked further and further away from Xi Long until he could no longer see him.  He knew what Xi Long was trying to do and since he could not oblige, it was better to leave.  Just as he was congratulating himself for shaking off Xi Long, he heard a sound from the nearby shrubs.   “Who is it?”   A handsome young man in white sat on the branch of a nearby tree.  He was holding a wine gourd in one hand and looked like a relaxed immortal lounging among a bed of flowers.  So Shao Hao was here. No wonder Xi Long’s tune could be disrupted so easily.   Shao Hao smiled “Is sir here to admire the lights?”   “Yes.”

Chapter end