Green Mountain
Chapter 79 - 65, Good Times_2

Chapter 79: 65, Good Times_2

At some point, you’ll be convinced by society that this is wrong,

but when you look back in the twilight years, you suddenly realize that there are no rights or wrongs, no successes or failures. The days when you and your friends stood on tables singing until dawn, or the times you smiled foolishly at the sight of a girl that caught your fancy—those were the truly good times.

Because you can never go back.

Chen Ji asked, "Princess Bai Li, are your brothers always this wild?"

Princess Bai Li replied with a gentle smile, "They are even wilder usually. Two years ago during the Lantern Festival in Luocheng, he got drunk and insisted on striking the bell at Tuoluo Temple. He and several of his rascal friends climbed over the wall in the middle of the night, and the sound of the bell woke hundreds of households nearby. My father hung him from the house beams and beat him for a whole day."

"Why did he want to ring the bell?!"

"He said he wanted to wake those who are unwakeable..."

Chen Ji responded in reverence, "He certainly woke quite a few."

"Now I go out with him to ensure he doesn’t pull another stunt like that."

"Do you feel sorry for your brother for getting beaten up?"

Bai Li shook her head, "The last time my father beat him for a day, he fell ill from exhaustion and took half a month to recover. Father is already weary from his duties; it would be bad if my brother angered him further."

Chen Ji: "...Such deep father-daughter affection."

...

...

By the time everyone had met up with the little monk and returned to East Market, it was late into the night.

Hongyi Lane was still brightly lit, rows of red lanterns hanging from one end of the street to the other, like an endless display of fireworks that would never go out.

When Liang Gou’er passed between the buildings carrying a bamboo chair, a lady above laughed coquettishly and waved her handkerchief, "Isn’t that Gou’er? Who’s the patron you’re clinging to for a drink of flower wine today? Don’t go to the Golden Workshop for Miss Yan’er; you can’t outdrink her. Come drink with me instead; two cups and I’ll be out!"

Liang Gou’er retorted with a laugh, "I refuse to drink with you; I’m afraid you’ll drain my vital energy!"

The lady above cursed, "Liang Gou, the money you’ve spent on drink could open another Golden Workshop for Yan’er. You let her fool you and you won’t listen to advice. She’s not drinking alcohol with you; it’s water!"

Liang Gou continued walking with the bamboo chair, laughing as he responded, "That’s how I like it!"

It was then that a strikingly beautiful girl emerged from the Golden Workshop, "Brother Gou’er, you’re here!"

Liang Gou’er laughed heartily, "Miss Yan’er, make sure you don’t entertain other guests today. Call the girls to take care of our table, and don’t neglect my new friends."

Miss Yan’er glanced at the princely heir’s garment of silver-threaded dark-patterned python robe and promptly replied with a laugh, "Right away!"

She led everyone upstairs to a spacious and elegant seat. A stream of dishes and drinks was served, with not a single repeat.

In no time, a bevy of girls rushed in, bringing with them a breeze of perfume. Bai Li glanced at them and pointed at Chen Ji, "He doesn’t need company; he’s injured."

At that moment, a girl tried to sit on the princely heir’s lap. The princely heir caught Bai Li’s eye and said sheepishly, "That won’t do, that won’t do, drinking will suffice."

At this moment, an outside guest mentioned, "Have you heard? That idiot princely heir from Prince Jing Mansion wrote twelve lines of poetry in the embroidery building."

"Oh? How did he do?"

"Ha ha, you know Lin Chaojing, who’s most likely to contest Chen Wenzong for the title of top scorer this year? He said that the princely heir’s poetry was utter rubbish. He only completed half lines for each verse. Who knows if he scavenged them from somewhere or bought them."

"What do others say?"

"Others said the same, that the princely heir could only muster half lines of poetry."

"That idiot princely heir."

The atmosphere in the princely heir’s private space was tranquil; he drank a big bowl of wine and exhaling, asked a girl, "Miss, tell me, ’With autumn, the scene beyond the pass changes, the wild geese of Hengyang fly without intent.’ How is that for a line of poetry?"

The girl responded with a smile, "Good sir, those words are beyond me."

The princely heir scratched his head and asked again, "’After new rain in the empty mountain, the weather late in autumn is clear.’ Is that good?"

The girl topped up his wine with a smile and said, "Prince, you’re making it hard for me. If you want to charm a lady with poetry, try Baiyi Lane. Here in Hongyi Lane, let’s just fill up the cup. We don’t cater to scholars!"

The princely heir was taken aback, then he burst into hearty laughter, "This place is good, this place is great! I’ve no fondness for those scholars either!"

The girl giggled, covering her mouth, "There are middle-aged scholars who like to sneak into Hongyi Lane too. Before getting into bed, they’ll secretly take sea dog pills with their drink for impotence and ask me to wait, urging me not to hurry. Before the pills take effect, he’d talk to me about Han dynasty history, expound on Confucian classics, discuss everything from astronomy to geography, and I would admire him so. But once the pill takes effect, I’d ask him where Sirius is, and he’d say to stop asking and quickly strip down."

The little monk blushed to his ears upon hearing this and kept reciting sutras while listening, listening while reciting sutras.

The Princely Heir reminisced about what the other guests had just said; it turned out that the poetry he used to dwell on wasn’t as important as he had imagined, "When I first arrived at Donglin Academy, seeing Chen Wenzong and Lin Chaojing chanting poems and making repartee, I was so envious I could die. How could they be so graceful and romantic, yet I could not. Could it be that if I also wrote good poems, came up with lines like ’Life is but a series of initial encounters, what then matters the autumn wind’s lament against the painted fan,’ I could stand with them. Today, I suddenly understood, I was never of the same world as they are, there’s no need to force it."

The Princely Heir picked up his sea bowl and raised it to Chen Ji, "Sorry to have dragged your poetry down with me."

Chen Ji smiled and comforted, "No worries, you’ve paid for it."

The Princely Heir, having drunk a lot, also became more talkative, "And those masters at the academy, constantly preaching self-reliance to us, yet they bring their concubines into the academy... Ha, people of the Donglin Party."

Princess Bai Li frowned and gave the Princely Heir a fierce pinch in his waist, "Brother, watch your words."

"Ha ha, no more said, no more said. Let’s drink!"

That night, the Princely Heir had no clue how much he had drunk; Chen Ji, who hadn’t intended to drink, also found himself dizzily drunk.

What Spy Department, what Military Intelligence Department, what martial arts skills, what Sword Seed Path, he tossed them all aside in his mind, leaving only the sweet wine of Hongyi Lane.

Chen Ji forgot why he drank so much, he only remembered that in his haze, someone shouted, "Let’s go, up the drum tower to watch the sunrise," and then a group of people carried him out the door.

Before leaving, Liang Gou’er pulled Miss Yan’er’s hand and asked, "Going to watch the sunrise?"

Miss Yan’er smiled and said, "There’s still business to attend to in the Golden Workshop."

Liang Gou’er pressed again, "Going or not?"

Miss Yan’er replied, "Going."

They sprinted through the night to the front of Luocheng Drum Tower; Princess Bai Li gave the soldiers guarding the drum tower a silver peanut, and they let them pass.

Reaching the top of the drum tower, the cool autumn breeze blew, and Chen Ji opened his eyes.

He saw the Princely Heir sitting desolately on the railing, as though he might be blown off by the wind at any moment.

The Princely Heir loudly asked, "Liu Quxing, what do you want to do in the future?"

"I want to follow in my master’s footsteps and become an Imperial Physician!"

"Good, from now on, you’ll be the Imperial Physician of Prince Jing Mansion!"

The Princely Heir loudly asked again, "Liang Mao’er, what do you want to do in the future?"

Liang Mao’er considered it, "I want to buy some land."

"I’ll gift it to you tomorrow!"

The Princely Heir then asked, "Chen Ji, what do you want to do in the future?"

Chen Ji mumbled in his stupor, "Don’t know... really don’t know, just survive for now."

Everyone laughed heartily, "Surviving, what kind of aspiration is that."

"Princely Heir, what do you want to do in the future?" Liang Mao’er asked, looking up.

"I want to be a great knight!" the Princely Heir laughed, "Just realized those scriptures are useless, from now on I’ll read whatever page the wind flips to, and tear out the pages that are hard to read! Strike the drum!"

Saying so, he picked up the drum mallet, as if to strike the colossal drum above.

However, Princess Bai Li held him back, "Brother, think carefully. If you strike it, the soldiers below who guard the drum tower will be sent to join the army as punishment!"

The Princely Heir sheepishly let go, "Then I won’t strike it."

Chen Ji looked to the side where Liang Gou’er’s eyes appeared blurred as he gazed at the sky, with Miss Yan’er gently leaning on him, lost in thought.

Liang Gou’er embraced her, "Liuxian, where have you been these past years?"

Miss Yan’er tightened her grip on Liang Gou’er’s clothes, as if to hold onto the warmth of this wanderer, and whispered, "I’ve already returned."

"Good that you’ve returned, good that you’ve returned."

At that moment, someone shouted, "The sun is rising!"

Chen Ji looked up, only to see a red sun slowly rising at the end of the world, clouds flowing, the orange-red light gradually shining on everyone.

Surrounded by a group of fools going mad with drink, even the autumn sun seemed so kind.

Princess Bai Li looked at Chen Ji, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "I wish for that cloud in the sky to stop moving."