Miss Truth-Chapter 689: Extra Story Two: Sang Chen’s Story (3)

Extra Story II: Sang Chen’s Chapter

Sang Chen nestled in the Scripture Pavilion until the sky turned dark, and only when a young novice monk called him for dinner did his hanging heart finally relax a little.

After dinner, Sang Chen went back to his bamboo house to fetch his clothes for bathing. He lived alone in a neglected corner behind the monastery, where the abbot had allocated him a plot of land to grow some vegetables. Normally, he would help the temple by copying scriptures, paid not in silver but provided with three meals a day.

The only companion to stay with him day and night was the mount he had during his time as a Doctor at the Imperial Academy—a donkey.

All the literati of Great Tang grieved deeply, as the stunningly talented Sang Suiyuan thus faded away among the scriptures, answering no invitations, writing no articles, composing no poetry, merely painting and recording chess strategies to pass the time occasionally, but never trading or gifting them. For a while, Sang Suiyuan’s calligraphy, paintings, and manuscripts soared in price, especially his personally crafted orchid cinnabar inkstones engraved with poetry, which neared a bidding price of ten thousand guan and became the most luxurious items on noblemen’s desks. But they were priceless in truth, and those who possessed such items naturally wouldn’t sell them for money.

However, Sang Chen remained utterly ignorant of all this. He was very content with his current life, eating vegetarian, chanting scriptures, light of heart and body. Occasionally, he would remember Ran Yan’s face, but it no longer stirred his emotions. On the rare occasions they met, he would merely chant a Buddhist salutation and perform a bowing gesture.

Yet, Sang Chen didn’t believe his feelings for her had settled into indifference; he originally thought it would last a lifetime.

In the dim light, Sang Chen stepped out of his wooden clogs and entered the hut in darkness.

Just as he reached for his clothes on the screen, suddenly a pair of hands enveloped his waist, followed by a soft body pressing against his back, "Mr. Sang."

It was Lady Du! Sang Chen almost cried out in shock but choked the sound in his throat, urgently saying, "It’s already night, how come you’re still here!"

"I always thought, if I waited a bit longer you might come back. I didn’t realize it had already gotten dark until now." Lady Du knew Sang Chen’s nature all too well. Such fanciful words might not convince others, but she was certain he would believe her.

"Let go of me first." In the darkness, Sang Chen’s face turned tomato-red, feeling the soft body against his back like a branding iron, making him feverish all over.

"This place is too desolate, I’m scared by myself. Promise me you won’t run away, and I will let you go." Lady Du’s voice was choked with tears.

"Mhm," Sang Chen agreed.

One of Sang Chen’s greatest virtues was that his word was as good as gold. Lady Du did not doubt his word for a second and joyfully released him, her heart believing Liu Qingsong’s method to be very effective, which made her all the more confident about the next step.

Sang Chen found a flint and lit the oil lamp.

The dim light illuminated the cramped room. He dared not turn around but after a moment, he said, "Lady Du, it’s already late, and the city gates must be closed. But if you stay here, I fear it would damage your reputation. I’ll take you to Qingyin Temple to spend the night."

"..."

Sang Chen didn’t get an answer for a long while and couldn’t help but turn around.

Below the warm glow, the lady stood alone in her amber robe with crossed collars, her face veiled, her full appearance indiscernible, yet there seemed to emanate an innate solitude from her bones, a solitude tinged with a gentle warmth, as if she were a piece of forsaken jade.

Lady Du looked down slightly, "Qingyin Temple is too far."

Sang Chen came back to his senses and replied with restraint, "Not far, not far, just over two hills and you’ll be there."

By then, wouldn’t it already be daylight? Liu Qingsong had taught her to forcefully take what she desired; Sang Chen was a man with a strong sense of responsibility, and regardless of whether it was her initiation, he would shoulder the responsibility.

Ever since she first laid eyes on Sang Chen, she had been unable to erase his image from her heart. In the four years since, her family had mentioned several marriage proposals to her, yet she preferred to feign madness and stupidity rather than consent to any. Now, at her age, she had thought about disregarding her shame and following Liu Qingsong’s plan, but looking into his clear and deep eyes, she could only sigh softly and bend forward slightly, "I’ll trouble you, Mr. Sang."

A smile spread across Sang Chen’s face as he fetched a cloak from inside, "The night is deep with heavy dew, my lady, please put this on."

Her heart suddenly skipped a few beats. In her hometown, "Wife" was the meaning of "Lady." Having been in the Great Tang for four years, she had long grown accustomed to terms of endearment like "my lord" and "wife," with the servants at home also calling her "wife, wife." Yet, when Sang Chen addressed her that way, she couldn’t help but blush and her heart rate picked up.

"My name is Jiang Li," Lady Du wrapped the cloak around herself, the faint scent of soap nuts lingering.

"To be with Hu Jiang Li and pick the xuanwei plant, to string the autumn orchids to wear," Sang Chen became much more relaxed, "It’s a refined name."

"Jiang Li, soon to depart, my father originally chose this name for me, but later he felt it was not suitable," Du Jiangli said with a smile.

Sang Chen lit the lantern, ready to step out, but then he hesitated and said sheepishly, "Wife, do you know the way?"

Du Jiangli shook her head.

"Wait here for a moment." Sang Chen hurried back into the house, rummaged around, and returned carrying a large bundle. Seeing the astonishment in Du Jiangli’s eyes, he explained somewhat bashfully, "I’m not very good at finding the way, but don’t worry, Wife, we will definitely get there within half a month."

"That’s good to hear, let’s get going quickly." Du Jiangli’s smile curved behind her veil. It was indeed a great advantage, and an excuse to hear him call her "Wife" a few more times. Even if they got lost for a year and a half, it would be worth it.

...

An hour later.

They were completely lost, as expected.

But fortunately, one was hoping to get lost, and the other had plenty of experience in getting lost, so neither was alarmed.

"My lord, are there any ferocious beasts in this forest?" Du Jiangli switched to using "my lord," since Sang Chen didn’t know what she meant by it anyway.

Sang Chen turned pale, "There should be none... it is said the Government sends people to hunt annually."

This place was still within Chang’an City, so the Court would never allow dangerous wild animals on the mountain. What if they came down and hurt someone? As such, the military had been sent multiple times to eradicate any fierce creatures, so it was unlikely they would encounter tigers or wolves.

By the middle of the night, the two decided to rest near the water.

Sang Chen asked, "Wife, are you hungry?"

Du Jiangli nodded. She hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner.

Once outside, Sang Chen always came well-prepared and so he handed a steamed bun to Du Jiangli.

Du Jiangli accepted the bun and removed her veil, taking a small bite.

Although rumors had spread over four years that Du Jiangli would marry none but him, this was actually the first time Sang Chen had seen her face so clearly. She was beautiful, a kind of beauty he had never seen before.

"Amitabha," Sang Chen suddenly intoned the Buddhist chant.

Du Jiangli gave him a puzzled look, wondering how to handle the crumbs in her hand. Putting them in her mouth seemed a bit inelegant, but throwing them away... would he say she was wasting food?

Thinking this over, she scattered the crumbs on the water.

Sang Chen looked down to see fish swimming over and smiled faintly. He was about to praise Du Jiangli for her kindness when he heard her excitedly say, "Look, fish! My lord, I can spear fish. Let’s grill them and eat!" (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)