Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 52: The Admiration of a Young Man

The Seventh Princess raised her whip and gently picked off Zheng Jing's entangled right leg. Leaving a servant to look after him, she turned her horse around and trotted toward Li Zhongqian.

Zheng Jing, lying in a puddle of mud, tilted his face up and his eyes followed the young girl going away.

The smile on her face overshadowed the ten-mile-long apricot forest.

Later, Zheng Jing saw the Li family's famous noble daughter again at one of the Li family's private banquets. He found that she was very different from the young girl he had seen previously; she was quiet and gentle, with a dignified demeanor, not at all like the young girl who carried a whip and willfully galloped in the spring breeze.

The third time Zheng Jing saw the Seventh Princess was in the autumn when the ginkgoes were golden.

He was invited to Li Zhongqian's wangfu for a banquet, and was made fun of by his eldest brother's best friend, so he drank too much wine and entered the wangfu's rear yard by mistake.

When he came to a pavilion, in his drunken state, he heard the soft and tender laughter of a woman. Knowing that he had fallen into a trap, he hid in the peony bush at the bottom of the steps.

In the pavilion, the muslin curtain was rolled up high, the candles were brilliant, and the food table was full of luxurious dishes and exotic delicacies. More than a dozen beautifully-dressed concubines of the wangfu were sitting, lying down, or standing, watching a woman dancing in the front courtyard with a smile on their faces.

A little later, the music stopped. The woman smiled and paid her respects towards the main table. The concubines laughed and said, "Ah Liu's dance was not as good as qiniang's!"

Liu shi did not agree, and the concubines urged qiniang to compete with her.

A delicate girl with her hair combed in matching spiral buns1 rose up calmly, took off her shoes, and stood on the round carpet. She raised the golden bell in her hand. Looking around with a smile, she slowly spun her waist. Her dress flew, and her snow-white skin appeared under the illumination of the lamp.

Zheng Jing blushed and his heart thumped. He did not dare to look any more but dumbly could not bear to move his gaze.

He had never seen such a beautiful dance in his life: charming and exquisite, soft with vigor.

Waist swaying like a willow, winding like a spring river.

Halfway through the dance, Zheng Jing was pulled out of the peony bush by a tall guard and received several punches to the face.

The noble ladies in the pavilion scolded him for being a lecher, and he stammeringly tried to explain.

The young girl walked to the veranda's eaves, drenched in sweat, her skin as rich as snow under her dress. She glanced at Zheng Jing and said to the guard with a smile, "Ah Qing, he is my elder brother's guest. He most likely came in by mistake when he was drunk. Send him out."

The guard answered and sent Zheng Jing back to his seat. Confirming that he was Zheng family's third son, he was then let go.

After Zheng Jing sobered up, he quietly inquired and learned that Li Yaoying was dancing the Tuozhi dance that night.

The fourth time he saw the Seventh Princess, he was watching the Hu women dance the Tuozhi dance in Pingkang Square.

Each and every instance was a mess.

It was also these several wretched meetings that let Zheng Jing know that the Seventh Princess was not that high and aloof, noble daughter who felt she was above them like those Chang'an sons said.

She was so beautiful, so bright, so vivid and real.

She would righteously rescue a youth who was ridiculed and humiliated, playfully act coquettishly with her brother, proudly dance with the concubines of the wangfu, coldly drive away the wealthy youths, and nicely deal with the women from noble families.

She would also be afraid, would also be indecisive and helpless.

The evening sun burned brightly, and the long steps were covered with the brilliant sunset's light.

Zheng Jing clutched Yaoying's hand and raised his head. His face still red, he solemnly said, "I admire the princess. My heart could reflect the sun and the moon. Qin wang is gone, so I will be like Qin wang; take good care of the princess, respect the princess. Princess can go horseback riding if you want to, can dance if you want to...."

He paused for a long time, "I really cannot bear to see the princess step onto the high platform."

If the seventh princess goes, it was a sheep entering a tiger's den, ah!