Under The Bamboo Parasol 46 Passing By A Familiar Tune

"My lord, you should be well enough to travel now." Xu Fei said as he slowly helped Ruan w.a.n.g get up from the bed.
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Ruan w.a.n.g nodded as he held his head. Though he knew that it was not in his best interest to have a perpetual thought, he was still unable to shake those thoughts from his mind. Every time he attempted to close his eyes, he would be haunted by the mirage of that unadorned face.

He looked toward Xu Fei who was helping him up and said: "Do you think it is possible to keep seeing a person whom you have never met before?"

"What do you mean my lord, is there someone that you keep seeing?" Xu Fei asked with worry.

"Yes, but I'm sure it is someone that I have never seen before, yet there is this sense of familiarity…"

"It could be someone from the past life." Xu Fei casually recounted the many fables that he heard from those storytellers on the streets.

Of course, Ruan w.a.n.g had been trying for decades to see his late consort in his dreams but he was usually met with dreams of darkness or no dreams at all, so what were the chances that he could get an unknown person into his dreams.

"Perhaps." Raun w.a.n.g said with a smile. He looked at the window, to be met with the darkness outside. "It's dark outside." Ruan w.a.n.g said to Xu Fei with confusion, wondering if they were to be traveling under the cover of night.

"It will be quieter." Xu Fei took the chance to say. With no sunlight, it meant that there would be no one walking around and there would, in turn, be less noise that would cause a headache. Humans were strange warm-blooded creatures who loved sunlight and detested the darkness. If it was dark out, they would return home a little earlier and eat dinner a little sooner. Such was human nature.

Ruan w.a.n.g did not mind if he went home with the sun in the middle of the blue sky or no longer seen. The time of day did not matter much to him.

He sat upon a carriage that had the floor lined with a thick cotton quilt and a few pillows. The travel was not to be considered luxurious, but it was comfortable enough that an ill person could sit inside without being touched by the cold and harsh weather.

"How thoughtful." Ruan w.a.n.g said as he got in. The carriage had unexpectedly exceeded his expectations. As he was not one to care about the smallest of details, nor order anything to be added to his plain carriage, one could only expect that nothing would be added or removed from his carriage.

At such words, Xu Fei bowed his head as though saying naturally this is for you because you are not well, but those words were unable to find its way from out of his lips.

As they were traveling, Ruan w.a.n.g came up with the brilliant idea of opening the carriage windows just as Xu Fei was becoming proud of himself. The wind came in and Ruan w.a.n.g's recovering body was met with a gust of cold wind.

"My lord, you must keep the windows closed." Xu Fei cried out, startling the snowflakes in the air. His breath was like a frosted cloud.

"No need." Ruan w.a.n.g said to him, preventing him from having the extra ideas of coming into the carriage himself and nailing the windows shut.

Though Xu Fei was not one to be easily frightened, he had a vague feeling that if he dared to close the window against his master's orders, what awaited him was the future of being kicked out of Ruan w.a.n.g Fu. There was only so much that he could act out. If going against one's master's wishes did not warrant getting kicked out, then he would certainly be able to get away with many other things.

In the end, he surrendered and slowly urged the horses onward with a slight tug on the reigns. The wooden wheels turned, flinging some of the loose powdered snow in different directions. It was quite a serene yet violent sight to behold. The horses pulled forward the carriage, with the heavy sound of horseshoes that came along. The large warm-blooded creatures exhaled a deep that were also fully frosted into clouds.

Outside the carriage, it was filled with endless darkness. There were not many lanterns that would light the way for a clear path. Most homes had their doors shut in an effort to preserve any bit of warmth within.

Though it was as though this night was to be uneventful, those who were escorting Ruan w.a.n.g were still cautious.

The wind blew a small hill of snow into the opened carriage window, causing the person inside to cough heavily.

"My lord." Xu Fei called out, in an attempt to get his master to close the open window.

"I'm fine." Came the words from within, "No need to worry."

Though those were words to ease a person's worry, there was no way Ruan w.a.n.g would be willing to concede and have the windows closed.

There was a light ahead in the blowing snow. A guest house that had two red lanterns lit in front of the plain wooden doors. Though the heavy winds blew, the lanterns merely rattled for a few seconds before returning to their still state. It was as though the guardians of the doors stood in the fridge air, holding them in place, guarding the lanterns and preventing the fire from being extinguished.

The doors to the guest house were wide open, welcoming an array of guests to come and go. However, where would there be any guests at this hour. Still, they left the doors wide open in a warming manner.

From within the guest house, there was a sound of a very faint melody. The worn instrument was being played by experienced hands. This particular instrument was not one known for its loud and overtaking sounds, like that of the pipa or the lute, instead, it had a reputation that came with gentleness, and a scholarly air. Its music could not be heard if someone was more than an earshot away.

Though the melody was muted, no one could deny that it was not there. So much so, that even Ruan w.a.n.g who had not appraised music in so long was slightly moved by the wondrous melody.

"Stop the carriage." He ordered.

He quickly got off and walked towards the guest house, almost tripping in the process.

"Lord." Xu Fei called out, in an effort to get him to stop, but Ruan w.a.n.g was able to recover from the sudden ice chunk that stood in his way.

"No need, wait for me here." He said in a slightly raised voice. When he had spoken, it was not so much as speaking, it was a command that had to be obeyed or there would be consequences to follow.

Not one word was said as they silently watched Ruan w.a.n.g nearly stumble a few times before making his way the guest house.

His feet were no longer under his own control as he stepped over the threshold to the guest house, officially entering the courtyard.

There was not another expression upon his face, aside from one of joy. Like a worried wife would be upon seeing her husband return from war.

Though there were years of separation between them, that feeling they had at the first meeting still remained.