Chapter Twenty-Five: Fireworks Fade Quickly, and Human Affairs Part Easily

During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty, during the era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a general was ordered to guard the city of Luoyang. While stationed there, he met a local woman. From the moment their eyes met, it felt as if they had known each other forever, and soon they pledged themselves to each other in secret. But as fate would have it, the Northern Wei invaded, and the general was commanded to go to war. Before departing, he grasped her hand and said, “When I win the battle, I will return to marry you…”

The two parted with deep reluctance. The woman waited at the city gate, watching the general ride away atop his horse, never looking back. The campaign lasted for months, during which the Liu Song suffered defeat after defeat. In his fury, Emperor Wen executed two generals, and the Northern Wei launched a full-scale assault, forcing their way across the Yellow River. Ignoring his ministers’ advice, Emperor Wen ordered a desperate counterattack, yet was overwhelmed, and Luoyang was lost. The emperor had no choice but to withdraw his troops, while the gravely wounded general was left stranded in a foreign land.

When the general recovered, he intended to return home, but by then, the Song Dynasty was all but finished; returning would mean certain death. Death was never something he feared, but the memory of his promise and his disappointment in Emperor Wen's ruthless execution of loyal men chilled his heart. Helpless, he remained in exile, hoping that one day, when the fires of war had subsided, he could return to her side.

At the city gate where they had parted, a woman often sat on a stone slab, waiting for her beloved to return. Whenever someone came back from the front, she would ask if they had seen the general, but there was never news of his victorious return.

She never gave up, waiting day after day. Decades passed, and finally, after years of steadfast devotion with no sign of the general, the woman shaved her head and became a nun. Her story was passed from one person to another, until it eventually reached the general himself.

Yet he could not return. By then, Northern Wei had moved its capital to Luoyang—a fact that could not be disputed. The war between the north and south raged on, and he had to survive, waiting for the day peace would come.

At this point, Li Yi paused and looked at the four women, who stared at him without blinking, afraid to miss even the smallest detail.

“No one knows how many years passed, but eventually, the war ended. For the first time, the general returned to the place he had longed for day and night. Dressed as an ordinary civilian, he came to the battered, weathered city gate. He walked to the spot where they had parted, beside the now withered tree, and touched the stone slab where she had waited for him every day.

Elegant shepherd’s flute music drifted from the outskirts. A passerby told the general that a woman had once waited here for her beloved to return.

Stepping once again onto familiar soil, his heart was overwhelmed with complicated emotions, as if time had turned back to those days that inspired envy.

He searched for her traces in the lonely, ruined city, but could not find her. Rain began to fall from the sky…

He believed she had always waited for him.

The elders of the lonely city told him she had always been alone—right up to the day she died.”

Finishing the story, Li Yi was filled with endless emotion. He had first learned of this tale from Zhou Dong’s song “Cold Fireworks,” and was deeply moved by it. Since then, he would reread it from time to time, each reading bringing a new feeling. Li Yi sighed and looked at the four women, all of whom were already sobbing uncontrollably.

“Boohoo~! Brother Yi, you’re so cruel! Why didn’t you let them reunite? I hate you!” Li Xueyan, the most lively of them all, was also the most sensitive. She cried the hardest.

“It’s just a story! I…” Li Yi’s words were interrupted by Yiyi.

“Boohoo~~! Son-in-law, you’re a big meanie! Boohoo~!” Yiyi, though she looked dazed and cute, cried as fiercely as Li Xueyan.

“Yiyi, stop calling me that! I didn’t write the story, it has nothing to do with me!” Li Yi continued to patiently explain.

“Brother Li! I think you’re a devil!” Li Zixuan, always so quiet, even cried in silence.

“You have to believe me, this is history, not something I made up. It has nothing to do with me!” Li Yi explained again.

“Don’t make excuses! Bad guy! I hate you too!” Changle, though she cried as well, wasn’t as expressive as Li Xueyan.

“Well, you’ve forced my hand, so don’t blame me! Let me turn up the emotion—tears moved by beauty are no harm; they’re good for body and mind!” Li Yi, tired of explaining, decided to unleash his trump card. He stood by the window, and sorrowful song flowed softly from his lips:

“Splendid sounds fade into the gates of emptiness, vexing the world,
Dreams are cold, a lifetime of restless debts of love,
If you accept waiting through life and death,
Waiting through rings upon rings of years.
The stupa is broken layer by layer, whose soul is severed?
Pain rushes straight to the ruined mountain gate lit by a dying lamp,
Let me wait again for history to turn,
Wait for the wine to mellow, for you to play a tune on the zither.
Rain falls thick, in the old hometown wild grass grows deep,
I hear you have always been alone.
The battered city gate is entwined with old tree roots,
Echoes on the stone slab are nothing but more waiting,
I hear you still keep watch over the lonely city,
Shepherd’s flute sounds on the outskirts,
Falling in that wild village,
Fate puts down roots.
We hear youth welcome laughter, envied by many,
The chronicles are gentle, unwilling to record with harsh words,
Fireworks fade quickly, people are easily parted.
And you ask me if I am still earnest,
A thousand years later, who still waits for deep feelings through lifetimes?
How could history not be true, with Wei’s book and Luoyang city?
If you still follow, the past life is at the door.
Follow the world of red dust, follow me wandering all my life,
Rain falls thick, rain falls thick, wild grass grows deep in the old hometown,
I hear, I hear you still keep watch over the lonely city,
At the temple, listen to the sound of rain, hoping for eternity.”

After singing, Li Yi took a deep breath and felt much lighter. All the burdens of the past two days seemed to melt away; he was indeed a bit exhausted. He glanced at the three women, and saw that they were no longer crying, but were utterly absorbed in the song, unable to extricate themselves.

“What a beautiful song, so unique, so sorrowful. Brother Yi, why does my heart hurt so much?” Li Xueyan’s tear-streaked face was full of anguish and sadness.

“Yes! Me too, son-in-law, you’re amazing!” Yiyi looked at Li Yi with innocent admiration.

“Fireworks fade quickly, people are easily parted. Is there anything in this world more bitter than this? By the way, what are fireworks?” Changle gazed at Li Yi, finding him mysterious and unfamiliar. At first, she thought he was slick and disrespectful, but gradually she saw his uniqueness. Though he seemed unreliable, he gave a sense of security. Then she felt his humor, his wisdom, his freedom. Just when she thought she understood him, he revealed such sensitivity and sorrow. One wonders what unknown hardships a person who can write such sadness must have endured, perhaps even Xueyan didn’t truly understand him.

“Brother Li, I thought your talent for poetry was already extraordinary, but you’ve surprised me again. This new song, so different from current styles, is like a gift from heaven. It will surely have a profound impact. Brother Li, will you teach me?” Li Yi had never seen Li Zixuan show such a look before; it seemed she had found her life’s goal.

“I want to learn too!” Li Xueyan and Changle spoke together, their voices resolute.

“Haha! A story will always be a story; whether the fireworks fade quickly or people are easily parted, it’s all just a tale. Life must go on. They had their legend, we have our own brilliance. So don’t let them affect us—wipe your faces, tidy your moods. Now, let’s start learning the song, focus your attention!”

Li Yi then began teaching them the lyrics. Among the four women, aside from Yiyi, the other three were all gifted and intelligent, so they learned quickly. Yiyi, being a maid with less education, lagged behind, but Li Yi treated her no differently. The five of them, teaching and singing together, took half an hour to learn the song. When Li Yi listened to them sing it, he was stunned by the pure, original feeling—it was utterly captivating. A new idea began to take root in Li Yi’s mind.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Yi looked up at the sky and said to the four women, “Alright, that’s enough for today. Staying up late is bad for your skin, so hurry back and get some sleep. I’ll be here, nothing to worry about. Rest easy—believe me, tomorrow will be another beautiful day!”

The three women raised their eyes and realized it was already the second watch of the night. They nodded and went off together to their rooms to sleep.

“Wait! They’re gone—who’s going to arrange a room for me? Am I going to share a room with Li Chen? No! I won’t let him tarnish my purity!” Li Yi mused wildly to himself, then closed his eyes to rest.

An hour later, Jiang Li Chen entered with seven folding fans.

Li Yi was awakened by the sound of the door opening. Seeing Jiang Li Chen, he perked up.

“Are they ready?”

“Yes!” Jiang Li Chen handed the seven fans to Li Yi, though his eyes betrayed a hint of reluctance. Clearly, fans held a special allure for men, especially ancient men!

Li Yi took the fans and inspected them carefully. The faces were made of fine rice paper, slightly yellowed to enhance their classical beauty. The ribs were crafted from small-leaf rosewood, a rare kind, with one dragon-scale pattern, one fish-scale, two blood-red, and three gold-star patterns. The purple-gold ribs looked noble and elegant, yet dignified.

“Did you pay the craftsmen and maids?”

“I did!”

“Good,” Li Yi replied, and together they walked toward the guest rooms. Along the way, Li Yi told Jiang Li Chen about finding his family. Upon arrival, Li Yi saw an empty room next to Jiang Li Chen’s, and breathed a sigh of relief, entering directly. Once inside, he began the final and most important step in making folding fans—inscribing poetry. Without this, the fans would be ordinary objects. Since the fans were already assembled, he couldn’t afford to make a mistake, and realized he’d made a grave error—it would have been better to write the poems on the faces before assembling the fans, so there’d be no risk of ruining them! But it was too late now; there was no way back. Li Yi could only grit his teeth and concentrate. Fortunately, with the blessings of the Buddha, he completed the inscriptions successfully. Afterwards, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed, tidied up haphazardly, and drifted into sleep.

Meanwhile, back at the onset of night, in Chang’an’s Pingkang District—adjacent to the Eastern Market and not far from the palace—this neighborhood was home to nobles, especially the Li family, led by Duke Wei, and the Cheng family, led by Duke Lu. At this moment in the main hall of the Li residence sat a kindly yet formidable elderly woman, presiding at the head of the table, with a couple in middle age and two teenage boys seated below.

“Yehsi, go out and see if your grandfather has returned. That old man, he never considers his age, still working so hard, never thinking to take a leave and come home early. Stubborn as a mule!” These were the members of the Li family. The woman at the head was Li Yi’s grandmother, Lady Hongfu, a legendary figure, a heroine among women—otherwise how could she have tamed a man like Li Jing? At this moment, her worry was evident, though her words were sharp, they were nothing but expressions of deep affection between husband and wife.

Li Yehsi, upon hearing his grandmother’s command, immediately scampered out. In this household, her words were law; disobedience meant certain punishment! So both Li Yehsi and Li Yexu feared her the most, but she also doted on them more than anyone.

Just as Li Yehsi ran outside, he heard the servants call out loudly, “Master has returned home!”