After Rong Heng finished tidying up the guest room, he strolled out and saw Zhu Jiayu coming out of Wei Qinglou's study. He went up to her, his gentle eyes smiling, and said, "Miss Zhu."

Zhu Jiayu paused slightly, then nodded: "Young Master Rong."

Rong Heng smiled and said, "Just now in the hall, I heard Lord Wei call you A-Yu. May I call you that in the same way?"

He had one hand behind his back and the other hanging at his side. He wore an apricot-white robe with cloud patterns embroidered in fine silver thread on the hem and front, which shimmered faintly in the sunlight, making him look noble and reserved. He was a true gentleman, as exquisite as jade.

If it were an ordinary woman, being looked at by him with such a smile, she would probably blush before she could even say a word.

However, Zhu Jiayu met his gaze and readily agreed.

Rong Heng's eyes flickered slightly, seemingly somewhat surprised, but he quickly nodded in agreement: "In that case, A-Yu may call me by my courtesy name, Dushan."

Zhu Jiayu was momentarily lost in thought, recalling the first time in her past life that he asked her to call him to cross the mountain. At that time, looking at the exceptionally handsome man before her, her greatest wish in life was nothing more than to raise children with him and grow old together.

Hearing those two words from his lips again now, after a lifetime had passed and two lifetimes of life and death separated them, along with a desolate sea of ​​hatred and mountains, she could never bring herself to say them again.

Coming to her senses, she looked at the locust blossoms with their branches and leaves lying askew on the water in the distance, and said softly to Rong Heng, "The flowers over there are in full bloom. Would you like to come and take a look with me, Young Master Rong?"

She knew Rong Heng wanted to get closer to her, and she didn't mind doing what he wanted and putting on a show with him.

Rong Heng was also a smart man. Seeing that she was unwilling to answer him directly, he did not press her. He simply smiled and said, "Then let's go and see."

Pale yellow locust flowers grow on the bank, and tall trees cast a cool shade under the sun. Their branches and leaves are a deep green and lush, and their reflections fall on the dark green water, which is a lighter shade of green. The clusters of locust flowers stand out even more in the thick greenery.

Zhu Jiayu stood under the locust tree, looking up at the locust blossoms overhead.

Rong Heng looked up and saw her reflection in the water.

She was tall and slender, dressed in a pale yellow dress embroidered with light white intertwined floral patterns. Above her was her white and slender neck, like an elegant swan on a lake, or a jade vase on a scholar's desk, supporting her graceful figure that could only be admired from afar. Then came her gorgeous and beautiful eyes and brows, which, when raised or lowered, were like sharp blades, possessing a captivating charm and a chilling sharpness that could kill with a frown or a smile.

A gentle breeze blew by, causing the locust blossoms to tremble and ripples to spread across the clear pond. Rong Heng withdrew his gaze, and then heard Zhu Jiayu casually speak: "Young Master Rong seems to be a diligent scholar. He must have put in a lot of hard work in his studies. Surely he doesn't read those folk tales about fox spirits, ghosts, and beauties that circulate in the marketplace like ordinary people?"

Rong Heng thought for a moment and said, "I haven't studied too hard, but I really don't read the storybooks that A-Yu talks about much. What's wrong?"

Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered that there's a story behind this locust tree. Is Young Master Rong interested?"

Rong Heng, of course, had no interest.

Mountain spirits, fox demons, and all the gods and Buddhas were, in his eyes, nonsense. In one's life, one experiences hardship, suffering, desires, and wants, all of which are sincere. If there were truly gods, immortals, demons, and ghosts in the world, rewarding good and punishing evil, then the world would be full of good people, with no injustices or sorrows.

But in his twenty years of life, all he saw were bones and dust in the world, nothing more than absurd and heartbreaking old stories.

But Zhu Jiayu seemed quite interested, so he naturally couldn't spoil her fun. He nodded and said, "I am quite interested. I wonder if there's any story behind this locust tree?"

Zhu Jiayu couldn't help but sigh.

She felt that Rong Heng was truly skilled. He clearly didn't believe her and wasn't interested, yet he could put on such a sincere attitude and ask her for advice. If she were truly young and naive, she might have innocently thought that he and she could actually talk about the same things.

But she was no longer a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, and she knew all too well how the seemingly handsome young man before her was a heartless, treacherous, and ambitious man hiding beneath his good looks. Looking at his humble and eager expression, she found his hypocrisy utterly repulsive.

She suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and said with a smile, "The locust tree is said to have ghosts in it. I've heard that the locust tree is the most yin tree, especially at midnight, when the deceased can even rely on it to return to the human world. In folk tales, there are often stories of lovelorn women who are killed by unfaithful men and then use the locust tree to increase their power and seek revenge on their former lovers."

She turned around and looked at Rong Heng, approaching him step by step: "I don't mean anything else, I just want to remind you, young master Rong, if any innocent woman dies because of you, please don't plant locust trees in your house in the future, lest she die without knowing why."

Rong Heng was forced to take a half step back, and was about to fall into the pool, but Zhu Jiayu grabbed him and said, "It was just a joke with Young Master Rong. You weren't really scared, were you?"

Rong Heng stared at her intently for a long while, then slowly exhaled and shook his head, saying, "No."

His voice deepened, and for the first time, the smile on his face vanished without a trace.

At this moment, Rong Heng dropped his mask, but the look in his eyes as he looked at Zhu Jiayu was more serious than ever before.

He had just truly felt the malice emanating from Zhu Jiayu. He couldn't quite put his finger on where it came from, but he was certain that in the moment he slipped and was about to fall into the water, Zhu Jiayu hesitated briefly before reaching out to grab him.

In other words, for a fleeting moment, she genuinely considered letting him die!

But she was too smart and too realistic, not ruthless enough, and not open-minded enough. She knew that if he got into trouble here, it would cause trouble for her and Wei Qinglou. So after hesitating, she still reached out and grabbed him.

He looked at Zhu Jiayu and suddenly reached out his hand.

Zhu Jiayu was stiff all over, but because she didn't know what he wanted to do and didn't want to show weakness in front of him, she forced herself not to move.

It wasn't until Rong Heng withdrew his hand and opened it in front of Zhu Jiayu that a locust flower that had fallen from a branch was revealed in his palm.

He turned his hand over, and the locust blossoms drifted into the water.

Zhu Jiayu's gaze followed the locust blossoms, when she suddenly heard Rong Heng speak: "The talk of ghosts and gods is nothing but unfounded rumors, but the human heart is something that can be seen in reality."

“Ayu,” Zhu Jiayu looked at him and saw the corners of his lips slightly curved. She smiled and said, “You spoke so sincerely just now. If I hadn’t been sure that we had never met before, I would have almost thought that you were the lovelorn woman who was born into this world to seek revenge on me.”

After Rong Heng finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of a figure pausing slightly at the corner of his eye. He took a step closer to her and smiled slightly, saying, "But I think, with A Yu's stunning beauty, I'm afraid no one would be willing to let you down."