Chapter 32 Nothing is like deep sorrow, how long will my lofty aspirations last?

Zhou Ziheng never expected that his idea of ​​"staying" would mean staying in this way.

Three renowned heroes of the martial arts world were reduced to working as servants in a tavern after a single mishap!

The fat shopkeeper said that Xi Bingyi was good-looking and lovable, and suitable to be a "golden signboard". So he simply arranged the easiest job for her, just asking her to sit under the wine flag.

Zhou Ziheng and Huo Qin had to run around doing all sorts of things, helping people get wine and moving the stored wine out of the warehouse.

Xi Bingyi lazily watched the two people shuttling back and forth, then belatedly murmured, "Wait a minute... why don't we just run away?"

That was, of course, because Zhou Ziheng coveted a story that required painstaking effort and was groundbreaking.

As the sun gradually set, the portly shopkeeper lit a lantern and hung it on the eaves behind Xi Bingyi.

She still sat in that bamboo chair, the wine flag fluttering gently above her head. Occasionally, a customer returning late would be attracted by this "signboard" and stroll in to buy a couple of ounces of wine.

The tavern was busier than ever. Zhou Ziheng carried wine jars and moved between tables and chairs, while Huo Qin bustled back and forth between the storeroom and the main hall, carrying out jar after jar of aged wine and stacking them next to the counter.

As night deepened, the last group of guests also staggered away.

The fat shopkeeper counted the copper coins, and his expression finally brightened.

"Not bad, not bad, you made quite a bit today." He smiled as he calculated, turning a blind eye to Zhou Ziheng's slacking off and not saying much.

"Little Mei, thank you so much." The fat shopkeeper picked out a string of copper coins and handed them to Xi Bingyi. "This is extra pay for your work."

Xi Bingyi was flattered, while Zhou Ziheng secretly felt jealous.

He strolled up to the fat shopkeeper, opened his palm as if asking for a reward: "Shopkeeper, what about mine?"

The fat shopkeeper glared at him: "You're not my 'living advertisement'!"

Xi Bingyi laughed so hard she bent over, twirling the string of copper coins and humming a little tune as she left in high spirits.

"Senior brother, you've finally met your match!"

Zhou Ziheng: "..."

He didn't leave, but stayed around the fat shopkeeper, laughing, "Shopkeeper, you see, my junior sister can really help you earn more money."

"How about... we just let bygones be bygones of the bad thing that the sparrow did, and you tell us the story?"

The portly shopkeeper glanced at Zhou Ziheng, weighed the copper coins in his hand, and seemed to be considering whether to "write it off".

He pondered for a while, and after a long time, he finally asked, "What did that little brat tell you?"

Zhou Ziheng understood that this meant she was willing to talk, so he quickly moved a small stool to sit down, picked up his secretly hidden good wine, and pretended to listen attentively: "He said that Yu Wangshu is lively, agile and unrestrained, and that he and she are a match made in heaven."

Sure enough, upon hearing the second half of the sentence, the portly shopkeeper forgot to question Zhou Ziheng about where the wine came from. He sneered, "A match made in heaven? How dare he say that!"

"Yu Wangshu is a young lady from a respectable family, with an extremely noble background?"

"Her father is the Grand Secretary of the court, and her brother is the Crown Prince's tutor. For someone like Yizhique, a man from the Western Regions, to be able to spend some time with Yu Wangshu is an immense honor!"

Zhou Ziheng didn't understand the so-called difference in social status and background, but he respected it and quickly chimed in, "You're right, so how do the two of them get along?"

The fat shopkeeper let out a long sigh.

"Miss Wang Shu is naturally lively and cheerful, but she has suffered from an incurable disease since childhood. Her father has searched for many famous doctors for her, but none of them could cure her."

"If we're talking about who's most likely to cure Miss Wangshu's illness, then it's probably only Old Master Qi. It's just a pity that he travels all over the world and is like a dragon whose tail is never seen; no one can find him."

Zhou Ziheng paused for a moment, and the word "fate" suddenly popped into his mind.

He asked softly, "Does she know it herself?"

Did Yu Wangshu know he was going to die soon? Did he know that Yizhique was the child that Qi Lao had found?

The portly shopkeeper didn't speak. He stopped fiddling with the abacus and, in the silence, cast a meaningful glance at Zhou Ziheng.

...

No one wants to die, let alone Yu Wangshu, who had just run away from home and seen many beautiful landscapes.

When Yu Wangshu first met Yizhique, he did not know that Yizhique was the child that Old Qi had taken in.

Of course, at first, the spoiled young lady Yu Wangshu didn't want to pay any attention to the other party.

"Where did this strange person come from?" Yu Wangshu jumped off the carriage and reached out to lift the bamboo hat worn by Yizhique, but Yizhique quickly dodged and he missed.

Yu Wangshu's displeasure was written all over her face.

She's been pampered for over a decade, getting everything she wanted. When has she ever been so decisively rejected?

Thinking this, she naturally didn't have a good look on her face. She snorted, angrily shoved a sparrow aside, and walked into the inn.

The force was light and weak, like a kitten baring its claws.

Yizhi Que had never seen such a handsome person. When Yu Wangshu smiled, he felt as if the sky had cleared up; when Yu Wangshu was angry, he also found the other person quite adorable.

Not to mention that the two of them were so coincidentally staying at the same inn!

Bewitched, Yizhi Que abandoned her original plan to go to the inn and followed Yu Wangshu into the "Yueqing Inn".

Yu Wangshu, annoyed, turned and glared at the strange man following behind her, saying speechlessly, "Are you following me?"

One sparrow quickly shook its head: "No."

Seemingly afraid that such an explanation was too weak, he added, trying to cover up his misunderstanding, "I...I just returned from traveling the world, and I used to love coming to this inn."

His lie came out without hesitation: "I didn't mean to avoid it just now. My face was injured by an enemy, and I was afraid of scaring you."

Whether Yu Wangshu believed it or not, it was clear that she was very interested in the "traveling the world" that Yizhique had mentioned.

"Are you a chivalrous knight?"

Yizhi Que remained silent. He felt that he had nothing to do with being a "knight-errant," but looking at Yu Wangshu's bright eyes, he couldn't bring himself to deny it.

He gritted his teeth: "Yes... I am a chivalrous knight."

Yu Wangshu's attitude changed drastically. Upon hearing that the other party was a chivalrous knight, she immediately greeted him with a smile, offering him drinks and befriending him, practically treating him like a precious jewel.

The sparrow, feeling somewhat smug, spoke more and more under Wang Shu's admiring gaze:

"Yes, I've been to many places. I've seen the sunset over the desert and the vast beauty of the snowfields."

"If I had to pick my favorite... it would still be the Western Regions! Have you ever been to the Western Regions? It's a very mysterious place..."

“In our… in the Western Regions there is a special kind of rocky mountain, which is red like flowing fire. I love to stand there and look into the distance.”

"Really? You've been to so many places!" Yu Wangshu exclaimed excitedly, gripping Yizhique's hand tightly. "Then you must be very free!"

One Sparrow blushed slightly, but fortunately, his straw hat covered his face, preventing him from losing too much face.

He took out a small silver lotus flower from his pocket and handed it to Yu Wangshu: "This is a token from the Western Regions... um...

"This is for you."

Yu Wangshu accepted it without hesitation, without refusing, and instead felt it was only right and proper.

She politely thanked her, her eyes filled with envy. But the excitement quickly faded as she thought of her illness, and her expression fell.

Noticing Yu Wangshu's disappointment, Yizhique was a little puzzled. How could she be so happy just a moment ago, and then suddenly become unhappy?

Yu Wangshu held a anemone in one hand and sighed, resting her chin on her other hand: "What a beautiful anemone..."

"It's just a pity..."

"What's a pity?"

Yu Wangshu smiled wanly, but she didn't intend to tell someone she had only recently met about her illness.

She remembered that Yizhique said he loved to travel the world, and she had also heard her father say that Old Qi also loved to travel the world. In that instant, her hope was rekindled.

"Have you met Old Qi? I heard he also likes to go out and have fun."

Yizhi Que, without suspicion, told everything truthfully: "Old Qi, he should be considered my adoptive father."

He raised me and asked me about the poisons of the Western Regions; how could he not be considered my adoptive father?

However, overwhelming joy washed over Yu Wangshu like a tidal wave!

The hesitant, unspoken words of the sparrow seemed as faint as a mosquito in the face of Wang Shu's overwhelming joy.

Her whole world was illuminated by the words "I'm saved!"

Could it be that Heaven took pity on her and couldn't bear to see her die young, so it sent this life-saving opportunity to her?

Yu Wangshu excitedly clutched a sparrow's hand, the cheap anemone flower long since lost somewhere.

At this moment, Yu Wangshu had only one thought:

She wanted to be friends with the people in front of her, to be family to them, she didn't care what they did, she just had to live!

She was willing to use him and deceive him!

Pretending to be sincere, Yu Wangshu thus became attached to a sparrow.

The spoiled princess was more adept at manipulating people than anyone else. She never said things like, "Take me to see the misty rain of Jiangnan," but instead packaged it as:

"Would you come with me to see the misty rain of Jiangnan?"

Look, they package commands as requests, reveal vulnerability and longing before a sparrow, and add a touch of worship and gratitude...

All of this was accomplished so easily.

Yu Wangshu knew what kind of person he liked, and was willing to become that kind of person for a chance to survive.

She clung to every conceivable hope of survival, placing all her bets on Yizhique, gambling her future on him.

Apart from the initial meeting when Yu Wangshu inquired about Qi Lao, Yizhi Que never mentioned her again at any later time.

He originally thought the other party would be very interested in Mr. Qi, but he was also worried that his unfamiliar relationship with Mr. Qi would be exposed. Every day he was terrified, preparing one question after another and weaving one lie after another.

But Yu Wangshu did not ask any further questions.

Yizhi Que was content to immerse herself in the fantasy created by Wang Shu, like a sparrow gazing at the moon, imagining pure and innocent emotions.