Chapter 245 Leaving

The cold wind blew dead leaves across the green tiles of the Qiushi Academy, and the copper bells on the eaves rang out a lonely sound.

As the last carriage's tracks on the cobblestone road disappeared at the village entrance, the courtyard, once filled with the sound of reading, fell into a long-lost silence.

In the empty corridor, there were only drops of melted snow, which flowed along the carvings on the pillars and made sporadic ding-dong sounds on the bluestone slabs.

The wooden door of the Huo family courtyard was half-open, and the newly painted tung oil still had a warm luster.

Huo Qiushuang leaned against the door frame, looking at the newly planted wintersweet tree in the yard with satisfaction, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the rough texture of the door frame.

The three tiled houses that were completed half a month ago glowed warm yellow in the twilight. The window frames were pasted with brand new cotton paper, and the wind gently lifted the corners, revealing the neatly stacked camphorwood boxes inside the house.

These were the household items she and her mother had bought back from the county town over the past few days. They weren't particularly valuable, just small items that every family would need.

"Finally, I don't have to live under someone else's roof and have to look at other people's faces anymore." Her voice was wrapped in white breath, condensing into tiny water droplets in the cold air.

The frost on her eyelashes trembled with her words, but there was an unprecedented brightness in her eyes.

Although she was not able to become an independent woman in the end, after her constant persuasion and persistence, Huo Junyu finally agreed to build a small courtyard for her.

This small courtyard was right next to the Huo family's, separated only by a low fence. It was only about one acre square and had only three rooms.

The wall of the courtyard was not even as high as the moon-shaped gate of her ex-husband's house, but when she spread her favorite light green sheets on the bed with her own hands for the first time, the peace of mind that came from her palms made her unable to help but sink into it.

She suddenly turned around and pointed at the west wing: "When spring comes, I want to put bookshelves all over this room. This wall will be used to store books, this wall will be used to store embroidery thread, this wall..."

The chirping sounds echoed in the empty courtyard, startling two sparrows that were taking shelter for the winter under the eaves.

Gu Jiayue sat on the futon and sorted the fabrics, while Ye Yuntang stepped on the wooden ladder to wipe the window frames. The two looked at each other from time to time, letting Huo Qiushuang talk endlessly about the blueprint for the future.

Someone said something, but a clear laugh broke the winter silence.

The figures of the three girls were reflected on the paper-pasted window, looking like the silhouettes of ladies walking out of New Year pictures.

On the bluestone road outside the courtyard, two figures were standing still and looking around.

"Whose house is this? Why haven't I seen it before?" The strange male voice was wrapped in fatigue from the long journey. The speaker was wrapped in a faded gray cloth cloak, and there were still grains of unmelted snow on his temples.

Beside him, Hua Qingzhu shook off the frost on her shoulders. The patches on her coarse cotton-padded jacket shone dimly in the twilight. "Oh, that's Master Huo, the teacher from Juzhou Prefecture. They've settled in Taohua Village. This is his courtyard. The one joking must be his sister."

But the man was very curious and continued to ask. "I've only been away for a year, and it seems that the village has changed a lot."

Not only was there a new school, but there were also many new houses. I even heard that a workshop had been built in the village, and every family could go to work in the workshop. If they did well, they could earn hundreds of copper coins a month.

If that were the case, why would he bother going out every year? He would either be robbed or face natural disasters.

If you are lucky enough not to encounter these problems, and finally transport the goods to the sales place, oh no, there is a high possibility that you will encounter commodity inflation and cannot afford the price.

If that's the case, then this trip would be in vain.

Everyone thinks he makes a lot of money speculating, but only he knows the hardship behind it. He only earns a tiny bit of hard-earned money throughout the year.

This is when things are going well.

But in reality, things don’t go smoothly most of the time.

For example, this year, it was a blessing in disguise that he was able to return home safely.

Hua Qingzhu: “There are indeed many changes.

The man in gray opened his mouth to ask more questions, but suddenly he heard the wooden door creak.

Gu Jiayue stepped out of the door holding a roll of cotton cloth. The silver hairpin in her hair swayed slightly with her movements, casting tiny rays of light in the twilight.

She was stunned at first, then she arched her eyebrows and greeted him politely. "Brother Hua, did you just come back from outside? I haven't seen you in the village for several days."

We live in the same village, and although we try to avoid each other, we still run into each other from time to time.

She thought Hua Qingzhu would resent her for refusing the marriage proposal, but she didn't expect that she would greet him openly every time they met.

This made Gu Jiayue, who was deliberately avoiding the issue, seem a little petty.

So later on, she no longer avoided him deliberately, and greeted him warmly when they met. Now the two of them can still chat with each other occasionally.

Hua Qingzhu's Adam's apple moved, and he shrank back to avoid the wind. "Yeah, I went to the county town to pick up a good friend. He's also from our village."

Before Hua Qingzhu could finish her words, or even wait for her to introduce herself, the man in gray rushed forward, the hem of his faded cloak sweeping the snow on the roadside. He straightened his somewhat disheveled collar and bowed. "Hello, ladies. My name is Gu Zhousu, and I live east of Taohua Village."

Gu Jiayue was about to respond when she suddenly realized. "Zhou" was his generational name? Doesn't that mean she was this man's aunt?

A smile suddenly appeared in the corners of his eyes.

She deliberately put on a stern face and imitated the tone of the village elders: "Yes, it's Xiao Su. I've heard about you from my grandfather. You are the most capable young man in our Taohua Village. Are you doing well in the outside world?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gu Jiayue, and Gu Huangtai is my father."

"It turns out to be my aunt..." Gu Zhousu's face flushed red instantly, and the tips of his ears almost burned.

Ye Yuntang burst out laughing. He didn't expect that Sister Gu, who was usually serious, would have such a bad taste in teasing people.

This smile made Gu Zhousu take a half step back in embarrassment. He almost fell down when his feet stepped on the icy ground. He had to hold on to Hua Qingzhu beside him in a panic to steady himself.

As they were arguing, Huo Qiushuang's voice came from the yard: "Jiayue, you forgot this thing at my house."

With the creaking sound of the door opening, a lilac cotton skirt came into view.

Huo Qiushuang had a newly picked wintersweet pinned to her hair, and half a piece of indigo cloth was exposed in the bamboo basket, swaying gently in the cold wind.

Gu Zhousu's breathing suddenly stopped.

He looked at the smiling figure and felt that the whole world was covered with a layer of soft light.

As Huo Qiushuang approached, he seemed to smell the fragrance of wintersweet on her.

The fresh fragrance of wintersweet made his heart tremble suddenly, and he didn't even notice Hua Qingzhu pulling his sleeve hard.

At just one glance, he felt as if he was controlled by something strange.

That girl is so beautiful!

Huo Qiushuang didn't notice anything was wrong with Gu Zhousu. She smiled and walked out of the yard with her basket. "Girl, if I hadn't seen you, you would have had to make another trip later."

Gu Jiayue took the basket and, smiling, took Huo Qiushuang's arm, blocking Gu Zhousu's view. "Oh, thank you so much, sister. Otherwise, grandma will scold me when we get home."

It was too cold outside, so the three girls just said a few words and then parted ways.

"Qingzhu, I think I have someone I like!" After the three girls disappeared, Gu Zhousu was still staring at the closed gate.

His pupils still reflected that mauve hue, and even the breath he exhaled carried a scorching heat as he spoke. "You know what? In just a few breaths, I've even thought of a name for our child."

Hua Qingzhu rolled her eyes, picked up her luggage and left: "You're crazy!"

But the footsteps behind him were getting closer and closer, accompanied by Gu Zhousu's almost excited question: "Hey, Qingzhu, wait for me, do you know how old this girl is? Is she betrothed to someone?"

"have no idea."

"You know it, right? Please tell me, I beg you?"

“I really don’t know!”

"Hmph, it doesn't matter. It's the same if I ask my mother myself."

As the dusk deepened, two figures disappeared one after the other on the path where smoke from cooking fires was floating.