Chapter 209: Past and Present Life (Part 2)

Red candles stretched from both sides of the alley toward the pitch-black front.

There are more and more paper money floating in front of me.

Wen Xingluo saw the streets bustling with people and the sound of gongs and drums. She accompanied the three Wen Rufeng brothers to the street to read the notice of the results of the provincial examination.

She tried to stand on tiptoe to see which place Wen Rufeng was in, but the crowd was so dense that she couldn't see the notice even if she jumped up with great effort.

Just as he was sweating profusely, Wen Rulei suddenly laughed out loud with surprise, "Brother, you are the first place! You are this year's Jieyuanlang!"

"Okay, okay!" Wen Ruyun clapped his hands and laughed. "I'll book Jinweizhai right away and send a sedan chair to bring Yueyin back from the Zhenbei Palace. We siblings will celebrate for big brother!"

Wen Rufeng was beaming, "Let's go!"

The three brothers squeezed out of the crowd.

Wen Xingluo was overjoyed and wanted to come forward, "Brother, congratulations——"

The three brothers completely ignored her.

They talked about something happily and each got into a sedan chair.

“Big Brother——”

Wen Xingluo chased for a while, but ultimately failed to catch up.

She held onto a carriage parked by the roadside, breathing softly.

Looking up at the departing sedan chair again, the girl's clear almond-shaped eyes gradually became misty, "Brother, congratulations on passing the exam..."

A hand as slender as jade slowly and calmly lifted the curtain of the carriage.

The young man was wearing a scarlet robe and a jade belt, his face shrouded in the shadow of the carriage, and only his sharp and tight jawline could be seen.

Wen Xingluo then noticed that the carriage was made of expensive agarwood, with vermilion lacquer and gold-painted Kirin patterns, which was extremely luxurious. The golden gauze lanterns hanging from the four corners held the four large official script characters "Zhenbei Palace".

The person sitting in the car should be Wen Yueyin's stepbrother in the Zhenbei Palace.

She withdrew her hand from the carriage, wiped the body of the carriage she had touched with a handkerchief, and said embarrassedly, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

The young man looked at her silently.

Perhaps because he felt sorry for her, after a long while, he finally ordered, "Send Miss Wen home."

The red candle burns, and the wax tears slowly drip down the candle body.

The pearl shoes stepped silently across the bluestone slabs.

She followed the direction of the red candles and walked through the alley step by step. The shabby scenery around her changed little by little, and she seemed to be in the magnificent imperial palace in the capital.

The princes came to the capital to pay homage, and as the prince's fiancée, she should have accompanied the prince at the palace banquet, but she felt that the palace was too hot and noisy, so she walked alone along the palace alleys to get some fresh air.

But unexpectedly, he ran into Wen Yueyin's stepbrother from the royal palace.

He stood with his hands behind his back at the end of the palace alley. She just bowed her head and didn't notice what emotion was on his face. She only saw a silver hibiscus embroidered on his scarlet clothes.

He said abruptly, "The flowers in Chengdu are all in bloom."

Wen Xingluo stared at the lotus on his robe in a trance.

In the morning, I see the red wet place and the heavy flowers in the Jinguan City.

Before she knew it, she had been in the capital for a year.

She missed the blooming season in Chengdu this year...

The young man's voice was somewhat hoarse for some reason. "Xie will be leaving for the southwest tomorrow. Miss Wen, would you like me to take you home?"

Wen Xingluo was somewhat puzzled, but still knelt and bowed, "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. However, I have already moved to the capital with my father and brother. From now on, the capital is my home, and I have no plans to return to Rongcheng."

The man was silent for a long time.

It was not until the wind in the capital city grew stronger and stronger that he murmured "hmm".

Red candles meander in the alley, and no one knows where they are going.

Wen Xingluo looked up and saw paper money flying in the alley in the light and shadow of red candles, like a chaotic battlefield.

The world is in chaos.

Her home in the capital was also in chaos.

Her sister took everything from her.

She fought to the death and died together with those who betrayed her. She cried and laughed as she looked at the bodies in a pool of blood.

She covered the bloody hole in her stomach and slowly crawled out of the secret room.

She climbed down to the corridor and looked at the hibiscus tree in the courtyard that was transplanted from Chengdu to Beijing.

In fact, that hibiscus plant was not suitable for the capital city. Because it was not adapted to the climate and soil, it grew very poorly. In addition, no one had watered it for several days, so the whole plant had withered.

A pink-blue butterfly landed on a dry branch, and then flew away in a moment.

Wen Xingluo stared at the butterfly.

It flew over the high walls of the deep courtyard and headed southwest, gradually flying far away.

Will it fly to Chengdu?

Hot tears fell drop by drop into the pool of blood.

Wen Xingluo fell on the steps, staring blankly towards the southwest.

The capital is not her home.

But she can never go back to the place where she grew up...

The fighting on the front line is becoming increasingly tense.

The rituals and music were in decline, and war broke out everywhere.

The following year, in the spring when flowers were in full bloom, Xie Guanlan's army entered Beijing.

A figure in scarlet clothes and jade belt stopped in front of her dried corpse.

The young man lowered his head and looked at her body.

Wen Xingluo couldn't see clearly what expression he had.

Not until the golden crow set in the west did he slowly untie his cloak and bend over to wrap her body.

He held her in his arms and slowly walked out of the house.

"...I'll take you home."

His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of waking her.

Qingcheng Mountain, Laojun Pavilion.

The palace is silent, the candle flames fall quietly, and the statue of Laojun has a kind face.

The young man was dressed in solemn black clothes, as if he had just attended a funeral.

He held the carving knife and carved the words on the bamboo slips stroke by stroke.

——The sky is blue and the underworld is dark, both are vast and invisible.

He always wanted to take her home.

But he could never find her again.

Go home, go home...

Take her home...

The peach petals all over the Qingcheng Mountain gradually turned into flying paper money, as if to lead the way and summon souls.

On the night of the Ghost Festival, the stars and the moon were blown down by the wind.

Wen Xingluo stood alone in the alley full of red candles, and tears began to flow down her face without her knowing when.

She was holding the lantern and was about to move forward when someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind.

Xie Guanlan pulled her into his arms, "Wen Ningning!"

The girl trembled all over and raised her head in panic.

The young man in front of him had a charming face like jade, and deep worry was hidden in his narrow eyes. "Why did you come here alone?"

Wen Xingluo said nothing, as if she was meeting the person for the first time. She looked at him for a long, long time, until tears rolled down her cheeks again.

She suddenly threw herself into Xie Guanlan's arms, buried her head in his chest and cried loudly.

"I want to go home!"

The girl was hysterical.

"Xie Guanlan, take me home!"

Xie Guanlan hugged her tightly.

His gaze passed over the top of her hair and reached the darkness deeper into the alley. The candlelight along the alley could not illuminate that darkness, as if it was the ghost gate connecting to the underworld.

He didn't believe in gods and ghosts, but at this moment he couldn't help but wonder if it was the Ghost Festival and there were still unclean things hiding in the dark, which was what had haunted the little girl.

He retracted his gaze from Chen Han and walked back with the girl in his arms, "Don't be afraid. I'll take Ningning home."

His tone was firm.

It seemed as if I had said it a thousand times.

It was not until he left the alley, walked onto the bustling street, and took a big bite of hot red oil dumplings at a roadside stall that Wen Xingluo finally got rid of the coldness around him.

Xie Guanlan looked at her and asked, "What did you see in the alley just now?"