Chapter 4: Not Encountered Until I heard Guo Yan's voice beside my ear, I didn't...

It was not until he heard Guo Yan's voice beside his ears that Fang Buyu seemed to wake up from his dream.

"No, Zhou Tiao left ten years ago."

She is not Zhou Tiao.

Seeing Fang Buyu's dazed look, Guo Yan couldn't help but feel sad and couldn't bear to say the second half of the sentence.

As his subordinate and close friend since childhood, Guo Yan knew very well that the pain and suffering Fang Buyu had endured since Zhou Tiao's death was unimaginable to others.

Although he seemed to have let things go a lot in recent years, Guo Yan knew that he had never forgotten Zhou Tiao in the past ten years.

Fang Buyu slowly turned his head and his eyes met Guo Yan's. The complex emotions in his eyes made it difficult for Guo Yan to understand for a moment.

He was silent for a moment, then finally spoke.

"Guo Yan, please help me check her out."

When Guo Yan heard this, although he had some doubts in his heart, he felt more understanding and support from the other party.

He nodded and agreed.

"Okay, if you don't meet me, I will find out her background as soon as possible."

He also wanted to know the origins of this woman who looked so similar to Zhou Tiao...

—————————————

As night fell, Fang Buyu sank into the abyss of dreams.

In the dream, time went back to the old days of Zuiyue Tower.

At that time he was just a child, and at his mother's order, he served exquisite snacks to the court eunuchs and a scholar in the pavilion.

Just as I placed the snacks on the table, I heard the waiter's gentle voice saying,

"No, please clean up the leftovers on the dried fruit plate as well."

Just as he was about to agree, a cold and angry rebuke suddenly sounded above his head.

"Bu Yu?... What an unlucky name! Get out of here!"

Before he could finish his words, a strong wind blew and he was knocked to the ground by a palm. Unfortunately, his teeth knocked on the scattered fruit plate, and blood quickly dyed the corners of his mouth red.

"Sir, please calm down. I found this child by the rockery in the backyard. Perhaps he was abandoned by a guest. I searched for a month but couldn't find his biological parents, so I decided to adopt him."

Mom's voice sounded at the right time, with a hint of helplessness and apology.

Fang Buyu endured the pain, struggled to get up, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

At this time, a guy came over after hearing the noise and took him away from this place of trouble.

Behind the scenes, one could still faintly hear the waiter's words of comforting the guests.

"Adding more mouths to feed does indeed add a lot of trouble. I heard that the reason this child was named 'Bu Yu' was because his mother felt that it would be better if they could avoid each other. But you are different, young master. You will definitely pass the imperial examination and get your name on the list of successful candidates..."

The dream flows, and the scene switches to the Frost Moon Festival.

Outside Zuiyue Tower, in the corner, a little girl of about twelve or thirteen handed him an exquisite brocade bag with a warm and innocent smile.

"Ayu, good luck on the Frost Moon Festival! I give you this lucky bag. May it bless you with everything you need, and may you never encounter dark clouds blocking the moon, only a bright and clear one."

He looked into her eyes as clear as the moon, and gently took the brocade bag. He saw a full moon and a line of small words embroidered on it.

"If you don't meet the black scorching sun, you will meet the bright moon. The bright sun and the gentle breeze will always be with you."

If I don’t meet Wu Zhuo, I will meet the bright moon, which is as far away as the bright moon.

However, the dream took a sudden turn for the worse.

"Ayu, your wound is bleeding and you have a fever..."

It was a distant and anxious voice echoing in my ears.

"Ayu, I'll go get a doctor for you..."

Her voice was filled with undeniable determination.

"It's snowing too hard outside, don't go..."

Blurred in consciousness, he weakly tried to dissuade her, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of footsteps that were gradually receding...

Next second.

He was in the snow and ice, anxiously calling Zhou Tiao's name and searching everywhere for her.

Finally, they found Zhou Tiao lying lifeless in the snow.

At that moment, his heart was torn as if by a knife. He hugged her cold body tightly, tears and immense grief intertwined, and finally turned into a mouthful of blood that spurted out, as if dyeing the whole world a dazzling red...

"Tiaotiao!"

This mournful cry cut through Fang Buyu's dream like a sharp blade, pulling him back to reality from his uneasy sleep.

He sat up suddenly, his chest heaving violently, as if he could still feel the heart-wrenching pain of losing her. Even outside of the dream, the pain still left a lingering fear in his heart that lasted for a long time.

The face that he encountered yesterday, which was strikingly similar to Tiao Tiao, was engraved in his mind like a brand. Even though his mind told him that Tiao Tiao had left ten years ago, for some reason, he subconsciously believed that she was Tiao Tiao.

Whenever Fang Buyu recalled the moment when the woman asked about the ownership of the treasure bag, his heart would tremble involuntarily.

How he wanted to tell her that the treasure bag was given to him by her personally.

However, facing her extremely clear eyes that were completely unfamiliar to him, the thousands of words in his heart froze instantly, as if his throat was strangled by a force, and all the words were stuck in his throat.

He could only look at her silently, feeling mixed emotions but unable to express them.

As the night faded and the morning light began to shine, Fang Buyu seemed to be trapped in the memories of last night by invisible shackles, unable to extricate himself.

It was not until noon that Guo Yan, with steady steps, brought the news that he both expected and feared.

Looking at the sympathy that was hard to conceal in Guo Yan's eyes, Fang Buyu understood that what happened last night was just a cruel joke played by fate.

"No, I've checked. The woman's name is Tang Suzi. She first came to Banli County eight days ago and is currently staying at the Yongfu Inn. I heard she has a miserable life and is searching for someone, perhaps her beloved."

Guo Yan's words were like a drop of cold water on Fang Buyu's head, completely extinguishing the unrealistic fantasy in his heart.

"Okay, I understand."

Fang Buyu lowered his eyes to hide the complex emotions in his eyes.

The loss and regret surged like a tide, almost drowning him.

He laughed at himself, thinking how ridiculous he could be to mistake a woman he had never met for Tiaotiao.

After Guo Yan left, Fang Buyu sat alone in front of the window, gently stroking the brocade bag hanging around his waist with his hands.

He whispered softly,

"I'm sorry, Tiaotiao."

Tears welled up in my eyes and finally fell silently.

He finally realized that the woman who had given him endless light in his dark days had left him forever on a snowy day ten years ago.

—————————————

The night watchman at five o'clock struck his gong on time. The sound penetrated the empty streets and woke up Tang Suzi in the inn.

She quickly stood up, packed her luggage and set off.

She is going to Yunluan Holy Mountain.

Yes, since the fifth day since entering the mortal world, the mission of finding Ling An has finally seen a turning point.

That night, after the hustle and bustle of the night market subsided, she gave the last remaining lantern to the flower cake vendor at the neighboring stall who always had a smile on his face.

To express his gratitude, the vendor of the flower cakes took out a bag of carefully packaged plum blossom cakes from his stall and gave them to her,

"This is a cake I made specially using plum blossoms from Yunluan Holy Mountain. It's crispy and sweet but not greasy. Try it."

Yunluan Holy Mountain, plum blossoms!

At that moment, these two words flashed through her mind like a flash of lightning.

She slapped her forehead and suddenly realized:

Although Ling An has left Tanshan Temple, his dependence on the holy water will not change. And Yunluan Holy Mountain is where the holy water is located, so he will definitely go there.

If I wait there, I believe I will find Ling An.

After returning to the inn that night, Tang Suzi quickly began to inquire about the route of action.

After a night's rest, she went out early today.

She had to arrive at Yunluan Holy Mountain before dawn, otherwise she would most likely miss Ling An.

The fifth watch bell echoed in the empty streets.

Tang Suzi walked alone on the deserted street. The cold wind in the early morning attacked her skin like a sharp blade, making her shiver.

She quickly wrapped her cotton jacket tightly around her body, lowered the brim of her hat to her eyebrows, and walked quickly with her head slightly lowered.

As time passed, the sky began to turn slightly pale, the shops along the street began to light up their lights one after another, and the number of pedestrians and vendors on the road who were hurrying to get by early also began to increase.

Tang Suzi shuttled among these sparse figures, with only one thought in his mind - to reach Yunluan Holy Mountain as soon as possible.

Before leaving the city, she specifically confirmed the route with a pedestrian along the way to make sure she was not going in the wrong direction.

Outside the city, Tang Suzi walked along the path he had inquired about, and checked the glass bracelet on his wrist from time to time.

Although the bracelet still had no response, Tang Suzi firmly believed that as long as she arrived at Yunluan Holy Mountain and waited there, she would be able to wait for Ling An.

However, for some reason, as she got closer and closer to the holy mountain, an inexplicable feeling began to spread in her chest. It was an indescribable pain, as if a heavy burden was pressing on her chest, and she felt it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

Tang Suzi tried to ignore the discomfort, but the pain grew more intense, and her steps became heavy.

Until the scene before her eyes began to blur and the sounds around her gradually faded away, she felt a strong dizziness, her body lost its balance, and finally fell to the ground with a "bang", falling into deep darkness...

—————————————

When Tang Suzi slowly opened his eyes, it seemed as if he was in another world, and everything around him was extremely unfamiliar.

As far as the eye could see, there was a canopy bed hung with soft diamond-shaped gauze. She found herself lying on it, covered with a thick, light coral-rippled quilt.

The room was filled with warmth, the crackling of the charcoal fire intertwined with the elegant aroma of sumac, gradually warming her body and mind.

Just as she was trying to sit up, a joyful female voice suddenly rang in her ears.

"Girl, you finally woke up!"

Tang Suzi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman wearing a plain blue cotton-padded jacket over a cement jacket by the fireplace. She was putting down the fire tongs in her hands and walking towards her briskly.

"Excuse me, who are you? And where is this place?"

Tang Suzi's face was full of confusion.

"My name is Xiaoying, and I'm your personal maid. This is the residence of Lord Fang Buyu, the head of the Sky Eagle Pavilion. You fainted earlier, and it was the head who saved you and told us to take good care of you."

Xiaoying answered respectfully.

"Fang Bu Yu?"

Tang Suzi repeated the name, feeling confused.

"Exactly. He is the Pavilion Master of our Fengchao Sky Eagle Pavilion, and also the youngest Pavilion Master currently."

Xiaoying's tone was full of admiration.

Seeing that Tang Suzi was still confused, Xiaoying realized that she might not know much about politics, so she patiently explained,

"The Sky Eagle Pavilion is the highest supervisory agency in our dynasty, responsible for monitoring officials and punishing corruption."

After hearing Xiaoying's explanation, Tang Suzi couldn't help but feel confused.

She suddenly thought that since this was the residence of the head of the highest supervisory agency of the dynasty, she was most likely in Yaozhou, the political center of Feng Dynasty.

This sudden realization made her unable to suppress her anxiety, and she quickly asked,

"So am I in Yaozhou now?"

Fortunately, Xiaoying quickly dispelled her doubts.

"No, no, no, this is Jiusu County in Weizhou."

Xiaoying shook her head, then changed the subject and asked a heavy question.

"Have you ever heard of the 'Broken Bridge Case'?"

Tang Suzi shook his head, indicating that he knew nothing.

A trace of sadness flashed across Xiaoying's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and began to recount the past.

"In the middle of last year, a tragedy struck our city of Weizhou, shocking the government and the public. The Yulan Bridge over the Weishui River, barely six months after its completion, collapsed after a rainstorm, claiming over 900 innocent lives... My parents were not spared."

Tang Suzi was surprised when he heard this.

"How could this happen? A bridge built only half a year ago shouldn't be so vulnerable even if it was hit by a rainstorm, right?"

"Yes, I heard that the imperial court allocated 150,000 taels of silver to build that bridge in order to implement the 'New Road Policy'. Who could have imagined that this would be the outcome?"

Xiaoying sighed,

"The bridge was built under the supervision of the former prefect, Lin Bowen. Although he was subsequently brought to the capital for trial, the case remains unresolved. This suggests a wide range of implications. That's why the court sent Pavilion Master Fang to investigate the case."

When mentioning Lin Bowen, a hint of hatred flashed across Xiaoying's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by gratitude for the other party's misfortune.

"Pavilion Master Fang is a rare good official. After arriving in Weizhou, he personally visited the families of all the victims and provided us, the orphans who had lost our support, with opportunities to make a living. Without this, I'm afraid I would have died long ago."

At this point, Xiaoying's eyes became red again, but she quickly wiped away her tears.

"I believe that Pavilion Master Fang will be able to find out the truth and give justice to the people of Weizhou."

Tang Suzi listened quietly to Xiaoying's story, and his heart was full of respect and curiosity for the Pavilion Master Fang, whom he had never met.

She decided that she must meet her savior and express her gratitude in person.