Chapter 219: Flowers of this evening, trees of his evening

On the day the Eastern Palace Order arrived, Yun Chen and Shan Ji set out on their journey to Youzhou.

It is warm in October, and the sun is mild but not scorching.

The two rode their horses side by side. Apart from Shan Ji always asking her to recite the mantras of the "Meaningless Secret Book" and orally teaching her word for word, the two of them rarely spoke along the way, but they felt very relaxed and comfortable.

Yun Chen always had a feeling of being very familiar with Shan Ji, even though she had forgotten many of the things they did when they played together as children.

Shan Ji changed out of his eye-catching blood-red martial arts uniform and put on a casual suit of iron-blue and cold pine color, but he still exuded an aura of dominance and unruliness.

Whenever he met someone looking at him curiously on the road, Shan Ji would just give them a look and immediately scare them away so much that they wouldn't dare to look back.

Yun Chen couldn't help but laugh: "Brother Feiyu, you look like you're here to protect me, and your weapon is your killer gaze?"

Shan Ji raised his chin and said, "Of course. I'm the only one in the world who can be your bodyguard. Huo Gannian isn't even close. When I think about the eldest daughter of the Youzhou Yun family, who once served as a bodyguard for the young master of the Huo Gang, I'm furious."

"Don't be angry, I volunteered to be a guard. It's based on my identity as Yun Chen. It has nothing to do with the Yun family." Yun Chen replied.

"Yeah, I know." Shan Ji nodded, and then continued: "If I had known not to teach you how to swim when you were young, maybe you wouldn't have joined the Huo Gang."

Unexpectedly, Shan Ji even inquired about the time when she first joined the Huo Gang and demonstrated her martial arts skills with duck water. Yun Chen felt very warm in his heart.

Both of them recalled the scene of swimming together when they were children. When the summer sun was the hottest, Shan Ji stood in the water with his bare chest, dived into the water and held his breath.

Little Yun Chen beside her followed suit and put her head into the water, but she forgot about the complicated braids and silk flowers on her head, which became very heavy once they touched the water, and she fell headfirst.

With head down and feet up, the two white and tender little feet kept struggling in the air.

At that time, Shan Ji would laugh loudly while pulling Yun Chen out of the water.

Recalling Yun Chen, who was as pink and tender as a jade doll when he was little, Shan Ji's eyes softened and he said:

"You've been brave since you were little. You're not afraid at all. When I pulled it out of the water, there was a small crab stuck on its nose. Its skin was broken, but you didn't cry."

"Then do you remember this?" Yun Chen raised his fist and clenched it twice beside his ears.

Shan Ji immediately threw his head back and laughed, "Hahahaha - how could I not remember!"

Once, Shan Ji and Yun Chen were walking on their way home.

Yun Chen walked in front all wet. His two braids were soaked and water kept dripping down, gathering into a small puddle at the end of his hair.

Shan Ji followed behind her, and every few steps he would go forward and squeeze the small water bag to prevent the water from flowing onto her.

They walked and pinched along the way. Just when Shan Ji was about to pinch the small water bag again, Yun Chen twisted his foot and almost fell into a small pit.

Shan Ji was quick-witted and quick-handed. He grabbed Yun Chen's hair and lifted her up.

Yun Chen was lifted up in the air by his braids, his face was deformed, his hands were waving in pain, he was screaming and screaming, he looked very funny.

Thinking of this, Shan Ji touched his arm and said with lingering fear:

"You were so angry at the time because of the pain that you grabbed me and bit me. No matter how hard I tried to shake you off, I couldn't feel any pain. I was just scared."

"Hahahaha——" Yun Chen couldn't help laughing. Suddenly he remembered many interesting childhood stories and started talking more and more excitedly.

"Do you remember that time when we went shrimp fishing? I slipped into the river. The water was really deep and I choked on a lot of water. I struggled for a long time before coming out. I lay on the shore and coughed hard, and a shrimp came out of my mouth. And then you asked me very calmly-"

"'What's wrong? Jump down and eat it. Will it be fresher?' Hahahahahaha - Another time, you lost your bay horse while grazing, and I spent a whole day and night with you looking for it -"

"Then we couldn't find the horse, and we got lost. I was very hungry, so you caught some mountain rats for me."

"You feel nauseous, but you're hungry. You eat and vomit, vomit and eat, and you say to me, 'Brother Feiyu—vomit—I ate mountain rats—vomit—will I get rabies—vomit—' Hahahahahaha—"

The two of them laughed together.

Seeing that Yun Chen finally became cheerful, Shan Ji felt much happier.

They walked for more than ten days. Yun Chen and Shan Ji talked and laughed, and talked about their childhood stories. They didn't feel that time was long.

But as soon as he set foot in Youzhou, Yun Chen quickly became depressed again.

From those clear and unobstructed eyes, Shan Ji seemed to see the childhood Achen crying, his eyes full of resentment towards his father and fear of the tall and deep mansion.

Unconsciously, the two of them walked slower and slower.

When they were about to arrive at Guangyuan City where the Yun Mansion was located, Yun Chen looked at the dark clouds in the sky and said sadly:

"Come with me somewhere..."

Shan Ji didn't say anything, but his heart suddenly tightened.

Sure enough, Yun Chen continued, "There is an old Taoist temple ten miles away from the city. My mother... is buried there..."

There was no more conversation along the way, only the gloomy sky and the sound of horse hooves, gradually approaching an old and quaint Taoist temple.

The Taoist temple is surrounded by lush begonia trees, which bloom with clusters of warm and gentle begonia flowers in an extremely rare faded blue color.

Not far from the Taoist temple, in front of a small mound, a simple tombstone stood quietly, engraved with:

Kind mother Shen Youning.

When this tombstone was erected, Yun Chen was only twelve years old. He could not write and had not received much education. It was the Taoist priest in the temple who taught him step by step that helped him finish drawing the tombstone.

Now, after eleven years of wind and sun, and erosion by time, the stone tablet has become somewhat damaged and the words on it have gradually become blurred.

Yun Chen and Shan Ji noticed that although the stone tablet was old, the front of their mother's grave was very tidy, with a few fresh Ganoderma lucidum inserted in it, which showed that someone was taking care of it regularly.

The two men said nothing, straightened their hair and clothes, and knelt solemnly in front of the grave.

Looking at my mother's name, all the past memories came to my mind in an instant.

The scenes of grievance, anger, and fear from my childhood, my mother's crying face all the time, and her gray face when she was dying, all came to mind.

Yun Chen cried silently.

Shan Ji's eyes were moist, and he said silently in his heart:

"Mother, I'm so unfilial. It's been eleven years and I'm only now coming to see you..."

With a muffled thunder, the autumn wind brought the last rain of the season.

The drizzle fell on the faces of the two young people, softly and itchy, as if they were afraid that the raindrops would hurt their faces, so gentle and loving.

Yun Chen remembered that her mother had always loved her very much, always pampering her like she was in the palm of her hand, and had never even scolded her loudly.

Her mother always made new clothes for her, braided her hair into intricate and delicate braids, and secretly let her go out to play without telling her father.

No matter how crazy or tired he was playing, as long as he went home and saw his mother's gentle and loving face, felt her warm palm caressing his forehead, and ate the milk and bird's nest prepared by his mother early, little Yun Chen felt that his entire childhood was bright.

Shan Ji remembered that his gambling addict father finally sold all the valuable things in the house and left behind a lot of debts.

Finally, Dad cast his greedy eyes on little Shan Ji. Dad said that this time he would take a big gamble and bet on his son, and he would definitely "make a comeback."

In my memory, my gentle mother went crazy for the first time, like a lioness, she rushed over and hugged little Shanji tightly, crying:

"If you want to gamble, take me! Don't touch my son!"

So, the mother made the bet on her son's behalf.

In just a quarter of an hour, the gambling father lost his mother to a brothel prostitute.

Shan Ji will never forget that day when several big men rushed into their small and dilapidated home and dragged his mother out without mercy.

His mother's wooden hairpin fell off, her hair was disheveled, and her coarse cloth dress was dirty, but his gambling father sat beside her with his head down, not even looking at her.

Mother was dragged out of the yard, and little Shan Ji chased after her, crying behind her.

Chase, chase...

Shan Ji didn't catch up until his mother was dragged onto the main road in the distance and stuck in the carriage.

Later, Shan Ji heard that a young and strong man, escorting a dark mass of tall horses that seemed to have no end, used only a thick whip to beat several men until they screamed in pain, and saved a woman.

Later, my mother became Madam Yun, the most gentle and pure lady in the wealthy family.

From then on, whenever Shan Ji's gambling father took Shan Ji to stand in front of the Yun Mansion, he would secretly hand him some silver.

I thought that having money would bring me a peaceful life, but unfortunately, blood-sucking leeches will never be satisfied.

On the day his gambling-addicted father got drunk and made a scene at the Yun Mansion, his mother's years of walking on thin ice were all in vain.

The truth about her second marriage, the secret of stealing money from the mansion, and the past that was too painful to recall caused both her mother and Yun Chen to fall from grace.

In the end, my mother died and Yun Chen left.

Shan Ji didn't even have the chance to know where his mother was buried.

I don’t know how long they stood there, but the sound of a door opening with a creak woke Yun Chen and Shan Ji from their memories.

An old Taoist priest with a gaunt face walked out of the Taoist temple carrying a bundle of Ganoderma lucidum on his back. He looked at Yun Chen and Shan Ji as if he were looking at two friends who had been waiting for a long time, and asked in a normal tone:

"Are you here?"

Needless to say, the tomb is so clean and tidy because the old Taoist priest has taken good care of it for many years.

Yun Chen wiped away his tears, sniffed, and said:

"Thank you, Taoist priest, for taking care of my mother's grave... I want to erect a new tombstone for her."

The old Taoist priest looked at the tombstone surrounded by a sea of ​​crabapple blossoms and covered with faded blue petals and said:

"That's not necessary. I see she's quite comfortable like this."

she.

The old Taoist priest didn't mention the grave, but just said "she" as if introducing a friend.

Shan Ji said again: "Then I will donate some gold to repair the Taoist temple as a token of my gratitude."

The old Taoist shook his head. "If you want to express your gratitude, don't give it. If you want to donate incense, go straight into the temple, turn right and go up the mountain. The amount is up to fate."

Perhaps seeing that Yun Chen and Shan Ji both had regretful expressions and that their hearts were troubled, the old Taoist priest said:

"Each of you plant a tree and leave it there. One day, the tree will grow tall and majestic, and when it is tall enough to shelter you from the wind and rain."