Shen Suqing's parents were buried on a hillside by the stream.
In fact, as the years have passed, he has little memory of it; his oldest memory is from before he was nine years old.
First, my father burned his leg with molten iron while forging a knife. His entire lower leg was melted into bare white bone. He lay in bed in agony for half a year before passing away due to the festering wound.
Later, it was her mother who struggled to keep the tofu shop afloat, because the burden of the whole family rested on her shoulders. Less than a year after her father's death, she too succumbed to the accumulated stress and heartache caused by years of hard work and was buried on the hillside with her father.
Whenever someone casts a pitying glance at him, Shen Suqing does not feel that he is unfortunate.
His parents were loving and harmonious when they were alive, and never put any pressure on him regarding his education.
They hoped their son would become successful, but they couldn't bear to see him bound by excessive rules and etiquette, so in the end they almost always spoiled him.
No matter how poor his family became later, his haggard and tired parents always wore gentle smiles in his memory, and what he could always remember was a pair of rough, warm hands pressed against his face.
After his parents passed away, a kind Taoist priest on Zhuliu Mountain took him back to the Sanqing Temple.
With a loving master and kind care from his fellow disciples, he stayed there peacefully for four whole years and received a new name.
After leaving the mountain at the age of thirteen, life was hard, but Shen Suqing felt unusually at peace.
While living alone, he learned to cook, do laundry, and sew. While doing these things, he studied diligently, eager to learn. At that time, he had already been accepted as a disciple by Mr. Su from Yaozhou City.
Strangely enough, from a very early age, Shen Suqing noticed that his life was always full of turning points.
Whenever he felt he was about to fall into the abyss, different people would always pull him out: the village chief, the Taoist priest of Sanqing Temple, Mr. Su, his junior sister, Magistrate Cui, Fu Shou'an...
Whenever he arrives in a new place, someone will always guide him in some mysterious way.
It's as if there's something in his life that he must finish, an unfulfilled destiny.
Before he accomplishes that, he will remain a relatively lucky pawn in the game of fate, or a puppet following the only pre-written path forward.
At first glance, his life seems to offer many choices, but in reality, they all lead to the same ending.
So, what is destiny?
He thought calmly, like the hand that grabbed his sleeve in the night rain at the end of March.
At first glance, Shen Suqing had a vague feeling that the other person might play a role that was completely opposite to his own in terms of fate. It was a strong, repulsive sense of incongruity, as if the two of them were destined to be in two extreme opposing camps that would fight to the death.
Going in opposite directions?
Shen Suqing, who didn't quite believe in fate, took her home.
Now, the little girl stands beside him, holding a large bouquet of gardenias wrapped in calamus leaves.
"There aren't many weeds in front of the grave, so it seems someone takes good care of it regularly!"
Brushing away a few wisps of dust, Zhan Xinjia bent down with satisfaction and placed the flowers against the stone tablet. After doing all this, she walked back to the young man's side and reached out to hold the corner of his drooping sleeve in a dependent manner.
"Young Master Shen, do you think your parents' graves will be emitting auspicious smoke the day you pass the imperial examination with top honors?"
The few remaining glooms in her heart were completely dispelled by those words. Shen Suqing chuckled and patted her head.
"What nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight? Let's go back."
Zhan Xinjia looked up at him and gave him a silly smile.
The usually talkative girl was unusually quiet, simply walking obediently beside him and following his steps.
The wind is gentle, carrying the fragrance of flowers that drifts over the hills and dissipates like a thin mist. Looking out from here, one sees a vast and empty world, an endless and lonely human realm.
Turning his gaze away, the young man in front slowed his pace, deliberately trying to please the girl behind him.
When she finally walked alongside him, he took her soft, warm hand from under her sleeve as naturally as he had done it a thousand times before.
Zhan Xinjia was taken aback.
Shen Suqing stopped and half-squatted in front of her to look her in the eye.
“Ah paper.”
"Master Xiao Shen?"
Sensing that he had something important to say, Zhan Xinjia tilted her head to look at him in confusion.
The young man lowered his eyebrows and gazed at her tenderly.
A thousand words seemed to be stuck between my lips, lingering and poignant, yet I couldn't easily utter them.
He was well-versed in classical Chinese literature and always prided himself on self-discipline and adherence to propriety. Even if he had crossed the line with A-Zhi in a moment of urgency, it was still an offense to her and a disrespect.
Regardless of whether he did realize that he harbored some rather sordid motives towards Azhi, even if he was completely innocent, based on the most basic moral principles, he would still give her a clear answer.
He thought that he couldn't selfishly use his status as an elder to do things that were against the rules.
We must not simply avoid, ignore, or deceive ourselves out of fear that we were wrong from the start.
If Azhi happens to be willing to stay by his side, in the vast expanse of clouds and the quiet world, perhaps the two names engraved side by side on the marriage certificate will finally be able to be united in the same bed a hundred years later.
But first of all.
He should give her a straightforward and honest explanation, apologize to her formally, and ask for her consent.
Whatever the answer you get.
He vowed that he would force himself to accept it.
Just as Shen Suqing finally gathered his thoughts and was about to speak, this rare and incredibly reassuring tranquility was shattered once more, and the story returned to the manipulation of fate—
"Brother Chen, a strange man has come to the village. He says he's your friend and he's looking for you!"
After arriving breathlessly, Su Yun straightened up, wiped the sweat from her brow, and looked worried.
Shen Suqing stood up.
He leaned down, his raised hand trembling as he stroked her eyebrows and eyes.
His expression seemed sorrowful and regretful, and he swallowed all his words back with a bitter smile.
This carefree dream in Linshui Village should come to an end here.
Like fireworks burning brightly in the night sky of a prosperous era, their bloom was so dazzling and spectacular.
When he tried to hold it in his palm, he opened his hand and found it empty.
Only a wisp of ashes remained.
——
Seeing Fu Shouan again was a joyous occasion for Zhan Xinjia, something worth eating sixteen bowls of rice with.
At least she won't have to be choked by Yan Xiyue after she returns to the capital.
At that time, sheep were bleating and chickens were clucking in the fenced yard. Someone had been so heartless as to tie the dog to their gate, and it was barking too. Fu Shouan, who had been running around all night and was so exhausted that he almost lost his breath, couldn't hold on any longer.
"No way, are you two doing a reality show?! While I'm out there hiding and running away, you two have even started farming!"
Shen Suqing kindly poured him a cup of tea. "How is the situation in Yaozhou City?"
Fu Shouan tilted his head back and poured the tea, tea leaves and all, down his throat in one gulp. He chewed it like a cow and swallowed hard.
He slumped back in his chair like a dog that had been beaten half to death and let out an exaggerated long sigh.
"It's alright. The epidemic was brought under control after the medicine was developed. It's just that that old geezer, Magistrate Wang, is still stirring up public sentiment everywhere. I risked my life to escape and find you."
Holy crap!! When I saw the footprints on the edge of the cliff, my heart sank. I thought to myself, why don't I just jump down and die with them?
But then I thought, if a man and a woman jumping off a cliff together is a tragic love suicide, what about two men and a woman jumping off a cliff together? That's so melodramatic, I'll be scorned by crickets for the rest of my life!
I quickly pulled my leg back to find another way down.
Fu Shouan initially came to Linshui Village just to try his luck, but he didn't expect to actually catch someone.
He had always known that his eccentric colleague, the saint, was a poor scholar who had come from a remote, impoverished area, but witnessing it firsthand felt unreal and disillusioning.
Fu Shouan always felt that ordinary families couldn't raise someone with Shen's personality.
Ignoring Fu Shouan's scrutinizing gaze, Chen Suqing calmly poured him another cup of tea.
"Has no one been sent to contact the capital?"
When asked about this, Fu Shouan became even more defensive.
"How could that be?! But you know the influence of Lanjiang. Yaozhou City is now completely controlled by Lanjiang's people and that old man. It's like a cult's den. What do you think?"
The messengers I sent were all intercepted and killed on the way by assassins from Lanjiang, and most of the guards accompanying me also died.
There's no time to mourn for the deceased brother; forget about that, worry about your own life first.
I reckon that old geezer is still sending people around looking for us.
Upon hearing this, Zhan Xinjia, who was busy eating, took a moment to raise her hand.
"May I ask how the epidemic was brought under control? Did you really find some reclusive master?"
"Huh? Didn't you specifically recommend this divine physician named Miaoyu Zhenjun to me before you left... before you ran away? One modified prescription from the Yan family, holy crap, he's incredibly effective! It's like a miracle cure, a true healer!"
Fu Shouan gave two thumbs up, his eyes full of approval and strong affirmation.
Zhan Xin Jia: "?"
Zhan Xinjia: "..."
Zhan Xinjia: "No, that thing actually works??"
She will hold Yan Yuyao in the highest esteem.
The three of them started packing their things after exchanging only a few words.
Actually, there wasn't much to pack. At most, I'd put a couple more biscuits in my bundle in case Zhan Xinjia's stomach, which is a bottomless pit of gluttony, got hungry and started bleating on the road.
Since Fu Shou'an was able to find this place by chance, it's not impossible for the people from Lanjiang to find it. For the safety of everyone in the village, it would be best if they left Linshui Village first.
After returning the chickens, ducks, and lambs to the villagers, Shen Suqing bid farewell to Zhan Xinjia. Everyone else in the village was easy to talk to, but Wangcai cried his heart out.
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