Extra three
Extra three moss marks
When Dongfang Min first met Xuan Weixi, he was a well-known matchmaker in town, and many people sought his help to resolve their marriage problems.
Her fiancé, the eldest son of the Li family, was no exception.
After she finished paying with a bag of silver, she watched the man walk toward her.
The clothes were faded, but they were very clean.
He walked over. In March, the Jiangnan region was a bit damp, and moss grew on the ground. He jogged over.
As the fine rain fell, he slipped and fell to the ground.
Hearing the noise, Dongfang Min, though uninterested, still turned to look at the man. She saw him still cheerfully patting the moss off his trousers.
"In the third month of spring, the misty rain of Jiangnan is heavy, and the clothes are lightly covered with traces of green moss."
Dongfang Min listened to the man reciting what sounded like bizarre verses. She glanced back at him and said softly, "If you don't have any knowledge, don't recite poetry. No wonder you're not presentable." After saying this, she left.
She was certain that this person would make things difficult for her after returning home, and that the young master of the Li family would soon give up his plans upon hearing the news.
The next day, just as she expected, she saw him at her doorstep.
He changed into a festive red outfit, clearly for a wedding banquet. Such an eye-catching color was hard to ignore.
"I have already gone back and spoken to Young Master Li."
As expected, Dongfang Min didn't want to listen anymore.
“I told him that you like poetry, and that he should go back and read more books.”
With that same carefree smile, Dongfang Min walked away.
He didn't dwell on it too much, but we ran into each other quite often afterward.
Sometimes it was in a cosmetics shop, sometimes in a jewelry store.
He didn't buy it, he just looked at it.
Once, Dongfang Min couldn't help but step forward and sarcastically said, "A single hairpin here would be enough for you to work yourself to death for half your life." These words were really harsh, and even Dongfang Min felt a little sorry for him when she saw him lower his head.
“You’ll have plenty of gold and silver.” He raised his head, his face unaffected, and looked at her with a slight smile, suggesting, “Young Master Li’s family is wealthy. If you marry into that family, you certainly won’t suffer.”
"Do you think you understand me?" Hearing this, Dongfang Min took several deep breaths before suppressing the anger in her chest.
"I wouldn't say I understand, but I know you like poetry, but you don't like literati who only know how to write. You like gold and silver, but you admire honest and upright people. You don't like sour food, but you love adding vinegar." Things that even your closest friends might not remember are being told in detail by this young man who is trying to help his wife.
He spoke in a declarative tone, and after a long pause, looking at the somewhat dumbfounded Dongfang Min, he said with utmost seriousness and persistence, "If you like, you can tell me more, and I will pass it on for you..."
"I must be crazy." Realizing what had happened, Dongfang Min glared at the man fiercely, then turned and strode away.
In fact, Dongfang Min knew that this person was studying her only to try and get her together with the eldest son of the Li family. It was a matter of taking money to do something, and it wasn't shameful.
So she decided to simply avoid this person.
Perhaps Young Master Li had given too much; as time went on, even this person realized something. Several times he tried to explain, but he hesitated to speak.
It was pouring rain that day. Under an oil-paper umbrella, a graceful woman stood beneath the pavilion. The puddles reflected her sorrow. "Still haven't found it?"
She looked at the servants who returned empty-handed and sighed.
A cold wind blew past, and she pulled her close-fitting fur coat tighter around her. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the panting voice of a young man behind her. He held up the jade pendant, "Miss Dongfang, I've found your things."
On such a cold autumn day, he was only wearing a thin set of clothes.
Soaked to the bone by the heavy rain, he looked like a drowned rat, his clothes clinging to his body, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, and his dimples deepened when he smiled. Dongfang Min looked at him, lowered her eyes to take the jade pendant, and paused her departing figure a second later. She turned around and brought out a spare umbrella from the maid, handing it to him, "The rain is heavy and the wind is strong. Remember to drink a bowl of ginger soup when you get home if you get soaked."
He blinked.
"And—" Dongfang Min paused here.
She knew that her words had crossed a line.
The person, who usually doesn't say nice things, softened their tone.
“I don’t like the young master of the Li family, so you don’t need to try to arrange my marriage with him anymore.”
The young man held the umbrella, not in a hurry to open it. Raindrops rippled outwards, blurring his vision. Xuan Weixi clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white, and almost immediately asked, "Then who do you like?"
Dongfang Min thought that she must have already known the answer in her heart at that time.
"I have no major attachments, I just want to find someone with a similar mindset to wander the world with."
She turned around, ignoring the other person's expression.
"Yes, I will! If I find it, I will definitely introduce it to you."
He shouted after her, but Dongfang Min kept quickening her pace as she walked away.
Autumn comes early and goes quickly in Jiangnan.
In the blink of an eye, the winter snow fell on my fingertips.
Dongfang Min chose to get married on a winter day.
The so-called marriage was not for the purpose of being with someone, but to make the father give up.
She ran away from her wedding.
No one chased after them.
Apart from the "matchmaker" who genuinely came to offer her congratulations.
"Scared?" The bride, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, scoffed, crossing her arms as she looked at Xuan Weixi sitting on the ground. "You're such a coward, why did you chase after them? Are you stupid?"
To Dongfang Min's surprise, the man said something.
"Miss Dongfang, my heart is beating a little fast."
"Then go see a doctor."
"It's because of you."
This was probably the most beautiful love confession Xuan Weixi had ever uttered in his life.
Moss from Jiangnan has climbed onto the three characters "Dongfang Min" on the tombstone.
The tall, slender man gently brushed away the moss with utmost care and tenderness, with Zhou Yulin and Linghu Miao standing behind him.
He had almost forgotten his memories of Xuan Weixi.
I just remember that my mother liked this person more than she said.
However, given the tragic ending, he didn't know where to begin.
He looked up, poured out a pot of sake, straightened the tombstone, and kowtowed three times.
"Mother, I've come to see you."
Dongfang Min thought that the gloomy and damp rain in Jiangnan that year probably never stopped.
It lingered in her dreams ever since, and she often remembered it late at night.
A glance exchanged under an oil-paper umbrella during that torrential downpour.
The young man in white had clear, clean eyes.
A glance that lasts a lifetime.
Unfortunately, the moss grows green on the steps, but the old friend will never return.
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