Jiang Yan gently put his arm around her shoulders, holding her closer to him, making her feel more comfortable. The carriage rocked slightly with the ups and downs of the road, and the ash from the incense bulbs fell, as if adding a touch of poetry to their conversation. "Yes." His eyes were fixed on the shadows of the trees passing by the window, and his voice was filled with unquestionable certainty. "Just like what my wife said when she was weaving straw sandals, if you twist the rope tightly, even the bitterest water grass can be woven into warm shoes." His words were like a beacon in the darkness, dispelling Su Jinli's confusion and making her feel a sense of strength and faith.
At this moment, the sound of a wake-up stick suddenly came from afar, accompanied by the unique passionate shout of the storyteller Lao Li: "Listen carefully, everyone! Just now in the Taihang Valley, Miss Su drove away the bandits with a sleeve of chili peppers, and Jiang Zhuangyuan fell three times in the mud to protect his beloved - this couple is three times more exciting than the storybook I made with this wake-up stick!" Lao Li's voice echoed in the night sky, as if spreading their story throughout the valley.
Su Jinli couldn't help but burst out laughing. She looked up and saw Old Li, excitedly following the convoy, carrying a lantern. A vivid fox clutching a chili pepper was painted on the lantern, looking particularly lively and interesting in the moonlight. Jiang Yan couldn't help but smile too. As he lowered his head, his nose brushed against the pearls in her hair, the delicate fragrance lingering on his nose. "It seems our story is going to be even more popular than 'Flying Fox,'" he said with a smile, his eyes filled with amusement and pride.
"Of course." Su Jinli straightened up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She pulled a half-eaten sweet potato from her sleeve pocket and said excitedly, "When we get back to the capital, I'll have the bookstore print 'The Story of the Wang Husband and Wife Encountering Bandits,' with an illustration of you falling into the mud pit." Her face was filled with a smile, as if she could already see the book becoming a bestseller.
Jiang Yan pretended to grab the sweet potato, but she deftly dodged it. The two of them laughed and joked in the carriage, their cheerful laughter seemingly able to dispel all fatigue and gloom. The carriage slowly rolled over the fallen leaves, making a rustling sound. The sound was as soft as a dream, yet as delicate as the honey in Su Jinli's heart, overflowing from her heart. The sweet feeling seemed to bring a hint of warmth to the moonlight outside the window.
Young Marquis Su continued to sing folk songs, and this time he seemed to have added a new tune: "Sister's peppers are as sweet as honey, brother's body is broken into a mud ball, husband and wife travel around the world with one heart, bandits call "Queen" when they see each other..." His singing was full of childishness and joy, as if turning all the hardships along the way into a cheerful ballad.
"What are you singing!" Su Qingyao's voice came again, with a full smile, "If you sing again, I will melt your broken sword and make a rouge box!" Although her words were threatening, they made people feel the strong family affection and warmth.
Jiang Yan gently held Su Jinli's hand and gently licked the sweet potato residue from her fingertips. Su Jinli's cheeks instantly felt slightly hot, but she did not struggle. She just quietly watched the moonlight and smile in his eyes intertwined, as if weaving an invisible net, trapping her tightly and immersing her in this endless sweetness. She suddenly understood that the sweetness of this life did not come out of thin air, but started from the scramble for street sugar paintings, from the overturned table at the coming-of-age banquet, from the flying straw ropes in the dilapidated temple in Yangzhou, and was brewed bit by bit in countless ordinary yet precious moments. Every experience, every setback, is like a seasoning, making this sweetness more mellow and more memorable.
"What are you thinking about, madam?" Jiang Yan's voice was as gentle as moonlight, ringing softly in her ears, as if awakening her intoxicated thoughts.
"I was thinking," Su Jinli gently held his hand back, feeling the warmth from his palm, as if it was the most solid support in her life, "When we return to the capital, I will ask my elder sister to mix a 'moonlight white' rouge to match your face that was choked red by the chili peppers." There was a hint of playfulness and love in her words, as if she was painting a beautiful picture of the future.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan couldn't help but burst into laughter, his hearty laughter shaking the carriage slightly. Outside the window, the moonlight over the Taihang Mountains was bright, its watery light paving the road ahead into a silver avenue sprinkled with honey. This couple, who started out as the daughter of a prime minister and the top scholar from a humble family, after enduring countless trials and tribulations, finally understood deeply that the best days were never about fine clothes and delicious food, nor about wealth and glory, but about being able to sit side by side in this bumpy carriage with their loved one, listening to their younger brother's off-key but joyful folk songs, and smelling their elder sister's fragrant rouge. They boiled all the fear and suffering into a touch of sweetness on their lips, allowing this sweetness to overflow throughout the entire Jianghu and become the most precious memory of their lives.
The voice of storyteller Lao Li came from afar, with that familiar ups and downs of the tune: "Let's talk about this couple, they spread chili peppers and weaved straw sandals along the way, making those hard days sweeter than honey..." His voice was like an invisible thread, connecting their stories together, and weaving them into a moving piece of music on this moonlit night in Taihang Mountains.
The sound of the carriage wheels and the rustling of falling leaves blended together, as if nature had sung a beautiful melody for them, a perfect match for the sweet and warm rhythm that lingered in Su Jinli's heart. She quietly leaned against Jiang Yan's arms, listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat as if it were the most beautiful rhythm in the world. At that moment, she suddenly felt that this moonlit night in the Taihang Mountains was the sweetest and most heartwarming night in her two lives. The moonlight shone upon them, as if shrouding them in the glow of love, allowing them to feel endless happiness and contentment on this long journey of life.
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