Liu Yuru's face flushed crimson, then gradually turned blue. Embarrassed and irritated, she suddenly snatched up the red sandalwood box and sprinted out. Her skirt swept past the crabapple tree, sending more petals cascading down, clinging to her hair like a dusting of powder, making her look disheveled. I watched her staggering away, my thoughts drifting back to a past life, remembering how she'd secretly worn my biological mother's bridal gown and been mercilessly slapped in the face by Liu. A mixture of emotions washed over me.
"Jinli."
Jiang Yan's familiar, gentle voice echoed from behind me. I turned and saw him holding a freshly picked crabapple blossom. The petals, still shimmering with dew, shimmered in the sunlight, like dazzling pearls. Jiang Yan smiled, his eyes filled with admiration and love, and said, "Your poetry is even more powerful than this spring breeze."
The sun gradually sank to the west, painting the homeward path a vibrant, honey-colored hue. Jiang Yan rode a black horse, the rhythmic clatter of his hooves treading alongside my carriage. Mo Zhu lifted the curtain and offered a cup of tea. The amber-colored tea was clear, a delicate rose petal floating in it, emitting a delicate fragrance. Mo Zhu feigned annoyance and said, "Jiang Zhuangyuan, the mud from your horse's hooves has splattered all over the young lady's curtain!"
Jiang Yan paused as he leaned over to wipe the curtain, his hand pausing slightly. His knuckles brushed against the brocade embroidered with lotus flowers. A hint of apology crossed his face, and he said, "I'm sorry for being so rude." He suddenly pulled the reins, and the black horse pawed its hooves nervously in the setting sun. Jiang Yan looked at me, his eyes filled with a hint of nervous anticipation, and said, "Jinli, can you please get out of the car and talk?"
I stepped lightly onto the footstool and dismounted, my skirt brushing against the dandelions blossoming by the roadside. Seeing this, Jiang Yan immediately dismounted. The hem of his moon-white brocade robe was stained with grass debris, presumably from the time he'd accidentally rubbed it against him while crouching in the Zhang residence garden, composing a poem.
"There's something," he said, slowly approaching me. Suddenly, he gently grasped my wrist. The cool tassels of the bamboo flute brushed against the back of my hand, bringing a tingling sensation. "I've always wanted to tell you."
In the distance came the sound of a night watchman striking a clapperboard. "Dong—dong—" the sound echoed in the silent twilight, making everyone feel inexplicably uneasy. Jiang Yan's eyes shone startlingly bright in the twilight, as if two brilliant stars had fallen into them. He looked at me affectionately and said, "I like you."
Hearing these words, my heart skipped a beat. In a previous life, when I was dying of illness in a cold courtyard, I'd experienced a similar roar—the despair and helplessness of phlegm stuck in my throat. But in this life, this roar was like the first thunderclap of spring, numbing my entire body and filling my heart with an indescribable joy and emotion.
"It all started on Suzaku Street, when I saw you skillfully lure Prince Wang into the dung heap." Jiang Yan's thumb gently rubbed the jade bracelet on my wrist. The jade bracelet was warm and delicate, a birthday gift from my eldest sister. "The way your eyes sparkled brightly when you were arguing with Liu Yuru, the way you bit the tip of your pen while writing poetry, thinking seriously, you... every single one of them is deeply imprinted in my heart."
"Jiang Yan!" I suddenly interrupted him. At this moment, the twilight light was gently falling on his eyelashes, adding a touch of dreaminess to his appearance. "Do you know what my father said?"
He was slightly stunned, his hand holding mine trembled slightly, and a hint of nervousness flashed in his eyes.
"My father said," I took a deep breath, remembering Prime Minister Su in his study yesterday, concentrating on flipping through Jiang Yan's imperial examination essay until the edges curled, with an admiring look on his face, "that you have good taste."
Jiang Yan suddenly smiled upon hearing this, a smile as pure and shy as a child caught stealing candy. He hurriedly pulled an oil-paper package from his sleeve, revealing a crooked sugar dragon—the same one I'd been staring at for so long at Zhang's last time.
"I know my family is poor," he carefully pressed the sugar painting into my palm, the dragon's tail perfectly encircling my ring finger, as if it were a silent promise, "but I will go to the Ministry of Personnel to request a transfer to a distant place, work hard to earn enough for the betrothal gift, and then come to you in a grand manner to propose marriage."
The sun suddenly sank into the western mountains, its afterglow stretching our shadows far out. I clutched the sticky sugar painting tightly, my mind racing. I thought of my lonely, unloved past life. Then I looked at Jiang Yan, his smile curved with genuine affection. A warm feeling welled up in my heart, and my throat tightened.
"Okay." I heard my voice tremble slightly in the twilight, "But you have to teach my brother to read first. He actually wrote 'Jiang Zhuangyuan' instead of 'Jiang Zhuangyuan'."
Jiang Yan laughed even louder when he heard this. The tassel of the bamboo flute brushed my nose lightly. He said playfully, "As you wish, future Mrs. Jiang."
In the distance, the corner tower of the Prime Minister's residence loomed in the twilight. The familiar voice of the young marquis drifted slowly over on the wind: "Sister! Did Jiang Zhuangyuan bully you? I've sharpened my knife!"
Jiang Yan raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this. He reached out and gently brushed the crabapple petals from my hair. He smiled and said, "It seems that I have to get past your brother first."
I looked at the smile in his eyes, and suddenly remembered the sweet scene in the storybook where the heroine promised the hero her love. It turns out that happiness is just like this sugar painting, so sweet that it makes you want to cry. In the dusk of the capital, the lights of thousands of houses gradually light up, like a twinkling star on the earth. I know that I will no longer be walking this life's path alone. With Jiang Yan by my side, the days ahead will surely be filled with warmth and hope.
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