Chapter 56 What kind of thoughts are in your mind?

At that time, Xing Ji knew that he was left in the capital by the young master. His biggest mission was not to gather information, but to look after the young eunuch in the palace.

Now that the young master is back, his mission can be considered to have been half completed successfully.

"How has he been doing these years?"

Xing Ji said: "He is doing OK. Concubine Li trusts him, and His Highness the Fourth Prince favors him. He is definitely doing better than at the beginning."

Li Fu couldn't help but think of the conversation between Chu Ran and Li Dingning that he heard at the foot of the wall.

Li Dingning is very dependent on Chu Ran and trusts him, while Chu Ran is also gentle and patient enough towards Li Dingning.

Li Fu began to recall, had Chu Ran spoken to him in such a gentle and patient tone before?

There must have been one, right? But now, the person who can enjoy all of this has become Li Dingning.

Li Fu felt an indescribable feeling in his heart, as if he had eaten an unripe sour apricot. Besides being sour, it was also quite astringent.

Xing Ji thought for a moment and gestured again: "Why have there been no news in the past two or three years? So, what happened?"

Li Fu placed his fist on the table and clenched it slowly. "My uncle arranged for me to be sent to the military camp for training. The discipline in the military camp is strict and communication with the outside world is prohibited. During those years, I have been in the military camp and have never come out."

Xing Ji nodded to show that he understood, but he couldn't help but sigh silently.

Li Fu was quick to notice his sigh and frowned, "What?"

Xing Ji gestured, "You didn't reply, he was very sad."

Li Fu thought his heart was extremely hard, but at this moment, he felt a dense and sore pain, as if an ant was stepping hard on his pain nerves and the pain spread to every part of his body.

When he was young, he could not understand his feelings for Chu Ran. It was not until they separated that through years of correspondence, between the lines of the letters, and the invisible and intangible longing that accumulated over time, he slowly and thoroughly realized what kind of feelings he had for Chu Ran.

Li Fu was silent for a very long time, and Xing Ji followed suit.

"There is one more thing." Xing Ji said: "Emperor Chengwen wants to build a pagoda nearby."

Li Fu frowned, "Why build a pagoda?"

Xing Ji said: "In recent years, Emperor Chengwen believes in this very much. He often invites monks to the palace to preach Buddhism."

"Buddha talks about karma and reincarnation." Li Fu said indifferently and with a hint of sarcasm: "The things he did will not have good consequences."

Xing Ji did not respond to Li Fu's words, but continued: "The emperor plans to find the prince to supervise the work."

Since a pagoda was to be built, someone was definitely needed to supervise its construction. However, usually, such a small matter as supervising the construction was undertaken by ministers or eunuchs in the palace. Emperor Chengwen actually wanted his own son to personally supervise the construction of the pagoda, which showed that he really attached great importance to this matter.

"I told Zhao Zhongyi that we could try to recommend Li Dingning to the emperor."

Xing Ji nodded.

Li Fu stood up to leave, and Xing Ji also stood up, ready to see him off. When they reached the door, Xing Ji patted Li Fu on the back. Li Fu turned his head, and Xing Ji said, "I just remembered that Xiao Linzi and I have an appointment to drink together the day after tomorrow."

Li Fu laughed suddenly, "Didn't he dislike drinking before?"

"Now, I love drinking it."

Li Fu smiled again and said, "I understand."

After accompanying Li Dingning to recite books for a whole day, Chu Ran returned to his residence only when it was dark.

In the past, Chu Ran could not understand why some people love their jobs so much that they would take the initiative to apply for overtime in the company even after get off work. Now, Chu Ran feels that although he cannot represent all of them, his current mood can definitely represent the thoughts of some workers.

Since I'm the only one at home, there's no point in going back home, so I might as well stay in the company.

Anyway, this is what Chu Ran is thinking now. At least he can stay with Li Dingning and they can keep each other company.

Therefore, the benefits of coming back late are very obvious. After washing up, you can lie down and go to sleep directly.

But today, after washing up, Chu Ran did not lie down to rest immediately.

After Li Fu left, Chu Ran put another box next to the closet, but it did not contain books or anything like that, but a thick stack of letters.

These letters were all replies that Li Fu had written to him over the years. Chu Ran did not throw them away, but put them in a box and kept them well. Next to the letters were a few small wooden sculptures, four in total. These were the wooden sculptures that Li Fu had given him along with his letters during the first four years.

Each wood carving is of Li Fu himself. He started carving from the year he passed away, and every year thereafter, the carvings of himself were slightly different. But when Chu Ran arranged the four wood carvings in the order in which they were delivered, Chu Ran discovered that there was a big difference between the first wood carving and the last one.

The most obvious thing is that the last woodcarving is at least one head taller than the first one. The facial features are becoming more and more profound and clear, gradually revealing the demeanor of a growing man.

It can be understood that Li Fu's carving skills have become more exquisite with the passage of time, but the more realistic situation is that Li Fu has grown up, from a boy to a real man.

At first Chu Ran couldn't understand why Li Fu suddenly didn't reply.

Later, he seemed to slowly figure it out.

No feelings will stay there waiting for you forever.

They were too far apart and had been apart for too long. Even if they kept in touch through letters, letters could not defeat the ravages of time. Li Fu would have new friends and new partners, and gradually, their feelings would fade and their contacts would become less frequent, until, like him and Li Fu, they would eventually lose contact.

He once thought that Li Fu had forgotten him long ago.

But judging from Li Fu's attitude towards him yesterday, he should still remember something. Chu Ran should feel lucky, at least Li Fu did not completely forget him, but he also felt that he did not seem to be that happy.

Even if they remembered, they would just greet each other awkwardly when they met. One of them was in the palace, and the other was outside. It wouldn't be long before Li Fu would go back to Yunzhou. They were like two intersecting lines on a plane. After a brief intersection, they would each run to their own distant places. They might never meet again.

It would be better to regard the past as a dream. If you think in this way, you won’t have too many regrets and losses.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to see you again in the future.

Chu Ran thought so as he gathered the four wooden sculptures, put them back into the box, closed it, and locked it.

As for these things, let them stay here forever, just as a memory left to yourself.