Chapter 20 Qian Guangzhao Actually, he shouldn't have been so harsh on her…
Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, and her voice was soft and gentle, yet she remained aloof and distant.
Jiang Ce couldn't help but say, "You are truly a person of gentle indifference and mild perfunctory manner."
"Let the Second Young Master think what he wants."
She stopped speaking, and the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
In fact, she often smiled during our several meetings, but it was fake and pretentious. At this moment, however, her smile was quite gentle and sincere.
Jiang Ce first thought of the snow at Jixiang Temple, and then suddenly remembered the lively figure leaping in the light and shadow of the street.
He said nothing and handed her the umbrella.
Xue Chan was somewhat surprised and didn't take it for a moment. Jiang Ce simply rolled up his wide sleeves and stuffed the umbrella into Xue Chan's hand through them, then stepped back.
"I haven't had a chance to thank Jixiang Temple for the umbrella yet, so let's consider it a return gift."
When he brought it up, Xue Chan gripped the umbrella tightly and thanked him earnestly.
A theatrical performance was just beginning at the pavilion in the middle of Guanyin Lake, attracting crowds to stop and watch.
Xue Chan also turned her head and left.
Jiang Ce watched as her smile faded noticeably, and she stared at the actors performing in the lake, lost in thought.
He looked over and saw that the story being performed was "Mencius' Mother Moves Three Times".
"Do you believe in Buddhism?" Jiang Ce asked her suddenly, almost as if possessed.
"Hmm?" Xue Chan was brought back to her senses by his question. After realizing what he meant, she shook her head with a faint smile.
Jiang Ce frowned in confusion: "But I saw you go to Jixiang Temple to worship Buddha last time."
Xue Chan smiled and asked him, "Did the Second Young Master also go to worship Buddha?"
“No,” Jiang Ce shook his head and answered her, “I’m just going to see my mother.”
She replied softly, "I'm also going to see my mother."
Jiang Ce joked, "I thought you believed in these things, going to worship Buddha in the dead of winter with such devotion."
“If the gods and Buddhas grant my requests, I think I must be the most devout person in the world.” Xue Chan was amused by his words, and her tone became more relaxed.
Jiang Ce's gaze fell on the pile of water lanterns: "So you came to release water lanterns?"
Xue Chan lowered her head slightly, but said, "It's not about that."
Jiang Ce was silent for a moment, then asked, "Can releasing water lanterns really grant wishes?"
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes as he stared at her, Xue Chan smiled and said, "What they said might be true, and I hope it is."
Jiang Ce seemed to think there was some truth to what she said, nodding and smiling, his tone relaxed.
"Then I'll order ten or a hundred of them to try."
She chuckled at Jiang Ce's words, and realizing her lapse in composure, she immediately lowered the umbrella, only to raise it again once she had calmed down.
However, Jiang Ce was quite satisfied with her smile and also curled his lips.
Xue Chan said, "I wonder what great wish the Second Young Master has that requires ten or even a hundred lamps to carry it."
"Just eight words," Jiang Ce said with a slight lift of his chin and arms crossed, "Peace throughout the land, tranquility for the people."
Xue Chan smiled, seemingly in agreement.
"If that's the case, then it would take a hundred or so lamps to carry it. Compared to that, my wish is too small; one lamp is enough."
Jiang Ce asked her, "What is your wish?"
Xue Chan looked at the lamp that seemed to have drifted away and said, "It's just about eating well, sleeping well, and having good dreams. Try to live well as long as possible, and delay your death as long as you can."
When she first spoke, her tone was somewhat light and playful, but as she spoke, it grew softer and softer, so soft that it was swept away by the wind before it even touched the ground.
"I want to live, to live well. Death is too terrifying, and I'm so afraid of dying..."
Those words were blown into Jiang Ce's heart, melting away like snow without a trace, leaving only a slight dampness.
Actually, he shouldn't have been so harsh on her.
It's normal to be afraid of death, and it's even more normal to want to live. They were not related, and she had no reason to save or help him at that time.
Let's leave it at that.
When dawn breaks, it will be a new day.
"Here, this is for you." Jiang Ce handed her the sugar painting.
Xue Chan took the sugar painting wrapped in oil paper, said "thank you," and then asked, "Where is A-Yao?"
"They're setting off fireworks outside Ningcui Tower."
The snow stopped gradually after a while, and Xue Chan put the umbrella away and returned it to him: "Your umbrella."
"Here you go." Jiang Ce didn't take it. "You've been out for a while, go back."
Xue Chan nodded and walked along the lake with him, one in front of the other.
Even a sudden spring snowfall during the Lantern Festival couldn't stop people from going out to enjoy themselves, and the streets and alleys remained bustling.
Jiang Yao was playing with some children from different families outside Ningcui Tower. With her hands on her hips, she looked every bit the leader of the group.
Not far away, Cheng Huaizhu and her maids were also playing and laughing together, making it impossible to tell who the children were.
Upon seeing Xue Chan and the others arrive, they immediately each took one of their hands, saying they wanted to set off fireworks.
Xue Chan walked at a leisurely pace, while Jiang Ce strode up to them in a few large strides.
By the time Xue Chan approached, he had already become friends with several children. He was leading a group of children in playing and setting off fireworks, and because he was a skilled fighter, he even had to give them orders.
Xue Chan stood at a distance from them, watching Cheng Huaizhu play with a smile.
Tiny fireworks burst in their hands, bright and dimming intermittently, accompanied by waves of laughter.
Seeing such a vivid and joyful scene, she smiled.
"What are you standing there for? We've come all out, let's set off fireworks together!"
Jiang Ce lit another firework, which spun and burned on the ground, revealing a brightly smiling face in the light.
Xue Chan looked up and saw Jiang Yao holding her hand in one hand and Cheng Huaizhu's hand in the other: "It's so boring standing there, let's go set off fireworks."
Two thin sparklers were stuffed into her hand, and she joined in the merriment.
The lakeside was already crowded, and while Xue Chan was having fun, she bumped into someone unexpectedly.
The two fell to the ground, the other person almost falling into her arms.
The person who bumped into her was a young girl. Xue Chan reached out and took her arm, trying to stand up.
"How are you?" She wanted to ask if she was alright, but the other person suddenly looked up, grabbed Xue Chan's arm tightly, and looked almost frightened and nervous.
Xue Chan sensed something was off and asked her, "You—"
Before she could finish speaking, a young man pulled her up.
Yun Sheng rushed over to help Xue Chan up.
The man put his arm around the young woman's shoulder, and apologized repeatedly in a guilty tone.
"I'm so sorry, my wife was clumsy and bumped into you."
Xue Chan said, "I'm fine, it's just that she..."
The man pulled the girl slightly behind him and said with a smile, "We ordinary folks are fine, but we're afraid we might have offended someone important."
He was so humble and sincere that Xue Chan didn't say anything.
Only then did the two leave.
Jiang Yao called her name, and Xue Chan prepared to go over. She had only taken two steps when her heart pounded, and she couldn't help but turn back.
The girl who bumped into her also turned around, her face filled with helplessness and fear. The man next to her glanced up slightly, and she quickly lowered her head.
Xue Chan was suspicious, but Jiang Ce rushed in front of her and asked, "What are you doing?"
“They are not a couple!” Xue Chan pointed at the two people who had walked a little further away and said to Jiang Ce.
"I'll go check." Without saying a word, Jiang Ce shoved the fireworks into her hand and chased after her.
He caught up with the two, grabbed the man's shoulder, and said with a smile, "My family member bumped into your wife earlier and may have injured her. Why don't you come with me to the clinic to have her checked out?"
The man chuckled sheepishly and said, "No need, I'm really fine."
Jiang Ce stepped in front of him, separating the two, and turned to ask the woman, "What does my wife think?"
The woman opened her mouth but couldn't speak. He realized what was going on and immediately tried to take her away.
Seeing an opportunity, the man slipped through the crowd and fled. Jiang Ce simply raised his hand, and someone stepped forward to protect the woman and head towards Ningcui Tower, while he chased after them.
As they chased the crowd to the small bridge, even more people appeared, and the sounds of drums and music for the sacrificial ceremony grew louder as they approached.
Jiang Ce kept his eyes on the person running ahead, his movements agile, and he never lost track of him even in the dense crowd.
As soon as he got off the bridge, he chased even faster, and the man darted into the procession of the worshippers.
Jiang Ce pushed through the crowd to catch up with the procession of worshippers, but bumped into the monks who were distributing blessings to the onlookers.
The monk offered the "blessing" to Jiang Ce, but he didn't want it. However, the people around him surrounded him, trying to snatch the "blessing" from his hand.
Jiang Ce was surrounded by monks distributing blessings and people receiving blessings, and he couldn't get out at all. The people who were originally chasing him also lost track of him.
Left with no other choice, he had to return to Ningcui Tower.
Jiang Ji was sitting downstairs facing the woman, seemingly asking her a question.
However, the girl was suddenly rescued, and she cried out of both fear and relief, but she stubbornly refused to make a sound.
Jiang Ce said, "Let's not ask her for now, let's talk about it later."
Jiang Ji sighed, having no other choice but to give up, and asked him, "Did you catch him?"
Jiang Ce shook his head: "No."
Jiang Ji pursed his lips, looked at the woman who was still crying, and sighed, "But we can't get any information out of her right now, and even if we wanted to find her, it would be difficult..."
try to find?
Jiang Ce looked up and remembered someone.
Before long, the brush and ink were delivered to Xue Chan.
Jiang Ce asked her, "Do you remember what he looks like? Can you draw him?"
Xue Chan said, "Let's give it a try."
She reached for the brush, and Jiang Ce immediately scooped water and ground ink. After only a quarter of an hour, Xue Chan put down the brush, picked up the portrait, and handed it to him.
Jiang Ji and Cheng Ying came up to look at the painting. With just a few strokes of ink, a human face appeared on the paper.
"Is this what it looks like?" Jiang Ji asked him, and Jiang Ce nodded.
Cheng Ying said, "In that case, let's hand it over to the government."
Jiang Ce raised his eyes, his gaze gently falling on Xue Chan, who was comforting the weeping woman, as if lost in thought.
She remembered it after just one meeting, so perhaps...
She seemed to sense the gaze, and when she looked up, she met Jiang Ce's eyes. He was leaning against the side, quietly watching her with a calm inquiry in his eyes.
Xue Chan calmly turned her face away.
Sitting to the side, Cheng Huaizhu blinked and handed a handkerchief to the woman to wipe her tears: "Sister, don't cry. We'll have them take you home later."
Jiang Yao then brought over a cup of snacks: "Have some snacks."
As the third drumbeat sounded, the moon rose above the willow branches.
"Everyone, let's go upstairs to watch the fireworks. I'll have someone take care of things here," Zheng Tan said, smiling as he invited the group to Ningcui Tower to watch the fireworks.
"Bang! Bang!"
With two loud bangs, fireworks burst forth, dazzling and magnificent.
Cheng Huaizhu put her arm around Xue Chan and pointed out the fireworks to her: "Look, look, those are drooping lotus, fallen plum blossoms, and weeping willows..."
Jiang Ce stood a few steps away, turning his head to look at Xue Chan.
She listened as Cheng Huaizhu introduced the various fireworks, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
This was the first time I had ever looked at her so calmly.
To be honest, she and Consort Xue did not look very similar. It was unclear whether she resembled her father or mother, or both.
Perhaps due to recent recovery from a serious illness, she appeared quite thin. However, since she was out for the Lantern Festival today, she was dressed in heavy makeup and formal attire.
Azure blue, moon white, and amber; dark blue hair; a jade-white crown; and lips half-open, crimson. All these colors are very rich and intense, suppressing most of the sickly look, at least making her appear quite vibrant.
What kind of person is this?
Jiang Ce leaned against the railing, gradually lost in thought.
Xue Chan knew that Jiang Ce was watching her from behind a curtain, but she didn't react at all. She just watched the fireworks with Cheng Huaizhu and listened to her chattering.
The fireworks display ended, and it was past midnight.
Although the Lantern Festival was still lively and showed no signs of waning, Xue Chan and the others had to go back.
After they had all said their goodbyes, Jiang Ce leaned against the railing and looked down.
That splash of turquoise blue passed through the crowd, boarded the carriage, and finally disappeared into the moonlight and lamplight.
After Xue Chan and her group left, Jiang Ji and his group also prepared to return.
Jiang Ce excused himself and said goodbye to them.
Instead of leaving Ningcui Tower, he went to a lantern stall by Guanyin Lake, bought a water lantern, placed it in the lake, and pushed it out.
Jiang Ce sat on the stone steps, watching the water lantern gradually disappear into the distance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another water lantern stuck between the rocks on the lakeshore.
With a simple reach, the water lantern was in his hand.
Jiang Ce looked at it carefully and recognized that one side of the water lantern was painted with a picture, and it was the one that Xue Chan had placed there.
Perhaps because the wind picked up at that time, the water lantern was pushed back by the current after drifting a short distance, got stuck in the stone, and the candle inside went out along with it.
He got up with the water lantern, walked up the stone steps to buy a new candle from the stall owner to replace it, and then walked to the lakeside.
Jiang Ce lit a new candle, and the square lamp emitted a small ball of light, which shone on the thin body of the water lantern, revealing a branch of bright red flowers.
The flowers bloomed fiercely on the lamp, bright red and unstoppable.
A note from the author:
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