Chapter 71 Jasmine Scent "I Only Like You"
Xu Yin looked up at Xue Chan, shook his head gently, and sighed.
"girl"
Yun Sheng's words of reminder brought Xue Chan back to her senses.
Because she was somewhat dazed, the ink dripped from the pen tip, blurring the ink.
"I......"
Xu Yin rose and bowed, saying, "Benefactor, let's end it here for today."
Xue Chan quickly replied, "I'm in good health and don't feel tired."
“This humble monk knows that you have plenty of energy.” He smiled slightly, his gaze falling on Xue Chan’s back. “But I think you should take a break for now.”
She asked him, "I have copied scriptures for eight days and meditated for eight days. When will I be able to learn to paint?"
Xu Yin smiled slightly, his gaze first falling on the red fish in the small stone jar under the eaves, then moving up a bit to rest on the wall behind Xue Chan.
He said nothing and drifted away.
Xue Chan turned around.
Behind him was only a huge character "静" (quiet).
It's been almost ten days since I arrived at Kuzhu Temple. The most I've done each day is copying scriptures, meditating, practicing Zen, or watching Xuyin sweep the ground, walking up and down the stone steps behind the mountain, and even going down the mountain to make offerings a few times.
Since Xu Yin neither responded to her request to learn painting, what he did was not really related to her.
She slowly closed her eyes, exhaled, and felt a surge of embarrassment.
It's because her mind is not at peace.
Xue Chan led Yun Sheng and the others back to Jingxin Courtyard. At first, they practiced writing diligently, but after a while, they found the cicadas chirping outside noisy.
"It's so noisy! Where did all these cicadas come from?!"
She slammed her pen down and sat by the window, nibbling away at cutting flowers with scissors.
The people inside exchanged glances and smiled. "It must be because of the heat that the young lady feels restless. But the cicadas of Kuzhu Temple originally lived here."
Xue Chan muttered under her breath, "Yes, I'm stingy."
She rarely complained, but then turned back, rested her face in one hand and held a pen in the other, sketching absentmindedly.
The cicadas chirped in a chaotic chorus, and the Weaver Girl called out; Xue Chan was lost in the sound.
The light from the reading lamp gradually dimmed.
Xue Chan snapped out of her daze and looked down. On the paper, ink rippled and a small boat lay nestled.
"It's getting late, young lady, you should go to sleep. We can continue tomorrow."
She put down her pen and paper, and at the urging of the others, went to bed.
After sleeping for a while, Xue Chan turned over and looked out the window, half-hugging her pillow.
Under the eaves, clumps of green bamboo sway in the breeze, casting shadows through the window. And today, the weather is fine, so there is a crescent moon outside.
Xue Chan gazed at the bamboo branches and the moon reflected on the window. After a while, she felt sleepy and closed her eyes to fall asleep.
The moon, nestled among the bamboo branches, gradually grew fuller from a slender, pointed crescent in the sparse bamboo shadows, transforming into a white jade and silver plate.
Another small insect, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, hopped onto the branch.
It stood on the fragile, swaying bamboo leaves, opened its pincers, and bit off a small half of the jade plate, leaving the once full moon with a missing piece.
After devouring the insects that had been consuming the past ten days or so, it leaped from the bamboo leaves into the deep darkness.
The sun and moon change in an instant.
"Don't go..."
Jiang Jie reached out and tried to push away Jiang Ce, who was hugging him, but failed after trying for a long time.
"Has he been like this for the past two days?"
Yu Yu held the medicine bowl and nodded twice.
"......"
Jiang Ce is still recovering from his injuries, and he is in a daze most of the time, sometimes even losing consciousness.
For example, at this moment, she held onto Jiang Ji tightly and refused to let go.
Yu asked him, "Is there any progress on the matter?"
Jiang Ji sighed and said to him, "Actually, it's not too surprising that Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are secretly engaged in prostitution. Those who should be arrested have been arrested, and after investigation, there doesn't seem to be anything particularly special about it."
Youyu frowned and asked, "Really?"
Jiang Ji didn't respond immediately, his head bowed as if deep in thought.
Jiang Ce moved slightly, loosening his grip on the sleeve a little. Jiang Ji quickly pulled the sleeve out and fled in a few strides.
"Take good care of him, I'm leaving now!"
Yu turned around and disappeared. But Jiang Ce woke up again and reached out to touch his forehead.
"Sigh... why is it burning again?"
"Ouch, ouch!" Jiang Ce moved slightly, which aggravated his wound, causing him to cry out in pain.
Yu asked him slowly and attentively, "You've slept for two days now, would you like something to eat?"
Jiang Ce lay face down on the pillow, not daring to lift his head: "I don't care what I eat, but I'm all sweaty and feel terrible. I want to take a shower."
"The imperial physician said that your injury has not yet healed and you should not get it wet for the time being."
Yu shut him down with a single sentence: "It would have been better if Jiang Ce hadn't woken up, but now that he's awake, he's started whimpering."
"I need to take a shower, I feel unwell..."
The rustling sound was even more annoying than the cicadas outside. Yu restrained her temper, went out to fetch a basin of water, and washed him.
"Gently, gently, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts."
Yu threw the towel into the basin: "If you shout again, wipe yourself!"
Jiang Ce pointed at him, heartbroken: "I'm a patient, can't you have a little patience for patients? You'll never find a wife like this!"
Yu Yu was too lazy to listen to his nonsense, picked up the basin and went out. Jiang Ce watched him leave without looking back and angrily punched the edge of the bed twice.
The slightest movement aggravated the wound, causing the person to start groaning in pain again.
Yu brought in the food and couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Can you be quiet for once?"
Jiang Ce couldn't help but say, "Ouch! Try taking a few cuts yourself!"
However, after washing up and changing my clothes, I felt refreshed and even had a bit of an appetite.
Jiang Ce was unable to move, so Yu basically fed him.
"Did you go and find out if she's feeling any better?"
With a blank expression, she spooned the food into his mouth, her voice flat.
"She has left Beijing."
"What?" Jiang Ce straightened up abruptly, which aggravated his wound, causing him to collapse and gasp for breath in pain.
He grimaced and took a while to recover: "Leave the capital? Where to? What for?"
Yu then directly stuffed a spoonful of porridge into his mouth.
"Anping, Kuzhu Temple, learning to paint."
"What?"
Yu slowly stirred the soup in the bowl and fed it to him, but Jiang Ce waved his hand to indicate that he didn't want to eat anymore.
"This was made by my aunt."
He said this quietly, and when the spoon was extended again, Jiang Ce obediently ate it.
Seeing that Jiang Ce was still restless despite his serious injuries, You Yu said, "Don't worry, Miss Xue is quite vigilant. She hired a lot of people to escort her before she left. I have already sent our people with her."
Hearing this, Jiang Ce finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After applying the medicine and eating, there was nothing else to do.
Jiang Ce tried a few times, but it was too painful, so he simply gave up struggling and lay back on the bed, dozing off.
Outside, cicadas were chirping loudly, and through the window, one could see Youyu leading people to catch cicadas.
Jiang Ce's eyes opened and closed intermittently.
The annoying cicadas seemed to have become more docile and quiet.
Once he calmed down, Jiang Ce's thoughts began to tangle together like silk threads, and he recalled the scene of Xue Chan vomiting blood.
It's now past mid-June, and only a month and a half has passed since the last incident.
He hadn't even recovered yet when Xue Chan set off to leave the capital.
In the sweltering heat of summer, I traveled a long distance just to learn painting techniques.
Ultimately, he couldn't catch up...
"Cough cough cough"
Jiang Ce coughed a few times, then lifted the bed curtains and sat up. The movement tore at the wounds on his back, making his already pale face contort in pain. He could only slowly inhale and slowly move off the bed.
For the first few days after I got back, I had a fever. Even after the fever subsided, I could only sleep in bed until dark, then wake up and fall asleep again.
He can actually walk now, but he can't jump around like he used to, and his wound is easily aggravated.
Jiang Ce sat half-upright on the edge of the bed, took a couple of breaths, and then looked up at his surroundings.
There was no one in the house, and Youyu had disappeared.
He slowly stood up, supporting himself on the edge of the bed, and then slowly moved to the table to pour tea. His throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire.
He didn't feel much better until the pot of water soothed his parched throat.
A summer breeze swept in through the window, causing the beaded curtains to sway and collide.
Incense burned in the incense burner, and two newly opened pomegranate blossoms were placed in a porcelain vase on the flower stand.
Through the wispy gauze curtains, Jiang Ce saw the painting on the high table beside the bed.
It is that painting, "Loquat and Mountain Bird".
He could hardly believe it, looking up and down repeatedly. He got up, lifted the beaded curtain, walked to the high table, and tentatively touched the painting.
"So, this is..."
It was a dream, a dream about her.
Jiang Ce reacted almost instantly, ignoring the injury on his back and the tearing pain, and turned to run away.
He rushed out the door, stood on the stone steps, and stopped in his tracks.
The courtyard remained unchanged, with Xituan's toy shelf and the white-gray stone tank where red fish were kept. The flower seeds sown against the west wall in spring, which had faded several times, were now blooming in large patches again.
It was dusk, the twilight was deep and rich, the black tiles on the wall were tinged with blue, and the lush green banana trees sheltered the roses.
A swing set had appeared in the yard sometime during the day, and someone was sitting on it, quietly weaving through the flowers with their head down.
The swing swayed gently, and her skirt swayed gently as well.
This must be a dream, and it can only ever be a dream.
Jiang Ce walked over, and the person on the swing turned around and smiled at him, saying, "Sit down, let's swing together."
He sat down next to them.
She asked him, "Are you still in pain?"
Jiang Ce said, "Yes, it hurts a lot."
She finished arranging the flowers and handed them to him, saying, "Help me put these flowers in my hair."
Jiang Ce took the hairpin and placed it in her hair. Then he slid it down, lifted her wrist, and spread her fingers to reveal her palm.
Two prominent scars on his palm were particularly shocking.
Jiang Ce lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, and soon two water droplets fell into his scarred palm.
Xue Chan reached out and touched his face, asking softly, "What's wrong with you?"
His cheek was resting on her palm, soft and warm, so he tilted his head and rubbed it against her.
He smiled, but as he smiled, his shoulders began to tremble, his eyes filled with tears, his nose and the corners of his eyes turned red, and tears fell along with his soft voice.
"Xue Chan, I'm so sorry."
He apologized again and again, tears streaming down his face. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his hot tears falling onto Xue Chan's shoulder, wetting her silk robe.
"sorry"
"sorry"
Jiang Ce felt like a jeweled flower, but it lacked the most important gem, leaving only an empty gold border. Now, having found that precious gem, it was filled in, making it whole again.
Xue Chan raised her hand and hugged his waist, letting him curl up in her arms and cry.
She gently patted his back, one pat at a time, softly comforting him.
"It's okay, I forgive you."
Jiang Ce's muffled sobs reached my ears.
"Really?"
She smiled, her voice soft and gentle: "Yes, if you really feel sorry for me, then give me more ink, buy more stones, and make me a couple more kites. When spring comes, let's go for a walk in nature and fly kites together."
"good"
Xue Chan leaned on his shoulder and snuggled closer to him.
It was soft and warm, like the fur around a baby's belly. Jiang Ce slowly raised his hand, touched her face, and held it in his hands to examine her closely.
It was a face with a rosy glow and a gentle smile. It wasn't a pale, blood-stained, lifeless face.
His eyes were downcast, and his voice was still choked with emotion.
Would you...like me?
Xue Chan reached out and lifted his sharply defined chin, but he kept his eyes downcast and dared not look up.
She coaxed softly, "Look at me."
He raised his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling slightly, his dark eyes glistening as if they had been pulled from water, his peach-petal-like lips pursed, making him appear somewhat pitiful. He moved his face closer, hoping, yearning, closer and closer, as if they were intertwined, never to be separated.
She chuckled softly, her soft, long-awaited lips landing on his eyebrows, eyes, and nose.
It's gentle, with the scent of jasmine.
"I only like you."
He suddenly woke up, but he was all alone.
So he immediately got up, pushed open the door, and left.
Where there are pearls and jade, there are also stubborn stones; where there are rivers, there are also puddles. This is true of all things in the world.
He was just an ordinary person, one of all things, and could not escape this principle; he was not the only one.
If that's the case...
Then let us be like stubborn rocks, supporting the brilliance of pearls and jade.
Then let's make puddles to flow into the embrace of rivers.
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