Chapter 77 Red Leaf Alliance He teased lightly, "Don't be angry."...
Jiang Ce felt like he was in a dream.
But his heart, pounding with excitement, was so clearly and so fast.
He longed to see her when he couldn't see her, but when he finally did, he hated himself for being unable to say anything, unsure of which sentence to begin with.
Xue Chan walked down from the bridge and stood in front of him.
Jiang Ce still didn't know how to start the conversation, but then he noticed the necklace around her neck. He couldn't help but laugh, his voice trembling slightly: "I...I...I knew it."
"You..." He hesitated, thinking of asking her if she liked him, but after saying "you" for a long time, he still couldn't get the rest of the sentence out.
He was so nervous, even a little uneasy, but he tried his best to control his panic and make himself look less inexperienced and clumsy.
But his cheeks were flushed, his mouth kept trying to open but he couldn't speak, his hands kept stroking his jade pendants, his bright and sparkling eyes, his steps that wanted to move closer but then pulled back, and his posture that kept leaning towards her.
It is flawed everywhere and clumsy in every way.
Xue Chan said softly, "It's very beautiful, I like it very much."
He stopped in an instant.
All the unease and anxiety arising from anticipation and longing were gently soothed by her.
As gentle as rippling water.
Jiang Ce said, "If you like it, that's good."
Having said all that, there was nothing more to say.
Jiang Ce was incredibly resentful of himself for being so eloquent on ordinary days, yet now he was speechless in front of Xue Chan. But before leaving home, he had thought of many things to say, and had a bellyful of things he wanted to tell her. He even considered inviting her to go sightseeing, to release water lanterns, to see acrobatics, to go for a stroll in the streets...
However, he couldn't say a word at that moment, and he didn't know whether he should speak or not.
Will she find him too talkative? Will she think he's nagging? Will she find some of his words abrupt or offensive?
He lowered his eyes and head, his whole body slumping. His expression shifted repeatedly, sometimes joyful, sometimes disappointed.
Xue Chan took in the whole scene, looking at his neatly combed hair and hat. He wore a brocade robe and a blue brocade gown, and the sash she had made for him was the one she had made before.
"It's been a long time. Would the Second Young Master be willing to travel with me?"
Jiang Ce looked at her, his smile gentle, his eyes earnest.
"I couldn't have gotten it."
Xue Chan walked onto the bridge, with Jiang Ce beside her. The two were neither close nor far apart, just at a distance where the hems of their robes and skirts could intertwine as they walked.
Because people were out celebrating the festival, there were many people on the bridge, coming and going, bumping into each other.
Jiang Ce silently moved closer, separating her from the crowd. She walked in front, and he walked behind her.
The two crossed the bridge and walked along the riverbank. Jiang Ce took a couple of steps and walked alongside her.
Xue Chan asked him, "I suppose the matter His Majesty has entrusted to you is important, which is why you are so late."
Jiang Ce assumed Xue Chan was complaining about his lateness, so he quickly explained, "Although I had many things to do, I was eager to return home, so I rode back as fast as I could before the festival. However, the journey took a few days, and I arrived late. I was covered in straw and dust, and it was truly unsightly, so I went back to change my clothes. I didn't mean to be late..."
"Feel sorry"
Xue Chan chuckled softly, "Who asked you that again?"
Jiang Ce was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "What...what is that?"
Xue Chan: "The last time you saw me, you were injured. It's only been a little over ten days, and you've been traveling back and forth because of His Majesty's orders. I wonder if you're feeling better?"
Jiang Ce's face lit up with joy: "Don't worry, I'm much better. I think I'll recover even faster after today."
Xue Chan just smiled and said, "Besides, we're walking side by side now. We've already met them, so what does it matter whether we're here sooner or later?"
Jiang Ce was slightly taken aback, then suddenly understood something.
"Yes, yes."
Actually, he didn't know if he would meet her at first, but he felt that he had to come out.
But if she hadn't left the house, would he have just let it go?
No, he will find a way to see her.
Even if it's just a glimpse from afar.
No, that's not enough. He wants to see her, to stand by her side, and to have only him by her side.
So he rode back from the north at full speed, passing through mountains and rivers in autumn colors, with red leaves covering the hillsides. At that time, he also realized that his longing was burning as fiercely as the red leaves.
When he looked up and saw Xue Chan, he had never understood so clearly and directly the tender feelings in the poems he had read in his youth.
Jiang Ce moved closer to her, their shoulders almost touching. He looked at Xue Chan's profile and laughed.
"why are you laughing?"
"I was just thinking that the ancients were right; they were truly talented."
The two walked slowly, the lamplight flickering dimly, creating a hazy atmosphere.
Because they were so close, his hand would occasionally brush against Xue Chan's and then slip away. This repeated contact caused him a nagging, unbearable ache in his heart.
So Jiang Ce took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his wildly beating heart.
He lowered his head, looking at the hand that was sometimes visible and sometimes hidden under his sleeve. He slowly moved it over, gently hooked her fingers, and then held them in his hand.
Before Jiang Ce could even catch his breath, Xue Chan suddenly stopped.
He quickly let go, took a step back, and his face burned.
"I'm sorry, I...I..." He felt quite embarrassed, as if he had failed in his attempt at something and been caught red-handed. He had been too hasty and had forgotten how much Xue Chan valued boundaries. But he couldn't bring himself to lie and say that he hadn't done it on purpose, because he had simply acted impulsively and intentionally.
"Second Young Master, I'm sorry, but even now, I still don't like you."
"No, no," Jiang Ce shook his head, looked up at Xue Chan, and said very seriously, "Liking someone isn't a mistake, nor is disliking them, so you don't need to apologize. It's okay if you don't like me, as long as I like you enough. I have a very long time to wait, and I think that one day, I will get the result I want."
Xue Chan shook her head, and Jiang Ce was immediately disappointed.
His voice turned somber again: "I understand."
Xue Chan said, "What you said just now is true, but what I want to say, what is important, is not that sentence."
Jiang Ce's emotions rose and fell, tossed high into the air and then plummeted back down. He didn't even know whether he should be happy or unhappy.
He couldn't quite understand what Xue Chan was saying; his mind was completely confused.
What is that?
Xue Chan walked closer, stood in front of him, and looked up at him.
"I do not like you yet..." She reached out and gently grasped Jiang Ce's wrist, then opened his palm, placed her own hand in it, and slowly held it.
"However, I don't dislike or reject you. So, I'm willing to wait, to wait for the day you spoke of."
No fireworks were set off at that moment, but Jiang Ce heard a huge booming sound.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He didn't react for a moment, only looking down at their clasped hands. He looked at them again and again, then looked up at Xue Chan, who was just smiling and waiting for him to accept the situation.
Jiang Ce walked to the riverbank, leaned on the stone railing, and lowered his head to calm himself. He held Xue Chan's hand and never thought of letting go.
He hadn't been drinking, yet he seemed drunk and sluggish.
Jiang Ce straightened up, turned around, and couldn't help but laugh. If he hadn't been holding Xue Chan's hand, he would have already run several laps around the capital.
He didn't, he just gripped the two points tightly.
Xue Chan's hands were very soft; they could even completely envelop my own hands.
Jiang Ce sat on the stone railing of the inner river, gently spreading her knuckles to reveal her palms. He lowered his face, looking at her through the lights hanging from the overpass along the river.
The palm of his hand was covered with lines, but there were no other scars.
No scars yet, but the wounds remain.
"The medicine you sent worked very well, and I recovered quickly without a trace of injury."
Jiang Ce closed her hand, quietly exhaled, and simply said, "That's good..."
"Let's keep going." Xue Chan moved slightly, and the two continued walking.
Jiang Ce was still holding her hand, wanting to hold it tighter, but then he suddenly remembered the many calluses on his palms and knuckles from drawing bows, wielding knives, and holding guns.
Rough and hard, yet she is delicate and soft.
Jiang Ce was a little afraid of hurting her, but he was also afraid that this was all a dream. If he didn't hold on tight, she might leave, and his heart would feel empty.
So he held on tight.
The two held hands and walked slowly side by side.
He gently traced her hand, his fingertips touching her soft palm. He caressed it repeatedly, not wanting to miss any spot. Only when he touched her knuckles did he feel two slightly hard, round spots.
Those were calluses on Xue Chan's fingers, formed from years of holding a pen.
Are you happy?
"Of course I'm happy, how could I not be?"
"I'm happy too."
He gripped it tighter.
Jiang Ce said to her, "Would you like to release a water lantern? Let's go release one together."
Xue Chan softly replied, "Mmm."
The two walked around the long street to the Mingyue Bridge and bought two lanterns from a stall selling lanterns.
Xue Chan chose a lotus lantern. Jiang Ce originally wanted to take the same one as her, but then changed his mind and chose a square lantern instead.
"Don't you have any wishes you want to write down?"
Xue Chan shook her head and smiled, "Some wishes can only be fulfilled by oneself, some wishes can never be fulfilled, while some wishes have already been fulfilled."
Jiang Ce replied, "I have many wishes."
He borrowed a pen and ink from the stall owner and wrote down his wish with his back turned.
The two walked to the water's edge and placed the lamp down next to the stone steps.
Lanterns floated one after another on the dimly lit river, their lights flickering as they drifted further and further away with the current. From afar, they resembled a galaxy of stars.
The two sat side by side on the stone steps, their figures partially hidden among the green willows and crimson water.
Jiang Ce lowered his head and glanced sideways, quietly looking at Xue Chan.
She looked up and met his gaze.
The riverbank was actually quite dark, with only patches of dim yellow light falling from the lanterns hanging on the willow branches. Two shadows floated and merged within them.
Aren't you going to ask me what I wrote?
"Isn't it said that wishes won't come true if you say them out loud?"
The wind sways, the willows sway.
The slender, verdant willow branches swayed gently, weaving a hazy, emerald curtain. The willow branches intertwined with the wings of Jiang Ce's hat, knotting as they swayed.
Jiang Ce smiled slightly and said, "It's too dark, I can't see. Can you help me solve it?"
Xue Chan pursed her lips.
He knew perfectly well that she couldn't see him.
But Jiang Ce had already sat closer, leaning against him and lowering his head slightly.
She seemed to sigh softly, then reached around his neck and shoulders to feel for the willow branches and the wings of his hat.
Xue Chan leaned forward, her body slightly tilted to one side.
There was still some distance between the two, but Xue Chan couldn't see clearly and could only rely on her sense of touch to figure it out, so she solved it slowly and for a long time.
Perhaps it was too much effort, so Jiang Ce moved forward a little, and the distance closed immediately.
"Sit closer, it will be easier for you to understand."
"Um"
Xue Chan found the knot and slowly pulled out the willow branch. When she couldn't untie it anymore, she tried to tear it off.
The willows of early autumn are no longer as soft and fragile as they were in spring; they are now hard and resilient.
She became serious, leaned forward, and used her elbow to pull Jiang Ce's shoulder for leverage. Jie Liuzhi looked so serious that Jiang Ce felt a moment of relief.
Fortunately, the knot was made from willow branches, not red threads.
The willow branch suddenly snapped in her hand, and the moment it broke, it lost its strength and slumped forward.
Xue Chan threw herself into Jiang Ce's arms, her chin hitting his shoulder blade, which hurt for a moment.
Caught off guard, the two embraced. Jiang Ce first felt his cheek brush against the cool pearl hairpin in her hair, then his arms were filled with warmth. He instinctively raised his hand to hug her back, then paused for a moment, immediately realizing their current situation, and released her.
Jiang Ce braced his hands on the stone steps behind him, his eyes lowered. In truth, if he had simply leaned down slightly, he could have kissed her cheek.
But he merely curled his lips and said innocently, "This wasn't something I did on purpose."
Xue Chan pushed him away and stood up to walk up the stone steps. But Jiang Ce grabbed her wrist. Xue Chan turned around, and he was still sitting on the stone steps, looking up at her.
She couldn't see his face or his expression clearly, but she could hear his lighthearted teasing very clearly.
Don't be angry.
She said calmly, "I didn't."
Jiang Ce stood up, stepped onto the stone steps and walked up to her, his smile bright: "I know you're not angry, I just want to apologize."
Xue Chan looked at the flower seller on the bridge and pointed at her, saying, "I want those flowers."
"Okay," Jiang Ce said with a smile on his face, and ran towards the bridge.
Xue Chan stood under the tree waiting for him, with Yun Sheng and Chu Tao standing not far away. A little further away, a head peeked out furtively from behind another tree.
"Hmph!" She put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot. "I knew he'd tricked her with his sweet talk!"
Cheng Huaizhu picked up a stone and threw it down the bank. Instead of hearing the sound of it hitting the water, she heard a scream.
She was startled and took two steps back to grab Mingxia's hand.
"There are ghosts here!"
Two hands appeared under the tree, followed by a head, and then the 'ghost' climbed up the tree roots.
"Why is it you?"
Zheng Shaoyu rubbed his temples and said, "If you can be here, why can't I be here?"
Cheng Huaizhu said lazily, "What are you doing here?"
Zheng Shaoyu patted the bits of debris that had gotten on his clothes from crouching in the grass and said, "I'll do whatever you want."
Cheng Huaizhu crossed her arms and snorted coldly, saying angrily, "I shouldn't have come; I'm so angry."
“They are an engaged couple who are getting married in two or three months.” Zheng Shaoyu walked to Cheng Huaizhu’s side, and Mingxia and Rendong took two steps back as usual.
"I'm just unhappy, I'm just not happy." She stomped her feet twice more on the ground. "So what? So what? I'm just going to be angry, what can you do about it?"
Zheng Shaoyu watched as Cheng Huaizhu, after venting her anger on the floor tiles, looked up and glared at him. He said, "It's not like I'm the one who seduced Miss Xue, so why are you taking your anger out on me?"
Cheng Huaizhu said coldly, "You and he are in cahoots, neither of you are good people."
“Hey, hey, I don’t like that. He’s him, and I’m me,” Zheng Shaoyu retorted.
Cheng Huaizhu glanced at him indifferently and said nothing.
Zheng Shaoyu moved closer to her and said with a smile, "Didn't you ask me where that fish came from last year? It was caught by the Mingyue Bridge here during the Qiqiao Festival. There's a peddler at the bridgehead who specializes in selling these rare and beautiful fish. It's not far away. Instead of getting angry here, why don't I invite you to go fishing?"
Cheng Huaizhu's eyes lit up, and she took a step towards the bridgehead, while Zheng Shaoyu hadn't reacted yet.
"What are you standing there for? Didn't you want to go fishing? Let's go."
"They're here."
Zheng Shaoyu chased after them, and together they huddled together like two sparrows, chattering and laughing as they walked away.
Jiang Ce ran up to Xue Chan with a full armful of flowers, all kinds of them.
When the flower seller met a handsome young man with a silver ingot who said he wanted to buy all her flowers, she was very happy and curiously asked him what kind of girl he was going to give them to.
He stood in the crowd, loudly proclaiming his feelings, and laughed as he said to her, "She's the best girl in the world!"
People on the bridge turned to look, feeling both pleased and amused.
"Osmanthus fragrans, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, jasmine, camellia, rose of Sharon..."
Jiang Ce was beaming as he recited the names of flowers to her while smiling at her.
He smiled brightly and radiantly: "Whatever kind of flower you like, we have it here. And even if we don't have it, I'll get it for you if you want it."
Xue Chan had never realized how handsome he was. His long, elegant eyebrows and his expressive, smiling eyes were as beautiful as a painting.
She was just an ordinary person, easily fooled by the allure of this world and her beautiful appearance, her heart softening like water for a moment.
"I've heard that in the capital there's a custom of wearing red leaves in your hair in autumn. You've returned from the north, so you probably haven't had a chance to do so yet."
She suddenly brought this up, leaving Jiang Ce somewhat bewildered.
"What... what's wrong?"
Xue Chan took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve, slowly unfolded it in her palm, and inside was a red leaf flower made of red leaves.
"Then let me adorn your hair with flowers to welcome autumn?"
Jiang Ce saw Xue Chan's image reflected in his eyes, her gaze gentle, her jade-like face captivating. He leaned down and turned his head, letting Xue Chan tiptoe to place the red leaf flower into her hat.
The beautiful woman skillfully crafted a flower symbolizing her feelings, and with a smile, she pinned it to the young man's hat.
Is it pretty?
"nice"
Jiang Ce smiled, holding the flowers, and asked her, "Don't you look a lot like the spirits in the book?"
Xue Chan was amused by him; how could he talk about himself like that?
"Most of the spirits and monsters in the book are captivating and alluring."
"That......"
Suddenly, a flamboyant face loomed down, its eyes and brows brimming with a mischievous glint in the flickering light, making it even more alluring.
Did I seduce you?
The fish in the peddler's water tank under the bridge are watching the gleaming hooks hanging in the water.
Without hesitation, it bit into the hook.
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