parting
Spring arrived quickly, filling the entire city of Danzhou within a few days. The morning breeze carried a slight chill, and the morning mist seemed both near and far, neither dispersing nor fading, shrouding the green mountains.
Spring is in full bloom, and all things are coming back to life.
Green willows line the lake, their long branches swaying in the breeze, creating ripples on the water's surface. Spring is indeed a wonderful time for an outing.
Young men and women tacitly put on their beautiful spring clothes and went out of town with their friends to enjoy the vitality of spring.
A horse-drawn carriage rumbled out of Danzhou City, its wheels rolling over the grass where green shoots were sprouting. After a sway, the carriage came to a stop in the suburbs.
A moment later, two young women, one gentle and graceful and the other charming, stepped out of the car hand in hand.
Judging from their appearance, who else could it be but Xie Xiangsi and Zhao Liuyi?
It turned out that today was the day Xie Xiangsi and the others were returning to the capital. Zhao Liuyi was reluctant to part with her old friends and came to see them off.
A gentle spring breeze rustled the hems of their clothes, and from a distance, the layers of flowing gauze dresses looked like colorful butterflies fluttering in the air, full of vitality.
Seeing Zhao Liuyi's reluctant expression, Xie Xiangsi gently patted her hand and smiled tenderly, "Alright, it's not like we'll never see each other again. I'll come back when I have time."
Zhao Liuyi sniffed and said with a pitiful expression, "But I really can't bear to part with you. Let me see you off one more time."
Upon hearing this, Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but laugh.
Jing Zigui originally only intended to escort them out of the city, but Zhao Liuyi insisted on seeing them off for a long time. If they weren't about to leave Danzhou City, she probably would have continued to escort them.
Seeing her eyes sparkling, Jie Xiangsi knew she was still not giving up. So she raised her chin at the red-clad figure not far away and said with a hint of mockery, "If you keep sending them, you might as well come back to the capital with us. But if that happens, Young Master Jing might get jealous."
Zhao Liuyi subconsciously looked in that direction. Whether it was because the two of them were of one mind or because Jing Zigui had been paying attention to this side all along, when she looked, she met a pair of smiling peach blossom eyes.
The gentle spring breeze stirs the heart of a young man.
Zhao Liuyi's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. She quickly turned her head, only to meet Jie Xiangsi's eyes, which were filled with a sly smile. Suddenly, the shyness in her heart burned up to the tips of her ears, and she was truly embarrassed.
But the instigator still made a joking remark, "Young Master Jing won't be returning to the capital with us, are you still going to see him off?"
Zhao Liuyi: "..."
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Liuyi feigned annoyance and said in a sweet voice, "Alright, alright, I won't see you off!"
"Pfft—"
Amused by her, Xie Xiangsi couldn't help but chuckle softly and said gently, "Then I'm relieved, lest Young Master Jing... um."
A hand covered her mouth, silencing all her unfinished words.
Zhao Liuyi, blushing, reached out her hand and threatened in a low voice, "Don't mention him!"
A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling the stray hairs at the girl's temples.
Jie Xiangsi blinked to indicate that she understood, stared at her intently for a moment, and seeing the sincerity in her gaze, Zhao Liuyi finally let go.
Zhao Liuyi straightened her clothes, a smile playing on her lips, and suddenly said, "Xiangsi, I remember you love Danzhou chestnut cake the most, but unfortunately you're still sick and can't eat sweet things, so I can't send you chestnut cake."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi smiled and said gently, "There are chestnut cakes in the capital too. I can buy them anytime I want to eat them."
“…Really?” Zhao Liuyi trembled almost imperceptibly, paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “But I wonder if the chestnut cake in the capital is any good. After all, different regions have different tastes.”
Jie Xiangsi smiled faintly, "I'm not that picky about food, of course I can eat it."
After staring at her for a moment, Zhao Liuyi lowered her long eyelashes and said in a feigned aggrieved tone, "Okay, okay, I was just worrying for nothing."
Then, before Jie Xiangsi could say anything to make amends, Zhao Liuyi took out a piece of red paper from her sleeve and stuffed it into Jie Xiangsi's hand. Looking at the person opposite her, her eyelashes trembled incessantly due to excessive shyness.
"Here, the invitation."
"For...me?"
Under Xie Xiangsi's slightly startled gaze, Zhao Liuyi nodded and said shyly in a soft voice, "The unified invitations are not finished yet. I made these myself. They are a bit ugly, so please don't mind them. But don't worry, I will send someone to deliver the unified invitations to the capital later."
Unconsciously stroking the invitation in her hand, she glanced down at the intricate patterns on it, a glint of light flashing in Jie Xiangsi's eyes. She looked up and smiled, "What's ugly about this invitation? It's actually quite beautiful. But why did you send me two invitations?"
The wind rustled, and the grass rustled.
Upon hearing her question, Zhao Liuyi chuckled, a barely perceptible glint of tears in her eyes. She replied, "Because I want to send two portions!"
“Everyone gets ordinary invitations, and they’re all delivered by servants, but you’re different.” After a pause, Zhao Liuyi looked up at the woman in front of her, her eyes filled with sincere starlight. “You’re my best friend, and I want to hand you the invitation myself.”
Her gaze lingered on Xie Xiangsi's face for a moment, and her voice suddenly became incredibly soft.
"Besides, didn't we say before that if we get married in the future, the invitations to each other must be handmade by ourselves, and we must personally hand them to each other?"
She paused, her voice slightly hoarse.
"I have kept my promise, Xiangsi."
In an instant, all was silent.
Suddenly, the spring breeze picked up, and the white ribbon of Jie Xiangsi's hair danced freely in the air, gently brushing against Zhao Liuyi's cheek, like the caress of an old friend.
In the silence, Xie Xiangsi slowly curved her lips into a smile and spoke to Zhao Liuyi in an incredibly gentle tone.
"Liuyi, happy marriage."
In an instant, Zhao Liuyi's nose tingled with emotion, and she softly replied, "Thank you, Xiangsi." After a pause, she turned to Xie Xiangsi and said, "Thank you too."
After a moment of stillness, the fleeting breeze slowly departed, as gentle as a graceful woman from Danzhou City.
...
Accompanied by the whistling wind, the rumble of the carriage began again, gradually fading into the distance...
Watching the carriage disappear from sight, Jing Zigui quickly moved to Zhao Liuyi's side.
After seeing off the noble Prince Zhou, Jing Zigui, who had been busy for half a month, was in a great mood.
Looking up at the sky, it was a vast expanse of clouds, and the sky was clear and blue. Even the occasional chirping of birds sounded wonderful to him. He felt that today was truly a day to have a good time with Zhao Liuyi.
Just as he was about to say something to her, he caught a glimpse of tears welling up in her eyes. In an instant, the usually carefree and unrestrained young man was unusually at a loss, and all his thoughts of playing vanished the moment he saw her tears.
Seeing her tears streaming down her face, he wiped them away gently and said softly, "You can't bear to part with Miss Jie?"
"Hmm." Zhao Liuyi sniffed and nodded.
“Then…” Jing Zigui tentatively suggested, “How about I bring them back?”
She pinched him, and Zhao Liuyi remained silent, only crying quietly. After a long while, with red eyes, she looked ahead, which was no longer visible, and murmured softly, "It's too late to catch up."
"It can never be recovered..."
She remembered that Xiangsi disliked chestnut cake the most.
In the end, the soul perishes in winter and is reborn in spring; though people are the same, their souls are different.
The boy she grew up with, Jie Xiangsi, will never come back.
...
Inside the carriage heading to the capital, a gentle breeze lifted the curtains, and the clear sound of bells mingled with the rolling of wheels.
As Zhou Yanzhi silently counted to one hundred, he opened his eyes precisely on time, turned his head to look diagonally forward, and saw that Jie Xiangsi was still looking down at the invitation in her hand.
The carriage curtain fluttered, gently striking the edge of the carriage and making soft rustling sounds.
"Very beautiful?" Zhou Yanzhi suddenly exclaimed.
Hearing his voice, Jie Xiangsi seemed to wake from a dream. Meeting Zhou Yanzhi's eyes, she gently shook her head. Then, as if thinking of something, she suddenly nodded and looked down at the invitation in her hand, saying, "It is indeed very beautiful."
She lowered her head quickly, her long eyelashes concealing the tears in her eyes.
Thinking back, that gentle breeze just now must have been her...
The girl in my dream who was willing to sacrifice herself to heal her wounds, the girl in my dream who yearned for freedom, the girl in my dream who was breathtaking at first sight, so gentle that even her farewell words were so tender.
Suddenly, I felt a warm touch on my head.
Jie Xiangsi looked up and saw Zhou Yanzhi, who had somehow appeared beside her. She heard him say softly, "Miss Zhao put her heart into it, so the invitations are naturally beautiful. If you also want such beautiful invitations, I can make them with you."
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
Lord Zhou, who is usually oblivious to romance, is actually quite good at comforting people.
After carefully putting the invitation away, Jie Xiangsi replied with a forced smile, "Thank you, cousin, but I think I could make invitations just as beautiful myself."
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Something feels off. But she's smiling!
Without thinking twice, Zhou Yanzhi coughed lightly and praised, "Indeed, my cousin is intelligent and kind-hearted; she can do everything very well!"
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
Please, someone help Lord Zhou brush up on the art of speaking!
With Jie Xiangsi's "thank you," the unsettling silence inside the carriage dissipated, and cheerful birdsong filled the room.
"Chirp chirp—chirp chirp—"
Springtime is in full bloom.
After lifting the carriage curtain and looking at the scenery outside for a while, Jie Xiangsi suddenly asked, "Cousin, do you like girls with gentle personalities?"
Ever since she realized that she really liked Zhou Yan, Jie Xiangsi had been thinking about this question: what exactly did Zhou Yan like about her?
Is it appearance?
But when she was still Xiao Yan, she had never heard of Zhou Yanzhi falling for any gentle-looking girl in the capital.
But why does he like me?
If it's not appearance, then is it personality?
"Pfft—"
A very soft laugh rang in my ears.
Jie Xiangsi turned around and saw Zhou Yanzhi leaning lazily against the carriage wall. When he saw her looking at him, he slowly raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes full of mockery.
"Gentle personality?"
"Who was it that got angry and dumped a tree full of snow on me?"
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