That night, Ling Xiao came again.
Hearing that Ping An was overjoyed all day afterward, he took Ling Xiao out for a drink. Now, with his arrival, a faint aroma of wine filled the room.
"I'll arrange the wedding as soon as possible. Don't worry, Xiaoxiao."
“Sang…no…Master…isn’t right either…”
She forbade Ling Xiao from calling her by her name anymore, and Ling Xiao seemed unaccustomed to calling her "Master," which is why he couldn't find a suitable title for her for a long time.
He seemed a little anxious, and the words slipped out: "I don't want to get married so soon—"
Ling Xiao is twenty-two this year, and he has been with her for a full twelve years. How can that be considered early?
She frowned: "What are you saying? You can wait, but a young woman's youth cannot be wasted. Besides, Ping An's father has a chronic illness. If you can settle down sooner, the old man will have something to look forward to."
She scolded Ling Xiao, then softened her voice and said that after the marriage, he and Ping An could go down the mountain and live in anonymity or wander around, but it was about time to leave Fuhua Valley.
"Floating Flower Valley is not a place to linger. With Green Ivy by my side, anywhere is a place to go."
Ling Xiao suddenly grabbed her hand, so tightly that it even hurt her: "...Only Green Ivy? Why aren't you with me?"
She chuckled and flicked his furrowed brow: "Fool. Even if you have your own home after you get married, a beautiful wife by your side, and children in the future... how can I stay with you for a lifetime?"
Four,
The marriage was arranged.
Because she was blind, she could only arrange for Green Ivy to handle the wedding arrangements for Lingxiao and Ping'an. Although she knew Green Ivy didn't like Ping'an, she never imagined that the two would actually clash.
A servant came to report that Green Ivy slapped Ping An for accidentally entering the study, and afterwards she had a fight with Ling Xiao.
When Green Ivy was called in for questioning, tears streamed down her face. This little girl had always been very strong-willed and never shed tears in front of others. Now, she was crying so sadly that Sang Rong couldn't even speak when questioned.
"Forget it, forget it. They've all been with me since they were little, why are you making a fuss with Xiaoxiao? It's just that Ping'an went to the study to read a few books."
"Valley Master! You don't know! That woman pulled the young master's study book and read it to him, it was that very book... that very book... Waaah..."
Once Green Ivy asked which book it was, Sang Rong understood.
Many years ago, she and the young Ling Xiao sat side by side under the banyan tree, reciting a legend from a distant land—a man and a woman who could not be together because of their different identities made a promise before they died that they would find each other in the next life and be together for all eternity.
No wonder Ping An was so happy after hearing this story.
Doesn't this just prove what Ling Xiao once said, that he knew at first glance that Ping An was the person he had been looking for?
Green Ivy cried incessantly, muttering hateful things about Ling Xiao, which made Sang Rong both laugh and cry. Just then, the pharmacist rushed over and said that the young master had stormed into the alchemy room and caused a scene, almost damaging his eyes.
When they arrived at Lingxiao's courtyard, he had already taken sedatives and was fast asleep.
She cautiously touched Ling Xiao's face and discovered that his eyes were indeed wrapped with bandages. Before she could retract her hand, the man, who was pretending to be asleep, grabbed it.
"Why do you have to touch something you can see at a glance to know? Is it really as Green Ivy said, that you can no longer see?" Ling Xiao struggled to sit up, grabbing her sleeve with agitation. "I even asked the cook, and she said you haven't been able to taste anything for a long time, and now you can't even see... Is it because of cultivating the formation and protecting Floating Flower Valley that you've become like this? Why didn't you tell me?"
She shook her head and sighed softly, "It's not for guarding the valley, nor for the formation. Xiaoxiao, you are still young, but I am already old."
“Let me take care of you! We can go down the mountain together and live together like this, even with the pothos plants... I also need to find a way to cure your eyes, even if it means giving you my own…”
Ling Xiao's words were interrupted by a heavy slap.
Her palms burned with pain, yet the chill in her fingertips had spread throughout her body.
"...I'll say it one more time, or don't blame me for being impolite! Let alone the fact that exchanging eyes is impossible, even if it were possible, I wouldn't allow it to happen! I saved you, not so you could be so careless with yourself!"
He got so carried away that he started coughing.
He remained silent, tried to take her hand, and then gently buried his face in it.
From a young age, he only did this when he was at his most upset and helpless.
"I'm just angry at myself for not being able to share your burden... Am I not as good as my father? Am I not like him at all? Am I useless...?"
She could sense his frustration from his trembling shoulders.
But Zhuo Yan is Zhuo Yan, and he is himself. Why should he compare himself to Zhuo Yan?
What a fool.
five,
Half a month has passed, and Ling Xiao's wedding preparations are almost complete, just as Ping An has recovered.
Sang Rong said that the wedding should be held sooner rather than later, but Ling Xiao seemed to still be immersed in self-blame because of what had happened before. After repeated urging, he reluctantly said that he wanted to wait until Sang Rong's birthday to get married.
She thought for a moment and decided not to press him any further. She simply said that Ping An's father's illness couldn't be delayed and that the most urgent thing was for him to go home with Ping An to deliver the medicine and also to meet his future father-in-law.
Seeing that he was still hesitant, she comforted him, "It only takes a day to go up and down the mountain. You can come back the day after tomorrow, so it won't delay my birthday celebration."
Ling Xiao then agreed.
Late the night before her departure, she quietly went to Ping An's room.
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