71 Meeting an old friend
"Xiaoxi must have been very lovely when she was young."
"The Left Prime Minister's daughter was born on the same day as my eldest brother. The arranged marriage was a joke to him. Lu Zhengqing only heard half of it and mistakenly thought it was with me.
"The Right Prime Minister's legitimate son is indeed my close friend. His sister is eight years younger than me. When she was still an infant, I held her several times on behalf of her brother. I was only a child at that time.
"The Grand Marshal's daughter and I were classmates. When we were young, rumors were rampant in the palace. My mother was afraid that I would die young like my brothers and sisters if I stayed in the palace for too long, so she sent me to study at the Imperial Academy with other ministers of my age. There were more than ten people in the hall."
Wen Tingluan seemed to have prepared a draft long ago, and the past events flowed out naturally from his mouth without any pause. As he spoke, he did not forget to look directly at Tian Nongxi, his eyes calm and focused, without any evasion.
Tian Nongxi was originally smiling with pursed lips, as if she didn't care much, but as she listened, the corners of her mouth stopped raising, and she stopped looking at the moon. She sat up straight and looked at Wen Tingluan, listening attentively.
After finally waiting for him to stop talking, Tian Nongxi racked her brains and squeezed out a sentence: "Lu Zhengqing is really—" Seeing his frown, she changed the subject, "What a kind person! If she hadn't helped me, we would still have a misunderstanding, right?"
"I understand everything you're saying." Countless thoughts swirled in his mind, like willow catkins drifting to an unknown destination in spring. Tian Nongxi weighed them over and over, gradually transforming his words into wind, entwining the helpless catkins and bringing them to a single spot.
"Thank you so much for explaining everything. Now I understand everything!" She waved her hands dramatically in the air, forming a circle as wide as the table. "From now on, if you have anything to say, we can just say it directly, okay?"
"Your childhood sweetheart." Wen Tingluan said calmly, "I want to know about him."
"..." Tian Nongxi's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he choked for a moment before quickly regaining his composure and answering honestly in a calm tone, "There's no 'him', only them."
"It's okay, go ahead." Wen Tingluan pressed the bridge of his nose.
"Of course it's okay, you are right." Tian Nongxi muttered softly and carefully explained to him about her childhood sweethearts - her, him and them.
After he finished speaking, Wen Tingluan raised the corners of his mouth, and the smile in his eyes could not be hidden, like a pool of clear blue spring water without any other colors. "Xiaoxi must have been very lovely when she was young." His fingertips lightly stroked the table, and the ending tone was wrapped with a hint of melancholy.
"I haven't seen you as a child either." Tian Nongxi held up his chin and stared at him, trying to imagine what Wen Tingluan looked like as a child.
Tian Guangzong, having recovered his composure, rushed out the door, not caring what the two people at the table were talking about. He went straight to the bowl that Wen Tingluan had placed on the table, muttering, "Chat, chat, the water is almost getting cold."
Tian Nongxi stood up: "Brother, you just came back, so let me wash the stove."
"No need!" Tian Guangzong threw out those two words and headed for the kitchen. When this episode was about to be revealed, he stopped again and inexplicably left a sentence, "My little sister was as delicate as a piece of jade when she was young, and she was very lovable."
As he spoke, he looked straight at the door threshold, as if he was discussing something with the kitchen door. Tian Nongxi was stunned for a long time before realizing that he was talking to Wen Tingluan. His eyes wandered to Wen Tingluan, and his mouth opened and closed, not knowing what to say.
The latter stood up and said calmly, "I can see it."
-
The next day, the three of them got up early, went to Huang's house to pick her up and went back to Tianjia Village together.
Tian Nongxi paid the woman who had been caring for Huang Shi her wages and also gave her an additional twenty taels of silver as a holiday gift. Giving a gold ingot was much easier for her than a silver ingot, but she was worried that this man's reputation for being a fool and rich would spread, and after the New Year, his door would be filled with bowls, making going out a survival game.
Huang still didn't recognize anyone and only kept repeating Tian Yaozu's name. When Tian Guangzong wasn't paying attention, Tian Nongxi squatted in front of her and asked her if Tian Yaozu had run away from home and she had gone to look for him but couldn't find him and got lost. Huang kept mumbling "hmm" and "ahh" and it was hard to understand what he meant.
Swallowing the words that Tian Yaozu was dead with difficulty, Tian Nongxi stood up and helped her into the carriage.
An unoccupied house decays more quickly than an uncared-for old house. Even though someone frequently cleans, the first whiff of dampness is undeniable upon entering the Tian family's courtyard. There are no cobwebs in the corners, and the tables and chairs are dust-free, yet its loneliness is palpable.
Tian Nongxi quickly withdrew his gaze, steadily helped Huang back to the house, and turned around to carry Tian Guangzong's package.
"Brother, come by yourself." Tian Guangzong refused to let go, but his eyes were still greedily staring at his hometown which he had not seen for a long time.
"It's okay." Tian Nongxi smiled. She thought she could accept it well, but when she saw this small courtyard that carried so many bad memories, she realized that it was impossible.
Take one more look and the system's vague words emerge in your mind - "You are you".
You must be sick.
She cursed softly, then carried the package and gently placed it in Tian Guangzong's room. Tian Guangzong's room had previously been where Tian Yaozu slept, and there were still some books in there that Tian Yaozu had read to the point of curling the corners. She flipped through them casually, and found notes on every page, written in a careful and beautiful handwriting that didn't look like the work of a six-year-old.
His personality was beyond that of ordinary people, but in the end he lost his life because of his thoughts that were not in line with his age.
Tian Nongxi wasn't quite sure whether she was Tian Yaozu's biological sister. Fortunately, she didn't know how it would feel if she was his biological sister, so she wasn't heartbroken. Instead, she felt a kind of inexplicable sense of relief.
If you think about it, he is not a heinous criminal.
Tian Nongxi withdrew his gaze, feeling that his thoughts were somewhat bad.
She raised her foot to leave, but the sunlight coming in from outside was blocked by a hunched figure.
Huang held the door and moved inward, but because of her slow movements, she didn't enter the house. She seemed not to see Tian Nongxi, her confused eyes were fixed elsewhere, and her skin, as rugged as the ravines of the mountains, was cracked when she spoke.
Her speech was unclear, as if she had a piece of candy in her mouth that wouldn't dissolve. Each word stuck to the tip of her tongue, neither rising nor falling. She spoke slowly and vaguely, "...Grandma...Grandma gave you money to buy books..."
As she spoke, she tremblingly took out a bleached purse from her pocket and poured out a wrinkled red envelope from it. With a "ding" sound, the copper coins in the red envelope rolled to the ground due to her trembling.
Tian Nongxi recognized the string of copper coins.
That was when she gave her wages to the woman who took care of Huang. The woman said some words about customs and traditions, took out the red envelopes that had been prepared long ago from her bosom and gave them to Tian Nongxi and others.
She lowered her eyes to glance at it, took two steps forward, bent down, picked up the copper coin and placed it on Tian Yaozu's book, saying, "He'll see it when he comes back."
Huang was worried and walked inside.
After she made room for one person, Tian Nongxi walked out through the crack in the door.
She didn't look back. Tian Guangzong, who was standing at the gate, saw her and said "Hey hey hey" twice, then walked in worriedly.
Wen Tingluan stood at the door, talking to someone unknown. He blocked most of the person's presence, and Tian Nongxi approached curiously, wanting to see who had made Wen Tingluan speak.
Before he even got close, the man's familiar voice gently fell into his ears: "...I am a commoner with no ambitions. I'm used to being a country bumpkin. I really can't bear the official hat and golden seal."
Before he could finish his words, Tian Nongxi appeared from behind Wen Tingluan, looking quite surprised, "Brother Heng'an?"
Qi Hengan's eyes lit up, and his tone was a trifle cheerful: "When I saw the carriage, I guessed that you were back."
"Just arrived." Tian Nongxi asked hesitantly, "How did you...?"
Qi Hengan laughed at himself and said that he was kicked out of the house by his grandfather because he refused the job at the Imperial Hospital.
"Ah?——" Tian Nongxi opened her eyes wide, and from his expression she could tell that it was not a joke. Her lips moved, not knowing how to comfort him.
Wen Tingluan took over the conversation and smiled faintly, "Xiaoxi, do you still remember the battle that Wen Lang mentioned? The poison he administered was extremely dangerous, killing those who were poisoned within half a day. The antidote has long been lost. It was Master Qi who, as a doctor, visited the army and noticed something was wrong. He risked his own health to prepare the antidote for the soldiers."
He bowed solemnly and said, "If it weren't for Master Qi, the outcome of this battle would be uncertain."
After hearing Wen Tingluan's words, Tian Nongxi was filled with admiration, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Qi Hengan's face was burning hot.
Qi Hengan's cheeks flushed red as he stammered, "This is my duty. I am ashamed to accept it."
"What? Brother Hengan, you're so awesome." Tian Nongxi wanted to pat him on the shoulder and tell him not to be so modest.
She invited him sincerely: "Don't live in an empty house alone, celebrate the New Year with us, it's just a matter of having an extra pair of chopsticks." After saying that, she looked at Wen Tingluan eagerly.
Wen Tingluan received the signal and also invited Qi Hengan to celebrate the New Year together.
"No." Qi Heng'an threw his head back and laughed, his calmness shattered by the youthful exuberance and cheerfulness. "Grandfather won't let me go back, but I'm going back anyway. I won't bother you anymore. I still have to travel as a doctor." He smiled shyly at Tian Nongxi, "I'm going back to Beijing."
"Wait!" Tian Nongxi called out to him, trotting back to the Tian family compound. He hurriedly took out the Qi family's property deed and handed it to Qi Hengan. "I'm a businessman now, very wealthy. I'd feel guilty about keeping this house, so you can take it back. By the way, if you need money, you can tell me."
Qi Hengan smiled, "Okay."
"Give Madam Qi my regards."
Qi Hengan agreed, jumped onto the horse, and his figure gradually blurred into a swaying outline.
"That's amazing." Tian Nongxi withdrew his gaze, fascinated.
She added: "You are amazing too."
Wen Tingluan beside him slowly shook his head, his cold voice carrying a hint of solemnity: "I have never saved thousands of people."
"Why do you think so?" Tian Nongxi's throat tightened and she said anxiously, "How many crown princes are self-righteous, incompetent and immoral? You are already very good. If you don't believe me, I will take you to the street to ask tomorrow." She pulled Wen Tingluan's sleeve, looking like she couldn't wait to set off immediately.
Wen Tingluan said softly, "Xiaoxi is the real deal." He held her hand, and his warm palm with thin calluses firmly covered Tian Nongxi's half-curled fingers.
The two of them held hands and smiled at each other.
Behind him, Tian Guangzong's voice came closer: "Little sister, there are too many junk piled up in Daddy and Mommy's room. We can't sleep tonight."
Wen Tingluan looked at Tian Nongxi with a wronged look in his eyes, "Then I can only..."
Tian Guangzong clenched his fist and said, "Your Highness, please sleep in my room." He said selflessly, "I will sleep there for one night."
【Author’s words】
[Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes][shy][shy][shy]
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