The Prime Minister's Residence, Begonia Courtyard.
Prime Minister Liang Shen had few children, only two sons and one daughter. His mansion was almost identical in layout to the Grand Commandant's mansion, occupying a vast area. Therefore, since Liang Yihan left when he was young, the Begonia Courtyard had been vacant. Except for the specific cleaning time each day, few people came in, making it very quiet.
One afternoon, the warm sunlight shone into the crabapple courtyard, filtering through the sparse branches and leaves of the crabapple tree and illuminating a wicker chair beneath it. The chair looked old and worn, as if it had been there for a long time, but thankfully it was regularly wiped and repaired, and could still be sat on.
Just then, a ray of light streaked across the clear sky, flashing briefly before stopping on the wicker chair under the tree, revealing the shape of a tabby cat.
The rattan chair swayed slightly but quickly regained its balance. The tabby cat silently looked around, then looked up at the crabapple tree above and stared blankly into space.
When the crabapple blossoms bloom next April, it will be the most beautiful time of year in this courtyard. The whole courtyard will be filled with the fragrance of crabapple blossoms, and the petals will fall like a pink rain of flowers.
As the cat gazed at the scene, a hint of nostalgia appeared in its amber eyes.
Suddenly, familiar footsteps came from outside the courtyard, slowly approaching.
The tabby cat shuddered, turned its head warily for a moment, then leaped onto the roof, curled up, and hid among the branches and leaves of the crabapple tree.
The half-open courtyard gate was pushed open, and Liang Yihan, dressed in a blue brocade robe, walked in slowly.
He stood in the courtyard, looked around, his expression gentle, and chuckled softly, "Times have passed, but this place hasn't changed at all."
He slowly walked to the wicker chair under the crabapple tree, sat down, closed his eyes, and quietly enjoyed the gentle caress of the sunlight.
Just then, footsteps approached from afar. Liang Yihan's eyebrows twitched, and he opened his eyes to look towards the doorway.
A moment later, a man dressed as a steward entered the courtyard and immediately saw Liang Yihan. He hurried to Liang Yihan's rattan chair, bowed, and whispered, "Young Master, His Highness the Jade Prince has sent me to inform you that Eunuch Xue, the Emperor's most trusted advisor, has received our generous gifts and promised to speak well of His Highness to the Emperor. Furthermore, we have also sent gifts to Lord Zhang. Although Lord Zhang's attitude was ambiguous, he has accepted the gifts."
The warm sun shone on Liang Yihan's face, making it hard for him to open his eyes. His eyelids drooped down until only a slit remained, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips. His voice was languid as he said, "That old codger Zhang Chao is the most greedy. He'll naturally accept the gift. Fine, before the moon-viewing banquet, I'll send another generous gift to Eunuch Xue and Zhang Chao respectively. I don't ask for their kind words, I just hope they won't speak ill of Haozi... By the way, Yu Jing, what about the ten beauties I selected?"
Yu Jing lowered his head and replied respectfully, "We have hired a special musician in the Jade King's mansion to train us day and night, and we dare not be negligent in the slightest."
"That's good..." Liang Yihan's voice grew increasingly languid, and his eyes gradually closed completely.
Seeing this, Yu Jing tactfully said, "Then this servant will take his leave."
Liang Yihan didn't even open his eyes, and replied in a very low, indistinct voice, "Okay."
Yu Jing slowed his pace, turned around, and left.
The courtyard returned to its former tranquility. Under the warm and intoxicating sunlight, Liang Yihan recalled the past. Memories drifted back and forth in the distant past. Before long, a gentle smile appeared on his lips, and he slowly drifted into a deep sleep.
The tabby cat on the eaves peeked out and looked at him with lingering affection.
After staring at it for a while, the tabby cat nimbly leaped into the sky and flew away into the distance, disappearing from sight in no time.
The sun gradually set in the west, and time passed quickly; it was already dusk.
Liang Yihan's eyelids twitched, and her eyes slowly opened. What came into view was the familiar courtyard and crabapple tree.
He slept for a long and deep time. When he first woke up, Liang Yihan's eyes were full of confusion. His hand subconsciously moved to his stomach, but he did not touch the warmest and softest little kitten in his memory. It was also very quiet around him, without any purring.
Liang Yihan's eyelashes trembled, her thoughts slowly drifting back, a trace of sadness appearing in her eyes.
He stretched out his hand, and a blue light floated on it, slowly gathering in the air to form a faintly visible kitten. The kitten was formed from blue spiritual energy, and although it exuded a powerful aura, it was devoid of any life.
Liang Yihan's voice was a little hoarse from just waking up. He murmured, "Ahua, do you know, life on the mountain is all about meditation and cultivation every day, it's so boring. Later, I accidentally learned a technique that allows you to use your spiritual power to gradually weave an animal's spirit, and then infuse the spirit into the animal to awaken its intelligence and make it a guardian beast of the Taoist mountain... Uncle Ying said this technique is very difficult to master, and there are very few spirit beasts worth the effort to weave a spirit into now. As for ordinary animals, even if you weave a spirit into them, it's useless, it's not worth it... But later I still mastered this technique. I wove the spirit into the animal year after year, and I wove it better and better. I looked forward to the day I could go down the mountain and infuse this spirit into you, so that you could stay by my side, talk to me, and be with me forever... But... but you didn't wait for me... Ahua..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
