His legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and he was unable to move for a long time.
Gu Xiaoran stopped in front of the two pine trees.
Then, he squatted down and, as usual, pulled up some weeds around the grave.
Zhu Juan and Gu Xiaoran pulled weeds together around the grave.
She glanced back at He Lin's sorrowful expression; such a scene inevitably evoked deep sadness in one's heart.
Zhu Juan immediately realized that He Lin and the person in the tomb were old acquaintances, perhaps even confidantes.
Gu Xiaoran knelt before the tomb and kowtowed three times.
"Goddess Nuwa, Xiao Ran has come to see you again. However, this time, Xiao Ran has brought someone with her. I hope Goddess Nuwa will not be offended."
He Lin walked slowly, step by step, to the grave. His silent grief was heart-wrenching.
"Shu'er, is that you?"
Zhu Juan silently stepped aside, becoming invisible.
"Uncle, why are you crying?"
Seeing the housewife cry yesterday, and then seeing Uncle He Lin cry today, Gu Xiaoran's previously cheerful mood turned inexplicably sad.
"It was sand in their eyes." He Lin squatted down, cleaned the somewhat dirty food off the stones in front of the grave, and then placed a plate of red bean cakes on top.
When Shu'er was alive, her favorite food was red beans.
'I wish you would gather more of this, for it is the symbol of longing.'
He Lin was lost in fond memories.
"Uncle is lying. There's no sand here, and no wind either." Gu Xiaoran suddenly remembered something and said again:
"Uncle, you said earlier that you have a portrait of Aunt Shuer. Can I see it?"
Gu Xiaoran stretched out her chubby little hand to He Lin.
He Lin slowly took out an exquisite wooden box from his pocket. The box was long and narrow.
Upon opening, a small scroll appeared inside the wooden box.
He Lin carefully picked up the scroll, and then slowly unfurled it.
Inside the painting, the woman, though still somewhat childish, exudes youthful vigor and high spirits.
She wore two golden hairpins, and lightly applied makeup.
She wore a bright green inner shirt, over which was a chainmail armor.
Her delicate eyebrows were like autumn water, and her jade-like skin seemed to be carried by a gentle breeze.
Her beauty was aloof and ethereal, captivating all who beheld her.
Gu Xiaoran took a close look and felt a deep sense of familiarity.
"Aunt Shu'er looks so familiar, I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."
He Lin put the scroll back into the box and tucked it into his bosom.
"You've seen her, you just forgot."
"No." Gu Xiaoran shook his head firmly. He was sure that ever since he came to Lingnan Village with his father, he had never seen Aunt Shuer.
He Lin squatted down, leaned against the grave mound, then picked up a stone, hugged it tightly to his chest, and held it close.
It was as if he mistook that stone for Shu'er.
His tears were no longer under control.
"Shu'er..."
"Shu'er?" He Lin's sorrowful cry made Gu Xiaoran frown slightly.
Is this strange uncle losing his mind again?
"Uncle He Lin, this is the tomb of the Goddess Nuwa."
Suddenly, he remembered what He Lin had said earlier, and his gaze fell intently on the stone in He Lin's arms.
“This stone is very ordinary; it’s obviously not the one you’re talking about.”
He Lin took out a piece of emerald green jade from his person.
"Look, isn't this it?"
His mind drifted back to memories.
____
"Here you go!"
*Thud*... Shu'er smashed the pendant he had given her and stormed off in a huff...
The gold rim of the pendant broke in two, and the gold chain also snapped.
He watched her departing figure, sighed, then bent down and picked up the odds and ends.
Fortunately, the jade stone in the middle was intact.
____
Gu Xiaoran glanced at the oval-shaped emerald green jade stone in He Lin's palm.
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