Looking at Xu Jiang in front of her, Xizhi couldn't help but imagine what she must have looked like when she was little. Then she touched the painting and sighed, "He actually kept it all this time. I thought he had thrown it away long ago."
"How could I bear to throw it away? It's such a treasure," Xu Jiang thought nostalgically. "As long as I can remember, this painting has always been by my master's side. He would often drink, recite poetry, and write in front of it. At the time, I thought he was just being overly narcissistic. But after I defaced it, I realized it was a gift from someone important, which is why he was so angry with me."
There is no need to declare who this important person is.
He didn't blame her.
Xu Jiang wiped away the tears that had unconsciously flowed from her eyes and continued, "After that incident, he knew he didn't have much time left, so he sealed the painting along with his books and asked me to take it away, telling me to keep it safe. I have carried it with me ever since. It was also because of this painting that I knew you were my mother."
Looking back now, the master already knew her identity at that time. He must have been reluctant to let her suffer alone, and was afraid that she would learn the truth one day, or that the truth would come too late. That is why he left this painting to accompany her, so that she would know that she was not a rootless person.
Xizhi touched the signature she left on the painting, but the ink was so faint that it was no longer visible.
This is because someone often touches it.
Xizhi suffered three great pains in her life: the pain of not being able to be with the person she loved, the pain of being separated from her mother, and the pain of her beloved's tragic death. These three pains tormented her to the point of madness. Although she is now sober, when she looks back on everything that happened, her heart still feels like a hole, empty and painful.
Her tears fell like the endless autumn rain outside the window. Xu Jiang wiped them away and comforted her, saying, "Now that Master knows my life story, he understands Mother's hardship and her helplessness. He must be very grateful to Mother for bringing me into this world, to be with him, and to be in his care."
These days, Xu Jiang never hesitated to talk to her about Xu Yuan. She pieced together the years that they had missed, bit by bit, and let Xizhi explore, face, accept and say goodbye.
Acceptance and farewell are always difficult, but they have each other to rely on and support, and they will get through it one day. Moreover, Xizhi still has Master Wan and Wan Qingmiao.
Xu Jiang leaned on her shoulder and reached out to draw the face of the person in the painting.
This world has not been kind to the master. He lost his parents when he was young, lost his future when he was a young man, lost his beloved, was bullied by his clan members, was crushed by the powerful, and finally lost his legs and his life.
He may have felt resentment, but he finally let it go after understanding Xizhi's almost heroic feelings.
There are still people in this world who love him.
He disregards the world and everything, but in the end he succumbs to love. How respectable, yet pitiful and sad.
Many people never get this kind of feeling in their entire lives, but he was lucky enough to have it. In this way, his life was not in vain.
"You untied his knot, made up for his regrets, and allowed him to return safely, so there's no need to blame yourself anymore." If Master knew his mother had been self-destructive and hurt for so many years because of his departure, she would be heartbroken. "He wanted you to live a good life, just like you wanted me to have a good life with him back then."
Xizhi looked at her, then at the leisurely and contented person in the painting, recalling the little things she had said these days, and the emptiness in her heart was gradually filled.
Xu Jiang wiped his eyes, took the painting from her hand, and smiled at her again, "I want to show Mother something."
Xizhi scratched her red eyes, feeling distressed and blaming herself for being useless.
She had the Wan family's protection over the years, shielding her from all odds. But her daughter hadn't had her mother's companionship and care since she was born, and she didn't even know it was her father who raised her. Growing up with Xu Yuan, and with the Xu family's thugs and wolves around, how could she avoid the gossip, neglect, and ostracism?
After Xu Yuan left, she lost her protection. At such a young age, she had to bear the agonizing pain of losing her family and wander around in a foreign land. To grow up to be what he is now, sitting here in front of her, she didn't know how much suffering he had endured, how much hardship he had endured, and how he had managed to survive.
Now that I have finally found my biological mother, instead of receiving any comfort and care, I have to worry and feel sad because of her. If she remains depressed, how can she be a worthy mother?
Xizhi suppressed her sorrow, wiped away her tears, and followed Xu Jiang's words and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xu Jiang helped her up, led her to the bookcase, then picked up a book and handed it to her.
"Tracing the Origins of Cultural Heritage." Xizhi touched the familiar font and flipped open the title page. The first thing she saw was a small portrait of Xu Yuan. She was a little surprised, "Isn't this..."
Isn’t this the portrait she drew for Xu Yuan?
Xu Jiang said proudly, "Is my imitation good enough?"
"Same." Xizhi suppressed her bitterness and said with a smile, "It's exactly the same."
Xu Jiang gestured for her to turn the pages again and read the preface first. It explained Xu Yuan's ambition in writing the book. After reading it, she said, "When he was young, he was determined to compile all the articles in the world, to trace the literary traditions of ancient and modern times, and to write a book that would connect them all. He said that by reading his book, people would be able to understand the categories, spirit, and writing methods of ancient and modern articles."
"At first I refuted him, saying that there are countless articles in the world and it is impossible to understand them all in one book. Who would have thought that he would actually succeed in writing it." Thinking back to her youth, she couldn't help but smile.
Xu Jiang said, "Then take a look at his writing."
Liu Mei also secretly suppressed her sadness and said angrily, "You're not tired of standing and watching. Come and sit. Let's watch while we have tea."
"Okay." Xu Jiang pulled Xizhi to sit down.
Xizhi picked up the book and was fascinated as soon as she saw it.
Liu Mei added more tea for the two of them and laid out some cakes. Xizhi was reading a book, and Xu Jiang fed her a sip of tea and a bite of cake. Of course, she also ate a lot herself.
Wan Qingmiao smelled the fragrance of tea before he even entered the hall. He quickly handed the umbrella to the servant and strode in. "Great! You made tea without even calling me."
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