Chapter 105 On the Self-cultivation of Green Tea

Nian Xi knelt on the cushion and prayed devoutly to the Buddha.

Pray for those who are far away from home to be well and healthy.

Many times, Nianxi felt that she was frighteningly calm. Maybe it was because she had been with someone for a long time that even their personalities became similar.

Nian Xi used to blind herself and only be nice to one person, but now, she also weighs the pros and cons in love.

After she resigned and left, she didn't want people around her to worry about it.

It is indeed sad and regrettable, but life goes on and time will eventually bring these emotions to a state of calm.

Experience has taught her to face it calmly. The only constant in life is change itself.

Whether it rains or it’s sunny, it’s all arranged.

Accepting things with an open mind and living with self-pity are both choices.

Nian Xi thinks better than anyone else.

But no matter what, he was a living person who carried her lingering emotions and she couldn't just give him up.

So Nian Xi buried this feeling deep in her heart and only prayed to the gods and Buddhas to protect him.

Nian Xi was praying intently on the mat, but she didn't know there was another person. The longer she knelt, the longer he looked at her.

Zhou Yanli has always known that his sister Nianxi is always loyal to whoever she likes and treats well.

I don't care about other people's feelings at all.

That's good.

The man is gone. He missed a relationship but not his whole life.

Nian Xi stood up from the mat. Her knees became weak from kneeling for too long and she felt dizzy for a moment.

Zhou Yanli reached out his hand to help her, but then he thought of something and retracted his hand.

He walked up to her and stopped.

As long as she wanted, she could touch him with just a raise of her hand; as long as she wanted, he could always be her support.

After the initial shock, Nian Xi recovered and returned to normal.

Smiling, she said to him, "Have you been waiting for a long time? The plum blossoms on the back hill are in full bloom. You can go and enjoy them first."

Zhou Yanli was in no hurry to leave. He waited until she was fully recovered before walking out of the palace with her. "What's the fun of being alone? It's better for my sister to be with me."

Then he pretended to ask casually, "Sister, did you just ask for a husband for yourself? Why did you ask for so long? If I had known earlier, I would have asked you to ask for me as well."

As the carriage traveled along the way, Nian Xi gradually became familiar with him. Zhou Yanli was still the well-behaved, sensible and coquettish younger brother, no longer the young and powerful official with a casual demeanor in her memories.

"I'm not praying for a marriage, I'm praying for a...good friend who has gone far away. I'm praying to the Buddha to protect him and keep him safe."

"I don't want to be too far away from my sister."

Zhou Yanli turned his head and moved slightly closer. His clear eyes were just like the boy behind the rockery that year, softer and clearer, but always touching. "When I take the exam, you can also pray for me."

Nian Xi agreed with a smile.

Zhou Yanli smiled happily, and the tiny teardrop mole at the end of his eye became more radiant. He said:

"I can't bear to see my sister kneel for so long for me. As long as my sister has me in her heart and is willing to come and beg for me, that's good enough."

…

The two of them admired the red plum blossoms in the back hills for a while. The weather was so cold that Nianxi's hands and feet were frozen and even her nose was red.

Zhou Yanli refused to stay any longer, so the two of them ate a vegetarian meal, bought some sugar snowballs, and then went back in a carriage.

I don’t know why, but Nianxi is particularly afraid of the cold this year. Even though she is wrapped tightly in three layers of clothes inside and outside, her lips are still frozen white.

Zhou Yanli replaced the charcoal in the hand stove, asked her to hold it in her arms, and poured her a cup of hot tea. He looked very guilty and said, "It's all my fault. I insisted on going out to play, and made my sister suffer with me."

It was warm in the car, and Nianxi was feeling much better now. "It's none of your business, it's just that I'm particularly afraid of the cold this year."

Zhou Yanli followed suit and said, "It's better to go to a warm place with my sister in the future. I heard that watching a variety show is popular nowadays. I haven't watched a variety show in the capital yet. Can you accompany me, sister?"

Nianxi didn't really want to go.

But before she could say no, she heard him whisper, "I don't have any friends in Beijing... Will this bother my sister?"

When in Jinling, because Zhou's mother passed away early, there were always some annoying children bullying Zhou Yanli and scolding him for having no mother to raise him. Nianxi always played with him and never let him be alone.

Hearing him say this, she recalled the past and said with a smile, "I have never heard of Baixi either. Let's go together when my brother is on leave."

Zhou Yanli was stunned for a moment, then recovered and responded with a smile.

The carriage was moving slowly. Nian Xi was intoxicated by the warm air in the carriage and felt drowsy. In a half-awake state, the carriage suddenly stopped and a familiar cold voice came, calling:

"Nian Xi."

Nian Xi opened the curtain and saw Pei Jian standing in front of the carriage.

A hint of a smile appeared on his calm and reserved face, his expression was gentle, even cautious, "I heard from Jinghe that you went to Xiangguo Temple today, and I have business in the east of the city. What a coincidence."

Pei Jian spent the rest of the day staring at the carriages passing by.

This morning I heard from Qin Lang that Nian Xi and some neighbor's brother went to Xiangguo Temple. At that time, he was busy with official business and couldn't leave. He had no choice but to finish the important things at hand first and then rushed over.

After his rebirth, he still has aspirations and ambitions for a career in politics, because he has stood on the top of the mountain and overlooked the world. Even though his ambition for power is not as strong as before, he still yearns to return to the top.

If for no other reason, among Nian Xi's many admirers, he had nothing worth boasting about. Even though Nian Xi did not value power, in the eyes of the world, this at least represented his success.

Only a successful man is qualified to be happy.

Today, although he already knows the reason why Nian Xi didn't want him in her previous life, it doesn't mean that he will give up the pursuit of power. This is the premise for him to bring her happiness and it is also his means to protect her.

Therefore, Pei Jian felt a stronger sense of urgency than in his previous life. He was eager to complete his career advancement as soon as possible so that he would have more time to avoid and correct the mistakes of his previous life.

But Qin Lang's news came as a bolt from the blue.

Pei Jian no longer dared to have any complacent mentality.

Nian Xi developed a liking for Gu Ci, in large part because of his carelessness.

At that time he could still comfort himself that Gu Ci might go far to the North and nothing would happen to them.

But Zhou Yanli is different.

This guy lived in Beijing in his previous life, and it is very likely that he had been secretly coveting his wife. Not only that, Zhou Yanli was still alive when he died!

If Nian Xi fell in love with this person, he really wouldn't know what to do.

How could he get any information and calculate when Zhou Yanli would die?

At this moment, the stability and composure that belong to a middle-aged man were completely thrown out of his mind. He didn't even care about his face. Afraid of missing it, he waited foolishly at the city gate, staring at the passing carriages, trying to see which one was carrying his Nianxi.

Then, under Nianxi's see-through gaze, he calmly said, "What a coincidence."

Pei Jian stared at Nian Xi's face, which was flushed. She must have taken a nap. She had just opened the curtain and her eyes were still a little sleepy.

She always had this habit of falling asleep whenever the carriage rocked, and it was the same in both her past and present lives.

"I'm fine." Pei Jian looked at Nian Xi intently.

Not even a hint of attention was paid to the gloomy and cold gaze directed at him from behind Nian Xi.

"Just saw you and came to say hello."

Anyway, he had no face in front of Nian Xi, so he might as well just play tricks to the end.

No one would ever find out. Nian Xi was sitting in the carriage, so how could he see through the thick curtains and see who was inside the carriage.

"It's going to snow soon and it's cold. Are you going back?"

"Yes."

"Well, I also have to wait for the carriage to pick me up." Pei Jian finally felt a little ashamed when he said this.

However, he had been frozen outside for too long, and his cold white face had long lost all feeling. He smiled what he thought was a very gentle smile:

"You should leave quickly, it's getting dark."

Nianxi: ...

It was getting dark outside and it was freezing cold.

Nian Xi didn't know how long Pei Jian had been waiting here, but she knew clearly that he was using a torture trick.

He was no longer proud and arrogant, and he was no longer trying to pull her out of the car. Instead, he stood outside the car pitifully, pretending to be magnanimous and asking her to leave, but his eyes were filled with desire that could not be ignored.

"...How about giving you a ride?"

"good!"