Chapter 336 Heart Knot
Song Chunxue looked at the Taoist priest, her brows furrowing slightly.
She simply couldn't understand how her senior brother, who was always composed, mature, untainted by worldly affairs, and devoted to the Dao, could trick her into helping someone fend off unwanted suitors.
Is he afraid that if this relationship drags on for too long, she really won't be able to let go?
He genuinely felt that if he found her a lover, he could continue traveling the world in peace.
To be honest, after seeing her senior brother so often over the past two years, she has come to regard him as family.
He suddenly decided to leave, and I was quite reluctant to see him go.
Since that's the case, she won't ask anymore.
Thinking of this, her heart sank.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death; gathering and parting.
Heaven gave her a second chance, and her past memories followed her closely.
These past few years have been so smooth and comfortable that she almost forgot she would have to go through all sorts of things in the future.
Having experienced separation from her child once, she was no longer so afraid.
But now she has made new friends, things that were once something she could only dream of.
"Junior brother, what's wrong?"
The Taoist priest felt a little uneasy under her gaze. "Why are you suddenly staring at me like that? It's creepy. What did Xie Zheng say to you?"
"What? Did he reject your advances and never want to be with you? Was he just using you?"
"He used to be..."
Song Chunxue quickly covered his mouth with his whisk and said in a low voice, "What nonsense are you talking about? Listen to what you're saying, where is your sense of shame?"
The Taoist priest pushed aside his whisk, raised an eyebrow, and said dismissively, "Why should I be ashamed? Humans have seven emotions and six desires. As long as it's not in public..."
"My goodness, senior brother, let's keep our voices down."
Song Chunxue lowered her voice and stamped her foot, "Not everyone has your level of awareness. Your public pronouncements will make people misunderstand."
"Come on, let's go inside and talk."
She pushed open the door. "Are the children asleep? Have you agreed on a departure time?"
"Mother." Jiang Hongying stood in the courtyard, taking two steps back somewhat shyly. "You're back! How did you feel?"
Song Chunxue's ears twitched. "What do you mean, 'what ...I taught Liu Chunshu how to make noodles with meat sauce,' he ate a bowl of noodles and came back, what else could it be?'"
"Have you packed everything? Oh right, we haven't bought a carriage yet." Saying this, she turned to the Taoist priest, "Senior brother, let's go buy a carriage before it gets dark. It'll be a bit late to load it tomorrow."
The Taoist priest waved his hand. "Don't worry, as you mentioned before, I've already bought them. The horses are tied up in the backyard, as is the carriage. We can assemble them tomorrow morning. You should get some rest."
Song Chunxue nodded, then turned around and saw He Chuan and the children coming out of the kitchen, looking at her with curiosity.
"Why are you all staring at me? Go to bed early so we can get up early tomorrow. We'll set off after breakfast." She walked toward the main house in a huff. "Senior brother, I have something to ask you."
The Taoist priest, who was walking towards the east room, had no choice but to turn around and laugh at the children, "Go to sleep now, did you hear that? Your grandmother is in a bad mood and is going to take it out on me. Go to sleep now."
Song Chunxue had already stepped into the north room, wondering what was wrong with her.
It was just a momentary feeling; I couldn't sleep and wanted to have a few drinks with the Taoist priest.
She leaned out of the doorway, and the children believed her. They swung their little arms and legs quickly and hurried to the backyard.
Jiang Hongying carefully observed her expression.
“I’m not upset, senior brother, don’t talk nonsense. Hongying, don’t scare the child, I have a good temper.”
"Yes, yes, yes, Mother has a good temper." Jiang Hongying nodded vigorously. "Let's go to sleep first."
He Chuan also said, "Mother, you should rest early too. Hongying and I will make breakfast tomorrow."
Before Song Chunxue could reply, they had already disappeared around the corner.
Song Chunxue took a small jar of apricot blossom wine and a jar of pear blossom liquor from under the table.
"This wine is too weak. I have a jar of sorghum wine in my room. Wait a moment." The Taoist priest tucked his whisk into his waistband, turned around, and floated down the steps.
Before long, the Taoist priest returned and poured himself a cup of sorghum wine.
The two of them didn't speak, poured themselves a glass of wine, raised their glasses and nodded, then tilted their heads back and drank it down.
Then, he filled his cup again.
"I'll go to the kitchen and see if we have any more wild onions."
Before long, the Taoist priest brought in a large plate of cold-dressed sand onions.
"Give."
The Taoist priest handed her chopsticks. Although she was burning with curiosity, she refrained from asking any questions.
After downing two glasses of wine, Song Chunxue spoke up, "Is Senior Brother going somewhere else?"
The Taoist priest was taken aback. "Huh? How come I didn't know?"
"Then why are you openly or secretly trying to set me up with someone?"
"I..." The Taoist priest chuckled, "You think I'm leaving so someone else can take care of you?"
"Isn't it because you can't forget Lord Xie, that you keep mentioning him, that you refuse to write letters when asked, and that you always talk about the thirty acres of land he gave you?"
"We practice the Zhengyi sect, which allows marriage. I was afraid you might be embarrassed, but since Lord Xie mentioned you as someone who was hesitant to speak, I thought it wouldn't be inappropriate for me to help you find a happy ending..."
Song Chunxue stared at him expressionlessly.
"So, I misunderstood?"
Song Chunxue took a sip of wine, and the sound of chewing sand onions in her mouth was as crisp as a donkey eating grass.
"That's right, Senior Brother's eyes are too discerning. There might be a little bit of something he doesn't want to point out, some unspoken thoughts, but you, on the other hand, insist on exposing them. Senior Brother really doesn't understand romance!"
"It was something that never happened in the first place, and it just passed by in a blur. It was even quite wonderful when I thought about it occasionally. But now, we can't even be friends anymore."
Song Chunxue poured herself a glass of apricot blossom wine and said with a wry smile, "It used to be bittersweet with an endless aftertaste, but now all that's left is the taste of bitter almonds."
The Taoist priest shook his head slightly, "So, junior brother has truly fallen in love."
"Shh~" She covered her face with her hand and lowered her voice, "At my age, it's embarrassing to be emotional or not."
“Junior brother, you’re quite wicked. You mean you understand Lord Xie’s feelings, but plan to pretend to be confused for the rest of your life?” The Taoist priest hit the nail on the head. “Then you can be considered a heartless woman.”
"I..." Song Chunxue was bewildered. "I'm not well-educated, senior brother, don't try to fool me. You're letting an old woman who's died once bring trouble to a refined and learned minister in the capital, isn't that..."
She pushed aside the apricot blossom wine and poured herself a glass of pear blossom white wine.
The Taoist priest gave a soft snort.
"So, according to you, Lord Xie will have to remain hidden in my junior brother's heart forever, with a thorn forever in his Dao heart? You really have nothing better to do."
"If I hadn't tested him several times, I wouldn't have known that my junior brother was so deeply in love."
"..." Song Chunxue said helplessly, "It's just a fleeting moment. How can you remember it for a lifetime? You'll forget it almost completely in a few years."
"No, no, Lord Xie doesn't think so. Junior brother, tell me the truth, if he were willing to stay in Jincheng for the rest of his life and never return to the capital, would you be willing to share the mundane details of life with him?"
Song Chunxue was stunned. "Doesn't he still have a mother?"
"His mother passed away not long after his daughter got married. He stayed in the capital for several months before returning, have you forgotten?"
"Senior brother, why do you have to ask so clearly? I've already said that I just want to keep things simple for the rest of my life."
"However, you already have a knot in your heart. The problem that has prevented you from making a breakthrough for two years is right here. If you want to reach a higher level, you must break this knot."
She said softly, "So, even a cultivator can't plant a bittersweet fruit in their heart?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
