Chapter Seventy-Eight: Rain Falls from the Locust Tree, Filling the Courtyard with Fragrance
"Throughout history, imperial power has risen and fallen in succession, just as it has in times of chaos when heroes vied for supremacy. Who can judge what is right and wrong? It all comes down to who brings peace to the land and who has the right to write history. Some people, with patriotic aspirations, are tragically framed by villains, while others, with their eyes set on power and wealth, seize the opportunity presented by villains to ascend the throne and establish their empire. Who can judge the right and wrong, the merits and demerits of these individuals?"
The melodious sound of the zither flowed into Yang Xiao's heart like a stream, nourishing her soul along with the first hints of spring blossoms outside the door.
"It seems that who is on the right path will ultimately be determined by who can walk this path to the end." Yang Xiao looked up at Qi Kun, her eyes sparkling with her usual joy and delight.
Qi Kun couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Have you figured it out?"
"I've figured it out." Yang Xiao nodded with a smile, taking a deep breath of the courtyard air. "That's why I say you're my master."
"Back then, Qi Lu disagreed with me on this very point, and went off to find his 'patron'." Qi Kun shook his head helplessly, but the music he played was still as warm and comforting as the spring sunshine.
Yang Xiao chuckled softly, looking down at Qi Kun's hand movements, "If you ask me, I can understand him."
“Given his stubbornness, I wouldn’t be surprised if he went after Xiao Yan,” he said, turning back to smile at Yang Xiao. “If that’s the case, I’d like to see whose strategist is better.”
Yang Xiao also glanced at Qi Kun, "It's not even close to being settled yet, and you're already competing with your martial uncle again." She looked up at the increasingly clear full moon outside the window and couldn't help but sigh, "It's my fault today, I didn't even get to see the lord, and you had to make a special trip here."
"If I hadn't come, I'm afraid the lord would have kicked me here," Qi Kun chuckled and shook his head. "But, smell this."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao tilted her head and looked at Qi Kun, puzzled. "Smell what?"
“You smell so good,” Qi Kun said, looking down at the strings he was playing. “Besides the scent of tea, isn’t there also a hint of locust blossoms in the air?”
"Really?" Yang Xiao suddenly became interested and sniffed hard. "The locust flowers are blooming, but I didn't even notice."
"You didn't notice," Qi Kun teased with a smile, "you can't even smell the aroma of Mu Fei's food anymore, let alone the fragrance of flowers."
Yang Xiao seemed to suddenly remember something, and sat up, looking at Qi Kun expectantly, "Now that you mention it, does that mean, my lord..."
"Yes," Qi Kun nodded with a smile, "After listening to this piece, go back and get some rest, so you don't miss your appointment with the lord tomorrow."
Yang Xiao sat by the window with a smile. The sweet fragrance of locust blossoms and the gentle sound of the zither lingered in her heart, as if turning into a wisp of mist, floating on the moon, unable to dissipate for a long time.
A gentleman's word is as good as his bond.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhong Li'an appeared under the tree as promised, looking up at the clusters of locust blossoms on the tree with a worried expression.
Clusters of pure white, fragrant locust blossoms hang from the trees. As the spring breeze blows, the stacked flowers sway gently like jade pendants, releasing a sweet fragrance.
The warm sun shone down, casting its light on Zhong Li'an's white robe, which fluttered in the wind beneath the tree. He looked up at the tree full of locust blossoms, sighed with a smile, and then turned back to look at the crowd of people eagerly waiting behind him.
"My lord," Bai Ming looked up at the towering locust tree, then down at Zhong Li'an, "this tree is too tall, are you sure you want to climb it?"
Zhong Li'an smiled and leaned against the tree trunk, tilting his head at Bai Ming. "Once a promise is made, there's no going back on it." He smiled and looked at Yang Xiao. "Consider this a celebration of your great victory in the first battle, and I'll indulge myself a bit."
“Great!” Before Yang Xiao could speak, Zhong Lishuo replied with a smile, “Everyone has been waiting for you to climb the tree for two whole years.” He nodded towards Yang Xiao, “Lingyu, isn’t that right?”
Yang Xiao's reddened eyes were full of laughter. She crossed her arms with a playful laugh, "Still joking around? Your lord wants to climb a tree, aren't you going to help him?"
“Oh, that’s for sure,” Zhong Lishuo waved his hand, then looked up and smiled at Zhong Li’an. “Go ahead and go ahead, we’ll catch you down here.”
Zhong Li'an glanced back at Zhong Li Shuo with a smile, "You look down on me so much?" Before he finished speaking, Zhong Li'an raised his hand and grabbed the tree branch above his head, and began to climb up.
Seeing this, Qi Kun couldn't help but step forward, saying, "My lord, please be careful."
Zhong Li'an braced his hands on the tree branch, then pushed off with his feet, turning around and sitting steadily between the branches.
He turned and smiled at the crowd below the tree. The locust blossoms fell one after another as he had just made his move, swaying down his clothes as they moved in the wind.
In that instant, Zhong Li'an's white robes blended seamlessly with the profusion of blossoms on the tree, as if the god of locust blossoms had transformed into a refined gentleman, sitting freely on the treetop, unrestrained and carefree, yet still elegant.
The locust blossoms fell like a spring drizzle. Bai Ming glanced back at Yang Xiao's hair and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Yang Xiao noticed Bai Ming's gaze, turned around and tilted her head towards him.
"Don't move yet." Bai Ming held her shoulders, chuckling softly, as if afraid of disturbing a butterfly, and gently stroked Yang Xiao's hair.
A locust flower drifted down Yang Xiao's hair and landed on Bai Ming's fingertips. The sweet scent brushed past her ear and moved to her eyes with Bai Ming's movement.
"Were you alright last night..." Bai Ming looked at Yang Xiao's slightly reddened eyes with concern.
Yang Xiao chuckled softly, raising her hand to pluck the flower petal from Bai Ming's hand. "Don't worry, I'm fine," she said, touching Bai Ming's face. "I'm just feeling a little sentimental, sorry to have worried you."
Bai Ming lowered his eyes, took her hand, and sighed softly, "Actually, if you're in a bad mood, you can tell me. Don't worry about saving face."
Looking at his sincere eyes, Yang Xiao smiled and nodded earnestly, "Okay, I promise, from now on I will completely open my heart to you and will never hold back in the slightest."
Upon hearing this, Bai Ming seemed to have thought of something. He leaned close to Yang Xiao's ear, nodded, and smiled, "Then what was the method you used to subdue Cheng Feng earlier..."
"Hey, hey, hey," Yang Xiao quickly interrupted him with a smile, "You've already guessed it, so there's no point in saying anything more." After she finished speaking, she looked up at the tree and saw that Zhong Li'an seemed to have blended into the locust blossoms all over the tree, leaning on the branch and reaching out to hold the flower buds at the tips of the branches.
Zhong Li'an seemed to notice the gazes below the tree. He held the bunch of locust flowers, looked down at Yang Xiao, and smiled, "Here you go."
The next second, the cluster of locust blossoms was tossed down along with the falling petals from the tree. Yang Xiao caught it with her hand, and the cluster of locust blossoms landed steadily in her palm.
Yang Xiao raised her eyes and smiled, "My lord, you are quite skilled."
Before she could finish speaking, Cen Xun walked over carrying a small basket. She chuckled and put her arm around Yang Xiao's shoulder, "You probably don't know what it means to be graceful as a startled swan and as swift as a swimming dragon, do you?"
“How could I not know?” Yang Xiao smiled and leaned against Cen Xun. “My lord’s name also contains the character ‘鸿’ (hong).
Amidst laughter and chatter, Cen Xun smiled and pulled Yang Xiao close, whispering, "Tell me the truth, what were you and Yu De doing behind my back when we went to Nanyang?"
Yang Xiao couldn't help but shrink back, "I didn't..."
"And you still dare to talk," Cen Xun poked Yang Xiao's nose, "When I asked you yesterday, even Zhao Qing kept it from me, and you still say you didn't know?"
Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, Yang Xiao could only wave her hand and smile as she compromised, "Don't be impatient, don't be impatient. That's a surprise that Yude prepared for you. What would happen if we told him beforehand?"
She chuckled and pinched Cen Xun's shoulder, pulling her towards the locust tree. "Anyway, Qixi Festival is just a few months away, so you can just wait."
Cen Xun smiled and glanced at Yang Xiao's lifelike eyes, then turned his head to look at the locust tree beside him with relief.
Everyone started laughing again without anyone noticing. Qi Kun raised his hand and pointed at Zhongli Shuo beside him, saying, "Yu De, you too. Before we went to Nanyang, you said that our lord was not skilled in martial arts."
"I was just saying that, how could I not know anything at all?" Zhong Lishuo also crossed his arms and smiled at Qi Kun. "A long time ago, it was my elder brother who taught me martial arts. However, he was busy with official duties and had no time to practice martial arts, so he entrusted me with the important task of fighting on the front lines."
"And you're still talking," a gentle voice came from the tree, "when we were kids you used to climb the tree every day to get locust blossoms, how come I'm the one climbing up now?"
More than ten years ago, whenever the locust flowers bloomed, Zhong Lishuo would scramble up the tree like a little monkey, pick handfuls of locust flowers, and throw them into Zhong Li'an's basket.
Zhong Lishuo smiled and tossed his head toward the locust tree. "Before, I would pick the flowers and you would gather them. Now that we've reversed roles, isn't that more interesting?"
Childhood scenes unconsciously flashed into Zhong Li'an's mind. Back then, he would stand under a tree with a basket, telling Zhong Lishuo to slow down while catching the locust blossoms that Zhong Lishuo threw down.
Now, the elegant young man on the ground has climbed up the tree, and the clever little monkey in the tree has transformed into a majestic young general, standing on the ground with an air of unrestrained grandeur.
Thinking of this, Zhong Li'an couldn't help but smile with emotion. Leaning against the tree, he looked down at the people below with a smile in his eyes, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.
"Brother, why aren't you moving?" Zhongli Shuo looked up at Zhongli An with a smile from under the tree. "Our lunch depends on you."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li'an couldn't help but laugh, "What, you think you can get full just by chewing on locust flowers?"
"Locust flower braised noodles, locust flower steamed rice, locust flower pancakes, locust flower porridge..." Yang Xiao counted on her fingers, looking up at Zhong Li'an with a hopeful smile, "My lord, I can't wait!"
Qi Kun smiled and pointed at Yang Xiao, "Look at you, you've already decided how to eat the locust flowers while they're still on the tree?"
"Alright," a gentle laugh came from the tree again. Everyone looked up and saw Zhong Li'an had changed his posture, leaning against the tree trunk. "Today I'll indulge you all this time. Here, catch!"
As the voice faded, the locust tree branches trembled slightly in the wind, and large clusters of locust blossoms fell like goose feathers in a snowstorm, landing on people's heads and shoulders.
The crowd under the tree burst into laughter. Yang Xiao caught the large bunches of locust blossoms and placed them in the bamboo basket carried by Cen Xun. Zhong Lishuo and Bai Ming, dressed in their battle robes, looked at the locust blossoms that they could no longer put down and were at a loss. But when they turned around, they saw Qi Kun, dressed in a wide robe, standing with his hands behind his back, enjoying the sight of the falling blossoms.
“Strategist,” Zhongli Shuo said with a sudden inspiration, gently brushing his arm aside, “I’m sorry.”
"Huh?" Before Qi Kun could react, Zhong Lishuo grabbed his sleeve and poured all the locust flowers in his hand into it.
Bai Ming thought Zhong Lishuo had come up with a good idea and ran over excitedly, only to see a shocked Qi Kun and Zhong Lishuo pouring locust flowers into his sleeve.
"No, Yude, you..." Bai Ming stood there, stunned, looking at the two people in front of him, and then at the locust flowers in his arms.
The next moment, Qi Kun stretched out his other sleeve in front of Bai Ming. He gave a bitter smile as if he had resigned himself to his fate, "Come on, drink up, I'm at their mercy now."
"Well..." Bai Ming smiled and gently tugged at Qi Kun's sleeve, "I'm sorry, strategist."
Qi Kun smiled and opened his arms, letting the two of them pour locust blossoms into his sleeves from either side. He pointed at the two of them lightly with his fingers, "This is a one-time thing, don't do it again."
“Alright,” Zhongli Shuo replied readily as he chugged his drink, “Thank you, strategist.”
Seeing that a large patch of the tree canopy was already bare, Zhong Li'an looked up at the sunlight filtering through the trees, wiped the sweat from his brow, and smiled at the people below. "How is it? Is it enough?"
Yang Xiao stuffed the last handful of locust blossoms into Cen Xun's already full basket, looked up and smiled at Zhong Li'an, waving, "That's more than enough, my lord, come down and rest."
Zhong Li'an looked at the scattered flowers on the ground and the busy Bai Ming and Zhong Li Shuo, smiled and nodded, then leaned on a tree trunk and lightly jumped down in front of everyone.
"Hey, my lord, slow down." Seeing Zhongli An jump down, Cen Xun was startled and hurriedly went forward to help him up, but Zhongli An smiled and waved his hand, "Don't underestimate me."
As he spoke, he turned his head and saw Bai Ming and Zhong Lishuo huddled together to the side, and couldn't help but frown slightly, "What are they doing huddled together? Where's Gu Fan?"
As he spoke, he took a step forward and bumped into Zhong Lishuo, who was returning home.
"Hey, brother? Why did you come down?"
Zhong Li'an chuckled and put his arm around Zhong Li's shoulder. "What are you two doing all together? Where did you put your strategist?"
“Well…” Zhongli Shuo leaned behind Zhongli An, chuckled, and looked ahead, “The strategist is right there.”
"My lord," Qi Kun looked up at Zhong Li'an with a hint of sorrow, "save me."
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