Chapter 116 This nymph on this shore is a bit stupid... it probably won't survive...
After four or five days of sailing, the journey indeed became increasingly smooth.
Seeing the river overflowing every day and the banks desolate, Changsun Qingjing grew somewhat bored.
She could occasionally see Sui'er wandering around the deck with her father, who was busy writing in his travel log and would occasionally scold his daughter. The girl and her father were distant and not very close. Every time her father yelled, she would dawdle and follow; when he yelled again, she would flee back to the lower cabin like a frightened bird.
Changsun Qingjing guessed that the boatman had just lost his wife and was in a terrible mood, so he was bound to take it out on his daughter. Therefore, he was not surprised by the awkward situation between the father and daughter.
Sui'er would occasionally look up and see Changsun Qingjing, who was wearing a veil and looking at the scenery on the third-floor walkway. She could always recognize him at a glance, and then she would smile and wave to the fairy in her heart. Qingjing would also lift a corner of the veil and wave back to her.
However, Sui'er never came to the top-floor cabin again. Changsun Qingjing felt somewhat regretful that his young child already understood the difference between noble and common.
Li Shimin was relatively free. In his spare time, he would talk with the low-ranking local officials from Luoyang who were traveling with him about what he had seen and heard in the first month of the lunar year. He listened to their complaints about the cruelty of the court's extortion, the farmers' families being destroyed and fleeing, the difficulty of conscripting laborers, and several major cases that had not yet been solved.
Sometimes he would have a sudden idea and invite monks to pray for his mother, Dou, in the name of making offerings.
Although he never believed in ghosts or gods, one morning he excitedly woke up his eldest grandson Qingjing and said that his mother had appeared in his dream the night before and said that his father would definitely be given a better appointment, that he would have an immeasurable and promising future, that all their friends would be safe and sound, and that his elder brother would lead the whole family safely to Hedong.
Still half-asleep, Changsun Qingjing wrapped herself tightly in the brocade quilt to keep warm or cover herself, and sat listening to her husband, whose hair was disheveled, whose eyes were dark, and who was only wearing a white rushi (a type of traditional Chinese dress), vividly describe his dream.
The flickering candlelight still defied the darkness of dawn.
Changsun Qingjing sneezed and quickly understood the current situation.
It was just a dream of a boy who had recently lost his mother, a dream about her blessings. And he couldn't wait to share it with his closest loved ones.
It's unreal, yet beautiful.
Changsun Qingjing suppressed his anger at being suddenly woken up in the middle of the night just to hear about a dream, swallowed half a yawn, and tried to say some comforting words to reassure Li Shimin.
Changsun Qingjing stuck a finger out from under the covers and poked his knee: "Hey! You've crossed the line!"
"Oh." Li Shimin moved his knees back and chuckled, "You've wrapped yourself up like a candle! You really don't trust my character that much?"
"Hmm. You really aren't very trustworthy." Changsun Qingjing pulled his index finger back under the covers and subconsciously wrapped himself up tighter.
"You really know how to hurt people with your words..." Li Shimin snorted.
Changsun Qingjing thought to himself, "Not only can you not be trusted, but I myself cannot be trusted either."
She had just lain down when she sat up again, restless. It was probably the incense from the homa ritual that Li Shimin had picked up while praying with the monks that was making her so uneasy.
She wished she could push him to the floor and get him as far away from her as possible.
Li Shimin remained seated in the lotus position, seemingly still recalling that dream.
"Turn your back and meditate," Changsun Qingjing commanded.
Li Shimin looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Turn around!" she raised her voice. "Or I'll push you!"
"Isn't this just making trouble?" Li Shimin actually turned his back to her.
"You woke me up in the middle of the night to interpret my dream, and now I can't sleep at all." Changsun Qingjing lifted the brocade quilt, went behind the screen to look for her dress, and said, "I might as well not sleep."
"Is that so?" Li Shimin glanced at the screen and saw only a thin, busy silhouette.
"What's so interesting?" he muttered to himself, quickly turning back to continue meditating, but his nose was starting to itch.
"What kind of incense are you using? It's so sweet and cloying, it makes me restless. I don't like it, change it tomorrow." Before Li Shimin could finish venting his complaints, a pillow was already hitting him on the back.
He looked at Changsun Qingjing, who had walked around to stand in front of him, with a look of melancholy on his face.
"Nonsense! I didn't use any spices at all." She said with a hint of indignation, "In this cabin, apart from the pungent smell you brought from the monks, there's nothing else to disturb the peace!"
They suddenly realized at the same time how inappropriate their words and actions had been.
The absurd and baseless arguments about the scents of their respective perfumes inadvertently reveal their domineering possessiveness and the hidden, suppressed desires within them...
Both felt embarrassed that their secret thoughts had been discovered by the other, and for a moment they could only stare at each other awkwardly.
Just as he was in a daze, Changsun Qingjing broke free from that invisible net.
"Ah Cai, help me wash and comb my hair!"
Li Shimin was both amused and exasperated.
Ah Cai appears in front of the two at the right time or at the wrong time, and is left hesitant and indecisive due to the ambiguous atmosphere between them.
She silently endured the wrathful wrath emanating from the male master, and slowly walked behind Changsun Qingjing.
Changsun Qingjing held a volume of "Yanzi Chunqiu" in his hand and sat in front of a bronze mirror, reading it carefully.
A-Cai placed the candlestick on the mirror stand and asked Changsun Qingjing what hairstyle he should wear today.
The phrase "mourning period" was used with particular emphasis, seemingly intentionally.
Li Shimin naturally understood, suppressing his resentment, and silently watched her profile as she washed and dressed.
The first rays of dawn pierced through the window, illuminating Changsun Qingjing's unadorned face like a newly blossoming peach, its petals glistening with dew.
"You're not reading the Zuo Zhuan anymore?"
"It's dawn."
Ah Cai blew out the candlestick.
As the boat approaches the east bank of the Yellow River, it travels downstream in the spring. Standing on high ground, the outlines of the ferry crossing and pontoon bridge in Puzhou become visible.
Surrounded by two maids and several strong women, Changsun Qingjing willfully ran to the deck to admire the scenery.
Sui'er was also lying on the gunwale, occasionally jumping up and down to express her excitement about getting ashore.
Changsun Qingjing had a vague feeling that something was wrong. She felt that the area near the gunwale was too dangerous; children could easily fall into the Yellow River if they jumped around carelessly. She wanted to help Sui'er up, but was suddenly stopped and started chatting by the wife of an official who was on the same boat.
Surrounded by their servants and retainers, the two chatted about the scenery of Luoyang during the first month of the lunar calendar, the grand court assembly on the first day of the first month, the magnificent scene of all nations coming to pay tribute, and the splendor of the Lantern Festival.
The noblewoman opposite seemed to have already found out that Changsun Qingjing was the Duke's daughter-in-law, and her words carried a fawning tone, as if she was deliberately trying to curry favor with her husband for the sake of his career.
Of course, this is only natural.
"I heard from the monks that the lady's husband's family is related to the royal family..."
"Indeed, my father is one of Empress Wenxian's nephews, and a cousin of the current emperor. He was escorting His Majesty to Jinyang Palace..."
The two women, each dissatisfied with the status quo, exchanged greetings and then hurriedly parted ways.
Changsun Qingjing continued searching for Sui'er, who was running around. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she had the illusion that the ship was sinking, or rather, tilting.
She told the woman protecting her that she felt dizzy and nauseous, and the woman just smiled and said, "We're almost at shore. The helmsman and the boatmen are getting a little restless and lazy, making the boat run like this. Don't worry, my lady."
Changsun Qingjing noticed several shipwrights rushing down from the deck, seemingly on the helmsman's orders to check on the problem in the lower oar room. A sense of foreboding immediately arose within her.
Fortunately, Changsun Qingjing finally spotted Sui'er among the crowd of people waiting to disembark while enjoying the scenery. The child seemed to be deliberately trying to amuse her, running around and trying not to be caught.
The ship made a loud crash, as if it had struck a huge reef that was embedded in the riverbed.
"Run! The cabin is flooding, the ship is going to capsize!"
Someone, shuffling through wet shoes and looking terrified, fled from the lower deck, shouting, "This ship is doomed!"
The boatmen, cooks, and laborers at the bottom, the monks and middle-class passengers from well-off families at the middle level, and the servants of the Li family at the top all packed their valuables and fled to the deck.
Li Shimin searched the upper cabins but could not find Changsun Qingjing. Frustrated and anxious, he squeezed to the front of the crowd and finally saw a faint blue figure. He then jumped over the low railing of the second level onto the deck.
Just as he was about to run towards Changsun Qingjing, the out-of-control ship began to tilt and sink as it hurtled towards the pontoon bridge.
As Li Shimin slipped and fell, Changsun Qingjing threw Sui'er into his arms.
"Protect her!"
By the time he had a firm grip on Sui'er and regained his balance, Changsun Qingjing had already fallen into the water.
"Take care, everyone." Before the passengers could even curse, the boat owner, helmsman, and boatmen had already jumped into the river.
"We're going to crash into the pontoon bridge!" Screams and cries for help erupted into chaos.
Li Shimin gazed at the receding pale blue shadow on the river, hesitated for a moment, and said to Sui'er, "Sui'er, I promise you I will take you to the ferry to find your father; you also promise me that when I take you to jump into the water in a little while, you won't cry or make a fuss, and you'll do whatever I say..."
He really didn't know how to coax children, and he didn't know if a four-year-old girl could understand this strange exchange condition. Fortunately, Sui'er didn't break free from him and run to the place where the water was coming in to find her father.
She just nodded as if she understood.
Changsun Qingjing floated in the river, the pain from the violent impact of falling in combined with the icy water stinging her. Fortunately, she was conscious and knew she couldn't struggle in this situation. She took a deep breath, tilted her head back, and waited for a servant who was good at swimming to rescue her.
The crashing sound of the pontoon bridge breaking was far away from her; the cries, sobs, and pleas for help came intermittently, as if from another world.
She felt the coolness of the river water spread from the silk to her skin, seeping into her bones, inch by inch, devouring her will to survive.
Just before she was about to close her eyes in exhaustion, a dragonfly flew over her head, and sunlight pierced her eyelids through its transparent wings.
"This nymph is a bit foolish. It miscalculated its molting date and refused to return to the water. It probably won't survive..."
"Perhaps the nautilus will transform into a dragonfly today and soar high in the clouds tomorrow. Don't underestimate it."
"But it's just stupid..."
Memories of her childhood began to haunt her.
How could a dragonfly be here? That's ridiculous! This must be her hallucination.
She felt herself sinking uncontrollably, her body gradually solidifying like ice, her fading consciousness unable to sustain the prolonged floating and waiting.
She will eventually fall to the bottom of the river, turn into withered bones, with no future, no one to know, and no one to mourn.
The mother would hold her old clothes and weep in despair; Wuji would come to Pujindu every year to pay homage to himself; Minxing would take the time to organize her out-of-rhyme Yongming poems and lament a few more lines.
"Don't think about what will happen after you die. Go back now." Familiar yet unfamiliar, authoritative yet kind voices echoed in my ears.
"Father?"
"go back!"
Just as his nose was about to be completely submerged in the water, a dragonfly landed on Changsun Qingjing's forehead.
Dragonflies are very sensitive to smells. They like new, fresh, and clear things, and dislike decaying, foul-smelling, and murky things.
It must have seen the deep-seated desire to survive in her soul.
"Live on..."
She no longer fantasized about what the world would be like after she died!
All she wanted was to live!
Changsun Qingjing raised his head and took another deep breath, then pushed the driftwood within his fingers closer to him to judge the direction of the water flow and the location of the riverbank.
The dragonfly seemed to gently tap her forehead before flapping its wings and soaring into the clouds, leaving a dragon-shaped trail that guided her to this fiery, bustling, treacherous yet vibrant shore. (End of text)
Author's Note: Those of you who have been following the story, hurry up and read on! It will be available for purchase tomorrow. Thank you all for your continued support (actually, it could have been at the beginning of the month). Knowing that you all trust me so much, I'll release the entire main story before making it available for purchase. I'll start writing side stories tomorrow; please subscribe based on the prompts and your preferences. Happy reading! [Keep it up!]
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