Chapter 25 Awakening... She wants a divorce.
Shen Changfeng turned his gaze away, the corner of his mouth raised slightly, as if he had seen through the other party's tricks but disdained to expose them: "What you said makes people think more nonsense."
When Su Qinxue heard what he said, she quickly raised her head, her eyes darting across his face, and she felt her heart pounding faster.
She hadn't heard Shen Changfeng speak to her in this tone for a long time. He used to be like this.
She missed the time when he and she were so close. Back then, he would listen to her playing the zither, and when she made a mistake, he would give her a knowing smile. When she was clingy, he would tease her, and when he made her cry, he would send her exotic fragrances from the Western Regions and gems from Siam...
But all this came to an abrupt end after she got engaged.
Today, she'd risked letting him get close, finally forcing him to reveal his true emotions. She'd rather have him lose his temper than have him constantly be polite to her. Su Qinxue's oval face flushed, her innocent, deer-like eyes fixed on his gaze. "Changfeng..."
The veins at Shen Changfeng's temples were visible, and his aura suddenly became cold, emitting a warning that strangers and acquaintances should stay away. "Su Qinxue, don't forget what I told you."
On the eve of their wedding, Su Qinxue nearly fainted in his arms, "Tell me, what should I do?"
Shen Changfeng helped her put on her clothes and said to her, "Qin Yan is a good man, you must treat him well."
The mountain wind blew against Su Qinxue, and her slender figure seemed to be blown away. "Don't do this to me..."
She subconsciously walked towards him, imagining that he would shield her from the wind and rain when she was sad as usual. However, Shen Changfeng ignored her pale face and trembling tears and strode past her.
Because the Su and Chen families used to live close together, Shen Changfeng and Su Qinxue had played together since childhood. Furthermore, he had spent several years among women, so he could tell what she was planning with just a glance.
Shen Changfeng jumped on his horse and said to Qingsong, "Go and bring the person back."
He didn't look back. Of course, even if he looked back, he would no longer find the person on the Yue Lao Tree.
The Yue Lao Tree was not originally called the Yue Lao Tree.
Originally, people placed tributes under the tree in order to pass the imperial examinations. This ginkgo tree was planted by Song Jiusi, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion in the previous dynasty. He was the only person since the founding of the dynasty to have won three top honors in the imperial examinations. He was 22 years old when he became the top scholar.
Later, the emperor met the late queen under the tree, and they fell in love at first sight. Later generations followed suit, coming to the tree to pray for marriage, and over time, tying red ribbons to pray became a local custom.
The wind rustled through the trees, and the red silk fluttered, covering her eyes.
She raised her hand, gently grasped the red silk, and saw clearly the man and woman on the mountain path.
The man was tall and sturdy, a graceful and elegant gentleman. The woman was delicate and graceful, and even though the shadows of the trees hid most of her face, it was still easy to see that she was a beautiful woman with a pure and elegant appearance. He was talking to her with his head down, a smile on his face, and he looked familiar and intimate.
Lin Meiju thought that he must speak very softly.
She untied the red silk tied to the treetop.
Qing'er breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her retreat from the tree to the ladder, "Is the girl tied up?"
Lin Meizhu had originally taken two red silks to pray for a blessing, but the lower branches were already covered in them, so they had to throw them higher. Perhaps it was their aim that was bad, but the first one just missed the mark after several attempts. The second one was for a wish for success on the seventh day of the first lunar month. Lin Meizhu did find his name on the list of the provincial examination, but if the red silk fell, it would not be a good omen.
So Lin Meiju simply borrowed a bamboo ladder and climbed directly to the highest place to tie the red silk.
Lin Meizhu smiled as a response, then said, "I remember you can hang prayer lanterns in the Taoist temple. Go ask the Taoist priest, and I'll go write the wish and confer the title later."
After Qing'er left, Lin Meiju took out the red silk from her sleeve and walked towards the incineration furnace.
The tongues of fire meandered like small red-gold snakes, crawling along the edge of the red silk. As a slight "crackling" sound rang out, she clearly felt a sudden pain somewhere in her body.
The skin on her face was stretched tight and heated by the steam from the stove, and the hair on her temples swirled gently and retreated backward, but she still stood there motionless, watching the fire grow and rage, melting the black words "grow old together" in half, and she felt that the thorn in her heart was also burned to death.
She suddenly laughed out loud.
Just like this red silk that can't be hung on the branch no matter how you throw it, there is no way that she and he will have a good ending.
It should have been over long ago. She had just been deceiving herself. How could there be so many things in the world that could be revealed?
No matter how beautifully she dressed or how appropriately she dressed, she could still see herself looking stiff in her cloth clothes through the bronze mirror, and then remember what he said, "Wash more often, you smell."
Maybe it wasn't her smell, it was his nose that needed treatment.
She heard someone across the courtyard wall say that the two people on the mountain path were a perfect match.
A good match? Then let them be a good match.
It didn't matter who that woman was, nor was she interested in knowing what had happened between them. Her presence alone reminded Lin Meizhu that he didn't love her. Sooner or later, she would have to take a concubine for him, either actively or passively, and live a life of hardship and persecution, yet still accept all the suffering he brought with a smile.
But why? She wasn't born to suffer.
The fire suddenly erupted, the flames rising into the sky like a crimson phoenix, while the falling embers resembled fluttering black butterflies. Just as the flames were about to touch her fingertips, Lin Meizhu loosened her grip and tossed the last scrap of red silk into the furnace.
She watched the last piece of red silk turn into ashes, and all her attachment and reluctance disappeared into the air with the wisp of white smoke. She seemed to have suddenly become enlightened, and her body and mind felt light.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind: "I've seen people tie red to make wishes, but this is the first time I've seen someone burn their wishes."
Lin Meizhu let out a sigh: "Perhaps, I have been making the wrong wishes all along."
The man asked curiously, "Did you make the wrong wish?"
Lin Meizhu smiled slightly, turned to look at the visitor, and bowed gracefully: "Your Highness Lin Meizhu greets Princess Jiafu."
Li Minzhi suddenly widened her almond-shaped eyes, looking as if to ask, "How did you know?", and then raised her index finger and made a whispering gesture.
Lin Meizhu had actually speculated back in the bamboo forest. The current emperor and the late empress had two sons and one daughter, but sadly, the two legitimate princes died before reaching adulthood, leaving only Li Minzhi as the sole heir. However, Li Minzhi's health was also poor, having been diagnosed with heart disease for over a decade. In the past few years, the emperor had even issued an edict to recruit renowned doctors for her treatment.
Chuqi is good at treating difficult and complicated diseases. He once discussed Li Minzhi's condition with Lin Meizhu and asserted that the most favored Princess Jiafu might follow in the footsteps of the previous queen and not live beyond the age of thirty.
Now seeing how respectful the Taoist priests of Taiqing Temple were to her, Lin Meiju was 70% sure about her identity - because the eldest princess was meditating in the Taoist temple, ordinary people were not allowed to enter and leave at will.
Li Minzhi winked at her and said, "Just call me Min'er." Then she sighed deeply, "Who knew my aunt would go on another long journey? Fortunately, she left two Fengling Guards to guard the door, so they can still scare people."
Lin Meizhu quickly understood. The last time she entered the palace to meet Concubine Xue, she'd heard that Princess Jiafu was ill and had excused her from the ceremony. Li Minzhi had likely concealed her departure from the palace from the Emperor. There were few places in the world the Imperial Guards wouldn't search, and the Taoist temple where Princess Li Jieyi resided was one of them.
Lin Meizhu couldn't help but laugh secretly and asked her, "You left in a hurry yesterday. Are you feeling better now?"
Li Minzhi replied, "Much better. I was just shocked back then. It's all thanks to you..." He then looked at Lin Meizhu with his sparkling eyes and praised her, "I couldn't see you clearly in the woods yesterday. I didn't realize you were so beautiful."
Li Minzhi's eyes are as open as the sunlight on a sunny day, without any flattering or charming colors. This is the purest praise from the heart.
Lin Meiju rarely heard such straightforward praise. She felt a little shy, but mostly happy. She even thought the light brown freckles under Li Minzhi's eyes were particularly cute and vivid.
Li Minzhi affectionately took her arm and walked towards the corridor. "How many days will you stay at the Taoist temple? My aunt planted a beautiful poplar forest here. I'll show you... I have some nice Mohelo. Do you want some? I'll ask someone to buy you something you like to eat. Do you know how to play Mahjong? I can invite a few people..."
Li Minzhi said a lot of things at once, and Lin Meizhu didn't know which one to answer first.
Li Minzhi paused and smiled slightly: "I will be returning to the palace soon. I don't know when I will be able to come out next time."
The morning light fell right on her eyebrows, and the little freckle looked like a golden tear.
Lin Meizhu immediately swallowed back the words she wanted to say goodbye. Li Minzhi was suffering from a chronic illness and was trapped in the deep palace, counting the days on her fingers. Isn't this another kind of loneliness?
Lin Meizhu shook her hand, "Let's go see the poplar forest first."
Li Minzhi became excited again and took her around several guest halls, introducing them as they walked: "These poplar trees have been planted for more than ten years, oh, it should be eighteen years... Aunt travels all over the country every year, and I don't know when she will be back this time."
Lin Meizhu said, "To be honest, I, as a daughter-in-law, didn't know either."
Li Minzhi laughed: "What's the big deal? Even the Dingbei King and his son don't know. Auntie never reports to anyone when she does something. She just does it when she wants."
Lin Meizhu felt a sense of longing and praised, "The eldest princess is truly a heroine, worthy of envy."
Li Minzhi's smile suddenly turned bitter. "If my aunt knew that someone envied her, she might laugh out loud. I don't think anyone would want to go through what she went through..."
Lin Meizhu was about to ask further when Li Minzhi said, "We're here."
A clear breeze blew by, and Lin Meiju's palms felt slightly itchy. It was fine yellow sand.
Everywhere I looked, I saw tall poplars, tall and majestic. When the wind blew, the endless expanse of green rose and fell with it, like a boundless ocean. The wind blew fallen leaves from the ditch, and they surged onto the ground like a pale golden tide. Tree roots curled up beneath the scorching earth, and amber tears flowed from the cracked bark. In a trance, Lin Meizhu felt as if she had arrived in a place separate from the world.
It was a vibrant summer day, but she felt desolate. Perhaps it was the lonely, silent wind, or the dry, gravelly earth.
"When my aunt is happy, she'll plant a poplar tree. When she's sad, she'll also plant a poplar tree." Li Minzhi said with a smile, "In short, she likes to plant trees no matter what."
Lin Meiju suddenly remembered the two names carved somewhere on the Yue Lao Tree, and the messy knife marks above those two names.
If she remembered correctly, this year was the eighteenth anniversary of Song Jiusi's death.
"The eldest princess is going on a long journey, is she looking for someone?"
Li Minzhi was surprised by her sharpness and did not hide it: "She was asked by an old friend to find a boy. Hmm...it's been so long, so it should be said that he was a boy. I heard that he was lost in the Huguang area."
Lin Meiju immediately thought of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
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