Encountering a buried body
On March 20th, the peach blossoms were in full bloom.
Outside the capital city lies a peach grove. From afar, the mountain forest is completely covered in peach blossoms, resembling a fairyland. Many people come here, drawn by its beauty, just to immerse themselves in the fragrance of the flowers, enjoy a pot of wine, and, if they are fortunate enough to meet a friend, play a piece of music that blends high mountains and flowing water, living a carefree and pleasant life.
The students of Cizi Pavilion have come to admire the flowers today on the orders of their teacher. However, as students, they cannot simply admire the flowers. Three days later, each student in the pavilion must submit a painting of peach blossoms for the teacher to review.
The first place winner is usually rewarded.
The last place will be penalized.
The students who came to admire the flowers had no choice but to find a satisfactory spot under the peach trees, set up tables, and start painting.
This peach grove is large enough to easily accommodate more than a dozen students from the pavilion. A few familiar faces gathered under the trees, chatting quietly, their occasional laughter mingling with the peach blossoms.
Suddenly, a sound came from behind.
"Young Master Yi, what a coincidence!"
Although Wu Qi said this, only she knew whether it was a coincidence or not. She hadn't made an appointment with Yi Shen and searched the entire peach blossom forest before finally finding him by the river.
Without any hesitation, she placed the iron and bronze ship model and several gears on Yi Shen's table, and reached for the pastries on the table, saying, "I missed you so much, Yi Shen."
Yi Shen picked up his brush, glanced up at the peach blossoms, then lowered his eyes to paint, remaining silent.
Today he was dressed in a dark cloud-patterned robe, with only a jade hairpin in his hair. Perhaps because he was busy painting, he had no time to care about his hair, so he let the breeze ruffle a few strands. He sat upright at the table, with the sound of flowing water beside him and thousands of peach blossoms behind him.
Not receiving a response from Yi Shen, Wu Qi showed no displeasure and continued to sit opposite him.
The other people's tables were just big enough for one person to paint at, and if another person sat at the same table, it would be bumpy. Yi Shen's table was much bigger than theirs. If you really compared them, his table was probably about the same size as three of the other people's tables.
Therefore, Yi Shen does not need to move, and Wu Qi can sit at the same table with him without feeling crowded or uncomfortable.
The scenery and people were beautiful, and Wu Qi picked up his paintbrush, but hesitated to make the first stroke.
Of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—Wu Qi disliked painting the most. She could neither capture the form nor the spirit of her paintings. Whenever the teacher reviewed her paintings, she was always the one who was punished. The teacher would add a comment: "Neither form nor spirit, one painting is ruined." Finally, he would punish her by making her paint another one, and then comment: "Neither form nor spirit, two paintings are ruined."
The wind blows and peach blossoms fall, carrying waves of fragrance. Wu Qi had barely finished two strokes when he remembered those two comments. There were at least eight or ten of those comments in the house. Although one more wouldn't make a difference, one less would obviously be better.
Thinking of this, Wu Qi put down his paintbrush and looked at Yi Shen, "Young Master Yi, shall we make a bet?"
Yi Shen glanced at her and said, "I won't gamble."
Wu Qi naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by, and raised the stakes, saying, "If you win this bet, I'll never bother you again. How about it?"
In her opinion, this stakes were too high. There are only two interesting things in the world, one of which is teasing Yi Shen. If she couldn't tease him, what would be the point of her life?
Yi Shen always had an expression that was neither sad nor happy. He loved to wear light-colored clothes with dark patterns and to wear jade. He was always surrounded by the fragrance of cold plum blossoms. His eyes were also different from ordinary people. They were lighter in color and when he looked at others, he was calm and indifferent.
Upon hearing Wu Qi's words, he put down his paintbrush, his expression calm and composed. He looked at Wu Qi across the wooden table and asked, "What are we betting on?"
Wu Qi pointed to an unopened peach blossom and smiled at Yi Shen, "Let's bet on whether this peach blossom will bloom tonight."
Many peach blossoms had bloomed on that branch, but only two or three had not yet opened. The bud that Wu Qi pointed to was more compact than the buds next to it. Judging from the bud alone, it probably wouldn't open in the next few days. If we really waited for this bud to open, it would probably take four or five days.
Yi Shen glanced at the flower bud and then picked up his paintbrush to continue painting, leaving only the words, "I don't know how."
These two words were exactly what Wu Qi wanted to hear. She waved her hand and said generously, "Since Young Master Yi says no, then I'll bet that this peach blossom will bloom tonight. If you win, I'll never bother you again. If I win, then I'll have to trouble Young Master Yi with my peach blossom painting today!"
"Can."
Wu Qi took out a handkerchief and tied it to the peach blossom branch. Then she used a pen to mark the unopened bud with a touch of vermilion. After doing all this, she smiled at Yi Shen, looking quite confident.
She often laughs, but not all laughs are the same. When she has a bad thought in her heart, like now, her laugh looks like a red fox in the snow.
"Yi Shen, just wait and see!"
"Um."
Now that the bet was settled, Wu Qi stopped wasting time drawing. She took out a ship model and a few gears and began to study them carefully. When she encountered difficulties, she unconsciously frowned and occasionally picked up a pen to write and draw on the paper. The paper, originally intended for drawing, became like a secret manual that no one could understand after she had scribbled on it.
This is the second most interesting thing in the world.
The ship model she is holding is called "Beikun".
The Bei Kun can be described as a "colossal creature". Its body is cast from copper and iron, with six dragons carved on the bow. It is equipped with a burning halberd and can enter the sea. If you see white vapor breaking through thousands of clouds and mountains in the vast expanse of misty waves, that is this creature.
In the Battle of Sihai, the six Northern Kun all went into battle together, sinking an enemy warship with a single cannon shot and repelling the enemy with three shots. There were no casualties in the Battle of Sihai, and even now, people can't help but marvel at it when they talk about it.
In the sea dwells the Northern Kun,
What about on the ground, and in the sky?
Wu Qi thought to himself: There should be gilded halberds and iron armor on the ground, and gilded halberds and iron wings in the sky.
She was so engrossed that she didn't notice the peach blossoms falling on her shoulders, and even a few petals landing on her head, though they did match her pink jade hairpin for the day.
After finishing their peach blossom paintings, the students at the pavilion lost all interest in admiring the flowers and left.
There are fewer and fewer people in the peach grove.
After finishing his painting, Lin Kuo hummed a tune and went to the riverbank to find Yi Shen. He glanced at the painting that Yi Shen was working on, remained silent for a moment, and said that the painting could only be described with the Master's consistent comment: "lacking both form and spirit, a worthless painting."
He couldn't help but ask, "Wei Chong, are you dissatisfied with the lessons the teacher has assigned?"
Yi Shen's painting was only missing the final touch. After finishing the last stroke, he put the painting away and said, "Nothing."
"Brother Lian Shi is here." Wu Qi's screws and gears took up most of the table, leaving only a small space for Yi Shen to draw. She snapped out of her drawing and said to the two of them while packing her things, "Are you leaving? Let's go!"
Lin Kuo looked at the pile of drawings on the table and asked, "Xiao Qi, where are the drawings you did today?"
Wu Qi had naturally smiling eyes, and even when she wasn't smiling, there was always a hint of amusement in them. Hearing Lin Kuo's words, she glanced at Yi Shen with a smile, then looked at the handkerchief fluttering in the wind on the peach blossom branch. She shook her head meaningfully and said, "Perhaps, some unknown kind person is helping me with the painting."
Lin Kuo went to see Yi Shen.
Yi Shen, indifferent to the matter, said, "Let's go."
The peach blossom grove was located outside the capital. When the group arrived at the entrance of the Wu Mansion by carriage, the previously azure sky was now mostly covered by the sunset. The afterglow fell on Wu Qi's face, and his face appeared somewhat bewitching against the unique brilliance of the sunset.
Wu Qi was completely unaware. She waved and got out of the car, standing outside and saying, "Goodbye, Brother Lian Shi."
"Goodbye, Xiao Qi." Lin Kuo lifted the carriage curtain and waved to her.
Wu Qi tilted her head slightly, her alluring demeanor fading to reveal a playful side, and smiled at Yi Shen: "Yi Shen, see you tomorrow."
Yi Shen held the note she had secretly handed him as he got out of the car in his palm and said, "See you tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Wu Qi returned to his residence as the sun set.
The two had made at least eight hundred,000 bets since childhood. She was only worried about whether Yi Shen would keep his bets, not whether he would honor them. After all, the Third Young Master Yi was a man of his word, a true gentleman.
As the last rays of the setting sun faded and the remaining light dissipated, the glass lamps in the mansion lit up. Looking up, the moon was bright but the stars were few, with the North Star hidden behind dark clouds.
Wu Qi hummed a tune and carried the glass lantern out the door.
The glass lamp she mentioned was different from the glass lamps in the house; it was a "peach-glazed lamp."
The glass is shaped like a blooming peach blossom, with an iron and copper core filled with gilded halberds. When the halberds are lit, they emit light, but this light is not as bright as the glass lamps in the room; instead, it is a dim, candle-like light.
Wu Qi carried the peach-colored lantern to the peach blossom forest outside the city again. He followed the river to find the handkerchief he had tied to a tree branch. The night wind blew and the handkerchief swayed in the wind. It was easy to find, really easy to find.
She picked up the peach-colored lantern and brought it close to the peach blossom branch to find the mark she had made. She immediately saw the vermilion mark she had made; it was easy to find, indeed easy to find.
Wu Qi held a lantern in one hand and flicked the flower bud with the other, causing it to tremble. She flicked and blew on it, finally using her hands to part the peach blossom petals.
The peach blossoms have finally bloomed.
Wu Qi nodded in satisfaction, looking at the blooming peach blossoms, and sighed slightly in his heart.
While others learn from their mistakes, Yi Shen seems to learn from his mistakes again and again, never seeming to gain any wisdom. Despite gambling with Yi Shen so many times since they were children, he has never won once.
Wu Qi whispered, "Never mind, I'll make it up to you later."
The peach-colored lantern burned out, its light extinguished, leaving only the bright moon in the sky as the sole source of light in the peach grove. Wu Qi was surrounded by darkness. Holding the extinguished lantern, she looked back and saw the ethereal moonlight reflecting on the handkerchief on the tree branch, and then on the peach blossom that had just been forced to bloom.
It does seem like a somewhat unfair victory...
Yi Shen probably never expected her to come in the middle of the night to urge the peach blossoms to bloom...
Wu Qi wasn't afraid of the dark, and he didn't care that Tao Liu's lamp had gone out. He continued walking forward in the moonlight, thinking that although he had won the bet, he should make something for Yi Shen to appease him. Yi Shen seemed to lack nothing. What should he make?
As she pondered, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing the scene before her, quickly turning to the side and using a peach tree beside her as cover to quietly observe the moonlit view.
Under a peach tree in the distance, two people with their faces covered by black cloths were standing, their features obscured. Judging from their figures, they appeared to be two men. After looking around and seeing nothing amiss, they continued digging with shovels.
Too far away, Wu Qi couldn't hear what they were saying. She could only vaguely see that there seemed to be a person lying on the ground. Because of the obstruction, she couldn't tell whether the person on the ground was male or female.
Wu Qi held his breath and stood quietly behind the tree, not daring to make a sound.
The two men weren't very skilled, and perhaps they disagreed and started arguing. One of them threw down his shovel and pointed at the other's nose, yelling insults, while the person being yelled at never stopped what he was doing.
In a short while, Wu Qi understood.
Those on the ground aren't living people, they're corpses!
Those two people wearing black headscarves were clearly burying a corpse!
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