Xiao Nanhui had walked the night road from Yanfu Street to the Marquis' Mansion many times.
In the past, she liked to ask Shrike to sneak to the backyard of Wangchen Tower to drink with Yao Yi.
As they drank, Shrike grew from a bean-sized New Year picture doll to a ball, Yao Yi grew from a handyman to the current shopkeeper, and she grew from a half-grown girl who cried because of Xu Shu's bullying to a horse-riding general in iron armor.
But as long as she set foot on this road home, whether it was day or night, the familiar feeling made her feel at ease. It seemed as if nothing had changed.
She is not a greedy person and is satisfied as long as she maintains everything she has.
When he looked up at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, it was just after midnight.
Uncle Chen was old and might have already fallen asleep. Xiao Nanhui felt his way around the outer wall, groping for the sunken bricks, and nimbly climbed over the wall, landing in the courtyard.
"Is Nan Hui back?"
As soon as my feet touched the ground, a familiar voice rang out in the darkness.
Xiao Nanhui turned around blankly and saw Xiao Zhun sitting at the stone table in the middle of the yard, without a light at hand.
Has he been waiting for her for a long time?
"Godfather."
She was a little flustered and called out in a low voice. The tiredness on Xiao Zhun's face gradually faded away, and a hint of smile appeared in her expression.
"Where have you been? You're back so late."
She cursed Shrike for not explaining her whereabouts clearly and causing Xiao Zhun to worry. On the other hand, she quickly explained, "I went to find Yao Yi and asked him to help settle my friend from Lingxi. Then I sat with him for a while, and that's why I'm delayed until now."
She knew that Xiao Zhun disliked Yao Yi, but she didn't want to hide what she had done today. She just subconsciously didn't mention the investigation of Puhuna.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Zhun did not make any comments on the name "Yao Yi". He just waved his hand and motioned her to come closer.
Xiao Nan took a few steps forward and saw several firecrackers on the ground before he got close.
"I was kept on the road this New Year's Eve and didn't get to spend time with you. I know you love playing with Dujuan every year for some noise, so I asked Uncle Li to buy some, but he only got some firecrackers; there are no more fireworks. Don't avoid me from now on. I can't spoil the fun of this once-a-year affair."
She stood there in shock until Shrike, Dujuan, and Uncle Chen came out from the inner courtyard with smiles on their faces. Only then did she realize that Xiao Jun had unknowingly walked up to her.
He handed the flint of the fuse to her, the roughness of his fingertips gently slid across her palm, and then patted her head gently.
"Nanhui, Happy New Year. We will also do well next year."
Her tears rolled down unexpectedly, and she hurriedly covered them away, just nodding heavily.
Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers, Shrike seemed to have made a few inappropriate remarks, causing Dujuan to pull up his ears and scold him. Uncle Chen watched from the side with his arms folded, laughing and dodging the two women who were twisting together.
Xiao Zhun's voice came intermittently in the noise.
"I'm deeply sorry about what happened with Pingxian. There was a reason for what happened that day. I was in a hurry..."
He explained to her in a low voice, but she only heard the first sentence and could not hear anything after that.
She had been waiting for this sentence for a long time, and she thought she would feel very aggrieved, but when she finally heard it, she felt calmer than she had imagined.
It’s not that it’s not painful, it’s just that the worst is over.
She raised her head and grinned at Xiao Zhun: "Foster father, don't blame yourself. Pingxian was given by you. If you want to take it back, it is only natural."
Xiao Zhun slowly looked into those eyes that could not hide any emotion.
Now, there is clearly something elusive in those eyes, it seems to be the slightly half-closed eyelashes, or the curve of the corners of the eyes, everything has undergone some subtle changes.
Xiao Nanhui had no idea what Xiao Zhun was thinking. Shrike was still chasing Dujuan with a half-burned firecracker not far away. She was just about to look away and teach the bad girl a lesson when her eyes swept across Xiao Zhun's clothes and then paused.
"Eh? Something fell on godfather's clothes."
As she spoke, she reached out her hand and gently pushed the thin object tucked between the folds of her clothes and it fell into her palm.
It was half a plum blossom, a bright red, with a stamen that looked like a crown adorned with bright green. Even though it was a little withered, one could still see the layers of petals, which was far from the kind of plum blossom that ordinary people could grow.
The firecrackers in Shrike's hand burned out at this moment, and the air, which had been vibrating and noisy, suddenly became quiet.
Xiao Nanhui stared at the plum blossom in his palm, his thoughts expanding uncontrollably.
There is not a single plum blossom in the Marquis's Mansion, and there are no plum blossoms in the Subei Camp outside the city.
What's more, this doesn't seem to be an ordinary plum blossom.
Where did Xiao Zhun go?
Not far away, Dujuan rushed out from behind Uncle Chen in a rage, grabbed Shrike's fat face, and a martial arts master screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
Xiao Nanhui's thoughts were interrupted. He quickly grasped the plum blossom in his palm and said to Xiao Zhun as if nothing had happened, "Nanhui is very happy today. It's late, and my adoptive father has military affairs to attend to tomorrow. It's better to go to bed early."
After saying this, she didn't dare to look at the man's face again. She turned around and hurriedly walked towards her own courtyard. Even though Shrike was yelling behind her, she still didn't look back.
After tossing and turning all night, half asleep and half awake, I finally made it to dawn.
Xiao Nanhui stared at the curtain with twined branch patterns above his head and felt that the pattern seemed to be withering and fading on the spot.
She lay there with her eyes open for a while, and was about to get up when she heard footsteps and quickly huddled back under the quilt.
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