He looked at her again, his voice soft: "Today is a beautiful day..."
She snapped out of her reverie and looked at Chu Yening. Just then, Chu Yening also turned to look at her. Their eyes met, and they both seemed to recall the past. She had thought he had left earlier.
Qin Weixi vaguely saw him smile slightly. Soon, she heard Tao Qingyun say, "Liang Gou'er! I said you've been acting all mysterious lately, so you've got your eye on our young lady." He narrowed his eyes, his pupils seemingly filled with fire as he looked at Liang Lang.
Ping An saw a basket of snow-white rabbits in the carriage behind, her eyes lit up, and she said to Zhao Shuhan, "Rabbit, sister, rabbit."
But she wasn't Xiaoxing; she couldn't accept Liang Lang's apology for past mistakes.
But if Xiaoxing were still alive, with her innocence and purity, she would surely accept Liang Lang's belated apology.
Qin Weixi gave a wry smile and rested her hand on the carriage wall. Perhaps seeing her hesitation, Luo Ling spoke up for Xiao Xing: "Since Ping An likes them, bring those rabbits up." He sat on horseback, looking at Liang Lang, and said gently, "Brother Liang, it's getting late, let's go down the mountain as soon as possible."
Liang Lang glanced briefly at the carriage behind him, then bowed again with his eyes lowered and said, "Yes."
Tao Qingyun looked at Luo Ling with suspicion: "Ah Ling, why are you being so nice to him? There isn't a single good person in the Liang family."
Luo Lingdao said, "He's not a bad person at heart."
After parting ways with the others, as they were about to turn into the wide alley leading to the Luo residence, Luo Ling stopped the carriage driven by Luo Yuan, and then dismounted. Qin Weixi, understanding the situation perfectly, also lifted the curtain in front of the carriage window: "Brother."
Luo Ling's expression was very gentle: "Little sister, is there something you want to tell your brother?"
Qin Weixi looked out over the long, wide alley. Today, on the Dragon Boat Festival, most of the city's residents were gathered at Gulou Street to enjoy themselves, while this wide alley was lined with the mansions of noble families and was usually deserted. She thought for a moment and whispered, "Brother, he recognized me."
Luo Ling's eyes flashed suddenly as she recalled that the two of them had emerged from the peach grove one after the other earlier that day, and she immediately understood. But she was also somewhat taken aback: "Ye Ning?"
Qin Weixi nodded, recalling his actions in the peach grove. Her eyelids twitched, and she lowered her eyes, feigning composure as she said, "He didn't say anything."
Chu Yening's eyelids twitched involuntarily as he was on his way back to the Jingning Marquis's residence.
Luo Ling pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's nothing. My brother will meet with him tomorrow. It's getting late, time to go home."
I'm home.
Qin Weixi raised her head and looked up at the clear, cold moon in the sky, murmuring to herself.
Night fell, and the city echoed with the sounds of firecrackers and dazzling fireworks. In the east of the city, a dilapidated and empty house stood, seemingly abandoned by the world, with no smoke rising from its chimneys.
At the back gate of the mansion, Qin Weixi, dressed in a snow-white silk dress, her black hair half-loose, stood holding a lantern. She looked up, thinking that perhaps in this way she could see the plaque hanging high under the eaves of the main gate—"The Duke of Dingguo's Mansion." Then she could walk past it openly and legitimately. Tonight, Pu Niang hadn't applied makeup to her; her face was completely bare of cosmetics.
Luo Ling stood elegantly to the side, dressed in the same plain clothes as her, carrying a lantern. He said softly to her, "Today is a festive day. Married daughters return home, but daughters who have gone far away also want to come home." He stood there and smiled gently, "Little sister, your brother is waiting for you here."
Her fingertips slid over the damaged door knocker, but there was an inch of it that was unusually smooth and shiny, as if someone had been touching and polishing it frequently. She hesitated for a moment, and then gently pushed the door open.
In the Great Xia Dynasty, only women who had reached the age of hairpin could tie their hair up, but she was only eight years old that year, and when she left home, she was still the same woman her father and mother remembered so well.
She was afraid! Afraid they wouldn't recognize her.
The house is still the same as before, with the garden full of flowering trees that her grandfather planted before his death, and the few grapevines in her courtyard that have been there since she can remember.
It felt like stepping back into her childhood, with her mother holding her as a tiny child, fanning her with a palm-leaf fan while peeling grapes for her.
Her mother's gentle words struck her young heart: "Xixi, be good. Your mother will always be by your side, and your father and mother will always be your support."
Then the father, hands behind his back, laughed heartily and said, "When our daughter grows up and finds a good husband, I'll take out those jars of Daughter's Red wine buried under the osmanthus tree." Then he gave a bitter laugh: "But by the time our daughter grows up, won't we be old and gray-haired ourselves?"
Under the moonlight, she turned to look for the osmanthus tree in the courtyard. It was not yet the blooming season, but she could almost smell the fragrance of osmanthus filling the courtyard.
The Qin family's old residence was nearly confiscated due to the emperor's wrath. If it weren't for Grandmother Zhao's efforts to preserve it, this old house, which had accompanied the Qin family through decades of trials and tribulations, would likely have also been confiscated.
Qin Weixi walked to the osmanthus tree, her eyes lowered.
Soon, she went to the shed in the backyard where miscellaneous items were stored, grabbed a shovel, and decisively started digging.
The moon was clear and cold, and the night sky was filled with countless stars. In May, she felt an endless chill all over her body, as if ice and snow were hitting her face.
Everything in the yard was quiet except for the rustling sound of the earth turning over. One shovelful up, one shovelful down.
Suddenly, with a loud "bang," the shovel he was holding fell to the ground.
There was no Daughter's Red wine, no burial by her father that day, nothing at all. Her father neither had the chance nor the opportunity to do the things he had hoped for; her elder brother died a violent death at Penglai Xiaoding, and her mother resolutely committed suicide by cutting her throat beneath the Dengwen Drum. And her father, without warning, took his own life in the imperial court.
Nothing was left behind.
Tears silently slid down her cheeks as she stretched out her hands and rummaged through the soil.
Suddenly she stopped what she was doing that day, and a bright red object was peeking out from the soil. She immediately turned it over.
It was a wooden box with a lock on it.
She held it to her ear and waved it.
She stood frozen in place, tears welling in her eyes. And on the lower right of the wooden box was a tiny engraving—Xi.
This inscription was carved by her father on her seventh birthday, and this box was made by her brother as a birthday gift for her.
Her brother said he could put all her little secrets inside, and he even gave her a key to unlock it, which he then personally placed around her neck. She wore it from the age of seven to eight, and then for the next ten years as she eked out a living.
She gently stroked the two engraved characters with her fingertips, then without thinking, pulled the key out of her inner garment.
Align, rotate, and unscrew.
Inside the box were ten silver notes, each worth one thousand taels. There was also a letter.
Without thinking, she gently turned the page again.
Lines of black ink on white paper.
My son, you are so brave, your mother knows it. My dearest Weixi, life is unpredictable, and I so wish I could accompany you through these decades of this world. To see you marry, have children, and grow up surrounded by grandchildren. But your father and brother are now suffering terribly, like fish on a chopping board. I cannot ignore them, nor can I abandon you. I wish to find a glimmer of hope for you; I wish you could live peacefully, healthily, and well. If there is an afterlife, may our family never again enter the gates of the wealthy or pursue imperial power. Only ordinary people in the marketplace can live in peace and security. I wish that in your future years you will be loved by many, protected, cherished, and accompanied by many. If not, I want you to be independent, strong, and self-respecting.
May you grow up safely and meet a good man, marry and live a harmonious and happy life together. Remember to prioritize your own family before the greater good; with husband and wife united, nothing can be accomplished. I only wish my dear Weixi a peaceful and safe life, free from worry and sorrow. Your mother has no regrets in this life.
Tears streamed down her face.
Qin Weixi pressed her forehead tightly against the cold blue brick floor, already sobbing uncontrollably. Then, gazing at the empty house, her eyes filled with tears.
The moonlight shone on her, so bright it seemed to drape her in a dazzling robe.
The box, the engraving, the letter and banknotes left by her mother—her mother wanted to tell her that the three of them had always been by her side.
Tears blurred my face; they were born of longing, a pain that gnawed at my very bones.
She said, “I will consider this your journey as a long one. I will be able to wash away the ten years of shame that have humiliated my Qin clan and clear my name. I will be able to see you again after I have lived this life and seen the coldness and indifference of this world. Father, Mother, Brother, do you know that I have been trapped in the dream of this house year after year, again and again, unable to get out?”
"On sunny days, Father, you would water the vegetables in the back garden. Mother, you would cook many of the dishes that the children love in the back kitchen. Brother, you would also bring me back a big basket of my favorite tangerines when the winter snow was falling."
The branches of the tall trees that had extended over the wall into the outer courtyard swayed slightly; a breeze had picked up.
A young man in a moon-white brocade robe, wearing a cloud-patterned cloak, was also carrying a lantern behind her. He walked towards her step by step. The moonlight illuminated his body, making his fair, snow-white face look like that of a young man.
He had never worn a plain white brocade robe before, but today...
And that girl, now sixteen years old and dressed in a snow-white silk dress, seemed to have returned to ten years ago in an instant, reappearing as a bright and innocent young girl.
Qin Weixi turned around and saw someone coming from behind, and suddenly stood up.
The two were very close.
Her Adam's apple bobbed. Chu Yening reached out a hand to wipe away the tears hanging on her cheeks. His cool index finger touched her hot tears, and his star-like eyes held a hint of inexplicable heaviness that he himself was unaware of. He looked at her and said gently, "On this festive day, you are not allowed to cry."
Meanwhile, his other hand was clenched into a fist in the endless darkness.
The girl had high, arched eyebrows, bright, sparkling eyes, and a high, straight nose...
She looks just like her father, Duke Qin Heng.
Ten years have passed since we last met, and she has grown from a little girl who used to wear her hair in a bun and chase butterflies among the flowers to a young woman in her prime.
Of the two siblings in the Qin family, the eldest son, Shuoguang, has a temperament more like that of a girl.
Qin Weixi's breath hitched when she saw the person who had arrived: "You, what are you doing here?"
Chu Yening had been staring intently at her. He was more than half a head taller than her, so he bent down slightly to gaze at her.
The person before him had bright, dark eyes that darted around, tears still streaming down their face like a burst dam. He chuckled softly and reached out a finger to wipe away her tears again: "Why are you still crying? Hmm?"
He sighed helplessly, "Seventh Sister, I thought I would hardly recognize you anymore. But as long as we meet again, Fourth Brother will still recognize you. Back then, you wished me to go and report the victory, to return triumphantly. And I wish you a happy birthday in advance, may you stay young and beautiful, and be happy every day."
"That was the last time we met, and we both broke our promises."
"Later, everyone said you were dead. I thought, since I could come back alive, why couldn't you? I stayed at the border year after year, watching the sandstorms rage and the snow fall. Later, I thought, why not build you a cenotaph first? That way, even if one day I unfortunately die on that ruthless battlefield, I'll have given the Qin family an explanation. At least I'll never forget."
But whenever he woke up in the middle of the night, recalling that day in the drizzling rain when he saw her gazing at the capital and her homeland, her aloofness and frost-like eyes, so different from the mischievous and clever girl she once was, it was as if a sharp blade was stabbing his heart. He also wondered what he would do if this prickly and stubborn girl ignored him.
But when those haunting memories of the past resurfaced in the dead of night, plunging him into a state of confusion, he recalled that scene at Jingyun Temple. He heard that voice: "Chu Yening, get out of the way!"
Just like when he was young, someone would scold him as an unruly wolfhound, the little tyrant Chu Yening. She would get so angry that her face would turn red, she would clench her fists, and she would shout for him, "Say that again!"
A single tear suddenly welled up in his eyes and silently slid down his neck. How could the young general's son, who had followed his father in battles in his youth, and later the indomitable national general exiled to the frontier, a duke and marquis, suddenly shed tears?
He looked at her, gritted his teeth, and muttered to himself, "It really hurts!"
"Seventh Sister, did you understand what Fourth Brother said?"
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The author's note: The phrase "朱颜长似" is a quote from a poem by Ge Shengzhong, a poet of the Song Dynasty, titled "Su Zhong Qing (A Friend's Birthday)".
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