Mu Tonggui chuckled: "You even calculated up to seven or eight..."
The short line of text made my heart race. When I looked up again, I saw Jiang Yuanjun gazing at me intently with a gentle expression.
He smiled and said, "The fish lantern is very beautiful."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw wisps of smoke rising from the kitchen in the distance. Following a childhood habit, she instinctively asked, "Fifth Brother? Aren't you staying for dinner?"
The tone was very ordinary, and the words were the most common. They were childhood friends, innocent and carefree. The Qin, Chu, and Luo families were all homes where they could sleep soundly.
As they talked, the two walked outside, but Jiang Yuanjun replied irrelevantly, "It's getting dark, and visibility is poor, so walk slowly."
She turned to look at the afterglow behind her. Even though the twilight was still bright, she couldn't help but laugh and say, "I'm not a child anymore, why are you so precious?"
Jiang Yuanjun chuckled: "Even when you're seventy or eighty years old and have become an old woman, you'll still be my little seventh sister."
"Is she about the same age as Grandmother Zhao? I can't even imagine it." Qin Weixi shook her head repeatedly with a smile, looking utterly incredulous.
Suddenly, several laughs came from behind.
She and Jiang Yuanjun both stamped their feet. She then held up her lantern and shone it behind her. Luo Ling, Chu Yening, and Tao Qingyun were already standing under the eaves.
Luo Ling was in the center, dressed in a dark brocade robe, mature and composed. Tao Qingyun was on the left, dressed in a green robe, with a carefree demeanor and a smile on her lips.
Chu Yening was on the right, dressed in black. He had long since shed his unruly and arrogant demeanor, as if he had suddenly donned armor, taking on his father's responsibility and leading thousands of troops to the battlefield to meet the enemy.
In a daze, he seemed to see his brother Shuoguang wearing a blue and white jade robe, standing among the group with his hands behind his back, smiling at him. In the past, he loved wearing blue and white jade.
She lowered her eyes, trying her best to suppress the sudden bitterness that welled up in her heart. She quickly turned back to look at Jiang Yuanjun in front of her with a smile, and then looked at the three people under the eaves. In their youth, which one of them had not attracted the admiration of noble ladies from aristocratic families?
Her life's wish was simple: for everyone to be well and live peacefully and healthily.
Qin Weixi looked at the four people who had gathered together for the first time and said with feigned sourness, "They are truly a feast for the eyes. The four beauties of the capital. How come all four of them are in our family? It's just that my brothers are past the age of coming of age. If they get married one day, I'm afraid Xiaoxing and I will have to take the back seat."
Tao Qingyun stood under the eaves and laughed heartily: "Look at her, she's always so sharp-tongued, she's never one to suffer a loss."
Jiang Yuanjun still smiled gently, her eyes filled with endless tenderness: "Please see me off here. Every time I leave the palace, it's under the guise of a small gathering with my brother. There are still many eyes in the inner court watching me, the Crown Prince. I will definitely not be absent another day."
Only by protecting the Eastern Palace and that land could he protect everyone he wanted to protect in the years to come.
Dusk had fallen, and the twilight reflected off the gray tiles of the courtyard, casting shadows on them.
Half vibrant and bright, half dim and dark.
Qin Weixi handed the fish lantern in her hand to Jiang Yuanjun, who was standing in the shadows at that moment: "It's getting dark, so let's give this lantern to Fifth Brother and let it light your way. Seventh Sister can take you a short distance." She looked behind Jiang Yuanjun and saw Chu Yening standing under the eaves with his hands behind his back, nodding slightly to her with a smile on his face.
Jiang Yuanjun paused for a moment, then said, "Alright."
Just then, in the distance, maids from the mansion carried trays and moved along the corridors toward the dining hall. The courtyard was filled with flowers, exuding a peaceful and serene atmosphere.
Qin Weixi turned to look at him and saw a look of longing in his eyes.
"Seventh Sister, is there something you want to tell me?" Jiang Yuanjun asked.
Ah Xiao gradually slowed down his pace, seemingly intentionally giving the two of them some space to talk privately.
Qin Weixi said, "I remember the year I left the capital, my elder brother was only twelve years old?"
Jiang Yuanjun nodded slightly and took the fish lantern from her hand: "Brother has come to scout the way for you." Then, seeing the line of small characters written on the fish lantern, his eyes flashed, and he smiled and said: "Thanks to your words, brother will surely have everything go as he wishes and follow his heart."
Qin Weixi smiled and said, "Then I have given you the fish lantern and the brush."
"Fifth Brother, I have always remembered your heartfelt words to the late Emperor back then."
"Fifth Brother, in the distant future, you will surely be a wise and benevolent ruler. In the distant future, perhaps in some place, I will also be one of those millions of ordinary people, always wishing you all the best."
Jiang Yuanjun also slowed down her pace, first pausing slightly, then lowering her eyes and smiling faintly: "I know, I knew it at the palace banquet that day."
The two gradually walked out of the corridor. Jiang Yuanjun suddenly stopped, looked down at her, and still smiled: "I'll leave you here, Seventh Sister."
"Fifth Brother," Qin Weixi immediately interrupted her.
She looked at Jiang Yuanjun and said again, "The Eastern Palace has never been a place to bind you. Ten years ago, what could confine you was only your physical body, but it could not confine the flesh and blood beneath that body. Fifth Brother, first and foremost you are you, and only then do you become anyone else."
“I will always be your seventh sister.”
Jiang Yuanjun looked up at her, and after a long while, she said, "Seventh Sister, you don't blame me?"
Qin Weixi just looked at him with a smile: "Fifth Brother, next time you go home and have a small gathering with your elder brother, remember to bring me some pastries."
Jiang Yuanjun immediately understood. After a moment, he returned the fish lantern to her hand: "Seventh Sister, Fifth Brother also wishes you all the best, every year." After saying that, he did not linger, and the same gentle smile remained on his lips: "With the lantern guiding your way, this time you will see Fifth Brother off."
Just as Jiang Yuanjun finished speaking, the two saw a carriage parked outside the Marquis's residence. A short while later, a person got off the carriage and ran quickly into the residence.
Jiang Yuanjun looked surprised: "Afu, what brings you here? The Empress Dowager said your leg ailment flared up recently, so why did you run out of the palace again? Does the Empress Dowager know?"
Jiang Yuanfu looked like she had just been crying; her eyes were red and her face was very haggard. "I heard that Fourth Brother was assassinated? Why did you all keep it from me?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuanjun sighed: "Yesterday, when I returned to the palace to see Father, I saw that the lamps in your palace were going out and then on again, so I didn't let Zishu call you."
Upon hearing this, Qin Weixi's eyes flashed, and he involuntarily stepped forward and took her hand: "Why are your hands so cold?"
Jiang Yuanfu shook her head, but paused when she saw the bright fish lantern in her hand. After a moment, she smiled faintly and asked, "This is Fourth Brother's handwriting. Did Fourth Brother give it to you?"
Qin Weixi followed her gaze to the six small characters again, and was about to answer when Jiang Yuanfu spoke first: "I heard from the imperial physician that Fourth Brother is out of danger."
Qin Weixi nodded: "Shall we go and take a look?"
Jiang Yuanfu suddenly gave a bitter smile: "If that's the case, then there's no need. I was in such a hurry to leave the palace that I feel dizzy and lightheaded. Since my brother wants to go back to the palace, I'll go back with him." As she spoke, she grabbed Qin Weixi's hand again and chuckled: "So that Mother will scold me again."
Jiang Yuanjun nodded to her, and the two siblings walked side by side towards the gate of the mansion. A Xiao followed behind, bowing slightly to her as on that day, and the three of them quickly disappeared from her sight.
Feng Hua and Que She suddenly stepped forward. Que She took a cloak and draped it over her back, asking in confusion, "Why did Your Highness come and go in such a hurry?"
Sparrow Tongue, standing nearby, noticed this and his eyes flickered slightly.
Qin Weixi shook his head: "I don't know either. Let's go find my brother."
Just as the three were about to turn around, a horse neighed again outside the gate. The master and servant turned around and saw that Uncle Gu had greeted the guards at the gate of the Marquis's mansion and was running towards them.
Gu Han's forehead was covered in sweat, clearly because he was rushing to the Jingning Marquis's residence by carriage.
Qin Weixi asked in surprise, "Uncle Gu, what happened?"
Gu Han stepped forward, bowed, and whispered, "Miss, he was a close attendant of the Duke of Dingguo's heir back then, and he is currently in the manor."
Who else could be the close attendants around my brother?
wooden boy.
Qin Weixi hurriedly said, "Quickly, I need to go back to the manor. Fenghua, you stay at the Marquis's residence to inform my brother."
*
In less than a quarter of an hour, the carriage driven by Gu Han quickly arrived at the gate of the Luo residence. Qin Weixi and Queshe hurriedly went inside. Outside Tingyu Pavilion, in the dim light of the setting sun, she could see the entire courtyard, but Mu Tong was nowhere to be seen. Inside the small courtyard of Tingyu Pavilion, apart from a few flowering trees and an extremely thick, ancient tree, there was nothing else.
"Where is he? Where did Zijin go?"
Gu Han said from behind, "When this old servant left, Miss Song was still in Tingyuxuan."
As soon as Gu Han finished speaking, she looked up again and glanced at the eaves around Tingyu Pavilion. At the same time, Queshe's voice rang in her ears: "Miss, look there."
Qin Weixi's gaze quickly settled on the old tree that Queshe had been looking at. Mu Tong, her brother's former close follower, was now hidden in the twilight, his head covered by a bamboo hat, his hands clasped in his arms, sitting on the old tree, watching her intently.
This was the first real meeting between the two in ten years. They looked at each other for a long time without saying a word, but their hearts were clear as mirrors.
The wooden boy landed gracefully, and Qin Weixi handed the fish lantern to Gu Han before running off quickly. As she ran, she asked Feng Hua, "Has my brother returned?"
Gu Han also excitedly said, "Young Master, please return."
Under the moonlight, a master and a servant stood side by side, one shedding tears, the other with reddened eyes.
Mu Tong quickly knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "Your subordinate Mu Tong greets Miss. Miss has suffered."
Qin Weixi helped him up with one hand. As far as the eye could see, there were crisscrossing knife scars on his palm and his weathered face: "It's you, Mu Tong. You've suffered so much."
Mu Tong smiled without speaking, then glanced at the small space they were in and Que She behind her. Que She raised her chin slightly: "Mu Tong! Long time no see." After speaking, she added: "No, it hasn't been long since we parted at Jingyun Temple."
Wooden Boy also slightly raised his chin, looked at Sparrow Tongue with an inquiring gaze, and then nodded.
Qin Weixi watched their little interactions with a smile, knowing that Mu Tong had many things he wanted to say to her. She asked, "Where's Zijin?"
When Zijin was mentioned, Mutong's eyes were filled with tenderness and undisguised love: "Miss, thank you for protecting Zijin. Zijin saw that my stomach was rumbling and insisted on cooking a bowl of noodles herself."
Qin Weixi also smiled: "It was my elder brother who saved Zijin. All these years I have been living in the Luo family in Jiangnan. It was my parents, my elderly grandmother and my elder brother in the capital who took good care of me. There are some things that my elder brother should know."
"Of course." Mu Tong nodded. He knew that this elder brother was not the same as the other elder brother. Back then on Little Penglai, he had personally witnessed the prince die by Liang Xu's sword.
Zijin brought over a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup, her eyes filled with tears.
Qin Weixi smiled at the two of them and then invited Mu Tong into the small dining room on the first floor of Tingyu Pavilion. Zi Jin hesitated: "Miss, this is not in accordance with the rules."
Qin Weixi said, "Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. You are both my closest relatives. Zijin, you two are finally reunited."
Inside the dining hall, she insisted that Mu Tong eat the bowl of chicken noodle soup, just as her brother was on his way back. Zi Jin stopped crying instantly, and instead looked at Mu Tong with a sweet smile, her eyes crinkling with tenderness.
Before long, Gu Han came to report: "Miss, the young master has returned and is currently in the study."
"Okay, thank you very much, Uncle Gu."
It was already dusk, and in the quiet moonlight, she usually felt that the journey to her brother's study was quick, but today she felt that the road was so long.
A dim light flickered in Luo Ling's study. Luo Yuan stood quietly under the eaves, arms crossed, holding a sword in his arms. Luo Yuan, who was usually not talkative, said at this moment, "Goodness, you can disappear in the blink of an eye. I've been looking for you for days."
The wooden child still proudly raised his chin, but there was a faint smile in his expression.
Luo Ling, who was inside the house, quickly came out to greet them.
Seeing this, Mu Tong quickly stepped forward. Before Luo Ling could even get close, Mu Tong knelt down on one knee with a thud, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "On behalf of the young master, Mu Tong thanks you for saving my sister. From now on, Mu Tong will go through fire and water for you without hesitation. Mu Tong is at your service!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
