Previous Life (Part 2)
...
In the eighth year of the Tianbao era, Liu Xu entered officialdom.
He was twenty-two years old that year.
He was two years later than Liu Xu, who became the top scholar in the imperial examination in this era.
By then, Xie Lingxi had married the Prince of Jin and was no longer the young girl washing flowers and hands by the winding stream.
It is impossible for the two of them to meet again like they did in this life.
Xie Lingxi's expression was complicated.
It turns out that in his previous life, Liu Xu did not meet her or the old soldier during his youth. In fact, due to bad luck, he wandered for a long time and worked hard to study, which led to his current situation.
This is a banquet for high-ranking officials and dignitaries.
As the moon rose above the willow branches, Liu Xu, dressed in a crimson robe and adorned with a jade-inlaid crown, drank with the crowd with a smile. He soon succumbed to the alcohol and collapsed like a jade mountain, tipsy.
With friends offering drinks and everyone laughing and joking, it was truly a blissful and happy occasion.
Xie Lingxi thought to herself with a sense of dejection that Liu Xu was a wonderful and passionate young man, and that it was actually his good fortune that he hadn't met her.
Isn't it a bit hypocritical of her to say she loves Liu Xu while dragging him into an even more dangerous situation?
Overwhelmed with emotion, he didn't see Liu Xu being helped back to the mansion, staggering unsteadily.
Yan Ji was also at the banquet. Xie Lingxi was now filled with emotion. When she saw him, she really wanted to slap him hard and make him tear off his humble mask to reveal his fangs.
Unconsciously, she followed in Yan Ji's footsteps, reflecting on the short first half of her life.
After returning to his residence, Yan Ji did not like to discuss court affairs with her, believing that "women and petty men are difficult to deal with," and only wanted Xie Lingxi's family background and appearance.
After marriage, she seemed to be under a spell, truly adhering to the duties of a virtuous wife, suppressing her romantic nature, and thus refusing to listen, see, or think about anything...
The so-called "well-read" and "refined" qualities were merely used by mediocre people as embellishments to the reputation of Yan Ji as a "wise king".
Thinking of this, Xie Lingxi frowned. Seeing his wife still smiling radiantly inside the room, he couldn't help but scold:
"Keep laughing, but soon you won't be able to laugh anymore!"
Stop being naive, Xie Lingxi, run!
The people inside seemed to have heard something, and when they looked out the window, they saw only a new swallow fly by.
Just as Xie Lingxi was about to suppress her nausea and go inside to check on herself, she was pulled by a force and sent to Liu Xu's Willow House.
We cannot stray too far from Liu Xu. This is something Xie Lingxi has come to realize over the years.
She pushed open the door and walked easily to Liu Xu's bedroom. She saw the young man lying on the table in a daze, with the bright moonlight shining beside him and the shadows of clusters of magnolias adorning his body.
The candlelight illuminated the room, casting dappled shadows.
Suddenly, Liu Xu straightened up, took out a scroll tube with intricate carvings from the depths of the drawer, and carefully pulled out a painting.
As the scroll was unfurled, Xie Lingxi leaned closer to take a look and blushed with surprise.
The woman in the painting, with her flowing robes, is like a fairy descended to earth. A crescent moon adorns her eyebrows, and spring peach blossoms brush her face; her beauty is more ethereal and captivating than any flower.
Isn't this Xie Lingxi herself?
—That outfit is still sitting perfectly in her closet.
When did Liu Xu meet me?
Xie Lingxi racked her brains and finally remembered that in late spring last year, she did see Liu Xu go to Qujiang for a spring outing, but he was far away from the women and she hadn't even noticed.
In her previous life, her health deteriorated after she married Yan Ji. That was the last time she traveled with her wives, so the memory was particularly vivid.
In the days that followed, he couldn't bear even the slightest cold, and he never had that opportunity again.
A fleeting glimpse...
Xie Lingxi wanted to examine it more closely, but saw that Liu Xu was asleep, holding the painting, as if having a sweet dream, with a happy smile on his face.
...
She was not at peace.
Along with this, it became clear why Liu Xu had suddenly started inquiring about unmarried women in Chang'an these past few days, and how melancholy he had become after learning the news.
Since her rebirth, she has often wondered why a top scholar had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, fearing that this person would vanish like morning dew.
All the doubts have finally been answered today.
The past and present lives are connected by a line, marking countless unbearable years.
Liu Xu's admiration, hidden deep in his heart in his previous life, finally crossed mountains and rivers to reach her in this life. From then on, peach blossoms filled the mountain mists, and the ink shadows were tinged with red.
...
Liu Xu did not hold office for long before Yan Ji rebelled.
He pointed his sword at the Mingguang Palace, murdered his father and brother, forced out his trusted ministers, and his henchmen raided and plundered at will, turning the entire city of Chang'an into a state of utter chaos.
The powerful families were uprooted, and the common people suffered terribly. For a time, the cries of sorrow filled the wilderness, and it was a living hell.
Xie Lingxi watched as Liu Xu quietly left Chang'an and returned to his hometown, where he joined several familiar local gentry to distribute porridge and save lives.
Later, more and more colleagues and students gathered together to plot this heinous crime of "treason".
They were all dressed in coarse cloth, lacking food and clothing, yet their eyes shone with a blazing fire, a flame powerful enough to devour all darkness.
...
Liu Xu is thirty years old.
At this time, the seas were calm and the rivers were clear, and people were singing and dancing in peace and prosperity.
The Great Yan is still the Great Yan.
The Xiangshan Temple has been renovated and is now bustling with people every day. Ancient trees are covered with ropes tied to the trees for the deceased.
"You've come again."
The abbot looked at the people kneeling on the prayer cushions and said with a smile, "The world is getting better and better these days."
"Um."
"I'm going to die."
The host understood.
The young man before me was as handsome as the bright moon, but there was an unconcealable weariness between his brows. Although he was only thirty years old, he already had a head of white hair.
He said sadly, "Yes. The agreed time is coming to an end, your lifespan is about to burn out..."
"Alas... Heaven is jealous of talent, and beauty is often short-lived!"
Liu Xu seemed oblivious to the sigh in the abbot's words, his brow relaxed, and he became detached from worldly concerns. He devoutly bowed to the Buddha statue and whispered a prayer:
"In your next life, may you have a smooth life, free from illness and worry."
...
It turns out that her life was saved by Liu Xu praying to all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens.
The ancients said that deep affection is short-lived, and this was not a deceptive statement.
For Liu Xu, with family and friends scattered and his lover dead, he was left alone in his high hall, let alone live a long life.
Heaven is the most ruthless force, cruelly turning a handsome young man, as dignified as a pine tree in the wind, into a state that is neither human nor ghost.
Xie Lingxi recalls the ending of Liu Xu in her previous life.
At that time, war raged everywhere, leaving devastation in the landscape. His parents died under the hail of knives, and his three older brothers were conscripted into the army and never seen again, their fate unknown.
The woman I loved hanged herself in the dead of winter.
It is said that the souls of those who commit suicide will forever wander the world, unable to find peace or enter the cycle of reincarnation.
When news of Empress Xie's suicide arrived, Liu Xu was still in Jiangzhou. He was heartbroken and ran day and night until three horses died, only to find Xie Lingxi's body, cold and desolate, never to smile again.
Fortunately, we have today.
All past lives were illusions; our first meeting in this life took place in Jingzhou, where mountains collapsed and rivers dried up.
The little child knows nothing of sorrow or resentment; beneath the pear blossoms, the joy of strangers helping each other fills the air.
The moon over Chang'an was clear and sparse. Outside the willow-lined house, Xie San Niang was caught off guard by Liu Chengzhi. Embraced by her spring clothes, their hearts were intertwined, and they began to look at each other.
It was a first encounter, and also a reunion.
"Boom—"
The scenery before her kept changing. The new swallows had already flown south, and the willows were sprouting tender yellow buds. Liu Xu from her previous life waved goodbye to her with a smile, his eyes curving like crescent moons.
The night rain seeped into Xie Lingxi's clothes, startling her awake.
"That is..."
Her past life with Liu Xu.
Xie Lingxi unconsciously touched her chest, which was pounding wildly, crackling and popping out a series of tiny sparks that scalded her entire body.
Ah Xu.
She kept repeating those two words over and over.
So happy. So delighted.
Xie Lingxi felt that he had some kind of problem, that he could still laugh out loud in the bleakness of the night rain, and resignedly carried Liu Xu on his back, about to walk forward.
Just then, a sudden clap of thunder startled a flock of birds, and with a crack, a piece of dead wood was knocked down. Before Xie Lingxi could react, she was struck heavily.
Instantly, the man on top of him cried out in pain, "Ah!"
"You're awake?"
This was truly a timely help. Xie Lingxi stepped forward, unaware that she was on a steep slope. When she entered the woods, one of her shoes had broken off. Now, she lost her balance and, along with Liu Xu, suddenly tumbled down the slope.
My face was covered in mud and blood.
She was already in poor health, and the turbulent river waters had left her covered in bony wounds.
Now, exhausted in the rainy night, with the cold wind penetrating his body and his blood rushing back to its head, he finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted.
...
Xie Lingxi woke up.
Although I still cannot see, I feel very comfortable all over, and I am wearing a dry and soft cloth coat.
Outside, the sun was shining brightly, urging the birds to chirp and chatter idly.
She still remembered the thunderclap that struck her right on the head before she lost consciousness; it was truly unbearable.
After cursing him in her heart, she was about to grope her way out of bed to find Liu Xu when she accidentally knocked something over. Xie Lingxi bent down to pick it up, and then a hand pushed her aside.
"Lingxi, be careful."
"Ah Xu?"
Liu Xu stayed up all night watching over Xie Lingxi, fearing something might happen to his wife. Now that he had left for a while, he saw Xie Lingxi bending down to pick something up.
It was a chipped porcelain bowl, but fortunately it wasn't broken, and it was lying there alone, its water dripping.
He quickly tidied up and helped Xie Lingxi back to the bedside. "Why did you get up in such a hurry? Your injuries haven't healed yet... Lie down quickly."
That's fine.
To avoid any trouble caused by her blindness.
She silently leaned back against the embroidered pillow, thinking of how Liu Xu had taken the blow for her, and asked, "Ah Xu, is your back alright?"
Liu Xu was awakened by that broken piece of wood.
He had been in a strange dream, in which his wife suddenly transformed into the Princess Consort of Jin. In his fright, he felt a pain in his back and then suddenly plummeted downwards.
When he opened his eyes, he saw his wife lying unconscious at his feet, covered in blood, her hair disheveled, and on the verge of death.
He didn't care that he had lost one of his shoes and socks. He picked up Xie Lingxi and headed out of the forest. Suddenly, he saw a faint light in the east. It turned out that a pair of hunters had been awakened by the thunder and lit an oil lamp.
Liu Xu recounted that he and his wife were traveling through mountains and rivers when they accidentally fell into the river and were swept to this spot.
They pleaded with the two men to save the patient in their arms, saying it would be a great favor and they would be eternally grateful.
Although the elderly couple did not want to get into trouble, they couldn't bear it in the end and sent over the quilt and water.
During the conversation, they mentioned that recently, many people have been swept to this place by the water, and most of them have become corpses scattered on the pile of stones.
"They're all dead?"
Liu Xu nodded.
“That’s strange,” Xie Lingxi frowned. “This place isn’t some dangerous pass, and they don’t have wolves chasing them like we do. Why are they all coming this way in a swarm?”
"Besides, isn't there even one survivor?"
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