After Chapter 42, there is no need to send me the Heart-Scorching Pills anymore!
Tonight, Xiao Nanyan forgave Manluo's crime. Watching Xiyan's back disappear from his sight, he suddenly felt upset. He put on his clothes, stood up, and left the bedroom alone.
The spring night mist, wrapped in the damp fragrance of locust flowers, swept across the green tiles of the Regent's Palace.
Xiao Nanyue walked along the gravel path, passed the moon-shaped gate covered with ivy, and entered the deepest corner of the Regent's Palace - the Palace Ancestral Hall.
The wind blew, and the hem of his black clothes swept across the bronze crane lamp stand. The wind chimes on the eaves tinkled, startling the white pigeons roosting under the eaves.
The sheep-horn lanterns hanging on the eaves of the ancestral hall swayed in the wind, reflecting the thin moss on the bluestone slabs into mottled silver scales. In the flickering light, bursts of clear wooden fish sounds could be heard, mixed with the lingering fragrance of agarwood, like falling snow knocking on the window.
Xiao Nanyue took a deep breath, raised his hand and pushed open the two vermilion doors of the ancestral hall.
In an instant, the scent of sandalwood mixed with aged camphor wood hit my face, making my eyes slightly hot.
The candlelight in the ancestral hall was dim, and two bronze eternal lamps flickered on the lotus seat, making the gilded Dharma image of Guanyin Bodhisattva appear bright and dim.
On both sides of the statue, there are tablets of the Xiao family's ancestors. The most conspicuous one is the spirit tablet of his father, King Xiao Beicheng, with gold characters on a black background.
At this moment, his mother Su Xianrou was kneeling on a futon with her back to him. She was wearing a moon-white dress that dragged on the ground, and the sandalwood hairpin in her hair had long been polished to a shine.
She held a copper-wooden fish hammer in her right hand, and each strike was rhythmic. The scarlet silk thread wrapped around the handle of the hammer was tied by Xiao Beicheng himself eight years ago before he went to war.
When Xiao Beicheng passed away, Xiao Nanyan was already fourteen years old.
During those years, he witnessed with his own eyes that his father's love for his mother was deep and lasting.
Upon learning of her father's death, Su Xianrou was heartbroken and even wanted to follow her husband to the underworld.
However, Xiao Nanyan begged her tearfully, taking pity on his young age, and Su Xianrou finally gave up. However, she moved into the ancestral hall in the backyard and never wanted to show up in public again. She chanted scriptures and worshipped Buddha every day to accompany her late husband's spirit.
Xiao Nanyue had no choice but to let it go. As long as his mother was still alive, it was the greatest comfort to him.
"Mother!"
Xiao Nanyan called out softly, the soles of his boots rolling over the incense ash on the blue bricks.
In the celadon incense burner on the altar, three sandalwood incense sticks were emitting thin smoke, and next to them were candied green plums, which were Xiao Beicheng's favorite during his lifetime.
"Yan'er is here!"
The sound of the wooden fish suddenly stopped.
When Su Xianrou turned around, she revealed her plain face, which was not stained by the world. Her skin was whiter than snow, her bones were as white as jade, her eyes were as clear as autumn water, her lips were red without any makeup, she was as calm as still water, and she had a natural radiance. Although there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, one could still vaguely see the charm of the most beautiful woman in Yandu back then.
Xiao Nanyan saw the jade bracelet on her wrist, broken into three pieces, held together by a thin layer of silver thread. It had been her father's betrothal gift, shattered when she threw herself against the coffin eight years ago, and then repaired by her.
"Isn't mother resting yet?"
His eyes suddenly felt sore, and the sudden sound stirred up the dust in the corner of the hall.
Su Xianrou paused holding the wooden mallet and sighed softly:
"Last year, on your father's death anniversary, I dreamed of him standing under a pear tree..." Her voice choked slightly.
"He called me by my maiden name and asked me to accompany him to appreciate the flowers. I chased after him, but his figure disappeared..."
Xiao Nanyue felt his heart suffocate and remained silent.
"Yan'er, your father's death anniversary is coming soon. In a few days, can you pick a few bunches of pear blossoms and send them to your mother?"
"good!"
Su Xianrou stroked the spotted jade bracelet on her hand, as if touching the eyebrows of her lover:
"If Bei Cheng were still here, he would definitely take Yan'er and me to the north of the city to enjoy the spring."
The third watch drum sounded outside the hall. Su Xianrou inserted the last stick of incense into the incense burner. The green smoke meandered up to the ancestral tablet, blurring the words "General Protector of the Country".
Xiao Nanyue reached out to brush away the dust on his mother's shoulders. When he touched her thin shoulder blades, he suddenly realized that she seemed to have become thinner than last month.
During these eight years, she lived in the ancestral hall, guarding her father's tablet. She also lived in a cocoon made of memories, using the rest of her life to repay an unfinished love.
"Don't worry, mother. Yan'er will take my father's place and stay by your side. I will fight for justice for my father even if it takes the rest of my life."
Su Xianrou's hand, tightly gripping the wooden mallet, trembled slightly. Then, the hammer's sound became more rapid. She clasped her hands together and lowered her eyes:
"When will the cycle of revenge end? The cycle of calamities continues endlessly. Mother is tired. Please leave now!"
Xiao Nanyan wanted to say something, but it was obvious that his mother was no longer willing to talk to him anymore.
In other words, in the eight years since his father's death, his mother rarely looked him in the eye and rarely communicated with him.
"Then... Mother, please rest early!"
For some reason, his intuition told him that his mother did not want him to seek revenge. This had been the case from eight years ago until now.
Perhaps, his mother was worried that he would fight against the Apocalypse Dynasty and his life would be in danger, so she didn't want him to live in hatred. However, as his only son, how could he let go of his father's innocent death?
When he left, he looked back at the cushion in front of the shrine. The moonlight stretched his mother's shadow very long, and it overlapped with the shadow of the ancestral tablet, just like his parents standing side by side under the pear tree.
Xiao Nanyue took a deep breath, turned around and left the ancestral hall.
As he closed the door, his fingertips paused. The sound of his mother's wooden fish in the ancestral hall pierced through the wooden door, seeming to shatter the accumulated ice in his chest. The sheep-horn lantern under the eaves flickered, and the candlelight shattered the frost between his brows.
Every time he came here, he always felt like there was a half-broken stele on his heart, engraved with the mantra of rebirth and the widow.
Suddenly, the figure in front of him moved. He looked up and saw Fu Yunqing leaning against the moon-shaped door, looking at him with a smile:
"Why, were you kicked out again?"
Xiao Nanyan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
"Ah, your mother is really something. Ever since your father passed away, her soul has also disappeared. What's the fun in eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures all day long?"
"roll!"
Xiao Nanyue walked away, too lazy to pay attention to him.
Fu Yunqing is a good-tempered person:
"Oh, oh, oh, I've upset you again. If I had to tell you, I'd better tell you about it. So, let's talk about you and that damn girl. You two are like a match made in heaven, a match made in heaven. Look at you, you're always dominating her body. It seems like you've gotten the taste for it. Once this virgin gets a taste of something fishy, he's out of control..."
"Fu Yunqing, if you want to die, I can grant your wish!"
Fu Yunqing sneered: "Tsk tsk tsk, I think you've become more human since you lost your virginity. Based on your previous temper, you would never have spared that slutty Manluo! It seems that pillow talk is stronger than anything else..."
Before he could finish his words, a cold wind suddenly blew in the air. Fu Yunqing was so scared that he ran away. With a whoosh, he jumped onto the roof and avoided Xiao Nanyue's heavy punch.
He patted his pounding heart and cursed:
"Xiao Nanyan, you bastard! No wonder Manluo called you a demon and even implicated me. If you hadn't asked me to research that Burning Heart Pill, would I have been so shameless as to do such a wicked thing? She even said that if she knew who had researched it, she would castrate him. You bitch, you say it and you do it! You've really ruined me!"
Xiao Nanyan didn't even look at him, turned around and left, leaving a cold sentence:
"From now on, there's no need to send me the Heart Burning Pills anymore!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
