On the way back, He Yan kept looking at the flower basket in Chu Zhao's hand.

The flower basket looks very beautiful. The vendor wrote the two words "Zi Lan" with special care. His handwriting is naturally elegant and graceful, and it complements the various fragrances in the flower basket.

"Brother Chu, you must eat it as soon as possible after you go back." He Yan said, "Otherwise, with the weather in Jiyang, it will melt quickly." She also bought a Qilin-shaped one and had already finished it. "I've tried it, it tastes good and not too sweet."

Chu Zhao smiled gently, "Thank you, Ah He. I will be very careful when I return."

Only then did He Yan feel relieved.

After they bought the sugar paintings, they walked back along the river bank. When they had nothing to say, He Yan occasionally asked Xu Zhiheng.

"Brother Chu, how was it last time you went back to attend a friend's wedding banquet? Was it lively?"

Chu Zhao was slightly startled, then smiled and replied, "Yeah, it was very lively. After all, she is General Feihong's sister, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince even came in person to congratulate her."

This made He Yan suspicious. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince came to see Xu Zhiheng marry. Was it for Xu Zhiheng, or for He Rufei, or both? Was the Crown Prince also involved in the conspiracy between the He and Xu families? What's worse, did the Crown Prince also know her identity?

"However..." Chu Zhao sighed again: "Mr. Xu may have deep feelings for his deceased wife. He even shed tears during the wedding banquet."

He Yan: "Ah?"

Perhaps it was because her face was filled with disbelief that Chu Zhao felt a bit amused and confused: "What's wrong? Don't you believe there are affectionate men in the world?"

He Yan thought to herself, of course she believed there were deeply affectionate men in the world, like her current father He Sui, who raised two children alone after Madam He passed away. Miss He was so arrogant, and He Sui could still dote on the little girl because she looked like his first wife, which showed that there must be such infatuated people in the world who were deeply in love and had no regrets. But this person could be anyone, and it would definitely not be Xu Zhiheng.

"It's not that I don't believe it," He Yan hid the mockery in his eyes and said, "It's just that he is like this, wouldn't his new wife be angry?"

"The current Madam Xu is very kind and innocent. Seeing that Master Xu was sad, her eyes were red too." Chu Zhao said, "She was not angry at all, but sympathized with him. This made General Feihong and the other members of the He family very grateful. So, although it was lively, the wedding banquet was a little sad."

He Yan felt that among the many jokes she had heard this year, the one Chu Zhao was telling was the funniest. Would the He family be sad for her? If this were said to a pig in a pig pen, the pig would feel that its brain was insulted. But the look on Chu Zhao's face when he talked about this matter showed that most people thought so.

They just did the bad things, but after doing them, they still had to put on a pitiful look as if they were about to cry, pretending to be a rare pitiful person with affection and righteousness in the world. It's really disgusting.

"Ah He seems to disagree with what I said?" Chu Zhao noticed her expression.

He Yan smiled and said, "Nothing much, I just think this Master Xu is quite interesting."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If he really loves her deeply and never forgets his first wife, even if the emperor personally arranges the marriage for her, he can still refuse it if he wants. After all, he is a man," He Yan said sarcastically, "If she is a woman, it is common for her to be unable to decide her own marriage. Brother Chu, you have heard of princes who rob and plunder, tyrants who force good women into prostitution, and beastly fathers who sell their daughters for fame, but have you ever heard of a woman who does this?"

"From what Brother Chu said just now, Mr. Xu seems like a weak woman who was forced to get married, and the newly married Madam Xu seems like the evil person who forced him to marry her. What does this mean? He doesn't want to get married, so no one can drag him to the wedding hall. He doesn't want to spend the bridal chamber, so can Madam Xu still force him to get married? The marriage is already over, and he is still obsessed with his 'deceased wife' in the future. How will the new Madam Xu cope with it? I think it's a bit unfair to both of them, and Brother Chu's friend is a bit hypocritical."

She said it bluntly. He Xinying was her sister from the same father and mother. Even though she hated the He family, He Xinying had never done anything to her. He Yan could not love her, nor could he hate her. He could only treat her as a stranger.

Any sober person who heard this would only think that Xu Zhiheng was more at fault. It was not enough for the He family to destroy one victim, they wanted to send in another one.

How cold-blooded and ridiculous.

Chu Zhao was stunned for a while, then suddenly smiled, stopped, and bowed to He Yan, saying, "Am I narrow-minded, or is it that Brother He, as a woman, can stand in the shoes of a woman and empathize with her?"

"It's just that no one has ever thought about being in their shoes."

"Ah He is very different from ordinary women."

He Yan looked at her: "What's the difference?"

Chu Zhao continued to walk forward, his voice still very gentle: "Most women, even if faced with such difficulties, have long been numb and indifferent, and do not think as much as Ah He does. Ah He is thinking about them now, but it is very likely that they are enjoying it and will blame you for meddling in their affairs."

He Yan smiled: "Brother Chu, what you said sounds a bit condescending."

Chu Zhao's smile paused: "Why do you say that?"

"The imperial court is a man's court, and the world's affairs are men's affairs. Even studying and fighting on the battlefield are the exclusive domains of men. The world praises men as heroes, but praises women as beauties at best. It's really unreasonable. Men have taken advantage of the world, but in turn blame women for being numb and not making progress. Isn't this arrogant?"

"Brother Chu thinks I am very different from ordinary women because I have studied, left the house, and even rebelled and joined the army. There are not many women like me in the world. But if you let those women see the snow of Liangzhou Wei, the water of Jiyang City, the long moon in the desert, and the rivers, seas, and mountains like me, do you think they will still be willing to be trapped in the jealous mansions, will they still be complacent, numb and ignorant?"

He Yan smiled. At this moment, her smile was somewhat mocking, and it was somewhat similar to Xiao Jue's: "I think the men in the world are worried about this, so they list many ridiculous rules to restrain women, use the Three Principles and Five Constant Virtues to clip their wings, and use those unfounded "virtuous wives and beautiful women" to judge them. The more ignorant they are, the more reassured the men are. It is clearly their own fault, but they still say "Look, women are shallow!"

"Because they also know that once women have the opportunity to 'choose', they will definitely not be willing to become a vase in the back house, waiting to be fed by their husbands. Those outstanding women will become generals, knights, scholars, and staff members, competing with them for the world's glory, and they may not necessarily win."

The girl's eyes were as clear as the water in Jiyang City on a spring day, transparent and clear, and everything was clear and distinct, as if it could reflect the brightest sunlight.

Chu Zhao was stunned for a moment. He was always good at speaking and would never make the atmosphere awkward, but at this moment he didn't know what to say. It seemed that no matter what he said, he couldn't refute the person in front of him. It was obviously ridiculous, overestimating one's own ability, naive and disgusting, but it actually reflected the shadow of the person, and the darkness could not be hidden.

He Yan also felt unfair.

Although playing the role of "He Rufei" brought a lot of pain to her life, it also taught her to see many scenes that many women would never see in their lives. If she hadn't played the role of "He Rufei", she wouldn't have known that men could do so many things compared to women. If you have literary talent, you can be a scholar with a full belly of scriptures. If you are skilled in martial arts, you can become a general with outstanding military exploits. Even if you are mediocre in everything, you can still be the most ordinary person on the street. To put it bluntly, even in Le Tong Zhuang, women are prostitutes and men are gamblers.

It was because she later became "Grandma Xu" and had been both a man and a woman that she realized that the world treats men and women differently. Men are not immune to hardship, but their hardship can be the basis for judging themselves. Women, on the other hand, have been waiting for men's affirmation all their lives through hardship.

We are all born as human beings, so who is more noble than who? What is funny is that some men look down on girls from the bottom of their hearts, which makes people speechless.

She finished speaking in one breath and found that Chu Zhao did not speak for a while. She thought to herself, could it be that this sentence offended Chu Zhao?

But then I thought, let him be offended. He was powerless anyway, and there was no way he could beat me even if we fought.

"Brother Chu, what I said just now was a little too hasty." He Yan smiled and said, "I hope Brother Chu won't take my impoliteness to heart."

"No," Chu Zhao looked at her with a strange look in his eyes, "Ah He's heart is admirable, Chu Zhao is ashamed to be inferior to her. I will never say such nonsense like today in the future. I will always keep Ah He's words in my heart."

Chu Zhao was a very graceful man. Even though she had just said a lot of things, he was still as gentle and warm as the spring breeze.

He Yan smiled and said, "Let's go now."

Chu Zhao nodded and responded with a smile.

The two continued walking back to Cui's house. He Yan lowered his head and sighed secretly in his heart.

Chu Zhao and Xiao Jue are different after all. They both think that women are weak and cannot protect themselves. But the former's judgment is a bit negative and condescending, while the latter, as can be seen from his treatment of the female corpse in the backyard of the Sun family in Liangzhou City, is more of a pity.

A general should be open and honest, calm and brave, but the more important quality is compassion for the weak.

…

When He Yan and Chu Zhao came back, it was already very late. Chu Zhao's yard was farther away than He Yan's. When they reached the door, Chu Zhao said, "Ah He, go to bed early today."

"Brother Chu, remember to eat it as soon as possible." He Yan was still thinking about his flower basket candy painting, so he instructed.

He looked at the flower basket in his hand, shook his head and smiled: "Definitely."

He Yan watched him leave before turning around to go back into the house. When she turned around, she saw a man standing in a small pavilion under the corridor, looking at her and laughing. He was wearing flowing white clothes. It was Liu Buwang.

"Master, haven't you rested yet?" He Yan walked over and asked. She rarely saw Liu Buwang at night these days.

"Come out for some fresh air." Liu Buwang looked at her, "Did you go buy some sugar paintings?"

He Yan nodded: "Mr. Chu has concealed my identity for me, so I thought about it and decided to give him something. He can't tell my secrets to others. Sugar paintings are quite cheap in Jiyang City, so I gave him the most expensive one. It would cost at least ten cents in Shuojing, but only eight cents here. It's cheap and good quality."

Liu Buwang smiled, looked at her and said, "Ah He, you are much more lively now than before."

He Yan was startled.

When she met Liu Buwang in her previous life, it was the most difficult time. She had just escaped from the peaceful days in Shuojing and came to the cruel and iron-blooded military camp, which was full of secrets. Therefore, she always acted with caution. Even though she occasionally showed her unbridled side when she was in the mountains with Liu Buwang, most of the time, she always tried her best not to cause trouble to others.

Now thinking about it, it seems that since she became "Miss He", she has unconsciously let go of a lot. Just like going to the street with Chu Zhao to buy sugar paintings today, this would have been impossible in the past.

Is it because she is a woman now, or because she is no longer bound by the He family and can do whatever she wants without having to worry about the secrets under the mask being seen by others?

"Isn't it good like this now?" He Yan said with a smile: "It doesn't have to be so stable."

Liu Buwang said: "That's good."

When he said this, he looked a little disappointed, and no one knew what he was thinking. He Yan wanted to ask, but when he saw Liu Buwang's indifferent look, he swallowed the words back.

Liu Buwang seemed a little sad.

The moon in spring is not as bright as the moon in autumn. It is hazy and lovely. Liu Buwang's eyes fell on the corners of his apprentice's raised mouth, but another figure appeared in his mind.

Mu Hongjin.

Mu Hongjin was also like this, with clear and bright eyes, occasionally showing a hint of shrewdness. Her red dress was also cute, with flowers and birds embroidered on the hem of her skirt, delicate and elegant. The girl always had two long braids with silver bells tied under the braids. When she walked, the bells made a pleasant ding-dong sound. Sometimes, before you get close, you can hear the bells and know that she is coming.

At that time, he was really annoyed by having such a person following him every day. He had said many times that he hoped they could go their separate ways, but every time Mu Hongjin would pout and cry. Even if Liu Buwang was as hard-hearted as iron, he was not good at dealing with a girl's tears. So he was easily resolved by her every time. In the end, he had already tacitly accepted that this person was a sticky candy that he couldn't get rid of, and let her follow him around and cause trouble for him.

Mu Hongjin was very good at enjoying herself. She had brought a lot of silver with her, but she spent it all in less than half a month. At that time, Liu Buwang didn't know that Mu Hongjin was the beloved daughter of King Mengji, and he only looked down on her extravagant and licentious life. She didn't care what Liu Buwang thought of her. She spent the money and insisted that he enjoy it with her.

Half a month later, Mu Hongjin had spent all her money and had to live on coarse food with Liu Buwang.

The inn was the simplest kind of bed, and the food was also very ordinary. Without money to buy street trinkets, Mu Hongjin persisted for half a day and protested to Liu Buwang: "Young man, can we have a good meal?"

"cannot."

Liu Buwang didn't have much money. The seven disciples of Taoist Yunji went down the mountain to gain experience. They said they went down the mountain to gain experience, but in fact, they just wanted to experience the mundane world. As for what they did on weekdays, it was some of the work that their senior brothers had received before that was assigned to him. To put it more clearly, they were paid to eliminate disasters for others. However, as a master, they were not allowed to do evil or to seek profit, so in the end, what they really did were trivial things like "helping the tenants of the manor find lost sheep" and "sending a secret letter back to the married girl's parents' home", and they were paid very little. Sometimes they even had to write letters for people, and they accepted everything.

A cool and elegant young man in white was walking on the path of the village with a lost sheep. The scene was a bit funny, so Mu Hongjin teased him: "What kind of sect are you from? Why do you have to do everything? Why don't you follow me, I..."

"What?" Liu Buwang asked her unhappily.

"I..." Mu Hongjin's beautiful eyes turned, "I paid you more than he did!"

Liu Buwang was so angry that he didn't want to talk.

But that was indeed the case. After all, the task assigned to him by his senior brother had not been completed. It was because he was doing these small things and earned very little money. It would be fine if he was alone, but now Mu Hongjin was following him and he had spent all his money. He had become two people, staying in the inn, eating... Life was very tight, and he wished he could spend every penny in half.

It can be seen that Mu Hongjin is also trying her best to adapt to this rough life. She made a fuss for a few days, but when she saw that Liu Buwang was really angry, she didn't dare to say anything. She lived a simple life with Liu Buwang.

But her habit of wanting to buy everything she sees has not changed.

Liu Buwang still remembered that one day they met an old woman selling flowers near a teahouse outside Jiyang City. In front of the old woman were two bamboo baskets and a shoulder pole, and the bamboo baskets were filled with wild chrysanthemums. They were slender and cute, with pale pink and white flowers. They were also very cheap, and must have been picked directly from the foot of Mount Qiyun.

Mu Hongjin went over to take a look. Seeing this, the old woman smiled and said, "Young Master, buy a flower for the girl to wear."

“No need.”

"Yes, yes!"

The two spoke at the same time. Liu Buwang gave Mu Hongjin a warning look, and Mu Hongjin pouted in grievance. The old woman smiled instead, picked a flower from the bamboo basket and gave it to Mu Hongjin: "You are a pretty girl, this flower is for you. Wear it on your head, it will be very beautiful!"

Mu Hongjin happily accepted it. She said with a sweet smile, "Thank you, mother-in-law!"

In that case, Liu Buwang couldn't just leave, so he took out a penny from his sleeve and handed it to the old woman.

"No, no." The old woman looked at him with a smile: "The little girl is cute, I like her. Young master, just treat her better in the future."

Liu Buwang turned his head and saw Mu Hongjin got the flower. She put it on her ear happily and asked Liu Buwang, "Does it look good?"

Liu Buwang said uncomfortably: "It has nothing to do with me."

Mu Hongjin glared at him, then squatted down and looked at the jewelry and cosmetics in the basket. After a moment, she took out a silver bracelet and exclaimed, "This is so beautiful!"

It was a very simple silver bracelet, which seemed to have been roughly polished by someone himself, and even the edges were not very smooth. However, there was a circle of lifelike wild chrysanthemums carved on the edge of the bracelet, which made it look fresh and lovely.

"This is really beautiful!" Mu Hongjin praised.

"This is called the Joy Bracelet, and it was carved by me and my husband together." The old woman smiled and said, "Give one to your beloved and let him wear it on your hand, and they will be inseparable for the rest of their lives. Why don't you buy one for the girl? It will last a lifetime."

"Did you hear that, Young Master Liu?" Mu Hongjin begged, "Send me one quickly!"

Liu Buwang looked at her coldly, snatched the silver bracelet from her hand, put it back into the bag, and then said to the old woman coldly: "She is not my sweetheart."

Mu Hongjin's eyes flashed with disappointment, and she didn't pick up the silver bracelet. She muttered, "How do you know I'm not your sweetheart?"

How do you know?

Yeah, how would he know.

The young man is proud and doesn't understand that the joy of youth comes quietly. By the time he realizes it, it has already turned into a disaster and there is no way to avoid it.

Many years later, Liu Buwang often wondered if he had bought the silver bracelet in front of Mu Hongjin and put it on her hand that day, they would not have reached the point they ended up in. Just as the old woman said, they would have been inseparable for the rest of their lives.

It's ridiculous that he also believes in supernatural powers and fate.

The moonlight sprinkled on the ground, leaving a layer of white frost. The sound of bells in memory gradually faded away, and all that remained in the ears was the sound of the wind that had been separated from Jiyang City for many years, lonely and desolate, and a little bit chilling to the heart.

"Do you like Xiao Jue?"

The unexpected voice interrupted He Yan's contemplation. He Yan turned her head in surprise. Liu Buwang retracted his gaze and looked at her with a knowing smile. He repeated again: "Ah He, do you like Xiao Jue?"

"...No." He Yan subconsciously refuted, and after a moment, he asked again: "Master, why do you say that?"

"Don't you realize?" Liu Buwang said calmly, "You feel very relaxed when you are with him. You trust him more than you trust me."

He Yan was stunned. Did she?

Maybe there is. Whether in the past life or this life, there may be many misunderstandings about Xiao Jue in her mind, whether it is indifference or evil, but from beginning to end, she has never doubted that Xiao Jue will hurt herself. He Yan, who seems to be carefree about everything, always maintains a sense of vigilance in his heart. This vigilance will not be removed when facing Liu Buwang of the past, when facing Xu Zhiheng, when facing He Rufei, and even when facing He Sui and his son, who have no offensive power in the He family, it still exists.

But she always trusted Xiao Jue.

"It's not time or experience that makes you feel so relaxed now, it's him." Liu Buwang said in a gentle voice, "Ah He, do you still want to deny it?"

He Yan didn't say anything.

After a while, she raised her head and looked at the moon hanging on the roof. The moon was big and white, and its silver light spread over the entire yard, looking tenderly at the people in the night.

"Master, look at the moon in the sky," she said slowly, "It shines everywhere from the backyards of wealthy families to the ditches in the wilderness. But you can't catch it, can you?"

"I can neither catch the moon nor make it come to me, so I just stand here and look at it from afar."