Will disturb, pay leisurely
Dynasties have changed, but life must go on. It may be a little harder and more frustrating, but at least we are alive.
Mr. Zhang once told her: Everything in the world has cause and effect, and also fate.
Feichun always believed in him, but the more he thought about it, the more vague Mr. Zhang's figure became, as if there was no such person in this world.
He had come to her in her dream and said that he had attained the Tao and become an immortal, no longer in the human world. Seeing that Feichun was not attached to the past, she no longer had any concerns.
How could she not be persistent? She was still searching for Liu Qingbai's whereabouts. She wanted to see him alive or dead.
Mr. Zhang smiled and said, "This is not the past."
"What's that?"
"Think of it as... life? Hahaha." He laughed loudly towards the sky and disappeared into the mist of the distant mountains.
Feichun woke up from her dream, casually picked up the silver hairpin on the table, tied her hair into a bun, and hurried on her way.
Now, she, Haitang, and Nie Qing have opened a security agency to make a living, allowing her to travel widely, see the mountains and rivers, and search for Liu Qingbai's traces. Business has been good in recent years, barely making ends meet, but it's also stable.
She carried a travel journal with her every day, and circled every place she visited, as if she had been there with Liu Qingbai.
Mingyue Village is no longer in Yueming County. Some people are gone, some have left, and only a few remain to live and work in Yueming County.
Zi Yan opened the Tianxian Pavilion in Yueming County and stopped selling the priceless Jade Grass. Everything in the world could be made into incense, so why would she need something "watered" with human blood? She was adept at dealing with people and could do business anywhere.
Yinghua also opened a clinic, with Da Huang guarding the door, so ordinary ruffians didn't dare to cause trouble. It was said that a handsome scholar often went to the clinic to read.
"Reading in a medical clinic? Is this scholar ill?"
This rumor was passed on to Feichun by Lingyun, which inevitably aroused her curiosity.
"I heard that the scholar could only concentrate on reading when he smelled the fragrance of medicine, and he always talked about poetry and songs with Aunt Yinghua." Yun Ling described it vividly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
Poetry? Feichun almost laughed out loud, but he didn't want to spoil Lingyun's fun. A ten-year-old child is at the age where he loves to make up stories.
"Do you think this scholar does anything else for your Aunt Yinghua besides reading?"
"Not really." Ling Yun said this with some resentment towards the scholar, blaming him for not living up to his expectations and for being so slow in doing things.
"Do you see your aunt Yinghua paying any attention to him?"
"I see. She seems quite happy."
"Then you have to remember that you don't want a man like that. You have to find someone who works for you, not just for himself."
"Is my father such a person?"
Feichun thought about it, and finally gave Lingyun a positive answer.
Ling Yun nodded, not quite understanding what he was saying, and lay on the carriage to turn another page of the storybook.
She grew up on horseback, having traveled the world with her mother since she was young. At first, they were in a bamboo basket, and when the basket became too full, they tied it to their bodies with ropes. Over the years, as they earned a little money, they switched to a horse-drawn carriage, but sometimes, in dire circumstances, they still had to hold their mother.
Aunt Haitang said that my mother was escorting the escort agency just to find my father. No matter how far the journey was, she would rush thousands of miles to find a clue, regardless of the cost. If it weren't for Aunt Nie Qing, the escort agency would have lost money long ago.
But Ling Yun didn't think Aunt Nie Qing was good at accounting, and was even worse than her. He always lost to her at playing mahjong during the New Year.
Ling Yun flipped through a few more pages and felt the carriage slow down. He looked up and saw Fengqing Temple again.
This is where Lingyun was found, and it is also where Feichun paid tribute to his deceased friend.
The tablets of Bao Fu, He Lanzhu, and Wei Ruchu were all at Fengqing Temple. Feichun would stop by whenever she passed by. Lingyun had long since gotten used to it; she called Master Ruoque "Third Uncle." Master Ruoque didn't mind, and every time she looked at Third Uncle's back, she wondered what her father was like.
"He's even more handsome than your third uncle." This is what Aunt Haitang said.
When Lingyun came to his senses, the paper ashes had turned into white butterflies and drifted high and far away with the wind.
It seems to bring away endless thoughts.
I heard that Helan's uncle and aunt both tried to assassinate the hateful Marquis Tongyi, but ultimately failed.
But Marquis Tongyi still died, killed by the new emperor of the Xin Dynasty.
My mother said that this was like inviting a wolf into the house and shooting oneself in the foot.
You deserve it!
In fact, Ling Yun had long discovered that there was an empty tablet among those. Her third uncle had secretly told her that it was reserved for her father, but he was afraid that her mother would be unhappy, so he left it empty without writing anything.
That is the secret between Ling Yun and his uncle.
Feichun called out a few times before Lingyun reluctantly said goodbye to Mei'er. When she came to Third Uncle's place, she still liked Mei'er the most. Although Mei'er only cared about the sweet-scented osmanthus candy and sesame cakes in her pocket, her body was smooth and shiny, and it felt so good to touch.
After returning from this escort mission, Aunt Ziyan's Tianxian Academy was established. It is a place specifically for girls to study.
Feichun thought Lingyun should go to school, and it was not a good idea for her to always follow her around, so they discussed letting Lingyun go to school.
Ziyan naturally agreed, but Lingyun cried and begged for mercy, refusing to go. She wanted to travel with her mother and didn't want to read, unless it was a storybook.
"Who wants to be one of those sour teachers?" She cried with tears and snot, and she wished she could call all the aunts in Yueming County to cry over to her.
"I can agree to other things, but not this. Studying can help you understand things, but I don't need you to take the imperial examinations."
The opportunity to read and learn to read is so rare, why doesn’t this child learn well?
"But they say a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Why should I read so many books?"
"Who taught you to say that?" Her blood boiled, and if she hadn't cared about her image as a loving mother, she would have probably slapped him.
"People... all say that..."
"Who said that? I skinned him and tore out his tendons!"
Veins bulged, and with a sharp movement of his sword, a wooden table was split in half. His martial arts skills had improved over the years.
Ling Yun saw that things were not going well, so he just said something nonsense: "My father said so."
Why mention Liu Qingbai when there are so many other people to mention?
"Your father? What did your father tell you?"
"He told me in a dream!"
If you don't beat him for three days, the tiles on the roof will fall off.
After some loving education, Ling Yun sat obediently in Tianxian Academy.
"I think Lingyun is very hardworking." Yinghua stewed some medicinal food and put it in a lunch box, asking Feichun to bring it in. "Don't be angry with the child."
Feichun threw the lunch box onto the desk.
"Your aunt Yinghua is worried that you'll be tired."
Ling Yun breathed a sigh of relief, and looking at the amount of food in the box, she felt relieved. She was really worried that it was empty. She muttered to herself.
"Who did you learn this from?" Feichun listened carefully and felt that it didn't sound like what was taught in class.
"Storybook."
"Okay, you'll be a generalist from now on."
"You are so kind, Master Ye."
Well, it seems that it will be difficult to set rules in the future.
"As for children, just follow their nature and let them develop. As long as it doesn't involve issues of principle, why do we need so many rules?" Zi Yan advised her with a smile.
"Well, Sister Zi Yan is always right." She spread her hands helplessly.
"There's good news."
Outside the city of Yangzhou, a blind man was telling fortunes.
Feichun gave him a hundred coins and asked him to tell his fortune. But the blind man said, "It's because I am in this mountain."
"What's the meaning?"
"Don't worry, master of the divination, I'll add another hundred coins." The blind man shook the hanging sign.
"One question, one hanging fee."
Feichun reluctantly gave another hundred dollars.
The blind man said again: "It is far away in the horizon, but it is right before our eyes."
"where?"
The blind man waved the sign again.
"Are you a liar?"
"I won't force you to do that. If you don't believe me, you can return the money you paid."
Feichun gave another hundred dollars.
As soon as the money landed on the table, it was snatched away by a hand and stuffed back into Feichun's hand. "Isn't that a lot of money?"
The man was dressed in white, but wore a hat that covered his face, but his voice sounded so familiar.
Feichun was stunned. When he saw the man turning around to leave, he suddenly grabbed the man's hand.
"Sir, could you please take off your hat?"
The man was still struggling, but Feichun felt the scar on his palm.
"Liu Qingbai?"
"Are you mistaken?"
"How could I admit my mistake?"
Feichun rushed to the man and lifted his hat.
Under the bamboo hat was a face half familiar to her, and half with a horrible scar. But Feichun didn't care at all, her eyes were red and she burst into tears.
"Why are you...?"
There were so many words that he couldn't express them all at once, and Liu Qingbai immediately put on his hat again.
"Now that the war is over, do you think I'm dead?" He covered his face and lowered his head, unwilling to face Feichun.
"No way." Feichun pulled Liu Qingbai onto the horse, whipped him and turned around to run away.
"Why are you still acting like a bandit?" Liu Qingbai was helpless and shook along with the horse.
"It's always been like this."
His sensitivity and his inferiority complex were always abruptly interrupted. This is fine, this is fine.
Back in Yueming County, he was dumbfounded. He looked at Lingyun and then at Feichun, as if he understood something, yet also seemed to not understand something. Suddenly, tears flowed uncontrollably, and he hugged Lingyun and sobbed loudly.
He lost his father when he was a child, and suddenly a man came out and said that it was his father who took him away. He never thought that his child would have to go through the same experience as him.
For a moment, I couldn't control my emotions.
"It's not yours." Feichun thought he was crying too embarrassingly and explained immediately.
"Not mine?" Liu Qingbai looked at the child's age and made a flurry of guesses. "You remarried? Then where's your husband? Is he dead?"
"No..." Feichun was so angry that he laughed at Liu Qingbai.
"Don't worry, now that I'm back, I will definitely treat Lingyun as my own daughter. I won't let her be a fatherless child."
"Dad, you misunderstood. I was picked up."
Ling Yun winked at her mother, roughly meaning: "Why didn't you explain it clearly along the way?"
Feichun also winked and replied: "I forgot."
"No matter what, your family of three is reunited now." Yinghua hugged Dahuang and burst into tears.
"Why are you crying?" Haitang was puzzled. She should be the fourth person who should be crying here.
"Those who heard it cried, and those who saw it were heartbroken. For a moment, I couldn't contain my emotions."
"Why are you speaking so flowery lately?" Haitang felt something was not right.
"Really? I think I read some poetry today."
Poetry and songs? Haitang looked at the scholar in the distance who was as stupid and motionless as a mountain and only knew how to read. They seemed to be a good match.
"Don't cry, I've booked a private room at the Guanghan Restaurant. Let's eat and reminisce."
As they sat together, Ling Yun felt awkward.
When Liu Qingbai saw Ling Yun's unnatural behavior, he immediately put on his hat, for fear of scaring the child.
"Don't think too much, Lingyun is just shy."
Liu Qingbai nodded.
"If you don't want to pick it right now, then don't pick it." Feichun held Liu Qingbai's hand under the table. "If you want to talk about what happened over the years, you don't have to."
Liu Qingbai held Feichun's hand and said bluntly:
"That year, when we parted ways in Yueming County, a kindhearted family hid me on a cart and carried me out of the city along with charcoal. I was seriously injured and hadn't recovered yet, so the kindhearted family couldn't find a doctor. I wanted to return to my roots, so they asked me to be buried in Yangzhou."
"But you are a lucky person, and you are not dead."
"Yes, perhaps it was God's mercy that kept us apart. But my injuries were too severe, and it took me seven years to recover before I could walk again."
"Then why don't you come find me? I've opened my escort agency in Yueming County and haven't left yet."
"The wound on my face makes me ashamed to face you." Liu Qingbai lowered his head. "I think it's better for me to be dead. Life is long. If you meet someone you like in the future, it won't be too late."
For a moment, Feichun didn't know what to say. After thinking about it, he just kissed her.
"You told me not to please anyone, and you should do the same. I like you no matter what you are like."
The breeze and bright moon came from the mountains, and they turned around and around in the mortal world. The two people who were wandering around were submerged in the various aspects of human life.
——————
end
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
