Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Deliberately provoking his patience. (Including...
The moss was slippery and the stone steps had long been loose due to years of disrepair.
She stepped on an unstable narrow step and her body tilted involuntarily.
"Be careful, girl." The person next to her tightened his grip on her arm.
Nan Qiong Shuang smiled and turned away shyly, "It's nothing, sir, don't worry."
The road was stable, but Gu Zhi still didn't let go of the hand holding her arm.
The place where he held my hand felt the warmth of his palm, a kind of reassuring warmth.
He crossed the line, and she acquiesced, a tacit understanding.
Even though they met at noon, he was still so cold and indifferent. He watched her taking a nap on the stone table without even reminding her.
The situation changed so drastically just because of Li Xuanbai's provocation.
Nan Qiong Shuang smiled faintly and picked a petal that was stretched in front of her.
"Did the girl encounter any danger when she went out with him?"
He didn't look at her, his expression was just indifferent, as if he was asking casually.
"No." She laughed.
But I won’t go any further.
Gu stopped talking and the two of them were silent for a moment.
Nan Qiong Shuang waited with a smile on her face.
"So...are you happy today, girl?"
"happy."
There was another unbearable silence.
Nan Qiong Shuang just smiled deeply.
With his well-measured character, normally he wouldn't ask questions that he shouldn't ask.
Besides, he didn't have to care.
But if he didn't ask, she wouldn't say a word.
He was the only one who wanted to know how she and Li Xuanbai got along today.
After walking down another six or seven steps, I heard the chirping of insects and the return of birds to the forest, creating a cacophony of bird calls.
The two of them were silent for a moment, just walking down the stairs in silence.
Gu Zhi lowered his head and looked carefully at the mountain road below him. Suddenly, he said casually:
"Where did the girl and him go?"
Nan Qiongshuang's heart moved.
Finally, I opened my mouth.
She said truthfully: "Lingjue Pavilion."
"The Lingjue Pavilion is extremely high, not accessible to ordinary people. The girl doesn't know martial arts, but he actually brought her up there?"
She said, "I was worried too. But I don't know what trick Master Li used. I didn't even see clearly, and in the blink of an eye he was standing outside the door."
The entrance to Lingjue Pavilion was at the foot of the cliff. Even without her explaining it, he could already guess that it was Li Xuanbai who had carried her up in his arms.
hug.
Gu Zhi's expression remained calm as water as he asked, "When did you leave?"
"About... 3 p.m."
"It's already midnight." He glanced at her. "Two hours. Have you been gone for so long?"
It actually sounded a bit aggressive.
Nan Qiong Shuang pretended to be guilty, lowered her head, and blinked like a startled young bird flapping its wings.
"Master, what you mean is...I shouldn't go?"
Her tone was so panicked, as if she had done something wrong. Gu Zhi's tone suddenly softened, and he was shocked to find that he seemed to be angry with her.
He asked himself, why are you angry?
"That's not what I meant." He said calmly, "Junior Brother Xuanbai has profound skills. If he wants to take you for a walk in the mountains, he will definitely be able to protect you. There's nothing wrong with that."
"only……"
The conversation was halfway through, and I didn't wait for the rest of the speech for a long time.
She had been recuperating for a few days and was almost fully recovered. It was indeed boring to be locked up in the courtyard every day. Li Xuanbai was indeed a good practitioner, so taking her out would at least ensure her safety.
“Just” what?
Even Gu Zhi himself couldn't catch up.
"But the girl is injured, so it's better not to take any risks." He said this at last.
"Okay." She nodded obediently, raised her head, and smiled like a winter jasmine flower blooming in the wind. "Then, when I feel better, I'll ask him to take me with me."
Gu Zhi nodded: "Yeah."
The five fingers holding her arm exerted force.
Gu Zhi lowered his head, his long hair hanging on his shoulders like ink-splashed satin, tangled in his hair, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.
All I could see was a pair of long eyelashes like feather fans, pressing down in a trance like the surface of an umbrella covered with snow.
He doesn't speak.
The mountain road ended, and the shaky stone steps finally fell behind them. Gu Zhi held her hand and walked all the way to the gate of Muxueyuan, which was surrounded by lush flowers.
Pushing the door open, Asong saluted and even nodded politely to her. Gu Zhili ignored him and asked as he pushed the door open:
"What did the girl do at his place?"
The door closed quietly behind him. Everyone in the yard stood up and saluted Gu Zhiwu when they saw him. He just held her arm and looked back as he walked, waiting for her to reply.
"I played chess with him..."
This barrage of questions is truly abnormal.
Although he didn't show it on his face.
But since she didn't show it on her face, she could just play dumb.
Nan Qiong Shuang stopped and stopped walking with him. She smiled and said, "Sir, please send me here. It's getting late, and I'm going back to my room. I won't bother you any more."
As she said this, she pushed away his hand that was holding hers and turned to leave.
But he grabbed it again.
She turned around in surprise.
As petals fell, Gu Zhi's expression remained unchanged, he was just indifferent, with a pair of long eyelashes drooping like butterfly wings.
"Miss, you've been out for so long, are you going back to the house now?"
Without waiting for her answer, he led her directly to the stone table where they had taken a nap at noon. He swept away all the fallen flowers on the table with a flick of his sleeve and said to the servant beside him, "Bring me a chessboard."
He sat down on the stone bench, looked up at her who was still standing beside the stone table and smiled, "I've been wanting to play chess with you for a long time. I wonder if you are free today?"
"Playing chess again?"
Gu Zhi smiled and said, "You played chess with my junior brother, but you don't want to play with me. What's the reason?"
She was speechless for a moment and laughed, "It's not that I don't want to..."
He shook his head helplessly and sat down in front of Gu Zhi.
Gu Zhi: "Aliang, go get the girl a cushion, the stone bench is cold."
Aliang took the order and Nuonuo ran away.
The people in the courtyard were busy with their respective duties, appearing to be in an orderly manner, but in fact they were all paying attention to the actions here, stealing glances out of the corner of their eyes.
This woman really won the favor of the young master, and he even thought of cushions for her.
Gu Zhi said again: "Bring some peach blossom wine."
Nan Qiong Shuang was stunned: "Want to drink?"
Gu Zhi: "Miss, no need, I want to use some today."
Two or three paper lanterns were placed at the foot of the stone table, flickering in a staggered pattern. A white-glazed lotus-petal candlestick was placed on the table. Servants were running around silently with chess boxes in their hands, and a jar of wine was brought in and placed at the feet of the two men.
A spark of fire lit up, illuminating Gu Zhijun's elegant features. He gathered the fire in his palm and carefully lit the candle.
"Girl, do you want black and white pieces?"
"White."
Gu Zhi handed over the chess box containing the white pieces, held the black piece between his fingers, and tapped it on the edge of the chessboard.
"Girl first."
Nan Qiongshuang smiled, gathered her sleeves and picked up a white piece.
Gu Zhi treated her differently from Li Xuanbai.
Li Xuanbai is such a bad guy that he has to compete with others head-on to see who is better. The more someone can challenge him, the more he respects them.
But Gu Zhi is different.
He is a humble, gentle and elegant gentleman. He treats people with impeccable manners. All you have to do is accept his kindness.
The paper lanterns lit up softly, making the chessboard look as smooth as new.
She smiled and placed the piece in the center of the board with a "click," saying, "Actually, I'm not very good at chess."
Gu Zhi raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
Don’t you know how to play chess?
I stayed with Li Xuanbai for the whole afternoon.
He didn't show it on his face, but smiled and said, "Then I'll let the girl have the third child."
Nan Qiongshuang was stunned for a moment, picked up three white pieces, placed them on the chessboard, and looked at him with a smile on her face.
Asong poured wine for Gu Zhi. He held the bamboo cup between his palms and took a sip.
He lowered his eyes and let a child fall.
"Who won the chess game this afternoon, young lady?"
"He won once, and I won once too." She held the scarf in her hand and picked up a chess piece and tapped it casually. "You don't know, he's a liar. I went down to pick up a piece of calligraphy, and he changed my chess piece."
Gu Zhi smiled and shook his head, while making a move, "Junior brother is like that, he is not a bad person, but he has many evil thoughts."
She sighed, "He really has a lot of tricks up his sleeve."
He looked at the chessboard, seemingly contemplating his move, but he said unintentionally, "It's better for the girl to stay away from him."
She laughed, "How do you say that?"
People like Gu Zhi naturally wouldn't talk bad about others behind their backs.
But she just wanted to listen.
Gu Zhi was silent for a long time. The gentle light from the paper lantern illuminated half of his face, making it as warm as mutton-fat jade. Fallen petals swirled onto the table. He lowered his eyelashes, held the wine cup and took a sip.
Looking at his gentlemanly face, she added with a smile, "Actually, he's quite entertaining."
"Young lady, you don't know." He put down the wine cup and tapped it on the stone table. "Although a volatile personality is fun, it can also hurt others and yourself."
His tone was so cold, but he kept his eyes down and didn't look at her.
She propped her cheek up and tapped her fingers on the table excitedly: "I'm not afraid."
…
Gu Zhi didn't say anything, as if it didn't matter.
He took a sip of wine, suddenly frowned, and threw the chess pieces between his fingers into the chess box.
"Ason."
Asong came over and bowed respectfully.
"When did you get this wine? Why did you bring this much wine?"
"Reporting to the Young Master, this wine has been sealed in the cellar for fifteen years and was just opened today."
"It's not hot enough." He poured all the remaining wine into the mud. "You wasted a jar of good wine."
Asong bent even lower.
"Open a new one."
Asong took the order and left.
"Is fifteen-year-old wine still not mellow enough?" she asked.
"I don't really want to drink on weekdays, but today I do, so I'm being extra picky."
She looked at his restrained expression, smiled and thought, Want to drink today?
He looked at the chessboard and said, "Go ahead, girl."
Upon seeing this, he realized that he was playing chess, talking at the same time, and even distracted himself by teasing him. The game was already losing.
She said, "Look, I told you I was a terrible chess player."
She picked up a chess piece, and suddenly saw that the hem of her snow-white skirt had fallen to the ground. She bent down to straighten the hem of her skirt, and looked back at the chessboard, only to find that the chess piece that had just pinched her neck had disappeared without a trace.
She was stunned.
Asong brought new wine, and Gu Zhi looked calm, waiting for him to pour the wine.
She blinked, coming to her senses.
He is truly a gentleman.
For Li Xuanbai, it was a good thing that he didn't get caught in two moves by her.
She smiled, took a black piece from Gu Zhi's chess box, and put it back where it was. "Young Master has already made three moves. I can't help him." Looking at Gu Zhi's slightly surprised expression, she smiled and said, "No need."
Unlike that guy Li Xuanbai, Gu Zhi gave her a break because he really wanted her to win.
However, if Gu Zhi wants to look at her with admiration.
It would be better to return some of his protection and favor.
Although she was weak and pitiful, she was defeated calmly.
"The girl really has a good memory. I underestimated her."
New wine was poured, and under the soft light of the lantern, the wine was as clear as a gem. Gu Zhi nodded and took a sip, his lips touching the rim of the glass.
His lips are very beautiful.
Nan Qiong Shuang suddenly realized what she was thinking and was stunned.
He sat up straight, sneering in his heart.
What are you thinking, idiot.
Suddenly, there was a scent of wine, and she said, "What a fragrant wine."
Gu Zhi: "This jar has been sealed in the underworld for twenty-five years, which is older than I am."
The wine was strong and fragrant. Now, in the season of falling flowers, the scent of flowers was everywhere. However, just pouring out a small glass of wine was enough to make the aroma so strong and intoxicating.
She looked at Gu Zhi's wine glass and swallowed.
She actually doesn't like alcohol and can't drink much.
However, she had never seen such a rich and mellow aroma of wine in these years.
I kind of want to try it, but I'm also afraid of making mistakes after drinking.
Gu Zhi noticed her gaze and asked, "Miss, do you want to try it?"
Smelling the aroma of the wine, she couldn't refuse it for a moment.
One bite, just one bite.
Gu Zhi tilted his head and ordered, "Bring the wine cup to the young lady."
Asong respectfully held up a lotus-petal cup, bowed and poured the wine, and handed it to Nan Qiongshuang.
She held the cup steady. Asong poured it too full, and the wine trembled on the rim of the cup, shaking with a soft light.
He lowered his eyes and kissed the surface of the wine.
When she lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes looked like two butterflies landing on her face.
Gu Zhi only saw her slightly parted cherry lips, revealing a few white teeth.
He quickly looked away.
"This wine is strong. It's ok for you to drink some with me, but you must not drink it anywhere else."
She smiled in her heart, somewhere else? Just say Lingjue Pavilion.
She took just a sip, and immediately a fierce spicy taste burned from her palate to her stomach, and the smell of alcohol almost burst her head.
She even burst into tears and fanned herself with a hiss, "It's so spicy."
At the end of the game, he won beautifully, but it was as if he had never won before. He directly divided the chess pieces into the chess box again, lowered his eyes, divided her white pieces, and handed them to her first.
"If it's a shallow amount, just take a sip and that's it. This wine is intoxicating."
She asked through her tears, "It does smell like peach blossoms. Are they peach blossoms too?"
He sorted the black spots and placed them beside him, then took another sip from the cup. "There are so many peach blossoms on the mountain."
Peach blossom wine, a bright and passionate flower, with a pungent and intoxicating fragrance, is intoxicating even with a single drop, but it has been sealed for years under a dark spring formed by the snow water of the Tianshan Mountains, penetrating to the bone.
This is Gu Zhi’s favorite wine.
Gu Zhi lowered his eyes and another one fell swoop. She was suddenly surprised to realize that such a reserved and pure person was actually born with a pair of peach blossom eyes.
The corners of her eyes are downturned, the tails of her eyes are slightly tilted, she seems to be drunk but not drunk, and her eyes are hazy.
However, the person is too far away, and the usual hazy and distant look in his eyes is easily interpreted as alienation, and no one thinks of him as being charming and affectionate.
She picked up a chess piece, rubbed it on her lips, and thought.
He is good-looking.
To be fair.
It is so beautiful that it is almost inaccessible. Being tempted by it would be blasphemy, like desiring a Buddha statue covered in snow.
He suddenly raised his eyes and said, "Miss, you were at my junior brother's place this afternoon. Didn't you drink?"
"without."
"That's better." He made a move. "If you drink this this afternoon, you'll definitely get drunk."
She raised the wine cup to her cheek and tapped it with her fingers.
"I've always wanted to ask," she said, picking up the newly fallen petals on the chessboard, "Li Xuanbai seems very favored and arrogant. But the young master is often punished."
"Although the one who behaves properly is obviously the young master, the one who acts unconventionally and is rebellious and unruly is content and even has the leisure to take me out to play chess on such a beautiful day."
She asked, "What's the logic behind this?"
Gu Zhi was silent for at least a quarter of an hour.
The warm light softened his outline and illuminated his face, but his expression remained gloomy and indescribable.
A few more petals fell.
He still didn't speak.
There were a few clear and startling bird calls in the silence, and Nan Qiong Shuang suddenly realized that maybe she shouldn't ask.
Shouldn't ask yet.
It's because of this wine.
After just two sips, she no longer knew what to say.
She put the cup down in annoyance, and suddenly heard the person opposite her speak.
"Master..." he paused again, then changed the subject with a self-deprecating tone, "No, actually, Father is the same. The elders all treat me the same way. It's because I have a heavier burden on my shoulders. Actually, I understand."
"Because the young master is the young master, everything is more strict. So when the same mistake is made, the young master is always used as a warning to others. Even if the chicken is killed, the monkey is not warned."
He remained silent. Nan Qiong Shuang sneered, "If you ask me, young master, you are just taking advantage of your good temper."
Gu Zhi lowered his eyes and just placed the pieces on the chessboard.
"Only someone with the temperament of a young master could tolerate such blatant favoritism. As for the position of Young Master?"
She tapped her nails on the wine cup. "Do you think that if the Young Master were Li Xuanbai, with his temper, would he tolerate being pressured like this?"
The black piece fell with a click.
"Actually... my uncle and father have their reasons for treating me this way. The more I am tempered, the more stable and resilient my character will become, and the better equipped I will be to lead the entire mountain in the future."
"You're wrong, sir." She was practically drunk, a burning sensation from her esophagus to her stomach. Her body slumped limply on the table, her eyes hazy with drunkenness as she spoke, "The more you can endure, the more you have to endure. Because others can't endure it, only you."
After these years at the Gate of Rebirth, she has also become more open-minded. As long as you can endure hardship, there will be countless hardships for you to endure.
It's just a self-deceptive and self-satisfying sacrifice.
Gu Zhi's face was as gloomy as water and he said nothing.
With the sound of falling pieces, a flower in the lamp was broken.
"I understand what you mean, sir, and I also understand the elder's reasoning. But I also want to ask, sir, do you think you have truly learned anything from the scolding and punishment?"
He still didn't say anything. It was her turn to make the move. She picked up the white piece and tapped it on the table:
"Young Master is meticulous and meticulous, never leaving any mistakes. He is always considerate in his dealings with others. This is due to his humble and considerate nature, and has nothing to do with his tendency to be easily punished."
Gu Zhi was just lost in thought, staring at the tiny ripples spreading in the wine cup.
She lay on the table, raised an index finger. She was always gentle and elegant, but now she was drunk she looked a bit naive.
"Scolding has no benefit other than making people timid and weak, and shrinking back."
"Sometimes, I'm also wrong," he said. "If I make a mistake, I should be punished."
She shook her head and smiled, "Sir, mistakes can be corrected, punishment is not necessary. Besides, punishment is never the same for everyone."
Another long silence.
A mountain breeze blew, rustling the blossoms and falling petals like rain. The light from the lantern danced and flickered, bringing a spark of light to Gu Zhi's eyes.
She suddenly realized that she had never spoken to anyone, and how could she have spoken so deeply? It must have been because she was drunk. So she changed the subject:
"In fact, many times, it's not so much you who are at fault, but others. For example, you have devoted yourself to the mountains, working day and night, but have you ever received a single compliment from your uncle?"
The wine went to his head, and when Gu Zhi looked up, he saw that the person opposite him had turned red from his snow-white face to his jade neck, and the aroma of wine was emitting from his breath.
There were two blushes on her cheeks.
Gu Zhi closed his eyes in unbearable pain, thinking, why is the wine so hot today, it feels like it's burning my body.
"In fact, from my point of view, the young master is the best person in the world. He is considerate, thoughtful, gentle, reliable, and a gentleman. If he were gone during these days in the mountains..."
Her voice was like a whisper, but also like a coquettish sigh:
"...If I lost my son, I don't know what to do."
Gu Zhi listened, but in fact he only dared to listen and not look, but at this moment he wanted to take a look at her no matter what.
When he looked up, he found that she was holding a white piece, rubbing it between her fingers and on her lips in a drunken manner.
The jade-white little chess piece was smeared with a hint of enchanting, bright red lip balm.
She was completely unaware and dropped the chess piece on the chessboard.
A blatant and arrogant red mark lay openly under his nose, deliberately provoking his patience and mocking his hypocrisy.
He lowered his eyes guiltily, his Adam's apple rolling.
She murmured softly, "Young Master... is the best, the most wonderful person in the world."
As she spoke, she could hardly hold on and lay drunkenly on the table like cotton. A petal floated down from the flower cluster above her head, swirled and landed on her cheek.
"The girl is drunk." She wasn't the only one drunk; the wine was too strong. He held out his hand, and for some unknown reason, he said, "Don't drink any more. Give it to me."
She forced herself to stand up, and the petals rolled lightly into her collar, and into the deep of the long neck like a jade bottle, into the vast expanse of snow.
His eyes followed the falling petals, and in a moment, he realized what he was looking at.
His face was expressionless, but his thumb cracked the wine cup, leaving a circle of spider-web-like cracks.
The Adam's apple rolled with difficulty.
A white-glazed wine cup was extended under his eyes.
The light was gentle, and under the lamplight, he could see clearly a circle of lip marks on the rim of the cup, and a small strand of bright red lip balm dissolved in the wine and swirled around.
His mind wandered, and he suddenly felt that the red mark tasted like a pineapple - sweet, but prickly.
It hurts and makes people feel numb.
Suddenly she fell down, already too drunk to stand, and the cup tilted to the side in an instant.
She supported her temples with the edge of her palm and tried her best to pass the cup out, saying, "Hold it steady."
He thought to himself, kiss?
The small mouth opens and closes, with two soft and upturned lips.
He did want to.
He does.
he……
He doesn't dare.
She was drunk. She fell asleep with her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed, as if...
as if.
He didn't even dare to think about it.
Fortunately, he thought, she fell asleep.
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