Chapter 19 Spring Under the Corridor "Ji A-Ming, would you like to consider being with me...?"
Ning Lu asked many people, but couldn't find out who was more powerful between Xie Qinghe and Prince Jing. Instead, she discovered Ji Ming's amazing abilities.
As the weather turned colder and everyone was strapped for cash, she wasn't earning as much as before. So she simply adjusted her business hours, changing from working two days on and one day off to working two days on and three days off. In her spare time, she helped the women in the village with some handicrafts in exchange for some food.
At first, she was worried that she would have to make ends meet.
Unexpectedly, as her relationship with the sisters-in-law and aunts grew better, they would bring their children to Da Cheng's courtyard every few days. While the women sat together doing chores, the children spontaneously began to cling to Ji Ming.
The adults were intimidated by his imposing presence and dared not provoke him. The children couldn't discern the difference; they only knew that he was handsome, knowledgeable, and could answer even the most difficult questions. Within a few days, even the most mischievous children in the village could recite poems and compose couplets with Ji Ming.
The farmers were overjoyed at the sight and flocked to the master's house with gifts. Although each family brought only a small amount, the gifts piled up and filled a small corner of the house.
Ning Lu would always sigh as she tidied up her things, realizing that the money she earned from running errands for a month or two was less than what this person made from teaching.
So it's not that studying is useless, it's just that her studying was useless.
After years of arduous history studies and countless palace intrigue dramas, you end up transmigrating to an unheard-of Jiang Kingdom, exiled to the desolate frontier to survive. Who wouldn't call that tragic?
Initially, Ji Ming was extremely reluctant because the child was noisy, but he couldn't resist Ning Lu's tearful complaints. She skillfully learned his usual tricks, putting on a pained expression and saying that it was too hard to be out in the cold late autumn and sleeping in the open.
If he were willing to spend a few hours each day teaching the children to read, she could save herself the trouble of traveling outside.
She had initially thought that the man would find her annoying for staying at home too long, but to her surprise, after a moment's thought, he actually agreed.
What goes around comes around, and the gigolo she picked up can now become a business partner.
Ning Lu took a break from her chores and looked into the room.
Ji Ming sat sideways at the table, dressed in a gray-blue cloth robe, his sleeves neatly tucked in as he held a pen. Despite his frail appearance due to illness, his clothes still seemed loose and comfortable.
The autumn wind was chilly, but she couldn't bear to let him make do, so she bought him a cloak to wrap himself in. Now, with the dark fabric wrapped around his shoulders, he lowered his eyes to read and write, his well-defined fingertips tightening his collar with a soft cough, making him look like a hermit in the mountains.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
Ning Lu didn't suspect anything and answered without thinking. It was some sister-in-law who asked the question in jest.
"Handsome. More handsome than Pan An."
A few days ago, she passed through the county town and overheard rumors about Xie Qinghe, with everyone adding that he was as handsome as Pan An...
Every time she stared at Ji Ming, she couldn't help but mutter to herself.
What good is it for a man to be handsome?
Besides, he's just a man, how good-looking can he be? Looking like Ji Ming is already a divine achievement.
Startled awake by the laughter around her, Ning Lu came to her senses and met Yu Niang and the others' smiling eyes. She blushed and waved her hands, begging for forgiveness.
"No, I mean..."
"I know, I know, your young master is as handsome as Pan An!"
“I…oh dear…I admire his knowledge.”
Yes, yes, yes.
No matter how she tried to explain, she couldn't make sense of it. Ning Lu's face was already flushed, so she simply buried herself in the woven basket between her legs and worked silently.
The laughter in the courtyard attracted the children's attention. Ji Ming looked in the direction of the sound and saw her, a tiny ostrich, turning her back to him, shaking her head and wailing in embarrassment.
The sunlight bathed her, warm and golden.
The usually aloof person silently smiled and curved his eyebrows.
Sometimes, when farmers went down the mountain to visit their wives and daughters outside their fenced yards, they would ask Ji Ming to help them write letters, which would then be handed over to Ning Lu to deliver. This routine often led people to jokingly call them a husband-and-wife operation.
At first, she thought he was too shy and even considered saying a few words in his defense. But after a few times, he became increasingly nonchalant, while she began to blush.
Lately, observing this, he has occasionally come to understand why the person in the palace enjoys teasing birds so much.
In the evening, the courtyard became even more crowded and noisy.
Hearing the intermittent low coughs coming from inside, Ning Lu neatly finished her work and carried hot water from the stove that had been lit in advance into the house.
He tapped his knuckles on the table to shoo away all the chattering children, and then poured them some hot water.
"Take a break if you're tired, leave the rest to me."
She simply placed a small wooden stool in the middle of the courtyard, casually picked up a young girl and held her in her arms, then sat down with a flourish and began to tell legendary tales.
The quiet girl nestled beside her, while the stronger toddlers ran wildly around the yard chasing chickens like sheepdogs.
She tells interesting stories; two out of every three sentences are punchlines. Today she tells the story of Mulan joining the army in place of her father, tomorrow she tells the story of the Cowherd stealing the fairy's feathered robe, and the day after tomorrow she tells the story of a mouse losing its stored pastries and being forced to enter a maze to find food.
They had their own fun every day, and they didn't mind that no one was listening. Over time, people of all ages would stop by and sit for a while. The village's intelligence center naturally moved from under the locust tree to Da Cheng's backyard.
Today she is telling the story of the goddess's sacrifice to the river.
In a year of severe drought, when farmland dried up, the villagers chose a girl whose destiny favored water. Dressed in a red wedding gown, she was made a goddess and carried the hopes of the entire clan as she floated down the river to pray for rain.
Halfway through the story, Aunt Li's granddaughter tremblingly tugged at Ning Lu's clothes and asked, "Sister Ning, where did the goddess go?"
"Didn't I just say that she prayed for rain at the river altar? She must have gone to become a fairy." The boy said dismissively.
"What are you doing, acting like a fairy? You'll just drown if you go down the river!" Ning Lu's sister-in-law, who was sitting in the corner mending clothes, said coldly, which made Ning Lu look up.
"If it rains, wouldn't that mean the gods were moved and appeared?" Da Cheng sniffed and said cheerfully, "A woman traded the lives of the whole village; everyone will remember her. It's a good deal."
"Sister, will the goddess die?"
The baby from Yu Niang's family sat beside her, hooking her little finger and gently shaking it.
Ning Lu was melted by the child's innocent question. She quickly bent down, picked up the child, and placed her on her lap, laughing, "She won't die."
"She was an excellent swimmer. She jumped off the bamboo raft, ran to another village, and learned how to divert water from the lake."
"Then what?"
"Then—she went home and led her family to dig a reservoir to store water, so that her family would never have to worry about drought again."
"Isn't she a goddess? Why is she running away? If she runs away, is she still a goddess?" someone asked.
Ning Lu lowered her eyes and did not respond immediately.
Yu Niang, who had been standing silently in the crowd, spoke up before her: "Whether she is a goddess or not doesn't matter, surviving is the most important thing."
As she said this, Da Cheng suddenly tugged at her.
Yu Niang straightened her clothes, glared fiercely at Da Cheng, and then turned to Ning Lu and said softly, "Sister, I was just talking nonsense, don't mind me, please continue."
Ning Lu pursed her lips, smiled, shook her head, and gently patted the child in her arms.
"That's right. Sacrificing a woman to drown her won't solve the problem. Only by keeping her alive can other possibilities exist."
Ji Ming had somehow found himself leaning against the door, holding a bowl of medicine, looking at Ning Lu through the rising steam.
She's a great storyteller, whether she tells stories she's heard or stories she's come up with herself, she makes sure people want to keep listening.
It's novel, interesting, and... very powerful.
Just as the world's great principles satirize those who are greedy for life and afraid of death, they never tell them that living itself is the right thing to do.
He lived on, bearing the stigma of ingratitude, year after year.
Moonlight streamed down as the people in the courtyard argued endlessly about whether the goddess should have jumped into the river. Ning Lu, however, remained silent after telling her story, sitting with her back turned.
After everyone had left, Yu Niang took her child away and finally breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly stood up and was surprised to find that he had been standing behind her the whole time.
What are you doing here? Are you cold? Did you take your medicine?
Ji Ming snapped out of his daze, turned the medicine bowl upside down to show her, and received her approving clapping.
"That's great. Now that I'm healthier, I can even take my medicine better."
Ning Lu reached out the back of her hand to test his temperature, and helped him slowly stand up and go into the house: "When we first came down the mountain, you could only drink a few sips of a bowl of medicine. I thought you were going to die. But you're better now."
He was so weak that it took him a lot of effort to straighten up and take a step.
After two months of getting to know each other, Ning Lu, who seemed careless, figured things out very well. At the same time as his body swayed, she silently and forcefully supported his falling body.
Following her lead, Ji Ming sat down at the table and spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
"That story you just told... was it something you made up yourself?"
I read it in a book.
Ning Lu poured two glasses of water, offering him one: "You like it too?"
She slumped lazily to one side, took a sip of hot water, and immediately displayed a satisfied feeling as if she had drunk sweet dew, shaking her head.
Ji Ming did not answer, but simply followed her, sipping small amounts of tea and slowly swallowing it.
The water contained the herbs she had traded for, and it tasted slightly bitter, so it wasn't exactly delicious.
He disliked bitterness, but the way she drank water was so alluring.
Ji Ming's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly raised them, his clear eyes looking directly at the person in front of him.
She finished her tea, spread her arms and rested them on the table, squinting as she turned to look at him.
The two looked at each other, and Ji Ming remained silent, which made Ning Lu laugh.
"Ji Amin, you look so cute when you're being awkward."
The fingertips that were caressing the earthen bowl trembled and paused in mid-air.
He seemed to be pricked by the word, a slight sting followed by a long-lasting tingling sensation.
Like the lingering effects of a heart attack.
Ji Ming slowed his breathing: "Nonsense."
"I thought you were going to accuse me of being shameless again," Ning Lu said nonchalantly, then asked, "Your injuries are almost healed. What are your plans now?"
"You're leaving?"
Sensing her meaning keenly, Ji Ming lowered his voice.
"yes."
Ning Lu walked past him to the corner of the wall, rummaging for something to eat, muttering to herself, "I've thought about it for several nights and I think you're right. There's no smoke without fire. If there's a rumor, then there's something to investigate."
"So I plan to go to the city to retrieve my jade pendant and see if there's any way to redeem it. Then I'll look for a way to get home."
She kept saying it so cheerfully every day that he had gotten used to her calling this thatched hut "home."
Hearing her mention going home suddenly made me lose my composure, and I blurted out, "Where do you live?"
"In a very, very far place. Hmm... maybe a hundred miles away." Ning Lu's muffled voice came from the rice bag.
The soup in the bowl rippled in circles, as if reflecting uneasy emotions.
Ji Ming suddenly raised his hand to cover the rim of the bowl and stopped speaking.
The voice behind him became clear and bright, as if it had escaped from a bag of rice and stood up straight.
“Ji Amin, if you don’t have anywhere to go, would you like to come with me?”
Ning Lu stood in the corner, holding a piece of meat in one hand and a small bowl of mixed grains in the other, staring at his thin back.
The man leaned forward, remaining silent and appearing somewhat forlorn.
Like... a stray cat that has been abandoned and is soaked in the rain.
Ning Lu's heart softened, and she asked again, "I'm asking you, Ji A-ming. Do you want to come with me?"
A note from the author:
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The next chapter will be available for purchase! Thank you for reading this far, see you later!
1. The first author's note is for the pre-order: "The Fall of Yanse", a contemporary romance/reconciliation and redemption story/see the author's column for the synopsis. If you are interested, please add it to your favorites. I will make it available after this story is completed!
2. Attached is the reference for Ning Lulu's story of the goddess sacrificing to the river: "She Came to Split the Mountain". I would also like to recommend this women's fairy tale to everyone.
Enjoy reading, and have a good meal! [Thumbs up]
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