Chapter 4: Abandoned Courtyard, Old Dreams Remain
The torn window paper was rustling in the cold wind, and snow foam came in through the window cracks and landed on Yun Zhi's exposed wrist, causing her to shiver.
She lay on a hard wooden bed, covered only by a thin, patched quilt, damp and hard, unable to keep out the biting cold. Her body burned with a high fever, but her consciousness felt like cotton wool soaked in water, sinking to the surface, unable to rise. She could only let fragmented dreams surge through her mind.
"Zhi'er, run slower, don't fall!"
A familiar, gentle voice echoed in her ears. Yun Zhi struggled to open her eyes, but all she saw was a blur of light. Within the halo, a woman in a lavender dress smiled and reached out to her. A simple jade hairpin tucked into her hair was her mother.
The scene before her suddenly became clear—it was the back garden of the Imperial Tutor's mansion. It was early spring, and the peach blossoms were in full bloom. Their pink and white petals fell on the bluestone pavement, like a layer of soft velvet. She was wearing a light yellow jacket, clutching a kite with a broken string, and she was circling around her mother, her laughter as clear as a silver bell.
"Mom, the kite has flown to the peach tree!" She pointed to a peach tree not far away, on the trunk of which hung a colorful butterfly kite.
Mother smiled and ruffled her hair, then turned and called towards the study, "Master, come and help Zhier get the kite!"
Soon, a man in a navy blue robe came out. He had an elegant face and a book in his hands. It was her father. He put the book down, stood on tiptoe, and easily took the kite down from the branch. As he handed it to her, he reminded her, "Don't run so fast next time. Be careful not to fall and get hurt."
Yunzhi took the kite and saw several servants standing at the door of the study, busy moving books. Daddy said these were enlightenment books for the princes in the palace, and he would deliver them personally. At that time, she didn't understand what "Taifu" meant. She only knew that Daddy was very powerful and that the princes in the palace had to listen to his lectures.
She followed her father through the corridor, kite in hand, when she heard the sound of horse hooves. Looking up, she saw a cavalry unit parked outside the mansion gate. The young man in the lead, wearing silver-white armor and a longsword at his waist, was dismounting. He was about fifteen or sixteen, his features sharp but not fierce. The sunlight shone brightly on his armor.
"This is Xiao Jin, the young master of the general's family." Daddy whispered in her ear, "He accompanied his father to the palace today and happened to pass by our house."
Xiao Jin seemed to notice her gaze and turned to look over. The moment their eyes met, Yun Zhi suddenly panicked. She quickly lowered her head and clenched the kite string tightly in her hand. She heard the boy's footsteps passing by and smelled the faint scent of ink and the cold iron of armor.
"Master Taifu." The young man's voice was clear and bright, with a hint of youthful vigor. "When I entered the palace today, His Majesty asked about the enlightenment book you compiled. He specifically asked my father to tell you to come to the palace early tomorrow."
"Thank you, General Xiao, for telling His Majesty that I will enter the palace on time tomorrow." Daddy smiled and bowed.
Yun Zhi secretly raised her head and saw Xiao Jin saluting his father. The lines of his face were very soft, unlike the heroic look he had just shown on horseback. He actually looked a bit gentle and elegant. Suddenly, a strange feeling arose in her heart, like peach petals falling on her heart, gently and itchy.
But this warm scene suddenly shattered like broken glass——
Flames shot up into the sky, and the sounds of fighting and crying filled the air. She saw her father being held by several soldiers, a knife at his neck, and her mother holding her, hiding behind a bookshelf, trembling all over.
"The Grand Tutor is collaborating with the enemy and committing treason, and his entire family will be executed!" A cold voice sounded, like a sledgehammer hitting her heart.
She saw her mother hiding her in the closet and said tearfully, "Zhi'er, please don't come out. Live well and avenge your father and mother..."
Then, she heard her mother's screams and her father's roars, until everything fell silent.
"Mother! Father!"
Yun Zhi suddenly opened her eyes, gasping for air. The cold sweat on her forehead trickled down her cheeks, soaking the tattered mattress beneath her. Before her was the shattered roof of the abandoned courtyard. A cold wind poured in through the broken window, carrying the chill of snow, and it made her shiver.
It turned out to be a dream.
But the scene in the dream was too real. Daddy's smile, Mommy's voice, and the flames rising into the sky were all etched in her mind, lingering. She curled up and hugged her arms. The pain in her lower abdomen and the high fever made her almost cry.
"Mother... is cold..." She murmured unconsciously, her voice as weak as a mosquito's buzz, "Daddy... book..."
Fragmented mumblings drifted out of the broken window and landed on the snow outside the yard.
At this moment, a mysterious figure was standing outside the gate of the abandoned courtyard.
Xiao Jin didn't know why he came here.
After leaving the study, he intended to return to his bedroom, but his steps involuntarily gravitated towards the most remote part of the palace, ultimately stopping at the gate of the abandoned courtyard. He stared at the dilapidated wall before him. A few stalks of withered grass still hung atop it, bent by the weight of the snow, resembling a figure nearly frozen in the snow.
He told himself that he had only come to see if this substitute was dead. After all, this face still resembled Qingyue, and he couldn't let it disappear like this.
But when he walked to the gate of the courtyard and was about to push the door open, he heard faint mumbling coming from inside.
"Mother... is cold..."
The voice was very soft, but it was like a thin needle that pierced his heart unexpectedly.
His steps suddenly stopped, his fingers hanging on the door latch, and he was afraid to push it open.
He remembered that many years ago, there was a small fire in the palace. Qingyue, who was only eight years old at the time, was trapped in a side hall. When he rushed in to save her, Qingyue was also like this, curled up in the corner, whispering "Mom...I'm cold..."
Qingyue at that time was so weak and pitiful that he couldn't help but want to protect her.
And now, this substitute who was born as a criminal slave was actually shouting the same words in the same tone.
His heart felt like it was blocked by something, and he felt stuffy and a little irritated. He frowned, and his eyes instantly turned cold.
Yun Zhi was from the Taifu Mansion, his enemy! Her father had collaborated with the enemy and betrayed his country, killing countless loyal officials and indirectly causing Qingyue's depression and eventual death. How could such a person be compared to Qingyue? How could he call her "cold" in such a tone?
She deserves to stay in this abandoned hospital, deserves to be cold, deserves to suffer!
Xiao Jin took a deep breath, suppressed the inexplicable fluctuations in his heart, and removed his fingers from the door latch. He looked inside through the crack in the broken window, and could only see the curled up figure on the bed, as thin as a leaf that could be blown away by the wind at any time.
Her hair was scattered on the pillow, and her face was as pale as paper, with only the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye showing a faint hint of color. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the position of the teardrop mole was somewhat similar to Qingyue's.
As soon as this thought came up, he suppressed it forcefully.
"It's just a fake." He murmured in a low voice, his tone full of sarcasm, "How can you compare with Qingyue?"
He no longer looked at the figure inside, but turned and left. His dark robe drew a cold arc in the snow and soon disappeared around the corner outside the courtyard gate.
The cold wind was still blowing, and the broken window paper was still rustling.
Yun Zhi was still unconscious, her brows furrowed tightly, as if she were still having a nightmare. Occasionally, a few fragmented words would slip out of her mouth, "Peach Blossom... Kite... Xiao Jin..."
She said the last name very softly, with a hint of barely perceptible grievance and confusion, as if asking the young general why things had turned out like this.
But outside the courtyard gate, the dark figure had long disappeared.
In the abandoned courtyard, only a dim candle flickered in the cold wind, casting a shadow on the thin figure on the bed, making it look particularly desolate.
The snow was still falling, landing on the roof of the abandoned courtyard, making a rustling sound, as if singing a silent sad song for this poor woman.
Yun Zhi didn't know that the cold and hard man just now had stopped outside the courtyard gate; nor did she know that the young general who she had caught a glimpse of in her youth had long since become what he is today due to time and hatred.
She just felt cold, her whole body was cold, as if she was about to be completely swallowed by the cold.
Before she fell into a deep coma again, she seemed to see the young man in silver armor again, standing under the peach tree, extending his hand towards her with a bright smile.
But this time, the boy's figure quickly blurred and turned into a cold and hard face, with eyes as cold as ice blades.
"You are just Qingyue's shadow, a lowly substitute slave."
A cold voice sounded in her mind, Yun Zhi trembled violently, and fell into complete darkness.
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