Chapter 100 Return to Fuyan Mountain
On the day of praying for blessings, the carriages and horses from the marquis' mansion went to the Xuanfu Temple on the outskirts of the city.
Xie Wan also came today. As the daughter of the Marquis, she had to be present to pray for the old lady's birthday.
The heater in the carriage was warm, and Xie Wan smoothed the fox fur coat for the old lady.
The old lady half leaned on the soft pillow and said slowly, "Wan girl, what do you think of Ning'er?"
Xie Wan's impression of Wen Ning still roughly remains from two years ago.
Because of the booklet, I actually developed a favorable impression of her.
When we met again today, although Wen Ning deliberately hid behind the crowd and did not steal the limelight, her beautiful and gentle appearance and her overall demeanor were still conspicuous.
Her brother, who has always been cold-hearted, has been chasing after someone for two years. I think it is definitely not a sudden impulse.
The old lady specifically asked about Wen Ning at this moment, how could Xie Wan not understand the deep meaning of it.
She restrained her expression and said softly, "Granddaughter, look, this girl is very good."
The old lady raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What do you mean?"
"My granddaughter won't talk about family backgrounds. I'll just say that over the years, Jinglan has shouldered countless burdens for the Marquisate and Dajing that others couldn't bear. He was already on the battlefield at the age of twelve, and was forced to support the family alone at the age of fifteen.
Now, he finally has someone he holds dear to his heart, someone who can bring a smile to his face." Xie Wan looked at the old lady with earnestness in his eyes. "Grandma, compared to all this, don't we still need that little bit of icing on the cake?"
The wrinkles in the old lady's eyes slowly unwound. She raised her hand and patted the back of Xie Wan's hand. "Wan girl, you are more insightful than me."
We arrived at the temple gate at noon, and the monk in charge of reception led everyone inside.
The hall was filled with the smoke of incense. The old lady was the first to burn incense, kowtow and make a wish.
Afterwards, Xie Jinglan, Xie Wan and others saluted in turn, while Wen Ning stood quietly aside, following the etiquette with everyone else.
At noon, the temple prepared vegetarian food and everyone ate in the meditation room.
The old lady was in good spirits. She sat opposite the abbot and drank tea. Her words were full of her deep faith in Buddhism and her familiarity with the temple.
After the vegetarian meal, Xie Wan, under the pretext of digesting the food, went to the corridor and called Wen Ning, who was about to return to the guest room.
"The Marquis is keeping a very close watch on me. I couldn't find a moment to talk to you all the way here."
Wen Ning blushed slightly when she heard this. She stood at the bottom of the steps and bowed, saying, "If you have anything to say, please feel free to speak."
Xie Wan took off a warm jade bracelet from her wrist, pulled Wen Ning's hand over, and put it on without saying a word.
"The jade-like color reflects your snowy skin, which really suits you."
Wen Ning was stunned at first, then said, "My aunt is so kind, but this is against the rules. Wen Ning really can't accept it." As she said that, she hurriedly tried to pick it.
"Why is it against the rules?" Xie Wan held her hand, her eyes slightly raised. "Thanks to you, my brother, who has always been as cold as a lump of ice, can now smile. This bracelet is not a reward for you, but a thank you."
Wen Ning hesitated for a moment, then looked up with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "Excuse me, Auntie, was the Marquis also this serious when he was a child?"
Xie Wan suppressed her smile and lowered her eyes, saying, "Not really. It's probably because so many things happened after I turned eight."
She looked at Wen Ning, her eyes softening a little, "It's okay to talk to you about it. I haven't thought about these old things in a long time.
Among the three of us brothers and sisters, Jinglan is the youngest, but he is smart and steady most of the time, and he can understand the lessons taught by the teacher very quickly.
Sometimes he was naughty and playful, stealing his teacher's ruler, drawing a turtle on his father's court robes, tearing up his brother's military manual and making a kite out of it, and even saying he wanted to 'reach the sky with his military strategy.'"
Xie Wan's expression gradually darkened, and he sighed:
"But since he was eight years old, his grandfather died in battle. Even at such a young age, he held his grandfather's coffin and refused to shed a single tear.
Then came the late autumn when he was ten years old. The smoke of gunpowder had not yet dissipated under the city wall, and he was picking up the remains of his eldest brother from the pile of corpses.
In the dead of winter when he was thirteen years old, he was dressed in white, holding two banners in his hands in the deep snow, leading the way for the coffins of his father and uncle.
At the age of fifteen, he was the only one left to defend an isolated city among three hundred personal soldiers. He carved a stele with a broken knife until his ten fingers were exposed.
On Qingming Festival of the same year, he rushed back from the border at night and took over his mother's urn.
Before he even reached adulthood, he had already lit the funeral lamps in the ancestral hall five times with his own hands.
It was then that I saw with my own eyes what it meant to have gray hair at a young age. It wasn’t because time had turned the hair white, but because a heavy burden had crushed the youth who should have been soaring.
Xie Wan's eyes moistened as she sighed, "Since then, he rarely smiled. Even his prematurely gray hair took a long time to gradually return to its dark gray color."
She raised her eyes and saw Wen Ning's tears swirling on her eyelashes, so she held back her sobs and said softly, "I'm not telling you these past events to make you sad. My Xie family is loyal and brave. It is our duty to be loyal to our country. I have no regrets even if I die on the battlefield.
I just want you to know that he has built a high wall for you over the years, and now he is willing to open a window for you. You deserve this thank you."
This conversation consisted of only a few words, but it weighed heavily on people's hearts, like lead.
…
Wen Ning held a bowl of freshly cooked lotus seed soup and quietly pushed open the door of the guest room.
Xie Jinglan was sitting at the desk by the window, even though he had to deal with the military report sent by Qingfeng during this break.
She placed the porcelain bowl on the corner of the table, her eyes unable to help but linger on his hair.
Seeing that he was still concentrating on the military newspaper with his head down, she finally couldn't help herself. She stretched out her fingertips and very lightly brushed aside a strand of black hair that fell behind his temple.
The silver hidden under the ink color is nowhere to be seen.
I guess I've never looked at it carefully before, so I didn't notice it.
Xie Jinglan paused what he was doing. He thought Ning'er was trying to get closer to him by touching his hair, and a low, hoarse laugh rose in his throat.
He reached out and gently grasped her wrist before she could retract it, and with a little force, he brought her into his arms.
"What's wrong with Ning'er today? You're so proactive, I'm actually a little flattered."
Wen Ning buried her little face in his arms, the fresh scent of his body lingering on her nose.
She stretched out her arms, gently wrapped them around the man's broad back, and said softly, "Nothing, I just want to hug you, Lord."
…
The sun climbed to the west, and its golden light spread over the eaves of the temple.
At the time of Shen, the accompanying servants packed their bags, and the carriages and horses were lined up in order at the foot of the mountain. The people in the marquis' mansion knelt down to salute and then got on the carriages one after another.
The old lady was helped into the main carriage. Before leaving, she said meaningfully, "The Marquis promised me. I should have a definite answer when I return."
Xie Jinglan stood on the stone steps and nodded slightly when he heard this. "I will definitely give Grandmother an explanation."
The curtains were completely lowered, and the sound of the wheels rolling over the bluestone road gradually faded away.
Wen watched the carriage go away, then turned to look at the Marquis beside him, with a layer of confusion in his eyes, "The old lady has gone back, what are the Marquis and I going to do here?"
Xie Jinglan lowered his eyes and tightened the brocade cloak around her.
The mountain breeze blew past, lifting a strand of hair from her temple. He reached out and tucked it behind her ear.
"I have something to clarify, now, immediately, and instantly." The man's voice was low and the emotions in his eyes were difficult to discern.
Before Wen Ning could react, he grabbed her wrist and led her towards the back mountain.
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