Chapter 14 Separate
Chapter Summary: Little Green, wishing you a peaceful and healthy summer solstice.
Liu Shiyu looked over at the sound and saw a child carrying a bamboo basket full of jujube blossoms, looking at Xu Luchuan with anticipation.
Xu Luchuan stood there, his eyes blank.
Seeing this, Liu Shiyu bent down and squatted in front of the child, gently patting her head, and said with a smile in her eyes, "This young man is so stingy. How about your older sister buys the jujube blossoms for the little girl?"
The child nodded obediently, carefully pulling out the dates and peanuts from the bamboo basket, afraid of damaging them.
When the intact jujube blossom was handed to Liu Shiyu, the child sweetly called out, "Sister, here you go."
Liu Shiyu took the jujube flower and began rummaging through her purse for copper coins. Just then, a small silver ingot gently fell into the child's outstretched palm. Liu Shiyu looked up and saw Xu Luchuan straightening up, stuffing the purse back into his sleeve.
The child stared blankly at the silver ingot (one tael) for a long time, then looked up at Xu Luchuan, looking somewhat troubled.
"My lord, there's too much. I can't find the change..."
Liu Shiyu chuckled upon hearing this, but Xu Luchuan slowly bent down and whispered a few words in the child's ear. The child readily replied, "Yes, sir."
As soon as he finished speaking, the child took the silver ingot given to him by Xu Luchuan and ran towards the candy shop on the street corner.
Liu Shiyu squatted down on the ground and asked curiously, "What did you talk to her about?"
Xu Luchuan didn't respond, but glanced down at Liu Shiyu at his feet and asked, "What are you still squatting down for?"
"My legs are numb," Liu Shiyu answered truthfully. She thought Xu Luchuan would help her up. Unexpectedly, he not only ignored her but even turned his head away.
Feeling indignant, Liu Shiyu was not about to let it go. She reached out and grabbed Xu Luchuan's arm, forcibly using it to get up.
Xu Luchuan was taken aback, and said in a deep voice, "Let go."
“My love is heartless. Do you despise me now? You never treated me like this before.”
Seeing that Liu Shiyu had arrived in Guangling City, a place where no one knew him, he became even more unrestrained. As soon as he said this, he attracted more attention from passersby.
Seeing this, Xu Luchuan quickly helped the man up. Even if Liu Shiyu could afford to lose face, he still had his pride. He truly hadn't expected Liu Shiyu to be so shameless.
After getting up, Liu Shiyu's legs were still numb, so she could only lean against Xu Luchuan to stand.
The child emerged from the candy shop, carrying a packet of lactose wrapped in oil paper. Liu Shiyu was overjoyed. Could the lactose be for her? She hadn't expected Xiao Lü to be so thoughtful. Knowing she'd troubled her last night, she was here to apologize? What a stubborn mule.
Since that's the case, I'll just forgive him.
But just as the child happily ran back to them, and Liu Shiyu reached out with a smile to take the money, she heard Xu Luchuan say softly after accepting the loose silver, "I'll take the silver, but you can have this lactose."
Liu Shiyu's hand hung awkwardly in mid-air; it seemed she had been deluding herself.
The child cautiously offered the lactose to Xu Luchuan, saying, "No, no. This candy should be given to my wife. It's already very kind of you, sir, to buy my flowers. I can't accept anything more from you."
Xu Luchuan turned his head and pressed down Liu Shiyu's half-outstretched hand, saying, "My wife is kind-hearted, how could she fight with a child for candy?"
"Yes...yes." Liu Shiyu paused for a moment, then quickly agreed, "Nannan, please accept it."
The child was deeply moved, and reached into the bamboo basket to take out two bunches of jujube blossoms and handed them over, saying, "Thank you, my wife. Thank you, my husband. Wife and husband, may you have a peaceful summer solstice."
After speaking, the child waved his hand, turned around, and ran to the next street.
Holding several bunches of jujube blossoms, Liu Shiyu watched the child's departing figure and smiled, saying, "May you have a peaceful summer solstice." After the child disappeared from sight, she suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "Oh dear, I forgot! My wontons!"
After saying that, she left Xu Luchuan and strode towards the wonton stall. Xu Luchuan sneered and followed her.
...
"Grandma, two bowls of wontons and a serving of stir-fried broad beans, please. Thank you." Liu Shiyu stood in front of the wonton stall, beaming as she put her hands behind her back. Turning back to look at Xu Luchuan approaching from behind, she added, "This young man will pay the bill."
"Why should I?" Xu Luchuan protested.
Unexpectedly, Liu Shiyu immediately resorted to the same tactic as before, feigning a wronged expression and saying, "My husband is heartless..."
Xu Luchuan was truly afraid of Liu Shiyu. Without saying a word, he took out his money pouch and said solemnly, "I'll pay the bill."
Liu Shiyu walked briskly toward the empty table beside her, feeling quite pleased with herself.
She sat down opposite Xu Luchuan. She placed all the jujube blossoms on the table, picked up a branch, and gently pinned it to her hair, asking, "Little Green, look. Isn't it pretty?"
"It doesn't look good." Xu Luchuan blurted out without even glancing at Liu Shiyu.
"Isn't it pretty?" Liu Shiyu wasn't annoyed. She just rested her elbow on the table, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at Xu Luchuan. "It's true, you're not as pretty as me. I remember you used to be very dark-skinned. I didn't expect you to become so fair now. Is the sun in Liyang different from the sun in Jinling?"
Xu Luchuan didn't respond, turning to look at the opposite bank of the river. He thought that if Liu Shiyu had also been trapped in the mansion for eight years, never seeing the light of day, he would only be even paler than himself.
The two were locked in a stalemate.
The old woman selling wontons slowly walked over with the prepared food, saying, "Wife, husband, the wontons are ready. Please enjoy."
The steaming hot wontons were served, and Liu Shiyu had no time to argue with the person in front of her. She scooped up a wonton from the bowl with a wooden spoon, gently blew on it to release the steam, and took a small bite. The aroma of the meat filled the air. She swallowed it along with the delicious broth, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
Xu Luchuan looked at her with disdain. He thought of Jinling City, the Wanshe Palace, filled with countless rare delicacies, yet Liu Shiyu was moved by this simple bowl of wontons. Silently lowering his eyes, he scooped up a wonton and put it in his mouth. Xu Luchuan couldn't believe it...
These wontons smell delicious.
...
The two of them ate their meal quietly.
But halfway through the meal, the weather turned bad, and a sudden downpour started on a perfectly sunny day.
Xu Luchuan glanced around; passersby and diners began to flee. When he looked back at the table, he found Liu Shiyu still leisurely fiddling with the broad beans on her plate.
"Liu Shiyu, can't you feel the rain?" Xu Luchuan asked in surprise, but Liu Shiyu's hand holding the wooden chopsticks didn't stop. "Yes, I can feel it."
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Xu Luchuan couldn't help but clench his fist and angrily scold, "Then hurry up and get out of the rain!"
"This is the last bite," Liu Shiyu assured him confidently. But her hand, which was picking up broad beans, never stopped moving. Stealing a glance at Xu Luchuan, Liu Shiyu repeated hesitantly, "It really is the last bite."
Xu Luchuan finally lost his temper, snatched the wooden chopsticks from Liu Shiyu's hand and put them down, forcibly pulling her to take shelter from the rain under the eaves.
Standing under the eaves, Xu Luchuan brushed her wrist away and glared at her angrily.
Liu Shiyu hung her head and complained softly, "I already said it was the last bite, why be so stingy? How can there be such a stingy person in the world? No wonder he still can't get married..."
The surroundings were silent, save for the sound of the rain pattering down. Liu Shiyu's words were overheard by those around her.
Xu Luchuan sneered and retorted, "The last bite? How can there be such a faithless person in the world?" As he spoke, he took half a step closer to Liu Shiyu, "No wonder she's still not married."
"You—" Liu Shiyu stared wide-eyed at Xu Luchuan. Knowing her temperament, she wasn't about to back down. "Hmph. Who is it that's been begging me to marry him this morning!"
The saying goes, "To injure the enemy by a thousand, you will lose eight hundred of your own."
As soon as the words were spoken, they looked at each other, Liu Shiyu and Xu Luchuan's faces turning red to the roots of their ears. They hurriedly turned away, neither willing to utter another word.
For a long, long time. The rain fell slowly, washing away the hustle and bustle of the summer solstice and scattering it to the street corner.
Gazing at the willows swaying by the riverbank, the boats bobbing on the water, and the old man sipping tea under a bamboo hut, Liu Shiyu smiled gently and said, "Follow the wind, follow the water, follow your heart. Xiao Lü, have you ever thought about how you want to live your life?"
The wind and rain were like smoke, and Xu Luchuan couldn't see Liu Shiyu's expression clearly. He could only look at the green jujube flower in her hair and answer in a deep voice, "No."
“I’ve thought about it.” When Liu Shiyu spoke, she straightened her thin back resolutely, and her firm eyes even shone with light. “I want to travel all over Shaoyuan’s mountains and rivers, taste all the delicacies of the world, and live a life amidst the everyday joys of life.”
Unfortunately, life is like a fleeting dream, and Liu Shiyu will never live to see the day she wakes up...
A gentle breeze and light rain swept past her eyes; she closed them, letting only the breeze whisper in her ears. But since she couldn't wake up, and the dream wouldn't end, she might as well stop complaining. To live a carefree life, looking up and down at the world, was also a way to live a free and easy life.
The familiar sound of the bone flute drowned out the clamor of the wind. Liu Shiyu opened her eyes again.
She knew it was time for her to go.
Turning around suddenly, Liu Shiyu looked at Xu Luchuan, who had remained silent all along, and said, "Let's part ways here. After we go back, let's pretend we never met."
Liu Shiyu's sudden farewell caught Xu Luchuan off guard.
Without waiting for Xu Luchuan's reply, she placed her hand on her forehead and hurriedly disappeared into the misty rain of Jiangnan. Before turning away, Liu Shiyu suddenly said loudly, "Thank you so much for keeping me company these past two days. These have been the happiest times of my life in recent years."
"Little Green, wishing you a peaceful and healthy summer solstice."
As Liu Shiyu walked away into the drizzle, she disappeared from sight. Xu Luchuan was left standing there, stunned, without a proper goodbye.
Just then, someone came through the rain and stopped in front of him, offering him a paper umbrella. Looking up at the pair of dark eyes, still as bright as stars, beneath the straw hat, Xu Luchuan said in a deep voice, "Where do you intend to take me this time?"
Lian Xing shook his head without saying a word. He simply reached into an unmarked envelope and handed it over.
Xu Luchuan took the envelope, unfolded it and looked at it carefully. There was only an address left on the paper: East of the back street of Qingyuanfang in the west of the city, Jinchi Shop.
"This is..." Xu Luchuan looked up and asked, only to find that Lian Xing had already disappeared. He crumpled the letter in his hand, not having time to think further, and hurriedly stepped into the vast expanse with his paper umbrella.
...
At the street corner, Liu Shiyu stood under an umbrella, gazing at Xu Luchuan as he walked away.
Suddenly, Lian Yue spoke up and asked, "Your Highness, where are we going next?"
Liu Shiyu straightened her sleeves but did not answer. Then, turning around and stepping one foot onto the stool, she asked again, "How are the remaining two from the Court of Judicial Review?"
"The men sent by Lian Xing reported that Duan Lei, under the pretense of seeking help, has already fled back to Jinling. Yu Hong has been diligently searching for Li Xi's whereabouts in Guangling, but unfortunately, his abilities are insufficient, and he has found nothing. Your Highness, is there anything you wish to do?" Lian Yue reported truthfully.
Liu Shiyu stepped into the car in two steps and sneered.
Last time, she had already released Duan Lei from the Tingwei Mansion prison out of respect for Xu Luchuan. Unexpectedly, he dared to offend her again. No wonder Liu Shiyu was ruthless. Her eyes flashed sharply as she said, "Tell Bai Tao to give Duan Lei twenty strokes of the cane and transfer him out of the Tingwei Mansion."
"Yes," Lian Yue replied, bowing her head.
Looking at the misty bamboo curtain, Liu Shiyu said in a deep voice, "Let's set off and return to Jinling."
Lian Yue looked up in confusion. Gazing into the distance, she couldn't make out the person inside the carriage. "Going back already? Aren't you going to say goodbye to Prince Shouyang?"
Liu Shiyu sat in the car, turning the bracelet on her wrist, her expression calm as still water. "I've done what I wanted to do. I've seen who I wanted to see. It's time to go back. Just send someone to let my elder sister know. Do as I say."
After months of silent obedience, he raised the bone flute and played it again.
The boy who had rushed towards her vanished in an instant after receiving her command. Then, she set off again, the joy she had felt upon arrival gone. Her eyes dimmed, and she walked alone towards the thorn-covered royal city.
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