After saying this, Yue Sheng held the pipa and began to play again. Tang Chen had only heard this piece of music once before. Although it had been many years since she had heard it, and she couldn't quite hear it then, she could sense that the tune hadn't changed at all despite the passage of time.
"......" Zhong Qin stood aside leaning against the cherry tree with a teacup in her hand, just quietly watching the petals that accidentally floated into the teacup without saying a word.
The melodious sound of the pipa lingered, and just as the piece was drawing to a close, the distant sound of a flute suddenly echoed. Yue Sheng's lips curled up imperceptibly, and he slowly closed his eyes, but his hands showed no sign of stopping. The song ended, but it could continue. The flute sounds that had joined at the end gradually merged with the change in the music. Zhong Qin, holding her teacup, slowly raised her head, her gaze grazing in the direction of the flute sounds.
Soon, a man in blue clothes came from a distance, carrying a tattered bag, looking like he had experienced many hardships, and slowly walked towards them, playing a bamboo flute. Yue Sheng looked in the direction of the person coming. In the overlapping time, he was still as handsome as when they first met.
Seeing Yan Shaoqing arriving late, Zhong Qin said nothing. She raised her head and drank the already cold tea in one gulp. After a moment, she left without saying a word. When she and Yan Shaoqing came in close, she stopped, said something, and then went down the mountain.
Tang Chen didn't expect to see Yan Shaoqing here again, but she knew that this was not the time to ask questions. She heard Wang Yanzhou say yesterday that this was the place where Yue Yan and Yan first met, where Zhong Qin's heart was moved, and where their fate began.
Tang Chen stood up and straightened her messy skirt. Wang Yanzhou brushed the petals that had fallen all over her hair. "Hey, when I was coming here just now, I saw some new flowers on the road. Shall we go pick some?"
"Um."
When Tang Chen and Wang Yanzhou stood up, Xihe was still sitting there with a dazed look on her face. When Tang Chen shook her and asked her to go pick flowers together, Xihe shook her head slightly and sat on the ground, unwilling to move.
Tang Chen saw that Xihe also had musical talent, so he stopped bothering her and turned to Huaping, saying, "Huaping, please help look after Xihe. We'll be back soon."
"Don't worry."
The song ended, and Yan Shaoqing and Yue Sheng finally met again after so many days. Yue Sheng, supported by Hua Ping, stood up, holding her pipa. She bowed her head slightly and knelt, saying, "Your flute playing is wonderful. Would you mind playing a duet with me again?"
Yan Shaoqing nodded and said, "That's exactly what I meant."
"Painting screen, serve tea."
"……yes."
Tang Chen leaned on Wang Yanzhou's shoulder, sitting on the huge branch of a catalpa tree not far from the road, closing his eyes as the music rang out again. A sharp sound failed to bring a perfect end to Yue Sheng's last pipa piece, but at least, there was one less regret.
...Yanzhou, listen, whose zither string is broken?
The pipa in Yue Sheng's arms fell to the ground with a thud. She reached out to pick it up again, but she no longer had the strength. Yan Shaoqing stood before her, tears streaming down his face, and played the entire piece.
Yan Shaoqing slowly squatted down and carefully held Yue Sheng in his arms: "You see, a song should have a beginning and an end."
Yue Sheng closed his eyes and laughed faintly: "Yes, but I can't play it anymore."
Yan Shaoqing pulled Yue Sheng's cloak and said softly, "Are you tired? If you don't mind my rough appearance, lean on me and rest for a while."
"Thank you, thank God for letting me meet you..."
A sudden gust of cold wind blew away all the flowers in the tree. Petals fell like snowflakes, and finally my black hair turned white.
Huaping knelt beside Yue Sheng and burst into tears. She was a witness to all the suffering Yue Sheng had experienced in his life.
"..." Xihe and Yan Shaoqing were both speechless, as if still caught up in the sound of the pipa, unable to wake up. Xihe listened to the sobbing of the painting screen beside her ears, and the sound of Yan Shaoqing's tears falling into the mud. Her heart, usually indifferent to life and death, suddenly began to ripple. Why did their deaths, their emotions, affect her? She was so used to death, wasn't she?
The tighter Yan Shaoqing hugged her, the more he could feel the person in his arms moving away. He felt heartbroken, but secretly happy that he hadn't been absent: "Go to sleep, go to sleep. This time, I won't run away, and you shouldn't run away either. Because, what should have ended has already ended, isn't it?"
The cherry blossoms on Yanlai Peak bloom and fall, year after year. In this mountain wilderness, I indifferently feel the reunions and separations in the world below.
After the simple funeral, Tang Chen and Huaping, dressed in plain clothes, stood on the long street in front of the palace. The peach trees outside the courtyard wall were already sprouting delicate buds. The weather was warm today, making it a perfect time to travel.
When Tang Chen came out, he only saw Hua Ping holding the urn in his hands, but did not see Yan Shaoqing: "Where is Young Master Yan?"
Huaping replied, "Young Master Yan has passed away. I gave him the young lady's family heirloom jade pendant as a keepsake."
Tang Chen nodded and gently stroked the carefully wrapped box in Huaping's hand. "What about you? What are your plans for the future?"
Huaping smiled slightly, hugged Yue Sheng's ashes tightly and said firmly: "I want to go back to Huayue Tower. It is the young lady's hard work. I will take good care of her there."
After saying this, Huaping bent down and bowed deeply to Tang Chen and the other two in front of him: "Miss Tang, Valley Master Wang, please accept Huaping's greeting."
After Tang Chen lifted up the painting screen, he instructed: "If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to come to him."
Huaping shook her head and said, "Thank you very much, Miss Tang. I am deeply grateful for the care of the Valley Master. From now on, no matter what, please let Huaping bear all the consequences."
"...Then you, take care."
After Huaping left, the atmosphere in the palace didn't immediately return. Xihe, feeling down all day because Black Crow hadn't returned, ignored Tang Chen's words and sat by the wall, her time spent in a daze growing longer and longer.
Tang Chen was bored, so he asked someone to repair the pipa Yue Sheng had left him. He then imitated Yue Sheng's memory, picked up the pipa, and began to play. He had thought that his hands would convey the murderous aura of "Ten Sides Ambush," or at least the graceful grace of "Spring River Moon Night." But the reality was, when he saw Wang Yanzhou's expression, veins bulging in his chest, yet he dared not show any other expression, Tang Chen gave up.
Looking at the graceful pipa in his hand, Tang Chen couldn't help but fall into deep thought: "This thing is really not friendly to me at all. Why can't I play it with that feeling?"
Seeing that she had finally given up, Wang Yanzhou coughed dryly a few times before finally letting out a long sigh of relief. He said, "It's not something that can be learned overnight. I'm afraid you won't even be able to get into the first level after three to five years."
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