Chapter 411 Circle
Gu Qingning and Wu Zhan played in Black Bandit Mountain for a day and stayed on the mountain at night.
Gu Qingning and Su Zhizhi lived in the same room, just like when they were in the student dormitory of the academy when they were young. The two of them talked non-stop and didn't go to bed until late at night.
Wu Zhan and Xue Che slept in the same room, and they actually had a lot to talk about.
Xue Che repeatedly congratulated Wu Zhan, saying that they were a perfect couple.
In the candlelight, Wu Zhan joked to Xue Che:
"Xue Che, becoming a consort is not easy. The princess is of noble status, and many young men from the aristocratic families in the capital are watching her. They all come to her to show their affection. However, the closer you are to the water, the better. You are by her side every day, so you have to work harder."
Xue Che's ears flushed slightly, and he turned his head unnaturally.
"When did I say I wanted to be—"
"I guessed," Wu Zhan observed Xue Che's expression and sighed, "Did I guess wrong? Tsk, I even brought you a secret book on winning hearts and minds, but it seems you can't use it..."
Xue Che turned his head back: "What secret book?"
Wu Zhan: "Didn't you say you didn't want to be a prince consort?"
Xue Che pursed his lips, glanced out the window, and lowered his voice:
"When did I say I didn't want to be one anymore?"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Hey, it's worth my searching for you."
Wu Zhan reached into his arms, took out a book, and said mysteriously:
"This will teach you how to become a royal consort."
Xue Che's throat was dry, and when he saw the title of the book clearly, his hands trembled.
In the flickering candlelight, a line of words appeared on the cover of the book:
[The princess is beautiful and proud, and her husband is good at fishing and tea making]
Xue Che flipped through a few pages casually, not knowing what he read, but his face instantly turned red like a lantern.
"This, this obscene book is simply unbearable to read!"
Xue Che put the book aside, not daring to think about the messy contents.
Wu Zhan was stunned and took the book over:
"No, this is a serious book. How can it be so disgusting?"
Xue Che's face was burning hot, a fire burning beneath his thin skin:
"Anyway, I won't watch it. Zhizhi and I are childhood sweethearts. We've known each other very well since we were little. I won't learn to behave like that!"
"It's okay. I have another one here, the one about childhood sweethearts. This one is about following the rules and it's suitable for you." Wu Zhan took out another one from his arms like a magic trick.
Xue Che took a quick look and saw the words written on the cover:
[The childhood sweetheart next door is as bright as the moon, drunkenly sleeping in the fragrance of the plum blossom tent]
This doesn't seem like a book that follows the rules.
Xue Che frowned: "Where did you find these disturbing books?"
Wu Zhan: "We used to have a classmate in the academy named Muxiangtai. These are all written by her. It's not easy for her to work as a farmhand and write storybooks at the same time. I bought two copies to show my support."
Xue Che sighed deeply and said, "I never thought that one of my former classmates would end up like this."
Wu Zhan held the book and asked, "Do you want it or not?"
Xue Che blushed and said nothing.
"Well, Master Xue, I can only help you up to this point. I can't help you with anything else."
Wu Zhan threw the book on the pillow and fell asleep.
“Some people should not regret it later…”
Wu Zhan muttered a few words to himself, covered his head with the quilt, and fell asleep.
Xue Che also lay down and fell asleep.
The night is quiet on the mountain.
The soft moonlight entered the house, spreading a layer of warm yellow gauze.
Wu Zhan's long and even breathing sounds were heard.
Xue Che opened his eyes, quickly picked up the book that had fallen from his pillow, and studied it carefully under the moonlight from the window, holding his breath...
The sky brightened.
The birds on the green branches and the chickens running around on the ground crowed at the same time, waking up the entire mountain.
When Wu Zhan woke up, he heard the sound of Xue Che practicing sword outside.
The book was still lying quietly beside his pillow, as if no one had ever turned it over.
Wu Zhan clicked his tongue and shook his head, then took the book back with regret.
After lunch, Gu Qingning and Wu Zhan said goodbye.
They all had a lot of things to take care of at home and couldn't stay for long.
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che also have things to do today.
They went to the cemetery on the back mountain to clean the Pei family's tombstones.
After Pei Lingyun ascended the throne, he sent people to move the Pei family tombs back to Chang'an. Now only the tombstones are left at Heifei Mountain.
But even if only the tombstone was left, Su Zhizhi still wanted to come and see it.
When she was a child, she always felt very close and at ease when she came to place small flowers and fruits in front of the tombstone.
Su Zhizhi placed a few small fruits neatly in front of Pei Xuan's tombstone.
"Ache."
"Zhizhi?" Xue Che turned his head, revealing two dark circles under his eyes.
Su Zhizhi: "Didn't you sleep last night?"
"I slept, but I didn't sleep well." Xue Che's voice was a little low, and he was worried that Zhizhi would ask him why he didn't sleep well.
But Zhizhi didn't ask any more questions and just said, "Oh."
Zhizhi's thoughts are always jumping and she will jump to the next topic at any time.
She looked up at the clouds in the sky and suddenly had an idea:
"Ache, I suddenly had an idea today."
Xue Che sat next to Su Zhizhi: "You say."
Su Zhizhi: "I think some of the coincidences in this world are pre-destined. The people you are destined to meet will meet anyway."
"My father sometimes says that if the Pei family hadn't been in trouble, I wouldn't have met my mother. But I don't think so. I think my father is my father, and my mother is my mother, no matter what."
"For example, whether I was born in Black Bandit Mountain or not, I would have met Grandpa Qin and Kong Wu and the others. Whether there is Green Snake Village or not, I would have known you."
Su Zhizhi said it with certainty.
Xue Che smiled slightly when he heard this, especially the last half of the sentence.
He believes that in this world, only people with destiny can come together.
They wiped the tombstone clean, then lay side by side on the grass, quietly watching the clouds drifting across the sky.
Gu——
Po was circling overhead.
After spending the whole day on the hillside, when it was getting dark, the villagers called everyone to eat:
"Dinner is ready—!"
"Dinner is ready—!"
The loud voice echoed throughout the mountain.
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che walked towards the village together.
Two shadows were lengthened behind them by the setting sun.
"Zhizhi, Ache, let's go eat."
"Tonight we have lion's head and sweet and sour fish."
"Let's go, let's have a couple more drinks tonight."
“Ah, ah…”
More and more people gathered.
Kong Wu opened his tongueless mouth and smiled happily.
Old man Qin squinted his eyes and picked his ears, looking relaxed and contented.
The two shadows on the ground turned into three, four, five... many, many shadows gathered together and merged into one in the gorgeous glow of the sunset.
Xue Che saw the setting sun on the western hilltop.
It was as red as the year he went up the mountain, as round as ever, and looked like a greasy salted egg yolk.
He smiled.
Su Zhizhi: "What are you thinking about?"
Xue Che: "I was thinking about the time when we went to school together in the village."
He had thought he was the only whole person among them.
But now I understand that no one is complete in that room.
They are incomplete, they are adrift, they are down and out.
But a group of incomplete people gathered together, like mortise and tenon joints, tightly supporting each other.
Finally, a perfect circle was formed.
(End of main story)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
