As the wind blew, the corners of the man's clothes were gently blown up. There was no ordinary fragrance of a young man from a wealthy family, but a light and unique fragrance of orchids, with a handsome temperament, like a handful of clear snow.
"Ah!" Jingjing, who was sitting behind Chu Qiao, suddenly stretched out her hand, pointed at the man's waist and shouted, "His jade pendant is the same as my sister's!"
The jade is white, smooth, round and translucent. The man stands with his back to the wind, a jade pendant hanging on his waist, shining with a faint light.
Chu Qiao's expression gradually eased. When everyone stood there in silence, she suddenly put her hand on the man's shoulder, jumped off the carriage, smiled gently and instructed Ping An and the others, "Don't just stand there, clear the road ahead."
"Ah?" Ping An's eyes widened. He looked at Chu Qiao, then at the man, and finally asked stupidly, "Sister, do you know each other?"
"Yeah." Chu Qiao nodded with a relaxed look, and seemed to be a little happy.
Ping An really wanted to ask who this man was, but before he could open his mouth, he saw the man's eyes floating over him indifferently. They were not stern, but as cold as ice, as if he didn't want to listen to this silly young man chattering.
When Brother Cao and others saw this, they immediately lowered their heads and retreated, took out tools and began to clear the road.
Chu Qiao turned to the man and said, "Come with me." Then she walked to the back.
The weather was great that day, as clear as a lake and the sunlight like gold. The two of them walked one after the other, and soon they walked into a secluded valley. A waterfall cascades down from the top of the mountain and falls into a cold pool, splashing large amounts of water. Each drop of water is clear and reflects the bright sunlight, making it dazzlingly colorful.
Chu Qiao turned around and looked at the man in front of her. She hadn't seen him for more than a year, but he didn't seem to have changed at all and still looked the same. She opened her mouth to say something, with thousands of words on her lips, but she didn't know where to start. In the end, it turned into a faint smile that overflowed from the corners of her mouth, and she didn't know whether she was laughing at herself or at others.
“What are you laughing at?” Zhuge Yue still had that look on his face, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was very impatient to stand here with her.
"Nothing." Chu Qiao shook her head, still smiling, "It seems that every time I see you, the way I do it is very special."
Zhuge Yue turned his head and looked elsewhere, still with that familiar awkwardness.
"What are you doing here?"
Zhuge Yue gave her an extremely accurate yet extremely vague answer: "Doing things."
"Oh." Chu Qiao nodded and said, "Are we going back now?"
"Um."
Then, the two of them just stood there, neither of them speaking anymore.
In the blink of an eye, almost two years have passed. In the past two years, he has been able to call the shots in the court and change the world with his hands. He has become one of the most powerful people on the continent. Chu Qiao was in a remote place, and whenever she heard news about him occasionally, she would feel a strange sense of trance. Sometimes she even wondered if the person she knew was the same man as the rumored one who was decisive and ruthless.
She also heard some rumors from Qinghai.
It is said that although it was nominally under the jurisdiction of Daxia, it practiced self-selection of officials, not from the clans, but through imperial examinations, so even commoners had the opportunity to apply; it is said that it had enacted new laws to encourage farming, build water conservancy projects, and protect industry and commerce, and that the brave merchants from the inland areas had already gone to Qinghai to do business; it is said that slavery had been abolished there. , rich families in the clan could buy slaves, but as long as the slaves were willing to pay to redeem themselves, they could be freed from slavery, and even slaves could not be killed at will, otherwise they would be severely punished by law; it was said that the place was not as desolate and dilapidated as the legend said, but that it was a vast area with a different world and a prosperous population. Today, there are many rich and prosperous towns...
There are also rumors that the King of Qinghai is now notorious and is known as the bandit Sima. Every year, they robbed the court of money and grain, and fought for all kinds of materials under various pretexts, which were continuously transported to Qinghai. Every month, Qinghai would report major disasters, droughts, floods, and glaciers, saying that the people there were poorly clothed and poorly fed, and they strongly requested the court to provide money and food to rescue the refugees.
However, as soon as those materials leave Zhenhuang, they will flow into the market, exchanged for a large amount of real gold and silver, and then be transported to the Qinghai headquarters blatantly. Now most of Yanbei's military forces are tied up in Qinghai, and Daxia dares not turn against him and can only let him do whatever he wants.
It is rumored that this man is called the King and Father by the people of Qinghai, a robber by the people of Simon, a vampire by the officials of Daxia, and even his good friend and ally, the Seventh Prince Zhao Che, tactfully advised him that it was enough to have enough, and that if you eat the meat, you have to let them have some soup.
It is rumored that even though Simon's people hate him to the core, the brave ones are now secretly preparing to move away. Every day Cuiwei Pass is crowded with people with their families who want to sneak in.
The Daxia Council of Elders angrily accused him of intentionally condoning the Cuiwei Pass garrison's negligence and dereliction of duty, and allowing the people from the inland areas of Ximen to flow into Qinghai.
He spread his hands innocently. The Yanbei army was too powerful. We didn't have any extra troops. If we wanted to effectively control such incidents, we urgently needed the Ministry of Revenue to immediately allocate 100,000 baht of gold to Qinghai to expand Qinghai's military...
There were so many rumors, but when Chu Qiao saw him at this moment, those rumors suddenly disappeared from her mind like smoke.
He is still himself, not the King of Qinghai or the Grand Marshal, not the brilliant monarch of Qinghai, not the cunning and shameless vampire of Daxia. He was still the cold, aloof, and somewhat awkward man, the Young Master Zhuge who had gone through life and death with her many times and saved her from danger several times.
A few traces of emotion suddenly arose in my heart, gradually suppressing the excitement and joy when I first met you. She looked at him. Although he was still handsome and as cold as ice, there were already some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Looking closely, his eyes seemed a little tired.
She pursed her lips quietly and said softly: "It's only been more than a year since I last saw you, and you've aged."
Zhuge Yue was stunned when he heard this, and the trace of frost in his eyes disappeared. He lowered his head to look at her, only to see that her face was still the same, but she was a little thinner.
He is only twenty-six years old this year, so he can't be called old by any means. However, all the hard work of these years, the games and conquests in those difficult years, and the bloody killings that splashed on his eyebrows and eyes, all followed the word "old" and flowed through his vicissitudes of life like a rolling tide.
Hidden behind all the scenery are the sleepless lights that burn all night long, the lonely shadow of the cold moon in the west window, the sleepless nights in the cold window, and the desolate loneliness of standing alone facing the wind.
The appearance remains the same, but the heart is tired.
How can you not grow old? How can you not grow old?
He looked at her, and the anger he had accumulated over the past year suddenly disappeared. Even the childish willfulness in him seemed to fade away with these simple words.
"Have you been okay over the past year?"
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s good or bad, at least I’m still alive.” Zhuge Yue said calmly. Although his words were unpleasant to the ear, he didn’t have the cold tone he used to have. Chu Qiao knew that he was not arguing with her, but was expressing his true feelings. Perhaps only people like them can understand that there is no good or bad, as long as you are alive, it is good enough.
“I’m doing fine too.” Zhuge Yue didn’t ask, but Chu Qiao said it herself, “I opened an inn and I live a very comfortable life.”
"I know."
The man answered calmly, but Chu Qiao was stunned and looked up at him, "You know?"
"I stayed at your place three times."
Chu Qiao was completely stunned, but she heard Zhuge Yue ask in a deep voice: "It's been over a year, have you figured it out?"
"Think...think about what?"
The man slowly frowned, as if to say, "You are really good at pretending." "Are you really planning to run an inn for the rest of your life?"
Chu Qiao stared, speechless. In fact, this is what she really thought.
"Or do you plan to marry someone casually before you turn thirty?"
Chu Qiao was embarrassed, "Who told you that?"
“Who else could it be?” Zhuge Yue said, “Of course it’s Li Ce. Don’t you know? The Chunyu Tower across from you is owned by him, and the Sihai Inn behind you is owned by me.”
Chu Qiao was shocked and speechless, and suddenly she remembered the two deserted inns. Before this, she had been very proud and complacent, thinking that it was her own inn that had squeezed them out of business, but she didn't expect that it was the work of these two masters.
That being said, Li Ce should be well aware of what's happening in Meishan, and he should have been prepared for those people's actions.
She suddenly remembered something and looked up and asked, "So you knew our identities from the beginning?"
“I don’t know.” Zhuge Yue said. Seeing that she didn’t believe him, he said impatiently, “Although I’ve been there, I haven’t seen you.”
Yes, she has been staying at home for more than a year and rarely goes out.
"What are you doing out here this time?"
Chu Qiao didn't know what to say. After all, it was Li Ce's state affairs, so she said vaguely, "I'm going to Tangjing."
“Hmph!” Zhuge Yue snorted coldly. A faint wisteria was entwined on the green tree beside him, and a faint fragrance breeze came in, like a puff of floating clouds.
"Master..." the man surnamed Cao said from a distance, "The road has been cleared, we can go now."
Zhuge Yue did not say anything, but stood there quietly for a long time. He seemed to be a little impatient with the depressing atmosphere, and turned around and wanted to leave.
“Zhuge Yue!” Chu Qiao suddenly called out, “Next time you come to the academy, you can come and see me.”
"I don't have time to go." Zhuge Yue replied coldly, then turned around slowly and said with a sullen face, "I'm going back to Qinghai soon, will you come with me?"
He just said this, as naturally as an acquaintance asking "Have you eaten?", but Chu Qiao was stunned. She is always like this, she can handle anything calmly, but when facing him, she loses all her wisdom. She stared at him blankly, as if she wanted to see another mouth on Zhuge Yue's face to prove that the words just now were not said by him.
"Li Ce said that you are stubborn. At that time, you were in a state of confusion and couldn't figure things out. He advised me to give you more time." Zhuge Yue said calmly, "Have you figured it out now? Will you come with me?"
"You, you are the military commander of Daxia? And your family is..."
“You don’t have to worry about that.” Zhuge Yue frowned and said in a deep voice, “Just tell me whether you want to go with me or not.”
One flock of birds flew over, two flocks of birds flew over, and many flocks of birds flew over the woods. Chu Qiao still didn't speak.
Zhuge Yue suddenly became furious and asked sternly, “Are you going or not?”
"I'll go, I'll go, I'll go!" Chu Qiao answered loudly.
The two men shouted at each other with red faces and thick necks, and the echoes reverberated around, making the place seem even more eerie and quiet.
"It's good to meet you here, so I don't have to make another trip to tell you." The man pretended to be nonchalant, as if everything was under his control, but he didn't think about whether he was such a talkative person in normal times. "Don't run around everywhere, go back to your yard, and I'll send someone to pick you up once I'm done with my business."
After saying this, Zhuge Yue turned around and walked away very handsomely.
"Anyway, we can open an inn in Qinghai."
A voice suddenly sounded from behind, and Zhuge Yue turned around abruptly and stared at her with a gnashing expression.
White clouds were floating in the sky and birds were poking their heads out from behind the leaves, as if they were also wondering: things in this world really cannot be judged by common sense.