The two characters on the stage disappeared, leaving only two well-made shadow puppets on the table. The child smiled and said, "Later, they got married and lived happily together. They had many children. The boys were as handsome as the emperor, and the girls were as beautiful as the emperor. They were very happy until their hair turned white and their teeth fell out. Finally, the gods in heaven found out and made them immortals. They said they would let them live together for all their lives and never be separated."
Layer upon layer of grief rolled over her heart, like a winding countercurrent, her eyes ached with pain, and her voice didn't seem to be her own. She asked, "Isn't this the story I heard you tell me before?"
"That troupe was bought by a prodigal son who often comes to my house for noodles. He also lets them perform this play here every day. People nearby are tired of it and no one comes to watch it anymore. The owner of the troupe, Granny Qin, is very sad. You are an outsider and this is your first time to listen to a play. Do you like it? Do you like this story? Do you want to go to Granny Qin's house to listen to it again? She will be very happy."
Suddenly, the wind started to blow. Chu Qiao covered her face with her sleeves and turned her head slightly. The child asked enthusiastically, "Are you blinded?"
Chu Qiao didn't say anything. The child thought she was really blinded and said quickly, "Wait a minute, I'll get you some cooking oil." After saying that, he turned around, jumped down and ran away.
When she came back, there was no one at the seat and a heavy bag of silver was placed on the table.
The road was desolate, with no pedestrians, no jugglers, no vendors, and no singing girls. The lake was peaceful, without even a pleasure boat. She was the only one on the empty street, walking lightly like a ghost.
When passing by a candy shop, she was stunned for a moment, then walked in and bought a lot of snacks, all of which were bought for her by Li Ce before, including honey cubes, dates, osmanthus cakes, and chestnuts. She put them in a bag and ate them while walking.
She chewed mechanically, thinking over and over again about the story the child had just told her. Tears flowed down her face, flowed into her mouth, and were swallowed along with the candies. They tasted bitter and not delicious at all.
Memories are like flying fragments, echoing in my mind one by one.
"Then you should really thank me. Your life-saving grace is extraordinary. Otherwise, you should not leave and stay in Bian Tang to marry me." Once upon a time, he stood in front of her and talked to her with a smile.
She was besieged by Zhao Yang. He rushed to her at the critical moment, covered in dust and with his armor strong, and he held her in his arms with a frown, saying over and over again: It's okay, it's okay.
When she was completely desperate, he came at night with pomegranates and slowly comforted her: Qiao Qiao, why don’t you let me go?
On a cold night in the palace, he came drunk and embraced her passionately in a daze. In the end, she still had to smile and say: Fu'er's figure is much better than yours.
…
She never knew it, as if it was a forbidden zone in her heart that had never been touched. She didn't know if she was really unaware of it, or if she was just deceiving herself and didn't want to know.
The cold moon in the sky cast a clear light on the ground. The crabapples on the roadside were still gorgeous, as red as the finest rouge. When the wind blew, the petals fell down and sprinkled on Chu Qiao's clothes and hair.
"Li Fox, have you ever liked anyone else?" In the sunny courtyard of Mi Heju, they sat side by side under the crabapple tree that was moved back to the palace from the street. She frowned as she looked at Li Ce who was actively selecting portraits of this year's beauties, and asked in confusion.
"Of course!" Li Ce raised his eyebrows and said seriously, "I really liked Yu'er from Ranli Palace last night. Her skin was as smooth as silk, especially her long legs, which were comparable to..."
"Shut up, shut up!" Chu Qiao interrupted him with a frown, "I mean, it's that kind of liking, like, like..."
Li Ce squinted his eyes at her and said with disdain, "You mean to say that Zhuge Si, that bastard, likes you, right?"
Chu Qiao blushed and said angrily, "Yes! That's right! How is it?"
"What can I do to you?" Li Ce snorted, lowered his head and continued to pick paintings. After a long while, he suddenly said "hmm".
Chu Qiao was stunned and asked, "What are you humming?"
Li Ce said impatiently: "Didn't you ask me if I have ever liked someone like Zhuge Si? I am answering you."
"Ah? You liked it before, how come I didn't know?"
Li Ce laughed up to the sky and said in a very arrogant manner: "How can I let you see through my thoughts so easily? If I could let you see through my thoughts easily, wouldn't I lose face?"
Chu Qiao continued to ask curiously, "What is the person you like like?"
"Not so good." Li Ce said nonchalantly, "her figure is average, her temper is bad, and she likes to dwell on trivial matters. Most importantly, she has someone else in her heart and doesn't like me."
"Ah?" Chu Qiao was slightly stunned, and asked subconsciously, "Then why didn't you tell her?"
Li Ce smiled very casually, "If you like someone, you should keep it in your heart. Why would you say it out loud? Besides..."
His tone of voice changed and he paused slightly. The wind blew in from the surface of Taiqing Pond, blowing up a strand of hair on his temples. He raised his head and looked at the lake in the distance, his eyes blurred for a moment.
"Besides, I may never have the chance to tell her in my lifetime."
Chu Qiao looked at him quietly at that time, as if she saw a very far place through his eyes. The first person she thought of at that time was Princess Fu who was hanged on the paulownia tree, Murong Fuer who died for Prince Luo on the day of Li Ce's wedding.
She thought with some pity at the time: If it weren't for that incident, this guy might have been a decent person.
Hot and wet liquid flowed down the cheeks from the corners of the eyes. The wind blew over, so cold, and the bright red crabapple petals fell and scattered all over the sky, as if it was raining flowers.
The wind whistled through the city, and under the blue sky, it raised a field of blood-red streaks. The black curtains in the palace were replaced with white cotton gauze. Overnight, the emperor passed away and the empress dowager died. For 49 consecutive days, the funeral bells in the palace rang continuously and the whole country mourned.
On the day Li Ce was buried in the imperial mausoleum, Chu Qiao moved out of the Jinwu Palace. The autumn leaves were silent and bleak. She was wearing a soft white cotton skirt and standing on the high city wall of Xilan Gate, watching the long and winding funeral procession gradually disappear at the end of the post road.
The setting sun cast a golden glow on the ground. Tall wormwood grew on the wasteland horse farm outside Tangjing, swaying back and forth in the bleak autumn wind, like a golden wave. As dusk fell, birds flew south and fiery clouds appeared on the horizon. Her shadow was stretched out into a long, thin line, reflected on the city wall of Tang capital that had weathered a century of wind and rain.
Li Ce, I'm sorry I can't see you off. The journey is long, please take care.
The sun gradually set behind the mountain, and a distant moon climbed to the top of the mountain. The cold moonlight sprinkled on her clothes. It was as quiet as water, and a star climbed up her pale cheek. The air on an autumn night is as sharp as a thin knife when inhaled into the nose. A trace of sadness arises from the bottom of my heart and slowly climbs up the back. My heart feels like a heavy white snow has fallen, and an endless coldness spreads.
Meixiang came forward and said softly, "Miss, let's go."
She took one last look at the dusty post road and finally turned around inch by inch. The dark shadow of the tower was ferocious, like a lurking tiger with its huge mouth wide open, ready to snatch away her remaining strength.
The dust was flying gently under her feet, and there was a big bird in the sky with its black wings spread. She walked down step by step, as if she was walking into a deep quagmire cave. Behind her was a barren wilderness, further away were the towering mountains of Bian Tang, the bustling city, and then the continuous border cities, and at the other end was the land of Daxia.
With thousands of miles of mountains and rivers and a beautiful country, she could not escape the shackles of worldly affairs and drifted with the flow like a mayfly.
A carriage was parked quietly at the foot of the city. Sun Di, dressed in a blue shirt, looked handsome and stood respectfully beside it. Seeing her coming over, he whispered, "Girl, please get in the car."
"I want to take a walk alone." Chu Qiao said quietly, her expression calm, without any trace of decadence.
Meixiang was about to speak when Sun Di handed her a lantern and said in a deep voice, "It's hard to travel at night, go back early, girl."
The lantern was wrapped with the finest palace white paper, emitting a pale white light. Chu Qiao nodded lightly, turned around and left with the lantern in hand. Meixiang was anxious to catch up, but was stopped by Sun Di. The young man shook his head slightly. A full moon in the sky shone quietly on the woman as she walked away, as if covered with a layer of mist and about to disappear into the night.
Today was the day when Li Ce was buried. There was no one on the road except for the crabapple trees on both sides of the road swaying in the wind, occasionally dropping light petals.
"Qiao Qiao Qiao Qiao..."
Faintly, she seemed to hear a series of calls again. The man raised his eyebrows, and his eyes were like a cunning fox, looking at her with a smile.
The water mirror was illusory, sparkling, and mist covered the man's eyebrows and eyes, gradually turning pale and quiet. Finally, he leaned on the rattan chair, smiled weakly at her, opened his arms and called softly:
"Qiao Qiao, let me hug you."
A tear welled up from the woman's eyes, but she didn't wipe it away. She just walked quietly. The lantern emitted a pale light, like the moon in the sky.
After more than ten years of experiencing life and death, and half a lifetime of ups and downs, she has been like a duckweed in the rain, stumbling all the way, and finally reached the end of the road today. She was once trapped by love, with many fetters, passive and helpless, stubborn, fragile, and sad, but now, that decadent and incompetent woman finally died with this unfortunate fate.
"Life in the world is like being among thorns. If the heart does not move, the person will not move rashly. If the heart does not move, then there will be no harm. If the heart moves, then the person will move rashly, hurting his body, hurting his bones, and suffering all kinds of pain in the world."
Zhuge Yue, you are right, but I have already been thrown into the land of thorns like you. So, instead of closing your heart, it is better to swing the sword and cut off the thorns that prick your body!
Tears fell into the lantern. A gust of wind blew, and the candlelight went out with a puff. Only wisps of green smoke swirled up.
She took a deep breath, threw the lantern to the ground, straightened her back and walked forward.
She swore that this was the last tear of her life. From now on, even if she shed her last drop of blood, she would never be unable to cry again.
The light ahead suddenly became brighter, and from afar, one could see a magnificent mansion nestled among the red flowers and green willows, with brilliant lights and a splendid scene.
Sun Di was standing in front of the door in a light robe, holding a palace lantern, waiting for her return.
"Have you thought it through, girl?"
Chu Qiao looked at him, the moonlight pouring down like silver, sprinkling the ground with silver. She nodded silently and said in a deep voice, "It couldn't be clearer."
Sun Di smiled, handed over the lantern in his hand, and said with a smile: "It's hard to walk at night, let this lantern light the way for you, young lady."
"The candle flame can be extinguished by the wind, but the heart cannot." Chu Qiao walked past him and walked straight into the majestic mansion, saying in a deep voice, "From now on, my eyes are my lantern, and my heart is the candle flame in the lantern."
As soon as she stepped into the red gate, the oncoming lights were so bright that they almost burned her eyes in an instant. A white marble path connected the main entrance to the front hall. The pools on both sides were as clear as a mirror. There were several pavilions with carvings and colors. The walls were painted with fragrance, and there were brocade curtains and pearl curtains. The ground was paved with warm jade, and the railings were inlaid with gold. The strong fragrance was like the breeze in March, which almost made people intoxicated.