Chapter 82 Married as husband and wife, loving each other...
"Get up, don't make me say it a second time." Li Daoxuan said in a voice that only the two of them could hear clearly.
Chen Qing's trembling body stiffened. She slowly raised her head, gave him a quiet look, and turned to Zhou Zhishan, saying, "Master Zhou Ming, to be honest, Silang and I were originally in love, but my family wouldn't allow it and even repeatedly obstructed us. With no other choice, I had no choice but to flee with Silang and declare ourselves brother and sister."
"I don't know what hatred or grudge we have with Mr. Zhou Mingfu, but you actually set fire to us and tried to kill us."
Zhou Zhishan looked at the two people acting so intimately, not knowing whether to believe it or not. He just stared at Li Daoxuan and asked, "What is your purpose?"
Li Daoxuan glanced down at him and said, "I should be the one asking you this."
Zhou Zhishan spat out a mouthful of blood, sneered, and remained silent. His attention couldn't help but drift toward the courtyard, worried about Song Yuxi's safety.
The two sides were deadlocked, and a female voice broke the deadlock.
"Alang."
Zhou Zhishan's gloomy expression suddenly softened. He hurriedly wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, limped to his feet, and protected Song Yuxi behind him. "Wu Niang, are you awake?" He looked panicked. "Why did you come out?"
He was nervous, trying to block his wife's view of the mess behind him. Song Yuxi sighed softly, raised her handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips, and turned to Shen Qing, saying, "Thank you both for tonight."
Zhou Zhishan was confused when he heard this.
Chen Qing took out the osmanthus branch from Li Daoxuan's hand and handed it to Song Yuxi behind Zhou Zhishan.
Zhou Zhishan was about to explode when Song Yuxi stopped him. She walked over and took the osmanthus branch, gently stroking the curled green leaves. Then she whispered, "Alang, let's go back to the house."
"But..." Zhou Zhishan stared at Chen Qing and the other person, feeling unwilling.
"Alang, be obedient."
The thorns on Zhou Zhishan's body instantly retracted. He looked deeply at Chen Qing and the other person, and was then half-forcefully pulled into the courtyard by Song Yuxi.
Song Yuxi said, "No disrespect is allowed. Please escort these two distinguished guests out of the house."
The servant stood up, holding his waist, and turned around and said respectfully, "Please come in, both of you."
A ridiculous farce ended here.
After a night of tossing and turning, the sky was already slightly bright. He left Zhou's house in deep silence with Li Daoxuan.
Along the way, the tail sent by Zhou Zhishan was following behind him.
The two of them wandered around for a while, and finally walked into an inn, asked for a room, and did not come out for a long time.
Seeing this, the people who were following them sat down in the lobby, asked Dr. Wine for a pot of wine, and whiled away the time with peanuts, while keeping an eye on the movements of the two men.
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Song Yuxi pulled Zhou Zhishan back into the house, and then placed the remaining osmanthus branches into a flower-mouthed vase filled with water.
Zhou Zhishan's heart was in suspense, neither up nor down, and he could only huddle quietly behind her.
Song Yuxi stroked the osmanthus branch, with a look of melancholy in her eyes. She said, "You were the one who set the fire tonight." It was not a question, but a very calm statement.
Zhou Zhishan didn't know how to answer, so he could only lower his head and remain silent like a child who had made a mistake.
"Tonight, Madam Li didn't blame me or make things difficult for me. Instead, she helped me." Song Yuxi said, "Ah Lang, what have you been doing these past few years? I don't know when it started, but I feel like you've changed."
Song Yuxi couldn't help but fall into memories.
A few years ago, when Zhou Zhishan took office as the magistrate of Weinan County, he upheld fairness and integrity, and always considered the welfare of the people in his administration.
Within Weinan County, his reputation for virtue spread widely, and the people admired his virtuous policies and praised him endlessly.
However, no one knew from when on, treasures and delicacies began to pour into the mansion like water. He could buy the latest fabrics worth thousands of gold from Chang'an Cloth Shop for her without blinking an eye, and he also invited He Chong, the King of Medicine who could earn ten thousand gold for a diagnosis, for her.
At the same time, he seemed to have become a different person. He was wary and suspicious of everyone around him. Even the closest servants, he wanted to find out their background thoroughly.
Every night, he would be haunted by nightmares, often waking up in the middle of the night with cold sweat soaking his quilt.
Zhou Zhishan thought he had concealed all the changes very well, but Song Yuxi had already known everything and just went along with his wishes and pretended to be dumb.
What Song Yuxi didn't expect was that until today, he actually committed arson and murder.
Zhou Zhishan choked up, his eyes red as he said, "Wu Niang, believe me, I'm doing this for our future."
"Even killing people is for me?"
Zhou Zhishan was stunned. He put his arm around Song Yuxi's shoulders and said with trembling lips, "Did they say something to you?" The fear in his heart surged uncontrollably like a tide. He was extremely afraid that Song Yuxi would see through his hypocritical appearance and see the filth inside him. He was horrified to see his wife's disappointed eyes.
Song Yuxi said, "Didn't you let your servants start the fire tonight?"
Zhou Zhishan's tense nerves finally relaxed. He breathed a sigh of relief, and the wrinkles between his brows gradually unwound. He said, "Those two men acted suspiciously, not like ordinary, honest people. Moreover, that man was extremely dangerous, like a desperado. I was afraid you would be deceived, so I set the fire." Wu Niang didn't know he had killed those people. Fortunately, fortunately...
He said, "My original intention in setting the fire was just to frighten the two of them and make them leave the house voluntarily. I had no intention of hurting anyone. Shouldn't the two of them live in peace tonight? Wu Niang, please believe me."
Song Yuxi stared at Zhou Zhishan for a long time, then suddenly asked, "So the golden osmanthus tree is gone, don't you really feel anything?"
Zhou Zhishan said, "Of course there was. The golden osmanthus tree was your favorite thing. It's gone, and you're heartbroken. Naturally, I'm sad too." He leaned over and hugged Song Yuxi with red eyes, sincerely admitting his mistake, "Wu Niang, I'm sorry. I only had time to save a branch."
I don’t know which words irritated Song Yuxi. She stared at him blankly for a long time, and suddenly leaned on Zhou Zhishan’s shoulder and started crying miserably.
"Because I'm sad, because I'm sad--" she murmured with tears in her eyes.
Zhou Zhishan was suddenly flustered. He tried to wipe the tears from Song Yuxi's eyes with the clean sleeve of his robe, but Song Yuxi forcefully pushed him away. She pointed at the door and said, "Get out!"
"Wu Niang? Ah Yu..." He almost begged, "You are not in good health, don't get too excited, let me stay with you..."
"Get out! Leave me alone, I beg you..." Song Yuxi pushed him away, holding her forehead with her hands, tears welling in her eyes, "Alang—I beg you."
Zhou Zhishan said with difficulty: "Okay."
He walked out very slowly, staring at Song Yuxi's back as she lay on the ground crying. He gritted his teeth and closed the door. Then he sat down slowly against the door, covering his face and crying silently.
What on earth had I done wrong to make her so sad?
A thin door separates two sad people.
There was a strong wind in the yard, the sky was gloomy and dark, and it was about to rain again.
Song Yuxi suppressed the pain in his heart, propped himself up and touched the half-dead osmanthus branch with his palm. He used the little remaining magic power to nourish it. Gradually, the osmanthus branch in the bottle stretched out its green leaves and began to come to life.
She knelt down exhausted and wiped away her tears.
A loud thunder resounded through the sky, as if touching a switch. Heavy rain poured down from the sky, shrouding the entire Weinan County in gloomy clouds.
Song Yuxi was in a trance, and his thoughts drifted back to the mid-autumn when the two first met more than ten years ago.
It was the same heavy rain and the same thunder.
The heavy rain came suddenly, and in the night market of Weinan County, people were crowded together and running towards home.
The people who were originally releasing river lanterns at the Wei River ferry were caught off guard and were soaked to the bone.
Before this, Song Yuxi transformed himself into a dragon and lay dormant at the bottom of the river, always on guard to prevent the people from falling into the water. Occasionally, he would use his tail to quietly stir the water surface, sending their river lanterns far away.
A sudden rain came down and the people rushed back. However, there was a young man who accidentally fell into the water when he got up in a hurry. He struggled violently in the water and couldn't swim, so Song Yuxi transformed himself into a human form and pulled him out.
The handsome young man had just recovered when he saw an innocent-looking girl looking at him curiously. She was dressed in white, with long hair like a waterfall, and her eyes were clearly black and white. She had the innocence of a newcomer to the world, like a pure goddess.
Zhou Zhishan, who had just escaped danger, didn't notice that she was not wet at all. He closed his eyes and said with a red face, "You saved me, I will be responsible for you!"
Song Yuxi chuckled and asked curiously, "If I were a man, would you also be responsible for me?"
Zhou Zhishan was stunned. When he came to his senses, Song Yuxi had disappeared.
From then on, her every frown and smile were deeply engraved in Zhou Zhishan's heart.
He didn't know her name or where she lived, so he could only wander along the Wei River every day, trying to run into her.
Little did he know that Song Yuxi was hiding under the water, observing him every day.
A month later, he didn't show up again. Song Yuxi thought he would not come back and felt a little lost.
Unexpectedly, a few days later he appeared in a disheveled state, holding a river lantern in his hand with a string of osmanthus flowers stuck on the wick.
The young man placed the lantern into the river and made a sincere wish: "River Goddess, I, a believer, made this lantern with my own hands and offer you the first blooming golden osmanthus of this autumn. I hope that the River Goddess will appear and let me see her again."
The River Goddess did not hear his wish, but Song Yuxi heard it.
She appeared behind Zhou Zhishan, holding the golden osmanthus. Song Yuxi had spent her entire life guarding the seal at the bottom of the river, rarely appearing before the public. She was unfamiliar with the human world and curious about it, so she held up the golden osmanthus and asked, "What kind of flower is this? It smells so good."
The young man was startled. He looked at the girl who suddenly appeared and danced with excitement. He shouted, "The Goddess of the River has appeared! The Goddess of the River has appeared!"
Song Yuxi was infected by his mood and laughed too.
After Zhou Zhishan calmed down, he said, "This is Jingui!"
Song Yuxi said, "I like it. It floated to the shore along your river lantern. I picked it up and it's mine."
"certainly!"
Song Yuxi turned and left.
The boy was anxious and wanted to catch up with her, but for some reason, although she seemed to be walking slowly, she had actually walked a long distance without realizing it, and he could not catch up with her.
Zhou Zhishan said, "Young lady! My name is Zhou Zhishan, and I don't know your name yet!"
"My name is Song Yuxi." The girl turned around and smiled. The wind lifted her black hair and her dress fluttered, making her look more like a goddess.
Her smile was deeply imprinted in Zhou Zhishan's heart.
"If you want to find me, come to the river with the golden osmanthus."
After saying this, her back completely disappeared in the crowd.
After that, Zhou Zhishan became more diligent, coming with golden osmanthus almost every day, and Song Yuxi kept the appointment every day.
She doesn't appear except when it rains.
Zhou Zhishan asked her why she didn't show up on rainy days, and Song Yuxi said, "Because I got sick from saving you, and I feel unwell when it rains."
In reality, this was because the Hungry Bug's demonic power reached its peak during rainy periods. During these times, the frequency of her attacks on the seal increased significantly, and her attacks became even more intense.
Song Yuxi is closely connected to the seal, so she will also be affected, suffering from poor health and vomiting blood.
It was a joke, but Zhou Zhishan took it to heart. He said, "This is all my fault. I will definitely find a doctor to treat your injuries!"
Song Yuxi said, "The doctor has examined me. This is a serious illness that cannot be cured. I can only nurse it."
"That's because the doctor is incompetent. I can always find the best doctor to treat you!"
From then on, he kept his promise. Countless doctors were invited to treat Song Yuxi. Even though every doctor said that he could not be cured and could only be kept alive, he still did not give up.
He brought Song Yuxi into this vast world and took good care of her.
When he got married, he planted golden osmanthus trees all over the yard and wrote on the table: "We are married as husband and wife, and our love is undoubted."
He held up the pen and said, "From now on, I wish you and I will live in harmony and love each other forever. Wu Niang, I want you to be the happiest young lady in the world!"
Song Yuxi was cared for by him for eleven years, and his life was closely connected with Song Yuxi.
It was obvious that at the beginning, he also cherished the golden osmanthus in the yard as much as she did, which was a symbol of their love.
But tonight symbolizes their love. The golden osmanthus that has grown for eleven years is destroyed in one night, but Zhou Zhishan is only heartbroken because of Song Yuxi's sadness.
Song Yuxi vaguely sensed that he was no longer the simple, easily satisfied young man he once was. He had become complex, ruthless, and unfamiliar to Song Yuxi.
She couldn't help but wonder where all the treasure in the mansion came from and whether there were other innocent lives in his hands.
The more Song Yuxi thought about it, the more frightened she became. She suddenly closed her eyes, unwilling to think about it anymore.
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