Falling flowers from fingertips
Li Yin released his grip on his sleeve, stood up, stretched his limbs, yawned, then shook his shoulders and moved his neck.
The sky outside the window was already pitch black, with only a few scattered stars dotting the surface, casting fragmented light.
The moonlight was hazy, as if in a fog, neither real nor unreal, seemingly both illusory and tangible.
After lying down for a while, Li Yin was indeed feeling sleepy. The old man with the white beard in the mountains always required her to return at dawn and not to go out.
I usually have nothing to do, so I go to bed early when it gets dark. This habit is ingrained in my body, and my sleepiness comes on time and in a playful way.
She walked slowly to the window, leaned her hand against the wooden frame, and watched as the streetlights went from scattered to dazzling, and the crowds grew from a few scattered individuals to shoulder to shoulder. The lights were like a sea, and the people were like waves.
The wind, too, carried a hint of the evening's warmth; it was no longer chilly, nor fiery, but warm, gently caressing the skin with a ticklish, tingling sensation that soothed the soul and relieved all worries.
Song Bei stood beside Li Yin, the lamplight and moonlight falling on her, making her dark eyebrows and delicate features appear softer and more aloof.
A shooting star streaked across the sky, flying very fast, and it seemed it would soon disappear into the distance.
Li Yin got playful and reached out as if to catch a shooting star that had just streaked across the sky. The shooting star "flowed" through her fingers and "brushed" past her fingertips. Just as Li Yin was about to withdraw her hand, a pink peach blossom fell into her hand.
The flowers are pink, very light, soft to the touch, and have a delicate fragrance.
Li Yin looked up in surprise and saw only a sky full of stars and a lonely, hazy moon.
She withdrew her hand, her fingers gently caressing the soft petals, then smiled and said, "Xiao Bei, don't you think today is quite a coincidence?"
Seeing the flower being gently stroked in Li Yin's hand, Song Bei said, "It's a coincidence that no one within a ten-mile radius has ever planted a peach tree."
Upon hearing this, Li Yin stopped stroking the peach blossoms. She put them into a small sachet she always carried with her before saying, "But, Miss Xiao Bei, don't you think this is too coincidental? Could it be fate?"
Song Bei remained noncommittal, while Li Yin said, "It's getting late, and I've troubled you for quite some time today. I'll come again tomorrow. Remember to close the windows when you go to sleep, so you don't catch a cold."
Song Bei said, "Okay." As she spoke, she went to the bedside, bent down slightly, picked up a lamp, and then turned to hand it to Li Yin. She said, "The alley is deep and the night is dark and the moon is not bright. Take the lamp and walk carefully."
Li Yin nodded and said, "Thank you." She took the lamp and walked away. As soon as she took a step, she smelled the strong scent of perfume and powder, and she couldn't help but walk a little faster.
Only after Song Bei watched Li Yin's green figure gradually disappear from sight did he look up at the teahouse on the third floor with its windows open not far away.
In the private room on the third floor of the teahouse, Wen Youqing was slowly placing a black stone, making a crisp "thud".
Seeing this, Zhu Nanren angrily threw the white chess piece he was holding onto the ground. The piece rolled and landed in a secluded, dark corner.
He said, "Wen Youqing, is this really necessary? Didn't we agree that you'd let me have my way this time?"
Wen Youqing stared at the chessboard, not raising his eyes to look at Zhu Nanren. He said calmly, "I let you win this game just now, otherwise this game would have ended long ago."
Zhu Nanren propped his face up with his hand and looked at Wen Youqing, saying, "You played this trap so well that it's impossible to detect without careful analysis."
Wen Youqing said, "Mm."
"Hmm, you're still saying 'hmm'? Weren't you pretending so well? Why aren't you pretending now?" Zhu Nanren said with a hint of teasing.
Wen Youqing looked up at Zhu Nanren and said, "Have you been too idle lately? Have you thought about how you're going to explain things to Princess Changping?"
Upon hearing Wen Youqing's words, Zhu Nanren fell silent and wisely kept quiet.
Wen Youqing got up, left her seat, pushed open the door, turned around and left. Zhu Nanren hesitated whether to follow her.
A scream came from outside the window: "Is anyone there? Please save my poor child! Please, please!"
Zhu Nanren got up, walked to the window and looked over. The one who had spoken was a woman and a child. She had a delicate face but sallow skin, and it was clear at a glance that she was a farmer who had been through many hardships.
A bright red stain appeared on the muddy fingers, a deep, striking, and frightening red.
The man was holding a pale-faced child, who looked to be about five years old. Blood was flowing from the corner of the child's mouth, and the old blood on his clothes had not yet dried before new blood stained the chest of his linen clothes.
The crowd dispersed around the women and children, forming a circle early on. Everyone wore a different expression—sadness, pity, or mockery… a myriad of emotions were on display here.
The woman, holding her child, kowtowed to the crowd and said, "Please, everyone, lend me some money... My child has suddenly fallen seriously ill, and we can barely make ends meet. We have no money left. Please, everyone, have some compassion."
Among the crowd, some hesitated, some looked troubled, some sighed repeatedly, some smiled faintly, and some even jokingly blurted out, "How can you prove that you're not just using the child as a pretext to solicit charity?"
Upon hearing this, the woman kowtowed again. Her forehead was slightly bleeding from the force of the impact. Her back was very thin, as if she could be blown away by the wind, but her voice was strong and clear. She shouted, "If I am lying, may I go to the eighteenth level of hell after I die."
The crowd fell silent. People looked on with pity, but no one showed any sympathy. Instead, the young master who had been egging them on earlier walked out of the crowd, gave them a copper coin, and casually tossed it on the ground.
Upon seeing this, the woman kowtowed to the man and sincerely said, "Young master, may you be safe and sound."
Someone in the crowd immediately joked, "How can a young master like you only get one copper coin? How stingy that is."
The woman remained silent, only looking pleadingly at the young man who had just given her the money. The young man sneered and said, "Oh, why didn't you give any? You want to do good deeds but can't spend money, so you borrow other people's money to do good deeds and enjoy the good reputation. You are truly a great, kind person."
The man stammered, his prepared words becoming jumbled in his panic, his mind going completely blank. He looked around and saw only disdainful stares from the crowd. Overwhelmed with shame, he stamped his foot, hid in the crowd, and slunk away.
Some people left, while others stepped forward. Suddenly, a green figure appeared in the crowd. Li Yin finally stopped in the third circle of people. Through the gap in front of her, she finally saw the child in the woman's arms.
His face was pale and ashen, his eyes were dark and swollen, blood was spilling from the corners of his mouth, and his fingertips were black. It did not look like a serious illness but rather like poisoning, and a slow-acting poison at that.
Poisoning, poison, poison again. The only bottle of antidote pills had already been given to her senior brother. Although her blood could also be used to detoxify, if someone were to drink it, they would most likely be considered crazy.
With that thought in mind, my thoughts drifted away, and all I could think about was how to save people.
He didn't notice the people behind him or around him for a moment. Some people were leaving, while others came to watch the excitement. Inevitably, there was physical contact through their clothes, with people pushing and shoving each other. Suddenly, an inexplicable force pushed Li Yin backward.
Li Yin stumbled, almost losing her balance, and was about to fall when someone caught her. Wen Youqing smiled gently and said, "What a coincidence, Miss Li, we meet again."
That force came again, this time pushing Li Yin directly into Wen Youqing's arms, both of them stunned.
In that instant, the hazy moon also parted the covering clouds, and gray light scattered across the ground, falling on Li Yin and his hair.
Wen Youqing stared intently at Li Yin, tightening her grip around his waist as she pulled him into her arms and raised her other hand to protect his head.
Li Yin's heart seemed to have been shaken by the impact just now, beating faster and more rapidly, the faint medicinal fragrance emanating from the man lingering at the tip of Li Yin's nose.
Only after the man squeezed out of the crowd did Wen Youqing quietly let go of his hand. He said, "Please forgive me for offending you earlier, young lady."
Li Yin dared not turn around. Now, whenever she met Wen Youqing's eyes, she would involuntarily think of him, his clothes soaked with wine, and a trickle of wine flowing from his lips to his Adam's apple.
The fragrance of lotus blossoms seemed to waft through the air once more, the wind was no longer cold, and it was even more intoxicating. Li Yin's ears involuntarily turned red.
A pill was handed to Li Yin. Li Yin looked at the slightly black pill held in the slender, well-defined hand. Even from a distance, he could still smell a faint medicinal fragrance. This was a top-quality antidote.
She turned her head and looked up, meeting a pair of tender eyes. Wen Youqing smiled gently and said, "Miss, aren't you going to save her?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yin quickly took a step back and bumped into someone. The person turned around, and Li Yin also turned around.
The woman clicked her tongue softly as she turned around, glaring at Li Yin. But the anger in her eyes vanished almost instantly when she saw Li Yin's exquisitely beautiful face, like a painting. She lingered for a few moments, then looked at Wen Youqing behind Li Yin, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes before she smiled gently and turned away.
Before Li Yin could even apologize, the man laughed. She didn't understand why, but she didn't think much of it.
Wen Youqing gently touched Li Yin's arm and said softly, "Miss Li, it's time to save them."
Li Yin said, "Since you have the medicine, you can give it to me. The merit will be on your side, and it will bring you good fortune."
Wen Youqing raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and said, "Alright." As for my good fortune, Li Yin, you are the greatest blessing Heaven has given me.
He easily bypassed the crowd, walked out of the crowd, and in a few steps reached the woman. He then placed the medicine in the woman's arms directly into the child's hand.
The lady stared blankly at Wen Youqing, this jade-like young master, for a moment. Before she could react, he had already stuffed something into Ku'er's mouth, and she immediately looked panicked.
With tears welling up in her eyes, the little hand of the child in her arms, covered in mud, gently tugged at her clothes. The woman's sorrow turned to joy, and she knelt down in front of Wen Youqing while holding the child. But before her knees even touched the ground, Wen Youqing caught her arm.
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