Ice and snow melt
Xiao Luochen and Lady Duanmin landed in the courtyard. Fortunately, Xiao Luochen had instructed at the beginning of their stay that the servants who accompanied him did not have to stay by his side, but only needed to be called upon when needed.
Therefore, without Xiao Luochen's summons, no one came to the inner courtyard to disturb them. Now the two of them could sit peacefully in the courtyard and talk for a while.
Xiao Luochen started by talking about his reunion with Su Musong at Tongxue, saying only that it was their first meeting, hiding the fact that they first met in the snow without leaving any trace.
"So he's been quietly following you since you entered the children's school? That's right, you've been known as a child prodigy since you were young, so I'm sure your classmates would want to be close to you."
"That's not the case. Since childhood, most of my classmates have avoided me, and the rest are just nodding acquaintances. Over the years, only Mu Song has been close to me."
"Why is that?"
"The county lady is very smart, can't she figure out the reason behind this?"
"Oh, it's because of your talent and the political situation. Then he is really rare."
Although Princess Duanmin was still young, she had some understanding of the ways of the world.
Scholars look down on each other. If one stands out among students, he will probably be envied rather than admired. And under the current political situation, it is not difficult to understand why Xiao Luochen was alienated by his classmates.
Xiao Luochen suddenly fell into memories, thinking about the little things he had experienced with Su Musong over the years, and his thoughts were in a mess.
Su Musong has such a cheerful and free-spirited personality, and he also has a distinguished family background. If it weren't for me being a burden, there would probably be quite a few young talents who would have made friends with him. Why would he be in such an awkward situation now?
Although Lady Duanmin said she wanted to hear the story of Xiao Luochen and Su Musong, she did not interrupt his silence. When Xiao Luochen didn't speak, she sat quietly by the side, enjoying the breeze and drinking tea.
After a long time, Princess Jingyang's maid came over.
"Is Miss in the courtyard? Madam is leaving for home. Miss, please follow me back quickly."
The maidservant obviously knew that Lady Duanmin was here and came straight here, but was stopped by the guards at the gate of the courtyard, so she had to ask loudly.
The deserting guard was frightened to hear that someone had slipped in right under his nose. He hurried into the yard to check and saw Xiao Luochen and County Master Duanmin saying goodbye.
"Let's say goodbye today. Let's go somewhere nice next time. I'll listen to your detailed explanation. You can't just be in a daze like you were just now."
"good."
He had clearly agreed to tell the county lord the story of himself and Mu Song, but he left the county lord aside. Xiao Luochen felt apologetic, so he agreed.
"One more thing, don't let Su Musong know that I came to see you today, and don't tell him that I like him."
"Luo Chen understands."
Xiao Luochen just thought that Lady Duanmin was a shy little girl and didn't think much of it. Moreover, given the current situation between him and Su Musong, even if he wanted to tell Su Musong, he probably wouldn't have the chance.
But this opportunity came very quickly.
When Lady Duanmin was about to leave, the guard brought Su Musong over. After all, retreat was not imprisonment, and since Su Musong came to visit a friend in a legitimate manner with a name, the guard could not stop him.
Looking at Su Musong walking towards him with a smile in his eyes, Xiao Luochen once again wondered if he was hallucinating and stood there in a daze for a moment.
"Luo Chen, have you lived in this Zen temple for too long and are you about to become a Buddha? How is it that you can enter a state of meditation while standing?"
Su Musong was not polite at all. He sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.
"It's getting quite hot in the sun, but luckily there's tea ready."
Seeing the half-finished cup of tea left by Lady Duanmin, Su Musong became curious.
"Huh? Did you have guests just now?"
After confirming that the Su Musong in front of him was not an illusion, Xiao Luochen came back to his senses and answered.
"Ah, no, it was a Zen master from the temple who came over to sit with us."
The quarrel between him and Su Musong had lasted for more than a month. At this moment, Su Musong spoke to him as if nothing had happened, but he felt a sense of awkwardness that he had never felt before.
"What's there to talk about with a Zen master? Are you planning to become a monk?"
Su Musong was joking, but Xiao Luochen was a little annoyed. It was Su Musong who pushed them into this embarrassing situation. Why could he act as if nothing happened, while he had a lump in his throat and was uneasy these days? What was even more infuriating was that although Su Musong looked calm, he did not kick him out immediately.
"What does it have to do with you if I become a monk?"
"You must not become a monk. If you do, who will drink with me in the future? You know, for all these years, there has been no one else besides you."
"Nonsense, when have we ever had a drink together?"
Indeed, the Prime Minister was strict in managing his household, and Xiao Luochen and his brothers were not allowed to drink alcohol before they had their coming-of-age ceremony.
"There will always be opportunities in the future. Besides, if you sever your earthly ties, who will I give this jade statue to?"
Su Musong pretended to be mysterious and took out a brocade box from his arms and placed it on the table. He did not open it himself, but gestured to Xiao Luochen to open it.
"What is it?"
Xiao Luochen did not do so. He was afraid that Su Musong would do something else and force him to break up completely.
"Just open it and take a look. It's not a poisonous snake anyway."
Seeing Su Musong's calm expression, Xiao Luochen felt a little relieved. It didn't seem to be anything shocking. He opened the lid of the box and found that it was a three-inch tall jade statue. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was carved according to his posture and appearance. It was more exquisite than the small snow sculpture he had broken before.
"How is it? Does it look good?"
Xiao Luochen didn't know how to answer for a moment. This was his own jade statue. If he said it was beautiful, it would be like boasting. If he said it was not beautiful, wouldn't it be hypocrisy?
"What do you mean?"
"I see you like that little snow sculpture..."
"I don't."
"Well, I carved a little statue out of snow a while ago, and I loved it, but I accidentally broke it.
So I specially found some diamond jade and carved a new jade statue. After it was finished, I felt that it looked quite like you, so I gave it to you as a gift."
Xiao Luochen pursed his lips to suppress his smile. He was indeed amused by Su Musong's words, but he didn't want to show it too obviously.
"It's top-grade diamond. It's very strong. No matter how hard you drop it, it won't break. Do you want me to try it out for you?"
As Su Musong spoke, he picked up the jade statue and pretended to throw it in front of Xiao Luochen, but Xiao Luochen snatched it away.
"Are you here to piss me off on purpose? Why did you throw such a good jade statue?"
"Let me try and show you."
"You've already given it to me. I can try it myself without you having to do it."
"Ah? You really want to throw it?"
"Didn't you say it wouldn't break no matter how it fell? What? Did you lie to me?"
"How dare I? After all, I spent several sleepless days and nights carving it, and I can't bear to part with it. Look, the black eye hasn't gone away yet, and I'm still sleepy."
A closer look at Su Musong's eyes revealed a circle of dark circles. He yawned while talking, and looked truly sleepy after working too hard.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Just carve it slowly."
Su Musong seemed to be extremely tired. He lay on the stone table and his eyelids began to droop.
"I'm afraid you'll be angry for too long and won't want to acknowledge me."
There was a grievance in Su Musong's tone, which made Xiao Luochen feel sorry for him.
"How could that be?"
"That's good. Luo Chen, let's make peace. I won't ask you for any answers anymore. From now on, no matter what you want to do, I will be by your side to help you and will never get in your way. Please don't chase me away, okay..."
Su Musong spoke in a daze and fell asleep before Xiao Luochen could respond.
"good."
Although Su Musong fell asleep, Xiao Luochen still responded solemnly.
"Musong, go sleep on the couch."
Su Musong didn't respond, so Xiao Luochen tried to move him into the room. However, he discovered that Su Musong was now a head taller than him and much stronger, so it was difficult for him to move him onto the couch. He could only cover him with a blanket and wait for him to wake up.
Don't want an answer anymore?
This means forgetting what happened in the past and going back to the way things were before, but how can you erase what has already happened?
Even though Su Musong was no longer obsessed with an answer, Xiao Luochen could not accept Su Musong's promise to help him for the rest of his life with peace of mind.
But what if he didn't accept it? Would he drive Su Musong away?
Let’s talk about it when that day comes. Let’s just live the present life well. This was the first time in Xiao Luochen’s life that he had the idea of just getting by.
But many times, it is the trouble that finds the people, not the people who cause the trouble. Even if Xiao Luochen wants to muddle through, God may not necessarily fulfill his wish.
Soon, some things developed beyond Xiao Luochen's expectations...
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