If you have no worries on your mind, then every day is a good day.
“Yes! I hid away in the academy, intending to devote myself to studying flood control,” Fang Zihui shook his head. “But after so many years, I still haven’t found a solution. Perhaps they are right; there is no solution at all, and it was just wishful thinking on my part.”
"Could you please let me see the blueprints for Daze?" Tang Feng looked at Fang Zihui and felt a pang of pity for the old man. Tang Feng's parents had passed away early, and he had been raised by his grandmother. The elderly people downstairs had always been very kind to him, so seeing Fang Zihui like this, Tang Feng couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"What's the point of giving it to you? You're just a little kid, what can you possibly do?" Fang Zihui shook his head. "You should all leave! Don't disturb my life." With that, Fang Zihui stood up and grabbed Tang Feng. "Go, go! What's there for an old man like me to stay in?"
"Hey? Don't kick us out! No! I wanted to help you! We..." Tang Feng hadn't finished speaking when Fang Zihui pushed him out the door. "How can you do this! I was trying to help him, and you're kicking me out!" Tang Feng sulked and sat on the steps with his hands on his hips.
"Alright! Don't be angry. Senior Fang has an eccentric personality. Years ago, he was a ruthless character who would angrily berate a group of officials. Besides, what the old gentleman said is right. We are still young and inexperienced. It's a blessing that we didn't cause him any trouble." Zhou Ziliang lifted his shirt and sat down next to Tang Feng, patting Tang Feng's back to comfort him.
"How do you know I lack experience! Let me tell you, I'm taking care of this!" Zhou Ziliang originally intended to comfort Tang Feng, but Tang Feng interpreted it differently, hearing it sound like a provocation. However, Tang Feng's words weren't unfounded or just a momentary outburst. He had encountered similar cases of three rivers flowing into the same place in his past, and these cases had been used for nearly a thousand years, becoming a legendary tale passed down through generations. "Could you help me find a map of the Great Swamp?"
Tang Feng rarely asked Zhou Ziliang for favors, so Zhou Ziliang was somewhat flattered by his request this time. "Of course," Tang Feng replied, "I'll hand-draw one for you when I get back."
"Thanks!" Tang Feng smiled. Although Zhou Ziliang's words were sometimes a bit harsh, he also felt that Zhou Ziliang wasn't a bad person. Thinking back, he realized he had been a bit pretentious. "Oh, right! Let's hurry back, I have something for you." Tang Feng suddenly remembered that he hadn't given Zhou Ziliang the jar of tassel-infused wine he had buried under the tree a few months ago. He stood up, patted his bottom, and said, "Hey, what are you standing there for! Let's go!" With that, Tang Feng pulled Zhou Ziliang, who was still sitting on the steps, up, grabbed his hand, and ran down the mountain.
Zhou Ziliang, pulled along by Tang Feng, stumbled and hurriedly said, "Slow down! The steps down the mountain are steep, be careful not to trip!" By the time Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang emerged from the Wanjuan Pavilion, it was already quite dark. Bathed in moonlight, Tang Feng walked ahead, and Zhou Ziliang followed behind, chatting idly as if time had stood still, a scene of serene beauty.
"Where have you all run off to?" Zhang Mobai stood at the courtyard gate, hands clasped to his chest. "It's well past curfew. It's one thing for the young master to be playful, but how could Brother Ziliang be so disobedient? If Master Chen catches him, he'll surely be punished." Zhang Mobai's expression was somewhat annoyed. "Just now, Prince Duan sent someone to inquire, saying that we had arranged to go to Fanghe Pavilion to enjoy the scenery this afternoon, but you weren't there."
Zhou Ziliang then remembered his promise from that morning, but he wasn't flustered. "In that case, it seems Brother Mo Bai has already apologized on my behalf."
"Of course!" Zhang Mobai shrugged. "But you'll have to come and apologize yourself! Alright, tell me about you two! What have you been up to?" Zhang Mobai walked up to Tang Feng and stared intently at him. "Did you do something shameful, keeping it from me and coming back so late?"
Just as Tang Feng was about to explain, Yang Fei hoisted Zhang Mobai onto his shoulder. "Alright, alright, why should we meddle in their business?" he said, then turned to Zhou Ziliang and added, "Do as you please! We're not getting involved."
Zhou Ziliang bowed to Yang Fei, "Then thank you very much, Senior Brother." Yang Fei smiled and shook his head, carrying Zhang Mobai into the house. Zhang Mobai grabbed Yang Fei's ear, "What's wrong with you! Put me down!" Yang Fei winced in pain and almost dropped Zhang Mobai.
"Oh my little darling, stop pulling! Your ear's going to fall off! If you want your little brother to get married, listen to me and stop this nonsense!" Yang Fei broke free from Zhang Mobai's grasp, then pulled him to the window, poked a hole in the window paper with his finger, and gestured for Zhang Mobai to come over. Zhang Mobai glanced at Yang Fei, then turned to look at the hole. At that moment, Tang Feng, carrying a hoe on his shoulder, almost pulled it down and hit Zhou Ziliang in the face. Luckily, Zhou Ziliang dodged quickly; otherwise, if that hoe had really hit his face, he'd be paralyzed on the bed for life. Zhou Ziliang was both amused and exasperated, grabbing the hoe from Tang Feng's hand. "Let me do it! Tell me where it is, and I'll dig it."
"Hey! That's it, isn't it!" Zhang Mobai, who was holding the window, couldn't hear anything, but it seemed that the relationship between the two had improved significantly. Zhang Mobai was still very gratified. "At least it didn't waste half a year's worth of my hard work."
"I told you not to bother them!" Yang Fei wasn't particularly interested in this kind of thing. He sat on the stool with his legs crossed, holding a walnut in his hand. He used his thumb to press the walnut against the wall, then with a slight exertion of his internal energy, the walnut flew off and blocked the hole. "Alright! That couple is just enjoying their time together under the moon, so stop worrying! Your husband is sitting right here, why don't you check on him?"
Tang Feng knelt on the ground and slowly carried out the wine from the ground. Zhou Ziliang's eyes widened in surprise. "You buried wine under the tree?"
"Yes! I don't know if it will be successful or not," Tang Feng patted the dust off the wine jar, his head lowered and his face slightly flushed. "I owe you a lot of favors before, and I definitely can't repay them, so I brewed a jar of wine for you as a thank you gift!"
Zhou Ziliang took the wine jar from Tang Feng. "Article 327 of the academy's rules forbids drinking and making merry in the academy. If the teacher finds out, you'll definitely be punished. But..." Zhou Ziliang looked at Tang Feng and smiled, "You brewed this wine, so there's no reason not to drink it. Today we're breaking the rule, so you'll drink with me. Even if others find out, we can look out for each other when we're punished later."
Tang Feng grinned after hearing this. "I thought you couldn't drink! You wait and see!" He then brought over a ladder from the side courtyard and propped it up under the tree. "Come on, let's go up and drink." Tang Feng climbed the ladder to a branch and sat down against the trunk. Zhou Ziliang followed him up the tree and sat down opposite Tang Feng. "Here, try it and see how it tastes. I haven't made it in a long time, I'm afraid it won't taste very good." Tang Feng handed Zhou Ziliang a glass of wine.
"It tastes sweet, but it hasn't been buried underground long enough; the flavor isn't strong enough." Zhou Ziliang stared at Tang Feng for a while. "Where did you learn this skill? I never knew before."
Tang Feng smiled awkwardly. He couldn't very well say that he learned it from his grandmother! So he made up a lie to get by. "I... I encountered some thugs on the roadside before, and an old woman saved my life. Before she died, she entrusted her child to me, so I took his older sister out of the brothel. His sister is a year older than me. She suffered a lot when she was young and knows a lot of skills. I learned my skills from her. Ah! By the way, you must do what I asked you to do today." Tang Feng was afraid that Zhou Ziliang would ask more questions, so he quickly changed the subject to cover up the matter.
Zhou Ziliang nodded. "I didn't expect you to be so concerned about this matter."
Tang Feng shook his head. "It's not that I'm sad, it's just that the people of Daze are suffering too much. Corpses are floating in the river, and countless people have died or been injured. I used to think that if you don't have any worries on your mind, then it's a good time. But now it seems that as long as you live your life, there will always be worries. Trivial matters are problems, but natural disasters and man-made calamities are even more problems. I just didn't know that until now."
"What did you think you were?" Zhou Ziliang turned Tang Feng's shoulder, staring at him with a mixture of surprise and probing in his eyes.
"I...I think that if you have no worries on your mind, then every day is a good day..." Tang Feng was a little dazed by Zhou Ziliang's actions, but he still answered him subconsciously.
Zhou Ziliang's gaze towards Tang Feng shifted from shock to disbelief, from surprise to relief. He never imagined that a year ago, the person wearing a mask and carrying a candied yam at the prayer festival was him; that the person who told him from the tree, "If you have no worries on your mind, then every day is a good day" was him; and that the person who rushed into his arms under the flowers and moon was still him. Perhaps this was fate! After all these twists and turns, it turned out he had always been by his side, never leaving. Looking at Tang Feng, Zhou Ziliang didn't know why, but his hand involuntarily ruffled Tang Feng's hair.
"Hey! Drinking is fine, but don't get physical," Tang Feng said, shoving Zhou Ziliang's hand away. Actually, after a few rounds of drinks, Tang Feng was already slightly drunk. Leaning against the tree trunk, he murmured, clutching a wine jar, "Grandma, I miss you. Qin Liuliu, eat less... less candied hawthorn. Sister Jiu, I want to eat your stir-fried beef..."
Seeing that Tang Feng was a little tipsy, Zhou Ziliang was afraid he might accidentally fall off the tree again, so he gently pulled Tang Feng into his arms. Tang Feng had already fallen asleep against Zhou Ziliang. Looking at Tang Feng's sleeping face, Zhou Ziliang's lips curled up slightly, and he gently pinched Tang Feng's cheek, saying, "Love arises without knowing why, and deepens with time. Perhaps it's a little late to say this now, but I still want to ask, is it too late for me to fall for you?" Tang Feng noticed the touch, frowned, snuggled closer to Zhou Ziliang, found a more comfortable position, and hummed, "Little crazy one, I want to sing for you."
"...good"
"At the first watch of the night, the moon's shadow shines on the flower terrace. Sister Qiuxiang made a promise, saying she would come at noon. In front of the Peony Pavilion, we were so affectionate, hoping that we could be a perfect match soon." Zhou Ziliang listened to Tang Feng humming this little tune, sitting on the tree facing the moonlight. Zhou Ziliang chuckled softly, "I wonder what's going on in your little head all day long."
Zhou Ziliang covered Tang Feng with a coat to keep him warm, then picked him up, jumped down from the tree, and headed into the house. "Hey! Look! What are you doing?!" Zhang Mobai, who was standing by the window, peeked at Yang Fei. "Look! They're hugging!"
"They're hugging? Let me see, let me see!" Yang Fei became interested upon hearing this and quickly moved closer to Zhang Mobai.
"Hey, don't push me! See, he's already hugging me! I have to say, your junior brother is pretty good!"
"Turn off the lights quickly, otherwise my silly junior brother will definitely come back soon."
The next morning, before dawn, Tang Feng woke up, rubbing his heavy head. His temples throbbed with pain. "Hiss," Tang Feng slowly sat up. "Are you alright? You drank a bit too much yesterday, so you must have a headache this morning. I brought you some food from the corridor. Drink some water first, then get up and eat." Zhou Ziliang sat by Tang Feng's bedside, holding a teacup.
"Ah? Oh, thank you." Tang Feng glanced at Zhou Ziliang, took the teacup, and sipped it slowly. "Um... you fell asleep in the tree yesterday. After I carried you back, I saw that the lights in Brother Mo Bai's room were off. I was afraid they were asleep, so... I didn't go back. I..."
"Alright, alright, you're both men, what's there to explain?" Tang Feng handed the cup back to Zhou Ziliang, then sat down at the table. "Why didn't you get some meat! How can you drink plain rice porridge!"
"Don't eat anything greasy since you're hungover. I added sugar to your porridge, it'll have some flavor," Zhou Ziliang said, then scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Tang Feng's lips.
"I...I can do it myself." Tang Feng didn't know what had gotten into Zhou Ziliang, who was suddenly being so attentive. Tang Feng stirred the porridge in his bowl and ate it half-heartedly.
"Oh, right, here are the blueprints for Daze that you wanted. I drew them for you last night." Zhou Ziliang took the blueprints out of his pocket and handed them to Tang Feng. Tang Feng was about to reach out and take them when Zhou Ziliang pulled his hand back. "Eat your food first. You can look at it after you finish eating." This remark cut off Tang Feng's "thank you." Tang Feng rolled his eyes at Zhou Ziliang. "Why are you so nosy?"
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