Chapter 288: The Past Like Smoke
On this day last year, the human face and the peach blossoms reflected each other’s redness in this door. I don’t know where the human face has gone, but the peach blossoms are still smiling in the spring breeze.
Smelling the familiar aroma of medicine, she stepped onto this bluestone path again. The scenery remained the same, but things and people had changed a lot, just like the peach blossoms. Thinking of her time here, she once thought it was bitter, but now when she thinks back on it, every bit of it is sweet.
Unfortunately, she was too obsessed and missed the most important thing in her life. If everything could start over, she would have been honest with him from the beginning, and she believed that she would not have ended up with him today.
Following in the footsteps of the past, strolling along the flower path, looking up at the sky, a few floating clouds passed by, and Mengxi couldn't help but think of a song she had heard in her previous life:
If the loss is bitter, are you afraid of paying
If confusion is painful, would you choose to end it?
If pursuit is painful, will you choose to persist?
…
Many things were only seen clearly later.
But I can't find the way back
There is a kind of love, which is obviously deep love, but can't be expressed, and it is obvious that you want to give up, but you can't give up
I know it is torture, but I can't turn away. I know there is no way forward, but my heart has already been taken away.
She once thought she could watch the falling flowers and the rolling clouds with a smile, but when she looked back, she realized that everything had never been so easy...
"Oh my! In less than a year, how come the originally dense bamboo forest has become so sparse and dilapidated!"
Zhiqiu's scream interrupted Mengxi's reverie. When she came to her senses, she realized that they had unknowingly arrived at the edge of the bamboo forest. The sparse bamboo shadows swayed in the wind, making rustling sounds, as if they were complaining to her, their former master, or sobbing and wailing in the wind.
Looking at the bamboo forest that was no longer lush and green, Mengxi felt distressed. This was the bamboo forest that she had cultivated, and she didn't expect it to become so dilapidated in the blink of an eye. She looked up at Hongzhu in surprise.
Seeing Mengxi's regretful expression, Hongzhu's face changed slightly, and she paused for a moment and said:
"Second Master... Miss Li, you don't know that these were all destroyed by those bandit-like soldiers when the family was searched last year. Second Master was beaten for protecting this bamboo forest... Later, Second Master was not in the mansion, and Old Lady didn't have the energy to care about these things. It was not until this spring that Second Master wrote to me asking me to take good care of this bamboo forest, and after many twists and turns, I found the gardener you hired at the beginning, and at least saved these bamboo forests."
"I often hear people say that everything has its destiny and no one has any control over it. It is indeed true."
"Don't be sad, Miss Li. Look, those bamboo roots are sprouting new shoots. The gardener said that within two years, this place will be more lush than before."
Seeing the helplessness in Mengxi's tone, Hongzhu hurriedly spoke to comfort her. As they talked, they stepped into the path in the bamboo forest and immediately felt refreshed. After passing this path, it was her pharmacy. Thinking of the pharmacy, Mengxi remembered that a year ago, Xiao Jun suddenly came to the backyard to find her. She didn't expect that her new perfume attracted him to this bamboo forest. In order to stop him from continuing to explore, she temporarily used the honey trap and threw herself into his arms. His broad chest was really thick and warm...
"Miss Li, the things in this room were collected by the Second Master and sent out of the house before the house was confiscated. He took them back not long ago. The Second Master spent a lot of effort to restore them to their original state. For this, the Second Master even scolded and sent away several groups of craftsmen..."
The three of them came to the pharmacy and saw Mengxi standing at the door in a daze. Hongzhu hurriedly explained. Mengxi paused after hearing this, then smiled a little, tapped Hongzhu's head with a folding fan, and said with a smile:
"Can't you see I'm a man? Call me Sir."
Seeing Mengxi happy, Hongzhu also became playful and said in a long voice:
"Yes, sir..."
Mengxi smiled and shook her head, then walked towards the hut. Seeing Mengxi about to enter the house, Zhiqiu advised:
"Sir, it's getting late. Let's go quickly. If it's too late, the Second Master and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will finish playing chess and won't be able to find you and will be anxious."
Seeing Mengxi had already entered the house, Hongzhu also advised:
"Yes, Master Li, if it's too late, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Second Master will come looking for us."
When she heard that the prince would come, Mengxi froze. All that was left here were the memories of her and him. She didn't want the prince to come here. She nodded to Hongzhu, turned around and walked out of the hut and back.
The group came to the living room. Xiao Jun and the prince were still playing chess. Ouyang Di stood aside and watched. Seeing that the chessboard was almost full of black and white pieces, Mengxi frowned. She knew nothing about Go and naturally didn't like it.
When Xiao Jun and the prince saw her come in, they motioned for her to come and sit down. Mengxi sat down next to the two people who came slowly. She watched while fanning herself. Then Zhiqiu came in and saw that Hongxing had replaced the plate with fresh lychees. She washed her hands, picked up one and started peeling it.
Seeing Mengxi sitting down, Xiao Jun looked up and ordered:
"Hongzhu, serve tea to Master Li."
"You're welcome, Master. Just concentrate on playing chess."
After hearing this, and looking at Mengxi's leisurely demeanor, Xiao Jun was distracted for a moment. This reminded him of two years ago, when his cousin came here to play chess, and Mengxi seemed to be sitting in this position watching. At that time, she sat very straight and very serious. After playing a game of chess with his cousin, his clothes on the back were all stained with his body. That nervousness... is still fresh in his memory. In the end, he realized that she didn't know how to play chess at all. Thinking of this, Xiao Jun's mouth corners raised, revealing a hint of smile...
In a moment of distraction, the 16-piece dragon that Xiao Jun was chasing was instantly escaped by the prince. When Xiao Jun came to his senses and saw it, he shook his head and admitted defeat:
"Your Highness is an extraordinary chess player. I am ashamed to be inferior to him."
The prince heard this and laughed:
"Xiao Jun is too modest. How can we easily say who wins or loses before the end? Just now, I almost killed a by you..."
The prince said, looking up at Xiang Mengxi and said:
"I've never played chess with Xi'er. Are you interested in playing a game?"
After hearing this, Mengxi's expression froze and she looked at the prince awkwardly. The lychee she had just put into her mouth got stuck in her throat and her face turned red for a moment. When the prince saw this, his expression froze and he looked at Mengxi nervously, not knowing what to do.
Xiao Jun had already turned sideways, patted Meng Xi's back gently with one hand, picked up a cup of tea with the other hand, and brought it to Meng Xi's mouth and said:
"Xi'er, don't be nervous. Drink some tea to calm yourself down."
After feeding Mengxi a sip of tea for a long time, Mengxi finally swallowed the lychee and let out a long sigh.
Fortunately, this one is smaller. If it were bigger, wouldn't it choke me to death? Mengxi patted his chest and secretly rejoiced.
"Come on, Xi'er, take another sip, and you'll feel better."
Mengxi took another sip and swallowed it gently. She felt much better. Then she pushed Xiao Jun's hand away, smiled gratefully at him, and said:
"Mengxi is fine now, thank you, Second Master."
Seeing that Mengxi was fine, Xiao Jun sat back down. He glanced at the prince still sitting there in a daze, and changed his mind, and said casually:
"I'm also very confused. Xi'er's medicine skills are unparalleled in the world, and his literary talent is first-rate, so how come he can't play chess?"
"this……"
After hearing this, Mengxi was speechless. It was not easy to say that she was a time traveler. In her era, Go was just a hobby of some individuals and was not popular. It was more like checkers.
"Xi'er doesn't know how to play chess?"
He had just put in a lot of effort to defeat Xiao Jun in front of her. It was not easy!
He had thought that she would be praising his chess skills and appreciating that he was better than Xiao Jun, but he had never thought that she was an outsider. After hearing Xiao Jun's words and watching their intimate behavior, the prince felt frustrated and asked again with uncertainty.
Mengxi nodded in response, not wanting to dwell on this topic. She glanced around and saw that there was no one around. She turned to look at Xiao Jun and asked:
"Mengxi heard that the old lady sent someone to inquire about this matter, hoping to buy Zhang Xiu back. Did she get any results?"
When Xiao Jun mentioned Zhang Xiu, his expression froze and he shook his head. He really didn't want to mention this woman. Hong Zhu, who was standing beside him, saw this and answered for Xiao Jun:
"No, I heard that Xiu'er was sold to a brothel in a remote town in Jiaozhou. The old lady sent several groups of people to investigate but couldn't find her. I don't know if she is dead or alive."
After hearing this, Zhiqiu asked doubtfully:
"Didn't they say she was sold to Linglongfang? How come she was sold to a brothel again?"
"Mr. Li, you may not know that when the Xiao family found Linglongfang, Miss Xiu had already been bought by someone..."
Seeing that the prince was also looking at her in confusion, Hongzhu told the story of the Xiao family looking for Xiu'er.
It turned out that Xiu'er was quite pretty. When the Xiao family found Linglongfang, Xiu'er had already been noticed by Zhou Quan, the prefect of Yizhou, and was bought back home to be her concubine. However, when she returned home, Mrs. Zhou refused to allow the master to take her as a concubine on the grounds that Xiu'er was of humble origin. So she had to become a maid in the end.
When she was in Linglongfang, Xiu'er's arrogance had long been tamed by the madam. Although she was a concubine in Zhou's mansion, it was much better than being humiliated by the clients and beaten and scolded by the madam in Linglongfang. So she stayed there wholeheartedly, and served Madam Zhou and Mr. Zhou carefully every day. Xiu'er was already beautiful and came from the Censorate. She was proficient in chess, piano, calligraphy and painting, and was naturally not like ordinary women. She was also trained in Linglongfang to be extremely charming. Mr. Zhou loved her very much and favored her. Xiu'er indeed had a comfortable life.
As the saying goes, greed is the key to success. Xiu'er was originally a proud person, but after being beaten in Linglongfang, she was scared and had to restrain herself. When she arrived at Zhou Mansion, she was cautious at first. Seeing that she was obedient, Madam Zhou did not make things difficult for her. But as time went by, she gradually became dissatisfied. She always thought that since she was the legitimate daughter of the Censor and a rich girl, she should be the mistress of the house.
With this peculiar thought, her sinister character was fully exposed. Madam Zhou was a kind person, but she was not a soft person. Seeing Xiu'er being arrogant, she taught her a lesson several times. Xiu'er then reported her to Mr. Zhou, who gradually became cold towards Madam Zhou. Within a month of staying in the Zhou Mansion, she turned the backyard upside down.
Seeing Xiu'er like this, Mrs. Zhou gradually wanted to get rid of her. Knowing that the master doted on her and couldn't touch her at home, she discussed with her brother from her natal family and secretly asked her brother to take Xiu'er out of Yizhou and sell her when the master was out. It was said that she was sold to a brothel in a remote town in Jiaozhou...
After Hongzhu finished speaking, she continued:
"Mrs. Zhou's brother was afraid that Miss Xiu would be found by Mr. Zhou, so he refused to tell her where she was sold to. When he heard that she was sold to a brothel, the old lady gave up and stopped looking for her."
Thinking back to when she was in Prince Yan's villa, Xiu'er told her arrogantly that Prince Yan was going to sell her to a brothel... She didn't expect that things would turn out to be unpredictable, and in the end it was she who ended up in the brothel. She could have spent her later years in peace in the Zhou Mansion, but because of her vicious and restless heart, she ended up like this.
Is it fate? Is it luck? If the prince is defeated this time, what will happen to him and Xiao Jun? Thinking of this, Meng Xi shuddered and said quietly:
"I think she's pretty pitiful..."
"Poor thing! Her heart has been eaten by a dog. It's almost hateful..."
Seeing Mengxi felt sorry for Xiu'er, Zhiqiu gritted his teeth and said without waiting for her to finish, if Xiu'er hadn't bribed Cuiping, how could the young lady and the second master have experienced so many hardships? If Xiu'er hadn't recognized Mengxi who followed the prince south, Zhixia would not have died. Thinking of Zhixia, Zhiqiu felt nothing but hatred for Xiu'er.
The hall fell silent for a while. After a long while, Xiao Jun sighed and said:
"As the saying goes, there must be something hateful about pitiful people. Zhang Xiuluo..."
As he was speaking, the little maid knocked on the door and came in to answer:
"My Lord, has the old lady asked the maid to invite Mr. Li to Shouxi Hall?"
