Zhuge Xian was buried behind the thatched hut.
There was a pile of fruit, a pile of snacks, and a cup of tea in front of the tombstone. Chai Qianping and Zhao Yuanlang stood in front of the newly built tomb, facing each other in silence.
Paper money was flying all over the sky, as if a heavy snow had fallen on the mountain. There was an old pear tree next to the grave, and the tree was full of paper money. When the wind blew, the white paper money fell down. Lu Jiayi stood by, watching this sad scene, feeling very uncomfortable.
After a long while, Zhao Yuanlang turned around, looked at Chai Qianping, and gently told her: "Senior Sister, I'm going down the mountain."
Chai Qianping couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes. She covered her mouth tightly and nodded.
Zhao Yuanlang brushed the paper money off her shoulders and said, "I want to go to the north. There is a war going on there. When the world is stable and the people are no longer displaced, I will definitely come back to find you."
Chai Qianping raised her head and looked at him with tearful eyes.
Zhao Yuanlang sighed, took a step forward and hugged Chai Qianping in his arms.
He whispered in her ear, "Wait for me." Then he let go of her hand.
Lu Jiayi walked forward and handed him the tea can in her hand. It was the new tea roasted by Chai Qianping herself. There was nothing in the mountains, only those few teas were so fragrant that they were the best in the world.
Zhao Yuanlang took the small jar and went down the mountain without looking back.
Chai Qianping stared at his back infatuatedly, with her right hand stretched out in the air, but she couldn't hold anything. She subconsciously chased after Zhao Yuanlang, but just took two steps and stopped.
Lu Jiayi turned around to look at her. Chai Qianping had covered her mouth tightly with a handkerchief, as if she was trying hard to hold back tears.
However, a trickle of bright red blood flowed down her chin.
Lu Jiayi was shocked, and hurriedly walked up to her and asked, "Miss Chai, what's wrong with you?"
Chai Qianping could no longer hold back, her handkerchief loosened, and she spat out the blood in her mouth with a wow. The shocking red color fell to the ground and also splashed onto Lu Jiayi's dress, like a little winter plum blossom blooming in the cold winter.
"Miss Chai!" Lu Jiayi was terrified and wanted to run down the mountain immediately, "I'll go call Mr. Zhao back!"
"No, don't..." Chai Qianping grabbed her hand and stopped her forcefully.
Lu Jiayi looked back blankly.
Chai Qianping looked deeply into her eyes and shook her head: "Don't tell him."
Lu Jiayi was helpless.
She helped Chai Qianping back to the hut and wanted to send her to the doctor at the foot of the mountain, but was rejected. Lu Jiayi looked at her and was very anxious.
"Miss Lu, what's wrong with me...is not a disease."
Chai Qian lay flat on the bed and told her in a weak voice, "Go, go to the foot of the mountain and find a place to go. Don't be like me, trapped in this lonely mountain forever."
"What are you talking about!" Lu Jiayi shook her head and whispered, "How can I bear to leave you when you are like this? Besides, didn't you promise Master Zhao that you would wait for him to come back? If I leave, there will be no one to take care of you. What if something happens? Anyway, I will stay with you..."
Although she said this, Lu Jiayi was still very conflicted.
She looked at the teapot on the table, which was the new tea roasted by Chai Qianping. The tea of ​​desire in Chai Qianping's story had been obtained, but she was now bedridden, how could Lu Jiayi bear to leave her alone?
No matter what, she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart.
Chai Qianping looked at her, smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid I...can't wait any longer..."
"Don't say that." Lu Jiayi stretched out a finger and placed it on Chai Qianping's lips. "I'll wait with you, isn't that okay?"
Chai Qianping's tears fell silently. After a long while, she nodded vigorously.
Then let’s wait together.
Zhao Yuanlang went to the war-torn north, and from the day he left the thatched cottage, he became a warrior.
Chai Qianping didn’t know where he would begin his story, nor did she know when he would be able to return to the thatched cottage. She could only send her blessings with endless thoughts.
Lu Jiayi stayed with Chai Qianping and took good care of her every day.
Since vomiting blood that day, Chai Qianping's health has never recovered.
She lay in bed all day long, staring at the thatch above her head, not knowing what she was thinking.
As time passed, her face remained as pale as paper, she would occasionally vomit blood again, and her body became weaker and weaker.
She refused the suggestion of going down the mountain to see a doctor. Lu Jiayi had no choice but to buy some medicine and come back to make it for her.
It had been a month since Zhao Yuanlang left, and Chai Qianping would occasionally say his name and cry in her sleep.
As spring goes and autumn comes, the wild geese fly south, and in the blink of an eye, it is winter.
A year after Zhao Yuanlang left, Chai Qianping started making new tea. When she was in a good mood, she would hold a cup of tea and stare out the door in a trance.
Gradually, Lu Jiayi became familiar with every road on the mountain and could return to the thatched cottage from the bottom of the mountain with her eyes closed.
The pear tree next to Zhuge Xian's tomb has bloomed several times, but this mountain is always so green, and there is almost no trace of time.
Zhao Yuanlang had been gone for several years, and Chai Qianping no longer had the strength to leave his bedside.
Lu Jiayi put several pillows behind her back. She just lay there, looking at a small window in the room, and she no longer had any tears.
Time passed by, and Chai Qianping's life also slipped away. Lu Jiayi watched her getting thinner and thinner, worried that something might happen to her at any time.
On this day, Chai Qianping looked at the sunshine outside, suddenly smiled, turned to Lu Jiayi and said, "Today is my birthday."
"Really?" Lu Jiayi was very surprised. In all their years of being together, Chai Qianping had never mentioned this matter.
Chai Qianping nodded gently and whispered, "I'm eighteen years old."
"Then I'll go buy some delicious food. We have to celebrate today!" Lu Jiayi clapped her hands happily, gave Chai Qianping a few instructions, and then left the thatched hut.
As soon as she arrived at the market at the foot of the mountain, she heard people around her talking about a big event.
"Really?"
"Of course! My nephew is in Chenqiao. How could the news he spread be false?"
…
The villagers gathered together and excitedly exchanged information.
Lu Jiayi heard what they were talking about and the thing in her hand fell to the ground with a snap.
She opened her mouth, and without even having time to pick up the things on the ground, she turned around and ran up the mountain.
Back in the thatched cottage, she stared into Chai Qianping's eyes and said in a trembling voice, "A few days ago, a general from the Great Zhou led his troops to Chenqiao Posthouse, and a mutiny broke out that night... His subordinates threw a dragon robe on him and shouted "Long live the dragon" three times... Now, he has returned to Bianjing."
After a pause, Lu Jiayi slowed down her speech, almost enunciating each word: "The general's surname was Zhao Kuangyin, and his courtesy name was Yuanlang."
Chai Qianping's pupils suddenly dilated. She looked at Lu Jiayi and asked tremblingly, "Then... where is the emperor of the Great Zhou?"
"The Great Zhou Emperor Chai Rong?" Lu Jiayi asked, "He died last year."
Chai Qianping seemed to have heard something terrible. There was silence at first, and then she began to breathe heavily.
Her face began to turn pale rapidly, and her expression changed from shock to unspeakable sadness.
"Miss Chai?" Lu Jiayi called her cautiously.
"Wow!" Chai Qianping opened her mouth and a stream of dark red blood spurted out.
Chai Qianping grabbed the edge of the bed and shouted with all her strength: "After all, you have failed Da Zhou and failed me!"
She stretched out her hand into the air, as if trying to grab something, but there was only the sound of wind whistling past her fingertips. Chai Qianping straightened her body, then fell softly.
"Ms. Chai!" Lu Jiayi shouted in horror, but Chai Qianping was unable to respond.
There is a kind of hopeless waiting in the world——
In the end, I felt hopeless.
Lu Jiayi sat under the pear tree in a daze.
There was a new grave outside the thatched cottage. The old and new graves were silent, with only the pear trees nearby occasionally dropping their withered flowers, as if covering them with a layer of white snow.
This is the most terrifying story Lu Jiayi has ever experienced.
In addition to burying a familiar girl with her own hands, there are many secrets hidden in the lonely mountains, which make her feel scared. Lu Jiayi never thought that Chai Qianping would have so many secrets.
When she was dying, she spoke to Lu Jiayi in a broken voice. This was the first time she had revealed something that was deeply buried in her heart to an outsider, and it was also the first time she had faced such a heavy sin.
Whenever she thought of these things, Lu Jiayi couldn't help but tremble all over, as if she had also fallen into the abyss of sin and punishment.
Chai Qianping said that she was the one who killed Zhuge Xian.
From the first day Lu Jiayi met Chai Qianping, she had countless questions in her mind. The first question was, why would a young girl be willing to live in an isolated mountain?
It turns out that Chai Qianping is the daughter of Chai Rong, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The border of the Great Zhou Dynasty was unstable and wars were constant. When Chai Qianping was very young, she was entrusted to the hermit Zhuge Xian of the Great Zhou Dynasty by her father. In the midst of the chaos, Chai Rong hoped that she could stay away from disputes and grow up safely and healthily like an ordinary girl.
Zhuge Xian brought her to this mountain and she never left.
The day Zhao Yuanlang came to the thatched cottage, Zhuge Xian was furious. He had calculated that the young man in front of him was an emperor star and might destroy the Great Zhou in the future. So no matter how Zhao Yuanlang begged, Zhuge Xian refused to accept him as his apprentice.
However, Zhuge Xian had made many calculations, but he did not anticipate his daughter's thoughts. When Chai Qianping saw Zhao Yuanlang for the first time, a man lived in her heart. Zhuge Xian could ignore Zhao Yuanlang's sincerity, but he could not refuse a request from Chai Qianping, whom he had raised.
The day Zhuge Xian decided to accept Zhao Yuanlang as his disciple, he told Chai Qianping: "If Zhao Yuanlang decides to leave here in the future, I will kill him at the cost of my life."
Chai Qianping was very scared.
Zhuge first made Zhao Yuanlang swear a solemn oath to stay in this mountain for the rest of his life. However, Chai Qianping soon discovered that Zhao Yuanlang would definitely betray his oath.
He went up the mountain because of Zhuge Xian's ability, but his ambition was far away.
Chai Qianping was in great pain. She hoped that Zhao Yuanlang could stay here forever, but she knew that she couldn't keep him here. Once Zhao Yuanlang had the idea of ​​leaving the mountain, the master would take action...
So, Chai Qianping took the opportunity to go down the mountain to buy supplies and secretly brought back a chronic poison. She put the poison in Zhuge Xian's food, and gradually, Zhuge Xian's body became weaker and weaker.
On the day Zhao Yuanlang decided to leave the thatched cottage, Zhuge first asked Chai Qianping to pour tea to thank the teacher and hinted to her: "You know what to do." According to the agreement, Chai Qianping must poison Zhao Yuanlang's tea, because only in this way can they keep this future imperial star on the mountain forever.
In the kitchen, Chai Qianping secretly exchanged the two people's tea cups.
That's why Zhuge Xian suddenly vomited blood and died after drinking that cup of tea.
In fact, when Zhuge Xian stared into her eyes and slowly uttered the word "idiot", Chai Qianping realized that her master had actually known it for a long time.
Zhuge knew first that she would kill her own master for Zhao Yuanlang.
She might be able to replace the cup of poisoned tea, but she knew that her master would never let go of the person she loved.
If she wanted to save that person, she had to commit such a terrible crime.
She couldn't bear such a heavy secret alone, so after Zhao Yuanlang left, she became depressed and became ill, vomiting blood from time to time.
Chai Qianping felt that this was like a punishment from God, so she refused to see a doctor.
Because this is her crime and punishment.
During the days when Zhao Yuanlang was away, Chai Qianping kept telling herself that he just wanted to do his part for the people. When he had accomplished his ambitions, he would definitely come back to find her.
During such a long wait, her sins would gradually be alleviated. Then, she could convince herself to be with him.
However, Chai Qianping did not expect that the astrology of Zhuge's family would be so terrible. When Lu Jiayi brought back the news, she already knew that Zhao Yuanlang really wanted to replace the Great Zhou.
The sin that has not yet been redeemed has become even more serious.
This time, the heavy sin almost pushed Chai Qianping into hell.
She killed her teacher and committed treason, all because of her desire for love.
Only at this moment did she realize how much regret she had.
Listening to Chai Qianping's weak voice, Lu Jiayi felt cold all over. She didn't know that she had been living with such a huge secret for many years.
"I was wrong, I was wrong..." Chai Qianping murmured.
She lay in the tattered cotton quilt, staring blankly at the light outside the hut, as if she was filled with infinite regret and a little unwillingness.
"But..." She closed her eyes and let the tears fall again.
After a long time, Lu Jiayi thought she had fallen asleep, but unexpectedly she opened her eyes again.
This time, Chai Qianping looked at a corner, not knowing what she saw, but she used all her strength to shout: "Yuen Long..."
Her hand stretched out in that direction, then dropped heavily.
Looking at the motionless person on the bed, Lu Jiayi's initial fear slowly turned into sadness.
Chai Qianping is different from Princess Qinghe.
Princess Qinghe loved one person and hated another person. In the end, she severed all worldly ties with herself. She attributed all the sins to herself, chose to hate herself, and ended her life with her own hands.
Chai Qianping also loves someone, and for this love, she is willing to kill. She lives with the sin, but prays silently in her heart, hoping that the person she loves will eventually come back to her.
Perhaps, the initial encounter was too unforgettable. Chai Qianping was just a young girl trapped in the lonely mountains and had no way of resisting the temptation of love.
She was not a very evil person, but she committed the heinous crime of treason against her teacher and her country; she was not a very good person, but she spent her entire life loving one person.
Lu Jiayi believed that Chai Qianping saw Zhao Yuanlang at the last moment. In other words, he was always in Chai Qianping's life, omnipresent.
This is an irresistible love. Without this love, Chai Qianping would have died.
When Lu Jiayi left the thatched cottage, she left behind a long letter.
She did not have the courage to set foot in the era called the Song Dynasty, so she chose to leave a letter.
She wrote down everything about Chai Qianping in the letter. As she wrote, she found herself getting angry.
She was angry with Zhao Yuanlang.
You said you would come back, will you really come back?
There is a woman who has carried a sin that will never be washed away for her entire life because of you.
If you see this letter, it means that at least part of her efforts were worth it.
For her, that was enough.
After a night, Lu Jiayi wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye, pressed the letter under Chai Qianping's tea set, then took the tea leaves and prepared to leave.
She turned around for the last time and looked at the simple thatched huts.
It was hard to imagine that such a thrilling story could have happened in such an uninhabited place. In a trance, Lu Jiayi seemed to see Chai Qianping again before her death.
She lay in the hospital bed day after day, waiting anxiously for someone to return. Finally, as if she had waited for something, she reached out her hand.
The one who is getting farther and farther away is him.
The one getting closer and closer is him.
In the morning, the sun filled the city. The huge Takarazuka Academy was bathed in the warm sunshine, and the sound of reading could be heard from the towering teaching building from time to time.
Lu Jiayi sat in the classroom, holding her chin in her hand, in a daze.
Last night, she handed the sixth batch of tea to Lu Yu. Unconsciously, her and Lu Yu's agreement was about to be fulfilled. At present, only the last kind of tea was left to be collected.
Thinking back on what had happened in the past period of time, Lu Jiayi couldn't help but feel astonished at herself.
Traveling through time and space, dealing with those once vibrant lives in history, and feeling a relationship lost in the long river of time, if it were the previous Lu Jiayi, she would definitely not have the confidence to do these things.
Anger, love, sorrow, hatred, fear, and desire.
Six cups of tea, six true feelings, six kinds of life.
I wonder what happened to those people she met throughout history?
…
"We talked about the story of wearing the yellow robe in the last class. I believe that the students have some understanding of Emperor Taizu of Song." The teacher walked down from the podium with a textbook in hand and patiently explained to the students, "He was born in a military family and practiced martial arts since he was a child. Later, he began to travel around and gain knowledge. According to legend, he once met a monk who told him, 'You will have adventures if you go north' and donated all his property to him. Taizu went to the north and eventually became a general of the Later Zhou Dynasty."
"Although he launched the Chenqiao Mutiny and replaced the Later Zhou Dynasty, which had been very kind to him, he was actually a kind and benevolent person." The teacher said, smiling at everyone and asked, "Can anyone give an example of Taizu's gentle character?"
"Give up military power over a cup of wine!" Someone quickly raised his hand to answer.
"Yes, what else?" The teacher nodded.
"Taizu's oath monument." Cai Jing answered lazily.
This word was a little unfamiliar, and Lu Jiayi couldn't help but look at the people around her. Obviously, the classmates were not familiar with this allusion either, and they all focused their attention on Cai Jing.
"Student Cai Jing's answer is correct!" The teacher showed a very approving look and smiled with satisfaction. "It is said that Emperor Taizu of Song once engraved his last words for his descendants on a stone tablet, requiring all future emperors to read this will. Student Cai Jing, do you know the content of this will?"
"Preserve the descendants of the Chai family; do not kill the scholars and officials; any descendants who break this oath will be punished by heaven." Cai Jing slowly recited what was in his mind.
"That's right!" The teacher's smile became brighter. "Through this stone tablet, Song Taizu's gentle personality was reflected in the politics of the entire Song Dynasty. The descendants of the Zhao family basically abided by the contents of the legacy. From then on, the descendants of the Chai family and the Northern Song Dynasty lived and died together. In the struggle between the new and old parties in the late Song Dynasty, the lives of the scholars who lost power were also saved..."
Lu Jiayi didn't hear what the teacher said. Her attention was completely focused on the first sentence of the will -
"If the descendants of the Chai family are guilty, they shall not be punished. Even if they commit treason, they shall be executed in prison. They shall not be executed in the market, nor shall their relatives be implicated."
Whether it was to repay Chai Rong's kindness or for other hidden reasons, Zhao Kuangyin in history showed the greatest tolerance and preferential treatment to Chai's descendants.
Thinking of this, Lu Jiayi smiled softly.
She thought that Zhao Yuanlang would eventually go to find Chai Qianping.
He should have also seen the letter left by Lu Jiayi.
Although it was just speculation, Lu Jiayi was sincerely happy for Chai Qianping.
Zhao Yuanlang made countless vows in his life. For Chai Qianping, as long as he kept his promise to come back to see her, it would be the greatest satisfaction.
If Chai Qianping knew about love in her afterlife, she would no longer have any resentment, but she would still have many regrets...

Tea flavor tips (from Baidu Encyclopedia):
Biluochun: A traditional tea of ​​the Han nationality, one of the top ten famous teas in China, it belongs to the category of green tea and has a history of more than a thousand years. Biluochun is produced in the East Dongting Mountain and West Dongting Mountain (now Wuzhong District, Suzhou) of Taihu Lake in Wuxian County, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, so it is also called "Dongting Biluochun".
It was listed as a tribute in the Tang Dynasty. Ancient people also called Biluochun "Kung Fu Tea" and "New Blood Tea". High-quality Biluochun has delicate tea buds. 0.5 kg of dry tea requires 60,000 to 70,000 tea buds. After being fried, the dry tea leaves are tightly tied, with white hairs showing, silver-green color, attractive emerald green, curled into a spiral. It is produced in spring, so it is named "Biluochun". After brewing this tea, white clouds roll in the cup and the fragrance invades. It is a famous tea in China.