As if she had had a long dream, Lu Jiayi opened her eyes in a daze.
The first thing she saw was the mandarin duck embroidered curtain above her head, and then she saw a concerned face.
Cai Jing sat in front of Lu Jiayi's bed, his brows furrowed as if they were about to be twisted together.
His face was terribly dark, and his eyes showed deep pain and worry.
As soon as Lu Jiayi moved, he knew it.
"Jiayi!" Cai Jing leaned over, looked into her eyes, and asked softly, "How are you?"
Lu Jiayi slowly scanned the room and saw Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng were there. They were both standing behind Cai Jing, looking at herself nervously on the hospital bed.
Lu Jiayi smiled weakly and said with difficulty: "Are you... willing to return the things to me now?"
"What are you talking about?" Cai Jing's heart tightened.
"I'm dying..." Lu Jiayi's eyelids drooped, her eyes began to blur, and her consciousness became more and more blurred. "I told you... I came from another world... Now only that cup of HEYTEA can save me... I didn't lie to you... It's really important to me..."
Seeing that Lu Jiayi was about to fall asleep, Cai Jing held her shoulders tightly and growled, "Lu Jiayi, wake up! I won't let you die, do you hear me?"
Lu Jiayi's eyelids moved, but there was no sign of opening them again.
Cai Jing stood up suddenly, clenched his hands, and suddenly turned to Zhao Mingcheng and said, "Keep an eye on her!" After that, he strode out.
After Cai Jing left, Li Qingzhao took a step forward to look at Lu Jiayi who was deeply buried in the quilt. She saw a hand stretched out from the soft quilt and made an OK gesture to her.
Li Qingzhao didn't understand the meaning of this gesture, but judging from the situation, Lu Jiayi should be fine. She shook her head and retreated with Zhao Mingcheng.
Lu Jiayi opened her eyes. She touched the wounds on her body that were covered with layers of bandages and almost cried out in pain.
A hard rock on the hillside pierced her waist. She had never suffered such a serious injury since she was a child. The pain almost made her faint instantly. Zhao Mingcheng carried her to find a carriage. She woke up once on the way. She looked at Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao who were worried about her, and suddenly thought of a way.
A way for her to get HEYTEA back.
She persuaded Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao to perform a play with her.
She believed that Cai Jing couldn't bear to see her die, and would definitely use Heytea to save her life...
Cai Jing plays power games and she plays with people’s hearts.
Now, all we have to do is wait for him to bring the Heytea back.
Lu Jiayi waited for three days.
The wound on her waist had slowly healed, and although she still had to stay in bed, she was finally able to get out of bed and walk a few steps. That day, she struggled to get out of bed, as if to stretch her legs. Li Qingzhao supported her and paced back and forth in the room.
"Why did you take so long?" Lu Jiayi was a little anxious. Where did Cai Jing put the tea? It took him so long, it seemed that he was really guarding against her.
As he was speaking, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open.
Zhao Mingcheng walked in, and the first thing he said was: "Master Cai is injured!"
"What?" Lu Jiayi was shocked.
"Lord Cai put the can of tea in a heavily guarded place, and it was discovered by the Jin people. The Jin people thought it was something related to the secrets of our Song Dynasty, so they set a trap there." Zhao Mingcheng's voice trembled a little. "You were injured and dying, and he was worried about you, so he went to get it himself, but he didn't expect to be targeted by the Jin people..."
Lu Jiayi threw away her crutches and almost rushed to Zhao Mingcheng, asking in a panic, "Where is he now?"
"He has been sent back to the palace by the servants..."
Lu Jiayi didn't listen to the rest of the words, she couldn't wait to run out. The movement affected the wound, so she had to stop. Li Qingzhao called her name from behind, but Lu Jiayi gritted her teeth and rushed out of Zhao's house.
She endured the pain and returned to Cai's house. The servants naturally did not dare to stop her and let her directly into Cai Jing's room.
Lu Jiayi pushed open the door and saw a person lying on the bed. She had never seen Cai Jing so weak before, and if he hadn't been breathing a little, she would have thought he was dead.
Lu Jiayi came to the bed and held his hand tightly .
Cai Jing's eyelids moved, as if he realized that she had returned, and he opened his eyes slightly.
Lu Jiayi's heart trembled when she was looked at by those eyes, and many scenes of their time together passed before her eyes.
The little brat who took advantage of her, the young man who traveled thousands of miles to see her, the powerful minister who tried every means to keep her by his side...
It was not until this moment that Lu Jiayi realized that no matter how she tried to escape, this person had already been deeply imprinted in her heart.
Her tears flowed down her cheeks and she couldn't help but shout, "Lu Yu! Lu Yu! Help! Where are you? Come out! Help me save him!"
Cai Jing raised his hand, trying to wipe away the tears from Lu Jiayi's eyes, but his hand stopped in mid-air. After a long while, he used up all his strength and said, "Are you okay?"
Lu Jiayi nodded, then immediately shook her head, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
Cai Jing looked at her, seemingly helpless, and comforted her softly: "Don't cry, look..."
He raised his other hand, which had been hidden under the quilt and was tightly holding a tea can.
That was the Heytea that Lu Jiayi tried every means to get back.
Seeing this, Lu Jiayi cried even harder.
She was a little incoherent and choked up as she said, "I'm sorry! I lied to you! I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry..."
She did not take the jar in his hand, and Cai Jing slowly put his hand down.
His eyes moved to Lu Jiayi's waist and saw the blood stain that seeped through her clothes. He couldn't help but frown again.
Cai Jing pulled his hand away and put his arm around Lu Jiayi's waist, as if he wanted to hold her in his arms.
"Jiayi, have you ever thought about being with me for a moment? Even if it's only for a moment..."
Lu Jiayi stared at him blankly, tears blurring her eyes, but the pain in her body and heart was so clear. Her willfulness and self-righteousness made a person who loved her wait for half his life, and finally paid the price with his life. Thinking of this, she felt that everything she had been obsessed with had become meaningless.
She reached out and stroked Cai Jing's thin face, nodded, and said in a trembling voice: "It's this moment..."
If the end is the end of each other's life, she is willing to stay with this person. Lu Jiayi thinks that this is love. It's a pity that if she could wake up earlier, perhaps, there would be more happy memories.
Cai Jing smiled. He looked into Lu Jiayi's eyes, moved his lips, and said with difficulty: "I hope that after I die... I can go to your world... and meet you... on your timeline... Then... I will not leave..."
After saying that, his eyes slowly closed.
" Lu Yu—— " Lu Jiayi screamed heartbreakingly.
Finally, the air around them seemed to be torn apart by something, and a transparent figure appeared behind Lu Jiayi.
The man with white hair and cloud-like patterns and a calm gaze is none other than the Lu family's ancestor - the Tea Saint Lu Yu.
Lu Jiayi hugged Cai Jing's body and begged desperately: "Save him... please... save him..."
Lu Yu leaned over, glanced at the person on the bed, and said, "If I save him, our agreement will be void. After collecting the Seven Emotions Tea, you must renew your vows with me. In this life, your life and mine will be forever tied together. I want you to travel the world for me and search for the miracle tea for the rest of your life."
Lu Jiayi trembled all over and turned back in shock, looking at Lu Yu in mid-air.
Her waist tightened slightly, as Cai Jing subconsciously hugged her tightly. He was in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness, and seemed to have heard this conversation, shaking his head desperately.
His bloodless lips moved as he stammered, "Don't...don't agree to him...don't..."
Lu Jiayi lowered her head in pain and gritted her teeth and said one word: "Okay."
"As long as you save him, I will promise you anything."
She closed her eyes and let the tears fall.
In the past, she was always a passer-by in the story, watching the joys and sorrows of others, she would be moved and sad. This time, it was her turn to taste the emotions of the world, but she didn't expect it to be so painful.
If possible, she hoped that she had never met Cai Jing, and that they would just be passers-by passing by each other, without anyone having to be deeply affectionate towards each other.
If possible, she would like to bury the three-legged golden toad, stay in the Song Dynasty forever, and be a happy little girl by his side. No one would have to suffer for anyone else.
However, in life, it seems that we always let down some people.
Lu Jiayi took the tea from Cai Jing and left the bedside. Lu Yu floated in the air, lowered his head and closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and a stream of colorful light gathered in his palms.
A strong wind blew from nowhere, and it seemed to push all the surrounding forces towards the person on the bed. Instantly, the light in Lu Yu's hand became brighter, and he opened his palm and sent the light into Cai Jing's body.
The strong wind gradually died down.
The door of the room was blown open by the strong wind, and the servants who heard the noise were rushing over here. Lu Jiayi hurried to the bedside to see how Cai Jing was doing.
"You don't belong here anymore, go away."
Before she could reach the man, Lu Yu grabbed her hand.
The three-legged golden toad on Lu Jiayi's body emitted a dazzling white light. In this dazzling light, Lu Jiayi didn't even have time to look at Cai Jing again. Lu Yu waved his wide sleeves and rolled her into the darkness...
Lu Jiayi stayed in the hospital for three months.
She missed her final exams and her summer vacation, and the only thing she got was a scolding from her parents.
She accepted all this calmly.
At the end of the lesson, the mother realized that her daughter was a little unusual, so she took the father out of the ward.
Lu Jiayi thought a lot in the hospital.
But perhaps life is inherently unsolvable. No matter how she thinks, what is lost can never be recovered.
The ancestor spirit Lu Yu, who had renewed his oath with her, went into the azure tea bowl to recuperate after collecting the Seven Emotions Tea. It was unknown when he would come out and ask her to start the task of finding the strange tea again.
Later, she looked through the history books about Cai Jing again and saw his birth and death records. She learned that he lived to be seventy-nine years old and experienced four major ups and downs in officialdom throughout his life.
Later generations had mixed opinions about his treacherous behavior. Some said he was "absolutely powerful and favoritism, squandering wealth and harming the people", while others praised his promotion of the Juyangyuan, Anjifang and Louzeyuan systems as the largest and most powerful relief systems in ancient times...
But the Cai Jing described by those historians seemed so strange to Lu Jiayi...
In her heart, Cai Jing was just the person who had been persistently pursuing the trace of her, a passer-by in another world. He met her three times when he was a teenager, a young adult and a middle-aged man, and from then on he was devoted to her for the rest of his life.
"Jiayi, have you ever thought about being with me for a moment? Even if it's only for a moment..."
His voice when he was seriously injured and dying is still ringing in my ears.
"I really...thought about it, but..."
Lu Jiayi lowered her head, a glimmer of crystal light flickering in the corner of her eyes.
But the distance between us is really too far!
It has been nearly a thousand years. You were born before I was born, and I was born after you died...
Cai Jing, would it be better if you had never met me?
A breeze blew in from the window. Jiayi raised her head, and the tear that had been hidden for a long time finally fell quietly.
When the second half of the school year started, Lu Jiayi returned to school.
She walked quietly and slowly in the school, carrying a black schoolbag.
Ke Xin heard about her injury and came over to comfort her. But after a few words, Ke Xin realized that Lu Jiayi's mind was not here at all, so she shrugged and left with the other girls.
During the break, Lu Jiayi walked out of the classroom, quietly leaned on the railing, and watched the boys playing football on the playground.
A gust of wind blew, bringing with it the youthful atmosphere that only young people have. Lu Jiayi turned around and saw Cai Jing coming back from the library holding a book.
Lu Jiayi was stunned for a moment.
She stared at Cai Jing's face in a daze, as if trying to find the shadow of another person in him.
The boy was walking slowly with a schoolbag slung across his shoulder when he suddenly noticed a burning gaze. He put down his book and looked in the direction of the gaze.
The moment their eyes met, Cai Jing burst out laughing. He staggered in front of Lu Jiayi, raised his chin , and asked narcissistically, "Do you like me?"
Lu Jiayi was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and looked away awkwardly.
Seeing her embarrassed look, Cai Jing suddenly became interested in playing a prank. He leaned down, deliberately leaned close to Lu Jiayi's ear, and said in a low voice: "Lu Jiayi, have you ever thought about being with me for a moment?"
In an instant, Lu Jiayi's whole body stiffened.
Cai Jing smiled even more brightly, in a very good mood. He patted Lu Jiayi on the shoulder, then walked past her and went to the other side.
Lu Jiayi looked back in surprise.
At this moment, she remembered what that man had said a thousand years ago.
"I hope that after I die... I can go to your world... and meet you on your timeline... Then... I won't leave..."
Lu Jiayi's tears fell. She looked at the boy's back as he walked away, and couldn't help wanting to catch up with him.
——Will he be you?
Lu Jiayi didn't know.
Only the noisy wind passing by carried the answer further away.

Tea flavor tips (from Baidu Encyclopedia):
Dragon and Phoenix Tuan Tea: Tribute tea of ​​the Northern Song Dynasty. In the third year of Taipingxingguo (978) in the early Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Song sent an envoy to Jian'an Beiyuan (now Dongfeng Town, Jian'ou City, Fujian Province) to supervise the production of a kind of tea exclusively for the royal family. Because the tea cakes were printed with dragon and phoenix patterns, they were called "Dragon and Phoenix Tuan Tea". The dragon and phoenix tea used by the emperor had patterns carved on the surface of the tea cakes with pure gold. With the change of tea drinking methods, Dragon and Phoenix Tuan Tea was gradually replaced by loose tea.

Solemnly declare:
The story in this book is not a realistic historical restoration, but an adaptation and re-creation of a unit novel based on historical figures and allusions, blending fantasy elements. Some characters and events are inconsistent with the actual history; some information is quoted from encyclopedia explanations; therefore, this book is for readers' leisure reading only and cannot be used as a reference for serious historical facts .