Chapter 88

The courtyard gate was knocked on, and Xuanyuan Po went to answer. He returned shortly, his face, though covered with a beard, could not completely hide the redness, a sign of both nervousness and shyness, as a young lady with an oil-paper umbrella followed him to the front of the library.

Tang Sanliu looked at the clear and beautiful young lady and said with a slight surprise, "Where did this lady, like a lilac, come from?"

Xuanyuan Po, somewhat nervously, rubbed his hands and said, "I don't know which family's young lady she is; even when I asked, she didn't say."

Tang Sanliu said, "So you let her in? Though it was just the Qixi Festival last night, it's not like it's that urgent."

Xuanyuan Po quickly explained, "She said she knows Chen Changsheng."

Chen Changsheng was reading a book. Hearing this, he put down the book and looked out the window, only to find that he did indeed know her—not a young lady from some noble family, but Shuang'er, the head maid from the Eastern Imperial General's residence.

He naturally wouldn't explain this to Xuanyuan Po, so he got up and walked out of the library, saying to Shuang'er, "Long time no see."

Indeed, it had been a long time since Shuang'er last came to the National Teaching Academy to find him, several months had passed.

Shuang'er folded her oil-paper umbrella and gestured for him to follow her to a more secluded corner.

"Is there something?" he asked.

Shuang'er looked at him, thinking about the rumors from last night's Qingteng Banquet, her expression was somewhat complicated. After a moment of thought, she said, "I heard about your situation. I must admit that you have indeed surprised many people. Lady and I initially misjudged you."

Chen Changsheng said, "You have your stance, so there's no need to apologize."

He was speaking from the heart, as he always did.

Shuang'er raised her fine eyebrows slightly and said, "Don't misunderstand. Even if my view of you was wrong, it doesn't mean I support you and Miss being together. Even if you are very knowledgeable, you can't practice cultivation, so you are still a..."

Although she didn't like Chen Changsheng, she didn't have any ill intentions and held back the words "useless person."

But everyone knew what she meant.

Chen Changsheng said, "Your support or lack thereof has no significance for this marriage."

Shuang'er was somewhat angry and said, "Miss and I are like sisters. I care about Miss's happiness more than anyone. You showed the marriage contract at the Qingteng Banquet and felt a sense of pride, but have you thought about it? Miss and Qiushan Jun were a good match, but you have ruined it. How can you bear it?"

"So, are you here to stand up for Qiushan Jun?"

Chen Changsheng looked at her and said, "You should know that last night at the Qingteng Banquet, your Miss sent a letter with a white crane. In the letter, she acknowledged this marriage. Now, it seems you have a different view on this marriage and are even standing up for another man?"

"Does your Miss know about this?"

Shuang'er was speechless; she didn't know why Miss did this.

Chen Changsheng said, "Is there anything else?"

"That was indeed not something I should have said."

Shuang'er calmed down, raised her arm, and wiped the water droplets from her hair, saying, "Miss asked me to give you a message."

"What message?"

"Don't misunderstand."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time. Shuang'er had said something similar earlier, which was very hurtful. What did Xu Yourong mean by this?

He asked, "Misunderstand what?"

"I don't know," Shuang'er looked at his face and said, "You should understand yourself."

Last night, the white crane returned to the capital after flying for thousands of miles, carrying a letter. In the letter, Xu Yourong expressed her stance. Although he knew that Xu Yourong didn't really want to marry him, she must have had other intentions, but his dislike for her had diminished.

However, hearing Shuang'er's relayed message, his mood couldn't be too good.

"Is that all?"

He looked at Shuang'er, indicating that he was ready to see her off.

Shuang'er said, "Miss also said that if you have anything to say, you can write to her directly."

A crane's cry echoed, and the white crane landed outside the library, flapping its wings, with water droplets slowly dripping from its feathers.

Chen Changsheng nodded at the white crane.

The white crane walked to him, lowered its long neck, and touched his right arm, showing some affection.

"Have you been well these years?" he asked the white crane.

The white crane chirped twice, as if in response.

Seeing this, Shuang'er was very surprised.

Last night, when the white crane flew away, Chen Changsheng felt he had forgotten something. At the time, he thought it was the black dragon at the bottom of the abandoned garden. Now he remembered that he should write a letter and ask the white crane to deliver it to Xu Yourong. Direct communication would be much better for many things.

Shuang'er had always played the role of a mediator between him and Xu Yourong, and he didn't like it.

After coming to the capital, Xu Yourong had only written him one personal letter, which contained only four words, very sparing with ink.

—Take care of yourself.

Chen Changsheng thought for a while with his pen, trying to come up with four words that were decisive, profound, and unique, to respond without losing face.

This was the first letter he had written to her since he was ten years old.

But in the end, he wrote a very simple letter, with ordinary words and ordinary content.

He didn't like to sulk with little girls.

Even if she was Xu Yourong, even if she was only three days younger than him, she was still a little girl.

Thousands of miles south of the capital was the Holy Maiden Peak.

Below the Holy Maiden Peak was a forbidden area, and only 300 miles away was a small town. The town was inhabited by ordinary people, with iron shops, wine shops, meat shops, and gambling shops. The gambling shops generally played pai gow and dice, but the deepest room in this gambling shop was simply decorated and had a table.

This table was for mahjong.

The player in the East seat was a beautiful young girl.

The girl was about 14 or 15 years old, with a face like a painting, eyes as black as ink, and a beauty that seemed otherworldly.

The three people at the table knew she was definitely not an ordinary person.

Two years ago, when the gambling shop owner tried to take advantage of her, who was younger and more timid, and easier to arouse criminal desires, he died a very惨痛的死。接替他位置的荷官正是此时坐在西首的中年大汉。

从那天起，每隔一段时间，这位少女就会来到小镇，打一场麻将，两昼夜不准下桌。

那间装饰朴素的房间，每隔几个月才开放一次，陪她打麻将的，始终是最初的三个人，从未换过。那三个人是普通人，真正的普通人，哪能想到会遇到这样不普通的事。

从最初的恐惧不安到砌牌不会手抖，他们用了很长时间，但到现在，他们已经可以很自然地与那位小仙女相处，在牌局中不会放水，而是真刀真枪地比划输赢，甚至有时候还敢抱怨几声。

能和这么漂亮的小仙女一起打牌，这是多大的福气？

而且有时候，真的能赢钱啊。

窗外传来一声鹤唳，少女说道：“今夜有事，不打了。”

三人很吃惊，心想发生了什么事，今次居然提前这么多就结束？两昼夜的规矩还要不要了？

少女取出几片金叶子放在桌上作为补偿，便转身离去。

三人面面相觑，其中一位妇人担心地说：“小娘子不知发生甚事情，看着兴致不是很高哩。”

小镇外的野山崖畔，徐有容从白鹤腿上解下那封信，随意拆开。

漫天星光下，纸张被照得很清楚，上面的语句寻常，笔迹干净，篇幅不长，她却看了很长时间。

在那些语句和字迹里，她看到了拘谨，却没有看到怨恨的情绪，甚至连一点负面的情绪都没有。

她很难想象，一个少年在京城经历了这么多难熬的日子后，还能如此平静。

换成她，她肯定做不到。

她记得他比自己只大三天。

她望向京城的方向，说道：“如果不是作伪，这个家伙不是君子，便是真人。”

白鹤引吭而鸣，明显不同意她的说法，这里的不同意，指的是作伪二字。

徐有容有些无奈，说道：“你为什么就喜欢那个家伙呢？我不记得他是个什么样的人，有什么值得你喜欢的。”

白鹤低鸣两声，提醒她先前关于君子和真人的说法。

“无论是君子还是圣人，都不是能相伴漫长修道岁月的人啊，那样会太无趣了。”

她看着白鹤说道：“我可不想过无趣的生活。”

白鹤微微偏颈，显得有些困惑，如果小姐你不想嫁给陈长生，为什么要写那封信，要在世人面前承认这门婚事？

徐有容没有解释什么，她自有想法，无论父母还是师长，教宗大人还是圣后娘娘，都不知道。

接着她打开霜儿的信开始看，然后她知道了昨夜青藤宴上发生的事情。

她微微挑眉，有些意外。

婚书既然已经昭告世间，那么至少可以平静一段时间吧？

只是那个家伙还真有些令人意外。

然后她看到霜儿转述的与陈长生之间的对话。

她背起双手，再次望向京城的方向，沉默了很长时间。

“我忽然想起来……十一岁的时候，我曾经偷偷写过一封信，让你带到西

白鹤细喙轻点，那是它最后一次去西宁，整个东御神将府里，没有人知道

“在那封信里我好像说过，我不会嫁给他。”

“他没有回信反对，那么，他现在又是在坚持什么呢？”

陈长生坚持的事情从来都不是这门婚事。除了西宁镇旧庙的师父与师兄，现在这个世界上，只有皇宫地底那条黑龙知道。当然，他不知道在池畔偶遇的那位中年妇人也知道。

为了那件事情，他甚至放弃了早睡早起的习惯，整个夜晚的时间，都被他用在冥想，用在引星光洗髓上，虽然看上去没有什么进展，但在最后那刻到来之前，他永远不会停下努力。

清晨时分，他在藏书馆里醒来。

如昨天一样，依然是被吵醒的。

国教学院前方，传来一声恐怖的巨响。

他推开藏书馆的门，和唐三十六、轩辕破走了过去。

国教学院的门破了。

国教学院被人破门。

整理好不足数月的院门，被一辆马车撞塌了。

满地石砾与木块，看着很是可怜。

一匹马倒在微湿的地面上，睁着无神的眼睛，四蹄微微蹬动。

烟尘渐散。

十余骑出现在国教学院门外。

鲜衣怒马。

马非凡种。

那些骑士眉宇冷漠，明显也不是普通人。

一名青年骑士，看着残破的院门，面无表情地说：“这破院子还有存在的必要吗？”

（晚了些，因为有些难写，晚了些，还是要祝大家七夕快乐。