Feng Yun felt a bit apprehensive before seeing her mother’s notes and letters, as Lady Tu’s hesitation had been so serious. She couldn’t help but let her thoughts run wild.
Afterward, only a knowing smile remained.
Her mother was soone who loved to record things and did so in a delicate, beautiful script. Her notes were very tidy.
This habit must have been maintained for many years, for her to have left behind so many handwritten texts at Tu Family Fort, the Lu Family, and the Feng Family, creating a precious treasure for them.
But during her ti at the fort, her mother seed much more lively and cheerful. Her notes often carried the tone of a young girl, including the occasional bit of pettiness and willfulness.
Her thoughts and musings were vivid on the page.
Feng Yun often felt that her mother was very much alive.
She was there in those books, seemingly jumping out at tis to stand with hands on her hips, guiding her...
"My mother is actually so adorable."
Lady Lu in her youth, as described within those pages, was a bit different from the mother Feng Yun rembered, and she read on with relish.
"Here, look at this, my lady..."
At the spot her finger pointed to, Lady Lu had written a remark full of emotion.
"Ni Rong has had her soul snatched away by a man, talking in her sleep at midnight, still calling out for the young Castle Master, made , a single dog, feel tingles from head to toe... Won’t sleep well tonight, won’t write tomorrow, too tired."
The next day, she wrote:
"I should write after all, otherwise, I’d just have to watch Rong Ni yearning for spring."
With a laugh from Feng Yun, Lady Tu’s face turned red.
"Tch, it’s because your mother never acted proper, always teasing ..."
Their youthful matters were a tangled ss.
Seeing Lady Tu’s shy appearance, Feng Yun seed to montarily travel back to her girlhood and suddenly asked with a laugh, "Did my mother have a man she liked?"
At the question, Lady Tu’s face suddenly fell.
She pushed a letter that Lady Lu had left behind when she left Tu Family Fort towards Feng Yun.
"You’ll know once you read it."
This was the reason for her earlier hesitation to show Feng Yun the letter.
In the letter, Lady Lu told Lady Tu with an easygoing tone that she had soone dear to her, soone she was passionately fond of.
Having spent three years on Tu Mountain without him coming to fetch her, she could no longer wait and was going to seek out her true love.
She also ntioned that she had originally planned to leave earlier but stayed just to drink to the wedding of Lady Tu and the Castle Master, to personally see her off to the bridal chamber, and to witness her happiness. She had waited until this day...
But all feasts must co to an end. Once she left Tu Mountain, she would not return, and she wished Lady Tu and Tu Boshan a life together till old age and to have children soon.
At the very end of the letter, she departed from her jesting tone and said solemnly that she was gradually rembering many things. Therefore, she had a destiny to fulfill, a mission to save all beings, and told Ni Rong not to seek her out...
"Back then, I was extrely worried about your mother. I suspected..." Lady Tu pointed to her head, "that maybe she was hallucinating after falling into the water. Maybe there was a problem here? The year she went up Tu Mountain, she was only twelve, a year younger than . Where would she have a romantic interest from? And what was that about a mission, about saving all beings... It scared out of my wits."
Feng Yun gave a slight smile.
Her mother did indeed speak differently from others.
But Feng Yun knew that in this regard, Lady Tu need not worry. Her mother was definitely normal, even more so than the average person.
As for the matter of a romantic interest...
Young love is always naive and simple...
Hadn’t she herself passionately admired Xiao Cheng as well?
But in the end, it all dissipates into nothingness.
Lady Tu sighed, "During that period before she left Tu Mountain, she wouldn’t venture out all day, often saying things I couldn’t understand..."
She sighed again.
"It’s also my fault for neglecting her while I was consud with wedding preparations. Tell , do you think your mother would bla ?"
"Not at all," Feng Yun replied. "Mother was always clear about what she wanted to do, uninfluenced by others."
In fact, during the countless tis she missed her mother, she would ask herself what kind of person her mother was.
Then, relying on her vague mories, she would conclude.
A good person, a capable person, soone with a great love for the world.
Otherwise, she would not have attracted the disaster that took her life...
"I miss your mother too." Lady Tu picked up the letter again and read through it, her frequent readings leaving mottled marks on it.
"I’ve really been apart from her for too long. I never thought that leaving Tu Mountain would be forever..."
"Over the years, I’ve often wondered where exactly she was, how her life was going, whether she was wed, whether she had children, if her husband and children were harmonious and well-behaved... I’ve thought of many things, but the one thing I never considered was that she had long since passed from this world."
As she spoke, Lady Tu began to choke up with emotion.
Feng Yun silently handed her a handkerchief, her own eyes moist.
"I miss mother too."
The room then fell into a quiet stillness.
After a good while, Lady Tu let out a sigh, speaking with a hint of hesitation:
"Over these years, I have often wondered who her beloved was. Since she left on the day after my wedding, I even suspected at tis..."
She glanced at Feng Yun, her voice dropping even lower.
"Could the man her heart cherished be... our Old Tu?"
Feng Yun was startled.
That was sothing she had never considered.
In terms of looks, Tu Boshan was far from comparing with Feng Jingteng.
But when it ca to character and responsibility, Feng Jingteng couldn’t hold a candle to Tu Boshan.
It was difficult for Feng Yun to guess whether her fifteen- or sixteen-year-old mother could have been emotionally stirred and fallen for the young and promising castle master, but because the man was liked by her best friend, she restrained her emotions until she left...
Nothing could be discerned from the notes.
And the letters were completely devoid of any hint.
However, Lady Tu’s speculation was not entirely baseless.
Looking at the notes that Feng Yun had brought from the Feng Family, Lu Sanniang had never shown any of the emotions toward Feng Jingteng that she wrote about in the letters...
The man who delighted her heart so passionately was not Feng Jingteng, there must be soone else.
Looking at the old, yellowed letters and facing Lady Tu who shared the sa doubts, Feng Yun also felt a trace of curiosity...
Who was the man in the letters?
-
Feng Yun returned to her room under the starlight; Pei Jue had already gone to bed.
A dim light was left on in the room, casting on his handso features, still so neatly arranged, like an ink painting on rice paper, clouds and mist winding, captivating.
Feng Yun’s heart stirred slightly.
She lowered her head, lifted her hand, wanting to touch his eyelashes.
But she stopped halfway, and the fluttering of her heart passed in an instant...
She had co in from outside, carrying a chill, and without disturbing him, she directly washed up, changed clothes, and saw the neatly arranged ledgers on the table when she returned.
She yawned, put the ledgers away in the drawer, and then picked up Pei Jue’s robe draped over the citrus tree. She had intended to nd it, but instead, a small bottle fell out and rolled to the ground.
She bent down to pick it up and inspect it.
There were no labels; she did not know what kind of dicine it was.
Her brows furrowed as she looked toward Pei Jue.
Was he feeling unwell sowhere?
Strong as an ox, why would he need dicine?
Feng Yun placed the small bottle on the wooden case in a conspicuous spot, then quietly climbed into the inner part of the bed, careful not to disturb him. Pei Jue usually was extrely alert, waking at the slightest noise, but tonight he showed no response.
Lying on her side, Feng Yun propped her head on her hand and watched him for a mont; as sleepiness overca her, she lay down and fell asleep.
When she woke up the next day, Pei Jue was not beside her.
The small bottle on the wooden table was also not in its original place; it seed he had taken it away.
Feng Yun pondered for a mont and decided to find an opportunity to ask Puyang Jiu.
-
December 8th, auspicious for weddings.
Perhaps heaven was gracing the occasion, for on the morning of Ao Qi’s wedding, the sun revealed its red face as soon as she got out of bed.
As close relatives, Feng Yun and Pei Jue would go to the Ao Residence a bit earlier to help Pei Yao with the preparations. Tu Boshan and his wife had agreed to et with Chunyu Yan and go together to the evening banquet.
Feng Yun had soone load the gifts to be sent to the Ao Family into a cart, and after waiting a long while for Pei Jue, she turned to go to the kitchen.
The servants had just set the breakfast table when Pei Jue entered the yard, carrying the Biyong Sword, his head covered in sweat despite the cold weather.
Seeing Xiaoman give her a look, Feng Yun prepared a warm, clean towel and brought it over to him, smiling. "Just in ti for breakfast."
Pei Jue glanced at it, "I’ll just wash with cold water."
With that, he turned and headed back to his room.
Feng Yun watched his upright figure, feeling a slight startle in her heart.
Which nerve had he twitched this ti?
Could it be that he was annoyed that she had returned too late last night?
The couple had breakfast alone, sitting opposite each other. Feng Yun took special note of Pei Jue’s expression.
He was quiet, but seed calm, showing no signs of anger.
An unfathomable man...
She decided she wanted to test him.
"My lord," Feng Yun reached out and touched the back of Pei Jue’s hand, frowning slightly, "Do you feel discomfort anywhere on your body?"
Pei Jue looked up, sensing her mood, and his deanor relaxed a bit as he shook his head.
"I’m fine. Let’s eat," he said, his voice no different from usual. Feng Yun paused for a mont before saying, "I saw you had a dicine pill on you last night..."
She stopped briefly, then pretended to be troubled.
"If you have so incurable disease, you should tell sooner so I can be prepared..."
"Feng Yun," Pei Jue called her by her full na, his face sour, "Are you hoping for to die early so you can remarry?"
"Tsk tsk..."
This sort of sarcastic remark was not quite like Pei Jue to say.
Feng Yun didn’t et his knife-sharp gaze. She leisurely received the hot towel passed by Xiaoman, wiped the corner of her mouth, her eyes sparkling, her smile gentle.
"Let’s finish eating, my husband. We must not keep your elder sister waiting."
User Comments
0 comments from readers