Looking to the Thirteen Rivers

The setting sun fell to the top of the mountain, and the sky was filled with burning clouds, as if someone had splashed colorful thick ink on it.

Yin Qiu walked up the mountain path, and his clothes were dyed red in the beautiful sunlight. The winter jasmine flowers like stars were climbing on the palace wall. A few familiar female disciples came across. Yin Qiu folded flower branches and gave them to them, and asked: "Senior sisters, have a good holiday. Have you seen my uncle?"

"No, we just came from that end, and I didn't see my uncle going there."

Yin Qiu looked behind them, hesitating whether to go forward, a female disciple joked: "It's strange, in the past, if we were looking for the uncle, we only needed to find you, but today it's the other way around, and the sister also You want to ask where our uncle has gone?"

The female disciples covered their mouths and laughed.

Yin Qiu also laughed and said, "It's not surprising. I don't stay with my uncle all the time. I have things to do, and she also has things to do."

"Why not all the time?" said the female disciple, "In my opinion, the uncle and sister are just like the winter jasmine."

Yin Qiu frowned, and asked humbly, "What about this flower?"

The female disciple's eyes were narrow, and she teased: "The uncle is a vine, and the sister is a flower. You two are entangled, and neither of you can do without the other!"

Yin Qiu was taken aback by her comparison, and for a long time couldn't think of how to reply. Seeing that she was silent, with embarrassment on her face, the senior sisters couldn't help laughing and teased Yin Qiu even more.

"Why, junior sister can't listen to such words, are you still shy?"

"That's a good way to say it. We've been in the palace for so many years, and you're the only one who can make my uncle willing to be the 'flower guardian'! I'm so envious!"

"Junior Sister, don't you know? The group of disciples newly transferred to Jingyue Peak used to work with the few of us. During these days, I have heard them talk about you and Uncle Senior. Now that Junior Sister is here, you Why don't you tell us in person? We don't know how my uncle treats people in private, so I'm curious!"

Yin Qiu's face was reddish, half amused and half helpless: "What's 'Huahuashi'? Don't talk nonsense."

"It's nonsense, do you really think it hasn't been spread in the palace yet? Xiaoqiu, there is something I wanted to tell you a long time ago, do you want to listen to it now?"

Yin Qiu said, "What are you talking about?"

The female disciple exchanged glances with her companions, and finally took a few steps closer to Yin Qiu, and said mysteriously: "What I want to say is——you and your uncle are really a perfect match!"

Yin Qiu opened his eyes wide, with a surprised expression, and hastily stretched out his hand to cover her mouth, and said in a low voice, "I don't feel ashamed to say such a thing! Stop it!"

A few female disciples wanted to tease her, they leaned forward and back from laughing, and ran away one after another.

"We won't be ashamed, junior sister is thin-skinned, so I can't listen to such words."

"Why can't I hear it? It's because the person who said it was wrong. If it was my uncle who said it, I'm afraid I'd be able to hear it!"

"That's right, let's go! Let's go find the uncle together!"

Yin Qiu had no choice but to find a crack in the ground and jump in to hide.The senior sisters of the partial students refused to let her go, they could speak eloquently when they opened their mouths, and their voices were louder, as if they were afraid that others would not hear them, Yin Qiu was so choked that he was speechless, so he could only chase after their figures and start a fight.

Several people chased each other in the sunset, and then went back to the palace along the mountain road. The senior sisters ran ahead, and kept turning their heads and laughing at Yin Qiu.

Yin Qiu wasn't angry at all, he just wanted them to shut up quickly so as not to attract more senior sisters to join in the fun.There was a fragrance of flowers in the evening wind, and a sweet and greasy smell that came from nowhere, it smelled like freshly brewed glutinous rice balls, the female disciple from before said: "Oh, it smells so fragrant! Xiaoqiu, you I have always loved sweets, today is the Lantern Festival, why didn’t my uncle accompany you to watch the lanterns? It looks like there will be an excellent moon tonight, the so-called moonlight before the flowers, hurry up and find my uncle to eat candy with you! "

Yin Qiu finally seized the opportunity, flew over, grabbed the female disciple from behind, and complained: "Don't make fun of me, so many of you bully me, what kind of heroes are you!"

The female disciple was joking and unserious, and said in a good manner: "Who told you to be good at kung fu, we can't beat you, so we can only bully you verbally. If it really doesn't work, you go and complain to the uncle!"

Yin Qiu was about to reply, "Just go!", when she heard a voice behind her rush ahead of her and said, "What's the complaint? Tell me."

They all paused for a while, and hurriedly turned their heads back, only to see the river full of snow, covered by clumps of flowers and branches, coming in steps, dressed in frosty white clothes dancing with the wind, tall and light, like a bright moonlight, It is eye-catching.

Yin Qiu immediately withdrew his hand and moved away from the female disciple. The senior sisters were taken aback at first, and then looked Yin Qiu and Man Jiangxue back and forth for a while, without saying a word, just ran away laughing Far.

Seeing them fleeing so fast, Yin Qiu subconsciously ran towards the other side. Seeing this, Man Jiangxue raised her eyebrows and called out, "Why are you running?"

Yin Qiu ignored her, left Man Jiangxue behind, and got into the colorful sea of ​​lights alone, without even looking back.

Man Jiangxue stared at her back, looked at Yin Qiu for a while, then soared into the air without making a sound, and landed in front of Yin Qiu, barely blocking her way.Man Jiangxue asked again: "Why are you running?"

The blush on Yin Qiu's face was still there, and surrounded by the lights, her skin was fair and lustrous, and her eyes reflected various lanterns, like a mountain lake with stars falling, she looked delicate, bright, and gentle people.Man Jiangxue took him into her arms and said: "You are not with Bai Ling and the others, and you ran here alone. You should have come here to find me, but why did you run away when you saw me?"

Yin Qiufang was just acting subconsciously, even she herself didn't know why she ran away.The jokes of the senior sisters have not been forgotten, Yin Qiu looked up at Man Jiangxue, couldn't hold back a "puchi" laugh, and said: "I want to invite you to guess the lantern riddles, now I will give you a question, if you answer it correctly Now, I'll share my candy with you."

Man Jiangxue said: "I don't want to eat, I want something else."

Yin Qiu said, "What do you want?"

Man Jiangxue lowered her head, touched Yin Qiu's nose and said, "Every time I answer a question correctly, you give me a kiss."

Yin Qiu thought for a while, and replied: "That's fine, then listen carefully." She took a step back and left Man Jiangxue's arms, "The first question is a simple one—flying on the grass, guess a word."

Man Jiangxue said: "This is too simple, do you think I have never been to school?" With a smile in her eyes, she replied, "It's early."

Yin Qiu smiled and said, "Why is it so early? It's almost dark, why did my uncle say goodbye to me early?"

Man Jiangxue laughed lowly: "You are sophistry, you are teasing me, anyway, I have answered correctly, you have to keep your word."

Yin Qiu looked at her, and without being shy, moved up to Man Jiangxue and touched her lips lightly.

Man Jiangxue said: "Very good, you keep your word, and children can be taught."

"The next question is not so simple." Yin Qiu thought for a while, and then continued, "Half warm, half cold, half circle and half curved, looking north is white, looking south is black. What is this word?"

Without hesitation, Man Jiangxue said: "This is also simple, it is a clear word."

Seeing her answering so quickly, Yin Qiu couldn't help but pretending: "No, I owe you first, I still have a lot of questions, why don't Master answer first, and then give you another answer after I finish asking?"

Man Jiangxue said softly: "What do you say can't be done? Just ask."

Yin Qiu showed a smile, shook his head and said, "It was the bleak season when the leaves fell, but the spring breeze turned the river bank green. Who would have thought that the solitary smoke would rise overnight, and the peach blossoms would be endless in spring." She finished reading, looked at Man Jiangxue for a moment, and said, "Let's guess. One word."

Man Jiangxue lowered her brows and looked like she was thinking about it on the surface, but she already had the answer in her heart.In fact, she doesn't need to listen to the last three lines of this poem, she can already guess the answer to Yin Qiu's riddle just by listening to the first line.Man Jiangxue deliberately delayed for a while before replying: "This is indeed more difficult, I really don't know."

Yin Qiu smiled immediately, and said, "Is there something my uncle doesn't know? I don't believe it. Are you letting me go on purpose?"

Man Jiangxue smiled without saying a word.

"I'm not someone who can't afford to lose," Yin Qiu said, "If you can guess it, tell me quickly. It doesn't matter if you can't guess anything else, but you have to guess this question correctly."

Man Jiangxue said "oh", and said, "Since you said that, then fine." She tapped Yin Qiu's eyebrows with her fingertips, and said, "I guess, the answer to the mystery is you."

The one who answered the question correctly was obviously not Yin Qiu, but she was happier than Man Jiangxue.Yin Qiu wandered his eyes, looked left and right, saw that the place was quiet and no one was passing by, so he tiptoed and kissed Man Jiangxue twice, and said, "How about it, I will do what I say?"

Man Jiangxue was very satisfied, and hugged Yin Qiu into her arms without any hassle, and said, "Then I'll give you one too, and if you guessed it, I'll kiss you too."

Yin Qiu thought that she would not suffer from such a kiss, and said happily, "Master, please tell me, I will listen with all my ears."

Man Jiangxue then said: "After the rain, the setting sun reflects on the Hengshan Mountain, and it seems like flowers are flying in the blue sky. I have traveled thousands of miles in the world, and I can make dew soup at my fingertips." She smiled slightly, "I can guess a word for this too."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yin Qiu said: "Uncle Shi underestimates me too much, this riddle is no more difficult than mine."

Man Jiangxue said: "I followed your example, so we can be called evenly matched."

"It's evenly matched, you praised me and yourself," Yin Qiu shook his head and chuckled, and imitated Man Jiangxue's previous movement, raised his hand and nodded between her eyebrows, "Master uncle guessed me just now, Then I will guess you now, am I smart or not?"

Man Jiangxue was very face-saving, and said seriously: "Insanely smart."

Yin Qiu pursed the corners of his lips, stood up straight, folded his hands behind his back and said, "Then it's time for the uncle to kiss me."

Man Jiangxue was holding her, but Yin Qiu stood so straight and didn't intend to raise his head. Man Jiangxue said, "It's hard for me to kiss you like this."

Yin Qiu said: "Why is it difficult to kiss? Just now I can stand on tiptoe to kiss you, why can't you bend down to kiss me?"

"Is this my problem?" Man Jiangxue said solemnly, "It doesn't seem to be my problem."

"It's my problem," Yin Qiu also said with a righteous face, "I know, but I want to be like this."

Man Jiangxue was completely amused by her, so she cooperated with Yin Qiu and leaned down, tilting her head and kissing her.Yin Qiu was about to make a comment, but Man Jiangxue suddenly reached out and lifted her up again. The two kissed in a dimly lit place. Yin Qiu was worried that others would see her, and felt that it was too blatant. Man Jiangxue's lips As soon as he left, Yin Qiu hurriedly said: "Okay, okay, let me down quickly."

"Eat more, eat less sugar, you are too thin," Man Jiangxue said, "How can you still not gain weight during the Chinese New Year? You are like a cat."

Yin Qiu said: "If you get fat, you won't be able to hold me anymore. By the way, uncle, where did you go? We are discussing with the head of the Mingguang Palace, why don't you come?"

Man Jiangxue took a look at her, and took Yin Qiu's hand to walk among the lanterns.Man Jiangxue said: "I went to Wenxin Peak to find Meng Jing, and I have something to confirm."

Yin Qiu asked, "What's the matter?"

Man Jiangxue pretended to be mysterious and said: "I can't tell you this, I have to keep it secret first."

Yin Qiu couldn't help but said angrily: "It's Meng Jing again, and you want to keep it a secret, how many things have you two been hiding from me?"

Man Jiangxue said: "Not many, just two."

"Two are not too many?" Yin Qiu said, "I'm worried about Fu Xiang right now. Now that Meng Wugui has got Mingyue Tower, I don't know what she will do next, and I don't know where the real culprit who killed my mother will be. How to continue to deal with her. At such a tense moment, my uncle actually ran to discuss something else with Meng Jing, and didn't tell me."

The sky has already darkened, and the sunset glow at the top of the west mountain is gradually fading, as if it has turned into a wisp of mist that will be blown away by the wind.Man Jiangxue slowed down her pace, adding a bit of solemnity when Yin Qiu's voice fell, she said: "I didn't keep these things in mind, on the contrary, I went to Meng Jing today to find out Something suspicious. But I'm not sure yet, so I can't tell you for the time being, lest you become suspicious and lose your sense of control. As for Fu Xiang, you don't have to worry about her, you should worry about yourself first."

When Yin Qiu heard this, he asked doubtfully, "Myself?"

"Meng Wugui wants to deal with Yunhua Palace, and Fu Xiang will follow her when she becomes the landlord," Man Jiangxue said calmly, "That is to say, you and Fu Xiang will meet each other sooner or later."

Yin Qiu was taken aback.

She had analyzed the situation with Lu Huaiwei in the Mingguang Palace earlier, and she had talked about all aspects, but she didn't think of this level.

Yin Qiu was silent for a moment, and frowned slightly: "This... I really never thought of it."

Man Jiangxue patted her head to comfort her: "If Meng Wugui wants to lead people to attack our Yunhua in the near future, then Fu Xiang will definitely listen to her orders. Although I don't know if she will hurt the disciples in the palace, But if she really comes, the two of you will stand on opposite sides."

Yin Qiu faltered and stopped.

The bright light was dazzling, and Man Jiangxue blocked Yin Qiu's glare. She didn't want to say more, but she still asked, "If that day really comes, do you know what to do?"

Yin Qiu lowered his head, and sighed after a long while: "Since the fate is arranged in this way, we must face each other face-to-face, so we can only face it calmly," she said, looking up at Man Jiangxue, "Guardian Shimen, this is the duty of every Yunhua disciple, and we are obliged to do so." After saying this, he smiled wryly, "Speaking of which, Fu Xiang is my good friend, and Meng Wugui is my aunt. They are not worth mentioning, but they will not stop for me, and I will not abandon my school for them."

Man Jiangxue showed relief, her eyes showed admiration, she didn't want the conversation between the two to become serious, so she teased Yin Qiu and said: "Well, it sounds like that now, but don't worry about it when things come to an end. I was in a panic and didn't know what to do."

After hearing her words, Yin Qiu's complexion improved a lot.Yin Qiu said: "Don't be afraid even if you panic, isn't there still my uncle with me?" Then he said, "If it were the past, I would indeed have a difficult choice, but last time I heard Meng Jing's words in the Medical Pavilion , I felt a lot, and benefited a lot. She told me not to be too kind, and to grasp the scale in everything. After listening to it, I reflected on myself a lot, and felt that Meng Jing's words were very reasonable. Don't worry, uncle, the overall situation Now, I know how to measure."

Man Jiangxue said: "Everyone can be a teacher. She is better than you. You can really learn from her."

Yin Qiu nodded, and smiled again: "Tomorrow, my uncle will accompany me to Shangyuan City, and I will go to Lianhua Street to find the gouache shop that Shen Shaoxia mentioned, and see if there is anything there. good news."

Man Jiangxue said: "Okay," she paused, and then reminded, "Speaking of Meng Jing, I saw her looking bad today and coughing up blood, you might as well go see her when you have time."

"Coughing up blood again?" Yin Qiu sighed softly, "Her heart disease is a big trouble, and it can't be cured. I haven't seen her flourishing since the beginning of winter last year. I have to ask Elder Xu after returning to the palace tomorrow. , Let’s see how Meng Jing’s body is. She has no relatives and doesn’t have many friends, thanks to my uncle’s suggestion, I should care more about her.”

Man Jiangxue smiled and asked, "Now, do you want to continue guessing lantern riddles?"

Yin Qiu smiled and said, "Yes!"

The author has something to say: The riddle of Flying on the Grass was written down by playing guessing games with my parents when I was a child, and it is marked here as a reference from the Encyclopedia of Riddles.