Looking to the Thirteen Rivers

After the cloud and rain, the two were lingering and tender for a long time, and fell asleep together in the quilt until nightfall.Later, Bai Ling came to knock on the door, and stood in the porch to report the progress of what he had done in the afternoon. Ji Wanshu listened intently through the door, and when Bai Ling left, she went back again. , holding Wen Zhaoyu in his arms and continued to sleep until dawn the next day.

Knowing that Ji Wanshu was exhausted these days, none of her disciples rashly came to disturb her good sleep, but Bai Ling came again early in the morning, and still stood outside the door and said, "Is senior sister awake? Senior uncle?" Let me come over and tell you that she is leaving for a few days."

Wen Zhaoyu was still asleep, but when he heard the movement, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and he turned over.Ji Wanshu tucked in the quilt for her, put on his coat and opened the door, and asked, "Where is Uncle Master going?"

Bai Ling shook his head: "I didn't say anything, but Jingyue Peak received a carrier pigeon yesterday evening. I think it should be a letter from Xiaoqiu. The uncle may be on the road ahead of time to pick her up."

Ji Wan responded, then turned her head to look at Wen Chaoyu who was sleeping soundly, and said, "Then I'll go and have a look."

Bai Ling followed her down the steps, left the courtyard together, and went to the stables to help Man Jiangxue with a carriage.When she arrived, she saw a familiar figure in that place, squatting on the flowerbed with a frowning expression, and seemed to be in a bad mood.

"It's so early in the morning, what are you doing here?" Bai Ling walked forward, curiously.

Duan Ning was waving his long whip, his right hand was still hung in front of his chest by a bandage. Hearing this, he looked up at Bai Ling, and said, "Come pick up a carriage, and I'm ready to go home."

Bai Ling looked at her: "Your hands are still not healed, why don't you take care of her for two more days before leaving?"

Duan Ning was depressed, bored and did not speak.

In the blink of an eye, she had also stayed in Yunhua Palace for more than half a month. During this period, she had been living in the guest room to recuperate from her injuries. Although it was only a dislocation, a hundred days of injury would not heal quickly.

"If I hadn't considered that if I came home injured, my father would definitely be nagging me, otherwise I would have left long ago." Duan Ning sighed and jumped off the flowerbed, "But I can't stay with you all the time. Eat and drink, it's time to go."

"What are you talking about? You are a distinguished guest in our palace," Bai Ling said. "If it weren't for your good horses, Senior Sister Ji and Uncle Wen would not have been able to come back from Jinhuai City so quickly. , you also helped the uncle in the tunnel, that's why you got this injury. You have helped us so much, and we should treat you nicely, how can there be any talk of eating and drinking?"

The morning sun is just beginning to appear in the sky, and there are few floating clouds in the blue sky. It looks like it will be another sunny day.Duan Ning didn't bring her own change of clothes. When she came to the palace, she put on the uniform of Yunhua Palace's disciples. Luxurious, wearing this white and plain student uniform at the moment, it seems that she is extraordinarily fresh and refined, less of the publicity of the past, and more of a rare beauty and dignity.

The sun was falling, and it cast around the two of them like a thin mist. Duan Ning changed from his previous high-spirited performance, and became rather dull.She sighed again, and said: "You are all so busy, and no one will play with me. I am bored. I should go home, anyway, sooner or later."

In fact, Bai Ling felt ashamed of her because of this incident. Recently, there have been a lot of big and small things in the palace. The disciples all have their own affairs to be busy, and Bai Ling didn't have time to come and see her. .Bai Ling smiled and said, "What's the rush? I was still talking about you with Senior Sister Ji two days ago. After this time is over, if you want to go to the palace to learn from a teacher, she will make the decision for you. Besides, your injury is not healed. , I didn’t bring any guards with me this time, how can we rest assured if you want to go home alone.”

Duan Ning waved his hand, and said in a calm tone: "Forget it, I have thought a lot in the past half a month. I won't come to your Yunhua anymore. My father is only my daughter. This family has a big career. If I enter the Jianghu sect, No one will take over the big business of our Duan family. Everyone has their own destiny. I am destined not to enter the rivers and lakes. Dao, I won’t be greedy for fun in the future.”

"What's the matter with you?" Bai Ling looked her over from head to toe, and said in amazement, "It's only been half a month, it's like a different person, I never thought you were so sensible before, why did you suddenly Have you realized it?"

Duan Ning was silent for a while, then suddenly asked: "Do you have someone you like?"

Bai Ling paused, and thought for a while: "No," he said knowingly with a smile, and said "Oh" in a drawn-out tone, "I said, it turned out to be trapped by love, who did you fall in love with?"

Duan Ning didn't answer, but asked instead: "You don't have anyone you like? You can't, there are so many of you in Yunhua, and there are many men and women who are both internally and externally good-looking, so you haven't thought about anyone?"

Bai Ling said: "Where do I have the time to talk about love, and I have to take care of Liuli Peak, and I have to help Senior Sister Ji and the others. There are a lot of complicated and trivial things. It would be nice to have a leisurely day and be lazy. to think about those things.”

Duan Ning looked at her with complicated eyes, and said old-fashionedly: "That has nothing to do with you, you won't understand."

"There's nothing I can't understand. If I want to drink, I don't have to know how to make wine." Bai Ling was very interested, and bumped Duan Ning with his elbow. "Who is it? Let me listen, maybe I can To make plans for you?"

Duan Ning was bored in this place, and there was no one to chat with her to relieve the boredom, so when he saw this, he said calmly: "Well, it's Meng Jing."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ling was shocked, and stammered, "Ah...? Meng, Meng Jing?"

"Don't make a fuss after I told you, okay?" Duan Ning was a little impatient, and sat down by the flower table again.

"Would anyone make a fuss?" Bai Ling looked around and saw no one passing by, so he asked again, "You haven't met him a few times, and you don't have any deep contact with him. Are you in love with Meng Jing?"

Duan Ning waved the whip, leaving marks on the ground. She lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Who knows, maybe this is where the love is written in the book? I haven't completely fallen into it yet, even if I can't help thinking about her in my heart, I think about her during the day and at night, and I feel like I'm going to be dazed."

Hearing what she said, Bai Ling frowned, hesitantly said: "But Meng Jing..."

"I know, she told me," Duan Ning looked at the ground, his gaze was slightly distorted, "I not only know that she likes Yin Qiu, but also that she doesn't have a long life, she won't live long."

Bai Ling sighed softly: "That's difficult. It's not good for you to like someone, why do you like him? I didn't mean him to be mean, but..."

"That's why I'm worried." Duan Ning put away the whip and stood up, "Forget it, let's not talk about this, please prepare a carriage for me, I will leave today."

Knowing this, Bai Ling couldn't persuade him anymore, and asked, "It's decided? Do you really want to leave today?"

"Well, it's decided," Duan Ning said, "I will leave sooner or later."

Bai Ling looked at her, nodded and said, "Well, my uncle will go down the mountain later, her injuries are still not healed, and she can't ride a horse by herself, so I have to go with her. Cangzhou happens to be in the same direction as Yao Dingcheng. You Just set off with us, so we can have someone to take care of us on the way."

Duan Ning nodded: "Thank you very much."

"Go and say goodbye to Meng Jing while it's still early," Bai Ling said, "I'll send someone to call you later."

Duan Ning hesitated for a moment, but still answered "Yes".

After the fierce battle in Shangyuan City, many disciples in the palace were killed and injured. Since then, Meng Jing basically stayed in the medical pavilion and did not go to Wenxin Peak.She was so busy that she had no time to take care of others, Duan Ning lived here for more than half a month, seeing Meng Jing very rarely.

In the beginning, Duan Ning could go to her cheekily, and at the same time, enthusiastically took the initiative to do something for her, but there were many patients in the medical pavilion, and there were many things to do. Duan Ning had only others to serve her since she was a child. Without her serving others, how could she do such things as taking care of others?In addition, she was careless and careless, and she didn't help much after going there for two days, but on the contrary, she caused a lot of trouble for Meng Jing.

Although Meng Jing never blamed her, and she didn't even show her a bad face, but the other disciples couldn't help it, if it wasn't for the fact that Duan Ning had a lot of kindness in Yunhua Palace, the disciples would They had kicked her out a long time ago, but despite this, they couldn't restrain their dislike and impatience in their speech and demeanor.Duan Ning is not stupid, she naturally knew that she was doing more harm than good and annoying others, so she didn't go to the medical court very often these days.

At first Meng Jing would specially ask someone to invite her to dinner, but later Meng Jing herself was too busy to touch the ground, so she couldn't care about Duan Ning.Duan Ning wanted to see her again, but was afraid of burdening her, and Meng Jing's attitude towards her seemed to be the same as usual, but Duan Ning could see that she was gradually distanced from him. This made Duan Ning even more uninterested and ran to the medical court. He would either sleep in the guest room all day, or walk around alone.

All kinds of signs indicated that she couldn't stay in Yunhua Palace, nor could she blend in, so she should really go.

It was still early at this moment, and the inside of the medical hall was clean, except for the medical disciples, there were hardly any other figures to be seen.Duan Ning lingered at the door for several times, hesitating, and finally entered inside with a sigh. Meng Jing was in the pharmacy, cooking soup with a few brothers to be distributed later.Duan Ning looked at her from a distance in the corridor for a while, and after thinking for a while, he didn't continue to go in, but turned and left without saying a word.

But before she had gone far, Meng Jing suddenly called her from behind, "Miss Duan."

Duan Ning paused, turned her head, and Meng Jing was standing on the steps. She was dressed in a light blue pine robe, making her look beautiful, like a magnolia plant in a spring night, extraordinarily elegant and elegant.

"I was going to find you," Meng Jing said when the two met in the yard, "Since you're here, follow me in and sit down. I'll take a look at your injuries."

Duan Ning was stupefied, and replied: "Oh."

After entering the room, Meng Jing ordered his brothers to step back for now, Duan Ning picked a chair and sat on it, Meng Jing first asked: "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Duan Ning didn't use it yet, but he replied with mixed feelings: "It does."

Meng Jing glanced at her and said, "If it's useless, it's useless. Why are you lying? I haven't had time to eat it yet, let's eat it together."

As she spoke, she opened the food box on the table, and the first dish she took out was a plate of cold shrimp balls.Duan Ning smelled the fragrance, and his stomach growled twice. Meng Jing seemed to have never heard of it, and didn't even look at Duan Ning, but Duan Ning felt extremely embarrassed, so he had to ask: "How do you know that I No breakfast?"

Meng Jing added porridge to her, handed her bamboo chopsticks, and said in a low voice: "You look lively and lively on weekdays, but in fact your spleen and stomach are not very good. If you don't eat, your lips will turn pale. When you came here a few mornings ago , the complexion looks good, but today is not very good, so I guess you didn't eat."

Duan Ning knew about the matter of having a bad spleen and stomach. It was caused by picky eaters since she was a child. If she didn’t have her favorite food, she would rather starve to death than eat it. Mao Jinxing was dizzy, Meng Jing had checked her pulse before, and it should have come out at that time.

After Duan Ning heard her words, for some reason, she was scratching her head for a moment. She was not used to her left hand, so she held the chopsticks for a while but didn't take a bite, so Meng Jing handed her another spoon.Duan Ning looked at the spoon, then at his favorite cold shrimp balls, and finally gave up eating, said: "Forget it, I won't eat, I'm not very hungry." After saying this, he stood up, "I came to let you know Say goodbye, and I'll be leaving later."

Hearing this, Meng Jing was neither surprised nor persuaded to stay, she just said: "Sit down, it won't be too late to leave after I see your injury."

Duan Ning remained silent, watching her quietly.

Seen from her point of view, Meng Jing is sitting upright, with a thin figure, neat black hair, and a bit of natural coolness in her warm and jade-like eyebrows, one can imagine that if she smiles, she will As warm as the spring breeze, if her face is slightly cold, it is as cold as winter snow.

Whether she laughs or not, it's two people.

Duan Ning was calm on the surface, but his heart became more and more troubled, and he was a little restless and disturbed, so he stood at the door and blew on the cold wind to calm himself down.After Meng Jing finished her meal, she turned back again. Meng Jing looked at her injury, lifted her collar, first massaged her with medicinal oil to promote blood circulation, gave her two needles, and then applied some ointment, saying : "The swelling has subsided, nothing serious, the bandage can be removed in two days."

Duan Ning broke into a cold sweat from the pain, but he didn't yell like before. Meng Jing cleaned his hands, called the retreating brothers in, and said as he walked, "Okay, I'll see you off."

The yard is full of peach blossoms, and when the wind blows, the sky is full of flowers and rain.Duan Ning didn't like reading in the past, especially hated memorizing poems, but at this moment, he was infected by the beautiful scenery in front of him, and felt that it was poetic and picturesque.She wanted to recite a few lines of poetry, but she didn't have much ink in her stomach. After searching her brain for a long time, she couldn't think of a line of poetry that suited the situation.So Duan Ning said madly: "I'm going to die, I must be sick!"

Meng Jing didn't speak yet, but a senior brother behind him said with a smile: "His hands are still hanging, isn't it just sick?"

Seeing that the last step was about to be stepped down, Duan Ning turned around quickly and grabbed Meng Jing's shoulders, and pressed her against the pillar in front of several senior brothers.Duan Ning stepped on the fence and asked extremely domineeringly: "I can't take it anymore! Let me ask you, are you going to be nice to me or not!"

Unexpectedly, Meng Jing hurt her back from the bump, and looked at Duan Ning without saying a word.

"Don't be a mother-in-law!" Duan Ning said fiercely, "Just a word, don't talk to me so much! I, Duan Ning, am not good enough for you or something!"

Several brothers and sisters stood in the room silently, looking at each other.

Meng Jing's complexion did not change, and said lightly: "I am not good enough for you."

"Fart you!" Duan Ning became angry and shouted at the top of his voice, "Whether you deserve it or not is up to me. If I say you deserve it, you deserve it!"

Meng Jing was speechless and could only sigh.

"Miss Duan, I have already explained to you what I should say. Maybe you don't care about my background or my dying life, but I can't do that. Besides, if two people want to be together, they need to be like-minded. , a heart-to-heart relationship, and the approval and support of your family is required, even though the above can be put aside for the time being, but you want to make a private decision with me for life, how do you explain to Master Duan?"

Duan Ning said: "There is nothing to explain, I want to marry someone, I have to choose my husband and son-in-law, if he likes him, he will marry himself, even if the king of heaven comes, he can't control me!"

Meng Jing said: "But if I promise you, I can't be responsible to you, and I can't accompany you for the rest of my life. This life is so long, and I don't have much time left, which will delay you."

"Ten years is enough," Duan Ning said, "I'll remarry after you die, what's the big deal. Anyway, I like you now, and I just want to be with you. Yin Qiu already belongs to someone else, and you want her too. I can't think about it, even if there are others who like you, they will definitely not be willing to marry you. No one wants to be a widow. Although my words are ugly, they are true. You can stay with me for as long as you want, and you don't care about it Well? You’re dead when you die, and you shouldn’t be in charge of the future, what are you worrying about?”

Meng Jing was in a trance for a while, and was speechless by her straightforwardness and courage.

"Anyway, all I know is that people should enjoy themselves while they are alive, and don't leave regrets," Duan Ning let go of Meng Jing, and returned to his usual cheerfulness, "If you don't want to, forget it, I won't force you. This No one in the world can achieve what they want completely, so there is nothing to be ashamed of not being able to ask for it. At least I have not flinched. I have fought for it time and time again. If it brings you trouble , I apologize to you from here. But if you change your mind one day, or want to go through a marriage before dying of illness, send this thing to my house. "

She took a bead flower from her hair and stuffed it into Meng Jing's hand.

"As long as you are willing, the remaining ten years will not only be you with me, but I can also be with you. I'm done with this, and then it's up to you to choose." Duan Ning took a few steps back, hurriedly descending the stairs, He turned his head and showed a hearty smile, and said happily, "But let me remind you one last thing, after passing this village, there will be no such shop, so think twice!"

Meng Jing held the pearl flower in her hands and leaned against the pillar without moving.

Duan Ning strode out of the courtyard and quickly disappeared from sight.

"Junior brother... I think what the young lady said makes sense, why don't you think about it?"

"Yeah, this girl is a little bit hot-tempered, but she's actually not bad at heart. To be honest, she's much more open-minded and transparent than many others, so she's a good match for you."

"When people come to this world, at least they have to have a marriage. Don't ask for grandeur, but for a long stream of water and respect for each other. Master was worried about your marriage two years ago. Now that there is a girl who likes you, it's a good thing." Ah, think about it for yourself?"

The rain of flowers came and went, covering the tips of her hair, Meng Jing looked down at the pearl flower in her palm, and frowned slightly.

After a long time, she sighed inaudibly and said: "Okay, let me think about it..."

Here, Duan Ning left the medical pavilion, his steps were brisk along the way, his mood turned from cloudy to sunny, and the previous gloomy clouds were dispelled in an instant.There were two carriages parked at the gate of the palace, and Ji Wanshu and Wen Chaoyu were standing there talking with Man Jiangxue. Bai Ling saw Duan Ning's figure from a distance, and after meeting her, he asked her, "I just want someone to call you Well, have you said goodbye to Meng Jing?"

Duan Ning nodded, jumped into the carriage behind and sat in first.Ji Wanshu glanced at the sky, handed the prepared package to Bai Ling, and said to Man Jiangxue, "Uncle Master's injury has not healed, it's best to walk slowly on this journey, don't get tired."

Man Jiangxue gave a "hmm", and seeing Wen Chaoyu leaning sleepily on Ji Wanshu's body, she subconsciously looked at the two of them a few more times.Sensing that the meaning in her eyes was somewhat unclear, Wen Zhaoyu asked suspiciously, "What are you looking at?"

Man Jiangxue withdrew her gaze, made a gesture to go to the carriage, and said, "It's nothing."

Wen Chaoyu looked at her back and shouted: "You are just pretending to be serious, but in reality you are bored, why can't you just speak up?"

Man Jiangxue turned his face expressionlessly, raised his chin at her, and said, "Both of you don't like to use rouge and gouache, but Xiaoqiu has two boxes, and I'll bring them to Shen Xingdian later to cover them up." cover."

"Cover it?" Wen Chaoyu was confused, "...to cover what?"

Ji Wanshu also felt baffled, turned his head to look, only to find that there were red marks all over Wen Chaoyu's neck.I didn't notice it before, the mountain wind at the gate of the palace blows Wen Chaoyu's hair back, and the bite marks are very clear.

Ji Wanshu's eyelids twitched, and he grabbed Wen Zhaoyu's collar and lifted it up. Seeing her move, Wen Chaoyu immediately understood.

"...Go early and come back early," Wen Chaoyu sullenly looked at Man Jiangxue as if nothing happened, "I won't send you down the mountain."

Man Jiangxue got into the carriage calmly, without saying a word, Bai Ling flew off the horse, nodded to Ji Wanshu and Wen Chaoyu, and led his disciples down the mountain path.

Although Cangzhou and Yao Dingcheng are in the same direction, it is not very smooth, but because of Duan Ning, Bai Ling still asked for Man Jiangxue's consent, and sent her back to Yao Dingcheng after taking an extra day's detour .

A few days later, the carriage stopped at the gate of the city. Duan Ning had already removed the bandages, thanked Man Jiang Xue, Bai Ling and others, and then entered the city alone to go to Duan's house.

During her absence, she did not forget to deliver a letter to her family. The guards at the door were overjoyed when they saw Duan Ning came back, and they greeted her with care and concern.

Duan Ning responded one by one, and was about to go to Master Duan to say hello, but just after entering the door, he heard someone behind him and asked, "Excuse me, may I ask, is this the Duan family's mansion?"

"Exactly. I don't know why your Excellency came here?" A young boy said.

The man smiled, and ordered his subordinates to bring a carved wooden box, and said: "I am a disciple of the Nine Immortals Hall, and I am here to disturb you by the order of the hall master. This is what my hall master told you to give to your lady." , I hope you will pass it on for me.”

After Duan Ning heard this, he immediately withdrew his steps and went out again, saying: "I am here, what is it?"

The man bowed, handed the wooden box to her, and said, "Miss Duan will know it at a glance."

Duan Ning winked, and the servant beside him hurriedly took the wooden box, opened it, and found a brand new and exquisite bow inside.

The bow is like a crescent moon, the silver light is cold, the shape is beautiful, and the color is shiny.The bowstring is like a shooting star, tight and straight, with a touch of elegance and nobility in its simplicity.There are also a dozen or so arrows in the box, which are slender and sharp, with a beautiful cold light--the bow is good, and the arrow is good.

Duan Ning was stunned for a moment, his breathing froze for an instant, and he was stunned in place on the spot.

"This is made by the famous mechanism master of our Nine Immortals Hall," the man said with a smile, "it is a treasure that can't be bought outside, Miss Duan is lucky to have it, please cherish it more, don't waste it. "

Immediately, the spring rainy night was replayed before my eyes. The two people who met for the first time talked and laughed happily in the garden, competed in archery, and hit it off right away.

"I like your bow, why don't you sell me?"

"This is not acceptable. If you really want it, I will ask Master to ask someone to make another one for you."

"That's fine too!"

……

There was a burst of unspeakable pain in his heart, Duan Ning stroked the bow and arrow lightly, and sporadic tears gradually welled up in his eyes.

"Got it," she closed her eyes and sighed deeply, "thank you."