The sound of flowing water in the moat never stops day and night.
On a clear night without any wind or rain, Deng Ying could almost hear the sound of it clashing with the city wall.
After returning from the Ministry of Justice, he wanted to lie down and take a nap for a while, but he couldn't fall asleep and didn't even want to change his clothes.
He sat quietly beside the couch, holding the only oil lamp in front of him with his hand.
“Knock, knock.”
There was a knock on the door. Deng Ying looked up and saw a thin figure flashing past the window screen.
Then he heard Yang Wan's voice, "Deng Ying, it's me."
Deng Ying gently picked up the mattress on the bed in his hands. He really wanted to see Yang Wan, but he didn't want to show too much meaningless sadness in front of her.
Fortunately, she only knocked on the door once and never urged him again.
There was silence inside and outside the door, and one or two lazy chirps of birds were heard from the roof.
It was getting late, the wind was getting stronger by the river, and the shadows of the weeping willows were dancing on the clear and cool surface of the river.
Cities in the 21st century are no different: concrete, bricks, and stones, with each living and breathing something between day and night.
"Deng Ying."
Yang Wan finally spoke, but her voice was hesitant, and the trembling at the end of the tone made it sound like a bunch of flickering flames, very warm but also restrained.
"Well... I'm a little unsure about what I should do now. If you think I shouldn't bother you, just tell me and I'll leave right away. If you don't think it's a bother, then I'll stand here for a while."
After she finished speaking, a mouthful of cold air rushed into her throat, which made it itchy for a moment. She couldn't help coughing several times, and her eyes and face turned red. She looked a little embarrassed for a moment.
She had no choice but to turn her back, bend down, lower her head, cover her mouth and nose, and try not to cough so loudly.
The door behind her opened immediately, and a piece of clothing was gently covered on Yang Wan's back.
Yang Wan raised her head and saw Deng Ying squatting in front of her with his knees half bent. He looked a little haggard after not seeing him for a few days, and that was only reflected in his eyes.
"I'll go get you a glass of water."
Yang Wan opened her mouth and nose, waved her hand and swallowed, "No, I was choked by the cold wind, I'll be fine after I recover."
As he spoke, he looked at the clothes on his body. Before he could say anything else, he said, "This one was made in the spring. Deng Ying has never worn it before."
After hearing this, Yang Wan smiled, straightened her collar, and stood up to help the door. "Who would care about someone as clean as you?"
When she mentioned the word "clean", Deng Ying didn't know how to respond and subconsciously took a step back.
Yang Wan asked, "What's wrong?"
"I came out of jail and I haven't had time to clean up yet."
Yang Wan tentatively pinched his sleeve, and seeing that Deng Ying did not dodge, she grasped his wrist through the fabric.
"Don't think like that. Everyone has been stuck in the mud. If you are afraid of getting dirty and refuse to see others, how cold the relationship between people will be, and how pitiful the person who crawls out of the mud will be."
After saying this, she raised her face and smiled. The brightness in her smile was very familiar to Deng Ying.
He tried very hard that day but couldn't pull himself out of the quagmire of self-blame and sadness. Fortunately, she came to pull him out, and even smiled at him despite the mud on his body.
"Li Yu said you haven't eaten for a day."
"Did you meet him?"
Yang Wan nodded, "Yeah, I think he's great to be with. He's young, doesn't understand your business, but he's kind-hearted."
After saying that, she turned and looked towards the moat. "You must be hungry. I'll cook some noodles for you."
After she finished speaking, she walked towards the river, but she did not let go of Deng Ying's hand. Deng Ying's ankle injury had not healed yet after being injured in prison. When he stepped on the stairs, it suddenly hurt. Although he did not stop, his feet paused. Yang Wan felt his pause and turned around to see him frowning and enduring the pain. She hurriedly asked, "Did you forget the injury on your leg? Does it hurt a lot?"
Deng Ying opened her eyes and shook her head, "I'll have to get used to it."
Yang Wan looked down at Deng Ying's ankle, "I wanted to cook the noodles and bring them to you, but... I don't know how to use Li Yu's stove..."
After she finished speaking, a blush crept up on her face unconsciously. She quickly raised her hands to hold down the flying hair around her ears and smiled self-deprecatingly.
"At first I thought I knew everything. As long as I was willing, there was nothing I couldn't learn here. In the end, I could only write a few words in the documents."
"It's okay. It's there."
Yang Wan raised her head and saw Deng Ying smiling at her. The smile was very faint, but it just right contained the embarrassment that Yang Wan was unwilling to admit at the moment.
"Under the big willow tree by the river."
She raised her other hand and pointed forward.
Deng Ying raised her head in the direction of her finger and said, "Then take me there."
"good."
**
Yang Wan led Deng Ying by the hand and walked past the rows of Silijian direct rooms. In order to accommodate Deng Ying's leg injury, she walked very slowly on purpose.
The person on night duty has not returned yet, and those who are not on duty are taking a nap during their free time.
The stars were sparse, the moon was clear, the wind was gentle, and everything was quiet.
Deng Ying didn't dare to get too close to Yang Wan, so he could only raise his arms as high as possible to create some distance between him and Yang Wan.
The pair of hibiscus jade pendants on Yang Wan's body tapped gently with her steps, which was very pleasant to the ears against the background of the sound of flowing water.
"Deng Ying."
She turned her back to him and called his name.
Deng Ying quickly responded, "Yeah."
“Do you still eat Daily Nuts?”
"there is none left."
"I'll bring you some tomorrow."
Without thinking, he responded gently. "Okay."
When Yang Wan heard the word "good", she couldn't help but smiled and shook his hand, "You don't refuse me now."
Deng Ying looked at Yang Wan's fingers holding his wrist, "I don't want to make you angry."
"What?"
"I don't want you to be mad at me."
Yang Wan knew the true sentimental meaning behind his words, but she didn't say it clearly, she just smiled and replied: "I'm not the kind of person who leaves when I'm angry."
After saying that, he turned around, still holding Deng Ying's hand, and said as he stepped back, "Let me first tell you, I only know how to cook one kind of noodles."
Deng Ying tilted her head slightly to help her look at the road behind her, "What noodles?"
"Yangchun noodles. Empress Ning taught me that."
"When did Concubine Ning... enter the palace?"
"I was... thirteen."
Deng Ying nodded and smiled, "It's been so long, no wonder the queen feels sorry for you."
"yes."
Yang Wan smiled and nodded at him. "After I entered the palace, the queen never said anything bad to me. Apart from you, the queen is the most gentle person to me. It's just that she has not been in good health recently and has been taking medicine. Your Highness is too young, and I was busy taking care of them before. I said several times that I would send you nuts, but I forgot."
As they were talking, the two of them had already reached the big weeping willow.
The eunuchs' living quarters did not have a separate small kitchen. Under the big willow tree was where Li Yu and his companions had their meals. There was still some burnt ashes on the ground that they had not yet remembered to clean up.
Yang Wan let go of Deng Ying, rolled up her skirt and squatted beside the stove. She lifted the dustpan on the stone and put it on her knees to make room for Deng Ying. "I tried for a long time but couldn't light it."
Deng Ying also squatted down, rolled up her sleeves and took the fire starter handed to her by Yang Wan.
Soon, the warm flames illuminated the faces of the two.
Yang Wan tried to stir the fire, but Deng Ying turned back and gently pressed down the long stick in her hand, "Be careful, this firewood is a little raw and it's easy to fly sparks."
Yang Wan quickly withdrew her hand and protected the noodles and vinegar in the dustpan. "You are very serious about everything you do."
Deng Ying took her stick of firewood, carefully turned the firewood in the stove, and replied in a gentle voice: "You too."
Yang Wan shook her head. "I'm not like that. I only put my heart into what I like to do. If I don't like doing something, I will always disappoint everyone. No matter where I am, many people in my family have been unhappy for me. So Deng Ying, you are really the best person I have ever met. No matter your conduct or personality, you are very good. So good that I can't understand why they treat you like that..."
After she finished speaking, she puffed out her cheeks and exhaled, then moved to the stove. "Okay, I'm going to come downstairs. You go sit for a while."
"good."
After hearing her words, Deng Ying sat down against the willow tree.
The water in the pot gradually began to boil, and white steam enveloped Yang Wan's face, blurring her delicate features.
What was inconsistent with her appearance was that she was obviously not a woman who was very good at cooking. She burned her hands and pinched her ears from time to time, but she was doing it very seriously. Deng Ying couldn't help but think that if it was as she had just said, cooking noodles for him should be something Yang Wan liked to do.
The aroma of the vegetable leaves in the noodle soup wafted out with the hot steam from the pot.
After a lot of trouble, Yang Wan finally came over carefully carrying two bowls of noodles.
"Be careful."
"Know."
She didn't even raise her head, "If this is overturned, I will be guilty of a heinous crime today."
Deng Ying laughed, "You can't say that."
Yang Wan squatted down and handed the noodles to Deng Ying, "Take a bite and see how salty it is."
Deng Ying lowered his head and took a bite. The noodles were very soft and filled his entire mouth with warmth. There was no complex taste, only the fragrance of the leaves and the fresh taste of lard mixed with chopped green onions, which soothed his internal organs.
“Mm, delicious.”
After listening to his comments, Yang Wan smiled and nodded continuously.
He also sat down next to Deng Ying, picked up the bowl, took two bites, and drank a sip of noodle soup before talking about what happened during the day.
"Today, I actually went to see Yang Lun secretly. He told me some things about you in the Ministry of Justice, but he didn't tell me everything. He said that if I wanted to know more specifically, I could ask you."
Deng Ying lowered her bowl and looked at Yang Wan, "I can tell you."
Yang Wan raised her head, looked at the cold light coming through the gaps in the tree canopy, and said softly, "Before I came here, I really wanted to ask you, but after I came here, I just wanted to eat a bowl of noodles with you."
She sniffed as she spoke, "If... in the future I can't help but ask you something you don't want to talk about, then don't tell me. You can even scold me."
Deng Ying said hurriedly: "I won't treat you like that."
Yang Wan turned her head and looked at him. "Listen to me first. During the days you were away, I kept wondering what would happen to you in the Ministry of Justice and how you could come back. I didn't expect that it would be Mr. Zhang who would do it in the end..."
She paused and said, "Actually, I don't want to ask about the process. I just want to tell you not to be too sad, and not to blame yourself too much. If you want to digest the final result by yourself, I won't do anything. But you have to eat, drink water, and don't hurt your body."
Deng Ying listened to her words, lowered her head and ate the noodles in the bowl mouthful by mouthful until she swallowed the last green leaf.
"It's not what you said. I really want to see you, but I swore to Zixi that if I had the slightest thought of you or disrespected you, you would let me be tortured to death."
When Yang Wan heard the word "Lingchi", her head suddenly exploded and the bowl in her hand almost fell to the ground.
History exists objectively, and Yang Wan is a fish that escapes the net among these objective existences.
However, when Deng Ying told her about his own ending, Yang Wan actually felt that she was not a fish that escaped the net, but was in the net.