"I really don't know why you become so talkative when you see Mr. Qi. You are always like this when you are with me. Am I really not as likable as Mr. Qi?"
Zi Jin still did not comment and just smiled and evaded the question.
"I heard from Mr. Qi last time that you could actually beat him, so why not play with me?" Xia Yue didn't even bother to hear whether he agreed or not. As she spoke, she went to get the chessboard and chess box, set them up one by one, and ordered her brother to light up all the lights in the house.
Just after sitting down and playing for a few games, Xia Yue stared at Zi Jin, suddenly blinked and said, "Now that I think about it, what Zhaohong said does make sense." She was referring to what Zhaohong said about the two of them being alike.
Zi Jin's hand was originally placed in the wisteria box, gently touching the smooth surface of the glass chess pieces. Hearing Xia Yue's words, a slightly complicated expression flashed across his gentle face.
He lowered his head and said calmly, "How can I compare to you, sir?" He was not good at talking, and once he said more, he would pause for a moment, think for a moment, and then continue, "Do you remember the first time you saw sir playing chess, Yue'er?"
Xia Yue put a black dot in her hand to her lips: "Why don't you remember?"
That was the first time that Daddy invited Qi An to our home and begged him to take Zi Jin as his disciple.
When she and her mother returned home and walked around the garden, she saw her father playing chess with a young man in the pavilion. The young man was about twenty years old, and his immaturity made it hard to believe that he was Qi An, the most famous scholar in the East.
However, all doubts disappeared the moment he placed his piece on the bluestone chessboard.
The straight back, the determined eyes, and the elegant and confident posture when he dropped the whisk made her feel calm in an instant.
Then he looked at Zi Jin, who was standing respectfully beside the chessboard, just like himself.
Such a plain-looking man, yet his every move makes people feel that he is so handsome.
Zi Jin fiddled with the chess pieces in the box, and there was a "rustling" sound.
"Later, the teacher knew that I couldn't hear him, so he stood up, took a pen and paper, and wrote a sentence to ask me."
"What?"
Xia Yue was slightly surprised. It was the first time she heard this. She thought it must have happened after she left.
"What is the way of the world?" Zi Jin answered.
Xia Yue sneered: "Why are you asking such an old-fashioned question to a child?"
I don’t know if Zi Jin noticed what Xia Yue said. He dropped the chess piece on the table and said nothing more.
The wind died down, and with it came the sound of rain falling on the roof tiles. At first there was a rhythmic, crisp sound, and gradually the raindrops became denser and denser, turning into a roar.
He smelled a damp scent: "Is it raining?"
"yes."
Zi Jin stood up and walked to the window, pushed it open, and the fresh scent of spring earth hit him in the face. He took a deep breath with joy.
Xia Yue propped up her chin and felt a little sleepy: "How did you know I would tease you just now?"
He naturally didn't hear it, so Xia Yue covered the lampshade of a lamp, and the light suddenly dimmed. He turned around in confusion and looked at Xia Yue. She let go of the lampshade and repeated the words again. Zi Jin smiled and said, "Who else is there in this family besides you, and you have..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence.
The lights around Xia Yue were very bright. He didn't notice her under the lights just now, but now looking at her from the darkness here, Xia Yue was only wearing a tight gauze dress. The candlelight shone through, making her figure vaguely visible.
"Do I smell something?" Xia Yue raised her sleeve and sniffed.
When she raised her hand, the curve of her breasts became more obvious.
Zijin blushed and turned away: "Why did you run out without even putting on your clothes?"
"Aren't I just in a hurry?" Xia Yue said as she stood up and prepared to go back to the house to get it.
Zi Jin said, "You sit down, I'll get it." Then he picked up a lamp and strode out of the room, so fast that he almost ran out of the door.
After a while he came back with the clothes.
At that time, Xia Yue had already fallen asleep on the table. There was no way to leave it alone, so Zi Jin had to pick her up, gently put her on the bed, and tuck her in. Turning around, he saw that the black and white pieces on the chessboard had been scattered by her sleeping posture, and occasionally some of them fell to the ground. He leaned over to pick them up, put them back into the box one by one, and then took a book from the bookshelf and sat back at the table.
Early in the morning, Master Min asked He Xiang to find the two of them and said that a famous doctor happened to be passing by Jinluo, so he asked Chu Zhong from the mansion to lead the siblings to seek medical treatment.
The old man named Liu Bing was checking the patient's pulse with one hand and twisting the few remaining whiskers on his chin with the other. After a long while, he asked, "Isn't this ear disease something you brought from your mother's womb?"
"Yes, the young master caught a cold when he was nine years old and lost his hearing after a high fever." Chu Zhong nodded beside him.
"Nine years old? No wonder he can make it sound so reasonable. But it must have taken a lot of thought." Liu Bing continued to twirl his beard and nodded.
"It's all thanks to my wife and master's patience and hard work." Chu Zhong replied.
Old Man Liu glanced at Chu Zhong unhappily, puffed his beard and said awkwardly: "Is it you who is diagnosing the disease or him? Can't he answer it himself?"
Chu Zhong's face suddenly turned red and he looked at Zi Jin awkwardly.
Xia Yue pursed her lips and tried to hold back her smile: "You old doctor, you are so tricky. No matter who gives you the answer, it's the same. I examined you for a long time, and you only have one question: Can I cure you or not?"
Liu Bing squinted at Xia Yue and said with a stern face, "I think you are more cunning. How can you explain the root cause of the disease that has lasted for so many years? This disease... can be cured and cannot be cured."
Xia Yue immediately felt some hope and asked hurriedly, "What do you mean?"
"It means that I can't cure it. But I have an uncle who is proficient in acupuncture with silver needles. Acupuncture is the most appropriate for this young man's illness. And I have seen him cure this kind of disease before. But..."
"But what? No matter how much the consultation fee is or how far the place is, we can still invite you." Xia Yue said anxiously.
"This is not a question of distance or nobility. My uncle's surname is Li, and his given name is Ji. If you were in the Imperial Capital, you would have heard of his name a long time ago. He has a different career path from me. He was born into an official family, and now he is the director of the Imperial Hospital. If you can invite him, he can treat the disease."
After hearing this, none of the three spoke.
After a moment, Chu Zhong actually sighed.
How could the imperial doctors in the palace have the opportunity to treat them, not to mention—
The light in Xia Yue's heart that was once again lit with a faint glow suddenly went out.
three
It's raining.
She loves to stay in bed the most in this kind of weather.
It was Jinluo's voice again in the early morning.
The tofu vendors shouted in rhyme, the stone mill in the backyard made noises, and the autumn rain tinkled on the tiles...
She could still hear it faintly in her dreams.
I don't know when I started to dislike these sounds.
During the Yongqing period of Emperor Jingzong, the imperial examinations were abolished due to opposition from some aristocrats. My father studied hard for many years but his knowledge was not very useful. Later, by chance, he became a retainer at the mansion of the former emperor, and was recommended to be an official in Canghuang, where he met my mother. After she could remember, my father was transferred back to the capital and became an official of some importance.
As her father wandered around, she always felt that she was a very strange person. In the Imperial Capital, because her mother's family was a merchant, she was always looked down upon and had very little contact with other people. So she hated the Imperial Capital, hated the talk and cunning faces of those mercenaries.
So when he learned that his father suddenly resigned from his official position and was going to Jinluo, he was extremely excited.
But I still don't fit in in Jinluo.
The Jinluo dialect that she had worked hard to learn had a distinct Imperial Beijing accent, which often drew surprised looks from others.
After seeing so much of the misty and ethereal water town scenery, I began to miss the scenery of the capital.
The majestic and vast mountains that rise into the sky.
That cold and snowy winter.
The extremely splendid and luxurious street restaurants.
And then there is the sea.
During the New Year holidays when the government was closed, her father took her to see the Weilu Fairy Sea, located east of the capital.
The sea in the north is gray in winter, and the fierce waves beat against the inky black rocks.
They collide with each other and never give up for thousands of years.
The water of Jinluo, the lake of Jinluo, and the people here are all like wandering in a narrow water tank, and can never experience the majesty and strength of the sea. Sometimes she would wonder if there would be such a man in the capital, like Weilu Hai, who was resolute, tall, and unruly.
When her father first met someone, he would claim to be from Jinluo. Every time she heard this, she would be startled. So, where should she be considered to be from, Jinluo or Dijing
Occasionally, she would tell her brother about her feelings about Dijing, and Zijin would always say calmly, "I don't remember much about Dijing."
Maybe he didn't forget, he just didn't want to recall it anymore.
Everyone has a place in their heart that they don't want others to reach, maybe dark or soft. For example, for her, it is the blue-gray sea of the imperial capital that she saw when she was young, and for Zijin
Zijin grew up to be modest, gentle, polite, and tactful, just as she and her mother had hoped. Zijin grew up to be a beautiful boy according to her preferences.
She loved the sounds of stringed instruments, so she asked him to learn to play the piano and the flute.
She loves chess and drags him into it.
L…
The sound of rain on the roof was getting heavier.
Someone else came into the room, whispering something.
She frowned in displeasure at the noise, her eyelids still too heavy to open.
A familiar hand felt the temperature of her forehead.
"It's much better than last night." He Xiang whispered.
Zijin nodded and took his hand back: "Then ask Doctor Zhang to come and take a look and see if there are any additions or subtractions to the original prescription."
He was sitting on the edge of the bed and could not hear any noise outside. However, when He Xiang went out with the prescription as instructed, she brought in some moist earthy smell as soon as she opened the door. His nose told him that the rain must be getting heavier again.
For a moment, they were the only two left in the room.
Xia Yue was sleeping on the bed, her breathing was much faster than usual, and she was occasionally mumbling in her sleep. I had just tucked her in, and her arms were restlessly exposed again.
He smiled helplessly, really not knowing who was the younger brother and who was the older sister. He had no choice but to put her hands back into the quilt for her. As soon as he leaned over and lowered his head, his hair slid down from his shoulders and gently brushed against Xia Yue's face.
She seemed to feel itchy, and in her sleep she grabbed those strands of black hair in her hands and never let go.
Zi Jin's head froze in mid-air, and for a moment his face was very close to her.
Seeing her red face from a night of fever, and the faint fragrance lingering in his nose, he had been so close to her before, but for some reason, his heart suddenly started beating wildly at this moment.
Those shy lips were tempting something in his heart, so he couldn't help but reach out his hand and stroke her lips with his fingertips, his eyes confused and hot, and then leaned down little by little.
Suddenly, Xia Yue mumbled restlessly in her dream, with her lips slightly parted, and the shape of her mouth seemed to be calling "brother".
younger brother.
Zi Jin suddenly woke up, as if he was burned, and stood up abruptly and fled from Xia Yue's boudoir. He didn't care about the rain, nor did he care about Chu Zhong calling him from behind. He ran away from Min's house and walked to the lake outside the city. After his heartbeat gradually calmed down, he felt the hair that was forcibly pulled out of Xia Yue's hands, and it was painful.
The surface of Jinluo Lake became even more hazy because of the drizzling rain.
It seems like something has awakened quietly...
Zi Jin, who was at a loss at the time, did not notice He Xiang, who was hiding in the corner outside the door, holding medicine, and was extremely surprised to see all this.
She opened her mouth in shock for a long time.
When she came to her senses and carried the medicine into the room, Xia Yue had already woken up. She was sitting on the bed in a single layer of clothes, her eyes still confused after the high fever. She patted her groggy head and said, "I vaguely heard you talking to Zijin. Where is he?"
"The young master... he... went out for something." He Xiang endured it, but ultimately did not tell Xia Yue the truth.
Things seemed to have passed peacefully.
But for several days in a row, Zi Jin deliberately avoided Xia Yue.
The awkwardness between the brother and sister did not last long as it was disrupted by another incident.
That day, Qi An was in Cuiwei Tower, and he was inspired by the Jinluo Prefecture official who booked Changyuan for ten days to please his concubine. He wrote an article in one go, and the tea in the cup was not even cold before he finished the article. Every word was brilliant and every sentence was incisive, and he criticized Wang Kui's character and official performance for many years.
Wang Kui became furious and ordered his men to capture Qi An, intending to get rid of him as soon as possible.
However, Qi An was a well-known scholar and a talented person. The prefecture recommended him to teach at the Imperial College several times, but he refused to leave. Wang Kui had no choice but to temporarily detain him.
During this period, a group of Confucian scholars had been dealing with the provincial government.
Qi An's temper also got worse and he refused to give in.
Wang Kui was embarrassed because two of his sentences criticized the administration of the dynasty, saying something like "If the imperial examination is not restored, the country will perish." Wang Kui had the evidence and wanted to execute Qi An for the crime of disrespect for discussing state affairs.
Somehow this article reached the ears of the emperor. It is said that the emperor smiled suddenly and said, "If the officials in my court do not have such tolerance, they are unworthy of being my ministers." He neither pursued the crime of Qi An for mocking the court nor urged the Censorate to thoroughly investigate Wang Kui. He just laughed the matter off with a few words.
When Wang Kui learned of the hadith, he released Qi An that night and sent a sedan chair carried by eight people to send him home.
"As a result, not only can Wang Kui not do anything to Mr. Qi, he also has to serve him well. If something goes wrong at home and the court gets involved, he will be in trouble." Xia Yue giggled.
"I'm glad that Mr. Qi is okay." Zi Jin said.
Thinking of the article, Xia Yue couldn't help but praise it: "Mr. Qi really has the unyielding pride of a scholar."
Zi Jin was fine at first, but when he heard Xia Yue's words, his eyes suddenly dimmed.
A few days later, Xia Yue met Qi An on the road and bowed to him.
Qi An looked at Xia Yue's expression and felt that she seemed to have something to say, so he said, "I just got some new Mingqian tea from a friend. Miss Min, would you like to come to my humble house to taste it?"
After Xia Yue agreed, she sent He Xiang to deliver her father's medicine back first.
Under the thatched hut, the autumn breeze blows gently.
Xia Yue asked, "Mr. Qi, when you saw Zi Jin recently, did you feel that he was unhappy?" Her eyes were concerned and worried.
"Not bad. He has always been the most obedient and sensible one."
"Oh. So what did I do to irritate him?" Xia Yue frowned and muttered to herself.
Suddenly, Qi'an's book boy, who was weeding under the grape vines, interrupted and said, "Mr. Min is usually the most tolerant person. He will never get angry no matter what happens."
"Tolerance?" Qi An was somewhat emotional when he heard the word, "How can a teenager understand what tolerance is? He must have experienced great suffering and sorrow in the past."
Xia Yue glanced at Qi An after hearing this, and then said with some envy: "No wonder Zi Jin admires you the most. He even refused to accept my random boasting."
"What did Miss Min say?"
So Xia Yue told the story of how Zi Jin walked away in anger because of discussing Qi An's article that day.
"Maybe it's not because of the person the girl is praising, but because the words came from her mouth?" He said this hesitantly.
Xia Yue was stunned: "Don't I praise him often? Why are you so stingy?"
When I was going home alone, I happened to see Zi Jin practicing breathing exercises according to the instructions of Chu Qin and Chu Zhong.
She smiled as soon as she saw Zi Jin, and then she simply sat down on a stone bench and looked at him.
Zi Jin was practicing well on his own, but when he saw Xia Yue staring at him and smiling so hard that it made his back creep up, and besides, the two of them hadn't spoken to each other for several days, so her behavior seemed odd to him, and his movements became increasingly stiff.
"Alas - even the monkeys performing acrobatics at the Wu family at the corner of the street can draw better than you." She took the opportunity to say something when he looked in her direction, lest he pretend not to know again.
Zi Jin looked slightly embarrassed, but continued to practice.
Xia Yue walked over to interrupt him: "Don't ignore me in the future."
"Yue'er you..." Zi Jin was slightly stunned. Every time they quarreled, he had to give in because he couldn't bear it. This time, she actually took the initiative to talk to him to break the deadlock.
"After listening to Mr. Qi, I decided to forgive you."
Mr. Qi
When Zi Jin heard these three words, he lowered his eyes and said rather melancholy, "I'll go change my clothes." He took a few steps back and left.
The atmosphere between the siblings grew cold again.