After the discussion between the two seniors and sisters stopped, they did not sit any longer, got up after meeting, and were preparing to part ways. Just at this moment, the corner door of Su's house suddenly opened again, and swayingly lifted out a small sedan chair lined with blue cloth. Qin Banruo recognized that it was the sedan chair that Mei Changsu often used to go out, and with a move in his heart, he immediately followed behind. The fourth sister was indifferent by nature, and she was not interested in superfluous matters at all. Qin Banruo didn't call her, she didn't make a sound, and left quietly by herself.
Originally, Qin Banruo thought that the reason why Mei Changsu came out from the corner door of the backyard was of course to cover up her whereabouts, but after following a full two streets, she had to confirm that the reason why they went through the back door was because it was relatively close to Nanyue Gate. will detour.
After going out of Nanyue Gate, the pedestrians were not like in the city. Qin Banruo was tired first, and secondly, she was not a master of martial arts. When the people around her were sparse, she didn't dare to continue to follow her, so she had to stop and watch The sedan car went away.
Of course, Qin Banruo didn't know that Mei Changsu didn't go too far after leaving the city. The group only walked about two miles along the southward avenue, and stopped at the Xiema Pavilion on a small slope, and got off the sedan chair. Enter the booth. The entourage placed wine and tea in the pavilion, and Mei Changsu sat leisurely on the stone bench, took the scroll and leaned against the pavilion bar to slowly flip through it.
About half an hour later, a cloud of smoke rose from the direction of the city gate. Li Gang, who was accompanying him, saw it first and called out "Sect Master". Mei Changsu stood up and looked at it from a distance, because the distance was still far away, and vaguely saw two people riding, one in front and one behind, half a horse's body away, rushing towards this side.
Li Gang's eyesight was better. When Mei Changsu was still trying to identify whether the visitor was the person he was waiting for, he had already confirmed it clearly, and said in a low voice, "Sect Master, it's the two of them."
Mei Changsu snorted and didn't say anything, but Li Gang had already understood, and immediately left the pavilion and came to the side of the avenue. The two horses ran closer and closer, and their eyes became clearer, but it seemed that Li Gang had not noticed for the time being. He was about to raise his arm to beckon to attract the attention of the visitor, but the man in front of him suddenly stopped and turned his horse's head to look around.
But his actions soon had an explanation. After Feichen, the third cavalry quickly chased after him, and the man on the horse chased back and shouted, "Jing Rui! Jing Rui, wait a minute!"
At this time, another person accompanying Xiao Jingrui seemed to be in a hurry and shouted: "Big brother, let's go quickly."
Xiao Jingrui raised his left hand and made a soothing gesture, not only did not leave, but turned over and dismounted.
"Big brother!" Yu Wennian called out again in a trembling voice.
"Niannian," Xiao Jingrui smiled lightly at her, "that's my friend, he called me, I heard it too, how can I ignore it?"
"But...you promise..."
"Don't worry, I promise to go back with you to visit him, and I will definitely go. This is not an escape. My friend is here to see him off. What are you afraid of?"
Just between these two or three sentences, Yan Yujin had rushed to the front, and he looked like he was in the dust, and his clothes were not as fresh as the sun. After getting off the horse, he rushed straight to Xiao Jingrui, grabbed his arm and asked, "Jing Rui, where are you going?"
Xiao Jingrui answered without concealment: "Yingdu, the Great Chu."
"Jing Rui!"
"Niannian received a letter. Her father is seriously ill and wants to... want to see me... My mother also allows it, so it makes sense, I should go and visit."
Yan Yujin originally came to keep him, but when he heard this reason, he didn't say anything, and the hand holding Xiao Jingrui's arm loosened involuntarily. But after staying for a while, he was worried, and asked again: "Then will you come back?"
Xiao Jingrui lowered his eyes, "Mother is still there, there is no reason to never come back."
The tone of his words was light, but Yujin felt sad when he heard it in his ears. It's just that Xiao Jingrui can still keep calm, but it doesn't make sense for him to get excited, so he pursed his lips to stabilize his emotions, and it took a long time to say: "Jing Rui, after that day, I've been wanting to chat with you, but the timing is always wrong. Since you are leaving now, you must say what you need to say. Jing Rui, you really shouldn't pay too much attention to some things. After all, it has already passed. It is the grudge of the previous life, and it has nothing to do with you... "
"Okay Yujin," Xiao Jingrui interrupted him in a low voice, "Needless to say, I know what you mean. It's just... You can't say that it has nothing to do with me. My father, my mother, my brothers and sisters, this is The relationship that has been cut and cut, not to mention years of family affection, years of kindness, all of this... It doesn't mean that if the truth is revealed, it can be torn open and kidnapped... "
"Jing Rui..."
"I understand that you are trying to persuade me to open up a little bit. You want me to be the same Xiao Jingrui I used to be. But Yujin, I really can't do this. For me, in just one night, everything around me is completely different. Since everything has changed, how can I remain the same? So whether I like it or not, Xiao Jingrui is no longer the Xiao Jingrui of the past, and I can only disappoint you."
Yan Yujin took a deep breath, took a step forward, grabbed Xiao Jingrui's shoulders with both hands, shook it vigorously, and said word by word, "Yes, I do hope you are the same as you were before. But since you do No, it doesn't matter. We grew up together, anyway, you have been changing, from a chubby little dwarf to a tall and handsome now; from being quiet and reticent to talking, to being able to follow Xie Bi Let's spit my trough together. I don't mind if you continue to change, anyway, no matter how you change, you are still my unique friend, and our friendship will not change! So listen to me, no matter where you go Where, you must remember my friend, if you dare to forget, I will never forgive you, do you understand?"
When he said the last sentence, his voice was a little hoarse, and the circles around his eyes were already red. The hand that was pressing on Xiao Jingrui's shoulder was so strong that it hurt his fingers. His words were not long, but no one would doubt the sincerity, calmness and warmth contained in them. Xiao Jingrui lowered his head, his eyes were a little wet, and even Yu Wennian, who was watching, couldn't help turning his face away, and quietly wiped the corners of his eyes with his fingertips.
"Okay, now you can go wherever you want, anyway, you used to run everywhere, but it's a little far away, you have to take care." Yan Yujin took a breath and took a step back, "It's alright, Remember to write to me."
Xiao Jingrui hummed and raised his head. The two stared at each other and tried to smile in unison, but under the smiles on each other's faces, what they saw were sadness that could not be concealed and undiluted.
Because the two young people knew in their hearts that they would not see each other again after this separation.
Once the mourning period of the Empress Dowager is over, even Princess Liyang will leave Beijing to go to her own fiefdom. Even if Xiao Jingrui returns to Liang, it will be difficult for him to step on the land of God Capital again.
The two of them have similar backgrounds, similar ages, and similar temperaments. They thought they could stay in this relationship forever. They thought they would have similar life trajectories.
Even as optimistic as Yujin said, he couldn't help but feel at a loss at this time.
"Brother, shall we go?" Yu Wennian rubbed his red eyes and walked over, pulling his brother's sleeve.
Xiao Jingrui and Yan Yujin raised their arms at the same time and hugged tightly.
"Get on your horse, I'll watch you go. The road needs to be small..." Yan Yujin said his last goodbye words with a smile, but his voice suddenly stopped, his eyes fell somewhere behind Xiao Jingrui, his expression was a little strange.
Xiao Jingrui noticed it immediately, turned around and followed his line of sight, only to see Li Gang standing on the side of the road with a straight waist ten meters away, when he saw him turning back, he immediately raised his finger to the hillside beside him.
In fact, Xiao Jingrui already knew who he would see before he raised his head with Li Gang's guidance, so he hesitated for a moment, but after a while, he raised his eyes calmly.
Above the banpo pavilion, Mei Changsu stood leaning against the railing, the mountain breeze was full of sleeves. Although he could not see the subtle expressions on his face because of the distance, the posture clearly showed that he was here specifically to wait for Xiao Jingrui.
"Jing Rui..." Yan Yujin called out with some worry.
Xiao Jingrui calmed down, turned his head and said indifferently, "He is probably here to see him off, so let me say a few words in the past."
"I'll accompany you..." The blurted words stopped after half a sentence. As clever as Yujin, he naturally understands that some knots must be solved by the parties themselves, not others can intervene, so in the end, he just took a few steps back and said no more.
Yu Wennian didn't know the former friendship between Xiao Jingrui and Mei Changsu at first, so he couldn't figure out the situation. He was going forward to ask a few questions, but Yan Yujin grabbed him and pulled him back. Xiao Jingrui was already striding forward. Walking towards the pavilion, although his face was slightly pale, his demeanor and pace were very steady.
"Please take a seat." Mei Changsu smiled slightly, picked up the silver pot on the stone table, filled a glass of sake, and handed it over, "This is a long way to go, a glass of wine, I wish you a safe journey."
Xiao Jingrui took the wine glass, drank it with his head up, wiped the wine stains from the corners of his lips, returned the glass to the table, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Su, for coming to see you off. I'll leave now."
Mei Changsu watched the young man turn around and waited until he reached the edge of the pavilion and asked softly, "Jing Rui, why don't you hate me?"
Xiao Jingrui was silent for a moment, then turned around to look directly at him, and replied, "What can I hate you for? My mother's past was not caused by you; my birth was not arranged by you, thank you... Thank you. Hou's injustices were done by himself, not by your instigation and planning... You and I both understand that what actually makes me feel extremely painful is the truth itself, not the hand that uncovers the truth. What happened back then had nothing to do with you, and I wouldn't be ridiculous enough to take anger at you and make you responsible for the wrong things done by others."
"However, I had the ability to keep the truth covered up, but I let it explode, and it exploded so intensely, without considering your feelings or the friendship between you and me. There should be more or less complaints, right?"
Xiao Jingrui shook his head and smiled miserably: "To be honest, I used to feel sad when you did this. But I'm not a self-righteous child after all, and I know that people always have choices. You took what you thought was important and abandoned me, It's just your choice. I can't hate you because you didn't choose me, after all... You don't have the responsibility and obligation to put me first, even if I once hoped that, I can't force it."
"I really don't have to put you first, but since you and I met, you have always been sincere to me. For this, I owe you."
"The reason why I treat you with sincerity is because I want to do it. If I can get the same sincerity, of course I am happy, if not, I have nothing to regret."
Mei Changsu's eyes were sullen, but he still had a smile on his face: "Although you don't regret it, it is impossible for you and me to be friends again after all."
Xiao Jingrui lowered his head and remained silent. Since the two met, he has always admired Mei Changsu's talent and bearing, regarded him as a good teacher and a good friend, and carefully maintained that friendship. But I didn't expect that step by step, I would reach the point where I can no longer be friends like today.
In fact, if you seriously count the cause and effect, apart from some knots in the heart, there is no deep blood feud between the two that cannot be wiped away. But after so many things, Xiao Jingrui has deeply felt that what Yan Yujin said before was right. He and Mei Changsu are not from the same world at all. There is too much inequality between them, and they lack the basis for becoming friends. .
No hate, no resentment, it is already their best ending.
Maybe in the future, growth can bring about changes, and maybe in the future, there will be unexpected intersections, but at least at this stage, they are indeed as Mei Changsu said, it is impossible to be friends anymore...
"Jing Rui," Mei Changsu took a step forward and looked at the young man's face softly, "You are the most tolerant child I know. God gave you a temperament that does not remember hatred and is gentle and generous. In order to offset your pain. I sincerely hope that in the future, you can maintain this sincere heart and get more peace and happiness, because that is all you deserve... "
"Thank you." Xiao Jingrui took a deep breath and let it out slowly. In fact, he still had a lot of words in his heart, but when he got to his lips, he felt that it was useless to say it, so he must be God, turned around again, and quickly left the pavilion.
Yu Wennian and Yan Yujin were both waiting for him on Poxia Avenue. After the three reunited, they only said a few words of goodbye. Brother and sister Xiao Jingrui recognized the stirrups and mounted their horses and galloped south. Yan Yujin watched them disappear with a disappointed expression, then raised his head to look at Mei Changsu who was still in the gazebo, hesitated for a while, but went over to say hello.
However, this was not the occasion for chatting, and the two were not in the mood to chat, so after a few polite words, Yan Yujin said goodbye and went back to the city by himself.
"Sect Master, it's windy here, shall we go back?" Li Gang came over to collect the drinking utensils and asked in a low voice.
Mei Changsu silently acquiesced, and slowly got up and left the pavilion. Before getting on the sedan chair, he looked back at the direction Xiao Jingrui had gone away, froze his body, and fell into contemplation.
"Sect Master? Sect Master?"
Mei Changsu's two long, dark eyebrows slowly drew closer to the heart of his forehead, and sighed, "After all, Da Chu is not a pure land... Pass my order and send Zhu Xi over to take care of it as much as possible."