March weather, no sunshine.
Even the blooming peaches and plums in the imperial garden could not drive away the coldness shrouding the palace. Sadness filled the palace and outside the palace of Xiao State, and the whole of Chang'an was immersed in the bad news coming from the north.
Even the good news that King Mo's army defeated Liang Guo and captured Gu Zisong alive could not dispel the grief of Zhao Xingwen's death.
Huo Tianxiu held Huo Wenkang's hand and stood outside the window of Huo Wenshu's boudoir. He looked at the tearful girl inside and felt regretful.
If he had persisted before, he would have cut off her marriage to Zhao Xingwen no matter what.
Now, she is not so sad.
Huo Tianxiu knelt down and whispered to Huo Wenkang: "Go and persuade your sister to eat something."
Huo Wenkang nodded obediently. Although Huo Tianxiu and Huo Wenshu never told him what happened, the whole city knew about it, and the servants of Huo Mansion were inevitably in mourning.
I feel sorry for my young lady and her uncle who has not come to visit me, and I am jealous of their marriage.
Their private gossip will inevitably fall into the ears of Huo Wenkang. Huo Wenkang, who is only twelve years old, is not too big or too small.
He put those fragments of words together and knew that Zhao Xingwen... would never come back.
He hid in the quilt and cried all night. During the days when Zhao Xingwen came to Huo Mansion every day to have dinner, taught him martial arts and accompanied him on the sand table, in his heart, regardless of blood, Zhao Xingwen was even closer to him than his sister.
However, now, Zhao Xingwen's voice and smile are still clearly imprinted in his mind, and the room is full of various gifts from him, including bows and arrows tied for him personally, wooden swords cut for him by himself, and wooden swords made for him by himself. polo…
Those objects were reflected in his eyes one by one, but the man who called him Kang'er dotingly could never come back...
Huo Wenkang just cried all night, but he didn't dare to cry anymore, or even show a trace of sadness in front of Huo Wenshu.
He knew that his sister was far more heartbroken than him.
Huo Tianxiu knew that he was sensible, so he would take him to visit Huo Wenshu every now and then, talk to her, and barely feed her two spoons of food.
Huo Tianxiu stood outside the window, watching Huo Wenshu hugging Huo Wenkang to stop her tears, and then stepped in.
"Kang'er, it's time to study." Huo Tianxiu rubbed Huo Wenkang's hair.
Huo Wenkang now practices martial arts in the morning and essays in the afternoon every day. His time is very full, and he only has a short period of free time during lunch.
He nodded meekly, took out the golden hairpin from Huo Wenshu's hand, tied it into her bun, and bowed properly before leaving. When he walked to the door, he suddenly stopped and looked back, and said to Huo Wenshu in a still immature voice. : "Sister, you still have me."
Huo Wenshu tried her best to smile, but her lips were pale and her face looked increasingly haggard. Only the shining gold hairpin on her bun added a touch of color to her.
Huo Wenkang knew that the golden hairpin was the token of love between Zhao Xingwen and Huo Wenshu. His sister looked at the golden hairpin every day and thought about it.
He could not comfort her by saying that he was gone, because even he himself could not forget Zhao Xingwen.
Huo Wenkang finally stomped towards his master. He had never been so eager to grow up quickly. When he grew up, he would at least be able to go to the battlefield and kill the enemies of the Mongolian tribe with his own hands.
Seeing that his back was completely gone, Huo Tianxiu pursed his lips and spoke to Huo Wenshu: "Old General Zhao does not plan to transport Xingwen's body back to Chang'an. He said that shrouding the body in horse leather is the honor of every general."
Huo Wenshu retracted her gaze from outside the room and turned to look at him, her eyes suddenly filled with sparkling light.
She bit her lip hard, and then said with a hint of pleading: "Uncle, can you tell General Zhao that I want to bury him."
Huo Tianxiu looked unbearable. He paused for a moment before continuing: "Mrs. Zhao also went to the palace today to request a decree. The engagement between our two families has been terminated. In what capacity do you bury him?"
Huo Wenshu stood up and looked excited: "The engagement between him and me was given by the Emperor. Now the Emperor is still lying in bed. Why did His Highness the Prince cancel our engagement?"
Huo Tianxiu held her slender wrist and his tone became more serious: "Wen Shu, he... has gone."
"So what, if he lives, I will marry him. If he dies, I will also be the daughter-in-law of the Zhao family. For the rest of my life, I, Huo Wenshu, will keep my integrity for him, Zhao Xingwen." She looked at him for a moment, with a look in her eyes. A tear fell quietly, landing on Huo Tianxiu's hand holding hers.
The tears were so hot that Huo Tianxiu felt so hot.
"Wen Shu, you are only sixteen, and it is the best years of a woman's life." Huo Tianxiu softened his tone, and there was unconcealable distress in his lowered eyes.
"He promised the best years to the country, and I promised the best years to him. He has no regrets, and I have no complaints. I also hope that my uncle will be able to intercede with Old General Zhao for me and transport it back to Xingwen. Even if it is a charred corpse, I want to bury him personally as his wife." Her face was firm, and the tears she held back filled her eyes, and she still revealed her determination without hesitation.
"This is what Zhao Xingwen left for Mrs. Zhao before he left the capital. If he can't come back and you insist on letting go, I'll ask Mrs. Zhao to pass it on to you." Huo Tianxiu finally let go and took out a letter from his arms and put it away. On the table, she walked out of her boudoir with heavy steps and sighed.
Huo Wenshu closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
But even though she tried her best to control the tears that were about to fall, she couldn't control her shaky body.
She slumped down and sat down, leaning on the back of the chair with her whole body, her fingertips lightly touching the envelope. Just looking at the four words 'Wen Shu personally opened' on the envelope, her heart was already hurt by the familiar handwriting.
She rubbed the letter in her hand for a long time, and when she pulled it away, her arm still couldn't stop shaking violently.
'Wen Shu, seeing the words is like meeting each other, and the letter is soothing. I will say goodbye to you forever with this book...'
She had just read the beginning, and then she felt a vast darkness coming up in front of her eyes.
Zhao Xingwen's unclear handwriting spread out in the haze, dissipating like thin smoke. She just sat there in a daze, and the tears she had just shed quickly gathered a thin layer of moisture in her eyes.
Huo Wenshu seemed to be in a trance, holding her collar tightly with slightly trembling hands before she could read the letter.
'I was born in the sky and grew up in the scorching sun. I soar in the wind and never leave. You are the girl I love at the top of my heart. Please don't cry for me. I will stand in the distance and smile at you...'
At this moment...
Outside the window, a spring breeze blew in the courtyard.
Huo Wenshu felt that her eyes were in uncontrollable pain, and the hot pain in her heart seemed to be burning into her eyes. There was something there that she couldn't help but burst out of.
The late sunshine exited the courtyard, retreating so slowly, with many pauses in between, like a kind of choking.
In the distance, there is a flag that Zhao Xingwen made for Huo Wenkang years ago, standing at the top.
Huo Wenshu looked into the distance with tears in her eyes and murmured to herself: "The wind is blowing around the flag, are you thinking about you and me?"
(End of chapter)