It had long passed the third watch, the sound of the night clock was fading away, Wei Yinniang was troubled and wandering around sleeplessly.
The lights in the opposite room had also been on for most of the night. The solitary light from the window floated in the dark night, filtering through the newly sprouted branches and thick leaves of the spring trees in the courtyard, casting tiny shadows, silent and quiet, just like the woman living behind the window.
During the days when she came here to recuperate, Wei Yinniang and she would occasionally pass each other some snacks such as spring cakes and new tea, but other than that, they did not have much interaction.
People who don't have a difficult story to tell will not leave their youth in this Taoist temple. She only knew that the woman opposite her had a similar background as her and had come here to live alone a long time ago. But unlike her, she still had a mother and brothers, and her home in Chang'an should be thriving again now. In addition, recently, people often come here to look for her every now and then, persuading her to go home, which has added a bit of noise to this courtyard that was originally like an ancient well in the morning and evening. However, she was calm and did not change at all.
Wei Yinniang stopped in front of the window with light.
Wang Zhenfeng was awake late at night, sorting out the books on the shelf. Through the half-open window, Wei Yinniang saw that some of the books had been put away and neatly put into the bookcase, as if they were ready to be moved away.
She was stunned.
Wang Zhenfeng smiled and explained through the window: "Didn't you ask me a few days ago why I hadn't returned home yet? I will be back soon. I couldn't sleep so I just packed up a few things to avoid being busy later."
Wei Yinniang came to her senses from the unexpected news, suppressed her sorrow, and congratulated sincerely.
"There's nothing to congratulate." She said, "It's just that I met a man who said he was sincere to me. I appreciate his heart and am willing to take the risk. What's the matter? I heard that even the Yellow River can become clear, so how can people never have good days after bad times? The worst outcome, I think, is not worse than yesterday."
“We women must also move forward while we live in the world.”
"Sister Wei, is that right?"
Wei Yinniang looked at the figure in the window who was still sorting books and couldn't help but freeze.
A green oil car came to pick up people and quietly stopped at the intersection of the back door of the Taoist temple. I didn't know when it came last night, but at dawn, I saw it waiting there.
The three thousand beats of the morning drum at dawn fell, and the three thousand beats of the evening drum at dusk sounded again.
Under the Yushui Bridge outside Kaiyuan Gate, there stood a man. He was in the prime of life, with a tall physique. The wind blew the scarf tied behind his black hat, and a short knife for protection was inserted diagonally on the scarf.
This is the attire of a traveler who is about to leave Chang'an.
Yuan Zhi got up early and waited until this moment.
The sound of the evening drums in the city, carried faintly by the evening breeze, was urgent. The woman was nowhere to be seen. The flame of hope faded with the sound of the drums, and finally collapsed uncontrollably, until finally, it was completely extinguished.
The drums are about to stop and dusk is falling.
The promised last moment arrived irresistibly.
He still couldn't wait for her.
How could a person who had been destined to be slaves from the moment he came into the world have the courage to hope for her mercy and favor? Even if she fell into the mud, she was still the daughter of the Wei family, a peerless beauty. All the misfortunes that had happened to her were nothing more than the destruction of fate, which turned her world upside down.
Following him was probably the beginning of her true depravity.