"When old lovers meet, it's hard to say goodbye, right?"

This sentence was as sharp as a needle, piercing my heart all of a sudden. I frowned slightly and stopped subconsciously.

The room became quiet.

After a while, Mu Hua's sneer sounded again: "Let me remind you, she was the emperor's woman. If you want to take a concubine or something, you must first be prepared to deal with the emperor."
p>

"Don't think so wildly."

"I'm thinking wildly? Then what are you trying to do by chasing her for days and bringing her back?"

The room suddenly fell into a suffocating silence. After a long time, Huang Tianba's deep voice said with a hint of weariness: "I'm tired. If you have anything to do, I'll talk about it tomorrow."

"You are tired, of course you are tired. As soon as you saw that sweat towel, you went to look for her desperately. How could you not be tired? But now it's better, the person is in front of you, and it's convenient to do what you want to do. Isn't it tomorrow?

Is it time to hold a happy event for you?"

"Muhua!" Huang Tianba's tone was a little harsh, but after calling his wife's name, he remained silent for a moment, then slowed down and said slowly: "I went to find her because I knew she must have had an accident.

Otherwise, the emperor is in Yangzhou, but she is living here, making a living by selling embroidery, and now she wants to escape from Yangzhou. I went to save her, not what you think."

"It's not what I thought?!"

There was a sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the house, and then with a bang, Mu Hua seemed to have slapped something on the table and said, "Then tell me clearly, what is going on?!"

I was startled, not knowing what she took out. Huang Tianba was silent for a long time. When he spoke again, his deep voice seemed a little weak: "I told you, this is just a jade flute."
p>

"It's just a jade flute. Hum, I don't think it's that simple."

"..."

"She had been flirting with you when we were in Yangzhou. You never told me how many times you had met in private."

"Muhua, that's in the past, and the relationship between Qingying and me is not what you think."

"It's not what I thought. What is it like? Why did she give you this jade flute? What does she mean?"

"I have said many times that this jade flute does not belong to Qingying, but she gave it to me on behalf of Pei Yuanchen. The whole thing has nothing to do with her."

"You lied to me!" Mu Hua suddenly shouted, with a hint of sobs in his voice, and said unwillingly: "You clearly have an unforgettable relationship with her, right? It's just because she is the emperor's woman that you didn't have sex with her.

Together. Now that she has left the emperor, you don’t have to worry anymore!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not talking nonsense! Over the years, I have asked you to throw away this jade flute so many times and you have refused. You just want to stay and see things and miss people, right?"

"..."

"Say it!"

Huang Tianba seemed to be gritting his teeth, and finally sighed and said: "No."

"You lied!"

After Mu Hua finished speaking, he started to cry. His sobs seemed particularly sad in this night. As I listened, silently, I felt like there was a stone in my heart, getting heavier and heavier.

The pressure was so heavy that I could hardly breathe anymore.

I don’t know how long it took, but her crying still didn’t stop.

Huang Tianba's shadow was cast on the window. I don't know why, maybe because he was already very thin, but the shadow looked particularly thin and tired. His back, which was once unbending under the weight of Mount Tai, was slightly bent at this moment.

Slowly walked to Mu Hua, squatted down, and looked up at her.

"Mu Hua, it's getting late. Go to bed early and stop crying."

"No!" Mu Hua choked and said loudly: "If you don't tell me clearly today, you won't sleep!"

"You - what exactly do you want me to say?"

"Tell me, tell me what's going on between you and her! Tell me if you like her!"

"No."

"You lied to me!"

……

I slowly turned around and walked back to the room step by step. Although I had rested for a long time, I felt so tired all over my body at this time, as if all the strength in my body had just been taken away. I pushed the door again.

At that time, people almost fell down.

And the moment I walked back to the house and closed the door, the door on the other side was suddenly opened.

I stood in the house and watched the familiar figure walk out through the crack in the door. The door behind me was open and brightly lit, and I could faintly hear the sound of broken things being thrown to the ground, which was particularly harsh in the night.

Huang Tianba stood at the door, silently raised his head and closed his eyes.

Under the moonlight, his face was so perfect that it was breathtaking, but there was the most heartbreaking sadness on it.

After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes and walked out without looking back.

I also know that I shouldn't go to him at this time, but looking at the pale expression and tired look on his face just now, my heart still feels like a knife.

No wonder he was so tired and seemed so helpless when he went home.

How tired must a person be before he feels tired even when he goes home?

I stood holding on to the door frame for a long time, then pushed the door open and walked out. Behind the monastery, Mu Hua was still crying and throwing things. The sound of breaking made people feel heartache. When I walked to the gate,

I saw Huang Tianba leaping up to a towering tree in the distance, and slowly sat down.

The bright moon was in the sky, and the clear light that shone thousands of miles seemed to have condensed a layer of frost on the whole world. There was a kind of coldness that spread from the heart. His silhouette was reflected in the moonlight, as lonely as an eternal ghost.

I held the door and looked at him from a distance, looking at the gloomy night. The lanterns were lit on the stone corridor beside the spring, and they were swaying in the night wind. It seemed that the light in front of me was about to go out at any time, and the wind

It blew onto my face, bringing a burst of coldness. When I reached out and touched it, it was moist.

Only then did I realize that I had burst into tears.

I lowered my head and was about to turn around and leave. When I turned around, I found someone walking slowly behind me, and it was Qian Wu.

There was a bit of pain on his face, but also a bit of indifference. He glanced at me, then at the figure outside, and then let out a long sigh.

"It's been two years."

When Qian Wu spoke, there was a bit of helplessness in his cold voice, and it could be seen that some scars were imprinted on his heart.

I choked and said, "Has it always been like this?"

Qian Wu shook his head gently.

"After leaving the imperial city, Mr. Huang insisted on leaving the sect and even committed suicide and was seriously injured; in order to protect him, his wife also gave up everything she had in the sect... Later, the two got married.

After they got married, they went to live in seclusion in a nearby town."

"..."

"At the beginning, the relationship between them was very good. They were married to each other, and they were in love with each other. During that time -" Qian Wu said, a faint smile appeared on his usually cold face: "It's rare for Mr. Huang."

, when you are relaxed and happy."

"What happened next?"

"Later..." Qian Wu's thick eyebrows frowned slightly, he looked up at the moon in the sky, and sighed: "With Mr. Huang being like that, you know that there will inevitably be some people - he can't always stay at home.

No one was there. Just like that, my wife became angry and quarreled with him."

"..."

"In order not to cause trouble and not to let my wife quarrel anymore, Mr. Huang sold the house in the town and moved here."

No wonder, this place is so far away from the market, and there are no shops in front of the village or behind. Although it is quiet, it is too remote, and life is a bit inconvenient. It turns out that——

"My wife also sent away the servants at home, leaving only the older ones. Later, even the embroiderers in the town were not allowed to come to the door. If they had anything, they would be handed over to the people in the embroidery workshop to prepare it and then deliver it. Mr. Huang originally thought that this was the case

That's all, and I didn't ask any more questions, but - Madam found that he was carrying the jade flute you gave him."

There was a lump in my throat.

"Actually, it's not just the jade flute," Qian Wu sighed, and said helplessly: "The two of them always had quarrels. Later, Mr. Huang started to go hunting for two or three months at a time. When he came back, the two of them would

A person can be quiet for a few days, but within a few days, there will be noise again, and he will go out again."

As he spoke, he let out a long sigh: "He has almost beaten the tigers and wolves in the mountains nearby."

……

No wonder, I walked on the wild road for several days without encountering any danger or meeting a hunter. It turned out to be his "credit".

But the more this happens, the more bitter I feel.

I never thought that the once high-spirited hero who was known as the uncrowned king in Yangzhou City and shouldered the suffering of the people on his shoulders would live like this in these years.

He and Mu Hua obviously love each other, but why did it happen like this?

"Miss Qingying," Qian Wu said, looking at me with a very sad expression, "It's not that I don't want you to come. Among so many people, only you and Mr. Huang can really talk to each other, but you...

Come on - you saw it too, he can't even hide away."

"..."

"I don't even know when this torture will end for him."

Qian Wu has never been a talkative person. In the past, he would rather bleed than talk to others. But tonight, he told me so much, and every word was filled with infinite weariness and helplessness.

I know that it has not been easy for him over the years.

I nodded gently: "I understand."

At this point, there is no need to say more. Qian Wu looked at me apologetically and said softly: "It's too late, you'd better go back and rest early."

"Yeah."

I nodded, watched him turn and leave, and looked back at the figure sitting on the treetop under the bright moon, as perfect as a statue, but lonely.
Chapter completed!