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墨書 Inktalez
Midnight, I saw you lingering by my bedside, and we embraced gently.
You softly said to me: From now on, your life carries two souls.
Winter Pearl opened her eyes to find herself in complete darkness. In the center of that darkness, there was a faint outline of a person. She recalled everything that had happened in her dream and reached out toward that outline. Halfway through, the outline moved slightly, and she quickly withdrew her hand, whispering, "Mother!"
In the darkness, there was no response.
Winter Pearl thought again of the scene from her dream; she saw her fiancé standing at the foot of the bed, his eyes bright and his smile warm. He gently approached her and then leaned down to embrace her. She shyly looked down but couldn’t feel the speed of her heartbeat.
That's right! It seemed she hadn’t felt her heartbeat for a long time.
Looking up at her mother hidden in the night, she gently asked again, "Mother! Tell me, have I already died?"
Once again, there was no sound in response, but her mother slowly moved closer from the darkness and reached out with arms as thin as dry twigs to tightly hold her.
Winter Pearl felt a bit anxious. In her memory, it seemed that after she turned five or six, her mother had never held her like this again. She cautiously responded to her mother's embrace, saying, "Mother! Zhu Zhu knows she was wrong; Zhu Zhu shouldn’t have said those things that made you sad!"
Her mother patted Winter Pearl's back and took her hand, slowly walking out of the darkness. Inside the room, red candles were lit again, and a faint fragrance filled the air in the flickering candlelight.
Her mother pointed outside, indicating that Winter Pearl could go for a walk. However, Winter Pearl smiled and shook her head.
"Mother! Look at Zhu Zhu's face; isn’t it much better? This is all thanks to the medicine Ruyi Rouge prepared for Zhu Zhu."
Her mother comfortingly patted Winter Pearl's hand and pointed out the window.
"Winter Pearl understands what you mean; you want Zhu Zhu to go find Husband, right? But Zhu Zhu isn’t in a hurry!" Winter Pearl glanced outside; the crescent moon had just risen, making for a beautiful night with few stars: "Zhu Zhu has already waited for Husband for so many years; what's another day or two? Besides, he has returned; it doesn’t matter if Zhu Zhu sees him one or two times less. As for Ruyi, she provided all this medicine without charging anything; Zhu Zhu feels guilty about it and promised to help her embroider some things. Mother, look, all this fabric is from Ruyi, and she even asked Li Xiu Xian to tell Zhu Zhu that if there’s extra fabric, Zhu Zhu can keep it."
Mother opened her eyes and looked at Winter Pearl, who shyly smiled back.
"Mother! Ruyi means well; there are far more fabrics here than what Zhu Zhu saw in her shop. She intentionally saved these for Zhu Zhu."
Mother patted Winter Pearl's hand and pointed at the moon, feeling anxious inside.
Winter Pearl did not realize that her time was running out! Over the years, she had been able to remain in the human world only by relying on Mother's vitality. Now that Dongzhu's Mother had passed away, she had exhausted all her efforts and could only secure this much for her.
Tonight was already the seventh day of the month. By the time of the full moon on the fifteenth, Dongzhu's Mother would have to leave, and Winter Pearl would have to go as well.
However, Winter Pearl misunderstood Mother's intentions. She supported her to the side and began to busy herself.
One night, two nights, three nights later, on the evening of the tenth day, Winter Pearl finally finished making the bride's wedding gown and even embroidered a red veil. However, the design was simpler than she had imagined because Mother was always nearby causing distractions and urging her to go out.
Winter Pearl thought to herself that it was fine to let go of the veil, but she needed to put more effort into making the purse and embroidered shoes later; otherwise, how could she live up to Ruyi's trust and good intentions?
Stepping out of the house, she walked freely and unknowingly arrived at the place where she first met her Husband. The once Willow Tree had now become a bare trunk, and even the stone slab placed beneath it for resting had broken into two halves.
Just as she was about to sigh, she spotted a familiar figure and suddenly panicked, quickly hiding behind the Willow Tree.
It was none other than Liu Haiyan, her fiancé who had been betrothed to Winter Pearl for many years.
Liu Haiyan stood under the tree, looking up at the moon above with a dreamy gaze, but his ears remained quite sharp.
"Who is hiding there? Come out!"
Winter Pearl pinched the hem of her dress and slowly emerged from behind. Liu Haiyan turned around, their eyes met, and Winter Pearl quickly lowered her head while Liu Haiyan laughed heartily.
"It’s you!"
"Liu Gongzi!"
Winter Pearl slightly bowed and stood up, her gaze drifting away, yet she couldn't help but steal glances at him from the corner of her eye.
"We've met before. Back then, I wanted to ask you, why is a young lady like yourself out here alone in the middle of the night?"
"And what about you, Liu Gongzi? Why are you here alone at this hour?" Winter Pearl countered, her cheeks puffed up, looking quite adorable.
"Me?" Liu Haiyan raised his head again, looking at the moon above. "I don’t know. Every time it gets late at night, I find myself drawn here against my will. This place used to mean a lot to me, but now I can’t remember anything about it."
"Have you forgotten?" Winter Pearl asked softly, her right hand instinctively covering her chest. Although she hadn’t felt the heartbeat in her chest for a long time, she still subconsciously made that gesture when nervous.
Liu Haiyan noticed Winter Pearl's action; something flashed through his mind, but it was too quick for him to grasp before it vanished.
"Do you perhaps know about my past?"
Winter Pearl opened her mouth, recalling her still unhealed face, then shook her head. "No! Winter Pearl doesn’t know about your past; I just remembered some things from my own."
"Are they related to this place?"
"Yes!" Winter Pearl looked at the scene illuminated by moonlight. "I first met my Husband here. It suddenly started pouring rain, and I hurriedly ran over from that direction. With my head down, I accidentally bumped into him. I was scared and felt guilty, so I hurriedly apologized.
To my surprise, he moved his umbrella over my head without a single word of blame and even escorted me home. Even now, I can’t forget the smile on his face when I apologized; it was like sunshine after the rain, instantly warming me."
"It was raining, and everyone was eager to get home. The road was slippery; bumping into someone is normal. A man shouldn’t hold a grudge against a young lady from a Maternal Family. He handled it quite well."
“Does Liu Gongzi think the same way?”
“If it were me, I would definitely do the same. It’s just a pity that I fear I have no fate to meet such a beautiful and lovely girl.”
Winter Pearl blushed slightly. “My fiancé was also like this back then.”
“And then? Did you two really become fated as a couple?”
“Not really!” Winter Pearl shook her head. “After that, we met a few more times, each time just a brief encounter, but every meeting was so unique. In short, I was always flustered, while he always smiled gently.”
“It’s clear that you and your fiancé are destined to be together!”
“I thought so too.” Winter Pearl clenched her fingers. “That year, when I turned sixteen, many suitors suddenly came to our house. My mother had suffered when she was young, so she hoped that my husband would at least be someone I liked. So, she secretly let me hide behind the curtain to watch. I saw many people, but none of them were satisfactory—not because of their family background or looks, but because whenever I saw them, I would always think of that person and his warm smile.”
“Perhaps Master heard my prayers; he appeared. I rushed out from behind the curtain. He was stunned for a moment and then smiled. He told my mother that he wanted to marry me, to cherish me for life, and to treat me well forever.”
“And then? Did he break his promise?” Liu Haiyan looked around. “If he truly is as he claims, he shouldn’t have let you come here alone at night.”
“No, he didn’t break his promise; he just lost contact!” Winter Pearl stared at Liu Haiyan: “Not long after our engagement, the court issued an edict, and he went to Border Defense with the army. He has been gone for many years without a word. They all say he died on the battlefield. But I don’t believe it; how could such a good person just die like that? Besides, he knew I was waiting for him at home.”
“So he went to the battlefield after all. In that place, out of ten who go, only one might return.” Liu Haiyan lowered his head and rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. In the moonlight, there were deep scars visible. Winter Pearl felt a pang in her heart and quickly turned her face away.
“It’s getting late; I need to go home now. Liu Gongzi, please return early as well so your family won’t worry.”
“Alright!” Liu Haiyan nodded. “Will you come again tomorrow? I mean, can I see you here again tomorrow night?”
Winter Pearl shyly nodded and then hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran back like the wind.
Liu Haiyan returned home, and the lights in the main room were still on. He saw his mother sitting by the bedside, carefully wiping something. He shook his head, gave a bitter smile, and slowly walked in.
"His Father, has Yan'er really been asleep for so many years that he can't wake up?"
"The doctor said so. It could be more than ten years or as few as seven or eight years. When the time comes, he will surely wake up."
Haiyan's Father gently embraced his wife. "You should rest now. The maids are taking care of him; Haiyan will be fine."
Liu Haiyan tried to approach his parents but found that there seemed to be an invisible wall between them. He had once tried to tell them that he was still alive, right in front of them. But they could neither hear nor see him.
As his father and mother walked past him, he heard his mother speak in a tone filled with deep pity. "I always feel sorry for that good girl, Zhu Zhu, regarding Haiyan's situation. If I had told her the truth about Yan'er back then, perhaps those later events wouldn't have happened."
"The past is already gone; don't bring it up in front of Yan'er. Just because he hasn't opened his eyes doesn't mean he can't hear."
Mother Haiyan glanced at Haiyan's Father with a troubled expression and sighed heavily.
Liu Haiyan listened carefully but couldn't recall who that good girl his mother mentioned was. He tried to return to his own body, striving to wake up completely, but no matter how hard he tried, it was all in vain. His body felt as if it were trapped in a formation; no matter how valiantly he charged forward, he could never find the way to break through.
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