Cen Ji tossed and turned all night, and he suddenly found himself afraid to see Ban Lan, though he didn't know why.
Ban Lan didn't see Cen Ji because she was talking happily with He Bi.
Why sit on the stone bench in the garden pavilion? Ban Lan, however, sat casually on the stone table.
Why laugh and ask, "Why do you like sitting at the table?"
Ban Lan said, "Because the stool is for resting your feet."
"Oh." He Bi looked down and saw Ban Lan standing on a stone bench with one foot and swinging the other casually.
Why ask, "Have you always been like this?"
Without thinking, Ban Lan said, "That's why there's nothing on the table."
He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Heh, I mean you've never liked sitting on a chair?"
Ban Lan raised her shoulders slightly and said, "Sit wherever you want, it has nothing to do with whether you like it or not." As she spoke, she crossed one leg over the other.
Why say, "You're very spontaneous"?
Ban Lan said, "I know."
Why add, "It's a pity you're a girl"?
Ban Lan said, "I know that too."
Why laugh? He raised his eyes and said, "But I like it."
Ban Lan tilted her head and asked, "What do you like?"
Why be so direct: "You"?
Ban Lan shrank back: "I have nothing to repay you with, and I don't like male dancers."
He chuckled, "I'm a secret guard from Kongshan Ridge, not a male dancer. I was forced by Miss Wen to test Seventh Brother that time. Besides, I just like your unique personality, and I don't need you to repay me."
Ban Lan said, "Yes, I know, Old Six He."
That's an awful way to address me. Why bother frowning?
Ban Lan added, "But speaking of which, He Laoliu, you dance really well."
Why did he secretly wipe his sweat when Ban Lan wasn't looking?
He recalled the experience of being forced by Wen Moyin to dance with male prostitutes, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
He had to change the subject, saying, "I didn't expect you to come."
"Um?"
"Come... to congratulate me."
Ban Lan was taken aback and somewhat lost in thought.
Her eyes darted around the garden: "I came here to give myself an explanation."
Why ask, "What constitutes an explanation?"
Ban Lan pursed her lips: "This... I don't know either. Maybe coming here is enough to explain things, or maybe..."
She was a little frustrated. She realized she hadn't even thought of a reason before rushing over.
Her previously cheerful expression faded somewhat: "Actually, Huang didn't want me to come, but I insisted on coming, which made her angry again."
"The fourth brother's face always looks the same, whether he's angry or not," He Bi couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"What did you say?" Ban Lan asked when He Bi moved his mouth.
"It's nothing!" He Bi hurriedly tried to distance himself. Huang was not someone to be trifled with, so He Bi continued, "Seventh Brother isn't any better either, you might as well forget about him."
“I don’t want to remember it at all,” Ban Lan said.
After saying that, she jumped off the table and prepared to leave.
Why suddenly say, "You shouldn't be wearing a thin cotton skirt"?
"Huh?" Ban Lan asked, puzzled.
He Bi pointed behind her and said, "Look, who told you to sit on the table and not behave yourself? Your skirt is all wrinkled from sitting on it."
Ban Lan lifted her skirt and twisted her neck to look back: "Uh, it's really wrinkled beyond recognition, and quite noticeable."
Why bother crossing his arms? He watched her turn her head back and smiled.
Ban Lan thought for a moment, grabbed the hem of her skirt at the waist, turned it halfway around, turned the wrinkled side to her side, and then clapped her hands and said, "Is this okay?"
Why be half surprised and half amused?
Ban Lan looked at He Bi: "I'm hungry, I'm going to get something to eat. Are you coming?"
He shook his head and said, "Go ahead, I'll sit here a little longer."
Ban Lan is gone. Why bother sitting leisurely on the stone bench in the pavilion?
"Come out," He Bi said calmly.
Cen Ji had originally planned to leave, but upon hearing this, he had no choice but to go over.
Why ask, "Why don't you dare show yourself?"
Cen Ji did not answer. He walked over and sat down next to He Bi.
The stone bench he was sitting on was the one Ban Lan had just stepped on.
He glanced at the stone bench, then at Cen Ji, and said, "Seventh Brother, you seem distracted."
Cen Ji hummed in agreement.
Why sneer: "Does that mean you'll just 'hmm' whatever I say?"
Cen Ji hummed in agreement again.
He gently tapped his fingers on the cold tabletop for a long time, then said softly, as if talking to himself, "She is a rough gem."
Cen Ji still responded with the same "hmm," without even changing his tone.
"She is the only bright red in this black and gray world."
Having said that, why bother getting up and leaving?
Cen Ji sat there blankly, his shadow stretched long, long by the sunlight.
wedding banquet
one,
Cen Ji stood before the bronze mirror, dressed in a bright red wedding robe. Beside the mirror was a somewhat worn wooden table, on which lay a dagger, a relatively new dagger.
The matchmaker said the groom couldn't bring a dagger with him during the wedding ceremony. Even when sleeping, Cen Ji would keep the dagger under his pillow. Now, even a brief separation made Cen Ji feel uneasy.
That dagger was far less effective than the old Huaying dagger, but he didn't replace it with a better one.
Because he had promised Ban Lan.
Because he said, "I won't lose it."
Cen Ji looked up from the table and glanced in the mirror.
He rarely looked in the mirror, or rather, he couldn't even remember that a mirror existed.
But at that moment, he stared blankly at the person in the mirror.
It's so unfamiliar, so very unfamiliar.
He never thought red was garish before, but now that he was wearing it, he felt really uncomfortable.
The auspicious time will arrive in half an hour.
The matchmaker had already urged him once, but he said to wait a little longer because he hadn't finished getting ready yet.
He remained standing motionless, barely blinking.
He needs to get used to it, to get used to his attire.
He looked in the mirror and smiled.
Yes, that's right, you should smile. The person you've been chasing for most of your life is finally about to become your wife, shouldn't you be happy?
The smile on the person's face in the mirror seemed to be sewn on; apart from the curved shape, there was no other sign of a smile on their face.
Cen Ji turned around abruptly, took one last look at the dagger on the table, and strode out.
two,
Kongshanling has never been so lively.
The guards of Kongshanling ignored the commotion.
Xiong Sanniang lazily nestled in a corner, playing with the sachet in her hand.
Zhai Huan lowered her head, muttering something under her breath.
Why show impatience, yet still look towards the center of the hall?
On the eighth day, he crossed his arms with a grin, wanting to talk to Su Qiao beside him, but Su Qiao ignored him and focused intently on wiping the judge's pen in his hand.
"On such a joyous day, Huang is still not allowed to leave Qingluan Forest?" Chu Ba asked knowingly.
So nobody paid any attention to him.
Feeling a bit bored on the eighth day, I was just about to pat He Bi on the shoulder when I suddenly saw Ban Lan, dressed in red, step into the hall.