I moved closer, placed the wine pot and two cups on the table, and said to him, "I'll drink with you today."
Lou Xiyue slightly raised her eyes and hummed in agreement.
He held a small, slanted knife in his hand, and with a serious expression, he carved and chiseled stroke by stroke on a piece of donkey hide. On the hide was drawn a man with a large head, a small body, and bulging eyes like a leopard.
I asked him, "What are you doing?"
Lou Xiyue replied, "I'll be a shadow puppeteer."
He switched to a triangular knife, with intaglio carving and relief carving, and focused intently on cutting and pushing the skin with fluid and effortless movements.
I stared at him with wide eyes and couldn't help but exclaim, "Your cooking is really good."
Lou Xiyue glanced at me with a smile, then picked up his paintbrush again and painted the little figure into a black-faced, military-clad warrior. After applying the colors, he covered the face with a layer of tung oil. Finally, he riveted the little figure's joints with leather rope and attached the skewer.
A loyal and valiant general was carved out by his hands.
Lou Xiyue handed it to me, saying, "This is for you."
I held it in my hand and played with it for a while. For some reason, I suddenly remembered a sentence that Ji Jiu said when we were in the East.
She said: "Seventh Prince is good to me. He often makes shadow puppets to make me laugh."
I glanced at Lou Xiyue; he poured himself a drink and looked at me with a smile, chin in hand.
Then he remembered his skillful craftsmanship in making the shadow puppets; it turned out he often made these kinds of things to please girls.
As winter approached and the weather gradually cooled down, I warmed my throat with some wine and suddenly lost interest in the shadow puppets.
After taking a sip of the wine, I felt a tightness in my chest.
I put the little leather man on the table and said, "I don't want it."
Lou Xiyue looked her over and said, "You don't like it?"
I said, "Well, I don't like this general's look. I prefer the scholarly, intellectual type."
He chuckled, rubbing his forehead, and said, "Didn't you say you liked the General?"
I stood up and said, "This wine is a bit cold. I'll go ask the shopkeeper to warm it up for me."
He held out his fan to stop my hand, saying, "The wine is still warm; any warmer and it will be too hot to drink."
I opened his fan, picked up the wine pot, and strode outside. "It's not warm at all, it's terribly cold."
I took two steps forward when he grabbed me from behind, pulling me around by the waist. Lou Xiyue turned me around, looking down at me. "What's wrong?"
I turned my face away and said, "It's just that the shadow puppet is a bit cold. I just wanted to find the shop to warm it up."
He looked at me, his peach blossom eyes seemingly smiling yet not smiling, and we looked at each other. He slowly said, "If you don't like the shadow puppet, just throw it away."
My already depressed mood intensified, so I slammed the wine pot down on the table, turned around, and went back inside.
A brazier was burning inside, and the smoky atmosphere made me very restless.
I lay stiffly on the couch, fully clothed, staring at the three wooden ridges on the roof beam, which were quite striking.
After a cup of tea's time had passed, a series of "pat-pat" sounds came from outside the window.
I stepped out of the house and saw Xiao Jiu raising its front paws and perching on the window. It turned its head and glanced at me, then hopped and dragged its hind legs into the yard. Fine snowflakes were falling from the sky, forming a thin layer of snow sand on the bluestone ground.
Xiao Jiu walked to Lou Xiyue's feet and rubbed against him.
The lamp is blown out, revealing Zhuo Fenghua; flying snow blankets the low pavilion.
On the table, several wine jugs were placed haphazardly, their surface gleaming with a bluish-green light under the moonlight.
Lou Xiyue supported her forehead with one hand and held the cup in the other, gently swirling it, spilling a few drops of wine.
He squinted, his eyes glazed over, as if he were somewhat drunk.
I hesitated for a moment, then stepped over to help him up.
He glanced at me, picked up the small cup, tilted his head back, and drank it down.
I said dryly, "Stop drinking, it's getting late, go to sleep."
Lou Xiyue looked at me indifferently, but suddenly his eyes narrowed. He reached out and grabbed my hand, locking it behind his back. He pinned me against a pavilion pillar and looked down at me, half-drunk and half-awake.
I was stunned. "What are you doing?"
He ran his fingers across my forehead, then gradually moved them downwards. His breath carried a hint of alcohol, making me feel slightly dizzy.
Lou Xiyue smiled, raised an eyebrow, and whispered ambiguously, "Don't you know what I'm going to do?"
Long fingers brushed across my cheeks, lightly brushing against my lips.
[42] Time flies and spring arrives, the water flows gently, the flying flowers are like smoke, the green apricots are small, the clothes are thin, and the foliage surrounds the houses.
I dried the medical books on the green mustard greens outside the house, washed a few clothes by the clear pond in the valley, brewed a pot of purple bamboo shoot tea, and took it to my master's house to pour him a cup.
After taking the medicine, the master's complexion gradually improved, indicating that the prescription was indeed effective. Although I am still young, I don't usually take action unless I need to, but when I do, I easily cured this rare and powerful wolfsbane, which is truly embarrassing.
However, after his master was cured of the poison, he was often invited to make medical consultations. Even when he returned to the valley, he would stay in his room to regulate his breathing and refine medicine, not letting others disturb him.
Ever since that day when I cried my heart out with him, I haven't had a chance to say more than a few words to him.
Upon reaching the front of the house, the door was half-closed. The master sat at the table, his expression calm, and absentmindedly plucked the strings of a seven-stringed wooden zither in front of him with one hand.