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Yu Hezhi smiled slightly and said, "That's natural."
Chapter Seventy-Three
The heavy snow fell for a long time that day, only gradually stopping near dusk. The plum trees around Yinxi Xiaozhu were completely covered in white snow, and only when the wind occasionally blew by did the petals peek out slightly.
After seeing Lin Bizhi off, Jiang Shuying still felt somewhat uneasy. She hadn't mentioned Yingluo to Ruzheng these past few days. But despite this, Lin Bizhi's words remained like a thorn, deeply embedded in Jiang Shuying's heart.
Looking around, she, who usually loved peace and quiet, felt quite lonely. Shao Yang had already gone to Hengshan with Lan Baichen, and Yu Hezhi said that to avoid gossip, it wasn't convenient for him to stay at Yinxi Xiaozhu for long. Jiang Shuying thought of Yue Ruzheng, so she summoned Qian'er and asked her to go check on Ruzheng's health. Qian'er nodded in agreement, but at that moment, the gatekeeper rushed to the front of the house and said, "Reporting to Madam, someone outside requests an audience."
Jiang Shuying was puzzled. It was almost dark, and the ground was covered in snow. She wondered who would come to Yinxi Cottage. So she casually asked, "Who is it?"
The gatekeeper bowed and presented the visiting card. Qian'er went out to take it and then handed it to Jiang Shuying. Jiang Shuying saw that the card was of fine quality, assuming it came from a wealthy family. Upon closer inspection, her expression suddenly changed. She pursed her lips, threw the card on the table, and said to the door, "Go and tell that person that there's too much trouble in the martial world. My Yinxi Xiaozhu is a quiet place and doesn't want to associate with people of dubious character!"
The gatekeeper was startled, but he couldn't ask any questions. He could only give a reply and then hurriedly left.
Jiang Shuying, filled with righteous indignation, grabbed the invitation, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it aside. Seeing Qian'er waiting tremblingly to the side, she solemnly warned, "Don't say anything about this."
Qian'er could only nod. After a while, Jiang Shuying was about to leave the hall when she saw the gatekeeper from before rushing back. He bowed at the door and said, "I have delivered the message, but that person insists on not leaving. What do you suggest we do?"
Jiang Shuying snorted coldly, "Then let him wait." With that, she turned and left, with Qian'er quickly following behind. But as soon as she stepped out of the hall, Jiang Shuying suddenly stopped, thinking to herself: If I let him stand outside the door, what if Ruzheng finds out? Wouldn't that cause more trouble?
Upon thinking of this, she changed her mind again.
The snow had stopped, and the moonlight was crisp and cold. Jiang Shuying walked slowly to the door, dismissed the others, and opened the door herself.
The silent steps were covered with a thick layer of snow, with crimson plum petals scattered among them, like specks of rouge.
The stone steps stretched on and on. Lian Junchu, dressed in a dark blue brocade robe, stood silently in the snow, showing no intention of leaving.
He looked up at the slowly opening door, only to find Jiang Shuying dressed in plain white fur coat inside. There was no one else behind her.
She stared coldly at Lian Junchu. The young man before her had a handsome but melancholy face and wore a noble and elegant brocade robe, but no matter what, he could not hide the empty sleeves of his robe.
"Young Master Lian, what brings you here?" Jiang Shuying asked coldly.
Lian Junchu faced her, bowed, and said in a low voice, "This junior has come to pay a visit to Madam Jiang."
"You came to see me?" Jiang Shuying's eyes were filled with disdain, as if she knew everything. "We're not even acquainted, so why make up such an excuse?"
Lian Junchu slowly straightened up, looked at Jiang Shuying, and said, "Actually, I already wrote it very clearly in that visiting card..."
"I'm sorry, I don't have the time for pleasantries. Just say what you need to say here quickly." Jiang Shuying, wearing a fox fur coat, looked down at him and scrutinized him.
Lian Junchu forced a smile and said, "A lot has happened before, which may have caused your wife to harbor resentment towards me. I've come here specifically to explain."
Jiang Shuying remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "My dissatisfaction with you isn't just because of one or two things. Young Master Lian, the entanglements between our two families are difficult to untangle. I admit that my decision to let Ruzheng steal the Divine Pearl three years ago might have been dishonest. But Ruzheng has suffered greatly because of this over the years. I hope you can forgive and forget and stop tormenting her again and again."
Lian Junchu breathed in the cold air, trying his best to remain calm as he said, "I didn't mean to treat her like that... I came back to Luzhou this time to ask her if she has recovered."
Jiang Shuying, leaning against the door, turned her face slightly, her expression bitter, and said, "You didn't mean to treat her like this? Young Master Lian, if you didn't want to torment her, why did you keep appearing by her side? Don't you understand that every time you appear, it breaks my heart, Ruzheng? Ask yourself, since she met you three years ago, what have you given her? Before, although she wasn't famous in the martial arts world, she was cheerful and lived a carefree life. But since meeting you, not only have misfortunes befallen her, but she has also become depressed and even almost lost her life! Now you casually ask a question, thinking you can erase everything you've done, and that I'll let you set foot in Yinxi Xiaozhu?!"
Lian Junchu's face gradually paled. He struggled up a few steps and said, "Madam Jiang, I only want to see her. If you feel I have done many things wrong, I am willing to apologize."
"No need!" Jiang Shuying stood inside the door, showing no intention of letting him in. "Although Ruzheng is no longer in mortal danger, she hasn't fully recovered. I don't want her to be involved in the conflicts of the martial world anymore. You should leave as soon as possible to avoid causing her further sorrow!"
Having said that, she closed the door with both hands. In a moment of panic, Lian Junchu rushed to the door and called out, "Senior!"
Jiang Shuying was afraid that the people inside would hear her voice, so she had no choice but to take a step forward, step over the threshold, and at the same time close the door tightly behind her.
"Young Master Lian, let me make things clear today. Back then, you were just a young boy from the mountains, and I forbade Ruzheng from being with you because I felt you were incapable of protecting her. Now, although you have changed your identity, the harm you have caused Ruzheng is countless. I will not allow you to see her again!"
"Why?" Lian Junchu looked at the tightly closed door behind her, forcing a smile, and said, "I promised her I would find the Divine Pearl to heal her wounds, but I didn't keep my promise. If you won't even let me see her once, she'll think I'm a person who doesn't keep his word... Wouldn't that make her even more upset?"
Jiang Shuying looked at him with a cold smile, "You've always claimed to care deeply for Ruzheng, but what have you actually done for her? I've only seen her running around for you time and time again, even getting seriously injured. But what about yourself? Whether it was Tang Yanchu three years ago, or now Young Master Lian, from beginning to end, you've only been using Ruzheng's pitiful sympathy for you. You've never truly considered her feelings!"
Lian Junchu, who had been trying his best to remain calm, hadn't expected her to say that. He could no longer contain his emotions, and his voice trembled slightly. "I didn't use her! She didn't treat me with pity or sympathy!"
Jiang Shuying retorted angrily, "I ask you, on that day, Ruzheng was seriously injured. If Lian Junqiu hadn't appeared, would you have just watched helplessly as Ruzheng collapsed to the ground? And don't think I don't know, Lian Junqiu's feelings for you are more than just sibling affection! I didn't want to say these things to your face, but you are utterly shameless! Since you won't admit you're using her feelings, then you should really think about her feelings!"
Lian Junchu seemed to have a lot to say, but faced with such a question, he found himself unable to answer for a moment. What else could he say? Simply defending himself would only make him appear more incompetent, merely using pale words to mask his weakness.
"Young Master Lian," Jiang Shuying said slowly, looking at him who had suddenly fallen silent, "as long as I'm here, you will never be able to step through this door. Please, in the future, never hurt her again."
After Lian Junchu uttered this final declaration, she stood quietly in the cold moonlight, her slightly thin figure concealing a great deal of emotion. Then, under Jiang Shuying's cold and sharp gaze, it crumbled and shattered into pieces.
He stood straight, staring directly at the entrance of Yinxi Xiaozhu. After a long while, he slowly lowered his eyes, suppressing all his emotions, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her."
Jiang Shuying gave him a cold look, made no reply, and turned back to Yinxi Xiaozhu.
With a "bang," the door slammed shut again, shaking down the fine snowflakes.
He stood there for a long time, the courtyard completely silent. Only a sprig of green plum blossom peeking out from the distant wall trembled slightly in the moonlight.
Lian Junchu didn't know how he got to the foot of that high courtyard wall. He slowly raised his head and saw that among the pale green calyxes, the plum petals were beautiful and fragrant, just like the ones Yue Ruzheng held in her hands back then, thin and light.
As she thought about it, Yue Ruzheng's smiling face seemed to appear right before her eyes. She had once said that where she lived, there was a green calyx plant that had been growing for many years and would bloom most beautifully every time the snow fell.
But now, all he saw before him was a thick, high wall. Green calyxes peeked out from their branches; perhaps he could reach out and pluck them. Lian Junchu raised his face; above him lay these flowers, forever out of reach.
Treading through the snow-covered ground, he arrived alone at the Merlin forest at the foot of Mount Dashu. On the day he first left the island and came to Luzhou, Yue Ruzheng stood here all alone, watching him walk quickly past her without stopping for a moment.
Now, all around was deathly silent, and he stood alone beneath the plum blossoms blooming in the snow. The moonlight shifted gently, scattering dappled shadows across the flowers, but his body was cold, feeling no warmth whatsoever. He finally truly understood the despair of being filled with trepidation and anticipation, only to be utterly ignored in the end.
He didn't resent Jiang Shuying, but he wondered if he had been indulging in wishful thinking all along. He thought he was being extremely sincere, but in the end, the deeper he fell, the more he hurt her.
There's really no way to answer Jiang Shuying's questions.
Even though Yue Ruzheng had repeatedly gone to great lengths for him, even though she had gotten hurt for him, even though she had hugged him again and again, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, telling him, "I miss you so much," he still couldn't face the extent of the hurt he had caused her over the years, or whose fault it really was.