Чистое сердце в нефритовом сосуде - Глава 138
As I stepped out of Pingbo Pavilion, a breeze from the lake lifted the hem of my skirt, the fabric rustling softly. A young palace maid beside me held up a parasol to shield me from the sun, and we walked together into the garden.
"Princess Ziling is gone?" Under the camphor tree, Gan Lin looked down at the ground and asked me softly, his expression unreadable.
"Well, she said you once taught her kung fu, and she hopes you can continue to guide her for a while longer." This was what Zi Ling had planned. Since Gan Lin had asked her, she might as well take this opportunity to say it sooner rather than later, whether it would work out or not was another matter.
Gan Lin glanced at me sideways and said with dissatisfaction, "From now on, you should worry less about these other things and just stay here. If you get bored, you can tell us and we'll take you outside for a walk."
How could this be considered "other matters"? It's something related to him! Right now, the only people I can care about are him, Zinuo, Chuchen, and Xiaowan. She pouted slightly, feeling a little wronged, and remained silent. But thinking about his behavior last night, she felt a little uneasy again.
"Alright, I've never seen you like this before." Gan Lin sighed, helplessly. "You're not a child anymore, and you make this face every time I say something. Who are you trying to impress?"
Seeing Gan Lin's helpless expression, she couldn't help but laugh again: "I didn't know you were the older brother before. Older brothers are meant to be pampered."
Gan Lin chuckled and shook his head. The affection and doting in his eyes made me feel surrounded by happiness. Gan Lin, who was beside me, never seemed like an assassin. The corners of my mouth were turning up higher and higher, but I stopped abruptly when I saw the fleeting pain in his eyes. That pain was too illusory, and I couldn't figure out why for a moment.
Two colorful butterflies chased each other past. Chu Chen followed after the butterflies, his legs not very steady, yet he ran very fast. It was quite worrying that he might fall down next. The little palace maid following behind him looked very nervous, and with the weather already quite hot, beads of sweat rolled down her face.
She grabbed Chu Chen's arm and said, "Alright, take a rest. Look how tired the palace maids are."
Chu Chen glanced at the departing butterfly, then at the little palace maid behind her: "Are you tired, sister?"
The young palace maid shook her head repeatedly: "Young Master Chen, this servant is not tired."
Chu Chen grinned at me and said, "Sister isn't tired, let's catch butterflies."
Releasing Chu Chen, she sighed helplessly. Her expression now was probably similar to the one Gan Lin had shown her earlier. Chu Chen chased after the butterflies again. A blur appeared before her eyes, and Gan Lin vanished. When she looked again, the two butterflies were in Gan Lin's hands, placed right in front of Chu Chen.
"Uncle!" Chu Chen called out to Gan Lin happily, and after looking at the butterfly for a short while, he turned his attention to Gan Lin.
Perhaps sensing the strange look in Chu Chen's eyes, Gan Lin somewhat awkwardly let go of the butterfly in her hand and strode towards me.
"Uncle, Feifei." Chu Chen nimbly grabbed Gan Lin's legs, rendering Gan Lin unable to move.
This little brat! A few days ago, we hoped he could learn martial arts from Gan Lin, but he only cared about playing with earthworms and mud, and looked down on Gan Lin. Today, after witnessing Gan Lin's skill in catching butterflies, he clung to Gan Lin and wouldn't let go!
Although it's a bit shameful, it's also a good thing. Regardless of his purpose, it's good that he can find something worthwhile to do. Starting to learn martial arts at this age is no longer destroying the flowers and seedlings of our motherland. Weren't Shi Xiaolong and others sent to train at the same age?
He winked at Gan Lin, who smiled knowingly and picked up Chu Chen, saying, "Want to learn from Fei Fei?"
Chu Chen nodded vigorously: "I want to fly."
Wanting to learn to fly and wanting to fly are very different things. Sure enough, Chu Chen hugged Gan Lin's neck tightly: "Uncle, hug me, I want to fly."
Gan Lin's face immediately darkened, and I helplessly pursed my lips.
Gan Lin tried to pry Chu Chen's hands off his neck, but couldn't get them off no matter what he did. Gan Lin looked at me, both amused and exasperated. What could I do? I'll just take him flying around for now, and once he gets hooked, I'll force him to learn on his own.
Chu Chen, like a commander, nestled in Gan Lin's arms, directing him to go here and there, leaping onto the roof one moment and making Gan Lin demonstrate his lightness skill, like walking on water, flying across the lake the next... Chu Chen was having a great time, the little palace maid was freed, but Gan Lin's face grew increasingly sour.
Having caught a bird, Gan Lin stepped back onto solid ground and, no matter how much Chu Chen pleaded and begged, refused to move. Chu Chen teased Gan Lin for a long time without any response, and finally, feeling extremely aggrieved, she pouted and leaned her head on Gan Lin's shoulder.
"If you want to fly, learn on your own later. Uncle is tired," Gan Lin said irritably.
I quickly chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, once you learn to fly, you can do anything—catch butterflies, catch birds, go up on the roof, do whatever you want."
Chu Chen tilted his head and thought for a long time before finally saying, "Chenchen will learn to fly by himself."
Gan Lin then smiled and said to me, "In the future, if you want to focus all your efforts on teaching Chu Chen, please ask Princess Zi Ling to find another renowned teacher."
Gan Lin's bright smile puzzled me. Was he happy for Chu Chen's decision or for having a reason to reject Zi Ling? Did he really not want to have any more contact with Zi Ling?
However, since I was going to ask Gan Lin for his opinion anyway, and he has already refused, what more can I say? I can only hope that Zi Ling can try to persuade him in other ways.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 121
Chapter word count: 3717 Update time: 09-09-15 14:49
The climate of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom is basically tropical and subtropical monsoon climate. When the rainy season arrives, there are several heavy rains every day. The rain is very fierce, and the water level of rivers in various places rises day by day. Fortunately, after hundreds of years, the water conservancy projects in the Golden Sparrow Kingdom have been perfected, and they are used to such heavy rains.
The most frustrated person during the continuous heavy rain was probably Chu Chen. He could only stay indoors every day. Not to mention practicing martial arts, it was almost impossible for him to even go out for a walk. As soon as he opened the door, the wind would sweep in the rain.
With the new policies being implemented one by one, Zinuo was finally able to relax a little. All decisions were made in Zinuo's name; the Golden Sparrow King would simply review them, stamp them, and that was it.
The wind slipped in through the cracks in the window, causing the candlelight to flicker, and raindrops pattered against the windowpanes. A palace maid cut off a piece of the wick and covered the lamp with the shade, filling the room with a warm red light.
“Sister, how about we leave the palace together after the rainy season? I’ve heard that the scenery on the southern coast is quite unique. We can go there under the guise of an inspection tour,” Zi Nuo asked me, leaning against the table.
"Okay." After eating a dried plum, she fed Chu Chen another one.
Chu Chen jumped off my lap and ran to Zinuo: "Chenchen, you go too."
Zi Nuo smiled and lifted Chu Chen onto her knees, agreeing repeatedly, "Okay, okay, Chen Chen will go too." Seeing Xiao Wan's hopeful gaze, she added, "Of course, everyone will go together." Only then did Xiao Wan smile.
He shook his head inwardly. Although the beaches of this era were free from industrial pollution, he wondered how desolate they must be.
With Zinuo's promise, the children had something new to look forward to. Every day, whenever they had free time, they would pester people to ask what the beach was like. Feeling their enthusiasm, I also began to look forward to this trip.
However, before the rainy season was over, trouble broke out in the northern border region. It was said that the rain was too heavy, causing severe landslides in the northern mountains. In some cases, entire mountain peaks slid down, blocking river channels and causing the rivers to backflow, flooding many fields in southern Xuan Ying. A large number of refugees from neighboring Jinque Kingdom poured into Jinque Kingdom. The cities in the northern border region took in the refugees according to the Jinque King's decree. However, the army in southern Xuan Ying took the opportunity to harass the border, which angered the soldiers and civilians in the border area.
King Jinque summoned Zi Nuo and ordered him to go to the northern frontier to handle the matter with full authority, saying that this was a great opportunity for the regent prince to enhance his reputation and win the hearts of the people.
Back at Xiyang Palace, Zi Nuo looked somewhat unhappy and said sadly, "It seems it will be some time before we can go to the south."
He laughed indifferently, "You now have responsibilities to bear, and you are the future support of the people of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. Go and take care of important matters first. The South Sea is there and won't run away. You can go there when you come back."
Zi Nuo glanced at me and softly called out, "Sister..." but ultimately said nothing more. With a somewhat complicated expression, she turned to arrange the northward journey. As for me, I had to explain the postponement of the southward journey to that troublesome little brat, Chu Chen.