Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 245 The Romance of the Western Chamber

day to day.

Things gradually got better.

Not only would the shopkeeper occasionally give him some meat, but he would also have some leftover money from the listeners' tips each day, which Ye Beixuan could then use to buy some tofu to fill his stomach.

In a daze, he almost forgot that this was just an illusion, and the realistic feeling made him unconsciously immerse himself in it.

As dusk slowly descends, the lanterns in front of Ping An Inn sway gently in the autumn breeze, like a welcoming gesture to guests.

The waiters carried trays of dishes and moved back and forth in the store.

Ye Beixuan gazed at the increasingly lively and noisy "illusion" in the lobby, his fingers unconsciously stroking the folding fan in his hand, knowing in his heart that this repetitive day was about to begin again.

"Snapped!"

The sound of the gavel striking the wood suddenly rang out, and the previously noisy environment instantly fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

In a corner outside the inn, the old beggar, who had been dozing, suddenly opened his sleepy eyes; listening to storytelling had become a habit of his.

Outside the bamboo blind window, even the passing peddler carrying his wares on a shoulder pole stopped, leaned against the window, and listened intently, as if this would allow him to escape his wife's incessant nagging.

Ye Beixuan keenly noticed that Niu Niu, who should have been leaning against the door frame listening to the story, was nowhere to be seen today.

Everything seemed to return to the time when he had just transmigrated. He knew that Niu Niu was still sick at that time.

"It is said that Zhang Junrui stayed overnight at Puji Temple and suddenly smelled a fragrant breeze." Ye Beixuan gently shook his folding fan, as if he really fanned the fragrance to his nose, as if the scene was being recreated in front of him: "When he followed the fragrance and looked at the place where the moonlight was shining, he saw Cui Yingying moving lightly with her lotus steps, her skirt brushing over the threshold, and her beauty was so stunning that even the moonlight paled in comparison."

At this moment, the waiter who was passing by heard this, and the tray he was carrying had been gradually tilting slightly without him noticing, but he was completely unaware, listening attentively to the story.

Ye Beixuan looked toward the doorway, searching for that thin, small figure.

Through the doorway, he looked at Ren Youlan's tofu stall not far away. She was dressed in a plain-colored dress and busy in the twilight.

Unable to find the frail child, Ye Beixuan was filled with worry, but he still withdrew his gaze and continued to recite aloud: "The spring mood is short, the willow branches are long; through the shade of the flowers, the person is far away, yet the ends of the earth seem near."

The scholar by the window, upon hearing this, suddenly felt his eyes redden and murmured to himself, "Back then, wasn't I the same..."

Before she could finish speaking, she choked up again.

The burly man next to him scoffed, his tone full of disdain: "You pedantic scholar! You've only been through a few hardships, why are you crying like this? Are you even a man? If you're still not satisfied, I'll take you to the Drunken Flower Pavilion tonight to have some fun."

Although he spoke with disdain, there was a hint of concern beneath his words.

Ye Beixuan smiled slightly and slowly closed his folding fan. His gaze swept over Zhen Guandong, who was looking at him with hostility not far away, and he suddenly remembered the incident three days ago in which local thugs fought and killed each other. Wang Xizi, who was beaten to death, seemed to be one of Zhen Guandong's underlings. If things continued to develop this way, Zhen Guandong would probably die at his hands soon.

"Then the rebel Sun Feihu led five thousand rebel soldiers to besiege Puji Temple, intending to forcibly marry Cui Yingying." Ye Beixuan's tone suddenly turned urgent, and the previously noisy environment instantly became silent: "Just when everyone was at a loss, the old lady made a vow that whoever could repel the enemy would be betrothed to Yingying!"

"And then?" a young woman asked nervously, clutching the hem of her clothes, from the corner.

The man beside her quickly comforted her, and the young woman finally relaxed a little.

"Zhang Sheng happened to be acquainted with General Bai Ma, so he wrote a letter to General Bai Ma and sent Hong Niang disguised as a maid to deliver the letter under the moonlight." A gavel sounded again, and at the same time, the sound of bowls and plates shattering was heard, drawing everyone's attention.

The new waiter stood there, his face flushed, staring blankly at the soup stains on his scalded hands.

"You son of a bitch, can't you be a little more careful? I'll deduct three coins from your pay, hurry up and give me a new bowl!" The shopkeeper cursed and kicked the waiter, then looked around at the diners with a forced smile, apologized, and pushed the waiter to the kitchen to make a new one.

"What happened next?" This little episode did not interrupt everyone's curiosity, and the peddler diagonally opposite was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet.

Ye Beixuan remained calm and unhurried. After the waiter wrapped his hands in white cloth and served the steaming dishes again, his clear voice rang out once more: "The matchmaker delivers the letter, the west wing sends the message."

The letter read: "Under the west chamber, where the moon awaits, the door is half-open to the breeze. The shadows of flowers sway against the wall; could it be my beloved coming?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of wicked laughter filled the room. The men exchanged glances, their eyes conveying a knowing look, as if they were back to watching something unspeakable.

The young women looked shy and covered their ears, seemingly unable to bear to hear, yet unable to resist eavesdropping through their fingers.

Some even stood up and cheered loudly.

"it is good!"

"Sir, your writing is excellent..."

The story continues, and Ye Beixuan looks at everyone with a wicked smile, continuing to recount the plot of Zhang Sheng defeating the enemy and getting engaged to Cui Yingying.

"However..." Ye Beixuan's tone suddenly changed, and everyone's hearts tightened involuntarily, fearing that this perfect couple might encounter some hardship.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at him. Ye Beixuan suddenly raised his voice and shouted passionately, "However, when Zhang Junrui passed the imperial examination with flying colors, Prime Minister Cui wanted to break off the engagement because of his humble origins. He even drove the top scholar out of the house and knocked the gold-embossed letter to the ground."

He deliberately left his folding fan half-open, making the peach blossoms on the fan appear as if they were about to bloom.

A gust of wind swept through the room, and the lights in the twilight flickered and swayed, making the shadows of the people in the room look like demons and monsters baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

"And in front of the Cui Prime Minister's residence, lanterns and decorations were everywhere. The new son-in-law, Zheng Heng, rode his horse straight over the gilded letter." Ye Beixuan then slowly opened his folding fan: "That letter was actually written by Cui Yingying herself!"

"It turns out that last night, Hongniang visited the top scholar's residence, carrying a blood-stained farewell letter in her bosom." Ye Beixuan's voice suddenly turned mournful: "The farewell letter reeked of coughed blood, and it read: 'I have already been betrothed to the Zheng family's son, I hope you will consider your own worth…'"

Upon hearing this, the peddler across the street turned pale instantly, muttering to himself, "Ah Hua, are you never going to be able to go back to your parents' home for the rest of your life?"

"Outrageous!" a scholar shouted as he stood up, his body slamming so hard that the octagonal table shifted, and even his chopsticks fell to the ground. "How can there be such parents in the world who despise the poor and love the rich!"

"Sigh..." A trace of reminiscence flashed in the eyes of his classmate beside him, and he shook his head helplessly and sighed: "It was an arranged marriage, a match made in heaven, and the families were not well-matched. Although he was the top scholar in the imperial examination, he was still from a poor family..."

"Bullshit!" a bearded swordsman retorted. "What do you mean by 'matching social status'? If it were me, I'd elope with the young lady..."

Everyone held their breath, and the candlelight in the room flickered in the wind.

"When Zhang Sheng saw that he could not move the Prime Minister, he had no choice but to kneel and kowtow before the palace gate, writing a petition in blood to the Emperor." Ye Beixuan suddenly raised his voice, his tone becoming somewhat impassioned: "When His Majesty saw this, he was deeply moved by the couple's deep affection, so he personally decreed: since their marriage was decided by poetry, they must compose poems together! And in that golden hall, they composed more than three hundred poems, and Zheng Heng was drenched in sweat."

Ye Beixuan danced and imitated Cui Yingying, throwing his folding fan to the ground: "Then Cui Yingying took off her phoenix coronet and wedding gown, threw the crown to the ground, the sound of jade shattering resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and shouted loudly - 'I'd rather be a wife with a tragic fate than a concubine of a rich man!'"

As dusk settled, all was silent. Everyone was awestruck by the spirit of this seemingly fragile woman pursuing love, and filled with admiration. "The story ends here," Ye Beixuan said loudly, striking the gavel. "Listen to my final words."

He took a deep breath, looked at everyone, and slowly said, "May all lovers in the world be united in marriage!"

"it is good……"

"it is good……"

A round of applause and cheers erupted, and some people even stood up and pulled Ye Beixuan to the table to have a drink together, but he politely declined.

At this moment, he had more important things to do. Following the current course of the story, he should be going to buy tofu.

As usual, he straightened his clothes, bowed to the crowd, smiled slightly, and then walked towards the tofu stall.

As soon as you step out of the shop, the rich aroma of tofu pudding fills the air.

Ren Youlan was a renowned tofu beauty in the surrounding area. She was beautiful, and her tofu was exceptionally white and tender, naturally making her business very successful. However, behind her back, some jealous women would call her a vixen.

However, since she did not do anything outrageous, no one dared to insult her to her face.

"A bowl of tofu, please..." Ye Beixuan said with a slight smile as he approached the stall and spoke to Ren Youlan.

Ren Youlan smiled calmly and skillfully ladled out a bowl of white tofu pudding, handing it to him. Inadvertently, their hands touched, startling them so much that they quickly pulled back as if electrocuted.

"I...I..." Ren Youlan was a little flustered. She quickly picked up the spoon again, scooped up another spoonful of tofu, and hurriedly added it to his food, her face slightly flushed: "Eat more..."

three.

two.

One.

Ye Beixuan finished the tofu in one gulp, silently counting in his mind. Sure enough, just as he finished counting to three, a large hand pressed down on his shoulder, and he was pulled aside.

“Poor scholar, let me go first.” Just as Ye Beixuan had predicted, Zhen Guandong pulled him aside.

Hmph, Xue Hai is truly astounded, giving me a second chance to kill him.

After muttering to himself, Zhen Guandong glared fiercely at Ye Beixuan before carrying the tofu away.

"Is there enough tofu?" Ren Youlan asked as she tidied up her stall, preparing to pack up and go home.

"Thank you, that's enough, I'm quite full today." Ye Beixuan thanked him with a smile, then changed the subject: "Where's Niu Niu? I usually see her coming to listen to storytelling, why isn't she here today?"

The cold light reflected from the bluestone slabs shone into Ren Youlan's dim eyes. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her coarse cloth apron, her eyelashes trembled slightly, but her tone was deliberately light: "I caught a cold a few days ago and developed a fever..."

Before he could finish speaking, a gust of cold wind blew by, overturning the gauze covering the stall to the ground.

Ye Beixuan hurriedly bent down to pick up the gauze, and in that instant, he inadvertently noticed a few dark brown medicine stains on Ren Youlan's trouser leg.

Ye Beixuan helped to cover the gauze back up and said, "Take me to see him."

Ren Youlan blushed, her gaze darting to the side, a hint of shyness flashing in the corner of her eye: "Young Master, there's no need..."

"Consider this a way of repaying the kindness you've shown me all this time." Before she could object, Ye Beixuan picked up the carrying pole, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and turned to say, "Niu Niu is still young. Someone needs to watch the heat when decocting her medicine, and someone also needs to cook for her."

As they spoke, the aroma of meat wafted over from Ping An Inn.

Ren Youlan twisted the hem of her clothes between two fingers, looked down at the two intertwined figures on the road, and suddenly whispered, "Go west..."

The two walked through the alley and came to a small courtyard with a mud fence covered with green ivy. Pushing open the wooden door of the courtyard, a pungent smell of medicine immediately hit them.

Ye Beixuan put down his load and looked up at the mud fence, where he saw a portrait of Niu Niu's family of three.

However, he did not linger. He picked an orange leaf, put it into the medicine pot to decoct the medicine, and then went straight into the house to Niu Niu's bedside to check on her condition.

Just then, Ren Youlan carefully carried a bowl of medicine, blowing on it gently as she walked.

"Let me do it!" Ye Beixuan took the medicine bowl, picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it gently, and then fed the medicine into Niu Niu's mouth.

After taking the medicine, Ren Youlan reached out and touched Niu Niu's forehead, exclaiming in surprise, "Niu Niu's fever is gone..."

"Of course, that's all thanks to the effects of orange tree leaves." Ye Beixuan smiled and put down the medicine bowl, saying gently, "Niu Niu has sweated a lot. Go outside and fetch some water to wipe her body."

"it is good!"

Watching Ren Youlan's departing figure, Ye Beixuan knew that a crucial scene was about to unfold. At this time, it should be Zhen Guandong, who had been drinking, coming to cause trouble.

"Ah..." Sure enough, a loud scream came from the doorway.

Immediately following was the sound of a testicle shattering.

Zhen Guandong flew out with a thud, clutching his groin and rolling on the ground in pain. Ye Beixuan felt that kicking him in the waist last time wasn't enough to vent his anger, so this time he kicked him directly in the groin.

"Young master, stop hitting him! If you keep hitting him, he'll die..." Ren Youlan rushed over to stop him.

Ye Beixuan's eyes were icy as he slowly walked towards Zhen Guandong. Upon seeing this, Zhen Guandong clutched his crotch in terror, kicking his legs frantically backward, trying to get away from him.

"I'm warning you, I have a bunch of brothers under my command... ah..."

Ye Beixuan kicked him again, stomping hard on his crotch. The sound of his testicles crushing and being ground was clearly audible. Seeing Zhen Guandong's lips turn white with pain, Ye Beixuan nodded in satisfaction and shouted, "Get lost."

It wasn't that he was being merciful and letting him go, but according to the subsequent plot, Ren Youlan would give him some food so that he could quickly go out and hide.

He wanted to see what other tricks this illusion would pull. Currently, the only way to break through the illusion was still through her; at least after killing these thugs, he wouldn't be in a hurry to leave.

P.S.: The finale will air tomorrow, and the epilogue will be released the day after tomorrow, explaining the fates of all the characters.

(End of this chapter)