From doomsday survival to fast-forward daily life

In March of the seventh year of Shunhe, Qiu Niang came to Beijing from her hometown on the banks of the Lu River.

Her father had been a censor in the capital, and her family was considered a scholarly family. Her purpose of coming to the capital this time was to get married.

In March of that year, the peach blossoms in Nanshan, outside Shangjing, were blooming exceptionally beautifully.

She got off the horse on a whim when she saw this scenery.

It was here that she met the person with whom she would be obsessed for the rest of her life.

He wore a jade crown and a dark brocade robe, and one could tell at a glance that he came from a wealthy family. Although his face looked serious, his heart was actually very soft.

That day in the peach blossom forest of Nanshan Mountain, Qiu Niang handed him her handkerchief and bandaged the leg of a whimpering white dog.

"Although it is injured, it is sensible." The man smiled, and this look was engraved in Qiu Niang's heart.

On July 13, the seventh year of Shunhe, Qiu Niang put on her wedding dress.

This is the way the world is for women. They have no control over anything, even who they marry is determined by their parents and the matchmaker.

Later, Qiu Niang thought about this night many times, and felt that although it pushed her life to the point of no return, it also gave her the opportunity to meet that man again.

On the wedding day, guards from the imperial city poured in.

The wedding banquet turned into a funeral banquet. The blood of her unmarried husband was splashed on her wedding dress, and it seemed that the warmth of human body was still retained.

From then on, Qiu Niang no longer needed to marry and was no longer the daughter of an official. Her family moved to the Music Academy.

Qiu Niang had a beautiful face, her eyes were charming when they moved, her voice was like honey, her figure was soft and her dance was moving, and she soon became the most famous lady in the music troupe.

For her, these things are not shameful. People have to survive, so as long as they can survive, what's wrong with doing anything?

At her desperate wedding banquet that day, she vowed that no matter where she drifted in this life, she would try her best to live for herself, but this wish could not escape the entanglement of fate.

In the spring of the second year that Qiu Niang was in the Music Academy, the Chen family submitted a memorial, inviting musicians from the Music Academy to entertain at a banquet.

In the green scenery of spring, Qiu Niang saw him again.

He still loved the ink-colored brocade robe, and his face looked more resolute, with sharp edges and a restrained edge.

During the banquet, a young girl smiled sweetly and looked very free. The musicians said that she was the legitimate daughter of the Chen family and would enter the palace to become a mistress in the future. The man called her Jing.

The so-called people in the music troupe would naturally stand in front of the team.

Qiu Niang recognized her at a glance, but that was all she recognized.

If it weren't for the spring breeze that day, Qiu Niang thought that she might never have anything to do with him again in this life.

He saw Qiu Niang's face hidden under the veil, which he had met in the peach forest.

Love and the beauty of spring in the garden can no longer be contained.

In the spring of the eighth year of Shunhe, Qiu Niang sang many songs in the Chen Mansion.

Most of the time he just sat there and let her sing as she pleased. This spring, he gave Qiu Niang a puppy with fur as white as snow, which was only three months old.

"It will grow into a strong dog in the future." He looked at Qiu Niang, as if he had not yet finished the second half of the sentence.

Qiu Niang knew that this puppy would grow into a strong dog, just like the one in the peach forest in Nanshan when they first met.

From then on, Qiu Niang could no longer sit peacefully in the music hall.

She named her puppy Ayu, which echoes the hazy drizzle of spring and her originally silent yet damp heart.

As spring passed, summer came, and she took very good care of A Yu.

In May, A Yu ran away from the music school, and Qiu Niang went to look for her.

But he rescued a woman from an abandoned well in the Jiaofang Garden.

She recognized her; they had met once at the Spring Banquet in March.

"I recognize you." said the woman named Jing.

"Your face often appears in my brother's study." Jing looked at Qiu Niang and his words made her blush.

Qiu Niang didn't know why Jing fell into the well, but she saved her.

Jing was two months older than her, so she called her "Sister Jing". Jing stayed in the music school for two days and told her many interesting stories about his brother's childhood.

Qiu Niang always listened quietly, pretending to be happy. Sometimes she would wonder, if she had grown up in Shangjing, lived next to the Chen family, and grew up with him, would her fate be completely different?

A wealthy family like the Chen Mansion would probably not allow the daughter of a criminal to enter, not to mention that the woman was a member of the music school.

In the past six months, she went to the Chen Mansion more often, and rumors were bound to spread in the music school.

Everyone said that the Chen family had taken a fancy to Qiu Niang and wanted to bring her into the family.

Sisters from the music troupe often joked that perhaps General Chen’s family would come to her house one day and redeem her.

At these times she just smiled. She couldn't help but have some expectations in her heart, but she was also very clear about the reality.

She waited until the end of the year, when heavy snow covered the black tiles of the music house. She went to Chen's house with the musicians again.

He seems to be in poor health recently and often coughs.

On the way to the yard, Qiu Niang was distracted for a moment and got separated from the other musicians and lost her way.

Before she knew it, she came to a window.

"Brother, are you feeling better?" This was Jing's voice.

The man who was still coughing comforted her: "It will be safe in the spring. You should take good care of yourself in the palace."

"Of course. I've also asked people to keep an eye on the music school to ensure Qiu Niang won't be bullied." Jing said softly.

The man smiled, and there seemed to be some melancholy in his tone: "I don't know when the emperor will approve my memorial. Sometimes I feel bad when I think of her being alone there..."

Qiu Niang's heartbeat was almost leaving her chest.

It turned out that he had no intention of welcoming her into the house, but her identity was special. She was labeled the daughter of a criminal. How could it be easy for her to gain freedom?

In the spring of the ninth year of Shunhe, Qiu Niang went to Chen's house to sing again, and that day was another Spring Banquet.

His health seemed to be improving.

As their eyes met, Qiu Niang always felt that she had forgotten the beats and lyrics.

When the song ended, he dismissed the musicians and left only Qiu Niang.

"It's spring again." He looked at Qiu Niang's face and spoke slowly.

Qiu Niang bowed and said, "Yes, my Lord, are you feeling better?"

"Okay." He answered briefly, and it seemed as if he was thinking about something between his brows.

"Is there anything on your mind, sir?" Qiu Niang had been in the music school for a long time and had become quite good at observing people's words and expressions.

He said in a deep voice: "Next month, I will go to the southwest to quell the rebellion."

Qiu Niang didn't know why he brought up his official business, she just felt that he seemed to have something to say today.

Her eyes met his pupils that looked like amber in the sunlight. Qiu Niang saw the boundless spring scenery in his eyes, and herself in it.

His words were deep, but firm: "When I come back, I will marry you."

The peach blossoms of Nanshan Mountain bloomed in Qiu Niang's heart. This was a spring when lovers finally got their response.