Qizhou

The bracelet was clutched and given away in Xu Wenzhi's hand, and he kept his head lowered, his back turned to the door, without saying a word.

Ci Nian couldn't see his expression clearly, but he smelled a trace of loneliness from his thin back.The shopkeeper was at a stalemate with him, and after a few more words of persuasion, he finally sighed across the high counter and said, "Master Xu, why don't you...you should think it over first?"

Xu Wenzhi nodded silently, put the bracelet into his sleeve, turned his head, passed through the wide open shop door, and saw He Qizhou and Ci Nian standing at the door.

When the three met at this time, they didn't know who was more embarrassed than the other.Xu Wenzhi was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered his head, walked out of the pawn shop quickly, pretending that he didn't see the two of them, and quickly burrowed into the alley beside him.How could Xi Nian let him run away like this, he hurried to catch up, but the last time, he called Rong Yuan's name on the street, which made Master Xu embarrassed, this time, he can't be reckless no matter what .

The alleys are connected with alleys, forming a square Chang'an City.After chasing Ci Nian for a long time, seeing no one around, he dared to call him by name: "Master Xu..."

Xu Wenzhi's footsteps paused, and he actually stopped in response.The two were in a stalemate, neither of them was willing to take a further step. He never thought he was stupid before he died, but in this situation, he couldn't even speak.To reassure or ask?Will the next sentence break Xu Wenzhi's heart?What happened to the bracelet on his hand?

"Brother Xu." He Qizhou rushed up and stood beside Ci Nian.

This alley is not narrow at all, but the eaves on both sides are too long, forcibly blocking the sunlight, Xu Wenzhi stood in the sunlight, caught in a dilemma by the shadows on both sides, he was silent for a long time, finally turned around, and said with a smile : "What's the matter, brother He, young master, why did you come here..."

He was the one who asked the question first.And there was still that unnatural smile on his face.

Ci Nian wanted to say something, but was gently pulled by He Qizhou. The latter straightened his smile and said gently: "We came here today to see... if we can be of any help. I just went to the shop to buy some Pastry, I'm planning to go to Master Zhang's house, do you want...to come with us?"

"No!" Xu Wenzhi's smiling face immediately changed. Compared with a decent person, he is more like a hedgehog in a desperate situation at this moment. His whole body is tense, and the invisible thorns are standing up. They were all extremely sharp, "You...why are you meddling in your own business..."

"Brother Xu, are you okay? What exactly happened..." He Qizhou didn't care about the thorns in his words, but put his tone in a more gentle tone, "If you encounter any difficulties, you must tell them. If we can I will help you, and I will never stand idly by."

Xu Wenzhi seemed to be aware of his gaffe.He stretched his body extremely tightly, but he still forced himself to look relaxed. Such intense discomfort made everyone who looked at him feel uneasy.Ci Nian saw that such a stalemate was not a problem, so he raised the snack box in his hand, took a step forward slowly, and said, "Master Xu, we bought some snacks, why don't we find a place where we can get some sunshine together, Do you want to eat something and rest?"

"I'm not going!" Xu Wenzhi waved his hand violently, and threw something out of his sleeve. The thing flew towards Ci Nian's face. He Qizhou was startled, and quickly reached out to stop it. Xu Wenzhi looked at it. , hastily took two steps, and said with concern: "Be careful! That's..."

Sunlight poured down through the gaps between the eaves on both sides, and what He Qizhou held between his fingertips was the tasseled silver bracelet blooming like a flower.Facing the sun, it casts faintly bright spots on the gray wall beside it, and when the tasseled flower is blown by the wind, it shakes and casts a string of dancing stars.He Qizhou looked at the bracelet in his hand with mixed feelings, and finally he could only sigh slightly, and said, "Sorry, brother Xu..."

"Brother He, why are you apologizing..." Xu Wenzhi's tense shoulders collapsed in an instant, he smiled, took off the bracelet from He Qizhou's hand, put it in the palm of his hand, and stuffed it tightly in his heart, wishing he could Cut a hole in my heart and seal it inside forever, "Don't I know? How could I not know. This draft is organized by the Ministry of Rites in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Changing lamps is also called official entertainment, and I handle everything big and small, how can I not know! How dare I not know..."

His voice was mournful, as if he was scraping blood from his chest: "You asked me to ask, how dare I ask, how can I be worthy of asking! The silver bracelet is simple and elegant, it doesn't match her fine attire, and it doesn't match her fine attire. Her hair is full of emeralds. She didn't even come for me when we met under the flower tree, I just happened to meet her eyes, and she thought I was a powerful and powerful son."

"A noble family is her destination, and rich food and clothing are her happiness..." Xu Wenzhi's voice was very soft, and his tone was very calm, like a clumsy storyteller, telling stories that have nothing to do with him. s story.But as he talked, the words still took his strength away. He leaned against the gray wall, hid himself under the eaves where the sun could not shine, and grinned, "I take my flower that blooms in spring Giving her the silver flower is not happiness for her, but imprisonment. If she wants to fly up to the branch and become a phoenix, it is impossible for her to wear the silver bracelet I prepared for her. I knew it a long time ago, I should have known it..."

"Yesterday..." The more He Qizhou listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. He took a few steps closer and patted Xu Wenzhi's shoulder lightly, "I was the one who was abrupt, Brother Xu, I'm sorry..."

"It's good if you can lie to yourself for a day, but at least you can be happy for a day." Xu Wenzhi laughed twice, coughed twice, finally took a deep breath, and sighed, "My little girl, She accepted my bracelet, she said she likes it very much. I like the bracelet very much, and I also like me very much. In the late spring and March, after the stinging sting is over and everything recovers, I can still invite her out, and then invite you and the young master, and we will be together Go for an outing, go to the mountains to enjoy the flowers..."

"It's a pity... all this is just an empty dream of mine. No matter how beautiful the flowers in the mountains are, they are not as glamorous as the flowers in the imperial garden. What she wants is not the deep red and light red in the mountains, but the splendor in the palace walls. And I can't give her these things, and no matter how hard I try for the rest of my life, I can't give them to her. She should be angry with me. A stunned young man who will be a servant of the Ministry of Rites for the rest of his life, has the guts to try to get ahead and marry Mrs. Qin's niece, Master Zhang's elder brother. female……"

Hearing these words, Chi Nian felt so sad that he hated him, but he didn't know what else to say to comfort Xu Wenzhi, at this moment, maybe it was useless to say anything.Master Xu must have done everything they wanted to do for him.He is timid and inferior, but he can ignore that illusory face for Rong Yuan.

But being lonely and courageous is not a dead skin without self-knowledge.He doesn't go anymore, he just doesn't want to humiliate himself.He knew a long time ago that there was no possibility for him and Miss Zhang in the high wall of the rich family, let alone a future.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, when they saw him handing out the bracelet, they felt relieved, thinking that the two of them had reconciled and there would be no more quarrels.

But what they didn't see was that shortly after they left, the girl Xu Wenzhi missed took the bracelet from her hand.She frowned and stuffed the bracelet back into Xu Wenzhi's hand.Master Xu was extremely brave, he took the bracelet, took Rong Yuan's hand again, and wanted to put it back on for her, he told all the love in his heart clearly, he dared to swear that on that day, There is absolutely no falsehood in what he confided to her.

"But I'm going to enter the palace." Rong Yuan's voice was very soft and flat, her beautiful Yuanshan eyebrows were slightly frowned, and she didn't even look at Xu Wenzhi when she said this, "My uncle is here The previous dynasty gained power, but entering the palace at this time, the status will only be higher, not lower..."

Xu Wenzhi forgot what she said later, it was probably her mother's favor, family status, power in the court... These things shouldn't have come out of her mouth!Standing in the warm yet cold wind, Xu Wenzhi felt that even the cotton robe couldn't cover him, otherwise why, the coldness would pass from his back to his neck, making him feel chills even at the back of his head.

"But..." Xu Wenzhi struggled for a long time, and finally squeezed out a sentence, "But if you fail to enter the palace, you will..."

"I won't." Before he could finish asking, Rong Yuan cut him off decisively, "There is no emperor, but there is also a prince, and at worst, there is still the prince in the court, Mr. Li..." She picked up the The bracelet in Xu Wenzhi's palm, he lowered his head, looked at it carefully for a while, and finally said with a smile, "This bracelet is so plain, if I accept it, I will adorn it with gems when I get home, but this thin flower branch, How many precious stones can the thin petals withstand?"

"But at the beginning...we..." Xu Wenzhi's mind was in a mess, he no longer dared to look forward to the future, but what he was even more afraid of was that even the past he talked about for a living was contained in Rong Yuan's sharp words, become gradually indistinct.

Xu Wenzhi was trembling, and squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying, "But when we met under the flower tree, we wrote so many letters, we... don't you have any sincerity towards me... I……"

"If today's Xu Wenzhi is a Shangshu, a Hanlin, a prince, or a prime minister..." Rong Yuan lowered her head and sighed softly, "What's the use, you are not. My fate has never been controlled by me." Make up your own mind. I've known this for a long time, why don't you understand?"

"We..." Xu Wenzhi seemed to hear a turning point in her words, he hurried up a few steps, held her hand, and said excitedly, "We can still go far away and hide our names, as long as you want, we anytime……"

"I don't want to!" Zhang Rongyuan cried out suddenly, threw his hand away forcefully, and threw the slender silver bracelet to the ground. With red eyes, she took a deep breath and said sharply, "I don't want to!" I am willing! I am the daughter of Zhang’s parents! I am Taifu Tan’s niece! I am the emperor’s future concubine! There is no possibility for me to be with you anymore! Don’t dream! Wake up!”