Xie Lan'an didn't know the conversation between her third wife and her son after she left the house. The marriage between Xie and Zhou's family was really none of her business.
The arrangements she had made in the past few days, from the soldiers in Jisu Mansion, to checking the account books and sorting out evidence, to following the memories of her previous life to take away Qiuniang, whom her third uncle had placed in her heart, were all aimed at knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger.
No matter whether it is the fifth uncle or the third uncle, the hardest bones in the clan will be broken first, and the remaining details will not become the big picture.
As for whether the Zhou family feels that Xie is in trouble now and is not a good match, that is none of her business.
The carriage crossed the arch bridge over the Qinhuai River and was not going to Confucius Lane to express condolences. Although Xie Xinyi had confessed his crime, Xie Lanan had no intention of leaving his name in the family tree for the New Year from the beginning. Since they were no longer a family sooner or later, why bother with false etiquette.
Luoxing Ruins is adjacent to Jilong Mountain to the east, with cliffs on it. It is ten miles west of the city and is where Xie Lanan is going today. As we drove through the busy city, there were people in the streets who knew the driver of Xie's family, and it was inevitable to give them advice and comments.
The talented and beautiful head of the Xie family changed from male to female, and the injured son of the Yuan family knelt down in Wuyi Lane instead of suing the Xie family. This has become two of the most anecdotes in Jinling City today.
Xie Lan'an sat peacefully in the car, closing his eyes and relaxing, listening to Xuan Bai's report on the rumors in Beijing in the past two days.
A little-known imperial student was so excited that she erased half of the radical from her former nickname of "Miaojue Shiren" and changed it to "女色时人", which is pronounced "feminine person";
There are also famous celebrities who lamented, "The ignorance of heaven and earth made Mr. Xie childless, so he made his daughter go against the path and become as dumb as a monkey."
Across the carriage door, Xuan Bai's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally he said angrily: "Master, please don't take it to heart if they are all bastards."
"There's nothing to worry about."
Xie Lan'an closed her eyes and played with the folding fan. In her previous life, she had even heard people scolding her for not being as good as a prostitute on the Tongque platform. These insults were just a small fuss because they didn't make sense.
Knowing that her master would not pay attention to the mud on the soles of her shoes, Yunshuang still had a tense face on the carriage seat and said, "I remember all those people's names."
The woman in the car smiled movingly.
·
The cliff at Falling Star Ruins is still there.
I don't know if it's because of the warm spring air, but this place is far less lonely and desolate than it was six years ago. From a distance, the grass is green and green, the flowers and trees are sparse, and the wind blows with people's clothes, and there is a little pleasant scenery.
Xie Lanan was beating the fan with his hands behind his back, walking to the cliff and looking down.
At the end of the knife-cut rock cliff is a bottomless abyss.
Not far away, Xuan Bai and Yun Shuang didn't understand what their master was doing here, and they watched her movements nervously, fearing that she would get too close to the edge of the cliff and accidentally fall.
Suddenly Xie Lanan's figure shrank, Xuan Bai's exclamation stuck in his throat, but he saw his master just squatting down and gently stroking a stone.
That stone was stained with He Xian's blood.
Xie Lanan closed his eyes.
She is not a self-pitying person, and even the bone-breaking pain of jumping at that time is actually mottled in her memory. But sometimes when I close my eyes, there is always a lingering fantasy in my mind:
It was after her death, when her soul left her body, that she seemed to see a celestial being in white linen stumbling over, with beautiful appearance and a voice like the sound of nature. He leaned over to collect her bones and chanted an elegy to send them off... …
Of course, fantasy is just an illusion before death. There are no gods in the world.
Everyone pays attention to the end of their lives. It turns out that she is not exempt from this custom. She worries about her own death in the wilderness, so she imagined such an encounter to comfort herself.
It was windy on the top of the mountain, and the indifferent girl's eyebrows were half closed. Her white clothes were as white as snow, and her sleeves were fluttering, as if she was about to disappear in the next moment. Xuan Bai suddenly felt a little scared and couldn't help but call her: "Master..."
Just at this moment, a carriage with a silk cover and a red wheel came speeding from the west of the mountain road. The carriage approached the front of Xie's house and pulled the reins to an emergency stop.
Yunshuang's eyes lit up and she said loudly: "Girl, Mr. Leshan is here!"
Xie Lanan stood up and looked down the hillside, with a smile in his eyes.
She leisurely walked down the mountain, and a young man wearing a green bamboo shirt and a white silk scarf jumped out of the car. When he saw the figure here, he waved his arms and ran over. However, because of his soft body, he was hit by grass and stones along the way. Stumbled several times.
The smile on Xie Lanan's lips became more and more obvious, and he simply refused to leave and stood there waiting.
When the elegant man in green clothes came closer, he took Xie Lan'an's arms and asked, "Are you okay? Has anyone bullied you?"
The two guards couldn't help but laugh, and Xie Lan Anman said in a loud voice: "Don't worry, I'm just trying to bully others, no one can bully me. I thought you said you were going to Xishan to visit the Master last time, and you would leave immediately after receiving the letter from Xishan, so today you should also When we arrive, we will come out of the city to meet you."
After a pause, she said quietly: "Leshan, it's been a long time."
This man in green clothes is Wen Liangyu, who is famous for his good music and temperament. His courtesy name is Dabi and his elegant name is Leshan Jun.
Despite his young age, because of his outstanding talent in music, he was accepted as a disciple by Gao Shi Cui Ying. He did not live in Jinling City permanently, but he was well-known and had good friends with many imperial students.
The first letter Xie Lanan sent was to him, in which he told the whole story of his life without reservation.
No, I'm sorry that in his last life, when he suddenly heard of his death in Dongping, he was so heartbroken and grieved that he broke the strings of his harp and never played the harp again for the rest of his life.
Wen Liangyu saw Xie Lanan's clothes clearly, and then he let go of her and murmured: "Brother Xie, it's Miss Xie."
In fact, her face was still the face that Wen Liangyu was familiar with, not even an inch less heroic. Her hair was neatly tied up, and there was no hint of charm in the slanted temples.
But the person in front of him has a loose and relaxed aura that is no longer dignified, and his cold eyebrows are not as warm as before. They are not quite the same as before.
Hey, why are you not even as tall as him?
Wen Liangyu smiled brightly again, "Then I will call you Han Ling."
Xie Lan'an also smiled and said without saying anything, "I told you to help me cut a good piano. Did you bring it with me?"
Wen Liangyu hurriedly said yes, in the car. Along the way, he was worried that something might happen to Xie Lan'an in Beijing, and he was also afraid that the carriage would be too bumpy and damage his piano, so he had to hold the piano tightly in his arms and drive all the way. After hearing this, Yun Shuang went to get the piano.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wen Liangyu worriedly asked Xie Lan'an if anyone in the capital was gossiping about her.
He scratched his head with his hand: "I am a soft-spoken person, but I can ask my teacher to speak for you."
In his heart, a bosom friend is a bosom friend, and there is no difference between men and women.
Wen Liangyu believed himself to be a music fanatic. He had neither fame nor title nor the protection of a prominent family, so he was of no use. However, his teacher was Cui Ying, who was regarded as a model in the Central Plains.
Although the Central Plains cannot be recovered now, and the teacher has withdrawn from the world in despair, he will always do something for anyone who dares to hurt his friends.
"Don't worry, it's really nothing." Xie Lan'an shook his head and opened the folding fan. This action is the habit of a woman's temperament and a man's. It is truly a free and easy way. "Besides, no one is targeting me, so why should I fight back?"
Wen Liangyu didn't understand much. He didn't like to think deeply about things except writing music, so he just wanted to have nothing to do.
"What were you looking at on the mountain just now?"
Xie Lanan pointed to the northeast with his fan, "Look, the mountains in Jinling are still a little low. I heard that if you climb Beigu Mountain at the entrance of Jingjing, you can see the Central Plains across the river to the north. I want to take a look if I have the chance."
Wen Liangyu just nodded and smiled. Xuan Bai couldn't stop talking, and immediately responded: "I heard that the Great Sima who guarded Jingkou was extremely cruel. He liked to build Jingguan and cut off the heads of beauties to celebrate with wine after a great victory. The Queen Mother would use such a person. …”
Yunshuang's brows moved as she returned holding the piano. Before she could remind him, Xie Lanan had already raised his fan and hit Xuan Bai on the head.
Following her, she threw the fan into Xuan Bai's arms, reached out to take the guqin, and wiped off the cloth wrapping it.
I saw that the body of the piano is in the shape of a burnt tail, with a green sandalwood surface. On the bottom is an inscription carved by Wen Liangyu himself: A gentleman is innocent.
Xie Lan'an hooked his fingers and lightly tested the sound of the piano. He heard the mellow sound and praised: "It's a good piano."
Wen Shiliang said with a smile: "It's been a long time since I played a song with you."
Xie Lan'an nodded, and the two of them climbed a few steps and found a place with beautiful peaches and apricots and a clear breeze. Xie Lan'an sat directly on a bluestone next to the tree, with Hengqin on his knees, "I recently composed a song called "Funi Yin" and composed the music. Please correct me."
She held her breath and calmed down, her slender fingers fell on the string, and the clear sound came out of the forest. The low jade neck on the collar is as beautiful as a crane's neck.
A rainbow has two rings, the brightly colored inner ring is called the male rainbow, and the female ring is called the outer ring, which is dim in color like a shadow.
It seems that things have always been viewed in this way in the world: the strong are male and the weak are female; the bright are yang and the dark are yin; the husband is strong and the woman is soft; the sons carry on the family line and the daughters have no names...
Wen Liangyu listened attentively, nodding from time to time, and when he got to the point of understanding, he couldn't help but blurt out: "Go up to the steep bank of the high rock, and there is a female neon sign. According to the blue sky, I looked at the rainbow, and then suddenly I touched the sky."*
After listening to it for a while, he didn't need to memorize it, all the rhythms were clear in his mind. Xie Lanan's hand didn't leave the string, and he invited it with his eyes. Wen Liangyu had already taken out a jade-like bamboo flute from his waist.
This is the Keting flute that Cai Yong was rumored to have used. Wen Liangyu held the flute in his hand, and his innocent expression changed instantly, becoming generous and generous, with his green sleeves standing in the wind.
He played the piano and flute in harmony with her music.
In the past, this was an elegant ensemble event that was rarely seen by Jiangzuo celebrities, but now it is only accompanied by the spring breeze, the birds and birds listen quietly, and they are just two close friends between heaven and earth.
After all the three stacks were finished, the lingering sound of the music and flutes lingered for a long time.
Yunshuang Xuanbai feasted her ears. Wen Liangyu put down the bamboo flute and looked at Xie Lanan's normal expression, but slowly frowned.
He was happy and worried at the same time: "Hanling, your piano skills have improved again. I never understood before that I am diligent in practicing piano skills, and I don't just practice music scores without participating in nature. Why did the teacher say that I The piano is always inferior to you. When I received your letter, I thought I had found the reason. Women are naturally sensitive and gentle, and you have been hiding your difficulties for many years. The piano is the voice of the heart, and it is natural for deep feelings. But now You have recovered your true form, why is the sound of the piano full of twists and turns, and the sighs are endless and unstoppable?"
Mr. Leshan's two brows were almost twisted together, and he was extremely aggrieved: "You lied to me, you are not good at all. Xie Hanling's heart has ravines hiding thousands of rivers, and there is also depression that cannot be released!"
Xie Lanan, who lowered his head to wipe the piano, couldn't help but smile.
A confidant can hear her thoughts without using words or knowing the cause.
She did not explain, but she looked at everything in the depths of her eyes that no one could see: "There is a great injustice in my heart."
·
Xie Lanan and Wen Liangyu took the same car on the return trip.
Wen Liangyu's family lives in Dongping and has no property in Jinling. In the past, he always stayed in Xie's Mansion every time he went to Beijing.
It didn't make sense that when his friend changed slightly, he would abandon his precious place and stay in an inn instead of bothering her.
That's too much to consider yourself Xie Hanling's friend.
After he finished expressing his feelings in the forest, he ignored Xie Lanan's further questions. In this music fanatic's world, everything is nothing more than me expressing my feelings and knowing who I am.
Just halfway back in the car, Wen Liangyu suddenly straightened up, patted his cheeks vigorously, and muttered alone: "What a first-class piano player, I have to catch up again."
Xie Lanan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, knowing that this man was in trouble again.
The two first became acquainted when Wen Liangyu was conceited about his piano skills and refused to accept that the title of first-level piano master was in the hands of others. It was just that he had a good temper and came to ask for advice politely, which is why they later became friends.
She stretched out her thumb in a serious manner: "Leshan Jun's flute is the best in Jiangzuo."
Wen Liangyu sat upright for a moment and then said silently: "I don't deny this."
Chatting all the way, the car suddenly slowed down as it reached the outside of Wuyi Alley. Outside the carriage, Xuan Bai hesitated and said: "Master, there is a car blocking the road..."
Xie Lanan's thoughts changed for a moment, he sighed slightly, and opened the car door. Sure enough, it was Princess Ancheng's purple-curtained wall car.
When the coachman on the other side saw that someone had returned, he hurriedly bowed and whispered a few words into the closed carved carriage.
The door of the opposite car suddenly opened wide, and Chen Qingrong got out of the car angrily, her clothes jingling.
She didn't want the maid to follow her, so she walked closer quickly, stood on the bluestone road and raised her head. When she saw Xie Lan'an in a skirt, her eyes turned red.
Chen Qingrong's eyes moved and she saw another man in the car who looked like a boy and a girl, with skin as white as snow, sitting knee-to-knee with Xie Lanan, and she instantly turned from sadness to anger.
"Xie Lan'an!"
You used to pretend to be a man, drink and travel with Prince Wang and Sun Gong, and you didn't know how to behave. It has become a joke that has been criticized for days. Now that you have changed your identity, how can you still dare to behave like this?
Do you know how many people made fun of me for my infatuation? How can you still be as calm as a normal person?
But after shouting those three words, Chen Qingrong's resentment suddenly became deflated again, and she murmured with tears in her eyes: "Do you know, these three words were originally the legend of Jinling? How could you let them It became a joke, a big joke..."
When the late emperor was still alive, he said personally that if an envoy from the Northern Hu came in the next ten years, no one would be able to serve as envoy except Xie Lan'an.
She is the Little Xuanjun of Daxuan, so it is not an exaggeration to call her a legend.
It's just that Xie Lanan himself doesn't recognize this vain name.
Wen Liangyu frowned and wanted to speak, but Xie Lanan shook his head at him, picked up his robe and got out of the car.
Looking at Princess Ancheng who was crying into tears, Xie Lanan looked tepid, "Then Princess, have you ever thought about it, if the so-called 'legend' becomes a joke because of your gender, will it itself be a joke?"
Chen Qingrong was not in the mood to argue with her. She cried and shouted: "Why do you have to be a woman!"
"What's wrong with women?" Xie Lan'an's voice was as clear as jade, not graceful, but very pleasant to listen to. "Isn't the princess also a woman? She was born beautiful and lived a free and unrestrained life. She used to look at others as if they were nothing. She is no better than a man. alright?"
