Tao saw that Wu Xiang was not playing the tune, but instead staring at Lin Jianrong, so he scowled and lightly cleared his throat.

  Wu Xiang came back to himself, smiled and said: "I feel that Fourth Sister's tune seems to have only played the first half, still lacking the second half. Why don't I continue it?"

  Lin Jinyong forced a smile: "I'm just throwing bricks to attract jade." "As long as Fourth Sister doesn't mind my humble continuation, that's all that matters." Wu Xiang sat down, concentrated his spirit and played a tune.

  Autumn night without clouds, moonlight like water, ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, extremely charming. Tired birds return to their nests, the creek water is clear and gurgling, the women of Yue are washing silk, the weaving woman is pounding the loom. The night wind is like a song, the bamboo shadows are like dancing, the scholar leans on the window, reciting poetry voice by voice. The buildings are layered, the lanterns are shining brightly, the scholars sit at their desks, writing quickly...

  The music ended, Wu Xiang smiled slightly: "Sacrifice of ugliness." His eyes turned to Lin Jianrong, with an added layer of meaning.

  Tao and others have not given up yet, Lin Jinrong has already smiled: "I lost."

  She didn't even need to compare skills, her mental state had already lost to Wu Xiang. The music was born from the heart, and the opening of Autumn Moon was still good, but as she played on, she became completely immersed in her own melancholy, trapped inside, and couldn't help but end hastily and awkwardly. No matter how much she encouraged herself, no matter how hard she tried to cover it up, the past had already left an indelible mark in her heart, and she easily succumbed to it.

  Wu Xiang was different, he was the sun rising at dawn, dazzling and full of hope for the future. His life was bright and beautiful, he was the bookworm who studied hard under the moonlight, and also the one who wrote with ease in a high-rise building. That was every scholar's ultimate dream - to become a pillar of the state, to laugh and talk about the world with abandon, to write with reckless abandon.

  Genius is genius, let alone a hardworking one. Lin Jinyong believed that Wu Xiang might not fully understand her thoughts and feelings, but he could sense her melancholy, so he said the first half of the poem, and came to complete the second half. He was telling her that although they were both autumn moons, their mental states were different, their perspectives were different, and their understanding was different.

  This state of mind, how can she compare with him? Can't be compared, and there's no way to compare. Lin Jianrong thought somewhat gloomily that he was still young, but she had already grown old.

  Tao was somewhat surprised, as it was clear that the two had completely different styles. In terms of skill, Lin Jingrong was slightly better, and even if she was a bit off in her later years, she might not necessarily have lost. However, Lin Jingrong had already conceded defeat, and Wu Xiang was a proud person, so Tao went along with it: "Each has their own strengths." Wu Xiang had been somewhat tense and uncertain earlier, but when he heard Lin Jingrong admit defeat, his smile suddenly blossomed, and he became much more relaxed, chatting away: "Actually, I'm not as skilled as Fourth Sister, but Fourth Sister's mood isn't as good as mine. The person playing the sheng is being trapped by the sheng... At such a young age, she shouldn't be making such sorrowful sounds. Fourth Sister should let go of her worries."

  Lin Jinrong bowed his head and thanked him, but Tao Shi was not surprised. She had not realized the problem before, and only now did she feel a little uncomfortable in her heart. At this time, she praised Wu Xiang a few words and asked someone to bring tea to drink.

  Wu Xiang finished a cup of tea and stood up to bid farewell, not long after, Lin Sanlaoye also called himself to scatter all the bones in his body and ran to sleep by himself. Tao Shi frowned and said: "Nang Nang, the tune you played today is not suitable for young girls, it sounds too sad and cold, especially the latter part." After drinking two cups of hot tea, Lin Jingrong had recovered from her low mood and smiled softly: "I just thought it was appropriate to the occasion, I casually picked it up, if mother doesn't like it, I won't play it next time."

  Last autumn, she had just been reborn, and her mood was at its most desolate. The tune she played was several times more sorrowful than this one, to the point where even Old Lady Lin couldn't bear it, and had no choice but to agree to let her go bid farewell to Wu Shi. At that time, Tao Shi didn't have any feelings about it, but today, a casual remark from Wu Xiang suddenly made Tao Shi pay attention to this matter - was it because Tao Shi didn't love her children? No, Tao Shi had already exhausted all her efforts, it's just that people are too easily trapped in their own emotions. With eyes and heart full of only one's own discontent and sacrifices, one can only see sadness and anger, thus missing out on happiness and opportunities.

  Mrs. Tao didn't know what her daughter was thinking, and continued the conversation: "Although Wu Xiang is arrogant, his words also make some sense. You should broaden your horizons and not think that some things are bad just because of me and your father's relationship..." She wasn't good at having deeper conversations with her daughter about these matters, so she glossed over it, chuckling self-deprecatingly: "Actually, I don't know how to live a good life, you shouldn't learn from me."

  It's good that you have your own opinions, but sometimes you still need to be flexible."

  Lin Jinyong said seriously, "Mother, don't worry, no matter what kind of situation I'm in, I will live a good life." No matter if she made the same mistake as Tao's family back then, she won't make it again this lifetime.

  She would look further ahead, life should have a broader horizon, rather than being limited to the small piece of land in front of her.

  The sky had just revealed a hint of white, and everyone was already up, burning fire, cooking rice, feeding horses, and harnessing carts.

  Tao stood aside directing others, Lin Jinrong led the lychee to arrange the dinner table, Wu Xiang came in and stopped about three steps away from her, saluted and asked how she was doing, smiling softly: "Fourth sister, last winter, before competing with you, Lu Jian had already asserted that I would definitely lose to you, saying that my mental state was already inferior. At the time, I didn't realize it. Later, I understood."

  "What's next?" Lin Jien Rong smiled slightly and waited quietly for what came next.

  "I've been fortunate since I was young, never suffered any grievances. The only punishment I received was when I stole my grandfather's wine that had been buried underground for decades and drank it. My father scolded me with two strokes of the cane, and my grandfather rebuked me a few times. It was well-deserved, but I still felt wronged and vowed never to drink again." Wu Xiang looked at Lin Jingrong with kind eyes: "Fourth sister, my grandfather often told me that life is full of disappointments, eight or nine out of ten things don't go as planned. Although I haven't experienced it myself, I think you should open up your heart and let go."

  "Elders won't like your loud voice, just smile more often and chat with them, they will like you then."

  Lin Jiner gazed seriously at the young man in front of her. In the morning light, the young man was still slender and tall, with a faint blue down on his lips, although he tried to put on an air of mature dignity, but his eyes and eyebrows were all youthful. This person had always lived the life she yearned for but never had, getting close to him, getting close to him... maybe she could live that kind of life too...

  Just as Wu Xiang was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, Lin Jiner finally withdrew her eyes and said in a low voice: "Actually, things are much better now than they were before. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to come to Qingzhou this time either. Thank you, Second Brother Wu. No one has ever advised me like that before. Yesterday, I lost with a clear conscience, and I benefited greatly from it."

  Her smile was too sincere and radiant, her tone too genuine and serious, Wu Xiang felt a bit embarrassed, covering his ears and looking away: "Actually, you're not bad, I used to think you were too weak and silly, but after losing to you, I suddenly thought that your family's situation is really tough." She understood the meaning behind his words, accepted his kindness calmly, dared to admit defeat, without any girly tantrums or sour attitudes, she was really great.

  Lin Jinyong saw Wu Xiang looking embarrassed, and his mood inexplicably had a few points of pleasure. He tentatively said: "I heard my seventh brother say that the responsibility for Qingzhou is clear, and Second Brother didn't bring many other things, but he brought the most books."

  "It's boring along the way, I don't know if I can borrow two books to take a look?" Borrowing books is a good excuse, one borrowing and one returning, and there are many opportunities for casual conversation.

  As expected, Wu Xiang's unease vanished as soon as she mentioned this. He smiled and said: "I don't know what kind of books Fourth Sister usually likes to read? Poetry, lyrics, or strange legends? There is a book called 'Mountain and River Records' that is quite interesting, would you like to take a look?"

  "Look, why not take a look? I just want to see the outside world and broaden my horizons. Unfortunately, I don't have the chance. I haven't even been to Taoming Fu, I heard that there's a whole street in Taoming Fu where all the shops sell books from head to toe, is that true?"

  Wu Xiang's eyebrows and eyes flew up: "Yes, when I was in Tai Ming Fu, I had nothing to do but stroll around that street. There was a family with particularly good books, including rare editions. I took a liking to one set, but it was snatched away by Lu Xian. I was so angry..."

  ……”

  Lin Jinyong was delighted to hear him, and her mood improved a bit. Unexpectedly, he brought up another Lu Xian, thinking that Lu Xian had ruined Mr. Zhu's book in order to force her to apologize, which made her feel a few points of disgust again. She slightly frowned and said: "Everything has its order, how can he snatch your book?"

  Wu Xiang saw that she was telling the truth, and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "It's not that I robbed him, it's just that I lost a bet. By the way, you know, he actually has an extraordinary talent for restoring ancient books and paintings, I don't know where he learned it from. He refused to show me his skills, so I let him have the book, and unexpectedly, he really did have some genuine craftsmanship..."

  Lin Jinrong was taken aback, how could Lu Jian have such skills? It's laughable that she had no idea. But what did it have to do with her anyway? She smiled and continued to ask Wu Xiang: "What are some good things to eat and play at the Ta Ming Fu?" Poor thing who never left the house, Wu Xiang racked his brains to satisfy her curiosity: "There's nothing much fun to do, but there's plenty of good food. Ah, right, there's a shop that sells great rouge and powder, my mother and the others asked me to bring some back for them. If someone from your household goes, you can ask them to bring some back for you to try."

  Lin Jinyong found that he didn't want to engage in this kind of idle chatter, and quickly changed the subject: "Has Yang Mo returned to Jiangnan? Has she written a letter?" Wu Xiang secretly let out a sigh of relief: "She has written one. She also asked about you, and told you to write her a letter when you have time. When it's done, have someone bring it to my house, and I'll send it to Jiangnan with someone..."

  Mr. Lin San walked to the door, yawning, and saw Wu Xiang and Lin Jianrong sitting across a table from each other, with Lin Shen in between them, half asleep. One was speaking enthusiastically, the other listening intently. This year's young talent, one beautiful and gentle. He couldn't help but think, isn't this a ready-made good marriage?

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