He Mingchi walked out of the teahouse and looked at the falling snowflakes. He was slightly surprised. He looked at the sky and then looked back at the two people upstairs. He took out the yellow oiled-paper umbrella and opened it.
At the table by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, Chen Pipi thought of Ning Que's previous words that the middle-aged monk died today because he was unlucky enough to be in a bad mood. He couldn't help shaking his head and jokingly said, "Do you need someone from the Unknown Place to kill every time you two quarrel?"
Ning Que noticed his words and looked at him seriously. "It seems that you like my Sangsang very much?"
Chen Pipi said, "I occasionally visited the Old Brush Pen Shop when you were in the Wilderness for more than half a year. There are many reasons why I like Sangsang. One of them is that she is now the successor of the Divine Priest of Light. After all, I am from Haotian Taoism. Of course, I will lean towards her."
Ning Que said, "In that case, you must help me."
Chen Pipi said helplessly, "I must be crazy to agree to your request."
"I don't understand how the middle-aged monk named Daoshi could find me and know that I would pass that long street when he just entered Chang 'an City. I think someone needs to give an explanation for this. "
Ning Que got up and left the teahouse. Chen Pipi shook his head and followed him.
…
…
The two of them came to the Reception Yard and passed through the dense bamboo sea. Cat Girl greeted them happily, holding Ning Que's sleeves and chattering non-stop. She excitedly told him which scenic spots in Chang 'an City they went to yesterday and which snacks they had eaten. Then the female disciples of Black Ink Garden also surrounded them. Suddenly, Ning Que was surrounded by singing and dancing.
The girls of the Great River Kingdom did not know Chen Pipi's identity. But thinking that he was Ning Que's friend, they were naturally very enthusiastic. Ning Que listened to the girls very patiently and talked with them with a smile.
When they came to the Inner Yard, the female disciples of Black Ink Garden dispersed. Because they knew that Senior Brother Thirteen came to find the Hill Master, they consciously wanted to leave some quiet space for the two of them.
Before they left, they looked at Chen Pipi with a strange expression. They thought to themselves, "Why is this fat man so insensitive? Why did he follow them in at this time?"
The environment of the Guest Courtyard was quiet and secluded. The dense bamboo forest was a little dim in the winter, but it still retained enough green. Some yellowish bamboo leaves fell on the windowsill.
Mo Shanshan quietly looked at the yellowish bamboo leaves on the windowsill. Then, she turned around and lifted the brush, writing on the yellowish paper. The tip of the brush was like a bamboo leaf, sharp and delicate.
Hearing the voice coming from the courtyard, she looked up and was slightly surprised. She did not expect Ning Que to suddenly come, nor did she expect him to bring Mr. Twelve from the Academy.
Looking at the girl in white beside the desk by the window, looking at her black hair scattered on her dress, looking at her slightly flashing thin eyelashes, and looking at her beautiful slightly round cheeks, Ning Que suddenly had an impulse to turn around and leave immediately.
Last night, he had stopped outside this small courtyard for a long time and looked at the girl's silhouette on the window for a long time. Then, he went to the lakeside and struggled for a long time. When he finally made a decision, he thought that he was mentally prepared because he had been cold-blooded since childhood. However, when he saw the girl beside the desk at this time, he suddenly felt that everything in his heart had suddenly flowed away, and he felt extremely empty.
This feeling of emptiness was the feeling of emptiness and powerlessness when watching beautiful things pass by one's life. More importantly, when beautiful things came to one's life, they were heartlessly and stupidly rejected by one's self, which might hurt the other party's strong frustration and guilt. All of these finally became the word 'guilty'.
He was flustered because of his guilty conscience. As for whether there was any hidden heartache, Ning Que did not show it at that time, nor did he tell anyone afterwards. He pulled Chen Pipi to his side.
Mo Shanshan stood up from the desk and greeted Chen Pipi. Then, she looked at Ning Que in confusion.
Ning Que coughed hard twice to clear his somewhat hoarse and stuffy throat. He reached out his hand and motioned for Mo Shanshan to sit down. Then, he squeezed out a smile with difficulty and said, "Today, we will perform a crosstalk for everyone."
Chen Pipi looked at him nervously and asked, "What is crosstalk?"
Ning Que said, "It is a language art. It stresses on speaking, learning, amusing, and singing."
Chen Pipi exaggeratedly said, "Oh, I see."
Although Mo Shanshan had lived by the Ink Lake for a long time and was ignorant of the world's affairs, she was the smartest girl in the world. Looking at the two at this time, she vaguely guessed something. Her thin eyebrows slightly furrowed, and then she calmly sat down and said nothing.
In the following time, Ning Que continued to perform a number of crosstalks, such as speaking slyly, writing couplets, physiognomy, and conversing. He did not care if some of the segments could be understood. Anyway, he just said it according to his own ideas. Chen Pipi, who had only heard a few stories in the alleys of Chang 'an City, had never heard of crosstalk, and had never participated in a crosstalk performance in a primary school, how could he continue to say anything. Anyway, he just kept saying' hmm 'and' ah '.
"Why can I always only say 'hmm' and 'ah'?"
"Because you are the supporting guy, and I am the teasing guy."
"But you clearly said in the teahouse that it was 30% teasing and 70% supporting."
"Hey, I am not teasing you."
…
…
Mo Shanshan put the delicate writing brush on the brush stand, and then calmly sat on the chair and looked at the two. When Ning Que was halfway through the part of teasing you, she finally curled up the corner of her mouth and smiled.
Chen Pipi had been nervously watching her reaction. After seeing the girl's smile, he felt his stiff body suddenly relax, and said happily, "She smiled."
Ning Que looked at him and said very seriously, "Thank you for your help, Senior Brother."
Sitting in the chair, Mo Shanshan suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Chen Pipi, saying, "Twelfth Brother's supporting … the supporting guy is not skilled, so it is not funny."
Chen Pipi wiped the sweat on his forehead and said awkwardly, "I just learned it, please forgive me."
Mo Shanshan looked at Ning Que and said, "I prefer it when you say it alone."
Chen Pipi glanced at Ning Que and turned to leave without hesitation, leaving the quiet room to the sparse shadow of the bamboo forest at the end of winter and the young man and woman in the shadow.
After a moment of silence, Ning Que said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Shanshan, what you said in the alley that day was right …"
Before he could finish his sentence, sweat poured out of his stiff body like a torrential rain, drenching his clothes from the inside out.
Mo Shanshan looked at the ground in front of her, and her sparse eyelashes slightly blinked. Hearing his voice, she suddenly stood up and did not let him finish his sentence. She said softly, "Thirteenth Brother, please."
Ning Que was slightly stunned.
Mo Shanshan spread the yellow bud paper on the desk and placed the paperweight in a corner. She poured water into the inkstone and began to grind the ink. Then she pointed at the brushes on the brush stand and said softly, "You choose one."
Ning Que did not know what she was going to do, so he silently went forward and chose the weasel bristle brush that he was used to.
Mo Shanshan looked at him and said seriously, "You promised me in the Wilderness that you would write a lot of sections for me."
Ning Que recalled the situation at that time, and after a moment of silence, he said seriously, "I will write as much as you want me to write."
Mo Shanshan's beautiful face showed a rare naughtiness of a young girl, and she joked, "You will write as much as I want you to write? Then how about writing countless? "
Ning Que replied bitterly, "I can't finish writing no matter what."
Mo Shanshan looked at him quietly and said, "So write for me for the rest of your life."
The door of the inner residence of the Reception Courtyard by the bamboo sea had been tightly closed from day to dusk. Ning Que had been discussing calligraphy with Mo Shanshan and writing sections for her. When night fell and the candle was lit, the silhouette on the window became two people. From the outside, the two shadows seemed to merge into one.
The candle flickered slightly. Mo Shanshan picked up a small scissors and cut the wick short. Then she walked back to Ning Que and quietly watched him write. She knew that he was very tired at this time, but she knew that he did not need to be pitied at this time.
After all, he could not write for the rest of his life, so there was no second time to cut the candle. The door creaked softly. Mo Shanshan sent Ning Que out. Outside the door, the two bowed calmly and said goodbye to each other.
After straightening up, Mo Shanshan looked into Ning Que's eyes and suddenly took a step forward. Then she leaned forward and clumsily put her face on his chest, listening quietly.
After a moment's hesitation, Ning Que held her in his arms and gently patted her back.
Mo Shanshan quietly leaned in his arms and said, "You still owe me a note."
…
…
Walking out of the Reception Courtyard, Ning Que coughed violently and painfully. Even if he covered his mouth with a handkerchief, he could not make the sound of his coughing become weaker.
Chen Pipi knew that he was now extremely tired and had been seriously injured in the battle in the morning. He had been waiting for him outside the courtyard. At this time, seeing him coughing, he could not help but sigh and say, "You are already seriously injured, but you still have to do these things that make your mind tremble. Isn't it making your injury worse? Why bother?"
Ning Que smiled and stuffed the handkerchief into his sleeve without saying anything.
Chen Pipi saw the blood on the handkerchief and said after a moment of silence, "If the Calligraphy Addict knows that you are seriously injured and coughing blood, will she be more moved?"
Ning Que shook his head and said, "I have already made up my mind. There is no need for her to be moved. It is meaningless except to make myself happy. It is even despicable."
Chen Pipi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's go for a drink."
Ning Que asked, "When did you fall in love with the drink?"
Chen Pipi said, "Second Brother heard that you need to drink to drown your sorrows at this time, so he specially went to Professor Huang He to borrow two cans of double-distilled wine. Let's go and drink it now."
Ning Que smiled and thought that a person like Second Brother would care about these things in his life, and that Chen Pipi had been accompanying him all this time. He could not help but feel a little warm.
But it was better to be alone tonight.
Ning Que refused Chen Pipi's suggestion to drown his sorrows and decided to go home to rest. However, when he walked to the entrance of Lin 47th Street, he suddenly remembered that Sangsang was still in the Scholar's Mansion. The Old Brush Pen Shop was as quiet as a cemetery, and the bed was as cold as a grave. So he turned around and left after a moment of silence.
Not long after, he came to the old Building of Pines and Cranes in Chang 'an City and asked them to prepare the most sumptuous banquet for him. Even if he did not want to get drunk, he wanted to do something very meaningless.
…
…
(Tomorrow is Saturday off. I wish you all a happy weekend. Next week, we will work hard to write more. Fortunately, chapters like today's that made me want to vomit blood will never appear again …) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it and vote for it. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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