A black horse carriage was moving slowly in the depths of the Wa Mountain.
The bluestone road was very smooth, but the mud between the bluestone roads had been washed away by the wind and rain for many years, gradually forming stone cracks about a few fingers wide. Although the carriage was as light as a feather, the steel wheels rolled over these stone cracks, so it was inevitable that it would be a little bumpy. Naturally, it was difficult for the people in the carriage to sleep.
Sangsang reclined on the quilt beside the window, her eyelashes gently covering her face. She was obviously weak from illness, but her pale cheeks were flushed and there was a small bead of sweat on the tip of her nose. It seemed that she was still a little excited.
Mo Shanshan sat on the soft cushion opposite her and looked at her quietly. Her sparse and long eyelashes fluttered slightly and her eyes were bright. She seemed to be a little curious and a little impressed.
Sangsang was a little nervous under her gaze and said softly, "Can you not look at me like that?"
Mo Shanshan came back to herself and said calmly, "When the chess game ended, there were many people beside the Jumping Tiger Stream who wanted to see you. Their gazes were much more passionate than mine. It's just that the walls of this carriage are too thick, or else those gazes would have burned a hole. And you have to get used to this kind of gaze in the future."
Sangsang opened her eyes and looked at her curiously. "Just now, there were really many people looking at me like that?"
Mo Shanshan nodded.
"It's rare for someone to look at me like that. Yes, it's never happened before."
Sangsang said in a low voice. Then, she seemed to think of something and looked out of the window. The autumn wind blew the green curtains, bringing the scenery of the Wa Mountain into the carriage, making it a little clear and helpless.
"I've never been good-looking since I was a child. Ning Que said that for the first two years after I was picked up, I couldn't grow up no matter if I drank meat soup or rice soup. I was like a little mouse in his arms."
She looked at the mountain scenery outside the window and said in a daze, "Although I was raised by him, I still couldn't be raised to look good. I was thin, small, and dark. Even my hair wasn't good. It was soft and yellow. I looked like a cabbage that hadn't been picked in time. Even if I wore new clothes for the New Year, I still looked listless."
"Ning Que once laughed at me. He said that no matter if I was thrown into a vegetable field or a coal mine, no one would find me. He was right. I have always been the most inconspicuous handmaiden."
Sangsang said, "When I was a child, I dragged seventeen kilograms of lamb leg home from the butcher shop in the City of Wei. No one thought of helping me. It's not that the people in the City of Wei are not enthusiastic, but they really don't see me. It's the same in Chang 'an. I lived in the Old Brush Pen Shop for two years, and I almost went to buy it every morning. But sometimes the uncle selling hot and sour noodle slice soup at the entrance of Lin 47th Street would forget who I am."
She turned around and smiled at Mo Shanshan. Her smile was genuine, and her two white front teeth seemed to light up the dark carriage. She said, "Ning Que is better looking than me, and his mouth is sweeter than mine. That's why it's easy for people to like him, be it General Ma of the City of Wei, Aunt Jian, or the Headmaster of the Academy."
Then she continued, "When I am with him, people only look at him. But it's actually good. I'm used to standing behind him. Anyway, I don't like to be stared at."
Mo Shanshan looked at the girl who was calmly talking about the past, and found that she couldn't calm down. She didn't know what to say, so she kept silent.
She remembered that when she left Chang 'an, she was sitting in the horse carriage at the entrance of the Lin 47th Street and looked at the Old Brush Pen Shop from afar. At that time, Ning Que and Sangsang ate at the same table and seldom talked to each other. However, there was a natural harmony between the master and the servant in their gestures and even in their eyes.
Mo Shanshan thought with mixed feelings. Even if you are the most inconspicuous handmaiden in the world, even if no one notices you, but you and Ning Que only have eyes for each other, then at least he will always be looking at you.
"At least in Ning Que's eyes, Sangsang, you are beautiful."
She said.
"I know what you mean. But I really hope that I can be really beautiful. So after I arrived in Chang 'an, I started to buy cosmetics in Chenjinji Cosmetics Store even though I didn't make much money."
Sangsang smiled embarrassedly and turned to look out of the window.
At this time, there were countless colors on Tile Mountain. Because of the warm and humid sea breeze, the trees were still green and lush even though it was late autumn. The higher they went, the lower the temperature became. The color of the leaves also changed accordingly. Yellow was like tender chrysanthemum, and red was like rouge. Layer by layer, it was beautiful.
"When I was a child in Min Mountain, I liked to look at trees in autumn, just like the trees outside the window. I think they are beautiful, but Ning Que doesn't like them. He always said that when the leaves turn yellow, the beasts in the mountain will either hibernate or die, and hunting will become more and more difficult. He also said that no matter how beautiful the yellow and red leaves are, they can only be beautiful for a short time, and then they will be blown off and become useless mud."
After saying this, Sangsang looked at the mountain scenery outside the window and was silent for a long time. Until her face was a little cold from the mountain breeze, she frowned and became determined. Then she said, "You like young master, don't you?"
She had been talking about Ning Que, but now she was talking about young master.
"Hmm?"
Mo Shanshan was sure that she did not hear it wrong. She looked at her blankly and did not know what to say.
She knew that Ning Que and Sangsang were engaged. When she heard Sangsang's sudden question, she could not help but feel confused. She subconsciously looked down at the tips of her shoes that were not covered by her white cotton dress.
The shoes were ordinary shoes. No matter how long she looked at them, she could not see anything.
Her hair trembled slightly in front of her eyes. Her eyes were a little unfocused, and her thin red lips became tighter and tighter. She was inexplicably nervous. However, she was a quiet and sincere Calligraphy Addict. She especially did not want to hide anything from Sangsang, and it was meaningless to hide anything. So she gently nodded.
Sangsang heard a sound behind her.
But she did not turn back. She only smiled at Qiushan, revealing two white front teeth.
In the past years, Sangsang felt that she was not good-looking. Although her teeth were neat, her two front teeth were a little conspicuous. So she did not want to laugh heartily like other girls in the Tang Empire.
Even if she laughed, she would usually lower her head and smile shyly. Or she would smile innocently like when she cheated Chen Pipi of money, or she would smile foolishly after her little feet were warmed by Ning Que. But recently, she did not know why she often smiled. Her two white front teeth made her look as cute as a little rabbit.
She looked at the tree full of red leaves by the road. It was like a burning tree. She said, "But not now."
Mo Shanshan quietly looked at her thin back. After a moment, she smiled and said, "Hmm."
The black horse carriage drove on the mountain road of Wa Mountain. A red leaf fell from the branches and landed on the roof of the carriage. Then it was shaken to the grass by the road. It was not crushed into mud, but it would eventually become mud.
The autumn wind blew, and Sangsang's smile gradually disappeared.
Thinking of the red leaf, she said seriously, "Wait until after I die."
…
(To be continued … If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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