What Xu Qing admired most about Jiang He was that when she encountered something she had never seen or heard of, she would think, "Oh, there's such a thing." Then, she would either believe it or doubt it and think about it.
She would not shout, "Fake!" when she saw something she did not know. She had never heard of it before!
It was not terrible to have little knowledge. As long as she was smart, she would not be so stupid as to think that she lived in the whole world. This saved him 80% of the trouble.
"Is it normal to do such … such … immoral things on the street?"
Passing by the park, Jiang He saw the kissing couple on the bench and asked Xu Qing in a low voice.
"No, this is immoral." Xu Qing, the bachelor, said confidently.
"Oh, I thought …"
Jiang He did not finish. After getting the answer, she looked away. There was nothing to see when other people kissed.
From all aspects, this was truly a golden age.
"Aren't you very open there?" Xu Qing felt strange.
When he was free, he would also learn about Jiang He's era. It was said that it was very open, the society was full of pleasure, and the culture of wine and women was developed.
"Open?" Jiang He asked.
"Yes, that Li Shiming … You don't feel uncomfortable talking about them, do you?"
Seeing that Jiang He shook his head, he continued, "Li Shimin married his sister-in-law, and Wu Jiong served both father and son one after another. There was also that princess, Monk Bianji … and a lot of poems. I heard that they even exchanged concubines."
He explained with gestures. Xu Qing was very curious about the discrepancies. The old man had studied history all his life. If what Jiang He said was completely wrong, and the history was fake, then it would be funny.
"I also heard about these things," Jiang He said.
"And then?"
"What then?"
"…"
Xu Qing felt that something was wrong. "So in such an open society, there's no reason you haven't seen this, right?"
He pointed to the direction behind him, indicating the kissing couple.
"What does the matter between the Emperor and the officials have to do with me?" Jiang He found it strange. The Emperor wouldn't let her watch from the side when he was having sex, nor would he go out on the street to touch the Empress.
"… Understood."
Xu Qing understood what the problem was.
Historical records usually recorded the affairs of certain ministers, certain emperors, or the romantic affairs of certain scholars … Even the "remarriage", a symbol of openness, was explained by more than twenty princesses.
The opening of the upper echelons represented the opening of society in the history books.
Perhaps society at that time was indeed more open, such as allowing remarriage, but that was only relative to the previous dynasties. In modern times, it was really not enough.
Using a certain group of people as an example to generalize was just like using the master's quest to generalize the corruption of the current era. It was ridiculous.
Not to mention the cultural relics that were unearthed were all excavated from tombs. As for Jiang He's case …
Xu Qing glanced at Jiang He and thought of the hemp clothes and straw shoes she wore when she came.
Not to mention whether she had a tomb or not, even if she had a small grave mound, the clothes wouldn't have been kept until now. The so-called "sexy" clothes that could be unearthed were all placed in the tomb by the officials after they were drunk with money.
She was a commoner.
And the commoners had always been represented, just like the average income.
"It's not easy to be a ranger. Fortunately, my wish didn't come true." Xu Qing sighed. Visiting brothels, listening to songs, eating meat and drinking wine were all dreams. Maybe they wouldn't even have enough to eat.
"Tell me about your life there when you have time. It's quite interesting."
He was thinking about when to show off to the old man. The old man always said that he didn't do proper work, so he would give him a good shock.
"My life … is not as interesting as here." Jiang He looked up at the flashing neon lights in the distance. Thinking of the days before, she shook her head after a moment.
"You won't like it."
"Just treat it as a story."
Xu Qing smiled at her and walked slowly on the road with the cake.
Life was really wonderful.
Zhao Shu watched the two of them go out and come back with the cake. He wanted to say hello, but seeing that they were chatting happily, he thought about it and didn't disturb them.
Young people … were quite romantic.
It was already past six o 'clock when he walked home. The sky was slightly dark. Xu Qing put the cake on the table and turned to look at Jiang He who was pouring cat food for White Gourd. He went back to the bedroom and took out a lighter. He took out the candles that were given to him and lit them one by one.
He had to celebrate his birthday with a full set.
"Turn off the lights." Xu Qing waited for her to pour the cat food and said.
"Why do you want to turn off the lights?"
"Just turn them off. It's called a ritual."
"Oh."
Jiang He turned off the lights and the living room fell into darkness. Only the faint light from the candles on the cake in front of the table shone on Xu Qing's face.
"Come here and sit down … Yes, close your eyes and make a wish. You don't have to say what you want. After you make the wish, open your eyes and blow out the candles." Xu Qing pulled her to sit down and taught her, "It's not difficult to blow out all the candles in one breath, right?"
"It's not difficult." When Jiang He saw his name written on the birthday cake, he didn't know what was poking at his heart. It was warm, soft, and indescribable.
"Okay, make a wish. This is your first birthday here … maybe the first since you can remember. It will definitely come true."
Seeing that Jiang He was staring at him, Xu Qing couldn't help scratching his chin, "What's wrong?"
"I'm thinking about what I want."
"Have you thought about it?"
"Yes."
Jiang He closed his eyes and murmured.
Xu Qing leaned forward to eavesdrop, but as soon as he moved, he saw Jiang He opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Ahem … Have you made a wish?" Xu Qing was embarrassed. They were face to face, and he seemed to want to do something.
"Yes."
"So fast … blow out the candles."
Xu Qing restrained his expression and pretended to be calm. He stood up and went to the door. When she blew out the candles, he turned on the lights, and the living room became bright again.
Jiang He looked at the smoking candles and said, "This ceremony is quite strange."
"It's from the foreign devils. You'll get used to it. I was supposed to sing a song."
Xu Qing hesitated and gave up this part, "Singing is too embarrassing. Let's eat after making the wish. Come, cut it with a knife."
Putting the plastic knife into Jiang He's hand, Jiang He looked at the pattern on the cake and the words "Happy birthday to Jiang He, full of happiness". He hesitated and asked, "Can you use that mobile phone …"
"Mobile phone?" Xu Qing was stunned for a moment, "Take a picture, right? Give me your mobile phone."
Using Jiang He's mobile phone to help her take a picture of the birthday cake, Jiang He took the knife and carefully cut the cake from the edge, with a piece of cream flower, and handed it to Xu Qing, "You can eat it first."
"Well … Okay, I'll eat this piece, and the rest is yours. You can eat as much as you want."
Xu Qing didn't refuse. He looked around with his little flower, but he didn't eat it immediately. He didn't like sweet things like cream.
Jiang He didn't stop. With a nimble cut, he dug out a piece for himself. Smelling the fragrance of the cream, he paused for a moment and suddenly felt reluctant to eat it.
It was a sin to enjoy it so much.
"Why aren't you eating?" Xu Qing got up, went to the refrigerator, and took out two cans of cola. He opened one and pushed it over. "Happy birthday."
"Thank you."
Jiang He carefully took a bite of the cake, pursed his lips, and savored it carefully. It was as delicious as yesterday.
"Don't you think it's too sweet?"
"No, it's delicious." Jiang He showed a satisfied look.
That look reminded Xu Qing of the first time he ate cream when he was a child, and he seemed to enjoy it just like this.
He didn't know when he started to get tired of it, but he didn't like it anymore … Maybe it was because he ate too much, or maybe it was because more and more delicious food was better than it.
But that happiness had turned into a memory and remained in a corner of his heart. That was the purest happiness.
"Here, to Xiang Yu." Xu Qing picked up the cola as if it were wine and clinked it with Jiang He.
Jiang He was lucky to be here, but wasn't he the same?
His life was only a few decades, but to have this kind of experience of picking up the ancients, he hadn't lived in vain. It would be interesting to think about it in the future.
"Mm." Jiang He raised his head and took a sip of the cola, feeling the bubbles bursting in his mouth.
"To Xiang Yu."
In the brightly lit living room, Xu Qing and Jiang He sat opposite each other, separated by the cake.
To this encounter that spanned a thousand years.
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