Beside the road, it was bright red like fire,
The brilliant kapok had withered. Its fruit had exploded,
The white catkins in it,
Were fluttering in the air.
Beside her,
They were all throwing hats, flowers, and Taixi language,
The crowd was laughing and chatting.
Even the shops on both sides had hung up banners saying "Today's Sale".
The crowd swarmed toward the city hall like a tide.
But she was alone,
Like a rooted rock. She stood in the middle of the crowd, motionless.
Several times, she was almost pushed down.
Some frivolous men saw her beauty,
And even deliberately rubbed against her.
"Miss, it's too dangerous. Come back with me first!" Xiuying shouted, trying to be heard by her in the deafening cheers.
She turned a deaf ear,
She stretched out her hand,
And caught the white catkins dancing in the sky.
"This is not ice," she muttered. This is not snow.
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm falling into a vast snow?
"Miss!"
In May, when the last kapok flower had withered, the news of the great victory in Shengjing finally reached Guangzhou.
That night, the night was already dark.
Half of the sky in Guangzhou was still bright.
It was celebratory fireworks and lanterns all over the city.
Outside the window,
The flames of torches, lights, and fireworks,
Converged into a soaring light. The air was full of the smell of sulfur and gunpowder smoke,
There were also people slaughtering cattle and sheep, roasting geese and chickens, good wine and tea, and the fragrance of a big banquet.
Throughout the night, the lanterns paraded in the streets one after another. Buddhism's Guanyin, Taoism's Queen Mother, Christianity's Virgin Mary, and various immortals crowded together, wearing heavy makeup, congratulating each other on the parade float.
Thousands of households set off firecrackers at the same time. The lights were bright, and the sound of gongs and drums shook the sky.
It was like New Year's Eve.
The Chamber of Commerce even sent all the soldiers of the Freedom Army stationed in Guangzhou to ride around Guangzhou, holding torches, throwing flowers representing victory, and singing the song of freedom.
Thereupon, the people who followed the Knights, half drunk from the merry air, began to sing in chorus: --
"Let's go — let's go, brother!
There's no noble race in the world
There's no lowly people in the world
Freedom wants to come out of the hands
The Emperor is just one person
Let's go. "
The Shengjing in Jinling was defended, and their ally, the Revolutionary Army, was able to take a breather. This meant that the natural barrier, the Yangtze River, was defended. For the time being, the Imperial Court would not be able to send troops south to threaten the headquarters of the Freedom Army — Guangzhou.
Guangzhou, which was free and full of wonder and represented the demeanor of a new world, was temporarily saved from destruction.
Almost no one remembered that Vice President Li's beloved daughter, Commander Li, who was in charge of guarding Taizhou, had been annihilated and died in front of Jinling City along with her army and the envoys of the Volunteer Army.
One small, unfortunate piece of news.
Lin Daiyu couldn't help but feel cold. She was so cold that she had to raise a brazier before she could pick up the two letters with trembling hands.
They were two letters written in blood.
Her handwriting was elegant and lovely, with a pure aura, just like her. It was a letter with Chinese characters written in crooked handwriting. The person who wrote these letters was clearly not familiar with Chinese characters.
The elegant and lovely handwriting at the beginning didn't have a single sentence about what she wanted to do. The entire letter was related to Lin Daiyu's works.
It wasn't until the letter came to an abrupt end that she wrote a paragraph:
"There's only one page … Li Qingqing, that bastard with a mouth full of nonsense, said that I could only write what I wanted to write the most. I promised you that the next time we met, I would write a 'detailed essay'. Last time, you were so scared that you couldn't even speak properly. You're so narrow-minded, I'm afraid that you'll blame me. So, I'll make up for the previous one first. "
Blood suddenly sprayed here, blurring the words. It seemed that she couldn't write anymore.
"Alright. Don't cry. Little Zhang in front of me has already fallen. I'm going to replace her. I won't say anymore. "
The crooked handwriting wrote:
"I knew that Yuan Du must have scolded me, right?
Yuan Du said that after death, there is the Yellow Springs and the Bridge of Helplessness. I said that after death, there is no such thing, there is only heaven. She said that this is China, there is no Western heaven. But, I heard that in the Yellow Springs, there are also annoying officials, and they do the same thing as dynasties. How boring!
Sister Lin, you've read more books than me. Do you think that after death, people go to heaven or the Yellow Springs? "
At this point, the tip of the pen seemed to have paused for a long time before continuing. She could almost imagine Li Qingqing scratching her head as she wrote this paragraph.
"Forget it. Who cares if it's heaven or the Yellow Springs …
Even if it's the Yellow Springs, there are annoying Emperors and Ministers there, I'll just bring the boys and girls, one shot each!
Hmph. The army is coming. Seeing that Yuan Du gave me the last three packs of ammunition, I won't argue with her.
I don't dare to write to Dad, help me pass it on. Tell him not to be sad, I'm going to God, tell him to make another one.
You, you can find another friend.
You … if you see this, don't cry. I'm most afraid of people like you crying. I've never shed tears in my life, why do the girls in China like to cry so much? "
"Why do you all tell me not to cry?" Lin Daiyu muttered, "I've already told you, I won't cry. Who wants to shed a single tear for you forgetful people. "
"Miss …" Xiuying cautiously said, "The brazier …"
The brazier was smoking, and the hot coals and flames were extinguishing. Because the tears falling inside were too fierce.
Outside the city, the joyous singing was still going on, but it seemed to be further away, with shadows everywhere.
Only the lonely moonlight penetrated through the screen and shone on her face.
She said, "Bring me my manuscript. My 'Nanyang Nu'. "
She stared at the 'Nanyang Nu' that was about to be completed for a long time.
Before she received the letter, 'Nanyang Nu' had already written about Li Qingqing's victory over the Imperial Army, the triumphant return of the Free Army, and Li Qingqing's return to Taizhou.
Lin Daiyu threw the second half of the manuscript into the fire bit by bit.
The firecrackers and singing outside sounded all night, and the brazier burned all night.
The next day, she personally received the bookseller who came to her door and handed him the manuscript of 'Nanyang Nu'.
The bookseller was wild with joy. After flipping through it, he said hesitantly, "Sir … this book … doesn't seem to have an ending. It should be quite a long time … "
The story came to an abrupt end when they went north to Shengjing.
The woman in front of him said word by word, "'Nanyang Nu' will not have an ending."
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