A carriage stopped at the dock and two girls jumped off, placing the footstool for their young lady to step on. Then a nanny held a graceful young woman, who was wearing a veil, and got off the carriage.
The river course had been open to transportation and the dock was in official operation, so there were men and women coming and going. The place took on a lively picture.
However, such an elegant person like her still attracted people's eyes like a scenery at the dock.
After the pretty young woman got off, her nanny said something, and a girl servant walked to Wang Tiansong, asking, "Brother, excuse me, is your employer here?"
"Ah? My employer? She went back." Wang Tiansong didn't know what the girl wanted, wondering why Mrs. Ning, a country woman with no family background, should know such a noble lady.
The girl thanked him and turned back to report as he had told her.
Jian Qingyou remained silent for a while, ordering calmly, "Shiqin, go and ask where the woman lived, let's visit and thank her some other day."
Her voice was soft and amiable and her temperament extremely dignified.
"Yes, my lady." Shiqin retreated. Jian Qingyou, gazing at the river course, took a few steps forward.
Her walking gait was pretty too. The skirt hemline didn't move too much, and no dust was disturbed, making her extraordinarily elegant.
Nanny Yuan followed her in small steps and advised caringly, "Actually it's okay if I go alone to send her your gratitude. Why do you insist to go in person? It's windy and cold, how bad if you might catch a cold!"
"I can't thank her more for having saved my life. As you told me that the woman had quite temperament, so I suppose it's good to make friends with her."
"My lady, think twice. She's of humble background, but you're a noble lady. How can you droop down like that?"
"Noble lady. I have no other choice. I'm a mere bird in the cage." The tone sounded sad.
Jian Qingyou walked along the river, and the nanny hurried stepped forward to held her, persuading, "My lady, let's go back. The wind gets harder there."
"It's okay…" She came here just to take some air in the hope that the wind could disperse her unrealistic dream.
She tried desperately to please her grandmother, the old madam, and made the request to thank the woman in person to show her sincerity! Besides, she also meant the chilly wind to wake her up from the dream.
She had lost her heart to him since that enchanting first sight in the peach blossom rain and his arms holding around her waist.
The thought of the promise in the forest make her completely lose herself.
Over the year in the capital, she could have gotten married if she wanted to.
However, she wasn't willing to. She missed him. She was waiting for him.
Nanny Yuan shook her head helplessly. There was no person who knew the young lady better than her.
To avoid the tea parties, flower-appreciation parties or poetry clubs, the lady either claimed to fall ill or stayed behind others or pretended to be silly and fell into others' trap…
Now she was strolling along the river in fresh breeze when she heard beautiful flute melody from not afar.
Nanny Yuan and Jian Qingyou looked up at the same time to searching for the source of the sound.
In front of them not afar, a man leaned against a willow tree. He was dressed in moonlight white, his hair bound with a jade ring, eyes looking down, holding a jade flute in his hands.
Was it him?
Jian Qingyou momentarily pushed aside the veil and hurried further a few steps forward to look closely at the man, whose black hair was blowing in the hair. Though his face looked stern, the watery softness in his eyes harmonized the moment.
The jade flute in his hands was his symbol.
It was him! Really!
*
Xin Yiming had arrived for a long time in fact. He came by riding a horse.
Depressed, he just wanted to ride on the horse and rushed speedily as he wished.
It was the first time he had been here since the dock was built. To his surprise, it looked good.
In a while, he knew by inquiring where Mo Qianxue lived. As long as he got this information, he didn't need to hurry. At the thought of Jian Qingyou's falling into water the first time she came back, he couldn't stop blaming himself.
It was winter when the grass on the riversides had turned yellow and the sight of the mountain across the river was land covered by leaves. With the bleak scenery and his desperate missing of her, he needed an emotional outlet, so he began to play the flute by the river.
Just on the melody of sadness, he looked up and found…
He found the person that he dreamed of every night. The red lips slightly pressed against each other and the eyebrows arched. By the winter sunrays, her face didn't look faint, but instead the sunshine gave her glowing softness, as if there were light haloing brightly all around her.
The two pairs of eyes met, from afar.
Temporarily, her breath paused while he also seemed to wake up suddenly and the melody stopped too.
Jian Qingyou opened her mouth but didn't manage to make a sound.
Xin Yiming had always been brave and decisive, but now he should be too intimidated to step forward.
For the moment, the air seemed to be frozen.
Xin Yiming's heart squeezed. He hadn't seen her since a year ago. She was still so beautiful. But why was there sadness and sorrow on her face?
Who was it? Who made her be like this? Was it the one behind her falling into water or was it because she had had a hard time in the capital?
Since departure, there wasn't one day that he didn't miss her.
Pushing by the carving miss, he had secretly sent someone to the capital, only to inquire about any bit of information about her. He didn't dare to let her know that within his ability range he had even destroyed some of the proposals of her suitors.
He had never been a prudish gentleman. Ever since his mother died, he had learned to fight for the things he wanted.
The many times narrow escape and survivals taught him that as a wolf he must grind his teeth and as a sheep he must practice his legs.
She knew his heart. But he didn't dare to let her know his dark side.
He would stick to honoring his words, the promise he had made that day.
As long as she was still unmarried, he would never marry another woman other than her.
In a public place, there were too many people and mouths, so the two remained looking at each other in a distance but didn't walk near or speak.
Nanny Yuan gently coughed and pulled the veil, reminding in a low voice, "My lady, it's not early, we should go back, otherwise old madam will worry about you."
If old madam knew that their first young lady met with this lord Xin again, the servants would not get away and the young lady would be grounded. Very likely she would be married randomly to a noble man.
Jian Qingyou felt like being in a dream. She stumbled her way in a daze to him.
The hand putting on Nanny was slightly trembling. She thought she could never see him again in this life.
Yet, what the future would be like even if they met again?
"Shiqin, lady is tired. Let's go back home." Two girl servants held Jian Qingyou to get on board the carriage, then nanny Yuan told the driver, "Laowang, drive!"
Not far from the carriage, there followed a tall horse which paced slowly forward. On the horse sat a young lord dressed in white who was playing the flute and making beautiful melody…
The driver was either fascinated by the melodious flute tune or intended to drive steadily for the young lady sitting inside, so the carriage went ahead at a low speed.
The window curtain of the carriage was opened in a slit.
Carriage, white clothes, tall horse, trail, flute altogether formed a beautiful picture.
However, the moment broke the heart of the tearful person in the carriage.
Jian Qingyou sat beside the window, biting hard on her handkerchief. Her body trembled from her struggle to fight back the tears, unwilling to put down the curtain. The two girl servants exchanged a look, confused whether she could see anything through the narrow slit.
Nanny Yuan smelt a rat, hurriedly yelling at the driver outside, "Laowang, hurry to drive. Do you want to get punishment? Old madam is waiting for lady to have dinner."
Laowang woke up from the flute melody, waving the whip, and the carriage speeded up suddenly to rush forward until the moonlight white was out of sight.