Chapter 235: Love Bewitches

The heavens and earth were dim, the moon pale; one night, the wind was tight.

Du Shanü's sleep was not very sound.

The arhat bed in the study was usually just for a brief rest, not spacious; moreover, she had rarely slept on an empty stomach these days, so it was rare to have no one beside her, and for a while she tossed and turned, unable to find comfort.

In a hazy daze, Du Shanü had another rather leisurely dream——

In the dream, she and Yu Baobao each appeared as youths, standing side by side beneath a wall.

She stepped on the branches and climbed up, while Yu Baobao stayed below, carefully supporting her.

She was small with short legs; after carefully climbing up that jujube tree, she was already quite tired.

Fortunately, the jujube tree was right in front of her; she heartily gnawed a few sweet jujubes to quench her thirst, then lowered her head to look at Yu Baobao still on the ground.

In this life, both of them settled in the mountains and waters, ordinary folk.

In the dream, Yu Baobao was a gentle-eyed neighbor boy.

He was refreshing, bright, and outstanding.

From the time he could speak, he had pledged marriage to her, swearing before heaven and earth to grow old together with her from childhood sweethearts to white-haired old age.

Therefore, she insisted on striking the jujube tree that had an owner, and he followed her, joining in her mischief.

Nowadays, he kept staring at her longingly; when she looked his way, he hesitated before offering the bamboo pole in his hand:

"Little sister, do we really have to use a bamboo pole to knock down jujubes like this?"

"Stealing a few probably won't get us caught, but if we empty the whole tree of sweet jujubes, the owner will surely come after us."

"What if they catch us both and sell us off?"?????

She spat out the jujube pit from her mouth, took the pole, and lightly glanced at Yu Baobao's head:

"Better to be bold and full than timid and starving."

"If we get caught later, you just run; don't worry about me—I can figure out how to get myself out of trouble!"

Yu Baobao was tapped on the head, his eyes welling up, but he was clearly reluctant:

"No way, if we die we die together!"(〃＞皿＜)

Nonsense, we're just knocking down a few jujubes to eat—how did it come to death!

The dream-version of her said nothing, chewed the last two bites of jujube in her mouth, then used the bamboo pole to ruthlessly batter the sweet jujubes all over the tree.

Where the pole passed, the thumb-sized green sweet jujubes on the vine rustled down like raindrops, pelting Yu Baobao beneath the tree.

Yu Baobao nimbly dodged left and right——

Then he was hit by more jujubes, seeing stars, and immediately became tangled in a scuffle with the jujubes.

He was both bright and lively.

When he held a jujube in his mouth, he would even reveal the two tiny little tiger teeth between his lips and teeth.

He stood beneath the tree, his nose bruised and face swollen from the impacts, yet he still looked at her and smiled.

The sky is good.

The earth is good.

He is also excellent.

Du Shanü looked at him with a smile, finally putting down the bamboo pole in her hand, reaching out to pluck the sweet jujubes, and after picking them she tossed them down in handfuls.

Yu Baobao lifted the patched hem of his clothing, eagerly coming to catch the jujubes.

They didn't eat much, but they played extraordinarily happily.

Then, the sound of the door opening frightened them nearly out of their wits.

The two had lived in the alley across the street for twelve years, never having seen that door open, yet today it opened precisely.

Before the door opened, Du Shanü could hear nothing from inside.

After the door opened, Du Shanü heard someone inside say, "Master Eldest, you'd better behave; after all, the lady is not your birth mother, you still need to be obedient to have a way out... Look, you've not only been beaten, but you're also about to be sent to a separate residence."

No one answered.

Du Shanü lowered her head and secretly peered through the gaps in the jujube tree at the door's movements.

Afterward, she saw everything——

The person leading the way was also a slender youth.

His clothing was far better than theirs, yet for some reason his face lacked color, and his neck, face, and hands bore various injuries.

He wore much newer, finer clothes than she and Yu Baobao, yet for some reason he looked far more pitiable than they.

The sunlight dazzled; the slender youth lifted his gaze, and coincidentally met her eyes from the tree.

Just a glance—only that one glance.

Exhausted, struggling, full of resentment.

Endless anguish surged in those dark eyes, its vigor actually able to rival heaven and earth.

Du Shanü only realized long after the person had left that her mouth still held a sweet jujube.

The saliva in her mouth flowed continuously, hard to restrain.

Today still, the sky has not grown old.

Yu Baobao still stood beneath the tree, waiting for her to give him a solemn oath.

She still loves Yu Baobao.

Of course she still loves Yu Baobao.

But for some reason, beside the jujube tree, the previous unrestrained joy is gone.

She doesn't know what happened.

Even she, of course, doesn't know what happened.

She only knows that in her panic she momentarily lost awareness, fell from the jujube tree, as if falling from the clouds.

In the boundless sea of clouds, sometimes it was Yu Baobao's laugh, sometimes it was Chinu's sob.

Sometimes it was Yu Baobao's forgiving tenderness, sometimes it was Chinu's obsessive hatred and resentment.

The two each hooked one of her hands, softly asking whom she loved more.

Du Shanü couldn't answer, so she gasped heavily, trying to wake from the dream......

Until, until......

"My lord, are you alright?"

The familiar, concerned voice from outside the house slipped into my ears.

Du Shanü jerked awake, threw off the covers, and only then realized she was drenched in cold sweat.

In the window's reflection, at that moment the sky barely split a seam, heaven and earth blending, day and night indistinguishable.

Obviously, Official Chunri Jiande had been unusually diligent, preparing to handle affairs early in the morning, only to run into Du Shanü alone living in the study.

Du Shanü rubbed her forehead, only after a long while suppressing the nightmare in her heart, then spoke:

"Come in."

"I'll handle the county affairs together with you...... this time, no matter how many days, we must work out a plan for Cang Cheng."

The years wane, the remnant year draws to a close.

Compared to Cang Cheng's bustling vigor, Dun Cheng just a city away can only be described as gloomy and dismal.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve; by rights we should already be celebrating.

But this year the people suffered disaster, lost their harvest, naturally their pockets are empty.

Thus, even at year's end, the streets see no one shopping for New Year goods or visiting friends.

Even the ordinary folk outside are like this, let alone the county seat.

In the county office, the recent situation has left even the few remaining old servants tiptoeing in their daily service, afraid to lift their heads.

The old servant poured tea, head lowered, whispering:

"Sir, there is a caravan outside claiming to have come from Qiongzhou, wishing to present tribute......"

Chen Weifang now didn't want to hear this, took a light sip of tea, waved the servant away, then asked the person opposite as if nothing were wrong:

"Didn't you say she promised you she'd come back?"

A few steps away, a gaunt figure sat in the shadows, dazed, without responding.

Chen Weifang asked again, and Chinu murmured:

"...... She will indeed come back; she truly promised me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Weifang's face, which usually presented a flawless, serene mask to outsiders, suddenly cracked.

He let out a bland, mocking chuckle:

"Where is that person? Where is the person?"

"That day I sent you off to see her off, hoping you'd bring her back soon, but you came back dazed. Thirteen days have passed, tomorrow is the year's end, and now we can't even see a trace of her......"

"Saner, let me ask you: if tomorrow is the year's end and she still hasn't returned, can you still fool yourself into thinking she has you in her heart?"

?? Normally it only takes a few days to go from Yongzhou to Qiongzhou, but now it's the year's end, everyone is going home for the New Year, so ten-odd days is also normal...... The author is again being overly meticulous in a strange place, cough cough......