Don't be tempted, sir

Chapter 154: Exploring the Mysterious World

Song Xiaoyuan lifted the curtain to see Xuan Ji strolling leisurely in front of him. He blew the whistle and Xuan Ji neighed and came over happily.

The carriage stopped and Shen Yining watched him get off the carriage and reach out to him. He couldn't help but wonder: "There are bandits! This place may be dangerous."

"Exploring the world, Miss Shen, do you want to come with us?"

Among the Ten Elegant Ones, Tanyou is one of them. Shen Yining turned worried and smiled, stretched out his hand and promised him: "Okay!"

Coming out of the carriage, it was a completely different scene to actually be in the bamboo forest. The coolness was even stronger and the light and shadows had shapes. The smoke passed through the tall bamboos and shot straight into the forest from the same direction.

The carriages behind stopped one by one to check what had happened. They saw a young man in white leading a horse in the front, and a woman in pink gauze sitting on the black horse. The two of them were wandering in the secluded paths of the bamboo forest, enjoying themselves.

A woman lifted the curtain and looked in: "Master, is Xu Zhen really okay? After all, this is an official road."

"Hey, don't say that, the Wang family's goods were intercepted here yesterday!"

The two of them strolled in the bamboo forest. Shen Yining breathed in the refreshing air and said leisurely, "Green bamboos lead into the secluded path, and light vines brush against my clothes."

"Ms. Shen, why do you say you can't ride a horse?" Song Xiaoyuan asked while leading the horse from below.

Shen Yining smiled and lowered her eyes: "I wanted to ride with you. Did your cousin tell you that?"

"Well, he said that you were in a hurry to save me, so you thought the carriage was too slow, so you learned to ride a horse on the way, and you didn't stop all the way to Tongzhou."

"Maybe it's the talent I inherited from my father, or maybe it's your calling, I learn very quickly. ...When you left, everyone came back safely, except you, Xiaoyuan. One day I had a dream, I dreamed that you told me that you wanted to go home. When I hurried to your garden late at night, it was pitch black and there was no sign of life. Your parents-in-law and the servants lit candles in your garden overnight. Xiaoyuan, I promised that among the thousands of lights, there would be one for you, and I will not break my promise."

Song Xiaoyuan, who was walking with his horse, said, "I saw it."

"What? What did you see?" Shen Yining bent down with tears in her eyes as she recalled the past and listened closer to him.

"At that time, perhaps in a daze, I saw the light you promised me. I was reluctant to let go of your ties, and when I woke up... it was already autumn, your seventeenth birthday."

Shen Yining lay on Xuan Ji's back and reached out to pull the hand holding the horse reins. Song Xiaoyuan turned his head to watch her actions, only to see her pull the reins out of her hands, and put the green ring from their engagement ring through her fingertips and onto her ring finger as before.

"Xiao Yuan, let's start over, starting from Qiannan... From now on, it will only be you and me, nothing else."

Song Xiaoyuan raised his eyes and they met each other's eyes. Shen Yining suppressed the guilt and self-blame in her heart. She had hurt him so much in the past that her eyes were dull. Now, every time they looked at each other, the guilt and self-blame in her heart would surge out and she would run away in panic. So much so that she had been avoiding his eyes intentionally or unintentionally all along. From today onwards, she chose to face her mistakes directly and no longer avoid them.

But...Song Xiaoyuan was stuck in the quagmire, and he dared not be moved or emotional anymore.

He lowered his head and took the reins, then asked calmly, "Miss Shen, have you ever thought about what kind of life you want to live in the future?"

Shen Yining stood up and looked into the distance, thinking carefully, and after a while he said, "Well...if Xiao Yuan wants to stay in Lu'an, then we will settle down in Lu'an and have a pair of children to enjoy. If Xiao Yuan doesn't like children, then we will perform the Ten Elegances one by one, okay?"

Song Xiaoyuan led the horse in silence. He had thought about these things before, and wished that she was the only one in his heart and eyes.... "Even though Miss Shen knew that it would be difficult for her to face me, she was unwilling to give up her obsession, right?"

Song Xiaoyuan led the horse and looked up at her. Shen Yining looked at her bottomless eyes and felt her heart twitch....

In the blink of an eye, the voice was in a panic that could not be concealed: "I...I am not..."

Song Xiaoyuan, who was leading the horse, turned his head and looked into the depths of the bamboo forest: "It's too cold, let's get in the car."

The two got into the car. In the distance, there was a commotion in the bamboo forest. Many bamboos broke in half and fell to the ground. Not a single bamboo wave was created in the vast sea of ​​bamboo.

They hadn't seen any bandits along the way, and since Houyang was not safe, the group drove all night to Qiannan. Xingyue was afraid that Awu was tired from driving, so she sat outside and chatted with him.

"Brother Wu, didn't you say the Houyang bandits? Why haven't I seen them along the way?"

"Does Yukizuki want to see you? That's easy."

On the dark mountain road, Ah Wu raised his hand and was about to shout, but Xingyue hurriedly stopped him: "No, no, I don't want to. The young lady and the young man are still in the car. It's not a good thing to encounter bandits."

"Hahaha, yeah! That's not a good thing."

The shadow guards escorted the carriage all the way. No matter if he was a bandit or a robber, even a blood-sucking mosquito could not get close to the carriage.

In the early morning light, the group finally arrived at Huanyun Pavilion. The maids and servants in the pavilion had been waiting for a long time and all bowed to him: "Greetings, Master and Madam. The rooms are ready."

Shen Yining was tired from the journey and didn't ask Xingyue to serve her, so she asked her to rest early.

Following the maid to the former residence of Huanyun Pavilion, Shen Yining saw that he did not intend to live with her and just stood outside the house and watched her go in. Shen Yining lowered her head and pulled his collar, not forcing him to stay, just wanting to finish what she had not finished saying in the bamboo forest yesterday.

The morning light rose completely over the cliff, shining Shen Yining's body with light. She held his collar tightly and explained: "You stopped talking after the carriage on the bamboo sea yesterday. What you said at the end was the truth, but not entirely. I admit that it was difficult to face your eyes after returning from Qiang. At that time, I said and did too many things that hurt you deeply. I can't forget them. Now I feel guilty when I see your empty eyes, but I am not obsessed with you... I just don't want to miss you, Xiao Yuan. I love you and it has never changed!"

Song Xiaoyuan stood with his back to the rising morning light, and the dazzling light did not stain him at all. Shen Yining looked at the warm face without any emotion or ripples, and understood that whether he said it or not, or explained it or not, it would not change anything.

She let go of his hand and smoothed his wrinkled collar, lowering her head and saying, "It's a long journey, rest early, Xiao Yuan."

Shen Yining turned and went into the house, closing the door to block out the dazzling morning light. It happened that he lived too clearly, while she herself did not understand... Since returning from Qiang, she had explained many times what else she wanted to do and how she could make him fall in love again.

Shen Yining leaned against the door and raised her head to breathe, tears flowing down her eyes. His sobriety made her breathless: "Xiao Yuan, fishing for the moon in the water... am I wrong?"

Walking along the corridor eaves under the morning light, Song Xiaoyuan came to Muchun Pavilion alone. The rhododendrons on the mountain were sparsely blooming, and some were hanging between the trees and difficult to form a piece. At that time, she was enjoying the mountain flowers. Love always sprouts inadvertently, but he clearly remembered that when the candlelight suddenly appeared in his blind eyes, she was so clear in front of him, innocent enough to move him.

Knowing that she was feeling guilty, I knew that I could only be better than her...

"Yining, all the lights have gone out, it is really hard to light them again."