in2ebook Chapter 513 Xie Jingchun's Storyline: A Couple's Chapter
Chapter 513 Xie Jingchun's Storyline: A Couple's Chapter
Nan Nan was about to politely decline when Xie Jingchun grabbed her arm.
"Since we're here, we might as well have some fun."
Nan Nan looked up at him, and their eyes met.
Xie Jingchun's eyes sparkled as she picked up the bouquet.
Nan Nan chuckled helplessly.
The first ball was thrown and landed steadily in the basket, immediately eliciting cheers from the crowd.
The second ball, the third ball...
Every ball went into the basket without missing a single one.
The two worked together almost flawlessly, without a single unnecessary movement.
The stall owner stared wide-eyed and clapped repeatedly.
"Oh my, this young couple is so in sync! They say it's rare to hit all three balls, but you two are destined for a long and happy marriage!"
Nan Nan, already feeling a bit shy from being watched, laughed and said, "Not at all, it's my husband's steady hand, I was just lucky."
My husband...
Xie Jingchun turned his head and looked at her smiling, lowered eyes. His throat moved and a soft look slowly appeared in his eyes.
For some reason, he actually liked being called that.
It gave him a warm feeling in his heart.
He is Nan Nan's husband.
Her husband.
They are together, they coexist...
They won't separate, just as he's always wanted.
He will be with Nan Nan forever.
Thinking this, Xie Jingchun's heart began to pound.
At this moment, the stall owner enthusiastically handed over the pair of sachets embroidered with mandarin duck patterns.
"Come, come, this sachet is yours to win. Hang it by your bedside and it will ensure you a long and happy marriage and many children!"
After accepting the sachets and thanking the stall owner, the two slowly continued walking into the town.
Xie Jingchun and Nan Nan walked side by side.
In the bustling crowd, an old man wearing a straw hat sat alone on the street corner, looking somewhat out of place among the others.
Nan Nan accidentally made eye contact with the old man for a moment, and felt her eyelids twitch.
The old man quickly lowered his head and covered his eyes with his straw hat.
He lowered his eyes and wrote a few words on the paper in front of him.
"With both affection and devotion, one can be a suitable candidate for the Gu poison combination."
Over the next few days, Xie Jingchun and Nan Nan explored almost every street and alley in Yuanzhen.
From markets to alleyways, from teahouses to incense parlors, the two cautiously explored every suspicious place.
But they found nothing.
The only slightly suspicious thing is the Mandarin Duck Temple at the foot of the mountain to the east.
The temple is small, but it is extremely popular with worshippers, and couples come and go in a constant stream to pay their respects.
There was no abbot, monks, or Taoist priests in the temple. In front of the incense table was only a vermilion pottery jar wrapped with gold thread and talisman paper. The shrine was empty of any statues.
The first time Nan Nan came, she had barely gotten three feet away from the pottery jar when her heart skipped a beat and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
She stopped and whispered, "This jar and these runes are a bit strange..."
Xie Jingchun's expression hardened slightly.
He looked at the pottery jar while glancing around.
After confirming that no one was around, he leaned close to Nan Nan's ear.
"This talisman is a curse seal used to exorcise evil spirits in the Miao region of Southwest China."
"Do you think this is related to witchcraft?" Nan Nan asked in a low voice.
Xie Jingchun pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head.
"I'm not sure either."
After they finished speaking, the two immediately went to this place and walked around the temple, but they did not find the back hall, nor did they find any mechanism that could lead to the secret room.
-
On the day of the Mandarin Duck Festival, Yuanzhen was exceptionally lively.
The town was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and red ribbons hung from the street corner all the way to the temple gate.
Every household hangs paper-cut mandarin ducks in front of their doors, and the incense table is filled with red dates, longans, lotus seeds and glutinous rice candy, symbolizing "early birth of a son".
There are many couples here, but most of them are middle-aged. Nan Nan and Xie Jingchun are the youngest among them.
No one knows who spoke first, but gradually whispers began to circulate around them.
"Look at that couple, how well-matched they are! A handsome man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven."
"They're here to pray for a child? Why are they so young to be praying for a child? That's unusual..."
"Who knows? The matter of offspring is unpredictable. I can only hope that I will be chosen today! So that I can give the Liu family a healthy baby boy and hold my head high in the Liu family!"
Suddenly, a wisp of grayish-white smoke rose from the incense burner on the platform, and a hoarse voice rang out from behind the temple.
"The Mandarin Duck King manifests his power, choosing those with predestined affinity to enter into a union."
The crowd suddenly fell silent.
A hunched old man with a cane strolled over, his hair and beard as white as snow, and a scarlet talisman pasted on his forehead.
He appeared dazed, muttering to himself, and walked to the center as if sleepwalking.
"The Mandarin Duck King has decreed... to choose the most compatible one this year... the most harmonious one..."
He stopped in his tracks, slowly raised his head, and his cloudy eyes seemed to pierce through people's hearts.
Suddenly, he raised his hand and pointed directly in the direction of the two people in the crowd.
"It is you."
All eyes turned to them.
Xie Jingchun was taken aback and subconsciously shielded Nan Nan.
Nan Nan also gripped his sleeve tightly.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd.
"He was chosen at such a young age? That's so unfair!"
"They don't look like they're desperate for a child at all. They're not devout at all. Why were they chosen?"
“I’ve been praying to my husband for five years, but there’s been no progress. They’ve been blessed as soon as they arrived. Has the Mandarin Duck King truly opened his eyes?”
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but the old man remained oblivious.
After Xie Jingchun and Nan Nan were chosen, several townspeople dressed in sacrificial robes immediately approached them.
The two were led through a secret passage behind the Yuanwang Temple.
The road was narrow and dark, with mottled and old stone walls on both sides.
The wall is painted with a pattern of mandarin ducks entwined, the male and female necks intertwined, the lines strange and intricate.
Before long, the view suddenly opened up before me.
An underground palace appeared before them, with rows of red candles hanging around it, their flames flickering.
In the center of the hall stood a high platform, upon which was enshrined the androgynous statue of the Mandarin Duck King.
His eyes were lowered, looking down at all living beings with a mixture of joy and anger.
Xie Jingchun gazed at the statue, a strange unease rising in his heart.
An elderly man with white hair stood before the stage, his back hunched, but his expression solemn.
He opened his arms, his voice hoarse with a hint of fervor and madness.
"The Mandarin Duck King has revealed an omen today, choosing you! May you be blessed with a son soon, and may your descendants prosper."
"But before receiving blessings, one must pass two hurdles."
As he spoke, he slowly waved his hand, and several townspeople dressed in red silently brought over a bronze cauldron and a pair of wooden chairs placed side by side.
"Please take a seat."
"This is only the first hurdle. Just sit calmly for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
The wisp of red smoke rising from the bronze cauldron was extremely slow.
The red smoke carried a slightly sweet and fishy smell, not pungent, but it made one feel suffocated.
Just as Xie Jingchun sat down, the scene before him suddenly changed drastically.
He found himself standing in the main hall of the Prince's mansion. Just as he was wondering what was going on, a burst of laughter suddenly came from ahead.
Nan Nan stepped lightly out from behind the screen, her eyes soft and her smile radiant.
But she didn't look at him; instead, she took the arm of a young man.
The man, dressed in blue and with a refined appearance, was speaking to her in a gentle voice.
"Nan Nan, are you really going to marry me?"
"Ah."
She smiled and nodded, her eyes filled with a tenderness she had never shown before.
"Xie Jingchun was just a dream of mine when I was young. Now that I've thought it through, I realize that I never really liked him. You are the one I like the most."
Each word pierced Xie Jingchun's ears like an awl.
He wanted to rush over and call out to her.
But Nan Nan didn't turn around at all; she just took the man's arm and walked inside.
The next moment, he had already drawn his sword and charged forward with bloodshot eyes.