Half of the words on the manuscript had already lost color. It was really hard to read. Shu Huan roughly turned over a few pages. She felt that the owner of this manuscript truly had a different personality than the Gu Xiran in front of her.
The former was melancholic and had many worries. Only from the handwriting, she could see that he was an indecisive person. Not mentioning anything else, let’s mention concubine Yun. He had written a lot about her, but most of it was melancholic and anxiousness. He obviously had good feelings towards concubine Yun, but because of her past identity, he felt that it wasn’t right for him to get to close to her. He also showed that he hated his ill and weak body. He had taken in concubine Yun for so long and still treated her as an honored guest. He didn’t dare to have any profane thoughts about her.
“This truly is…,” Shu Huan couldn’t imagine how pent-up from frustration his life was. Let alone that he was originally ill; even if he didn’t have any illness, he would get ill after being anxious and worried for such a long time. As for concubine Yun, she could only describe her with “those who are pathetic always have some insufferable sides”.
Looking till here, she suddenly remembered something. She bit her lips, raised her head to look at Gu Xiran. She used a very low voice to say, “Hey, I forgot to ask you about that…that…”
The thing she wanted to ask seemed to be very difficult for her to open her mouth and ask about it.
Gu Xiran looked at her with interest and asked, “What do you want to ask?”
“That…you…” Shu Huan braced her heart and asked, “Before have…you and Yun Yan…”
Her stuttering appearance was very interesting. Gu Xiran pretended that he didn’t understood, “Have what?”
“Have…that…,” Shu Huan suddenly saw the mischievous smile in his eyes. She immediately got annoyed, “Be more serious. Don’t pretend to be stupid.”
Gu Xiran couldn’t help himself from smiling, “I want, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time.”
“You…,” Shu Huan suddenly stood up. She truly didn’t know whether he was speaking the truth or lying. She was annoyed.
“Alright, I was teasing,” Gu Xiran smiled. “You already looked at the manuscript and should know that she is still a virgin. How will I dare to touch her? If I get tainted with her, I wouldn’t be able to get rid of her anymore. Moreover, she is too familiar with the original owner. I’m afraid to reveal loopholes. Didn’t you see me hide from her all the time?”
Shu Huan humphed twice, casted him a sidelong glance and said, “Does this mean that if she wasn’t a virgin and also that you weren’t afraid to reveal loopholes, you can first take some advantage and then toss her away?”
“Twisting words and forcing logic,” Gu Xiran said dejectedly. “Am I so despicable?”
“Almost.”
Although she said that, she felt relieved in her heart. Until now did she feel completely at ease. However, when she thought that Gu Xiran had hid his identity of being a time-traveler for so long from her, she felt a bit unhappy and asked, “Why do you hide it from me?”
“Hide what from you?”
“The matter of time-traveling.”
“This…,” Gu Xiran’s eyes flashed slightly. “Looking at how you often reveal loopholes, I felt that it was very funny. If I have told you, then wouldn’t it get boring?”
Shu Huan was somewhat suspicious and said very dejectedly, “Just like that? Don’t fob of me.”
Gu Xiran lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. Then, he sighed and said, “When I just have time traveled, I discovered that this body was weak and ill and I didn’t know when I will pass away. That being the case, why tell you to let you be delighted for nothing? Moreover, you never suspected. I couldn’t find the right opportunity to tell you and was afraid that I would scare you.”
This was the half-truth.
In fact, when he met her again in this life, he was determined to protect her for this whole life. However, the promise shouldn’t only be all talk. To give her relative freedom and happiness, he must have the corresponding ability. Under the current situation where he needed to rely on Gu household for survival, he didn’t want to tell her the truth.
Moreover, having the same identity of a time-traveler would surely become an important link to maintain their relationship. This would affect his judgement of her true feelings. He didn’t want her to be at ease with him only because of this special identity.
Shu Huan discovered the way he looked at her with was becoming deeper and deeper. Her heartbeat couldn’t help but skip a beat. She blurted, “Have we seen each other before? Why did I get a familiar feeling when I saw you for the first time?”
There was such a possibility. She had time-traveled without changing the name, the surname nor the appearance. Then, he may also be like this. Perhaps, she had seen him before the time-traveling and that was why she felt familiar.
Gu Xiran’s regained his senses and smiled slightly, “Otherwise, how could it be said that we are fated? We even encountered such an odd thing like time-traveling together. Also, we time-traveled into husband and wife.”
“…”
Wasn’t it a bit exaggerated to talk about fate? However, after Shu Huan was speechless for a while and thought about it; his words seemed reasonable. Then, this was the explanation why he had always been so good to her. But, her heart felt a sense of loss and was somewhat thwarted. He had been good to her because they both had time-traveled…?
She was just about to ask this important question when she lost her opportunity. Meijing came back and said that everything at Lotus Pavilion had been prepared and asked whether she wanted to move there now.
Shu Hua nodded. Of course, she had to move. After she avoided for so long, she dejectedly discovered that she had truly fell in love with Gu Xiran. She didn’t want to sleep again on that bed in Japanese Rose Building where he and concubine Yun had been lying. This was presumably the mysophobia that happened because of love and that caused her to not want any contamination of her love.
—
Lotus Pavilion was built by the water. It was located on the side of the artificial lake of the resort. Through the window, one could see the blue waves and the lotus leaves on the waves. The field of view was extremely open. There was just one bad thing about it. In the summer, the scenery here was the most prosperous. When the lotus had withered, half of the lake would be destroyed. By then, if you want to admire the lake, you couldn’t use your eyes but have to listen with your ears…
To the remaining sounds of the lake and the rain.
In the past, such artistic conception was only in her imagination. Nowadays, she had the opportunity to experience it and when she got the interest, she could also probably draw a painting with water ink.
Shu Huan sat in front of the window and watched idly at the view of the lake outside the window and the busy maids inside the room. Her hand held a pine pipe. When the pipe touched water, the smoke circled around the pin flower stone carving.
At this moment, she truly felt that ancient people lived very leisurely.
Without the highly developed technology, everything must be done by hand. It made the pace of life slow down a lot. However, this must be the true meaning of living. For example, this written painting. First, one had to spread the paper and grind the ink. Although, it was troublesome, but it had a kind of interesting charm of calmness. It made every piece of paper, every splatter of ink and every ink stone feel like a piece of artwork.
Laundry was also the same. Here was not the age of washing machine. That was why the saying “A piece of moon in Chang’an, ten thousand households launder clothes by pounding” circulated around. In the era of no electronic entertainment and air conditioning, one could sit in the courtyard at night in the summer to admire the moon. Even for the making of tea, one had to clean the pot first and then add coal to boil the water. In the meantime, one could invite some friends over to chat and slowly sip the tea…
Chang’an was the ancient capital of ten dynasties of China. It means Perpetual peace.
When she thought till here, she heard someone came in with laughter, “Such refined attitude (being idle). You moved to such a good place without a sound. If it wasn’t because when I went to find you, I saw the maids moving things, this humble one would’ve gone for nothing to Japanese Rose Building.”
Shu Huan raised her eyes and looked outside the curtain. She saw that the person who entered the room slowly was Ji Danqing. When Gu Xiran saw him, he (GXR) immediately went to greet him while gnashing his teeth. He said with a smile that was not yet a smile, “It’s doctor Ji who had a refined attitude to even think about how to poke fun at me.”
