Denghuaxiao

Chapter 256 Extra (Yan Shuang): An Old Friend Comes into My Dream (Part )
Su Ningshuang...

He had specially memorized the family lists of officials in Shengjing, so he quickly remembered the name Su Ningshuang.

Su Ningshuang's father was the Left Counselor of the current dynasty, in charge of reporting and investigating various affairs in Shengjing. He was an upright person who was inflexible.

He vaguely remembered that his colleagues once said that Su's father loved his daughter dearly and spoiled her to the utmost.

Now it seems that it is true.

Su Ningshuang's maids and guards were all outside the teahouse. As a rich lady, her family actually agreed to let her bring her book box, paper and pens to the mountains to paint. She did not avoid talking to strange men at all. Judging from the appearance of her guards and maids, it was obvious that she was used to it.

This behavior is not a big deal for an ordinary family, but it is really out of line for a lady from a wealthy family.

Yan Xu did not want to get too involved with this person. As a member of the Privy Council, it was not a good idea for him to get too close to the families of other court officials. After drinking tea, he left without paying attention to the woman's questions.

The affairs in the barracks are always busy, and the more important you are, the heavier the burden.

When I’m tired, I just want to go to the mountains and sit alone.

When he went to Danfeng Terrace again, he remembered the pot of bitter and fragrant tea in the teahouse, so he went there again. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a familiar figure.

The woman was sitting by the window, writing on the table. She heard the noise and looked up. When she saw him coming in, her eyes lit up: "Yan Xu!"

He stopped and asked: "Why do you know my name?"

"Your sword is the one worn by the emperor in the city. I asked my father about it after I got home. As soon as he heard that you had a long scar at the corner of your eye, he knew who you were." She smiled with her eyes curved. "So you are from the Privy Council."

She spoke frankly, not afraid at all that he would be angry.

"Let's sit together!" She patted the table and handed him a piece of crab roe: "Want to try it?"

Yan Xu declined coldly.

Su Ningshuang is a strange person.

In stark contrast to her name, Su Ningshuang was lively and active, and was used to being sociable. Yan Xu was too lazy to pay attention to her, but she didn't care about his ferocious and terrifying appearance at all, and chatted with him familiarly.

The maple leaves at Danfengtai turn red in February and March. He has no other hobbies on weekdays, and he just likes to find a quiet place here. And he happens to meet her every time he comes here.

"We've known each other for so long, so we should be considered friends, right?" she said.

"I do not have friends."

"How can a person be without friends?" Su Ningshuang said with a smile, "It would be so boring if a person has no one to share his joys and sorrows with. I can be your friend and share the sunset at Danfeng Terrace with you."

Yan Xu turned and left.

He doesn't need friends.

But this rich young lady seemed to really regard herself as his friend.

She likes painting, and every time she comes, she carries paper and pen in her bookcase. Yan Xu doesn't know calligraphy or painting, but her paintings are indeed delicate and magnificent.

"If I had not been born into a noble family, I would have become a painter, traveled all over the world, and painted all the beautiful scenery in the world."

Yan Xu sneered.

Only a young lady who is ignorant of the sufferings of the world would have such absurd and naive ideas.

"The masters of calligraphy and painting say that painting people is the most difficult, followed by landscapes, and then dogs and horses. The pavilions and pavilions are certain objects, which are relatively easy to do." Su Ningshuang smiled and said, "It's a pity that my skills are mediocre now. When I have practiced well, I will draw a portrait for you."

He interrupted: "Why do you always want to draw me?"

Yan Xu didn't understand why she was so persistent about him, an ordinary person.

Su Ningshuang thought for a moment and said, "When I first saw you, you were sitting in the woods, looking up at the sunset."

"Your back is lonely. Paintings don't lie. They can see your heart."

Su Ningshuang sighed.

"Actually, I'm quite lonely too. I like painting. I can't hang out with those rich girls in Shengjing, but you are a great scenery. It would be a pity if I didn't paint you."

"You are lonely, I am lonely too, we are all lonely 'confidants', so naturally we are friends."

She looked up, her clear eyes reflecting the red maple leaves all over the mountain. She was smiling, but her tone was very lonely.

For the first time, Yan Xu did not mock her.

Later, he often came to Danfengtai and became familiar with the owner of the teahouse. Even when the maple leaves in Danfengtai fell and it started to snow in Shengjing, he always came here whenever he felt lonely and desolate.

Out of ten times, I would meet Su Ningshuang three to five times.

She still looked heartless, wandering around the mountain with her book box on her back, ordering crab roe from the tea house every time, and trying to persuade him but failing.

She still wanted to draw him secretly, but he found out every time, so she returned home in disappointment.

The days passed slowly, and the maple leaves on Danfengtai turned red and then green, and then green and then red.

Su Ningshuang has also reached the age to get engaged.

The Su family arranged for her to marry Pei Di, the young master of Zhaoning Mansion.

After hearing the news, Yan Xu was stunned for a long time.

His career was going more smoothly at that time, and his position was higher than before, but he was still not popular among his colleagues. He saw Su Ningshuang, who was listless in the teahouse, and after hesitating for a long time, he took the initiative to ask her for the first time: "Don't you want to get married?"

"Of course," Su Ningshuang curled her lips, "I don't even know him."

After returning, Yan Xu thought for a long time and sent someone to invite a matchmaker to go to the Su family to propose marriage.

His idea was simple: if Su Ningshuang didn't like the Pei family's marriage proposal, he could use his own proposal to block it. If she wanted, it would be great to paint maple leaves at Danfengtai for the rest of her life.

The matchmaker came back soon, saying that the Pei family rejected the marriage proposal. When I saw Su Ningshuang again, she was sitting in front of the window of the teahouse. Unlike the depression she had shown a few days ago, she was no longer depressed, and her eyes were full of energy.

"I know you are loyal and came to my house to propose marriage. Thank you very much, but it's not necessary."

"I secretly went to meet the young master of the Pei family," Su Ningshuang held her chin with both hands, and couldn't wait to share with him, "He is handsome, elegant, and graceful. Most importantly, I tested him with a painting. He is a person who understands painting and has studied calligraphy and painting!"

"I think this is a good match! I like him!"

Yan Xu had never seen her like this before, and his heart and eyes were filled with girlish shyness.

Many words he wanted to say remained unsaid, and he said calmly, "Congratulations."

"The marriage is certain. I have to be busy embroidering my wedding dress, so I may not come here so often in the future. This painting is for you!"

She handed Yan Xu a painting.

It is a picture of the sunset in the mountains of Danfengtai, with bright and brilliant colors that are very impressive.

"When I get married, I will come here to paint every year when the maple leaves turn red. By then, my painting skills will have improved by leaps and bounds. Please don't refuse me to paint your portrait again!" She stood up with a smile and floated away like a maple leaf.

Yan Xu was silent.

He became a human again.

In the past, he thought there was nothing wrong with being alone, as it saved him a lot of trouble. But perhaps he had gotten used to having people chattering around him, so when he came to Danfengtai again, he actually felt a bit lonely in the quietness of the mountains.

Su Ningshuang got married soon.

This was probably a marriage that seemed to be a perfect match, with a talented man and a beautiful woman, and they were well matched. From time to time, news about her reached his ears, and the couple was in harmony at the banquet. Not long after, they had a daughter, and their son was smart and clever...

She lived a happy life.

He has always been alone.

However, as his official position became higher and higher, some gossipy people in the court dug up the old story of him proposing to the Su family and teased him. In order not to cause trouble for her, he deliberately spread rumors, saying that he was unrequited in love with Miss Su and could not get her. Anyway, his reputation was not very good, so he didn't care if it was even worse.

Su Ningshuang, after marrying into the Pei residence and becoming a wife and mother, no longer had the freedom she had before. Every year when the maple leaves turned red, he would go to the teahouse to drink tea, but she never showed up again.

He always felt that it didn't matter. As long as he waited for the child to grow up and she had some free time, the maple leaves on Danfengtai would turn red every year. Life is so long, they will see each other again.

Until the news of her death came.

People who understand painting may not love painting. That elegant and graceful young man was not the man she thought he was.

He had a miserable life, his relatives were indifferent to him, and he had no close friends. Only one person did not fear or despise him. He was like the warm sunset at Danfengtai, which made his years of sitting alone in the mountains less lonely. However, this last person also left.

And he left so miserably.

He was angry.

This anger turned into revenge.

He went along with the King of Ning's recruitment, but in fact he was not thinking of climbing up the ladder after the success. Perhaps he had a desire for power, but that desire was too light, and when he really got it, he felt that it was nothing special.

He adopted a group of orphans as his subordinates, with one exception, her son. He should have been disgusted by that man's blood, but the child looked like his mother, even the little dimple on his lips was exactly the same.

He was not married and had no children. Yan Xu was almost terrifyingly cold to Pei Yunying, and while scolding him, he taught him as if he were his own son.

When he was working towards the same goal with others, he felt that his life had a purpose. However, when his revenge reached its final step, he suddenly felt empty inside.

Why did he seek revenge?
Su Ningshuang was not his lover, he just had a little affection for her when he was young, but it was soon worn away by time. But he devoted half his life to her, raising her son and avenging her. The scary thing was that he could feel pleasure in the process, which was one of the few satisfactions in his empty life.

After all, he was just too lonely.

Su Ningshuang was right, "Your back is very lonely. Paintings don't lie. They can see your heart."

He was just too lonely.

I felt so lonely that after she left, I felt that everything in the world was boring and power struggles were nothing more than this.

When the long sword was finally swung towards Xiao Zhufeng, he pushed the opponent away. When the blade pierced into him, he felt a long-lost relief.

Although his two disciples cried miserably in front of him, he felt very relieved.

In this world, people's hearts are fickle. The new emperor ascended the throne, but the future is not always easy to predict. People who once shared the same boat may not be able to help each other in the future. Dying at the time when friendship was at its strongest was the best legacy left to the two disciples.

He can rest assured.

I'm just really tired.

After all the hard work in one's life, what can one get in the end?
He seemed to have everything, but he always felt unhappy and there was nothing to be happy about.

"Yan Xu." Someone called his name.

He looked up and saw a face with curved eyebrows and eyes.

The young girl, carrying a bookcase on her back, with dimples on her cheeks as sweet as ever, walked up from the red maple trees with her skirt lifted up. She smiled and said, "Don't deny your debt now, will you? I've been waiting for you here for a long time, and now I can finally paint your portrait."

He was stunned for a long time until the other person walked up to him and stretched out a hand to him.

"You're so late." She complained softly.

He looked at that hand for a long, long time, then slowly, reached out his hand towards her and held it.

"It's a little late," he said.

The river is empty and the trees are falling. The wild geese are crying sadly. Frost has penetrated the red maples and all the grass has withered. The butterfly does not know that it is a dream and follows the spring scenery to the cold branches.

The maple leaves at Danfengtai turned red every year, but he never waited for that person.

Now, the wait is finally here.