"Attachnt."
Pei Yunng said, "With attachnt, one yearns to live."
"Then why didn’t you say goodbye? Are you still not qualified to beco her attachnt?"
Pei Yunng smiled faintly, ignoring him, and proceeded forward.
After a night on duty, he planned to return ho to change his clothes, but as soon as he arrived at the doorstep, he saw Pei Yunshu coming out from the neighboring gate.
Upon seeing him, Pei Yunshu’s face lit up with joy.
"Ah Ying, you’ve co back just in ti. I’ve just heard people say that Doctor Lu has gone to Su Nan to treat the plague. Is this true? Why was there no news beforehand? Isn’t it said that only the old dical officers go to treat plagues? She’s a young girl, barely a year into the dical Officer Institute, isn’t it very dangerous for her to go to Su Nan?"
Pei Yunng entered the room, and Pei Yunshu followed him, "Are you not listening to ?"
Pei Yunng unbuckled his waist knife, loosened his collar, took a deep breath, and said to her, "Sister, it was Lu Tong’s own choice to go."
"But..."
"Neither you nor I can choose for her."
He was firm in his response, causing Pei Yunshu to pause.
"I’m just worried..." Catching a glimpse of the youth’s expression, she fell silent again.
The room quieted for a mont.
A gust of wind blew through, and suddenly there ca a tinkling of delicate bells from the courtyard, light and crisp.
Pei Yunshu looked puzzled, followed the sound, and was montarily taken aback.
The courtyard of the Pei Yunng residence had always been bare, so much so that Duan Xiaoyan often joked that it was a good place for sword and knife practice.
Yet now, in the flower bed, hibiscus had been planted in swathes at so unknown ti.
The hibiscus was in bloom, white as frost, red as the dawn sky, planted in the garden, autumn’s colors rich and splendid.
Between the sparse branches and dense leaves, thin red threads were woven, studded with gold bells tied to the tips of the flowers. When the wind blew, the bells rang out clearly.
Pei Yunshu was stunned: "Gold bells on the flowers?"
The books recorded an account of a royal family that "delighted in music and the elegant arts, unsurpassed by any of the princes. During springti, they wove red threads as cords densely adorned with gold bells, tied atop the flower tips in the royal gardens. Whenever birds and magpies gathered, they would have the garden attendants pull the bell strings to startle them, all in the desire to protect the flowers. All the palaces copied this practice."
Pei Yunng had never cared for flowers and plants, his residence austere and unadorned. Pei Yunshu did not understand when he had adopted the ancient custom of "flower-protecting bells."
It was just last Qixi Festival when this place was a desolate waste.
But to make "flower-protecting bells" was to be considered a "person who cherishes flowers."
Since when had he begun to feel compassion for flowers and plants?
"Why have you suddenly taken a liking to hibiscus?" she asked, puzzled.
"Is it not lovely?"
He recited softly, "There is a maiden in the chariot, her complexion like the beauty of Shunhua. She is about to soar, adorning herself with jewels of jade and chalcedony. That beautiful maiden, ng Jiang, truly beautiful and elegant...
There is a maiden traveling alongside, her complexion like the bloom of Shunying. She is about to soar, adorning herself with tinkling jade. That beautiful maiden, ng Jiang, her virtues and lody unforgotten."
His tone was leisurely, like that of a young man stirred with emotion upon returning from a spring outing by the lakeside, each word touching the heart.
Pei Yunshu was montarily confused, gazing at the profusion of soft flowers before her, she spoke without thinking, "But the hibiscus is a wildflower, does it need flower-protecting bells? In the span of a day or night, the flowers will wither, only to enjoy one day of brilliance. Why not plant peonies or roses? The hibiscus will not bloom for you any longer."
Pei Yunng smiled briefly.
"Of course they need protection."
He looked at the hibiscus before him: "The wind will buffet her, the rain will beat upon her, the hot days are harsh, the snowy days freezing cold. Birds and sparrows peck at her, and then there are those outside the garden who pluck her flowers."
"I appreciate the flowers I love, of course I want to protect them. I’m willing to be a flower-protecting person for life. Whether they bloom for or not isn’t important, as long as the flowers bloom well. Why not be a flower-protecting person for life?"
His voice was tranquil yet, like a heavy drum and muffled hamr, stunned Pei Yunshu deeply, suddenly understanding sothing, she turned toward Pei Yunng.
Amidst the brilliance of the flowers, the dazzling light of autumn illumines the handso eyes of the young man, with that riot of splendor reflected in his gaze, Pei Yunng began to speak calmly.
"I want to watch over her."
"But she has refused my protection."
He said, "She doesn’t need my protection."
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