Chapter 101: Countless Heartbeats in the Blink of an Eye

Chapter 101: Countless Heartbeats in the Blink of an Eye

Xie Yan didn’t expect Lu Mingchao to suddenly turn around.

She tilted her head back, the down flower on her hair brushing his chin, and they were nearly touching.

He saw her eyes sparkling with laughter in the winter sunlight. It was like a warm ray of sunshine piercing his heart, making him tremble.

"What about archery?"

Her eyelashes fluttered, her voice clear and joyful.

Xie Yan thought that no one, including him, could resist Mingchao's charm.

Suddenly, he was reminded of the down flower that had quietly fallen on the snowy ground the night they first met, which he had kept all this time, a private memento of that night.

"I'll make you a bow in the next two days for you."

"Once you've mastered it, I'll take you hunting."

Lu Mingchao smiled even wider, nodding like an eager chick pecking for food.

"A Yan, have I ever told you how amazing you are?"

"Nope."

"I’m sure I have. A Yan, did you forget?"

"I never forget what you say."

Xie Yan lowered his eyes, his heart fluttering.

He saw his own reflection in her eyes.

And she saw her own reflection in his.

Lu Mingchao suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable panic, a sensation that quickly spread from her chest to her limbs, numb and tingling.

Xie Yan was truly someone who could light up the years.

She abruptly lowered her head and said dryly, "I wonder what the situation is in Changhe County."

Xie Yan raised his hand and straightened the flower in Lu Mingchao's hair. "Mingchao, your topic shift is too sudden."

Lu Mingchao hummed softly and shoved the bow and arrow into Xie Yan's arms. "Some things are better left unsaid."

The fierce wind whipped through the dead trees in the courtyard, carrying a crisp, cool air.

Xie Yan lowered his eyes; Mingchao had feelings for him too.

After packing up the bow, arrows, and targets, Xie Yan led Lu Mingchao to sit by the window. "Mingchao, even though you're bad at changing the subject, I still have to answer you."

"The nursery rhyme about the older brother stealing the younger brother's wife and killing him must have spread all over Changhe."

Lu Mingchao shot Xie Yan a reproachful look. "Not every sentence needs a response, you know."

She never doubted Xie Yan's abilities, just as Xie Yan always supported her decisions.

Xie Yan burst into hearty laughter.

"Teacher."

Feng Jinyu's brisk voice called out.

Lu Mingchao, as if startled, quickly withdrew her hand, coughed lightly, and put on a serious scholarly expression.

Xie Yan chuckled, "My Mingchao is quite the scholar now."

"Then I'll head into the city."

Lu Mingchao, maintaining her graceful composure, said, "Come back early."

"Good day, Teacher!"

As they passed each other, Feng Jinyu came to a stop, her voice firm and resolute, as if she were making a solemn vow.

Xie Yan pressed his lips together; he ought to be satisfied.

So be it, "female teacher," even if it's a bit odd, it's still better than "little girl."

Xie Yan said nothing, merely nodding slightly.

As Xie Yan entered the city, he didn't use a carriage. Instead, he led a horse out of the stable and, with a quick leap, mounted it and rode away.

Feng Jinyu rubbed her eyes sleepily, "A horse?"

"Is that a horse?"

Lu Mingchao's lips twitched slightly, "You were there all that time yesterday and didn't notice?"

Feng Jinyu, looking confused, slowly nodded, "Didn't see it."

Lu Mingchao glanced at the stable by the wall. Was it really that inconspicuous?

"Let's head inside."

Feng Jinyu obediently refocused her attention and followed Lu Mingchao into the house.

"Jinyu, Sanbao will be teaching you literacy. I've already told her not to make any noise during the lessons."

……

Changhe County.

Old Master Sun and Sun Zhiye rode in a carriage through the streets toward the county yamen.

Dark circles and obvious redness surrounded Old Master Sun's eyes. After getting into the carriage, he turned slightly away, neither looking at Sun Zhiye nor saying a word.

Seeing this, Sun Zhiye pinched the bridge of his nose, as though he had something to say. He opened his mouth several times but ended up sighing, letting all the unspoken words dissolve into that single breath.

Once he became a man of high status, his father would understand him.

On a clear day, the long street was always bustling.

The sounds of vendors shouting, bargaining, and children playing and laughing on the street corners faintly drifted into the carriage.

Was the pampered fool dead in prison?

Sun Zhiye's hand suddenly paused when he pinched his brows. An indescribable sense of unease slowly rose in his heart, as if something was slipping away from his control.

Could it be that the news of Second Brother's suicide in prison had already spread, before he had the chance to make a move?

"Stop!"

Sun Zhiye pushed open the carriage window, holding a few copper coins in his hand, and waved at the children playing clapping games by the street.

The child eyed Sun Zhiye warily, and after seeing the copper coins, a slightly older child mustered the courage to approach the carriage after some hesitation and struggle.

"Sing the nursery rhyme you just sang again, and these copper coins will be yours."

The child's face lit up with joy. "Honored sir, if I sing more times, will I get more copper coins?"

Sun Zhiye breathed deeply. "Just sing first."

The copper coins gave the child endless courage, who then shouted at the top of his voice.

"Brother behaves improperly,"

"Home knows no peace."

"The wife and brother in secret affairs,"

"Rich young man dies in prison."

"Lies try to cover the sky,"

"But heaven's net lets nothing slip through."

As soon as the last line was sung, the child reached up and grabbed the copper coins, eyeing Sun Zhiye eagerly. "Honored sir, should I keep singing?"

"I can sing even better."

Sun Zhiye was momentarily stunned, his eyelashes slowly lowering as he closed the window, feeling like he was about to suffocate.

Those lines of the nursery rhyme felt like a massive boulder falling from the sky, pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

Out of the corner of his eye, Old Master Sun noticed how Sun Zhiye's chest heaved, the fist by his side clenched, only to relax and clench again.

Only after a long while did he finally relax.

"Zhiye, didn't Peng'er die in vain?"

There was an uncontrollable hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Old Master Sun knew he shouldn't be feeling schadenfreude, but thinking of Peng'er dying alone, bleeding in the cold prison, he couldn't help but blame his eldest son, hence the bitter irony.

Sun Zhiye's half of his face was hidden in the dimness, his expression unusually calm, with a heavy, gloomy aura between his brows.

He didn't bother with pointless arguments with Old Master Sun, but instead furrowed his brows, pondering why things hadn't gone according to his plan.

The news of Second Brother's death shouldn't have leaked from the county prison.

Who had let the secret slip? The jailer? Or the coroner?

And who had come up with the nursery rhyme?

The first face that came to Sun Zhiye's mind was Lu Mingchao's, but he dismissed the thought almost immediately.

Lu Mingchao is indeed intelligent, but she has no one at her disposal.

He had thoroughly investigated that after Lu Mingchao was expelled from the Yongning Marquis family, she was alone, with no maids or servants by her side.

The eldest miss of the Duke's family, Gu Zhen, went to Changxi Village to visit Lu Mingchao and brought only some everyday items.

As for Xie Yan, he is just an average hunter with nothing special about him except his looks and hunting skills.

It's clear that in their marriage, Lu Mingchao holds the upper hand.

But if it wasn't Lu Mingchao secretly causing trouble, then who could it be?

Just a few short verses of the children's song are truly heart-wrenching.

Sun Zhiye lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions, and the gloom between his brows vanished completely. "Father, after doing business for so many years, how could one not have enemies?"

Past and present lives.