The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches; one zero eight cracks open.

  Some people in the comments said they didn't understand yesterday's chapter, please go back and read Chapter 81. To be honest, I wasn't idle when I wrote that chapter either. It's just that it's been a long time, everyone has forgotten the plot and cried.

  Some entanglements.

  There's still an exam tomorrow night, but I'm so sleepy now and can't focus on reading.

  If a big wedding is counted from giving betrothal gifts, then it will enter the chapter of big wedding the day after tomorrow.

  If it's just a matter of waiting for the wedding ceremony, then I suppose we'll have to wait a few more days (I'm not sure how many, but at least it's sooner).

  Then I'll take a leave, because tomorrow is busy reviewing for the exam. Tomorrow night's update may be slightly delayed, but I will rush to get it out before 12 o'clock at night. After finishing the exam around 9:30 in the evening, there is still some time left, and rushing a bit should be enough.

  Continue to ask for pink tickets as a big wedding gift.

  "I hate you the most, Zhang Yan."

  "You seem to be born to show off my clumsiness. I've studied piano with Master Zhu for five years, but as soon as he saw you, he liked you more than me. You play the piano casually and it sounds great. I've studied piano for seven years, but Master Zhu still says I'm stiff. And you're so careless, treating the piano like a hobby, just seeing you makes me angry."

  "We hang out together, play together, talk about everything, and have no worries. It's as if we're a pair of ordinary worldly girls who've never been apart. But what you don't know is that every time I go home or you leave, my mother always asks me in detail about all your affairs. She guesses what you like and dislike, then prepares what you like and removes what you dislike for the next time you come."

  "So every time I stand with you, I feel embarrassed."

  "I know you like drinking weak tea, so every time you come over, I'll make some weak tea for you. Do you know that I hate drinking weak tea? So every time I go to see you, I hardly drink any tea at all?"

  "You always can't read people's faces. Just like today, I clearly didn't want you to see Master Mei, but you insisted on going. You just said you wanted to pickle plums, and then dragged a big group of people to pick plums for you. As a result, we picked the plums back for you, but then you said you weren't in the mood to deal with them. And just left them piled there like that. Do you know how I feel? It's as if you're playing with me."

  "You're always so careless, can't even do needlework properly, and your calligraphy is a mess. The only thing you're good at is playing the zither, but you don't even bother to practice. That's not all, you actually tell me not to be too serious, that life would be boring if I was. Sun Wu almost fell into hysterics, 'I always just smile and don't argue back. But Zhang Yan, do you know that I'm not qualified to be as carefree as you are.'"

  She took a deep breath and continued, her voice sarcastic. "Who are you? You're the eldest daughter of Xuanping Hou, your mother is Princess Yuan of Lu, and your maternal grandmother is Empress Lü. The Emperor residing in Weiyang Palace is your biological uncle, so you don't need to learn or do anything, and many people will come to ask for your hand in marriage, take you home and pamper you, living a life of luxury. But I'm different."

  "I am different." Her eyes turned red, "My father is just a small county magistrate, my mother is a rural woman. If I want to marry a good husband and live a better life, I have to learn these skills. Embroidery, cooking, playing the piano, managing the household, I have to learn one by one, and master them one by one. Only then will people not say that I am an unvirtuous woman, and only then can I win the hearts of my parents-in-law and my husband."

  "Sun Niangzi, how can you say that?" Tong Hua's eyes widened in shock, only now reacting, "My wife gave birth to a good child, it's her blessing, not her fault. Sun Niangzi, you're already very well off, but you insist on comparing with others. If we really must compare, who suffers the most? Isn't it Tong Hua? As a servant girl, I'm far inferior to you."

  "She snorted, 'I originally thought you were a girl as elegant and refined as my daughter-in-law, but I didn't expect... My daughter-in-law really misjudged you.'"

  "Yes, Ah Yan," Sun Rou stood sideways, his eyes gazing into the distant horizon, and said calmly, "You've always misunderstood me. I'm not as pure and unworldly as you imagined. Being pure and unworldly requires capital, which I don't have, so I can only get involved in worldly affairs. Still, thank you."

  She gave a mournful smile, her eyebrows and eyes dimly lit, "You didn't expose me in front of Master Mei just now. I have great respect for him and don't want him to look down on me."

  "A Yan, you didn't know? Two years ago, I met you for the first time at the temple fair, and accidentally shot an arrow that hit me. You apologized to me on his behalf, and we got to know each other, then became friends. But that time, I wasn't coincidentally standing next to you."

  "Mother heard that Xuanping Hou brought the eldest daughter of the princess back to Xuanping, and then told me, 'You should get to know this heavenly girl, it will be good for you in the future.' The wealth of the Han Houye is not very valuable, but Xuanping Hou is different, he is married to the emperor's own sister. The person you call uncle is the supreme emperor of the great Han."

  "That day, I took Xiaomu to walk behind you, openly looking at the things in the temple fair, secretly thinking about how to get to know you naturally without leaving any traces. Actually, when you apologized, I wasn't angry at all, but was overjoyed instead."

  "Ah Yan," she finally turned around, looking weakly at Zhang Yan with a slight smile, "you said, am I really a very common girl?"

  "The first time I stood in front of you, I was already a head shorter than you. So, I could never face you squarely."

  "Is that all?" Zhang Yan finally spoke out her first sentence after listening to her talk.

  "Uh-huh, that's all."

  "So are we still friends? 'Friends?' Sun Wu looked like he had just heard a joke, laughing so hard his waist was bent. He sneered, 'You think that after saying all this, we can still be friends as if nothing happened?'"

  Can't take it anymore.

  So we're no longer friends.

  No, maybe we were never really friends to begin with.

  I'm pretending to be affectionate. You're being aloof.

  "What a pity." Zhang Yan said.

  She solemnly performed a courtesy between peers and turned away, never looking back.

  The curtains fell, blocking out all outside views, and Zhang Yan sat down listlessly.

  "Who would have thought," continued Cao Cao, "that Sun Shangxiang would turn out to be such a person."

  "Alright," Zhang Yan interrupted sternly, "don't say another word."

  "A gentleman ends a friendship without speaking ill words." She opened her eyes wide and said slowly, "Although I may not be a gentleman, there's no need to tarnish her reputation. Remember, Bao Chu, today's events, you didn't see a shadow, nor did you hear a word."

  Serious and solemn, "Yes."

  Although she appeared to be nonchalant on the surface, deep down, this failed friendship still had a negative impact on Zhang Yan. The double blow from love and friendship caused the 12-year-old girl to decline rapidly, soon revealing her sharp jawline.

  June summer

  This day was Zhang Yan's grandfather, the late King Zhao of Zhang Er's memorial day.

  Zhang Yan followed her mother to the ancestral temple for worship, and then went out to the suburbs for a spring outing. The summer morning breeze blew her hair back, and she felt refreshed in her heart.

  "A Yan, have you found someone special?" Lu Yuan asked quietly in her ear as he walked with her by the river.

  Zhang Yan was startled and almost thought that her thoughts had been seen through by her mother. She lost the fan in her hand and turned pale.

  "You look like you do. Lu Yuan smiled slightly, his lips curved warmly, "This is a good thing, don't be afraid. Whomever you fancy, just tell Mother, and Mother will take care of it for you."

  She let out a sigh of relief. It was just a false alarm after all. She bent down to pick up her fan, "Where is it?"

  What can I say to you, Mother? That I have taken a liking to your esteemed and noble younger brother, the Emperor in the Un央 Palace?

  I couldn't bring myself to say it.

  She gazed softly into the distance, her voice faint, "Mother... I'm a little scared. Afraid of those Xiongnu people."

  Lu Yuan's smile stiffened. After a long while, he forced himself to say, "Isn't your aunt married off already?"

  "Six years ago, there was also a Han woman who married into the Xiongnu. Isn't there still a Liu Xuan today?" Zhang Yan said, "Mother should be the most clear about this matter."

  On a cool summer day, the willow trees lead to a long stretch of water. The scenery is so beautiful that it's hard to take in. But Zhang Yan suddenly thought of Liu Xuan's resentful eyes, as cold as ice and snow, when he left.

  At that time, she smiled and cursed. Weird and beautiful, "A Yan, I have spent my whole life traveling to the distant land of Xiongnu for you, you must repay me with a lifetime of unrequited love."

  "This is already very fair." She said softly, "I have suffered twice as much, if you return one to me, do you think Auntie will be very angry with you?"

  In an instant, Zhang Yan's heart turned to ashes. Liu, I have now fulfilled your curse. Look, the young man I love will never and cannot love me for all eternity. It turns out that there really is such a thing as a curse in this world. Having narrowly escaped this calamity, I must pay with bitter fruit. In this world, there are causes and effects, and retribution is inevitable.

  "Alright," Lu Yuan's face was not good, he hugged her tightly and said word by word, "Mother will absolutely not let you marry into the Xiongnu. If there is retribution in this world, let Mother bear it. The decision made is between Mother and your uncle, it has nothing to do with you, a child."

  Zhang Yan smiled slightly, her face pale.

  This summer outing, the only one who can truly enjoy herself is Ah Yan, who has not yet grown up and understood things. With the protection of her two older brothers on one side, she laughs freely and happily presents the fish she caught to her sister as a treasure. Zhang Yan comforts her two worried younger brothers with a glance, and with great effort stretches out her hand to pat Ah Yan's head, causing Ah Yan's eyes to curve into crescent shapes as she smiles very happily.

  "Sister," he pounced on Zhang Yan's body, his eyes were a kind of unworldly clear blackness, "if you have anything unhappy, Ah Yan will ride the horse and drive them all away."

  Then you will smile again.

  She kissed her little brother. If people could always remain young and never grow up, perhaps she would be able to live forever without worries.

  On their way back, the horse carriage passed through the market, hearing the noisy and quarrelsome sounds, a group of people blocked their path.

  "What's going on?" Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows and rebuked.

  The guard went out and came back, reporting outside the carriage, "It is said that it was a Zhao woman who moved to this place. Her father owed the Zhu family a large sum of money before his death. The Zhao woman did not come out, so the Zhu family wanted to force her to be a concubine. But the Zhao woman was a proud person, and she was scolding the strong for bullying the common people, saying that the toad wants to eat swan meat."

  "This matter is reasonable on both sides and it's not good to intervene." Lu Yuan furrowed his brow and said, "Tell that household, no matter what they want to do, let us pass first."

  "Yes." The guard responded and was about to rein in his horse. In the carriage, Zhang Yan pulled at Lu Yuan's sleeve.

  "Mother," she said softly, "that Zhao girl sounds rather pitiful, let's help her out."

  Lu Yuan had always been obedient to her, lifted the curtain and said, "Zhang Shun is back."

  "Take this money and go pay off Zhao's debt."

  "Yes." Zhang Shun was somewhat surprised, but still responded, drove the horse forward, threw down a few strings of money, said a few words, and the rich man was afraid of Lu Yuan, had to retreat. A young woman in plain clothes with a simple face followed Zhang Shun back.

  "Madam," she knelt down outside the carriage, "Qiu He is alone and helpless, thanks to Madam's rescue. If not abandoned, I am willing to be a slave or servant to repay Madam's kindness."

  Lu Yuan said calmly, "Since you have such thoughts, then follow me back to the manor."