Seeing Deng Tianyu reveal such an awkward state, Qu Qirong covered her mouth and laughed, finding it quite amusing.
In their interactions, she only felt exceptionally comfortable.
Although they were elder and junior, there was more of another kind of indescribable feeling.
Like friends, like kindred spirits, or perhaps something that transcended even those two…
Deng Tianyu stopped thinking about that socially suicidal scenario and changed the subject:
“The second performance is starting. This time it’s not a musical piece, but a play.”
After the piece ‘Winter Goes, Spring Comes,’ the beautiful woman exited, and the curtain was drawn.
Not long after, the curtain opened again, and several men and women appeared, beginning to act out the play.
This play told the tragic love story of a young lady from a wealthy family and a poor scholar.
By chance, the wealthy young lady met a scholar.
Fate brought them from acquaintance to intimate knowledge, and finally to love.
Unfortunately, destiny played tricks. The young lady’s family looked down upon the impoverished scholar. A ‘beating the mandarin ducks apart’ incident occurred, forcibly separating the two.
To make his daughter abandon her thoughts, the father also betrothed this young lady to a wealthy, well-matched family.
To this, she spent her days washing her face with tears. Even though she was unwilling, she couldn’t disobey her father’s will.
Meanwhile, that poor scholar, after learning of this matter, came to the young lady’s house many times, vowing that he would surely achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations one day, hoping her father would retract his command.
Unexpectedly, the young lady’s father not only berated him harshly but also ordered his servants to break the scholar’s legs and throw him out.
From then on, the poor scholar was utterly dejected and drank his sorrows away daily.
On the eve of the grand wedding, the poor scholar demanded of High Heaven why it toyed with him so, and then jumped into the river.
The young lady from the wealthy family, upon learning this, was heartbroken and took her own life in her room on the day of the grand wedding.
Thus, a pair destined for each other, yet love could not be attained. They were never together, even unto death!
This play was full of twists and turns, extremely captivating, causing the audience in the hall to hold their breath and watch quietly, clearly drawn deeply into the story.
Even Qu Qirong watched with rapt attention!
After the play ended, many people were deeply moved, sighing in lament. There were even women covering their faces with handkerchiefs, sobbing softly!
Moved, a woman in the hall exclaimed softly with a tearful voice: “I ask the world, what is love, that it commands even life and death in its wake!”
Inside the private room, Qu Qirong’s expression was complex, her heart stirred, unsure of what she was thinking.
In the past, she had also read about such ‘beating the mandarin ducks apart’ events in books. Back then, she hadn’t felt much.
But now, for some reason, she just felt a tightness in her heart!
Deng Tianyu, however, was quite calm.
It wasn’t that the play lacked immersion, but that he had already heard too many love-hate stories about scholars and wealthy daughters and was long since immune.
Still, he had to admit, the plays arranged inside Chanting Moon Pavilion were quite in line with mainstream tastes right now.
The actors performed vividly and passionately; it was just that the plot was overly sorrowful.
Luckily, the following plays and musical pieces were mostly lighthearted and joyful, gradually making people forget the earlier tragic play.
After accompanying Aunt Rong through to the end, Deng Tianyu found that the sky was already darkening.
“Aunt Rong, it’s getting late!”
“Then let’s go back.” Qu Qirong nodded, got up, and walked with him towards the exit of Chanting Moon Pavilion.
Just as they reached the doorway, a feminine-looking young man brushed past them both.
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong didn’t pay him any mind, simply leaning on the moonlight and stepping on the snowflakes as they slowly made their way back to Xiaoxiang Elegant Garden.
The feminine young man’s footsteps paused. His brows furrowed, and he thought to himself: “Why does that beautiful woman resemble Madam so much?”
Although he had only seen Qu Qirong once, he had long since engraved that mature, voluptuous, alluring figure—and that noble aura unique to a lady of her standing—into his heart.
He had always been suppressing the desires in his heart, only waiting for the right time to ripen.
“Brother Qu, what’s the matter?”
Seeing Qu Yun standing still, the youth in brocade clothes beside him was somewhat puzzled.
“Brother Shangguan, you go ahead. I caught sight of an old acquaintance; I’ll go and greet them!”
The more Qu Yun looked, the more the resemblance struck him, so he made an excuse and followed.
The brocade-clad youth didn’t think much of it and turned around, entering Chanting Moon Pavilion.
At the same time, outside Xiaoxiang Elegant Garden.
Deng Tianyu stopped before the gate, looked at Aunt Rong, and said: “Aunt Rong, I won’t go inside!”
“Does Tianyu have free time these next few days?”
Qu Qirong didn’t rush to go inside; instead, she asked this way.
Deng Tianyu nodded and smiled slightly: “There’s nothing else going on in the sect. I’ll be troubling Aunt Rong for the next few days!”
There wasn’t much going on anyway. He might as well go to Xiaoxiang Elegant Garden more often to keep Aunt Rong company and show his filial piety.
Qu Qirong furrowed her delicate brows and gently scolded with mild dissatisfaction: “What ‘troubling’ or not troubling? Do you and Aunt Rong still need to be so formal?”
After his Mother Consort passed away, Deng Tianyu had no other family. As his elder, she naturally had the duty to take care of him.
“Whatever Aunt Rong says is correct!” Deng Tianyu agreed, feeling a warmth in his heart.
Qu Qirong pondered for a moment, then her red lips parted slightly: “How about this? Xiaoxiang Elegant Garden has many unused rooms anyway.”
“If it’s not inconvenient for you, then stay here!”
“This way, you don’t have to travel back and forth, and it saves some trouble.”
Deng Tianyu was stunned: “Wouldn’t that be… somewhat inappropriate?”
One had to know, only Aunt Rong and a few maidservants lived in the inner courtyard of Xiaoxiang Elegant Garden.
Wouldn’t it be a bit strange for a man like him to move in?
“What’s inappropriate about it?”
“I am your aunt, not some outsider.”
Qu Qirong rolled her eyes at him, then directly made the decision for him: “You can definitely not go back tonight!”
She wasn’t just saying it; she truly had this idea.
No matter what, she was actually Deng Tianyu’s closest person.
If not for the fact that the Zhenbei Princess Consort had accidentally teleported into Hundred Flowers Valley back then, she would certainly have gone to Spirit Treasure Pavilion to look for Qirong.
If so, Tianyu should have been living with her all along.
With Tianyu by her side, she wouldn’t have been so lonely all these years. At the very least, she would have had a family member to confide in.
Of course, Qu Qirong didn’t say these words aloud.
“I should still go back for a bit. Even if I’ll be staying at Xiaoxiang Elegant Garden for a few days, I need to inform the sect,” Deng Tianyu thought for a moment and replied.
Although Shizun Ning Wan was currently in seclusion, there were still the Big Loli Li Shishi and the Little Fox Yingying in the rear mountain residence.
Seeing him agree, Qu Qirong smiled beautifully: “Let’s follow Tianyu’s suggestion then!”
“Then I’ll head back first.”
Deng Tianyu summoned his Dharma Boat, intending to return to Purple Cloud Sect, but was stopped by Aunt Rong: “Wait!”
“Aunt Rong?” Deng Tianyu’s footsteps paused, and he looked at her with puzzlement.
He saw Qu Qirong slowly walk before him and reach out her hand to button the unfastened button on the front of his clothing: “Tianyu, you really are careless at times!”
Deng Tianyu smiled wryly: “I must have forgotten it when I was dressing after washing up today.”
