The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches; one by one they unfold their leaves.

  Xuanping was located in Hedong County, where the streets and alleys were peaceful and the people lived in contentment. It wasn't until after that grand ceremony of the imperial edict that news of Xuanping Hou's daughter being selected as a candidate slowly spread throughout the county, causing a stir.

  "It's said that after Seventh Young Lady returned home, her days weren't good either." Jiyou slowly peeled the skin of a large green peach with a small knife, saying, "After the selection, she couldn't hide her love affair with that commoner man anymore. Third Master couldn't tolerate this shameful matter, so he confined her at home, planning to marry her off to someone else after Seventh Young Lady's big wedding. That man would come every day to beg for forgiveness outside her house, and back and forth, the people in the county seat all knew about this matter."

  "It sounds quite pitiful." Lianlian sighed, "Who is that man?"

  "It's said that," Jie You cut the peach into four pieces, removed the pit and presented it to Zhang Yan. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's someone who studies ink, people from the Ink family have no great ambitions, even if they succeed, they'll only be a mediocre craftsman, without any prospects. No wonder Third Master wouldn't agree."

  "What's with the Mohist?" Zhang Yan originally just listened, but this was a bit unexpected, so she raised her head and interjected.

  "That's right." Smiling and nodding in response.

  Zhang Yan thought for a moment, then summoned Mu Xi and instructed him, "Go tell my father to investigate that person's background. If he is of good character, ask him to propose to our clan elder on behalf of Qiuniang. After some time has passed, have the couple go to Chang'an."

  "Daughter." Jie You felt somewhat surprised, "Your heart is kind, but...is this really necessary?"

  Zhang Yanyan said, "I have a plan in mind." Just as she was about to tell Jie You, they suddenly heard the sound of servants announcing from outside the courtyard. "Young Mistress, Sun Niangzi from the County Magistrate's household is seeking an audience at the gate."

  She was taken aback and stopped talking.

  Sun Wu walked through the familiar yet strange corridor, letting out a faint sigh. The osmanthus flowers swaying under the eaves were still the ones she and Zhang Yan had planted with their own hands three years ago, now blooming luxuriantly, but her master was going to leave for Chang'an and never come back. Things in life were so unpredictable, it wasn't long ago that he said with his own mouth that he wouldn't leave again in a short time.

  In the main room filled with the sweet fragrance of lavender, a girl sat up straight and lifted her head. Her eyes shone brightly as they had when they first met, gazing through the beaded curtain.

  They sat facing each other.

  "The tea I'm serving you today isn't weak." Zhang Yan suddenly pointed to the teacup placed in front of her on the lacquer tray.

  Sun Wu lowered his head, then raised it again. "That time at the temple fair when I stood beside you, watching you and your two younger brothers play together, I thought to myself: this girl is really lovely, I quite like her."

  "I never meant to play with your feelings. As for that time when we picked plums, I suddenly realized some things and didn't have the heart to care about anything else. Picking plums was originally a way to escape, but since it couldn't be escaped, I had to face it. I never forced my friends' intentions. It's just that if you really thought it wasn't suitable, you would clearly refuse. The boundaries between us were not well grasped by me. This is my mistake, and I will learn to improve in the future."

  Sun Wu said, "I also wanted to be good friends with you, but my mother saw other benefits and forced me to treat you in a more utilitarian way. I will not be ashamed of being your friend, it's just that at the time I was eager to vent my dissatisfaction with myself and my mother on you. This is my fault, and I won't do it again."

  "I didn't learn or do nothing from childhood to adulthood. I studied reading, writing, history, playing the piano, makeup, six arts, Go... maybe none of them are excellent, but when learning each one, I spent very serious thoughts."

  "Everyone has their own way of life, since you are already Zhang Yan, I cannot force you to live the life of Sun Wu. But I want you to know that I don't dislike my life. I like embroidery, cooking and managing the household, they make me feel like I can help the people I love. This makes me very happy."

  "I'm not being careless about them, it's just that I have more important things to care about. There are countless things in this world, if I put my heart and soul into every single one of them, I would exhaust myself to death. So I can only allocate my energy, allowing me to rotate among the things I like."

  "I never thought of really transcending the mundane, nor did I ever feel that being involved in worldly affairs was shameful. My father taught me from a young age that one must have their feet firmly on the ground in order to walk far. I believe his words and also believe that I am walking with my feet firmly on the ground, and will definitely reach a good destination."

  "I'm not living under the protection of my family, I don't have any worries. My worries are different from yours, but they also consume all my energy, I just don't want to show it in front of good friends, if she can't help me, at least I don't want her to worry about me."

  The two of them raised their eyebrows, gazing straight into each other's eyes. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Sun Wu stood up and bowed deeply, "The only thing I want to apologize for is that song, but I didn't do it on purpose. That day, Master Mei asked me to play a piece for him to see if I was worthy of being his apprentice. So I chose 'Worry'. After finishing the piece, Master Mei was visibly moved, and he asked me if I had written the piece myself. At that moment, I was possessed by a sudden madness and forgot to shake my head. Later on, I regretted it deeply, but no one knew about it, so I just wanted to forget about it."

  She asked Zhang Yan, "Are we still friends?"

  Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow, "Aren't we friends now?"

  Laughter fills with joy.

  Jie You pushed open the curtain and came in, bringing in a lunch personally cooked by Qian Niang. She stood up and exited. In the hall, Zhang Yan smiled and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, you like this mountain medicine chicken silk soup."

  "It's really strange." Under the window, Chui'er pulled Xie You's hand and asked inexplicably, "Looking at how red-faced and angry they were last time, I thought they would never get along again. How did they become so affectionate all of a sudden?"

  Wiping away her worries with a smile, she took his hand and strode down the long corridor, "Because they know that in this world, there isn't a single person who is completely perfect."

  Everyone makes mistakes, so when others make mistakes, give them a chance to turn back. This way, when you make mistakes in the future, you won't be afraid to turn back either.

  "Why don't you look angry?" Sun Rou asked Zhang Yan, "I said so many excessive words that day, and at night I thought about it myself and felt it was over the top, why aren't you even getting angry?"

  Zhang Yan leaned against the railing and said, "If you had told me a month ago, I would have been furious, but by then I had already been stimulated by even bigger things, so your words were just small magic compared to the big magic."

  "Something bigger?" Sun Wu sat up straight and said seriously. "Meng Yan, I came to see you today precisely because of this matter."

  "You know, girls' faces are all very thin. Although it was clearly me who spoke ill first. But if I wasn't worried that you'd do something stupid because of this, I wouldn't have had the face to come find you and make amends. Meng Xuan, last time I saw you, you clearly didn't intend to become empress, so how did you agree to it in an instant?"

  "Being an empress has its glory, but also its perils. If you weren't the daughter of a noble family, I wouldn't be saying this to you. You and His Majesty are uncle and nephew by marriage. A couple like that can't attain the happiness you desire. I've said before that I'm not someone who rises above worldly concerns, because I understand the need to compromise with reality, which is more powerful than we can challenge. Sometimes, even if we're proud, we have to yield. I thought you understood this principle too, but why are you being so foolish this time? The matter of the Xiongnu's marriage alliance doesn't even exist anymore, yet you're willing to sacrifice your lifelong happiness as a refuge?"

  Zhang Yan made a smiling gesture. "The order has been given and the draft has already been adopted. Can it still be stopped?"

  "Why can't I?" Sun Wu became agitated. "The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are your closest relatives, if you insist on opposing them, they won't make things difficult for you."

  "Why oppose?" Zhang Yan looked at her, his eyes suddenly distant. "Si Fu, I heard that after you came of age, your father arranged a fiancé for you. Do you love him or not?"

  Sun Xuanqiao's tongue was stuck, "Where...what words," she stuttered, "I haven't even seen him, how can I talk about loving or not?"

  The smoke curled up, the fragrance of Du Ruo's heart was refreshing. The room inside and outside the curtain was empty with no one. Zhang Yan said, "But I love him."

  However, the three words "I love you" were like a thunderclap, suddenly and violently blowing away Sun Xing's rationality to the sky outside. "What did you say?" she exclaimed, her sleeve accidentally knocking over the tea cup on the table, half of which spilled onto her skirt. She didn't care, however, and grabbed Zhang Yan's hand, saying incredulously, "You're joking, right?" She forced a laugh, "You're only twelve years old, what do you know about love?"

  Zhang Yan looked at her quietly, with piercing eyes. "You're not me, how do you know I don't understand?"

  "He is your uncle, and yet you have been harboring such thoughts about him all these years?" Sun Wu asked calmly.

  "That's not necessarily true." Zhang Yan sipped her tea, "If the empress dowager hadn't mentioned this marriage, I might never have thought deeply about it. But since she brought it up, I suddenly realized that I really want to love him well."

  Sun Wu's smile lasted for a long time, and then he asked solemnly, "Do you know or not, if you marry him, you will face the criticism of the world. They won't say it to your face, but they will whisper behind your back, and look at you with cold eyes. Even if you don't care about these things, you may never gain the emperor's love. In his heart, you will always be just a lovely niece, not a woman who can be loved. Then you will wither away slowly under his gentle shackles, without even being able to think of leaving. Do you really want to take such a great risk? It's not that I won't help you, but I see your hope, and it's almost nonexistent."

  "What's the matter?" She pondered with her palm fan, "Si Fu, I have a question for you."

  "If you see something in a market that you really like and the only way to buy it is by spending all your money, will you still buy it?"

  "I'm not crazy," Sun Wu exclaimed, "I buy it and what do I eat and drink? Oh no, maybe I'll even have to sell my house to get a thing that looks good but I don't know if I'll always like it after I really get it."

  "I'm willing."

  Zhang Yan said word by word. When she said she was willing, her profile looked very calm, Sun Wu stared blankly at her profile, and suddenly understood that no matter what he said, she would never turn back again.

  She suddenly felt very sad and said in a low voice, "Why did you tell me?"

  You didn't have to say it, you didn't say it, and no one would have guessed your secret thoughts. You could have kept your little secret safe and slept soundly.

  "Because I want people to know." Zhang Yan stood up, pushed open the window, and looked at the sunlight pouring down from the eaves. They were shining brightly, like gold, filling the courtyard. The osmanthus flowers were blooming with fragrance, and the willow branches were gently hanging down, pulling on the fine grass. "In a few days, I'll be marrying him. Everyone in the world is watching our wedding, some people think I'm too young to understand what's going on, that I don't know what a proper marriage is; some people think I'm greedy for wealth and royal status, that I don't know shame; some people think I'm afraid of the Xiongnu and have no choice but to rely on him to seek safety. But I hope there's one person, even if it's just one person in the whole world, who knows that I'm marrying him because I love him."

  She smiled brightly and said, "Let's just consider it a blessing for my next marriage."

  "From now on, I will go all out to get his love. When I'm lost, hurt, joyful, or successful, I hope there's someone at the ends of the earth who knows what I'm doing and can share my feelings."

  After a long time, Sun Wu's voice slowly cleared up and was cruel, "A Xiang, this is another gamble." You are using your lifelong happiness and all your youth to gamble on a faint future.

  "Yes," she turned back to look at Sun Wu, with a bright smile. "I also think I'm a crazy gambler. Fate is my gaming table, and I've put all my youth and courage on it, competing against the whole world. Even the one I love may not support me, he's actually my strongest opponent. If I lose, I don't even know how to turn back, but what can I do?"

  She pursed her lips into a straight line, "I don't gamble, how do I know if I'll win or not? Having been rational for too long, I suddenly want to go crazy."

  Sun Xun stared at her, feeling that at this moment, the radiance on Zhang Yan's body was dazzling. She had always been a person who revered reason, because being reckless would bring trouble to herself and those around her. But at this moment, she suddenly thought that some mistakes, when taken to an extreme, could also be beautiful, and that absolute rationality and absolute madness were both kinds of shocks that left one speechless from head to toe.

  "Hush, listen," Zhang Yan said, "the voice from the depths of fate is a cacophony. It's saying that the gamble has already..."

  Zhang Yan snapped her fingers, "Start trading."

  I finished writing this chapter and read it again. I felt a bit sad. In the introduction of this article, I used a sentence from Jian Rong's "April Anecdote": "If you want to be reckless, then be reckless to the end! I've made my bet, do you dare to take me on?"

  This chapter is about writing this kind of mood.

  No one can know what I think and feel. This is a very sad thing in itself. My little Yan has been suppressing it for a long time, so she wants to find someone to talk to.

  And what a great determination Xiaoyan has made at home. Also want people to know about it.

  So, formal announcement, tomorrow is really going to be a big wedding, no kidding.

  Starry eyes seek pink votes in the middle.