Su Ling was taken aback. Seeing the hostile look from the peddler, she quickly tugged at Su Xiaoliu's sleeve, signaling her not to cause trouble.
As if she didn't notice, Su Xiaoliu curled her lips and squinted her eyes. She continued, "This is just a fake painted by some amateur. It doesn't look like the real thing at all."
Hearing her words, the onlookers also thought it made sense, and many of them dispersed.
The peddler was so angry that his beard twitched. He sized up Su Xiaoliu from head to toe and said, "You girl, you really don't know good stuff. This phoenix lantern was painted by the Painting Immortal. If you say it's not good, you're saying the Painting Immortal's work is bad!"
Su Xiaoliu just smiled without saying a word.
Seeing the onlookers starting to point fingers at him, the peddler felt a blackout in front of his eyes. He shouted, "How dare you say this is fake? Have you seen the real one?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the peddler regretted it.
Su Xiaoliu couldn't help laughing out loud, and the onlookers around her burst into laughter too.
The peddler was both angry and ashamed. His face turned red from his cheeks to his neck. He cursed himself in his heart for saying the wrong thing. Didn't that sentence just admit that his lantern was fake?
"The painting on the lamp is indeed fake. Honesty is the key in business. Selling fake things at a high price is not what a merchant should do," a voice as pleasant as a celestial melody came. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice.
Su Xiaoliu looked up and met those jet - black eyes as clear as jade.
Zhong Fengyue was slightly stunned. He turned to look at the peddler, who was so ashamed by his words that he quickly hid the lantern.
When Su Ling saw the person coming, her face showed surprise. She quickly pulled Su Xiaoliu out of the crowd.
Zhong Fengyue followed behind. He pursed his delicate lips and said, "My wife."
Su Xiaoliu paused slightly. She turned around, opened her almond - shaped eyes, and looked at him in confusion. "My wife?" She blinked her almond eyes, shook her head, and said, "You've got the wrong person. I'm not your wife."
Zhong Fengyue was stunned. He stared blankly at Su Xiaoliu, and a look of surprise flashed across his handsome face.
Su Ling grabbed Su Xiaoliu and stood in front of her. She looked up at him and said, "Who are you? Who's your wife! Our third young lady doesn't know you." She pursed her lips. She couldn't help feeling angry in her heart. It was this man who made the third young lady lose her memory...
Zhong Fengyue frowned slightly. He lowered his head and took out a red sachet from his sleeve, trying to hand it to her.
"This..."
Su Xiaoliu's eyes fell on the red sachet in his hand. She recognized it as the sachet for making a romantic connection that Su Ling had mentioned before. She blinked her eyes, looked up at him, and said, "You want to give this to me?"
A look of joy flashed in Zhong Fengyue's eyes. He quickly nodded and said, "Yes."
Su Xiaoliu curled her lips, shook her head, and said, "No need. You'd better give it to the girl you like." After saying that, she picked up the lantern and was about to pull Su Ling around him and leave.
Zhong Fengyue pursed his lips, took a step forward, and quickly said, "This is for you."
Su Xiaoliu looked up at him. Su Ling beside her glared at him angrily and said, "Are you crazy? Our third young lady doesn't know you. Get out of the way!" As she said that, she tried to push him aside.
Su Xiaoliu walked a few steps with Su Ling. Suddenly, she stopped, turned around, and looked at Zhong Fengyue.
Zhong Fengyue stood there blankly, holding the sachet for making a romantic connection gently with his long - fingered hand. His jet - black eyes as clear as jade looked at her with a hurt expression.
Su Xiaoliu smiled and said to him, "Sorry, I don't like you. You'd better give it to someone else."
Zhong Fengyue slightly opened his delicate lips and looked at her in surprise. His amazing jet - black eyes were filled with endless sadness.
Su Xiaoliu turned around, lowered her eyes, gently pursed her lips, and walked away with Su Ling.
"Really. I didn't expect to meet him here," Su Ling pouted dissatisfiedly and muttered.
Not long after they walked, a gentle - looking young man in a light - colored long robe came over. He handed the sachet for making a romantic connection in his hand to Su Xiaoliu, smiled, and said shyly, "Miss, I'd like to give this sachet to you. I hope you can accept this connection."
A scholarly air came over. Su Ling twitched the corner of her eye. Just as she was about to refuse for Su Xiaoliu, she saw Su Xiaoliu happily take the sachet and say, "Okay. Thank you."
Su Ling opened her mouth in disbelief. The gentle - looking young man shyly lowered his eyes. When he looked up again and wanted to say something, the two girls were already gone.
He turned around blankly. The two girls had already walked far away...
Su Ling frowned and looked at Su Xiaoliu. She said, "Third young lady, you can't just accept sachets from others casually. Do you really want to marry that scholarly guy?" Humph, that guy was just daydreaming.
Su Xiaoliu pinched the sachet, put it under her nose and smelled it. She pursed her lips and smiled. "Everyone has their own fate. A little sachet can't change much."
Su Ling looked at Su Xiaoliu in surprise and was left speechless by her words.
Zhong Fengyue stood there quietly, watching Su Xiaoliu's back getting farther and farther away. When he saw her accept the sachet from someone else, a surge of jealousy spread in his heart. When he saw her walk around that person, he felt a little better.
He looked down at the sachet in his hand that he hadn't given out. A look of loss flashed in his eyes.
Time passed like flowing water.
One day, Su Xiaoliu was tidying up things in the room. Suddenly, a painting fell out. Su Xiaoliu was slightly stunned. She bent down and picked up the painting.
When she unfolded the painting, Su Xiaoliu couldn't help being stunned.
On the painting was a phoenix rising from the fire. Its vivid eyes and lifelike feathers were as if it was being reborn from the ashes and about to fly out. The tail of the phoenix was ablaze with fire, and its wings seemed to be able to soar into the sky with a gentle tremble. It was extremely gorgeous and charming. Every stroke of this phoenix seemed to be drawn with all the strength, carefully outlined.
In one corner of the painting, there were more than a dozen words written in a bold and elegant calligraphy style.
"The phoenix is flying, relying on the parasol tree. The phoenix is flying, its feathers fluttering... Painted by Feng Yufei."
Seeing the last name, Su Xiaoliu felt a slight pain in her heart.
She suddenly remembered something. She quickly put away the painting and carefully placed it in the cabinet.
By now, the peonies should have bloomed.
The carriage traveled for several days and slowly stopped in front of the peony field not far from the Valley of Ten Thousand Witherings.
Su Xiaoliu lifted the curtain of the carriage, got off, and looked up at the flower field. Suddenly, she was stunned.
The entire mountain - side of peonies... had all withered.
Su Xiaoliu walked over slowly. Her almond eyes trembled slightly. She squatted down and gently touched a peony with her finger.
As soon as her fingertip touched the peony, a withered petal fell off.
The peonies were dead, leaving only the gray - black dried stems.
How could this happen...
Su Xiaoliu slowly stood up and looked around. The peonies that should have been in full bloom this year... hadn't bloomed.
Su Xiaoliu stared blankly at the withered flowers in front of her. Her almond eyes trembled slightly.
Feng Yufei didn't lie.
He said that he would come back when the peonies bloomed again next year...
But the peonies didn't bloom. The peonies had disappeared with him.
He wouldn't come back either.
The phoenix never really existed. Just like him, he was just a dream she had experienced.
Just a dream in the golden millet.