My enemies became my companions

Chapter 158: Like a Flower in an Instant
The cold wind blew past the small courtyard, and the light snow disappeared in a flash. In her hand, there was only a smooth piece of pottery, reflecting the girl's slightly heartbroken face.

Chen Yi didn't know what to say for a moment. He slowly walked closer to her, half squatted, and held her in his arms with the pottery shards.

There was silence for a moment.

A hint of nostalgia flashed across Zhou Yitang's eyes.

Not long after, Chen Yi let go of Yin Tingxue. She held back her tears, carefully wrapped the pottery pieces together with the wrapping cloth, and tied a knot.

"Let's keep going." Yin Tingxue said.

Chen Yi suddenly noticed that her face was a little red, and asked:
"Are you having a fever?"

As he said that, Chen Yi put his hand on her forehead and found that it was indeed a little hot.

"A little bit... just a little bit, it won't affect anything."

She said this, closing her eyes for a while and then opening them again to make herself more alert.

Chen Yi glanced at her, gently wiped away the sweat on her forehead, wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, and stroked the ends of her hair on her cheek, just like he tucked her in every day.

Yin Tingxue touched the sweat marks he had wiped away.

For the first time, she felt his tenderness so clearly.

Stepping out of the yard, Yin Tingxue looked back again. The green bamboos were intertwined, and there seemed to be the clear sounds of the zither and the harp of the past. Several children of similar age gathered together, and while the old woman was away, they secretly flipped through "The Peony Pavilion" and learned to act out the plays. At that time, Yin Tingxue always wanted to play Du Liniang, Hong Ling played the personal maid, and the other girls took turns to play the scholar, pretending to be adults and reciting in the voice of adults, "You are as beautiful as a flower, and time passes like water."

On winter nights, when it is the coldest, a group of children aged seven or eight years old huddle in a bed, talking in low voices about the past, with their mouths full of "what I did when I was a child". When the old maid arrives, the maids jump out of the beds and stand there timidly. When the old maid leaves, they look at each other and burst into laughter.

As she walked step by step, the girl's boudoir gradually disappeared from her sight.

Chen Yi brought her back with great difficulty. Yin Tingxue didn't want to be too sentimental. She looked up. The sky was pulled down a little by the snow. The green tiles of the distant buildings turned white. The palace was quiet and peaceful at this moment. The snow was faint. Looking at this scenery, the daughter of Prince Xiang used to feel bored, but now it is not the same as before.

The long corridor is painted red, with cloud carvings everywhere. Halfway through, the fences on both sides are empty, and the stone bricks are extended out to be used as a viewing platform. At your feet is a quiet lotus pond. The colorful lotus flowers are no longer there, the lotus leaves are half-dried and the water in the pond is as calm as a mirror.

"My mother said this is called Xifu Pond, so we don't raise fish in the lake, we only raise lotus."

"The word 'fish' is similar to 'surplus', so why don't you raise fish and keep any surplus?" Chen Yi asked.

"Yes, the word 'Lian' means 'nian'. Because we can think of blessings, we will cherish them."

Yin Tingxue whispered the origin of the name of this lotus pond, then thought of something and laughed:
"When I was little, I wanted to pick lotus flowers, so my mother went to pick the nearest one for me. But she accidentally fell into the water, and when she climbed out, she only picked a lotus leaf."

As she spoke, her cheeks turned red, her voice was a little thick, and she seemed a little dizzy.

Chen Yi stood at the outermost edge of the viewing platform, listened to her words, smiled, slowly stretched out his hand, leaned forward, and gently broke off a lotus leaf.

He was just about to turn around and give the lotus leaf to her.

Suddenly, a kick came and Chen Yi was kicked into the water, splashing water everywhere. The water in the pool was freezing cold.

On the shore, all that remained was the cold face of the one-armed woman.

When Yin Tingxue saw this scene, she was stunned at first, and then she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. After the wet Chen Yi climbed up, she quickly stopped laughing.

Zhou Yitang uttered two words:
"retribution."

Naturally, it refers to the retribution for his outrageous behavior.

Chen Yi wiped the water off his face and said viciously:

"I won't cook for you tonight."

The one-armed woman didn't even respond.

Yin Tingxue's face was full of gloating, but when Chen Yi looked over, she stopped and tried to look concerned.

She suddenly felt a little nervous. Had she made him unhappy? Would he take the opportunity to make trouble for her?

But Chen Yi just smiled and handed over the lotus leaf.

Yin Tingxue's eyes paused, and she took the lotus leaf, just like when she took the lotus leaf from her mother's hands when she was a child.

She suddenly felt even more drowsy.

"Do you have any familiar maids in the palace? I will redeem them from the Music Bureau for you."

Chen Yi was wet all over. After wrung out some water, he untied his hair and let it down.

"No, I did when my mother was still alive, but later on she was gone..."

Continuing walking, Yin Tingxue paused and said dejectedly:
"My mother is gone, and my father has been in contact with people from the Divine Religion. He was afraid of being exposed, so he didn't dare to leave me any personal maids, and sent them all away."

So she lived alone for a very long time.

Chen Yi asked for no reason: "You must be lonely."

"what?"

"Aren't you lonely?"

Yin Tingxue then realized that he was talking about her. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Me? Actually, not really." The three of them were silent for a moment. The corridor was very long, the bricks and stones were cold, and water kept dripping from the ends of Chen Yi's hair. However, Zhou Yitong, the instigator, showed no concern or guilt, which made Yin Tingxue worry. She was afraid that the terrible man would take revenge on the one-armed woman. This man had the most methods, and even she, with two hands, could not cope with them.

A chilly wind blew by, and as you walked through the corridor you could see mountains in the distance, and the white peaks seemed to be slowly approaching.

The distant mountains are covered with snow.

"How many steps does it take to walk from here to Yintai Temple?" Chen Yi suddenly asked.

"Three hundred and seventy-six steps. Sometimes three hundred and seventy-nine steps."

Yin Tingxue twisted the lotus leaf, not knowing what she meant, but she answered honestly.

Chen Yi burst out laughing.

Alas, this lonely yet unaware girl...

Chen Yi gently held her hand and said softly:
"We are about to go to Yintai Temple. Remember to pray for our family."

Yin Tingxue nodded. She felt a little drowsy, but she still pulled herself together and said:

"Yes, yes. I'll always remember it."

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yitang lowered his eyes slightly.

For some reason, she, who always cared about Chen Yi, didn't react much to the intimacy between Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue.

It was because she was actually only angry at Chen Yi, not Yin Tingxue.

Yintai Temple is getting closer and closer.

"You said at that time that you would willingly climb onto my bed in two years. Is that true? Will you really do that in two years?"

"...No, I thought that after I served you obediently for two years, you would let me go..."

"Okay! You lied to me."

"I won't lie to you anymore. I haven't lied to you for a long time."

Yin Tingxue explained repeatedly, twisting the lotus leaves and laughing, as if she was lost in memories.

Her face was so hot that she was staggering as she walked.

Chen Yi just held her hand and walked forward step by step.

"Three hundred and seventy-one, three hundred and seventy-two..."

Chen Yi glanced at her sideways, and she seemed to be mumbling something.

Before he could speak, when they reached Yintai Temple, she suddenly turned around and said with a smile:

"I said, three hundred and seventy-six steps, right?"

Chen Yi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed.

Fine snow brushed against her face. Yin Tingxue was distracted and wanted to reach out to grab something, but she caught nothing. She looked at the Yintai Temple in the snow and remembered the origin of its name that her mother told her.

"Snow is a fleeting flower."

She muttered something absentmindedly, realizing that it was a flower that could not be kept.

She once burned three thousand taels of silver here. The silver bills flew down one by one, and the fine snow now was drifting, like the unfinished debris of yesterday.

Yin Tingxue pushed open the door and walked in slowly.

Beyond the front hall was the central courtyard. Yin Tingxue suddenly froze, staring blankly at the scene in front of her.

There was only a tree stump there, with round growth rings and maple leaves scattered all over the ground, as if it had been cut down after a thorough ransacking.

The dark temple was eerily quiet. Suddenly, she rushed to the palace and pushed the door open with difficulty, only to find that the lotus platform was already empty.

Even the treasure bowl that burned away three thousand taels of silver had disappeared.

Broken clay pots, felled maple trees, empty lotus stands...

"It's gone, everything is gone!"

The snow was falling, and the girl's face was covered with tears.
There was no longer any Bodhisattva sister to talk to her, no longer any Aunt Feng to teach her a lesson seriously... they had all disappeared.

It turned out that she had nothing.

"Like a flower in a flash!"

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(End of this chapter)