Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 22: The spring is hazy, no one is cursing, the wooden fish is dim, and I am sad

"Tuk...tuk...tuk..."

"Tuk...tuk...tuk..."

Guan Yin barely woke up from his sleep when he heard the rhythmic knocking sound coming in through the window. When he pricked up his ears to listen carefully to the source of the sound, he couldn't even catch the tail of the sound.

What were those students? The first thing Guan Yin did when he woke up, before his mind could recover from the letter, was that there were letters between his original body and Liu Jiaoan that had been hidden for many years?
"Ms. sir?"

How come it was Liu Jiaoan who had just returned from the market? Guan Yin had not heard Sanheng's voice just now. Seeing that the sun had already set and the sky was dark, Sanheng should not be gone: "Madam, is Sanheng not here?"

"I didn't see him when I came in just now."

"I don't know when he went out." Sanheng was very good to me and Liu Jiaoan, and he gave up the conditions of the Liu family and followed his wife to such a small and half-dilapidated house. How could one not be moved?

But Guan Yin always felt that there was something strange about San Heng. Maybe he was too precocious, or maybe he was too "kind" to a person who came from a teaching academy?
Liu Jiaoan couldn't bear to see Guan Yin frowning, and when Guan Yin frowned, Liu Jiaoan persuaded him: "He is not young anymore, and he can protect you and me. You don't have to worry about him... maybe he went to find his parents."

In fact, Guan Yin didn't want to cause trouble for himself, but the letter that Cheng Heng received seemed to be secretly reminding him of something.

For example: Is this world real? Or...

Guan Yinke was unwilling to believe in those supernatural things. "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" was meant to warn the world, and he himself was not greedy. As a teacher who had been single for more than 20 years, he had no feelings towards charming fairies.

No matter how powerful a goblin is, can he come up with more tricks than a student who doesn't want to do his homework? Guan Yin, who has been a student for so many years, thinks that it is obviously impossible!

"Madam, do you think we all really exist in this world?"

"My husband told me the story of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly." Liu Jiaoan poured a cup of tea for Guan Yin and responded slowly, "He also told me not to get obsessed with it."

Did the original body actually talk about such philosophy with Liu Jiaoan? Guan Yin didn't think so much at first. But since Liu Jiaoan mentioned it, Guan Yin naturally asked: "So, what do you think, are we a butterfly or Zhuang Zhou now?"

"Jiao An doesn't know what her husband thinks. Jiao An just feels that she is neither Zhuang Zhou nor a butterfly. Jiao An is Jiao An, just Jiao An herself."

Unexpectedly, but logically, Guan Yin inexplicably felt that the "ancients" seemed to see things more clearly than modern people. Think about the hundreds of schools of thought that were clashing with each other. Why is it that even now, when we have clearly achieved the ancient saying of "knowing the world without leaving home", there are few new philosophies being discussed?
Is it because I can't calm down, or is it that various noises have finally affected my original voice, making everything become complicated?
"What do you think, sir?"

"I am who I am." Faced with Liu Jiaoan's reply, even if Guan Yin didn't want to be perfunctory, he could only choose to say something equivalent to "Me too" to the former.

Liu Jiaoan was very good, but her deep friendship with her original body might not allow her, who didn't belong here, to continue to exist. Guan Yin didn't want to take this risk before he could find a way to go back.

"It's late. Madam has been busy all day. Have a cup of hot tea and rest." Before Liu Jiaoan asked any more questions that he couldn't answer, Guan Yin stood up and poured a cup of tea for her. He held it in both hands and handed it to Liu Jiaoan, "Thank you for your hard work, Madam!"

"Well, my husband, take care of yourself too." Liu Jiaoan took the teacup and drank it all. She never doubted the intentions of the people around her, and fortunately Guan Yin never thought of hurting her.

Just as Liu Jiaoan was about to put down her teacup, Guan Yin wanted to ask something else: "Oh, Madam."

"You say." Liu Jiaoan is as gentle as water. She always has infinite patience and tolerance, waiting for the person in front of her.

"If, if you could go back in time, do you think you could change the present?"

"What do you mean, sir?" Liu Jiaoan had never read those time-travel novels, so she didn't understand what Guan Yin wanted to say. Her eyes were shining as she looked at Guan Yin, "Are you talking about the so-called reincarnation in the novels? Jiaoan doesn't believe that there is such a thing."

"Some people leave and never come back. Seeing them come back to life and redressing their wrongs is nothing but wishful thinking!"

Liu Jiaoan's words shocked Guan Yin, who was even more surprised than when he saw the letter. For a moment, Guan Yin even felt that with every word Liu Jiaoan said, she was looking through him to see another person - as if she had known for a long time that her original self was gone, and that he was not the one who had accompanied her for so many years.

"What are you thinking about, sir?"

"I'm wondering, if you could go back to the past, would you still choose to come here and live a hard life with me?" Liu Jiaoan was inexplicably strong today, and Guan Yin couldn't wait to change the subject.

"If we go back to the past, if Jiaoan really didn't choose her husband, what would he think?" Liu Jiaoan's eyes were cunning, and she deliberately tried to tease Guan Yin with her tone, "Will my husband be unhappy?"

"But going back to the past is impossible, isn't it? Even if I tried my best to change something, maybe we wouldn't be who we are today...even if we forced it, it might be worse than what we are today."

Liu Jiaoan saw things clearly, and Guan Yin knew that the former was actually the same as him. If you wantonly interfere with something, no one knows how much change it will bring to a small piece of history.

So since he had traveled through time and space here, Guan Yin had been trying to live according to the local customs and practices of the time, rather than making a big show of how extraordinary a person from the modern world was, fantasizing about becoming a hegemon...

"What happened to my husband today? Did you have a frightening dream during the day?"

Just when Guan Yin thought that Liu Jiaoan would not say anything more, the latter's concern still came unexpectedly.

"Not really."

Guan Yin was about to explain something when Liu Jiaoan turned around with the kettle filled with hot water and was about to leave the room: "I'll go get you some soothing decoctions some other day. Waking up at night and sleeping during the day all the time is not good for your health."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Husband, take good care of your body, it will be the greatest gift to Jiao An."

The words that just came out of his mouth were blocked by the half-closed door. Guan Yin originally thought that Liu Jiaoan would not hear it. But the first sentence that the other party said when he came into the room with hot soup was to respond to him.