Notes on Longevity

Chapter 83 The ancient tree that never ages guards the blessings, and the thousand-year-old stage sings to celebrate longevity.

"I still don't understand. The more I listen, the more confused I get." Zhang Ze'an frowned and tapped the back of his head with his folding fan. "What did you say to You'an after Shuping and Miss Wanyi left?"

“I said, Young Master Yang.”

Jie Xiaoshuang was in a state of turmoil. Her mind was preoccupied with the birthday poem Yang Youan had mentioned. This caused her to stare at the red couplet she hadn't yet written a single stroke of, biting her red lips tightly, her thoughts in disarray.

Finally, she had no other choice but to ask Yang Youan what was wrong. So she knocked on his door.

"Miss Xie, what's wrong? Do you still need to write?" Yang Youan was reading a book when he suddenly heard Xie Xiaoshuang knocking on his door and calling him.

"No, that's not it." Xie Xiaoshuang looked nervous, her eyes darting around. Although she had made up her mind to ask, she still didn't have the courage to speak.

"And Miss Jie is..." Yang Youan understood in his heart. Yes, he understood. But he didn't say it, nor would he speak. In fact, like Jie Xiaoshuang, he admired her, but because of his current situation of being dependent on others, he couldn't speak up, nor could he bring himself to.

He thought that the scholar and the fox spirit in the play were destined to be apart, their love unrequited, and perhaps his current situation was similar.

Their social statuses were vastly different, and they were living under someone else's roof.

But Jie Xiaoshuang said, "Young master, I am only sixteen years old. I met you in an alley once, and though it was just a brief encounter, I fell in love with you. After you left that day, I missed you dearly. Why do you avoid me like the plague now that we meet again?"

Finally, Jie Xiaoshuang spoke up. Although she was a woman, why couldn't she express her feelings of love?
"You'an wouldn't dare." Yang You'an stared at Xie Xiaoshuang in a daze upon hearing her words. He never expected that Xie Xiaoshuang would speak first.

"Then why does the young master avoid me every day?" Xie Xiaoshuang pressed.

Yang Youan hesitated for a moment, then told Xie Xiaoshuang everything: "Youan lost his parents at a young age. Not long ago, Youan returned home, only to learn that his aunt and uncle had fallen off a cliff. The family member who had stayed with his aunt and uncle is now ill. People say that Youan is an omen of bad luck and a source of misfortune. If I see Miss every day, I am afraid that I will unfortunately catch it from you, so I dare not."

"How can the words of others be considered true?" Xie Xiaoshuang asked, puzzled.

“I am the cause of this disaster, and this has already been reported to my parents and uncles; it is a fact,” Yang Youan said.

"Life and death are beyond human control. Why should you worry about it, young master? Xiaoshuang also lost her mother at a young age. Is Xiaoshuang also a source of trouble?"

"No."

"Then why must you mock yourself, young master?"

"I"

Yang Youan was at a loss for words when Xie Xiaoshuang asked him the question.

"If the young master is truly the cause of disaster, or as they say, how many more days can Xiaoshuang live?"

"Xiaoshuang truly loves you, young master, so why would she care about what others say? My father and I both like you. Brother Shuping and Sister Wanyi in the courtyard also treat you like family. You saved my pear garden a year or two ago, so what if something happened to you?"

"You'an doesn't want to be implicated."

"Young Master, you are only affected by what others say. Do you want to live your life forever in the mouths of others? Young Master is talented and speaks eloquently. Why would you be afraid of what others say?"

You'an couldn't resist any longer, or perhaps Xie Xiaoshuang's words were a wake-up call. After a moment's thought, he looked at Xie Xiaoshuang and said, "You'an is fond of you, but our family circumstances are worlds apart. I am merely a down-on-his-luck, homeless scholar, while you are a young lady bestowed by the Emperor upon us by the Pear Garden. We are not a good match." "You're at it again, young master," Xie Xiaoshuang said bluntly. She should have been angry, but instead, she smiled. That smile was like the sunlight on a snowless winter day, illuminating the cold world and melting someone's heart.

Perhaps it was this smile that touched Yang Youan's heart, for he himself smiled slightly. For some reason, he felt that the scene just now resembled a flirtatious scene from a storybook. Without any explanation, things changed suddenly.

He was overjoyed, yet helpless because of his family circumstances and his experiences. He cared about the gossip, but it was all blown away by Xie Xiaoshuang's warm smile, like dandelions scattered by the wind.

Or perhaps the woman's sincere questioning was like a key, slowly being inserted into the lock of his heart. With each question, it was gradually unlocked.

It always happens so inexplicably, without any explanation, just suddenly...
"There's an old tree in the yard, and it's said to have always been there."

Yang Youan looked at the red couplet on the stone table, at a loss for words, so he asked Xie Xiaoshuang if there was anything in the courtyard that the troupe leader cared about.

"Any more?"

"The stage. The stage was brought over by my father. It wasn't that big originally, but we added more later."

"That's it."

Yang Youan thought for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote: "Ancient trees that never age guard blessings, a thousand-year-old stage celebrates longevity. Horizontal inscription: May blessings and longevity always come."

-

"I'm going to find Miss Wanyi." Zhang Ze'an scratched his head and sat there restlessly. He was even more confused now, and all he wanted to do was find Zhang Wanyi and have her tell him the story again.

He thought Zhang Wanyi's words were outrageous enough, but Xie Xiaoshuang's words were even more outrageous.

With a single laugh, everything Yang Youan had said was resolved; he couldn't believe it. He didn't believe a single word that came out of Xie Xiaoshuang's mouth. This was more absurd than any play he had ever heard.

"What does Young Master Zhang want with Sister Wanyi?" Xie Xiaoshuang asked truthfully, but she didn't expect Zhang Ze'an to react this way. She thought he was going to settle scores with Zhang Wanyi or something. She never imagined that Zhang Ze'an wanted to go to Zhang Wanyi to hear what she had said again.

"Are you telling the truth?" Zhang Ze'an stood up and asked Xie Xiaoshuang again, pointing his folding fan at her.

"The truth." Xie Xiaoshuang was puzzled. Was she not telling the truth?
“That makes sense. No wonder.” Zhang Ze’an suddenly realized something. “No wonder he wouldn’t tell me when I asked him. So that’s why! Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!”

Jie Xiaoshuang watched the client pacing back and forth, feeling very puzzled. She wondered if she had said something wrong.

"I think the stories in the folk tales are far inferior to what you're telling." Zhang Ze'an paced back and forth for a while, fanning himself as he tried to calm himself down. He truly couldn't believe that there were things in this world more absurd than those in the folk tales. If he hadn't heard it from her himself, he really wouldn't have believed it.

"Young Master Zhang, what are you saying?" Xie Xiaoshuang was also confused. This must be what they call "the one involved is confused, while the bystander sees clearly." What one says is different from what others hear and see.

"It's nothing! Shh!" Just as Xie Xiaoshuang finished speaking, Zhang Ze'an suddenly heard a noise. He put a finger to his lips, signaling Xie Xiaoshuang not to speak.

He listened intently, but now there was no sound. Yet he had clearly heard different footsteps just now.

He looked up at Xiaoshuang's puzzled expression, glanced around, and finally spotted a glint of cold light on the roof of the house on the left side of the backyard.

(End of this chapter)