Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

"Is this where you live?"

Then I saw a thin mattress on the bed, the quilt was folded neatly, and there was an oil lamp, a small bronze mirror, and a wooden comb on the table!

A-Wu nodded shyly. Su Yuan went inside and looked at the bedside. Only a narrow sliver of sunlight could seep in through the small window…

Looking at the small mirror, which was polished to a high shine, he asked A-Wu:

"What about the big one? The one your dad made..."

Awu took it out from her bosom and handed it to him:

"I hid it on my person during the day and put it under my pillow at night. They've searched this room several times but haven't found it!"

Su Yuan took the mirror, looked at the words on the back, and asked:

"What are they turning over?"

"I don't know, I just come and flip through it every now and then."

As she spoke, she walked to the window, looked out at the sky, and said to him:

"Every day I look at this sky, watching it lighten, then darken, watching it rain...and snow!"

"I've been watching it for over twenty years..."

Su Yuan's hands trembled slightly as he stood behind her, clenching his fists, and asked with concern:

"Don't you ever want to go out for a walk? Go to the East Market or the West Market and see the lively scenes there?"

Awu turned around, looked at him, and smiled:

"That's a place only masters can go; we palace maids aren't allowed to leave the palace..."

Su Yuan wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how to start. A-Wu turned her head and continued to look at that small patch of sky.

"I used to fantasize about it for the first few years, but then I stopped thinking about it... It's no use thinking about it now..."

Then there was a moment of silence. Su Yuan looked down at the bronze mirror in his hand and asked softly:

"Awu..."

"Um?"

"That thing you're talking about... the one that tried to take the mirror... what is it?"

Awu didn't answer directly, but turned around and looked at him:

Are you scared?

Su Yuan thought for a moment: "I'm scared!"

"You still want to know?"

"think."

Awu blinked and stared at him for a few seconds, then took the bronze mirror from his hand, turned it over, and made sure the mirror faced Su Yuan:

"Well... you see."

Su Yuan looked in the mirror and saw his face, but there was another face next to it!

The face was blurry and indistinct, but the outline of a human figure could be discerned. It was behind his shoulder. Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he whirled around, but there was nothing there…

When he turned back to look in the mirror, the face was gone. Awu put the mirror away and said to him:

"It's always been there, ever since you first entered the warehouse!"

Su Yuan felt a chill run down his spine:

"What does it want to do?"

"It also wants to go out, and wants to take my mirror to wherever it wants to go."

"Where does it want to go?"

Awu didn't answer, but walked to the door and called out to Su Yuan with a smile:

"Let's go, we haven't finished watching yet."

Su Yuan, still puzzled, followed her out of the small house and into the narrow alley.

As A-Wu walked, she talked about where she worked, where she was scolded, and where she secretly cried.

They would say which nanny was fierce, which palace maid was kind, and which master had a bad temper.

One winter was particularly cold, so cold that the well water froze. They had to break the ice to draw water to wash their clothes, and their hands were covered in cracks from the cold.

It is said that one summer there was a great flood that submerged many villages outside the palace. Some people fled to Chang'an and knelt outside the city gate begging for food. They knelt for three days but no one paid them any attention!

As Su Yuan listened and watched, those places, those events, and those people came alive before his eyes.

Awu stopped at a corner of the wall:

"here…"

Su Yuan looked at the wall, which was no different from the other walls; it was a tall, red wall.

"What's wrong?"

Awu reached out and touched the bricks on the wall, recalling:

"That year I was sick, I had a high fever and was unconscious. My nanny said I was faking it and punished me by making me stay here without food or water, saying it was to clear my head..."

She paused:

"For three whole days, I just sat against this wall!"

Su Yuan stared at the wall for a long time without moving his head. Looking at the hand she was touching the wall, he asked softly:

"And then?"

"Later, a palace maid secretly brought me water, but she died many years before me..."

Su Yuan was standing there looking at the wall when he heard a noise behind him!

He quickly looked back, but the alley was empty, except for a chilly breeze that brushed past him, giving him goosebumps.

A-Wu also turned around and glanced back, then smiled:

"They're all here..."

Su Yuan was confused: "Who?"

Awu still didn't answer. She took a few more steps forward, then stopped and looked back at Su Yuan. Her gaze was different from before; it was as if something was about to happen. She said to Su Yuan:

"You should go back now."

Su Yuan unconsciously swallowed: "Go back? Go back where? I haven't finished reading yet..."

"I've finished watching..." Awu interrupted him, looking at him warmly, "In my whole life, this is all I have to watch, there's nothing else worth watching."

"I waited for you, I saw you came, that's enough..."

Su Yuan sensed something was about to happen and wanted to say something to A Wu, but then he saw A Wu smile at him again, a smile even happier than before.

"I'll tell them when I get back..."

"Tell me... that new guy, Su Yuan, his cooking is pretty good! He just talks a lot!"

Su Yuan stared blankly as she laughed, her eyes crinkling into crescents. He stood there watching her, feeling his eyes welling up and his nose sting.

"Awu..."

"Um?"

"You...your wish has been fulfilled?"

Awu handed him the bronze mirror:

"Take it..."

"This is yours..."

Su Yuan felt extremely distressed, but A Wu smiled and said:

"I'm done using it, and I've been waiting for you. I won't need this anymore!"

Su Yuan stared blankly at the mirror, and when he looked up again...

Awu has disappeared!

In the empty alley, only that red wall stood there, and a cool breeze blew past him. Su Yuan heard many sounds:

"The new guy's skills are pretty good?"

"You just talk too much?"

"That's a bit much..."

"More than the previous one."

"Who was the last one?"

"I don't know, it's been many years."

"Is this one also surnamed Su?"

"Yes, my surname is Su."

"The Su family! No wonder."

Su Yuan stood there, lost in thought, listening to the sounds. When the wind stopped, the sounds also disappeared. He looked at the bronze mirror in his hand.

I noticed that there were a few more blurry outlines next to his face in the mirror!

Su Yuan didn't know how long he had been standing in that alley. When he came to his senses, the scenery around him had begun to distort and blur. The sky above his head changed from blue to gray, and finally turned into a white expanse of light.

He looked at the bronze mirror in his hand. In the mirror, Ah Wu's face flashed by, smiling, before disappearing...

Su Yuan's eyes were red, and although he knew what had happened, he still tentatively called out:

"A-Wu?"

Apart from the sound of the wind, there was no answer!

Su Yuan's heart ached slightly. Holding the bronze mirror, he walked aimlessly forward. The alley grew shorter and shorter, and the light grew brighter and brighter.

As I took another step, my foot suddenly slipped into the air!