Spiritual energy resurgence? My former empress wife has also revived!

At the Shouhu Pavilion, Wangshu is like a wife anxiously waiting for her husband to return, craning her neck to look on.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Qin Zijun return safely.

Qin Zijun landed unsteadily, as if she were about to fall at any moment.

Wang Shu hurriedly helped him up: "Let me help you sit down for a while."

Qin Zijun shook her head, her tone smug: "How was that? Wasn't I amazing just now?"

"Those three mere Taiqing Realm cultivators dared to be so audacious as to try and snatch my maidservant! They deserve to die!"

"Mmm, you're the best. You shouldn't talk anymore. Let me help you sit down and rest for a while."

"Why are you being so perfunctory, you maid?"

"Look at you, you can't even stand up straight, yet you're still so smug."

"Well, I'm getting older after all. Doing such strenuous exercise all of a sudden isn't as easy as it is for a young person."

"You're not that old, even though you're an old bastard."

"You old bastard?"

Qin Zijun raised an eyebrow and said feigned anger, "So, you disobedient maid, you've been cursing me all along."

Wang Shu smiled, her eyes crinkling, and said, "Yes, you're only just realizing that I've been scolding you."

"When you were little, I called you 'Little Rascal,' and when you grew a bit older, I called you 'Rascal.' Now that you're almost bedridden and can't move, that's 'Old Rascal!'"

Qin Zijun laughed and scolded, "Disobedient maid, the master must punish you properly."

"Punish me after you've rested and have the energy. Look at you now, you can barely walk straight, how can you punish me?"

Wang Shu wanted to help Qin Zijun sit down in the pavilion to rest.

Qin Zijun suddenly said, "Wang Shu."

"I'm here."

"I don't want to sit here and rest, I want to... go home and rest."

Wang Shu turned her head away, not wanting Qin Zijun to see her red eyes or the tears welling up in her eyes. She smiled and said, "Okay, I'll help you home to rest. Let's... go home."

Qin Zijun's legs were not very nimble, so he walked very slowly, but his back remained straight.

Wang Shu wasn't in a hurry. She held his arm and told him to watch his step.

The two of them strolled leisurely through the streets of Shoushan County on this warm afternoon, watching the crowds rushing by, and headed toward the small courtyard.

"Wang Shu, someone once said that the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie. You lied to me too."

"I... I didn't lie to you at all!"

"Heh, you're clearly the rabbit I caught back then, but you never told me."

"You...you knew all along?"

"I already knew."

"When did you find out?"

"I knew it the moment I saw you."

Qin Zijun stopped and looked at the familiar street scene.

His thoughts seemed to have returned to sixty years ago.

That year, he became the youngest scholar in the State of Chu. Full of pride, he returned home surrounded by countless people from Shoushan County.

His father asked him, "What do you want?"

Qin Zijun pointed to a dirty little girl in the corner and said with a smile, "I want her!"

That scene feels like it happened just yesterday.

And that dirty little girl from that day is standing right here.

Sixty years have passed, and the once spirited young scholar has become a frail old man.

That dirty little girl was still stunningly beautiful and radiant.

Wang Shu stared blankly at a corner of the street, puffing out her cheeks: "So you knew back then, but you pretended not to know anything and even made me your maid! You clearly lied to me!"

"Then I'll apologize to you."

An apology must be sincere.

"So how do you want me to apologize?"

"I want you to... tell me a story."

"Okay, then I'll tell you a story about a shepherd boy who saved a white snake."

Qin Zijun slowly told a story called "The Legend of the White Snake," and finally he laughed and said, "I thought that the little white rabbit I released would only come back to repay my kindness after five hundred or even a thousand years."

"I never expected that she would come back to repay my kindness after only a year."

"Hey, I still don't know why you ran back after I clearly put you back in Shoushan. Aren't you afraid I'll really turn you into a spicy rabbit head?"

Wang Shu lowered her head shyly and said, "Shoushan is too dangerous. There are eagles in the sky and tigers on the ground. I'm on tenterhooks every day."

"And the food isn't good either. The grass is bitter and unpalatable, and there's a lot of dirt in it. It's not as good as... it's not as good as being kept in a cage by you, where you can eat and drink well."

Qin Zijun laughed heartily, coughing as she laughed.

Wang Shu quickly helped him pat his back.

"So, you were just coming to my house to freeload. Luckily, I was smart enough not to let you eat and drink for free, but instead made you work and be my maid for life."

"What's wrong with being a maid for life? I actually quite like it."

"Wang Shu".

"What's wrong?"

"Don't be foolish again. Not everyone in this world is as good as me. Don't get fooled again."

"I'm not stupid at all! Besides, who would praise themselves as a good person? You're clearly a little bastard, a bastard, an old bastard!"

"Yes, I am an old bastard. You are not stupid at all now, after all, you have read so many books by my side and seen all kinds of human nature."

Perhaps this is the greatest achievement of my life.

He accompanied a naive and ignorant girl, helping her grow and mature.

Although in her own eyes, she was still just an easily fooled silly rabbit.

Unbeknownst to them, Qin Zijun and Wang Shu returned to that small courtyard.

Wang Shu helped Qin Zijun sit down on the edge of the bed to rest.

Looking at the messy room, she complained, "I left too early today, and the house wasn't tidied up."

"Sit here and let me tidy up the room. Your clothes are all dirty. Take them off and I'll wash them for you."

Qin Zijun smiled and said, "Okay."

He sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching her dress him.

Watching her skillfully sweep the floor with a broom and wipe the furniture in the room clean with a rag.

Watching her roll up her sleeves, carry a large bucket to draw water from the well, tie up her dark hair, and wash clothes in a basin.

I stood on tiptoe, set up the clothesline, wrung out the washed clothes, and hung them among the tree branches.

After cutting up the fruit and warming the tea, I gently pushed open the door and placed the fruit and tea near Qin Zijun, within easy reach of her.

"Why don't you lie down and rest for a while? You've been out all day, you must be tired."

"Lie down and rest well, I'll fan you."

Wang Shu supported Qin Zijun's body, trying to help him lie down.

Normally,

He always needs to take a lunch break.

Qin Zijun shook her head: "I'm not tired today, and I don't want to lie down. I'd rather do something else."

"What do you want to do?"

"Grind the ink for me, and I'll write a few pieces of calligraphy."

"OK."

She skillfully ground the ink for him, then supported his trembling body as they stood before the desk.

As soon as Qin Zijun grasped the brush, his demeanor changed abruptly, as if he had transformed into a saint who commanded the awe and respect of countless students and the reverence and love of the people.

Qin Zijun picked up his brush, concentrated for a moment, and then swiftly wrote.

"Etiquette, morality, principles, and laws; books are weapons. The three sages were reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. The Jixia Academy passed on the torch and continued the lost learning. The pen of history will forever record this legacy."

"The light of the moon shines on the moon, the boat passes on the lake of longevity, a hundred years together is but a fleeting moment, the old dream of the moon palace is separated from the mortal world, how can I bear to face you, with your graying temples, without asking a question."

"Spring flowers fall in the courtyard, autumn rain shatters the window, but the moonlight does not stain my pure heart."

"Throughout the ages, only memories remain; this night, the stars and clouds draw near."

Qin Zijun continued writing, and in a short time, he sketched out a landscape painting.

There is Shoushan Mountain, Shouhu Lake, and Shouting Pavilion.

The mountains rise one after another, the lotus leaves bloom on the lake, and small boats float on the lake.

On the boat were a man and a woman; the man was reading, and the woman was gazing longingly at him.

As he finished the last stroke, Qin Zijun trembled. Wang Shu quickly helped him sit down, brought him a teacup, and held it to his lips, watching as his dry lips gently pursed.

What would you like to eat tonight?

Wang Shu asked a question that even a sage would find perplexing.

Qin Zijun hesitated for a moment, then said, "Just make a simple vegetarian dish, and... make a meat dish too."

"What kind of meat would you like to eat?"

"chicken."

"We're running low on groceries at home, should I go out and buy some?"

Wang Shu stood up, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her sleeves, and looked at Qin Zijun hesitantly.

Qin Zijun smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll wait for you here."

Wang Shu slung her bamboo basket over her shoulder and hurriedly left.

When she arrived at the market, she picked out vegetables and meat.

The vegetable vendor asked, "Why isn't Madam Qin haggling today?"

Wang Dao said, "I have urgent business today, so I won't haggle."

She quickly picked out some vegetables and meat and returned to the yard faster than ever before.

Pushing open the door, she saw Qin Zijun still sitting on the edge of the bed, reading a book. Relieved, she breathed a sigh of relief and went to the kitchen to busy herself.

As the sun sets, the smoke from countless homes rises.

Wang Shu has cooked the hot dishes and steamed the rice.

She gently pushed open the door, carrying a tray: "The food is ready. Let me help you in so you can eat it while it's hot..."

The room was quiet; the sage had departed.

Only a book lying face down on the bedside table and a newly changed set of clothes were left scattered around.

"Honestly, at your age, you're still running around at night. I'll scold you when you get back."

Wang Shu sat at the table, quietly eating rice, his favorite peas, and his favorite diced chicken.

She had a small appetite and didn't finish her meal. She cleaned up the leftovers and planned to reheat them for him when he came back.

A cool breeze blows through the summer night, and the old banyan tree in the courtyard rustles.

Wang Shu sat by the window, resting her chin on her hand, her beautiful eyes clear and bright.

Under the blazing sun, a handsome young scholar sat on a bamboo chair under an old banyan tree, engrossed in reading.

A young girl dressed as a maid was listlessly looking up and counting the leaves of a tree, while feeding the scholar the fruit in her hand.

Then, urged on by the scholar, she impatiently squatted down and began to massage his shoulders and legs.

The moon hangs high in the sky, the night is deep and still, and no one has returned.

Tears streamed down her smooth face as the Moon Goddess, laughing and crying at the same time, complained, "The books say that you talented men like to boast about your romantic nature."

"You probably went to a brothel with some friend again, got so captivated by the beauties that you forgot to go home."

"I am your personal maid. The master instructed me to keep a close eye on you."

"You little bastard, you old bastard, you'll always be a bastard!"

It began in the height of summer and ended in the height of summer.