灯光映照下，小夭肌肤雪白，衬得额间的绯红桃花娇艳欲滴，颛顼忍不住伸出指头轻轻地摸着，“这桃花印记和真的一样，简直就像把刚摘下的一朵桃花镶嵌了进去。”

Under the illumination of the lights, Xiao Yao’s skin appeared as white as snow, accentuating the vivid, crimson peach blossom mark on her forehead, making it look as if it were dripping with color. (Cangxuan) couldn’t help but reach out his finger and gently touch it, “This peach blossom mark looks just like a real one, as if a freshly picked peach blossom had been inlaid there.”

长相思第33章 所谓伊人，在水一方(3)

乌发堆起云鬓，素白色的束腰长裙，将高挑的身材勾勒得玲珑有致，外罩一件长长的拖地纱袍，纱袍上用红黑两色的丝线绣着桃花玄鸟图，随着她的走动，纱袍展开在白玉台阶上，绯红的桃花从她腰部蔓延开来，开得缤纷绚烂，直铺得玉阶上满是灼灼耀目的桃花。

Her black hair was styled into a high bun, and she wore a simple white long dress that hugged her waist, accentuating her tall and graceful figure. Over this, she draped a long, floor-length gauze robe embroidered with a design of peach blossoms and mystical birds in red and black silk threads. As she moved, the robe spread out over the white jade steps, with vibrant peach blossoms cascading from her waist, blossoming magnificently and covering the steps with a dazzling display of radiant peach blossoms.

长相思第34章 桃之夭夭，灼灼其华(1)

小夭指指髻上一支小小的桃木簪：“在这里。”

Xiao Yao pointed to a small peach wood hairpin in her bun, “It’s here.”

长相思第13章 有情终伴青山老(2)

 璟抓住了小夭的手，不知何时，他们四周已是白雾缭绕，在弥漫的白雾中，桃树一株株拔起，以肉眼可见的速度结成花骨朵，开出了娇艳的花。不过一会儿，千朵万朵的桃花，缤纷地怒放着，灿如晚霞、绚如胭脂，微风过处，落英缤纷。

    小夭明知道这只是璟结出的幻境，仍旧忍不住伸出了手，去感受那缤纷绚烂。
 
璟说：“这里是你爹爹曾经住过的地方。我今日带你来这里，是想当着你爹娘的面告诉你，青丘涂山璟想求娶西陵玖瑶。”

    小夭的身子僵住。

    璟问：“小夭，你愿意嫁给我吗？”

    当年，小夭和丰隆孤男寡女在密室议亲，都没有觉得不好意思，现在却是又羞又臊，恨不得立即跑掉。她低声嘟囔：“你想求娶，应该去问外祖父和颛顼。”

    “我当然会和他们提，但在征询他们的意见前，我想先问你。小夭，你愿意嫁给我吗？”

    漫天桃花簌簌而落，犹如江南的雨，小夭好似又看到了爹和娘，正含笑看着她。

    “我愿意！”小夭甩掉璟的手，逃进了茅屋，觉得脸颊滚烫，心怦怦直跳。在镜子前照了照，如同饮了酒，整张脸都是酡红色，她双手捂住脸颊，对镜子里的自己说：“真没出息！”

Jing grabbed Xiao Yao’s hand. At some point, they had become surrounded by swirling white mist. Within the mist, peach trees sprang up, and buds began to bloom at a speed visible to the naked eye, producing vibrant flowers. In no time, thousands of peach blossoms were in full bloom, as dazzling as the evening glow, as vivid as rouge. A gentle breeze scattered the petals around them.

Even though Xiao Yao knew this was just an illusion created by Jing, she couldn’t help but reach out to feel the dazzling display.

Jing said, “This is where your father used to live. I brought you here today because I want to tell you, in front of your parents, that Qingqiu Tushan Jing wishes to marry Xiling Jiuyao.”

Xiao Yao froze.

Jing asked, “Xiao Yao, will you marry me?”

Years ago, when Xiao Yao and Feng Long were alone in a secret room discussing marriage, she didn’t feel embarrassed at all. But now, she was both shy and flustered, wanting to run away immediately. She mumbled softly, “If you want to propose, you should ask my grandfather and Zhuanxu.”

“I will definitely talk to them, but before seeking their approval, I want to ask you first. Xiao Yao, will you marry me?”

As the peach blossoms fell around them like a southern rain, Xiao Yao seemed to see her parents again, smiling at her.

“I do!” Xiao Yao shook off Jing’s hand and fled into the hut, her cheeks burning and her heart pounding. She looked at herself in the mirror, her face as red as if she had been drinking. She covered her cheeks with her hands and said to her reflection, “You are pathetic!”

长相思第16章 兵戈近，空奈何(3)

 隔着三重珠帘，在大殿尽头，有一位白衣女子，倚窗而站，手内把玩着一枝绯红的桃花。她好似在欣赏烟波浩渺、青山隐隐、白云悠悠的景致，又好似在焦灼不耐地等人，手指无意地将桃花瓣扯下，那桃花扯之不尽，已经落了一地。

Beyond three layers of beaded curtains, at the far end of the grand hall, stood a woman in white, leaning by the window, playing with a branch of crimson peach blossoms in her hand. She seemed to be admiring the vast, misty waters, the faint outlines of green mountains, and the drifting white clouds, yet at the same time, she appeared to be waiting impatiently for someone. Absentmindedly, she tore at the peach blossom petals, which fell continuously, already scattered all over the ground.

小夭看着迷蒙的桃花雨，想起了璟求婚时的景象。那是在神农山的草凹岭，山上并无桃树，可因为璟知道她的父母在桃花树下定情，所以特意用灵力营造了千里桃花盛开的景象。漫天桃花下，他紧张地说：“青丘涂山璟求娶西陵玖瑶。”

小夭伸手接住几朵落花，微微而笑。

  漫天绯红的桃花影中，小夭好像看到了璟，她紧紧地握着手中的落花，对着他微笑，一字字清晰地说：“我愿意！”

Xiao Yao looked at the misty rain of peach blossoms, recalling the scene when Jing proposed. It was at the grassy valley of Shennong Mountain. Though there were no peach trees on the mountain, Jing knew that her parents had fallen in love under a peach tree, so he used his spiritual power to create the spectacle of thousands of blooming peach trees. Under the sky full of peach blossoms, he nervously said, “Qingqiu Tushan Jing requests to marry Xiling Jiuyao.”

Xiao Yao reached out to catch a few falling flowers, smiling faintly.

Amid the endless crimson shadows of peach blossoms, Xiao Yao seemed to see Jing. She tightly held the fallen flowers in her hand, smiled at him, and clearly said, “I do!”

长相思第48章 相逢犹恐是梦中(2)

    礼物这种东西很奇怪，一旦是自己开口要来的，一切都会变了味道。其实，礼物不在于那东西是什么，而在于送礼人的心意。若真把一个人放在了心中，自然而然就会想把生活中的点滴和他分享，所以，一朵野花、一块石头皆可是礼物。

Presents are very strange, once you have to ask for it, the flavor will change. Actually, it doesn’t matter what the item is, but depends on the gifter’s intentions. If one really has the other in their heart, they will naturally want to share every little thing in their lives with the other person. Hence, a single wild flower, a piece of stone can be a present.

长相思第35章 满院春风，惆怅墙东(4)

不知不觉中走到一片槿树前，还记得她曾大清早踏着露水来摘树叶，将它们泡在陶罐中，带去草凹岭的茅屋，为璟洗头。

    槿树依旧，人却已远去。

She didn’t realize it but she soon walked before a patch of mallow trees. She still remembered how she used to come early in the morning, stepping on dew, to pick the leaves, soaking them in the urns to bring back to the shack on Cao Ao range, to wash Jing’s hair.

The mallow tree is still here, but the person is long gone.


掌间依旧有槿叶的香气，小夭看着自己的手掌想：和丰隆在一起，只怕她是不会赶早起身，踏着露珠去采摘槿树叶子；不会两人一下午什么事都不做，只是你为我洗头，我为你洗头；不会晚上说废话都说得舍不得睡觉，即使她愿意说，丰隆也没兴趣听。就如丰隆所说，他们就是有事发生时，坐下来心平气和地商量，没事时……没事时丰隆应该没多少空在家，即使在家也很疲惫，需要休息；只怕她永不会对丰隆生气发火，任何时候两人都是和和气气，相敬如宾。

There is still the scent of the leaves on her palms, Xiaoyao looked at her palm and thought: With Fenglong, she probably won’t be rushing to get up early in the morning, stepping on dew to pick mallow leaves; They won’t be doing nothing in the afternoon, just to wash each other’s hair; They won’t be saying trivial nonsense late into the night and not bear to go to sleep. Even if she was willing to say it, Fenglong is probably uninterested to listen. Just as Fenglong said, if something were to happen, they can sit down calmly to talk things over, when there is nothing….. If there is nothing Fenglong probably won’t even be free to be at home. Even if he was at home, he will probably be very tired and need to rest; She will probably never flare up at Fenglong, and the two of them will always be polite and harmonious with each other.，

长相思第32章 满院春风，惆怅墙东(1)

小夭目光迷离，好似压根儿没看到左耳，含着笑喃喃说：“木槿花。”

    不远处有一丛灌木，开满了粉色的花，想来就是小夭说的木槿花。左耳看小夭喜欢，忙去摘了一大兜，拿给小夭。

    小夭的手根本抬不起来，左耳捡了一朵最好看的花，放在她的掌心。小夭说：“明日如果阳光好，我给你洗头，你也帮我洗头……璟，别忘了清晨摘叶子。”

Xiaoyao’s vision was blurry and did not seem to see Zuo-er at all, she murmured with a smile “Mujin.”

Not far away was some bushes, with pink flowers blooming all over, which is probably the mujin that Xiaoyao was talking about. Seeing that Xiaoyao seems to like them, Zuo’er picked a big bunch and brought it to her.

Xiaoyao could not even lift her hands anymore. Zuo’er picked the most beautiful one and placed it on her palm. Xiaoyao said
“If the sun is good tomorrow, I will wash your hair for you…you will help me wash mine too…. Jing, don’t forget to pick the leaves at dawn.”

    左耳明白小夭已经神志糊涂了，他不知道该怎么办，只能一遍遍说：“熬过今夜，天一亮陛下就要来了，你坚持住。”

    小夭看着木槿花，一直在微笑。

    夕阳的余晖渐渐消失，天色渐渐黑沉。

Zuo’er understood that Xiaoyao has become delirious. He did not know what to do, but only repeat “Just make it through tonight, His Majesty will arrive at dawn, you have to hang in there.”

Xiaoyao looked at the mujin and kept on smiling.
The evening sun’s rays gradually faded, the sky descended into darkness.

    小夭的眼泪突然滚了下来：“木槿花不见了！璟，我看不见你了！”她的眼睛就要慢慢合上，左耳也不知道为什么，反正觉得绝不能让小夭合上眼睛，否则她就会永远也睁不开了。

    左耳急急忙忙拽了几根枯木桩，把扶桑木扔进去，火光燃起，左耳说：“你看，木槿花！很多木槿花！”

Xiaoyao’s tears suddenly flowed down ” The mujin flower has disappeared! Jing, I can’t see you anymore!” Her eyes started to close slowly. Zuo’er can’t understand why, but he just knew that he absolutely cannot allow Xiaoyao to close her eyes. Otherwise she will never be able to open them again.

Zuo’er hurriedly threw many dry twigs and lit them with his special lighter wood. The fire blazed, Zuo’er said ” Look, mujin flowers! Lots of mujin flowers!”

    小夭勉力睁开眼睛，笑看着木槿花。

    左耳再顾不上隐藏行踪，不停地往火里扔柴，让火光照出木槿花给小夭看，至于火光会不会引来杀手，精疲力竭的他能否应付，他都没有去想，就如在死斗场上，他唯一的目的是杀死对手，现在他唯一的目的就是让小夭看到木槿花，不会闭上眼睛。

Xiaoyao tried her hardest to open her eyes, and gazed on the flowers with a smile.

Zuo’er can’t think about hiding their tracks any longer, he kept throwing on more wood onto the fire, so the flames can light up the flowers for Xiaoyao to see. Whether the fire will attract the attention of more killers, or if he is too exhausted to handle them, he did not consider. Same as how it was in the arena, his only single goal was to kill his opponent, now his only goal is to let Xiaoyao see the mujin and not close her eyes.

长相思第36章 故人心易变(4)

 熊熊燃烧的火焰旁，衣衫褴褛、满身血污的左耳不停地往火焰里扔枯枝，一片木槿花开得如火如荼，小夭躺在一棵木槿树下，手上裙边全是木槿花。

    颛顼跑过木槿花，大叫道：“小夭！”

    小夭凝视着木槿花的视线转向颛顼，她的目光迷离，脸颊绯红，唇畔含着甜蜜的笑。

The flames roared high, Zuo’er, disheveled and bloody, kept piling on wood to feed it. A patch of mallow shrubs bloomed brilliantly in the light, as Xiaoyao lay beneath a mallow tree, with blooms all around her hand and dress.

Cang xuan ran past the flowers, called out loudly “Xiaoyao!”
Xiaoyao looked from the mujin flower to the direction of Cang xuan, her gaze unfocused, cheeks blushing, lips smiling sweetly.

    自璟去后，颛顼第一次看到小夭笑得这么甜蜜，一瞬间，颛顼觉得自己好像变成了第一次和情人幽会的少年郎，竟然脸颊发烫，心不争气地扑通扑通急跳着。

    他快步走到小夭身旁，屈膝跪下：“对不起，我回来迟了！”

    小夭的目光迷离，唇边绽放出最美的笑：“璟，你终于回来了！”

Since Jing had gone, this is the first time Cang xuan saw Xiaoyao smiling so sweetly. For a moment, Cang xuan felt he was a young man who was meeting his love for the first date, as his cheeks felt hot and his heart controllably started beating faster.
He walked swiftly over to Xiaoyao and got onto his knees ” I’m sorry, I have returned late!”

Xiaoyao’s gaze was blurry, her lips formed the most beautiful smile
“Jing, you have finally come back!”

小夭的身子动不了，脸却一直往他胸前贴：“璟，我很想你，很想你……你不要离开……不要离开……”

Xiaoyao can’t move her body but she kept her face against his chest “Jing, I miss you so much, miss you so much…. Don’t leave…. don’t leave….”

长相思第36章 故人心易变(4)

 小六讪笑，那样的酷刑都受下来了，这些疼痛的确不算什么，可还是一边揉捏，一边说话，尽量分散着他的心神，“今天我出诊时经过一户人家，白墙黑瓦，墙头攀着一株比胳膊还粗的紫藤，紫蓝紫蓝的，开了满墙，风一吹，那紫藤花像雨一样落。我看着看着就出神了，琢磨这家人怎么那么没心眼，你说紫藤花蒸饼子多好吃啊，他们怎么由着花儿落呢……”

Xiao Liu gave a wry smile. After enduring such severe torture, this pain was indeed nothing, but he still massaged himself while talking, trying to distract himself as much as possible. “Today, while I was on a house call, I passed by a home with white walls and black tiles. There was a wisteria vine thicker than my arm climbing over the wall, blooming in a deep purple-blue color, covering the entire wall. When the wind blew, the wisteria flowers fell like rain. I got lost in thought, wondering how these people could be so thoughtless. I mean, wisteria flower steamed buns are so delicious. How could they just let the flowers fall like that…”

长相思第3章 人生忽如寄(2)

Shiqi remembered she mentioned that wisteria pancakes is delicious while he was in recovery and knew that she had a craving for it once she asked about the tree.

明媚灿烂的阳光，勃勃生机的鲜花，还有一位君子，如金如锡、如圭如璧，一切都赏心悦目，令人欢喜。

璟伸手，轻抚过他的脸颊，似乎确认着他真的完好如初了。小六微微侧头，感受着他掌间的温暖，璟抱住了小六，温柔却用力地把他揽在怀中。

小六闭上了眼睛，头轻轻地靠在璟的肩头。这一刻，他们是十七、小六。

Under the bright and splendid sunlight, surrounded by vibrant flowers, stood a gentleman as radiant as gold and as noble as jade. Everything was pleasing to the eye and brought joy to the heart.

Jing reached out and gently caressed his cheek, as if confirming that he was truly well again. Xiao Liu tilted his head slightly, feeling the warmth of Jing’s touch. Jing embraced Xiao Liu, holding him tenderly yet firmly.

Xiao Liu closed his eyes, resting his head gently on Jing’s shoulder. In this moment, they were Shiqi and Xiao Liu.

长相思第15章 似是故人来(2)

    颛顼虽然知道璟曾住在这座宅子，但他并没有来过，所以没有什么感觉，小夭却对这个园子很是熟悉，璟当年就住这里。

    炎炎夏日时，廊下会挂着一排风铃，是用终年积雪的极北之地的冰晶所做，赤红色、竹青色、紫靛蓝色、月下荷白色……配合着冰晶的色彩，雕刻成了各种花朵的形状。微风吹过，带起冰晶上的寒气，四散开来，让整个庭院都凉爽如春。庭院中开满各种鲜花，有茉莉、素馨、建兰、麝香藤、朱槿、玉桂、红蕉、闍婆、薝卜……

    小夭走进圆月形的拱门，看见各种鲜花缤纷绽放，一如当年。一瞬间，小夭几乎觉得，会有一位如金如锡、如圭如璧的清润君子从花丛中站起，含笑凝视着她。

    可是，没有！

    阳光依旧明媚灿烂，鲜花依旧缤纷烂漫，那个曾无数次凝视着她的人却不见了！小夭心口发疼，眼前发黑，就要跌倒，颛顼忙回身，揽住她：“小夭！”

    “没事，不小心被绊了下。”小夭尽力克制，可她急促的喘息，落在身有灵力的颛顼和丰隆耳朵里十分清晰。

    颛顼轻声问：“璟以前就住在这里？”

Although Cangxuan knew that Jing had once lived in this house, he had never visited it himself, so he felt nothing special. Xiao Yao, however, was very familiar with this garden, as Jing used to live here.

During the scorching summer days, a row of wind chimes would hang under the corridor. These chimes were made from ice crystals from the perpetually snowy far north, in colors such as crimson red, bamboo green, indigo blue, and moonlit white. Carved into various flower shapes to match the colors of the ice crystals, a gentle breeze would bring the chill from the ice crystals, spreading it throughout the courtyard, making it feel as cool as spring. The courtyard was filled with all kinds of flowers, including jasmine, white lilies, orchids, musk roses, hibiscus, osmanthus, red bananas, Java olives, and gardenias.

Xiao Yao walked through the round moon gate, seeing the flowers blooming just as they had in the past. For a moment, she almost felt as if a gentleman, as radiant and noble as gold and jade, would rise from the flowers and gaze at her with a smile.

But there was no one.

The sunlight was still bright and splendid, and the flowers were still blooming vibrantly, but the person who had gazed at her countless times was gone! Xiao Yao felt a sharp pain in her chest and her vision darkened as she was about to fall. Cangxuan quickly turned back and caught her. “Xiao Yao!”

“I’m fine, I just tripped,” Xiao Yao said, trying to control herself, but her labored breathing was clearly audible to Zhuan Xu and Feng Long, who both possessed spiritual powers.

Cangxuan softly asked, “Did Jing used to live here?”

长相思第40章 往事未思心未痛(2)

下午，璟来看小夭，神情透着疲惫，精神很消沉，小夭装作什么都没察觉，一句都没问。

两人静静坐了会儿，小夭端了一杯木樨花蜜水给璟：“这次跟你来青丘，是为了太夫人的病，如今太夫人的病情已经稳定住，日后只要按时炼制好药丸，送来给太夫人就可以了，所以我想先回去了。”

In the afternoon, Jing came to see Xiao Yao, his expression weary and his spirits low. Xiao Yao pretended not to notice anything and didn’t ask a single question.

The two sat quietly for a while. Then Xiao Yao handed Jing a cup of osmanthus honey water and said, “I came to Qingqiu this time for the Grand Madam’s illness. Now that her condition has stabilized, as long as the medicine is prepared on time and sent to the Grand Madam, everything should be fine. So, I’m thinking of heading back first.”

长相思第20章 爱恨两依依(1)

 仲秋之月，恰是木樨花开的季节，赤湖边有一大片木樨林，香飘十里，落花簌簌。小夭坐在船窗边，默默地看着水面上漂浮的小黄花。

Its mid autumn, the season when osmanthus blooms. The Red Lake has a big patch of Osmanthus trees, the fragrance is around for ten miles, falling flowers everywhere. Xiaoyao sat by the window of the boat, looking quietly at the little yellow blooms floating on the water.

长相思第44章 只影向谁去(1)

  璟又在小夭身后，放了一个暖炉，把一碗木樨花茶放在小夭手边，这才坐到小夭对面。

    小夭在浴池里泡了将近两个时辰，的确渴了，捧起木樨花茶慢慢地喝着，一碗茶喝完，她说道：“你不问问我，这一个多月和防风邶去了哪里吗？”

Jing placed a heater behind Xiao Yao and set a bowl of osmanthus tea beside her before sitting down across from her.

Xiao Yao had been soaking in the bath for nearly two hours and was indeed thirsty. She picked up the osmanthus tea and slowly drank it. After finishing the bowl of tea, she said, “Aren’t you going to ask me where I’ve been with Fangfeng Bei for the past month?”

长相思第46章 风不定，人初静(1)

 璟说：“不要难过，老木他们都是善终。”

    “你……一直在关注他们？”

    璟颔首：“老木临终前，我去见过他一面，告诉他小六过得很好，让他安心。”

    小夭心内仅剩的气一下子消失了，呆呆地看着白玉茶碗中小小的黄色木樨花，半晌后，她心平气和地说：“相柳说，你给了他很多钱，雇他去阻止我嫁给丰隆。”

Jing said, “Don’t be sad, Old Mu and the others all passed peacefully.”

“You… have been keeping an eye on them?”

Jing nodded. “Before Old Mu passed away, I visited him and told him that Xiao Liu was doing very well, so he could be at peace.”

The last of Xiao Yao’s anger dissipated. She stared blankly at the small yellow osmanthus flowers in the white jade tea bowl. After a long while, she calmly said, “Xiang Liu said that you gave him a lot of money to hire him to stop me from marrying Feng Long.”

长相思第46章 风不定，人初静(1)

 颛顼（Zhuānxū）来小月顶看小夭时，小夭正坐在廊下绣香囊，黑色的锦缎，用金线绣出一朵朵小小的木樨花，一针一线十分精致，已经快要绣完。

    颛顼等她绣完最后一针，稀罕地问：“你怎么有性子做这些东西了？”

    小夭说：“一举两得。针法也是医技，可以用来缝合伤口，多练练，能让手指更灵活些，病人少受点苦。”

    “还有一得呢？”

    小夭笑说：“我打算绣好后，送给璟。”

    颛顼愣住，半晌后问：“你……你和他又在一起了？”

    小夭摇摇头：“没有。”

    “那这……算什么？”颛顼指着小夭手里的香囊。

When Zhuanxu came to Xiaoyue Peak to see Xiao Yao, she was sitting under the veranda embroidering a sachet. The black brocade was adorned with tiny osmanthus flowers stitched in gold thread, each stitch delicate and precise, almost complete.

Zhuanxu waited for her to finish the last stitch and curiously asked, “How did you get into making these things?”

Xiao Yao replied, “It serves two purposes. Embroidery techniques are also medical skills that can be used to suture wounds. Practicing more makes my fingers more dexterous and causes less pain for patients.”

“And the second purpose?”

Xiao Yao smiled and said, “I plan to give it to Jing once it’s finished.”

Zhuanxu was stunned and after a while asked, “You… you and him are back together?”

Xiao Yao shook her head. “No.”

“Then what… is this?” Zhuanxu pointed to the sachet in Xiao Yao’s hand.

长相思第1章 东风恶，欢情薄(1)

离戎妃说：“昶让我告诉你，不管璟是生还是死，他的心愿永远都相同，希望你幸福，纵然这个幸福不是璟给你的，他也只会祝福。”

    小夭眼眶发酸，原来这就是离戎妃盛情邀请她的原因，她是在帮昶传话。

 离戎妃望着漫天璀璨的花灯，眼中满是苦涩：“逝者已去，生者还要继续活着，悲天怆地并不能让逝者回来，与其沉溺于痛苦，不如敞开胸怀，给自己一条生路。”

    小夭默默不语，离戎妃微笑道：“小夭，你也许觉得我说这话很容易，劝慰的话谁不会说呢？痛苦却只是你自己的。你的痛苦，我也曾经历过，我很清楚什么叫痛不欲生，但我知道自己每一次的欢笑，都会让他欣慰，所以我一直在很努力地笑。”

Li Rongfei said, “Chang asked me to tell you that regardless of whether Jing is alive or dead, his wish remains the same: he hopes you will be happy. Even if that happiness is not given by him, he will still bless you.”

Xiao Yao’s eyes filled with tears. So this was the reason Li Rongfei had so warmly invited her; she was helping Chang relay his message.

Li Rongfei looked at the dazzling lanterns filling the sky, her eyes full of bitterness. “The departed are gone, and the living must continue on. Grieving won’t bring the dead back. Instead of wallowing in pain, it’s better to open your heart and give yourself a chance at life.”

Xiao Yao remained silent. Li Rongfei smiled and said, “Xiao Yao, you might think it’s easy for me to say this. Anyone can offer comforting words, but the pain is yours alone. I’ve experienced the same pain. I know what it feels like to be in unbearable agony, but I also know that every time I smile, it brings him comfort. So, I’ve always tried very hard to keep smiling.”

小夭将缰绳绕在手腕上，把一盏木樨花灯放进了云海，一阵风过，随着翻涌的云海，花灯飘向了远处。

    连放了三盏木樨花灯，灯油用的是木樨花油，此时已能闻到浓郁的木樨花香，小夭不自禁地驾驭着鸿雁，追随着花灯。放花灯时，小夭没有许愿。从小到大，她许的愿全都被以最残忍的方式撕碎，她已经不敢奢求，更不敢许愿。小夭总觉得老天听到她的愿望，就会故意地毁灭一切。这会儿，她遥望着花灯，默默地说：璟，我在小月顶上种了木樨，等到木樨花开时，我唱歌给你听。

Xiao Yao wrapped the reins around her wrist and placed an osmanthus lantern into the sea of clouds. A gust of wind blew, and with the swirling clouds, the lantern drifted into the distance.

She released three osmanthus lanterns in total, and the lantern oil was made from osmanthus flowers. The air was now filled with a rich osmanthus fragrance. Xiao Yao couldn’t help but ride her swan, following the lanterns.

When she released the lanterns, Xiao Yao didn’t make a wish. From childhood to adulthood, all the wishes she had made were cruelly shattered, so she no longer dared to hope, let alone wish. Xiao Yao always felt that if the heavens heard her wishes, they would deliberately destroy everything.

Now, she gazed at the lanterns and silently said, “Jing, I planted osmanthus on Xiaoyue Peak. When the flowers bloom, I will sing for you.”

长相思第34章 故人心易变(2)

   昶几乎要咬牙切齿了：“璟还要怎么对你，你才能看出来？”

    小夭咬着唇，想了一瞬，指着远处的岸边，说道：“我想要一枝海棠花。”

    昶刚想说“这还不简单”，就听到小夭笑着说：“不能用灵力法术，我想要的是亲手摘下的海棠花，现在就要。”

 昶愣住了，这事很小、很简单，可世间的事不是很小、很简单，就真的容易做了，所以往往最简单的事却是最难做到的。

Chang was almost gritting his teeth. “What more does Jing have to do for you to see it?”

Xiao Yao bit her lip, thought for a moment, and pointed to the distant shore. “I want a sprig of begonia blossom.”

Chang was about to say, “That’s simple,” when Xiao Yao smiled and said, “No using spiritual power or magic. I want a sprig of begonia blossom picked by hand, and I want it right now.”

Chang was stunned. The task was small and simple, but the simplest things in the world were often the hardest to do.

长相思第2章 东风恶，欢情薄(2)

璟一边游水，一边温和地回道：“多谢，不过此事需要我自己去做。”

    众人七嘴八舌地问：“什么事需要族长亲做？”

    璟坦然回道：“摘花。”

    众人愕然，继而哄笑起来。

    昶趴在栏杆上，无力地遮住眼睛，好似不忍再看，他恶狠狠地问小夭：“妖女，你可满意了？”

Jing, swimming in the water, calmly replied,
“Thank you, but this is something I need to do myself.”

Everyone around started asking, “What needs the clan leader to do it personally?”

Jing answered openly, “Picking a flower.”

Everyone was astonished, then burst into laughter.

Chang leaned on the railing, weakly covering his eyes as if he couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He asked Xiao Yao angrily, “Demoness, are you satisfied now?”

长相思第2章 东风恶，欢情薄(2)

 众人都知道离戎昶的荒唐不羁，笑着打趣了几句，也就散开了。和小夭同船的几人却知道，根本不是什么玩闹的赌约。

    小夭举起手臂，笑问璟：“好看吗？”

    璟点了下头，一旁看得目瞪口呆的几个女人也不得不承认，很好看。姬嫣然甚至悄悄瞟了眼淳，几分惆怅地想，原来世间最美的首饰不是那些珠玉，而是有情人摘下的几朵野花。

    小夭对璟说：“小心身子，快把衣服弄干了。”

Everyone knew about Lirong Chang’s wild and unruly nature, so they laughed and teased him a bit before dispersing. However, those on the same boat as Xiao Yao knew it wasn’t some playful bet.

Xiao Yao raised her arm and asked Jing with a smile, “Does it look nice?”

Jing nodded, and even the women watching in astonishment had to admit it looked beautiful. Ji Yanran even took a quick and subtle glance at Chun, thinking wistfully that the most beautiful jewelry in the world wasn’t made of pearls or jade, but a few wildflowers picked by a lover.

Xiao Yao said to Jing, “Take care of yourself, dry your clothes quickly.”

长相思第2章 东风恶，欢情薄(2)

   颛顼只觉小夭臂上的海棠花刺眼，屈指轻弹了下中指，小夭腕上的海棠花钏松开，落入了水中。

    “唉，我的……花！”小夭想捞，没捞到，花已经随着流水远去，小夭满脸懊恼。

    颛顼不屑地说：“几朵破花而已，回头你要多少，我给你多少。”

    小夭悄悄嘀咕：“不一样……”

Zhuanxu found the begonia blossom on Xiao Yao’s arm an eyesore. He flicked his middle finger lightly, causing the begonia flower bracelet on Xiao Yao’s wrist to loosen and fall into the water.

“Oh no, my… flowers!” Xiao Yao tried to retrieve it but couldn’t, and the flowers floated away with the current, leaving Xiao Yao looking frustrated.

Zhuanxu scoffed, “It’s just a few lousy flowers. I can get you as many as you want later.”

Xiao Yao muttered quietly, “It’s not the same…”

长相思第2章 东风恶，欢情薄(2)

小夭叹道：“你谢我做什么？要谢就谢你自己吧！如果不是你，篌也不会急切地想要征服我。”

    璟的表情有点迷惑，小夭道：“篌曾经勾引过静夜，不过没成功。兰香、静夜、意映、我，篌一个都没放过，难道你真以为是我迷惑住了篌吗？”

    璟渐渐反应过来，脸色一时白、一时红：“他……他……想证明他比我……更好？”

    小夭叹了口气：“我的这个计策不是没有漏洞，可因为你这个从来不争不抢的人表现得非我不可，篌太想通过征服我去摧毁你了，忽视了漏洞。”

    璟勉强地笑了笑，说道：“不是我表现得非你不可，而是他知道我真的非你不可。我们是一起长大的亲兄弟，大哥一直都知道如何去真正毁灭我。”

Xiao Yao sighed, “Why are you thanking me? If you want to thank someone, thank yourself! If it weren’t for you, Hou wouldn’t be so eager to conquer me.”

Jing looked a bit puzzled. Xiao Yao explained, “Hou once tried to seduce Jingye but failed. Lanxiang, Jingye, Yiying, and I, Hou didn’t spare any of us. Do you really think I enchanted Hou?”

Jing slowly realized, his face turning pale then red, “He… he… wants to prove he’s better than me?”

Xiao Yao sighed, “My plan wasn’t without flaws, but because you, who never fights for anything, acted like you had to have me, Hou was so desperate to destroy you through me that he overlooked the flaws.”

Jing forced a smile and said, “It’s not that I acted like I had to have you, it’s that he knew I really had to have you. We grew up together as brothers. Big Brother has always known how to truly destroy me.”

长相思第4章 东风恶，欢情薄(4)

小夭洗了个澡，坐在小轩窗下梳头。挽好发髻，正对镜插簪，看到璟从山谷中走来，一只手背在身后，踏着晨露，行到她的窗前。

    小夭看他衣衫依旧是昨日的，显然没有离开过小月顶：“你昨夜……歇在哪里？”

    “我在黄帝陛下的房内借宿了一夜。”璟将一束蓝色的含笑花递给小夭，娇嫩的花瓣上犹含着露珠。

    小夭探头闻了一下，惊喜地笑了：“好香！”

    她放下手中的簪子，指指自己的发髻，转过身子，微微低下头。

    含笑香气悠长、浸人心脾，花形却不大，盛开的花也不过拇指大小，并不适合插戴。璟想了想，选了一枝长度适合的含笑，将枝条绕着发髻，插了半圈。

    “好了。”

    小夭举起镜子照，只看发髻右侧密密地插了含笑花，呈半月形，就像是用蓝宝石打造的半月形花簪，可纵然是世间最好的宝石，哪里有这沁人心脾的香气？

Xiao Yao took a bath and sat by the small window to comb her hair. After arranging her hair into a bun, she was inserting a hairpin in front of the mirror when she saw Jing walking up from the valley. He had one hand behind his back and was treading on the morning dew as he approached her window.

Noticing that he was still wearing the same clothes as the previous day, indicating he hadn’t left Xiaoyue Peak, Xiao Yao asked, “Where did you rest last night?”

“I stayed in the room of His Majesty the Yellow Emperor,” Jing replied, handing Xiao Yao a bouquet of blue michelia flowers, their delicate petals still covered in dew.

Xiao Yao leaned in to smell them and smiled in delight, “They smell wonderful!”

She put down the hairpin, pointed to her bun, and turned around, slightly lowering her head.

The michelia’s fragrance was long-lasting and heartwarming, but the flowers themselves were small, with even the fully bloomed ones being no larger than a thumb, making them unsuitable for hair adornment. Jing thought for a moment, chose a suitable branch, and wound it around her bun, inserting it halfway.

“All done.”

Xiao Yao raised a mirror to see, noticing the tightly arranged michelia flowers on the right side of her bun, forming a half-moon shape. It was like a half-moon hairpin made of blue sapphires, but even the finest gemstones couldn’t compare to the heartwarming fragrance of these flowers.

长相思第15章 兵戈近，空奈何(2)

 相柳把冰晶球放进了大肚笑娃娃中空的肚子中，不大不小，刚刚容纳下冰晶球，盖上底座，冰晶球被封在了笑娃娃的肚内。冰晶为水、扶桑为火，水火相济、冷热相伴，恰好冰晶不再寒气逼人、扶桑木也不再滚烫灼人，即使没有灵力的一般人也能拿起扶桑笑娃娃。

Xiang Liu placed the ice crystal ball into the hollow belly of the chubby, laughing doll. It fit perfectly, neither too big nor too small. After securing the base, the ice crystal ball was sealed inside the doll’s belly. With the ice crystal representing water and the Fusang wood representing fire, the balance of water and fire ensured that the ice crystal was no longer freezing cold, and the Fusang wood was no longer scorching hot. Even an ordinary person without spiritual power could now pick up the fusang wood laughing doll.

番外：愿你一世安乐无忧

颛顼笑起来，温和地说：
“你绣完这个香囊，给我也绣一个，绣凤凰花，你和我最喜欢的花。

Cangxuan smiled gently and said, “After you finish embroidering this sachet, make one for me too. Embroider it with phoenix flowers, our favorite flower.”

长相思第1章 东风恶，欢情薄(1)