A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 194 An unexpected encounter

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, at the Zhuo Mansion, a group of people accompanied Old Madam Zhuo in the courtyard to enjoy the moon, drink heavy green wine, eat moon cakes, and the fragrance of osmanthus flowers in the courtyard filled the air.

Now Li Yunye is more familiar with the Zhuo Mansion than the Li Mansion in Qile City, so when he was bored of watching the moon, he taught the servants and maids to play sandbag throwing, while Censor Zhuo and Mu Liang sat in the pavilion with Old Madam Zhuo and watched them play.

An Yun was a mature person and thought such games were childish, but he did not dare to disobey the young master, so he had to slip away under the pretext of going to the toilet.

"You're about to get married, but you're still as playful as a child." Looking at Li Yunye's carefreeness when playing games, Old Madam Zhuo said with a doting smile.

"When you get married and have someone to take care of you, you'll slowly become sensible." Mu Liang at the side also laughed.

"You are not young anymore, why don't you think about starting a family? After Yunye's marriage is arranged, your adoptive father and mother will start to worry about you." Old Lady Zhuo shifted her attention to Mu Liang and smiled kindly.

"Thank you for your concern, old lady. It's just that Mu Liang now just wants to concentrate on helping my adoptive father run the shop in the capital. There's no rush to start a family." Mu Liang was caught off guard, but still replied with a smile on his face.

"Yes, none of you are in a hurry, and you just make us, the elders, worry." Old Madam Zhuo shook her head and glanced at her silent son after sighing.

Censor Zhuo naturally understood the hidden meaning in his mother's words, but he still pretended to be calm.

Mu Liang also heard Madam Zhuo's dissatisfaction with her son. Seeing the subtle atmosphere between the mother and son, he stopped talking and focused his attention on his brother who was playing games.

Compared with the bustling Zhuo Mansion, the Liu Mansion next door is much quieter. The father and daughter of the Liu family are both talented and quiet people, so on the Mid-Autumn Night, the father and daughter were still reading and writing poems in the study, while three or four servants in the mansion were watching the moon in the yard.

In less than an hour, Madam Zhuo could no longer bear it and went back to the courtyard to rest with the help of her maid. Knowing that Li Yunye was going to play outside with Mu Liang, she reminded them several times to be careful with the safety of the group, and Li Yunye and Mu Liang naturally agreed.

When Censor Zhuo saw that his mother was not there, he stood up, gave a few instructions, and then returned to his study.

After their aunt, grandmother and cousin left, Li Yunye left Zhuo's house with Mu Liang and asked Lao Zhou and Anyun to drive the carriage straight to the outer city.

The streets were crowded with people on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the sound of singing and dancing was so lively. When Mu Liang and Li Yunye arrived at the restaurant where they had reserved a table, it was already crowded. The restaurant had been decorated during the day, and now there were lights and decorations everywhere, colorful silks fluttering, and every table was decorated with osmanthus branches with flowers and leaves connected.

Li Yunye and the other four finally squeezed into the reserved room on the second floor under the guidance of the restaurant waiter. When they opened the window, there was a buzz of noise and the moonlight outside, like silver gauze, poured in.

"Mr. Li, Manager Mu, what kind of wine would you like to order?" The waiter at the restaurant asked Li Yunye and Mu Liang with a smile.

"Is all the wine tonight new?" Mu Liang asked first.

"Of course!" the restaurant waiter nodded hurriedly in response.

"What kind of wines are there?" Without waiting for Mu Liang to ask again, Li Yunye, who was smelling the osmanthus branches on the table, asked curiously.

"We have all the fine Mid-Autumn wines, such as Osmanthus Dongjiu, Yellow Rice Wine, Yaozi Xuequ, and Yellow Mandarin Wine."

Just by listening to the names of the wines announced by the waiter, Old Zhou, who loves drinking, couldn't wait to swallow his saliva.

"Then please bring two jars each of Yaozi Xuequ and yellow rice wine." Mu Liang glanced at Lao Zhou, then smiled at the waiter of the restaurant.

"Brother Muliang, why did you order so much wine?" Li Yunye and An Yun opened their mouths in shock when they heard it.

"Today is a festival and the purpose is to have fun. Besides, with Lao Zhou here, are you afraid that you won't be able to finish the drinks?" Lao Zhou has been following him for several months. Normally, he is indeed a bit demanding, but during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he, as the host, naturally has to be generous.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li, I can finish even if there is more!" Seeing that Manager Mu was so generous to him for once, Lao Zhou naturally rubbed his hands happily and said with a smile.

"Okay, two jars of Yaozi Xuequ and yellow rice wine!" After the waiter confirmed again, he turned around happily and went downstairs.

Li Yunye lay on the table, propped up his face with his hands, looking at the moon as big as a jade plate, and heard the noisy voices in his ears, and felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction in his heart. It's not that the moonlight outside is better than the moonlight in Zhuo's house, but the atmosphere is different, and people's moods will also be different. In a peaceful environment, he naturally likes the hustle and bustle.

Mu Liang looked at the contentment on his brother's face and felt happy unconsciously. He turned his head to look at the full moon.

"Wine is coming!"

The voice of the restaurant waiter made the four people retract their gaze. The four wine jars almost filled the table in front of them. In addition, the restaurant also gave a small pot of realgar wine.

"Old Zhou, can you drink to your heart's content tonight?" Li Yunye opened the realgar wine in front of him and smelled it. The pungent smell made him hurriedly hand it to Old Zhou.

"Hehe, thank you for your generosity, Shopkeeper Mu!" Old Zhou took the wine pot with a smile and poured a small bowl of realgar wine, which he naturally gave to his temporary boss, Shopkeeper Mu.

Mu Liang said nothing, but smiled and took a sip of the realgar wine in the bowl, then passed it to Li Yunye and said softly: "Realgar wine can ward off evil spirits and drive away ominous things. It symbolizes reunion and happiness. Even if you don't like it, take a sip."

In order to celebrate the festival, Li Yunye had to take a small sip from the edge of the bowl. The pungent taste made him shudder instantly.

The four of them drank, ate snacks and preserved fruits, and chatted happily when Li Yunye suddenly caught a glimpse of someone holding a river lantern outside the window, and he also wanted to go and light a lantern. Mu Liang asked Lao Zhou to stay in the restaurant, and he took Li Yunye to the river to light the lantern, and An Yun naturally followed.

When he arrived at the crowded river, Li Yunye discovered that not only were there river lanterns swaying and floating on the river, but there were also twinkling sky lanterns slowly rising in the distant night sky.

"Brother Mu Liang, I want this lotus lantern." Li Yunye excitedly dragged Mu Liang to the stall selling river lanterns, picked up a pink lotus-shaped river lantern and shouted.

"it is good."

"Brother Muliang, I'll help you pick one."

"Let An Yun accompany you to release..."

"Young Master, you should ask Young Master Mu Liang to accompany you to release it, right?" An Yun frowned in resistance.

"What do you two mean?" Seeing that the two were pushing each other away, Li Yunye's face suddenly frowned. Do you really dislike accompanying him to release river lanterns?

"Okay, help me pick one." Mu Liang laughed hurriedly.

Li Yunye glared at him, gave his river lantern to An Yun, and turned back to the stall to choose.

Mu Liang was waiting on the side when he was suddenly attracted by the veil stall next to him. Although the materials of these veils had some flaws, they were thin and soft. He didn't expect to see fabrics of this quality on the streets of a busy city.

"Sir, are you buying it for your sweetheart?" Seeing Mu Liang's extraordinary attire, the stall owner hurried forward and said with a smile.

Mu Liang said nothing, just smiled, shook his head and turned to leave, but was bumped into by a veiled woman in red.

“I’m sorry…” The woman in red hurriedly took two steps back, and when she raised her eyes, her eyes were a little dazed.

Although the woman was wearing a veil, Mu Liang still recognized Hong Qing by her features and voice. He was nervous for a while before he smiled calmly and said, "It's okay, girl. Are you okay?"

Hong Qing just shook her head, turned and left, but her eyes were flashing with tears.

"Brother Mu Liang, why are you here? Look at the river lanterns I picked for you?" Before Hong Qing had gone far, Li Yunye, who was unaware of the situation, pulled Mu Liang, who was in a dilemma, back to the river lantern stall.

Hong Qing naturally heard the words "Brother Mu Liang" very clearly, and her heart felt as if it was being cut by a knife and she was in excruciating pain.

"Miss, why are you here?" When Hong Qing was about to fall, the maid Dafeng appeared in time to support her and asked in a low voice.

Hong Qing did not answer, but continued to walk forward numbly, like an empty shell.

"What's wrong with you, girl?"

"Girl, are you still crying?"

"What happened?"