Chapter 138 The ruthless flow of water
As the end of the year approaches, the Prince Xian’s mansion is bustling with guests.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Luoyang City were eagerly waiting to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new. In the past few days, it seemed as if everyone was immersed in a joyous and festive atmosphere, and even the general's mansion became unusually quiet.

There was no conversation for several days until New Year's Eve.

The sky is full of auspicious snow, bringing blessings to the whole city. The heavy snow is like catkins drifting in the wind. Luoyang City is covered in silver, and every household is decorated with lanterns and colorful lights. The white snow and the fiery red Spring Festival couplets with the Chinese character "福" echo each other, adding a touch of festive meaning to the New Year.

As night fell, the New Year's Eve banquet at the Xianwang Mansion was lively and sumptuous. In addition to the relatives and friends who came to visit, all the people in the mansion, from the mansion master, the seven heroes, to the ordinary disciples, gathered together. There were hundreds of large tables in total, stretching across three halls and two courtyards. Thousands of Xianwang Mansion disciples and heroes from all walks of life came tonight and all of them did not go home until they were drunk.

The momentum and scale of the event are so huge that they are rarely seen in the world.

Tonight, in the laurel palace and cypress bedroom of the Xianwang Mansion, there are ivory chopsticks and jade cups, delicacies from land and sea, delicious food and fine wine. The inexhaustible supply of fine wine and the endless supply of delicious food, how can the word "delight" describe it?
Luo Tianjin was in high spirits, playing drinking games with his disciples, and spending a lot of money to reward everyone. His generosity surprised everyone and made them feel grateful.

It’s a pity that such a grand feast still couldn’t keep Luo Ningyu’s heart.

Not long after the banquet started, Luo Ningyu, who had just taken a few bites of wine and food, hurried to Luo Tianjin and Ling Xiaoxiao and whispered something. After listening, Luo Tianjin and Ling Xiaoxiao simultaneously cast their eyes to Liu Xunyi, who was toasting and chatting happily with Lin Fangda and others.

Under Luo Ningyu's repeated pleas, Luo Tianjin pondered for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile, looking very helpless.

Seeing this, Luo Ningyu hurried to Liu Xunyi's side, and before Lin Fangda could stand up to greet her, she pulled Liu Xunyi up without saying anything and hurriedly left the table. Liu Xunyi was stunned and wanted to refuse, but she could not resist Luo Ningyu's insistence and the "instigation" of Lin Fangda and others, so she had to follow her out of the Xianwang Mansion and head straight to the prosperous downtown area in the north of Luoyang City.

Under the dusky sky, snowflakes fluttered in the wind. Liu Xunyi and Luo Ningyu strolled in the brightly lit downtown of Luoyang.

At this time, the streets are bustling with people, all with happy faces and smiles. People are walking shoulder to shoulder on the streets filled with lanterns. From a distance, you can see crowds of people, a sea of ​​people, and it is extremely lively.

"Shhhhhh!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Sounds came one after another, and people looked up, only to see dozens of gorgeous fireworks blooming in the vast night sky in an instant.

Fireworks fell at the end of the sky, like a rain of pear blossoms, and stars scattered on the earth. This scene was so beautiful that the people immediately exclaimed. After the fireworks bloomed, they quickly turned into dazzling arcs, intertwining and competing with each other, and finally dissipated in the endless night.

The fireworks feast on New Year's Eve is just like one after another. The fireworks in the eastern sky have just ended, but dozens of streams of light suddenly rise in the west. In the blink of an eye, they bloom with colorful lights again, illuminating the sky again.

It rises in the east and falls in the west, falls in the east and rises in the west, one after another, it is dazzling and overwhelming.

Seeing this scene, the innocent children all danced and clapped their hands in joy. The elders were all smiling and happy. It was a peaceful and prosperous era with clear waters and peaceful seas.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but recall the past when he and Zhao Xin watched the fireworks in Lin'an, and an indescribable pain of missing Zhao Xin suddenly surged in his heart. For a moment, he stood in the crowd, staring at the fireworks in a daze.

Luoyang was as prosperous as Lin'an. Unfortunately, today's peace was just an illusion. Thinking of the dangers of the Song court and the difficulties of the country, the world could become a land of war at any time. By then, the people would be living in misery, blood would flow like rivers, everything would be in ruins, and the country would be devastated... Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but let out a bitter sigh.

"Xunyi, have you ever seen such stunning fireworks?"

Luo Ningyu didn't know what was on Liu Xunyi's mind. She dressed up carefully tonight, wearing a red dress, looking graceful and charming, with light makeup on her pretty face, but she still looked charming. But she found that Liu Xunyi didn't seem to be too surprised by her makeup tonight, but always looked absent-minded.

"I have seen it..." Liu Xunyi answered subconsciously.

"Where have you seen it?"

Liu Xunyi suddenly came back to his senses, turned to look at Luo Ningyu, who was smiling and looking forward to him, and said with a faint smile: "Have you forgotten that I have been to Lin'an?"

Luo Ningyu nodded helplessly, and then said, "I see that you are unhappy tonight, but are your wounds hurting again?"

Seeing that Luo Ningyu cared about him so much, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel grateful. He shook his head and said, "It's just a superficial wound. It's already healed. The reason I was able to recover so quickly is thanks to you for applying the medicine for me."

In fact, Liu Xunyi had vaguely noticed that Luo Ningyu seemed to have some feelings for him, but he couldn't accept it and didn't even dare to think about it.

First, it was because Liu Xunyi only had one woman in his heart, and that was Zhao Xin. Second, it was because Liu Xunyi knew that Lin Fangda had been in love with Luo Ningyu for a long time, and he and Lin Fangda were brothers in life and death, so how could he take away someone else's love?
Therefore, the more Luo Ningyu cared about him, the more Liu Xunyi would deliberately distance himself from her, trying to distance themselves from her.

"There's no need to be so polite between you and me..." Luo Ningyu muttered to herself in pretended anger.

The two of them walked slowly on the snow among the people coming and going, and no one spoke for a long time.

"Xun Yi." When they reached the archway, Luo Ningyu suddenly stopped and looked at Liu Xunyi affectionately, and whispered, "Where are you from?"

Liu Xunyi was shocked by Luo Ningyu's sudden question. He secretly guessed the deep meaning of Luo Ningyu's words, fearing that he would accidentally reveal the clues. He hesitated for a long time, but never spoke.

Facing Liu Xunyi's silence, Luo Ningyu showed no change of expression. She continued to stare at Liu Xunyi silently and continued, "Where are you from? And why did you come to me..."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's heart suddenly settled down, and he thought to himself: It turned out that I was not the one who was exposed, but Luo Ningyu had other intentions.

"Ning Yu, I..."

"Perhaps this is fate!" Luo Ningyu interrupted Liu Xunyi and said, "I once heard Lin Fangda say...that you have a sweetheart, and you went to the Yuanyang Pavilion in Quanzhou and carefully selected a gold hairpin for her, right?"

At this moment, Luo Ningyu was both curious and worried. She was curious whether Liu Xunyi really had a lover. She was worried about what would happen if Liu Xunyi's lover was not her.

Liu Xunyi stared at Luo Ningyu, whose cheeks were flushed, and hesitated for a long time before slowly nodding and saying, "Yes." Luo Ningyu's expression froze, and her eyes became a little vague. She seemed not to dare to look at Liu Xunyi again, and asked in a low voice, "Then your sweetheart... is Bai Shuang from Sushui Pavilion?"

"Ah?" Liu Xunyi was stunned for a moment. He thought about it for a long time without any reason, but still couldn't figure out why Luo Ningyu said that.

"Lin Fangda told me, you don't have to hide it from me..." Luo Ningyu's face flushed, but she still said stubbornly, "But I want to tell you that Bai Shuang is not an ordinary woman. She is Lu Tingxiang's favorite concubine. Even if you like her, it will be useless..."

"Misunderstood!" Liu Xunyi hurriedly shook his head and said, "I never said that I like Miss Bai Shuang. This... This is probably because Big Brother misunderstood me. Miss Bai Shuang and I are just ordinary friends."

"Really?" Luo Ningyu's eyes suddenly lit up, and she raised her head abruptly, her eyes shy but unwilling to give in, and asked shyly, "Then... who is your sweetheart?"

"My sweetheart is..." Having said this, Liu Xunyi's mind flashed with Zhao Xin's image again, and he couldn't help but feel warm in his heart, but he didn't say anything else.

Liu Xunyi couldn't possibly tell Luo Ningyu that his sweetheart was the Princess of Song. How could Liu Xunyi dare to take such a risk when it came to his secret?
Seeing Liu Xunyi hesitate to speak, Luo Ningyu's eyes suddenly showed curiosity and eagerness. At the same time, she was also secretly thinking in her heart: "Does Xunyi like me? But he is embarrassed to say it to my face?" When she thought of this, Luo Ningyu felt her face burning, and a shy blush like peach blossoms appeared between her eyebrows.

"Your sweetheart..." Luo Ningyu mustered up her courage again and again, staring at Liu Xunyi without looking away. Her eyes trembled slightly, and even her breathing became a little hurried, "Did you meet in Lin'an?"

Liu Xunyi was thinking about Zhao Xin, and was caught off guard for a moment, so he blurted out subconsciously: "How did you know?"

Liu Xunyi's answer was tantamount to consent to her.

Luo Ningyu couldn't help but feel overjoyed. She felt extremely light and happy. She felt like she was floating in the air and wished she could fly up to the sky.

"Ningyu?" Liu Xunyi called out in surprise, "What... happened to you?"

"Then do you know..." Luo Ningyu did not answer but asked shyly, "In fact, the person you like also... likes you back?"

Liu Xunyi was stunned again, looking at Luo Ningyu stupidly, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

"Looking for clothes!"

Luo Ningyu suddenly opened her arms, wrapped her arms around Liu Xunyi's waist, and threw her delicate body into his arms. Before Liu Xunyi could react, she had already closed her eyes, made up her mind, and said quickly, "Actually, I like you too. I've had a good impression of you since the first time I saw you, and then we've been through so many things together. Now I've already been unable to extricate myself from you, you..."

"Ning Yu!"

Faced with Luo Ningyu's sudden confession, Liu Xunyi was horrified and hurriedly pushed her away. He then quickly stepped back in panic, waving his hands and saying, "Ms. Ning...! How...how can you like me? No, no, this is absolutely not possible!"

"Why?" Luo Ningyu insisted, took the initiative to move closer to Liu Xunyi, and asked, "Are you afraid that your parents will not agree?"

"It's not that reason, it's just..." Liu Xunyi tried desperately to think of the right words in his mind, and hurriedly explained, "Miss, you may have misunderstood me. The sweetheart I was talking about... is not you..." Liu Xunyi's last sentence was extremely difficult to say. Although he didn't want to hurt Luo Ningyu's heart, he also knew that it was better to suffer a short pain than a long pain.

"boom!"

As soon as these words came out, Luo Ningyu felt as if she had been struck by thunder and hit on the head. She was completely stunned, her mind was blank, and she felt a thousand kinds of feelings and pains in her heart. For a moment, she felt lost, regretful, depressed, sad... A thousand thoughts came one after another, making her overwhelmed.

But her face was expressionless, with only two lines of tears rolling down her face without her knowing when.

"It turns out...it turns out I was just wishful thinking..."

"Miss, I..."

“Ignore me!” Without waiting for Liu Xunyi to speak to comfort her, Luo Ningyu suddenly took a few steps back and waved her hand to interrupt Liu Xunyi. She looked at Liu Xunyi with tears in her eyes and couldn’t help sobbing, “I don’t want to listen to you now... I don’t want to see you again... Go away! Let me be alone and quiet…”

"But……"

"Liu Xunyi, I beg you." Luo Ningyu tried her best to suppress the grief in her heart, and said calmly, "Let me think about it alone, you go back first, I want to be alone for a while... When I think it through, I will go back by myself..."

"How can I leave you alone on the street..."

"Liu Xunyi, I've lost face in front of you. My expectations, my pride, my confidence, have all become worthless in front of you. Do you still want to take away my last bit of self-esteem?" Luo Ningyu burst into tears and begged bitterly, "I don't want... I don't want you to see me weak again... Please, just go away..."

Liu Xunyi looked at the grief-stricken Luo Ningyu, feeling extremely anxious, but helpless. He was caught in a dilemma and could only stand aside with bitter eyes, motionless.

Luo Ningyu waved her hand to stop Liu Xunyi from saying or doing anything, then quickly walked towards the crowd. She looked so panicked that it seemed like she was running for her life.

"If you don't like me, then don't be so nice to me... I don't like this..."

Liu Xunyi wanted to chase after her, but Luo Ningyu's sudden words made him unable to move his legs no matter what. He could only look at Luo Ningyu's back with melancholy eyes, and gradually disappeared in the crowd.

At this time, the night sky was still full of bright fireworks, and the crowd was still full of joy and laughter.

The world has always been like this, no matter what kind of suffering you are going through or what kind of torture you are suffering, the fireworks in the sky will still bloom, and the passers-by around you will still laugh and talk.

You know the taste of joys and sorrows, separations and reunions.

……

(End of this chapter)