But in her wild and chaotic mind, she strangely reserved a place for me, Muzi Chuan. The memory that lingers most vividly is when she waited for me at the pond by the village entrance, offering me a dirty, unidentifiable fruit – I think it was either an apricot or a persimmon – that she'd picked somewhere. I've forgotten now. Let me know if you have other text you'd like me to translate!

"That day, she insisted on stuffing food into my hands and ripped the zipper of my new backpack. In front of a bunch of people egging her on, she pushed me to the ground. I was really mad at that moment, so I yelled at her. Actually, I didn't really want to say those words..."

At this point, Mu Zichuan's fingers loosened, and the white stone dropped to the ground.

He was too lazy to pick it up, raising his hand to prop up his forehead, he painfully closed his eyes.

"What did you call her?" Zuo Junmo asked calmly.

Mu Zi Chuan's brows furrowed into a knot, "I scolded her, I said if you really like me, then die for me!" Let me know if you'd like me to translate anything else!

"Then what?" Zuo Junmo asked, the smile on his face gradually fading, replaced by anger.

Mu Zichuan said: "I hadn't taken a few steps when I heard a splash behind me. That foolish girl, she, she, she actually jumped into the pond..." Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Bang!"

Left Junmo slapped the table hard, causing the chess pieces on the board to jump and then fall back into place. The previous game was ruined and could no longer continue.

"Zi Chuan, how can you treat Qing'er like this? You may not like her, you can even break the engagement, but you cannot take her life!" Zuo Jun Mo said in a deep voice, his voice filled with severity and anger, which shocked Mu Zi Chuan.

Because I've known Zuo Junmo for almost ten years, the familiar Zuo Junmo is a very gentle and kind older brother type of person. He is very righteous and generous, with friends all over the world.

In the capital city, she was close friends with Lady Han. However, Lady Han's husband was a grand councilor, an old master of the retired emperor.

"Left Brother, I... every time I think about that thing, I feel so ashamed, really..." Mu Zichuan explained.

“At that time, it was just a moment of anger. I didn't really want her to die. I was just fed up with her clinging to me from childhood to adulthood and making me the laughingstock.” Mu Zi Chuan added.

Left Junmo took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said, “I can understand your feelings at the time. I guess anyone would dislike being stuck with such a crazy little girl. Especially you, since you're naturally proud and aloof.”

But have you ever thought that because of your offhand remark, it might have planted a suggestion, even an instruction, in her confused mind?

Even if she were given the order to die, she would obey without hesitation. Think about it, what if there had been no one else by the pond that day, and you couldn't swim? Wouldn't you have been doomed to watch helplessly as she drowned on the bank? Left Jun Mo asked.

Mù Zǐchuān fell silent.

Left Junmo sighed, "A thought brings heaven, a thought brings hell. Our current outcome depends on the choices we made in the beginning."

>

If, if I had been brave enough to confess my feelings to her before Luo Fengtang and Qing'er broke things off, would things be different now?

The gears of fate, they just turn as they please, turning to you when it's your time. If you can't hold on, they move on. They land somewhere else and you have no chance again...

“Zichuan, things are over, let’s not mention them again. Bringing them up would be pointless anyway,” Zu Junmo continued.

“When Qing’er fell into the water, she had a brush with death before the King of Hell. This proved the saying: 'Those who survive great calamities will surely be blessed afterward.' So, after she woke up, the events that transpired came flooding back to her mind, and she was heartbroken about what you did.”

“But at that time, you still despised her, despised her for making tofu and selling eels. You thought it was beneath you for a woman to be involved in such common trades. When she went to the marketplace to sell her wares, you also found fault with her for showing her face. If you hadn’t despised her, your mother wouldn't have gone through the trouble of breaking off the engagement.”

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"My mother went to break off the engagement, it wasn't my intention..."

"Even if it wasn't your intention, you are the default choice, aren't you?"

Muzi Chuan was speechless.

Left Jun Mo continued, "While you were in the academy, oblivious to the world outside as you immersed yourself in the classics, planning for your future, Feng Tang was there with Qing'er, making trips to town selling tofu and mountain delicacies. They earned a meager living, one penny at a time."

"When you are discussing articles with your classmates in the academy, receiving praise from your teacher, and looking forward to the future,"

“Qing’er and Fengtang were gutting a deer in the Wa market. Qing’er hawked to attract customers, while Fengtang measured and weighed the meat, haggling with all sorts of shoppers. They also had to endure harassment and extortion from local ruffians.”

Throughout the journey, Fengtang has always been by Qing'er's side. The two of them have gone from having nothing to being second only to the emperor.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

“Your persistence about Qing'er is nothing compared to Feng Tang's devotion to her. It's not even worth mentioning!”

“So, never say that you have an engagement with Qing'er. Don't always express resentment towards Fengtang every time you mention it. Don't always complain about fate and blame fate for playing tricks on you. Fate favors those who sincerely give their all.”

“You are not Qing’er’s childhood sweetheart, Feng Tang is!”

Left Junmo's words, so firm and resolute, seemed to pose a profound spiritual interrogation to Mu Zichuan.

Mu Zi Chuan stood there, dumbfounded. His face was extremely ugly.

"Older Brother Zuo, you're right. These words, actually back when Qing'er was bothered by me and said them to me, I thought she was just being petulant at the time." Mu Zi-chuan said.

Left Junmo shook his head.

"Well, I admit it. I'm still single, and Qing'er is one reason, but mostly it's my own doing."

"I only want to devote myself to the skills passed down through our Mo family. As for romantic love, if one day I meet someone who captures my heart at first sight and she is unmarried, I am willing to give it a try."

If I hadn't met you, I would rather have remained single.

As for Qing'er, I like her. I have a place for her in my heart. As long as I see her doing well, sweet and harmonious with Feng Tang, I'll be content.

"If one day, Feng Tang betrays her, then I will stand up to protect her no matter the cost!" Zuo Junmo said.

"I will too, I'll compete with you!" Mu Zichuan looked up and said, his gaze resolute.

Left Junmo smiled, "But I think the possibility is almost zero because Feng Tang would never betray Qing'er!"

"It's not fear of 10,000 things, but fear of one thing happening. People can't see what's in each other's hearts!" Mu Zichuan insisted.

Zuo Junmo curled his lips: "Good, even if that worst-case scenario happens, you wouldn't have the qualifications to compete with me because you already have a marriage contract with your cousin."

"Could it be that you're planning to divorce your wife and take another? Or are you asking Qing'er to become your concubine? Or perhaps it's an unclear, ambiguous relationship?"

Left Junmo bombarded Mu Zichuan with questions, leaving him speechless again.

“Zuo brother, I am speechless.” Mu Zichuan said a little awkwardly.

>

Left Jun Mo said: "Since it is speechless, it is also faceless!"