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On this day, the sky was clear and the clouds were sparse, with a gentle spring breeze blowing.
Off to the side of a road just outside Qianjing City, a horse carriage had stopped.
The horse stood idly by, snorting out of boredom.
A coachman with dark skin and a face full of wrinkles jumped down from the carriage, getting ready to pick some fresh grass by the road to feed the horse.
He usually earned his living within Qianjing City and seldom took passengers outside the city.
But the scholar who had flagged down the carriage at the corner of Chang'an Street that morning offered too much.
Even for a trip to Longquan Mountain, shrouded in fog all year round, towering into the clouds and rumored to be inhabited by immortals, he consented after a brief hesitation.
The thought of earning in one day what he usually made in ten days made him smile involuntarily again, and his dark face crinkled even more.
The reason for stopping here in the middle of the way was at the scholar's request—he had asked to wait by the roadside for half an hour.
With this in mind, he glanced again at the scholar's retreating figure, his gaze filled with a bit of longing.
After saving up some more silver, I'll send that brat from my family to school. I can't let him mess around outside any longer, I heard the newly arrived teacher at the school is a scholarly master who is extremely learned.
...
Zhao Rong followed the path he remembered, heading deeper into the woods.
He was about to embark on a long journey and planned to sweep his mother's grave and pay his respects.
He wasn't sure when he'd be able to return again.
Today he wore a green Confucian robe, with a Jade Token hanging at his waist, the Scholar Sword at his side, and carried a red lacquered mixed-wood Qin Sword Book Box on his back, made from detachable lacquer. The material was not particularly valuable, but the whole was meticulously elegant and sturdy, with an ingenious and reasonable layout.
This "Qin Sword Book Box" attire was probably the indispensable equipment for scholars when traveling through the jianghu.
Oh, it seems he was missing a zither.
He did have a zither actually, since zither skill is one of the necessary skills for a scholar, but he felt it probably wouldn't be needed, so he didn't bring it.
Soon, he found his mother's grave in a bamboo forest.
Zhao Rong set down his book box and stood silently in front of the tombstone for a while.
Since coming to this world, he had been trying to immerse himself into the original identity's role and feelings.
If the original self was already dead, then Zhao Rong must live well in his place, trying to fulfill his dreams and expectations.
If the original self had merely swapped bodies with Zhao Rong and had woken up on Earth, Zhao Rong hoped he would take care of everything he'd inherited, look after his parents and friends on Earth, and he himself would cherish the "legacy" left in this world.
In fact, Zhao Rong had a vague suspicion about his rebirth.
If his current appearance and name were exactly the same as himself in another world, could it be possible that he was actually the original, but his consciousness and memories from a previous life had taken over?
Zhao Rong felt this possibility existed, but at the moment he thought it unlikely, so he didn't dwell on it further.
Zhao Rong was ready to weed the grave and add some soil, but he found that someone seemed to have done it already, and there were even a few sticks of incense left in front of the grave.
The surroundings were silent, and the warm sun of spring seeped through the gaps in the bamboo leaves.
Zhao Rong said nothing.
He took out a small jug of wine from his book box, poured it out, then bowed at the grave.
But just as he stood up, he suddenly felt a burning sensation at his waist, as if a piece of hot charcoal had been stuffed inside.
Zhao Rong looked down to find the source.
It turned out to be the dark-colored Mystic Bird Jade Poem Card he was wearing at his waist!
He took the Jade Poem Card in hand and found that it was no longer producing heat like it had been, yet it still felt as warm as a furnace.
He knew this jade was extraordinary, but usually, it only became warm after he had handled it for a long time. Why was it behaving so unusually today?
Suddenly, an inconspicuous fragment of memory flashed through Zhao Rong's mind.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately knelt on one knee, digging into the smooth soil next to the tombstone with both hands.
The next moment.
His hands, buried in the soil, touched something hard.
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He dug it out forcefully.
Resting conspicuously on his mud-stained hand was a milky white Mystic Bird Jade Token!
Zhao Rong suddenly pieced together the ink-colored jade token at his waist with it.
On the front were two mysterious birds, with the black jade to the left and the white jade to the right.
Perfectly joined in the middle.
On the other side was a line of poetry, five characters on the black jade and five on the white jade.
How do I send my thoughts of love? Beautiful Jade adorns the tasseled cord.
At that moment, the fragments of memory that had been forgotten in the depths of his mind began to emerge incessantly.
Zhao Rong actually had not fully digested the original bearer's memories, for inheriting memories is not a simple matter of branding them directly into your mind to replace your thought process; rather, it lets you act as an observer, actively browsing and considering from your own perspective.
When he was first reborn, he had only glanced over those important memories that had made a deep impression on the original person, to say nothing of the vast and trivial memories and some hidden special stories within them.
Now, with these jade tokens as a clue, Zhao Rong remembered.
He remembered the entire story about these jade tokens!
This white Mystic Bird Jade Token was the very jade that Lingfei had asked him for on their wedding night!
These jade tokens were originally his parents' betrothal gifts, and later his mother gave them to him and Lingfei.
The front of the jade was carved with the Heavenly Destiny Mysterious Bird; his mother once said that all Zhaos in the world originated from an ancient and glorious family, and this Heavenly Destiny Mysterious Bird was the totem of that family, a remembrance that Zhao members across continents must not forget!
As for the line of poetry on the back.
"Beautiful Jade adorns the tasseled cord" refers to threading the jade pendant with tassels for decoration, but it also has another meaning...
The tasseled cord is a colorful silk ribbon tied around the waist of ancient Chinese women when they got married; binding the tasseled cord is synonymous with getting married.
And for an unmarried woman to decorate a man's jade pendant with a tasseled cord, naturally reveals genuine feelings of love from the depths of her heart. Zhao Rong remembered that in the Dream of the Red Chamber, Lin Daiyu had once threaded a tassel for Jia Baoyu's Spiritual Jade.
Thinking of this, Zhao Rong glanced at the ink-colored Mystic Bird Jade Token in his hand, which a certain woman had long since adorned with tassels...
His mother had once told the young him and Lingfei stories of lovers gifting each other Beautiful Jade to express their feelings.
She recounted the romantic tradition in her distant homeland—Great Jin, where men and women would exchange jade pendants upon engagement, nurturing the jade for one another, and on their wedding night, the jade would return to its original owner, thus confirming a lifelong commitment.
He vividly remembered that girl, who liked to follow him around, calling him "Rong'er brother," listening with unusual earnestness.
Later, when he and Lingfei were betrothed, his mother gave them the two jade tokens—Lingfei nurtured the black jade, and he nurtured the white jade.
However, he, who vehemently despised the idea of becoming a son-in-law, was determined to leave and buried the white jade he perceived as only belonging to his mother at the front of her grave, unwilling to nurture the jade for Lingfei.
And the black jade, he planned to take back from Lingfei on their wedding night, leaving nothing for her.
This was also why he once actively wrote a letter urging Lingfei to return home for marriage.
At this thought, Zhao Rong fell silent.
Many scenes flashed across his mind in an instant: Teacher Fang's veiled admonitions, Qian'er's tearful complaints, the clumsy embroidery on the white handkerchief, the uneven sleeves of the pristine Confucian robe... and finally, the scene stopped at the wedding night, an inconspicuous moment—a pair of hands tightly clutching the jade token.
It turned out that in this relationship, he was always the one who was indifferent and traitorous.
It turned out that in their relationship, she was always the one taking the initiative.
It turned out that it was his indifference, like a deep chasm, that Lingfei could not cross.
No wonder that night Gui said her Sword Heart was shattered.
...
You gave Lingfei but a single promise,
And Lingfei, with her bridal clothes and Jade Token, eagerly returned to marry you.
But not only were you unwilling to nurture a piece of jade for Lingfei, you also intended to take Lingfei's jade and leave her ruthlessly!
Have you seen someone wincing at every stitch as she embroiders for you?
Have you seen someone waiting through summer rains and autumn winds just for you?
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