After leaving Juexin Cliff, the carriage picked up speed on the official road.
Meng Xiaoyu lazily nestled in Nangong Yunhan’s arms, playing with Han Rubing’s fingers, who was sitting next to them.
“Sister Han Rubing, how long will it take us to reach Chaoque Palace?” Meng Xiaoyu asked, feeling a bit bored after being in the carriage for so long.
“Hehe, what’s the matter? Are you eager to get to Chaoque Palace?” Han Rubing asked with amusement, seeing the little one’s bored expression.
“No, it’s just that sitting in the carriage like this is really boring!” Meng Xiaoyu replied honestly.
“Oh! So that’s it!” Han Rubing pretended to realize, “Since the little one finds sitting like this boring, why don’t you sing a song to pass the time? I’m feeling a bit bored too.” Hearing Han Rubing’s suggestion, Meng Xiaoyu was displeased.
“I don’t want to,” she refused bluntly.
Why don’t you sing to entertain me?
“Then play the flute!” Nangong Yunhan, who was holding Meng Xiaoyu, freed a hand and took out a green bamboo flute from a hidden compartment in the carriage, handing it to Meng Xiaoyu.
“Oh? The little one can play the flute?” Han Rubing spoke before Meng Xiaoyu could refuse again.
Seeing Han Rubing’s teasing gaze, Meng Xiaoyu nodded weakly.
Then she glanced at the bamboo flute in Nangong Yunhan’s hand, puzzled.
How did Sister Yunhan know I could play the flute? She remembered she hadn’t played the flute in front of Nangong Yunhan.
In fact, since she came to this ancient time, she had hardly played the flute.
The only time was when she was at Juexin Cliff, where she often practiced martial arts.
Feeling tired and seeing a small bamboo grove nearby, she impulsively cut a piece of bamboo to make a flute for fun.
After spending two or three hours making it, the flute not only looked ugly but also sounded terrible.
Meng Xiaoyu played it once and then discarded it.
Since then, Meng Xiaoyu hadn’t touched any flute-like instruments.
So how did Nangong Yunhan know she could play the flute? Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s puzzled look, Nangong Yunhan just smiled without answering.
In fact, when Meng Xiaoyu made the flute and played it, Nangong Yunhan was not far away, but Meng Xiaoyu didn’t notice.
From cutting the bamboo to making the flute, and finally discarding it because of its poor appearance and sound, Nangong Yunhan had been watching from a distance.
Later, when Meng Xiaoyu went back to Qingzhu Courtyard for dinner, Nangong Yunhan went to the place where Meng Xiaoyu practiced martial arts in the morning and picked up the discarded flute.
She also cut another piece of green bamboo from the nearby grove and brought it back.
The flute in her hand now was made from that piece of bamboo.
Seeing that Nangong Yunhan had no intention of explaining, Meng Xiaoyu withdrew her puzzled gaze but didn’t reach for the bamboo flute.
Instead, she laughed awkwardly and said, “I’m not good at playing the flute, so… fine, I’ll play it!” Meng Xiaoyu initially wanted to say she wasn’t good at playing the flute and shouldn’t play it, but Han Rubing and Nangong Yunhan’s meaningful smiles made her change her mind.
Raising her hand to take the bamboo flute from Nangong Yunhan, Meng Xiaoyu adjusted her posture and then placed the flute to her lips.
A tune of “Qing Jin Tian Xia” began to float in the confined space of the carriage.
After finishing the tune, Meng Xiaoyu put away the flute and looked at the two people beside her.
“How was it? Was it okay?” Although she had said earlier that she wasn’t good at playing the flute, after playing, Meng Xiaoyu still hoped for some praise from the two beside her.
“It was very nice,” Nangong Yunhan praised with a smile, tightening her arms around Meng Xiaoyu’s waist.
With Nangong Yunhan’s praise, Han Rubing also nodded in agreement and then asked, “Little one, what’s the name of this tune?”
“Qing Jin Tian Xia,” Meng Xiaoyu replied immediately when Han Rubing asked.
“Qing Jin Tian Xia, huh?” Before Han Rubing could say anything, Nangong Yunhan spoke first with a meaningful tone.
“What’s wrong?” Meng Xiaoyu asked curiously, hearing Nangong Yunhan’s tone.
“Nothing, just thinking that such a sad tune doesn’t suit the little one,” Han Rubing said.
“Huh? How do you know this tune is a sad one?” Meng Xiaoyu was surprised.
When she learned this tune, she just thought it sounded nice.
Although it was indeed a beautiful and sad tune, Meng Xiaoyu never felt its sadness.
So when she played it, she couldn’t convey its beauty, only its pleasantness.
In essence, it was like a vase—beautiful on the outside but lacking the depth to move people.
“Just a guess,” Han Rubing said with a smile.
Indeed, Han Rubing didn’t hear any sadness in Meng Xiaoyu’s playing, but rather a playful liveliness.
Even so, Han Rubing and Nangong Yunhan could tell that the tune should be a beautiful and poignant sad song, but the little one playing it lacked the emotional depth.
“Oh, I see! How about I play a cheerful tune for you?” Meng Xiaoyu said, then placed the flute to her lips again.
A cheerful Christmas tune, “Jingle Bells,” began to float out from the fast-moving carriage on an ancient road.
After finishing the tune, Meng Xiaoyu looked at Han Rubing and Nangong Yunhan again, her tone carrying the expectation of a child who scored a hundred points, hoping for praise.
“How about this one?”
“Very good.
Compared to the previous one, this tune suits the little one better!” Han Rubing said with a smile, pinching Meng Xiaoyu’s soft cheek.
Nangong Yunhan also smiled and said, “Indeed, this tune suits little Yuer better!” Her tone carried a playful tease.
“I’m not a child,” Meng Xiaoyu retorted, a bit puffed up, hearing the teasing tone in Han Rubing and Nangong Yunhan’s voices.
However, her puffed cheeks and slightly widened eyes didn’t stop the smiles on Han Rubing and Nangong Yunhan’s faces; instead, their smiles seemed to grow.
“I’m not talking to you anymore,” Meng Xiaoyu said angrily, turning her head away from the two heartless people.
What kind of people are they? She played the flute to entertain them, and they laughed at her for being a child (though they didn’t say it, their expressions clearly showed it).
It was simply too much.
“Is the little one angry?” Han Rubing asked softly, seeing Meng Xiaoyu turn her head away.
Meng Xiaoyu ignored Han Rubing, still turning her head away from them.
“What’s little Yuer angry about? We were just laughing because we think the little one is very talented, not because we think you’re a child!” Nangong Yunhan coaxed softly.
“Really?” Meng Xiaoyu finally turned her head back, looking at Nangong Yunhan and Han Rubing.
“Really, my little one is not only talented but also skilled in martial arts, and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, like a rare treasure!” Han Rubing praised, seeing Meng Xiaoyu looking at her.
However, Meng Xiaoyu didn’t accept these compliments and disdainfully said, “So fake.”
Initially, Meng Xiaoyu was happy to hear Han Rubing’s praise, but her face fell after a second.
Talented, she could accept.
But skilled in martial arts, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? Was this really about her, Meng Xiaoyu? Meng Xiaoyu was sure it wasn’t.
She could accept being called talented, but as for the rest, she was certain she wasn’t proficient in anything other than music.
Just her terrible calligraphy was enough to prove Han Rubing’s words weren’t about her.
Hearing Meng Xiaoyu disdainfully call her fake, Han Rubing couldn’t help but feel amused.
She had said those words to make Meng Xiaoyu happy, but the little one found them insincere.
However, thinking back on her words, Han Rubing realized they were indeed a bit exaggerated.
So she shook her head with a smile, unsure of what to say.
“Hey, there’s a small town not far ahead.
Should we stop to rest?” Ling Yuer’s voice came from the front of the carriage.
“Let’s go.
We can find an inn in town to rest for the night.
We’re not in a hurry, so there’s no need to camp outside,” Han Rubing said, lifting the curtain to look at the setting sun, speaking to Ling Yuer and Han Rushuang outside the carriage.
“Alright,” Ling Yuer replied, then cracked her whip, guiding the carriage onto a side road towards the town.
