Chapter 503: A Mere Passerby
Days of heavy snow made the streets and alleys at the capital melancholic.
Ye Xiaoxiang has made it to the majestic gate of the capital and stopped for a moment. She glanced back, thinking about the times she had thought about escaping this prison - leaving Beauty’s Smile and the capital. But now, when she was truly about to leave, the sense of joy was not there, only a touch of unwillingness.
‘I guess I’m not as free as I thought.’
“Buy Heavenly Lotus Sadness-away Congee, only five bronze coins for one bowl.” The voice of an old man came from the next corner.
The old man was swinging a large iron ladle beneath a tent. The congee pot was finished with its hot steam permeating the air. The snowflakes were fluttering closer but couldn’t make it into the pot before being melted.
“This congee can take away sadness?” Xiaoxiang was already next to the tent, absentmindedly. She had no idea why she was stopping here.
The enthusiastic old man placed the ladle into the pot. He wiped his hands on his robe and smiled: “Miss, you have a lot on your mind. Have a bowl of my congee and you’ll be worried-free right away.”
“How do you know what I’m feeling?” She stood there as the flakes fell on her head and shoulders, creating a thin frost.
The old man replied: “Most beautiful girls are sad. They want true love but afraid that others only want them for their beauty. They want peace, but people will certainly come to bother them. They want freedom, but again, others won’t let them have this. Thus, the more beautiful, the sadder they are. You are as pretty as a goddess, so your sadness should be greater than anyone.”
Xiaoxiang said: “You’re not completely wrong. I only want to research music and find the best song in this world, but the rowdiness of life stops my heart from being calm.”
“What is actually affecting you?” The old man asked.
She blushed and couldn’t respond.