Winter, Yingtai in Women's Clothing Meets Shanbo

Chapter 97 Winter, Yingtai in Women's Clothing Meets Shanbo

From spring to summer, from autumn to winter.

For Zhu Yingtai, this year seemed to pass both exceptionally quickly and exceptionally slowly; she couldn't tell whether it was fast or slow.

What's fleeting is spending every day with Brother Liang.

The slowness is due to the unspoken anxieties and fears weighing heavily on my heart, day after day.

It's already midwinter, and the north wind is biting.

With less than two months until the end of the holiday, Zhu Yingtai's anxiety and fear grew heavier.

This day is a day off.

When Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai opened the door at dawn, they saw a vast expanse of white. The first snow of the winter had fallen the night before, and the snow had stopped, leaving only a chilly atmosphere.

Looking at the pristine snowscape before her, Zhu Yingtai felt a surge of indescribable joy. She thought to herself, "Brother Liang and I have always loved snow, and today I was just about to reveal the truth to him. This snow has come at just the right time, as if by divine intervention."

She turned to Liang Shanbo and said, "Brother Liang, as we agreed last night, I will go to the city to rent a place first. Brother Liang, please come back an hour later, okay?"

As usual, Liang Shanbo didn't ask any questions, but simply nodded: "Alright, my brother, please go ahead."

At that moment, Zhu Yingtai, carrying Yin Xin, and her servant left Wansong Academy, their feet crunching under the snow.

Not long after leaving the school, Yin Xin couldn't contain herself any longer and turned to Zhu Yingtai, asking, "Young lady, are you really going to return to your women's attire to see Liang Langjun today? Are you really going to confess everything to him today?"

Zhu Yingtai didn't stop walking. Gazing at the vast white snowfield ahead, her gaze was calm: "Yes, I will tell him today. I have kept this from him for more than two years, and I can't keep it from him any longer."

Yin Xin's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she swallowed her words, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

The two entered the county town, turned into a quiet alley, and pushed open the gate of the rented house.

The clump of green bamboo in the courtyard was covered with a layer of white snow, the bamboo leaves bent under the weight of the snow. The stone well under the bamboo was also covered with a layer of white snow, making the well opening appear even more deep and mysterious.

Zhu Yingtai went straight into the bedroom, with Yin Xin following closely behind.

Zhu Yingtai stopped in the room, her gaze falling on the wooden cabinet, and instructed, "Yinxin, bring out that camphor wood box from the cabinet."

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Yin Xin responded and walked to the cabinet, carefully taking out a camphor wood chest from it. Although the chest was not very large, it was quite heavy, making a solid thud when it was placed on the ground.

Zhu Yingtai opened the chest herself and found a complete set of women's clothing and grooming tools inside, each piece exquisite. There were narrow-sleeved short blouses, floor-length skirts, light gauze blouses, hairpins and hair ornaments, and all sorts of cosmetics, a wide variety of items.

Zhu Yingtai looked at the chest full of clothes, her eyes flickering, and a sense of hesitation arose in her heart.

If Brother Liang knew the truth, how would he view her? Would he feel angry, having been deceived for over two years? Would he refuse to share a room with her again? Would he accept her long-hidden feelings?

However, she was truly unwilling to delay any longer and felt that she had to be decisive in this matter and could no longer be timid.

She took a deep breath, looked up at Yinxin, and the hesitation in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a resolute look: "Yinxin, help me change and do my hair!"

Yin Xin responded, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. She had followed the young lady for over two years, witnessing firsthand the deep affection between her and Liang Langjun, and knew the immense resolve the young lady had made today. Once she donned this women's attire, there was no turning back.

She took a deep breath and then carefully took out the clothes one by one from the camphor wood chest.

She first helped Zhu Yingtai change her clothes, taking off the men's clothing she was wearing and putting on women's clothing. She wore a short, narrow-sleeved blouse with a cross-collar and right-fastening front, which fit her waist; and a long, flowing skirt in two colors, tightly cinched at the waist, making her slender waist appear delicate; a light gauze draped over her shoulders, giving her an ethereal and otherworldly air.

After changing her clothes, she helped the young lady with her makeup. Facing a bronze mirror, she styled the young lady's hair into a flying phoenix bun, with loose sideburns and a hairpin dangling from the bun. She also cleverly applied pale yellow floral powder to the forehead, lightly dusted off her eyebrows, and gently touched up her lips with rouge.

After a long period of hard work, the task was finally completed.

The once handsome young man, Zhu Jiuling, has vanished without a trace.

The woman reflected in the mirror was a beautiful young lady from a prominent family, with a touch of heroic spirit between her brows.

Zhu Yingtai looked at the face in the bronze mirror, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar with it.

She then stood up, smoothed the light gauze draped over her shoulder, turned and stepped out of the bedroom, her hair ornaments swaying gently, her jade pendants tinkling softly.

She walked to the entrance of the main room and stood under the eaves. The cold wind brushed her face, blowing her quilt and skirt. The wind carried the chilling scent of ice and snow, penetrating to the bone.

She noticed that snow had started falling from the sky again, sparsely and lightly.

A sense of worry arose in her heart: "Brother Liang, I wonder if you brought an umbrella when you left home. If you didn't, you'll have to brave the wind and snow all the way."

She gazed at the falling snow, secretly relieved: "Fortunately, the snowfall isn't heavy, so it's alright."

After Liang Shanbo left Wansong Academy, snow began to fall gently from the sky. The snow was light, just a sparse, scattered snowflake.

Come.

He didn't bring an umbrella, nor did he quicken his pace; he simply walked at a leisurely pace, letting the snowflakes fall continuously onto his scarf, face, shoulders, and robes.

He seemed oblivious, walking through the snow while lost in thought.

His thoughts were focused on confronting Zhu Yingtai today.

The story of "The Butterfly Lovers" that he knew was roughly as follows: "Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo studied together for three years. After three years, Zhu Yingtai had to return home because her father urged her to. Shanbo was reluctant to part with her and accompanied her for eighteen miles. Along the way, Yingtai repeatedly used objects to express her feelings, hinting at her identity as a woman and her love for Liang Shanbo, but Shanbo remained oblivious. In desperation, Yingtai had no choice but to lie and say that she had a younger sister at home who was willing to act as a matchmaker for Shanbo, urging him to come and propose marriage as soon as possible."

Later, Shanbo learned the truth and rushed to the Zhu family to propose marriage, but it was too late; Zhu's father had already betrothed Yingtai to Ma Wencai. Liang and Zhu met at the pavilion, filled with grief and indignation, but powerless to change their fate, and sadly parted ways.

On the day Shanbo died of melancholy and Yingtai was forced to marry, she detoured to Shanbo's grave to pay her respects, overwhelmed with grief. Suddenly, a violent storm raged, thunder and lightning raged, and the grave split open. Yingtai leaped into it, and the grave immediately closed. Finally, the wind and rain ceased, a rainbow appeared, and the two transformed into a pair of butterflies, fluttering gracefully in the air.

In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, he had to confront Zhu Yingtai beforehand.

He had already made preparations for this matter.

However, he had been waiting for Zhu Yingtai to confess to him on her own initiative, and had given hints several times this year, hoping that Zhu Yingtai would speak up herself.

Unfortunately, even now that it is midwinter, Zhu Yingtai has not yet revealed the truth to him and still keeps the secret deep in her heart.

He couldn't delay any longer; he couldn't wait any longer.

He decided that he would confront Zhu Yingtai today and explain everything clearly.

Little did he know that on this very day, Zhu Yingtai was about to reveal her true identity as a daughter to him.

Liang Shanbo braved the wind and snow all the way to the door of the rented house in the city.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed.

He raised his hand and knocked on the courtyard gate several times.

Yin Xin opened the door from the inside, her expression somewhat strange. She said, "Young Master Liang, my daughter—" She suddenly stopped and hurriedly corrected herself, "My young master is waiting for you in the bedroom."

Seeing her strange expression and hesitant speech, Liang Shanbo felt something was amiss, but didn't think much of it.

He stepped into the courtyard, crossed the yard, and walked to the eaves of the main house, raising his hand to brush the snow off his clothes. However, because he was preoccupied with important matters, he brushed off the snow hastily and not completely cleaned it; some snowflakes still remained on his scarf and shoulders.

He straightened his clothes, stepped into the main room, and then went into the bedroom.

He looked up and was immediately stunned, as if he had been nailed to the spot.

There was no sign of "Zhu Jiuling" in the bedroom.

Instead, standing there was a woman dressed in women's clothing, her attire both luxurious and elegant, her appearance beautiful yet with a touch of heroism between her brows, her clear and bright features beyond compare, as if her skin was made of ice and snow and her bones of jade.

Their eyes met; he froze, while she gazed at him quietly, her eyes clear and bright.

The whole world seemed to fall silent at that moment.

No one knows how much time passed; it felt like a moment, yet also like an eternity, before Zhu Yingtai moved.

She walked slowly to him, smiled sweetly like a spring flower in full bloom, and her voice was so gentle it was captivating: "Brother Liang, there's snow on your shoulder."

As she spoke, she reached out and gently brushed the remaining snow from his shoulders, her movements soft and focused, as if she were caressing something extremely precious. She then raised her hand higher and carefully brushed away the remaining snowflakes from his handkerchief.

Then, she gently lowered her hand to her side, and from a step away, her eyes met his again.

In her eyes, a thousand words and a myriad of tender feelings were transformed into a pool of autumn water in that instant.

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