When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 13

Chapter 13

In the humid morning light, the crisis of the cinnabar mark had just been resolved by the temperature and absolute precision of Ling Xueqing’s palm.There was still a hint of coolness after the panic in the air, mixed with the faint, slightly pungent smell of solvent.Ye Qiulan regained his grip on the bone knife, and the trembling in his fingertips had subsided, replaced by a tempered, colder focus.She leaned forward, breathing very lightly, and traced the blade just outside the tiny edge of the accident, searching for the gap to start again.

Ling Xueqing did not take back her hand immediately.Her palm was facing up, resting on the edge of the table. The sunlight illuminated the almost invisible light brown mark on it, and also illuminated the light blue veins on the back of her hand.She looked at Ye Qiulan’s re-engaged profile, her tightened jawline and pursed lips, and there was a determination like burning a boat.After a few seconds, she slowly curled up her fingers and completely grasped the trace in her palm, as if she had also grasped the same rapid beating in her chest at that moment.She picked up the absorbent tissue paper again, but most of the weight of her gaze still fell on Ye Qiulan’s fingertips and the fragile territory that needed to be conquered.

The restoration continued in an almost stagnant silence.Every time the bone knife cuts into the edge of the adhesion, every time the capillary dropper is applied accurately, every time the soft brush is used to brush away the softened fine particles, it is like a slow motion, infinitely magnified, filling this morning soaked in the wet morning light.The communication between the two was reduced to the bare minimum necessary gestures and glances.Ling Xueqing handed over the tools he needed, and Ye Qiulan reached out to take them. Ye Qiulan’s eyes stayed somewhere for a second longer, and Ling Xueqing immediately adjusted the angle of the magnifying glass or the brightness of the desk lamp.Some deeper, almost instinctive connection is established in the silence, beyond words, beyond yesterday’s heart-stopping touches.

The stubborn adhesion area among the ancient books in the wooden box is shrinking at an extremely slow but unwavering speed.The dark brown hardened material was patiently gnawed away, revealing the adhering, slightly lighter pages underneath. Traces of cinnabar were intermittent, like intermittent codes, gradually connecting into vague but discernible sentences.

Just when Ye Qiulan dealt with the core and most dangerous part of the adhesion area – a few lines of ink that happened to span the gap between the two pages, the door of the reading area was pushed open again.

Still Teacher Zhao.He walked more hastily this time, holding a flat, dark brown kraft paper portfolio in his hand, with frayed edges.His brows furrowed even more tightly, and he walked straight to the table, not even noticing the unusual atmosphere of concentration between the two of them.

“Xiaoye, classmate Ling,” he lowered his voice with unprecedented solemnity, “something went wrong.”

Ye Qiulan and Ling Xueqing stopped moving at the same time and raised their heads.

Teacher Zhao placed the portfolio on the table without opening it, and tapped it with his fingers.”The donor just contacted me and said that an elder in their family recalled that there might be a separate loose leaf of a family letter sandwiched in this batch of documents. It was added later. The material and ink are different from the main body of the book. It records some… old family events that are not suitable for disclosure. They requested that if they find it, they must immediately separate it and seal it, and it must not be repaired or kept for files.”

He looked at the ancient book in the wooden box, and then at the Zhu Pi area next to Ye Qiulan’s hand where more writing had just been revealed.”Looking at it now, the part you separated seems to involve land disputes and internal clan litigation… I’m worried that the so-called ‘loose pages of family letters’ are likely to be stuck around here, and the content may even be related to it. If you find a separate page with obviously different materials or sensitive content during the subsequent separation, you must stop immediately and notify me.”

The mission suddenly took on a new, thorny dimension.Not only to restore, but to act as screener and keeper of secrets in the restoration process.Ye Qiulan looked at the adhesion area that had just progressed, feeling as if a new stone had been placed on his heart.Zhu Pi’s records of land disputes already have historical value. If the loose pages involve more secretive “old matters not suitable for public disclosure,” their contents may be more sensitive. If they are not handled carefully, they may cause unnecessary trouble.

“The materials are different, what do you mean specifically?” Ling Xueqing asked, her voice calm, bringing the question back to an operational technical level.

Teacher Zhao glanced at her approvingly.”According to the description, it may be cheaper bamboo paper from different origins, and the ink may be ordinary smoked ink instead of cinnabar or fine ink. It will feel brittle, yellowish in color, and have rough fibers. Of course, you will need to carefully screen it when separating.” He sighed, “This is my fault. I didn’t check carefully enough when receiving. Now I can only work hard for you and be extra careful every step of the way.”

He explained a few more words and then hurried away, leaving behind the unopened kraft paper file bag and a heavier silence.

Ye Qiulan’s eyes fell back on the ancient books.The adhesion area that was just a technical challenge now seems to have become a minefield full of unknown traps.Not only to save, but also to screen, and maybe even seal a piece of history with your own hands.

“Continue first.” Ling Xueqing’s voice sounded, interrupting her confusion.”To judge the material, you need to observe the fibers and ink smearing during the separation process. There is no point in worrying.”

It’s always like this.Ling Xueqing can always use the most direct words to cut through the chaotic emotions and point to the only path.Ye Qiulan took a deep breath and nodded.She put on her gloves again and picked up the magnifying glass. This time, she observed more carefully, not missing any differences in color, texture, and thickness.

Ling Xueqing also adjusted her posture. She no longer just assisted, but devoted more attention to the immediate observation of the subtle features of the separated objects.The two of them were like the most sophisticated scanners, their eyes scanning the gradually revealed paper inch by inch.

Time passed under intense scrutiny.The last bit of hardening in the core adhesion area finally loosened under the action of solvent.Ye Qiulan used the thinnest bone knife and the steadiest hand to start the final separation.The gap between the two pages slowly widened, and Zhu Pi’s text gradually became complete…

At the moment when the last strand of adhesion was separated, Ye Qiulan’s fingertips felt an extremely subtle resistance that was different from the front and back – not glue, but more like something extremely thin sandwiched between the papers.Immediately afterwards, a small piece of paper that was obviously more yellow in color, more brittle in texture, and had irregular edges fell out from the gap as the pages of the book were separated, swirled, and landed on the table covered with white tissue paper.

The air froze.

That’s it.The materials are very different, fragile and yellowish, and there are irregular signs of being torn on the edges.This is the corner of the “loose page of the letter from home”.

Ye Qiulan’s movements froze and he looked at the small yellow paper corner that seemed to break at the touch of a touch.According to Teacher Zhao’s instructions, it should be stopped immediately and sealed up.But it happens to be sandwiched next to the most critical Zhu Pi, with only a corner exposed. There are obviously more parts connected below, perhaps recording the secrets on the other side that are directly related to the land dispute mentioned by Zhu Pi.

Ling Xueqing’s eyes also fell on the corner of the yellow paper.Her eyes were bottomless. After a moment, she reached out her hand, but instead of grabbing the corner of the paper, she gently pressed it on Ye Qiulan’s slightly trembling wrist that was holding the bone knife.

“Don’t move.” She said in a very low voice that only two people could hear.Her palms were warm and her strength was steady, instantly calming all Ye Qiulan’s panic.

Then, Ling Xueqing picked up another pair of finer tweezers. She did not pick up the exposed corner of the paper, but carefully reached into the gap between the pages that had just been separated and had not yet been completely flattened.Her movements were extremely slow, and through the extremely subtle tactile feedback from the tips of the tweezers, she explored the shape and adhesion of the loose pages inside.

“It is not a completely independent page,” she stated in a low voice, as if she was analyzing it, but also as if she was speaking to Ye Qiulan. “A part of it… was torn, and the remaining fragments were stuck to the back of the pages of the main volume. The exposed corner is the remaining edge of the torn off part.”

This means that this loose page was not inserted completely, but was torn apart by humans. Part of it was taken away (or lost), and part of it remained and was adhered to the main book.The remaining part is being exposed as the pages of the main volume are separated.

“Can you see the word…?” Ye Qiulan’s voice was dry.

Ling Xueqing adjusted the angle of the magnifying glass, and the light focused on the blurry yellow deep in the gap.She looked at it intently for a moment, her jawline tightening slightly.

“Yes.” She spat out one word, paused, and then continued, her voice deeper, “It was written in ink, and the handwriting was sloppy. The first few words were… ‘My father and brother were both here at that time, but the elders of the clan decided that this field should belong to the third family. The actual reason is…'”

She paused.The words that follow are submerged in deeper adhesion and blurred ink.But just the few words revealed were enough to shock.It directly echoes Zhu Pi’s “land disputes”, but seems to point to the unfair and secret reasons negotiated within the clan.

Ye Qiulan’s heart was beating heavily.According to regulations, this fragment of loose pages, as well as the possibly more sensitive content on it, should now be sealed and never see the light of day again.But it is also a part of history, another silent footnote of that dispute, and an unavoidable piece of the puzzle in repairing this ancient book and understanding this period of history – even if it is incomplete, even if it carries a past that it does not want to be mentioned.

Ling Xueqing withdrew the tweezers and released her hand from Ye Qiulan’s wrist.She looked at Ye Qiulan with complicated eyes.There were no instructions, no suggestions, just a deep, decision-making silence.She gently placed the tweezers next to Ye Qiulan’s hand, then completely retracted her hand and placed it on her lap, as if to say: You decide.Should we follow the rules and seal up this fragment that may cause trouble, or… continue the adventure and see clearly the hidden half-sentence, even if it is just to restore the book more completely?

The sunlight had moved to the middle of the table at some point, and it was so bright that it was dazzling.The shadow of the camphor tree shrank into a small ball at my feet.The library was filled with the unique, lazy and quiet atmosphere before noon. The sound of pages turning was heard in the distance, and a student was discussing in a low voice.

Ye Qiulan looked at the fragile corner of the yellow paper, at the blurred ink marks deep in the gap, and at Ling Xueqing’s calm gaze.She remembered her original intention when she chose to repair this road, not only for the sake of skills, but also to make those silent papers make a sound again, even if the sound was weak or even harsh.

She took a breath slowly, extremely slowly, and then stretched out her hand, not to get the tweezers, but gently picked up the falling corner of the yellow paper and carefully placed it on a piece of clean white tissue paper.Then, she held her bone knife again, her fingertips steady, and she looked sharply at the gap.

She didn’t speak, but her actions showed her choice.continue.Not for prying eyes, but to complete the restoration.As for the fragment of loose pages and the text on it, after the restoration is completed, she will tell Teacher Zhao truthfully, and it will be up to him, the donor, and the higher-level rules to decide its fate.But before that, she had the responsibility to allow this, even if unwelcome, fragment of this ancient book to be safely and completely revealed in its entirety.

Ling Xueqing looked at her silhouette that had regained her composure, and at her hand holding the tool as steady as before. Deep in her eyes, in the deep, silent pool, there seemed to be tiny specks of light that rippled slightly.She didn’t extend her hand to help, nor did she say a word to remind her. She just sat there quietly, maintaining an absolute and supportive silence, turning herself into a stable background, watching Ye Qiulan face the sharp edge where morality and skills intertwined alone, and began the next round of peeling off that required more courage and carefulness.