Chapter 88

The room was quiet, perhaps because the curtains were drawn tightly, making the light a little dim.

Zhuang Wan entered the room, but without looking at Pei Xingju, she asked evasively, "I heard you were injured."

"Um."

"Are your bones really injured?"

"Um."

After a moment of silence, Zhuang Wan asked again, "Have you had lunch?"

Pei Xingju paused and said, "I spent some time with the Emperor at 9 o'clock."

This is a good point. Eating at Si hour is neither breakfast nor lunch. It has been two hours now, so you should be hungry.

Zhuang Wan pursed her lips and said, "Then I'll go make some for you."

Lunch was prepared quickly. Because Pei Xingju was injured, they only made a light bowl of noodles. When Zhuang Wan brought it into the bedroom, Pei Xingju was leaning on the bed reading a book.

His features were gentle, without the cold and sharp look from before.

Zhuang Wan thought for a moment, put down the food tray, and asked, "Do you want someone to help you out of bed?"

Hearing this, Pei Xingju lifted the thin blanket and sat down beside the bed: "Bring the noodles over here and move a chair over."

"oh."

Zhuang Wan did as she was told, brought the noodles to the small table beside the bed, and moved a chair over for him to sit on.

Pei Xingju ate his noodles slowly, and she stood by and waited.

I don’t know why, but I was so angry with him before, but now I feel calm when I see him again.

"How long does the imperial physician say it will take to heal?"

"Do you care about me?" Pei Xingju suddenly asked.

Zhuang Wan swallowed hard and said, "No matter what, I've been saved from disaster these days thanks to your care. It's only right that I care about you."

Pei Xingju remained silent and continued eating noodles.

Zhuang Wan: "Have you seen that account book?"

"Um."

"Are there any loopholes?"

Pei Xingju lowered his head to chew noodles, his tone unable to discern his emotions: "No."

"Oh." Zhuang Wan nodded.

She took out the Guanyin jade pendant from her sleeve and walked over to put it on the table.

The jade pendant was exquisitely carved, its color translucent and lustrous. Pei Xingju took a look at it and slowly stopped.

"What do you mean?"

Zhuang Wan said, "I've put the jade and clothes you gave me in a box and listed them. Lixia is aware of them. Of the six hundred taels of silver I owe you, I'll pay you five hundred taels first. I've inquired, and this jade pendant is worth at least four hundred taels, plus a hundred taels of silver note. I'll write you an IOU for the remaining one hundred taels. What do you think?"

Afraid that he would disagree, she quickly added, "Don't worry, I have a shop in Beijing. I will pay you back slowly when I make money in the future."

This was the only plan she could have. She would discuss the situation with Qiu Tan later.

Pei Xingju felt a pang of bitterness well up in his heart, but he suppressed it and said unhappily, "You really want to leave? Have you ever thought about where you want to go?"

"I want to leave, and I've already decided where to go. As long as..." As long as he doesn't pursue the matter later, she'll be able to live a stable life. She has a skill, so at worst she can work in a restaurant to earn some money, and then find a job later.

"Anyway, I have my own plans. Thank you for your care for so long."

After a moment, Zhuang Wan asked, "How do you think this is going to work?"

Pei Xingju didn't answer her.

His body fell into the dim light, and his back looked a little lonely.

Zhuang Wan waited for a while, but didn't get a reply, so she bowed softly and said, "Rest well, I'm leaving now."

When she turned to leave, Pei Xingju raised his head and closed his eyes.

.

When leaving Pei Xingju's residence, he happened to meet Princess Wu Jing, who was leading a few noble ladies on horseback, planning to practice polo.

When the Empress Dowager learned that the Emperor was hosting a polo match, she enthusiastically asked the ladies of the household to organize one as well. While the ladies, self-conscious of their status, naturally wouldn't participate, the noble ladies were eager to try, spontaneously forming teams to practice.

Wu Jing said to Zhuang Wan, "It's great to see you. You can be the notary and help us count."

Zhuang Wan wanted to refuse, but Princess Wu Jing persuaded her to leave.

To the west of the palace lay a lawn where the eunuchs had long since marked out an area for the ladies to practice ball. A few children had been playing there, but when they saw Princess Wujing and the others arrive, the eunuchs ushered them elsewhere.

Princess Wu Jing asked Zhuang Wan, "Can you play polo? Why not join us?"

Zhuang Wan shook her head: "I can't."

"Ah!" Princess Wu Jing said with a hint of regret: "I really like being on a team with you. How about I teach you how to play polo in the future? Then we can play together next time."

Zhuang Wan smiled. She didn't know when the next time would be. She would be leaving soon, and perhaps she would never see them again in her lifetime.

Life is always full of regrets. When it is time to leave, I actually feel a little nostalgic for this short-lived friendship in a different place and time.

At this time, someone called Princess Wu Jing. Princess Wu Jing turned her head and answered, then said to Zhuang Wan, "Help me count for a moment. I'll talk to you after I finish playing polo."

She blinked and ran away.

However, halfway through the run, he saw someone on horseback approaching from a distance and shouted happily, "Chen Yi, are you here to play polo too?"

Zhuang Wan turned around and saw Shen Yi, dressed in riding gear, riding his horse down the path. However, he seemed not to have heard what Princess Wu Jing said. He only glanced over and rode off in the other direction.

Princess Wu Jing was angry, pursed her lips, and continued to practice polo.

Here, Chen Yi rode his horse to the back mountain and saw Jiang Baohe and the maid there.

Jiang Baohe is also participating in the women's polo match. The competition will be held in two days. She and her maid are practicing here alone.

Chen Yi was originally going back to the government office after visiting Pei Xingju, but he accidentally heard the women of Xiayang Marquis's mansion practicing polo there. He suddenly had an idea and changed into polo clothes and came over to meet them.

Unexpectedly, it was really Jiang Baohe.

"Miss Jiang." Shen Yi rode over nervously: "What a coincidence, you are also practicing polo here?"

Jiang Baohe was confused for a moment before she remembered: "It turned out to be Mr. Shen."

"...Miss Jiang, you can also call me Master Shen." Shen Yi dismounted and bowed to her.

Seeing his clothes, Jiang Baohe asked, "What is this, Mr. Shen?"

"The Emperor asked us to play polo with him, so..." Shen Yi smiled shyly, "I joined in too."

"Master Shen also plays polo?"

“........”

Does he look so useless? Actually, he is a polo expert.

Chen Yi was embarrassed for a moment, then introduced himself with a bit of reserve: "To be honest, I was a Jinshi in the Jiazi year and won the first place in polo. At that time, I was even praised by the late emperor."

Now, Jiang Baohe was very surprised.

"Mr. Shen, you can't judge a person by his appearance."

Chen Yi smiled politely for a long time before mustering up the courage to say, "Miss Jiang, would you like me to teach you how to play polo?"

His ears turned red when he said this, but he still pretended to be calm.

Jiang Baohe was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "Okay, thank you, Mr. Shen."