Chapter 14 Before the words could even be uttered, Xie Zhuo…

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Zhuo's voice rang out first.

"That incident happened in the capital not long ago, and things are probably not peaceful right now. I will bring Qiong'er to visit you later."

Xie Baoqiong fell silent and quietly watched the two of them subtly arguing about who he belonged to.

Then a sigh came from above, announcing his fate: "So be it. Qiong'er will come to her maternal grandmother's house again in a few days."

He looked up and met Lin Yu's downcast gaze, only then realizing that Lin Yu was talking to him, and quickly nodded in agreement.

Neither of the two people inside reprimanded him for his rudeness, and they tacitly refrained from mentioning the topic of his arrival in front of Xie Baoqiong. Instead, the maid who had welcomed him in earlier entered again with a tray.

Before he could even see the items on the tray clearly, Lin Yu reached out and took one. A small seal attached to the jade ring was handed to him by Lin Yu.

"Grandmother, what is this?" Xie Baoqiong asked in confusion.

"This is a gift for Qiong'er. Seeing this is as if I am here in person. If Qiong'er suffers any injustice outside, she can take out this."

The more sincere and earnest Lin Yu's words were, the more Xie Baoqiong knew he couldn't accept them.

He is currently only using the identity of Lin Huaijin's son to investigate the real culprit. Once he has settled his karmic debts, he will return to his Four Waters Mountain to cultivate Taoism. Taking in worldly possessions will only create more karma.

Lin Yu's eyes were sincere, but Xie Baoqiong was once again thankful that she was a stone: "Grandmother, this is too precious for me to accept."

After saying that, he pushed the jade back into Lin Yu's hand.

"Nothing in the world is more precious than Qiong'er." This time, Lin Yu didn't wait for him to refuse and directly hung the seal around his neck.

Xie Zhuo's voice rang out at this moment: "Qiong'er, this is the Princess's intention." This completely blocked his attempt to refuse.

With the added accessory around his neck, he felt much heavier. Suppressing his anger towards Xie Zhuo, he mumbled, "Thank you, Grandmother."

Lin Yu pulled him aside and said a few more words before getting up to take her leave.

Xie Zhuo escorted Lin Yu to the door, and only after watching Lin Yu's carriage slowly drive away did he lower his eyes to look at Xie Baoqiong:

"What brings you here, Qiong'er?"

Having been interrupted not long ago, Xie Baoqiong heard the sound, looked up at Xie Zhuo's face, and then turned to look at the threshold that was only a step away.

Before his toes could change direction, Xie Zhuo seemed to sense something and grabbed his forearm first: "Hmm? Qiong'er, you have to answer when your elders ask you questions."

"Father, my brother left the manor this morning, and I want to leave too." As the vermilion gate slowly closed in front of him, he hurriedly stated his intention.

After speaking, seeing that Xie Zhuo did not respond for a moment, he tugged at Xie Zhuo's sleeve and offered him a straw cricket stained with ink in a fawning manner.

Xie Zhuo accepted it without hesitation. When he glanced at the prominent black spot on the cricket's abdomen, he chuckled as he gently brushed it with his fingertip.

Seeing Xie Zhuo's appearance, Xie Baoqiong thought everything was fine, since the storybooks said that if you bring a gift to ask someone for a favor, you won't be refused.

"Your brother left the manor this morning to attend a lecture at Minister Zheng's residence." Xie Zhuo's gaze lingered on the ink stain on his fingertips as he spoke softly:

"I didn't know that Qiong'er had become so eager to learn. If Qiong'er wants to attend classes, I would even swallow my pride and ask Grand Secretary Zheng to accept Qiong'er as a student."

Upon hearing this, Xie Baoqiong disregarded Xie Zhuo's misunderstanding and said eagerly, "I just want Father to teach me. I like Father's teaching."

Xie Zhuo's lips curled up slightly, "Did Qiong'er finish practicing calligraphy today?"

"I can practice together tomorrow, Father. I want to leave the manor." Xie Baoqiong caught up with Xie Zhuo, who was walking inside, and bluntly made her request again.

Xie Zhuo's smile vanished just before Xie Baoqiong blocked his way. He pressed his fingertips against Xie Baoqiong's approaching forehead, coughed lightly, and said, "Let's finish what needs to be done today." ①

Seeing that Xie Zhuo did not answer the second half of his sentence, his brows furrowed, but Xie Zhuo pressed his fingers against his forehead and smoothed them out.

"Then could you please stop having people follow me?" Xie Baoqiong said, glancing meaningfully at Sanqi not far away.

"No way." Xie Zhuo answered readily this time, picking up Xie Baoqiong and heading straight for the inner courtyard: "What if Father's Baoqiong gets lost if no one is watching over her?"

Xie Baoqiong was startled by Xie Zhuo's sudden movement. After regaining her senses, she felt extremely uncomfortable, but dared not struggle: "Put me down!"

“But Qiong’er has completely blocked the way in front of Father.” Xie Zhuo looked completely innocent, as if his actions were nothing out of the ordinary.

Xie Baoqiong's cheeks flushed red, whether from shame or anger, she couldn't say a word for a moment.

Xie Zhuo's words were blatant lies. The road to the Marquis's residence was not so crowded that two people could not pass each other. Moreover, the road was very wide, and Xie Zhuo could pass by simply taking a step to the side.

"Alright, stay home quietly for the next few days. Father will take you out to play in a few days."

Xie Zhuo noticed that the person in his arms had stopped breathing at some point, and her face was flushed. He held Xie Baoqiong with one hand and used the other to gently pat her head, coaxing her softly.

...

The crabapple blossoms on the branches burst open from their buds, peeking into the room through the half-open window.

Dew-kissed petals drifted down to the bedside, but the bed's occupant showed no signs of waking beneath the overlapping curtains.

Several footsteps sounded outside, and the door was gently pushed open.

Xie Baoqiong was half-asleep as he was pulled out of bed. The sky outside the window was barely light. He glanced at it, then closed his eyes again and leaned back.

He muttered to himself, "Sixi, it's not even dawn yet."

After waiting a long time without receiving a response from Sixi, just as he was about to fall asleep again, he vaguely heard Xie Zhuo's voice in his drowsy state: "Let him sleep..."

He didn't sleep well. In his half-awake state, Xie Baoqiong could feel a warm handkerchief wiping his face. He was then dressed and wrapped tightly in clothes before being carried to another place.

He half-opened his eyelids, caught a glimpse of a familiar face, and then fell asleep peacefully.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw a brown, carved ceiling and the floor beneath me was swaying slightly.

He moved his body, trying to sit up and look around, only to find that his arms were firmly bound to his sides, and his somewhat confused consciousness instantly cleared.

Using my abdominal muscles and pushing off with my legs, I sat up.

The restraints on his body fell lightly with his movements. He raised his hand and picked up a corner of the fabric. It was soft to the touch and definitely not the kind of material used to bind people.

After casually picking up the cloth, he realized that what was binding him was just a cloak, and that he was currently in a carriage.

As soon as he put down his cloak, a magnified face appeared before him, filled with concern: "Qiong'er, did you have a nightmare?" The voice trailed off as Xie Rongjing thought to himself, "I told you not to wrap Father up so tightly."

"No." Xie Baoqiong curiously looked inside the carriage and asked, "Brother, where are we going?"

"The Royal Hunting Grounds. Didn't Father say a while ago that he would take you out of the manor? It just so happens that it's the Spring Festival, and His Majesty has ordered a spring hunt."

As Xie Rongjing spoke, Xie Baoqiong looked around the carriage but couldn't see Xie Zhuo. She asked in surprise, "Where's Father?"

"Your father is an important official of the court and has a lot to do. I wanted to take you out of the carriage, but I was worried that the wind on the grassland would make you cold, so I went ahead."

As he spoke, Xie Rongjing took out several plates of snacks from a food box beside him: "Eat some first to fill your stomach, then we'll take Qiong'er horseback riding later."

"When will the Spring Festival be held?" Xie Baoqiong asked, picking up a piece of pastry and eating it as she spoke.

The spirits in the mountains also hold festivals, but unfortunately he was a stone at that time and could only hear Su Xiaochun's descriptions of the scenes. He didn't know what festivals in the human world looked like.

"In previous years, the Imperial Advisor would play the role of Jumang, the God of Spring, on the last day of the Spring Search. Why is Qiong'er asking this?"

Xie Baoqiong shook her head, recalling the Imperial Preceptor Lin she had met at the Marquis's residence.

The latter was the only human cultivator he had ever met, and he had recently heard some rumors about Lin Zhechun, who was said to be proficient in divination.

Xie Baoqiong finished glancing at the snacks on the plate under Xie Rongjing's already habitual gaze, and ran out of the carriage.

Just as he was about to lift the curtain, a hand grabbed the back of his collar: "Put on your outer robe first."

Reminded by Xie Rongjing, he looked down at the clothes that had been put on him while he was asleep. Indeed, there was no outer garment, and the color of his clothes was also unclear...

He obediently put on the outer garment that Xie Rongjing handed him, tugged at the begonia pattern on the garment, and then Xie Rongjing smoothed it out.

"Brother, I've never seen these clothes before?" Xie Rongjing held his hand to stop him from rummaging through his clothes, so he could only ask the latter.

"Didn't Qiong'er ask someone to find a peach-pink dress?"

Under Xie Rongjing's sincere gaze, unaware of the truth, his stone-like face inexplicably felt a little uneasy.

"Brother, let's go horseback riding."

Before getting out of the carriage, Xie Rongjing gave a worried reminder: "Although His Majesty will not be present for this spring search, this place is not like the Marquis's residence. We cannot act as casually as we do at home."

"Understood." Xie Baoqiong nodded in agreement.

...

When the two arrived, the others had already begun to ride into the woods.

Xie Rongjing saw his friend's figure in the distance, already galloping into the woods, but he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he led Xie Baoqiong to carefully select a horse.

"Qiong'er, have you ridden any beasts before?" Xie Rongjing led Baoqiong to a brown horse led out by an envoy.

Xie Baoqiong's eyes met the dark eyes of the horse, which were as tall as him and revealed a gentleness deep within. He heard Xie Rongjing's questioning voice in his ear and inexplicably thought of Su Xiaochun carrying his shrunken body through the mountains. In the end, he shook his head: "No."

“Then ride with me.” Xie Rongjing took his hand and stroked the brown horse’s head, saying, “This horse is gentle and won’t throw you off.”

The horse's mane was a bit prickly, but as Xie Rongjing had said, it was gentle and didn't resist being touched. Instead, it gently rubbed against his hand, making it impossible for him to feel any worry or resistance about riding a horse for the first time.

After the attendant secured the quiver, Xie Rongjing mounted his horse and reached out his hand to him, just as he had done in the Marquis's garden.

The young man was tall and slender, and his face, backlit, appeared somewhat blurry in his eyes.

The moment he touched that hand, Xie Baoqiong vaguely understood why he found it hard to dislike Xie Rongjing.

A note from the author:

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Note: ① Quoted from "Today's Poetry"

② "Spring hunt" means hunting in the spring.