Chapter 60 If these words had been said before, it would have been…

Was it raining that hard?

Ji Jinghe felt a sharp pain in his chest and took another deep gulp of wine.

When did she ever give me orchids?

Cui Hu raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this what I'm asking you?"

Ji Jinghe looked at him, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"Look how indifferent you were to them back then, you don't even remember this."

He couldn't hear Cui Hu's teasing voice. Leaning back in his chair, he turned to look out the window and realized that a light rain had started to fall.

"Did you know her back then?" he asked.

Cui Hu: "I know her. She introduced herself and said that she was the only daughter in the Chu family. I immediately thought it could only be her."

"Didn't you come to see me the night before the wedding? She came to see me a few days later. Even though it was after the wedding, she still acts like a child."

"You're right, stubborn, just too stubborn."

“If he wasn’t stubborn, he wouldn’t be Chu Yu’an.” Ji Jinghe laughed out loud, but his voice was filled with desolation.

The light rain fell on and off for a long time, and the sky was gloomy, making everyone who looked at it feel unhappy.

Ji Jinghe thought for a long time before he remembered that he had given Zhang Yanche a pot of orchids before. He vaguely heard that it was sent by Banmuyuan.

Zhang Yanche was in a hurry, and he finally finished his shift at the government office, but Ji Jinghe was urging him on from the side.

"This is what I had my servants find. It's white porcelain, definitely what you wanted."

Ji Jinghe: "Where are the orchids?"

Zhang Yanche was taken aback: "It died long ago. The orchid withered and died less than half a year after it was brought to my house."

Speaking of this, Zhang Yanche immediately became interested.

"Do you have such a skilled gardener in your household? Why don't you teach my servants? Or did you cultivate them yourself?"

Ji Jinghe picked up the flowerpot and examined it, then placed it at his feet. "None of them."

"Neither?"

Zhang Yanche asked in bewilderment, "Then... then why do you want it back now? You were so generous when you gave it to me, why are you reluctant to part with it now?"

"Um."

He replied very softly, making Zhang Yanche feel as if he were in a daze.

No one knew what was wrong with him, but Qingque discovered that after her master returned from Tantuo Temple, he had fallen in love with growing flowers and neglected his official duties all day long. No matter how urgent the matter was from the government office, it seemed that nothing was more important than a pot of gardenias in his study.

After visiting Tanzhe Temple every day, I would go to the flower market to learn from the florists, and this continued for a whole month.

With frequent autumn rains, my whole body always feels damp.

When I woke up in the morning, the ground was still wet. When I opened the gate, I found that the entire path was covered with flowers.

Where did it come from?

Baozhu was unaware of the situation and only found out that Ji Jinghe had done it when she went to the kitchen to get her food.

What's he up to now?

"To please the girl, the old man filled the entire temple with flowers, so even if she was angry, she couldn't say anything."

Baozhu combed Yu'an's hair, "But after looking at them, I still think the flowers here on our path are the best."

"The young lady probably doesn't know that ever since the old man came last time, Li San has moved his stall to another location."

Yuan:......

Because of Ji Jinghe's actions, the temple's incense offerings unexpectedly increased. People in the neighborhood had never seen so many beautiful flowers before, so they would come in to burn incense and admire them when they had nothing else to do.

The monks in the temple also have a love of beauty and take exceptional care of the flowers.

After Yu An finished her work as usual, carrying an umbrella, she met Ji Jinghe, who was leading a horse, at the foot of the mountain.

Faced with someone who was like a persistent ghost, impossible to drive away, Yu An didn't want to look at them even once.

"From now on, I will come here every day to wait for you."

Yuan:......

"It's been raining a lot lately, so remember not only to bring an umbrella, but also to add layers of clothing as needed."

Yuan:......

"I saw a lot of people giving you flowers the other day, so I picked out some pretty ones at the flower market. I wonder if you'll like them..."

“Ji Jinghe,” she interrupted coldly.

"Did you ask Li San to move the stall?"

He was honest and didn't lie, so he said "yes".

Yu'an: "Do you know that Li San has an elderly mother who is frail and sickly and needs to see a doctor all the time? You asked someone to move the stall so far away. If business is bad and there is no income, how will he pay for his mother's medical treatment?"

“I gave him money, enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.”

"You mean, he also benefited from your help?" she retorted sharply.

Ji Jinghe realized he had made a mistake and instinctively reached out to grab her hand. "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant."

"Your Excellency, you must have a lot of free time."

Yu An strode forward and forcefully left Ji Jinghe, who was leading the horse, far behind.

It's unclear whether Ji Jinghe deliberately didn't chase after them, or if he genuinely couldn't catch up.

After lunch, Yu'an went to the Buddhist hall to copy Buddhist scriptures as usual, but unexpectedly Ji Jinghe had not left.

He held a pot of gardenias in his hand and handed it to her.

Yu An didn't even glance at her and walked away.

When I came back in the afternoon, I saw that the potted plant had been placed at the front door.

Just as Baozhu was about to bend down to move it, she stopped her.

"Just leave it here, don't worry about it."

Baozhu: "It's such a waste to leave such a beautiful plant outside unattended."

"It's not ours, so even if it's a pity, it shouldn't be our pity."

Ji Jinghe still came every day and followed her around all the time. At first, Yu An would say a few words, but later she got too lazy to do so. The people in the neighborhood got used to seeing the two of them walking one after the other, and no one asked them what their relationship was anymore.

"You're just letting your man follow you like this? So many days have passed, and you still haven't softened?" the old woman at the village entrance asked.

Yu An picked through the vegetables at the stall, her face expressionless: "Auntie, we're divorced. Why should we care about people who have no relation to us?"

"You two fight in bed and make up in bed, you're just being stubborn."

The old woman prided herself on understanding the ways of husband and wife, but Yu'an knew that their relationship could not be summarized in such a simple sentence.

At night, a sudden downpour struck, rattling the windows.

"This rain is really heavy. It would be best if it stopped by tomorrow morning, otherwise how will the young lady get up the mountain?"

Yu'an was also worried. The mountain paths were all made of stone, and if the rain continued, it would be a real problem for her.

I listened to the rain all night, and when I woke up in the morning it was still drizzling a little, but thankfully it had lessened considerably.

The journey took a long time. When Yu'an returned, Ji Jinghe was standing at the entrance of the alley, holding an umbrella and carrying the pot of gardenias. Unfortunately, the flowers had been badly damaged by the wind and rain.

"The flower is dead."

He stared intently at her and suddenly blurted out a sentence.

That's your own fault.

From noticing the mud splattered on his clothes, she turned her gaze to the flowerpot in his hand and recognized it as her own.

"Since Your Excellency is wealthy, why not just buy another one?"

When she spoke again, Yu An noticed that Ji Jinghe's clothes were wet.

They must have come on horseback in the rain.

"If you have nothing else to do, please go back. Don't stay here all day. This is a temple, not some other place."

"What I care about is not the flowers, what I care about is you."

She spoke these words in one breath, without the slightest pause, and listened as they flowed naturally from his calm gaze.

If she had said those words before, how wonderful it would have been, but she's not the same person she used to be.

She turned to leave, but Ji Jinghe quickly said, "Tomorrow I want to take you somewhere and talk to you about something."

"I have nothing to say to you..."

"Very important..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yu-an went inside and closed the door.

What a load of nonsense, it's incomprehensible.

During this time, Yu'an realized how stubborn Ji Jinghe was. He followed her around every day without fail, probably because the imperial court kept calling for him, which is why he disappeared.

After the rain stopped, the sky cleared, and Yu'an and Baozhu were washing clothes in the courtyard when a young novice monk suddenly ran over, followed by an old woman from the village entrance who often talked to her.

"Madam Chu, could you lend me your carriage? Liu Dajia's wife is about to give birth and is writhing on the ground in pain, but the village midwife has gone to town. We need to find her quickly, or something bad will happen."

"It's in the backyard... Should we go with them?" Yu'an asked.

"Let's go, let's go, Liu Da is the only man in his family, we can't rely on him..."

Yu'an readily agreed, and together with Baozhu, they dropped the clothes they were washing and ran off quickly.

The town is neither too big nor too small. If it weren't for the fact that everyone there was a long-time acquaintance, the old lady wouldn't have been able to find a midwife for a while.

The four of them hurriedly drove there. When they arrived, Liu Da's wife was already crying uncontrollably. Her heart-wrenching cries could be heard even from the gate of the courtyard.

"Your aunt and I will go inside. You two, Mrs. Chu, go to the kitchen and boil two more pots of water. Once they're boiled, bring them in. Have Liu Da chop some firewood for you..."

The urgent matter was so pressing that even the instructions were given hastily upon getting out of the car.

Yu'an and Baozhu overheard some of it and could only hurry up and get to work.

Liu Da's wife gave birth for a whole day, and they were busy all day long. In addition, the ground was damp and hot, so they didn't get a break until a sharp and clear cry rang out, and then everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The old woman glanced at the sky and advised, "It's close to Jiuwan Mountain, so after you've struck the bell, don't go back. Stay here for the night."

"Liu Da has already gone to town to buy pork, so my wife can stay and do us the honor of being here and have some fun together."

Yu An: "It's up to you whether you give me face or not. I'll come back later."

It's getting dark, so let's focus on Yu'an's matter first.

Jewelry stayed behind to help, and Yu-an returned home when the meals were ready.

"Among us, the lady is the most learned. Why don't we ask her to name the child? She'll be the first benefactor after the child's birth," Liu said, raising his wine cup.

Seeing Yu'an wave her hand shyly, and with the midwife and the old woman urging her on, Yu'an finally agreed.

Liu's kang (heated brick bed) was spacious. After Yu'an got up early and rang the bell, he then took a car back to the temple.

"My lady is finally back. The master has been waiting for you at the gate all night," the young monk said, bringing in the food.

Yu'an frowned, and then heard the novice monk say, "It drizzled for a little while last night. The master on night watch said that the master didn't leave until after dawn."

Baozhu: "Why is the old man waiting for the young lady?"

Yu An shook her head. "Who knows?"

The two continued washing the clothes that hadn't been finished. After copying Buddhist scriptures for a while, Ji Shu arrived.

“Perfect timing. We’re going to weave bamboo baskets for the people in the temple. You must have never seen them before. Let me show you today.”

Yu'an learned it from the old monks.

Ji Shu sat down on the stone stool next to her. "Great! Perfect, let me learn a thing or two from you."

The two didn't talk much. Ji Shu was busy teasing her brother, while Yu An just listened for fun and never took it to heart.

As they were talking, the novice monk brought in another person—

Pei Chengyu.

Ji Shu couldn't help but sigh, silently grumbling to herself for a long time.

Yu An asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Pei Chengyu looked slightly awkward. "Oh, I was just passing by and thought I'd drop by to see you."

"You think you can just pass by such a remote place? Young Master Pei, don't talk nonsense, or you'll get struck by lightning."

Ji Shu didn't know anything else, but she just couldn't stand him and her words were like gunpowder.

Yu An smiled awkwardly and hurriedly asked Bao Zhu to serve tea, saying, "I don't have much to offer you, please don't mind."

Pei Chengyu waved his hand, "No need, I won't sit. I just came to tell you that the Xia family has completely fallen, and the Xia father and son have been beheaded."

"Oh, I know that. Ji Shu just told me." Yu An knew he was feeling guilty, so she didn't say anything.

It can only be said that the Pei family was clean-cut. Even with Luo Qian, who laid everything bare, they were not caught with any dirt on him. They were able to bring down the Xia family and escape unscathed, thus securing a good reputation for themselves.

Pei Chengyu was well aware of his family's sordid affairs, otherwise he wouldn't have acted this way in front of her.

"Do you have anything else to send to Jiangling? I can help you..."

A hand rested lightly on Yu'an's arm, and just as it was about to take a step forward, Yu'an looked away and dodged.

"No."

Before she could say anything more, she heard Ji Shu call out, "Brother!"

Yu An glanced over and saw Ji Jinghe standing at the door.

Their eyes met, and her gaze remained calm and even, but when she turned to look at Pei Chengyu, it suddenly darkened.

Knowing that his arrival meant no good, Yu'an turned back to her original seat and continued with her work.

Ji Shu waved: "Brother, what a coincidence! Young Master Pei just arrived, and you're here too. Come in and have a cup of tea before you leave."

Ji Jinghe walked in slowly. Pei Chengyu knew about the two of them, but seeing Yu An's expression, he still felt it was inappropriate to stay.

"I came here today to see if you are alright. Since that's the case, I'll be leaving now."

Pei Chengyu nodded slightly to Yu An, then turned and left.

Just a few moments later, Ji Jinghe also turned and left.

Ji Shu was about to call out, but remembering her brother's appearance just now, she swallowed the words back.

Looking at Yu'an again, the courtyard quieted down, as if she had also breathed a sigh of relief.

...

Turning a corner, Pei Chengyu noticed someone following him, so he turned around and went to the backyard.

The monks were all meditating and chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall, leaving only the two of them in the backyard.

"Is there something you need, Lord Ji?"

Ji Jinghe remained silent, met his gaze, and said in a deep voice, "Young Marquis Pei seems to take special care of my wife. She has indeed helped a lot over the past year. Young Marquis, you have really gone to great lengths."

Pei Chengyu sneered: "I dare not accept such praise. The bond between Yu'an and me, which we have known since childhood, is something that no one else can compare to. It was just a small favor, nothing to mention."

Ji Jinghe lowered his eyes: "Even the deepest friendships will come to an end one day. That's what the young marquis thinks, but Master Pei doesn't seem to think so."

"When the Chu family got into trouble, was your Pei family completely innocent?"