Chapter 16 Sweet Flower Soup: She is not Zhu Qing.

Feng Huaihe pretended not to see Zhu Qing's expression of having swallowed a fly, casually walked past her, and leisurely headed for the door.

Zhu Qing's gaze followed him, only to see Feng Huaihe standing calmly at the threshold, raising an eyebrow and turning to look at her: "Aren't you coming?"

His eyes were no longer as unpredictable as before; they had returned to normal, and a faint smile lingered on his lips.

Zhu Qing felt a lump in her throat.

Why would a man change his mind faster than turning the pages of a book? Could it be that Feng Huaihe's sinister appearance, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, was just her imagination?

Zhu Qing took small steps toward Feng Huaihe, thinking to herself: He truly deserves to be called a strategist in this position; he was able to cover up his momentary loss of composure in the blink of an eye.

Amidst her jumbled thoughts, Zhu Qing had already followed Feng Huaihe to the secluded path in the courtyard.

From here you can see the general layout of the courtyard.

Feng Huaihe stood with his hands behind his back, his clear, peach-blossom eyes sweeping over the lush courtyard. "Where do you think would be a good place to plant it?"

Zhu Qing looked at it carefully.

Feng Huaihe quietly took two steps back and observed her from behind.

In the summer, Zhu Qing wore the pale yellow dress he had prepared for her in the side room the day before, her long hair simply tied up, revealing her slender, white neck.

She was slender and graceful, standing amidst the lush greenery of the garden, her hair ribbon fluttering in the wind, her pale yellow dress making her resemble a forsythia blooming in the garden.

She seems... to have belonged here, to him, not to the State of Jin, not to Zhang Yin.

Feng Huaihe's expression darkened. He swallowed hard, took a step closer to her, and reached out his hand.

“I think we should plant it there,” Zhu Qing suddenly said, turning around and bumping right into his outstretched hand. Startled, she almost jumped back abruptly: “What are you doing?!”

Zhu Qing stared at Feng Huaihe warily.

She noticed his dark eyes, like the indistinct gray night sky at dusk, and her heart jumped as she thought of the painting in the dark room.

He wouldn't be unable to win over the girl he likes, so he's using her as a substitute. What is he planning to do?

Zhu Qing immediately frowned in regret. She should have known better than to agree to his request. What she considered a thing that only friends could do together might not be something Feng Huaihe necessarily considered a friend!

Her reaction was as intense as a cat's stress response. Feng Huaihe felt a surge of unyielding anger rising in his chest, stuck there, making him feel suffocated.

Feng Huaihe forcibly suppressed his anger, the veins on his wrist, hidden by his sleeve, bulging, and said calmly, "There are fallen leaves in your hair."

"Really?" Zhu Qing slapped her head haphazardly, but didn't manage to pat anything down. She looked at Feng Huaihe suspiciously. "Why didn't I touch anything?"

Feng Huaihe said expressionlessly, "The wind blew it away."

He stepped closer to the dense bushes: "Where did you say you were going to plant it?"

Zhu Qing pointed to a dead red-leaf tree in the distance: "Dig up this tree and plant it here; it's the most suitable place."

This location is exactly the same as the one in my previous life.

Feng Huaihe couldn't suppress his anger, which was about to burst out of his chest. He clenched his fists tightly: "Why did you choose this place? Zhu Qing, are you also...?"

Feng Huaihe looked intently at Zhu Qing. If she were to return, this should be enough.

However, Zhu Qing looked at him blankly, as if he were an idiot.

Feng Huaihe frowned.

Zhu Qing held back for a moment, but finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Why did we choose this place? Because this tree is dead, so digging it up to replace the flowers is the most suitable. The flowers and plants elsewhere are still growing very well, it would be such a waste to dig them up! You..."

Zhu Qing clutched his stomach and laughed. How could the top leader ask such a stupid question? Wasn't he the chief strategist?

As Zhu Qing was laughing, she suddenly noticed that Feng Huaihe's expression was quite unpleasant.

Something seems off.

Zhu Qing coughed twice, quickly straightened his posture, and said solemnly, "I just think this question is really very insightful. As expected of a leader, even a casual question from you is so research-oriented..."

"You're thinking I'm an idiot, aren't you?" Feng Huaihe said coldly, directly pointing it out.

"..." Since you already knew, why did you say it to embarrass her? Zhu Qing wanted to cry but had no tears. The big boss is really hard to serve!

"Absolutely not! You're the leader, how could I possibly call you an idiot!"

Zhu Qing said seriously, "If you don't like it here, you can choose a place. I'll plant it if you choose one." Just don't stare at her like that without saying a word!

It's creepy...

"This will do," Feng Huaihe said calmly, looking away.

A gentle breeze blew, filling his sleeves with wind that rustled as he gazed at the courtyard ahead, his expression cold and desolate, his eyes empty.

"..."

Looking at him gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle, Zhu Qing thought he looked handsome, but she had a feeling he was about to say, "You are the smoke I inhale into my lungs"...

Zhu Qing could only say that being handsome makes all the difference. If others did this, it would be considered unconventional, but Feng Huaihe doing it is quite interesting.

She followed Feng Huaihe's gaze and carefully examined the vast courtyard of the head secretary.

The scenery of the Secretary's Courtyard is beautiful, with pavilions and towers by the water, winding streams, flowers and trees, and colorful flowers planted on both sides of the path. When the wind blows, they sway back and forth, like tinkling, seven-colored jade stones.

White walls and black tiles, green bricks and gardens.

However, the courtyard was too big. Besides the side rooms and the chief secretary's office, there were also places Zhu Qing had never been before. Standing there, he suddenly felt very small. Moreover, there was not a single person in this huge courtyard except for them.

It was empty and large, so deserted that it had no human presence. The courtyard stood silently, existing in quietude.

Zhu Qing realized that if she wasn't there, Feng Huaihe would be the only person in the courtyard...

Humans are social animals. It's no wonder he developed psychological problems and built that dark room because he lived alone.

Zhu Qing coughed twice and said, "Actually, if you don't have anything to do, you can go out for a walk and talk to people. Besides, the Secretary's Courtyard is so beautiful, why don't you come out and take a look?"

Zhu Qing felt Feng Huaihe stiffen all over.

He stiffly turned his head to the side, looking at her once again with that longing gaze.

Zhu Qing was stunned.

It's as if he's looking at someone through himself.

Looking into Zhu Qing's blank eyes, Feng Huaihe recalled that in her previous life, when she had studied at the Secretary's Academy for a period of time and found that she never went out, she asked him curiously, "The Secretary's Academy is the most beautiful courtyard I have ever seen. Every time I finish school, I like to go for a walk inside."

"But sir, why don't you ever go out and see the world?"

What's so interesting about this? Everything in this world is utterly disgusting.

He was merely a product of the Feng family's obsession, and he grew up under the beatings and humiliations of his elder sister. When he was young, he thought every day about how to make his elder sister like him.

He also thought about how to expand his thatched house every day.

There was no time to see any scenery, and even now, Feng Huaihe cannot fully recall what Qingxi Village looked like. He only remembers the river in front of his house and the Zhu family on the other side of the river.

Gradually, it became a habit; he stopped paying attention to the outside world and couldn't tell what was beautiful or not.

But at that time, Feng Huaihe was too lazy to deal with Zhu Qing. When faced with Zhu Qing's question, he casually said that it was boring and dismissed her.

Zhu Qing knew he was just giving her a perfunctory answer, and feeling a little embarrassed, she never asked again.

Now Zhu Qing asked again, and with the intention of mending those regrets, Feng Huaihe recounted the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qing felt a mix of emotions, and she thought of her past life.

In fact, she was busy making a living and traveling around. Like Feng Huaihe, she didn't pay much attention to the outside world. Her way of traveling was to see other people's travels on social media.

If she hadn't transmigrated here, she wouldn't have known that the leaves and grass were so green, and that the wildflowers were so beautiful and full of life.

Zhu Qing took a breath and smiled, "It's okay, you're only twenty-one, you'll have plenty of time to see." Of course, she also had her chance.

Zhu Qing then changed the subject, asking, "Where are the forsythia seeds?"

"We won't plant now."

"Not planting? Then when will you plant?"

Feng Huaihe thought for a moment, "Let's wait until your next day off. Three days later, you can come to the Secretariat and plant together."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qing was speechless. Why did they have to take up her day off?!

Indeed, whether in modern or ancient times, leaders are just as evil.

Seeing her displeasure, Feng Huaihe pursed his lips and asked, "What, do you want to back out?"

"No, not at all..." Zhu Qing dared not tell the truth, and only asked, "What about the sweet flower soup?"

"Cook it now."

Unable to glean any information from this matter, Feng Huaihe decided to put it aside for the time being and led Zhu Qing to the small kitchen.

Walking along the tree-lined path, Zhu Qing finally had a chance to ask Feng Huaihe, "How is my third brother?"

“He was busy until very late last night, and I have arranged for him to stay in the men’s quarters. He’s probably still sleeping now.”

Zhu Qing didn't say anything more. When she arrived at the small kitchen, she was faced with a room full of kitchen utensils and felt a little troubled.

She really didn't know how to make sweet flower soup.

Zhu Qing thought about it carefully, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: perhaps the sweet flower soup mentioned by the ancients was just egg soup?

Zhu Qing thought he was extremely clever, so he found two eggs and started working.

Feng Huaihe brought a small stool and sat down to the side, telling her to call if she needed anything.

It was just a bowl of egg drop soup, which Zhu Qing handled with ease, requiring no help at all. While busy with her hands, she said, "You just said that your eldest sister deliberately took you away and raised you. What happened after that? Did you go back to the Feng family to look for your parents?"

Feng Huaihe said, "No."

Because he refused to go back, he was punished by Taoist Jingwan, and his knees still hurt.

Zhu Qing, holding a spoon and staring at the boiling water in the pot, said, "So you've always lived alone? Because of your elder sister, you don't trust anyone, and that's why you don't allow anyone into the head secretary's office?"

Feng Huaihe silently acquiesced.

Zhu Qing sighed inwardly. Why was she just like her, a bitter gourd?

Zhu Qing cracked the eggs into the pan and said, "Actually, I had a dream before. In the dream, my experience was the same as yours. It's just that there were restrictions in that place in the dream, and I couldn't kill people at will, so I survived."

"But it was also torture. Sometimes I thought, it would have been better if they had just killed me. Later, they actually killed me for the sake of their son, but then I felt terrible."

Feng Huaihe was slightly taken aback. He suddenly realized that, whether in his past life or this one, this was the first time Zhu Qing had told him about herself.

He listened quietly.

Zhu Qing said, "In that dream, it is mostly daughters who suffer. If they give birth to a man like you, he will surely have everything. He will not have to work hard because his parents have built the country for him. On the contrary, daughters can only struggle on their own, busy making a living. If they are unfortunate, they will be bitten back and have their blood cut to feed them."

Zhu Qing finished cooking, ladled out the soup, and placed it on the table in the outer courtyard of the small kitchen: "It's rare to see someone like you, suffering from the backlash of your obsession with having a child."

Feng Huaihe followed her out, and looking at the bowl of soup, his heart suddenly felt heavy: "So in your dream, you cut your own blood to feed them?"

"Just a little bit," Zhu Qing said with a smile. "But it's nothing, it was just a dream. I'm awake now, aren't I? After I woke up, I still have my three loving older brothers, my sister-in-law, and my little niece."

"When I went to see you this morning, you seemed to wake up from a nightmare, so you dreamed about this?"

Zhu Qing let out a sound.

Feng Huaihe's words lifted my spirits, which had been heavy.

This morning's nightmare was about being caught by Feng Huaihe and threatened with being slowly sliced ​​to death...

Zhu Qing shuddered, realizing she had talked too much to him and needed to stay clear-headed and keep her distance.

Seeing her reaction, Feng Huaihe took it as a fact that he had guessed correctly.

He picked up the soup bowl, blew on it, and took a sip.

It's a bit strange. It's not sweet and there are no flowers in it, so why is it called Sweet Flower Soup?

Feng Huaihe looked at it carefully, and it was completely different from the one in his previous life. He realized something and said, "Is this egg drop soup?" It's not sweet egg drop soup.

Zhu Qing nodded: "I really don't know how to cook that sweet flower soup."

Feng Huaihe stared at the bowl of soup, in which tiny pieces of egg white floated like flowers, and he fell into deep thought.

He deliberately said, "That's true. You never liked sweets before, so naturally you wouldn't cook something you don't like."

Zhu Qing wondered, did the original owner not like sweets? Strangely, many of the original owner's habits in her memories, just like her relationship with Feng Huaihe, had been erased.

Regardless, just go along with it. Zhu Qing nodded: "Yes, yes."

Feng Huaihe put down the soup bowl, and just then a breeze blew, knocking a leaf off and into the bowl.

In her past life, Zhu Qing clearly loved sweets.

Zhu Qing, as expected, has been exposed.

However, a person's cooking skills will not change just because of rebirth. Zhu Qing wanted to conceal her rebirth, so logically she wouldn't hide the recipe for sweet flower soup.

Because if you hide it too much, it will seem suspicious. If you suddenly can't do something you've always known, wouldn't that make people suspicious?

So it's true that she can't cook sweet flower soup.

Zhu Qing from her past life, however, was certain of it.

This only proves that the person in front of you is not Zhu Qing at all.

In this way, everything makes sense.

Poor thing, he thought Zhu Qing had returned...

Feng Huaihe's face was gloomy as he approached Zhu Qing step by step. When Zhu Qing met his heavy, mountain-like gaze, she suddenly felt as if the air had frozen. She shuddered and involuntarily took a step back.

Suddenly, her back pressed against a hard tree trunk. Zhu Qing had nowhere to retreat. Seeing that Feng Huaihe was still approaching, she thought to herself, "Could this shady guy really be using her as a substitute? Did he get so drunk on her soup that he's lost his mind and is now thinking of using her as a substitute for Yingchunhua?"

Zhu Qing hurriedly reached out to cover her chest, anxiously saying, "You, you, don't come any closer!!"

Feng Huaihe grabbed her wrist, his eyes sharp: "Who are you?"