Chapter 20 Hepumeixi

In the first year of Guangde, the year when the An-Shi Rebellion ended, her grandfather and father achieved immortal feats in the final decisive battle, but her father was also seriously injured and fell into a coma near death.

Upon hearing the tragic news, the mother rushed to the front despite being pregnant. In the end, under her careful care, the father miraculously came back to life, but her unborn child also died.

Qiandeng looked at the two collars, and mist welled up in his eyes.

She knew that her mother's maiden name was Hepu, and she must have been full of joy at that time when she customized this necklace full of small lotus pods to welcome the arrival of the little life in her belly.

But in the end her hopes were dashed, so the collar was put aside. Qiandeng had no memory of it afterwards, and it must have been sealed in the warehouse and never taken out again.

Qian Deng pondered this, pointed at the plum-shaped necklace, and asked, "Is this a gift for Madam Dingxiang?"

Aunt Yingluo was in charge of the mansion's finances and had a particularly deep memory of the gold and silver utensils. "That's right. I accompanied Madam to the goldsmith shop at the time. Madam decided on the design and we had them made together. Later, when Madam lost her child, she stroked the necklaces and cried, saying that she and her cousin had grown up together and thought lotus pods and plums would bear abundant fruit, but who would have thought that even the child would be gone..."

Qiandeng looked at the green plums as big as beans on Meizhi's necklace and was surprised. It turned out that Lady Dingxiang also had a child?

Aunt Xuanji couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder Madam kept these necklaces away and didn't take them out for you to wear after the County Princess was born."

After all, it was really sad that both children were not born as they wished.

Qiandeng sighed silently and asked Aunt Yingluo to seal them up.

The people in the mansion continued to work. Qian Deng compared the newly made album with Li Zi again. After confirming that the only missing piece was the painting of Nine Golden Flowers, he saw Li Zi yawn slightly and said to him, "Thank you for today, young master. It's getting late. I'll have someone take you back to the mansion to rest."

As she spoke, she took a small ball woven with pearls and colorful tassels from the cabinet beside her, tied it around his waist with a silk thread, and shook the small golden bell hanging from it. She smiled and said, "This is a thank you gift. I'll give it to you to play with."

The pearl tassels were bright and brilliant, and the golden bells hanging from the ball rang crisply. Li Zi liked it very much and smiled brightly at Qian Deng: "Thank you, Sister County Master. Come to me next time if you need anything. I will come right away!"

This child is so smart and cute at such a young age. What will the girls in Chang'an do when he grows up?

"When the young master grows up, the number of ladies in Chang'an who will fall in love with him will probably not be inferior to Cui Shaoqing."

Aunt Xuanji and Qiandeng saw Li Zi off to the carriage. As they watched the carriage leave, they smiled at Qiandeng.

Qian Deng thought of Cui Fufeng's brilliant appearance and nodded with a smile, saying, "Yes, he must be the most outstanding young man in Chang'an, just like Cui Shaoqing."

"Shaoqing Cui is truly the most outstanding young man in the capital. Today is the Winter Solstice, and Shaoqing Cui has returned home. The Cui family must be filled with talented people again." Aunt Xuanji smiled broadly and asked tentatively, "County Lady, Her Royal Highness the Queen has asked you to decide on the chief priest as soon as possible. I wonder if you have any plans in mind?"

Qiandeng naturally knew what she was thinking - in her aunt's heart, her county lady should be matched with the best man in the world.

She pursed her lips and didn't answer, so Aunt Xuanji could only sigh and stop asking.

The two of them walked back along the corridor and saw several young men coming towards them.

Xue Xiyang was the first to come forward, his usual dashing demeanor masked by a frown between his brows; Ji Linyou rolled up his sleeves and raised his brows, grabbing Yang Huaijiang angrily; Yang Huaijiang tugged at his clothes, appearing aggressive but actually cowardly; Shangluo curled his lips and sneered, gloating; only Shi Jingning, who came from the kitchen, holding a lunch box, looked at them with a bewildered expression, not knowing what had happened.

Upon seeing Qiandeng, Shangluo jumped out first, pointing at Yang Huaijiang and shouting, "County Lady, you must be on guard against this bastard. Don't touch his things!"

Qian Deng raised her eyebrows slightly, remembering the set of jewelry Yang Huaijiang shamelessly tried to force on her: "Why?"

Everyone looked at Xue Xiyang. He suppressed his anger and bowed to Qiandeng, saying, "Xiyang was in Pingkangfang today and heard someone telling a joke. It was related to the husband of the county lady, so I listened in..."

A joke in Pingkangfang.

Qiandeng's gaze immediately fell on Yang Huaijiang.

He was not ashamed at all, brushing off his sleeves as if nothing had happened: "Why, are all the gentlemen so pure and abstaining from desire, never visiting the land of pleasure?"

"Shameless! Disgusting!" Shangluo blurted out in disgust.

"Little brat, what do you know!" He turned his gaze to Qiandeng and showed another obscene smile, "But please rest assured, County Lady, after we get married, I won't let you stay alone in an empty bed..."

Ji Linyou was a rebellious person, and when he heard this he raised his hand to hit him.

"Brother Ji, don't be impulsive. The county lady will punish him." Xue Xiyang raised his hand to stop him, saying, "We are both candidates. We can't fight privately and make a fool of ourselves."

Ji Linyou thought of the commotion in the streets and could only snort and withdrew in disappointment.

Shangluo raised his hand and nudged Shi Jingning, whose face was slightly blue. He moved closer to him and asked in a low voice, "Brother Jingning, don't you think this bastard is too abominable?"

Shi Jingning pursed his lips and remained silent.

Qian Deng ignored Yang Huaijiang and only asked Xue Xiyang, "I wonder what the joke Xue Lecheng was talking about is about?"

Xue Xiyang said, "I heard that some girls in Pingkangfang who lack talent and are plain-looking would hide drugs in their jewelry to keep their patrons. I heard that after the patrons touch them, they will feel itchy and come back every now and then..."

At this point, he glanced at Yang Huaijiang with a half-smile. "Originally, this was a method used by prostitutes in the market. However, I heard that someone actually brought a very gorgeous silver flower tree yesterday and asked a Miao woman to give the person the strongest drug, making sure that the other person had nowhere to escape. Now everyone is laughing at them, saying that they are so impatient and desperate!"

Even though Yang Huaijiang was thick-skinned, his face couldn't help but turn red at this moment.

"Lord Yang did leave behind a set of jewelry, but I've asked my aunt to return it." Qian Deng had long known that there must be something fishy about him forcing jewelry on her without any reason. Now, hearing of such a dirty trick, her expression became stern. "Today, I want to inform you all that, while you are all candidates for my fiancé, the final candidate has not been decided. Gentlemen, please don't bother playing tricks, and don't give me any gifts. I will definitely not accept them. Lord Yang, please go back as soon as possible and ask my aunt to count the jewelry."

Yang Huaijiang snorted coldly, turned around and left in embarrassment under the mocking gazes of everyone.

Ji Linyou was still angry and shook his fist at Yang Huaijiang's back.

Shangluo then asked what he was most concerned about: "County Lady, did you touch that thing Yang Huaijiang had? Did you get infected with the insect drug?"

Qiandeng raised his hand to look at the hand that had just picked up the silver flower tree. There seemed to be nothing unusual, but he didn't know if it was a psychological effect, he always felt uncomfortable.

"It's okay. Talk about supernatural powers may not be credible." Having said that, she still went to the nearby ditch to wash her hands to avoid being contaminated by bad luck.