Chapter 36 World II (XII)

Miss Deng spent the whole night catching fireflies by the river. She forced her eyelids to stay open, holding a square-sized cloth bag in her hand, and caught the glowing little insects. By daybreak, she had only caught fifty or sixty.

The guard took the fireflies and looked at Miss Deng, who was bitten by mosquitoes and looked sleepy and miserable, without any emotion.

"We still need forty-six. Miss Deng, remember to catch enough tonight."

Miss Deng returned to the courtyard with a sullen face. On the way, she scolded the guards, blaming them for being unreasonable. When she arrived at the courtyard, she called Jinxiu and questioned her carefully.

"You gave the fireflies to Yuwen Xuan. What did he say?"

Miss Deng looked at Jinxiu with suspicion, thinking to herself, maybe Jinxiu said something she shouldn't have said, which annoyed Yuwen Xuan, so he came up with this annoying method and asked her to catch fireflies.

Jinxiu's little face was full of fear and she knelt on the ground in a hurry.

"I didn't, maybe..."

Jinxiu looked hesitant and stammered.

"Perhaps these fireflies are like a woman's purse; only by personally tending to them can one be considered considerate. Your Highness's action is not because he dislikes the use of fireflies for lighting..."

Miss Deng seemed to be lost in thought.

Seeing this, Hua Qing beside her thought to herself that a dull girl like Jinxiu would never be able to figure out her master's thoughts. For a moment, she couldn't help feeling anxious, fearing that her seat next to Miss Deng would be taken by someone else, so she also spoke up and made a suggestion.

"Why don't you catch more, girl? Catching fireflies by hand can better show your feelings. Catching more can also show that you are thoughtful."

Miss Deng thought about it carefully and felt that what Hua Qing said made sense.

Hua Qing walked out of the yard and saw Jinxiu, so she walked to her side. Thinking of Jinxiu's helpless and flustered look just now, she burst out laughing.

“It’s true that after being with Bao Shan for so long, my courage has become as small as a sesame seed.

I just asked a question, but you got so scared that you knelt on the ground and didn't even dare to raise your head. Miss Deng is not..."

She wanted to say that Miss Deng was not Yuwen Xuan, who could decide her life or death with just a flicker of joy or anger.

But thinking of Yuwen Xuan's majesty, he was afraid that his words would fall into the ears of the prince and he would be in trouble, so he hurriedly skipped over the words.

"Miss Deng isn't a man-eating beast, why are you so afraid?"

Hua Qing's words revealed her familiarity with Miss Deng.

Jinxiu glanced at her lightly, remembering the juice she had splashed in the grass by the river, which attracted mosquitoes the most.

When Miss Deng called her over to question her just now, there were mottled red marks on her palms and grass leaves hanging in her hair. It seemed that she was not at ease in catching fireflies, and there was a faint smile on her face.

"Hua Qing, you are naturally the wonderful person beside Miss Deng——"

Hua Qing held her head high, looking as if to say, "Of course."

"I think Miss Deng will definitely take you with her when she goes to catch the remaining forty-six fireflies tonight."

Hua Qing's face froze slightly. This was indeed possible. Although Miss Deng's anger had subsided, she couldn't stand hardship, so she naturally had to take a maid with her. Of those chosen personal maids, eight out of ten would be her. Hua Qing didn't bother arguing with Jinxiu. She hurried to the palace doctor in a panic. She needed some herbal remedies to repel mosquitoes. She didn't want to end up like Miss Deng, bitten by mosquitoes.

Hua Qing returned to her residence and looked at the slender waist, which was wrapped in the crimson dress, making her look even more fragile. The slender waist was swaying in front of her eyes.

The owner of the slender waist was holding freshly washed clothes in her hands and was about to put them on a long rope to dry.

Her soft hands smoothed out all the wrinkles on the clothes and gently patted the water droplets on them.

Baoshan heard footsteps and looked back, her eyebrows curved into a gentle smile. Huaqing saw this and her body became even stiffer. Baoshan was wearing a crimson dress with no extra embroidery.

Only the two cuffs were tied up like a bunch of flowers and tied with two small bows.

Because she had just washed clothes, there were inevitably water droplets on her body, which soaked her chest and slender waist.

The crimson color is infused with water, becoming darker and more gorgeous, with a unique look.

Such a beauty is only confined to a small corner of the courtyard. It makes people sigh and lament that such a beautiful woman is like a pearl thrown into the dark. It is really sad and lamentable that no one comes to appreciate her.

Hua Qing turned around and checked, confirming that there was no one else around, and felt a little relieved.

Looking at the beautiful color of the treasure fan again, the jealous feeling just now disappeared.

Even though she is as beautiful as the stars in the sky, she can only stay in the sand now.

Hua Qing walked closer and realized that the clothes hanging on the long rope didn't look like those worn by women. Whose dark gold robe did this man wear?

When Baoshan heard this, her cheeks flushed. She thought that it was something that someone else didn't want, so she gave it to her.

Hua Qing secretly scoffed at her petty nature, even picking up other people's clothes.

Looking at the clothes again, they were intact and didn't look like they had been discarded. Hua Qing looked at the treasure fan and had a guess in her mind: servants like them couldn't leave the palace. The treasure fan, a men's clothing, could only have been obtained from within the palace.

It must be a guard or servant who was distracted by Baoshan's frail appearance and brought the underwear over.

But Baoshan is also a fool. She dares to accept the man's clothes, and is not afraid that the man will slander Baoshan and him for having an affair in private. The two of them are secretly in love, and she went to Yuwen Xuan and asked for Baoshan.

Hua Qing looked at Bao Shan's ignorant face and didn't have the kindness to remind her.

Hua Qing walked into the house, sat on the bed and smelled the fragrance that filled the room. Then she vaguely remembered that she hadn't smelled the bitter taste of yellow soup for several days.

She stood up hurriedly, looked at the treasure fan from afar, and spoke with surprise.

"Why don't you drink the yellow soup?"

Bao Shan's voice was soft and delicate, and she looked puzzled. "I'm well now, so I don't need the Huang Tang anymore."

Hua Qing felt as if she had been struck by lightning. These past few days, she had been concentrating on staying around Miss Deng, coming up with thousands of ways to coax her, but she had never imagined that she had forgotten about the treasure fan.

Hua Qing laughed dryly and asked curiously, "Now that you're feeling better, have you told Miss Deng? You..."

Do you want to go back to Miss Deng?

Bao Shan looked hesitant, with a look of confusion in his eyes. It was not until he saw that Hua Qing had lost her composure and looked so anxious that her nails were pinched off that he spoke slowly.

"The prince asked me to take care of the Changming Sword, so I won't be with Miss Deng anymore."

She lowered her crow feathers slightly, thinking of what she had seen in her dream. Being around Miss Deng meant trouble and danger. She didn't want to be with Miss Deng and bear the anger and schemes of others for her.

Hua Qing's heart rose high and then fell heavily.

She was naturally happy to learn that Baoshan was no longer serving Miss Deng. However, Yuwen Xuan wanted her to serve Changming Sword instead...

Hua Qing's mind raced through things related to the Changming Sword. She only remembered that it was a sword filled with evil and resentment. Even grown men would be afraid of it, let alone Baoshan, a delicate little girl.

It seems that taking care of the Changming Sword would not be a good place.

Baoshan looked uneasy, and her voice was thin and soft, full of worry.

"It's just that the Changming Sword has always been by the prince's side, and everyone says that it has the same temperament as the prince.

I looked at the prince, and my heart was filled with anxiety. What if he saw the Changming Sword and was like this? What should I do?

You are still the best, Sister Hua Qing. Being able to stay by Miss Deng’s side will not only make you feel valued, but you will also receive rewards…”

Hua Qing couldn't hide the joy on her face, but she suppressed it forcefully.

When she heard Bao Shan's words, she naturally agreed with them in her heart. She knew clearly which was better, serving a sword or serving a person.

But judging from Bao Shan's expression, he might be feeling timid and want to give up the Changming Sword and go to Miss Deng to beg for mercy.

This won’t do!

Hua Qing tried to persuade him again and took out a jade token for praying for peace and gave it to Bao Shan, saying that the jade token could ward off evil spirits.

If Bao Shan takes this jade token to take care of the Changming Sword, it is guaranteed to be intact.

Baoshan touched the jade token in his hand, and under Hua Qing's expectant gaze, he timidly responded "yes".

This jade token feels warm to the touch. If it were exchanged for silver, it would probably fetch a lot of money.

When Jinxiu learned about this, she also felt that the Changming Sword was intimidating. However, unlike Hua Qing, she also felt that being around Miss Deng was not a good place to be.

Jinxiu stood behind Baoshan, holding her three thousand strands of black hair in her hand. It was as white as black jade, so eye-catching that people couldn't take their eyes off it.

Baoshan's face was reflected in the diamond-shaped mirror. The indigo painted between her thin eyebrows made her eyebrows look even more slender and her eyes more charming.

"That day, Miss Deng only called Hua Qing, and the two of them went to the river to catch fireflies.

Although only forty-six were missing, they caught more than seventy and gave them all to the prince."

Baoshan knew about this. Hua Qing's eyes were full of fatigue that day. She cared so much about her reputation, but she didn't even have time to take off her dress and fell asleep wrapped in a quilt.

“Although Miss Deng is very clever, she is still concerned about the prince’s hidden illness and has even asked a doctor to teach him massage techniques.

The prince allowed the doctor in, perhaps because he thought the treatment was effective, or because he thought Miss Deng had good intentions, and he rewarded her with something."

Jinxiu tied up her long black hair and pinned a plain lotus hairpin on Baoshan. She was meaningful, but because she was concerned about Baoshan's reputation, she couldn't say it directly and could only hint at it.

"There's a saying among the people that if a woman wants to please a man, it's as easy as lifting the veil between them. Although the prince is cold-blooded and violent, he is still a man after all. I wonder if the prince will be moved by Miss Deng's heroic deeds..."

What Jinxiu didn't dare to say out loud was whether the prince had already fallen in love, just as those maids said.

Jinxiu naturally wouldn't worry that Yuwen Xuan would forget the treasured fan.

No matter which man in the world gets the benefit of the treasure fan, he will never forget it.

Jinxiu was afraid that all men in the world were unfaithful, and she wondered if Yuwen Xuan would want to have two women at once, so that he would have the treasure fan and want other women too.

Baoshan lowered her eyebrows, her pretty face full of depression.

Seeing this, Jinxiu hurriedly talked about other happy things. She wanted Baoshan to worry about this matter, but she didn't want Baoshan to be unhappy.

Baoshan's eyes darkened slightly as she thought to herself: "I've heard many rumors about Yuwen Xuan and Miss Deng in the palace, but I don't think they're credible. Only Jinxiu's words can be trusted a little more." But Baoshan saw Yuwen Xuan's attitude towards Miss Deng and felt that their relationship was not as everyone said.

But you can only trust half of everything, including her own inferences, and you can't trust them all.

As for the matter of Yuwen Xuan, she still needs to think about it carefully.