Chapter 41 World 2 (Seventeen)

Hua Qing, feeling angry, purposely avoided speaking to Bao Shan. Bao Shan, not feeling neglected, pulled out an embroidery frame from a bamboo box. On it was a half-finished auspicious cloud pattern. She pressed her fingers together, gripping the silver needle tightly, her jade-like eyes fixed on the silk thread weaving across the frame. By the time Bao Shan looked up, the candlelight in the room had already burned down, its faint glow casting a particularly gentle and tender light on her face. Hua Qing held the brush, but didn't write. She seemed lost in thought, unaware even of the ink dripping from the tip of her brush onto the rice paper.

When the treasure fan stood up, it made a slight noise. Hua Qing was startled for a moment, and came back to her senses from her thoughts. She looked at the treasure fan meaningfully.

Baoshan picked up the silver scissors on the table, leaned over gently, and cut the candlestick in the candlestick short. The originally weak flame suddenly became turbulent.

Startled by the blazing flames, Bao Shan took two steps back, covering his chest, but suddenly bumped into a hard object from behind.

"Hua Qing?"

A soft cry came from Baoshan's throat.

Hua Qing walked behind her at some point, frowned in thought, her face slightly stiff.

Looking at Baoshan's beautiful face, Hua Qing suppressed her resentment. Just now, while copying the scriptures, she vaguely remembered: If Miss Deng was punished, she would definitely be blamed in the future. Hua Qing didn't want to be ignored by Miss Deng and looked down upon by the other maids.

After thinking about this, Hua Qing faced the treasure fan, pulled up the corners of her mouth with all her strength, and put on a kind expression.

"I was wrong for all this. I listened to the little talk of the maids and took it as the truth, and even took my anger out on you—"

Hua Qing looked at Bao Shan's silent expression with her eyes downcast. She struggled for a moment, but in the end, the desire to save face in front of Miss Deng prevailed. She spoke earnestly, "I was obsessed with lard, and I was resentful of your beautiful face. That's why..."

Baoshan, I now know I was wrong. Look, these scriptures were given to me by the steward to copy. I have suffered so much because of my jealousy. Can you forgive me?"

Hua Qing knew that it would be better to tell the truth than to play any tricks at this moment. She lightly brushed aside her ill will towards Bao Shan and only spoke of her regret. Hua Qing watched Bao Shan's body move slightly and thought to herself: She is such a kind and soft person, like a ball of cotton, allowing others to rub her.

If she confessed her crime in this way, Baoshan, who was so stupid, would definitely forgive her.

Bao Shan easily avoided Hua Qing's outstretched hand, her clear eyes trembling slightly: "Since I am fine, I will not blame Sister Hua Qing."

Before Hua Qing could breathe a sigh of relief, Bao Shan timidly said, "It's just that Sister Hua Qing shouldn't have let the prince see this. The prince is already very busy, and it's wrong for him to be distracted by such trivial matters.

Although I wanted to forgive, I only thought that the prince was disturbed and worried about this matter, so I uttered the word "forgiveness" lightly, and I couldn't help feeling ashamed.

Bao Shan's eyelashes trembled, and in the candlelight, her face turned pale: "You can go find the prince. I think Sister Hua Qing is so sincere that the prince will be moved and will definitely not punish you again..."

As Hua Qing expected, Bao Shan was soft-hearted. Even if she was bullied, as long as Hua Qing pretended to be submissive and begged for mercy, she would easily forgive her.

But no matter how soft-hearted a person is, there are still differences in what is important and what is not in important in their heart.

In Baoshan's heart, Yuwen Xuan is naturally more important. She can easily forgive Hua Qing, but she also has to consider Yuwen Xuan's thoughts.

Hua Qing stood in front of Yuwen Xuan, and was so nervous that she even hesitated to answer him, so she didn't dare to take the initiative to look for him.

Hua Qing thought to herself that Bao Shan was overthinking, but she couldn't find any fault in her words.

After all, the housekeeper's punishment must have been because of Yuwen Xuan, so it was really useless for Hua Qing to ask Baoshan for forgiveness.

"I'm afraid I can't even get close to the prince... I see that the prince is quite lenient towards you. You often take care of the Changming Sword, so you know the prince's preferences. If you are kind enough to tell me a few things, it will give me an excuse to meet the prince."

This was Hua Qing's real plan. She wanted to take the opportunity to find out after Bao Shan forgave her.

At this moment, Baoshan suggested that he go to Yuwen Xuan to apologize, so he took the opportunity to ask Yuwen Xuan directly about his preferences.

Although Baoshan is beautiful, Yuwen Xuan is not someone who can be approached by relying on his delicate appearance. If Yuwen Xuan really loves beauty, he would have already had many wives and concubines in the palace.

Therefore, Hua Qing thought that Bao Shan must have discovered Yuwen Xuan's preferences from somewhere, and took advantage of the situation to gain Yuwen Xuan's attention.

Bao Shan was silent for a moment, then raised her beautiful eyes and looked at Hua Qing's face, which was full of undisguised anxiety.

I just thought that living with Hua Qing was too troublesome and I had to be on guard against her in everything.

Now Hua Qing seems to have the idea of using herself to please Miss Deng.

It seems that we can't stay here for long. Miss Deng's side is not safe, and there are hidden dangers around her personal maid. If we are not careful, we will fall into the abyss. We must get out of here as soon as possible.

Bao Shan was full of thoughts, but her face showed no sign of abnormality. Seeing her hesitation, Hua Qing was startled, thinking that Bao Shan really had a way to get close to Yu Wenxuan. So she hardened her heart and turned to get the small box from the wooden cabinet beside the bed.

Looking at the dazzling array of jewelry in the small box, a struggle flashed across Hua Qing's face. She only wanted to take out one or two items to replace the treasure fan.

She only heard the sound of the treasure fan behind her, which was the rustling of fabric. Hua Qing was suddenly startled and didn't care about the items in the small box. She stuffed them all into the treasure fan's hands.

"Good treasure fan, please help me."

Baoshan's hand was weighed down by the small box, and Hua Qing's pleading voice sounded particularly pitiful in his ears.

Baoshan couldn't harden her heart after all, and gave Hua Qing detailed instructions.

"The prince dislikes strong spices and used to enjoy wine, especially vintage wines. But ever since he could no longer lift a sword, he hasn't even been drinking much..."

Just now, Huaping was still heartbroken because all the jewelry she had saved up after working hard for a long time was given away to others.

Now, after hearing Baoshan's words, she was filled with surprise. So what if she lost a box of jewelry? Once she told Miss Deng all the prince's preferences, the reward she would receive would be far more than a mere box of jewelry could compare to.

Hua Qing was so excited that she hurried out without even thinking that it was late at night and Miss Deng might have gone to bed.

Baoshan opened the small box in front of her, which contained several brand new hairpins, newly made earrings, and a handful of round silver beads.

Baoshan's jade fingers moved lightly, picking up the simplest hairpin in the box, and carefully examined it against the candlelight. She found that this hairpin was much more precious than her crushed lotus hairpin.

Baoshan closed the door, blew out the candle, and crawled into the quilt.

What she told about Yuwen Xuan's preferences were all true, and lying about Yuwen Xuan's preferences was not a wise move, but would make people feel that her heart was not right and her intentions were not sincere.

Moreover, if one is willing to inquire about these little things or ask the housekeeper, one can find out without much effort. They are not considered to be deep secrets in the palace.

However, when someone is interested in finding out, it will inevitably leave traces, just like the precious fan. When people inquire about these ordinary hobbies, they don't bother to hide them.

Therefore, the housekeeper knew about it, and so did the guards and maids.

But if Miss Deng, who had never bothered to inquire about anything, suddenly knew so many things and was willing to please Yuwen Xuan, it would inevitably make people suspicious.

Late at night, Baoshan was awakened by the sound of Hua Qing returning to the room.

Although I couldn't see Hua Qing's expression in the darkness, I could hear her light footsteps, which seemed to indicate that everything went very smoothly.

After picking up only half a jar of black and white sesame seeds, Miss Deng anxiously went to look for Yuwen Xuan.

The person sent by the housekeeper comforted her, saying that he would do other things after Miss Deng regained her hearing and eyesight.

Miss Deng had no choice but to be patient and carefully pick the sesame seeds in order to see Yuwen Xuan. She didn't even have time to drink a sip of tea as she kept picking sesame seeds into two jars.

White sesame, black sesame...

Only after both jars were filled and the black and white sesame seeds were clearly distinguished was Miss Deng allowed to do as she pleased.

But as soon as Miss Deng stood up from the round stool, she felt dizzy and tried to force herself to go find Yuwen Xuan.

The maids waiting by the side looked at each other, and one of them took a diamond-shaped mirror and placed it in front of Miss Deng.

I saw the person in the mirror with messy hair, dull eyes and disheveled makeup.

Miss Deng was in a trance, and only then did she understand why the guard who had just come to get two cans of sesame seeds looked at her so strangely.

Miss Deng had no choice but to suppress her anxiety and take a good rest before going to find Yuwen Xuan with the prescription and snacks.

The prescription has been shown to the doctor outside the palace. Although some of the herbs are difficult to find, they are all very effective and there is no need to worry.

Miss Deng did not let the palace physician check it. After all, if the palace physician knew the prescription, Yuwen Xuan would soon know it too. How could she then present the prescription that she had obtained with great difficulty?

Miss Deng was waiting outside the house and only said that she brought walnut and almond cookies that Yuwen Xuan liked to eat.

The guard went in to report to Yuwen Xuan as usual. Unexpectedly, this time Yuwen Xuan did not refuse Miss Deng, but instead asked someone to invite her in.

Seeing this, Hua Qing felt a little relieved. What Baoshan said was true. Before she even presented the prescription, just a plate of snacks made Yuwen Xuan change his mind.

This was the first time that Miss Deng was allowed into the house. She carried the snacks herself and did not give them to her personal maid.

As soon as she entered the room, Miss Deng saw Yuwen Xuan standing behind the Huanghuali wooden table.

The sun was shining brightly in the room, and strands of soft orange light filtered through the window paper, illuminating Yu Wenxuanyan's gray robe, faintly revealing the patterns of precious beasts woven with gold thread.

The gentle and warm sunlight shone on Yuwen Xuan's body, but it could not hide the coldness around him.

His eyebrows were like lacquered wood, and his eyes were like ice. Miss Deng's heart was pounding. She put the walnut and almond cake in her hand on the table and spoke softly.

"I prepared some snacks that you like."

Yuwen Xuan looked at the plate of dim sum, his expression gloomy and unclear: "How did you know?"

Seeing that Yuwen Xuan did not deny it, Miss Deng felt relieved. It seemed that this walnut and almond pastry was indeed Yuwen Xuan's favorite snack. In the past, she had sent various snacks but was rejected. It turned out that she was not treating the problem with the right medicine.

Miss Deng naturally wouldn't mention that she learned this from Bao Shan. She was silent for a moment, avoiding Yu Wenxuan's gaze, and slowly replied, "Of course I found out. I didn't expect you to like such sweet snacks."

Miss Deng said the last sentence in a coquettish and lively manner, which naturally brought her closer to Yuwen Xuan.

Yuwen Xuan did not respond, and the guards beside him stood in front of Miss Deng to prevent her from getting closer.

"Now that Miss Deng has delivered the snacks, please go back."

What this guard meant was exactly what Yuwen Xuan meant.

Miss Deng clenched the prescription in her sleeve. Seeing Yuwen Xuan's expression, she became angry and asked him to wait anxiously for a few more days. She would not give him the prescription for the time being.

Seeing Miss Deng leave with a flick of her sleeves, the guards returned to their positions.

Yuwen Xuan's voice sounded faintly: "Did you do it yourself?"

The guard bowed his head and said, "Yes—Miss Deng asked the kitchen to make this. This walnut and almond pastry is complicated to make, and I'm afraid Miss Deng doesn't know how to make it, so I had to take the trouble to present it to you."

Even though they took the trouble to present it to me, I just played the role of running errands and didn't even touch a single bit of the dessert.

Yuwen Xuan pinched a piece of walnut and almond pastry and said to the guard, "Yunqi, you rarely talk so much."

Such an impolite evaluation.

Upon hearing this, Yunqi knelt on the ground without saying a word.

Yuwen Xuan didn't let him get up. When the next guard came to replace Yunqi, two hours had passed. The guard helped Yunqi up and said, "The prince has called the treasure fan over. It's in the other courtyard."

Yunqi's body stiffened, and his lips moved slightly: "Thank you."

The guard said nothing more. All he could tell Yunqi were these trivial matters that were of no consequence.

Thinking of the precious fan, the guard sighed in his heart, wondering whether today's situation was a blessing or a curse for the precious fan.