——
"Miss, dinner is ready."
Qing'er carried an exquisite four-tiered food box into the room, where Jin Changge was lying on the table in a daze.
"You eat, I'm not hungry."
Qing'er sighed and looked at Jin Changge, saying, "Miss, I know you've been feeling restless lately because you haven't left the manor."
"But you're eating less and less, this can't go on."
"You still need to eat, and seeing how unwell you look, I'm really worried about you..."
Jin Changge turned her head and saw Qing'er looking worried. She pulled Qing'er to her side, pinched her cheek, and smiled:
"Look at you, I don't eat every day, but you greedy girl have made your face fat."
"No, I can't bear to see you become a big fat girl. I'd better eat some."
Qing'er blushed and opened the food box with a smile.
As she took the vegetables out, she casually said, "Miss, I went to see Song Ma today. Song Ma's eye condition is much better. She asked me to give her my regards and tell you not to worry. She wants to come back to the mansion to cook again once her eye condition is better."
As she spoke, Qing'er took out a cloth bag from the food box and said with a smile, "Look, this is dried sweet potato made by Song Ma's family. It's delicious and was specially given to you, Miss."
"Sister Song dares not send too much, for fear that Miss will not like it. Let me give you some to try first."
Jin Changge picked up a dried sweet potato, looked at Qing'er and smiled, "If you say it's delicious, then you must have already tried it."
"Besides, I won't look down on it, but it's better not to send too much. Let Song Ma save it for her grandson. That child's father passed away early, and his family is having a hard time."
“Song Ma is not young anymore, so she shouldn’t go back to the manor. Her health can’t handle it. Give her some more money later so she can stay home and take good care of her grandson.”
She put the dried sweet potato in her mouth, chewed it a few times, and found it sweet. Jin Changge's eyes lit up, and she smiled again:
"Great, delicious! Much better than the candied fruit we make at home."
"Why doesn't the manor buy some of these dried sweet potatoes? I've never had them before."
Qing'er smiled faintly and said, "These are things that ordinary people eat. We are a royal family, so naturally we won't buy them."
"A small box of candied fruit is worth a large bag of dried sweet potatoes."
“Miss, before you took me into your manor, I often looked forward to having dried sweet potatoes to eat. They are sweet and filling, and if you drink more water while eating them, you won’t feel hungry all day.”
Jin Changge ate some dried sweet potato and said with a smile, "Look at how greedy you are. Your parents must have given you all the good food at home when they were alive."
Qing'er shook her head and sighed, "Yes, it's a pity that my father died in Huichang, and my mother, who was already seriously ill, followed him not long after. I haven't had any dried sweet potatoes to eat since."
"If I hadn't been rescued by you, Miss, I would probably have starved to death long ago after wandering here."
Seeing the sadness on Qing'er's face, Jin Changge comforted her, "It's alright, it's all in the past."
"You girl are really lucky to have wandered all the way from Huichang to the capital."
"You're so lucky, you're almost a chubby girl now."
Qing'er blushed and pouted, saying, "I'm not exactly lucky. I was terrified when I went out today."
Upon hearing this, Jin Changge raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
Qing'er whispered, "On my way to Song Ma's house, I encountered a crazy old Taoist priest. He was being chased by several soldiers. I wanted to avoid him, but unexpectedly, the old Taoist priest ran right towards me."
"He was waving his hands and yelling like a madman, and I almost got hit by him."
"That old Taoist priest was talking nonsense. The soldiers who were chasing after me told me to cover my ears and not listen. Then they chased after the old Taoist priest. I don't know if that crazy Taoist priest was arrested. It really scared me to death."
At this point, Qing'er patted her chest with lingering fear.
Jin Changge chuckled as he looked at her frightened expression.
"Look at your courage, what's there to be afraid of?"
Qing'er frowned and continued, "How could it not be scary? A crazy old Taoist priest and a group of somewhat fierce soldiers. They made me cover my ears and told me not to talk nonsense."
"That's terrifying."
Jin Changge tilted his head, becoming interested.
"What words can't be heard? What words can't be said?"
Qing'er stuck out her tongue and shook her head, saying, "It's not something nice to say, and I wouldn't dare to say it carelessly."
Seeing her cautious demeanor, Jin Changge smiled and pulled her into a hug, then pinched the soft flesh of her waist and said:
"You've been keeping this from me? Tell me now!"
Qing'er laughed so hard she bent over, twisting her body as she said, "Okay, Miss, stop teasing me, I'll tell you, okay?"
After Jin Changge let go, Qing'er looked around, then walked to the door. Seeing that no one was outside, she walked back to Jin Changge's side.
"Miss, you mustn't tell anyone, or I'll get a beating! No, a beating would be the least of my worries."
Jin Changge, however, was getting impatient and frowned, saying, "What is it? Why are you being so mysterious?"
"It's just some nonsense from the mad Taoist priest, but you insisted on listening, Miss. Sigh." Qing'er said with a bitter face.
"Speak up! If you don't tell me today, you're dead!" Jin Changge pretended to strangle him.
Qing'er quickly bent down and whispered in Jin Changge's ear, "That mad Taoist priest was walking and shouting. I only vaguely heard two sentences, and I don't remember the rest very clearly."
At this point, Qing'er's voice became even softer.
“Miss, that mad Taoist priest said: ‘When loyal and good people are killed, the land collapses like a mountain; when there is no trouble, the waterside becomes a strange pool.’”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Changge's expression changed.
With a "bang".
The food box, which had been pushed to the edge of the table during their earlier playful antics, was now falling down.
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