Chapter Thirty-Four: Gift of Gratitude
Yun Fanjing almost spat out her tea, quickly covering her mouth with a handkerchief. After a while, she finally spoke: "You, you mean Jing Shu is your sister? You're a member of the Jing family?"
Jingwu nodded: "Yes."
"How could this be? How could you, a mere mortal, be the subject of the Jing family..."
"Ahem!" Seeing that the princess was getting more and more outrageous, Granny Yue immediately coughed to remind her.
She winked at the princess, signaling her to stop talking.
Although Yun Fanjing had doubts in her heart, she obediently listened to the old woman's words and did not say anything more about it.
She looked out the window and saw that it was almost lunchtime, so she immediately said, "Master, it's almost noon, why don't you stay for lunch?"
Jingwu glanced at the time and realized it was indeed lunchtime. He was also quite hungry, so he agreed.
"Alright, thank you very much, Princess."
Yun Fanjing immediately gave the order to prepare lunch, while she propped her head up and tilted her head to look at the person in front of her.
Jingwu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then looked at her and asked, "Your Highness, I have a question I would like to ask you. Please answer the question that has been bothering me."
"Is it about the Jing family?" Yun Fanjing was very clever and guessed it as soon as she heard her question.
Jingwu nodded, looking at her calmly: "I grew up in a Taoist temple and have only been back for a day, yet the entire Jing family has fled. I just want to know, how did the Jing family offend Your Highness in the first place?"
"I didn't do anything!" Upon hearing this, Yun Fanjing immediately stood up, then realized her rudeness and sat back down.
"I was traveling incognito this time. Apart from the steward of the Han family, no one in Pingyao County knew my identity. That day, I saw a jade vase in the jewelry store and planned to buy it to take back to the capital for my mother. But unexpectedly, when I was about to pay, Jing Shu walked in. She also saw the jade vase and wanted to buy it to give to the magistrate's daughter as a birthday gift."
"She offered a high price to buy it, but of course I refused. There's a proper order to things, and besides, I'm not short of money. Jing Shu wouldn't budge either, so the two of us started arguing. She was incredibly vulgar; seeing that I wouldn't give in, she actually instigated the two girls who came with her to smash the jade bottle."
"I was furious at the time, so I took out the princess's token and sent Xue'er to the county magistrate's office to ask him to come and judge the matter. Jing Shu was terrified and turned pale, but I didn't do anything to her in the end. The nanny said that I was traveling incognito and it was not appropriate to make a big fuss, so I just let it go. But who knew that the Jing family would move out in a hurry that very night? I didn't do anything, and I didn't ask the county magistrate to put pressure on me."
Yun Fanjing still felt a little wronged when she thought about this.
Outsiders assumed that the Jing family's hasty relocation was due to her anger and a desire to severely punish them.
But she clearly didn't do anything, yet she was unfairly blamed and felt resentful.
Seeing her expression, Jingwu knew she wasn't lying, and his heart instantly relaxed.
She didn't care about the Jing family; she just wanted to find out if the princess was still angry and whether it would implicate the Shao family.
Hearing her say that, I knew she didn't intend to pursue the matter, and I immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the indifferent expression on the person in front of her, Yun Fanjing couldn't guess what she was thinking. She muttered to herself, "If I had known earlier that you were from the Jing family, Master, I would have given way to Jing Shu."
Jingwu picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and looked at her with a slight smile: "The Jing family is the Jing family, and I am me."
"Um?"
Yun Fanjing didn't understand what he meant and was about to speak when she heard Granny Yue speak up.
"Your Highness, you've been talking for so long, you should take a break. This servant will take the master to the front hall to sit down."
Yun Fanjing paused for a moment, then immediately understood what she meant and nodded with a smile: "Okay, remember to let the master try the pastries made by the chefs we brought from the palace."
"Yes." Granny Yue led Jingwu to the front hall, where she served him fine tea and snacks, and then called two maids to serve him.
After making the arrangements, he immediately went back to the backyard.
When Yun Fanjing saw her come in, she asked, "What's wrong?"
Granny Yue sighed softly and recounted everything she had found about Jingwu's life.
This includes being sent to Shuangcheng Temple shortly after birth, and being left alone in the mansion when the Jing family fled.
Upon hearing this, Yun Fanjing felt a surge of anger: "I knew the Jing family had a corrupt family style, but I never imagined it was this despicable! They abandoned their own flesh and blood for fifteen years, and after bringing her back, they left her alone in the mansion. How could they be so heartless?"
If she really wanted to hold a grudge against Jing Shu, she would probably have vented all her anger on Jing Wu.
Yun Fanjing finally understood what she meant by saying the Jing family was the Jing family and she was hers.
She rubbed her temples and immediately ordered, "Granny, prepare a room in the Han residence for the Master to stay in. After all, she is my savior, and we should repay her properly."
"Your Highness, you have forgotten what I just told you about the master who is now living at your uncle's house."
"Oh, I forgot." Yun Fanjing thought for a moment, then turned around and said, "Then shall we bring her uncle's family to live in our mansion as well?"
“That’s not appropriate.” Granny Yue smiled helplessly and explained, “They’ll feel uncomfortable living under someone else’s roof. Your Highness might as well give them a larger reward as a token of your gratitude.”
"Good idea." Yun Fanjing immediately went to the dressing table and took out her set of ruby jewelry: "This is beautiful, consider it a thank-you gift for the master."
"Your Highness..."
“I know, I know. I’ll also give you a reward of five hundred taels!” Yun Fanjing said immediately.
Hearing this, Granny Yue was relieved and stopped talking.
Jingwu sat in the front hall, drinking tea, looking at the scenery in the courtyard, and occasionally eating a piece of pastry. He was very relaxed.
If I didn't have so many things to do, I would love to sit here all day.
"Master, the food is ready. Please move to the main hall."
Jiang Fuxue walked in from outside and bowed to her with a smile.
Jingwu nodded, stood up, and followed her to the main hall.
As soon as I entered, I smelled the rich aroma of food, and my stomach couldn't help but rumble.
"Master, come quickly and sit next to me." Yun Fanjing was already seated and greeted him with a smile.
Jingwu nodded and sat down next to her.
She had just sat down when she saw several more pieces of meat in her bowl.
Turning my head, I saw the princess holding serving chopsticks, intending to put all the dishes on the table for her.
"Your Highness, I can do it myself."
Upon hearing this, Yun Fanjing put down the serving chopsticks, feeling embarrassed.
Jingwu slowly ate the delicious food on the table, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that if the timing were right, this feast should have been paired with fine wine.
It took her quite a while to finish eating and put down her chopsticks.
Looking up, I saw the person in front of me looking like they wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Is there anything the princess wants to tell me?"
Yun Fan sat up straight and looked at her, saying, "I want you to come back to the capital with me and help my brother take a look."
"The capital?"
"Yes, my elder brother is the Crown Prince. However, his luck has been bad these past two years, and he has been frequently injured. On New Year's Eve this year, he lost his footing on the steps and fell, breaking his leg. He still can't stand up. We've consulted countless imperial physicians, but none of them can help him."
Yun Fanjing looked dejected. They had never thought that it might be the work of evil spirits. Now, after this ordeal, she felt that her brother was being haunted by something unclean.
Upon hearing this, Jingwu thought for a moment and concluded that either his fate had been stolen or someone had used witchcraft.
But he still had things to finish and couldn't leave Pingyao County.
She thought for a moment, then looked at her and said, "Do you know your brother's birth date and time?"
"I know," Yun Fanjing immediately replied with her birth date.
Jingwu calculated carefully, then looked at the person in front of him and said, "Your brother has something unclean on him, probably a ghost fetus. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll go to the capital with you in a few days."
How long will it take?
"Three days."
Upon hearing this, Yun Fanjing immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll be waiting for your news anytime."
Jingwu nodded, and was about to speak when he saw the person in front of him hand him a wooden box.
"Master, this is your payment and a gift."
Jingwu opened it and found five hundred taels of silver notes and a wooden box inside.
Upon opening the wooden box, a beautiful ruby headdress was revealed.
She paused for a moment, then looked at the person in front of her and smiled: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Just then, the butler rushed in.
"Your Highness, Young Master Yue has arrived."
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