Chapter 83 Seven years later, wasn't Jiang Yingyun just pregnant when she arrived? ...
Shenji Mountain is 800 li away from Luoyang. Le Jin had traveled much farther before and didn't find it exaggerated or novel. However, Yuan Fang refused to lower the carriage curtain the whole way, afraid of missing any scenery.
As the light and shadows swept by outside, he would smile broadly one moment and sigh with worry the next. At twenty-three, he was not young, but he still wore his emotions on his sleeve like a child.
Le Jin sat to the side, helping him pack up the ancient books and Taoist texts he had brought back, occasionally glancing up to see what he was doing.
Yuanfang's gaze lingered on the mortal world, his pupils appearing translucent amber under the warm autumn sun, as if soaked in honey.
"In my life, I spent the first ten years growing up in the palace, enjoying extreme wealth and luxury; then for the next ten years, I endured hardship in the mountains, keeping watch by the lamp. Neither of these paths were my choice, yet I have to bear the burden of those experiences. Now, I have returned to the bustling world, it all feels like a dream."
Le Jin heard him let out a short sigh, then his tone shifted dramatically, becoming powerful and commanding: "When I get back to Luoyang, I'll walk through every corner and every tile on the floor. I don't want this bland and serene look anymore!"
Le Jin chuckled softly, carefully placed the last copy of the Tao Te Ching on the top shelf of the book, pressed down hard on the pages, and smoothed out the corners.
"Don't you have important business to attend to when you go back this time? You still have to pass the 'test' before you can play, right? If you, Xuan Shengzi, who cultivates for the country, can't even set up a temple, then you'll be ashamed."
Yuan Fang finally reluctantly threw down the carriage curtain, turned to look at Le Jin and smiled, "I have a brilliant plan."
He pointed to the scriptures on Le Jin's lap, closed his eyes slightly, made a longevity incantation with his fingers, swept his whisk across the surface, and pretended to be serious: "Just choose a few classics and recite them in front of them for an hour or two, and finally say 'May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings,' and all things will be accomplished."
As he spoke, he winked cleverly at Le Jin with his right eye. He was no longer the abstinent and leisurely Taoist priest he once was; he was clearly a cunning and playful little dog wagging its tail.
Le Jin laughed so hard he coughed, utterly helpless against this great ancestor.
Yuanfang shifted to sit next to her, tossing his whisk aside without even glancing at it, and nudged her side with his elbow. "Qingsi, aren't you curious about Luojing? It's the most prosperous place in the world..."
He noticed that Le Jin wasn't very interested in Luo Jing, so he chattered on about the beautiful image of the capital city in his memory, trying to make her feel less indifferent.
However, no matter how hard he tried to describe it, Le Jin could only manage a forced smile.
"Actually, I'm more curious about where we'll stay after we get there..."
Since Yuanfang wasn't granted a title of prince, he didn't have a residence like the Prince of Pingning's mansion. So where did they stay this time upon returning to the capital? Could it be the Imperial Palace?
The thought of soon living surrounded by four red walls filled Le Jin with immense pressure. Could she really afford to make a mistake and lose her head within the next two weeks?
He's been a "eunuch" before, so he has some internship experience, right...?
The grand procession entered Luoyang. Familiar yet unfamiliar scenery flashed past the car windows, as if old friends were waving to Le Jin.
She stubbornly ignored it, her head hanging low, but soon beads of sweat appeared on her lips. When she wiped them with the back of her hand, they felt cold. Originally, only her face was hot, but now the skin on her hands felt strange too.
Le Jin simply pulled the carriage curtain tight, feeling more relaxed as she passed through the surrounding area.
As soon as the car stopped, Eunuch Zhao outside said with a smile, "Xuan Shengzi, we've arrived."
Le Jin followed Yuan Fang off the carriage. As soon as she saw the scene before her, a huge thunderbolt exploded overhead. A wave of terror surged from her head to her feet, and her bones felt like they were about to burst. She immediately turned around and shrank back into the carriage, moving as fast as a rabbit.
Yuanfang nodded in confusion and smiled shyly and obediently at Eunuch Zhao.
Eunuch Zhao assumed this was an apology for his rudeness to those around him, so he smiled back and continued to invite him down from the carriage. However, Yuanfang smiled and then quickly returned to his carriage, leaving everyone present completely bewildered.
"What's wrong with you? Get off the bus!"
"We live here?!"
Le Jin stared in surprise and questioned him in a low voice.
"Given my current identity, the best place to stay is the Meng family in Luojing. Besides, I came back this time to perform a Taoist ritual for the Meng family to pray for their well-being. Where else would I stay if not here? I thought you knew..."
Le Jin felt like dying. How could she know?! When she heard "return to Luoyang" outside the Qingjing Hall, she was so frightened that her soul flew away. How could she be in the mood to listen to anything else?
The Meng family… how could it be the Meng family? If she had known she was going to deal with the Meng family this time, she would rather have been trapped in Shenji Mountain for the rest of her life!
Le Jin's face turned bright red, even more so than the apples she had picked that day. At this critical moment, nearly a hundred people outside were waiting for Yuan Fang to go out, and Yuan Fang was waiting for her to go out, but she had absolutely no desire to move…
That day, she used herself to get revenge on Meng Shutai, determined to sever all ties with that madman. Now, meeting him again under an identity he doesn't know, Le Jin feels nothing but unease that it's clearly her own actions that are causing her discomfort.
A few mumbled sounds escaped from his throat, which Yuanfang couldn't hear clearly, so he moved his ear closer.
"I...don't live here, I want to live somewhere else."
"This is the Meng family home. Even my father, the Emperor, can stay here. Why can't you?"
Yuanfang found Qingsi acting strangely today. Deep down, she was a million times more carefree and unrestrained than him; why would she be so concerned about where she lived? Besides, isn't there such a twisted logic as "there's only fault for finding the bad, not the best"?
However, Qing Si's face clearly showed four words—"unspeakable secret"—so Yuan Fang still patiently asked her what she meant.
Le Jin lowered her head to avoid Yuan Fangsui's gaze, muttering to herself while counting on her fingers, "If I stay here, I won't be able to sleep and I'll have nightmares..."
Yuanfang rarely saw her looking so dejected, and found Qingsi even more adorably dazed than usual. He smiled brightly and said, "It's okay, if you can't sleep, I'll write you a sleeping talisman and hang it by your bedside. It'll keep all the demons and monsters away!"
He casually grabbed Le Jin's hand and said, "Come on, I'll take you away."
Le Jin wanted to pull her hand back, but where could she find another place to stay? And where was there time to indulge her whims?
Colorful flags fluttered, carriages and horses lined the streets, and hundreds of eyes turned to look at Daoist Xuan Shengzi, their seventh prince, who was leading a rough-looking maid into the Meng residence.
As he watched the two figures disappear into the distance, Eunuch Zhao clicked his tongue in amazement. "Seventh Prince... how did you end up with a female companion while cultivating Taoism?"
Upon entering the Meng residence, Le Jin felt extremely uncomfortable. She didn't dare to glance at anything, only staring at her own chest. In her heart, she wished there would be a hole beneath her feet so she could fall into it and escape, never to be seen again...
Whether it was psychological trauma or lingering resentment, Le Jin began to feel dizzy as she walked along the brocade corridor. She tried to grit her teeth and bear it, but after a few more steps, she felt nauseous.
"Yuanfang follows..."
She called to him quietly from behind. Yuan Fangsui was exchanging pleasantries with the guide from the Meng family. Le Jin thought he hadn't heard her and was about to call again when Yuan Fangsui quietly reached behind his back, gesturing for her to say "Go ahead."
"I'm dizzy, I can't hold on any longer, I want to rest."
Yuanfang kept his face turned to the guide with a slight smile and didn't say much until Yue Jin finished speaking. Then he suddenly said, "I wonder which place your esteemed residence has arranged for me? I'd like to ask them to make the necessary preparations in advance."
The man leading the way nodded with a smile and pointed into the distance, saying, "The Taoist priest's residence is in Qili Courtyard, east of Zhenyuan Garden."
Zhenyuan...
Memories flooded back, and Le Jin shivered. She kept repeating "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head" to hypnotize herself before going with the person leading the way.
As she turned and walked towards the fork in the road where she and Yuanfang would part ways, she suddenly heard a deep, steady male voice behind her:
"My name is Meng Cizhang, and I pay my respects to Your Highness the Seventh Prince."
"You're too kind, Second Young Master. You can just call me Xuan Shengzi."
Le Jin's brow twitched. She didn't dare to look back and just kept walking forward. Their voices grew farther and farther away until they disappeared.
It's only been a year, so why does Meng Cizhang's voice sound so deep and weary?
——
As soon as she entered the small room assigned to her, Le Jin slammed the door shut. Even after the door was bolted, she stood behind it, not daring to let go easily.
Entering the Meng residence was already an accident, but living so close to Zhenyuan Garden was even more unlucky!
Oh no, I really can't sleep now.
Le Jin dragged her feet to the stool and sat down dejectedly, resting her chin on her hands and looking outside.
The Seventh Prince's arrival at the residence is a major event; the commotion outside has reached Yue Jin's ears. But why hasn't Meng Shutai shown up for such an important matter?
Le Jin recalled Meng Cizhang's unusually mature voice and vaguely felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She finally gave up her curiosity about those people and things that should have been cut off long ago, and her gaze fell on the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on the table.
Yuanfang said they could set off in half a month at most. It's autumn now, so wouldn't they be on the road when winter comes?
There are so many things to prepare: cotton-padded jackets, lined jackets, charcoal, winter clothes... Le Jin listed them all out and told Yuan Fang to take care of them when he returned.
She learned to write from Yuanfang. Although her teacher was in a hurry, the skill of writing could actually calm Le Jin down.
Having written more than half a page, Le Jin let out a long sigh of relief. "That's about it, all done!"
As soon as she finished speaking, light footsteps suddenly sounded behind Le Jin, seemingly from behind the bed.
At first, she thought she had misheard. She turned her head to look in the direction from which the sound came. The light blue bed curtains swayed, as if there was only wind.
Le Jin then remained still, concentrating intently to see if the sound would ring out again.
But this time, instead of a voice, it was a small, round head with a pair of bright, round eyes.
"ah!!!"
There are children in this house!
Le Jin stepped forward and pulled back the bed curtains, revealing a beautifully sculpted little boy holding a trembling little girl in his arms.
The two children were about the same age and even looked almost identical.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Le Jin's voice was so startling that it frightened the little girl into tears.
The little boy hugged her and patted her, repeatedly comforting her, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, she's alive, she's alive..."
The two children were dressed in dazzling brocade and wore jade necklaces; they didn't seem like servants' children. Le Jin squatted down and patted their heads. "Sweeties, where are your parents?"
"I'm with my uncle..."
Le Jin chuckled at the answer. Children's answers are always like that—they give answers, but they're meaningless.
"I'm asking who your parents are? Or tell me, who your uncle is?"
The little girl realized that Le Jin was not in danger. Although tears were still on her face, she answered more clearly than the little boy: "My father is Prince Pingning, Yuan Jingming, and my uncle is Meng Shutai."
Le Jin's pupils dilated. These two children in front of her were Yuan Jingming's sons?!
That can't be right!
When she left, wasn't Jiang Yingyun just pregnant? How come the baby has grown so tall in just one year?
Le Jin's mind was a complete mess. She grabbed the little boy's hand in bewilderment, "How old are you now?"
"Six and a half years old."
Six years old... adding the year Jiang Yingyun was pregnant, it has been seven years since then.
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Author's Note: [Laughing out loud][Laughing out loud][Laughing out loud]
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