Chapter 43 I'll Carry the Princess Down the Mountain
Lu Ze looked at the persimmon tree and said, "It's not difficult to climb up, but the branches of this persimmon tree are very thin. I'm afraid it can't bear my weight."
Qi Yuning looked at the height of the persimmon tree and said, "I don't know if I can still climb up."
Lu Ze really couldn't imagine the dignified and noble Qi Yuning climbing a tree in such a gorgeous outfit.
Also, if Qi Yuning fell from the persimmon tree, he would have a hard time explaining to His Majesty...
Lu Ze said to Qi Yuning: "Let me climb it."
Qi Yuning took off her outer long-sleeved shirt and handed it to Lu Ze, "Prince Lu, you can put the persimmons inside your clothes."
Lu Ze took the long-sleeved shirt with a faint scent and climbed up the tree to pick persimmons.
"Pick something ripe, so you can eat it without adding any more ingredients."
Lu Ze listened to Qi Yuning's voice under the tree and picked more than ten fruits. The rest were hard. At the end of the branch, there was a ripe persimmon that was about to fall.
Lu Ze reached out to grab it, but unexpectedly heard the sound of branches cracking.
Seeing this, Qi Yuning said, "Master Lu, don't take that one."
When Lu Ze was about to get down from the tree, the branch had broken and he had no foothold. He couldn't jump down easily and could only wait to fall.
Before landing, he thought that this mountain covered with dead grass would not be too hard.
The pain he imagined did not come. Lu Ze saw Qi Yuning holding him, but he also took two steps back due to inertia. Qi Yuning retreated to the edge of the stream, but he did not expect a stone to hit him. He twisted his foot and fell backwards...
When Qi Yuning was about to fall into the stream, she quickly grabbed Lu Ze's clothes.
In a flash, both of them fell into the stream. Lu Ze fell on Qi Yuning, splashing water all over him.
The Lu family's secret guards and the Qi Wang Mansion's secret guards in the dark looked at each other.
For a moment, they didn't know whether they should show up to help the two masters up. No one took the first step, and the secret guards on both sides simply stood still.
Qi Yuning only felt a wet and cold feeling on her back, and Lu Ze's face became particularly clear in front of her.
Qi Yuning gasped in pain and asked, "Is Persimmon okay?"
Lu Ze coughed and said, "I'm fine, how's the princess?"
Qi Yuning said: "I didn't ask you, Master Lu. I asked about the persimmon. Did the persimmon fall down?"
Lu Ze used her as a cushion, what could happen? She was the one who fell badly, and her feet were in excruciating pain.
Lu Ze glanced at Qi Yuning's big-sleeved shirt in his hand. The persimmons fell into the stream with them, and only the two ripest ones were broken. Most of the persimmons were fine.
Qi Yuning breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Persimmon was fine, "Master Lu, aren't you going to get up yet?"
Lu Ze found a stone in the stream and stood up. Fortunately, the mountain stream was only as deep as his knees. Lu Ze helped Qi Yuning up, "Is the princess okay?"
After Qi Yuning stood firm, he took a deep breath and said, "Something happened. My feet hurt so much."
Lu Ze helped Qi Yuning sit on the bank of the stream, half squatting down to check Qi Yuning's painful foot.
Qi Yuning frowned and said, "You don't need to see me. Just go back and find the imperial physician."
Lu Ze said, "The carriage is still at the foot of the mountain. It will take more than half an hour to get down the mountain. If you break a bone and delay treatment, you may become a cripple in the future."
Qi Yuning would never allow himself to become a cripple because of his greed.
The Qi family was not afraid of losing limbs and becoming disabled, but that would only be due to injuries sustained on the battlefield, not like her, who became lame just because of craving for wild persimmons in the mountains.
If she became a cripple because of this, she wouldn't just be laughed at, she would be ashamed.
In an emergency, one has to take the necessary measures. Compared with a cripple, the strict separation of men and women seems insignificant.
Besides, Lingling's existence also meant that she would eventually marry Lu Ze, so there was no need to worry about these things.
Lu Ze took off Qi Yuning's wet shoes and socks. Looking at Qi Yuning's ankles, which were already red and swollen after just a short while, he said, "Princess, please forgive me for being so rude."
Lu Ze reached out and touched Qi Yuning's swollen ankle. Qi Yuning said, "It hurts."
Lu Ze said, "It's so swollen, it must be painful. Fortunately, the bones are fine, it's just a sprained ankle. I just need to apply some medicine and rest for a few days."
Qi Yuning asked, "Will he become a cripple?"
“No.” Lu Ze was also wet, but not as wet as Qi Yuning. “Did the princess bring clean clothes?”
Lu Ze said, "Stay here in the sun for a while, I'll go get you some clothes."
Qi Yuning said: "If you leave, what if there are robbers who kill people here again?"
Lu Ze said: "The secret guards are nearby."
Qi Yuning sighed and said, "I didn't sleep well last night and forgot that there were secret guards following me. If I had asked the secret guards to climb the tree to pick persimmons, I'm sure they wouldn't have fallen down."
These secret guards were used to climbing trees, so they wouldn't fall down like Lu Ze did.
Lu Ze chuckled helplessly, "Princess, please wait a moment."
Lu Ze returned to the lake and found two maids, Lichun and Guyu, and asked them to follow him to the stream with clothes.
When Lu Ze arrived, he saw that the secret guards of Prince Qi's mansion had already picked all the unripe persimmons on the trees.
Lichun saw Qi Yuning's embarrassed look and stepped forward and said, "Princess."
Qi Yuning asked, "Is there a cave here where I can change clothes?"
Lu Ze said, "There is a hunter's hut in front. Let's go and change."
Qi Yuning tried to take a step, and her ankle was in severe pain. Seeing this, Lu Ze said, "I will carry the princess on my back."
Qi Yuning looked at the small bodies of her own maids, Lichun and Guyu, and thought it was inappropriate to let these two little maids carry her, so she got on Lu Ze's back and let him carry her to the hunters' resting hut.
Qi Yuning entered the hut and changed into clean clothes from head to toe. Lichun wiped Qi Yuning's wet long hair with a handkerchief and tied her hair into a plain bun again.
Lu Ze waited at the door for about quarter of an hour before he saw Qi Yuning coming out. The makeup on her face was gone, her gorgeous hair had become plain, and she was wearing a light pink dress, like a fairy from the mountains who was oblivious to the worldly affairs.
Qi Yuning asked, "Why are you looking at me again, Prince?"
Lu Ze smiled and said, "It's time to go back. I'll carry you on my back."
Qi Yuning got on Lu Ze's back and went to the lake. Lingling was having fun playing in the water.
Lu Baozhu saw Lu Ze carrying Qi Yuning on his back. Qi Yuning had changed her clothes and smiled ambiguously, "What are you doing?"
Qi Yuning said: "I fell when I was picking persimmons."
Lingling came out of the lake and ran to Qi Yuning without wearing shoes.
Qi Yuning glared at Lu Baozhu and said, "In autumn, you let her walk barefoot in the water?"
Lu Baozhu touched her nose, and Lichun held Lingling and put on her shoes and socks.
Qi Yuning picked a ripe persimmon, peeled it and handed it to Lingling, "Lingling, try this persimmon, it's delicious."
"Lingling, don't eat daddy, and mommy can't eat daddy either."
Qi Yuning said blankly: "I didn't eat your father."
Lingling said: "But isn't Persimmon my father? My father is the prince!"
Lu Ze chuckled and said, "This fruit is also called persimmon. Come and have a taste."
Lingling came forward and took a bite, her eyes curved into little crescents as she said, "So sweet! Daddy, it's so delicious!"
After Lingling finished eating the whole persimmon, although she was still not satisfied, she agreed to go down the mountain.
Qi Yuning sprained his ankle, so going down the mountain became a hassle.
No maids were brought with them when they climbed the mountain today. Lichun and the other five maids were all about sixteen or seventeen years old. They usually acted like the daughters of wealthy families when they were with her, and they didn't have the strength to carry her down the mountain.
Lu Ze said, "I'll carry Princess Qi down the mountain."
Qi Yuning climbed onto Lu Ze's back. Qingyan Mountain was not very high, but it was easier to climb up than to go down. There were few people here, and the mountain road was winding. It would take half an hour to go down the mountain.
Qi Yuning was on Lu Ze's back and could clearly see a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and a faint breathing sound.
After going down the mountain, Qi Yuning got into the carriage. There was a faint orchid scent at the tip of her nose mixed with the scent of the inn on her body. She couldn't help but blush.
(End of this chapter)
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