"Stop crying! This is a gift from Her Highness the Princess. Enjoy the sweetness to your heart's content!"
Princess Ziyan turned her gaze to Bai Yujing again, "What is your name, and where do you come from?"
Bai Yujing had already turned around and began to comfort the child.
The child was about six or seven years old and looked similar to Feng Yunhui. At this moment, tears were streaming down his face, making him look extremely pitiful.
Bai Yujing picked up the silver from the ground, gently placed it in the child's hand, and softly comforted him, "Don't be afraid, everything is safe now."
Although the child was young, he understood that Bai Yujing had saved him, and he said gratefully through sobs, "...Thank you, big brother!"
Bai Yujing gently stroked the top of his head, "Go home quickly."
The child nodded, glancing again with lingering fear in the direction of the carriage, before quickly running home.
After he disappeared from sight, Bai Yujing bowed deeply to Princess Ziyan.
"The princess's thoughtfulness is admirable. I've disturbed you today, so I'll take my leave now."
He turned and left as soon as he finished speaking.
The maidservant beside Princess Ziyan looked displeased. "What's wrong with this person? The princess personally inquired about him, yet he dares to ignore her?"
Watching Bai Yujing leave like that, Princess Ziyan was also a little stunned, and seemed to want to chase after him.
But another maid immediately stopped him.
"Princess, where are you going?"
Princess Ziyan snapped out of her reverie. "Yu Xun, didn't you find this person rather interesting?"
The maid named Yu Xun witnessed Princess Zi Yan's lost and dejected state, and her heart couldn't help but stir. So she carefully lowered her voice and asked, "Princess, could it be... that you've fallen for him?"
The other maid standing to the side stared wide-eyed in surprise upon hearing this.
"What! He's just a poor scholar, how could he be worthy of a noble princess?"
Princess Ziyan sighed softly, as if the fog in her heart had thickened further. "Yes, he was just a poor scholar, worlds apart from me. Oh well..."
She tried to erase Bai Yujing's image from her mind, then turned around and instructed, "Liu Ying, Yu Xun, let's get in the car."
Hearing this, Yu Xun's tension eased slightly, and he quickly stepped forward to help the princess into the carriage.
Liu Ying spat disdainfully in the direction Bai Yujing had left, "Hmph, how could such an impudent person possibly catch the eye of our princess!"
...
Halfway through his journey, Bai Yujing unexpectedly encountered Jiang Huaiyu. Knowing that she must have come specifically to find him, he quickened his pace to greet her.
"Huaiyu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Jiang Huaiyu looked worried. "Have you encountered any trouble?"
Bai Yujing briefly recounted what had just happened, and Jiang Huaiyu finally felt relieved.
“I had a feeling something was going to happen. As soon as the coachman returned home, I rushed here to find you. Now that you are safe and sound, I am relieved.”
Bai Yujing squeezed her hand, "I'm sorry to have worried you."
Jiang Huaiyu shook her head slightly, a hint of helplessness in her smile. "It's getting late, let's leave the capital as soon as possible."
The two walked side by side on the road, but Jiang Huaiyu seemed to have a subtle thought flash through her mind, yet she couldn't quite grasp it.
She shook her head slightly, putting those chaotic thoughts to the back of her mind.
Since returning to the Jiang family, her heart has been in constant turmoil, perhaps it's just her own overthinking.
The carriage left the capital and headed towards Fushun Town along the official road.
As the sun began to set, they rested in the shade of a grove of trees. The coachman led the horses to drink and eat, while Jiang Huaiyu and Bai Yujing settled down under a large, leafy tree to enjoy a moment of peace.
The two sampled some dry rations, and seeing that the driver was still very busy, they decided not to set off immediately.
Jiang Huaiyu simply took a long, narrow wooden box from the carriage, slowly opened the lid, and what came into view was a short flute with an antique design. The flute was made of purple bamboo, and its entire body was plain and unadorned, with only a delicate and small blue tassel tied at the top.
Jiang Huaiyu gently stroked the short flute, her eyes revealing a deep sense of nostalgia.
She sighed softly and said slowly, "This was my most cherished treasure in my childhood. Back then, besides immersing myself in books, my greatest joy was playing this piccolo. My parents weren't good at music, so the task of teaching me to play fell to my older cousin. My cousin was knowledgeable about all kinds of instruments, and we often played together. However, before my coming-of-age ceremony, my cousin got married. Not long after, Jiang Shuqin also returned home, and I never touched this piccolo again."
Although she hadn't played it for many years, only occasionally taking it out to lightly dust it, Jiang Shuqin knew it was her favorite instrument, so she secretly hid it away.
In her previous life, Jiang Huaiyu searched everywhere but to no avail. Later, although she bought several more piccolo flutes, she could never find the emotions that the piccolo flute brought her.
Yesterday, while tidying up her old belongings, she accidentally found this wooden box on top of a cabinet, and thus regained the piccolo. Before leaving, she took it with her.
Bai Yujing raised her eyebrows slightly, revealing a gentle smile. "I wonder if I would have the honor of hearing you play a tune, madam?"
Jiang Huaiyu's gaze froze slightly, then she gently shook her head.
"Having not touched it for so long, I'm afraid my skills have become rusty."
Including her previous life, she hadn't played the flute for over a decade.
Bai Yujing took the flute, carefully wiped it with a silk handkerchief, and after it looked brand new, handed it back to Jiang Huaiyu with both hands, her eyes full of encouragement: "How will you know the result if you don't try?"
Jiang Huaiyu's fingertips gently glided over the blue tassel on the flute—it was when she was a child, her father learned that she wanted to learn to play the flute, so he gave her this short flute, and this tassel was woven for her by Hao Shi herself.
During her childhood, she was a beloved daughter who grew up bathed in her parents' endless love.
It was this deep emotional bond that prevented her from truly harboring resentment no matter how coldly and harshly Jiang Wenyuan and Hao Shi treated her later.
Jiang Huaiyu gently turned her head, her gaze piercing through time and space, looking towards the distant capital city, her eyes glistening with tears, shimmering like stars.
After a while, she gently brought the piccolo to her lips, and as she played it slowly, a series of soft melodies filled the air.
At first, the flute playing sounded hesitant and somewhat unfamiliar, but as her skills gradually matured, the flute playing became smooth and melodious. The clear, gentle, and graceful melody echoed between heaven and earth, attracting passersby to stop and listen.
Bai Yujing, captivated by the music, picked up a tree branch, used a stone as a drum, and played a duet with her short flute.
Although it's just a simple rhythm, when combined with the flute, it adds a weighty texture to this gentle piece of music.
In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, the wind blows gently, and the sound of the flute is as ethereal as silk. In this harmonious music, the soul experiences an unprecedented release and sublimation.
When the piece ended, Jiang Huaiyu put away her flute, looked up, and asked with a radiant smile, "Did you like this piece?"
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