Chapter 57
Eagle's Mark
She slept exceptionally soundly, and even dreamed that she was holding a jar of honey and gulping it down.
She smacked her lips, savoring the sweet taste in her mouth, when she suddenly heard a long bird call above her. After listening for a while, she realized that the bird's call sounded very much like Hao Jingshi's.
“Deer antler scutellaria”.
“Deer antler scutellaria”.
The sound grew closer and closer, gradually reaching her ears. Lu Qin slowly opened her eyes as the voice called out.
She was now in the mansion, her consciousness hazy, and it took her a long time to come to her senses from the dream.
Upon closer inspection, Lu Qin realized that the honey pot she was holding was actually Hao Jingshi's waist, and the honey she was drinking was the antidote to the sleeping potion Hao Jingshi had just given her.
She lay on his lap, her hair disheveled like a cat with its fur standing on end, her lower body spread wide in a V-shape as if she were hurrying along – quite unsightly. More importantly, she noticed a wet patch on Hao Jingshi's shirt; it was obvious it was from her saliva.
This sleeping potion is incredibly potent... She would never act like this normally!
Lu Qin instantly snapped out of her daze, feeling deeply ashamed, and quickly pulled her legs back and got up.
"Husband..." She nestled awkwardly into Hao Jingshi's arms, not daring to look him in the eye, "Where is the princess?"
"The princess has returned to the capital with the Prince of Pingfan. She asked me to tell you that she will come to see you when she has time." Hao Jingshi said, placing the medicine bowl on a small stool beside him and smoothing her hair. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No..." She's sleeping soundly. "What about Zhang Gui and the others?"
“He was taken back by the Prince of Pingfan,” Hao Jingshi said. “After you collapsed, the princess pretended to go crazy and beat Qian Yuming unconscious. Zhang Gui was also drunk and passed out. I slapped him twice before I could get a few questions out of him.”
He hugged her back, "Anyway, things are temporarily settled, so you don't need to worry. Leave the rest to the prince. I'm just afraid you've drunk too much sleeping potion and become mentally impaired."
“With my husband around, how could I become stupid?”
Lu Qin rubbed her cheek against him and chuckled.
As I laughed, I looked up and noticed the darkening sky outside, and suddenly wondered, "What time is it?"
"What's wrong at three-quarters past the hour of You (5:45 PM)?"
"The hour of You (5-7 PM)?" Lu Qin sprang out of his arms. "Oh no, I have to hurry back to the clothing shop. Nannan is still waiting for me!"
She hurriedly ran out of bed to change her clothes, and Hao Jingshi followed her in confusion, asking, "Who is Nannan?"
It wasn't some man he met behind his back, was it?
"What kind of man would call his daughter 'Nannan'?" Without him having to explain, Lu Qin knew what he was thinking and immediately said, "It's a little girl. I wanted to tell you about her yesterday, but then I forgot about it."
She haphazardly combed her hair, but couldn't manage it well, so she called Ling'er in again and continued.
“She made an appointment with me to meet at the clothing store, and she was going to bring her younger brother along. I can’t break my promise to two little kids.”
Having his thoughts read, Hao Jingshi coughed stubbornly and said, "Young master, I didn't say it was a man. I was just asking. I'll go with you then."
Lu Qin was used to his stubbornness and too lazy to tease him any further, so she sweetly said, "Okay."
...
As the sunset began to appear, the chill deepened, and the night was more merciless than the day, the wind blowing on the face always leaving a stinging mark.
It was almost closing time, so the two of them hurried to Xuande Street to keep their appointment with Nannan.
Lu Qin was worried that Nannan would leave in disappointment because she couldn't wait for her. Fortunately, when she arrived at the clothing shop, Xuan Lan had not yet locked the door.
Upon seeing Lu Qin and Hao Jingshi arrive, he rushed forward to greet them, looking overjoyed, and said, "Madam, you've come at the perfect time. In the afternoon, someone brought two children to the clothing shop. The children refused to leave, saying they had an appointment with you. I had no choice but to send someone to your residence to inquire about it."
Have you left yet?
"No, I just hid in the leftmost fitting room."
"I'll go take a look."
After Lu Qin finished speaking, she strode into the house. Hao Jingshi caught up with her, turned around and waved to Xuan Lan, indicating that he could pack up and go back to the manor to rest.
But Xuan Lan dared not abandon her master and leave first. After thinking for a moment, she quickly darted to the rooftop to enjoy the sunset.
"Nannan." Lu Qin walked straight to the leftmost fitting room and called out.
She bent down and saw four helpless little feet below. Through the curtain, she said, "It's my sister. I'm late."
“Sister.” Nannan happily pulled back the curtain after hearing this. She was wearing a new little jacket today, with exquisite embroidery, which showed how much her parents loved her. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”
"How could that be? My sister had an urgent matter and was delayed. I'm so sorry."
Lu Qin spoke gently, and seeing Nannan hugging a little boy with a square scarf wrapped around his head, she smiled and said, "This must be your younger brother."
"Yes." Nannan patted the little boy's head. The little boy didn't say a word, his fingers nervously pinching the hem of his clothes. Upon closer inspection, his nails were neatly trimmed and very clean.
Lu Qin stepped forward and patted his little head: "Little brother, let your big sister see you, okay?"
The little boy reflexively flinched back, keeping his head bowed low as if he wanted to shrink into the ground.
"My little brother is worried that people will laugh at him if his scars show," Nannan quickly explained when she saw her brother like this. "Nobody in the neighborhood wants to play with him, so he's a little afraid of people."
She then turned to the little boy and said patiently, "Little brother, this is the Deer Sister I told you about. She will help you cover your scars, so don't be afraid of her."
After hearing this, the little boy timidly raised his head. Seeing this, Nannan coaxed him like a little adult and then reached out and pulled off the veil covering his face.
Lu Qin looked at him with a smile, but then she saw him shudder, revealing a scar on his face, as shocking as a ravine in the mountains.
She frowned, knowing that such a scar could only be covered temporarily, not forever. "The injury is so severe, didn't you apply any ointment?"
The little boy lowered his head again, and the little girl said in a clear voice, "I've already applied it. Mother bought all sorts of scar-removing medicine, but it's not getting better."
Lu Qin felt sorry after hearing this. If the scars were not so conspicuous, the first thing others would see would be a child with regular features and delicate eyes.
She touched the little boy's unscarred cheek and reached out her hand to him, saying, "How about I draw you a handsome eagle?"
The little boy hesitated for a moment, then smiled when he saw her nod. He took Lu Qin's outstretched hand.
Lu Qin led the little boy out of the fitting room, and Nannan followed closely behind. After a few steps, the little boy saw Hao Jingshi standing with his back against the clothes rack, and his head drooped down like a mimosa.
Seeing this, Lu Qin comforted the little boy: "Don't be afraid, he is my husband, and his medical skills are excellent. Look up and let him see you, and perhaps he can cure you."
As she spoke, she called Hao Jingshi over. The little boy looked up hopefully, met Hao Jingshi's gaze, and then quickly lowered his head again.
Hao Jingshi glanced at it: "It can be treated. I'll write a prescription for him later. However, the scar is too deep and can't be removed overnight. For now, we can only cover it up."
Hearing this, the little boy was a little disappointed, but for the first time ever, he opened his mouth and said softly and politely, "Thank you, Uncle."
The word "uncle" made Lu Qin smile broadly. She patted Hao Jingshi's shoulder and said, "Uncle, let's go over there first."
uncle:"……"
Lu Qin led the little boy to the counter, set up a bronze mirror, and drew an eagle soaring through the valley, following the outline of his scar.
The little boy kept his eyes down, not daring to look directly at himself in the mirror, until he finished the drawing and heard Nannan's unstoppable praise, then he hesitantly raised his head.
He glanced at himself in the mirror, paused in disbelief, touched his scar, and then stared intently at the bronze mirror again.
Gradually, a bright smile appeared on his face, his back straightened, and he became more talkative, gesturing as he recounted his injury to Lu Qin.
"Do you know that little dog that carries flyers? The other day I saw a bad guy pinching the dog and feeding it meat, it hurt so much, so I went up and taught him a lesson!"
"The bad guy wouldn't let go and even pushed me! Sister, if he hadn't been so strong and pushed me onto the rock, I definitely could have protected that little dog!"
The little boy was gesturing wildly as he spoke, acting like a young knight-errant. Nannan clapped and cheered from the side, but Lu Qin fell silent, feeling a mix of emotions.
She reached out and hugged the little boy, whispering, "If anyone else is disgusted by your scars, just tell them that they are the marks left by an eagle."
"The eagle only rewards the bravest child, and you are the bravest child in its eyes."
After hearing this, the little boy pressed his face against her shoulder and nodded earnestly.
...
Nannan led the little boy to thank Lu Qin, and then chatted with her about some whimsical ideas. Lu Qin wrote them all down and asked Hao Jingshi to bring them some fruit to eat.
Seeing that it was getting late and their families hadn't come to pick them up yet, Lu Qin asked again, "You didn't sneak out, did you?"
“No, it was the wet nurse who brought us,” Nannan answered quickly. “My little brother doesn’t like crowds, so we told him to come back in half an hour. She’s probably going to the market to buy Mother’s favorite pastries.”
Half an hour is fast enough.
Lu Qin nodded, thinking that this wet nurse was so careless as to leave two children alone in a stranger's clothing shop, which was not reliable at all.
She casually started educating the two children about how to avoid strangers, but before she could finish, the little girl began explaining things to her wet nurse.
"The wet nurse said she knows Sister Lu, knows that Sister Lu is a good person, and that Sister Lu's husband is also a good person and would not harm us, so she felt at ease leaving us here."
The wet nurse knew her? Lu Qin was deeply puzzled. "What are your wet nurses' names?"
“Call her…” Nannan pointed outside the door, “Sister Lu, look, she’s here!”
Beyond the words, hurried footsteps grew closer and closer. Lu Qin turned around curiously and saw a woman with her hair in a bun walking towards her in the setting sun, running towards her without hesitation.
Lu Qin stared at the figure for a long time, and when she saw her enter, her pupils trembled, and the words of excitement choked in her mouth.
The man's eyes filled with tears, and he knelt down in front of her with a thud, offering her the most respectful bow.
"Zhilan...Zhilan greets Miss."
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