Seeing that Granny Zhang was about to rush out the door with an ebony food box in one hand and was about to be exposed, Lu Tianjiao immediately scanned her surroundings with her bright eyes. Then, her slender body nimbly dodged and safely hid behind a small artificial hill in the corner of the woods next to the archway.
Only after watching her until she was completely out of sight did she slowly reappear before the archway. Gazing at her departing figure, a sly and smug chuckle appeared on her face. She muttered to herself, "Hmph, with your old bones, you think you can fight me? You're not even qualified. Unless you go to hell early in this life and are reborn into a better one, so you won't be a slave in your next life. Perhaps in eighteen years, you can still stand before me. But even then, you'll have to be more skilled than me. It seems I was too lenient eight years ago. But it's alright, there's plenty of time. We'll meet again someday."
After saying this, Lu Tianjiao exhaled a deep breath, turned around, and stepped into the Xinglin Pavilion with another gentle and kind face.
Upon entering, he happened to see Physician Yue busy tidying up the teacups on the stone table. He suddenly frowned and picked up the bowl of medicine that Granny Zhang had just taken. He seemed to be examining it carefully and wondering about something, while bringing it close to his nose to smell it.
Lu Tianjiao had a guilty conscience and was constantly worried that someone would discover that she had tampered with Zhang Mama's medicine soup. So, ever since she sent the pot of medicine soup away, she never left Zhang Mama's side and followed her closely until she saw her take the medicine with her own eyes before she felt at ease.
However, she knew that her little tricks would not fool the eyes of the over-forty-year-old Imperial Physician Yue.
Upon seeing Physician Le's actions, Lu Tianjiao felt a sudden panic and hurriedly stepped forward to help, smiling as she said, "Uncle Le, what are you busy with? Let me help you."
Physician Yue, already lost in thought, was clearly startled by the sudden reappearance of the gentle woman before him. He hurriedly put down his teacup, somewhat flustered, and politely declined, saying, "Oh dear, how can I do this? You are Brother Lu's precious daughter, born a pampered young lady who has never lifted a finger. How could I bear to let you do such rough work? I'll do it myself; you just sit, just sit."
As Physician Le spoke, he kept his head down and never stopped what he was doing. However, Lu Tianjiao was even more nimble than him, almost snatching the tea set from his hands. She smiled and said, "Uncle Le, it's alright, don't be so polite. Actually, I don't always have to lift a finger at home. I sometimes find things to do myself. Cleaning the tea set is a small thing that I can easily do. You've been busy all day, sit down and rest."
As Lu Tianjiao spoke, he picked up the three teacups that had just been used and were spread out on the stone table, carefully held them in his hands, and hurriedly ran into the house.
Doctor Yue looked at her departing figure with suspicion, then turned back to look at the tea tray on the stone table, where there was still an unused teacup and the large earthenware teapot. He seemed to be thinking about something and said, "In that case, I will take advantage of Miss's blessing and be lazy today."
As Physician Le spoke absentmindedly to himself, he recalled what Granny Zhang had just told him, and a sudden, inexplicable sense of fear welled up in his heart.
While he was still lost in thought, Lu Tianjiao had already quickly washed the three teacups and brought them back. Her face remained innocent and kind, with a gentle smile on her beautiful and calm expression. She said, "Uncle Le, I've washed the teacups for you. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. It's getting late, and Her Highness the Princess Consort specifically instructed me to attend to some other matters before leaving."
"Oh, you go ahead with your work, it's alright, it's alright. Come over and visit often when you have time," Physician Yue said, snapping out of his reverie upon hearing this.
"Well... Tianjiao will take his leave now. I'll come to visit you again when I have time. Uncle Le, take care!" After saying this, Lu Tianjiao walked steadily and gracefully out the door with a relieved expression.
In the silent Xinglin Pavilion, it suddenly seemed as if all the air around them had frozen, making it almost suffocating and impossible to breathe.
Physician Yue sat alone at the stone table, staring blankly at the three ceramic teacups that Lu Tianjiao had just brought out of the house and placed on the stone table. The teacups were still stacked together and covered inside and out with wet droplets.
"Oh, oh, time to sleep, the kitten is all under the covers... Oh, oh, time to sleep, the kitten is all under the covers..." In the backyard of the Qin Prince's Mansion, in the small courtyard where Ling'er and her grandmother lived alone, Ling'er's grandmother was holding little Ling'er next to the water vat in the middle of the yard, gently patting her back and humming Ling'er's favorite nursery rhyme, while slowly pacing back and forth around the water vat.
The little Ling'er in my arms had tear stains all over her chubby little face, and she seemed to have fallen asleep feeling extremely wronged.
The shattered pastries that she had just knocked to the ground were still clearly visible.
At this moment, Ling'er's grandmother was looking at little Ling'er's face with a pained expression.
Suddenly, Granny Zhang entered carrying a tray with a pot of medicinal soup on it. Seeing that little Ling'er seemed to be asleep, she lowered her footsteps and came to the side of the grandmother and granddaughter. Looking at Ling'er's face, she asked, "Asleep?"
"She's asleep now, but she cried and fussed for a long time. One minute she wanted her mother, the next she wanted her father, and then she wanted Miss Yun. Sigh..." The old woman said helplessly with a bitter face as she sat down with Zhang Mama.
“I know that you love Ling’er very much, and what you did today was because you were worried about me. But no matter what, you must never hit or scold the child again. Ling’er is pitiful enough; she is still just a child and doesn’t understand anything. Fortunately, Yu Niang will be back soon, so let’s just wait patiently,” said Zhang Mama.
“Alas, now whenever I mention Yu Niang, I think of Miss Yi. All this misfortune is my fault. I shouldn’t have told Miss Yi where Yu Niang went. If I hadn’t said anything, Miss Yi wouldn’t have gone there to look for Yu Niang, and none of this would have happened. I’m such a foolish old woman, I deserve to die, I deserve to die! Why wasn’t it me, this old woman, who died? Miss Yi, she was such a good woman, how could she, how could she die like this… Heavens, I’ve committed such a sin, such a sin…” The old woman said, tears of deep remorse streaming down her face.
Hearing these heart-wrenching words, Granny Zhang also raised her head, gazing silently at the clouds in the twilight sky, and said absentmindedly, "Old sister, don't blame yourself too much. What's done is done. Perhaps it's all fate. 'Good people often have tragic fates.' Miss Yun, she must have gone to join the Empress Dowager. Because she and the Empress Dowager were both the kindest souls in this world, and after death they must have gone to a paradise free from suffering."
The two old women sat quietly for a long time. Suddenly, Granny Zhang came to her senses and said, "That's right, elder sister, you still need to keep a close eye on Ling'er and give her some instructions. Tell her to stay away from that eldest daughter of the Lu family. That woman is extremely cunning and unscrupulous; she's not a kind person. I'm afraid she might use Ling'er or harm her."
The mother-in-law was very puzzled and said, "That child seems gentle, generous, and polite. Is she really as vicious and wicked as my sister says?"
Granny Zhang said solemnly, "Elder sister, 'you can't judge a book by its cover,' and if it weren't for this woman, our Dowager Princess wouldn't be here... In short, with this woman in the Prince Qin's residence, there will never be peace. I really don't know how she got together with the Princess. I just hope she doesn't cause any major trouble. In this huge Prince's residence, there's only one true master now. Could it be... that she's after His Highness? What exactly does this woman want to do...? Hmph... No matter what she wants to do, this old woman will fight her to the death. This time, she won't be able to harm the master of this residence even a little bit."
As Zhang Mama spoke, she seemed lost in thought and began to mutter to herself.
"What are you saying, little sister?" Granny Zhang lowered her voice as she spoke, and Ling'er's grandmother, being old and hard of hearing, could no longer hear what she was saying, so she asked in bewilderment.
"Oh, it's nothing. Elder sister, please remember what I just told you: keep a close eye on Ling'er and make sure she doesn't have any more contact with that woman alone," Zhang Mama reminded her again.
Grandma Ling'er nodded heavily. Zhang Mama then got up and looked at Ling'er, who was already fast asleep in Grandma Ling'er's arms, and said, "Alright, it seems that little Ling'er can't accompany this old woman to see His Highness now, so I'll have to go alone. You should take the child inside to sleep too, it's cold outside, be careful not to catch a cold."
Just as she was about to reach for the tray, Granny Zhang suddenly felt as if a phantom had flashed before her eyes, and her legs seemed to lose strength instantly, causing her body to sway precariously.
"What's wrong with you?" Grandma Ling'er asked as soon as she saw this, and quickly reached out a hand to support her.
Granny Zhang braced herself on the stone table, then squeezed her eyes hard, and her dim, old eyes seemed to become clear again in an instant. She couldn't help but think to herself, "Could my old ailment really be that serious?"
"Oh, it's just an old ailment. It's nothing serious. My old bones aren't ready to meet the King of Hell yet, so don't worry, old sister." After regaining her balance, Granny Zhang said this, then steadily picked up the tray again and slowly walked out the door towards Lin Yuexuan's direction…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com