Chapter 44: What did you eat?
It was drizzling that day. After reporting to Jiang Cheng, Jiang Lan took Qing'er and Gui'er out in a carriage. Her mother's death anniversary was approaching, and she wanted to go to Sanqing Temple to burn incense for her mother and ask the abbot to perform a ritual for her mother on that day.
Thinking of his deceased wife, Jiang Cheng felt sad and asked Jiang Lan to light some incense for him.
Although it was drizzling, there were still many people coming to the temple to pray. After a lady had worshipped the statue, Jiang Lan brought Qing'er and Gui'er over. She knelt on the cushion in front of the statue and worshipped three times respectfully and piously, praying for her mother's afterlife, asking the gods to bless her mother with a smooth life, free from illness and disaster, good health, and a long life.
After she had agreed with the host about the ritual and was about to go back with Qing'er and Gui'er, Ling Feng suddenly appeared in front of the three of them.
"Second Miss, please come this way." Ling Feng made a gesture of invitation.
Jiang Lan looked over there, towards the backyard, and asked casually, "Is the Marquis here too?" Ling Feng nodded, "The Marquis said the flowers in the backyard are blooming beautifully, and asked the Second Miss to go over and take a look."
When Ling Feng brought the three of them to the backyard door, the drizzle stopped, a ray of sunlight shone through the clouds, and the sky began to clear up.
As soon as Jiang Lan entered the yard, she saw Qi Wuhan, who was standing a few steps away, as if he was waiting for her.
He put his hands behind his back and did not wave the bone fan gracefully as usual.
Although they were a few steps away, she could still feel that he was a little different today. For some reason, he seemed a little... lonely.
"Come walk with me." When he came over, he seemed to have restrained his loneliness, and the corners of his mouth were still smiling, just like usual, but he no longer called himself the Marquis. His peach blossom eyes also lost their usual seductive look, as if he had temporarily put down all his arrogance.
When he turned around, Jiang Lan noticed that he was not holding the bone fan in his hand.
Was it lost or broken?
She thought about it silently and then put the question aside.
The two of them walked slowly along the cobblestone path. The clouds dispersed, and warm, bright sunlight poured down from the sky, shining on the two of them. A trace of warm air gradually wrapped around every strand of hair. Jiang Lan felt a lot warmer, and the gloomy, cold atmosphere that had shrouded her head when she went out was swept away.
She turned her head to look at the person next to her, and felt that the brows seemed to be illuminated by the sunlight, dissipating some of the cold and dark atmosphere.
As if noticing her gaze, Qi Wuhan also turned to look at her and smiled at her, with a special warmth in his eyes... just like the ordinary and warm tenderness that an ordinary man would have when looking at his wife.
Jiang Lan had the illusion for a moment that they were like an old married couple taking a walk in their garden on a sunny morning after the rain. A warm feeling of attachment surged from the bottom of her heart. She turned to look at the flowers and plants on the roadside to divert her attention and not let herself be overwhelmed by the absurd thoughts that emerged in her heart.
The petals and blades of grass were covered with crystal-clear water droplets, reflecting a riot of color under the sunlight. The air after the rain had a special fresh smell, a mixture of the fragrance of flowers and grass, with a hint of the unique earthy smell of soil...
The two of them walked slowly and silently for a while. Qi Wuhan suddenly asked, "What did you feed Yuanbao?" His tone was a little teasing, and his expression was cheerful. "It had grown a lot fatter when it came back."
"It didn't eat anything..." Jiang Lan denied, and then added with a guilty look, "I fed it just as you wrote." After a pause, she added, "I saw that it liked snacks, so I gave it two pieces..."
"Just two dollars?" The mischief in Qi Wuhan's tone became more obvious.
"Add two more pieces..." Jiang Lan looked at the ground a little guiltily. Honestly, she couldn't remember clearly. Sometimes she fed Yuanbao, and sometimes Yuanbao took a piece himself. She didn't think Yuanbao had gained weight, but it seemed like his neck had shrunk a little. When he tucked his little head in to sleep, his neck was even less visible...
"If you gain weight again, you won't be able to fly next time." Qi Wuhan joked.
Jiang Lan felt a little hot on her face. She didn't want him to hold on to her little braid any longer, so she asked him one question: why did Ling Feng always send her food boxes with other dishes besides the stewed tonic soup?
Every time Gui'er and Qing'er brought back a food box, in addition to a bowl of stewed tonic soup, there was also another dish. The dishes were different every time, but they were all exquisite and beautiful, and did not look cheap.
Qi Wuhan asked her if the food tasted good, and Jiang Lan nodded honestly. After all, she had already eaten it, and it was indeed delicious. She couldn't go against her conscience and say that the chef's cooking was not tasty.
She asked him whether the food was cooked by the chef in the mansion or bought from a restaurant outside. If it was bought from a restaurant outside, he should calculate the price. Even if she gave him the money, he couldn't eat and drink for free. If it was cooked by the chef in the mansion, she was about to ask him to calculate the cost of the ingredients, but he interrupted her before she could say anything.
"Xiao Lan'er, I'm not in a good mood today. If you make me angry again, I'll be really angry." He bent down, stared at her, and drew out his tone, making his voice sound more gentle and considerate than usual. The smile at the corner of his mouth became more amiable, but it gave people a dangerous feeling that things would turn into the opposite when they reach the extreme. It made people feel as if there was an elegant devil lurking under that gentle skin, and a cold, dark and evil aura was ready to move.
Jiang Lan turned her face away, not liking his aggressive yet gentle and considerate look.
Qi Wuhan didn't say anything else. He just saw her turn away as if she didn't want to see him anymore. Her cold eyes became even darker, and a trace of regret flashed through his heart. He had wanted to talk to her nicely, but why did it turn out like this as soon as he opened his mouth...
A silent and oppressive atmosphere spread between the two of them, as if an invisible wall had built up between them.
Every year when this day comes, he feels angry in his heart. He doesn't want to see anyone, nor does he allow anyone to disturb him.
Black-armored guards are guarding the door, no one is allowed to enter.
When Ling Feng took it upon himself to come over and tell him that Jiang Lan had also come, he didn't say he would see her, nor did he say he wouldn't see her. When Ling Feng took it upon himself to invite her over, he didn't stop him. He just muttered to himself, "The flowers in the yard are blooming beautifully today." After saying that, when he looked at the flowers again, they really did seem to be blooming beautifully...
When he saw her, the rain had just stopped, and his mood seemed to brighten up like the sky.
But when she settled the accounts with him so clearly, as if she wanted to draw a clear line between them, the anger that he had been restraining in his heart overflowed uncontrollably. On normal days, he would definitely tease and coax her, but today all his patience seemed to be used up to suppress that anger.
But seeing that she was looking at him with a displeased face and looked like she was ready to fight him to the end, what else could he do? Who told him to like her so much? Besides, it was no big deal for him, a grown man, to suffer a little injustice.
He sighed lightly and prepared to give in to the girl first. It would not be a good idea to just stay stiff like this.
Qi Wuhan was about to speak when Jiang Lan spoke first, telling him something, "In two days it will be the anniversary of my mother's death."
Before she opened her mouth, she realized that he might have lost a relative who was very important to him, but the stubbornness in her heart was still twisted. When she heard him sigh lightly, she somehow stopped being twisted.
After hearing these words, Qi Wuhan was stunned at first, thinking that he was hallucinating. But when he came to his senses, a warmth surged in his heart, and the darkness in his eyes disappeared.
When Jiang Lan looked up at him, she was not sure whether he could understand what she meant. When she met his gaze, she knew that he understood everything. He understood that she said this to comfort him rather than to gain sympathy. He understood that she said this to tell him that she could understand his feelings. Maybe she could not understand it completely, but she could understand the unspeakable grief and regret.
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