Chapter 195 Picking Plum Blossoms
"Uncle," Shen Anan suddenly introduced, "Do you have any impression of this girl?"
Qi Jinping came back to his senses from his sadness, raised his indifferent eyes and looked at Hua Sheng.
Then he shook his head, "I don't know her. She is...?"
The hope in Hua Sheng's eyes turned into dead silence in an instant. He stood there blankly, as if he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
Shen Anan sighed secretly, but still said, "She is the princess of Yongning Marquis Mansion, Hua Sheng, you should have known each other when you were young."
"Hua Sheng? Yongning Marquis Mansion?"
Qi Jinping's calm eyes first showed a look of contemplation, then he understood.
"So she is the eldest princess's youngest daughter. She has grown up so much."
"..." The tone was like the appreciation and emotion expressed by an elder who had not seen the younger generation for many years.
He is two or three years older than Xiao Yuan, which means he is indeed much older than Hua Sheng.
Moreover, when Qi Jinping left Beijing, Hua Sheng was only a few years old. If Qi Jinping had any feelings for Hua Sheng, then there would be something wrong with him.
"I held you in my arms when I was a child. I remember you always loved to stick to Chen Yi and were a little crybaby."
Hua Sheng's smile gradually became forced.
Shen Anan didn't know how to help Hua Sheng turn the situation around.
She didn't even know how Hua Sheng came to have such romantic thoughts about Qi Jinping.
"Cousin, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable. I'll go back first." She lowered her head and ran out quickly.
Qi Jinping frowned, with a look of surprise on his face.
He seemed very gentle and kind just now, maybe he still scared the little girl.
If Li Huaiyan were here, he would definitely notice the sparks in Hua Sheng's eyes when he looked at Qi Jinping. Unfortunately, Qi Jinping didn't understand.
"Hua Sheng... the eldest princess and Prince Ling told her about a marriage, but she was not very satisfied, so she came to find me."
"Yeah," Qi Jinping nodded calmly, obviously not taking it to heart.
Shen Anan had no choice but to give up and talk about something else, "We will be leaving for Beijing in the next few days, what is my uncle going to do?"
"I will escort you to a hundred miles outside the capital, and then return to the border."
Shen Anan nodded.
Even in the past, the emperor was very wary of him, let alone at this critical juncture, Qi Jinping really could not return to Beijing.
"Yuan'er...I'll leave it to you."
"…rest assured."
——
When I returned to the yard, I saw Hua Sheng holding her face in her hands in front of the dressing table, crying silently in front of the bronze mirror.
"Cousin, I'm already an adult. I'm not a child anymore."
"Okay, our Hua Sheng is a grown-up girl, not a child." She patted her shoulder to comfort her, and Hua Sheng leaned on her shoulder.
"The tone he used when talking to me was just like my mother and my eldest brother, and the way he looked at me wasn't like he was looking at a girl."
Shen Anan comforted her silently, and waited until she calmed down before speaking slowly.
"He is ten years older than you, and you haven't seen each other for many years. In his eyes and heart, you are still the crybaby girl who followed Ling Chenyi back then."
"Besides, if he behaves unusually towards you when you first meet him, doesn't that mean he has a bad character and is not worthy of your trust at all?"
"But I always remember him." Hua Sheng's tears fell like beads from a broken string, "But he doesn't even remember me."
Shen Anan twitched her lips. "If he had feelings for you when you were little, then he's a pedophile and has a problem."
"That's true." Hua Sheng straightened up and wiped his tears, but still couldn't hide his sadness and loneliness.
In fact, it was difficult for Shen Anan to understand Hua Sheng’s obsession.
How could she, so young, understand the relationship between men and women and maintain it for several years?
"Hua Sheng, do you think he is still the person you remember?"
Hua Sheng's eyes were blank, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you were still young at that time, and maybe you didn't really like him, but just had a childhood liking for him, like liking a piece of clothing, a friend, or a pet."
People often have filters for the people in their memories, and perhaps after getting along with them, they will find that things are not what they thought.
Qi Jinping was not the one she loved, so was she just liking the person she imagined in her mind?
"Cousin, do you know why I have never dared to tell mother and elder brother?"
Shen Anan shook his head.
"Because I was afraid that they would think I was crazy, or had a mental problem, or... they would think I was terrible for having such thoughts at such a young age."
"In fact, it's not the little me who likes him, but the grown-up me."
She raised her head and looked at Shen Anan, and seeing the confusion and doubt in her eyes, she curled her lips and smiled.
"It's me who, as an adult, recalls and falls in love with the boy who carried me on his shoulders again and again."
So, what I like about Qi Jinping is not her childhood, but her as she grew up. Every time I recall her, I fall in love with her again and again.
Shen Anan still doesn't understand this kind of feeling.
But Hua Sheng is an extremely stubborn person, and this obsession has been deeply rooted for two lifetimes.
"Cousin, he is the person I have loved for my entire teenage years. If nothing works out, I will regret it and feel hopeless for the rest of my life."
The days are as plain as a clear spring, and he is the moonlight pouring into the lake, the only color.
Shen Anan swallowed back the words of advice.
The reason why obsession is called obsession is that a person has deeply rooted a certain idea in his mind, and no one can pull it out except himself.
"The best thing I have ever done in my life is to come to Tianshui City. Even if he doesn't remember me and even if there is no result, it means that I have tried my best and I will not have any regrets in the future."
There was a gleam in her eyes that Shen Anan had never seen before.
She suddenly remembered her previous life in the Yongning Marquis Mansion.
She was right. Although there was no hope and even though she knew it was a dead end, at least she was trying to move forward on this road.
It’s better than keeping it in your heart every day, and then fantasizing and regretting the good things that might have happened for countless years.
"In three days, when the official arrives, we will set out for Beijing. He will escort us to Langyue Lake and then return to the border."
She cannot decide other people's lives.
"Okay, thank you, cousin."
Qi Jinping has not been very busy these days and has been staying in the courtyard every day.
"General Qi."
The woman saluted gracefully and elegantly, with a slender figure and a round neck.
This was their third encounter today.
Qi Jinping frowned slightly, "What do you want?"
Hua Sheng mustered up the courage to look up. "I...I want to make some plum cakes, but the plum tree is too high and I can't reach it. Can you help me?"
Qi Jinping agreed without even thinking about it.
"Then I'll take you there." Hua Sheng's eyes were full of surprise.
The two walked towards the backyard, and a tall shadow slowly walked out from the corridor, revealing his figure, "So the sweetheart the princess mentioned is General Qi."
A glance in my life, until the end of this year, is about him!
For some unknown reason, Lin Ye followed him.
"I want the plum blossoms on that branch." Hua Sheng pointed high up and said to Qi Jinping.
He looked up and said, "Okay."
He leaped onto the branch with a few leaps and then drew a dagger from his waist.
"Don't cut it off." Hua Sheng said anxiously.
"Then how do I pick it?" Puzzlement appeared in his eyes.
"Pick the flowers one by one, and you will find the branches with the best flowers. If you pick the flowers this year, they will grow again next year."
"..." Qi Jinping pursed his lips and looked at the small flowers, speechless for a moment.
"If you don't know how, you can take me up with you and I'll pick it."
Qi Jinping wanted to say yes, but when he lowered his head and looked at the slim girl below, he suddenly realized that she was no longer the crybaby she was when she was a child.
Bringing her up would inevitably involve physical contact, which would be inconvenient for her as she is a girl.
"I'll pick it for you."
A look of disappointment flashed across Hua Sheng's eyes, and then he smiled and nodded.
There was no way Qi Jinping could pick flowers, so he simply shook the tree. The plum blossoms immediately fell in large flakes like a rain of petals. The girl standing under the tree raised her head and looked at the man on the branch, smiling gently.
The petals wrapped her up, fluttering in the air, matching the pink dress she was wearing today.
Lin Ye stared in a daze.
His eyes fell on the pretty smiling face of the woman and he couldn't look away.
Hua Sheng squatted down and started picking up the petals, putting them into the basket one by one.
Suddenly a hand reached out and put a handful of plum blossoms into her basket.
She raised her eyes happily, "General Qi."
"Princess." Lin Ye withdrew his hand helplessly, looking at her eyes that were instantly disappointed and dim, feeling a little lost.
“It’s you.”
"Well, I happened to be passing by, let me help you."
Hua Sheng looked up at Qi Jinping who was still shaking the branches on the tree, and nodded disappointedly.
Immersed in sadness, Hua Sheng filled the basket without realizing it. When she turned around, she found that Qi Jinhua had disappeared without a trace.
"Where is General Qi?" She almost dropped the basket in her hand.
Lin Ye caught it quickly.
Hua Sheng pretended to chase after him.
"Princess, your plum blossom."
She paused, turned around and took the plum blossom.
"Are you going to make plum cake?"
"Um."
"If it's ready, can you let me taste it?"
Hua Sheng nodded absentmindedly, picked up the basket and quickly left the backyard.
Having not seen Hua Sheng for two days, Shen Anan asked Mo Xiang in confusion, "Where is Hua Sheng? Why haven't I seen him?"
"The princess... is in the kitchen learning how to make plum blossom cakes."
"Why learn that? If you want to eat, just buy some."
“…”
"The other day the princess asked General Qi to help her pick a lot of plum blossoms, saying that she wanted to make plum blossom cakes to eat. Maybe she wanted to give some to General Qi to try after she made them."
It is also another reason and opportunity for contact.
“…”
"My uncle has been at the border for many years, so he probably has never eaten any plum blossom cakes. Besides, it's sweet and men generally don't like it. If you want to send someone to buy some, I guarantee he won't be able to taste it."
“…”
"Miss." Mo Xiang was helpless, "No wonder the son-in-law is resentful of you, you really don't understand romance at all."
Shen Anan, "..."
Wasn't she right? All she wanted was a chance to speak. Is there any difference whether the plum cake is bought or made by hand?
——
In a clinic a hundred miles away, the man got up from the bed and was about to leave despite the doctor's objection.
"How come you don't listen to my advice? You are just getting better and can't move around much. You should rest for a while before leaving."
The man said nothing and walked out stubbornly.
"Hey, wait a minute." The doctor stopped him and gave him a few coins with a dissatisfied look on his face. "It was you who didn't follow the doctor's advice and insisted on leaving. This is the only amount I can refund you."
Shen Yunbai held the copper coins in his hand and was stunned for a while.
The doctor thought he was dissatisfied, so he immediately said, "The medicines you used are the best in our store. I used them according to the instructions of the girl, so I spent more money."
"That girl gave me a lot of money, but I have already prepared the medicine for you. If you leave now, the medicine will be wasted, but I still have to pay for it."
The general meaning is that if you don't want to return your money and you want to leave, you can only get those few coins, not a penny more.
Shen Yunbai clenched his five fingers, held the copper coin in his palm, and left the clinic.
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