Huo Jincheng never dreamed that upon arriving in Yue Country, he would run into someone who recognized Hua Rou. Although he really didn't mind Hua Rou's true age, he felt he needed to clarify this matter, so he asked, "Hua doesn't look very old, but I heard she's actually over fifty. Could it be that she has some secret to maintain her youthful appearance?"
Jian Ning glanced at him indifferently. Huo Jincheng had once, after drinking, mentioned to her and Ding Youtian the true age of Ah Man's mother, Hua Rou. Jian Ning remembered him saying he didn't care. Why would he ask about it?
Mi Li's grandmother seemed to be extremely superstitious about the Saint Goddess. When Huo Jincheng asked about Hua Rou's age, she smiled and said, "Hua is very kind. She is a Saint appointed by the Saint Goddess. How can a Saint Goddess grow old? Even in her seventies or eighties, her face is still as delicate as a girl's."
"Then how old is she, if she is still alive now?" Huo Jincheng asked.
"Is she gone?" Mi Li's grandmother asked back.
Huo Jincheng glanced at Jian Ning, who said, "She's been dead for over ten years. Old mother, can you tell us about her? Her daughter has adopted me as her godmother. This is Hua Gu's husband." Jian Ning nodded her chin towards Huo Jincheng, "He's not mine. He was a friend of mine and my husband."
Mili Grandma murmured, "Oh!" Then she clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and muttered something that sounded like a funeral oration. After a moment, she opened her eyes, sighed, and said, "The Ganao people once lived in the village behind the bamboo forest. When I was young, I received a favor from Hua Gu. There are many poisonous snakes in our mountain forest, but they avoid Hua Gu."
"We all know that she can communicate with snakes. You were bitten by a poisonous snake before, and it was she who cured you, right?" Jian Ning said.
Mi Li's grandmother nodded. "That year, Hua Gu was still a girl of about ten years old. She was so beautiful, just like you, like a fairy from heaven. She often came to our village to apply medicine. If she hadn't saved me, I would have died in Shekou many years ago. I thought Hua Gu would live a hundred years, but she..."
When Jian Ning saw her looking at Huo Jincheng, she couldn't help but look at Huo Jincheng as well. Mi Li's grandmother's words just now confirmed Hua Rou's age. She was at least sixty years old. When she was young, Hua Rou was already in her teens. It was not difficult to calculate Hua Rou's real age now.
Huo Jincheng lowered his eyes and avoided their gaze.
Mi Li A Nai sighed again.
Jian Ning asked, "Old mother, do you believe in the Saint Goddess because Hua Gu saved you? Did everyone in your village believe in the Saint Goddess back then?"
"Yes, it is precisely because so many people believe that the Imperial Master does not tolerate them. Otherwise, the Ganao people would not be driven away."
"Is the saint ready to marry?" This is what Jane Ning cares about most. She really likes Ah Man to be her daughter-in-law.
Mi Li's grandmother glanced at the silent Huo Jincheng and shook her head. "I've heard that the husbands of the Ganao tribe's saints have always been chosen by the Saint Goddess. When a young man of the tribe reaches marriageable age, if the holy fire ignites a blue flame, he will be the husband chosen by the Saint Goddess."
"A saint cannot marry a man from another race! Otherwise, the Saint Goddess will punish her. Alas! Hua Gu is so foolish!"
She sighed again, glanced at Huo Jincheng, stood up and said, "I'll go check on Mi Li."
After she went upstairs, Jian Ning whispered to Huo Jincheng, "Don't dwell on it. Ah Man's mother is gone, so why are you still thinking about it?"
Huo Jincheng held his head in his hands, speechless. In his mind, Hua Rou was as beautiful as moonlight. He didn't care about her age, as Hua Rou had never lied to him. When Emperor Yongkang asked him if he had asked Hua's age, he remembered that he had never asked directly, having simply assumed she was no more than 20 years old.
"I'll go up and check on Mi Li too. We'll leave after she finishes the IV."
After Jian Ning stood up, Huo Jincheng looked up at her and felt extremely bitter in his heart. No one knew it except him. His mother was too strong and suppressed his father in everything. He had seen it since he was a child and always wanted to rebel against his mother.
This is true in Duan Xinning's case, and also in Hua Rou's case.
Duan Xinning was the young wife his mother had chosen for him, and when he heard the news, he felt resistance and discomfort. On the contrary, the more his mother opposed something, the more he wanted to do it, always trying to go against her.
Including his insistence on marrying Hua Rou.
Over the past few years, when he lay alone in the quiet of the night, he had seriously considered whether he had ever truly loved Hua Rou. If he did, why had he never thought of asking her age after sleeping in the same bed for over a year? If he didn't, his heart was always filled with that beautiful, gentle and graceful figure.
He overthinks it, and ends up getting confused. Later, he realizes he can't even recall Hua Rou's face. Perhaps he's never really looked at her closely. And what's even more alarming is that over the past few years, whenever he thinks of Hua Rou, he can't quite see her face. Instead, the image of Duan Xinning as a child becomes increasingly clear in his mind.
Those past events that he had deliberately chosen to forget came alive in his mind, one scene after another, constantly alternating with the present Jane Ning.
He pressed his temples hard and decided not to think about these annoying things anymore. As Jian Ning said, A Man Niang is gone, so why think about these things?
Jian Ning removed the needle from Mi Li, left some medicine for her, put away the operating table, and reminded her of the precautions before saying goodbye to the two of them.
Although she repeatedly stated that she was not sent by the Holy Lady, her magical skills of taking out objects and making them disappear at will made Mi Li and her grandmother think that no matter who she was, she must have been guided to them by the Holy Lady!
Huo Jincheng was already waiting for Jian Ning outside the bamboo house. After the two of them said goodbye and went down the mountain amid Mi Li A Nai's profuse thanks, Jian Ning discovered that Yue Kingdom was actually full of bamboo houses and stone houses, and the streets were bustling with people coming and going, no less prosperous than the capital of Dayan Dynasty.
Jian Ning saw many young women on the street. Just like in Dayanchao, most common women had plain faces, while those who dressed more elegantly wore veils. The difference was that young men and women could be seen chatting casually on the street, but this was not the case in Dayanchao.
She couldn't help but turn her head to look at Huo Jincheng, and he happened to be looking at her, and their eyes met.
Huo Jincheng coughed lightly and nodded towards the men and women chatting on the street. "The people of Yue Country are really open-minded."
He never mentioned barbarians. Jane Ning thought it was probably because Ah Man's mother was also from Yue Country. She raised her arm and pointed forward, "Let's go find an inn up ahead and walk faster."
There were all kinds of people in the inn, and there were a lot of gossips. Jian Ning had deliberately chosen an ordinary-looking inn. After they walked in side by side, because it was breakfast time, the waiter greeted them attentively with a big smile on his face, "Gentlemen, are you staying here or just for a quickie? We have plenty of rooms, and breakfast is available..."
"Stay in the hotel." Huo Jincheng said before he could finish, and then added, "I want a room upstairs."
One? Before Jane Ning could say anything, he had already told the waiter to lead the way, then nodded at her, motioning her to follow.
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