After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they chatted for a while before parting ways.
Baili Honglan pulled Su Qinghe aside and asked in a low voice,
"You really don't plan to become an official? This is an opportunity that many people would kill for. Were you embarrassed because there were so many people here earlier?"
Su Qinghe was both amused and exasperated.
"Sister Baili, I'm thick-skinned! If I really wanted to, I wouldn't have refused even if there were more people around, but I really don't have that intention."
"I know you mean well, but I'm really not cut out for it. I just want to stay in my little corner of the world and live my quiet life."
Baili Honglan sighed.
"Alright, I respect your choice. But don't worry, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me. This is my home address in Beijing."
Baili Honglan picked up a brush from the table next to her, wrote down an address, and handed it to Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe took the paper, and after the ink dried, she carefully folded it and put it in her bosom.
When he looked at Baili Honglan again, his eyes were full of sincerity.
"Thank you, Sister Baili. If you need anything, please feel free to come to me. I will do my best to help you."
Hearing this, Baili Honglan was touched and hugged Su Qinghe tightly, patting her on the back.
"My dear sister! I, Baili Honglan, am so grateful to have made two friends like you and Anmin in this life!"
She slapped Su Qinghe's back so hard it made a loud thud, but seeing that she was lost in thought, Su Qinghe didn't want to disturb her and could only silently endure the sudden blow.
What are you two doing behind my back?
Suddenly, Qin Anmin's loud voice came from the side, startling the two of them, and they quickly separated.
When they came to their senses, they realized they hadn't done anything shameful, and their gazes toward Qin Anmin were filled with resentment.
"W-What are you doing?"
Qin Anmin felt a chill run down his spine from their stares, and even his speech became somewhat stammering.
Su Qinghe was the first to return to normal. Seeing that Qin Anmin seemed to have something on his mind, she quickly asked him what was wrong.
"Nothing, Sister Qin, is there something you need from us?"
When Su Qinghe asked him that question, Qin Anmin remembered that he had something to discuss with them, and he quickly cleared his throat.
"Ahem, um, isn't Honglan supposed to be returning to the capital in a couple of days?"
Qin Anmin looked at Baili Honglan, his eyes filled with reluctance.
"I don't think I have anything else to do after this. The Double Ninth Festival is in a couple of days. Shall we go to Lingyan Temple to burn incense together again?"
Bai Li Honglan's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
“Great! Wasn’t Yuan Tongjun captured by Qinghe at Lingyan Temple? That’s where we achieved our success this time. I’ll go take another look.”
Seeing that both of them were looking at her, Su Qinghe quickly nodded as well. "I have no objection."
...
The next morning, three or four carriages slowly headed toward Lingyan Mountain.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was strange. Su Qinghe kept her eyes down, avoiding looking at the men in the car.
It's unclear why Ling Feng is so biased towards Lin Xi. He had only just learned about the little monk from his own mouth, but as soon as he heard that they were going to Lingyan Temple, he immediately told Lin Xi.
Lin Xi knew that, given his harmonious relationship with the others, there was no need to say anything more.
Everything was fine yesterday, but Su Qinghe noticed something was off this morning.
Lin Xi was alright, though her thoughts were a little scattered, while Ji Yuan looked at Su Qinghe with a hint of reproach in his eyes.
It wasn't that he was resentful that his wife was going to take a new concubine, but he felt that it was inappropriate to take a monk.
Just as Ling Feng had said, Ji Qingyu looked at Su Qinghe with resentment in her eyes. She wanted to speak several times, but stopped herself because there were so many people in the car.
"My lady, is it the young monk who offered incense in the main hall that day?"
The others remained silent because Su Qinghe's situation was still undecided. Qin Ange, being rather simple-minded, didn't think much about it and, out of sheer curiosity, blurted out the question.
When he asked, the others in the car also perked up their ears.
Su Qinghe felt a little embarrassed and only gave a soft "hmm".
She didn't mention her name when she spoke to Ling Feng that night, so these people had no idea. They never expected Qin Ange to guess correctly.
The others, upon hearing this, all seemed to be deep in thought.
Ji Qingyu was the first to tentatively speak.
"Didn't my wife argue with him that day? I thought he was quite resentful towards her then. They've only known each other for a few days, so he probably wouldn't have fallen for her, right?"
Ji Yuan smiled and shook his head.
"That's hard to say. You hated the wife so much back then, but you've fallen for her now. She's much more sensible than you."
"Brother, what are you saying! I don't dislike my wife at all!"
Hearing Ji Yuan mention her past self, Ji Qingyu felt a pang of guilt and quickly denied it.
Lin Xi chuckled, while Qin Ange and Ling Feng looked puzzled.
They were all newcomers and had no idea how Ji Qingyu and Su Qinghe had interacted before.
"Did Brother Qingyu dislike his wife before?"
Qin Ange cast a probing glance at Su Qinghe.
"I don't."
Before Su Qinghe could speak, Ji Qingyu had already answered the question first.
Seeing his anxious look, Su Qinghe smiled and shook her head as well. "I don't think so."
Seeing that Su Qinghe did not expose him, Ji Qingyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't want his future husband to know about those embarrassing things from the past.
Since Su Qinghe had already said that, the two men who knew the truth naturally didn't bring up the topic again, but instead focused their attention on the monk who might become their brother.
Lin Xi waved the fan in her hand and asked Su Qinghe with a smile.
"My lady, I remember... that young monk's name was Wuwang, right?"
Looking into Lin Xi's bright eyes, Su Qinghe couldn't bear to lie to him, so she could only nod honestly.
"Don't take it too seriously. After all, I didn't find anything out about him either. We just spent a few days together because of the circumstances."
Su Qinghe explained patiently.
“The young monk is devoted to Buddhism, so how could he let such a small matter disturb his Buddhist faith?”
Despite hearing Su Qinghe's words, the group was clearly still very much looking forward to this trip up the mountain.
The carriage swayed and rocked its way up the mountain, and while the group chatted, they arrived at the mountainside.
The group walked up the mountain as before, but this time, without the pregnant man, they were much faster. When they reached the entrance of Lingyan Temple, it was still early.
After more than three months of rest and recuperation, Lingyan Temple has returned to its former glory, with a constant stream of people coming to the temple to offer incense and worship Buddha.
Su Qinghe and her group entered the main hall with ease. Because of the large number of people, the monks in the hall spotted Su Qinghe walking in front almost immediately.
"Benefactor Su!"
Su Qinghe looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged monk. She smiled and nodded.
Seeing this, the monk, along with several other monks in the hall, walked up to Su Qinghe and greeted the group.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
