With Yin Yue around, Fen Ling stopped flaunting his skills in front of Su Rong and Ye Guixue, and went straight to spar with him. He abandoned his initial plans of having the chicken stew with mountain delicacies from the back of the Buddha Temple, and even the fish in the pond, leaving Su Rong behind.
Su Rong asked Ye Guixue, "Shall we go to the back mountain and check out the maple leaves? Maybe we can collect some mountain delicacies on the way? Even though I doubt there would be any at this season."
"Sure, there would be some." Ye Guixue nodded, "The terrain of the mountain forest behind the Buddha Temple is unique, and the climate is moist. The weather is not too cold at this time, and winter hasn’t fully set in yet, and there’s no snow. So, we can still collect some mountain delicacies."
Su Rong stood up, "Let’s go, ask the novice monk to get us two baskets." Then, she changed her mind and said briskly, "No, get two large containers."
Ye Guixue laughed, and followed her out of the courtyard.
The novice monk was always willing to help the two patrons residing in the Buddha Temple. After all, the abbot had instructed him to take good care of them, and make sure they’re comfortable with their food and living conditions.
After giving them two large containers, he looked at their elegant appearances and reminded them with concern, "Are you two planning to go to the back mountain and collect mountain delicacies? Indeed, the back mountain is still producing such delicacies at this time. But because it is densely forested, there are also many snakes and insects. You should just stay on the outskirts and not go too deep, it’s very dangerous to be bitten by snakes or insects."
"Alright, we got it." Su Rong was not afraid of this at all.
Then, the two of them carried two large containers and went straight to the back mountain.
Upon seeing the pair head to the back mountain, Yin Yue and Fen Ling, who were initially sparring in hiding, hurriedly followed.
Fen Ling is talkative and lively, he can always engage people in conversations, so there’s no concern of not having anything to talk about. He asked Yin Yue surreptitiously, "Hey, brother, has your young master ever gone out with such a large container to pick mushrooms before?"
Yin Yue nearly lost his composure, "No."
Fen Ling remarked, "My lady is really carefree. How could she casually hand such a large container to your young master? She should have carried two herself. Your young master, shouldn’t be holding such things in his hands. His hands, they’re obviously more suited for holding books, painting, or writing."
Yin Yue paused for a moment before saying: "My young master is also trained in martial arts and sword fighting."
"Oh dear, you misunderstood what I meant. What I mean is, your young master has such a refined and gentle demeanor, he doesn’t seem suited for holding a large container and following my lady to pick mushrooms." Fen Ling then whispered, "Did your young master agree to this voluntarily? If this continues, once we return to Nanchu, he might back out of the marriage in front of the Nanchu King."
Yin Yue said with a straight face, "That won’t happen, my young master has always known what kind of person the princess is."
Relieved by this longest sentence from him, Fen Ling breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good, if your young master regrets, after my lady returns to Nanchu, she’ll have to find another husband."
Yin Yue seemed to be at a loss for words, and remained silent.
Su Rong handed Ye Guixue a large container and was heading to the back mountain with one in her own hands. She appeared to think nothing was wrong, chattering away as she walked.
Ye Guixue seemed to think nothing was wrong, too. It felt natural for him to carry the large container. He didn’t mind, talking with Su Rong about things in Nanchu. Although the back mountain was deserted, he spoke in a low voice, so he and Su Rong, walking side by side, kept a close distance.
Soon, they arrived at the back mountain. Su Rong, with sharp eyes, exclaimed, "Indeed, there are mushrooms."
Ye Guixue also saw them. So, he naturally squatted down, picked them up delicately, snapped off the muddy roots, and placed the mushrooms neatly into the large container.
Su Rong, when it came to such things, was always hasty and unrefined; her original plan was to throw them directly into the container after picking. But seeing Ye Guixue’s neat and tidy way, she followed suit, cleaning off the dirt, and putting them neatly into the container.
Even though it was not the season for mountain delicacies, the soil was moist, and the forest dense. There were indeed quite a few growing on the ground. They encountered clusters of them every few steps. It was quiet all around, the two of them were picking them and talking, without cause for delay.
In this manner, they unknowingly ventured deep into the mountains. During this time, as the novice monk had warned, they encountered a few snakes and insects, but none attacked them pre-emptively. Su Rong adhered to the principle of no killing near the Buddhist holy land, and so, they let them escape.
About an hour or so later, Ye Guixue’s container was already full. Su Rong looked at him skeptically, "How did you pick so quickly? Have you done this before?"
Ye Guixue shook his head, "No."
Su Rong didn’t believe him, "Then why are you faster than me?"
Ye Guixue helplessly explained, "Did you forget? We encountered hazelnuts just now, and you ate many of them."
Su Rong: "..."
It seemed to be true.
She argued, "But you ate them too."
Ye Guixue chuckled, "I didn’t peel them. You peeled them for me. I saved energy and naturally picked more."
Convinced by this rationale, Su Rong replied, "Alright!"
It was not that she was competitive, but as a girl doing such a task, she was slower than a boy, which didn’t make sense. Fortunately, the lady of the house was absent, otherwise, she would have been despised again.
Ye Guixue asked, "Shall we go back?"
"Fill this basket for me." Su Rong looked around; the forest was dense, blocking the light of the sky. Since entering, the interior has been so dim that she could hardly tell the time, only by estimating it based on when they had entered. The sky outside should still be early.
Ye Guixue nodded, "So, should we walk that way? There’s no path here."
"That way. It’s near the water source, there should be more there." Su Rong reasoned based on common sense.
Ye Guixue had no objections.
Thus, the two of them started walking in the direction Su Rong suggested, and before long, they had filled Su Rong’s large basket too.
Su Rong was satisfied, "These smell so fragrant, they seem to be different from the ones that grow on the mountains in Jiangning County, these have a more wild flavor."
She became intrigued, "Maybe we should eat these fresh ones tonight? Or maybe catch a few mountain chickens to take back, and instead of staying on the mountain tonight, stay in the town at the foot of the mountain, find an inn, and let the inn chef cook up a dish of wild mushroom stew with mountain chicken."
Ye Guixue had no objections, "That could work."
"No no no, my lady, that’s not appropriate." Fen Ling materialized, instantly opposing it, "How can you waste a meal when the vegetarian food of the Buddha Temple is so delicious? If we waste today’s dinner, we’ll waste tomorrow’s breakfast too. Please bear with it, it’s only three days. When we go down the mountain, we can load up a carriage with mushrooms and chickens, enough to last us for many days."
Su Rong thought it over, "Alright then!"
She glared at Fen Ling, "Why aren’t you working since you’re following us?"
"I am working, and so is Yin Yue." Fen Ling got out a wrapped parcel from behind, weighed it in his hand, and made a rustling sound with it, "Listen, what’s this? These are hazelnuts, don’t you love them? I’ve been peeling these. They’re rather prickly and hurt my hands. My hands are almost full of scratches."
Su Rong immediately forgave him, "That’s more like it."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tube of ointment for him, "Rub this on."
Fen Ling giggled, took the tube, and disappeared again.
Su Rong picked up the basket, "Let’s go back."
Ye Guixue nodded, "Let’s follow this path. If my sense of direction is correct, a mile ahead there should be a mountain road, much easier to travel than going back the way we came." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
"Sure."
So, the two continued to press on. After walking about half a mile, they could faintly hear voices up ahead. Su Rong halted, puzzled. The voices sounded like a large group of people. Before she could speak out, a shout came from up ahead, "Who’s there?"
Recognizing the voice, Su Rong fell silent without responding.
Fen Ling instantly appeared, and hurried a few steps forward. He exclaimed in surprise and turned back to Su Rong, "My lady, it seems to be the Imperial Guard and... Lord Zhou with the Duke Residence’s guards. Are they investigating a case?"
Investigate a case in the wilderness? That was unexpected. They were hundreds of miles away from the Capital City.
Su Rong’s expression did not change, "Since we’ve run into them, let’s go say hello!"
With Ziye shouting out in query, not acknowledging him would be inappropriate. How coincidental, running into them here.
Ye Guixue chuckled, "Yes, we should greet them. I ran into Lord Zhou this morning on my way to the Shen Residence. Let’s go!"
Setting aside the still-invisible Yin Yue, the trio walked a few steps forward, met face-to-face with Ziye and several guards from the Duke’s Residence who had come to inspect something. Ziye was stunned, "Lady Su Qi, Young Master Ye...what are you doing?"
Seeing both of them each holding a large basket, filled to the brim with mushrooms, they appeared to have been picking mushrooms. Picking mushrooms? Was it really mushroom picking?
Although it was not surprising for Lady Su Qi, Ye Guixue was also picking mushrooms with her? This truly did not match his status.
"Yes, you’re right. We were picking mushrooms." Su Rong chuckled, "So, you are...investigating a case? How did the investigation lead you here?"
Ziye answered in a daze, "The missing Imperial Guard named Ding Man was found dead not far from here. I and Young Master Zhou were following the Imperial Guard to inspect the body and search for clues."
Su Rong nodded.
Ziye turned back and looked, hesitating before continuing in a daze, "As you and Young Master Ye have appeared at the crime scene, we have to... inform them about it."
Ye Guixue nodded, "It should be like this."
Consequently, Ziye took some people along with Su Rong and Ye Guixue to the crime scene.
He Zheng of the Imperial Guard, Zhou Gu of the Duke’s Residence, and the guards from the Duke’s Residence all stared at them in shock. Many pairs of eyes focused on the two large baskets of mushrooms they held.
Ye Guixue casually placed the basket down, bowed slightly, "Lord Zhou, it’s a pleasure to meet you again."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
