Chapter 41: Missing people can bring great disasters.
Ah He carried a bamboo basket and went to pick greens hand in hand with Wei Yin'er, and from time to time he had to look after Lianjun who followed behind them.
The slopes by the stream were covered in shepherd's purse flowers. Ah He squatted down and began to shovel. Wei Yiner smiled and stopped her, saying, "Sister Ah He, the shepherd's purse that's in bloom is old and not tasty."
Ah He held a handful of shepherd's purse and looked up disappointedly: "Then my shepherd's purse and toon cake..."
Wei Yiner said, "The shepherd's purse grows slower on the north slope. Let's go there and take a look."
Climbing up the slope, they saw that the shepherd's purse on the north side was still green and tender. Ah He's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Master praised you for being smart. You really are the smartest! You even know which shepherd's purse grows best!"
After hearing this compliment, Wei Yiner looked embarrassed.
Because she was a daughter of the Wei family in Hedong, she was eligible to study at Congshan Academy. She feared others would look down on her background. Therefore, she not only studied diligently, consistently ranking first among the students in the Dingshe class, but also was always cautious in her words and actions, behaving in a manner befitting a lady from an aristocratic family.
She defended herself, saying, "I didn't eat wild vegetables before. I only recognized them when an elder of my clan pointed them out to me while I was touring the farm."
Ah He said, "You're amazing, too. You have a photographic memory just like my sister."
She was unaware of Wei Yiner's inner turmoil, and just happily dug wild vegetables. After she had dug out a piece of them, she pressed the bamboo basket and continued to head north.
"It seems someone is also digging shepherd's purse in the north. Let's go quickly, or it will be gone soon."
Ah He called out to Lian Jun: "Come with us, sister. Dig more. We'll make shepherd's purse and toon pancakes tonight and shepherd's purse and egg soup tomorrow!"
Lianjun, who had been silent all the way, was like a frightened civet cat, hiding behind the willow tree and shaking her head. No matter how Ah He called her, she refused to go. Ah He was worried about the wild vegetables in the north and told her, "Then hide well and don't run around. I'll come pick you up later."
She was walking so fast that she didn't hear Lianjun whispering behind her: "Don't go——"
Wei Yin'er also followed. Lianjun climbed up the willow tree and stared at the place where their backs disappeared, hoping that they would turn back, but until it got darker, there was still no movement.
The damp and cold night air soaked Lianjun's clothes, and the rustling of leaves sounded like malicious footsteps.
Finally, she couldn't wait any longer, so she mustered up the courage to climb down the tree and ran back quickly.
＊
From a distance, he saw the prince's procession stopped on the road returning home, and asked the driver to take another path.
But she ran into Prince Jin head-on on the small road. His sedan chair was parked in the middle of the road, as if he was waiting for something to happen. When he looked at her, Xiu Ya's face showed a smile of success, but it was still gentle.
"The fact that we meet here means you're avoiding me, Ying."
Cong Ying, of course, denied it. When Prince Jin slowly approached her, leaning on his jade crutches, she noticed that the color on his face was even paler than the last time they met, and she couldn't help but feel alarmed: "Your Highness should rest well in your residence."
"Why, don't you want to see me?"
Prince Jin glanced at the banyan tree behind her and saw traces of the Fengchen Guards. He chuckled and said, "Someone is still preventing you from seeing me."
From Ying: "..."
Seeing her acquiescence, the King of Jin sighed and said, "He is too lenient. You are too indulgent to him."
Cong Ying said, "This isn't arrogance. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't want to see him flirting with other women, especially..."
Especially when you know that you are not indifferent in your heart.
Of course, she couldn't tell this to the King of Jin, but he somehow understood what she meant: "Especially because I am so different from others."
"No, it's not." Cong Ying was choked for a moment and said stiffly, "Goodbye."
She turned to leave, but Prince Jin grabbed her arm. Unexpectedly, he looked weak, coughing every few steps, but his hand was quite strong. At that moment, Cong Ying was reminded of the feeling when Xie Xuanlan held her hand on the Yong'an city wall.
Surprise and guilt arose spontaneously, and Zong Ying's body seemed to be raised with barbs as she struggled to break away from him.
I heard him ask with a hint of resentment: "I treat you with the same care he gives you, why do you care about him but not me?"
Cong Ying said: "Because I don't have the qualifications to feel sorry for His Highness."
She deliberately emphasized the word "Your Highness", which was like needles pricking Prince Jin's ears.
Cong Ying simply stated, "I've always felt that love is like a dream, something that lasts one day and fades the next. But promises are different. Once you make a promise to one person, you can't make it to another. While the heart may be indecisive, the body can be controlled. Otherwise, there's no difference between a gentleman and a villain, and between humans and animals. The feelings I have for Your Highness are ones I must control, not indulge. The same goes for Your Highness."
These words surprised the King of Jin greatly, and his heart was boiling with mixed emotions.
Because he himself has never been a person bound by rules and morals, he has never asked himself to be loyal to anyone.
He just naturally looked down on everyone except Aying. After being a widower for fifteen years, his heart remained unchanged. No matter what others said or did, it did not stir up any ripples in his heart.
His concentration on Yingying was not due to restraint, but rather the result of indulgence.
So when he learned that her heart had been shaken by him in both lives, his reaction was ecstasy, but he forgot that from a worldly perspective, this was a sign of infidelity, a shameful situation that made her embarrassed and blame herself.
"So you are willing to accept the confinement of worldly common sense for Xie Xuanlan, even if this confinement causes you pain."
Prince Jin's voice trembled slightly, whether due to his illness or his emotions, "Aying, you care about him... much more than I thought."
Restraint is much more difficult than indulgence. Unfortunately, he always suspected her in his previous life, thinking that she was still concerned about that damn Du Rupan. He only realized her deep affection for him today.
Unfortunately, time has passed and he has lost the qualification to respond.
Cong Ying seemed to want to say something to him, but hesitated several times before finally saying, "Your Highness, I wish you good health, and I also hope that you and I will soon be like still water. That's all."
She was about to leave again, and she was so heartless when she turned around and left.
The King of Jin felt as if a hole had been punched in his heart. He tried to grab her in panic, but because of his sick leg, he stumbled and his fingers just brushed against the corner of her sleeve.
When Cong Ying heard his stiff cough, her steps froze, but she was cruel enough not to look back.
The Prince of Jin's voice was slightly flustered. "I never intended to force you to change your mind, nor would I take you away from him. I only wish you peace and fulfillment. If you truly must have him, I can... I can bless you and help you. I only ask that you don't avoid me, even if it's just a simple friendship..."
After a pause, his voice lowered: "I am not a long-lived person, so I won't embarrass you for too long."
A wave of bitterness welled up in her heart, reaching her eyes. Without King Jin's sight, Zong Ying took a deep breath, swallowing the bitterness back into her heart.
She was not a heartless person. Every word that King Jin pleaded with carefully struck the softest part of her heart.
She felt pity for him, but because of this pity, she also felt guilty towards Xie Xuanlan. These intertwined emotions tortured her and made her feel helpless.
She didn't know what to say to satisfy both parties, so she could only remain silent.
Just when the stalemate was happening, a hurried figure turned out from the corner of the path. When Cong Ying took a closer look, it turned out to be Lianjun, who was supposed to be with Ah He.
Suddenly, a bad feeling came over Ying's heart: "Lianjun, why did you come back by yourself?"
*
Ah He opened her eyes groggily, and in front of her was a haughty girl, glaring at her smugly.
Ah He was confused: "Wang Shiqi Niang, why are you here? Did I fall asleep in class?..."
The girl called Wang Shiqi Niang raised her hand and slapped her on the head: "Still sleeping? You little fool, your death is imminent!"
Ah He shuddered in pain and realized that she was tied up all over and didn't know where she was. Next to her was the equally unlucky Wei Yiner - no, looking at the red and swollen slap marks on Wei Yiner's face, she was obviously more unlucky.
Wang Shiqi Niang's target was clearly not Ah He. After spitting at her, she turned to Wei Yin'er and sneered, "Are you still going to pretend to be a noble lady from the Hedong Wei family? I want to see if anyone from the Wei family will come to rescue you!"
Despite Wei Yin'er's miserable appearance, she still stiffened her neck and said, "Even if you peel my skin and pull out my tendons, my family name is still the Hedong Wei family!"
"You're still being stubborn, aren't you? Fine, fine." Wang Shiqi Niang shouted, "Bring the evidence!"
A man in black with a scar on his face brought in a lacquer box filled with dried dates.
As soon as Ah He saw him, he suddenly realized, "You are the one who snatched shepherd's purse from me on the north slope!"
At that time, Ah He was happily digging wild vegetables, and his mouth was watering as he thought about the shepherd's purse and toon cakes made by his elder sister. Seeing the scarred man approaching, he imagined that he was a poor man who had no food to eat, so he kindly gave him a piece of land. It happened that he was facing away from him, and suddenly he lost consciousness for some reason. When he woke up, he was met with Wang Shiqi Niang's rolling eyes.
Wang Shiqi Niang picked up a few dates and tossed them around for fun. She said to Wei Yin'er, "You like eating dates from the bathroom, don't you? I can treat you to a feast. Long Er, go pry her mouth open."
Wei Yiner was forced to eat a few dates. She couldn't chew them, and it was difficult to spit them out. She was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.
It was her own fault for letting the flaw slip.
With her identity as a Hedong Wei family girl, she entered Congshan Academy to study. She was cautious in everything she did and never discussed food and clothing with girls from aristocratic families like Wang and Xie. She only focused on studying and writing, and soon won the first place in the Dingshe School.
She was praised by Master Zheng and would be promoted to Dormitory C in the next academic quarter, stealing the limelight from Wang Shiqi Niang. As a result, Wang Shiqi Niang and her gang resented her and made things difficult for her in every way. Except for the not-so-bright Jiang Conghe, no one dared to associate with her.
This would not have been a big deal, but one time when she was going to the toilet, a maid from the Xie family came in with a lacquer box of dried dates and presented it to her. Although Wei Yiner was confused, she still picked up two to eat.
The maid laughed and explained to her that the dried dates were used to block the nose. Wei Yiner blushed and quickly spit them out.
However, this scene was unfortunately witnessed by Wang Shiqi Niang.
Since then, she has doubted Wei Yiner's identity and discovered more and more flaws in her. For example, she would not throw away a piece of paper until it was full of words, and would not eat the freshest and sweetest part of fruits and vegetables, but would eat the whole thing... Although Wei Yiner imitated the conversation of a noble lady from an aristocratic family, she was born in a poor family at heart and could not learn these extravagant behaviors.
After learning that she was not from the Hedong Wei family, Wang Shiqi Niang dared to vent her anger. Coincidentally, her fourth brother was about to return to Beijing, and she had someone to support her, so she called Wang Silang's confidant Long Er and forced him to kidnap Wei Yiner - oh, and by the way, the fool Jiang Conghe.
Wang Shiqi Niang patted Jiang Conghe's face with ill intentions: "Originally, having a fool like you would have been quite amusing, but the bad thing is that your sister stole my sister's marriage, and I have to avenge my sister."
When Ah He heard the word "sister", he suddenly opened his mouth and bit Wang Shiqi Niang's hand.
She had straight teeth and her teeth never trembled when she chewed sugarcane or walnuts, but this bite was harder than a dog's, and Wang Shiqi Niang let out a cry of pain.
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