Chapter 8 Daofeng came to find her on purpose.
After the Master of the Jiangxia Nun finished giving her acupuncture, the younger sister happily said that her headache was gone, and she followed some of the other female nuns to pick chestnuts and roast them for food.
Cong Ying and Jiang Xia Guanzhu sat opposite each other in the mountain pavilion, drinking tea and asking about the pilgrim who hung the poem tablet on the Chinese tallow tree.
"Her." The Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown sighed with a smile, but said nothing more.
Cong Ying was puzzled: "Aunt is an outsider, is there anything she cannot say?"
Jiangxia said: "It's not me who can say it, but I can't mess up the law of fate. I still cherish good deeds and respect the way of heaven, unlike some people..."
Speaking of this, Jiangxia suddenly asked her, "I heard that the Xie family wants to form an alliance with your family. Do you want to marry the Third Master Xie?"
The matter had already been made known to Princess Xiaocheng. She was a well-known gossip matchmaker, so it was not surprising that the news spread.
Cong Ying lowered his eyes and shook his head gently: "It's just like fishing for the moon in the water. It's not right either emotionally or logically."
Jiangxia asked: "How do you say that?"
Cong Ying said, "Logically, my family only seeks peace and does not covet wealth and fame, so we should not be tied to the popular Xie family. Emotionally..."
"How does it feel?"
She picked up a cup of tea from a firefly and drank it. The clear golden tea soup was filled with melancholy in her eyes, but she smiled: "Aunt, when did you become so interested in worldly affairs?"
Jiangxia stopped asking and looked at the dark clouds in the sky and said, "I'm afraid a storm is coming."
Cong Ying was worried that the mountain road would be difficult to walk on in the rain, so she said goodbye early with her younger sister. Senior Sister Yiyun filled her younger sister's cloth bag with roasted chestnuts, which were round and warm, as if she had two hand warmers.
Sure enough, when the carriage was halfway there, heavy rain began to pour down.
The driver slowed down his pace. From behind the carriage, he could hear the sounds of chaotic horse hooves and laughter and cursing. He lifted the curtain and looked back, and saw a group of young men in brocade clothes coming down the mountain for hunting.
The man in the lead was wearing a royal blue satin round-necked robe. Cong Ying recognized him as the King of Ying's son and the current emperor's nephew, the Prince of Huai, Xiao Zezhen.
She lowered the curtain and said to the driver, "Let them go by the side of the road."
The driver reined in his horse at a slightly wider part of the mountain road, and the young men passed by without even glancing at them. Just as Zong Ying was about to breathe a sigh of relief, someone said something to Xiao Zezhen, and he suddenly turned his horse around and came back.
Through the dense, silk-weaving sound of the rain, Cong Ying heard Xiao Zezhen ask, "Is this the carriage from the Jiang family in Yongxingfang?"
Cong Ying sighed silently, then parted the curtain and revealed her face: "It's the Jiang family's women who went up the mountain to worship the gods."
Xiao Zezhen was stunned by her beauty for a moment, then came to his senses and chuckled, "So you are the fourth lady Jiang who married into the high-ranking branch of the Xie family."
Cong Ying said, "If you have any business, please go to the Jiang residence and look for my uncle."
Xiao Zezhen drew his sword, blocking her path and saying, "Since I'm here to bring misfortune upon the Jiang family, I don't care whether there's a toad or a bird sitting on a high branch."
After saying this, he drew his sword and swung it, cutting the reins of the carriage. Then he whipped the horse twice, scaring it away.
The car body sank into the mud with a clang, and Cong Ying quickly protected her frightened little sister.
Xiao Zezhen laughed brightly and said, "You Jiang family members are used to scheming for your own benefit. Let me see how you find a way out of nowhere."
After saying this, he turned his horse around and went down the mountain with the group of young men who were making a fuss.
The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping, and the carriage wheels sank deeper and deeper into the mud.
Cong Ying took a look at the sky and said to the driver, "Please go back to the mansion and bring another horse. If that doesn't work, you can always bring back two umbrellas."
The driver left in the rain and took off his cloak from Ying to give to his younger sister.
The younger sister finally dared to raise her head from her arms and said sullenly, "That bad guy just now bullied me and needs to pay for the horse."
"That is the King of England's son, His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai."
Cong Ying explained to her younger sister the reason for Xiao Zezhen's attitude: "Aside from the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Huai is the most likely candidate for the succession, and therefore the one your Majesty is most concerned about. He wants to emulate the Prince of Jin, ignoring state affairs and keeping a low profile, so he's most afraid of being in the spotlight when it comes to the succession."
My younger sister Ah He counted on her fingers, trying to make sense of it: "Prince of Jin...Prince of Huai...Your Majesty..."
Cong Ying said, "But in the memorials my grandfather submitted before his death, he criticized your Majesty for abusing his power and meddling in politics, and criticized Prince Jin for his idleness in office. However, he praised Prince Huai for his demeanor as an imperial prince, and urged the Emperor to make him his heir."
Recalling the contents of the "Remonstration Collection", Cong Ying sighed, "This is simply stabbing the Prince of Huai County in your Majesty's eyes. No wonder he holds a grudge against our Jiang family."
This trip of my grandfather not only ruined his own reputation, but also offended everyone except the Xie family.
Kenji has never been able to agree with her grandfather's approach.
Ah He was completely confused and tugged at Cong Ying's sleeve: "Sister, I don't understand."
Cong Ying smiled and stroked her temples, saying, "It's okay, I'll explain it to you in detail, and one day you'll understand."
Although the little sister had a head injury and was slow in understanding things, Cong Ying was unwilling to treat her as a fool and would patiently teach her anything.
It gets dark early on rainy days and the mountains are shrouded in fog. In just half an hour, everything three steps away is blurry and difficult to see.
Cong Ying and her younger sister Ah He were huddled together peeling chestnuts. Suddenly, she gestured to Ah He to silence her: "A carriage is coming."
Ah He immediately hid under her sleeve.
Ding-dang-dang, slowly approaching, it was the sound of the golden bells on the four eaves of the carriage colliding.
She quietly lifted a corner of the rear curtain and saw a spacious and gorgeous copper-gilded carriage. The body of the carriage was as wide as a small house and was pulled by three chestnut horses of the same height and coat color. It was clearly a huge machine, but the wheels moved very lightly on the muddy mountain road.
There were guards in front and behind the carriage. The maidservant outside jumped out and walked up to Cong Ying and asked, "Whose family is this woman from?"
Cong Ying replied: "Yongxingfang, Jiang family."
She thought she was being taunted again, but the maid said, "My master would like you two to board the carriage and return to the city together."
Cong Ying was slightly startled: "Excuse me, are you..."
Maid: "Your Highness Prince Jin."
It turned out to be the King of Jin.
As the Prince of Jin, he should dislike the Jiang family even more than the Prince of Huai.
Cong Ying stood up, saluted the maid, and slowly said, "Thank you, Your Highness, Prince Jin, for your kindness. My coachman will be back soon. My sister and I are covered in mud and dare not defile Your Highness's carriage."
The maid's face was cold: "Your Highness's gift, how can you refuse it? I can't accept it, so I have to call the guards."
It turned out to be a difficult situation.
Cong Ying thought about the worst-case scenario, stood up, straightened his clothes, and said to his younger sister, "Stay here and wait for the coachman to pick you up."
The younger sister grabbed her sleeve tightly: "Sister, don't leave me!"
Cong Ying whispered to her, "Be good, I'll accompany you home, okay?"
The younger sister shook her head, and the maid said, "Don't be so long-winded, let's all go together."
Cong Ying had no choice but to bring Ah He along, nervously protecting her behind him. He abandoned the carriage and climbed onto the shaft, hesitantly knocking on the half-open door of the gorgeous carriage.
Her voice was as slow as rain flowing through petals. "I, Jiang Shi, the fourth daughter of the family, have come to trouble you with my younger sister. Thank you, Your Highness, for your assistance."
After a long time, a "hmm" was heard from the carriage.
Cong Ying tentatively pushed open the green gauze door of the carriage, and her eyes first caught sight of the fox fur covering the entire carriage. It was bright golden and red like flowing fire, and at just one glance, she felt very warm.
In front of him was a corner of a black cloak, the cuffs of which were embroidered with a branch of luxuriant osmanthus in gold thread, from which stretched out a pale, slender hand, as delicate as a jade carving.
When it comes to living a life of luxury, few people in Yunjing can surpass the person in front of him.
While she was thinking about Prince Jin, Prince Jin was also looking at her.
Look at her black hair wet by the cold rain, her nose tip red from the cold, and her drooping eyelashes as wet as swallow feathers, hiding the vigilance and uneasiness in her eyes.
Despite this situation, she still saluted him calmly, implying that she was not weak and could be bullied. "The driver will be here soon, so I'm sure he won't bother Your Highness for too long. When my uncle returns to the capital in a few days, I will definitely come to thank you."
Every word she said sounded like an exploding rain flower in his ears.
Even though he had imagined it countless times on the way here, he was still caught off guard and embarrassed when he actually saw her.
Fifteen years.
It had been so long… so long since he had heard her voice.
It was as if all the blood rushed to his heart, and a mixture of sadness and joy filled his heart in an instant. The teacup in his palm was hot, but his palm was covered in cold sweat. As he clenched his knuckles, the trembling became more obvious.
He had to use all his strength to restrain himself from touching her and hugging her.
Congying didn't hear a response, so she quietly looked up. Prince Jin quickly turned his face away so that she wouldn't see his loss of composure.
"Sit down." He lowered his voice.
The carriage was very spacious. Prince Jin ordered the maid to place a table screen between the two of them. Although Cong Ying didn't say anything, he keenly felt that she relaxed a little.
I felt mixed emotions and couldn't help but laugh.
After a few seconds, he placed the charcoal basin and heaters in the four corners. He had just been frozen all over by the firefly quilt, and now he couldn't help sneezing twice when he was inhaled by the warm incense.
Prince Jin looked at her across the screen.
Thinking back to her previous life, after getting married, she was frail and sickly and often stayed at home. Could it be that the seeds of illness had already been planted at that time?
Feeling a little uneasy, Prince Jin called out, "Zi Su."
The cold-faced maid pushed open the green gauze door and said respectfully, "Your Highness."
The King of Jin shook the tea in his cup and asked, "What's in this tea?"
The maid replied, "With dried ginger, ginseng slices, and Chuanxiong."
King Jin frowned: "It's simply unpalatable. Who told you to act on your own?"
Isn't this what you specifically ordered before you left?
The maid opened her mouth, swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and said respectfully, "I will brew a new pot right away."
"Don't waste this pot."
Prince Jin glanced towards the screen and vaguely saw the graceful outline of Ying.
"Give it to the two girls."
The maid transferred the purple clay teapot in front of Prince Jin to Cong Ying's side, filled two new tea cups with it, and then left.
I thanked Cong Ying and took a sip. It was indeed a good tea with many nourishing and warming herbs added to it. The heat flowed along my throat to my limbs and I immediately didn't feel cold anymore.
She handed the other cup to her younger sister. After drinking the hot tea, her younger sister felt much more energetic. She poked her head out from her arms, and her big, bright black eyes curiously looked to the other side of the screen.
This pot of tea was definitely not prepared by the servant on her own initiative, but rather seemed to be specially prepared for those who caught a cold.
Cong Ying had never received such care before and was deeply touched.
Although she had not yet guessed the King of Jin's intention, at least at this moment, she was truly grateful to him for this cup of tea.
So Cong Ying slowly said, "Your Highness, Prince Jin, both dried ginger and Chuanxiong are strong-flavored, with overlapping medicinal properties. If you don't like the flavor, you can replace one with osmanthus. This flower has the effect of moistening the lungs and relieving coughs."
The King of Jin listened attentively as if listening to an imperial decree, and remained silent for a long time.
He recalled his previous life, when after Ying married into the Xie family, she personally took care of the half-dead osmanthus tree in his yard.
When she stayed indoors, she would tend to the osmanthus flowers in the yard. After that, the osmanthus flowers bloomed beautifully, and her sleeves would be filled with fragrance whenever she went in and out.
Once, he came home drunk and caught a cold. Cong Ying went to visit him in person, a rare opportunity. Although the earthenware pot contained ginger soup, which he hated the most, she said to him, "I've masked the smell of ginger with osmanthus flowers. Third Master, give it a try."
His throat was dry and he wanted to wave his hand away, but he grabbed her sleeve.
Moist, soft, and filled with the scent of fresh osmanthus, he placed the cooled spoon against his lips.
That was the first time he drank an entire can of ginger soup.
Afterwards, he often thought of the scent of osmanthus mixed with ginger and spice, when he was drunk, when he was injured...
When he missed her.
Cong Ying didn't hear a response for a long time, and thought that she had annoyed King Jin. She was secretly annoyed with herself for being too talkative. She turned around and gently opened the side window a little to look at the scene outside the window.
The rain was getting weaker, as fine as fog, almost wetting my clothes.
Occasionally, I would see porters wearing straw raincoats and hats passing by, and I thought they were almost reaching the foot of the mountain.
Fortunately, the journey was smooth...
Just as the thought was coming to mind, Prince Jin suddenly spoke: "I heard that the osmanthus tree in front of the Jiang family's gate is the most blooming tree in all of Yunjing. Is the flower still in bloom now?"
Cong Ying said, "When I left home today, I still saw a few scattered flowers on the branches. By the time this autumn rain stops, I'm afraid all will have fallen."
"That's fine," said the Prince of Jin. "If you have time, pick one and send it to the Prince of Jin's mansion."
I still couldn't help but create trouble and wanted to see her one more time.
Cong Ying was silent for a moment and responded in a low voice.
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