Chapter 30 After Xie Zhuo finished discussing the matter, he came looking for them…
When Xie Zhuo finished discussing the matter and came looking for Lin Zhechun, Lin Zhechun was nowhere to be found.
Xie Baoqiong stood alone on the steps of the corridor, recalling the last words Lin Zhechun had spoken to him.
"Where did the Imperial Preceptor go the other day?"
"I need to return to the sect to handle some matters." The voice came from beside him, and Lin Zhechun stepped out from the shadows of the corridor, looking straight ahead.
"...Sect?"
"Does Xiao Bao want to go?" Lin Zhechun asked casually, as if joining the immortal sect was the simplest thing in the world.
But Xie Baoqiong shook her head and refused without even thinking about it.
"I……"
Before he could even refuse, Lin Zhechun cut him off:
"There's no need to rush to answer. If you still have attachments in the mortal world, it's not too late to decide your answer a hundred years from now."
You are not of mortal form; a hundred years is merely the beginning of your life. There's no rush to answer then.
"Qiong'er".
Xie Zhuo's voice rang out in the courtyard, pulling him back to reality:
"I'm going back."
Lin Yu, who knew that Xie Baoqiong had made an appointment with someone, did not invite anyone to stay for a meal.
Xie Zhuo escorted him to the alleyway facing the street, and only after giving him a few more instructions not to shake off the people following him would he let him go.
"Ah-Jung".
Just as Xie Baoqiong jumped off the carriage, he suddenly heard someone call his name.
Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a figure waving at him and running towards him.
Meng Rui peeked through the lifted carriage curtain and saw Xie Zhuo inside. He greeted him cheerfully.
"Don't worry, Lord Xie, I will take good care of Ah Qiong."
Seeing others approach, Xie Zhuo stopped nagging and said to Meng Rui, "Thank you for your trouble."
As the carriage drove further and further away, the two walked towards the main street.
A dense chorus of footsteps echoed through the alley. Xie Baoqiong's gaze occasionally swept over the long line of people following behind him. After withdrawing his gaze once more, he asked:
Why did you bring so many people with you today?
Meng Rui followed his gaze and glanced behind him: "My mother instructed me to do it."
A flicker of worry crossed Xie Baoqiong's mind: "Were you caught taking the things?"
"Shh." Meng Rui put his index finger to his lips and lowered his voice, "Of course I wasn't discovered." He patted his shirt, "Everything's here. I'll give it to you when we get to the private room at the restaurant. I already made a reservation; you must try it..."
As Meng Rui continued reciting the names of the dishes, Xie Baoqiong's attention gradually shifted away from the rather large number of people behind her.
As they approached the alley entrance, Meng Rui grabbed his wrist, saying, "There are a lot of people on the main street, don't get separated in the crowd."
Xie Baoqiong noticed that the person behind her seemed to have moved even closer.
"Let's go get something to eat first."
The flow of people on the main street was indeed as Meng Rui had said, but the two of them were small and slipped through the gaps in the crowd as easily as eels.
Xie Baoqiong was being dragged along, but she didn't forget to glance at the long line of followers that had already stretched out behind her, and asked, "Aren't we going to wait for them?"
Without turning his head, Meng Rui's smug voice, mixed with the vendors' cries, reached Xie Baoqiong's ears:
"Don't worry about them. They know we're going to the restaurant. If they can't find someone, they'll look for them there."
After being dragged along for a while, Meng Rui suddenly stopped in front of a small stall. Xie Baoqiong asked, puzzled:
"Not going to a restaurant?"
"It's not too late to go after we buy the lanterns. I've inquired, and this place has the most fashionable lanterns in the capital. Hurry up and pick one out," Meng Rui urged, choosing one first.
Xie Baoqiong's gaze swept over the hanging lanterns one by one, the intricate patterns dazzling the eye.
His gaze paused when it fell upon a red lantern, and he pointed at it, saying, "I want that one."
The red fox-shaped lantern was taken down by the stall owner and handed to Xie Baoqiong.
Xie Baoqiong paused slightly, holding the flowers she had just received, her gaze hardening as she saw the fox lantern with only one tail.
Seeing his sudden change in expression, the stall owner asked, "Young master, is there something wrong with my lanterns?"
"Why does this fox only have one tail?"
"Hahaha, young master, all foxes in the world have one tail, so of course my lantern also has one tail." The stall owner took it as childish talk and didn't take it to heart.
Xiaochun isn't just a tail, Xie Baoqiong thought to herself, and suddenly realized that she seemed to have been down the mountain for a long time.
He took out some silver and handed it to the stall owner, saying, "With the extra money, you can make another two-tailed fox. I'll come back to collect it another day."
When we return to Sishui Mountain, we will give it to Su Xiaochun together.
The stall owner, now richer, realized that having an extra tail for a fox wasn't so bad after all, and laughed as he agreed: "Alright, alright, young master, don't worry, my craftsmanship is the best in the entire capital, I guarantee to make you a unique fox lantern."
The stall owner was boasting about his skills, but Xie Baoqiong suddenly turned around and looked behind her.
There was nothing unusual behind them; the vendors hawking their wares, the crowds passing by, and Sanqi following not far away all seemed perfectly normal.
"What happened?" Seeing his sudden movement, Meng Rui held up his lantern and came closer.
"I felt like someone was watching us, but I didn't see anyone," Xie Baoqiong said uncertainly.
Meng Rui said nonchalantly, "They probably just stared at the lanterns we bought because they were pretty."
After saying that, Meng Rui looked at the lantern in his hand with satisfaction, and then glanced at the extra lantern in Xie Baoqiong's hand: "Since you have chosen one, let's go."
Xie Baoqiong felt that Meng Rui's words made sense. Perhaps the feeling of being watched was just his imagination. He stopped pursuing it and followed Meng Rui, who was urging him on.
...
As soon as they entered the restaurant, the waiter recognized Meng Rui and led the two into a private room.
While waiting for the food to be served, the two of them were alone in the private room. Meng Rui pulled out a thick stack of yellowed letters from his clothes:
"These are all I found, that's all."
"You can look at them first; I'll put them back when I get home."
Xie Baoqiong randomly picked out two sheets of paper and found that the time span on the letters was quite long.
Meng Rui leaned closer to him and examined the information on the paper together: "I saw some words on it when I picked it up. This stack of papers is arranged according to time. You see, the bottom letter is more yellow."
Following Meng Rui's words to compare the letter paper, the lower layer of paper was indeed darker in color.
Xie Baoqiong put the two letters in her hand aside and flipped through them in chronological order.
But he didn't find any useful information until all the dishes were served.
Meng Rui rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at Xie Baoqiong:
"Ah-Jung, have you finished reading?"
Xie Baoqiong put down the last sheet of paper in her hand; it was the last letter written by Princess Huayang before she left the capital:
I will be leaving the capital soon, but I feel uneasy about this trip. My mother is also worried about me, so she arranged for me to leave the city with my uncle. My uncle will take me to Huaiyang first, and then I will return to my fiefdom.
Ah Ying, please take good care of yourself.
The next time we meet, my unborn child may have already been born. I don't know what kind of person he will be, but I hope he is safe and sound.
...
Huaijin.
A private seal was also attached below the name.
The remaining letters were also filled with everyday trivia.
The only thing that really bothered Xie Baoqiong was the night Lin Huaijin first met Xie Zhuo.
The eighth day of the seventh month of a certain year.
Ah Ying, I'm sorry.
It wasn't my intention not to bring you along yesterday.
Yesterday was the Qixi Festival, and there was no need to go to the palace for a banquet, but my mother held a banquet at home. The ladies who attended all brought their sons and daughters, and it was obvious what they were planning.
Although I can have a get-together with you, I still don't want to stay at the banquet.
Although my mother doesn't urge me to get married, she hopes that I can find a suitable husband, preferably someone who can marry into the princess's household, so that I won't have to suffer the injustice of marrying out.
I wanted to take you to the garden with me, but your aunt is keeping a close eye on you, so I had to go ahead by myself.
In the garden, I unexpectedly encountered the Imperial Advisor again.
I don't know if he was also among those invited by my mother, but it would be best if he could avoid returning to the banquet.
You once joked that the Imperial Advisor had feelings for me, but I always felt that no one had ever caught his eye, not because of romantic love, but because of all his private affairs.
Although it is said that the Imperial Preceptor treats me specially, I only feel that it is because I have something that the Imperial Preceptor seeks that I have received his attention.
What I'm about to say is the most important part.
While playing chess with the Imperial Advisor in the pavilion, a young nobleman stepped forward to pay his respects to the Imperial Advisor.
I initially thought he was just trying to gain fame, but to my surprise, he stared at me in disbelief.
But... (the characters were smeared with ink)
I was actually a little bothered by it.
...
Xie Baoqiong didn't know who Lin Huaijin cared about, nor did he intend to investigate. What he cared about was the letter's mention that the latter suspected Lin Zhechun of having ulterior motives.
Today, he again saw Lin Zhechun looking for old things in Lin Huaijin's courtyard.
Given the connection between the two parties, it's no wonder he overthinks things.
But a question arises: why would Lin Zhechun, a cultivator, seek mortal objects?
If one harms others and ruins one's spiritual practice for the sake of worldly things, wouldn't that be a pity?
Moreover, judging from today's exchange, given Lin Zhechun's cultivation level, there's absolutely no need for him to kill anyone to obtain items from mortals.
Xie Baoqiong always felt that the more she investigated, the more problems emerged.
"Arjun, Arjun!"
Meng Rui's calls grew louder and louder until Xie Baoqiong finally came to her senses:
"What are you looking at? You seem so engrossed." Meng Rui said, putting down his chopsticks and leaning over to take in the words on the letter.
Xie Baoqiong simply shoved the letter she had finished reading into his hand and casually asked:
Who is the uncle mentioned in the letter?
Meng Rui glanced at the letter, recalled the late emperor's descendants, and then said, "The uncle your mother mentioned should be Prince Xuan. He stays in his fiefdom year-round, so it's normal that you don't know him."
Unfortunately, Xie Baoqiong had met this person once before, and even the gourd pendant at her waist was a gift from him.
After the two finished their meal at the restaurant, Xie Baoqiong tidied up the letters she had read, and Meng Rui put them away before the two left the private room.
Once on the street, Meng Ruiben handed the lantern he was carrying to his attendant behind him and pulled Xie Baoqiong to look around.
After walking half a street, Meng Rui's entourage carried more items, and he bought two more strings of candied hawthorns from a vendor.
As soon as a string of pearls was handed to Xie Baoqiong, she felt the hem of her clothes being tugged.
He's always the one tugging at other people's clothes; this is the first time he's done it.
Xie Baoqiong lowered her head, meeting his tearful eyes as she looked at him, and at the same time heard a soft gasp:
"Brother, save me."
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Author's Note: My sleep schedule has been too messed up these past few days, and I've been feeling sleepy while writing. I'll be taking a day off tomorrow.
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