The Shen siblings got out of the car together, and the abbot was already waiting at the door.
Upon seeing the two of them, he immediately came forward, "Lord Shen, Miss Shen."
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Master." Shen Qinghuai greeted him casually.
Seeing that it was getting late and she still had to walk the night road with Fu Xia, Shen Yunjiao gave a proper bow and said, "It's getting dark, you two talk, I'll go up the mountain first."
"You go first, I still have something to say to the real person." Shen Qinghuai nodded and patted Shen Yunjiao's head as a farewell.
Upon hearing this, the abbot of Xuanqing Temple unconsciously swallowed. Knowing that Minister of Rites Shen Qinghuai had come with his younger sister, he knew that Shen was going to question him about the cook from a few days ago. He quickly straightened his back and replied, "Lord Shen, please come in and sit down."
Just as the two of them entered the Xuanqing Temple with the abbot, another carriage appeared silently in front of the temple gate.
The entire carriage frame was made of thousand-year-old golden nanmu wood, and the rivets were all wrapped in gold, making it exceptionally luxurious. Two hollowed-out bamboo lanterns hung in front of the carriage door, swaying from side to side as the carriage slowly came to a stop.
The carriage curtain was slowly lifted by a slender, pale hand, and a faint scent of cedar wafted out from the carriage.
"Master, we've arrived." Nanfeng jumped down from the driver's seat. "Would you like to go inside, Master?"
Today, the master suddenly said he wanted to come to the hill near Xuanqing Temple to take a look at the hunting grounds for the autumn hunt.
The terrain of Yandang Mountain, where Xuanqing Temple is located, is open. The guard camp had already fenced off the autumn hunting grounds several months ago, but this was not something that someone of such high status as their master should be concerned with.
Nanfeng knew in his heart that this was just an excuse his master had come up with.
Who in Xuanqing Temple could he not know?
However, since their master didn't want to talk about it, they, as servants, couldn't pry.
Xiao Huaijin jumped out of the car and said calmly, "I'm here to check on the autumn hunting grounds. What do you want to do at Xuanqing Temple?"
Seeing his master's cold expression, Nanfeng quickly stepped forward to apologize, "Your subordinate misunderstood."
Xiao Huaijin snorted coldly and stared at the plaque at the entrance of Xuanqing Temple without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Shen Yunjiao returned to Qingxin Pavilion.
"Miss, please sit down and rest. I'll open the window to let some air in," Fu Xia said as she walked to the window and used a wooden pole to prop it open.
A refreshing breeze blew in from the window. Shen Yunjiao leaned closer to the window and chuckled softly, "It's so much cooler in the mountains than down below."
A bright moon shines outside the window. It has just rained, and the moon is bright but the stars are few, giving one a feeling of "after the rain in the empty mountains, the weather turns autumnal in the evening".
Shen Yunjiao took out the medical book she hadn't finished reading and sat down at the table by the flickering lamplight.
Fu Xia took a small chair and nestled next to Shen Yunjiao, starting to do needlework.
The master and servant had been running around all day and were feeling quite tired. They finally sat down and found it very pleasant.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Xia stood up, stretching her aching neck, and turned to Shen Yunjiao, saying, "Miss, it's time to rest."
Unexpectedly, when I turned around, Shen Yunjiao was actually asleep, holding a book, with her hands clasped at her feet and her forehead resting on her knees.
Looking at her master sleeping soundly, so serene and beautiful like a mountain spirit, Fu Xia couldn't bear to disturb him.
She tiptoed away from Shen Yunjiao, intending to walk to the window and close it to prevent the cool breeze from outside from making her mistress sick.
Just as Fu Xia went to get the wooden pole, several dark figures suddenly darted in through the window. One of the figures even stepped on Fu Xia's shoulder and scratched her face hard.
"Ahh!"
Fu Xia covered her face and cried out in pain.
Shen Yunjiao was also startled awake. She sat up sleepily, opened her eyes, and saw a whole room full of lynxes and wildcats.
"Fu Xia! What's wrong with you?" Shen Yunjiao saw Fu Xia lying on the ground and rushed over to help her up.
Shen Yunjiao picked up the oil lamp from the table and looked closely. She then discovered that there were several lynxes, each as big as a dog, staring at her with bared teeth.
"How come there are so many lynxes all of a sudden?" Shen Yunjiao gasped in shock. "And they're all so big."
"Girl, I'm scared." Fu Xia looked at the wild cats in the mountains and was so frightened that she almost cried.
Shen Yunjiao held the oil lamp in front of her and waved it forcefully. The lynx that had been slowly approaching her suddenly arched its back and retreated with a hiss.
"Fuxia, don't be afraid. Even lynxes are afraid of fire. Just follow behind me. As long as we get out of this house, everything will be fine," Shen Yunjiao calmly instructed, holding an oil lamp in one hand and protecting Fuxia with the other as they moved towards the door.
Just as she touched the latch, a bold wild cat suddenly pounced.
"Be careful, young lady!"
The moment Fu Xia called out, Shen Yunjiao swiftly threw the oil lamp in her hand and pulled Fu Xia to quickly open the door.
Hearing the noise from the next room, Qin Youran's hand trembled slightly as she copied the book.
"Master, do you think our trick will work? Will it scare Shen Yunjiao?" Qin Youran's maid whispered beside her.
"Hmph, didn't Husband Li say that those lynxes have been starved by him for almost ten days? Now they want to take a bite of any kind of meat they see, let alone someone as delicate as Shen Yunjiao. They'll definitely take a bite of her too." Qin Youran sneered. "That bitch caused Chef Ruan to lose her job, and our meals have been noticeably worse lately."
After saying this, she put down her pen and rolled her sore wrists, then instructed her maid, "Turn off the lights. No matter how much noise there is, we won't care. Just get a good night's sleep."
She's going back to the Qin family tomorrow, and her influence won't be as far back as it used to be. Now's the perfect opportunity to get revenge on Shen Yunjiao and vent her anger.
"girl!"
Fu Xia was pushed out of the room by Shen Yunjiao, while Shen Yunjiao herself stayed inside.
Seeing that Shen Yunjiao was alone and had no oil lamp, the lynxes became even bolder and pounced on her.
Shen Yunjiao thought to herself that even if she was bitten, her face couldn't be hurt, so she quickly curled herself up into a ball.
"Meow—"
The expected attack did not follow; instead, she heard several tearing sounds of swords cutting through the air.
Shen Yunjiao looked up and saw that the heads and bodies of the several ferocious lynxes in front of her had been separated, lying in a pool of blood, their appearance horrifying.
Shen Yunjiao screamed in fright. She struggled to her feet and turned to run away, but accidentally bumped into a hard, broad chest.
As Shen Yunjiao covered her sore nose and was about to back away, the remaining lynxes behind her also tried to pounce on her to avenge their companion.
Xiao Huaijin frowned, hooked Shen Yunjiao's waist with his long arm, and pulled her to his side. Then, he took out his silver sword and dealt with the wild cat that pounced on him in a few swift and merciless moves.
After a few short, mournful meows, the night returned to silence.
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