Chapter 196: Villa (Part 2)
Meimei tore the leaves in her hand and said slowly: "You and Lingxuzi have been so kind to me. Just saying thank you is not enough to express my gratitude. I can only keep it in my heart...but I have to thank Master Zhang for his kindness to me. How can I be so worthy of Master Zhang's treatment? The Xu Mansion is really not a place for me to stay. I have tried hard. The Emperor stepped in, and the Empress Dowager's decree of divorce was taken back. I...I can't get away from him. Now he is willing to change, not to marry someone new, not to force me to live in the Xu Mansion, and to treat me and Heng'er well. I plan to live a good life with him."
Zhang Jingyun, no matter what his mentality is, if he wants to protect her and Heng'er, he must first betray his friends and accept the severe condemnation of secular morality. He will be despised and scolded. How can such an elegant and gentle good man be willing to let him suffer such humiliation for himself?
Meimei thought, not to mention that she had no freedom, even if she really got a divorce, she would not dare to go directly to him.
"Meimei, as long as you feel happy, I...have nothing to say"
Zhang Jingyun looked at her: "Junying is a hero, a loyal general, a friend you can trust with life and death, and he is also the pride of the family, the eldest son and grandson. He has too many responsibilities. Sometimes, he can't do what he wants to do, and he has to do what he doesn't want to do. This is his helplessness. Can you tolerate all of it? If not, if not today, then in the near future, you will be hurt again."
"What can we do?"
Meimei looked sideways at Lin Runan walking out of the strawberry bushes not far away and sighed, "He and I have Heng'er, so we have no choice but to live as a family. Besides, he is an important official in the court. If he doesn't let go of my wife, I have no other choice."
Zhang Jingyun also looked at Lin Runan and said softly, "How about dying again without any pain?"
Meimei was shocked: "If he finds out, you won't survive either."
Zhang Jingyun smiled: "He has power in the court, not everyone can control him. I have my own way in the martial arts world, I am not afraid, as long as you are willing..."
Lin Runan walked closer and closer, and Meimei tried to lower her voice and said, "I don't want to do anything risky, so let's end this topic here. Let's just pretend we never talked about it and never mention it again, okay?" Without skipping a word.
Zhang Jingyun lowered his eyes. Lin Runan had already approached him and said with a smile: "Look how much I picked...Yo Meimei, your basket is full too. Master Zhang is biased and won't help me. What were you talking about just now?"
Meimei glanced at Zhang Jingyun and said with a smile: "Nothing, I just asked Master Zhang why he hasn't married yet..."
Lin Runan's smile suddenly became a little uncomfortable: "How can you ask people about this kind of thing casually? If you ask me like this, I will definitely scold you."
Meimei picked up the basket and walked away: "Why am I asking you? I'm not idle."
Lin Runan shook the basket and stamped her feet: "Qin Mei Niang, Qin Mei Mei, you... wait a minute."
Zhang Jingyun smiled and pointed at her basket: "Ms. Lin, please go slower, the wild fruits are about to fall out."
Lin Runan pushed the basket towards him and said, "My hands are sore from carrying it, Master Zhang, please help me."
Zhang Jingyun hesitated for a moment, then took it: "Okay, leave Meimei's too, and I'll take them up together. We have to go quickly, they've been waiting for so long, I'm afraid they've become impatient."
Meimei pretended not to hear and walked quickly. She didn't want Zhang Jingyun to help her carry the basket. If Xu Junying or others noticed Zhang Jingyun's thoughts, it would cause a lot of trouble.
Zhang Jingyun caught up with Meimei halfway up the hill and took her basket: "Please help me, give it to me. If I only do it for Miss Lin, they will misunderstand me."
Meimei was reluctant to let go: "Our baskets will be mixed up"
"Don't worry, I know which one is yours and which one is hers"
Zhang Jingyun looked at her with a smile: "Don't joke with Miss Lin anymore, she might... I just heard about it by chance, if this matter is settled, it will only be in the next two days"
Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi have only been hanging around in the palace these days. What else could he have heard by chance except royal affairs?
Meimei's mind raced, and she asked anxiously, "What is it?"
Before Zhang Jingyun could answer, he suddenly saw Xu Junying walking down from the top of the slope. His face was cold, but he was forcing a smile:
"So you came here to pick wild plum fruits. Is this your basket? Give it to me."
Xu Junying held the small wicker basket steadily. Zhang Jingyun and Meimei let go at the same time, looked at each other unconsciously, and walked away.
Xu Junying stopped smiling, stepped forward and held Meimei's hand: "Are you tired? Your hands are so dirty."
Meimei pulled her hand back to look. There was condensed juice on her palms, fingers and nails. It was red and black and looked very ugly. She asked Zhang Jingyun hurriedly:
"Where are the leaves you mentioned?"
Zhang Jingyun smiled and said: "Don't worry, when you go down the slope, there is a stream under the rose trellis. It's only by the stream."
"Your Guiyun Villa is like a fairyland, so beautiful, we will come again next time"
“Come anytime”
Xu Junying said: "Meimei, our family also has many manors in the north of the city. I will take you to see them when I have free time. They are not as good as Jingyun's manor, but they are also well managed and have their own advantages."
Meimei looked back and answered irrelevantly: "Where is Lin Runan? Why did you pull her down?"
Lin Runan emerged from behind a clump of trees, panting: "I'm here, listening to you guys talking, but I don't have the energy to reply."
Meimei looked at her with amusement: "What did you hear?"
"I heard it..." Lin Runan looked at her and smiled: "Master Xu said: Are you tired? Your hands are so dirty, so you go to ask for leaves. I kept climbing up with him, and I heard everything behind me."
It turned out that she hadn't heard the previous words. Meimei thought to herself that she had to ask clearly what it was. If it was her blind guess, she would also ask Lin Runan what she meant.
We walked down the pine forest slope along the stone steps, turned left and walked for a while on a flat road. There was another bluestone road going down. We walked into the rose forest and heard the sound of gurgling water. A clear stream appeared in front of us. Under the guidance of Zhang Jingyun, Meimei, Lin Runan and Xu Junying saw the legendary strange leaves that could clean the juice. It was a very short, thin-leaved tree that grew beside the large rocks by the stream. Its roots were tightly attached to the rocks and inserted into the cracks of the rocks. Meimei praised its strong vitality. Zhang Jingyun said:
"If not, its roots will be unstable and will be washed away by floods. It will also not be able to absorb nutrients from the soil under the rocks and will not survive."
He picked a few leaves and rubbed them on his hands with stream water. Bubbles like soap bubbles actually came out. He washed his hands in the stream water, and when he took them out, they were clean and white, without any trace of juice.
Meimei and Lin Runan did as they were told, and their hands regained their original snow-white and delicate color, which made them feel surprised and happy.
Meimei asked: "Is this leaf only found in Guiyun Villa?" without skipping any words.
Zhang Jingyun said: "It can be found along small streams in the wild. Ordinary people don't know it, but some old people know it because it can be used as a medicine. It is always sold in pharmacies. Remember its name: Kudzu tree."
Lin Runan picked a leaf and looked at it over and over again: "Good Gehuang tree, remember it"
Several people did not go to Songyue Pavilion. Xu Junying said that they had been waiting for a long time but no one showed up, so they went out to look for them. He ran faster and found them behind Songpo, but he had no idea where King Qi and Lingxuzi were now.
Zhang Jingyun led them to a spacious place with three large rooms in the middle. The corridor was long and wide, and from the corridor to the interior, it was all covered with wooden floors, which were planed very smoothly and exuded bursts of natural and fresh fragrance of flowers and trees.
Lin Runan took a deep breath and sighed, "It smells really good, not like rosewood."
Zhang Jingyun smiled and said, "It's fragrant pear wood, a kind of pear tree that doesn't bear fruit. It's very hard to find. This kind of wood is used as flooring. It's fragrant and can keep away insects and mosquitoes. In summer, you don't need a curtain and you can rest anywhere in the house without being attacked by mosquitoes."
Meimei nodded: "This is suitable for children's rooms. Children are delicate and can't speak or drive away mosquitoes. They are bitten in vain, which is very pitiful."
As they were talking, King Qi and Lingxuzi walked in. King Qi saw the two baskets of wild strawberries placed side by side on the table and patted his head: "Why didn't you think of this? Just go to the place where the flowers are in full bloom."
He glanced at Meimei and said: "This person doesn't seem to like flowers and plants very much. He thinks about how to make delicious food every day to make people give money to Xianmenlai."
Meimei said: "You just thought of it now? It's too late. The money has not been returned yet."
Everyone laughed, Lingxuzi said: "I just asked the kitchen to prepare some game dishes, they should be ready, I'll go take a look"
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man who looked like a manager came in and said to Lingxuzi: "Sir, the food is ready. Is it in Songxiang Pavilion or here?"
Lingxuzi glanced at Zhang Jingyun and said, "Here?"
Zhang Jingyun nodded, and the steward bowed and left.
After dinner, Meimei wanted to go back. She was born a girl from the Ba family. She wanted to move good things home as soon as she got them. She was afraid that the basket of wild strawberries like agate would wilt and look ugly. Lin Runan had the same thoughts. King Qi and Xu Junying had nothing to say. Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi had just come out of the palace and would not return to the city for the time being. They were just sent out of the village gate.
Meimei wanted to trick Zhang Jingyun into telling her the truth, but she couldn't avoid Prince Qi and Xu Junying. She also didn't want Lin Runan to know, but she didn't know how to get rid of her.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally got a chance.
King Qi walked in front, followed by Xu Junying carrying a basket of strawberries in one hand. Lin Runan was worried about her precious strawberries, so she followed Xu Junying closely. Lingxuzi and Zhang Jingyun walked side by side. When they were almost at the gate of the manor, Meimei watched them turn a corner and no one looked back. She quickly stopped and stopped Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi. The three of them stood behind the bushes and talked.
When Xu Junying turned the corner, he subconsciously looked back and discovered the trick played by Meimei. He kept his composure and walked to the gate of the manor with King Qi and Lin Runan. He handed the basket to King Qi's guards, found an excuse, and walked back from another path. When he quickly hurried to the bushes where Meimei, Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi were standing, the three had already dispersed.
Watching Zhang Jingyun and Meimei walking side by side, Lingxuzi lagging behind half a step, the three of them walked towards the gate of the village easily and leisurely. Xu Junying gritted his teeth, and sparks seemed to burst out of his eyes.
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