Because she hadn't slept well all night, Qingying had a dark spot under her eyes the next day.
Is there anything Zhang Mama doesn't understand?
She served Qingying breakfast and said, "I heard that the eldest young master came up the mountain today, so I reckon we can return to the manor by tomorrow at the latest."
Qingying's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly asked, "Did brother say when he's going up the mountain?"
"This servant does not know; you will need to ask the old lady yourself."
Qingying hurriedly ate breakfast and went to the storeroom. She asked Yuyue to guard the door while she went in with the food box.
The man was now conscious, but perhaps due to severe poisoning, he could only lie weakly, and even raising his hand was difficult.
"I could tell you weren't going to eat much, so I ordered the servants to cook some soft porridge for you to eat to fill your stomach."
The man nodded and thanked her, his voice barely audible.
"Don't be so polite with me. It's fate that you met me and I saved you." She helped the man sit up and let him lean against the wall. Then she took out a bowl of porridge from the food box and fed him spoonful by spoonful.
He ate only half a bowl before he couldn't eat anymore, and Qingying didn't force him to continue.
Finally, he said, "I'll go find the abbot for you later. Do you have any token that would make him willing to help?"
The man pointed to his waist.
Qingying understood: "You mean inside the waistband?"
The man nodded.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion." She turned her face away, only daring to look at him out of the corner of her eye, her fingers reaching towards his waist, fumbling to unfasten the hidden clasp.
The man suddenly pressed down on her mischievous little hand.
Qingying was a young girl who had not yet reached marriageable age. She had spent most of her life in her boudoir and had seen only a handful of men. She had never been treated so lightly before.
She immediately withdrew her hand in fright, panicking, "Men and women shouldn't touch each other, what are you doing?"
The man coughed painfully, covering his mouth. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't get the words out. As he coughed, he coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
"I'm sorry," he said with difficulty, his voice hoarse as if a blunt object were scraping the ground.
He propped himself up, lifted his clothes, took out a piece of jade that was entirely purple from the inside, and handed it to her with trembling hands.
Qingying glanced at him tentatively, and only after confirming that he would not make any further moves did she finally reach out and take Ziyu from him.
Before she could ask any more questions, the man's head lolled to the side and he fainted again.
Qingying frowned, glanced at the black blood on the ground, then looked at the bloodstains on his lips. After hesitating for a long time, she took out her handkerchief and wiped it for him.
After leaving the storeroom, she instructed Yu Yue to lock the door and then went to find the old lady, Madam Wang.
Lady Wang had already eaten breakfast and went to the main hall to listen to the Dharma talk.
When Qingying arrived at the main hall, the Dharma assembly had just ended. Wang was talking to the abbot. She went up to greet the abbot, bowed, and then stood aside waiting for Wang to finish her conversation.
Soon after, Wang Shi bid farewell to the abbot, and she stepped forward to affectionately take Wang Shi's arm, saying in a coquettish tone, "Grandmother, did you miss me today?"
"Of course." Madam Wang gently stroked her delicate nose and said with a smile, "I miss Shushu every single moment I don't see her."
She smiled sweetly and said, "I miss my grandmother very much, and I wish I could be with her every moment."
"You're being so sweet-talking today, do you want something from me?"
"No, no, I just came to ask Grandmother if my brother has said when he can go up the mountain?"
He said it would be before noon, and we could probably head back home later.
“Okay.” She said, “We’ve been away for so long, Mother must be very worried about us at home.”
"Yes, she just wrote to ask if we were safe."
The General's Mansion is now in the hands of the Pan family. Originally, she should have accompanied them to the temple to offer incense, but she caught a cold recently and has not fully recovered, so she did not come this time.
Qingying chatted with Wang Shi for a while, and then they played a game of chess inside the house. It was past 11:30 in the morning when Liu Chengfeng arrived.
He bowed to Wang Shi as soon as he entered, and after sitting down, he gave a brief account of the situation down the mountain.
The rocks have been cleared, the road is under repair, and we should be able to descend the mountain and return to Beijing in less than an hour.
"Brother, you've worked hard these past few days. When we return to the capital, I will definitely have Yu Yue make your favorite white fungus and lotus seed soup and personally deliver it to your courtyard."
Liu Chengfeng smiled and said, "Shushu treats me the best. It seems that I haven't spoiled you for nothing."
"Brother, what are you saying? This is what I should do." She stood up and said, "We're almost down the mountain. I'd like to offer one more stick of incense in front of the temple."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Liu Chengfeng asked.
"No need, you've just arrived at the mountain, so you should rest well first. You'll still have things to do on the way back to the manor."
After Qingying finished speaking, she bowed to him and Wang Shi and took her leave.
When she arrived at the main hall, she found that there was hardly anyone there, so she asked where the abbot was. A young novice monk led her to a meditation room at the back.
Upon reaching the courtyard gate, the young novice told her to wait where she was, while he went inside to inform the monks.
Every now and then someone would come out from inside.
He was an exceptionally handsome man with a smooth-lined face. His features, sculpted by the Creator, possessed a delicate beauty and a striking handsomeness. His eyebrows were arched to his temples, his eyes were like autumn water, his nose was straight and elegant, and his lips were red and his teeth were white. He wore a white jade crown, a dark purple robe with cloud patterns, and a black belt with gold trim around his waist. On his left side hung a dark-colored sachet embroidered with a nightingale, and on his right side hung a white jade pendant. He held a black cloth folding fan with gold lettering. He was a dashing and elegant young man who had stepped out of a painting.
Qingying recognized this man; he was a notorious playboy in the capital, the son of the current emperor's younger brother, Prince Yu, and the heir apparent, Wei Dongchen.
He walked over with a sly smile on his face, and stopped two steps away from Qingying. "Oh~ isn't this the second daughter of the General's Mansion? It's been a while since I've seen her. She has become even more beautiful and captivating."
Qingying found his words of praise vulgar and exaggerated, and she was quite disdainful in her heart, but she did not show it on her face.
"This humble girl greets the young master." Although she didn't particularly like his manners, she couldn't avoid showing proper etiquette as a lady from a prestigious family.
After she finished bowing, she asked, "May I ask why the young master is here?"
She remembered that they were the only family that had come from the capital in the past few days.
"Didn't your brother tell you? I just went up the mountain with him." When Wei Dongchen smiled, the corners of his eyes would curve downwards, and his shimmering blue eyes always gave people a sense of friendliness.
She was captivated by that smile, and quickly lowered her eyelids, shook her head, and said, "My brother rarely mentions men outside the family in front of me."
He thought for a moment and said, "That's right. You haven't come of age yet, so you should avoid suspicion. Then I'll take my leave."
"Farewell to the Crown Prince."
Wei Dongchen walked past her, fanning himself with a folding fan, without lingering for even a moment.
Qingying didn't dare to look at him until the young novice monk who had gone to announce her arrival returned and said that the abbot invited her. Only then did she raise her eyes, straighten her clothes, and go inside.
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