Shortly after Teacher Xiaoyu and the others left, they heard that Qiao Da had been quiet for quite a while. Zhang You, however, didn't care. Besides putting on makeup for Qiao Si on weekdays, or going out with Chunhua and the others to show off in the streets, she would only sneak out of the house during her ten-day off to hunt for delicious food.
For some reason, she always ran into Wei Qian on her recent outings. As time went by, they became quite familiar with each other. They didn't talk about Qiao Si or the palace, but simply about food, like close friends with shared interests.
Wei Qian also brought her a jar of Lihuabai, which she didn't have time to drink last time. Zhang You knew that she couldn't drink much, so she brought it back to drink with Chunhua and the others. This way, if she got drunk and made a scene, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.
As the days passed, Qiao Si's coming-of-age ceremony was approaching.
It was only then that Zhang You realized that the princess's mother's family was a famous aristocratic family, and the princess specially asked her sister to perform the hairpin ceremony on behalf of Qiao Si.
That day was Qiao Si's most glorious moment.
Madam Du combed her hair, recited a blessing, and solemnly put a hairpin on her. Zhang You and the others were responsible for helping her put on her clothes through layers of complicated rituals. She would go to express her gratitude after each layer was put on, until she was fully dressed and the ceremony was finally completed.
That night, fifteen sky lanterns floated outside the palace. At that time, Qiao Si was attending dinner with the princess and others inside the house, while Zhang You and others were watching with great interest outside.
Jingzhu appeared out of nowhere, holding a bow in his hand, drawing the bow and shooting an arrow in one go, the arrow directly shot down the Kongming lantern.
Zhang You and Qiuyue were watching intently when they were startled by an arrow brushing past their ear. She whipped her head around and met Jingzhu's cold gaze, her hands still in motion, continuing to shoot down the lanterns.
Zhang You was shocked by her eyes. He wanted to say something but didn't ask it for a while. He just watched her shoot down the Kongming lanterns quietly.
Qiuyue's eyes wandered between her legs, feeling a little angry. She was about to step forward and ask Jingzhu what she meant, but was stopped by Xia He. Xia He shook her head at her and told her not to be impulsive.
Zhang You always felt that Jingzhu's look at her just now had a deeper meaning, as if... she thought she was some kind of villain.
But why?
In Zhang You's uneasy mood, Jing Zhu shot down the Kongming lanterns, approached Zhang You, and said threateningly: "Shut your mouth and don't say anything you shouldn't say."
Zhang You really didn't understand. She shouldn't have offended Jing Zhu, so why would she suddenly treat her like this? She thought about it and asked.
Jingzhu first looked at her deeply, and seeing that she was "unrepentant", she leaned close to her ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "You should know who you belong to. The princess does not want the princess to be involved with the Wei family anymore. Wei Qian, the same!
You must know who released this Kongming lantern and for whom, right? Don't get involved with him anymore.
You have to remember who you belong to.”
Jingzhu gave her a look that showed her understanding and turned away. Zhang You never thought that her private relationship with Wei Qian would be discovered and even become a reason for her to be suspected.
But she had never mentioned anything about Qiao Si to Wei Qian; their friendship was pure and simple. Even the Kongming lantern incident today, she had thought was a fluke, never thinking it was Wei Qian's doing, nor did she expect to be scolded for it.
Zhang You's good mood was gone at this moment. Qiuyue noticed that the moment she was told what was said, her face fell and she looked worried.
Zhang You knew she couldn't say anything and just shook her head. Qiuyue didn't know how to respond. She wasn't very good at handling such things, so she called Chunhua over to try and get her to talk her through it. But Zhang You just said nothing and remained silent the entire night.
Not long after that day, on Zhang You's day off, she ran into Wei Qian again in a small restaurant. She was about to say that they should stop seeing each other in the future, but she heard him say, "I'm leaving Dingzhou in the next few days. I should have left a long time ago, but my brother asked me to do something for him. As we're from the same school, I wanted to do something for the princess, but I didn't expect that I would do something more than I could do.
However, my work in Dingzhou has come to an end, and I came here today to say goodbye to you. Thank you for sharing our meals these days, which has given me a new appreciation for food. This is the recipe I learned, and I'm giving it to you as a parting gift."
Zhang You didn't expect that when he came, he would talk about leaving.
She had originally been somewhat angry with him, but now that he was leaving and there was no longer any contact, there was no need to be so heartless.
She took the recipe with a smile and thanked him.
The news came suddenly, and she hadn't prepared anything, so she took out the candied fruit purse she carried with her and handed it to him.
"You left so suddenly that I probably didn't have time to see you off. I don't have anything to give you except this bag of dried fruits. Since you gave me the recipe, I'll give this to you. I wish you a safe journey."
Wei Qian thanked her with a smile. After taking the purse with both hands, he exchanged a few words with her, then stood up and bowed to her as a farewell.
Zhang You sat at the table, watching his figure walking away. When she ate the dishes on the table, she felt that the taste was somehow missing.
Originally, these past few days, she was still struggling with how to tell Wei Qian that they should stop contacting each other. But now that he had spoken first, she felt a little uncomfortable.
As she thought about it, she laughed helplessly.
Why does it feel like you've been heartbroken?
She quickly encouraged herself. At first, she was just happily enjoying her alone time and the beauty brought by delicious food. Now she was just going back to her old ways.
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it's hard to go from extravagance to frugality. Maybe I'm just not used to it, but it will get better after a while. After all, good food and time heal everything.
After that, Zhang You followed Qiao Si, watching how she sought justice for the people, how brave and resourceful she was, and how she gradually grew into a strong woman who could stand on her own.
Life in Dingzhou was peaceful and leisurely, with the occasional case, but Qiao Si was able to solve them perfectly. Zhang You witnessed Dingzhou's transition from war to peace, and also witnessed Dingzhou's current prosperity.
Cold comes and summer comes, spring passes and autumn comes.
Everything is so peaceful and beautiful.
Until one day, they followed Qiao Er and Qiao Si to investigate the problems of merchants in the neighboring state. When they hurried back to Dingzhou, all the beautiful things that had once been there had become desolate along with their memories.
That year, Dingzhou was attacked, leaving countless civilians dead and wounded. The princess, Qiao Da, and many people Zhang You knew were left there forever that autumn. The prince, unable to resist, was dismissed by the emperor. Dingzhou was taken over by Qi Ce, who had severed ties with the prince. The Qiao family moved back to the capital, under the pretext of being granted a place to retire in the capital in recognition of his hard work and contributions.
So that winter, they hurriedly buried their relatives and friends and boarded a carriage back to Beijing...
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