When Ren Yaoqi and the other two came out of the pavilion, the sun had already set. They spent the entire afternoon in the pavilion drinking tea, chatting, and teasing Silly Girl until the princess sent someone to look for them.
This afternoon, the vibrant scene of flowers outside the garden did not seem to affect the peaceful and pleasant atmosphere in the yard at all.
Ren Yaoqi had to pay attention to Xiao Jingxi's injury from time to time. When they left the garden, Xiao Jingxi's fingers had completely subsided. This change surprised Ren Yaoqi, and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of poison Xiao Jingxi had been poisoned with.
Back when she accompanied Mr. Pei on his imperial manuscript compilation, she'd read a lot of medical books and pharmacopoeias. Though she'd mostly just skimmed through them, she still had some understanding of most of the world's difficult and complicated illnesses. But Ren Yaoqi couldn't think of any poison or medicine that could render someone immune to all poisons.
"Yao period? Yao period?"
Xiao Jinglin's voice brought Ren Yaoqi back to her senses. They were walking through the butterfly garden and heading out.
"What are you thinking about so intently?" Xiao Jinglin asked.
Xiao Jingxi, who was walking a few steps ahead, also stopped and looked back. Ren Yaoqi couldn't admit that she was thinking about the Second Young Master Xiao's illness, so she vaguely changed the subject: "I was distracted for a moment. What did you just say?"
Xiao Jinglin was holding Silly Girl in his arms. Although Silly Girl didn't look big, she was not light. However, when Ren Yaoqi tried to hold her just now, her hand felt a little heavy, at least much heavier than Cen Ge'er. However, Xiao Jinglin didn't seem to be struggling at all while holding her.
"I'm talking about your name. Do you have a nickname?" Xiao Jinglin pulled his waist pendant out of the silly girl's mouth and slapped it casually.
Silly girl looked at Xiao Jinglin in confusion: "Awoo..."
Xiao Jinglin was not particular about trivial matters in front of her acquaintances, and she didn't think there was anything wrong with mentioning Ren Yaoqi's maiden name in front of Xiao Jingxi. After all, everyone around her was her people, and anyone who spoke too much would be killed.
Xiao Jingxi coughed lightly and turned his head back uncomfortably, pretending not to notice. His steps were extremely slow.
Ren Yaoqi didn't care. "I was born in April, when the Qionghua flowers in Yanbei are in bloom. Qionghua is also called Yaohua. On the day I was born, my father happened to draw a picture of Qionghua, so he named me Yaoqi. My nickname... I haven't chosen one yet because I haven't reached the age of marriage yet."
Ren Yaoqi spoke with a wistful expression. In her previous life, she had two nicknames. One was "Wushuang," given to her by her father when she reached the age of 15. Later, she followed Pei Zhiqian, who said her blooming period was too short, hence her fateful fate. So, he gave her the nickname "Biqing," a reference to Zhuangzi's line, "Be still and pure, without straining your form. Without disturbing your spirit, you can achieve longevity."
Xiao Jinglin saw that Ren Yaoqi had a strange look on her face, so she said, "I don't have a nickname either. How about we choose one for each other when we reach the age of 15?"
Ren Yaoqi was stunned when he heard this, then nodded with a smile: "Okay."
The custom in Yanbei was that nicknames were usually bestowed upon a woman by her elders at the time of her coming of age. Some couples also used this term. It was rare for peers to bestow nicknames on each other, as Xiao Jinglin mentioned. However, Xiao Jinglin didn't care about these rules, and Ren Yaoqi, who had experienced a lifetime, didn't care much either.
Xiao Jinglin was happy and rubbed the silly girl's fur.
Xiao Jingxi shook his head and looked back at Xiao Jinglin. He was about to say that she didn't know the rules.
However, Xiao Jinglin looked at Xiao Jingxi and smiled quietly, and said meaningfully: "It's a pity that I have never been good at picking." So maybe I will need to ask those who are good at picking for advice when the time comes.
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