Chapter 4
There was a magnolia tree in the quadrangular courtyard. It had grown enormous, its branches overflowing the courtyard, filling the air with a refreshing, invigorating fragrance. The tree sat next to a stone table, and palm-sized blossoms from its branches landed on the table, casting a vibrant pink hue.
She looked at it but had no mind to appreciate it. Her heart was filled with other things, and even swallowing felt stinging. She looked for a while and pointed to the stool opposite and asked Que Ming to sit down.
"What happened that day was a misunderstanding. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Explain again, at least before getting rid of him completely, don't let him have any messy dark thoughts.
Upon hearing this, Que Ming finally raised his head and looked into her eyes seriously.
"I have never blamed Miss! Miss was willing to let me stay here and give me a safe place to eat and sleep. I am already grateful to her. How dare I blame her? Even if Miss takes her anger out on me in the future, Que Ming will have no complaints."
Gratitude? What good would gratitude do? After all, in the face of the power he loved most, favors were worthless.
In the winter five years ago, Qingning lived in Xining with her father for three months. At that time, her father happened to be on business in Xining. He heard that there was a musician with outstanding skills in Xining, so he took Qingning, who was very fond of the piano at the time, to study there for a while.
It was there that Qingning saw Queming for the first time.
There were many people coming and going in the music house. A thin child was holding a tea tray and serving tea and water to dignitaries. She couldn't bear to see children of her age doing such things, so she kept her eyes focused on him, and even the teacher noticed it.
"Are you interested in that child, girl?"
Qingning nodded without wanting to lie, but unexpectedly the teacher called him over.
Only when Qingning raised her head did she see the face clearly. It was a delicate face like that of a girl but was born on a man. Rather than being surprised, she was more worried about him. With a face like that, he would probably suffer a lot in a place like this.
So, when Qingning spoke to him for the first time, the questions he asked were different from those asked by others.
"Will you come with me?"
Que Ming looked up in surprise at the girl holding a zither in front of the screen. She had a childish face, but her eyes were sharp as a torch as she looked at him, as if she could really help him escape from this predetermined ending.
He didn't dare to look away and nodded firmly. He didn't expect that the little girl would actually take him out of the music hall and into the Yue family.
Que Ming in front of him was wearing a gray shirt, the most common style among servants. A gentle breeze blew into the room from outside the window, making the rice paper on the table rustle and also lifting a corner of his gray robe, making Qingning dizzy.
He seemed to be like this that day. He had clearly planned a trap and was waiting for her to jump in, but he still didn't say anything and had no emotions. He was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, falling quietly.
In fact, if he had not been so cruel and determined to clear the obstacles for the prince, her feelings for him would not have changed much in those three years.
That was his first year away.
Rumors spread in the capital that he was taken in by the prince. Yue Qingning was restless and did not dare to verify it. Perhaps out of guilt, she had been paying attention to his situation and could not ignore it until that group of literati spread the words about him.
Dong Sheng only has a clever smile, and Zidu believes in beautiful eyes. He would buy a word for a million, and chase her for a thousand gold.
She couldn't even bear to listen to those dozen words. That was the person she had been worried about, and they were mocking him like this...
Yue Qingning was reluctant to do so, so he asked someone to write a refutation of their words on the wall facing East Lake that night.
【Since you left, the bright mirror has become dark and cannot be cleaned. The inner world does not know the dust in the boudoir, but the heart knows it.】
At that time, they spread rumors that the poem was written for the prince, and that a woman could not forget the prince and that was why she wrote such a heartfelt poem. How could she have any good thoughts about the prince? At that time, she only wanted him to see that the poem was written for him.
Yue Qingning shook his head and woke up, while the person in front of him still had his head lowered silently.
With his head lowered, one could only see his straight nose and a few wisps of black hair. He always seemed to be like this, rarely saying anything, even in his previous life, making it difficult to understand what he was thinking.
"Queming, I'm really sorry for getting you injured. Go back and have a good rest. I don't need you to go out with me these days!"
He seemed to have forgotten the rules, and his starry eyes stared at her blankly.
"I'm fine now. If you have any questions, please tell Que Ming!"
Their eyes met. Yue Qingning endured for a long time but still couldn't help but avoid him, avoiding his sight and looking at the magnolia branches outside the window.
"Queming, I have a question that I can't figure out. Can you think about it for me?"
He nodded when he heard that, his eyes clear and without concealment, as if he was really worried about her.
Yue Qingning pretended not to see it and said coldly, "In your opinion, how can you make someone heartbroken?"
I wonder if that evil plot has been laid out since today, and she should be alert.
However, Que Ming remained silent throughout, pretending to be thinking without any loopholes, not giving her any chance to notice. It seemed that he was a key official of the future dynasty. How could a little girl like her, who had only lived to be fifteen, fight against such a scheming person?
Fortunately, she has lived two lives now and is no longer a little girl. Today's Qingning may not lose to this villain.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Yue Qingning didn't want to look at his pretentious face anymore, and waved dejectedly, telling him to go back.
"Go back today! I need you for something!"
"Yes! Miss!"
The man stood up and walked to the door, then suddenly turned his head and heard him speak again.
"If I figure it out, I'll tell you, young lady."
“…”
The man in gray finally left the courtyard, and Qingning lowered his hands, no longer as relaxed as before.
Qingzhu came in and asked in confusion, "Miss, Que Ming has recovered a long time ago, why do you still give him medicine every day?"
Yue Qingning smiled and said, "I owe him this, so naturally I have to pay him back."
Owe him?
Zhu'er looked even more confused, but Qingning couldn't explain it to her. She couldn't even tell anyone because no one would believe it. This was a secret that only she knew.
She had been refusing to eat with others for many days due to illness. After several days in a row, her mother was very worried and sent someone to invite her to dinner. Tonight, she again refused to eat on the grounds of feeling unwell.
However, after a while, a little adult came.
She was staring at the courtyard in a daze when the small figure in moonlight turned around from behind the screen. Yue Qingning looked at him, and he raised the food box in his hand and put it on the table.
"Qingzhe!"
"elder sister."
Although he was only ten years old, Qingzhe was more calm and reserved than his elder sister, and didn't even look like a child. He often recited ancient laws and calendars, like a Confucian scholar from his previous life who was reincarnated into their family. Yue Qingning often teased him and called him Doctor Zhe.
But she was not in the mood today, so she raised her hand and called him over to sit on the couch.
"Is my mother worried about me?"
"My mother is naturally worried, and I am worried too."
She felt a little sad when listening to the innocent words of the little child. She didn't know how sad her brother would be when he heard the news of her death. At that time, she always felt that there was still a lot of time. If she had known that there would be such an ending, she should have talked to them more and paid more attention to them.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about going to my mother's place when I felt better. Let's go! Let's go to my mother's place for dinner together!"
Holding his hand, the brother and sister left the hospital, and Qingzhe suddenly shook her hand.
"Sister, I'll take care of everything, don't worry."
He thought his sister was worried because she knew about their father's affairs in the court. He secretly made a vow in his little head that he must pass the imperial examination, share his father's worries, and reassure his sister.
Yue Qingning knew that he had misunderstood something and touched his head.
In her previous life, the political situation was turbulent and everyone was in danger. She was at the age to get married, but her father did not want to form an alliance with anyone, and even more so did not want the emperor to be suspicious, so he never wanted to arrange a marriage for her. Because of this, there was a lot of discussion in the capital.
It was then that she saw another side of Qingzhe. He was usually calm, but when faced with danger, the brave brother stood up and protected her single-handedly.
Back then, I had you, and this time, I have my sister!
Qingzhe seemed to feel her gaze and looked up at her.
"Sister knows, I'm always grateful to have you around. Let's go! Mother is waiting anxiously."
With a faint smile and eyes curved, Qingzhe felt that something seemed different about his sister, but he couldn't put his finger on it. At this moment, his sister seemed to be gradually acquiring the weight of an elder.
As soon as he stepped into the yard, a burst of giggles brought back Yue Qingning's memories.
That is the youngest sister, Qingtang.
When I turned the corner, I saw the mother holding a little baby on her lap. The little baby had two little buns on its head and was trying to grab something on the table. The people around her were laughing and trying to stop her in a hurry.
When she saw someone trying to stop her, her little face puffed up in a pretended angry way, which made her even cuter without any of the arrogance.
The little girl reached out to the big hand with her little hands to reach the food, humming and whining to express her desire. The mother couldn't stand it anymore and stuffed a candy ball into her mouth to make her quiet down.
This scene warmed Yue Qingning's heart, allowing her to finally relax from the memories of her past life. She stood at the door and looked carefully for a while.
Nothing is more precious than this moment when the family is harmonious and loved ones are right in front of you.
She looked for a while and then led her brother into the yard.
"mother!"
Before the mother could answer, the baby in her arms jumped up and called out to her.
"Jiejie!"
The little baby couldn't speak clearly yet, and could only speak in two similar tones.
Yue Qingning walked over and picked her up, rocking her gently in his arms a few times, making the little baby laugh.
Xiao Qingtang was indeed likable. Seeing her eyes wide open without blinking, Yue Qingning was happy to compete with her and stare at her with wide eyes to tease her.
Her family was harmonious and her brothers and sisters were all there. This was the only thing she cared about in these two lives.
However, the warm atmosphere of the next few days gave rise to even more anxiety. She was already overthinking, and even sleeping had gradually become difficult for her over time. She didn't expect that she would still not be able to sleep after the same incident.
The medicine was given to him day by day, and he was still walking around well under her nose. Every day she would ask someone to come and take a good look at his condition.
More than half a month has passed, but he is still alive and well, even more energetic than before.
How can we completely eradicate this scourge?
Is it safe to keep him in the mansion and not allow him to leave? If the prince comes here under some pretext, can she still keep him?
Next to the emperor is the prince. Even if she is very resourceful, she cannot defeat the overwhelming power. What should she do under the imperial power?
But how could she get rid of him? She had never intended to harm anyone, and she had never imagined that this would be far more troublesome than she had imagined. Those treacherous villains would indeed harm people, and she really should ask him for advice. After all, he had forced many upright officials to death in the past.
She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the person walking lightly behind the moon-shaped door not far away. Not wanting to disturb her, he stared at her back for a long time.
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