Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Returning home to meet each other is what Zhao Mingsheng is considering...
Just as Zhao Mingsheng was considering whether to hire a carriage to leave, a guard in black stepped forward and saluted her.
"But the young lady from the Zhao family?"
A strange man suddenly blocked Zhao Mingsheng's way. She couldn't help but take a small step back. Her first reaction was, could this be a liar?
But looking at his attire, he didn't look like an ordinary family's guard. Zhao Mingsheng was a little unsure for a moment and nodded hesitantly.
"Have you decided to leave the Marquis' Mansion and return to your biological parents?"
Zhao Mingsheng nodded again. She was now more curious about who he was and how he knew what happened in the mansion.
"Young lady, please come this way. My master has prepared a carriage for you to take home."
Zhao Mingsheng looked in the direction he pointed and saw an ordinary carriage parked at the intersection.
"Who is your master?"
"Someone who helps the young lady find her biological parents."
While the guard was answering, Zhao Mingsheng was also quietly observing his words and actions. He saw that his answers were neither humble nor arrogant, and he did not seem like a bad person.
The benefactor who helped her find her biological parents? That would explain everything. Zhao Mingsheng let down his guard a little and nodded in agreement.
I didn't expect this benefactor to be so thoughtful that he even arranged a carriage for me to go home.
The moment she lifted the curtain and went in, Zhao Mingsheng was stunned.
The carriage, though plain in appearance, was surprisingly spacious inside. The floor was covered with soft carpets, and the seats were covered with a single piece of white tiger skin, a piece of fur that could not be compared to any other in the Marquis's mansion.
But what stunned Zhao Mingsheng was not these, but the man sitting on the tiger skin.
His face was a little pale, his long black hair was lazily draped over his shoulders, his elbows were supported on the edge of the platform, his slender fingers were clenched into a fist, pressing against his forehead.
The man seemed to be dozing off, and the moment he heard the noise, he opened his narrow eyes.
One of the eyes was pitch black and bottomless, while the other was clear and lively. When their eyes met, both of them were stunned.
"The Fifth Lady of the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion?"
The man's voice was a little low and magnetic.
Is this the benefactor? Zhao Mingsheng felt that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
"Since benefactor knows my background, I am no longer the fifth lady of the Marquis' Mansion. You can call me Zhao Mingsheng." After saying this, she felt that it was not appropriate to let a strange man call her by her maiden name, so she quickly changed her words. "Still, please call me the young lady of the Zhao family!"
It was a bit stuffy inside the carriage, and after just a few words, Zhao Mingsheng's cheeks turned red from the heat.
The little girl's blushing face looks like a ripe peach, quite cute.
The man looked at her seriously and chuckled, "Not bad. You are willing to give up your wealth. It is worth it for me to wait here for so long."
Zhao Mingsheng was stunned. She was stunned by the self-proclaimed "this king".
The only ones who can call themselves "King" are the current emperor's only younger brother, King Heng, and the infamous war god Yan Zhuo, who can even stop a child from crying.
She finally remembered why she felt her benefactor looked familiar. She had attended a grand banquet in the palace during the Ghost Festival and had seen him from afar when she accompanied the old lady.
Zhao Mingsheng quietly glanced around the carriage. The only available seat was the tiger skin. Where could she sit? She couldn't possibly share the same tiger skin with him!
Besides, it’s not a good idea for unmarried men and women to ride in the same carriage, right?
Why is Prince Heng so frivolous?
Is there any other intention behind helping to send her home?
Could it be that he has bad intentions towards her?
Just when Zhao Mingsheng began to have wild thoughts and even criticized the benefactor in front of him in his heart.
The black-clad guard outside the carriage reminded, "Miss Zhao, please follow me to the carriage at the back."
Zhao Mingsheng's face turned red. She felt ashamed of her previous thoughts. After all, she had accidentally entered someone else's carriage!
It turned out that there was another bus hidden behind the corner, but she got on the first one without seeing it clearly.
Yan Zhuo noticed the changes in her expression. Although he didn't quite understand what Zhao Mingsheng was thinking, he was very curious about how a person could have such rich emotional changes in such a short period of time.
"I have disturbed His Majesty's peace by not explaining this to Miss Zhao. This is my dereliction of duty. Your Highness, please punish me!"
"Don't blame him, it's my fault for walking too fast!" Zhao Mingsheng hurriedly defended him, fearing that the guards would be punished because of her.
When he was about to say something else, he saw Yan Zhuo waving his hand, looking tired and unwilling to say more, "It's okay, leave now."
When the carriage returned to calm, Yan Zhuo finally couldn't help but cover his chest and cough violently, his face becoming even paler.
The carriage wheels chug and turn, but even sitting there, Zhao Mingsheng still feels a sense of unreality. The rumored bloodthirsty and warlike Prince Heng is actually the benefactor who helped her find her biological parents. And he doesn't seem as fierce as the rumors say.
The carriage was hot and stuffy, and coupled with the tension, Zhao Mingsheng sweated a lot on his forehead. He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. After sitting quietly for a while, he felt much better.
Zhao Mingsheng noticed a small basin of ice placed inside the carriage, bringing a cool breeze. She was puzzled. There hadn't been an ice basin in Prince Heng's carriage just now. It didn't make sense for the host to have one but give it to a guest.
After thinking for a long time without any result, Zhao Mingsheng had a nightmare last night and got up early today. He yawned and felt sleepy.
With her delicate hands on the windowsill, she fell asleep in a daze.
In the other carriage, Guard Jing Liu hesitated for a while before finally speaking: "Your Highness, why bother making this trip in person for such trivial matters? The fatigue of the journey will not be conducive to your recovery."
Half a month ago, Yan Zhuo was assassinated on his way back to Beijing. Fortunately, he was rescued by a doctor from a remote village. He not only cured his injuries, but also diagnosed that he had been infected with a poison called Wu Nian.
Yan Zhuo had actually known he had been poisoned half a year earlier, and had summoned the Imperial Hospital for a joint consultation before finally finding out what the poison was. He hadn't expected someone in this small village to be able to pinpoint it.
The reason why this poison is called "Wunian" is because the poisoned person will have an attack every time the moon is full. Each attack is like being eaten by hundreds of insects and being in a world of ice and fire. The physical condition will also become weaker, and the person will gradually lose the desire to live. After twelve months, death is not far away.
However, most people who are poisoned by this poison cannot survive until December, and they cannot bear the torture and commit suicide.
Doctor Zhao not only knew the name of the poison, but also knew how to suppress it temporarily, making the poisoned person no different from an ordinary person for three years, but after three years the poison would attack more violently.
Yan Zhuo had never expected that the poison that had rendered the Imperial Hospital helpless would have a turn for the better here. His eyes, which had been dim for a long time, gradually brightened up again.
Afterwards, he revealed his identity and offered a reward of ten thousand taels of gold, but Doctor Zhao refused. He did not want any gold or silver, but only hoped that Yan Zhuo could help her find her daughter who was taken away by mistake.
Yan Zhuo naturally agreed, and before his injury was healed, he began to look for his son. He had been busy these past few days and naturally hadn't had a good rest.
It was June, but Yan Zhuo felt as if he was in an ice cellar and was extremely cold. The ice basin in the carriage was also removed.
Jingliu dared to give advice because he really couldn't bear to watch it anymore.
"Three years of kindness is worth it." After saying this, Yan Zhuo closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing.
Three years should be enough for him to accomplish that.
*
I don’t know how long I slept, but when I woke up, Zhao Mingsheng’s arms were numb.
She stretched and wondered how long it would take to get there.
Just as I was thinking about it, the carriage stopped and I could vaguely hear the sound of conversation coming from the front.
The Zhao family waited at the door early in the morning, from sunrise to sunset.
Zhao's mother was not in good health, and only at the insistence of her father and son did she go back to her room to lie down.
Zhao Qingyue, the eldest son of the Zhao family, had his brows tightly furrowed. He held a scroll in his hand and tapped his palms intermittently. He couldn't concentrate on reading the scroll that he usually couldn't put down.
He only recently found out that his sister was not his biological sister, and he also heard that his biological sister in the Marquis' Mansion was coming back. He was well-educated, so naturally he did not look at things as naively as his parents. He felt that his biological sister would most likely not abandon the wealth of the Marquis' Mansion and return to the countryside.
But seeing his parents' eyes full of expectations, he couldn't bear to expose their feelings and could only stay by their side.
Seeing that it was getting dark, he was about to speak out to persuade his father to go back, but he heard his usually steady father's voice trembling.
"Here she comes, Qingyue, your sister is back! Did you see her?"
At the end of the road, two carriages appeared. The horses' hooves splashed mud, and as the carriages approached, his heart inexplicably beat faster than usual.
His throat rolled over, and he finally uttered a "hmm" as a response.
In just a moment, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the village.
Jing Liu was the first to jump off the carriage. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. It rained last night and the roads were not easy to travel on. We were delayed for a while."
Father Zhao quickly waved his hands and said, "It didn't take long, it didn't take long."
Yan Zhuo stepped forward and bowed to his elders. "I'm glad to hear your trust. Your daughter is in the carriage at the back. If you have any other requests, please let me know."
Mr. Zhao is an honest man. He is very grateful that he can successfully find his daughter this time, and he dare not have any other extravagant demands.
"I don't deserve the title of benefactor. If Your Highness can find my daughter, then we are all even."
Yan Zhuo shook his head slightly. Doctor Zhao felt that the matter was settled, but he felt that this was not enough to thank him for saving his life. He took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Zhao's father. "If you need anything in the future, you can come to the palace to find me."
Without waiting for Zhao's father to refuse, he stuffed the jade pendant into his hand and told Jingliu to ask Zhao Mingsheng to get out of the car.
Zhao Mingsheng naturally heard some of their conversation, but she didn't have time to think about why her family was involved with Prince Heng.
The fingertips hidden in the sleeves were cold, and the pearly teeth were lightly biting the pink lips. Zhao Mingsheng was in a state of tension.
Outside the carriage is her home.
Zhao Mingsheng didn't know if she was ready to face it. After struggling for a long time, she suddenly found herself laughing. She was just returning to her own home, so why would she need to prepare anything to meet her family?
She took a deep breath, opened the car curtain and walked out.
In front of the carriage, besides Prince Heng and Jing Liu, stood two people she had never seen before. These must be her father and brother.
The middle-aged man was wearing a pine-colored linen robe. It was obvious that if he were a little younger, he would be a handsome man that girls from all over the country would compete to marry. Although time had carved some wrinkles on his face, it also added a bit of calmness to him.
Next to him stood a young man in a gray robe, eight feet tall, holding a scroll in his hand. What a graceful young man.
Zhao Sanlang of the Marquis's Mansion, her nominal father, had died before she was born. So, she had never called him "Daddy" or felt his love for her since she was a child.
My throat is very dry at this moment and I don't know how to start.
Zhao Mingsheng's father had seen her as soon as she stepped off the carriage. He still remembered how wrinkled she was when she was born, and how she had grown into a graceful young lady. Her eyes, like her mother's, were bright and clear, as if they could speak.
The daughter he had been longing for was now standing in front of him, and Father Zhao was so excited that he didn't know what to say.
He slapped Zhao Qingyue on the shoulder and introduced him to Zhao Mingsheng, "This, this is your brother Zhao Qingyue!"
Zhao Qingyue was caught off guard and stumbled. Just as he regained his balance, he heard his father's loud voice: "Why don't you say hello to your sister?"
Zhao Qingyue: ...
He actually picked it up.
But this sister looked very cute, with rosy cheeks and not the arrogant and domineering look he had imagined. He didn't dare to look at her any longer, and quickly looked away.
"Hello, sister."
Zhao Qingyue said this stiffly and turned his head away, his ears red. He secretly thanked God that he was not discovered.
Does this brother dislike her? Zhao Mingsheng wondered in her heart, otherwise why did he look so reluctant and turned his head away from her.
Her beautiful eyes dimmed for a moment, but she quickly recovered. She bowed politely and called him "brother." With this "brother," she could also say "daddy."
"Dad, my daughter is back."
As soon as these words came out, Zhao's father's eyes suddenly turned red.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back, our family is finally reunited!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
