Chapter 3 Cannon Fodder White Moonlight 2 Xu Lingjia is the most suitable person
At this moment, Xu Lingjia slowly regained consciousness from her coma. Nanny Li beside her wrapped her in a cloak, shielding her from view. "Miss, are you feeling unwell?"
Nanny Li was once the personal maid of the wife of the Duke of Fuguo. She had been taking care of Xu Lingjia since she was born. In this situation, she was much calmer than others.
She had checked the wounds on Xu Lingjia's body, which were just scratches and not serious, so she asked in a low voice.
Xu Lingjia recovered from his shock and shook his head weakly. He glanced at the faces around him and asked, "Where is that girl from before?"
Xu Lingjia remembered that it was she who pulled him back in the chaos.
A maid then noticed Ali standing beside her and hurriedly said to Xu Lingjia, "Miss, the girl is here!"
Xu Lingjia stood up carefully with the help of Nanny Li. Seeing Ali's state, she asked with concern, "Miss, how are you?"
Seeing Xu Lingjia coming over, Ali suddenly coughed violently a few times, his little face turned red from choking, and he shrank towards her as if frightened, avoiding Pei Miao's move forward.
Pei Miao paused, slowly retracted his outstretched hand, and his sharp eyes fell on Ali's face. Unfortunately, Ali lowered her head, so he couldn't see her expression clearly.
Xu Lingjia was naturally shocked, but he still squatted down and hugged Ali.
As the eldest daughter of the Duke of Fuguo's Mansion, she has always been protected by others since she was a child, and no one else has ever needed her protection like this.
Following Ali's gaze, Xu Lingjia noticed the man in front of them.
Xu Lingjia, who had always been clueless about matters concerning sex, suddenly realized that the man's behavior just now was quite reckless. The girl was soaked to the skin. If she really let this man hug her, even if it was to save her life, it would be detrimental to her reputation if it got out.
On one side was the extremely weak girl who had just sacrificed her life to save her, and on the other side was this lecher who came from nowhere and had no sense of etiquette. Xu Lingjia frowned fiercely, turned around and shouted at the man angrily: "You -"
The unspoken accusation was swallowed back into her stomach the moment she saw the man's face clearly.
Seeing their young lady who always acted generously and kept her word, the servants of the Duke of Fuguo's Mansion changed their expressions from anger to surprise and then to joy. They knew the identity of this man without even turning around.
"Pei... Pei, Master Pei!"
Xu Lingjia's surprised voice exploded on the spot, and her pair of bright and affectionate peach blossom eyes were full of admiration. She was completely unaware that Nanny Li's brows were wrinkled into a knot. She opened her mouth and closed it again, her face so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of it.
Pei Miao was born with a good appearance, handsome spirit and dignified appearance. He was a famous young man in the capital.
Although he was the son of a wealthy and noble family, he did not rely on the achievements of his ancestors. Three years ago, he entered the officialdom through the imperial examination and won the third place in the imperial examination. At a young age, he was promoted to the third rank. The ministers he had worked with all praised him.
He has always been gentle and polite to others, without any bad habits of children from wealthy families. He is still unmarried and keeps himself clean, making him the dream man of many young ladies.
It is recorded in the book that Xu Lingjia did not hide his love for Pei Miao at all, so today he naturally followed Pei Miao to Puji Temple.
Pei Miao nodded slightly, without any annoyance on his face, and a smile on his lips: "Miss Xu."
Xu Lingjia blushed instantly and quickly explained, "Master Pei, that's not what I meant. It's just that this young lady is really inconvenienced right now. I'd like to ask Master Pei to step aside for a moment."
Nanny Li couldn't help but look at her.
Fortunately, the host arrived at this time and interrupted the strange atmosphere by the pool. With the help of the maids and nannies accompanying the Duke of Fuguo's Mansion, Ali was quickly sent to the room in the backyard.
Before leaving, she propped up her weak body and looked at Pei Miao with timid eyes, but quickly retracted her gaze when he looked back.
Pei Miao naturally noticed this and his eyes grew darker.
*
Not long after, Ali opened his eyes from his coma and saw He's father sitting beside the bed with a worried look on his face.
He's father has reached the age of knowing the destiny, and because he has been traveling all year round and worrying too much, he looks even older and has white hair on his temples.
He was kept in the palace today for some reason. After hearing the news, he rushed over quickly. Seeing Ali's appearance, he felt very guilty.
"Good boy, does it still hurt?"
Almost the moment she heard He's father's voice, Ali couldn't stop crying. She touched her eyelids blankly. This was probably the emotion of her original body, which she hadn't experienced for a long time.
He Li in the book is the most sensible and obedient child in the eyes of the neighbors.
Although she lost her mother when she was young, she has never been seen crying or making a fuss. When children of her age were still acting coquettishly in their parents' arms, she was already taking care of the household chores and was the least of my worries.
Ali sighed in his heart, and with tears about to fall, he snuggled up to He's father's arms.
He's father was surprised by his daughter's sudden closeness. He gently patted her thin back like he did when she was a child, to comfort the frightened Ali.
In his impression, his daughter has been calm and quiet since she was a child, with an introverted and shy personality. He often feels indebted to his daughter because of his wife's death, but he is a man after all, and there are always things he cannot take care of.
Perhaps because of this, my daughter is much more intelligent and sensible than ordinary children.
He's father saw this and felt very distressed, but he didn't know where to start.
It was a rare opportunity for the father and daughter to be so close, and He's father was filled with mixed emotions.
"Daddy, I accidentally fell into the water this time, and a young lady and a young man saved me. I wonder if they are still outside? I want to thank them in person."
In the storybook, He Li fell into the water and was rescued, but he was unconscious for several days. When he woke up, everything had changed. The situation that day was exaggerated and spread by people from all walks of life, which was really unbearable.
In addition, in the story, the two of them fell into the water together, but Pei Miao gave up Xu Lingjia and rescued her, whom he had never met before. The two of them were touching each other's skin in broad daylight, so intimate.
This scene fell into the eyes of Xu Lingjia who was standing by, and she also contributed to the various attacks that He Li suffered afterwards.
Although the situation is no longer as bad as in the storybook, Ali still has some things to do.
"Also, father, could you please help your daughter pass a message to my brother, asking him to return to the capital immediately?"
*
The backyard of Puji Temple has special rooms for pilgrims to rest. The west courtyard is for ordinary pilgrims to stay temporarily, and the east courtyard is for dignitaries to use.
In the most spacious and elegant room in the east courtyard, Nanny Li took the clean dress brought by the maid and changed it for Xu Lingjia. Seeing that her young lady's eyes were still dazed, she knew that her whole mind was on Pei Miao in the front yard.
Nanny Li gradually smoothed the emerald green silk ribbon around Xu Lingjia's waist. Seeing her face regain its rosy complexion, she couldn't help but sigh, "There were quite a few people by the pool just now. It was really inappropriate for the young lady to speak to the Prime Minister's second son in that way."
Xu Lingjia didn't respond, but just looked out the window: "Mammy, are you ready? I have to go out."
"No." Nanny Li put on a stern face and pressed the excited Xu Lingjia back. "We just applied the medicine. The imperial physician said that the young lady should not move around and should rest more."
Qingzhi, who was about to comb Xu Lingjia's hair, chuckled when she saw this: "The young lady always says that Lan Cui and I are afraid of the nanny. Don't you know that as the young lady's personal maids, we have to follow the master's example."
Xu Lingjia was so angry that he made a face at her and spat, "You have the most rude mouth in this room!"
Nanny Li knew Xu Lingjia didn't like her nagging about Pei Miao, so she told the maid to take the dirty clothes back to the carriage and changed the subject: "Young lady's dress was specially made for the Shangsi Festival, and it turned out like this the first time she wore it today."
"This piece of ice silk jade brocade was brought back from the East China Sea by the Duke a month ago. There are two pieces in total. One was presented to the Queen Mother, and the other is with the young lady..."
Nanny Li did not explain her words completely. The material was so precious that the Duke's Mansion could afford it. However, the young lady came to Puji Temple today for the second son of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and accidentally fell into the water and was injured. If the Duke knew about this, there would inevitably be another storm.
Hearing the name of the Duke of Fuguo, Xu Lingjia's resentful expression finally subsided.
Xu Shi, Duke of Fuguo, was a founding hero of this dynasty and made outstanding contributions.
Unfortunately, the old Duke had few children, and only three: the eldest daughter born to the Duke's wife died early after marriage, and the legitimate son Xu Lingcheng finally grew up, but was always weak.
For several years thereafter, the Duke's Mansion had no more children until the old Duke was forty years old, when his concubine gave birth to Xu Lingjia, the last child of the Duke's Mansion. Eight years later, the old Duke passed away, and Xu Lingcheng inherited the title and is now the Duke of Fuguo.
The Duke of Fuguo doted on his only sister and always granted her requests. Xu Lingjia also respected her eldest brother very much, but only Xu Lingjia herself knew that although her eldest brother was good to her, his discipline was also strict, unknown to outsiders.
Xu Lingjia, who had been so excited just now, suddenly became distressed, but she still said stubbornly, "Madam, you are good at poking at people's soft spots. My injury will heal in a few days. If you don't tell me, how will my brother know?"
Seeing her like this, Matron Li knew she had taken her words to heart, so she slowed down her tone, "The commotion by the pool today... quite a few people know the young lady's identity. How could the Duke not know?"
The last glimmer of hope Xu Lingjia held onto was dashed. He had wanted to say a few words to Pei Miao before leaving, but he was afraid that was impossible.
She leaned on her arm and sat silently for a long time, her mind full of Pei Miao's handsome appearance just now. Then, as if she thought of something, she was about to speak when suddenly a few faint conversations came from outside the door.
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw the girl who had been injured by the pool talking to Lan Cui outside the window. Xu Lingjia took a few steps closer and happened to meet the girl's bright eyes.
*
When we left Xu Lingjia's room, the sun was setting.
Ali couldn't help but squint his eyes and look towards the horizon. The dim sunset reflected faint shadows on the eaves and tiles of the temple, which spread on the white wall behind the hall, making them vague.
That always timid little fair face had a different look against the backdrop of the setting sun. The tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and the depression between the eyebrows and eyes dissipated a lot.
Ali coughed twice and walked slowly back along the path, guessing that Xu Lingjia should be on his way to find Pei Miao.
Just now, she came to thank Xu Lingjia for his protection, which made Xu Lingjia blush. The two talked for a long time and found that they got along very well.
Hearing that A Li wanted to thank Pei Miao and was worried about how to find him, Xu Lingjia took the initiative to volunteer to go on this trip for A Li.
Ali naturally followed suit and held Xu Lingjia's hand with tears in her eyes. Her extremely moved expression made Xu Lingjia feel a little guilty.
When he was almost unconscious, A-li heard the conversation between Xu Lingjia and Pei Miao, and recalled a description of the two in the book:
Everyone in the capital knows that Xu Lingjia, the daughter of the Duke of Fuguo, has a crush on Pei Miao, the second son of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
However, Xu Lingcheng, the Prince of the State, seemed to dislike Pei Miao extremely, and could even be said to hate him, so every time Xu Lingjia had to find ways to hide it from Xu Lingcheng in order to meet Pei Miao.
There were many people around the pond this morning, and Xu Lingjia probably didn't want this matter to reach the ears of the Duke of Fuguo.
Ali just mentioned it seemingly unintentionally, and judging from the expressions of Xu Lingjia and the nanny beside her, it was clear that her guess was right.
If we were to discuss who could silence everyone's gossip, it would be only Pei Miao, the new Imperial Censor.
In recent years, the court's administration has been in chaos, with countless people occupying positions without doing anything, but no one wants to get into trouble with the Censorate.
Moreover, most of the pilgrims who frequently come to Puji Temple make a living in the capital. As long as Pei Miao is willing to come forward, they will naturally understand the principle of keeping their mouths shut and pretending to be deaf and dumb.
In this way, no one would dare to spread the news that the two people fell into the water and were rescued by Pei Miao.
As for why Ali didn't go to see Pei Miao herself, firstly, she didn't want to have any contact with Pei Miao under the circumstances today, and secondly, her status was not enough to make Pei Miao do things for her.
Xu Lingjia is the most suitable person to go.
With a "creak", Ali came back to her senses from her thoughts and found that she had walked into an unfamiliar bamboo forest without knowing when. She stood there and thought for a moment, then remembered that this was the back mountain of Puji Temple.
She kicked the half-dead bamboo under her feet away in annoyance. Her alertness seemed to have decreased a lot because of coming to another world.
After figuring out the direction for a while, she walked back along the way she came.
After taking just over ten steps, Ali's steps became increasingly unsteady.
When she was about to lose consciousness, she fell into a somewhat unfamiliar embrace, cold and desolate, with a distinct murderous aura.
"Ali."
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