Chapter 186 Sharing the Snow
The old lady jumped, her eyelids twitching violently: "What happened?"
"Madam, it's Lord Xue."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Heng reached out to lift the carriage curtain, but the old lady pressed her hand down and pushed her away.
Xue Han and the others waited outside the car and saw the car curtains lifted, revealing the old lady's expressionless face.
"Madam," Xue Han greeted politely.
The old lady asked calmly, "Does Lord Xue have something to say?"
A look of surprise flashed across Xue Han's eyes.
The old lady's attitude toward him was rather strange...
Without time to think further, Xue Han smiled and said, "This junior thought the person sitting in the carriage was the Sixth Miss, so I wanted to greet her."
"Oh, Sixth Sister, she's at home," the old lady said sternly.
Xue Han silently shifted his gaze from the crimson glimpse peeking out of the car window, and bowed to the old lady, saying, "I apologize for disturbing you, Madam."
The old lady nodded slightly, and the carriage curtains fell down.
Xue Han stood aside, watching the carriage slowly move forward, lost in thought: What happened? The old lady wouldn't let him see Aheng, and looked like she wanted to hit him.
With these speculations, Xue Han's desire to see Qiu Heng became even more urgent.
Inside the carriage, Qiu Heng tried to peek out, but the old lady slapped her and said, "You sit still."
Qiu Heng sat up straight and asked with a smile, "Why did Grandmother lie to Xue Han?"
The old lady closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again: "Can that be called deception? That was to make him reflect on his actions."
Seeing her granddaughter's indifferent attitude, the old lady became even angrier: "If Xue Han cared about you, he wouldn't have sent you to keep an eye on the treacherous minister. The fact that he did this shows that making contributions is more important to him than you."
"It was his duty," Qiu Heng silently apologized to Xue Han.
He has no choice but to take the blame.
“He did his job well, but he shouldn’t have dragged a helpless girl like you into this, especially when he kept saying he loved you.” The old lady reached out and tapped Qiuheng’s forehead, exasperated. “Get your head straight. Don’t just throw yourself at him because he’s good-looking and has a bright future. You’ll end up being taken advantage of.”
"Okay, from now on I'll treat him as just a friend."
The old lady paused, but seeing her granddaughter's indifferent expression, she thought it wouldn't do: "Well, there's no need to rush into a decision."
"What does Grandmother mean?"
"Let's observe further. But we need to let him know that what he did was unethical. If we don't react, he might go even further next time."
“Grandmother was wise.”
The old lady was satisfied and returned to the previous topic: "You promise not to cause any more trouble at the hot springs."
"Grandmother, don't worry, I definitely won't cause any trouble," Qiu Heng said confidently.
The most important thing recently has been completed smoothly. The next step hasn't started yet; I'm just going to soak in a hot spring.
We have arrived at the Yongqing Marquis's residence.
Qiu Heng helped the old lady to the entrance of Qiansong Hall: "Grandmother, I'm going back to Lengxiang Residence."
"Go."
After leaving Qiansong Hall, Qiu Heng went straight out of the Marquis's residence and soon saw Xue Han.
The snow hadn't stopped, and the boy didn't use an umbrella, letting the snow fall onto his robes.
A girl who also wasn't carrying an umbrella ran over: "Are you just going to wait here like this? What if I hadn't come?"
Xue Han chuckled: "I saw you in the car. Knowing I needed to talk to you, you definitely came out."
"What's up?"
"Let's talk at a teahouse."
Qiu Heng raised her head slightly, exhaling white breath: "Xue Han, are you cold?"
Xue Han replied truthfully, "I'm not cold."
“I’m not cold either.” Qiu Heng smiled. “Although it’s been snowing, it’s not heavy. Let’s go for a walk by Qinglian Lake.”
It's also a good opportunity to see what Qinglian Lake looks like in the dead of winter.
Xue Han hesitated for a moment: "What if I catch a cold from being soaked in the snow?"
"If you're worried about catching a cold, then go to the teahouse."
The boy sighed helplessly, "Aheng, I'm talking to you."
Qiu Heng realized what was happening and couldn't help but smile: "I won't catch a cold, let's go then."
Xue Han remained where he was, gazing at the girl's slender back. It was as if a bee had suddenly flown by and gently tickled his heart.
It wasn't a sharp pain, but it went straight to the heart.
How many hardships must Ah Heng have gone through for her to react this way? She seems to have completely forgotten that in the eyes of the world, women are meant to be cared for.
"Xue Han?" Qiu Heng took a few steps and, seeing that he hadn't moved, called out in confusion.
Xue Han quickly caught up: "We're here."
The two started walking, gradually quickened their pace, and finally started running.
The shores of Qinglian Lake were deserted, the withered lotus leaves lay silent, and the lake surface was as smooth as a mirror.
Qiu Heng glanced at it and sighed, "It's really going to freeze."
“It’s snowing. If it continues for two days, it will freeze over—” Xue Han paused, his expression turning serious as he looked at Qiu Heng. “Ah Heng, you’re not still thinking about jumping into Qinglian Lake, are you?”
"No, it might not even flare up..."
“This fifteenth, your strange illness will definitely flare up.” The young man spoke with certainty, meeting those bright eyes, and said, word by word, “Fang Yuanzhi is dead.”
Qiu Heng's heart skipped a beat.
It turns out that Xue Han had already discovered this secret.
“Let’s go to the hot springs in the western suburbs. I’ll go and talk to the old lady in person—” Xue Han thought about the old lady’s reaction on the street just now and felt that this route might be a bit difficult. “The old lady seems to be a little dissatisfied with me.”
"Hmm...Grandmother thinks that your decision to have me keep an eye on the treacherous minister shows that you use me more than you like me."
Not counting the autumn hunt, Xue Han has never actually told her he loves her. Even if the truth weren't like that, she wouldn't think anything of it even if Xue Han asked her to keep an eye on the treacherous minister.
In fact, she never knew how important she was to Xue Han. If she were to become Xue Quan's adversary in the future, Xue Han's choice remained uncertain.
Xue Han was stunned by what Qiu Heng said, and then showed a look of bewilderment.
During the discussion, he said something seemed off, and then he realized it was here!
Qiu Heng was amused by his reaction: "I am going to the hot spring in the western suburbs in a couple of days. I have made an appointment to go to the Prince Kang's mansion today."
"Will that be convenient?"
"I asked, and there's a pool where only one person is soaking."
Xue Hansong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
I was initially somewhat confident about getting Ah Heng to go out with me, but now I'm not...
"Xue Han, are you talking about going to the hot springs?"
Xue Han paused for a moment.
Fine snowflakes danced silently between the two of them, pure white and light.
The boy asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for days: "Aheng, why are you going after Fang Yuanzhi and Yuan Chenghai?"
Qiu Heng raised her hand, letting the snowflakes fall into her palm.
The snow was cold, and the girl's fair hands were cold too, but the snow still melted little by little in her palms.
"Xue Han, do you remember when I asked you to find a Taoist priest?"
“I remember, Master Changqing.”
"He taught me many things, and he also taught me to get rid of treacherous officials like Fang Yuanzhi." Qiu Heng smiled slightly at the solemn-looking young man. "So I want to find him and ask him how I'm doing."
"Then your strange illness—"
"I don't know." Qiu Heng thought for a moment and could only answer Xue Han like this, "Maybe they wouldn't have died like this, and it's the price I paid for defying fate."
(End of this chapter)
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