Chapter 321 Candied Hawthorn
As Qiu Heng spoke, she kept staring at Ling Yun's face.
Ling Yun raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smiled indulgently: "What does Aheng think is similar?"
"I guess... it's just a feeling."
Ling Yun chuckled and shook his head: "I heard you say before that Daoist Changqing is over sixty years old, how come he looks like us? Is my elder brother that mature?"
Qiu Heng was stumped by the question.
If it were Prince Kang's age, more than twenty years younger than Mr. Ling, one could barely convince oneself that one ages quickly. But forty years later, Brother Ling is only in his sixties.
How old can a person in their sixties look if they take good care of themselves? They certainly can't look like the gentleman.
The aging of a person over a hundred years old, both inside and out, is shocking and makes one sigh at the ruthlessness of time.
"Brother Ling, Daoist Changqing may have some connection with the Kang Prince's Mansion. Could you help me find him?"
Even if Brother Ling and Prince Kang have nothing to do with you, Afu's existence is real.
“Alright.” Ling Yun readily agreed. “The Prince’s estate is not only in the capital, but also has many farms and properties in other places. I will first check the people in each of these estates, but it will take some time.”
"I'm not in a hurry, I can wait."
Not getting an answer from Lingyun actually put Qiuheng at ease.
Her impulsiveness and eagerness stemmed not only from discovering clues about her husband, but more importantly, from the fact that these clues were related to Brother Ling.
If Brother Ling is the Master, then why has he never acknowledged her, having kept her by his side for ten years? Doesn't he have any memories of her from her youth?
The gentleman clearly did not have amnesia, so what was the reason he kept it from her?
Even if she went to the Great Xia Dynasty thirty years later and met Mr. Ling, was it really just a coincidence, given that Mr. Ling was actually Brother Ling?
The mere thought that the gentleman was Brother Ling sent chills down her spine.
Thankfully, it was just an absurd guess.
Qiu Heng looked at Ling Yun quietly, her heart filled with relief.
"Haoheng hasn't had dinner yet, has she? Why don't you stay and eat with us?"
"No, it's getting dark. If I don't go back soon, my family will worry. I'll come earlier another day."
"Then I'll take you there, brother."
Qiu Heng did not refuse and was escorted to the gate by Ling Yun.
"Brother Ling, go back."
Qiu Heng waved her hand and walked into the street.
Ling Yun stood quietly for a while before turning around and walking back.
By this time, every house was lit up, and many food stalls were set up on both sides of the street. The aroma of food was carried to the noses of passersby by the hot summer night breeze, whetting their appetites.
Qiu Heng had an empty stomach, but didn't feel like eating anything.
From the moment he discovered that Wu Qingzhou's nephew, Afu, was actually Uncle Fu, to the time he went to find Brother Ling to confirm, his emotions fluctuated like mountains, and he had a kind of sluggish feeling of being completely exhausted.
The footsteps approached, but I felt no alarm; it was someone I knew and trusted.
Qiu Heng turned her head.
"Ah Heng, what a coincidence!" Xue Han exclaimed with delight.
Somehow, his clumsy, pretentious act of pretending to have met her by chance pulled Qiu Heng out of that dull sense of emptiness, and a genuine smile appeared in her eyes.
"What a coincidence, I ran into Commander Hu on the street not long ago."
Xue Han coughed lightly and naturally took Qiu Heng's hand: "I heard from Hu Si that you went to the Kang Prince's Mansion, so I was thinking of waiting for you to come out and inviting you to eat. You didn't have dinner at the Prince's Mansion, did you?"
No, I'm actually hungry.
The person she was searching for was shrouded in mist, and by this point, she wasn't so fixated on finding him. The person before her offered her genuine warmth and sweetness.
"Xue Han, I want to eat soup dumplings."
While waiting to eat the soup dumplings, Xue Han ran to other stalls and bought roasted meat, fried dumplings, and cold soup, piling them all up on the small table.
"I see a lot of people buying the lotus seedpod and eel buns over there. Do you want to buy some and try them?"
Qiu Heng quickly waved her hand: "Eat first, and if you're not full, we can go over and eat later."
In the end, Qiu Heng did not eat any more lotus seed buns or eel buns, and Xue Han dragged her away from the stall when she wanted to eat iced cold dumplings.
"I ate too many different things tonight, and I'm afraid my stomach won't be able to handle it if I eat something cold. Have this instead." Xue Han handed over a string of bright red candied hawthorns.
Qiu Heng accepted it with a smile.
To be honest, none of the food from the street stalls tastes as good as what Fangzhou makes; she's not particularly fond of eating iced cold dumplings.
Candied hawthorn berries are also very good.
Seeing Qiu Heng eating happily, Xue Han's unease vanished.
Hu Si was indeed talking nonsense.
"Xue Han".
"Um?"
The girl holding the candied hawthorn skewer walked leisurely forward: "I'm not going to look for Master Changqing anymore."
With the crown prince ascending the throne and the three traitors killed, Xue Quan has lost the influence of the "Hidden Prime Minister," and there is still one traitor far away in the border city. Under the current circumstances, he cannot cause any trouble.
She no longer needed to ask her husband whether she was doing the right thing.
She did a great job.
Once Prince Fu is executed, she will marry Xue Han and live a relaxed and ordinary life.
Just like today, at this moment.
"If you don't want to look, then don't look." Xue Han smiled and gripped Qiu Heng's hand even tighter.
A candied hawthorn skewer with two pieces bitten off was handed to me.
"Xue Han, would you like one?"
Xue Han paused for a moment, then lowered his head and bit into a red fruit.
The fruit coated in crispy syrup is sweet and sour, a completely different taste from red bean cake, but he likes both.
The two arrived at the entrance of the Yongqing Earl's Mansion, having finished their candied hawthorns.
"Go inside now, you should go back and rest early too."
Xue Han watched Qiu Heng enter the Earl's mansion, then turned and walked back, unknowingly ending up at the candied hawthorn vendor.
"Would you like to buy another candied hawthorn, sir?" the vendor asked enthusiastically.
Xue Han was slightly taken aback: "Young man, do you remember that I bought this before?"
The vendor grinned, "Young master, you're so handsome, of course I'm impressed. Your lady is beautiful too, you two are a match made in heaven."
Xue Han couldn't help but smile: "Give me two."
"Okay."
Xue Han held the candied hawthorn but didn't eat it; he just walked along the road.
"grown ups!"
Xue Han looked at Hu Si, who was grinning slyly, and asked, "Why are you still outside?"
"I was just having a meal with the brothers here," Hu Si winked. "We all saw it, hehe."
"What do you see?" Xue Han's face flushed as he thought of the candied hawthorn in Qiu Heng's hand.
"I saw you and Miss Qiu Liu eat a ton of food, you can really eat! And I also saw—"
Xue Han shoved a candied hawthorn into Hu Si's hand: "Use your mouth to eat, talk less."
Hu Si took a bite of the candied hawthorn, then looked at Xue Han walking beside him with the candied hawthorn in hand, and suddenly felt something was off.
Is it appropriate for two grown men to walk together and eat candied hawthorns?
When Qiu Heng returned to Lengxiang Residence, Fang Zhou greeted her: "Miss is back. The food is still warm. I'll go get it."
"No need, I've already eaten."
Fangzhou suddenly leaned closer and touched Qiuheng's lips with his finger: "Girl, you ate candied hawthorn!"
Qiu Heng: "..." She was just eating candied hawthorns, not doing anything wrong.
"The young lady went out to stroll through the night market and eat? Why didn't she take me with her?" Fangzhou asked, puzzled, then suddenly clapped her hands. "So she went to have a secret rendezvous with Young Master Xue!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Qiu Heng quickly admitted, changing the subject, "Tomorrow Wu Qingzhou will bring Afu over for lunch, so make some delicious food."
"Alright. But why does the young lady treat Afu differently?"
“Ah Fu…like someone I met during the time I was missing.”
Fangzhou was stunned.
This was the first time the girl had brought up the matter of her disappearance.
“Then—” Fangzhou was a little nervous, but didn’t understand why he was nervous.
In fact, I vaguely understand that the girl's experiences during the ten days or so she was missing were anything but ordinary; she might have even gone to a celestial abode or the underworld.
If the girl tells the truth, will something bad happen?
Fangzhou suddenly hugged Qiuheng: "Girl, I'm not curious at all. Let's think about what to eat tomorrow. Afu should like sweets at his age, don't you think?"
Curiosity isn't important; the most important thing is to stay with the girl.
(End of this chapter)
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