Chapter 138 Majesty
Grandma walked out without saying a word. How could her apprentice be bullied like this?
But just as she stood up, she looked at the young couple in front of her. The young man was gently and carefully wiping the tears from the corners of the girl's eyes. Even when she stood up angrily, he didn't even glance at them.
Grandma's anger was suddenly soothed by this scene. Perhaps things were not as bad as she imagined. At least these two children... were affectionate.
She slowly sat down again and watched the two children supporting each other to get up. Anyone with a discerning eye could see the intimate atmosphere between them.
At this time, grandma realized belatedly that the apprentice she raised and her nephew were together by accident.
That’s right, my grandmother is Princess Xiao Yuluan, the Princess Mingyi who has been traveling abroad for many years and has been conferred the title of Grand Princess by the current emperor.
Of course, she didn't care about this empty reputation after having been away for many years. She was already in her twilight years and had given up the desire to fight for power and gain. These titles were no longer important to her. She had so many nephews and grandchildren that she didn't even know how many there were.
In Xiao Yuluan's eyes, Qingwu was much more important than her adopted grandchildren. But the nephew in front of her was married to her adopted apprentice.
Even though she was open-minded and not bound by blood ties, the moment she realized this, Xiao Yuluan felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction in her heart, just like an ordinary elder. Perhaps this was fate?
When she looked at Xiao Ji again, grandma suddenly found him more pleasing to the eye.
"Please sit down and talk first. I have something to ask you."
The two children supported each other and sat down next to her. When they separated, their clasped hands lingered for a few breaths before separating. Seeing this scene, a smile gradually appeared in Xiao Yuluan's eyes.
As soon as Qingwu looked up, he met grandma's smiling eyes. He felt his cheeks burning instantly and stammered, "Grandma, what do you want to ask?"
"What's going on with you two?"
Xiao Yuluan went straight to the point.
Although she knew her grandmother would definitely ask, Qingwu still felt a little embarrassed when she was asked. It would be okay if it was someone else, but this was her grandmother. She always felt a little ashamed in front of the grandmother who raised her.
Qingwu hesitated for a moment and then nodded shyly.
"I am attracted to Xiao Ji."
"I am attracted by Qingwu."
The two sentences were spoken at the same time, overlapping without any difference.
Xiao Yuluan raised her eyebrows slightly, and looking at the young couple in front of her who spoke in unison, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise.
Qingwu's face turned red and he looked at the boy beside him in surprise.
Xiao Ji was frank. Although the tips of his ears were red, he still straightened his back and looked at his grandmother with a firm gaze, as if silently declaring his feelings.
"Oh?" Xiao Yuluan slowly picked up the teacup that had been half-spilled by the shock and took a sip. "You two were in love? When did it happen? Before you got married?"
Grandma raised her eyebrows and said something shocking, which made the young couple cough at the same time.
"Grandma! We had never met before we got married! I, I didn't even know him then..."
Xiao Ji also nodded in agreement: "Indeed, I have never seen it before."
Afraid that grandma would say something inappropriate again, the young man coughed and took the initiative to explain: "Grandma, after Qingwu and Xi Qingtong exchanged identities and came to the palace... we spent every day together and fell in love with each other."
"Time breeds love..." Xiao Yuluan pondered for a moment, then put down the teacup. "So, what are your plans now? Do you still want to exchange back?"
After the words fell, the two of them refused in unison, "No!"
Qing Wu was startled and subconsciously looked at Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji shook her hand, stood up and bowed to Xiao Yuluan and said solemnly:
"My marriage to Xi Qingtong was arranged by the Emperor. I never had any feelings for her. When she was deposed, I was willing to let her go home. But she was concerned about her reputation and forced Qingwu to take her place. I don't want someone with such bad character. I just want to spend my life with Qingwu."
Seeing this, Qing Wu also stood up and said, "Grandma, Song Yunhe loves Xi Qingtong. You taught me that if a man is heartless, I don't need to be interested. I don't want to spend my life with Song Yunhe, nor do I want to return to the Song family."
Xiao Yuluan stared at the two of them for a few breaths, then sighed with a smile, "Since you have already made up your mind, then I, an old woman, will not say much."
Qing Wu was a little stunned, and said weakly: "Grandma, you... you don't have any objections?"
Xiao Yuluan glanced at her young disciple with a hint of doubt: "What can I say? Now that things have come to this, and you two are in love, isn't this great?"
"But...but this is a crime of deceiving the emperor. If we are discovered..."
"The crime of deceiving the emperor?"
Hearing this word, the old woman sitting at the top of the table tilted her head and chuckled softly, with undisguised contempt in her laughter.
Deceiving the emperor was nothing to her, and the exchange of the two was just a trivial matter in her eyes. As long as the couple was willing, they would be the original couple.
However, after glancing at the expressions of the two people below, Xiao Yuluan restrained her presumptuous look and said to them:
"What I mean is, whether this is deceiving the emperor or not depends on what you two think, and mainly on you, Xiao... Ji? As long as you don't expose it, the others will be too busy covering it up."
Xiao Ji did not feel offended by his grandmother calling him by his full name. He nodded and said, "I want to spend my life with Qing Wu, so I will not tell the emperor about this."
When she heard Xiao Ji call him "Emperor" instead of "Father", a subtle hint flashed in her old eyes.
As expected, there was no harmonious relationship between father and son in her Xiao family.
"So just live your life well."
Qing Wu burst into laughter and quickly stepped forward to hug her grandmother's arm: "Grandma is so kind."
Xiao Yuluan patted her hands helplessly, then looked at Xiao Ji and said in a serious tone: "However, if you dare to let her down, I will not forgive you."
Zhao Tong, who had just walked outside the hall, heard this and wondered, "Who is so arrogant?" But his master's answer surprised Zhao Tong even more. The young man bowed solemnly and said loudly, "I will remember this."
Xiao Yuluan nodded in satisfaction. Her eyes fell on Xiao Ji's legs. She suddenly remembered what her apprentice had said before, that her nephew had fallen off his horse and now seemed to have sequelae. She said, "By the way, how is your leg injury? Let me take a look."
Xiao Ji was stunned. Before he could react, Xiao Yuluan had already stood up and walked in front of him. Seeing this, Qing Wu immediately pushed him back and pressed him into the chair.
Seeing Qingwu's actions, grandma glanced at her with a smile, but didn't say anything. She just squatted down and lifted Xiao Ji's robe.
The young man's body stiffened for a moment. He knew that his grandmother had been practicing medicine for decades and had no scruples, but... his face flushed slightly, and he quickly stopped her, saying, "Grandma, wait a moment... let me... wash my feet first."
Xiao Ji was used to being served. If it was someone else, he wouldn't care at all. But the person in front of him was his wife's elder, so he couldn't lose face at all.
Zhao Tong, who had been hesitating at the door for a long time, finally found his chance and hurried in, saying, "Yes, old man, please wait a moment while I wash my master's feet."
Xiao Ji's words made Xiao Yuluan pause. She looked up at the blushing young man, then glanced at her disciple who was also feeling uneasy. Suddenly she chuckled, "Alright, there's no rush anyway."
She stood up and patted her sleeves: "Qingwu, come out for a walk with me, we'll come back later."
Qing Wu glanced at Xiao Ji, then followed Grandma's footsteps and walked into the courtyard. The sun was setting, stretching their shadows very long. Xiao Yuluan suddenly said, "That boy seems to have good character."
Qingwu was stunned. Grandma rarely praised men. Countless men had tried to show their affection to her but were criticized to pieces. How could she actually praise Xiao Ji?
"I'm just an ordinary old woman. He was once the crown prince, and he still thought of this. He must have great respect for me." Xiao Yuluan glanced at her apprentice teasingly. "This is all thanks to our Qingwu."
Qingwu's face suddenly turned as red as the sunset in the sky: "Grandma!"
After scolding her grandma, Qingwu said, "Let's not talk about him anymore. Grandma, please tell me how you have been spending the past four years, and why did you suddenly want to come and find me?"
Xiao Ji’s leg injury is certainly serious, but there is no need to rush. Qingwu is more concerned about grandma’s experience in the past four years.
Xiao Yuluan looked at the setting sun gradually sinking into the mountains in the distance, a look of nostalgia in her eyes: "These past four years... I've been traveling all over the country as usual, going wherever I can."
She raised her hand and tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear. Her hair was gray, but her expression and movements did not show any signs of old age.
She stood straight, looking energetic, and spoke slowly, "At first I went east, practicing medicine along the way. Later, I heard there was a plague in the south, so I went south again."
Qingwu's heart tightened: "Grandma, did you go to Annan County?"
"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Yuluan smiled and pinched her apprentice's face. "I, your grandma, have seen a lot of ups and downs. The plague looks dangerous, but if we can identify the root cause, we can control it."
But how could Qingwu be comforted by her light words? Although she had been trapped in the Xi family in the past few years, she still knew some major events. There was a major epidemic in Annan County, and nine out of ten houses were empty.
She couldn't help but hold her grandmother's arm tightly, and her fear grew even stronger. She couldn't help but advise: "Grandma, you are old, don't go to dangerous places..."
Xiao Yuluan didn't like what she heard. She glared at him and said, "How can you say that? An old horse in the stable still has ambitions to run a thousand miles. Look at my physique. How can I compare to an average old person? I, your grandma, can live to at least 75 years old!"
She rolled up her sleeves to reveal her fair arms, which were always hidden in her sleeves and not as aged by the sun as her face. They were fair and well-proportioned. With a little force, her firm muscles bulged quickly. One could tell at a glance that she was not someone to be trifled with.
Qing Wu felt ashamed for a moment. She had no talent in martial arts and only practiced to strengthen her body. However, it was only for a moment, and she reacted and got back on track.
"Grandma, since you are willing to come back to see me, you must be worried about me. Why don't you stay in the palace? You can take good care of me, and I will serve you and take care of you in your old age."
Qingwu originally thought this was a difficult task, but she was surprised that her grandma actually agreed to it.
Xiao Yuluan looked at the stunned little disciple, touched her face again, and said mischievously: "You caused such a big mess, the master has to come back to clean up your mess..."
This was a really rough statement, but Qing Wu didn't know how to refute it. Not to mention that she was indeed involved in a big incident now, this kind of thing had happened before...
Of course, those were all things that happened when I was a child. It’s really embarrassing to talk about them now.
"Grandma!" Qingwu, who was usually steady, seemed to be ten years younger in front of his grandma who loved him the most. He called out in shyness and annoyance, and finally buried himself in his grandma's arms, which made Xiao Yuluan smile.
"Oh, grandma doesn't say that in front of others."
Not to mention that she had been away for many years and had long been accustomed to folk slang, even when she was in Beijing, she didn't have to learn those things. Being decent and elegant were the rules that ordinary noble ladies had to follow.
And she, the apple of the empress's eye, always says whatever she wants to say. Who dares to stop her?
If my little disciple stops me, then fine.
Even though her little disciple has grown from a fair and tender little ball into an eighteen-year-old girl and is married, and she might become a mother someday, in Xiao Yuluan's eyes, her little disciple will always be the child she raised with her own hands.
Even her own daughter Zhen'er couldn't compare to her in this respect. At that time, she was obsessed with fighting for power and profit, and Zhen'er was mostly raised by her wet nurse...
Realizing she had misjudged herself, Xiao Yuluan's eyes dimmed. She withdrew her thoughts and looked at Qingwu with a smile. The sadness in her eyes disappeared, leaving only kindness. "Don't worry, I will never say that in front of your young master..."
The young disciple's face flushed again, and the young man in question was being served with a foot wash by Zhao Tong, when suddenly his back felt numb again.
Zhao Tong had learned the identity of his grandmother from Xiao Ji, so he was naturally very happy. He grinned, but found that his master looked a little strange, so he couldn't help asking, "Master, what's wrong with you?"
The young man pondered for a moment, then expressed his strange feeling, "I always feel that your grandmother is unusual..."
Zhao Tong replied without hesitation: "Of course it's not ordinary. A doctor who travels around the world has seen many patients, so his medical skills should be very advanced."
This is also the reason why he is happy. The imperial physician has determined that the leg cannot be restored to its original state, but maybe his wife's grandmother can cure it?
But Xiao Ji shook his head, looking stunned and said, "Grandma has an air of majesty, but it's not the kind of majesty that a famous doctor gives people, but..."
After Zhao Tong helped Xiao Ji wipe his feet, he didn't hear the next sentence. The young man in front of him was still frowning, so he joked, "What kind of majesty is that? Can it compare to His Majesty's?"
Zhao Tong said it casually, but Xiao Ji was suddenly shocked.
It really is the majesty of a superior, the kind that few people in the world can produce. But she is just an ordinary old woman, how could she give him that kind of feeling?
The boy couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that he must have been overthinking and feeling wrong.
But when he saw the old woman coming in step by step from outside the door, the feeling of denial rose up again from the bottom of his heart.
Something's just not right.
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