Chapter 18 The Difference Between Before and After
Qingwu still remembers that slightly contemptuous look. When he came to his senses, his eyes met those of the person in front of him.
The area around those slightly drooping phoenix eyes was still flushed red, but there was no trace of worry in her pupils. She just looked down at him condescendingly, as if he would always be inferior to her.
For a moment, Qingwu didn't know whether to sympathize with himself or with the young prince.
Seeing Qing Wu hesitate to speak, Xi Qingtong finally couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her chin slightly and said, "Thank you, sister, for your help and for saving my husband."
Xi Qingtong stopped Qingwu just for this reason. God knows how she felt when she saw Qingwu appear beside the prince before her. If it was someone else, it would be fine, but Qingwu looked exactly like her. Doesn't this make it even more obvious that she was late?
Perhaps because of her guilty conscience, she not only blamed Qingwu, but also felt a more inexplicable emotion in her heart. Even if she only caught a glimpse of Qingwu squatting beside the prince, she could not accept it, as if her property had been robbed.
That's why Xi Qingtong emphasized the word "husband" very much, but Qingwu didn't understand the emotion in her words. She just felt that the twin sisters were too arrogant and even their thanks were insincere.
Qing Wu didn't want to argue with her, so he just pretended not to know. He lowered his eyes and said calmly, "There's no need to thank me, Lady Liang. It's just my duty as a doctor."
But when talking about "a doctor's duty", Qingwu paused for a moment, and couldn't help but think of how grateful her mother was to her grandmother when she first returned to the Xi family.
Her mother held her hand and said tearfully, "Thank you so much for raising you. If she had come with us, our Xi family would have taken care of her until she was old." Later, when she learned that she had learned medical skills, she praised her, "It's good to know how to heal. If you know how to heal, you won't be afraid of getting sick..."
But later, her mother didn't want her to read medical books or learn medicine anymore. She said bluntly, "You are the daughter of the Xi family, a noble family with an old surname. Noble ladies usually only learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and also vocal music and dance, things that please the body and mind. Housekeeping is not necessary. There are servants to do these things, let alone medicine."
The twin sisters also echoed, "Sister, being a doctor isn't something girls like us can boast about. Why don't you learn dancing with me? It'll make you look slimmer and prettier."
But now, she wanted to thank herself in public for the "medical skills learned by this servant."
Qingwu did not feel refreshed, but felt increasingly short of breath. She thought that after more than three years, she would get used to all this, but this was not the case. She just felt extremely depressed.
Even though there were thousands of thoughts in his mind, in reality, they only lasted for a few breaths. Seeing Qingwu kept her head down and looked docile, Xi Qingtong felt relieved, thinking that she understood what he meant.
"It's good that you know. Go back first. I have to go take care of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Hearing this, Qingwu couldn't help but laugh at himself again. Sure enough, the twin sisters were still the same.
What fantasy did she have just now?
Qingwu walked back with emotion, following the way she came, but this time, as soon as she reached the bottom of the platform, she heard clear and pleasant cheers from above.
"Qingwu, you are so awesome!"
When she looked up, she saw Shanshan leaning on the railing and waving at her, her big eyes full of admiration.
Before she could speak, Shanshan continued, "My eyesight is good, I saw it all. It was Qingwu who bandaged His Highness, right?"
Suddenly, the depression in Qingwu's heart dissipated. Somehow, she originally planned to take a detour and return to the pavilion from the side stairs, but she suddenly took a few steps forward, grabbed the railing with both hands, pushed off with her feet, and flipped in two steps.
As expected, Shanshan saw her agile figure climbing the wall in two steps and exclaimed, "What a beautiful skill! So amazing!"
Qingwu was so praised that he managed to steady his unstable body and save his face.
Shanshan came over again and praised him all over. The admiration in the girl's eyes made Qingwu feel as if he was back to the time when he followed his grandmother to be a traveling doctor.
At that time, every patient she cured would look at her with such admiration, which made her feel her chest full and she felt that there was no better feeling in the world.
It was just that it took her several years to experience this feeling again.
Seeing Qingwu's smile, Shanshan breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Qingwu, how is His Highness's injury?"
The girls on the side also looked over here. They had received some help from the prince, and were most concerned about his situation at this moment.
Actually, it is not easy to talk about this kind of thing casually, but seeing the worried eyes of the girls, Qingwu couldn't bear to let them keep hanging, so he said:
"I gave Your Highness a quick checkup and only discovered that your leg was broken. I don't know anything else. The exact condition still requires an examination by the Imperial Physician."
The girls felt a little relieved, but the others didn't know that such a big thing had happened and they were inevitably worried. The following banquet was uneasy. Even though the prince and princess were hosting the banquet, the guests were still worried about the crown prince's fall from his horse. How could they have a normal banquet?
In the end, the banquet only lasted for half an hour before it ended hastily. The kings announced on the platform that they would wait for the results of the palace examination to come out and then choose another day to invite the scholars to a banquet.
Qingwu and Shanshan exchanged addresses before saying goodbye. Shanshan's carriage arrived first, and a man in indigo clothes got out. Shanshan shyly introduced him, "This is my husband, Xu Huaiyu."
He then introduced Qingwu to Xu Huaiyu, "This is a friend I just met today, Xi Qingwu."
Qingwu looked at Xu Huaiyu, nodded and smiled, and at the same time took a closer look at this "plain-looking" scholar. It was indeed as Shanshan said, Xu Huaiyu was about twenty years old, of medium build, and ordinary looks, with only regular facial features. However, Qingwu felt that he had a calm and steady temperament.
Just like when he got off the carriage just now, he only stood a few steps behind Shanshan, without urging her, without looking around, and never keeping his eyes on her. This made him a hundred times more powerful than an ordinary man.
Since the husband had arrived, Qingwu naturally couldn't talk to Shanshan anymore. He watched Shanshan and her husband get on the carriage, and Qingwu's carriage was also brought over.
It was the same old tenant who had come when he first arrived. He hunched his waist, not daring to look at Qingwu any longer. However, Qingwu could not help but look at him a few more times. When Song Yunhe was free, she started talking to the old tenant: "How old are you now?"
At first, the tenant didn't know who Qingwu was talking to, but after a while he realized that he was the only old man here. He looked up at Qingwu timidly, and when he saw Qingwu looking at him, he confirmed that Qingwu was really asking him.
But he also saw and heard what happened when Qingwu came. She was the twin sister of the prince's concubine and a noble. How could she talk to an old farmer like him? But seeing Qingwu looking at him gently, the old tenant pretended to be brave and spoke to her.
"My dear lord, I am sixty-five years old this year."
This was not beyond Qingwu's expectations. She had seen too many people like this before and could tell their age at a glance. "The old man is very old." In this world, living beyond sixty is considered a long life.
The old man gradually relaxed and waved his hand, saying, "I've only lived a few extra years as a tenant farmer in Shanglin Garden. Why do you ask about my age, sir?"
Hearing the old man's reply, Qingwu couldn't help but smile, but there was a mist in his eyes.
"I have a grandmother. I grew up with her. She should be 63 years old this year."
The year she returned to the Xi family, her grandmother was 59 years old. Qingwu was going to celebrate her grandmother's 60th birthday, but the purchaser recognized her, so her grandmother left a letter and left.
But when the old man heard this, he couldn't help but laugh and asked, "What do you mean by should be? If it is, it is, and if it is not, it is not..." Halfway through his words, he suddenly stopped and looked at Qingwu.
Qingwu wanted to laugh, but she was also unsure in her heart. She hadn't seen her grandma for four years and didn't know how she was doing. Tears welled up in her eyes and fell.
The old man was even more terrified. Just as he was about to kneel down and apologize, Qing Wu stopped him. "No, it's not what you think."
Qingwu took the handkerchief from Yuzhu and wiped her tears while explaining, "My grandma is just traveling..."
Before he could finish his words, a voice of reproach interrupted him.
"What did you say to him? Why are you crying?"
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