Chapter 58: It Was Her
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With wind from the South, the bitter fleabane comes into my arms.
The flower bud blossoms in my arms, it blossoms for a gentleman like you.
They are a rare pairing, time and tide wait for no man.
If you send me a papaya, I will return you a fine jade.
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Hearing the novel witty remark, a smile flashed across the worried eyes of the girl.
Fan Xian looked at her with a smile and said softly, "Still hidden inside?"
The girl shook her head shyly.
Meanwhile, there came a voice from outside, "Madam, where are you?" The girl in white immediately turned pale, knowing that she had to leave.
Fan Xian also knew that someone outside must be looking for her. Looking at her expression, a sense of loss arose in his heart, fearing that he would not be able to find her after her departure today. So he asked anxiously, "Will you come tomorrow?"
She shook her head with a dim expression.
"Are you a member of the noble family in the main hall?" Fan Xian asked tentatively.
The girl thought and smiled without answering him. She came out from a long altar and ran out like the wind. Before stepping out of the gate of the temple, she looked back at Fanxian and cast her eyes on the chicken leg in her hand. She stuck out her tongue playfully. She thought of how her uncle would scold her if he saw her doing that.
Her eyes rolled around. She ran back and gave Fan Xian the chicken leg. Then she ran out of the gate of the temple smiling and waving her hand.
She never came back.
...
...
Fan Xian was half-kneeling on the prayer mat, confirming that what he saw previously was not a fairy sent by god. Looking down at the chicken leg in his hand and giggled. He decided that he must find the girl in the capital city no matter how deeply he had to dig up the streets. "If the girl is not betrothed…" he thought to himself. "No– even if she is engaged to some other fool, I’ll get her back!"
When he walked out of the temple gate with the oily chicken leg in his hand, he saw a line of carriages approaching from the east. He knew that the girl in white must be in one of the carriages.
The setting sun was shining in the green trees on both sides of the road, making the leaves seem like they were on fire.
Fan Xian raised the chicken leg and nibbled at it absent-mindedly. Suddenly, he remembered that the girl’s sweet lips had also bitten the chicken leg and his heart swelled.
"Chicken leg, chicken leg, bitten by the maiden; you are the happiest chicken leg in the world."
He went to the center of the capital city with a smile. With great appreciation toward the little child eating a string of candied hawthorn, he took his time, even though he couldn’t find his way back to Fan Manor. The person who he really should have thanked was the blind man who was not far behind him, holding a bamboo walking stick and disappearing into the twilight.
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Gong Qu was not as upbeat as Fan Xian. He had come out with the master for relaxation. Unexpectedly, there were many troubling issues on the way. Firstly, an unknown teenager ran through the secret blockade of his own bodyguards and ran into the Qing temple. Secondly, the little girl was seen by everyone slipping to the side hall. "What use are those old nuns?" he was thinking.
However, he had no way to vent his resentment, because the master looked gloomy and seemed very angry. It seemed that the encrypted letter made him unhappy.
"Gong Dian," the nobleman in the carriage cried coldly. For 20 years now, he had hated sitting in a sedan chair. "If Chen Pingping still does not want to come back, send your men to get her."
"Yes, my lord." Gong Dian complied, but inwardly complained, thinking about who might be able to do that job well.
Noticing that the carriage was quiet, Gong Dian secretly sighed with relief and relaxed a bit. Turning around to see the dejected guards behind, he burst into anger. The guards hidden secretly outside the Qing temple had been knocked unconscious by someone. And he didn’t even know who did it!
Because of this, that teenager had entered the heavily guarded Qing Temple very easily.
Gong Dian frowned, wondering who had the ability to silently knock the eight guards unconscious at the same time. This was like something that only the Four Great Grandmasters were capable of! If… it was an assassin…? His heart was seized with fear and he dared not to continue that line of thought. Yet he knew that a secret investigation would be carried out after he came back.
The carriage with florally decorated windows at the end of the procession was different from the other ones. The girl in white who gazed at Fan Xian with embarrassment in Qing Temple was now half-leaning on the seat. With a faint smile, she seemed to be recalling something.
The maid beside her was relaxed after seeing her ladyship was so happy. The maid asked, "My lady, why are you so happy today?"
The girl smiled and said, "Every time I go out with my uncle, I feel so happy. At least it’s better than staying in that dismal room."
The maid tooted and said, "But the imperial physician said you cannot be exposed to the wind because of the disease."
On hearing the word "disease", the girl became dismal and upset. But when she thought of the handsome young man she met, she felt better. She thought to herself, "I am ill-fated and cannot live much longer. Should I be happy or unhappy that I met that man?"
Then she thought of the rumor that she had been involved in and that aristocrat of Fan Manor. Even though the mother opposed, and the strange father seemed to oppose it, too, but…Who can bend uncle’s will? This made her depressed. With a kind of sweetness in her chest, she pulled a white handkerchief to cover her mouth.
After coughing several times, the handkerchief was dotted with a little bit of blood.
The maid panicked after seeing the blood, and said with a crying voice, "You’re spitting up blood again. This can’t be good."
With a faint smile, the girl recalled what the teenager said, and chuckled. "So what? I’m used to it by now. "
The maid sighed in astonishment. She had no idea what the girl meant. She thought the disease had made her delirious.
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Fan Xian came back to Fan Manor at night in a fluster. He made a decision that he had to tie the official belt onto his waist when he went out next time.
It was supper time, and four people were waiting for him at the table. He felt sorry, but Count Sinan was expressionless and Mrs. Liu smiled gently with no trace of disdain.
He explained what had happened with a few words. Fan Ruoruo burst into laughter, thinking her older brother was foolish. Even if he could not find his own carriage, it would have been better to hire one from a carriage rental agency. Fan Xian never thought of the carriage, so he had to endure the ridicule of Fan Sizhe.
After the meal, the family of four began to happily play the card game Madiao. Fan Sizhe was just like an accountant, holding an abacus off to the side and helping everybody calculate.
A trace of sadness flashed through the eyes of Mrs. Liu. Bearing resentment at her son’s failure to become successful, she chatted with Fan Xian with a smile.