Chapter 27: Another Solo Journey

you escape on your own" Qi Lin knew the black-clad figure could easily leave by himself, but there was no reason for her to tell him to consider his safety. "You look more than just injured. Are you...Chapter 27: Another Lone Journey

Getting the qualification was within Qi Lin's expectations, but there were also many unexpected surprises.

For example, Bu Yao’s song "Fireworks Are Cold."

For example, Mu Qingfeng's identity.

And for example, these respectfully obedient maids in front of her now.

"What are you all doing" Coming out after a bath and being startled by the crowd, Qi Lin awkwardly smiled as she saw Yu Mu still there drinking tea like nothing happened. She asked a seemingly leading lady, "You all..."

"We have been sent to serve Miss Hongxue." The woman bowed first before smiling and saying with raised eyes, "I am Lvzhu. From now on, I will be Miss Hongxue's personal maid."

"My personal maid" Qi Lin pointed at herself in surprise, only then noticing the items her maids behind Liu Sang were holding looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, those were indeed her belongings. Qi Lin hurriedly walked over and opened a wooden box held by one of the maids, finding inside her jade flute and brocade box. She took them into her arms and asked, "Why did you take my things"

It couldn't possibly be to clean them, right

"Now that your identity is different, you are already one of the Jade Women candidates and cannot stay here anymore."

Hearing Mai Dong's slightly resentful voice, Qi Lin was puzzled before she thought it through—indeed, living with a man wasn't appropriate. If others knew they shared a bed, wouldn't that be even stranger

But feeling somewhat sad about suddenly having to move now, she knew stepping out of the door today meant embarking on a thorny path without回頭路, and no longer being able to ask Yu Mu for help or drink such fragrant tea.

Sighing softly, Qi Lin said to Liu Sang, "Since that's the case, you all wait outside first. I have something to discuss with Mister Yu."

Lvzhu bowed respectfully and replied, "If Miss forgets anything or has any instructions, feel free to summon me."

Qi Lin nodded, waiting until Lvzhu and others had left before Mai Dong was also pulled away by Ren Dong. In the courtyard, only she and Yu Mu remained; it became quiet as if nothing happened, just like before—Yu Mu sitting there with the sunset's glow still making him appear so clean, while she would run over unceremoniously to pick up his tea cup.

But today, after walking over, she could not bring herself to lift the tea cup.

Yu Mu did not ask and handed Qi Lin a brewed tea, gently saying, "It's still possible to change your mind."

Qi Lin looked at Yu Mu in surprise, unable to comprehend his meaning. She took the teacup from him and held it in her hand, asking, "What do you mean Did Prince Ziyin tell you this"

"It has nothing to do with the prince."

Seeing Yu Mu's faint smile, Qi Lin realized she had never seen any other expression from him throughout these days and rarely noticed emotional fluctuations in his voice.

Taking a small sip of tea, she placed it down and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, but there’s no regret pill in this world, and I don’t want to die."

She just felt reluctant about leaving such tranquil peace.

She was all too aware of what kind of life she would face from now on.

Serving herself a cup of tea, she raised the teacup and said, "But I still thank you for giving me this tranquil sanctuary. When I’m no longer here..."

Even without her presence, he would live well, wouldn’t he Thinking about it, Qi Lin found that she was overthinking things. She smiled gently and continued, "Without me around in the future, your life will be even more peaceful, right Haha... This tea is really delicious."

"Qi Lin."

He didn’t call her Ah Xue or Hongxue; instead, he called her Qi Lin by her real name. She didn’t know why, but hearing him address her like this made her eyes water slightly. She sniffed back the tears and responded softly.

From beside the wheelchair, she took out a wooden box and said, "This is the wound medicine I developed. There are also some good medicines for colds, as well as pills that can treat general poisons even if they can’t cure all types of poison. Keep these for future use."

Then he pulled out a sachet embroidered with camellias from his pocket and instinctively grasped Qi Lin’s hand to place the sachet in her palm, covering it gently with his large hand. He said softly, "This sachet isn’t something precious, but consider it as my parting gift to you."

Qi Lin felt warmth in her heart looking at these things. She held onto the sachet carefully and tied it to her waist before picking up the wooden box and standing up. Originally intending for her voice to sound decisive, she found herself unable to speak.

"Then... I’ll be going," Qi Lin finally managed to say those words that weren’t too sentimental, then quickly left.

After a few steps, she stopped and turned around, loudly calling out, "You idiot Madiong, if you don’t treat girls nicely, you won’t get married. By the way, Ren Dong, I call you faceless man; take good care of everyone."

Saying that, Qi Lin quickly left through the courtyard gate.

Ren Dong looked at the courtyard door with a grim expression on his face—what did she mean by "faceless man" It certainly didn’t sound like something nice to hear.

Running out of Bamboo Leisure Cottage without looking back, Qi Lin followed Green Bamboo’s directions to her so-called residence.

She realized that this place was the closest to Bamboo Leisure Cottage and had a similar environment. Upon entering the courtyard gate, she immediately smelled the strong scent of cosmetics and powder. She glanced up at the signboard, which read "Rose Garden" in large characters, making her think of a certain TV drama.

Approaching Rose Garden, Qi Lin saw unfamiliar faces everywhere. It was as expected. She walked to the madam’s side, bowed, and said, "Hongxue greets Madam."

The madam quickly went over and helped Qi Lin up, holding her hand with a flattering smile. "Miss Hongxue is truly hidden talent. I already felt that you must be a beautiful flower; if you had appeared earlier, who knows how much money we could have earned!"

"Madam’s praise," Qi Lin smiled professionally while quietly observing the surroundings without seeing Bu Yao’s figure.

Well, this was also within reason.

The madam then gave some flattery and instructions to Qi Lin. Most of them were about taking care of oneself, but coming from the madam’s mouth, it sounded quite strange. She asked about other people’s whereabouts as well; those official ladies stayed in the VIP quarters next to Hundred Flowers Pavilion under strict protection while others remained unchanged, which indicated that they believed the candidates for the Flower Fairy must be among these few individuals, and their lives were unimportant.

Then came flattery from other girls. Qi Lin responded habitually.

Af ter sending everyone off, Qi Lin’s body ached all over as she forced a smile on her face.

"Sis, congratulations! I’m so happy for you," the girl said warmly while pulling Qi Lin’s hand and continued, "But how did you manage to get those butterflies

"This is simple. One day, I will definitely teach Sister." Looking at Mu Dan with a smile, she returned the handshake and expressed her concern, "I heard that Sister got injured a few days ago and couldn't find time to visit. Please forgive me. Today, seeing Sister looking well, I hope you are recovering nicely."

Who wouldn't know how to be insincere

Mu Dan smiled with satisfaction and said, "Thank you for your concern, dear sister. I'm fine now, thanks to the good medicine from the Maplewood Young Master. One day, I will definitely visit to thank him."

Qi Lin nodded and quietly withdrew her hand, wiping away any lingering sensation on her fingertips with it concealed in her wide sleeves.

After exchanging insincere pleasantries with Mu Dan, Qi Lin finally saw her off. By then, Lüzhu had everything arranged and led all the servants into the hall where they knelt in unison.

Knowing that this was their greeting to her, Qi Lin didn't stop them but pretended well despite the aching legs from kneeling for too long. She discreetly flexed her stiffened mouth corners while silently observing the three women and two men before her.

"Miss Hongxue, I will be your servant henceforth and will do my utmost to serve you." Lüzhu started with formal pleasantries, adding, "If Miss Hongxue has any orders, please tell us. We will definitely ______."

Qi Lin said impatiently, "Tell me your names."

The critical point was that her feet had reached their limit. It would be best to keep it simple and just learn the names.

Lüzhu blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting such a question from Qi Lin but gestured for others to respond.

"I am Lüzhu."

Qi Lin glanced at the person who answered. She wore pale yellow clothes and was about fourteen with large black eyes—indeed charming, just like Qiaoer used to be. Qi Lin lowered her gaze, smiled slightly, "A nice name."

"Thank you, Miss Hongxue," Lüzhu quickly bowed in thanks.

"I am Huansha."

Also wearing pale yellow clothes but with a refined touch, she was about fourteen and already a beauty. Qi Lin nodded approvingly.

"This slave's name is Amu."

"This slave's name is Aman."

Amu and Aman Qi Lin blinked; hadn't these been the names she had casually given to wolves on White Tiger Mountain

Qi Lin was taken aback, her hand under her sleeve clenched tightly. She then took out some silver from her bosom to give them as a token of greeting.

"You may all leave now; I am feeling tired." Qi Lin spoke indifferently without further instructions.

The servants bowed and left.

After they left, Qi Lin placed her hands on the ground, shifted her center of gravity to them, thus freeing her aching legs. But she couldn't move them. She frowned in discomfort, bit her lip resolutely, and stood up with a sudden movement but lost balance and fell back onto the ground, gently massaging her feet.

Yet, she had to admit that scenes from White Tiger Mountain were flooding back into her mind again. Despite trying to forget slowly before, hearing Amu's and Aman's names made those memories erupt like a volcano.

Leaning against the pillar behind her, she raised her eyes to stare at the roof. The surroundings were silent, and all she could hear was her own breathing.

How long had it been since she last saw Little White Were they doing well Had they added any new wolf cubs Did they miss her

Thinking about this made Qi Lin's nose feel stuffy. She hugged her knees, buried her head in the crook of her arm, but stubbornly refused to let tears fall.

So she was lonely after all...

Little White wasn't around anymore, neither was Qiao'er or Su Fengzhuo. Even Mai Dong, who had always bullied her, was gone now. Everyone was leaving her one by one.

In the end, she would be left alone once again.

She didn't know why but suddenly felt very aggrieved.

Aggrieved Qi Lin abruptly raised her head and touched the tear marks at the corners of her eyes. She then stood up forcefully.

"What am I doing" she muttered to herself, shook her head vigorously to wipe away any remaining tears, and said aloud, "Qi Lin, what are you feeling aggrieved about You've been resurrected after death and got a free trip! You're the lucky one here. So what if someone used me So what if I don't have freedom So what if I'm at their mercy and everyone hates me There's so much melodrama in those soap operas for nothing. Just endure it."

After taking a few deep breaths, she jumped a couple of times on the spot and did some stretching to loosen up her muscles. When she finally felt less stiff, Qi Lin poured herself a cup of tea.

"Pfft"

The cold tea water was spat out as soon as it entered her mouth, tasting like it had been soaking in ice water for the whole day, despite being strong, it made her feel nauseous. She threw away the teacup and wiped the saliva from her lips before walking to the door.

"Does Miss Hongxue have any instructions" Lu Zhu bowed respectfully.

Good, at least there was someone here, Qi Lin tidied up her thoughts and said, "Yes, when will dinner be ready"

"Yes, Huansha is preparing it now. It should be done in about an hour."

Qi Lin nodded. An hour would give her time to tidy up a bit. She then asked, "By the way, where's Lüzhu"

"Miss Lüzhu..." Lu Zhu suddenly stopped. She had forgotten she couldn't call her sister in front of others. Glancing at Qi Lin secretly and seeing that she didn't seem to mind, she heaved a sigh of relief before continuing, "Lüzhu is instructing A Mu and A Man to tidy up the courtyard."

Tidy up Looking around, Qi Lin noticed that even though this was called Peony Garden, peonies wouldn’t bloom in winter. Most of them were withered branches, giving an appearance of desolation and neglect. The ground was covered in thick fallen leaves, and even the stone table used for drinking tea daily had grown overgrown weeds.

It really hadn't been used in a long time...

"There will be guests coming later. Tell Lüzhu to prepare something simple."

Instructing Lu Zhu, she gazed silently at the setting sun and lifted her lips in a faint smile. room."Your Majesty, King Long Ye of the Wuyou Kingdom requests an audience."Hearing Long Ye's name, Feng Changqing's previous displeasure vanished entirely. He shook his head at Qin Xiao, signaling t...