I turned around and saw Xiaowu standing there quietly, her expression blank, not saying a word. Looking at her slightly red eyes, I felt guilty and didn't know how to face her.
"Xiao Wu"
*Slap!* I was slapped by Xiao Wu, and my face turned to the side.
I was stunned. I silently covered the spot where Xiao Wu had hit me, my eyes lowered, without saying a word of reproach. I knew I was wrong and shouldn't have been so willful. Xiao Wu and Xiao Qing were following me for my own good!
Xiao Wu could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face. She gently stroked my face to ease my pain. "Miss, didn't I tell you not to run around? Why are you still so willful!"
Her cries were desolate and indignant, growing louder and louder.
"I'm sorry, Xiao Wu." I didn't know what to say, so I could only say these three words.
"Miss," Xiao Wu cried as she hugged me, and I could hear her sobbing.
Xiao Wu, a strong woman, a cold woman, actually cried like this because of my willfulness. Xiao Wu is really worried about me!
Raising my head, I saw Xiao Qing leaning against a tree, looking at us with angry eyes, but without saying a word.
I looked at him and said 'I'm sorry', but he looked away and gazed at the high palace walls. I knew he had forgiven me.
The night was still as beautiful as ever, but the difference was that Xiao Wu, Xiao Qing, and I were even closer together.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Looking in the mirror, she gently touched her slightly swollen face and thought to herself: Thank goodness I'm not disfigured! (Author's note: With your looks, you deserved to be beaten, but whether you're disfigured or not makes no difference to you. Zi Xue's words: I know I was wrong! Author's note: You never learn. I finally have a chance to scold her, so I'll give her a good scolding. Zi Xue: Damn it, I know I was wrong, but you're still not done! Author drifts away~ See, I told you her temper is unchangeable.) Xiao Wu, really, doesn't she know I don't know martial arts? Why did she use so much force?
Xiao Wu walked in from outside carrying a basin of water. She placed the basin on the table, approached me, took my hand, and gently wiped my face with a towel.
"Miss, I'm so sorry," Xiao Wu carefully examined the wound she had been hit in, regretting that she hadn't controlled her strength.
"Xiao Wu, now I realize how much it hurt when you hit me before." Looking at Xiao Wu's guilty expression, I chuckled and stuck out my tongue.
"Stop being so cheeky," Xiao Wu looked at me helplessly and gently touched my lips with her hand.
"Ouch, it hurts!"
"Ah, Xiao Wu, be gentle!"
"Move a little further, yes, don't push too hard."
"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you hitting me so hard?"
"It hurts so much!"
Xiao Wu, suppressing the urge to kill the young lady, her veins bulging on her forehead and her mouth twitching, stared at the woman shouting excitedly in front of her.
"Ouch, that hurts! Xiao Wu, be careful!"
Finally, the silence erupted. "Miss!" Xiao Wu shouted through gritted teeth.
"What?" I looked at her, completely bewildered.
"Miss, please don't say things that might cause misunderstandings, okay?" Looking at the young lady with her innocent eyes, Xiao Wu suppressed the urge to strangle her.
"A misunderstanding? Xiaowu, what are you talking about?" I looked up, my bright eyes wide open.
"Never mind," Xiao Wu patted her forehead, looking like she was hopeless.
I tilted my head, wondering what was wrong with Xiaowu.
Suddenly, I felt a cool sensation on my face and saw Xiaowu carefully applying some kind of ointment to my swollen area.
"Xiao Wu, what is this?" He stared at the ointment in Xiao Wu's hand, wondering what it was.
"This is Rong Huan."
"Rong Huan?" I looked at her.
"It's a swelling-reducing ointment that helps injuries heal quickly and leaves no scars on the face."
"Wow, this is amazing!" Her eyes sparkled, and she mentally calculated how much money she could get for it! Ah, money... money... so much money!
"Miss, do you want to buy it?" After Xiaowu finished applying the ointment for me, she placed the bottle in front of her chest, looking as if she was certain that this was what I wanted to do.
Upon realizing his scheme had been exposed, he looked embarrassed and avoided looking at her, glancing around erratically.
"Miss, this can't be bought, and no one dares to buy it?" Xiao Wu softly uttered a sentence that broke my heart.
"Why?" I asked stubbornly, dissatisfied with Xiao Wu's answer.
"Because I made this, I don't want to buy it," Xiao Wu said, lifting the water bottle towards the door.
"What? Xiao Wu, you know medicine?" I was shocked. I didn't expect Xiao Wu to know medicine; I thought only Xiao Mei did.
“Yes, those of us who are by the master’s side all need to learn some medical skills,” Xiao Wu replied with her back to me.
"Miss, go to sleep, don't think about these things."
"Ah, Xiao Wu, don't go! I'll just buy a 30/70 split, okay?"
"Okay, it's a 40/60 split, Xiaowu, did you hear me?" I shouted at Xiaowu's retreating figure, straining my neck.
"Wuwu, Xiaowu, don't go!"
"My money!" I was devastated. A great opportunity to make money was gone just like that.
The night remained dark, but in a corner of the hall, a shadowy figure muttered to itself, "My money, my perfectly good money!"
After that incident, I started taking Jie'er to Lan's place more often, on the condition that Xiao Wu and Xiao Qing come along. I didn't want to be beaten by Xiao Wu again; some lessons are enough to learn once. Besides, I didn't want Xiao Wu to worry.
"Lan, Lan, we're here!" I shouted even before entering Xuanlan Palace.
Stepping through the wooden door, I saw a beautiful woman in a long white dress smiling gently and elegantly, like a lotus emerging from the water. Her complexion was as radiant as the morning glow reflecting on snow, without any makeup. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, and her misty eyes were captivating. She was like a paradise on earth.
Sigh, even I, a woman, almost drooled when I saw it, let alone men.
Lan stepped forward, took my hand, and looked at me with a smile, as noble and serene as a blooming lily. "I could hear your voice from inside. Come sit over there!"
This is the only stone table in the courtyard, with snacks and tea already laid out on it. A large tree next to it blocks the direct sunlight, but some light still shines through, creating dappled patterns on the stone table.
With a pastry in my mouth and a piece in my hand, I displayed none of the manners expected of an ancient woman. Yes, this is me—Zixue.
At first, Jie'er and Lan kept criticizing me for sitting like this, but over time, they got used to my somewhat rude movements.
"Honestly, this is so boring! Is there no fun in this palace at all?" She propped her chin up and complained.
Jie'er pinched my cheek and said with a smile, "This is the imperial palace grounds; how can you just play around like that?"
"Jie'er is right, Xue'er, you need to tone it down a bit," Lan said calmly, taking a sip of tea.
"Come on, you guys, I was just saying." She glared at them and pouted.
"Xue'er, I made some pastries in the kitchen, go and get them," Lan said to me pleadingly, pointing in a direction.
"Oh, okay." I ran quickly to get it. When asked why, I didn't ask Xiao Wu and the others to get it, because Xiao Wu, the others, and Lan and the other maids were all guarding outside the wooden door.
He darted into the kitchen, his eyes darting around, and spotted a plate of exquisite white pastries on the table. Seeing that no one was around, he secretly took a piece and put it in his mouth. It was delicious, sweet but not cloying.
After making two quick smacks, he took the pastries and went outside.
I walked to the stone table, put down the pastries, and looked at their somewhat strange expressions.
"What's wrong with you?"
"No, Jie'er, have some pastries!"
I touched my head, completely bewildered. What's wrong with them? I was just out for a little while, why is the atmosphere so strange when I came back? What happened? Did I miss something?
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I counted on my fingers, and it's only been half a month since Jue left, but it feels like centuries have passed since I last saw him. As the saying goes, "A day apart feels like three autumns." I have finally truly experienced how difficult waiting can be.
"Sigh..." He lay on the table, staring at the doorway, watching the busy figures of the palace maids outside with boredom.
"Why..."
Xiao Wu glanced at me and asked calmly, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Scratching my hair, I messed up the hair Xiaowu had combed for me that morning. "Xiaowu, I'm so bored. I have nothing to do. If this keeps up, I'll get depressed."
"Depression?" she looked at me with a puzzled expression.
Oops, I accidentally used modern medical terminology. How do I explain this?
"It's just loneliness, I'm so lonely," she said, looking at Xiao Wu with dissatisfaction.
"For loneliness, Miss, you can play the piano, or write and paint."
What? Playing the piano? Sure, but I'm afraid there will be a few more corpses outside and inside. Writing? Oh my god, I dare not show my handwriting to anyone, especially not ancient traditional characters. Painting? Not a bad idea, but I can probably only paint pigs!
"Xiao Wu, are you making me bored?" I said, pointing at Xiao Wu.
"It's just that Miss is in a bad mood," Xiao Wu said, continuing with her own business.
"I hate you, Xiao Wu!" I shouted even more ridiculously.
"Yes, I didn't ask Miss to like me," Xiao Wu stood up and prepared to leave.
"Xiao Wu, you really have no joy in life," she said, her face flushed and her tone pouting.
Xiao Wu was just about to step out the door when she heard someone outside call out, "Master Jie has arrived..."
Xiao Wu stopped moving, withdrew her foot, and suddenly ran to stand behind me.
He blinked twice, put his finger to his lips, and wondered, 'What's going on?'
"What's going on? Why did I hear my sister calling from outside?" Jie'er walked in gracefully, sat down elegantly next to me, and then instructed the maid beside her to place the snacks she was holding on the table.
Staring at the variety of pastries in front of her, her eyes sparkled.
"Jie'er, what are these pastries called? They look so delicious!" She held a rabbit-shaped pastry, examining it closely and inhaling its aroma. It smelled amazing.
"I made this in my spare time this morning, and I haven't named it yet. Why don't you try it?" Jie'er smiled shyly when she heard my praise.
"Mmm, ah..." She opened her mouth wide, about to eat the pastry.