Just as she was lost in thought, Xia Mingzhe suddenly leaned over. Zhang Xin stared at him blankly, not yet reacting, when a light, fleeting kiss landed on her lips. Afterwards, Xia Mingzhe whispered in her ear, "Yes, I really like you. It's not that I don't like you."
Finally realizing that Xia Mingzhe was extremely close to her, and that he had taken advantage of her just moments before, Zhang Xin met his gaze and trembled. She stood up stiffly, paused, pushed Xia Mingzhe away, and rushed outside. Her mind was still blank, her face burning uncontrollably, and even more uncontrollably, she couldn't help but shed two tears.
She couldn't explain why, but she just felt wronged. On the carriage ride back to the palace, she occasionally shed a tear, and didn't want to talk to anyone. But what did Xia Mingzhe really mean? Zhang Xin wondered, "He likes me quite a bit, isn't he? Then why did he reject me…?" Could she trust the words of such a fickle, hypocritical person?
I feel like I'm being played again, I'm angry.
·
Ling Xiao was trapped in the Ning Prince's mansion for several days before finally returning to the Imperial Hospital. Thinking about the "humiliating" experiences of the past few days, she felt her lifelong reputation was ruined. Having finally escaped back to the Imperial Hospital, she couldn't help but sigh and lament whenever she remembered what had happened. After her visit to the Xia residence to see Xia Mingzhe, Zhang Xin felt she should never see him again, but Xia Mingzhe kept pestering her, constantly reminding her of what had happened at the Xia residence.
Increasingly overwhelmed by Xia Mingzhe, Zhang Xin learned that Ling Xiao had appeared and hurriedly hid at the Imperial Hospital to confide in her and seek advice. When the two met again, they almost held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes. Zhang Xin asked Ling Xiao where she had been these past few days, but Ling Xiao, recalling those indescribable and inappropriate scenes, could only ask about Zhang Xin's situation and changed the subject.
"What's wrong with you? Why do you look so sad? Did Xia Mingzhe bully you?"
Hearing the name Xia Mingzhe gave her a headache, and when Ling Xiao asked if she had been bullied, Zhang Xin couldn't quite put her finger on whether it counted as bullying. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to be honest with Ling Xiao.
“I went to find him because I wanted to talk things out with him. Who knew that he would take advantage of me when I wasn’t looking and bite me! What is this?! Am I particularly stupid and easily fooled? When I said I could take him as my son-in-law, he disagreed. Now that I don’t want him anymore, he’s clinging to me again. What does this mean?”
Ling Xiao paused for a moment before understanding the specific meaning of Zhang Xin's "biting". For a moment, he felt a sense of awe towards the little princess in front of him, who was as innocent as a piece of paper when it came to matters of the heart.
But now, realizing she was in a much worse situation than Zhang Xin, she tried to comfort her, saying, "Actually, it's nothing, they're just being pathetic! They don't appreciate what's offered to them, and then they regret it when it's gone. They find it annoying when they're clinging to them, but they feel uneasy when they're not. Isn't that pathetic?!"
Zhang Xin recalled her situation with Xia Mingzhe, and it seemed to have some truth to it, but she felt that the word wasn't quite right, so she quietly asked, "Does that mean he's no good, and I can just ignore him?" Before she could finish speaking, Ling Xiao turned around, looking at her angrily, and said, "No! Men are all like that! They can't avoid you!"
Zhang Xin was stunned for a moment, but Ling Xiao began to speak, "If you like him, you have to train him properly and make him wholeheartedly devoted to you alone. You have to let him know that it is he who cannot live without you, not the other way around. That way, he won't be arrogant and think that he can do without you because there are other people. You have to make yourself irreplaceable!"
……Can't understand.
Thinking about it, Zhang Xin asked again, "Then what should I do?" Ling Xiao suddenly grasped Zhang Xin's hands and asked her in return, "Do you like Lord Xia?" After pausing for a while, Zhang Xin shook her head, then nodded, and finally said, "I don't know."
Ling Xiao replied, "If you care about him, it's hard to say you don't like him. Do you feel disgusted when he kisses you?" Seeing that Zhang Xin didn't understand, Ling Xiao silently rubbed his forehead and asked again, "When he bites you, do you feel angry or disgusted?"
"I'm angry, extremely angry!"
“…It’s over.” Ling Xiao stood up, looking at Zhang Xin with a face full of pity, and said, “Another one has fallen into this trap.” She sighed. A-Hao had fallen into this trap, Zhang Xin had fallen into this trap, and even she herself… had fallen into this trap one by one…
horrible.
Ling Xiao slumped back into her chair, then lay face down on the table, looking utterly hopeless. Zhang Xin poked her cheek, completely bewildered, still not understanding what to do. Ling Xiao, her face pressed against the table, said weakly, "Nothing's needed. Just wait for him to come find you."
Zhang Xin: "..." Still didn't understand.
Less than a quarter of an hour after Ling Xiao finished speaking, the voice of Prince Ning rang out from outside the door. Zhang Xin didn't seem to care, but Ling Xiao immediately sat up straight. The next moment, Zhang Xin heard Xia Mingzhe outside asking Ling Xiao if she was there, and she immediately sat up straight like him. The two exchanged a glance, both wanting to cover their faces and run away in tears, but there was nowhere to escape; they had no choice but to accept the fact that they had to face the two people outside the door.
·
Knowing that Zhang Yu was planning to take her to the border, Ahao felt she didn't have enough time to learn everything she wanted to study. Zhang Yu, however, seemed uninterested and didn't want her to be too busy with these things. Ahao agreed verbally, but was still preoccupied with them, knowing that rushing things wouldn't help.
On the fifteenth of July, Ahao and Zhang Yu both got up early, washed and dressed, ate breakfast, and tidied themselves up before taking a carriage from Jingyun Nunnery back to Lin'an City. It was the first Ghost Festival after Xu's passing, so they had to properly pay their respects, which meant they had to return to the city.
The Song residence, though uninhabited for only a short time, already showed signs of desolation. The jujube tree in the courtyard, however, continued to grow vigorously, laden with green jujubes, unaffected by the surroundings. Ah Hao had dismissed all the servants because she was determined to leave, using Xu Shi's departure as an excuse to get rid of them. In fact, even if they were no longer living there, it would have been better to leave someone to guard the gate.
After offering incense before the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall, Ahao looked at her mother's tablet, placed alongside her father's, and felt a mix of emotions. In fact, she had imagined countless times what would happen if Xu Shi regained consciousness, and was therefore mentally prepared for the choices Xu Shi might make. Even if Xu Shi chose to end her own life, she didn't feel abandoned, but at that time, Zhang Yu…
Standing beside A-Hao, Zhang Yu noticed her gaze and, perhaps remembering something, smiled at her and patted her head. After a while, the two left the ancestral hall.
Remembering that her aunt and cousin Zheng Guan had both come to pay their respects after her mother's passing, Ahao went to the Zheng residence to deliver a thank-you gift. Her aunt's health had improved, and her cousin had also gotten engaged, with the wedding to take place next May. Ahao smiled and offered her congratulations, then took her leave after having a couple of cups of tea.
Zheng Guan personally escorted Ahao to the gate of the mansion. When they parted, he apologized for his past rudeness, saying, "I said some unpleasant things back then, which was really wrong of me. I'm very sorry. Ahao, you're all alone now, and I don't know what happened to you. You even went to live in Jingyun Nunnery... I shouldn't have gossiped about you. I was just a little worried. If you need any help in the future, you can always come to your cousin."
“Thank you, Cousin Zheng. When my mother was alive, I was very grateful for the help of my aunt and you in taking care of her. I am very grateful no matter what.” Ahao gave him a bright smile and said, “I am doing very well in Jingyun Nunnery now. There are no troubles. It is peaceful and comfortable. There is no need to worry.”
Zheng Guan smiled and felt that he would have even less chance to see her in the future. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and patted A-Hao's head, saying, "Cousin, please take good care of yourself." A-Hao nodded to him, then said goodbye and got into the carriage.
Sitting in the carriage, Zhang Yu saw her return and seemed displeased. He deliberately said jealously, "You're willing to say goodbye to your cousin?" A-Hao glanced at him with a smile, and Zhang Yu continued, "You even let him pat your head." A-Hao laughed out loud, sat down next to him, rubbed against his shoulder, and whispered, "Then Your Majesty should pat it too."
Zhang Yu lowered his eyes and said softly, "Someone else has touched it, and I am not happy about it."
Ah Hao laughed and fell onto Zhang Yu, then sat up straight again. She turned to the side, cupped Zhang Yu's face in her hands, kissed him, and coaxed him softly, "Your Majesty, please don't be unhappy."
Zhang Yu's lips curled slightly, but he still said, "I'm still not happy."
Ah Hao cupped his face, kissed him twice more, and looked at Zhang Yu with her bright black eyes, saying, "Your Majesty is still unhappy, then I'm unhappy too."
Zhang Yu snorted and stopped talking.
Author's Note: I'm already suffocating after 11,000 words.
Chapter 85 Update
Ah Hao buried his mother, Xu, next to his father's old grave. Both the new and old graves were overgrown with lush weeds. Occasionally, a couple of yellow and purple wildflowers were scattered among the weeds around the grave mounds. Ah Hao burned paper money for his parents and then knelt before their graves to kowtow to them.
The sky was overcast, shrouded in mist and clouds, and a chilly wind blew intermittently, giving the world a sense of autumnal coolness. Nearby, a lone camphor tree stood, its green leaves partially obscuring two crows perched on a slanting branch, cawing hoarsely.
Zhang Yu helped Ahao to her feet. Two white butterflies flew in from nowhere and hovered in front of Ahao. They weren't afraid of people and even landed on Ahao's shoulders, remaining motionless.
"I remember hearing from the elders when I was little that deceased relatives would come back to see us if they still care about us," Ahao said with a smile, extending her hand. A moment later, two butterflies fluttered down and landed in her palm, seemingly quite happy to be close to her.
Ah-hao knew those words were unverifiable and baseless, but what good would it do to believe them? If these butterflies were truly her parents transformed and came specifically to see her, she would only feel happy.
The white butterfly lingered in A-Hao's palm for a while before finally flying away and never returning. Zhang Yu took A-Hao's hand and led her back. Holding his dry, warm hand, A-Hao remembered the letter Zhang Yu had written in her mother's voice when Xu Shi left.
At that time, she had thoroughly angered this person, who refused to see her again and wanted nothing related to her. But the person, in her extreme anger, still carefully considered this point and even did something contrary to her nature.
He must have remembered what he said, remembered her inner turmoil, her inability to decide whether to cure her mother. He also knew how important this only family member was to her.
Later, when he came to visit her at Jingyun Nunnery and hugged her while apologizing, she couldn't take it anymore. He hadn't done anything wrong to her... Ah Hao thought to herself, this man could be so violent at times, yet he treated her with extreme gentleness time and time again.