Чистое сердце в нефритовом сосуде - Глава 145
"Is the carriage ready?" he asked Ruosheng, wiping his mouth clean.
Ruosheng picked up the empty bowl and replied, "Everything is ready. Guard Liang and the others have already gone out to pick up the people."
After straightening her clothes, she went out with Gan Lin and Ruosheng. There were two carriages parked at the door, which were prepared for the children in the valley to go to Qizhou City. She lifted the curtain and looked inside the carriage. There were many fruits and snacks on the low table. Biqiong and the others had really prepared very carefully.
From afar, they heard the laughter of children. Looking up, they saw that it was Guard Liang and his men leading the children.
"Holy Maiden Aunt!" Upon seeing me, Xiaoyu let go of Xiaoping's hand and ran towards me.
Smiling, Xiaoyu squatted down, panting but still excitedly gesturing: "Are we really going to the city to see the lanterns?"
"Of course I wouldn't lie to you. Look, the carriage is all ready. Come on up." He took Xiaoyu's hand and led her up the wooden ladder to the carriage.
"Wow, there's so much food!" Xiaoyu shouted excitedly as she got into the car. Hearing her voice, the children who had come over rushed to climb into the car. Liang and the others hurriedly tried to stop them, afraid that they might fall off.
There were at least seventy or eighty children under the age of ten in the valley, but this time only about twenty of the older ones were brought. The rest of the little ones could go another time. Even so, the carriage was still a bit crowded. Looking at these noisy little ones, Ruosheng was a little at a loss, while Biqiong and Biyao were looking after them in another carriage.
Gan Lin and his guards mounted their horses, and the group of two carriages and nine riders slowly left the valley, heading towards Qizhou City along the newly opened road.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 127
Chapter word count: 4347 Update time: 09-09-18 13:57
Around noon, they finally entered Qizhou City, and the carriage stopped in front of the post station.
The children playfully jumped down from the carriage, looked around excitedly. Guard Liang gestured to the driver to pull the carriage into the post station, where the postmaster emerged with several women.
"Holy Maiden, the people you requested have been brought." The postmaster led several women to me.
With a slight headache, I glanced at my "Qizhou Day Trip" tour group and told the restless kids to line up properly. I told them to find playmates they knew and divide into several small groups, with one guard and one maid in each group to take care of them. This should be better than a large, swarming group.
He handed the silver, which was to be used as the tour fee, to the maid, and gave the children several instructions before signaling that they could go out and play on their own.
As the leader of these eight people, Guard Liang was slightly dissatisfied with my arrangements, insisting that his duty was to protect my safety, not to take care of children. I waved my hand apologetically: "I am safe here in this inn, and Brother Gan is here with me, so Guard Liang doesn't need to worry. Guard Liang, please consider this a day off I've given you. Enjoy a day of fun in Qizhou City."
Liang, the guard, reluctantly led his men away.
Upon entering the inn, Ruosheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "Doesn't the Holy Maiden go out for a stroll herself?"
"The best part is tonight. We've been traveling all day, so let's take a break now."
The postmaster arranged for me to stay in the same courtyard as last time. After entering the room, Ruosheng helped me change into a set of cotton clothes and wash my face before I could lie down comfortably on the couch.
"The Holy Maiden is truly kind-hearted; she has planned so much just to fulfill the wishes of a few children," Ruosheng said while massaging my back.
She raised her hand to stop Ruosheng: "Don't bother anymore, go and rest."
Ruosheng didn't stand on ceremony. She got up, made the bed, and then went out to rest.
After lying on the tatami for a while, he finally sat up, put on his shoes, and went outside.
In the pavilion by the lotus pond, Gan Lin stood leaning against a pillar, the wind lifting the hem of his dark blue robe and ruffling his hair. When did he stop wearing white?
That lonely figure somewhat dazzled me. If he were back in that vast world outside, would he feel much more at ease? Yet he has always been there, guarding me, while my heart is preoccupied with many other things, often failing to notice him. Perhaps after Chu Chen and the others arrive, not only my life but his will become much more interesting.
I tiptoed up behind him, knowing full well that with his cultivation level, he couldn't possibly be unaware of my presence, yet I still couldn't resist teasing him. When I was two or three steps away, he slightly turned his head: "Don't you need to rest?"
"This is also a form of rest." I blinked. No one says that rest has to be sleeping.
Gan Lin chuckled and shook his head, then turned and sat down on the stone bench.
Sitting down opposite Gan Lin, he asked seriously, "I have you and Ruosheng with me, yet I still keep complaining about being bored. In fact, you're more lonely than me, aren't you?"
"Loneliness isn't just about having someone by your side. If we're talking about loneliness, the loneliness I experienced over a decade of living alone, spending my days either waiting for missions to kill or guarding against being killed, is a loneliness I never want to experience again. Now, although it's a bit quiet, I have hope and things to care about. Even if I'm alone, I'm not lonely." Gan Lin said slowly, her gentle voice drifting into my ears on the cool breeze. But I also have many things to care about, so why do I still feel somewhat lonely and bored? Or is this simply a double-edged sword?
He looked up at Gan Lin, but Gan Lin was only staring at the withered lotus in the pond, lost in thought.
Gan Lin is still Gan Lin, and I am still me, but some things have changed, making it impossible for me to talk and laugh with him without any restraint as before.
Another cool breeze swept by, and perhaps the fragrance of flowers in the wind was too strong, so I couldn't help but sneeze. Gan Lin frowned: "The summer heat dissipates early in the mountain city, so it's best not to stay outside in the wind."
Obediently, she got up and went back to her room, lying back down on the tatami mat. She decided to take a nap so she could play a little longer tonight.
I turned over, about to drift off to sleep, when I heard hurried footsteps outside, getting closer and closer, heading towards my bedroom. The door was pushed open, and when I turned around and opened my eyes, it was Ruosheng.
"Holy Maiden, are you not asleep?" Seeing that I had my eyes open, Ruosheng asked anxiously, "The guards came to report that Azhu and Minghua got lost in the market. They have been searching for a long time, but have not yet found them, so they had to come back to report, hoping that more manpower can be sent to search."
"They're such a handful, two adults can't even keep an eye on three or four kids," Ruosheng grumbled, though her expression was quite anxious.
Smiling, she got up to change her clothes and comforted them, "We can't blame them. Kids can be much harder to deal with than adults when they're being naughty." Though she said this, she was also a little annoyed. She had repeatedly warned them, so why were these kids so unruly? If something had happened, she really didn't know how to explain it to their parents. Now, she felt that bringing these kids out was incredibly risky.
They summoned the postmaster and ordered him to send some unemployed people to search the streets. They also found an artist to paint portraits of Ah-Zhu and Ming-Hua and posted them in the market, hoping everyone could help with the search. After all this effort, it was already evening. If they hadn't found them before dark, it would be even harder to find them when there were more people around at night.
The rest of the children had been brought back and were playing quietly in the courtyard of the inn. Seeing my displeasure, they were all obedient and didn't bother me.
Seeing that I had been sitting on the stone bench for a long time, Xiaoyu finally moved over to me and said hesitantly, "Aunt Saintess, we can also go out and help find Ah Zhu and the others."
Amused, he looked at Xiaoyu and said, "Are you familiar with all the streets and alleys in the city? What if you can't find them and get lost again?"
As soon as Xiaoyu arrived, the other children gradually gathered around. "It's all Azhu's fault. She said she wanted to go to some temple to pray to the Bodhisattva, and soon she and Minghua disappeared," Xilai said indignantly. He had been with Azhu and Minghua, and their disappearance had prevented the others from continuing to play, so naturally they were somewhat resentful.
Didn't that guard say they were clamoring to buy some kind of cake? But when they came back with the cake, only the accompanying maid and the siblings Xilai and Xichun were left. When did they say they wanted to worship the Bodhisattva?
But it's still a clue. Quickly send word down to focus on searching any place in the city that can be called a temple, such as the local earth god temple or the matchmaker temple.
She glanced at the children in front of her, who were filled with worry, resentment, unwillingness, and expectation. Finally, she put aside her displeasure and said softly, "It's not that your aunt wants to involve innocent people, but if we don't find them, I'm sure you won't be able to play comfortably. If we can find them soon, your aunt will still take you out to see the lanterns tonight. But you can't run around like that then."
The children then smiled and played in the courtyard again.