Chapter 27: Alone Again

  Getting selected was something Zilin had expected, but there were also too many unexpected things.

  For example, Bi Yao's "Fireworks Are Easy to Cool".

  For example, Mu Qingfeng's identity.

  For example, these maidservants in front of us who are so respectful and polite.

  "What are you doing?" After taking a bath and coming out, she was startled by the crowd in the courtyard. Looking through the crowd, Yu Mu was still drinking tea as if nothing had happened. Qi Lin could only awkwardly force a smile and asked a girl who seemed to be the leader, "What's going on here?"

  "I am here to serve Miss Hongxue as ordered." First, she bowed and the woman raised her eyes and smiled, "I'm Green Bamboo, from now on I'll be Miss Hongxue's personal maid."

  "My personal maid?" Qilin pointed to herself, blinking her eyes. Only then did she notice the things in the hands of the maids behind Liu Sang were very familiar. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be her own belongings. Qilin quickly walked over and opened one of the wooden boxes held by a maid. Inside was indeed the jade flute and brocade box. Qilin immediately took them back and hugged them tightly, saying "What did you take my things for?"

  It's not necessary to wash it, is it?

  "Now your identity is different, you are already one of the Jade Women, and naturally you can't live here anymore."

  Listening to Mai Dong's slightly resentful voice, Qi Lin was taken aback and then thought about it carefully. After all, living with a man wasn't proper, and if outsiders knew they shared the same bed, wouldn't that be even stranger?

  But now, suddenly saying to move away, she actually feels a little lost. She knows that if she steps out of this door today, it means she has completely entered a path full of thorns and can't turn back. And she won't be able to ask the all-knowing Elm tree for advice or drink such fragrant tea like before.

  He let out a soft sigh and said to Liu Sang, "Since that's the case, you all go out and wait for me. I have some words to say to Yu Mu Gongzi."

  Green Bamboo bowed and said, "If Miss has forgotten anything or has any instructions, just summon me."

  Qilin nodded, and after Lüzhú and the others withdrew, Mai Dong was also pulled away by Rendong. The courtyard was left with only her and Yúmù. Suddenly it became quiet, as if nothing had happened, just like before. Yúmù sat there, the remaining sunlight shining on him, still so clean. And at this moment, she would run over, without hesitation, pick up the teacup and drink it all in one gulp.

  But today people walked by, yet hesitated to pick up their tea cups.

  Yu Mu didn't ask and handed the brewed tea to Qi Lin, saying softly "It's still possible to regret now."

  Qilin looked at Yu Mu in surprise, not understanding the meaning behind it. She took over Yu Mu's teacup and held it in her palm, asking "What do you mean? Was it Prince Ziyan who told you to say this?"

  "It has nothing to do with Wang Ye."

  Looking at the faint smile at the corner of Yu Mu's mouth, Qi Lin suddenly realized that for a long time, she seemed to have never seen Yu Mu with a second expression, and even the emotional fluctuations in his speech were rarely heard.

  He took a sip of tea, put down the cup and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, but unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in this world, and I don't want to die yet."

  It's just a little reluctant to give up this comfortable tranquility.

  She knows better than anyone what kind of life she will face from now on.

  "I'll just pour myself a cup of tea. Holding up the teacup, I say 'Thanks anyway for giving me this peaceful land, but from now on, I won't be..."

  Even if I'm not around, he'll still be doing well, thinking of this, Qilin felt that she was overthinking, and continued "In the future when I'm not around, you'll be even more at peace, haha... This tea is really good."

  Jill.

  It wasn't Ah Xue, nor was it Hong Xue, but rather Qi Lin, her real name. For some reason, when she heard others call her that, her eyes became moist and she sniffled slightly, softly responding with a single "en".

  He took out a wooden box from beside his wheelchair and said, "This is the golden wound medicine I've been studying, as well as some excellent medicines for treating wind and cold, and some medicinal pills that can't cure all poisons but can cure ordinary poison."

  Then, from his bosom, he took out a sachet embroidered with tea flowers. This time, he directly relied on his feelings to accurately grasp Qilin's hand and put the sachet in it. His large hand gently covered hers, saying softly, "This sachet is not a precious object, but consider it my farewell gift to you."

  Looking at these things, Qilin's heart warmed up, grasping the sachet, carefully tying it around her waist, picking up the wooden box and standing up. Originally wanting to make her voice sound crisp, but opening her mouth only to find herself unable to say anything.

  "That's it, I'm leaving." With a final difficult utterance of these unromantic words, he quickly lifted his feet and left.

  He walked a few steps and stopped, turned around and said loudly "Mai Dong you idiot, if you don't treat girls gently, you won't be able to marry a wife. But I'll help you with that. And Ren Dong, you expressionless man, take good care of everyone."

  After finishing speaking, Zilin quickly turned around and stepped out of the courtyard gate.

  The wisteria was staring at the courtyard door with a black line on its face. What does "facial paralysis man" mean? But it sounds like it's definitely not a good word.

  Ran out of Bamboo Leisure House, Qi Lin didn't look back and followed the guidance of Green Bamboo to arrive at what she called a courtyard.

  She had just discovered that this was the closest to Zhuxian Villa, and the environment was similar. She hadn't even entered the courtyard yet, but she could already smell the strong scent of rouge and powder. Lifting her gaze, she saw the sign above the door, which read "Rose Garden" in three large characters, making her think of a certain TV drama instantly.

  Approaching the rose garden, looking at the unfamiliar faces in the courtyard, it was also an expected scene. Qilin walked up to the old madam and bowed slightly, saying "Hongxue has seen you, madam."

  The old procuress quickly walked over to help up Qilin, holding Qilin's hand and smiling ingratiatingly: "Hongxue girl is really talented, I had thought you were a delicate flower before, if you had appeared earlier, who knows how much money you could have made?"

  "Madam, I've taken care of it." Qi Lin smiled professionally and discreetly looked around, but didn't see Bu Yao's figure.

  It's also reasonable.

  Then she listened to some flattering words from the old procuress, as well as some instructions, which were mostly just words of self-protection. However, these words sounded strange coming from the old procuress's mouth. She also casually inquired about the living arrangements of others, except for those official young ladies who lived in the Noble Pavilion next to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion under strict protection, everyone else remained unchanged, presumably because they had already decided that the candidate for the Hundred Flowers Fairy would be chosen from among those few people, so their lives and deaths were not important.

  Then there were some flattering words from each of the ladies, and Qilin just responded habitually.

  It wasn't easy getting rid of everyone except Peony, but Chi Lin was already feeling sore all over and had a stiff smile on her face.

  "Sister, congratulations to you, I'm so happy." Pulling Qilin's hand, she showed a warm smile and continued "But how did those butterflies do it?"

  "This is easy, I'll teach you another day, sister." With a similar smile, looking at Peony, holding her hand back, slightly revealing concern "I heard that sister was injured a few days ago and couldn't come to visit, hoping sister will forgive me. Today seeing sister's complexion is good, it should be recovering well."

  Who doesn't know how to pretend?!

  "Thank you for remembering me, sister. I'm fine, thanks to the good medicine of Mr. Yu Mu. I'll have to come visit and thank him another day."

  Qilin nodded slightly, quietly withdrew her hand into the wide sleeve, and discreetly wiped away the lingering sensation on her fingertips.

  He and Peony exchanged some insincere pleasantries, after which Qilin finally saw Peony off. By this time, Green Bamboo had finished tidying up everything and led all the servants to kneel down in the hall.

  She knew they were giving themselves a meeting gift, and Qilin didn't stop them. It was just that kneeling for so long made her legs ache, but she pretended to be fine, secretly moving her stiff mouth corners, quietly looking at the three women and two men in front of her.

  "Miss Hongxue, from now on I will be Miss Hongxue's maid and will do my best to serve you well." Green Bamboo said politely, then continued "If Miss Hongxue has any instructions, please tell us, we will definitely..."

  "Let's just exchange names for now." Too lazy to listen to those clichés, the key is that my legs have reached their limit, so I'll keep it simple and just know your name.

  Lu Zhū was taken aback, clearly not expecting Qí Lín to ask that. But it also served as a good cue for others to chime in.

  "Slave's tears."

  She glanced at the person who replied, wearing a light yellow outfit, about 14 years old, with big black pupils, indeed very lively, just like Cui'er used to be. Qilin lowered her eyelids and smiled slightly "Good name."

  "Thank you, Miss Hong Xue." Luzhu hastily knelt down to thank her.

  "The slave girl is weaving silk."

  Also wearing light yellow clothes, but looked more delicate, about fourteen years old, already a beautiful young girl, Qilin nodded.

  "My humble name is Amu."

  "My humble name is Ah Man."

  A Mu A Man? Qilin blinked her eyes, weren't these two names the ones she casually gave to Lang on White Tiger Mountain that day?

  Qilin was taken aback, her hands clenched tightly under her sleeves, then took out some silver coins from her bosom and handed them over to them, which could be considered a meeting gift.

  "You all retreat, I'm a bit tired." A faint voice, no extra orders.

  Everyone bowed and bid farewell, then got up and left.

  After everyone left, Qilin put her hands on the ground and shifted the center of her body onto them. Her sore feet were suddenly relieved, but she couldn't move at all. She frowned in discomfort, bit her lip, and stood up with a burst of determination, but lost her balance and sat back down on the ground. Only then did she slowly move her feet and gently patted them.

  But she couldn't help but admit that the scenes from Baishan Mountain had resurfaced in her mind, and even though she had tried to forget them slowly before, hearing Amu and Abian's names was like a volcanic eruption, bursting out all at once.

  Leaning against the pillar behind her, she raised her eyes and stared at the roof, surrounded by an eerie silence, with only her breathing sound audible.

  How long has she not seen Xiaobai? Are they doing well or not? Is there a new addition to the wolf cubs? Does he miss her?

  Thinking and thinking, Qilin's nose turned sour, her hands wrapped around her feet, her head buried in the crook of her arm, but she stubbornly refused to let tears flow out.

  It turned out she was lonely.

  Xiaobai is gone, Qiaoer is gone, Su Fengyue is gone, and now even Yu Mu has to leave. Even Mai Dong, who always bullied her, is no longer here.

  Everyone left her.

  In the end, I'm still alone.

  I don't know why, but I suddenly feel so wronged.

  Humiliation?! Qilin suddenly lifted her head, touched the tear stains at the corner of her eyes, and stood up abruptly.

  "What am I doing?" muttered to himself, then desperately shook his head, wiping away the excess tears. "Qilin, you're so pitiful, dying and being reborn, plus a free trip, you've hit the jackpot! Isn't it just being used? Isn't it just having no freedom? Isn't it just being at someone else's mercy, bearing the resentment of thousands? What's the point of watching all these melodramatic soap operas? Just endure and it'll pass."

  After finishing, she took a few deep breaths, then jumped in place several times, did some warm-up exercises, twisted her waist, and felt that her whole body's muscles and bones were well stretched. Only when she no longer felt so stiff did Qilin pour herself a cup of tea to drink.

  "Hmm"

  The cold tea had just entered my mouth when it was heavily spat out, the taste was like chrysanthemum in ice water for a whole day, although strong but also nauseating. I threw the teacup aside, wiped the water stain on the corner of my mouth, and walked to the door to open it.

  "Does Miss Hongxue have any instructions?" Luzhu respectfully bowed and said.

  "Alright, there's still someone around," Qilin tidied up her thoughts and opened her mouth to say "En, when does dinner start?"

  "Yes, the silk is already being prepared, it will be about an hour."

  Qilin nodded and said, "Well, this is a good time to tidy up the environment. Where's Lüzhú?"

  "Green Bamboo sister?" Lu Zhu suddenly stopped, she forgot that she couldn't call Green Bamboo like that in front of others. She secretly glanced at Qi Lin and saw that Qi Lin didn't seem to mind, so she let out a sigh of relief and continued, "Miss Green Bamboo is instructing Ah Mu and Ah Man to tidy up the yard."

  What a desolate courtyard? After taking a look around, Qilin only then discovered that although this courtyard was named Rose Garden, roses wouldn't bloom in winter and were mostly withered branches, looking bleak and worn out. The ground was covered with thick fallen leaves, and even the stone table beside it, used for drinking tea on ordinary days, had grown a thick layer of withered yellow weeds.

  It's really been a long time since I last used it.

  "Later there will be guests coming, go tell Green Bamboo to prepare, no need to be too formal, simple is fine." After instructing, she quietly gazed at the dusk sky, slightly raising the corner of her mouth.