195 Villa
Except for Meimei and Lin Runan, Prince Qi and Xu Junying had all been to Guiyun Villa. Prince Qi had even lived here for more than a month and had long been accustomed to the beautiful scenery of the villa. Only Meimei and Lin Runan lingered among the flowers, plants and trees in the villa and refused to follow the men to Songyue Pavilion for tea.
The two-story Songyue Pavilion was built on a small rocky hill. From the top, one could see most of the scenery of the village. However, the village was full of greenery. Meimei and Lin Runan only flashed on a small path and then disappeared. Several men were drinking tea and chatting in the Songyue Pavilion. They didn't come back for a long time. Xu Junying said:
"Could he be lost?"
King Qi said, "I'll go down and take a look!"
Zhang Jingyun waved his hand: "You guys sit down, I'll go! I know where they are."
Meimei and Lin Runan climbed up a small dirt slope full of pine trees. They stepped on thick pine needles and smelled the fragrance of pine resin. The breeze blew, and the pine trees rustled. Beyond the lush green, there were clusters of colorful flowers, which made people feel relaxed and happy. They turned to the back mountain and saw another beautiful scene: a large stretch of undulating grassy land, as if it was planted by humans, flat and thick, green and soft, from the top of the slope to the bottom. Meimei was amazed and said to Lin Runan:
"This grass field is so good, it's like a natural grass skiing field. If you have grass skiing shoes, I can teach you how to grass ski. It's wonderful, and it feels like flying, which is different from riding a horse!"
Lin Runan said, "Grass skiing? How? We can make our own grass skiing shoes. There are many skilled craftsmen in Beijing!"
Meimei's mind moved: "Yes, when we get back, I'll draw a blueprint and ask a skilled craftsman to do it. It should be possible to do it!"
They found wild strawberries beside the grass, also growing in patches, in large clusters and clumps, hanging down from the slope, with branches with countless fine thorns, and covered with various colored wild strawberries like pearls and agates. According to their maturity, they are divided into black, purple, red, yellow, green and white. Meimei told Lin Runan not to eat black strawberries, because they were overripe and as sweet as honey. Most of them had been eaten by insects. Lin Runan had also experienced hard times and had seen this kind of wild strawberry in Lingnan, so she knew how to eat it. The two of them picked purple-red strawberries and ate them, smacking their lips unscrupulously. One exclaimed, "So sour!" The other shouted, "So sweet!" They laughed and enjoyed the food very much.
Just as they were feeling happy, Zhang Jingyun came down from the pine slope with a smile on his face. As expected, he had guessed that they would be here, and he was holding two exquisite little wicker baskets in his hands, which he specially brought for them to hold wild strawberries.
Lin Runan smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, you are so kind!"
Meimei took the small wicker basket, said thank you, threw one to Lin Runan, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhang is of course good! He has outstanding character and superb medical skills. What's more rare is that he has a gentle and humble temperament and never gets angry with anyone. Miss Lin, you seem to have come to your senses!"
Zhang Jingyun blushed and said with a smile: "I sent you the basket out of kindness, so please don't make fun of me!"
"Are you Qin Meiniang? You used to be so shy and didn't say a word to people, but now you dare to say anything, even more outrageous than me!"
As Lin Runan was talking, he threw a green strawberry at Meimei. Meimei bent down and picked a red strawberry. Just as she stood up and turned to look at Lin Runan, the green strawberry flew towards her. She had no time to dodge and was doomed to be hit in the face. Before Meimei could even scream, Zhang Jingyun stepped forward, reached out and caught the green strawberry, and said with a smile: "My wild fruits can also be used as medicine. Pick the ones you can eat, and don't pick the ones you can't eat and throw them away!"
Lin Runan said, "I just finished praising you, and now Master Zhang is being petty. This kind of wild fruit is everywhere in the mountains and fields, and it's not you who planted it!"
Zhang Jingyun smiled and said, "Miss Lin is right. There are wild fruits all over the mountains, but the ones in this farm are all transplanted from outside. Flowers, herbs and fruits used as medicine sometimes require them to grow in special places, and they can't just be picked up randomly. The medicinal herbs in this farm are all carefully planted!"
Lin Runan's eyes widened. "So, the medicinal effects of the same herb growing on this side of the slope are different from those growing on the other side?"
Zhang Jingyun nodded: "That's right. Just like two people who look exactly the same, such as twins, they have different personalities, so the decisions they make and the things they do are also different!"
Lin Runan finally solved the puzzle, but Meimei blinked and thought: She and Qin Meiniang, maybe they can be considered twins? They look exactly the same, but their personalities are completely different.
Zhang Jingyun and Lin Runan were talking as they walked towards another larger strawberry bush. Zhang Jingyun turned around and found that Meimei had not caught up with him and was gone. He was stunned for a moment, then said something to Lin Runan and turned back to look for her.
"Meimei, Meimei, where are you?"
“Here!”
Zhang Jingyun looked back and found that she had already arrived at another cluster of strawberries, not far from Lin Runan. The two of them were throwing strawberries at each other for fun. No one knew how she got there.
Zhang Jingyun smiled and said, "I thought you were reluctant to leave. The wild fruits in that bush were just picked two days ago to make medicine pills. There aren't many good ones left. The ones here are untouched. There are more and better ones. You can pick as much as you want!"
Meimei smiled and said, "That's good too. After we pick the ripe ones, new ones will ripen."
Zhang Jingyun said: "That's true!"
"Then why did you sneak away again? Do you want to pick the good ones yourself and leave me to pick the bad ones over there? If it weren't for Master Zhang, I wouldn't have left!"
Lin Runan threw another green strawberry at her: "You're getting worse and worse!"
Meimei looked at the green strawberries in the basket and said, "You want to practice, right? At least pick some ripe ones and throw them over. Don't pick the green ones, it's a waste!"
"If you hit someone with a ripe one, it won't hurt. So use the unripe one!"
"You bad boy!"
The two quarreled and turned to the other side of the strawberry bush, and gradually the sound became silent.
Zhang Jingyun followed Meimei and picked some for her. Meimei saw that he was wearing a snow-white satin robe and hurriedly stopped him: "Don't pick it, or you'll get your clothes dirty, and this juice can't wash it off!"
Zhang Jingyun said: "There is a kind of herb that can wash away the juice. I will show it to you later. If you need it, you can go to the pharmacy and buy it to wash it!"
Meimei smiled happily and said, "Okay, this is useful to me. I often get some juice on my clothes without paying attention. The same goes for Heng'er!"
"Heng'er has a very good physique. I took his pulse last night and found that he has a little damp heat in his body. I'll make him some pills. He is still teething, so it is normal for him to have a fever from time to time. It's nothing to worry about. Just drink plenty of water and take good care of yourself."
Meimei nodded: "Heng'er has the habit of getting up in the middle of the night to play. Is this a disease?"
"Some children cry at night because of internal discomfort, while others just form a habit by chance. I think Heng'er cries out of habit, he is not sick!"
Meimei said: "I thought it was just a habit of his own and he was not sick, so I was not worried. But now I can't stand him anymore. He keeps making noises in the middle of the night and keeps me awake!"
Zhang Jingyun smiled and said, "Help him turn back slowly. Don't be too impatient. There are reasons why children don't sleep well. Think about it. I remember there was a child who didn't sleep at night like Heng'er. Later, his parents found the reason - he slept with the lights on from dusk till dawn. After turning off the lights, the child gradually stopped getting up at night and slept until dawn!"
Meimei was stunned for a moment, then she laughed: "Really? Heng'er should be for the same reason. Why didn't I think of this?"
The two chatted while picking strawberries together. The small wicker basket placed on the stone was gradually full. Zhang Jingyun went to pick up the basket. Meimei stared at the bright and lovely strawberries without turning her head. She reached back to get the basket by instinct, and ended up touching the back of Zhang Jingyun's hand. She quickly turned around and apologized with a red face: "I'm sorry, I... didn't see you!"
Zhang Jingyun glanced at her quickly: "It's me... I should say something!"
The two looked at each other, and Meimei suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a little strange. Just as she was feeling awkward, she heard Zhang Jingyun say:
"Meimei, actually I hope you can get the divorce letter! The first time I went to Xu Mansion with Lingxuzi to see you, I just felt that Junying didn't treat you well enough. The second time I saw you, you risked walking on the snow to go out of the city to find Lingxuzi to treat your brother, so I felt that Junying treated you badly. When Junying wanted to marry a concubine, you had to find a way out for yourself and your children. I admire your courage and agility, and I am willing to help you. With your intelligence, you are destined to achieve something. You did it, and I am deeply relieved - you and Heng'er are just like my mother and me back then. My mother is also smart, but she doesn't have your courage. She died in humiliation in the Duke's Mansion at a young age! I have hated Duke Jingguo and everyone in the Duke's Mansion since I was a child. I hate myself for not being able to protect my mother. As I get older, the hatred has dissipated like smoke. I no longer have the slightest affection for them. Every time I am entangled by the clansmen, I feel very disgusted. They want me to go back and inherit the title, that is absolutely impossible! The emperor has only designated me as the inheritor of the title. I would rather lose the title and never set foot in the Duke's Mansion again! Destiny is different. You will not follow in my mother's footsteps, and I will never allow it! I know that I feel guilty about Junying, but I would rather bear the infamy and be hated by him. Once you get the divorce letter, I will protect you and Heng'er. We will stay away from here. The world is so big, there is no place we can't go? For the rest of my life, I will be with you and grow old together!"
Meimei stood still like a wooden man, holding a strawberry leaf tightly in her hand. The tiny thorns on the leaf pierced her skin without any pain. She wanted to cry again. I really don't know why she wanted to cry when something happened. She didn't care whether it could be solved or not. She just cried first. It seemed that this was Qin Meiniang's problem, and it was left to her. But thinking about it carefully, she loved to cry in her previous life, but after that love affair, she cried less and less.
How could she not know the good of Zhang Jingyun? He was a handsome young man, elegant and refined, with a tepid temperament, a pair of insightful eyes, and a considerate, warm and thoughtful heart. If she were to choose as an unmarried woman, she would definitely choose Zhang Jingyun! But before she left Xu Junying, she could not and dared not reveal her thoughts to anyone. She had her principles. Whether in modern times or in this dynasty, she restrained herself and abided by this rule: she would never start another relationship before she was free!
She interacted with Zhang Jingyun, Lingxuzi, and the King of Qi with a pure friendship mentality, but it seemed that God was playing a joke on her. Her lack of emotion did not mean that others would not be moved. The King of Qi and Zhang Jingyun confessed their love one after another. Why now? When she could not get the divorce letter and was desperate and gave up? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)