In front of the gate of Guiyun Villa, the person who stood with his hands behind his back facing the wind to greet them was actually the King of Qi.
He was wearing a snow-cherry-colored silk robe with a dragon pattern, a jade belt and a golden crown. The jade belt hanging from his waist fluttered in the wind, which made him look tall and handsome. He exuded a noble and beautiful temperament, which was proud and unruly, and had a subtle evil charm. Meimei smiled slightly: I just think he is fickle. Lin Runan defined him as suspicious, so the King of Qi is a suspicious and fickle evil silver fox man!
After the two women finished their greetings, the King of Qi walked to Meimei's side, his bright eyes flashing with joy:
"why are you laughing?"
Meimei took two steps forward, turned around and pointed at him and Lin Runan: "Xiao, you two are really a family, you are so in tune with each other!"
Lin Runan was puzzled: "What do you mean?"
The King of Qi looked colder and said to Lin Runan: "Who told you to wear white clothes? You are not allowed to wear the colors I have!"
"But I have it! What can you do?"
Lin Runan raised her chin and walked towards the gate of the villa proudly: "And I was the first one to get dressed and go out. I even walked in front of you. Didn't you see it?"
The handsome face of the King of Qi suddenly twisted, and his eyes were smoking with anger: "Lin Runan, how dare you disobey me!"
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Meimei stopped him and waved two fingers in front of his eyes: "Do you want to hit someone? I hate it most when men hit women!"
"What kind of woman is she!"
"Huh? Lin Runan isn't a woman?"
"She is... she is not... whether she is or not, it has nothing to do with me... Cen Meimei!"
The King of Qi was furious. Meimei laughed so hard that she fell down. She dragged Runan back to the village and said, "Zhao Bao, if you want to play with us today, don't act like a prince, or you'll regret it! We brought our treasures with us today, so it's a lot of fun!"
In Songfeng Pavilion, Zhang Jingyun, wearing a plain moon-white shirt and holding a thick medical book in his hand, stood by the carved fence with a smile on his face, watching the three people laughing and joking all the way into the gate of Guiyun Villa.
The queen took good care of her body, and after giving birth she was much healthier and stronger than before she was pregnant. The prince also grew up to be plump, strong and cute. The emperor was unable to keep him after many attempts, so he had to allow Lingxuzi to return home and marry, but he still refused to let Zhang Jingyun go, asking him to take care of his family affairs first.
Lingxuzi came out and welcomed King Qi, Lin Runan and Meimei into the hall paved with fragrant pear wood. The attendants served them fragrant tea. Cool breezes blew through the hall, and the room was filled with the fragrance of tea, wood and pine, which was fresh, elegant and pleasant.
Meimei smiled and said to Lingxuzi: "Are you going back to your hometown to get married? But we can't bear to leave you, and what should we do if we can't drink the wedding wine?"
Lingxuzi was a little embarrassed: "I promised my parents what I should do. I was supposed to get married last autumn or winter, but I received an imperial errand and had to delay it until now. It takes more than half a month to travel from the capital to my hometown in the south of the Yangtze River. If it's just for a glass of wedding wine, I'd better spare you the hardship. Everything is destined to happen, and we may meet again in the future!"
Meimei nodded: "I feel relieved when you say that. Whether you return to the capital or we travel to Jiangnan, as long as we can meet, it will be great to meet old friends again! Since I came to this world, I only have a few friends like you, but we are truly loyal and get along well... No matter where I go, I will always think of you!"
The King of Qi took a sip of tea, looked at Meimei who lowered her head with red eyes, and asked jokingly: "Where can you go? Where do you want to go?"
Meimei lowered her head. Shaoqing suddenly raised his eyes and glared at him, saying madly, "I can go wherever I want. What's it to you?"
The tea that Lin Runan had drunk spurted out. Lingxuzi smiled with his delicate eyes like a crescent moon. The King of Qi laughed and was angry at the same time. He pointed at Lin Runan with a stern face and said, "How shameful! It has splashed into my teacup, and theirs too. Is this tea still drinkable?"
Lingxuzi waved his hand, and several servants immediately came in from outside the hall, removed the teacups and tea trays, carefully wiped the table clean, and replaced the tea set and tea with new ones.
Another steward came in and said, "The banquet is ready. Please tell me when to start the banquet!"
The King of Qi looked around and said, "Where is your master? Where is Mr. Zhang? I'm already hungry. Let's have a feast!"
Lingxuzi said, "He waited for you for a long time, but you didn't come. He just went to the back to look at some taro flowers. He was preparing a medicine and needed to wait for the first blooming taro flowers to be used as a medicine guide. You can start the banquet first. He said there was no need to wait, and he came back while we were talking."
He looked at Meimei and asked, "Have you taken all the pills I gave you?"
"Yeah, I'm almost done. Sometimes I can't remember to eat, so I take it when I remember, one a day!"
The King of Qi raised his eyebrows: "How can you take medicine like this? What did your girls do? They didn't even remind me, they deserve to be beaten!"
Lingxuzi smiled and said, "It's okay. It's just to strengthen your body. Just eat like this. After a year, your physique should be able to control the power in your body. I'll give you some more later. This kind of pill is not easy to store for a long time. If we don't see each other for a long time, someone from Qiancaotang will send it to you."
"Thank you Lingxuzi, you are always so thoughtful!"
King Qi looked at Meimei strangely and asked Lingxuzi: "She is practicing Qigong? Where does the power in her body come from?"
Lingxuzi said: "Your Highness should ask her, how would I know? I took her pulse and felt that it showed this symptom..."
Meimei changed the subject and took out a brocade box and handed it to Lingxuzi: "King Qi is right. I can't go anywhere after all. I'm in the capital. I have prepared a wedding gift for you. It may not be expensive, but I made it with my own hands and with my heart. It contains my best wishes. I wish you and your spouse a hundred years of love, many children and grandchildren, and a happy family!"
Lin Runan had already seen Bai Zhan, who had been following Meimei, holding a square brocade box. When Meimei entered the hall and sat down, he placed the brocade box on the table by the window. Lin Runan thought it was her personal belongings, but it turned out to be a gift for Lingxuzi.
Lingxuzi stood up, solemnly took the brocade box with both hands, bowed and thanked: "This is the second wedding gift I have received, thank you... Meimei!"
Meimei smiled: "Yes! It's just that Cen Meimei's gift, the one from Weiyuan Houfu, will be delivered separately!"
The King of Qi pulled out a folding fan from somewhere, opened it, and fanned vigorously: "Zhang Jingyun, why don't you come back!"
The banquet had been quietly set up in the dining room over there, and the aroma of wine and food filled the hall. No wonder he was irritable, everyone was hungry.
Zhang Jingyun appeared at the door with a smile on his face. "I came along the corridor and heard someone sending gifts. Are there gifts for everyone leaving Beijing? I'm leaving in a few days, so I'll get one too, right?"
The King of Qi put away his folding fan and said, "Do you think everyone is as lucky as Lingxuzi? I got a good gift in exchange for a few pills. I even saved a life, but I didn't even hear a single good word, let alone a gift!"
Meimei was sweating and looked at him sideways: "I seem to have said a few nice words and wanted to kneel down to thank you, but I remember you didn't want to! Giving gifts to friends at their weddings is a must, but you have to be invited to give. I was inexplicably rejected from the wedding banquet, and I'm still angry. What good gifts can I give!"
Lingxuzi made a gesture to invite him in. The King of Qi walked into the dining room with his hands behind his back. "Forget it. What's the point of attending a wedding banquet? There are mountains of gifts in my house, and you won't get any! You have to tell me good things. I like to hear them!"
"Okay, I'll tell you what you want to hear!"
"How can this be possible? Do I need you to tell me what I can think of?"
The attendant brought hot water, and the five people washed their hands and sat down to the table. They were all used to eating together, and it was already past lunch time. Everyone was hungry, so they didn't care about being polite. They started eating and drinking while talking. When they were half full, Meimei realized that the seating was in a mess: the King of Qi was sitting in the upper seat, but she was sitting to his left and below. Lin Runan was sitting between Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi, grabbing a pheasant wing and chewing it sweetly.
Meimei stood up quickly: "Well, Runan, let's change seats!"
The King of Qi pulled her to sit down and said, "Cen Meimei, are you always like this? You change seats in the middle of a meal, and the same is true for getting married - what were you doing before? You were so bold to resist the marriage, what could Xu Junying do to you?"
Meimei looked at him, picked up a chicken drumstick with an elegant gesture, took a bite and then said, "He doesn't have to do anything. I didn't have the courage to resist the marriage at that time, because I also didn't have the courage to jump into the lake!"
"One wrong step, all wrong. When I first met you, I felt that you had some backbone. Why do you become weak at the critical moment? What's the point of worrying too much?"
Lingxuzi said: "Your Highness, this is exactly what makes Meimei kind. She doesn't worry about herself... There's nothing wrong now. Junying is committed and responsible, the couple is of one mind, and Heng'er can be raised and educated by his biological parents. This is perfect!"
Meimei was a little confused. Why did they bring her up again? Looking at Lin Runan and Zhang Jingyun who were eating quietly, she picked up her wine glass and said:
"This is the wedding wine Lingxuzi invited us to drink. The bride and groom will be reunited soon. We, the distant friends, would like to toast together: I wish you a happy marriage and a son soon!"
Everyone raised their glasses and drank them all. Lingxuzi thanked them and said with a smile, "We're saying goodbye today. I don't know when we'll meet again. I toast to you all!"
The King of Qi said, "See you later!" and drank the wine in the cup.
Lin Runan said: "Peace, health, happiness and contentment!"
Meimei smiled and recited a poem: "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near!"
Zhang Jingyun thought for a moment and said, "May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together even though we are thousands of miles apart!"
After the meal, the weather was nice, with layers of white clouds and the sun's shadow disappeared. Lin Runan asked the guards to carry out a few items. Meimei was delighted as she examined them. The craftsmanship of the craftsmen in the palace's woodworking workshop was so exquisite. According to the drawings she had drawn, they made three sets of wooden straw slippers completely by hand. The straw slippers with wooden wheels were antique, simple and cute, and the matching poles were also very handy and easy to use. I believe the craftsmen also tried it themselves when they were making them.
Meimei and Lin Runan brought the three men to the place where they picked wild strawberries last time. Seeing the beautiful grass, the King of Qi couldn't help but cheer:
"The grass that I planted in my palace is not as good as this grass!"
Meimei put on wooden shoes to demonstrate. With a few simple movements, she slid down a short gentle slope, then pushed hard on the hand pole and slid down the steep slope at high speed. Lin Runan screamed, and the others shouted:
"careful!"
"Be careful!"
"Hold on!"
Anyway, there is a flat and soft grass underneath, and she won't get hurt anywhere if she falls. At most, she will get a few scratches on her skin. For a girl like Meimei who loves playfulness and novelty, it's nothing. She can just apply some medicine and it will be fine in a few days.
Meimei discovered a problem. The brakes of the grass skis made by craftsmen were not as good as modern ones. If you are not skilled in this technique, it is best not to brake suddenly. Slide straight to the bottom and then turn slowly, and stop after the impact is relieved.
Lin Runan tried it a few times in the gentle area and found it very interesting and he liked this new game very much. The King of Qi put on a pair of wooden shoes silently, and after failing to grasp the key points and falling a few times, he was able to quickly slide down the steep slope with a laugh, and he slid three times in a row and had a lot of fun.
Lingxuzi and Zhang Jingyun stood by and watched, wondering: Isn't it normal for people who are good at Qinggong to fly a few times? Why are they so happy to put on wooden wheel shoes and slide down the slope
Meimei took off her shoes and let Zhang Jingyun play. Zhang Jingyun shook his head: "He is just a child. I'd better watch him!"
Lingxuzi thought about it, put on his shoes with a smile and said, "I'll try it. Why are you so happy? Maybe I'll make one for future generations to play with?"
Meimei smiled and watched Lingxuzi slowly slide away with the pole. She wanted to squat on the grass. Zhang Jingyun had already gone to the side and picked a few soft leaves. He patted them a few times, spread them on the grass and said:
"Sit here!"
Meimei was slightly stunned and couldn't help but think of Xu Junying. That man always remembered not to let her sit anywhere and took off his clothes to cushion her.
He patted the leaf and sat down, smiling, "Such a fragrant and soft leaf, is it also a herb?"
Zhang Jingyun nodded: "The flowers and trees in this villa are all medicinal! This is called Xiang Shu Zi, which can relieve pain and expel evil spirits... Meimei, if you have any problems in the future or your family needs you, remember to go to Qiancaotang's doctor Uncle Duan. His medical skills are good and he can cure some difficult and complicated diseases. They sometimes know my whereabouts..."
Meimei looked up at him and said, "You were joking, are you really going to leave?"
Zhang Jingyun smiled: "I don't like Beijing, I should have left long ago. What I said to you originally was completely from the heart... Now that I see Junying's sincerity and your decision, I can leave with peace of mind!"
Lin Runan fell at the foot of the slope and screamed. Meimei looked at her, but the King of Qi was nowhere to be seen. Lingxuzi passed by and stood aside to ask her if she was injured. Lin Runan shook her head, struggled to stand up with a smile, and slid forward again. Only then did Meimei feel relieved.
Zhang Jingyun continued, "Before Junying went to the northwest border, he went to see the King of Qi. At that time, Lingxuzi and I were with the King of Qi. He asked the King of Qi to put forward three conditions, and the King of Qi put forward the following conditions: one, let go of his wife, two, abandon his son, and three, be like strangers to Qin from now on. Junying said that he was indeed sorry for Meimei to marry a concubine before, but it was understandable. It was not easy to disobey the orders of the elders, so he could only try to change it slowly. Didn't he know that the original wife and his own flesh and blood were the closest and closest? For the sake of the children, for the reunion of the family, and to seek Meimei's understanding and change of heart, he had already agreed to the conditions proposed by Meimei. After that, he took out a document to show the King of Qi, saying that the husband and wife had an agreement in advance, and the husband and wife and the children would never betray each other! The three conditions of the King of Qi can be raised at will, except for the one of breaking up the husband and wife and the son, which cannot be done unless he dies!"
Meimei was stunned and asked softly, "He said he went to the northwest border?"
"He said there was something minor going on at the border, so he just went to check it out... and would be back soon!"
Meimei's long, slightly curled eyelashes fluttered, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the figure of the King of Qi flash around the corner of the slope.
"He was willing to show such an agreement to others, and he wasn't afraid of being laughed at! Have you and Lingxuzi seen the agreement? Did the King of Qi give up three conditions?"
Zhang Jingyun smiled and said, "King Qi only said three conditions. Remember them first. You can change them any way you want. Anyway, there is no fixed time limit! We have all read the agreement you drafted. After Junying left, King Qi said that Cen Meimei is the most asshole woman in the world, and Xu Junying is the most asshole man in the world. You two are a perfect match!"
Meimei was so angry that she jumped up and down: "How dare he say that to me! I made that agreement for a reason!"
Zhang Jingyun nodded: "I know that's the case, but Junying can accept it completely and let us see the agreement. It's like we see his sincerity!"
The King of Qi jumped over a ridge on the slope. Meimei pointed at him and said, "Be careful! You may fall!"
Before she finished shouting, the King of Qi really fell down. He stood up and glared at her, meaning that if she hadn't shouted, she wouldn't have fallen!
"What do you mean? Is it wrong to just give a reminder?"
Meimei smiled bitterly, and Zhang Jingyun looked at her quietly, with a reluctant look on his face, which disappeared in an instant, and then replaced with a gentle and casual smile:
"Lingxuzi will leave tomorrow. I need to wait for a while and finish some things before I can leave. I will go to the northeast to check some elixirs that have been stored for many years for my master, and then go to the Jiangnan area. I will not return to Beijing for three to five years. I will leave some medicinal pills for you as a backup. You can go to Qiancaotang to get them later. This Guiyun Villa is where I live when I return to Beijing to visit my grandparents. There is a housekeeper to take care of it on weekdays. King Qi and other friends often come to the villa. If you like it here... Junying and you can bring Heng'er here when you are free."
A faint sense of separation came over Meimei's heart, and she could no longer pretend. She turned her face away, her eyes filled with tears. She remained silent and could not answer. She just maintained the same posture, sitting sideways, seemingly looking at Lin Runan below the slope, but in fact she was trying her best to conceal the expression on her face so that Zhang Jingyun would not see it.
Some people say that men and women cannot be best friends. Meimei once tried hard to overturn this statement, but at this moment, she was a little shaken and suddenly wanted to touch and face the subtle feelings between her and Zhang Jingyun.
But she cannot indulge herself, as that will only hurt others and herself. In the end, perhaps a beautiful beginning will turn into a tragic ending.
Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi were like two angels descended from the sky, giving her the best help in the most difficult times. When she came to this world, the first man she met was Xu Junying, but she gained her initial friendship and support from them. She knew from the moment they met that they would leave one day, and when this moment finally came, she found that she was so sad that she could hardly bear it!
Lingxuzi sat down halfway up the slope, took off his wooden shoes, looked back at the two people at the top of the slope, one sitting and the other standing like petrified, and couldn't help but sigh. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)