The night is silent.
Outside the window, a waning moon hangs on the sparse toon tree.
A few cold stars are twinkling dimly in the clouds.
The water drops from the clepsydra under the eaves were still dripping.
At this time, it was already the evening hour.
Luo Qingzhou opened the window and stood in front of it for a while to let the air flow in the room for a while, then he closed the window and went over to touch the forehead of the girl on the bed.
My forehead is still hot.
But compared to the previous scorching heat, it has finally subsided a bit.
Luo Qingzhou wrapped her in the quilt and walked out of the room.
As soon as the door opened, a figure suddenly ran away from the door and hid in the corner in front.
But there was still a lingering scent of girlish flowers.
Luo Qingzhou said towards the corner: "I'll go see if the second young lady has returned. If she hasn't returned yet, we have to go pick her up."
Bai Ling poked her head out from the corner, looked at him and said, "Sir, is the Second Miss okay?"
Luo Qingzhou was silent for a moment, then said, "It shouldn't be. You watch Xia Chan, I'll go take a look."
Bailing came out from the corner: "Oh. Then go quickly, if the second young lady hasn't come back yet, you have to go and inform the master."
Luo Qingzhou said nothing more and left quickly.
Bai Ling walked to the door of the room, looked at his receding back, couldn't help but sigh, and murmured: "If the son-in-law really likes the second young lady, then... hey..."
She pushed the door open and entered the room. She walked to the bedside, squatted down in front of it, looked at the sick girl on the bed, and said softly with a worried look on her face, "Chanchan, if that's the case, what should we do?"
The girl on the bed suddenly opened her eyes and turned to look at her.
Bai Ling immediately changed the topic: "What should you do?"
Luo Qingzhou traveled quickly all the way and arrived at the Meixiang Garden.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, Zhu'er suddenly opened the door and prepared to come out. When she saw him, her eyes suddenly lit up and she said, "Sir, I was just about to inform you that the young lady has returned."
Luo Qingzhou felt relieved when he heard this: "Is the Second Miss okay?"
Zhu Er smiled and said, "Miss, you're fine. You're just a little tired. After taking a bath, you're ready to go to bed."
Luo Qingzhou finally felt relieved. When he was about to say goodbye, Zhu'er grabbed his arm and said, "Don't leave, sir. Now that you are here, you must go in and let the young lady see you."
Luo Qingzhou was forcibly pulled in and said, "Shouldn't Miss Zhu'er say that since you are here, you should naturally go in and see the young lady?"
Zhu Er closed the courtyard door, chuckled, and snorted, "Young lady is taking a bath, so you can't look at her. Just let her look at you."
Luo Qingzhou stopped in the yard and didn't dare to go in.
Zhu'er walked into the room, knocked on the door, and said to the inside: "Qiu'er, the uncle is here, ask the young lady if she wants to talk to the uncle later."
Qiu'er didn't seem to ask, and quickly said, "Yes. Zhu'er, ask the son-in-law to wait for a while, the young lady will finish her bath soon."
Zhu'er responded and came out to answer.
Luo Qingzhou had no choice but to wait in the courtyard.
The snow in the flower beds has melted away, and many flower buds that are not afraid of the cold have opened their petals.
But the plum blossom under the eaves has already withered.
When Luo Qingzhou was thinking about something, the window in the study room suddenly opened, and a girl in a plain white dress, with her long black hair still wet, appeared in the window, looked at him with a smile and said, "Brother-in-law, come in quickly."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her pure and lovely appearance after bathing, like a lotus flower emerging from water, hesitated for a moment, and went into the house.
When you reach the door.
Qiu'er came out with water and whispered, "Uncle, the young lady's hair is still wet. Please help wipe it, otherwise the young lady will get sick."
She usually does these things.
But today...
Of course she understood her young lady's intentions, so she didn't do anything else.
Luo Qingzhou took off his shoes and went into the study.
In addition to the smell of incense, the room was also filled with the steamy floral scent from a fresh bath, as well as the unique medicinal scent of Miss Qin Er.
Several scents mixed together, and looking at the girl in a white dress and bare snow-white feet coming out of the bath in front of the window, Luo Qingzhou couldn't help but feel his heart fluttering, and his steps hesitated for a moment.
"Brother-in-law, come in..."
Qin Weimo gently closed the window, called him softly, and then walked into the inner room dragging her snow-white skirt.
The skin that had just been washed was white, tender and as smooth as a baby's.
Qiu'er came over and stuffed a long towel into Luo Qingzhou's hand, then left the room and closed the door.
The girl sat down on the chair in front of the dressing table, turned her head and looked at him and said, "Brother-in-law, what are you daydreaming about?"
Luo Qingzhou calmed himself down, walked over with a towel, stood behind her, glanced at her in the bronze mirror, and began to wipe her jet-black hair.
The girl sat there quietly, looking at him through the bronze mirror, her eyes filled with a gentle smile.
A moment of silence.
Luo Qingzhou felt that the atmosphere was a bit too depressing, so he asked, "Second Miss, why did you come back so late today? Did the Princess give you any trouble?"
The girl lowered her head slightly: "I'm sorry."
Luo Qingzhou's heart tightened, and he looked at her in the mirror and said, "What did the princess ask you to do? Force you to write the next round?"
The girl suddenly turned her head, looked at him and said, "Brother-in-law, the princess wants to practice... double cultivation with Wei Mo."
"Dual cultivation?"
Luo Qingzhou was stunned: "What do you mean?"
The girl looked at him with charming eyes and a smile on her face: "Just take off your clothes, sleep together, whisper in each other's ears, and then maybe do things between husband and wife."
Luo Qingzhou: “…”
The girl stared at the expression on his face with a smile in her eyes. After a moment, she suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled: "Is my brother-in-law scared?"
Luo Qingzhou continued to help her wipe her hair and said, "Second Miss is teasing me on purpose, right?"
The girl turned her head and smiled at the mirror: "It doesn't matter if my brother-in-law doesn't believe me. Anyway, the princess has taken a fancy to me and may snatch me away from her when the time comes."
Luo Qingzhou rubbed her long hair with both hands and said with a smile: "If the princess wants someone, there is no need to rob him."
The girl looked at him in the mirror, her smile fading slightly: "But, if I don't want to, will she snatch it away?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "No. The princess shouldn't embarrass or force a weak woman. This is not in line with her character."
The girl asked curiously, "Brother-in-law has never met the eldest princess, so how can he know her personality?"
Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and wiped his hair, saying, "For some people, you can tell their character from their daily deeds. The eldest princess cares about the country and the people, and she won't waste her time on these things."
The girl sighed softly: "Brother-in-law is really amazing, in fact, Wei Mo also thinks so."
Luo Qingzhou couldn't help but laugh and said, "So the Second Miss is praising herself in a roundabout way."
The girl chuckled and said, "I am praising my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law knows everything in the world without leaving home. Not to mention Mo City, even in the entire Great Yan Kingdom, there are few people who can compare to my brother-in-law."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her in the mirror and said nothing more.
Qin Weimo didn't say anything else.
The room fell silent again.
Luo Qingzhou quietly helped her wipe her hair.
She looked at him quietly in the mirror.
Another moment passed.
Luo Qingzhou suddenly said, "By the way, Second Miss, after you left this morning, my father-in-law called me over and said something to me."
Qin Weimo was startled for a moment, and then his heartbeat suddenly accelerated: "Daddy? Brother-in-law, what did Daddy say?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "My father-in-law said that he wanted to hand over all the family businesses to me and asked me to be the head of the Qin family. But I refused. I am not interested in those."
Qin Weimo couldn't help but laugh and said, "Dad wants to be lazy and wants my brother-in-law to help him take on the responsibilities of the family. But... if it were someone else, they would definitely not refuse, after all, it's such a big business. My brother-in-law is not an ordinary person, and he is not interested in this, so it is reasonable for him to refuse."
After a pause, he continued, "Brother-in-law, is this all Daddy said to you?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "And..."
As soon as these words came out, the girl's hands folded on her legs tightened slightly, grasping the skirt below, staring at him closely through the mirror, and smiled: "Brother-in-law, what else?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "My father-in-law also said that after I finish my autumn exam and my second brother's exam next year, I will take you to Kyoto for treatment, and let me go with you then."
Qin Weimo was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then he said softly: "Brother-in-law, it's fake to cure Weimo's illness. Weimo's illness... is actually incurable, otherwise it wouldn't have dragged on until now."
Luo Qingzhou moved his lips, as if he wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how.
Qin Weimo whispered, "In fact, Daddy has been planning for a long time. Many of the family's large businesses have changed hands. Some have been sold to others, and some have been given to my second uncle and third uncle. Daddy wants to take us away from here and go to Kyoto."
Luo Qingzhou asked in confusion: "Why? Isn't everything fine here? Here, at least you are still a big family. If you were in Kyoto..."
Qin Weimo shook his head slightly: "Weimo doesn't know. But judging from recent events, what Dad did should be right. Many families in Mo City seem to be hostile to us. Dad is different from the leaders of other families. Although he inherited the title and has such a large industry, he is actually not interested in these. He just wants his family to be safe and happy. What's more... He knows in his heart that the eldest princess has always wanted to abolish the previous title system. At the dinner last night, the eldest princess deliberately mentioned that if we don't know what's good for us, I'm afraid it will be too late to withdraw by then."
Luo Qingzhou said: "Second Miss, what you mean is that your father-in-law not only wants to get rid of these properties, but also wants to resign his title and go to Kyoto to avoid disaster?"
Qin Weimo nodded slightly: "It should be like this, but these are just Weimo's guesses."
Luo Qingzhou said: "The title system should be related to the interests of all nobles. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the princess to implement it alone, right?"
Qin Weimo whispered, "The princess has made many suggestions before, but they were all stopped by those nobles. At that time, although the princess had prestige, she had no power. But now it's different. After the death of the previous emperor, the princess not only has her own army, but the emperor who succeeded to the throne is also her brother, who listens to her. I heard that last year, the princess started to prepare for these things. The prime minister and the general who opposed her at the time, as well as several princes, have now been demoted... Cousin Meijiao's father was also a king at the beginning, but because of this incident, he has now been demoted to a county prince, and his fiefdom has been removed. He is kept in Kyoto and is not allowed to leave. Daddy must have seen this and started to get scared, so he started to prepare to retreat."
Luo Qingzhou was a little curious: "Second Miss, is the mother of that beautiful cousin the biological sister of my mother-in-law?"
Qin Weimo shook his head and said, "No, they are cousins, and only distant relatives."
Luo Qingzhou nodded: "No wonder the Song family has no fear at all."
The two chatted for a while.
Seeing that her hair had been dried, Luo Qingzhou prepared to leave.
Qin Weimo turned around and said, "Brother-in-law, tonight..."
"Not tonight."
Luo Qingzhou avoided her dark gaze and said, "Xia Chan is sick and has a high fever. Bailing said that other people can't go in, so she asked me to take care of her. I may have to stay there to keep watch."
Qin Weimo frowned slightly when he heard this: "Is Xia Chan sick?"
Then he nodded and said softly, "Then brother-in-law, go and take care of her. Xia Chan...she is quite pitiful. Her health is not very good and she often gets sick."
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and asked, "Does the Second Miss know her?"
Qin Weimo was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I only know that she was very cold, and I didn't dare get too close to her. Ever since I got close to her once and suddenly coughed and vomited blood, she has never appeared in front of me again. Occasionally, when we meet, she will take the initiative to avoid me. She seems to be a little... inferior and withdrawn, and doesn't want to get close to or talk to anyone. I heard Bailing say that she once seemed to be wandering the streets alone and hadn't eaten for several days... By the way, I once heard Doctor Sun say that she had a cold body, and it might be because she was injured when she was wandering outside and caught a cold. Maybe she won't be able to... get married and have children in the future..."
After listening to this, Luo Qingzhou was stunned for a while, put down the towel and said, "Second Miss, I'll leave first."
Qin Weimo said softly: "Well, go and spend more time with her. Weimo is fine here, brother-in-law, don't worry."
Luo Qingzhou nodded and left the room.
Qin Weimo looked at the closed door and was silent for a long time before he murmured in a low voice: "Brother-in-law, I'm sorry... There are some things that Weimo can't tell you... Treat her well. Even in the future... Weimo is willing."
Luo Qingzhou left Meixiang Garden, thinking about what Miss Qin Er had just said, and his heart suddenly became extremely heavy.
I didn't expect that girl Xia Chan was so pitiful.
No wonder she worked so hard to save money, no wonder she was so frugal, it turned out that she had wandered and gone hungry before.
Her current physical condition should be caused by the wind, rain, frost, snow and ice that she was exposed to outside during that period, right
Luo Qingzhou's heart was filled with pity, and at the same time, an inexplicable pain surged in his heart.
He quickened his pace and walked towards Lingchan Moon Palace.
It doesn't matter.
He will definitely do his best to help the poor girl walk out of that cold shadow.
I hope that one day, she will have a bright smile on her face like Bai Ling.
Believe me, it must be beautiful.