The stairs went up slowly, and Qu Moying could hardly walk anymore. Her body could not compare to Ji Hanyue's body back then. Although she would exercise after her rebirth, she still could not compare to Ji Hanyue.
Ji Hanyue still couldn't climb the mountain that she could climb, and she was out of breath after walking all the way. When Pei Yuanjun reached out and held her hand to help her, she didn't refuse.
Looking up, the high mountain was beyond her ability to climb.
The mountain road became steeper and there was only a small path. Pei Yuanjun walked outside her, waiting for her every step, and was not in a hurry to urge her to go up.
Fortunately, the knee had been rubbed loose, and she was not walking fast at that time. Even so, sweat was already visible on Qu Moying's fair forehead. The wind blew up her veil, and when it blew outwards, it stayed up for a long time, blocking her sight, and when it blew inwards, it stuck to her face, making her very uncomfortable.
Pei Yuanjun also noticed her discomfort, so he reached out to take off her veil and casually put it into his sleeve.
Everything in front of me suddenly became clear, my breathing became much smoother, and the whole sky became empty.
The next section of the journey was passed by with the two of them walking and stopping. Pei Luoan did not say anything, but he looked peaceful. This peace was reflected in his manners. His movements were elegant and his expression was pleasant, a real kind of peace, as if his whole body was relaxed.
Even without saying anything, Pei Yuanjun was calm and peaceful.
When Pei Luoan walked up the mountain path, he could not hide his disgust.
The two people's attitudes are so different, almost completely opposite.
After taking a peek at Pei Yuanjun's handsome profile, Qu Moying became more and more curious about the nunnery above.
Finally reaching the top of the mountain and stepping onto the last step, Qu Moying panted and held Pei Yuanjun's hand.
"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince!" A voice suddenly came from beside him. Qu Moying turned around and saw a smiling old woman wearing a nun's gray cloth and her hair wrapped in the same gray cloth.
It was indeed one of the two nuns I had seen before.
"Are you feeling well?"
Pei Yuanjun asked with a smile.
"Very good, this old servant is very good! Please, sir, it's windy here and the young lady doesn't look well. She can't be exposed to the wind for too long." Nanny Wang said with a smile. She looked very kind and friendly. She looked at Qu Moying with the eyes of a dear elder.
The wind here is indeed strong, and it is facing the wind outlet.
Pei Yuanjun pulled her and led her forward. Even though his wide sleeves fell down, covering the two people's clasped hands, Qu Moying's face was still flushed, half because of tiredness and half because of shame.
Just now on the way, she didn't see anything else, and she couldn't go up the mountain by herself. So she didn't think too much about it when he held her hand. Now, even though he covered it with his sleeves, Qu Moying still felt that he must have seen it.
He struggled hard with his hands.
Pei Yuanjun did not force it this time. As her fingers broke free, the two of them walked towards the yard one after the other.
It's a small yard. After entering the door, the wall blocks most of the wind. It's behind a huge rock, so the wind is not strong. Even so, it's very cold here.
Entering one of the rooms, there is a small Buddha statue, just like the most ordinary Buddhist temple in Dabei Temple. It has everything you need, with a cushion placed in front of it and an incense burner burning with fragrance. The smoke curling up makes people feel peaceful.
There is a memorial tablet next to the incense burner, with a black ribbon hanging above it, and it is unclear who is written on it.
Everything here was exactly the same as he remembered. Qu Moying had always thought that it was a nunnery and that the nuns in the nunnery practiced Buddhism with their hair uncut. But now he realized that this place should not be considered a nunnery!
Everything inside was arranged like a Buddhist temple. The old woman wore nun's clothes and used nun's things, but there was no name of a nunnery at the door. It was just an ordinary courtyard.
In her previous life, she came with Pei Luoan and saw two "nuns". Each of them had a dull look on their face, and they looked at people in a very cold and aloof manner.
Pei Luoan was very respectful when he performed the salute. The two of them stood aside with their hands clasped together, not saying a word, looking like two statues.
After the two of them finished their greetings, they just bowed to Pei Luoan, with the Buddhist beads hanging in their hands, sliding slowly, as if they were unaware of what was happening around them.
He would not take the initiative to care whether Ji Hanyue, the future Crown Princess, was cold or not, nor did he talk much to Pei Luoan, except for a few simple necessary words, and he would not call himself an old slave.
If it weren't for everything Qu Moying was going through now, she would never have believed that she had come to the same place with Pei Luoan and Pei Yuanjun, and saw the same two people.
Pei Yuanjun and Qu Moying knelt down and performed the ritual of three bows and nine kowtows to the spirit tablet in the middle.
After the ceremony, another old lady with a smile on her face came forward and handed three incense sticks to Qu Moying: "Miss, please light one for... me!"
Qu Moying took it and respectfully brought it to the incense burner in front of him. After inserting the incense burner into the incense burner, he turned around and knelt on the cushion again, paying homage with great respect.
Pei Yuanjun stood aside, watching her do all this in silence. A trace of anger flashed across his handsome face, but then he calmed down.
After Qu Moying finished her greetings again, Nanny Wang smiled and said, "Would you like to rest for a while, my Lord and Miss? Although I don't have good food here, I still have some simple food. Your Lord hasn't been here for a while."
"Thank you, both maids." Pei Yuanjun said with a smile and walked to the wing room on the left. Qu Moying followed him silently.
There was only a table and two chairs in the room, simply placed there.
Another maid went out and brought up two plates of snacks. Although they were just ordinary pastries, they were made very delicately and served on more exquisite plates.
"How are the two maids' accommodation?" Pei Yuanjun gestured to Qu Moying to choose one herself, then looked at the two maids and asked.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We old servants are living very well here. There is usually nothing to do. Although it is a little quiet here, it is still good." Nanny Wang smiled, her expression peaceful, completely different from the wooden look that Qu Moying had seen in the past. Nanny Wang was lively and seemed to be in a good mood.
Obviously, they all liked Pei Yuanjun's arrival.
The look in her eyes when she looked at Pei Yuanjun was almost bright, and joy overflowed from the corners of her lips.
"Madam, you are old. Shouldn't you move down the mountain? It is too cold here." Pei Yuanjun asked gently, with some friendliness in his lazy voice.
He picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and put it down to ask the two maids for their opinions.
It was hard to imagine that Pei Yuanjun, who had always been arbitrary, would ask two servants in such a tone.
What he saw and heard today was something he had never seen before. He took a sip of the tea on the side. The tea was very bitter, not very good. Pei Yuanjun was the most picky person, but he said nothing and even took a few sips of the tea.
He had already drunk half of the cup of tea, and he didn't seem to be disgusted at all.
Qu Moying also picked it up and took another sip, it was still very bitter.
"Your Highness, we volunteer to stay here to accompany our master. We'll talk about it later... later when we can't move anymore." Nanny Wang sighed, rejected Pei Yuanjun's kindness, pointed outside the mountain, and said in a hoarse voice, "Although it's cold here, it's not as cold as the cold palace."
A simple sentence brings out thousands of thoughts and makes people feel scared.
Qu Moying's long eyelashes fluttered twice, then slowly drooped down. She listened to them quietly, with a faint smile on her face, with a bit of gentleness.
The elegant girl, like jade, just sat there quietly. She was not nervous, curious, or disdainful when she heard other people's ambiguous words. She just sat there quietly, like a beautiful painting. The charm she showed when she raised her eyes was hidden in the corners of her eyes. At this moment, she was just a quiet, well-behaved girl who made people feel sorry for her.
The two maids had actually been paying attention to her. When they saw her acting like this, a satisfied and relaxed smile appeared on their faces.
The two looked at each other and saw each other's smile, but then they thought of something and their eyes turned red.
Pei Yuanjun asked them some more questions, and both of them answered with a smile. Qu Moying also used a few pieces of pastries, which tasted very good, as if they were even better than those made in the Qu Mansion. Qu Moying couldn't help but use a few more pieces.
I listened to them talking while picking up some pastries. From time to time, I could still hear the mountain breeze blowing in my ears, but it was quiet in this yard. It was so quiet that I could hear people's hearts, that warm and peaceful feeling. The tea in my hand seemed to have lost its previous bitterness.
After having the snack, I happened to be thirsty, so I drank half a cup of tea.
Seeing that she was satisfied with the food, the two maids became even happier. Another one couldn't help but ask Pei Yuanjun to make a few more pots of snacks.
Pei Yuanjun stopped her and turned to look at Qu Moying with a smile: "Can we go back now?"
Qu Moying's hand touched the dessert again stealthily and was about to use another piece, but when he asked this, everyone's eyes turned to her hands.
Qu Moying's hand froze for a moment, then slowly retracted. Her face looked calm, except for a hint of shyness in her eyes, indicating that she was not as calm as she appeared.
"I'll follow your orders, His Majesty!" Qu Moying lowered his head to hide the irritation that was rising on his face.
"It's getting late. I'll come to see the two maids later." Pei Yuanjun stood up and smiled gently.
"As long as the prince lives a good life, and the princess and the princess..." Nanny Wang realized that she had said something wrong and quickly covered it up, "As long as the prince lives a happy life, we old servants will be very happy. The master will be happy even in his grave."
As he spoke, his voice became choked and bitter.
"Thank you, two maids!" Pei Yuanjun bowed deeply and bowed all the way. Qu Moying followed behind him and also hurriedly turned sideways to bow.
The two maids quickly moved away, not daring to accept their great courtesy.
When they went down the mountain again, the two maids sent them to the stairs and waved goodbye.
The way down the mountain was still difficult to walk on. Pei Yuanjun was in front and Qu Moying was behind. He held her hand and walked slowly and carefully.
After walking for a while, Qu Moying looked up and saw the two maids still standing there, watching them go away, feeling lonely and desolate, and inexplicably feeling sad and bitter...