"Sir, give me two stick of candy please," after coughing and laughing, Yamato trotted up towards the nearest hawthorn candy seller.
The old tousled man selling candies was already stunned the moment he saw a pure white fluttering figure approached him, he immediately woke from his stupor after the gorgeously ethereal lady talked, "O-oh, right right, here you go esteemed lady cultivator!" he handed Ren Xiu two sticks of candy.
Yamato was a bit surprised as he giggled, he took the candy and gave the money, he also didn't refute after being called a cultivator, "Thank you."
He arrived a few seconds earlier beside Qing Youya before Baili Haoyue.
"Your highness! Where did you go? This general was worried that he lost you!" Baili Haoyue blurted a second after founding Ren Xiu and Qing Youya, he looked upset and agitated.
"We were buying candies! Here your highness, one for you," Yamato answered as a matter of factly, looking all casual and unperturbed while he handed Qing Youya a hawthorn candy stick.
Baili Haoyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
".. Thank you sister-in-law," Qing Youya cooperated. He quite liked how Ren Xiu excelled in comporting herself naturally, although just a few seconds ago she was laughing and coughing at Baili Haoyue.
From afar, they saw how Fang Baihe were surrounded by three alluring beauty. Those beauties conversed while giggling coquettishly, flexing their ravishing elegant charm with enticing eyes in a somewhat obscured focus. They were clearly seducing Fang Baihe in a way people would just regard as a courtesan's natural trait. After all Fang Baihe were their lord's wife, one couldn't seduce her in broad daylight.
One meter from Fang Baihe stood Qiong Fu, smiling meaningfully while playing with her own hair beside her cheek.
After strolling together with the concubines, perceptive as he was, Yamato actually noticed Qiong Fu's odd behavior. He realized how Qiong Fu never had her eyes on the scenery, she only looked at people or the ground. However Yamato only conceive it as her boredom of looking at the same thing for years.
"Oh.. Esteemed lady cultivator, this old lady may be rude but you smells really pleasant!" a strolling hunchbacked old lady suddenly spoke up to Ren Xiu, again mistaking her as an immortal.
Yamato shifted to her and bowed slightly to answer, "Thank you very much for the praise madam, maybe it's because my perfume pouch consist less of medicinal herbs and more of my selected flowers!"
"My! No wonder!"
They laughed, however then the face of the old lady sank, and she heaved a sigh.
"Several years ago, there was a florist here, she sells flowers and tended people's garden.. Actually, you smells like her lady, she always smelled like flowers.."
"Oh.. Where did she go?"
The old lady sighed, "She was found murdered just three months ago after being lost for three years.."
Wasn't expecting such suddenly brutal answer, Yamato widened his eyes in surprise. Qing Youya who always has his ears perked up, listened more carefully on the topic along with Baili Haoyue.
"Could you please tell us the detail madam?" Baili Haoyue asked politely. He was assigned to protect royalties in this journey, thus it was his obligation to find out any possible danger.
The old lady trotted towards a nearby food stall, sitting on one of its bench under the shade followed by Yamato and company. Yamato were ordering a pot of tea when the lady started talking.
"Xiao Hua was an orphan, her father dead and her mother never came back. She was sweet and hardworking, the girl was just entering the age for marriage.. When she suddenly vanished without notice.
"We have so many speculations, she might elope, pursued, kidnapped, or even killed.. And we were prepared for the worst, hence we gave up on searching...
"It was very regrettable.. Because three months ago, three girls were found murdered beside Zhui river, and one of them is Xiao Hua..
"When my neighbor told me that, i ran to see the corpse before it went for cremation.. It was.. Definitely Xiao Hua, but her body was full of wound and bruises.. From since she went missing, she must've been tortured... Ah Xiao Hua! my poor child.. " the old lady closed her eyes and massaged her wrinkled temple in sorrow and regret.
A tray of teapot and cups were suddenly placed on their table, the attendant placed his hands on the shoulder of the old lady.
"What happened to Xiao Hua was indeed regrettable.. But it's not only Xiao Hua," the attendant entered the conversation with a disquieted voice.
"The other two murdered girls were also missing girls from this town.."
Yamato tensed up while Baili Haoyue looked even more focused.
".. So what you are saying is, the missing girls were all kidnapped, tortured, and later murdered?" Yamato stated the clear fact in horror, he was after all a modern person of a peaceful country. It was rare for a manslaughter to happen around his vicinity.
The attendant and old lady nodded simultaneously.
"Ah, that Wu Chen is a bastard! How dare a scum like him torture and kill Xiao Hua! I hope heavens will strike him heavy retribution and for our lord to sentence him to death by lingchi*!" the attendant cursed with a gritted teeth, his face dark with hate.
"Wu Chen? Is this the name of the murderer? Has he been caught?" Baili Haoyue inquired.
With a bitter expression, the attendant shook his head, "Wu Chen hasn't been caught yet.. I guess the bastard is good at running heh.. But we won't worry, because our lord will certainly exterminate such vicious criminal!" in the end, the attendant has a proud and trusting look on his face.
Even the old lady also has a proud look, "Our lord Lu is very capable, such villain will be caught in no time, and Xiao Hua will have her revenge and finally rest in peace!"
Lu Zhen is sure loved and respected by his people, was what Yamato were thinking, after hearing the assuring words he subconsciously relaxed his tensed muscles.
Baili Haoyue thought that he needed to tell Wang Li and the soldiers to be more alert, however he was very calm as he believed elite soldiers wouldn't lost to some girl abductor.
Meanwhile Qing Youya were skimming hints for something he was currently searching. One of his cursed artifacts from his previous life.
**
Qing Lian was feeling bloated, thus she decided to take a walk in the garden to help her digestion, accompanied by Wang Li and Zhang Ying. The garden was full of vibrant flowers and carefully tended, it was very aesthetic with the dark colored building in the background.
There was a shrubbery with purple bluish small bundled flower which piqued Qing Lian's interest, "Wang Li, what's the name of that flower?"
"... My apologies your highness, but this foolish humble servant doesn't know," cold as she was Wang Li never took interest in useless things like flowers.
"Hydrangea," a crisp teenage male voice cut in, it was Lu Xuan. The blank faced boy approached Qing Lian with two servants behind him.
Overwhelmed by a sudden shyness, Qing Lian immediately hid herself behind Wang Li. She stood still taking cover for some time even after the boy halted his steps near her, and felt odd because Lu Xuan didn't seem to make more movement as well. Losing to her curiosity, the princess hence peeked and found that Lu Xuan was gazing quietly at her direction. The blank expression he displayed, along with his motionless figure made him look like a doll, yet the doll has a hint of warm touch to it. The more Qing Lian looked at him, the more she felt that Lu Xuan was innocent, weird, and harmless, like a little bird.
After being silent together for the whole three minutes, Qing Lian mustered her courage to talk, ".. H-hydrangea is.. Beautiful.." her eyes were sheepishly swimming right and left, refusing to look Lu Xuan straight to his eyes.
"Yes, mother Fu loved it, i also loved it," Lu Xuan replied fast while suddenly displaying a very sweet smile. The boy was happy because someone praised his favorite flower.
The bright smile forced Qing Lian to finally focus at his face and relaxed her guard, ".. Aunty Qiong Fu is your birth mother?"
"Mother Fu is my mother."
".. Yes, is she not.. Your birth mother then?"
Lu Xuan made a face as though he could not comprehend what Qing Lian was saying, "Mother Fu is my mother," he firmly stated it again as a matter of factly.
Although she was timid and shy, as a princess, Qing Lian never have to repeat herself. Her brother, her mother, Wang Li, and her servants listens well to her quiet spoken voice and made sure not to waste her effort in talking.
Due to her overly timid behavior, most people look down on her, belittle her and deemed the princess as inept and incapable. It was one of the reason why she always felt inferior. Because no one was more useless than her. However in this moment, Qing Lian feel something she has never felt before. Not only did Lu Xuan not appreciate her rarely spoken words, the boy couldn't even get the point of such simple words as well, making him even more useless than herself.
".. Do you know what a birth mother is?" Qing Lian gulped nervously, usually it is rude to ask such an easy question which could be counted as looking down on someones intelligence. However Qing Lian slowly tried to figure out how to pass the point to Lu Xuan.
"What do you mean?" Lu Xuan still plastered his innocent doll like face.
"... A.. A birth mother is, someone who gave birth to you."
"Gave birth to me? What do you mean?"
"It -It means you came from her belly..."
".. Do i came from someone's belly?"
"Of course.."
".. I don't know."
"Eh, w- what you don't know?"
"I don't know who is my birth mother.." Lu Xuan slightly frowned in a stump and displeasure, "I don't care."
Qing Lian widened her eyes in surprise, "You don't care?! Why?"
"I love everyone.. Whose belly i came from, does not matter," Lu Xuan just knew the existence of a birth mother, yet he still couldn't comprehend the importance.
It was actually the first time Qing Lian have heard such words. Truthfully, it amazed her to the core. The least Qing Lian could learn in her life, is how a bond between those except your flesh and blood is non-existent. Mother empress didn't love her, the other concubine didn't love her, even her father constantly changes his favorability towards all of his women. Truthfully loving someone unrelated is truly unheard of. Everything was harsh on the harem, most concubines wouldn't have the energy to care for anyone who weren't their blood and flesh, and Qing Lian took it as natural.
A small voice finally managed to slip from her mouth, "..Ah.. Is, is that so.." Qing Lian was shaken and subconsciously walked away towards the hydrangea shrubs. She stood still for some time with a blank face, still dumbstruck of such love Lu Xuan had uttered. She slowly became intrigued by such way of thinking, by such way of loving.
Qing Lian were awoken from her stupor by a rustling sound beside her. When she shifted her gaze towards the sound, she caught Lu Xuan busily fiddling with a sprig of a blue hydrangea. It was like how he previously handled chopsticks, it was clumsy, graceless, and unsuccessful. Looking at his serious yet fruitless effort made people feel agitated and fidgety, it was the first time Qing Lian witnessed such inefficient movement.
Lu Xuan was startled when Qing Lian suddenly held both of his hands and gently placed it away from the sprig. She then took out a small intricate knife from the pocket near her chest. With deft movement, Qing Lian cut the sprig and presented the flower to Lu Xuan.
"Is this what you want?" she asked gently, looking very capable compared to the boy.
Wang Li was dumbstruck, because the master she had served for ten years never showed such calm expression without a trace of shyness like this.
Lu Xuan widened his eyes for a second, he then hold the hand Qing Lian used to grip the sprig, however instead of taking the flower, he unexpectedly pushed the hand towards Qing Lian's chest.
"I intended to give it to you," both his face and his voice were straight and clear.
".. Why?"
"Don't you want it?" Lu Xuan tilted his head.
".. Why do you think i want it?"
"You said it's beautiful and you kept staring at it."
"... Why do you give me something i want?"
"Won't you be happy if you get something you want?"
".. I.. Do.. But.. What will you get if i'm happy?"
"Maybe you would smile."
Qing Lian widened her eyes in surprise, "What will happen if i smile?"
"? Nothing, but your smile is beautiful, i quite like it."
Qing Lian's beautiful childish face instantly turned beet red, she didn't know what to do, she never experienced anything of the sort. She have never met anyone like Lu Xuan. However she managed to utter something from her gritted teeth and unconsciously smiled, "T-thank you."
Seeing her smile, Lu Xuan felt happy and beamed his bright smile as well, "You're welcome!"