"Princess Consort... Why did you come all the way into the mountains?"
Xiao Yuanjie's hair was full of grass stems and mud, and his face was dirty too, but he was in good spirits.
There was a small bag hanging on his chest, and a delicate flower was sticking out of it unscathed.
The pale purple flower bud trembled slightly, like a wisp of spring suddenly blooming on a snow-capped cliff, gilding the entire dense forest with a touch of tenderness.
Looking into Xiao Yuanjie's clear and innocent eyes, Li Wanming suddenly felt that she had misjudged him.
How could a person so dedicated to flowers and plants assist evildoers and collude with Kang Shi?
Maybe... he didn't approve of what Kang Shi had done.
"I originally," Li Wanming paused, then suddenly smiled, "came here to demand an explanation from Uncle."
"Come to me... to demand an explanation?"
Li Wanming nodded and briefly told him about the Dragon Boat Festival gifts.
"I thought Uncle would be just like Aunt, regarding me as a thorn in the flesh.
"I was sure that this time you would also exaggerate things in front of the Prince and Princess Consort and shift all the blame onto me. So I waited here on purpose, wanting to avoid Aunt and scold Uncle severely..."
Xiao Yuanjie looked up, his dark and thin face full of confusion. Even the calamus flower in his arms trembled: "But... I never said anything bad about you!"
"Really?" Li Wanming narrowed her eyes and tapped her nails gently on the tree trunk. "Not even a single word?"
"Really!" Xiao Yuanjie waved his hands anxiously, and the mud spots on his cuffs fell off one by one. "Brother asked me how things were in the mansion recently. I said it was harmonious and peaceful. It's great! The Princess Consort even invited the top scholar back to be a tutor for Jingbai, which has made that little rascal behave himself a lot lately..."
"Later, Brother asked me about the Dragon Boat Festival gifts. I just told the truth... I even thought that this time she really prepared the gifts for you..."
Xiao Yuanjie said with a mournful face: "Isn't that what everyone in the capital is saying? Even the old flower growers in the flower market said I was lucky to have married a virtuous wife, capable and considerate, and also knew how to take care of the younger generation..."
As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered, and the corners of his mouth drooped. "Alas, I thought she had finally changed her ways. I didn't expect..."
He paused for a while, then suddenly clenched his right fist and said indignantly, "The Marquis of Guangyi abandoned his wife and daughter and forced his young daughter to death. He is simply a shameless brute worse than a pig or a dog! Our Ningwang Mansion should have drawn a clear line from such a scoundrel long ago! It's a pity that I advised her several times, but she never listened... Princess Consort, you did the right thing! We should cut off all ties with such a family!"
These words really surprised Li Wanming.
All along, although her dislike for Xiao Yuanjie was not as deep as that for Kang Shi, she always thought that a couple would share the same views and inevitably regarded them as two of a kind.
But now it seemed that Xiao Yuanjie and Kang Shi were never on the same side.
In fact, he didn't approve of some of Kang Shi's actions at all.
In that case, maybe he, like Xiao Jingbai, was an ally who could be won over.
Thinking of this, Li Wanming gave a charming smile: "Uncle, if you want rare flowers, why take the risk of picking them on these steep cliffs?"
She said softly, "I have a friend who runs a warehouse. He once told me that there is a kind of golden-thread ghost orchid in the Western Regions. Its petals are snow-white with stripes on them, looking like they are woven with golden threads. This flower is extremely precious and is regarded as a national treasure by the countries in the Western Regions..."
"Golden-thread Orchid!" Xiao Yuanjie suddenly straightened up, his eyes shining brightly. "I read in a book that this orchid has a hollow stem and no leaves. From afar, it looks like a ghost floating in the air, so it is also called the ghost orchid. But it is extremely difficult to cultivate and rare in number, so the countries in the Western Regions are reluctant to sell it..."
He licked his lips carefully: "Princess Consort... Can you get this kind of orchid?"
Li Wanming blinked and gave a bright smile: "Of course."
Overjoyed, Xiao Yuanjie immediately wanted to stand up and bow. "Thank you, Princess... Ouch!"
There was a wound about half a foot long on his leg, probably scratched by a wooden thorn when he fell into the trap. With this sudden movement, the wound burst open again, and blood gushed out.
Li Wanming walked over. "Uncle, we can discuss the matter of the golden-thread ghost orchid later. Let's find a way to get back to the mansion first."
She took out a sachet from her waist, picked open the thread with a dagger, rummaged through the medicinal powder inside, found some herbs for clearing heat and stopping bleeding, and sprinkled them on Xiao Yuanjie's wound. Then she cut a relatively clean piece of cloth from the corner of his robe, tied it on the wound, and tightened it with a rattan rope.
Then, she neatly trimmed the branches off a tree branch as thick as her forearm and handed it to Xiao Yuanjie. "Uncle, can you still walk?"
Hearing that he could get the golden-thread ghost orchid, Xiao Yuanjie had already forgotten about everything. He was like a man injected with stimulants, bursting with boundless energy.
"Of course!"
"Then... shall we go back now?"
"Let's go!"
The mountain path was difficult to walk on, especially now that it was already night, and the dense forest was pitch black. It was almost impossible to see one's own hand in front of one's face.
Xiao Yuanjie staggered along, following Li Wanming through the forest.
Several times, Li Wanming thought he was going to fall behind, but unexpectedly, Xiao Yuanjie gritted his teeth and caught up again.
With such perseverance... he would surely become a great flower grower in the future.
Li Wanming was deeply impressed.
The two of them walked with difficulty in the jungle. It was not until dawn that they met Gao Yong, who was going crazy with anxiety, at the foot of the mountain.
"Princess Consort!"
"Let's go back to the mansion first." Li Wanming stopped Gao Yong, who was about to ask something, and said, "Lord Xiao is injured. Hurry back to treat his leg."
Actually, Xiao Yuanjie's leg injury was not serious. Just invite a doctor and prescribe a few doses of medicine.
However, after they returned to the mansion, Kang Shi's face at the door changed several colors like a revolving lantern.
First, she was surprised, then puzzled, then a mixture of guilt and nervousness, and finally hatred - but there was no trace of the concern and worry that a wife should have for her husband.
Li Wanming had walked in the mountains all night and was extremely tired. She was too lazy to care about what Kang Shi was thinking. She simply told them that Xiao Yuanjie had fallen into a trap in the mountains while picking flowers, then went back to Shiyongzhai to catch up on sleep.
For the next two or three days, the Western Courtyard was surprisingly quiet. There wasn't even the slightest sign of movement.
Li Wanming was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet. She simply pretended to be ill and didn't go out. All her meals were served in Shiyongzhai, and she slept soundly for two or three days.
It was not until noon on the third day that she lazily leaned on the soft couch and casually asked, "Has there been any movement in the mansion these two days?"
"Madam Xiao has been burying herself in copying books all day long and doesn't even have time for meals. How could she have the leisure to bother us?"
Chuntao put the newly roasted Longjing tea on the table with a smile. "Now the whole mansion knows that the Princess Consort is Lord Xiao's savior! Now when we're in front of the people from the Second Branch, our backs are straighter than before. Those stewardesses shrink their necks when they see us, just like mice seeing a cat!"