Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Zheng Chi burst into tears with a “wow”: “Am I really that ugly like this?”
Regardless of his friend Rong Heng's still-weak condition, Tang Chuyao hurriedly walked around to Zheng Chi and took a careful look. Mainly around her lips and on her cheeks, there were red and swollen rashes.
Zheng Chi's eyes were teary: “I... Brother Chuyao, I'm so ugly...”
Tang Chuyao quickly supported her arm and comforted her gently: “Chi, don't be anxious. Don't be afraid. Later I'll find a royal physician for you. You'll surely be cured. Even if you can't be cured, you already have me. I'll protect you for a lifetime, okay?”
Zheng Chi sniffled and barely stopped crying, still looking aggrieved.
Just then, Rong Heng looked up. Seeing her red and swollen lips full of rashes, he couldn't help bursting into laughter: “Zheng Chi, you look... hahaha, just like the dog in my camp that ate poisonous food by mistake!”
The tears that Zheng Chi had just stopped immediately welled up again.
Tang Chuyao, Tang Chutong, and Shi Ning'an quickly comforted her again to keep her from feeling so sad.
Zeng Ruoyun was preparing medicine. Hearing Rong Heng's words, she asked, “Why was there a dog that ate poisonous food in your camp?”
Rong Heng didn't care and said indifferently, “The enemy is so cunning that it's impossible to guard against them. First, it was people, then horses. Later, there was nothing we could do. The villagers from Wuyun Village sent us many puppies. We used the lives of the puppies to save the lives of people and horses.”
He said it lightly, but anyone who wasn't stupid could clearly hear the danger in it.
Zeng Ruoyun bit her tongue hard against the roof of her mouth to keep herself from crying. She stood up, poured the prepared medicine juice into a bottle, and handed it to Zheng Chi: “Apply this medicine three times a day. If it itches, you can apply it more often. Don't worry. It will disappear in a few days. But you can't eat that kind of fruit anymore.”
Zheng Chi didn't care about the previous grudges at all. She sincerely thanked her: “I was wrong before. I...”
Zeng Ruoyun rolled her eyes: “Come on, I know you were deliberately looking for trouble. But you broke all the pavilions today. You have to compensate for them!”
Zheng Chi quickly nodded: “I'll compensate. I'll compensate. How many days will you be providing free medical consultations here? I'll come and help you.”
Zeng Ruoyun waved her hand: “You, a young lady from a wealthy family, can't do such rough work. You'd better not make things worse.”
Rong Heng also stood up, bowed, and said, “Miss Zeng, I was reckless just now. I sincerely apologize. I hope you won't be angry.”
Zeng Ruoyun originally wanted to sneer and say that he was always reckless, but the sight of the scars on his back seemed to always appear in front of her eyes, and the story of the poisoned dog he told came to her mind. So she just couldn't say those sarcastic words.
She waved her hand and went to help the servants rebuild the free medical consultation desk to continue providing free medical consultations for the villagers.
Rong Heng noticed her unnatural expression and curiously turned back to ask Shi Ning'an, “Ning'an, what's wrong with your cousin?”
Shi Ning'an didn't know what was on her cousin's mind. She thought it was because of the incident where Rong Heng and her cousin had their faces and lips so close before. She was embarrassed to say it clearly. Stammering, she pulled Zheng Chi and Tang Chutong and said that they had something to do and had to leave first.
Rong Heng chased after them and asked, “Hey, where are you going?”
Shi Ning'an waved her hand: “We're going to a teahouse to take a rest. Don't worry. We're fine.”
Rong Heng always felt that there must be something these three girls were hiding from him.
Suddenly, he turned around and saw that although the villagers around were still queuing up obediently, they were all sizing him up, and their looks were quite unusual.
Looking further, his attendants, Zeng Ruoyun's servants, etc., all had very unnatural expressions. They looked at him for a while, then at Zeng Ruoyun, as if looking but not really looking. When they saw him looking at them, they immediately lowered their heads and pretended that nothing had happened.
There must be something special.
Rong Heng reached out and grabbed Tang Chuyao: “Brother, we've grown up together. Tell me, what on earth happened?”
Tang Chuyao looked embarrassed. He glanced at the calm Zeng Ruoyun and always felt that it was a bit hard to talk about what had just happened. Rong Heng had taken liberties with that girl. How could he forget about it so soon? And how could the girl who had been taken liberties with be so calm and not bothered by her reputation at all?
The three of Shi Ning'an went to a private room. Tang Chutong finally let out a sigh of relief and took off the veil hat on her head.
Looking at her like this, compared to the last time they met, Tang Chutong's complexion was much better. Her originally sunken cheeks were plump again, looking quite high-spirited.
Tang Chutong poured tea for her two friends and said, “I'm leaving the day after tomorrow.”
Zheng Chi was a bit dazed: “Where are you going?”
Tang Chutong smiled generously: “I'm seriously ill and need to go back to my hometown to recuperate.”
Zheng Chi looked at her rosy-cheeked friend and only then realized what was going on. She couldn't help reaching out and holding her hand: “Then... when will you come back?”
Tang Chutong gently shook her head: “I don't know. At least two or three years, maybe more, or perhaps for a lifetime.”
Zheng Chi was very sad. She had known Tang Chutong since childhood. Because of Tang Chuyao, although their personalities didn't quite match, in front of Tang Chutong, she was like a child. Tang Chutong was like an elder sister, always acting in an orderly manner and never showing any signs of a young girl's sentiment. For this reason, like a little sister relying on her elder sister, Zheng Chi felt extremely sad.
In contrast, Shi Ning'an was much calmer. She had been raised by her grand-aunt and was used to taking everything lightly. Especially the emotion of parting, not that she didn't feel it, but there was nothing to be sad about.
She patted Tang Chutong's hand and said softly, “I think you're in good spirits.”
Tang Chutong lowered her head, looking shy. Seeing that there were only her two friends in the private room, she could reveal a little bit of her thoughts: “I... That day when he sent me home, I knew his feelings for me. Since then, I've felt that life has become more enjoyable. Actually, at that time, I was just very depressed. I also knew that it was impossible for us... I didn't have any delusions...”
But once Yin Taiping made up his mind, he didn't care about anything and made a big fuss. Fortunately, only a few familiar families knew the reason, and fortunately, the Crown Prince was understanding and voluntarily gave up his wife without pursuing the matter.
Shi Ning'an asked, “You... and the young master...”
Tang Chutong still kept her head down. Hearing this, her face turned even redder: “I don't know where he is for the time being. Moreover, because of my embarrassing status, I can't correspond with him. After I go back to my hometown, without so many gossiping people around, I'll be able to know about his recent situation.”
Zheng Chi was a bit unconvinced. She had always looked down on her cousin Yin Taiping, thinking that he was too dissolute and lustful.
“Sister Tang, you've done so much for him. But what if he betrays you? Maybe not for now, but in the future? Have you ever thought about it? After two or three years, the man you've been waiting for might fall in love with someone else and abandon you. You haven't exchanged betrothal tokens or gotten engaged. If something happens, you won't even have a place to reason. You can't just blatantly tell others that you promised to be together before the imperial concubine selection, can you?”
Her voice dropped: “Moreover, Yin Taiping is such a person.”
Tang Chutong's eyes showed a confused look. After a long time, she sighed: “My mother has also argued these points with me in the past few days. She said that if I change my mind now, there's still a way back. I can't marry into the Eastern Palace, but she can still find a man from a less prominent family for me. But... I don't want to.”
Zheng Chi asked, “Have you seen him since then?”
Tang Chutong shook her head.
Zheng Chi said heartbrokenly: “Then aren't you leaving all the possibilities in his hands? What if, what if... Sister Tang, have you ever thought about it? After three years, you'll be over twenty years old. You'll be an old maid.”
Shi Ning'an tightened her hold on Tang Chutong's hand: “Sister Tang, you'll only be twenty years old after three years.”
Tang Chutong looked up and stared fixedly at Shi Ning'an.
Shi Ning'an said softly: “Sister Tang, if it weren't for that day when you drank, you would have married into the Eastern Palace properly, and all your thoughts in the boudoir would have been extinguished without a trace. You would have lived your whole life like that. Would you be happy?”
Tang Chutong shook her head: “Of course not. I'm afraid I would regret it for a lifetime. Moreover, if I married into the Eastern Palace, I would be his cousin's wife. A lifetime is too long and too hard to bear. Ning'an, I'm glad that day happened.”
Shi Ning'an smiled slightly: “Yes, you should be glad. That wine was your medicine for regret. You've been in love with him for so long. You can't just quietly extinguish your feelings for him and your own heart, can you?”
Tang Chutong nodded.
Shi Ning'an added: “It's only three years. If he has feelings for you, even if you can't see each other, your heart will still be full. If he really changes his heart, why do you need a piece of paper to prove it? Even if you get engaged and married, those who want to change their hearts will still do so. Isn't this kind of thing common among men in the world?”
Zheng Chi was in a daze for a long time. She nudged Shi Ning'an: “Ning'an, you understand so well.”
Yes, she understood so well.
They thought she understood because her biological mother had suffered deeply from that heartless man, but they didn't know that it was because of the too many and too heavy traumas from her past life.
Tang Chutong said softly: “Thank you.”
Shi Ning'an added: “Don't thank us, Sister Tang. We don't know what kind of person Yin Taiping is. In the future, you're destined to walk your own path alone.”
Tang Chutong looked up and nodded vigorously: “At least at this moment, I believe in him, and I'm very happy.”
Outside the private room came Yingtao's scolding voice: “What do you want to do?”
It was a little girl's voice: “I... I want to see Miss Shi.”
Yingtao seemed to have pushed her. The little girl let out a “wow” and started crying, but she didn't dare to cry loudly. She just sobbed softly.
Luer's voice was gentle: “Little sister, if you want to see our young lady, you have to tell us why, right?”
The little girl replied: “Someone said that if I tell Miss Shi a whisper, Miss Shi will give me ten taels of silver. My mother is sick. I need the money.”
Shi Ning'an opened the door and looked seriously at the little girl in front of her. Her petite face was just washed, and her coarse cloth clothes with patches were also very clean.
“Do you want to see me?”