Chapter 24 

That night, Xu Lianqiao had an intimate moment. Meanwhile, Ning Yuan had a dream.

He dreamt of events from eight years ago, when he first met Ah Qiao.

_

At the age of fifteen, Ning Yuan traveled to Beijing with his father to celebrate the Queen Mother’s fifty-fifth birthday ^[1]the Queen Mother is the Emperor’s mother.. At that time, he was arrogant and reckless. Shortly after arriving, he got into a fight on the streets and was accused in court. To avoid further trouble, his father sent him to the Xuanwu Marquis Mansion’s property at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha to reflect on his actions.

The first two days at the temple were dull. Ning Yuan spent his time copying scriptures in the Buddhist hall or listening to the monks’ lectures. The monks criticized him, saying he was too violent and needed to restrain his temper.

But deep down, Ning Yuan couldn’t accept this forced reflection. He was angry and resentful, especially toward his father, who had caused his mother’s death but pretended to play the role of a loving father.

Later, even the monk lecturing him claimed he was stubborn and lacked wisdom. Ning Yuan ignored it all and stayed alone in the temple, indifferent to what others thought of him.

One day, while sitting in front of the Buddhist altar, he heard faint rustling near the door. When he opened it, he saw a little girl squatting in the corner, her back turned to him.

_

“Who are you?”

Ning Yuan’s tone was cold, but the girl didn’t seem to notice his impatience. She turned her head cautiously, her big watery eyes blinking as she smiled.

“You can see me…” she said, her words making no sense. She turned back quickly and muttered, “I knew that person was lying to me.”

Her silliness amused Ning Yuan.

“Big brother,” she called out as he turned to leave.

When Ning Yuan turned back, he saw her clearly for the first time. She wore a light green dress, her hair tied in a simple bun. She smiled at him, her eyebrows arching slightly.

“Big brother, are you a monk too?” she asked.

Ning Yuan was momentarily speechless. “Have you ever seen a monk with hair?”

She nodded seriously. “That’s true. My dad doesn’t have hair either.”

Her words surprised Ning Yuan. “Is your dad a monk?”

Could monks now have children this old?

“Yeah,” she replied, nodding enthusiastically. “Big brother, are you going to lose all your hair in the future?”

“No,” Ning Yuan said, finding her words amusing. “Besides, it wouldn’t look good on me.”

She stared at him intently, her dark eyes filled with curiosity. “You look better with hair,” she said earnestly.

“Where’s your mother?” Ning Yuan asked.

The girl’s smile faded, and she looked down, stepping back awkwardly. “Grandma said she was a bad woman and didn’t want me anymore.”

Her pitiful demeanor made Ning Yuan’s throat dry. He suddenly regretted asking about her mother. It was unusual for him to care about others, but this small girl, barely reaching his chest, was so thin she seemed fragile.

Just then, her stomach growled.

“It’s hungry,” she said, pointing to her belly. She looked up at him shyly and laughed.

Ning Yuan couldn’t help but smile. It was the first time he had heard someone say “it’s hungry” instead of “I’m hungry.”

He brought her a piece of carrot cake from his room. She accepted it happily and ate it.

“It’s delicious, big brother,” she said with a grin.

Then a small hand reached out in front of him, holding half a piece of pastry as if it were a precious treasure.

“Brother, I’ll give you half.”

Ning Yuan didn’t like carrots, but when he saw her expectant eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

He just reached out and took it.

She nodded with a smile in her gaze.

“Yeah.” It wasn’t really that special.

“I’ll just say it’s delicious.”

She said that and quickly finished the other half of the carrot cake.

Though she was obviously very greedy, she still offered him half.

Ning Yuan lowered his head and smiled gently.

Later that afternoon, he and the little girl sat on the stone steps outside the door.

More importantly, he listened to her.

The gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, and the insects chirped softly. The spring breeze slowly stirred, bringing with it the fresh energy of the season.

She kept talking, chattering about many things.

“Brother, my name is Lianqiao. It’s a medicinal herb that can cure diseases… I’m the one who clears heat and detoxifies…”

This was the first time he had ever heard someone talk so happily about being a medicinal herb.

“Brother, are you unhappy? I’m unhappy too because I don’t want to live here. There’s no meat here…”

But she seemed perfectly content just eating her piece of carrot cake.

“Brother, are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”

“Yes.” Finally, Ning Yuan looked at her and asked, “Have you always lived here?”

Xu Lianqiao nodded. Then she shook her head: “I stay here for a few months every year.”

She glanced down at her toes and continued, “Because dad is here during this time each year.”

“But dad doesn’t see me or grandma, so we’re alone.”

“Since grandpa passed away, grandma’s been sad and sighing every day…”

Later, Ning Yuan pieced together from her scattered words that this little girl’s grandmother brought her to stay here every year around this time to meet her father.

Why?

Probably to soften her father’s heart.

If his heart softened, maybe he would return to his family life.

_

From then on, every day, he would see her at the door. Sometimes she would appear at the window trying to scare him. Other times, she would bring him wild chrysanthemums from the mountains, asking him softly whether they were pretty, or if he liked them.

One day, he noticed that he felt uneasy and restless. Only then did he realize the little girl hadn’t come to see him that day.

He told himself it didn’t matter…

But he couldn’t help but step outside.

He walked halfway toward the wing, and when he passed the temple lake, he saw the little girl fishing with a bamboo pole she had found somewhere.

When she saw him, she quickly shouted, “Brother, someone has fallen into the water. Please save them, they can’t get out!”

Hearing this, Ning Yuan immediately rushed over and saw two people in the lake: a woman and a young man about his age.

Without thinking, Ning Yuan jumped into the water to save them.

Although he was from the northwest, fortunately, he was a skilled swimmer.

But it was just him, and it took great effort to rescue both of them.

The young man was still breathing weakly, but the woman was unresponsive when he pulled her out.

Ah Qiao tried to help in the same way, but… Ning Yuan knew she couldn’t save the woman.

“Ah Qiao, go find someone.”

Ning Yuan didn’t want the young girl to witness the situation, so he tried to send her away.

“Okay.” Xu Lianqiao nodded and quickly ran off to get help.

However, when a group of people finally arrived, he didn’t see her. A sudden panic gripped him.

“Have you seen a little girl?”

He asked frantically.

But most of the people were focused on the young man, and only a few people shook their heads.

Ning Yuan felt a rising fear, so he didn’t waste time. He quickly ran in the direction Ah Qiao had gone.

She was so reckless, who knew if she had fallen into the water?

“Ah Qiao, Ah Qiao… Xu Lianqiao.”

Ning Yuan called out several times, but no one answered. This was the first time he felt this anxious.

“Ah Qiao…”

Finally, Ning Yuan saw Xu Lianqiao’s figure in the grass, but it seemed she had fainted from falling.

“Ah Qiao, Ah Qiao.”

Seeing the blood on her forehead, Ning Yuan called out again, his voice deep and urgent.

But she didn’t respond, so Ning Yuan had no choice but to pick her up and take her back to the room.

She was very small and light… no wonder she wanted to eat meat so much.

Ah Qiao didn’t fully wake up until late at night, at which point Ning Yuan felt a sense of relief. He handed her a glass of water.

“Ah Qiao, how are you feeling?” he asked gently.

“Brother.”

Xu Lianqiao touched the small wound on her forehead; it hurt a little.

“How are they?” she asked, her concern clear in her voice.

Ning Yuan couldn’t bear to look directly into her eyes, so he turned his head slightly.

“They’re all fine.”

As expected, he didn’t want to tell her the truth. He didn’t want to make her sad, especially since he hadn’t been able to save everyone.

“That’s good.”

Xu Lianqiao sighed in relief. Her hard work wasn’t in vain.

Ning Yuan gazed at her absentmindedly. She was truly beautiful when she smiled, and he wished she could always be so happy.

“Brother, you look so pretty when you smile.”

After hearing that, Ning Yuan belatedly realized that he had been smiling.

He had thought the trip to the capital would be dull, but he never imagined he would meet her.

On their way back, Xu Lianqiao sat next to Jiang Huai in the same carriage, and she couldn’t help but feel her face grow warm.

Especially when he looked at her in that way, his eyes seemed to sparkle.

“Ah Qiao, are you feeling hot?” He noticed her flushed cheeks.

“No, I’m fine…” Xu Lianqiao quickly patted her face. “I must have just slapped my face a bit too hard after waking up… that’s why it’s red…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say “blush.” How could she think of Jiang Huai as the man from her dreams?

“Humph.”

Xu Lianqiao turned her head away, ignoring him.

“Why did you call me Ah Qiao?” she finally asked. The nickname felt much more intimate than usual.