Chapter 83 – I Realized That I Might Actually Like You!

They walked slowly, stopping occasionally, and it took about an hour before they leisurely exited the city gates.

Luckily, they had left early in the morning. Otherwise, by the time they had slowly swayed all the way to Lingwu Temple, it would already be noon.

When they reached the foot of Lingwu Temple Mountain, the carriage couldn’t go any further, so everyone had to get off and walk.

The temple itself wasn’t very high; it only took about half an hour to walk up.

However, for these ladies who rarely ventured out, it was still a bit tiring.

But that wasn’t much of a problem. Marquis Wu’an probably had grown used to it, as after everyone had gotten off the carriage, he arranged for the butler to call over the rented sedan chairs so the women could sit in them and be carried up.

These sedan chairs were made by villagers from nearby areas. They would gather at the foot of the mountain and rent them out when nobles went up the mountain, allowing them to earn money to support their families.

There were two types of rentals – one where both the sedan chair and the bearers were rented, and they would carry the person all the way up; and the other was just renting the sedan chair and arranging for their own people to carry them, which was considered safer.

Marquis Wu’an had chosen the second option – he only rented the sedan chairs and arranged for his servants to carry the elderly lady and the others up.

Xia Tian didn’t take a seat. To her, this small mountain path was nothing.

Several young girls saw that Xia Tian wasn’t sitting, so they didn’t sit either. Laughing, they said they would climb up on their own.

Marquis Wu’an didn’t say much, but there was an appreciative gleam in his eyes. After all, he came from a family of military generals, so he couldn’t be like the weak civil officials.

Although his health had declined after the death of the old marquis eight years ago, and he hadn’t been on the border defenses since, with most of his sons now following civil careers, his military bloodline still remained deep in his veins.

The young girls didn’t sit, and even the older ones didn’t sit either, walking up the mountain together.

However, Marquis Wu’an still arranged for the sedan chair to follow them, in case they became too tired and needed to rest.

It turned out that Marquis Wu’an had foresight. Before they were even halfway up the mountain, several people were already panting and exhausted, unable to continue walking.

Everyone couldn’t help but notice Xia Tian, who was still walking energetically, not even out of breath, much less sweating. They couldn’t help but secretly criticize her for being from a farming family, obviously used to mountain and river work, so it was no wonder she didn’t mind.

With this thought, they felt somewhat better. After all, they were all young ladies from noble families, so they couldn’t be compared to rustic village girls.

Xia Tian didn’t have the time to pay attention to them, walking side by side with Shen Nian, slowly making her way up.

Ning Xiang, Ning Xue, Mu Feng, and Mu Chen also followed behind, slowly climbing.

Ning Xiang and Ning Xue had once served Shen Nian. They didn’t often get the chance to climb mountains, especially since Shen Nian usually traveled with Mu Feng and the others. So after a while, the two of them started to feel a little tired.

Xia Tian noticed and slowed down, occasionally waiting for them to catch up.

When they reached the entrance to Lingwu Temple, a young monk came out to greet them and led them to their reserved courtyard.

The elderly lady and her group went in first, leaving only the few of them behind.

Because so many people had come to offer incense at the temple that day, the courtyard was not enough, so two courtyards were reserved—one for the ladies and another for the men. At this point, Xia Tian and the others squeezed into a room together.

After a short wait, the elderly lady and her group were probably resting, and a monk came to lead them to offer incense.

Afterward, the second and third madams accompanied the elderly lady to visit the abbot, while the young girls were allowed to roam the temple on their own.

They heard that there was a large plum orchard on the back mountain of Lingwu Temple, so Xia Tian decided to take Ning Xiang and Ning Xue to see if there were any plums left.

Shen Nian, seeing that Xia Tian was heading toward the back mountain, decided to go along with her and took her maids with her.

However, before they even got close, they heard some chattering, and Xia Tian immediately recognized the voice. They had crossed paths with Hu Mengyao again.

Just as she was about to take Shen Nian in the other direction, she was spotted by Hu Mengyao.

“Really, you just can’t seem to get rid of me. I can even bump into you here,” Hu Mengyao said in a sarcastic tone.

“Same here. It must be because I didn’t check the almanac before going out today,” Xia Tian replied, not bothering to hide her irritation.

Dai Jin and Lin Sanyu were also present, and as expected, they were inseparable. When one was around, the other two were sure to follow.

As Xia Tian approached, Dai Jin and Lin Sanyu greeted her, and there was no longer the same hostility between them as before.

“Hmph, it’s just that Dai Jin is too kind-hearted, so she doesn’t hold any grudges against you,” Hu Mengyao continued mocking her.

Xia Tian looked at Dai Jin and, pointing at Hu Mengyao, asked, “Hasn’t anyone ever stuffed a sack over her head for speaking like that?”

Dai Jin and Lin Sanyu both chuckled.

Hu Mengyao was irritated. “What do you mean by that?”

“Just the literal meaning,” Xia Tian shook her head, genuinely curious. “Has no one ever hit you for speaking like that?”

“Hmph! I won’t argue with you, wild girl,” Hu Mengyao turned her head, clearly not wanting to see her.

“Then I really thank Miss Hu for her magnanimity,” Xia Tian said mockingly, imitating Hu Mengyao’s tone.

Dai Jin and Lin Sanyu remained silent, watching as the two exchanged insults.

Shen Nian, secretly surprised, hadn’t expected her sister-in-law to be on such familiar terms with the young ladies from the Dai and Lin families \to the point where they could speak so casually with each other.

Though they were quarreling with Hu Mengyao, it was still quite amusing to watch. When had anyone dared to make Hu Mengyao so angry?

In her heart, Shen Nian felt even more relieved about her decision to befriend her sister-in-law.

Dai Jin saw how Hu Mengyao was visibly upset and couldn’t get the better of Xia Tian, and she found it amusing.

She was surprised by her own thoughts. When had she started thinking like this?

In fact, ever since the day she agreed to her engagement with the eldest son of Prime Minister Xu’s family, she had slowly let go of her obsession with Shen Nian.

Now, seeing Xia Tian not as a rival for Shen Nian’s affection, Dai Jin found herself finding this Xia girl quite interesting.

With a smile, Dai Jin asked, “So you came with your family to offer incense as well?”

“Yes, did you?” Xia Tian replied.

Everyone nodded.

It seemed that offering incense at the temple on the fifth day of the new year was becoming a tradition.

Since they had met, Dai Jin invited them to go deeper into the plum grove to enjoy the plum blossoms.

Xia Tian didn’t refuse, and when they arrived at the grove, they were all struck by the breathtaking view.

The entire plum orchard stretched as far as the eye could see, with red and white flowers blooming, creating a magnificent scene.

As they walked further into the orchard, they were surrounded by the falling plum petals, which gave the place a dreamy and surreal atmosphere.

Xia Tian turned her head to look at Dai Jin, who was draped in a white cloak. With a slight lift of her chin, a red plum blossom fell onto her hair. From the side, Dai Jin’s already stunning face looked even more radiant under the backdrop of the blossoms.

Xia Tian couldn’t help but marvel to herself. A beauty was truly beautiful from every angle, like a painting.

Dai Jin noticed Xia Tian was looking at her and turned to smile, asking, “What are you looking at?”

“I was just thinking that Miss Dai is even more beautiful than the plum blossoms. I don’t know who the eldest son of the Prime Minister’s family is, but he must be someone as gentle as a spring breeze to be worthy of such a beautiful lady like Miss Dai,” Xia Tian said softly with a smile.

Dai Jin froze for a moment, her face flushing slightly. “You’ve heard already?”

“Yes, I wish you all the best! I believe with your intelligence and talent, you will have a very fulfilling life,” Xia Tian sincerely wished her.

“Thank you for your kind words,” Dai Jin replied, smiling gracefully. “You know, I’ve realized something. I might actually like you a little bit.”