When Shoucheng arrived, Lin Ruochu had just finished feeding the horses in the Taoist temple's stable and was walking back along the path with Jinyu.
Shoucheng waited by the carriage at the entrance of the small courtyard. Spotting Lin Ruochu from afar, he hurried over to her, bowed respectfully, and said:
"Consort Lin, the Heir Apparent is concerned about you and specifically sent me to bring Doctor Zhao for a visit. How is the wound on your head?"
As he spoke, Doctor Zhao stepped down from the carriage carrying his medical kit.
Lin Ruochu then invited both of them inside. She sat in the room and let Doctor Zhao examine her wound, apply medicine, and rewrap it with cloth.
After finishing these procedures, Doctor Zhao frowned and cautioned:
"Consort, your wound is deep, and medicine wasn't applied promptly after the injury. It requires careful treatment and proper rest. Otherwise, it might leave a scar."
Lin Ruochu nodded: "Thank you, Doctor Zhao. I will certainly take good care of it."
After speaking, Doctor Zhao also checked her pulse and conducted a thorough examination of her health.
Shoucheng stood by, attentively listening to Doctor Zhao's instructions and committing them to memory. It seemed Shao Mu had sent Shoucheng to monitor her examination, fearing she might have caught a chill from kneeling in the cold wind that night.
However, through her daily exercises over the past few days, Lin Ruochu's health had not suffered due to the humble conditions of the cottage. Instead, her cheeks were rosy, and she felt physically invigorated.
Her vitality was remarkably robust.
Even Doctor Zhao, while taking her pulse, repeatedly raised his eyebrows in surprise, noting that her pulse was steady and strong—healthier even than when she was in the mansion.
Lin Ruochu thought to herself, with the Female Ghost controlling her body back in the marquis' mansion, causing daily scenes of crying, tantrums, and feigned suicide while stewing in resentment, how could she have been healthy then?
Now, with simple meals of steamed buns and plain congee, she felt more content than she ever did with the delicacies in the mansion.
But Shoucheng knitted his brows in worry.
The Heir Apparent had been eagerly expecting Consort Lin to suffer from the hardships of mountain life and come tearfully begging him to take her back to the mansion.
Instead, Consort Lin had nurtured herself to a state of radiant health.
He had no idea how to report this to the Heir Apparent.
He sighed with a troubled expression.
This time, Shoucheng had not only brought Doctor Zhao but also used the carriage to deliver a load of fine supplies:
Quilted clothes and blankets stuffed with triple the usual amount of cotton, cotton hand protectors, a hand warmer, a large brazier, and several bundles of charcoal.
He directed his subordinates to carry the items into the house load by load.
Lin Ruochu and Jinyu stood by watching.
Jinyu couldn't help but whisper: "Consort, the Heir Apparent has considered your needs so meticulously and thoughtfully. It shows he truly cares for you in his heart."
The long-silent Female Ghost also screamed in her mind:
[After living in this deep mountain for so long, Amu must be terribly worried! This foolish woman, why doesn't she immediately ask Shoucheng to send a message for Amu to bring me back! Does she want to turn into a hen and lay eggs living in this thatched hut?!]
Only Lin Ruochu remained expressionless.
Far from being moved, she found it amusing how both the man and the ghost shared this same sentiment of soft-heartedness.
These items merely required a few words from him to have servants carry out the tasks.
Shao Mu didn't need to lift a finger to pack the items, load the carriage, or personally deliver them to her.
And this was supposed to mean he truly cared for her?
If Shao Mu genuinely cared for her, how could he have casually disrespected her, allowing her to become a lowly concubine scorned and mocked by others?
When it came to matters that truly required effort, he didn't act. When it came to matters that truly required restraining his own desires, he didn't comply.
With just a few words spoken and without being a villain, it became deep affection.
A man's deep affection comes far too easily.
After Shoucheng finished moving all the items, he came to report to her, eagerly hoping to get a few words from her to bring back to the Heir Apparent as a reply.
In truth, aside from wanting to make Consort Lin's life more comfortable, there was also a layer of threat in the Heir Apparent sending these things.
By delivering these items, the implicit message was that if she insisted on throwing a tantrum, she could stay in this temple indefinitely, until she had enough of it.
In Shao Mu's imagination, Lin Ruochu should have been physically and mentally exhausted by now. Upon seeing these items, she would immediately beg Shoucheng to take a message back, pleading for him to come and fetch her.
Then he could condescendingly turn the page on this matter.
However, he miscalculated.
Lin Ruochu smiled gently at Shoucheng and said, "Please trouble yourself to return and tell the Heir Apparent that I am doing well here and he need not worry."
Shoucheng's face turned pale, and with a distressed expression, he replied "Yes" before taking Doctor Zhao and driving the carriage back to the estate.
Jinyu looked at Lin Ruochu curiously: "Does Concubine really not plan to return?"
"I will have to return eventually," Lin Ruochu smiled, "but I haven't figured out how to return yet. Let's wait a bit longer."
Jinyu nodded: "Everything as Concubine says."
Seeing her so obedient, Lin Ruochu felt somewhat puzzled in her heart.
All the servants in her courtyard were long-time estate servants with known backgrounds, personally selected by Shao Mu from his own courtyard when she entered the estate.
Such maids usually had parents and siblings in the estate supporting each other, and none would willingly leave the estate for elsewhere, let alone follow her indefinitely to live deep in the remote mountains.
Even simple-minded Jinque only wanted to stay in Linlang Pavilion.
Why was Jinyu so loyal?
Given how the Female Ghost had neglected her over the past two years, she shouldn't have such deep affection for her.
Though Lin Ruochu found it strange, she didn't say anything and brought Jinyu inside.
The two lit a large brazier, burning the charcoal sent from the estate, arranged the pastries on the table, and ate them along with the radishes and greens delivered in the evening.
With full stomachs, Lin Ruochu then practiced horse stance with Jinyu in the room for a while, and exercised arm strength by holding chairs.
When they had warmed up from the exercise, the two climbed under the covers together to sleep.
The charcoal burned brightly, making the room exceptionally warm. Jinyu's small face flushed red, and she couldn't help but snuggle closer to Lin Ruochu, murmuring softly: "Consort Lin, you're truly wonderful."
She had always been quiet and reserved – such words were often said by Jinque, but this was the first time Lin Ruochu had heard them from her mouth. She couldn't help but turn to look at her.
"What suddenly made you realize my goodness?"
"I've always felt it," Jinyu shyly buried her face in the blanket, mumbling "very much like my older sister…" After saying this, she covered her face with the blanket, not daring to look at Lin Ruochu anymore, turned over, and fell asleep.
Lin Ruochu chuckled softly, thinking to herself that she really was still childlike.
The Female Ghost disdainfully [tsk]ed and muttered [what's with this nauseating sisterly affection? Disgusting.]
She paid it no mind.
Half an hour later, when Jinyu's breathing gradually became even, Lin Ruochu opened her eyes and quietly got up in the darkness.
She put on the dark outer garment that had been placed by the bedside earlier, slipped out the door quietly, and followed her memory through the dark paths until she reached the stables of the White Cloud Temple.
A few days prior, she had coaxed information from several Kun Dao and learned the location of the stables. Since then, she had seized every opportunity to come and feed the horses.
By now, she had grown familiar with the horses there.
The White Cloud Temple had a small population, with only two grooms responsible for feeding the horses during the day. No one was on duty at night.
She slipped in quietly, found a brown horse with the best stamina, saddled it, untied the reins, mounted it, and rode straight down the mountain.