Su Ruolang: "…"
Could it be that the wing room Old Madam prepared for her was actually in Qin Moqing's residence?
Jing An coughed awkwardly: "Old Madam said she hasn't been feeling well lately and is afraid she'll have to trouble you for a consultation. Being far apart isn't as good as being close, so…"
Su Ruolang understood.
Well, they even prepared an excuse.
Jing An handed over another banknote.
Su Ruolang glanced at it: "What's this?"
"Consultation fee," Jing An answered truthfully.
One thousand taels?
Su Ruolang raised an eyebrow slightly.
When she saved the old lady last time, she had already noticed that the old lady was plagued by chronic illnesses and didn't have much time left.
If she went this time and cured the old lady's chronic ailments, accepting one thousand taels wouldn't be excessive.
"Old Madam also said that before the wedding, you'll stay at the villa, far from the young master's east wing. The two of you won't meet, so naturally there won't be any issues of auspiciousness or inauspiciousness," Jing An added.
Su Ruolang nodded and took the banknote: "Alright, I'll go over later to check her pulse."
Sometimes she felt that the old lady really didn't seem confused.
But how could she have mistaken her for Qin Moqing's child bride the first time they met?
By then, the servants had already loaded the betrothal gifts onto the carriage. Behind the carriage, there was also a sedan chair.
Chen Shi was still wailing and crying, with Su Yunshan standing beside her, eyes red, glaring at Su Ruolang as if she were a sworn enemy.
Su Ruolang ignored the mother and daughter, walked to the sedan chair, but didn't get in: "I have something to attend to. You go ahead first."
She had to go to the mountain temple. The medicinal herbs she had gathered over the past few days were stored there. Handpicked ones were always more potent than those sold in pharmacies.
…
As dusk fell and the mountain grew colder, Su Ruolang arrived at the dilapidated temple and, as usual, lit a fire to brew medicine.
The firelight cast flickering shadows around, making everything seem somewhat unreal.
She took out the one-thousand-tael banknote and glanced at it.
Such lavish spending didn't seem like an ordinary family.
She wasn't without suspicions about Qin Moqing's identity. The County Magistrate claimed Qin Moqing was his distant nephew who had just arrived from the Capital City a few days ago, specifically to accompany his grandmother back to her hometown for retirement.
But Qin Moqing, with his noble demeanor, didn't look like the County Magistrate's nephew at all.
If anything, the County Magistrate seemed more like a grandson in front of Qin Moqing…
Before long, the bitter scent of medicine filled Su Ruolang's nostrils—the decoction was ready.
She set aside her thoughts, drank the medicine, and left the temple under the moonlight.
Meanwhile, several miles away by the stream, in a quiet residence.
"I heard Grandmother plans to arrange for her to stay at the villa?" Qin Moqing held a book in his hand, his gaze never leaving the page, his voice exceptionally calm.
"Yes…" Jing An nodded respectfully.
Was this matter important?
Logically, shouldn't the matter of that Su Yunshan going to the county magistrate's office to claim kinship be more important?
But why didn't His Highness ask about it at all?
"Your Highness, just now… that Miss Su Yunshan went to the magistrate's office," Jing An couldn't help but mention.
"Has Grandmother met her?" Qin Moqing asked.
Still without looking up, he slowly turned a page of the book.
Outside the carved window lattice was the pale moonlight, while candlelight flickered inside the room, illuminating his deep-set eyes and brows. He didn't resemble a figure from a painting but rather an immortal from one.
Or perhaps, an immortal wouldn't have such alluring red lips and white teeth, enticing mortals into the mundane world.
If not for his own aloofness, as unapproachable as a glacier, even men might feel their hearts stir with just a glance.
"I have seen her, but Old Madam remained behind the screen the entire time without showing herself. Moreover… she seemed to have become confused again, giving a few dozen taels of silver before sending that Su Yunshan away." Jing An answered truthfully.
As it happened, Su Yunshan turned out to be Su Ruolang's younger sister. Although she answered Old Madam's questions fluently, Old Madam was convinced she was not the lost child from all those years ago.
If she wasn't the lost child from back then, how could she have that silver hairpin?
Jing An couldn't make sense of it no matter how much he thought.
He had expected His Highness to order him to investigate thoroughly, but who would have guessed His Highness's mind didn't seem to be on this matter at all.
"Your Highness…" Jing An hesitated for a moment before asking, "Su Yunshan has the silver hairpin. Should we invite her to stay in the mansion?"
"Invite her," Qin Moqing uttered a single word.
"But Old Madam said the hairpin definitely isn't hers," Jing An added.
"Then don't invite her," Qin Moqing replied succinctly.
"But…" Jing An was about to speak again.
This time, Qin Moqing didn't let him continue his rambling: "This matter is for my grandmother to decide."
Royal bloodlines, overturning the government… in the end, none of it compared to his grandmother's peace of mind.
Rather than saying he had come this time to find that lost child, it would be more accurate to say he had come to fulfill his grandmother's last wish.
Otherwise, there would have been no need to travel thousands of miles to this border region.
Outside, night was gradually deepening, and lanterns had been lit in the mansion at some unknown time.
The wind blew, flipping the pages of the book in Qin Moqing's hand, and for some reason, he recalled a pair of eyes as clear and cool as water.
After a moment of silence, his thin lips moved slightly: "Has she moved into the villa?"
She?
Jing An was momentarily stunned before realizing who his master was referring to.
"Miss Su's luggage and dowry have already been moved in, but she herself hasn't arrived yet."
As he spoke, Jing An added another sentence.
"Regarding Young Master… he doesn't seem to know yet that Miss Su is to enter the mansion, nor does he know about your plans to marry Miss Su. What do you think…"
Young Master refers to Qin Yansong. Though he shares the surname Qin, he is a distant relative who lost his parents in childhood and was raised by Old Madam.
He had followed Old Madam to this border region, but since arriving, he was nowhere to be seen all day—either hunting in the mountains and forests or racing boats on the lake, jumping around like a monkey.
As Old Madam put it, he was at that age where even dogs find him annoying.
"Whether he knows or not doesn't matter. Tell him to behave himself these days," Qin Moqing said expressionlessly.
"Yes," Jing An nodded respectfully.
Qin Yansong feared nothing and no one—a little demon even Old Madam couldn't control—but he was terrified of his cousin, Qin Moqing.
Normally, as long as Qin Moqing gave an order, there would be no trouble. But before this order could reach Qin Yansong's ears, something went wrong…
At that moment, in the villa.
"What did you say? My brother is getting married?" Upon hearing the news, Qin Yansong nearly spat out all the tea in his mouth.
"Absolutely true. I heard the woman will enter the mansion today, though she probably doesn't know His Highness's identity yet," the servant beside him replied.
Qin Yansong put down his teacup and pinched himself, grimacing in pain, before he was convinced this wasn't a dream.
Over the years, from the daughters of prime ministers and ministers to the modest beauties of ordinary families… how many women had shown interest in his brother?
If they lined up, the queue would probably stretch from the pavilion in the east of the city to the tower in the west!
But it had always been a case of "the flower is willing, but the stream is heartless." His brother had never spared a second glance for any woman.
And now, out of the blue, he was getting married?
"Which family's daughter is my brother going to marry?" Qin Yansong hurriedly asked.
"It's a girl from the Su family, I heard her name is… Su Ruolang," the servant answered truthfully.
"Su Ruolang?" Qin Yansong thought hard but couldn't recall any noble lady in the Capital City with that name. He couldn't help but wonder, "What does the Su family do? Is the head of the household a civil or military official, and what rank does he hold?"
The servant's temple twitched slightly: "Young Master Cousin, the Su family has no master, only… only an old hunter named Su Geng."
"What?" Qin Yansong could hardly believe his ears.
A hunter?
His brother was actually going to marry a hunter's daughter?
After learning the whole story, Qin Yansong became even more furious.
It was obvious that this woman named Su Ruolang had deliberately schemed to get close to their grandmother, tricking her into accepting this country bumpkin as a granddaughter-in-law!
His cousin, who was as lofty as a swan in the sky, was actually about to be swallowed by a toad?
"Where is that toad… that woman?" He rolled up his sleeves in a rage. "I'm going to meet her!"