Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 114: Longing and Sadness in Two Places
The wooden doll is no bigger than a palm. It looks small and delicate at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it is a bit rough in the details.

Qiu Heng stroked the edge of the wooden doll and sniffed it.

A fresh smell of grass.

This wooden doll is newly made - Qiu Heng tightened her grip on the wooden doll.

In other words, it was not that Lin Chengfeng had been hiding the wooden doll that looked like Lady Qiu close to his body for many years, but that it was a new acquisition.

As a member of the Imperial Guard's Cavalry Division, Lin Chengfeng eats and lives with other guards all day long. It would be risky to hide the wooden doll anywhere, so it would be safer to keep it close to him.

But he didn't expect that Concubine Yu would force him to strip off his clothes and armor in public.

It seems that Concubine Yu's request for Lin Chengfeng to raise horses was fake, and the real purpose was to expose the wooden doll to the public.

A vicious heart.

"Girl, come and have some carrot cake." Fangzhou's voice came from outside the house.

Qiu Heng put away the wooden doll and walked out, just in time Princess Jiayi came over.

"County Lady, isn't the prince here yet?" Fangzhou placed the freshly fried radish cake on the stone table in the courtyard and said with a smile, "The prince loved to eat radish cake when he was in the south."

"Really? Big brother, do you like radish cake?" Princess Jiayi took a look at the golden fried radish cake, feeling a little curious.

Radishes are a cheap thing and rarely appear on the dining table of the Prince's Mansion.

"Please try it, County Lady." Fangzhou handed over the chopsticks.

Princess Jiayi took the chopsticks, picked up a piece of radish cake and took a bite. Her eyes lit up: "Delicious!"

"Are we late?" Ling Yun's voice was heard at the gate of the courtyard.

Princess Jiayi waved her hands hurriedly: "Brother, come quickly, the radish cake has just come out of the pot."

"Prince." Fangzhou handed the chopsticks to Lingyun.

Ling Yun smiled at Fang Zhou and said, "Ever since I returned to the capital, I have been thinking about the radish cake made by Fang Zhou. Today I finally got to eat it again."

"The prince and the county lady like it. I will make it often in the future." Fangzhou picked up two pieces of radish cake and put them on a small plate, then handed them to Qiuheng, "Young lady, eat them while they are hot."

Qiu Heng took the dish and ate slowly. Suddenly, Fang Zhou asked, "Miss, you said you would make more that day. Do you want to give it to someone else to taste?"

Ling Yun and Princess Jiayi, who were eating radish cakes, looked at Qiu Heng at the same time.

"Make more and ask my stepfather and stepmother to try some."

After what happened today, it’s inconvenient to send snacks to Xue Han.

A guy with no good appetite.

Thinking about what Xue Han did today, although Qiu Heng secretly complained about it, a smile appeared on her lips.

Ling Yun's eyes fell on the faint smile on the girl's lips, and his heart moved: Did Ah Heng really ask Fangzhou to make more radish cakes for his father and mother?

Is it... for Xue Han?

The image of the young man who stood out from the crowd and knelt beside Qiu Heng flashed through his mind. He lowered his eyes and smiled.

That night, Qiu Heng lay on the bed, thinking about what happened during the day.

She had not expected that Xue Han would stand up in front of Emperor Jingping and solve her problem.

So she was a little more important to him... than she thought?

In this way, the matter of saving the prince would be easier.

Qiu Heng took the soft pillow and covered her face with it to suppress the uncontrollable heat that was rising in her cheeks.

She didn't want to admit that what made her happy was not only that it would be easier to save the prince.

"Girl, what are you doing?" The soft pillow covering her head and face was suddenly taken away, and Fangzhou looked at Qiuheng with a worried look on her face.

Qiu Heng sat up: "It's okay."

Fangzhou also sat down beside her and gave her earnest advice: "Even if you are worried about what happened during the day, you can't cover your face with a pillow. What if you get upset?"

"It's not a worry."

"what is that?"

Qiu Heng hugged the soft pillow and whispered, "It's very annoying." Xue Han was not asleep at this time either, tossing and turning on the bed like a pancake.

He didn't dare close his eyes, because as soon as he did he would see the starry sky, the green grass, or the way she spoke word by word about her falling in love with Lin Chengfeng at first sight.

He knew that what she said was false, but his pain was real.

Hopelessness is also real.

Xue Han thought that this was probably the real retribution for causing the little girl to be abducted.

It turns out that guilt is not enough, he has to pay it back with a lifetime of unfulfilled desires.

The night was very long. Qiu Heng woke up, washed, took the wooden doll and went to see Lady Qiu.

"Girl, I'll go with you."

"No, there are too many rules in the palace. It's better to be at ease in your own place."

"The girl went out yesterday and such a big thing happened. I was worried about staying at home, so let me go with you." Fangzhou insisted.

Qiu Heng thought about it and agreed.

The two of them walked slowly towards the palace but were stopped halfway.

"Miss Qiu Liu, our eunuch wants to talk to you. Can you please spare me a moment to talk?" The one who stopped Qiu Heng was a young eunuch.

Qiu Heng looked in the direction of his finger and saw Xue Quan standing under a tree not far away, looking at her expressionlessly.

"Okay. Fangzhou, wait for me here."

"girl--"

"It's okay." Qiu Heng shook Fangzhou's hand and followed the eunuch towards Xue Quan.

Finally, I started dealing with Xue Quan officially.

Qiu Heng was not nervous because of Xue Quan's sudden appearance. Instead, she felt relieved as if a stone had fallen from her chest.

This is the inevitable result of her frequent interactions with Xue Han.

She admitted that even if she did not have that kind of feelings for Xue Han, she would still spend more time with Xue Han for Xue Quan.

I just didn't expect that I would fall in love with him.

The teacher once said that there are always things in this world that are beyond our control. This is probably the case.

Qiu Heng does not regret, nor does she escape. No matter how tempted she is, she is still Ah Heng and will always remember what she has to do.

"Eunuch Xue." Qiu Heng walked in front of Xue Quan and bent his knees.

Xue Quan looked the girl up and down and said coldly, "Miss Qiu Liu, you still remembered me in such an occasion yesterday. You are so calm."

"Mr. Xue, you are too kind. I do have a good memory."

"Since you are a straightforward person, we won't beat around the bush." Xue Quan shook off the non-existent dust.

"Please speak if you have anything to say, sir."

Xue Quan stared at the expression of the girl in front of him and said slowly, "We know that you and Xue Han have been in contact a lot recently."

"Yes, Master Xue has saved my daughter from danger many times."

"Xue Han does treat Miss Qiu Liu differently." Xue Quan replied calmly, "For example, yesterday, he said in front of Master Jin that he admired Miss Qiu Liu."

Qiu Heng listened silently, with little emotion on her face.

Xue Quan sneered: "But Miss Qiu Liu, don't take it seriously."

Qiu Heng looked into Xue Quan's half-smiley eyes and listened to him speak word by word: "Xue Han treats you differently because he feels guilty."

"Guilty?"

"That's right. Ten years ago during the Lantern Festival, Miss Qiu Liu gave red bean cake to a little beggar on the street, but it ended up falling into the hands of a kidnapper. That little beggar was Xue Han..."

Xue Quan finished speaking, took a deep look at the silent girl, and said coldly: "So Miss Qiu Liu, don't think too much. Xue Han helped you many times because he felt guilty and wanted to make up for it. It has nothing to do with anything else."

Qiu Heng was silent for a long time, until Xue Quan became impatient, and then she knelt slightly and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Xue, for telling me."

(End of this chapter)