High-class Spring Joy

The next morning.

When Sai Huatuo arrived at Princess Jing'an's side courtyard, there were only a few maids and servants busy at work.

Upon seeing Sai Huatuo, they all felt he was a complete stranger and were filled with wariness:

"Who are you, sir, and what brings you here? If this isn't our princess's courtyard, not just anyone can enter!"

These were the words of Cuiwei, the head maidservant of Princess Jing'an. Her words carried great authority, and as soon as she spoke, the maids and servants around her gathered around, demonstrating her considerable influence.

Smiled as he stroked his goatee and quickly introduced himself: "Please do not panic, everyone. I am Smile, and I have been sent by my young master to pray for Princess Jing'an's safety. If you are unfortunate, please see the broken-halberd guards behind me who have come with me."

As soon as Sai Huatuo finished speaking, Zheji stepped forward: "It's absolutely true. Our young master was entrusted by His Highness the Crown Prince to bring the princess here, as he was worried that she might have been frightened in the back mountains last time. In the days that followed, Sai Huatuo would come every morning to pray for the princess's safety. We hope you will all be accommodating and do us a favor."

The maids and servants initially hesitated to believe that Sai Huatuo was a doctor, but they did not believe it until Zheji came up.

Cui smiled and invited Sai Huatuo in. "Please wait a moment, Doctor Sai. Our princess has not yet gotten up. We will go and make some tea. Please wait here and have a couple of cups of tea."

Upon hearing this, Sai Huatuo replied, "Very well, this old man would not dare to disturb the princess's rest. I will trouble you all to prepare tea. However, since the princess has not yet risen, perhaps this old man shall return later?"

Upon hearing Sai Huatuo's words, Zheji, who was standing beside him, immediately understood his meaning: "Sister Cuiwei, is Miss Qingyuan here?"

As he spoke, Zheji chuckled again and explained, "It's like this. Recently, everyone at Xiangguo Temple has been saying that Miss Qingyuan's lotus dew tea cured the Empress Dowager's nightmares. They say it has a miraculous effect, and many ladies and young misses are craving a taste. My young master has also heard about it, so he wanted to ask Miss Qingyuan how this lotus dew tea is made. To be honest, Sister Cuiwei, my young master has indeed been troubled by nightmares for years. Even after seeking help from the legendary Physician Sai, he could only take these medicines, which only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. So, having heard that this lotus dew tea has miraculous effects, I thought I'd ask for it for my young master. But since I haven't seen Miss Qingyuan, I can only ask Sister Cuiwei."

"So that's how it is. Miss Qingyuan went to the lotus pond at the foot of the mountain to collect dew from lotus leaves before dawn this morning. She must be busy right now and probably won't be back for a while."

Cuiwei explained, then sighed and said, "But if the guards want to ask today, I'm afraid they won't be able to get it in a short time."

"Why is that? Please, Sister Cuiwei, kindly explain. As for whether it's a bit too early for Miss Qingyuan to go and collect dew from lotus leaves?"

Zheji asked with a smile, seemingly just asking casually, not out of genuine concern, simply following Cuiwei's lead.

Cuiwei, unaware of Zheji's probing intent, sighed, "It's too early. The guards just don't know, and Miss Qingyuan has no choice. The guards have all heard about the wonderful uses of the lotus leaf tea that Miss Qingyuan makes, which shows that everyone in Shangxiangguo Temple knows about it. Yesterday, many ladies and young ladies went to the hall to ask the Empress Dowager to bestow that tea. Because so many people asked, the Empress Dowager agreed in a flustered manner. It was only Miss Qingyuan who worked hard. How many ladies and young ladies are there? How much lotus dew would it take to brew that lotus leaf tea? And how much effort would it take to collect it? So Miss Qingyuan has to go early this morning, before dawn, and who knows how much she can collect. So if the guards want to ask, they'll probably have to wait in line."

Zheji frowned, turned his head and exchanged a glance with the divine physician Hua Tuo: "I see. I'm so sorry to have troubled Sister Cuiwei to clear up my doubts. Since we can't get this lotus leaf tea, I'll go back and report to the young master first. As for Physician Sai, he can wait here for the princess to wake up."

After saying that, Zheji left.

-

Early morning, a misty rain fell.

The air was filled with misty water droplets, forming patches of fog that shrouded the entire lotus pond. Even the lotus leaves and budding lotus flowers in the pond were not clearly visible to Qingyuan.

But this was better than nothing; Qingyuan had already arrived before dawn.

She couldn't see anything at all in the darkness, but fortunately, the sun rose, and although it was only in the distance and the mountaintop peeked out, it brought a lot of light.

Qingyuan took off her shoes, rolled up her trouser legs, and stepped into the icy water, her foot sinking into the mud.

This lotus pond was originally just a wild lotus pond at the foot of Xiangguo Temple Mountain. It had been neglected for a long time, and no one had removed the silt. So the water was not deep, but the silt was quite deep. When Qingyuan stepped into it, it was up to her knees.

Although it was early summer, it was still early morning, and the wind still carried a slight chill. A gust of wind made Qingyuan shiver involuntarily. She remained bent over, holding a glass bottle in her hand, carefully collecting the dew that had accumulated on the lotus leaves in front of her, drop by drop, into the bottle.

You can also hear the sounds of chickens, ducks, and geese coming from afar; these must be the livestock raised by the people living down the mountain.

Behind Qingyuan, who was not in sight, there were several large trees by the lotus pond. Suddenly, a man in black appeared behind the trees. The man in black's gaze fell on the focused Qingyuan, and with a flash of cold light in his hand, he drew his knife from its sheath.

In just a few breaths, the man in black was already behind Qing Yuan, and was about to stab her in the back of the neck, a fatal spot that would kill her instantly.

Just as the sword was about to pierce down, Qingyuan in front of him seemed to have suddenly realized it, turned around and used the glass bottle in his hand to catch the sword that was about to pierce down!

The glass bottle shattered with a crash, and the dew it had collected spilled into the lotus pond.

The man in black roared, "Die!"

In the blink of an eye, several armed guards suddenly emerged from beside the lotus pond and immediately subdued the man in black in front of them!

Qingyuan turned around and saw that the leader was none other than Chensha!

Chen Sha kicked the man in black to the ground, stepping on his chest and saying, "Speak! Who sent you? Why did you try to assassinate Miss Qing Yuan?"

Qingyuan was about to walk over, but the mud on her feet got tangled up and she couldn't get away. The next moment, a strong arm grabbed her waist and lifted her into the air. She was easily taken to the edge of the lotus pond.

Immediately afterwards, several guards with swords rushed down from the mountain and surrounded the man in black.

Behind the group of people, Princess Jing'an strode forward:

"Hmph, this princess wants to see just who dares to cause trouble at Xiangguo Temple, especially at the Xiangguo Temple where the Empress Dowager is in charge! They're simply courting death! Tie them up and take them to see the Empress Dowager!"

When Qingyuan came to her senses, she was already in a broad and warm embrace. Qingyuan dared not move, and the familiar scent made her instantly recognize who had carried her out.

As soon as Qing Yuan's feet touched the ground, she didn't dare to speak, and could only gently push Chu Jingxian's chest: "Third Young Master..."

Chu Jingxian then realized what was happening, released Qingyuan, took a step back, and created some distance:

"I apologize for the offense caused in the heat of the moment."

Qingyuan waved her hand: "Young Master, you are too kind. You saved my life just now. I am extremely grateful and don't even have time to repay you. I would be very sorry if you were offending me. If it weren't for you, I would probably be in mortal danger right now. But why are you here, Young Master?"

Chu Jingxian was stunned...

This story begins half an hour earlier. After returning from Princess Jing'an's courtyard, Zheji immediately told Chu Jingxian everything he had learned. Chu Jingxian gave orders in a very short time, and Chen Sha led a group of guards to ambush around the lotus pond.

Chu Jingxian pursed her lips, about to answer, when Princess Jing'an spoke up directly:

"Yes, what brings the Third Young Master here?"

As she spoke, Princess Jing'an walked over from the side, stood in front of Qingyuan and Chu Jingxian, and instinctively shielded Qingyuan, covering her exposed calves:

"Everyone says that the Third Young Master is a very regrettable crippled gentleman. He is gentle and refined, proficient in both literature and martial arts, and a rare genius in business. It's just a pity that he is invisible. But today, this princess sees that the Third Young Master is even more capable than some of those who are visible. I just wonder why the Third Young Master is here?"

Princess Jing'an sized up Chu Jingxian in front of her. She always felt that this person was not simple, nor was he as easy to deal with as the outside world said.

In addition, he could see clearly from behind the mountain that when the assassin came, Princess Jing'an was about to order her guards to stop him. Who would have thought that someone would beat her to it? That was not surprising. What was most surprising was that the guards all went towards the man in black, while this unseen Third Young Master went towards Qing Yuan!

Qingyuan was clearly Chu Jingyu's maid before. It's not that Chu Jingyu was worried when Qingyuan got into trouble, which proves that he was incompetent. But why was Chu Jingxian in such a hurry?

Princess Jing'an has always been this kind of person—outspoken and uninhibited in her speech. She speaks directly, without much tact or consideration for others, and rarely thinks about their feelings, given her status.

After spending these past few days with Princess Jing'an, Qingyuan discovered that she was truly a very good, kind, and straightforward girl.

Although she came here alone today to collect the lotus leaves and dew, Princess Jing'an had already arranged for her to go alone yesterday. Princess Jing'an would arrange for guards to lie in ambush nearby, waiting for the man in black or the assassin to come out. If any unexpected event occurred, they would come out to protect her.

Princess Jing'an claimed to the outside world that she had not yet gotten up, but she had already come out of the courtyard and was lying in ambush with the guards, just in case something happened to Qingyuan.

It can be said that Princess Jing'an did everything perfectly for her.

However, Princess Jing'an's words were unpleasant, and Qingyuan was worried that Chu Jingxian wouldn't know how to respond, so she spoke up herself to explain: "Young master, you don't know how good the princess is to me. She arranged for people to protect me from the start, just to lure out the man in black or the ambushers. The princess herself was watching from the side, so I won't be in any danger."

Chu Jingxian smiled and said, "Then I was overthinking it."

Chu Jingxian didn't explain further, only saying, "Because of His Highness the Crown Prince's trust, I need to ensure that Xiangguo Temple is safe and sound. Therefore, I patrol the area around Xiangguo Temple frequently to ensure its safety. In particular, I have a duty to protect everyone inside Xiangguo Temple, regardless of who they are."

Princess Jing'an merely raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying: "Then I'll have to trouble the Third Young Master."

"Guards, take this assassin back!"

Princess Jing'an gave the order, and her men naturally began to move, but just then, someone suddenly cried out in alarm:

"Look...look! What's wrong with this lotus pond and these lotus flowers?!"

Immediately, everyone's attention was drawn to the lotus pond.

Upon seeing the scene in the lotus pond, everyone else's expression changed, except for Chu Jingxian, who was out of sight and was not significantly affected. Qing Yuan's face immediately turned pale.

The pond, which was once full of lush green lotus leaves and tender pink lotus buds, is now rapidly fading and turning yellow at a speed visible to the naked eye, and is simply withering away!

In the blink of an eye, before anyone could react, the entire lotus pond had been reduced to a pile of withered branches and fallen leaves!

Just then, the man in black, who was being held captive by the guards, let out a strange and provocative laugh: "Hahahaha... You thought my mission was to kill you? Killing you was just a side effect. As long as I destroy this pond of lotus leaves and flowers today, my mission will be accomplished, hahahaha... Even if you're clever, you've still fallen into the hands of an unknown assassin like me. It's so satisfying, hahahahahaha..."

Princess Jing'an rushed forward in anger, raised her hand, and lashed the man in black with her whip, instantly tearing his skin and flesh.

Chen Sha, who was standing nearby, was still not satisfied and kicked him hard.

"Hahahaha... What princess or not, what marquis's mansion or not, aren't they all being manipulated by our country?!" The man in black laughed wildly twice, then suddenly bit his tongue, committing suicide by biting his tongue!

The man in black died in just a few breaths.

"he…"

Princess Jing'an was furious. "The person behind this is really determined to make things difficult for you. Sending a man in black to both kill you and destroy your lotus pond is all to make you break your promise to the Empress Dowager. There's only one hour left to accompany the Empress Dowager to the Buddhist temple today. If you can't prepare enough lotus leaf dew tea, even if he survives, he'll be in deep trouble! Only Jiang Qingge could come up with such a vicious plan!"

Qingyuan comforted her, "Princess, please don't be angry. At this point, all I can do is try my best. Whether I succeed or not, it is my own fate."

"What talk of fate and destiny! I've never believed in such things. Since someone is determined to kill you, then I'll protect you! I refuse to believe that with me pleading for you before the Empress Dowager, anyone can possibly take your life?!"