High-class Spring Joy

"Ah Yuan, I once asked you who the man who hurt you was. Your refusal to answer at least proves it wasn't Apple, right?"

As Princess Jing'an spoke, her eyes darted around, and her gaze lightly fell on Chu Jingxian under the peach tree.

After carefully examining Chu Jingxian, the princess said, "I feel something is off about Chu Jingxian today. Although I have little personal relationship with him in the past, the only thing I have heard about him more often is from my brother. In addition, I remember how many people starved to death during the drought in the southwest that year. At that time, we almost resorted to cannibalism. Many people sold their wives and children just to get two bowls of porridge. But that was during the war when a great enemy attacked the northwest border. All the expenditures of the national treasury, silver and grain, had to be prioritized for the battlefield. Otherwise, if the northwest fell, it would become the territory of another country." "Not to mention the entire southwest, even the whole country would probably be gone by now. Within ten days, the enemy would be able to march straight to our capital, Bianjing, from the northwest. At that time, my father was in a terrible state of panic, and the national treasury, no matter how full, could only barely support the endless stream of supplies and provisions sent to the front lines. Unfortunately, the drought in the south was too severe; the people were practically starving. I heard that Chu Jingxian stepped forward and personally went to provide disaster relief. I don't know how much rice and flour he sent out, or how many soup kitchens he set up. There weren't even enough people to distribute them, so Chu Jingxian himself was there to oversee things. If Chu Jingxian weren't blind, he probably would have even been making and distributing the soup himself."

Qingyuan listened carefully, and at first she was a little alarmed, thinking that the princess was about to guess.

Qingyuan didn't mean to hide it from the princess, but this matter was of great importance to her, so it was best not to mention it to anyone easily. Besides, it had already been more than two months, and if it continued for a while, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret anymore.

Later, when Princess Jing'an changed the subject and turned to Chu Jingxian's past, he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when Princess Jing'an changed the subject again.

"So the main reason I'm telling you this is that although I don't know Chu Jingxian very well, at least in terms of character, he's much better than Apple. There's basically no comparison."

Princess Jing'an approached Qingyuan, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "I noticed that at the lotus pond earlier, even though Chu Jingxian couldn't see you, his first instinct was to protect you. Even the guards I sent out didn't react in time, but he did. This shows that his feelings for you are different from others. If you also have feelings for him, then be bold. You're no longer a maid in the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion, nor are you Apple's maid. Do whatever you want, as long as it's not something immoral. I'll cover for you. As for Chu Jingxian, if you want to marry him, I'm not without options. If you don't want to, I won't force you. Although I'm just a princess, I'm the only princess in Song Kingdom. Raising you and the little one in your belly is a piece of cake."

Upon hearing Princess Jing'an's words, Qingyuan blushed with embarrassment. "Princess... I... I... I didn't think of that. Even if I'm no longer a maid, the Third Young Master's status is what it is, and I'm still aware of my place. Besides... the relationship between the Third Young Master and me isn't what you imagine. Perhaps..."

Perhaps the Third Young Master will find out the truth someday and kill her and the child in her womb...

Qingyuan sighed.

Princess Jing'an noticed that she was shy, but didn't ask any further questions: "Don't worry, just say what you want to say. I can handle this for you. I'm a little hungry, so I'll go back and have my meal first."

After saying this, Princess Jing'an turned and led Cuiwei into the courtyard.

Qingyuan looked at Chu Jingxian under the peach tree, paused for a moment, and then walked towards him.

"Young master..."

Qingyuan walked up to Chu Jingxian, about to speak, but her gaze shifted and she saw a small, withered branch fall from the peach tree and land on Chu Jingxian's pure white handkerchief.

Before Qingyuan could think, her body acted faster than her mind. She reached out to remove the small, withered twig from the pure white scarf.

Before she could even touch the pure white scarf, her wrist was already firmly grasped by a warm, large hand.

The force was quite strong, and Qingyuan couldn't help but frown, struggling slightly: "Young Master... what's wrong?"

Upon hearing Qing Yuan's voice, Chu Jingxian seemed to snap back to reality, gradually loosening his grip on her fingers and also releasing Qing Yuan's wrist.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you."

Looking at Chu Jingxian's expression, Qingyuan thought that it was probably because she had reached out, and that the gesture was so close to his eyes that the Third Young Master might have misunderstood. She pursed her lips and said, "Young Master, you are too kind. This is hardly an injury. It was just me..."

"Stop referring to yourself as a servant. Just call yourself 'I' in front of me. You don't need to treat me like your master anymore."

Chu Jingxian's voice was deep and gentle. Although the Third Young Master's voice had always been relatively calm and did not carry any particularly intense emotions, Qingyuan vaguely felt that his voice seemed to be softer than before. But when did this change begin?

Qingyuan couldn't quite remember. It felt like it had been like this for a while, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact date.

Qingyuan's current identity is indeed no longer that of a maid in the Marquis's mansion, but she doesn't plan to reveal it beforehand, not because of the Third Young Master, but because of Apple.

If Apple finds out, who knows what crazy things it might do. Or maybe Apple won't do anything just because it cares about it, but for an arrogant company like Apple that only cares about itself, some conflict and entanglement are inevitable.

Although she wasn't a maid, she was just an ordinary person. Why should she needlessly get entangled and conflicted with the young master of the Marquis's mansion? It was better to avoid it if possible. This was the reason why Qingyuan chose to keep it a secret for the time being.

Qingyuan didn't hesitate: "I...I just saw a small piece of dead branch hanging from your long neck, so I wanted to help you take it down. I didn't tell you and took it upon myself to do it, so you can't blame me."

Little did Qingyuan know that as soon as she finished speaking, Chu Jingxian leaned forward slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Is that so? So there are some dead branches. Then I'll trouble you, Qingyuan, to pick them for this unseen young master?"

Hearing this, Qingyuan actually detected a hint of amusement, and even a touch of coquetry in it?

It's like the expressionless yet secretly expectant look on a child's face when they get their clothes dirty and ask an adult for help to clean them.

Qingyuan wondered if her ears were broken.

Qingyuan shook her head frantically, trying to shake those crazy and absurd thoughts out of her mind.

That's the Third Young Master in front of me!

Doesn't she know what kind of person the Third Young Master is?

Back then, when the Third Young Master went to provide disaster relief, he was surrounded by a swarm of disaster victims.

When people are starving and facing death, they are almost devoid of reason and emotion, driven only by the instincts of wild animals—the instinct to survive. Upon seeing the food brought by the Third Young Master and his companions, their first reaction was to attack and tear at it like wild beasts.

The Third Young Master had brought guards with him, and the guards also offered their services. It was true that the Third Young Master himself knew martial arts, but unfortunately, the famine was too severe, and there were too many and too frenzied refugees. Naturally, the Third Young Master and his guards would not risk taking three lives to deal with them, and they would not use lethal moves. However, the refugees would do anything to seize the supplies that would allow them to survive.

The third young master was injured during that incident. A refugee bit his arm, tearing off a whole chunk of flesh as if he had been bitten by a wolf.

This matter spread like wildfire throughout Bianjing City. Anyone who paid even a little attention would know that someone had torn a piece of flesh from their body.

At that time, the blood was everywhere, and the pain was beyond what a human could bear. However, when the Third Young Master was treated by the divine physician Sai Huatuo, he only frowned when he was in the most pain.

This scene is comparable to the spirit of Guan Yu when he underwent bone-scraping surgery.

How could the Third Young Master, with such a demeanor, possibly act coquettishly over a small peach blossom branch, a tiny withered twig that fell onto his long scarf?

Qingyuan felt she must be going crazy, so she quickly snapped herself out of it and hurriedly replied, "Okay...okay, okay."

Qingyuan was even more flustered than before as she spoke, reaching out to pick up the dead branch. But the branch was very small, not a large branch, but a small section of peach blossom stem from which peach blossoms had grown, no bigger than a soybean.

It landed right on the Third Young Master's brows and eyes. Qingyuan reached for it, but in her haste, her fingertips touched the pure white slender handkerchief first, causing the small piece of withered peach blossom branch that was pressing down on it to fall down a little more.

Look, it seems we'll have to remove this slender white piece before we can get it out.

Qingyuan was a little unsure. Rumor had it that ever since the Third Young Master injured his eyes when he was six years old, no one had dared to touch them or let anyone see them.

There are two versions of this story. The first version is that the injury left a scar on the Third Young Master's eyebrow, which is why he didn't want others to see it.

Another version of the story is that the Third Prince was once a genius prince who attracted everyone's attention in the entire Bianjing city. He was a rising star that everyone could see. Even the emperor at the time praised the Third Prince, who was only a few years old at the time, as the future pillar of the country and destined for greatness.

Such a proud and precious person, because of an eye injury, has become a disabled young master whose eyes are lamented by everyone. Who wouldn't find this a bit unbearable, let alone someone as proud as the Third Young Master?

Therefore, these eyes became the Third Young Master's greatest heartache and pain, and naturally he would not easily let others touch them.

How could a dragon tolerate people touching its unfavorable scales?

Qingyuan said somewhat awkwardly, "Young Master, it was my clumsiness that caused the withered branch to fall into the Yangtze River. Otherwise, I will escort you back to your courtyard, or you can ask the guards Chensha and Zheji to retrieve the long towel yourself?"

Hearing Qingyuan's words, Chu Jingxian seemed a little confused, tilting his head slightly: "Why go back and pick them again?"

"Young Master... Young Master, no, no... What I mean is that there are rumors circulating in Bianjing that you don't easily show your eyes to others, so... so I'd better send you back."

As Qingyuan explained, she tried to push Chu Jingxian back, but Chu Jingxian grabbed her wrist.

"Young master?"

Qingyuan looked at Chu Jingxian in surprise.

Chu Jingxian simply smiled and said, "No need, you pick it for me. I trust A-Yuan."

Qingyuan froze.

letter.

The word "trust" often carries more weight than other words.

Qingyuan didn't expect Chu Jingxian to say it like that. The more Chu Jingxian said it, the more uneasy Qingyuan felt.

Chu Jingxian trusted him so much that he could easily let him see his eyes, which no one else was allowed to see.

Such trust, such profound and unwavering trust...

How should she repay him?

How should she deal with this?

If the Third Young Master were to find out what happened that night, the profound trust she felt so honored by would instantly crumble into dust.

As Qingyuan was deep in thought, she heard Chu Jingxian's voice again: "What's wrong? Is Ayuan unwilling?"

Before Qingyuan could speak, Chu Jingxian sighed again, his tone sounding quite disappointed: "Never mind, I was being presumptuous. I just thought that Ayuan shouldn't get herself into Fifth Brother's mess, since Fifth Brother has someone else in his heart. But it was just my own thought, and I forgot that Ayuan does have Fifth Brother in her heart, and Ayuan probably wouldn't be willing to take off her handkerchief for someone like me who can't see her."

After saying this, Chu Jingxian was about to leave when Qing Yuan quickly waved her hand and explained, "No, no, it's not what you think, Young Master. I did... I did have some foolish thoughts about the Fifth Young Master before, but that's all in the past. Now I have absolutely no feelings for the Fifth Young Master, and it's not what you think, Third Young Master. As for the Third Young Master's eyes, I didn't even have any desire for them. I was just surprised that the Third Young Master trusts me so much, so I'm a little flattered."

After Qingyuan finished speaking, she realized that her hesitation had probably touched the most tender spot in the Third Young Master's heart—his eyes.

Thinking of how to salvage the situation, she hurriedly reached out and touched the thin white handkerchief around the Third Young Master's eyebrows: "Shall I take it off for you, Third Young Master?"

To her surprise, her hand was held again, but this time the Third Young Master didn't hold her wrist. Instead, he held her palm firmly, and although he held her, the pressure was very gentle.

Then, Chu Jingxian said softly, "Ah Yuan, it's better not to. My eyes have been injured and have scars. They don't look good, and I'm afraid they'll frighten you."

Qingyuan couldn't stand Chu Jingxian saying such things about herself. The more Chu Jingxian said this, the more determined Qingyuan became: "Young Master, what are you saying? No matter what it looks like, I want to see it."