Chapter 57: Difficulty

 Chapter 57: Difficulty

"Ah—"

In the sky, the dragonfly-shaped kite snapped its string, and with the wind, it soared higher and farther.

"Ah! Ah!"

Qiniang screamed in increasing shrillness, as if she had seen something terrifying.

Then, she pushed Chu Qianhuang away and ran off without looking back.

Chu Qianhuang was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran after Qiniang, shouting, "Quick, Baoyin, take a few maids to guard the lake, don't let Qiniang near the water!"

She hurriedly lifted her skirt and chased after her. Baoyin and the others immediately went to guard the lakeside and pond, while some followed Chu Qianhuang in pursuit of Qiniang.

Qiniang was very quick on her feet. The small garden was full of flowers, shrubs, rockeries, pavilions, water pavilions, flower corridors, and so on. In the blink of an eye, Chu Qianhuang lost sight of her.

"Split up and search!" Chu Qianhuang frowned and instructed. "Qiniang is just a child; she can't have gone far."

Indeed, Qiniang had not gone far.

She was still in the small garden, running along a pebble path between the jagged rockeries, screaming. The towering rockeries on either side seemed to her like fierce beasts, coldly watching her.

Her panic grew. She crouched down, hugging herself tightly, trembling all over.

"It's you."

At that moment, a figure in a violet dress kneeled before her. The shadow of the young girl fell on Qiniang, causing her vision to dim slightly.

Qiniang instinctively shrank back, hugging herself even tighter, her face pale.

A light breeze blew along the small path between the rockeries, ruffling their hair and clothing.

The violet silk flower in the girl’s hair trembled gently, releasing a faint fragrance.

A scent, like snow falling on cold plum blossoms, entered Qiniang’s nose. She sniffed and realized it was familiar. Slowly, she lifted her head.

A bright, captivating face with a shallow smile caught her eye.

Qiniang stared at the smiling phoenix eyes in front of her, her small shoulders stiff with tension, her face full of wariness.

"What are you doing here, all alone? Where's your mother?" Chu Qianchen asked softly, knowing she wouldn’t answer and not caring either way.

From what the maid guarding the gate had said about County Princess Jing arriving at the estate, Chu Qianchen could guess the girl’s identity.

She must be Gu Zhiyan, the only daughter of the Marquis of Jing County, whose nickname was Qiniang.

County Princess Jing was the younger sister of her legitimate, Shen. Therefore, Gu Zhiyan was, in name, her little cousin.

Chu Qianchen had heard some things about Gu Zhiyan. She had been abducted when she was young and, after being rescued, seemed a bit dazed and foolish.

Later, Chu Qianchen also heard that because the royal family found her to be simple-minded, after the Marquis of Jing passed away, they used her condition as an excuse to lock her away in an estate on the outskirts of the capital, and there had been no news of her since.

At this point in her past life, Chu Qianchen was struggling to save herself and knew little about the outside world. She had never met Gu Zhiyan.

Unexpectedly, after casually checking a diagnosis, she had encountered her legitimate mother's niece.

"Don't be afraid." Chu Qianchen reached out, intending to pat the top of the girl's soft hair.

Gu Zhiyan flinched back like a startled little animal, and Chu Qianchen missed.

"Do you remember me?" Chu Qianchen asked with a gentle smile, her hand hovering just below her eyes, gazing at her tenderly.

Gu Zhiyan widened her eyes slightly, and her black-and-white pupils sparkled with a bit of life.

Her small body relaxed a little, and she blinked slowly.

Her gaze seemed to say, "It's you!"

"Have you recognized me?" Chu Qianchen smiled gently.

This time, Gu Zhiyan did not shrink back. Chu Qianchen successfully patted her head.

Three days ago, when Chu Qianchen first saw Gu Zhiyan, she noticed something was off.

To Chu Qianchen, Gu Zhiyan didn’t seem foolish but rather like someone who had suffered a great shock and, as a result, had become wary of everything and everyone around her.

Her current behavior confirmed Chu Qianchen’s suspicion.

Thinking for a moment, Chu Qianchen took out a crescent-shaped sachet from her pouch and said, “Take a sniff.”

The scent inside the sachet was a special blend she had created, meant to soothe and calm the mind. In the early days after her rebirth, she often had nightmares about her past life, so she had made the sachet to carry with her.

The fragrance that wafted from the sachet was as elegant as snow falling on cold plum blossoms.

Gu Zhiyan leaned her small face closer, sniffing like a little puppy. The corners of her lips curled slightly, and her eyes gradually became calmer. Her body, too, relaxed a little.

"Take this with you. Place it under your pillow when you sleep tonight."

Chu Qianchen personally tied the sachet around Gu Zhiyan’s waist. Just as she was about to say something else, she heard hurried footsteps behind her, followed by Chu Qianhuang’s voice: "Qiniang, Second Sister."

Chu Qianhuang rushed over, breathless, her face flushed with a rosy hue, as if she had applied rouge, her appearance bright and radiant.

Seeing Gu Zhiyan, Chu Qianhuang let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thankfully, Second Sister found Qiniang."

Chu Qianchen stood up and helped Gu Zhiyan to her feet, asking, "Big Sister, what happened to her?"

"I don’t know either." Chu Qianhuang furrowed her brows and shook her head. "Just now, when the kite’s string broke, Qiniang got very agitated. She suddenly ran off… Thankfully, nothing happened."

The kite? Chu Qianchen thought for a moment, then handed Gu Zhiyan’s little hand to Chu Qianhuang before preparing to leave.

"Second Sister."

Chu Qianhuang called out to her. Chu Qianchen turned around and met her gaze.

Chu Qianhuang’s face looked a little complicated. Hesitantly, she said, "Regarding concubine Jiang, don’t blame Mother."

Chu Qianchen was stunned for a moment. She had intended to brush it off, but when the words were on her lips, she suddenly sighed deeply. "Big Sister, sigh... I know Mother punished Aunt because she must have been at fault first..."

"But when I think about Aunt being beaten, my heart just..."

"I don’t know what to do. I feel so conflicted."

Chu Qianchen furrowed her brows, her delicate teeth biting her lower lip, making her plump lips pale. She looked so worried, almost on the verge of tears.

"Second Sister," Chu Qianhuang sighed sympathetically again, "you’re in a difficult position as well."

"You understand me the most, Big Sister." Chu Qianchen’s long, curled eyelashes fluttered, and her jade-like face lowered slightly, her expression darkening.

The sunlight slanted through the rockery beside them, casting half of her face in light and half in shadow. One side of her face gleamed white as jade in the sunlight, while the other, shaded by the rockery, looked delicate like a fragile flower. Her eyes and brows carried an air of pitiful tenderness that made one’s heart ache just by looking at her.

Chu Qianhuang gazed at Chu Qianchen’s small face and comforted her, "Second Sister, why don’t you ask Mother to intercede? Mother always praises you for being so obedient and filial. These days, I’ve been staying in the palace, and it’s all thanks to you being by Mother’s side, making her happy. She really likes you."

"If you go and plead, Mother will definitely agree."

(End of chapter)