Chapter 60: Follow-up Appointment

 Chapter 60: Follow-up Appointment

Liu Shi looked at Zhang Mama, whose expression seemed almost possessed, and frowned, asking, "What’s wrong?"

Zhang Mama slowly withdrew her gaze and looked at Liu Shi in the carriage with a complicated expression, still shaken. She stammered, "Second Mistress, the face of the County Princess... her face is healed!"

Liu Shi was confused by Zhang Mama’s disjointed words, her brows furrowing slightly.

After a moment of collecting her thoughts, Zhang Mama recounted, "Second Mistress, a few days ago, I happened to run into County Princess Jing and the County Princess outside Jishi Hall."

"At the time, County Princess Jing must have been taking the Young Miss Jing to seek medical treatment from the divine physician. She didn’t see me, but I saw them. At that time, the County Princess had deep red scars on the left side of her face, like a spiderweb. It looked terribly frightening, and her injury seemed much worse than the Third Miss's."

"But just five or six days later, I saw from a distance, and the scars on the County Princess’s face had mostly healed!"

If she hadn’t witnessed it with her own eyes, Zhang Mama wouldn’t have believed that such severe scars could have improved so much in such a short time.

Liu Shi couldn’t help but glance in the direction where Shen Wan and her daughter had just left, but from her current angle, she couldn’t see Gu Zhiyan’s face.

Both of them shared the same puzzling question in their minds: Was it the divine physician from Jishi Hall who healed Gu Zhiyan’s face, or did County Princess Jing find another famous physician?

Or perhaps it was Daoist Xuánjìng who treated her?

Thinking this, Liu Shi’s heart warmed, and her eyes gleamed with a strange light.

She had come to Yuanqing Temple today specifically to seek a pill from Daoist Xuánjìng to heal her daughter’s face. But she had been turned away by the temple’s little Taoist priest, and she hadn’t even seen the Daoist.

Without hesitation, Liu Shi got out of the carriage and began to follow Shen Wan and her daughter.

In her haste to chase them, Liu Shi didn’t notice Chu Qianchen and Hu Po coming out from behind a large tree a few yards away.

"Miss," Hu Po hesitated, glancing at Chu Qianchen.

She knew that Chu Qianchen was deliberately avoiding Liu Shi. After all, with her face veiled, Chu Qianchen was trying to keep her identity hidden from others. If Liu Shi saw her, she would probably recognize her by her phoenix eyes.

"We’ll go through the back mountain," Chu Qianchen said, leading the way toward the back mountain. Hu Po quickly followed.

Chu Qianchen had come to Yuanqing Temple to meet Gu Jue for a follow-up appointment.

Early this morning, she had gone to Jishi Hall, but the person she wanted to see was absent. All she found was a note asking her to go to Yuanqing Temple.

Chu Qianchen wasn’t surprised. Given Gu Jue’s identity, he couldn’t frequently visit Jishi Hall—it would attract too much attention.

She made her way through the back mountain path and arrived at the back door of Yuanqing Temple. Compared to the front, the back gate seemed much more desolate, with only a small Taoist priest guarding it.

"Good believer," the little Taoist priest greeted Chu Qianchen with a bow. "Our temple doesn’t entertain guests through the back door. Please go to the front entrance."

The little Taoist priest assumed that Chu Qianchen was there to see Daoist Xuánjìng, and his words were a polite refusal. He couldn’t open the back door!

Chu Qianchen smiled gracefully and replied, "In the midst of April’s fading flowers, the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are just beginning to bloom. I heard that your temple has a three-colored peach grove, and I’d like to enjoy some tea and admire the flowers there."

Upon hearing that she wasn’t there to meet Daoist Xuánjìng, the little Taoist priest breathed a sigh of relief.

Recently, most of the visitors to Yuanqing Temple had come to seek an audience with Daoist Xuánjìng, many of them high-ranking officials and even arrogant ones. It had become so overwhelming that even basic hospitality had become difficult. That was why the little Taoist priest had volunteered to guard the back door.

The little Taoist priest smiled warmly, pointing to a direction. "Good believer, I’ll secretly let you in. Once you enter, just walk west along the small path. The peach grove isn’t far."

"Thank you, Daoist," Chu Qianchen said with a faint smile, and Hu Po immediately stepped forward to slip a small silver coin into the little Taoist priest’s hand.

The two of them entered through the back gate and, following the little Taoist priest’s directions, walked west along a narrow stone path. After passing through a bamboo grove, they suddenly found themselves in a wide-open space.

Ahead of them, beside a pond, was a three-colored peach grove. The branches were covered with frost-white, pink, and deep red blossoms. The air was filled with mist, and as the wind blew, countless petals drifted down like rain, their fragrance intoxicating.

At the other end of the peach grove, there was a pavilion built by the pond, perfect for enjoying the flowers.

Gu Jue, dressed in a tea-white Daoist robe, was sitting in the pavilion. Beside him, a small red clay stove was burning water, and steam rose slowly from the kettle’s spout, adding an ethereal aura to the scene.

Chu Qianchen stood dazed for a moment, looking at the person in the pavilion. The scene felt both familiar and strange, as if she had returned to a past life.

Suppressing the emotions rising in her chest, she casually walked toward the peach grove.

Hu Po followed her, but at the entrance of the peach grove, Mo Chen blocked her with his long arm, preventing her from entering.

Mo Chen shot a cold, piercing look at Hu Po, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Hu Po felt a chill run through her body, a shiver running down her spine. She dared not take another step forward.

She could tell that staying near this "ice block" would only freeze her, so she silently took a step back, then another.

Chu Qianchen soon reached the pavilion.

Of course, Gu Jue noticed her arrival. He raised his eyes to look at her, offering a faint smile, and immediately identified her, "Second Young Miss Chu."

His expression was lazy and relaxed, his smile shallow, his gaze containing both scrutiny and assessment.

The thirteen-year-old girl before him seemed to carry many mysteries. Over the past few days, Xue Fengyan had investigated her thoroughly, eager to uncover her ancestry, but had been unable to determine who she had studied under. The only possibility was that she had encountered some mysterious figure while recovering at her estate last year.

Chu Qianchen only smiled, neither denying nor avoiding his gaze, meeting his eyes with calm composure.

Her identity was never a secret, especially to him.

Gu Jue looked into her eyes and confirmed it.

That day, she had indeed noticed Xue Fengyan trailing her.

Interesting.

"Please, have a seat, Miss," Gu Jue gestured toward the stone bench beside him.

Chu Qianchen obediently sat down on the stone bench to his left, placing the red-painted, carved wooden box she had brought on another stone bench.

Her slender fingers moved slightly, and she felt an urge to reach out and tug at his sleeve, just like in her past life, but she ultimately held back. Instead, she looked into his eyes and asked, "Your Highness, have you been feeling any better recently?"

Even with the veil covering most of her face, it couldn't conceal the smile in her eyes. Her black-and-white eyes blinked innocently, as if saying: "Come on, praise me."

The two were only a foot apart. With the breeze blowing, a faint, almost imperceptible plum blossom fragrance wafted from her, the same scent as the sachet on his desk. It was more subtle and elegant than the surrounding peach blossom fragrance.

(End of Chapter)