0p0 Chapter 383 Qin Chuyun's Past
Chapter 383 Qin Chuyun's Past
What happened next?
Later, the mother and Wu Yulan went into a private room, where they drank tea, ate pastries, and chatted happily, but all their conversations revolved around Zhao Xiaoman.
Four-year-old Qin Chuyun couldn't understand why her mother, who disliked Zhao Xiaoman so much, was so close to Zhao Xiaoman's personal maid.
She couldn't understand why her mother and father would argue so much whenever Zhao Xiaoman was mentioned, but her mother and Wu Yulan were so happy when they talked about Zhao Xiaoman.
So she became the child neglected by her mother. She walked out of the teahouse alone and strolled along the street, stopping and starting at various roadside stalls.
She bought herself a string of candied hawthorns, using the only copper coin she had ever kept. She still remembers how sweet and sour the candied hawthorns were, and how delicious they were.
If my mother were around, I would never let her buy snacks from street vendors, always saying they're unsanitary and will give her a stomachache.
She wandered aimlessly through the streets, not wanting to listen to her mother and Wu Yulan's endless chatter about another woman's trivial matters.
Of course, at that time she only knew that Wu Yulan was Zhao Xiaoman's only personal maid. It wasn't until their family moved to Fengcheng that Wu Yulan came to their door and, later, her mother made the decision for her to become her father's concubine.
Qin Chuyun then learned her full name was Wu Yulan.
After finally finishing the candied hawthorns, little Qin Chuyun suddenly realized that he was lost.
She couldn't find her way back to the teahouse, nor could she find her way home.
She stood on the street corner, looking at the passersby with some fear and unease, but her mind was filled with the words her mother had repeatedly told her.
Don't eat food offered by strangers, don't believe what strangers say, and stay far away from strangers if they suddenly smile at you...
Then, Qin Chuyun saw a spirited young boy riding a white horse, as if he had descended from the sky and landed in front of her.
She couldn't help but call out, "Big brother..."
The older brother helped her find her home, but she couldn't let him take her home.
She remembered one time when the maid had just served her mother a cup of hot tea and placed it on the table next to her.
She was listening to her mother tell a story while resting her head on her mother's lap when she accidentally stood up and bumped into the table, spilling a cup of hot tea all over her arm, which instantly turned red.
She cried loudly in pain. Just then, her father walked into the living room, and she thought her mother would hold her and patiently comfort her.
Unexpectedly, her father asked, "How did Yun'er get burned?"
Her mother immediately pushed her away in disgust and scolded her loudly.
"I've never seen such a disobedient child! I told you to stay still and not move! But you just keep jumping around like a little monkey!"
Then, the mother turned to scold the maid who had just served tea.
"Tell me you don't know any manners?! Who told you to serve such scalding hot tea? The General's Mansion can't tolerate such an unruly servant! Steward, steward!"
The maid was so frightened that she prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly and crying incessantly.
"Madam, I was wrong, I was wrong! Please, have mercy and don't sell me off!"
The father remained silent, watching the chaotic scene before him. Finally, he sighed softly, picked up Qin Chuyun, who was still crying, and left the living room without uttering a single word of reproach to the mother.
Her father took her to the study, applied medicine to her burns, and held her in his arms, gently coaxing her until she fell into a deep sleep.
For many days afterward, her father slept with her in the study. He would always gently hold her arm that wasn't burned, afraid that as the injury gradually healed, she would feel itchy and scratch it.
She would wake up in the middle of the night and see her little hand being held in her father's big hand, her head buried in her father's chest, and smelling the unique, cool fragrance emanating from him.
She loved her father very much.
As she grew older, she realized that her mother did what she did back then simply because she didn't want to take responsibility or be blamed by her father for not taking good care of her.
So when she got lost and her older brother took her home, she was very scared. She was afraid that her mother would use the same trick again and just blame her for being disobedient and running off to play, which led to her getting lost.
Mingming's mother was so engrossed in chatting with Wu Yulan that she didn't pay any attention to her and didn't even see her walk out of the teahouse alone.
So she eventually gave her older brother her most beloved sachet, the sachet that her mother sneered at and despised.
Her mother would laugh at her for embroidering a teapot that was ugly, but it was her first piece of embroidery. It was the teapot that her father usually used for drinking tea, and she treasured it.
The amulet inside was something she obtained from the Bodhisattva when she and her mother went to the Reclining Buddha Temple to offer incense...
Thinking of this, Qin Chuyun looked puzzled. Why did Yang Ying say that praying for marriage at the Wofo Temple was very effective?
Judging from the looks of it, Yang Ying is the older brother who took her home when she got lost back then. Now, Yang Ying's appearance still vaguely resembles that of that time.
Unexpectedly, after many years, Yang Ying and she were able to meet again. Yang Ying still kept the small sachet that she had given him back then.
But Yang Ying probably didn't recognize herself as the little girl who got lost all those years ago...
Qin Chuyun held the sachet, leaned against the bed, and felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her.
In her drowsy state, fragmented images flashed through her mind:
She had met Zhao Xiaoman, and she was a little scared at the time. She subconsciously thought that Zhao Xiaoman, who caused her parents to quarrel from time to time, was a bad woman.
But the moment she saw Zhao Xiaoman, she felt that Zhao Xiaoman's smile was so warm and friendly...
Zhao Xiaoman's mother gave her a food box of pastries...
Zhao Xiaoman's gaze hardly lingered on her father for even a moment...
After that, my father and mother never argued again...
Later, my mother would often stay at the Reclining Buddha Temple for a period of time...
Then, Wu Yulan came...
The Temple of the Reclining Buddha... it's worth a visit...
Early the next morning, Ying Yang came to the General's Mansion as promised to pick up Qin Chuyun and go to the Wofo Temple together.
As soon as the carriage reached the foot of Wofo Temple Mountain, Qin Chuyun immediately kicked Yingyang out of the carriage.
When Yingyang saw Qin Chuyun emerge from the carriage, he realized that she had changed out of her elaborate dress and into the simple cotton dress she wore when they first met, the one that made her look like a girl next door.
The two walked up the steps, and Qin Chuyun then explained to Ying Yang.
"These clothes are easy to wear."
"indeed."
Qin Chuyun suddenly laughed. The saying that a young lady should not show her teeth when she smiles is completely untrue for Qin Chuyun. Her smile was so bright that it infected Ying Yang, who couldn't help but smile as well.
Why are you laughing so happily?
"You know what? I learned my lightness skill from my master, but I only learned the basics. The walls of my house are so high that this is the limit of how far I can fly!"
A sudden inspiration struck Yingyang, and he blurted it out.
"Your master? Could it be the Princess Consort of Xian?"
"Congratulations, you guessed right! But when I met my master, she wasn't the Princess Consort Xian, nor was she named Zhao Xuan. She was just a pastry chef at the Changxiangju Restaurant in Fengcheng. Her name was Huang Huacai!"
"Daylily?! That's a rather unusual name..."
"Why don't you just say it's unpleasant? Do you have to be so dramatic?"
After leaving the General's Mansion, Qin Chuyun was like a caged bird that finally broke free of its cage, spreading its wings and flying into the sky, free and unrestrained.
"In my opinion, no matter how much your stepmother tries to control you, she can't control your unruly and free-spirited heart!"
“You really understand me!”
Qin Chuyun leaped over three steps and turned back to give Yingyang a big smile.