Ziqing genuinely, deeply liked this kind of child—no matter how enormous the trouble, she never crumbled, never complained, and could still manage a smile.
If before, it had been Baili Weisheng’s repeated bringing up of marriage, combined with the existence of Consort Li, that made her want Baili Xiaosheng as this tough, formidable daughter-in-law, then now, she genuinely wanted her as a daughter-in-law for no other reason than simply because she was Baili Xiaosheng.
Jue Mingzi soon arrived, and his first words upon entering were, “Where’s Baili Weisheng?”
“Off gathering herbs, isn’t he?” Ziqing answered immediately, shooting him a look that made him understand at once. He patted his forehead, laughing. “Getting old makes one forgetful, I suppose!”
As he spoke, he took Baili Xiaosheng’s pulse.
Now that the source of the affliction at the back of Baili Xiaosheng’s head had been removed, aside from some general physical weakness, everything else seemed fine.
Jue Mingzi privately thought Baili Weisheng was truly an irresponsible master, sharing the same suspicion as Ziqing that he’d probably slipped off to sleep on some rooftop somewhere by now.
He finished writing up the prescription and said with a smile, “Girl, does your left hand hurt at all?”
Baili Xiaosheng shook her head. “Why do you ask?”
“When I was removing the needle last night, your master held onto your hand the entire time. I was actually worried he might crush your bones, he was gripping so tightly!” Jue Mingzi said with a laugh.
Baili Xiaosheng froze for a moment, then burst into delighted giggles, glowing with happiness. She’d known it—her master cared about her more than anyone.
She didn’t extend her left hand for inspection, just waved it around happily. “It’s fine, my master dotes on me, he wouldn’t hurt me!”
No matter how tough and masculine this girl usually acted, whenever the subject of her master came up, she always turned back into an overgrown little girl.
Everyone present couldn’t help but silently curse Baili Weisheng for his lack of conscience!
At that moment, Guxi caught Ziqing’s eye, reminding her of the matter of Shiliang. Ziqing was just about to speak up when Baili Xiaosheng stretched and said, “Aunt Qing, I want to get up and walk around. I’ve been lying down too long, my whole body feels stiff.”
The words already forming on Ziqing’s lips had to wait. She stood up, and Hongyi hurried over to help her, but Baili Xiaosheng waved her off, saying, “This little injury is nothing, it won’t kill me!”
With that, she really did climb out of bed and stand up on her own. She glanced out the window and, walking toward it, laughed, “You don’t need to hide it from me—my master would never actually go gather herbs. He’s definitely asleep on some rooftop somewhere, heh heh, I’ll go find him!”
Just as she reached the window, she noticed a piece of paper prominently weighted down on the desk, a few characters staring back at her.
“Master has left. Don’t miss me, don’t look for me. Go get married!”
In an instant, Baili Xiaosheng went completely blank, the back of her head throbbing violently, and she nearly fainted on the spot.
No one understood what was happening at first—they only noticed something was very wrong. Ziqing was about to rush over, but Guxi had already moved ahead of her. Fortunately, Guxi was quick, and just as he approached, Baili Xiaosheng’s legs buckled beneath her—she’d fainted!
Guxi couldn’t hold her steady on his own, and had no choice but to let her lean against his chest, a breach of propriety he couldn’t avoid in the moment. Ziqing, her belly heavy with child, hurried over as fast as she could, and the moment she saw that line of writing on the desk, she gasped sharply, then cursed aloud in fury, “That scoundrel! What does he mean by this!”
“Master has left. Don’t miss me, don’t look for me. Go get married.”
Jun Beiyue read the line aloud, puzzled. This was clearly meant for Baili Xiaosheng—but where had he gone?
Don’t miss him? Don’t look for him?
So he wasn’t coming back?
Surely not—had this annoying scholar really just up and left without a word, just like that?
Guxi laid Baili Xiaosheng down on the couch, and Jue Mingzi took her pulse, muttering about how irresponsible Baili Weisheng was as he hurried to prepare medicine—this child’s constitution was weak right now.
Ziqing was so furious she could barely breathe. “What does he mean by this? Just leaving us like this without a word?”
“This tone… it sounds like he’s never coming back at all,” Jun Beiyue said, puzzled, though he found it hard to believe Baili Weisheng would truly disappear forever.
“Is it really necessary to run from his own disciple like this? It makes no sense at all.” Ziqing couldn’t make sense of Baili Weisheng’s reasoning. Looking at the unconscious Baili Xiaosheng, she furiously issued an order. “Guxi, send word out—put out a warrant for him across the realm! Let’s see if he’ll come back to explain himself!”
While everyone was searching in vain for Baili Weisheng, Situ Jing’er was busy searching the entire manor for Meng Duo’er. Fortunately, she was clever enough to head toward the back mountain, where she finally spotted Meng Duo’er sitting alone on the ground, utterly exhausted, disheveled, as if her very soul had been drained out of her.
Situ Jing’er was shocked and rushed over like an arrow. “Oh my goodness, big sister, what’s wrong with you?”
Meng Duo’er had been dazed the entire night, and seeing Situ Jing’er approach, her tears finally broke free again, flowing in an uncontrollable flood. She pulled Situ Jing’er into a tight embrace, saying nothing, silently crying…
The moment Meng Duo’er started crying, Situ Jing’er was completely at a loss—all that pretense of being mature and worldly instantly crumbled.
She really was just a ten-year-old girl!
It was simply that, being a princess, she’d seen a great deal, been exposed to plenty of situations, had considerable courage, and often traveled the martial world thanks to her formidable skills—which made her seem more mature than her years.
But faced with real trouble, she instantly reverted to being a child!
Just imagine—a ten-year-old girl faced with a thirty-year-old woman crying her heart out—what a terrifying situation that was!
Situ Jing’er stood frozen, her small body rigid, not knowing what to do, only babbling urgently, “Duo’er, please don’t cry, please, calm down, let’s talk about this properly.”
“Duo’er, please stop crying, I’m begging you, please stop. Whoever bullied you, tell me, I’ll go settle the score for you!”
“Duo’er, if you keep crying like this, my clothes are going to be completely soaked.”
…
None of this persuasion worked, of course. In truth, nothing would have worked.
Though Meng Duo’er wasn’t old in years, her heart had remained frozen in time a decade ago. For these past ten years, she’d kept herself shut away in the Dream Clan’s sacred grounds, focused entirely on cultivating her barrier arts—her life otherwise had been utterly empty, she’d never even met a stranger before.
It really wasn’t fair to blame Meng Duo’er for crying so easily—for something like this, anyone else would probably want to jump off a building.
It was simply too heartbreaking, too humiliating.
Meng Duo’er cried and cried, until finally, exhausted, she stopped on her own. Only then did Situ Jing’er carefully venture, “Duo’er, could you… could you let go of me now?”
Her shoulders genuinely ached—her small frame had borne the entire weight of Meng Duo’er.
Meng Duo’er startled, quickly releasing Situ Jing’er. “You… are you okay?”
Situ Jing’er shook out her arms, eyeing Meng Duo’er suspiciously. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Are you… okay? What happened to you?”