Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Beneath the Osmanthus, Su Qingwu Appears

Mu Yunyao gathered her thoughts and continued walking forward.

Yet at the corner of the street, a young nobleman stepped out. His figure was somewhat plump, and several attendants followed behind him. One of them was even missing a finger.

It was none other than Tan Bawang, the young master of Caiyue Pavilion, whom Mu Yunyao had once beaten thoroughly with an oil-paper umbrella.

At this moment, he stared at Mu Yunyao’s retreating figure, his face full of savage anger.

“What a fine little wretch. I have finally found you. You even tricked me, saying you were the cousin miss of the Tan family from Chunxiu Embroidery Shop. This young master searched through more than half the Capital and still could not find you. Who would have thought I would run into you here? Go. Investigate her properly. Find out exactly who that wretched girl is.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Having remembered the matters of the past, Mu Yunyao no longer had any mood to continue strolling through the streets. She simply returned home.

Seeing her return so quickly, Su Qing could not help feeling a little strange.

“Did you not say yourself that you wanted to have a proper stroll today? Why have you come back after such a short while?”

Mu Yunyao clung to Su Qing’s side.

“Was it not because, after going out, I began missing Mother again? So I came back.”

“You girl. Did you eat osmanthus honey today?”

“Now that Mother says so, I am craving it. I want to eat the eight-treasure rice Mother makes.”

“I really do not know why you like eight-treasure rice so much. I will not make it today. Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn. Mother will make some osmanthus cakes and mooncakes, which can at least suit the occasion.”

Su Qing stroked Mu Yunyao’s hair and spoke as though coaxing a child.

“How about I make eight-treasure rice for you in a couple of days?”

Mu Yunyao rubbed against Su Qing’s arm and nodded obediently.

“All right. If Mother wants to make osmanthus cakes, have the osmanthus flowers already been picked?”

“I heard Si Qin say that at this time of year, osmanthus flowers are sold everywhere on the streets. Mother was planning to have her buy some.”

There were only the two of them, mother and daughter. They would not need much osmanthus. A few wen would be enough to buy what they needed.

Mu Yunyao’s eyes, however, lit up.

“There is no need to buy any. I will personally go pick some for Mother. At the westernmost side of Jinxiu Garden, there is an osmanthus grove. At the time, I felt the osmanthus had not yet reached full bloom, so I did not open it to guests. Now it just happens to benefit me. I will first pluck the best osmanthus flowers and bring them back for Mother to make osmanthus cakes.”

“No. Those osmanthus flowers should be left for the guests to admire. I will simply buy some.”

Mu Yunyao, however, would not listen.

“The best osmanthus flowers naturally must be given to Mother. Wait for me. I will go right now.”

After saying this, she directly lifted her skirts and ran out, leaving Su Qing not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Su Qing hurriedly instructed Jin Lan and Jin Qiao.

“Quickly follow her and protect her. You must not let Miss injure herself.”

“Yes. Madam, rest assured.”

For Mu Yunyao’s convenience in coming and going, Steward Qin had ordered a hidden door opened in the courtyard wall, so that she did not need to take the long way around through the main entrance and could enter Jinxiu Garden directly.

Mu Yunyao deliberately avoided the crowds and chose the smaller paths, making her way all the way to the outside of the osmanthus grove.

Before she had even entered the courtyard, she could already smell waves of osmanthus fragrance, fresh enough to seep into the heart. When she lifted her head slightly, she saw osmanthus branches reaching over the garden wall. Clusters of blossoms hid among the green leaves, looking even fresher and more lovely.

Mu Yunyao could not help reaching out to touch them gently.

Not far away, Su Qingwu stood by the water’s edge, light shifting within his eyes.

By all rights, he had only just returned from Jingling City to the Capital to report on his mission. This time, escorting His Majesty’s calligraphy could have been done by someone else.

Yet after hearing Xu Li speak, he had subconsciously agreed at once, without giving the matter the slightest thought, even though Mid-Autumn was near.

On the road here, a restless irritation had flashed through his heart from time to time. Yet when he tried to distinguish it carefully, he could not grasp it.

The guards below had already escorted His Majesty’s calligraphy to Governor Zhang’s Residence. He, however, had quietly come to Jinxiu Garden and slowly walked to the side of the winding nine-turn corridor bridge.

Standing on the bridge, he looked over the lotus flowers filling the lake. Yet what returned to his mind was Mu Yunyao’s appearance that day, one hand resting on the railing, a faint smile on her face.

With his thoughts complicated, he deliberately avoided the crowds and came to the water’s edge. Unexpectedly, just as he rounded a cluster of reeds, he saw Mu Yunyao across the way, smiling as she touched the osmanthus flowers.

She wore a flower-scattered gauze robe with a pale apricot skirt. Silver-white magnolias were embroidered along the hem. From a distance, she looked fresh and pleasing to the eye.

At this moment, one hand held up her skirt while the other reached up to touch the osmanthus blossoms leaning over the wall. The smile on her lips was sweet, more captivating than the clustered osmanthus flowers.

Su Qingwu only felt his heart settle in an instant.

The restlessness that had accompanied him all the way here vanished without a trace. He furrowed his brows, and his mood became even worse than before.

Mu Yunyao knew nothing of Su Qingwu’s arrival at Jinxiu Garden. After touching that cluster of osmanthus flowers, the smile in her eyes deepened.

Jin Lan and Jin Qiao caught up, carrying baskets.

“Miss, please watch from below. This servant will help you pick the osmanthus flowers.”

Mu Yunyao had rarely given rise to such playful thoughts. Carrying the basket, she walked beneath an osmanthus tree.

“In the past, my body was weak, and Mother was always worried about me. She would not permit this or that. But Father was especially indulgent with me. He took me to the riverbank to catch fish and play in the water. He even accompanied me in climbing trees to steal bird eggs…”

Everything that other children could do, Father had taken her to do as well. He had not allowed her to suffer the slightest regret just because her body was weak.

Because of Li Shi, Mu Yunyao had once held some resentment in her heart toward her father. Later, Mother had given up her life for her, and that fierce, overwhelming love had covered over her longing for Father.

Now that she thought about it, Father’s sincere love for her had not been any less than Mother’s.

Jin Lan and Jin Qiao did not dare respond, afraid that speaking would make Mu Yunyao even sadder.

Mu Yunyao, however, smiled softly and pressed down the ache in her heart. She lifted her head and looked at the osmanthus tree, which was not especially tall. Then she raised her skirt, gripped a branch, and climbed up.

“Miss!”

Jin Lan and Jin Qiao had not expected her movements to be so nimble. They hurriedly cried out and reached their hands below her, afraid she might accidentally fall from the tree.

“Miss, be careful. You must be careful!”

This osmanthus tree had grown for many years and had also been carefully pruned. Its branches were thick and sturdy. Supporting her weight alone was no problem at all.

Mu Yunyao chose a place and sat down, letting her legs hang and swing slightly. Seeing the nervous expressions on Jin Lan and Jin Qiao’s faces, she could not help laughing happily.

After laughing, she lifted her head by chance and was immediately captivated by the osmanthus blossoms covering the tree.

Sunlight spilled down. Cluster after cluster of golden osmanthus glimmered faintly. When the wind blew, the flower clusters moved lightly with the breeze, scattering the tree’s brilliance into shimmering fragments.

Mu Yunyao’s eyes curved slightly. She admired the sight for quite a while before returning to herself.

She raised her hand and broke off a branch of osmanthus, then smiled.

“Jade pearls fall, scattered beneath the moon’s wheel. Before the palace, they are gathered fresh with dew. To this day, I do not understand the affairs of the heavens. Perhaps Chang’e cast them down to humankind. I shall also imitate Chang’e in the moon and give you each a branch of osmanthus. How about it?”

Su Qingwu had wanted to turn and leave when he saw Mu Yunyao enter the osmanthus grove. Yet after he had taken only a few steps, he heard Jin Lan and Jin Qiao’s startled cries. Worry rose in his heart, and he was afraid something had happened to her, so he quickly went around the stream and entered the garden.

Unexpectedly, just as he arrived beneath the tree, he heard Mu Yunyao’s words.

He had only just lifted his head when a branch of osmanthus, casually tossed down by her, fell straight into his arms.

Su Qingwu!

Why was he here?

Mu Yunyao had originally intended to break off a branch of osmanthus and give it to Jin Lan and Jin Qiao. She had not expected her hand to slip, causing the branch to fall from her grasp.

She hurriedly lowered her head, only to meet Su Qingwu’s pair of phoenix eyes. Her heart could not help trembling fiercely. She instinctively tightened her grip on the branch, only then keeping herself from slipping down from the tree.

Su Qingwu held the osmanthus branch and lifted his head.

Mu Yunyao sat upon the osmanthus tree. Behind her, brilliant sunlight scattered down in fine fragments. A breeze blew over, and golden osmanthus petals drifted down, brushing past her hair and skirt.

In that instant, his eyes were dazzled, and his heart fell into disorder.

Standing beneath the osmanthus tree, Su Qingwu clearly heard his own heartbeat for the first time.

Swift.

Powerful.

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