As she walked under the Bridge of Helplessness, she was almost knocked down by an aunty hurrying home to avoid the snow. Just as the aunty was about to fall, she reached out to support her.
Only then did the aunty realize that there was a girl holding an umbrella under the bridge. After expressing her thanks, she looked at the girl's thin dress and worriedly asked, "Miss is wearing so little, aren't you cold?"
Xu Yourong shook her head and continued to walk into the snow with the umbrella.
From the Imperial Palace to the southern part of the city, she saw streets of the past. After crossing a stone bridge, she saw the cornices of her home and the clearly newly painted walls.
Even someone as calm as her Dao heart couldn't help but feel slightly perplexed at this moment.
From the moment the southern diplomatic mission entered the capital, the gates of the Divine General of the East's estate were wide open. Not to mention the crowds of people waiting on the streets in the snow, even the eyes of the stewards and servants of the Divine General's estate were about to turn green.
Xu Yourong walked over with the umbrella. Under everyone's gazes, she entered the Divine General of the East's estate.
No one noticed how she had entered. Those stewards and servants who had been busy preparing for this day for dozens of days were all stunned, thinking, who is this person?
With a soft sound, she closed the umbrella and lightly knocked on the gate of the Divine General's estate, shaking the snow off the umbrella to the ground.
With the sound of sobbing, Shuang'er ran toward the gate. However, she had already stood for several hours and her legs were a little sore. In her agitated state of mind, when she arrived in front of Xu Yourong, she couldn't stand steadily and almost knelt down.
Xu Yourong reached out to support her. "How come I never saw you make such a formal greeting before? In the years I wasn't here, who started to teach you manners?"
Of course, these words were meant to be teasing, but Shuang'er couldn't laugh. She could only cry, and then, feeling embarrassed, she incessantly wiped at her tears with her sleeve. The meticulously applied makeup on her face was instantly ruined.
Only now did the people of the Divine General's estate react. Mother Hua quickly walked forward, her lips trembling, but she couldn't speak.
"The Young Lady has returned!"
Someone shouted. The firecrackers instantly exploded and fireworks illuminated the dusky snowy sky.
In the midst of the clamor, someone else shouted, "Right now, you can't call her Young Lady, you have to call her Holy Maiden!"
"Welcome, Saintess!"
Seeing the gate quickly close, the crowd that had been waiting in the snow for a long time dispersed with a boom, spreading the news in all directions.
— — Phoenix had returned.
"You're wearing so little, what if you catch a cold?"
Madam Xu held Xu You Rong's hand, her face full of concern, tears dripping down.
"How could my phoenix child be frozen by the snow of the mortal world?"
Xu Shiji gently stroked his beard and said with a smile, looking like a proud and kind father. He sighed with emotion and said, "I haven't seen you for several years. You've really grown up. You've actually … really become the Saintess."
Although from the first day she entered South Stream Temple, he and many others had basically confirmed that his daughter would assuredly become the Holy Maiden of the south, he had never imagined that this day would come so quickly. With this thought, he couldn't help but feel somewhat agitated. Pride and satisfaction took up seventy percent, relief and relaxation took up thirty percent. He knew that even if he had other thoughts, the Divine Empress would not treat him as she did in the past. She would always leave him some face. As for the Tianhai clan and the ministers of the court, who would still dare to mock him behind his back? As for those fellows that had once embarrassed him … he suddenly thought of Chen Changsheng. His mood suddenly became uneasy and his complexion became rather unsightly.
… …
… …
In everyone's imagination, the Holy Maiden was assuredly beautiful and otherworldly, sacred and dignified, serious in speech and manner, sitting upright and still. Although this sort of impression was not necessarily correct, it was already impossible to break. Even Xu You Rong, when she occasionally appeared in front of the common people in these past few years, although she could not walk like the other senior and junior sisters of South Stream Temple, walking without wind or as pure as a white lotus, she still paid great attention to her words and actions, doing her best to only smile and not speak. Only in front of the Divine Empress and her master, the Holy Maiden, would she act more naturally, speaking like a junior and saying a few interesting things. Only in front of Shuang'er, the maid that had grown up with her, would she truly relax, such as right now.
She incessantly rolled around on the bed, her black hair disheveled. Finally, she spread out her arms and lay flat on the bed, sighing, "It's still this bed that's more comfortable to sleep on."
"Young Lady, this is too indecent."
Shuang'er hurriedly found a blanket and draped it over Xu You Rong's body, then sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her in a daze. She was very happy, but for some reason, the rims of her eyes gradually reddened.
Xu You Rong asked, "Just what's wrong? Could it be that someone really dares to bully you? "
When she had just entered the estate, she had asked, but at the time, she had been joking. She was keenly aware that no one in the Xu Estate would dare to bully Shuang'er. Because of her orders, presumably not even her mother would give her any attitude. But now, it seemed that this was not the case. She naturally wanted to know why.
Shuang'er wiped her tears and looked at her, hesitating to speak. In the end, she sadly said, "But what if someone bullies Young Lady?"
Xu You Rong smiled and said, "Silly girl, you're still so silly. Who dares to bully me? You don't know, but in the Garden of Zhou, I met Nanke, the Demon Princess that I mentioned to you in the letter. If it was one on one, I would … "
"Young Lady, you know who I'm talking about," Shuang'er said to her.
Xu You Rong sat up and slowly tied up her black hair. Then, she hugged her knees in silence, thinking about something.
Shuang'er was keenly aware that when the Young Lady was alone, she would often stare blankly like this. When she was small, she had always been like this. She looked very pitiful, completely unlike the calm and magnanimous person she was in front of the world.
Now that her Young Lady was like this, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Young Lady, I didn't mean to make you angry. Don't think about it."
Xu You Rong looked at the bright lamp on the table and suddenly asked, "There's something I want to ask you."
Shuang'er asked, "What is it?"
Xu You Rong turned her head to her and calmly asked, "Back then, you said … she and Princess Luoluo were in the Orthodox Academy … you saw it with your own eyes?"
Shuang'er was somewhat anxious. "Young Lady, it's not easy for you to return home. Why bring up that shameless person?"
Although she didn't admit it, the words' shameless person 'were enough to explain many things.
Xu You Rong didn't ask any more questions. Hugging her knees, she gazed out the window at the snowflakes drifting down. She was quiet for a very long time.
In the past, when she returned to the capital, she definitely wouldn't want to go out again. But today, for some reason, she didn't want to stay at home. She wanted to go out and see.
Perhaps it was because compared to the last two times she returned to the capital, the capital was somewhat different. For instance, the Night Lights in the Unending Palace had increased by quite a few, the pier of the Bridge of Helplessness had been knocked askew by a grain ship last summer and was currently being repaired, the forest by New North Bridge had, for some reason, grown much denser, and it was said that the old ivy covered gate of the Orthodox Academy had been replaced with a new one …
That fellow was in the capital.
He was separated from her by eleven straight streets.
If a normal person were to walk, they would only need an hour, and this was because the roads were slippery in the snow.
If she were to walk, she would only need a few moments.
If she were to ride the White Crane, she would need even less time, only needing the blink of an eye.
The snow outside the window suddenly became disorderly, and her mood also became somewhat disorderly. Blinking her eyes, she realized that the White Crane had landed in the courtyard.
She stood up, put on a large cloak, and walked out of the room. Shuang'er hurriedly hugged the heater to her chest and followed.
The White Crane was combing its feathers in the snow.
A very unpleasant and strange cry resounded in the night sky as the gray baby Peng also descended. It had gone off to play again, and only when it had discovered the White Crane did it fly over. The moment it landed, it burrowed under the White Crane's wings, as if trying to curry favor, but also as if trying to provoke the White Crane to pay attention to it. The White Crane straightened its neck, seeming very helpless, but it had no intention of driving it away.
This small courtyard was a forbidden area of the Divine General of the East's estate. Without her permission, no one could enter, not even Xu Shiji or Madam Xu. There was no need to worry that the baby Peng would scare anyone.
"What kind of bird is this?" Shuang'er asked as she looked at the simple and gray bird.
In her eyes, this bird was truly rather ugly. Yet the White Crane, which had always been known for its love of cleanliness, actually did not resist this bird's closeness. This caused her to be rather shocked.
"A pheasant," Xu Yourong replied.
The baby Peng arched its head out from under the White Crane's wings and gave her a somewhat resentful glance.
"Holy Maiden Peak is truly not an ordinary place. The pheasants on the peak all look so fierce."
Shuang'er clapped her hands in praise. Suddenly, she thought of something and said, "Ah, then I have to go and prepare some fresh water and fruit. Originally, I only prepared the White Crane."
Hearing these words, the resentment in the baby Peng's eyes grew even heavier.
It had already lived on Holy Maiden Peak as a vegetarian for half a year. Only occasionally, when Xu Yourong went into town to play mahjong would it be able to eat some meat, dried meat, pork ribs, and the like. Today, it had come to the bustling capital. As it flew by, it had seen so many fragrant and tender humans, as well as those cultivators who were clearly chewy and nutritious. It had long since become gluttonous, but in the end …
And it was still eating fruit?
It must be known that although it had never eaten human flesh in this life, the impression left in its soul from its last life had not been forgotten.
"This pheasant likes to eat meat." Xu Yourong glanced at the baby Peng.
It was just a very ordinary glance, but the baby Peng felt like its soul had been washed in the coldest ice water for three days and three nights. The scorching desire it had just developed instantly vanished without a trace. It no longer dared to have those thoughts.
"If you have blue lobster at home, make some for it to try."
Hearing these words, the baby Peng was very happy. It incessantly shook its head. The memories of its previous life in its soul told it that the meat of blue lobster was extremely delicious.
Shuang'er somewhat helplessly said, "We don't have any at home."
Xu Yourong was a little surprised. Her family knows that she likes to eat Clear Lake Restaurant's blue lobster. Logically speaking, just like the last two times she returned to the capital, they should have prepared quite a lot. Why isn't there any?
"The entire capital can't eat blue lobster right now."
Shuang'er hesitated, then said, "Because the Orthodox Academy bought Clear Lake Restaurant. Only there can you eat it."
Xu Yourong was a little taken aback. She didn't think … that she would so quickly hear the name of the Orthodox Academy.
The baby Peng, on the other hand, was thinking about what sort of place the Orthodox Academy was. It had to find a chance to eat all the people inside and then slowly eat those blue lobsters.
The White Crane suddenly gave a low and clear cry.
Only now did Xu Yourong realize that the White Crane had been in the Orthodox Academy for this entire half a day. Presumably … it had been playing with that guy?
Shuang'er went to get some other meat. Draped over her cloak, she stood in the night snow, thinking about a few things.
He was in the capital, eleven streets away. An hour would pass in a moment.
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