Chapter 201 - Plum Blossom Forest
Chapter 201: Plum Blossom Forest
This was Sang Wan’s last vegetarian meal when Liu Ya suddenly asked if there was any pretty scenery around the temple. The nun who delivered the food smiled and said, “I was thinking of letting you know about it even without you asking! This temple is called Plum Blossom Temple, the plum blossom trees here are a must see! There are a few hectares of plum blossom trees right behind the temple. The weather here is cooling and it allows the flowers to bloom splendidly to form a sea of flowers; it would be a pity if Young Mistress did not visit it! Why don’t you follow me to have a look later?”
“Well…” Sang Wan hesitated for a while before refusing with a smile, “I think I’ll pass. I will visit it next time if I have the chance!”
Her mother-in-law was praying for blessings; although she did not need Sang Wan to accompany her, it would be inappropriate for her to be out having fun.
The nun smiled and persuaded, “You’ll have to wait an entire year for the next chance to come by. That will be a very long wait! Even the Shi family’s eldest missy who visited yesterday said it was worth the visit! Everyone in Qingzhou loves the plum blossom flowers here! They say the flowers blooming here are better and vibrant than those outside!”
Upon hearing so, Liu Ya became tempted and could not help but join hands with the nun to persuade Sang Wan. With their combined effort, Sang Wan got talked into it, and they followed the nun once the dishes were cleared away.
“Look, Young Mistress, that’s the place!” After a short walk, the nun pointed to an indistinct cloud of red which began to come into sight.
The master and servant look towards the direction. True enough, the scene before them deserved praise.
When they were nearly there, a little nun suddenly came up to them from out of nowhere. While panting, she leaned towards the nun who was leading the way and whispered something into her ear. Taken aback by her words, the nun, who led the way, smiled apologetically to Sang Wan and Liu Ya, “Because something happened at the temple, I’ll have to make a trip back. Young Mistress, you’ll arrive at the spot after taking a turn around this corner and past the back gate! Then I’ll have to bid farewell to you here!”
“Thank you for your trouble!” Sang Wan nodded and smiled before going ahead with Liu Ya.
Once they stepped out of the back gate, the sea of plum blossom flowers were right before their eyes. A sweet fragrance filled their noses as the boundless sea of flowers bloomed in red, pink, and white.
“Young Mistress, these plum blossom flowers do indeed bloom nicely!” Liu Ya smiled and complimented.
“Maybe it’s because they are growing near the temple which has a spiritual influence on the area!” Sang Wan joked.
“Xixi, those were some wonderful words, Big Sister-in-law! I feel as if I somewhat understand!” A young maiden dressed in bright yellow approached from the side while holding two stalks of plum blossom flowers. Beside her was her servant, Cai Yun, who was wearing a turquoise uniform coat and a white long skirt.
That maiden was Shi Lian.
“Third Sister!” Sang Wan was fond of her and hurriedly went up to her, “You’re here as well!”
“En, I wanted to have a walk around here since we are going back tomorrow. I didn’t think I’d see Big Sister Sang Wan here as well! How careless of me, I should have asked you out!” Shi Lian smiled and held Sang Wan’s arm.
“No worries, we did end up meeting here in the end, didn’t we?” Their eyes met and they giggled as they walked into the plum blossom forest while complimenting the flowers.
The plum blossom flowers near the temple lived up to their name and the two enjoyed their time around the flowers. “Young Mistress!” Suddenly, they heard Zhide calling out as she headed towards the plum blossom forest to search for Sang Wan.
Liu Ya quickly ran ahead towards Zhide to bring her over.
“Young Mistress! Oh, Third Missy is here as well!” Zhide ran up to them before bowing as he panted.
“Why are you so flustered? Calm yourself and speak slowly!” Sang Wang smiled and said.
Zhide looked at Shi Lian and hesitated. Sang Wan noticed her hesitation and gently chided, “What are you worrying about? Third Missy isn’t an outsider! Is my mother-in-law looking for me?”
“No,” Zhide shook her head before she smiled and said, “It’s that, Young Master is back…”
Blood rushed to Sang Wan’s face, who became somewhat embarrassed. Shi Lian could not help but chuckle as she nudged Sang Wan and smiled, “Sister Sang Wan, you should hurry since Big Brother is back! He must be waiting for you!”
“We should go together too!” Sang Wan smiled.
“I still want to have a look around the area. Big Sister Sang Wan, you should hurry, don’t make Big Brother wait too long for you!”
Sang Wan stopped insisting. She smiled and parted ways with Shi Lian together with Zhide and Liu Ya.
The temple did not allow male pilgrims to enter, hence, Shi Fengju had to wait at the back of the mountain. Sang Wan followed Zhide and exited the plum blossom forest. Not long after, she saw a smiling Shi Fengju who was waiting for her under a cluster of bamboo.
Zhide and Liu Ya read the atmosphere and retreated away from them as Sang Wan approached him with a smile, “Why are you here? I was with Third Sister in the plum blossom forest; you should have went in to find us instead of asking Zhide to bring me out!”
“I only wanted to see you,” Shi Fengju led her by her hand to the back of the cluster of bamboo, where he hugged her tightly and kissed her on her forehead. “Did you miss me?”
“Don’t tease me!” Sang Wan pushed him away, embarrassed, before smiling, “There’s a time and place for everything!”
“Don’t worry, nobody will see us here!” Shi Fengju laughed, “we are being blocked by the bamboo, and Zhan Huan is guarding the slope!”
Sang Wan was speechless: this person really is …
“So did you miss me, hmm?” Shi Fengju deepened his tone and whispered in her ear. Although they had only been apart for two days, he felt out of place. He could not concentrate on his work, and could not sleep at night when he was home. As such, he might as well make his way over to find her. Only when he held her in his arms and kissed her would the uneasiness in his heart settle down.
Sang Wang nodded and buried her face in his chest, too embarrassed to raise her head.
“Sang Wan!” Shi Fengju called out in a low voice, as he lifted her chin and gave her a deep kiss. The moan Sang Wan made unconsciously was swallowed by him and she couldn’t help but wrap her arms around his waist as she raised her head to accept his kiss.
The two pull away from each other after a long while. Shi Fengju brushed his finger against Sang Wan’s red and tender lips as he laughed deeply, “Sang Wan, I can’t seem to fall asleep without you by my side, you have to compensate me when we go back!”
Sang Wan hit him lightly, “Look at you, saying these words at a place like this! Mother will get mad at me if she heard you!”
Shi Fengju laughed and trapped her tightly in his arms, “Bodhisattva only takes care of the things happening within the temple and does not have time for this big big world so there’s no need for you to be afraid! Mother will be too busy to get mad at you, rest assured!”
Sang Wan laughed aloud, “We will be going back tomorrow so you shouldn’t have made an extra effort to come here. Hurry home before the sun sets. The sun in the early spring isn’t warm so the journey home will become colder if you leave later.”
“I will accompany you for a little more; it doesn’t hurt for me to sleep over at a nearby house tonight so that we can go home together tomorrow!” Shi Fengju came such a long way just to see her so he was not willing to go home so soon.
Upon hearing him, Sang Wan no longer tried to persuade him. Instead, both of them sat close together as they had a private conversation.
“Young Master! Young Mistress! Not good! Not good!” Zhide’s wavering voice reached Shi Fengju and Sang Wan, who received a shock.
“What’s wrong?” They came out from the back of the bamboo cluster. It was clear that Shi Fengju was unhappy when he gave Zhide a dark look. He was just enjoying a short but sweet time with his beloved wife in this splendid place when it got disrupted. It was already considered tolerant of him to not chase Zhide away.
“It’s Third Missy! Third Missy…”
“What happened to Third Sister! Hurry and bring us there!” Sang Wan’s expression changed immediately. Did Shi Lian fall or get bitten by some venomous snakes or insects? That would be terrible!
“Young Mistress, you shouldn’t go!” Zhide quickly went to stop Sang Wang before forcing herself to speak, “A young master came out of nowhere and began pestering Third Missy. When Liu Ya and I heard the commotion, Liu Ya went over to protect Third Missy while I hurried here to inform you about it. I’m not sure how things are going now!”
“How preposterous!” Shi Fengju said coldy, ”Which directions to?”
Zhide hurriedly gave the directions.
Shi Fengju told Sang Wan, “You should head over to the temple with Zhide, I will go and take a look!”
“Be careful, make sure Third Sister is not taken advantage of!” Sang Wan nodded her head as she knew that it would be inappropriate for her to follow along.
“I know! You should go back quickly!” Shi Fengju turned around and hurriedly walked in the direction Zhide pointed to.
“Young Mistress, let’s head back quickly!” Zhide was unwilling to stay outside any longer as she was afraid of getting Sang Wan involved in any bad rumors.
Upon returning through the back gate, Sang Wan and Zhide waited nervously at the garden for further news. Sang Wan was not worried about what Zhide was afraid of. After all, she was with Shi Fengju all the while so it would be impossible for her to be caught in any bad rumors with him as her witness.
After a short while, Liu Ya and Cai Yun was supporting Shi Lian, whose hair and dress was slightly messy. Sang Wan heaved a sigh of relief.
“Big Sister Sang Wan!” Shi Lian called out as she held back her tears. Sang Wan returned a few comforting words before ordering Liu Ya and Zhide to accompany Shi Lian to the back of some bushes in the garden to tidy herself up before Sang Wan went out of the back gate to see Shi Fengju.
“Is Third Sister alright?” Sang Wan asked softly.
“She’s alright.” Shi Fengju shook his head and said gently, “Don’t let Mother and the others know of this, you should head back and rest first. I will tell you in detail later, so head back first!”
This time, Sang Wan was no longer the one to urge him to leave.
She knew that they were not in a suitable place to discuss things so she nodded and said, “You should be heading back soon as well. Be careful on the road. I will be returning to the household with Mother and the others tomorrow!”
Shi Fengju smiled and nodded his head as he watched Sang Wan make her way back. His expression turned dark when he was reminded of what happened just now.
Although Shi Lian was not born from the same mother, she was still a missy from the Shi Family. Hong Xi, that scoundrel, better not think that he could get away with things just because he was the son of a senior provincial government official!
After Sang Wan finished comforting Shi Lian in the side room, the group of people returned to their own rooms to rest. Liu Ya and Zhide served Sang Wan quietly and were no longer making any comments about leaving the temple.
Liu Ya was secretly glad that her Young Master called for her Young Mistress at that unexpected moment. Otherwise, it might have been her young mistress meeting that Mister Hong, and her young mistress was prettier and had a better temperament than Third Missy. One look and anyone could tell that that man was a lecher!
The more Sang Wan thought, the more worried she was, but she could not simply ask Liu Ya and Zhide because the walls in the temple might have ears. As such, she could only hold herself back.
On the next day, when they were leaving the temple as a group, Shi Lian’s composure had recovered, and she gave a nod and returned a smile when she noticed Sang Wan looking at her worriedly. With this, Sang Wan’s worry eased.
Upon returning to the household, Wang Shi gave an order for them to return to their respective houses.