jdhmnovel Chapter 226 See You Again (Part )
Chapter 226 See You Again (Part )
After Yun Shao and Yun Qing left, Fu Xiang Zhai was completely different from before. The former luxurious and grand decoration had been removed, and replaced with an exceptionally fresh and elegant style.
Tao Yao stood outside the door of Fuxiangzhai for a long time, watching from afar the small figures inside the door busying back and forth. A lot of emotions surged in her heart, which were hard to describe.
I don't know how long I stood there, but I finally saw a group of figures walking towards the door - Huai Ling was holding a basin of water in her arms, and was about to splash the water at the door. The moment she raised her eyes and saw Tao Yao, she was so scared that she staggered and spilled the basin and the water in her arms on the ground.
"Second Miss...Second Miss!?"
Huai Ling raised her hand and rubbed her eyes uncertainly, fearing that she was dazzled and had seen it wrong.
Tao Yao walked over with a smile, took Huai Ling's hand, and whispered, "You're not mistaken, it's me. Huai Ling, I'm back."
For a moment, Huai Ling didn't know whether to cry or laugh, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Second Miss, it's really you... You're really back!" Huai Ling touched Tao Yao's skirt with trembling hands, as if to confirm that all this was real, not a dream that would disappear at the touch of a finger. "Huai Ling thought... I would never see Second Miss again..."
Tao Yao raised the corner of her mouth, scratched Huai Ling's nose, and said softly, "Silly girl, what unlucky words are you saying? I'm not dead."
Huai Ling sobbed and said aggrievedly, "But... the master clearly said..."
"What did you say?" Tao Yao asked.
Huai Ling raised her hand and wiped her snot and tears with her sleeve, smiled happily, shook her head quickly, and swallowed all those words back into her stomach - it was a happy day to reunite with the second young lady, and it was better not to mention those bad people and things.
"Nothing..." Huai Ling held Tao Yao's hand, "Second Miss, I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back."
"Huai Ling, I already know about your departure from the Shi Mansion." Tao Yao smiled and touched Huai Ling's face. "I also want to thank Prince Yi. Otherwise, if the situation was still the same as before, I don't dare to think when we can meet again like this."
"Yes, yes... Huai Ling is afraid that she will never be able to repay the kindness of His Highness Prince Yi in her entire life... The prince asked me to look after Fuxiangzhai, so I wanted to tidy it up properly. Otherwise, I am too weak and don't know what to do to repay the prince's kindness..."
Huai Ling pulled Tao Yao in, and while introducing them, she took Tao Yao on a tour around Fu Xiang Zhai. Tao Yao looked at the clean and tidy Fu Xiang Zhai, and her heart warmed. Before, Huai Ling had no place of her own in the capital, but now with Fu Xiang Zhai, Huai Ling finally had a roof over her head that could shelter her from the wind and rain.
The two of them sat down together. Huai Ling took out the finest pre-rain Longjing tea that Chu Huanjun had brought earlier and heated it up in front of the tea stove.
The tea in the teapot is bubbling, steam is rising, and the room is filled with fragrance.
Tao Yao sat beside the tea stove, watching Huai Ling skillfully brewing and steeping tea. Suddenly, she felt a strange feeling in her heart. She jokingly said, "Before I left, he said he wanted me to be the boss of Fuxiangzhai. I didn't expect that I wouldn't get the job, but you got it first."
Huai Ling quickly said, "What are you talking about, Second Miss? Huai Ling was just helping out at Fuxiangzhai, learning how to manage the accounts. Now that Second Miss is back, if she wants to be the boss of Fuxiangzhai, then naturally she should be the one to do it!"
Tao Yao was amused by her anxious explanation and said with a smile, "Look how anxious you are. I was just joking. You don't have to take it so seriously... I just saw that you kept talking about repaying a favor, and I was worried that you would feel that the burden was too heavy. The prince is willing to redeem you from the Shi Mansion. It is something he is happy to do. Just consider it a blessing and don't feel burdened."
Huai Ling was stunned by Tao Yao's words. She didn't realize that the teacup in her hand was tilted. The boiling hot tea overflowed from the cup and splashed on her hand, burning her so much that she couldn't help but scream.
Tao Yao quickly took a handkerchief and wiped her tears, but the more she wiped, the more tears appeared in Huai Ling's eyes.
Tao Yao thought Huai Ling was in real pain from the burns, and she was extremely anxious. She said, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have made such jokes while you were making tea. How is it? Does it hurt? I'll go find some medicine for your burns. Just wait."
Huai Ling grabbed Tao Yao's hand, smiled through her tears, and slowly shook her head, sobbing, "Second Miss, Huai Ling doesn't feel any pain. It's just a burn. It's nothing serious."
"How can that be?!" Tao Yao was very worried, "You're crying because of the pain."
Huai Ling said, "Second Miss, Huai Ling is not crying because her hand hurts... but because Second Miss loves Huai Ling and truly cares about her... How could Huai Ling deserve Second Miss's love... It was because of this that Huai Ling was moved to tears just now..."
The more Huai Ling spoke, the more she felt wronged, her tears almost pouring out like a waterfall. Tao Yao was a little caught off guard, and she couldn't wipe Huai Ling's tears or nose with a handkerchief in her hand. She simply opened her arms and hugged Huai Ling, crying bitterly with her.
The emotions that had been suppressed for several months suddenly collapsed like a building. The two of them cried harder and harder, and while crying, they recounted everything that had happened in the past two months.
Huai Ling hugged Tao Yao tightly, like an ant clinging to a life-saving piece of driftwood in a turbulent torrent, and cried in a trembling voice, "Everyone in the Shi Mansion said that you, Second Miss, were dead, but I just couldn't believe it... How could such a healthy person disappear in the blink of an eye and die without any news... Fortunately, I kept waiting, and waited, and finally you came back..."
Tao Yao patted Huai Ling's back gently with her palms, unable to stop crying. She sobbed and said softly, "It's okay... It's okay... Everything is over... You don't have to suffer in the Shi Mansion anymore. From now on, you are free."
As soon as she finished speaking, Huai Ling's body trembled. She let go of her hand and stared at Tao Yao quietly for a long moment before asking tentatively, "What about the Second Young Lady...? What are your plans for the future? As long as you're in the capital, you'll inevitably have to meet people from the Shi Mansion."
Tao Yao blinked, looked away, and avoided the topic: "Let's talk about it later... Anyway, we haven't met yet, right? Let's think about the future later."
But Huai Ling saw through Tao Yao's thoughts immediately. She tightly grasped Tao Yao's wrist and asked with a frown, "Doesn't the Second Miss plan to stay in the capital? Is the Second Miss going to leave Huai Ling again?"