五月阁色婷婷丁香五月

After turning a corner of the path, E’niang looked up at the courtyard before her. Suddenly, she stopped and asked in surprise, “Is that the garden in this mansion?”

“Yes, if we go through here, we can reach the garden. It is a lovely garden. The flowers there are blooming in all their beauty. It is the best time to enjoy the scenery!”

The servant girl also stopped walking and said with a bright smile.

!!

“I… May I go and have a look?” E’niang pointed at the garden with a longing look. She blushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed by her proposal.

“Well… okay!” The little servant girl hesitated for a fraction of a second before responding. Since Great Elder Princess had called this woman over, there must be a reason. It was not a big deal for the little servant girl to walk around. “Let’s go through the garden and take a long detour before we return to the mansion gate, okay?”

“Thank you!” E’niang nodded repeatedly. She took out a purse from her sleeve and handed it over.

The little servant girl accepted it. Smilingly, she took the previous turn and walked into the Great Elder Princess’s garden.

Rui’an Great Elder Princess had lived in this mansion for many years. All the decorations inside were gorgeous and eye-catching. There were a lot of flowers and trees. Occasionally, they could see some delicate flowers carefully nourished leaning against the branches. The scene delighted both the eye and the mind.

E’niang clicked her tongue in praise as she enjoyed the scenery. From time to time, she would ask about something. The maid was clever. Though she didn’t know all answers to her questions, she knew quite a lot. Her words seemed well-grounded and reasoned. The more they talked, the better their relationship became. Along the way, they acted intimately as if they were mother and daughter.

“Xiaohuan, I heard the peach blossom grove in Her Grace’s mansion is superb. Could I go and have a look?” E’niang had already obtained the servant girl’s name and asked affectionately.

“All right. But most of the peach blossoms have withered by now,” said Xiaohuan with a smile. She then turned and walked toward the peach blossom grove.

Even before they arrived at the peach blossom grove, they could see the flowers in the distance. Many peach blossoms had fallen and scattered about. Yet, there were still some on the branches. From a distance, it looked like a pink sea of flowers. Its color was not very bright, but it looked more delicate and charming than the surrounding landscapes.

When they got closer, they found some petals scattered on the ground. As the branches swayed, flowers fell.

“Peach trees in our mansion have long flowering periods. The peach blossoms in other places withered early.” Xiaohuan said with pity on her face.

E’niang glanced around the grove. It was not small. From here, she couldn’t see the other side where the little heir of a duke might be. Rolling her eyes, she came up with an idea and abruptly squatted down with a cry. “Ow!”

“What’s wrong?” Xiaohuan looked over and asked.

“I seem to have sprained my ankle!” E’niang rose to her feet by holding a branch nearby, moved her right foot, and frowned tightly. She looked at the little servant girl with embarrassment and said, “Xiaohuan, could you please go and find some medicine sprain injury? There is still a long way to go out of the mansion. I am afraid that I can’t walk all the way like this!”

Xiaohuan looked at her and was sure that she couldn’t walk a long way. Thus, she helplessly reminded her. “Well… okay, then wait here. Don’t walk around, or I can’t find you later!”

The Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion was very large. If she got lost, the little servant girl might not find her when she came back. Since Xiaohuan was particularly worried about this, she had to warn her in advance.

E’niang looked around and saw a stone bench by the road. Then, pointing to it, she said, “Okay, I will stay put. Go ahead. I’ll wait for you there!”

“Then I’ll go and look for the ointment. Please don’t leave!” Xiaohuan nodded and said before leaving.

After Xiaohuan left, E’niang looked around. There were few people here at this time. After all, it was not the season to appreciate the peach blossoms. After thinking for a while, she turned right. The little heir of a duke should be in this peach blossom grove. Since no one was on this side, she would go to look for him on the other side.

At first, E’niang went to the right, but Shao Yuanhao was not there. Then she turned to the left side of this place.

This time, she didn’t go far when she heard some people talking. After listening to the voices carefully, she recognized Shao Yuanhao’s voice. She was overjoyed and took a few quick steps to that place.

Shao Yuanhao was practicing with a sword, and two servants served him aside.

There was a large box before him, which should contain the gifts Princess Chen had mentioned.

Shao Yuanhao wielded his sword twice and put it down. Afterward, he took a bow from the box, tried it with effort, and said to the servant on one side, “Try it!”

“Your Grace, I can’t do it. I have never used it before!” The servant stepped forward with a bitter face. He reached out to take the bow but staggered a few steps back. “Your Grace, why is this bow so heavy?”

“It’s heavy indeed. Maybe my brother-in-law thinks I should practice my arm strength!” Shao Yuanhao raised his arm to show his strength.

“Your Grace, be careful. Don’t get hurt!” A woman’s voice suddenly came from behind them, and E’niang hurried to grab the bow in the servant’s hand. Her voice sounded anxious — she seemed so afraid that the bow would press against Shao Yuanhao.

As the bow fell into E’niang’s hands, she took two steps back, falling heavily to the ground. She cried out in pain, “Ouch!”

Shao Yuanhao and his servants were shocked as they looked toward E’niang. After looking her up and down several times, Shao Yuanhao still didn’t recognize her. “Who are you? Why did you suddenly come out?”

When the two servants saw the place where she ran out, their faces changed suddenly. In a great hurry, they stood before Shao Yuanhao to protect him. One even picked up the sword Shao Yuanhao had put aside and barked, “Who are you? Who sent you here to assassinate our master?”

“An assassin…” The other servant was not that brave. After murmuring something, he craned his neck, and the blue veins on his neck stood out. It seemed that he would soon scream for help at the top of his voice.

“I’m not an assassin. I’m Infanta Qinghua’s servant girl. Your Grace, didn’t you see me at your grandmother’s place just now?” E’niang saw that the situation was not good. She feared the timid servant would ruin her plan, so she hurriedly explained. When she shook her hands wildly, the bow fell to the ground.

Shao Yuanhao’s eyes fell on E’niang, and he sized her up again. “It seems so!”

“Yes, I am!” E’niang breathed a sigh of relief and added anxiously.

“But what are you doing here? Did my grandma ask you to come here?” Shao Yuanhao asked impatiently and waved his hand, motioning the two servants to withdraw.

Since she was not an assassin, the servants didn’t need to stand before him in defense.

“Her Grace and Her Highness asked me to go back. When I came here, I sprained my ankle. When I rested nearby, I happened to hear your servants talking. I didn’t see the situation here clearly before rushing out. I did it because I heard the bow was very heavy, and I feared it might accidentally bear down on you.” E’niang explained with a lingering fear, pointing at the bow at her feet.

E’niang had only taken two steps back just now. Shao Yuanhao had seriously tried the bow, so he knew he would probably have taken more than two steps back if he accidentally got the bow. Just now, his servant was almost pushed down to the ground. If Shao Yuanhao didn’t pull him up in time, the servant would make a fool of himself.

The servant holding the bow was older. He was 14 years old with good arm strength and should be more robust than this woman before them. In the end, this woman fell to the ground as if she could barely hold the bow. However, Shao Yuanhao saw her retreat two steps on purpose. It could be seen that she was strong enough to handle this scene to a nicety.

Sure enough, this woman was not simple.

“Then, thank you. You can leave now!” Shao Yuanhao said casually. He reached out, took a few more arrows from the box on the ground, and played with them in high spirits.

The arrows were well-made, and the arrowheads were sharp.

“Prince Chen sent such things to a child as toys?” E’niang was speechless when seeing these gifts from Prince Chen. “These items are sharp weapons. How could he let a child play with them?”

“Be careful, His Grace. You’d better send these things back to Prince Chen. You are young and will have plenty of chances to play with these things in the future!” E’niang advised with concern.

“Don’t worry about me. I just want to have a look!” Shao Yuanhao said carelessly, digging around in the box. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and looked at E’niang. “You said you were my mother’s servant girl. But didn’t all her servant girls die long ago? Why are you still alive? Why would you look for my grandma today?”

His questions came out one after another, somewhat incoherently. An ignorant child could only ask questions in such an illogical way. It never crossed his mind that his grandma and sister told him to leave because they didn’t want him to know about these things.

E’niang was thinking about how to arouse the heir of a duke’s interest. Thus, when she heard what he said, she was overjoyed. “Of course, it would be best to achieve my goals quietly and smoothly like this.”

Initially, she came here to look for Shao Yuanhao. If Shao Yuanhao didn’t ask anything, how could she go on with her performance?

“Your Grace, I…” Speaking of this, she looked at the two young male servants on both sides. Although they no longer suspected she was an assassin, they looked at her with continued vigilance.

“You stay away from me!” Shao Yuanhao waved his hand and said.

...

“Your Grace…” The younger servant felt wronged and wanted to say something. But when Shao Yuanhao glared at him, he could only back up a dozen paces with another servant. They didn’t stop until they were far away from Shao Yuanhao and E’niang.

“You can tell me now. What’s going on? Why do you want to avenge my mother? My mother died of poor health. Is there any other reason?” Shao Yuanhao put down the arrow in his hand and looked up at E’niang. Although he was still a child, he had a dignified air.

“Your Grace, Madam Jiang in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion provoked your mother and caused her to die in anger. At that time, your mother had just given birth to you, but unpleasant things about your father depressed her. Therefore, Madam Jiang deliberately chose this period to irritate your mother from time to time, saying that she led to your father’s death. Your mother was so weak back then that she couldn’t stand it, so…”

E’niang wiped her tears with a handkerchief, looking extremely sad.

“Is what you said… true?” Shao Yuanhao’s eyes also turned red. He gritted his teeth with rage and asked angrily.

“Of course, it’s true. I told Her Grace and Her Highness the same thing. If you don’t believe it, you can ask them about it. Just don’t tell them you heard it from me!” E’niang also said sincerely, the rims of her eyes turning red.