The First Visit to the Old General II

The cousin no longer bullied her. It was a pleasant feeling.

"Dai'er, where's your grandpa?" Feng Ruqing straightened her body, smiled and asked.

That imperial guard was almost frightened to death at that moment. He wanted to stop Nalan Dai'er from speaking. But, Dai'er was fast even though she had a mental disability. She replied swiftly, "Grandpa's tending to the grass in the backyard."

The imperial guard soon paled at this. He remembered what the general had said and his legs shook in fear.

"Young Master…" The imperial guard looked at Nalan Jing anxiously.

Nalan Jing kept quiet for a moment before he replied, "It's alright. I'll guard her behavior. I'll dismiss her from General Manor regardless of her status if she bullies Dai'er again."

It might be because of how she had argued with Feng Rushuang at the beast court. Or… it might be because of the tenderness he saw in Feng Ruqing's eyes that made him want to trust her again.

 Nalan Jing laughed at himself when he thought of this.

'How much damage would you allow her to do to you before you hate her for the rest of your life?'

Nalan Dai'er grabbed onto Feng Ruqing's hand and walked toward the backyard. The imperial guard did not hesitate to rush to the study room when he saw what happened.

He had to inform the general before Feng Ruqing made any fuss in the general's manor.

***

In the backyard.

There was an old man whose hair was white. He was bent forward and was taking extra care of the herbs in the backyard.

 He was not as strong as he was before. He had aged faster than the others.

Feng Ruqing felt a tinge of sadness when she saw his white hair from afar.

The old general was still strong and tough a few years back in her past memory. Now, his back was hunched and his hair had turned white. He could only tend to the herbs at home and could no longer serve Liu Yun Kingdom. 

For a person like him who had sacrificed his whole life for Liu Yun Kingdom, this kind of life seemed pathetic. 

"Jing'er, you're here." Master Nalan smiled and looked up.

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in front of him.

Master Nalan's hands shook as the watering can he was holding fell to the ground. The dirt splashed onto his body but he did not seem to care. He still looked at Feng Ruqing in shock.

Master Nalan's frightened eyes made Feng Ruqing feel worse than ever.

No grandfather in this world would be angry at his grandchildren for real.

He was just sad. He was sad that his children did not listen to him when they grew up. He wanted his children to stay by him but he was worried that… she would break his heart again.

"Qing'er, you're here too?" Master Nalan composed himself, smiled and said, "This place is so messy. Why don't we go somewhere else?"

 He looked worriedly at the herbs in the backyard. Then, he sighed.

These herbs were his efforts. He had used a few months to gather them from all around the country. He did not want them to be destroyed.

In fact, everybody was aware of how Feng Ruqing was before.

Feng Ruqing did not say anything in return. She casually put the wine jar in Nalan Jing's hands.

Nalan Jing was stunned but he took the wine jar anyway.

By the time he had recovered from his stupor, Feng Ruqing had walked toward Master Nalan. She then picked up the watering can.

Everybody was nervous when they saw Feng Ruqing going near the herbs. Nalan Jing was on the verge of stopping her when Feng Ruqing started casually watering the herbs.