GTB Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Peach Blossom Rendezvous

As the first rays of dawn appeared, carriages successively departed from the city gates, bathed in the morning light.

Today was the annual prayer ceremony at Ning Yin Temple, and many people would come to bask in the Buddhist light, especially the nobles and dignitaries, who were in no short supply.

Many carriages were parked at the foot of the mountain as a result.

The nearby villagers had also set up various stalls at the foot of Ning Yin Temple, selling homemade food, herbal tea, and other items. Some girls were even selling their own embroidered handkerchiefs and pouches, creating a lively scene from afar.

“Mother, it’s really lively here,” Jiang Jiuchu exclaimed as she stepped out of the carriage, witnessing the bustling scene.

She immediately jumped down, ready to explore, but Madam Ye promptly stopped her.

“Chuer, it’s getting late. Don’t miss the vegetarian meal at the temple later, or we’ll be hungry this afternoon. If you want to see, you can look again when we go down the mountain tomorrow! They will definitely still be here.”

“Oh, okay,” Jiang Jiuchu replied, linking arms with her mother and heading towards the mountain path leading to Ning Yin Temple.

Although the mountain path was steep, the stone steps paved by the imperial court for Ning Yin Temple made it relatively easy to walk. However, the uphill climb was always tiring, so the mother and daughter walked and rested intermittently, reaching Ning Yin Temple by mid-morning.

Since they would be staying in the temple overnight to attend the two prayer ceremonies this afternoon and tomorrow morning, Madam Ye had sent someone to reserve the last remaining guest room yesterday.

After resting for half an hour, Governess Cui brought Green Willow to the temple’s dining hall to collect the vegetarian meal.

As Jiang Jiuchu ate, she thought about Song Fuge’s invitation from yesterday and then looked at Madam Ye, asking, “Mother, when does the afternoon prayer ceremony start?”

“It doesn’t start until late afternoon, so there’s no rush. Eat slowly,” Madam Ye replied, assuming her daughter was worried about the time.

“Oh!” Jiang Jiuchu nodded, thinking that it was only early afternoon and there was still nearly an hour until late afternoon. Should she go? What if Brother Fu was waiting there all the time?

She quickly finished the small amount of food in her bowl and then, using the excuse of taking a walk to aid digestion, said she wanted to go out for a stroll.

“Miss, wait for me! I haven’t finished eating yet!” Green Willow exclaimed, hastily shoveling the remaining food in her bowl, but she had taken too much and couldn’t finish it in a few bites.

“It’s okay, eat slowly. I’ll just wander around the temple. Come find me when you’re done!” Jiang Jiuchu said without turning back, walking briskly towards the outside.

Seeing this, Madam Ye shook her head helplessly and said to Green Willow, “It’s okay, go after you finish eating!”

Jiang Jiuchu left the courtyard and, seeing that Green Willow hadn’t followed, quickly headed west, thinking of asking someone ahead for directions to the peach blossom forest on the west side.

Perhaps because it was just past noon, the monks were either resting, eating lunch, or busy with today’s prayer ceremony, so she didn’t encounter a single monk after walking for a while.

However, she did see a faint pink hue in the distance. Her face lit up, and she headed towards the pink peach blossom forest. When she got closer, she realized that this peach blossom forest was even larger than she had seen from afar.

As soon as Jiang Jiuchu stepped into the peach blossom forest, before she could even appreciate the beautiful scenery of the falling peach blossoms, she was suddenly pulled behind a peach tree by a force.

Startled, her face turned pale, and she was about to cry out when a large hand covered her small mouth that was about to open.

“Shh…”

Song Fuge made a shushing gesture to the girl in front of him.

After Jiang Jiuchu clearly saw the person in front of her, the panicked look on her face faded, and her widened eyes looked at him questioningly.

Song Fuge pointed to the distance, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, “There are people ahead,” before reluctantly taking his hand from her face.

However, the soft and delicate sensation on his palm seemed to linger, making him want to clench his fist.

Jiang Jiuchu tilted her head and saw a man in white facing away from them, talking to a woman in green. The woman in green… she looked a little familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.

“Brother Fu, do you know those two people?” Jiang Jiuchu asked in a low voice, looking at the two people in the distance.

Song Fuge’s gaze fell on Yu Qin, his eyes deep. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know them.”

However, he wondered in his heart who that man was. Although he was facing away from him, he was sure that it was not the Seventh Prince.

“Let’s go, let’s go over there,” Song Fuge said, looking at the two people ahead. He took Jiang Jiuchu’s hand, turned around, and walked towards the other side.

Jiang Jiuchu’s face was startled, and she followed behind Song Fuge in a daze, looking at her hand being held by him, her small face turning red.

She remembered that when she was a child, Brother Fu held her hand and made her feel warm. But now, she felt that being held by Brother Fu was so hot and burning.

Song Fuge led Jiang Jiuchu’s small hand to the east side. Under the peach blossoms, their figures shuttled through the peach blossom forest, one pink and one blue, weaving a dreamlike picture.

Song Fuge held Jiang Jiuchu’s hand until he reached the edge of the east side of the peach blossom forest before stopping. He turned around and saw Jiang Jiuchu, with a shy and small face, the faint blush on her face seemed to be more delicate than the peach blossoms behind her.

Seeing that she wanted to withdraw her hand, he loosened his grip slightly, and she pulled it back. He smiled faintly and deliberately asked:

“Can you guess why I asked you to come here today?”

Hearing his question, Jiang Jiuchu instantly felt a little overwhelmed and nervous.

Why did he ask her to come here? She naturally had guesses in her heart, but how could she say it? After all, if she guessed wrong, she would be ashamed, and if she guessed right, she wouldn’t know how to respond for a while.

She paused, and stammered, “Isn’t it… to… to appreciate these peach blossoms?”

Song Fuge looked at her appearance, smiled lightly, and in his handsome and narrow danfeng eyes, it seemed as if stars were strewn, “Appreciating peach blossoms is one, and there is another.”

As he spoke, he took out a hairpin from his chest while Jiang Jiuchu was stunned.

Jiang Jiuchu paused slightly, looking at the hairpin he took out. It was a simple peach blossom hairpin. Was Brother Fu going to give her a hairpin?

In Dong Yue Kingdom, when a man gives a woman a hairpin, it means that he is in love with that woman, and if the woman accepts it, it means that she accepts the love, which is to become engaged.

Jiang Jiuchu stared at the hairpin in front of her, her heart entangled. She… should she accept it? But, wouldn’t this be too fast?

Seeing her tangled and nervous look, Song Fuge turned the hairpin in his hand and said mysteriously:

“This is no ordinary hairpin. This is………”

He moved the hairpin one inch closer to Jiang Jiuchu’s eyes and continued:

“Did you see the raised button on the hairpin body? With a little force, the peach blossom stamen on the head of the hairpin will open, and then a needle will fly out.”

As he spoke, he aimed the hairpin in his hand at Jiang Jiuchu’s back, “Watch carefully.”

Before Jiang Jiuchu could be surprised or curious, she immediately turned around to look. Instantly, a faint sound rang in her ear, and a peach blossom petal falling in the air was nailed to the trunk of the peach tree.

Her eyes widened instantly, and her small mouth opened slightly. She immediately ran forward and looked at the needle that had pierced into the tree trunk, her eyes full of disbelief.

She reached out and forcefully pulled the needle out, running to Song Fuge with an excited expression.

“Brother Fu, let me try it too.”

Song Fuge looked at Jiang Jiuchu’s excited expression, not expecting that a little girl like her would like this thing so much.

After all, he himself liked it because when he first entered the Shadow Gate, he was older, and it was difficult to reach the highest level in martial arts.

He thought of making various exquisite hidden weapons to assist him, so that even when encountering top experts, he could surprise them and protect himself.

He handed the hairpin in his hand over, “Be careful, aim at the target and press hard.”