944 Consort Mei (1)
Shen Miao and Luo Tan returned to the original thatched house. Hui Xiang and Ba Jiao stood under a locust tree, looking around. Cong Yang and Mo Qing sat under the tree, hugging their swords and frowning.
Hui Xiang suddenly said, “They’re here!” Ba Jiao quickly went up to them and saw Luo Tan and Shen Miao walking over. Luo Tan was fine, but Shen Miao seemed to have fallen somewhere. Her entire body was covered in mud, and her hair was disheveled.
Hui Xiang and Ba Jiao looked at each other and asked, “Madam, you…”
Just as Luo Tan was about to speak, Shen Miao tugged at her sleeve. Luo Tan looked up and saw Shen Miao shaking her head.
Shen Miao said, “Let’s go.”
Daoist Priest Chi Yan said, “Since you’re in a hurry to go back, there’s no need to take the way you came. I’ll show you a shortcut.” He led the few of them around and when they arrived, they saw an endless field with a path stretching out to as far as the eye could see.
It seemed that Ben Yue did not take the path Shen Miao and the others came from, but this one.
Chi Yan said, “Walk straight along this path and you’ll reach the exit.” He looked at Shen Miao and smiled. “Madam, do you remember that I once told you that you will face a calamity.”
Shen Miao looked at him calmly. “Are you trying to say that the calamity is about to appear?”
“The timing of the calamity is a heavenly secret that can’t be revealed.” The Daoist priest smiled mysteriously. “However, it won’t be long before I meet you again. At that time, I hope you will be as patient and serious as you were last night while cleaning the flowers. At that time, there will be a chance to resolve the calamity.”
His words were ambiguous and hard to understand. The others were puzzled, and Shen Miao did not understand fully either. However, if memory served her right, today was already the sixth day. The Guiyuan Pill would at most last ten days. Moreover, according to the old imperial physician, Xie Jingxing’s poison had already begun to spread. There was really not much time now.
After saying goodbye to Chi Yan, Shen Miao and the others walked on the path in the field. Just as Chi Yan said, this path was much easier than the forest they traversed the day before.
When they were about to get into the carriage, Hui Xiang couldn’t help but ask, “Madam, what exactly did that Daoist priest ask you to do? What happened last night?” She looked at Shen Miao’s disheveled appearance and didn’t believe that nothing had happened.
Shen Miao said, “Nothing. It’s more important to rush back.” Shen Miao was the first to get into the carriage. Seeing that Shen Miao was unwilling to say it, although Hui Xiang and the others were curious, they didn’t ask further. In addition, Xie Jingxing’s injuries could not be delayed, so they quickly went back.
In the carriage, Luo Tan asked Shen Miao, “Little cousin, why didn’t you tell them?” In Luo Tan’s opinion, it was touching that Shen Miao had suffered so much for Xie Jingxing.
“I was not doing it to put up a show.” Shen Miao said, “Besides, if word gets out that I was treated like a servant, it will embarrass Prince Rui. This matter will end here. Don’t tell anyone else.”