Inside the room, after Lu Qingwan re-examined Chi Yaoyao’s pulse, she discovered that the persistent efforts of Dabai and Tengshe had actually helped resolve three more types of蛊毒 (gu poison) within Chi Yaoyao. She was overjoyed.
After re-inserting needles into Chi Yaoyao, as she was wiping her hands, she was suddenly embraced tightly by Feng Xiwu.
She looked back in surprise, "What's wrong? We've only been apart for so long, do you miss me already?"
Feng Xiwu held her very tightly, and said in a muffled voice, "This king hasn't held you in a long time~"
Lu Qingwan chuckled, "We're in the same carriage, seeing each other day and night. Does it matter if I hug you or not?"
"Of course it matters."
The person he cherished most was being so disregarded, even used as a shield. Feng Xiwu was both angry and tender, worried that Lu Qingwan would be hurt, so he didn't even dare to tell her.
"Your flowerpot has been brought. Do you want to transplant the hibiscus into it now?"
"Okay!"
Lu Qingwan smiled and nodded, "I just washed my hands, and I don't want to get them dirty again. You help me."
"Okay, you just watch. I'll do the transplanting."
After dismissing Li Jin and the others to keep watch outside, and leaving Li Su to look after Chi Yaoyao, Feng Xiwu embraced Lu Qingwan and entered the spatial laboratory with the flowerpot.
Li Su had long witnessed the various things that appeared out of nowhere from Lu Qingwan. Seeing the two of them disappear before his eyes, he merely blinked and quickly accepted it.
Inside the spatial laboratory, Feng Xiwu saw hibiscus flowers all over the ground and asked in surprise, "So many hibiscus flowers, are you going to give them all to Feng Ziyi?"
Lu Qingwan didn't notice the change in his address to Feng Ziyi and shook her head, "That won't do.
It's not that I'm reluctant, but rather that Senior Aunt Ziyi's search for hibiscus flowers is to commemorate her deceased mother. This hibiscus, to her, is as precious as her mother.
Giving her just one stalk is enough for her to remember her mother by looking at it.
If I were to give her this whole patch, it would instead ruin the significant meaning that Senior Aunt Ziyi imbues in the hibiscus."
As she spoke, her slender fingers pointed to a hibiscus about to bloom, and she said with a chuckle, "Let's use this one. It's growing well, it's clearly identifiable as hibiscus, and it hasn't bloomed yet, so Senior Aunt Ziyi can look at it for longer."
Feng Xiwu, dressed in luxurious brocade robes, didn't mind the dirt on the ground at all. He held a small trowel and began digging, preparing to transplant the hibiscus.
Listening to Lu Qingwan's bell-like laughter, he felt a pang of sadness.
He couldn't even imagine how Lu Qingwan would feel if, one day, she discovered that the people she treasured were all helping Liu Hanyan keep secrets from her.
Even unknowingly helping Liu Hanyan take back things that had already been given to her, what would that feel like?
In the vast spatial laboratory, Feng Xiwu diligently worked his small trowel, digging and planting flowers. At the same time, he brainstormed, and by the time the hibiscus was transplanted, he had made a decision.
He decided to keep the matter of Liu Hanyan marrying someone else and not intending to acknowledge Lu Qingwan a secret for now.
At the very least, he needed to figure out why Liu Hanyan made such a seemingly willing decision before he could tell Lu Qingwan.
However, thinking of what Lu Qingwan had said about her parents having special identities and her frequently moving to avoid danger, Feng Xiwu couldn't help but have doubts.
The past events that Lu Qingwan herself recounted seemed inconsistent with what he and his subordinates had unintentionally investigated.
"What are you spacing out for? Put the moss on!"
Lu Qingwan hummed and urged Feng Xiwu, "I'm hungry. Hurry up and finish with the hibiscus, I want to eat."
"Okay~"
Feng Xiwu indulgently spread the moss, then turned back with the hibiscus, "We can go."
Transplanting a hibiscus didn't take much time, but Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu were so leisurely that by the time they returned outside with the flowerpot, the sky had already darkened.
Li Su, seeing the two of them appear out of thin air, let out a sigh of relief, "Your Highness, Princess, you're back. The Red Clad Cult Master and the Purple Clad Envoy arrived a while ago."
"They're here so soon?"
Lu Qingwan's face showed surprise, while Feng Xiwu’s expression turned solemn. "Prepare the meal first, and invite the Red Clad Cult Master and the Purple Clad Envoy to dine with us here."
Li Su immediately responded and left. Lu Qingwan didn't stop her, but after Li Su left, she looked at Feng Xiwu uncertainly.
"We're asking for their help, and we're the younger generation. Shouldn't we go and meet Senior Aunt Ziyi personally?"
Although Feng Xiwu had a somewhat cold demeanor, if he was willing, he could handle all social niceties flawlessly and make people feel genuinely comfortable.
But this time, he said without hesitation, "No need. Although she is an elder, you are the Saintess of the Samsara Hall. In terms of status, they should be the ones to come and see you.
I have the court officials helping with matters, some of whom are older than my Imperial Grandfather, yet none of them dare to demand that I pay them homage."
Lu Qingwan chuckled, "You're quibbling."
After speaking, Lu Qingwan did not insist on personally meeting Feng Ziyi, because not long after she finished speaking, Feng Ziyi and Xue Hongyi appeared.
Since their reunion, Xue Hongyi no longer wore red. He was dressed in a flowing white robe, appearing like an immortal, and it didn't seem out of place.
Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu's attention, however, was focused on the woman in purple beside Xue Hongyi.
Feng Ziyi, dressed as a married woman, her hair adorned with jewels and gold pins, and her flowing purple gauze dress, all carried a strong exotic flair.
At that moment, her pair of emerald pupils were filled with a scrutinizing gaze as she examined Lu Qingwan from head to toe. She then spoke, "The Saintess that the old man has been longing for is you? You don't look like much."
As soon as she spoke, it was clear she was a difficult person.
Lu Qingwan chuckled, "It is my fault for not stunning Senior Aunt Ziyi's eyes at first sight.
Senior Aunt Ziyi, on the other hand, is quite beyond my expectations."
Feng Ziyi did not enter the house to be invited. She sat down in the main seat herself.
"I understand. Everyone who knows my name, Feng Ziyi, thinks I am some kind of heroic martial artist who cares for the world and acts with righteousness. You probably didn't expect me to be just an ordinary woman from a foreign land, did you?"
As soon as Feng Ziyi was seated, she took down her hip flask and drank. A rich aroma of wine filled the air, and Lu Qingwan's eyes lit up.
"What a strong wine!"
Feng Ziyi raised an eyebrow, "You like wine too?"
She leaned casually against the back of the chair, and wine dripped from the corner of her mouth. She casually wiped it with the back of her hand. In Lu Qingwan's eyes, she instantly exuded the aura of a fearsome female demon of the martial world.
Lu Qingwan immediately transformed into a little fan girl, grinning obediently, "It is good wine, but my tolerance is not high, so I can only taste more varieties of fine wines with my limited capacity.
This kind of high-proof liquor, if not careful, will become burning alcohol that irritates the throat, causes headaches, and offers no benefits.
But from the scent of your wine, it's clearly not like that."
She wrinkled her nose like a greedy cat, sniffing the wine aroma in the air.
Feng Xiwu held her nose, exasperated, "No need to sniff. This is a special barley wine brewed for the Turkic royal court. There are only ten jars a year.
If you want it, you'll have to raid the Turkic King's stock at the end of the year."
Lu Qingwan shook her head and pushed Feng Xiwu's hand away, "Am I crazy to go raid the Turkic royal court for a jar of wine? I'm not a drunkard!"