Rebirth of the Great Favor

“Qiqi……” Shen Zhonghua’s voice trembled and his eyes were full of pain.

What didn’t hurt him was the slap that Qiqi threw heavily on his face, but what hurt him was the pain he saw flashed through Qiqi’s eyes and those pains that he actually let her suffer, hurt him.

He clearly knew it was him the one who initiated.
All of this was his responsibility.
Shen Zhonghua looked at Qiqi and his outstretched hand stopped beside Qiqi’s cheek.
He didn’t touch her.
He was afraid.
He was timid.
Once he was clearly so close to her.
He was clearly the most intimate person in the world and had the closest relationship with her, but he personally pushed Qiqi away.

She was within reach, but he couldn’t touch……

Shen Zhonghua looked at Qiqi as she tried hard to straighten her back and lifted her thin shoulders to look at him with cold eyes.
However, her trembling shoulders betrayed her.
Even she knew what she was bracing was nothing but a tough act in front of Shen Zhonghua.

Qiqi was in fear, sadness, sorrow, and anger, and it was all because of him.

Therefore, even if Shen Zhonghua wanted to hug Qiqi so much and told her that he wasn’t good, he did wrong, he would never do it again and he wouldn’t dare anymore.
Shen Zhonghua feared his approach wasn’t comforting Qiqi, but it was just the opposite.

Shen Zhonghua’s movements were frozen in place.
Qiqi suddenly made a cold snort.
The sound was like snowflakes.
It was light and slightly cold.

She pushed his hand away, turned around, and left.
Shen Zhonghua was momentarily speechless.
What he saw when he turned around was already Qiqi’s back.

Once she came out of the rockery, Qiqi’s footsteps rose quickly, almost like trotting to leave.
Qiqi didn’t know what Shen Zhonghua would do to her if she stayed a little longer.
It was no wonder why she was thinking about it.
After all, it wasn’t like Shen Zhonghua didn’t take her in the garden or rockery.

The scene flashed.
Qiqi just felt a moment of humiliation inside, emotional momentary, and unexpectedly wanted to cry somehow.

Perhaps it was also because of the panic in her heart that Qiqi didn’t pay attention to Bai Jue, who was coming head-on.
Hence she directly bumped into a human wall.
Without waiting for Qiqi to stand firm, her waist was embraced by an arm.
Qiqi instinctively stretched out her hands wanting to beat the person’s chest.
When she saw the facial features of the person clearly and the smile skirt on the corner of his mouth, Qiqi had to restrain her gesture in time.

“What a coincidence, Miss Su.” Bai Jue said with a smile.

When Qiqi realized she was lying in Bai Jue’s arms at the moment, she blushed immediately and hurriedly pushed him away.
She greeted Bai Jue and said: “I have run into the lord.
Please forgive me.”

Her voice was cold as well as her eyes.
It was completely different from the docile and clever appearance of the little daughter that she revealed when she was by mother Su’s side.
At this moment her cheeks also blushed with a subtle contrast.

Bai Jue narrowed his eyes.
He just felt like this Miss Su in front of him was like an enchantress, making him feel very interested.
Especially when he saw Prince Xuan, Shen Zhonghua showing his figure at the side of the rockery.
Shen Zhonghua’s look was even more complicated as he gazed toward him on this side.

Even though the general deliberately covered it up, Bai Jue still knew that before this Miss Su returned to the general’s residence to recognize her ancestors, she was once called Shen Qi and was Prince Xuan’s serving maidservant.
Saying she was a serving maidservant, but he even knew in fact, her identity was still Prince Xuan’s person willing to die for him.

Qiqi didn’t want to stay here any longer and lifted her steps.
She was obviously panicking for a path and wasn’t very familiar with the imperial garden.
Bai Jue saw as the little miss took the wrong path and opened his mouth to remind her without urgency and slowly: “Just now one saw Madam Su and her party went to the western garden.
They went to see the differentiation of the just blooms yao tai yu feng.
Not knowing if Miss Su is willing to go and see with Bai-mou?”

(T/N: you can check the variety of chrysanthemums (yao tai yu feng) here.)

Qiqi naturally was unwilling and intuition told her that this Bai Jue wasn’t simple.
But Bai Jue said this ingeniously as if mentioning a hint to her.
Mother Su was in the west garden and he seemed to also know she didn’t know where the west garden was.

Qiqi just wanted to leave quickly.
None of the people in the palace were simple.
She just wanted to hurry back to mother Su’s side.
Look, unconsciously in just several short months, Qiqi had already been so dependent on mother Su that even she didn’t notice.
She subconsciously felt like mother Su, a gentle and soft woman, had actually given her the greatest sense of security.

A person that died was loyal to his master, but he must never have his own dependent person.
And she now had because she was no longer a person that died for anyone.

“Then trouble Prime Minister Bai.” Unfamiliar and polite address.
Qiqi stopped her pace and expressed her compromise.

What a stubborn and interesting little miss.
Bai Jue smiled.
It was a sky clearing up the moon scenery.

When leaving with Qiqi, Bai Jue glanced slightly behind his back.
Shen Zhonghua didn’t move and looked at Qiqi’s back with a gloomy gaze……

* * * *

Probably because Bai Jue sent Qiqi to the west garden, in the returned carriage, mother Su couldn’t help puckering the corner of her mouth and asked Qiqi with a smile: “Little Seven, you and Prime Minister Bai……”

Mother Su was still deliberating, but Qiqi lowered her head and said softly and obediently: “We just met, not familiar.”

Mother Su nodded and gave her a sweet-scented osmanthus pastry, afraid that she would be hungry, and let her pad her stomach first.
She also told Qiqi that before going out she specifically told the cooking mother to make the soybean paste pickled beef that Qiqi liked.

The rims of Qiqi’s eyes were hot.
She moved over and leaned against mother Su’s shoulder.
Mother Su smiled and stroked her soft long hair as if hugging a child to coax and said: “Good little darling……”