Chapter 418: Chapter 418: He Waited for Her for So Long

"She’s back?"

"Yes, she’s in the city now."

Song Xilan slowly raised her eyes from the bronze mirror, her gaze dark and unreadable. "He’s been waiting for her for so long. Now that she’s finally back, he must be happy."

Kong Qing gazed at her mistress, but hesitated to speak.

"What is it?"

Song Xilan turned to look at her.

Kong Qing couldn’t help but say, "Princess Consort, the Prince hasn’t set foot in Jingsi Pavilion this entire time. Why are you..."

She trailed off, but Song Xilan could guess the rest.

She chuckled softly and turned back to stare at her own reflection.

"I’ve chased him for so long. I’m tired now."

"But..."

"But this is my fate, isn’t it?"

"I wouldn’t dare say so."

Song Xilan, however, didn’t seem to mind. With a small laugh, she resumed drawing her eyebrows. "Did King Qing go to the palace?"

"Yes. He parted ways with... with Princess Qing on the street and went straight to the palace."

Only then did a gentle, warm smile appear on Song Xilan’s face. "Go and bring me that Lotus Hairpin."

Song Xilan finished getting ready and stood up. She stood before the mirror, admiring herself for a moment, then turned to ask Kong Qing, "Do I look beautiful?"

Kong Qing immediately replied, "Your Highness is a heavenly beauty. Of course you look beautiful."

Song Xilan smiled coyly. "Prepare the carriage. I’m going to see him."

’Him?’

Kong Qing had a bad feeling, but she didn’t dare question it, so she hurried off to make the arrangements.

Song Lianhe was taking a moment to sip her tea when Yan Wen approached.

"You should rest, Your Highness," Yan Wen advised, his brow furrowed. "You can’t possibly see this many people in one day. You must take care of yourself. That would be the true blessing for the people."

Song Lianhe wiped the sweat from her forehead, looked up at him, and smiled. "You truly live up to your title as Top Scorer! I love the things you say!" She glanced back at the line of people still waiting to be seen. "Right now I’m their good fortune, but who knows? In the future, they might be mine."

Afraid she’d misunderstand, he quickly said, "I don’t mean to flatter you. I’m speaking from the heart."

Knowing how serious he was, she chuckled. "Heh, I know you’re just concerned for me. I don’t plan on working myself to death, either. I was just bored after being idle for so long on our journey, so I wanted something to keep me busy."

Her words, "concerned for me," startled Yan Wen. He quickly turned away, the tips of his ears flushing red.

After a short break, Song Lianhe continued to see patients.

During her time away from Ling’an, she had unearthed several old medical texts and would peruse them in her free time. Coupled with the fact that she had been staying at a clinic in Sishui City, her medical skills had improved considerably.

She didn’t stop until dusk, when Shuang Ye and Ah Jun had to practically drag her into the back courtyard.

Shuang Ye even stood with her hands on her hips, warning, "Your Highness! If you don’t rest now, we’re going to tell King Qing!"

’Biwu...’

The whole reason Song Lianhe wanted to stay busy was so she wouldn’t have time to worry about him.

’She glanced up at the sky. It’s so late, but he’s still not here. Did something happen to him?’

’Logically, Emperor Cheng Xiao shouldn’t dare to touch him right now...’

Just as her thoughts were running wild, Yan Wen came in. "The patients outside have been taken care of. They understand how hard you’ve worked, Your Highness, and have agreed to come back tomorrow."

Seeing him, Song Lianhe remembered. "Oh, right, I still have to congratulate you! Top Scorer! You’ve really made our Medical Clinic proud!"

Yan Wen immediately clasped his hands and bowed deeply to her. "If Your Highness hadn’t taken me in, I would never be where I am today. I will be indebted to you for this kindness for the rest of my life!"

As he finished, he started to kneel, but Song Lianhe quickly pulled him up. "There’s no need to be such a stranger! If you really want to thank me, then just keep helping me run the Medical Clinic and help it grow bigger and better!"

’It was true she’d had some ulterior motives when she first took him in. In the original novel, he was Song Xilan’s "backup boyfriend," and keeping him close was like "investing in a stock" early on. But the more time they spent together, the more she had come to see him as family.’

Yan Wen gazed at her and declared, word by word, "I, Rongbai, swear I will not let you down!"

Song Lianhe vaguely recalled that when Yan Wen became the Top Scorer, she had still been in Sui Ning City. Cao Ying was the one who wrote to tell her the news.

Thinking of Cao Ying, she suddenly asked, "Where’s my Sister Ying?"

Just then, Shuang Ye came out with tea and snacks and placed them on the table. "Miss Cao has been confined to her residence these days. She sent a maid with a message saying she can’t come over for a few days. She said Lady Cao is forcing her to meet potential suitors. She’s already met several young masters from the city, but none of them caught her eye. In the end, Lady Cao got so angry that she grounded her."

’So that’s what happened.’

’Knowing Cao Ying’s personality, she would have come to welcome me with gongs and drums the moment she knew I was back.’

’So she was grounded for her matchmaking failures. Poor thing.’

Song Lianhe couldn’t help but chuckle. ’It seemed that no matter the world, older unmarried women couldn’t escape the fate of being pushed into marriage.’

As she was laughing, she suddenly looked at Yan Wen, her eyes lighting up. "Why look far and wide? We have a perfect candidate right here!"

Yan Wen was startled. Realizing what she was saying, he grew flustered. "Your Highness, please don’t make such jokes. You could ruin Miss Cao’s marital prospects."

"Who said I’m joking? You’re unmarried, she’s unmarried, and you two have worked together for so long that you know each other inside and out. There’s no one I’d feel more at ease entrusting her to than you!"

Shuang Ye nodded eagerly. "The daughter of a Grand Secretary and the new Top Scorer. They’re a perfect match!"

Just then, someone walked in from outside. "A perfect match? Who’s a perfect match for whom? Do tell, I could use a good laugh."

Su Huaqing came in, fanning himself with that old folding fan of his.

’Perhaps it was because she’d figured out he was actually one of Zhou Cangyan’s men, but now, she found Su Huaqing quite pleasing to the eye.’

"We were talking about Su Rongbo and Cao Ying," she said with a smile.

Yan Wen said quickly, "Her Highness was just speaking offhandedly. You can’t take it seriously."

A look of amusement crossed Su Huaqing’s face. He teased, "How could something Her Highness said personally not be true?" With a SNAP, he closed his fan and whispered to Song Lianhe, "You really have a keen eye. How is it that after all this time, I never thought of playing matchmaker for those two?"

"But of course!" Song Lianhe said with a laugh. "Let’s not even talk about our Manager Yan. Even for you, Mr. Su—just tell me what type of woman you like, and I’ll find her for you!"

Su Huaqing lowered his gaze and smiled, murmuring, "The type I like..."

He didn’t continue, but instead raised his eyes to look at Song Lianhe and chuckled again. "She hasn’t been born yet!" With that, he burst into loud laughter.

Song Lianhe pouted. "Now you’re no fun at all!"

After he finished laughing, Su Huaqing said, "King Qing has left the palace."

Song Lianhe’s eyes lit up. "Did Emperor Cheng Xiao give him a hard time?"

Su Huaqing shook his head. "Far from giving him a hard time, he was actually commended."

"That’s good, that’s good!" Song Lianhe finally let out a sigh of relief.

Su Huaqing gave her a placid look. "King Qing met someone outside the palace walls."

Song Lianhe narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Who?"

"Song Xilan."

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