A Hairpin (Thanks to the generous reward of 10,000 coins from "Ci Ao")

"Is this the Lotus?"

"Not bad, she is indeed quite pretty."

"Yes, she is very pretty."

I like oval faces.

"Your eyelashes are quite long, how about we pluck a few?"

"Jiji Bo, aren't you afraid Wu Ke will kill you?"

"Daddy, is Sister Lotus alright?"

"Brother Jiang, that's not right of you. Lotus is only fifteen years old, isn't she?"

"Yes, Brother Jiang, how did things come to this!"

"What the hell..."

"Alright, stop arguing. Let the patient rest. Jiang Xiaozi, come here and grind these Dragon Sunflower into powder for me. Niannian to me and have some candy."

"Thank you, Grandma."

"Hey? Brother Jiang, Grandma Hua, Lotus seems to have woken up..."

"Lotus? Can you hear me, Lotus?"

As Lianhua lay on the hospital bed, she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a pig's head, a bird's head, a human head, and a yellow rat looking down at her...

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Lianhua screamed, pulling herself back frantically with the blanket between her fingers until she was pressed tightly against the corner of the wall.

"You... you don't come any closer..."

"Get out of here, get out of here! You look so weird and you're staring at other people. Don't bother my patient."

A moment later, an old woman kicked the animals away one by one, with Jiang Lin beside her, and the cute Little Dragon Girl staring at Jiang Lin's head.

"Young Master Jiang?"

Lotus, on the verge of tears, saw Jiang Lin as if she had seen a relative in the Animal World.

In fact, Jiang Lin had already taken a step back. If Lotus hugged him, he would put Little Niannian in her arms and let Little Niannian's cuteness heal Lotus.

However, Jiang Lin had already held Niannian in his arms, ready to hand her over at any moment, but Lianhua still showed no sign of rushing over.

I have a feeling that Lotus has been acting differently ever since she fainted last night.

Sitting on the bed, Lotus hugged her knees tightly.

Although the lotus flower was slowly calming down, it was still afraid of how it had ended up surrounded by all sorts of upright-walking animals.

However, in her expression, Jiang Lin, Jiji Bo, and the others saw a strange sense of contemplation, sadness, and a touch of loss.

"Come, come, young lady, let this old lady take your blood pressure."

The old doctor, known as Grandma Hua, sat down next to Lianhua with a blood pressure monitor made by Xiao Hei, based on ideas provided by Jiang Lin, and took her hand.

After checking her pulse and observing her complexion, Grandma Hua nodded. "She's alright, just that her brain was quite stimulated. She'll be fine after a few days of rest. This is all thanks to Little Niannian's tears."

As she spoke, Grandma Hua gently patted Little Niannian's head.

"Xiao Jiang, why don't you let Little Niannian come here to learn medicine? Anyway, that Kong Shusheng guy gets out of school at three in the afternoon."

"Well," Jiang Lin smiled at Little Niannian, "We'll talk about it after I leave the Sun Moon Sect. In the meantime, Niannian will stay with Daddy."

"Mmm, Niannian wants to stay with Daddy." Little Niannian, who can already fly, flew up from Jiang Lin's arms and gently kissed Jiang Lin.

Looking at Jiang Lin's comical and lewd face, Jiji Bo and the others wondered if Jiang Lin had awakened something.

However, Jiang Lin, who was rubbing Little Niannian's head, looked at Lianhua, who was keeping her head down and hugging her knees tightly. He couldn't help but scratch his head, but he didn't know what to ask. Without even thinking, he knew it must be related to Wu Ke.

"Lotus, please rest here. If you need anything, you can tell Grandma Hua. We'll be leaving now."

"Wait a moment..."

Just as Jiang Lin and the others turned around, Lianhua slowly raised her head.

"Um?"

"Young Master Jiang, may I have a chat with you?"

"Of course, but can Niannian stay here?" Jiang Lin needed to keep Niannian, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to Wu Ke.

Lotus nodded. "That's fine."

"Alright, alright, everyone go, everyone go. Xiao Jiang, you and Little Niannian stay here and take care of things. I'm going to the mountain to gather some herbs."

Grandma Hua tapped the animals with a rolling pin. Diao Da and the others didn't even need to think that this was Grandma Hua leaving some private space for Brother Jiang.

Jiji Bo and the others were kicked out of the room, and Grandma Hua also closed the door.

Before long, a man, a pig, an eagle, and a Pikachu were all piled up on top of each other, closely huddled against the door to eavesdrop.

Even Grandma Hua didn't leave, listening intently to what was happening inside, her gossip-loving heart burning brightly.

"Do you think Brother Jiang might cheat on Wu Ke, that bald guy?"

Who knows?

I suspect that Lotus has fallen for Brother Jiang.

"I don't think so. Lianhua's gaze towards Brother Jiang only shows respect, not affection."

"I don't think so either. The way the leader, Chen Jia, and Miss Wu Die looked at Brother Jiang was true love, the kind that disregards everything."

"Shh... Listen, Brother Jiang is starting to speak."

For a moment, the group fell silent, their faces filled with gossip.

"Lotus, is there something you need?"

Holding Little Niannian, Jiang Lin and Lianhua maintained a distance at all times.

but...

Jiang Lin looked closely at the lotus flower.

It seems I was overthinking it.

I had a feeling that something had changed about Lianhua's state of mind. Her face showed a calmness, but her lowered eyes made it seem like she was burdened with worries.

"Young Master Jiang, I'm sorry, I once thought I liked you... but... it seems that's not the case..."

Lotus hugged herself tightly and said slowly:

"As a courtesan, Lianhua's greatest dream was simply to marry a scholar, 《Husband and Child》, and that would be her greatest happiness. At that time, the appearance of Young Master Jiang fulfilled all of Lianhua's wishes."

Especially when Young Master Jiang resolutely wanted to redeem Lianhua from her servitude, his resolute and domineering attitude gave Lianhua a sense of security.

At the time, Lianhua felt that as long as she could follow Young Master Jiang, everything would be fine.

Lotus thought that was love.

But actually, that's not right.

Lotus's feelings for Young Master Jiang weren't true love; it was merely a dependence.

Lotus clutched her chest tightly:

Last night, a figure appeared in Lotus's mind. Although Lotus didn't know who he was, by that Lotus Pond, though it was inexplicable, Lotus knew that she hated him, but she also loved him...

Lotus hugged herself again, shrinking into the corner, her eyes slightly moist, her voice choked with emotion:

"Young Master Jiang, I'm so sorry... Lianhua has been bothering Young Master Jiang, causing you trouble..."

Kneeling on the bed, Lianhua kowtowed to Jiang Lin.

"Please rise, Lotus."

Jiang Lin helped Lianhua up.

"Wu Ke is my brother. He's helped me a lot, so naturally I'll help him back. There's no question of it being a hassle."

Jiang Lin took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Lianhua.

"This is?"

"It must have been left on my desk in my room by Wu Ke after I left last time, and he asked me to give it to Lotus."

Looking at the envelope, Lotus took it with trembling hands.

Slowly opening...

There was no letter in the envelope, only a hairpin...

But the moment she saw the hairpin, Lotus's tears flowed like a burst dam.

Clutching the hairpin tightly to her chest, the woman's sobs echoed throughout the room...

[Hey, monk, what's that bread in here?]

[I'm not giving it back to you. It's right here in my arms. Monk, if you dare, come and take it.]

[It's a hairpin... a hairpin?]

Holding up the hairpin, the girl smiled knowingly, while the little monk, a head shorter than her, blushed deeply.

[Hey... monk... why did you buy this hairpin...?]