The young woman's features were somewhat immature, but not because she was truly very young, or naturally looked that way like Tong Yan; it was the happiness that came from never having weathered the world.
Jing Jiu found her somewhat familiar. He remembered meeting her once last year while sharpening his sword with demon bone at the Jing Residence. She had poured him a cup of overnight tea that had steeped for a long time.
Then he remembered more. The Little Girl seemed to be the current chancellor's young granddaughter, and she and Brother Li were secretly in love.
Then should she count as his future niece-in-law?
These matters were somewhat tangled and disorderly, but he quickly finished thinking them through. Then he thought that this Little Girl was not particularly clever, but her luck was certainly good: she had actually run into him again.
It was much easier for the Little Girl to recognize him. Looking at his face, she cried out in delighted surprise, "Uncle! What are you doing here?"
Tear tracks still marked her face as she spoke.
Pure Enlightenment Temple was an imperial Chan monastery, so it was normal for the chancellor's family to come here. But a girl her age would come either to pray for something or, possibly, to endure a disguised form of confinement.
Clearly, she was facing a difficult problem in her life.
Just like His Majesty the Emperor at present.
Thinking of the attitudes of the chancellor and those officials at court, Jing Jiu suddenly said, "I want tea."
Leaving Pure Enlightenment Temple, Jing Jiu took Gu Qing to the Jing Residence.
Dust rested on the upturned eaves of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The spring breeze could not brush it away, and there had been no spring rain