Obsessively Raised by My Doll 69

Chapter 69

When Lu Dieqing was leaving home, Lu He was very reluctant to let her go and saw her all the way to the sedan chair.

“Qingqing, don’t blame me,” she said, looking at her daughter, whose face still held a childish air, her heart filled with a mix of complexity and guilt.

Sometimes, she felt as if she were projecting her own failed life onto Qingqing, wanting to see the other become different from herself, to live a new life for her.

She would also think, should she not be so at ease with her daughter? Or, would it be better for Qingqing to live a peaceful life in the palace forever?

Lu He’s expression was dazed.

Seeing her mother like this, Lu Dieqing turned back and hugged her.

“Mother, why would I blame you? Are you talking about me going to the academy to study, and moving to Yunxi Hall without you coming with me right away?”

The little girl smiled, her beautiful almond eyes curving into crescents.

“I’ll come back to see you every other day.”

Before, she would have indeed hoped for her parents to move over quickly.

But now that she knew the special meaning of Yunxi Hall, it was already a great favor for her to stay there occasionally and have the Crown Princess teach her carving.

How could she have the face to let her parents also move in and take over the nest?

Lu Dieqing, on the contrary, felt that the current arrangement, one day at Yunxi Hall and one day with her parents, was very good.

She comforted Lu He, “Mother, the Caiyun Academy is really good. Teacher Jiang’s lectures are so well-referenced. I’ve learned many things I didn’t know before.”

She couldn’t help but sigh, “It’s a good thing you always made me practice writing when I was young, telling me that the handwriting reflects the person, and making me put in some effort, and even teaching me the basics. Otherwise, in the academy, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the others.”

When she spoke of these things, Lu Dieqing’s eyes were shining, as if they were filled with little stars, looking exceptionally bright.

“Mother, although there are no books in our room, you taught me all the basics when I was young. I’m really so lucky to have a talented woman like you as my teacher. No one else has had such an experience.”

“I’m just not coming back tonight, staying at Yunxi Hall. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

She coaxed her mother until a smile appeared on her face, and only then did Lu Dieqing get into the sedan chair.

Lu He stood by the roadside, watching the sedan chair go far away, wanting to say something several times but holding back, her eyes filled with a misty haze of tears.

Bai Ming came out from behind and patted his wife’s shoulder.

“She’ll be fine.”

The couple watched as the sedan chair turned a corner and disappeared from sight before walking back to the side-palace, shoulder to shoulder.

Lu Dieqing was a little restless today.

From the moment her mother had sent her to the sedan chair, the look of guilt and complexity on her face had made her heart feel a little heavy.

But she couldn’t say why.

“Xinxin, I feel that my mother has been a little strange these past few days.”

She took out the little wooden doll from her sleeve and whispered secrets that only the two of them could hear.

“A mother worries when her child travels a thousand li.” Zheng Xuening rarely agreed with her.

Lu Dieqing gave a very appreciative “wow.” “Xinxin is so amazing, full of knowledge and grace.”

She picked up the little doll and pressed it against her face, nuzzling it like a kitten.

“I feel that no matter what’s on my mind, as long as you’re here, Xinxin, and I can say a few words to you, I’ll feel much better.”

“My good Xinxin, what would I do without you?”

Lu Dieqing sighed softly, almost unable to remember the days before she had the doll.

Having grown accustomed to having company, to having someone who truly stood on her side and thought of her, the days of being alone in the dark had become something she never wanted to experience again.

Zheng Xuening’s face grew hot, but she held back and didn’t say anything.

“Do you only say these things to me, or to others as well?”

Even at a time like this, the little doll didn’t forget to be jealous.

Lu Dieqing puffed out her soft, tender cheeks, her little face serious. “Of course, only to Xinxin.”

“You see, I don’t need to use my ears to hear your voice, only my heart. We are kindred spirits, our minds are connected. This kind of connection, no one else in the world can have.”

The little doll seemed to have been coaxed into happiness. It jumped up from Lu Dieqing’s palm and sat on her shoulder, leaning against her cheek.

Lu Dieqing tilted her head, looked down at the little doll’s head, and the corners of her lips turned up.

She was truly the happiest person in the world!

Halfway there, as the sedan chair passed by the Library Pavilion, Lu Dieqing thought of A’Sang and specially lifted the curtain to look in that direction.

Those few days when the Crown Princess was in trouble, she had been in a daze and hadn’t spoken properly to A’Sang.

Now that she thought about it, Lu Dieqing felt a little sorry.

It seemed that whatever she thought of would come true. Just as she was thinking of A’Sang, she heard a dispute from behind the rockery.

“Heh, you were negligent in your watch and let the library’s manuals go missing, and you still want to hide it? Kneeling here for a day without food or drink is already letting you off easy.”

“If you dare to say another word, I’ll have you dragged out and given fifty strokes. You little wench, to lie like this, you should have your mouth slapped.”

An old matron’s voice came, quite shrill.

A crisp slapping sound came from inside.

“Matron, Matron, I won’t dare anymore. I’ve always done my job at the library well. I don’t know how the manuals went missing. It really has nothing to do with me!”

The pleading voice sounded a little weak and tearful, but it was extremely familiar.

Lu Dieqing recognized it as A’Sang’s voice.

Zheng Xuening only listened for a moment and already knew what was happening outside.

“It seems your friend is being taught a lesson by an old palace servant.”

The doll’s voice, which came from the bottom of Lu Dieqing’s heart, was extremely calm.

Such things happening in the imperial palace were commonplace, nothing at all.

Lu Dieqing, however, immediately had the sedan chair stop.

“Let me down.”

The sedan chair bearers and Helian, who was at the side, were a little confused, but they all did as she said.

Before Helian could reach out to help her, Lu Dieqing had already jumped out of the sedan chair.

Helian quickly followed behind her.

The imperial palace was full of lush trees and flowers, especially by the rockery.

If not for the sound, it would have been impossible to even notice that people were standing there with the naked eye.

Lu Dieqing’s steps were hurried. She trotted to the back of the rockery and saw four people standing there.

A’Sang was being held on the ground by a palace maid, her face red, the slap mark clearly visible.

And a fierce-looking old matron was standing at the side with her hands on her hips.

Beside them, a young eunuch was even standing there, eyeing her covetously, as if he would also come forward to help hold her down if A’Sang struggled.

Seeing this scene, Lu Dieqing frowned, her heart twisting. She almost immediately thought of her own past experiences.

She had also been held down and taught a lesson by Matron Li like this, but she had been lucky to escape when the Crown Princess passed by.

Seeing A’Sang also suffering this, Lu Dieqing was very heartbroken and angry.

“Don’t touch her!”

The girl, who had never dared to speak loudly, was filled with righteous indignation, her entire little face red with anger.

She didn’t look very imposing, only making people think she was an angry, pretty little girl, all smiles and with a soft, tender face.

The old matron and the other two looked at her and widened their eyes, their faces wary.

“Who are you?”

When A’Sang saw Lu Dieqing, a look of joyful surprise appeared on her face, but in a flash, it turned to gloom and shame again.

To have her friend see her in such a pathetic state, her heart was very uncomfortable.

The little wooden doll, which had been stuffed back into Lu Dieqing’s sleeve, could almost imagine the scene the girl was facing.

—No one would be afraid of a pretty, rabbit-like girl.

—A person has to learn to borrow the tiger’s might.

She sighed and taught Lu Dieqing in her mind.

“Take out the waist token.”

“Tell them to get lost.”

“Be a little fiercer. Do you know how to be imperious?”