Chapter 246 - 244: The Reason Why a Man Gifts a Woman a Hairpin (Third Update)

Chapter 246: Chapter 244: The Reason Why a Man Gifts a Woman a Hairpin (Third Update)

To give the Xu Family enough time to digest what she had said, Xu Jing used the excuse of being a bit tired and did not join them in the hall for dinner that evening.

The next day, Xu Jing got up early as usual. She first had a morning reading session with her young apprentices, assigning them tasks for the day. She smiled and said, "In a few days, I’ll give you a small test. Since you’re still learning to read, the test won’t be a written one. It will mainly assess your basic knowledge of medicine and herbs. Prepare well for it.

Yanhua, you’re the eldest sister, so you should guide the younger ones well."

Among her group of trainee young female doctors, there were five in total. Yanhua was ten years old, the oldest among them. Zisu and Zifu were sisters, aged nine and seven, while Fu Ling and Dong Kui were both eight years old.

As Zhou Qi had said, they were all very bright and, most importantly, highly motivated. The knowledge taught by Cheng Xianbai and herself was absorbed quickly by them, which greatly comforted Xu Jing.

Upon hearing Xu Jing’s words, the young girls responded loudly and then dispersed to start the tasks assigned by Xu Jing.

Their class was held in a room converted into a pharmacy, filled with various herbs and medical books. Xu Jing taught them regularly for one to two hours each day, and during other times, they busied themselves in this pharmacy organizing their class notes and learning about herbs.

As they worked on their tasks, Xu Jing moved among them, offering occasional advice.

"Zisu, Zifu, your diagram of human acupuncture points is pretty good, but a few places are marked incorrectly. There’s a book on the bookshelf dedicated to acupuncture points; find it and correct your diagram by comparing. Show it to me once you’ve corrected it."

"Fu Ling, your herb classification is correct. Dandelion and Viola Yedoensis are both heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs. Go ahead and place them confidently. You memorize things quickly, but you lack confidence, and this needs improvement."

"Dong Kui as well, while you’re hesitating, the patient may not be able to wait longer. A physician must be cautious, but that caution should stem from a reverence for life, not a lack of confidence."

"Yanhua, being the eldest, you’re also the quickest to learn among these children. If you’ve mastered what I’ve taught you, go to the bookshelf and find the medical books I previously recommended."

After speaking with Yanhua, Xu Jing stood up, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of gentle, smiling eyes.

She paused momentarily, looking at the quietly smiling Xu Huan’an standing by the door. After a brief silence, she smiled softly and said, "Cousin, what brings you here?"

"Father said, since you didn’t join us for dinner last night, you might still be upset with us at heart."

Xu Huan’an spoke softly, "This morning, you didn’t join us for breakfast again. Father is worried. He said if we are causing you any trouble here, we should move out."

Xu Jing felt a slight headache, "That’s not what I meant. It’s really unfair for uncle to think that..."

"Even if you, Jing, didn’t mean it, you’re intentionally avoiding us, aren’t you?"

Xu Huan’an looked at Xu Jing and suddenly smiled lightly, "Has it been so many years since we’ve met that Jing doesn’t know how to get along with us? Back then, Jing loved to act spoiled with us. Every time... when we had to leave the Western Capital, you’d hold onto mine or father’s hand and cry, refusing to let us go. Back then, Jing..."

His gaze shifted to the young girls in the room, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, "Was about the same age as these children now."

Xu Jing quietly looked at him for a while, sighing softly in her heart.

She could somewhat guess what Xu Huan’an was thinking. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t the Xu Jing of the past anymore. The Xu Jing from before had long faded away.

But she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She walked up to Xu Huan’an and said, "Cousin... you’re right. Over the past few years, I’ve been angry with you, and now, seeing you all of a sudden, I’m a bit unsure of how to get along with you. But I definitely don’t mean to blame you. Don’t let uncle think that.

Where is Uncle? I’ll explain to him myself."

Xu Huan’an looked at the woman before him, feeling a sudden disorientation.

She’s truly completely changed.

The Jing of the past feared solitude, loved to make trouble, and was willful. She’d cry out in distress when they had to leave, shouting, "If you really care about me, then you’re not allowed to leave! No one in this world truly cares about me! I might as well die!" She would deliberately hide, making them anxiously search every corner of the estate to prove their concern for her.

That Jing made him feel both tender affection and frustration.

Later, the Jing who hated them would glare at them with what seemed like poison in her eyes every time they met, vehemently telling them to leave, accusing them of faking their kindness towards her. No matter how much they tried to explain, she refused to believe them. Even when father painfully knelt and begged her to listen, she gave them a cold glance before turning away.

But that Jing was essentially still like her younger self on the inside.

He could still see the shadow of the young girl who would cry and refuse to let them leave in her.

However, the Jing now is generous, confident, brilliant, shrewd, and often inscrutable.

It’s as if she’s a stranger he’s never met before.

Xu Jing noticed Xu Huan’an’s prolonged silence and raised an eyebrow, "Cousin, what’s the matter? Did uncle go out?"

Xu Huan’an seemed to wake from a dream and smiled lightly, "No, Father is in the front hall, sighing repeatedly. No matter how we try to persuade him to rest, he won’t listen."

Xu Jing could almost imagine Xu Sihai’s stubborn expression and couldn’t help but laugh, "Let’s go now then."

The two of them walked side by side towards the front hall. Along the way, Xu Jing could feel Xu Huan’an frequently glancing at her. She kept her eyes straight ahead, pretending not to notice.

As they neared the front hall, Xu Huan’an suddenly spoke in a low voice, "When you were fifteen, the last time we met when you were living on the estate, I gave you a Bixi Butterfly Peony Hairpin. Do you remember?"

Xu Jing’s steps suddenly halted.

"At that time, you weren’t very happy and asked if I often gave hairpins to girls."

Xu Huan’an’s hands, hanging by his sides, slowly clenched tight as he recalled the young girl’s pouty and angry expression. It felt as if his heart was pricked with needles.

"I said, of course not. I only gave a hairpin to one girl, you. And you asked, why I gave you a hairpin, didn’t I know what it meant for a man to give a woman a hairpin?"

As he spoke, Xu Jing couldn’t help but visualize scenes that played in her memory.

Only, unfortunately, she was no longer the owner of those memories. To her, it felt like watching a film filled with regret and helplessness. She felt sad for the protagonists in that film, yet she couldn’t truly feel it herself.

Xu Huan’an cautiously approached her, his gaze soft with a touch of yearning and remorse, his voice slightly trembling, "Back then, I said I knew, and I would tell you the next time we met. Jing, you have no idea how much I regret not telling you then why I gave you the hairpin. If I had told you then, would our end have been different?

However, there’s no medicine for regret in this world. It was my fault. I was too weak at the time, unable to protect you or provide you with enough security. Only, Jing, since we were kids, I’ve vowed to take care of you for life.

Are you really sure... you want to remarry Xiao Qilang?"