Ying Yan Long did not have any interest in viewing flowers but is more interested in the medicinal value of the flowers. As for the Flower Appreciation Banquet which is held in Qingcheng Mountain Villa, this place is a famous vegetarian restaurant. He did not have any particular happy feeling for this banquet, after all, there is nothing special about eating those exotic delicacies and vegetarian food as the difference is only good food and delicious food.
Therefore, when the Flower Appreciation Banquet clashed with his business, he decided to meet the foreign medicine merchants first. He inspected the quality of the medicine and also negotiated for long-term cooperation between them. Unexpectedly, the foreign medicine merchants had brought with them some medicinal herbs that he had never seen before. He was happy and was so deeply immersed in their conversation that he forgot the time. If it was not for Steward Zhu"s timely reminder, he would have totally forgotten about the banquet.
As a result, Ying Yan Long hurried to Qingcheng Mountain Villa on horseback and hoped he would not reach the place too late, although he knew that no one would complain about his late arrival.
Ying Yan Long leaned forward on his horse and faintly flicked the reins to urge the black horse to speed up its pace until he reached the road junction.
"Halt!"
He pulled and tightened his hold on the horse"s reins and looked at the wheel tracks on the right side of the road. Then he pulled on the right reins and urged his horses to turn to the right.
There used to be road signs all along the way to Qingcheng Mountain Villa. How come the road signs are nowhere to be seen?"
Ying Yan Long was still thinking about this when he saw a toppled flag on the left side of the sand road. The name "Qingcheng Mountain Villa" was written on the flag.
He jumped off the horse and picked up the flat to place it under a big tree on the right side of the road.
".......We.......what to do?........"
A woman"s voice caused Ying Yan Long to frown. He led the horse down the left path and after a few steps forward, he saw two women"s back view and a horse-drawn carriage.
When Ying Yan Long saw the path ahead was uneven, he tied the horse to a tree trunk and walked on foot towards them.
He guessed the carriage must be going to Qingcheng Mountain Villa. The two women were dressed in expensive clothes and most probably they were also partic.i.p.ating in the Flower Appreciation Banquet.
"What if he dies, what should we do?...... What if the sky grows dark, what should we do?...... You know I am scared and I"m afraid of those things........" The delicate voice said and she sounded as if she was about to burst into tears.
"Shut up! Don"t make noise, I"m thinking!" A female"s crisp voice rang out.
When Ying Yan Long heard her, he unconsciously nodded.
"Now you have two choices. One......is to go to the road junction and wait for someone to come along and stop them or, you can look after the driver so I can go to Qingcheng Mountain Villa for help." The crisp voice said.
"I don"t want to walk alone on the mountain road and I also don"t want to stay here alone! What if a wolf or an evil person suddenly comes out, I will be scared to death......."
"Qian Ying Ying!"
When Ying Yan Long heard the crisp female voice together with the sounds of grinding teeth, a smile curved on his lips.
Why does he have the same feeling as if he is teaching his younger brother? Only that his younger brother is a bit more afraid of him and would not be like the spoilt girl who is talking back.
Also, this Qian Ying Ying seems to be one of the names on the list of potential wives that Matchmaker Liu presented to him. Now even without meeting the person, and just by her att.i.tude of talking back, he had already ruled her out.
"Don"t call my name in the wilderness! What if the mountain demons hear........" Qian Ying Ying said in a trembling voice.
"It is now broad daylight in the afternoon, which stupid ghost will choose this time to come out and scare people?! Make your choice! Either you stay here or go and look for help!" The tall woman roared impatiently.
Ying Yan Long could not help but smile. He quickened his footsteps and hoped to see this woman"s face.
"I can"t make a choice!" Qian Ying Ying stomped her foot.
"Then you stay here and don"t move! I will go to the road junction to see if there is anyone coming. Don"t worry, I will stand at a place where you can hear my voice......." The woman held out her hand to feel for the coach driver"s breath. "He is still breathing, don"t worry."
"Maybe he will die in a moment........I don"t dare to be with a dead man......."
"Shut up! He is not dead yet!"
When Ying Yan Long saw the woman wearing a long green embroidered dress was about to turn around, he felt it was not good for him to carry on eavesdropping on them. So, he deliberately stepped out with heavy footsteps and asked in a loud voice. "Do you two ladies need any help?"
"Hua......" When Qian Ying Ying heard heavy footsteps, immediately she pulled the sleeves of Hua Ming Zi. "Sister, someone is coming. He is a human.......am I right?"
"I heard voices at the road junction. I wonder what I can do to help?" Ying Yan Long said in a loud voice.
Qian Ying Ying stood up straight and turned around to face the person coming forward. Her body of pearls, emeralds, and jewelry tingled in crisps sounds. "Yes, yes, yes! Hurry, get someone to come......"
Hastily, Hua Ming Zi interrupted Qian Ying Ying"s words. Her eyes were still trained on the coach driver who was lying on the ground.
"There are people waiting for us in Qingcheng Mountain Villa. Unexpectedly, our coach driver made a wrong turn. When the carriage fell into the ditch, the driver was thrown off. Can you please hurry to Qingcheng Mountain Villa to call for help? I am most grateful to you."
The moment Ying Yan Long heard her words, he understood. She had given a clear explanation of the whole situation and also insinuated that Qingcheng Mountain Villa would send someone to look for them any time soon. It was a preventive measure to guard against him lest he harbored any evil intentions and he felt a burst of admiration for her.
"The priority is to save lives. Let me take a look at his condition first." Ying Yan Long walked over to the driver and squatted down.
"Thanks........"
Hua Ming Zi looked up and met his deep black eyes.
She was stunned and did not expect to see a man with such handsome features and a majestic figure with such powerful aura. But she could not keep on staring at the other person, so she quickly regained her composure and with an expressionless face, she said. "Then we have to trouble Gongzi."
"What is his condition?" Ying Yan Long stared at her and completely did not expect to be confronted with such a beautiful face.
The woman had a pair of bright eyes but her eyebrows, nose and oval face showcased her outstanding temperament. The most impressive thing about her was the look of intelligence she displayed.
"He had hit his head resulting in a big swell and he pa.s.sed out. Besides that, there is no other major injury on his body." Hua Ming Zi replied.
"I have some "Six Immortals" Pill from Ying Medical Hall with me. Let him take one first." Ying Yan Long took out the pill from the folds of his sleeve.
"The "Six Immortals" Pill from Ying Medical Hall?!" Qian Ying Ying exclaimed. "Those are very expensive!"
Ying Yan Long did not respond.
"Life is priceless. Thanks to Gongzi." Hua Ming Zi bent down to help the driver to sit up.
"Let me do it. There is a difference between men and women." Ying Yan Long pulled the driver up in a sitting position.
"There is only a difference between the dead and the living!" Hua Ming Zi snorted.
Ying Yan Long lifted his eyes to look at her. Her pair of eyes did not make any effort to avoid him and directly met his eyes.
Ying Yan Long did not immediately respond to her. After he had finished feeding the driver with the pill and laid the driver back on the ground, he looked up and said to her. "What I meant was that there is a difference of strength between a man and a woman. I should be more capable of supporting the driver than Lady."
"My apologies. I had thought too much." Hua Ming Zi replied with a smile.