The noble girl is beautiful.

Changming escorted Shen Yourong and her servants back, and halfway they met Du Juan. She was holding a cloak and hurried over when she saw Shen Yourong’s pale face, asking, “What happened?”
Changming replied, “Miss accidentally twisted her ankle, and I happened to meet her, so I helped to escort her back.”
Du Juan supported her, thanking Changming. She felt Hua Mei’s hands, which were cold and sticky with sweat.
She was surprised to see Hua Mei’s pale face as well, but before she could ask, Shen Yourong interrupted her.
“Just leave it here,” Shen Yourong looked at Changming, behaving courteously, “Thank you.”
He then bowed and left.
Du Juan supported her, “Miss?”
She waved her hand, “Let’s go back to the courtyard.”
She glanced at Hua Mei again and reprimanded her coldly, “Don’t look like this!”
She was startled and looked at her in panic. Shen Yourong said, “It’s just a twisted ankle, not a big deal. It’s not worth scaring yourself like this!”
She understood and relaxed a bit, saying, “This maid knows her mistake.”
Du Juan didn’t understand, but Shen Yourong didn’t allow her to inquire, saying, “Let’s go back first.”
They returned to the courtyard, and the house was already tidied up. Shen Yourong sat at the dressing table, took off the remaining pearl earring and put it in the box, then found a pair of jade earrings to wear.
After that, she lay down on the couch and ordered Hua Mei to wash her face and make herself presentable, while Du Juan went to call the doctor.
Soon, Hua Mei returned to attend to her, looking no different from usual except for being less lively. Du Juan called a doctor from the temple, and a large group of people came back with him.
Shen Qinghan and Shen Qingyan heard that Shen Yourong had twisted her ankle and came to see her. Lady Yang and Lady Li, even the old lady, sent people to check on her.
The doctor was an elderly monk. He first chanted a Buddhist mantra upon entering and said he would examine her injury.
An older maid beside Lady Yang said, “How can this be? Men and women should not touch each other, especially to see the injury on the ankle.”
Before anyone else could speak, Shen Qingyan interrupted, “What does it matter whether the doctor is male or female? The severity of the injury is more important. Moreover, monks don’t care about worldly etiquette!”
Lady Yang held back the maid who wanted to speak and said, “Maid, say less.”
The monk then stepped forward and touched Shen Yourong’s ankle through her stockings. The initial twist wasn’t severe, but standing and walking back from the bamboo forest had made it swollen beyond recognition.
He diagnosed the injury, applied some ointment, and instructed Du Juan and Hua Mei to use ice to reduce the swelling, advising Shen Yourong to rest and not to walk.
Du Juan thanked the doctor profusely and saw him off politely.
In the room, Shen Yourong politely sent away the maid servants who came to see her, and ordered Hua Mei to serve tea to Shen Qinghan and Shen Qingyan.
The two of them sat on the embroidered stool and said, “Why is Sister so careless? She just came out today and twisted her ankle. What will happen next?”
“What else can I do?” She said, “I can only stay in the room, but I’ll have time to focus on Buddhist rituals.”
Shen Qingyan laughed, “I went out to play. I’ll tell you about it when I come back.”
Shen Yourong chuckled, “You’re deliberately teasing me.”
After some conversation, Du Juan brought ice and applied it to her ankle.
In the meantime, the Fourth Prince sent someone over to deliver some medicine for reducing swelling. Du Juan accepted it and politely sent the person away.
Seeing that Shen Yourong looked tired, Shen Qinghan and Shen Qingyan said, “Let’s go first and let Sister rest.”
After everyone left, only a few maid servants were waiting outside. Shen Yourong waved her hand to dismiss them all and called Hua Mei to come over.
Hua Mei knelt beside her, calling out hesitantly, “Miss.”
Shen Yourong stroked her hair and said, “Today’s matter, you must keep it to yourself. Absolutely don’t tell anyone, or it will bring disaster to both others and yourself. It’s best to pretend that today never happened, not even mentioning it in your dreams.”
She nodded quickly, swearing, “Miss, I remember.”
Shen Yourong breathed a sigh of relief. Hua Mei then asked, “Miss, what should we do with the pearl earring?”
Shen Yourong touched her ear. She was now wearing a pair of jade earrings that matched her outfit today very well.
“Tell Du Juan to take it out and see if she can find something similar…” She paused here, thinking for a while, and said, “Forget it, let’s not do anything, so as not to cause trouble and leak the news.”
Hua Mei agreed and went out to call Du Juan in, and they each went about their tasks. Shen Yourong leaned back on the couch, thinking about what else needed to be dealt with.
Du Juan brought tea and placed Shen Yourong’s fan by her side. Shen Yourong glanced at the fan and felt an inexplicable anger, saying, “Du Juan, take it and cut it up and throw it away!”
Du Juan didn’t understand, holding the fan, “Miss, you’ve been embroidering for days, why do you want to cut it up now?”
Hua Mei came over and said, “Just cut it up. Out with the old, in with the new.”
She had to take it out and throw it away.
Shen Yourong stayed in the temple for two days, unable to walk around due to her foot injury, and stayed in the room all day. Later, the old lady personally came to see her.
At that time, she was sitting at the desk under the window copying Buddhist scriptures, wearing a plain blue dress, without any rings, bracelets, necklaces, or earrings, only two jade hairpins in her hair, looking very plain and clean.
The Fourth Prince followed the old lady into the room. Du Juan and Hua Mei quickly invited them to sit and brought tea and snacks.
Shen Yourong nodded politely, “I apologize for not being able to greet you properly.”
The old lady waved her hand, “Just rest well.”
The Fourth Prince also said, “Elder Sister, you don’t need to be so formal.”
The old lady sat down in the chair and looked around, saying, “The room is clean, but why are you dressed so plainly? You don’t look like a young girl anymore.”
Shen Yourong replied, “Everyone came to Donglin Temple to pray for blessings, but unexpectedly, I twisted my ankle while fooling around and couldn’t go to the main hall to burn incense.
So I had to wear plain clothes and fast, copying scriptures in the room to fulfill my own heart.”
The old lady smiled at the Fourth Prince, “My granddaughter is very sincere.”
He agreed and looked at Shen Yourong gently, “Even so, elder Sister should take care of herself and rest more.”
His gentle tone reminded her of Ji Zhuo by the waterfall in the bamboo forest. He also spoke very gently. Who would have thought that such a gentle person would say things that could scare people to death.
She pursed her lips and thanked the him.
The old lady reminded, “The Crown Prince is also in the Temple now. I heard that it was his attendant who escorted you back. Remember to thank him and don’t forget your manners.”
Shen Yourong paused, “The Crown Prince is also in Donglin Temple?”
“Yes,” the Fourth Prince said, “he is very devout, and he has a deep understanding of Buddhist principles. He is good friends with Master Yinan of the Temple.”
Not only is he ruthless, but he also has a righteous appearance. Shen Yourong evaluated him in her heart, but said on the surface, “I will remember and thank him properly.”
The old lady was satisfied and exchanged a few more words before leaving with the Fourth Prince.
Shen Yourong sat alone for a while and called out, “Hua Mei.”
Hua Mei walked in and asked, “Miss, what are your orders?”
“You go prepare a gift and give it to Changming, who is by the Crown Prince’s side, to thank him for escorting us back.”
Hua Mei hesitated when she heard the Crown Prince and Changming, “Miss…”
“What’s wrong?” Shen Yourong hinted, “Just prepare the gift to thank him.”
Taking a deep breath, she said, “I understand. I’ll go now.”
The mountain was cool, the trees formed clouds, and the sunlight filtered through the trees, casting scattered patches of light. Under the trees in the courtyard, there was a stone platform and several stone benches.
Ji Zhuo was playing chess with an older monk, and when Changming came in from outside, he replied, “Your Highness, the eldest Miss sent a gift, thanking you for escorting them back. Also, because she injured her foot, she cannot come in person to apologize to you.”
Ji Zhuo shook his head and asked, “Is the eldest Miss seriously injured?”
“I heard she needs to rest for over a month.”
The monk across from him chanted a Buddhist mantra and said, “Is she the eldest Miss of the Duke of Qi’s Mansion, as you mentioned before?”
Ji Zhuo nodded and smiled, “She’s indeed smart, but too lively. She ran to the back mountain and twisted her foot.”
The monk said, “I have some ointment for bruises and injuries here. Give some to her.”
He nodded, and the young monk beside him immediately went to fetch it. He contemplated the chess pieces and asked, “Has anyone asked about the earrings?”
Changming replied, “The eldest Miss is focusing on copying scriptures and fasting, not wearing any jewelry.”
He smiled, “Indeed clever.”
He placed a chess piece down and said, “The eldest Miss has injured her foot and won’t have the chance to run around recklessly anymore. Take the copybooks from my room and tell her to practice calligraphy diligently and calm her mind.”
“Yes.”