Mistakenly Marked the Madly Beautiful Princess - Chapter 37

By the time they returned to the estate, the rain had stopped. Qing Niao bid farewell to Ling Yue, but as she turned a corner, she saw the Eldest Princess standing at the door, staring at her. Qing Niao felt unnerved by the intensity of her gaze.

Unable to hold back her irritation, she snapped, “What are you doing, lurking like a ghost?”

Qing Niao’s room was close to the Eldest Princess’s, a setup meant to facilitate caring for the princess’s health.

The Eldest Princess paid no mind to Qing Niao’s annoyance. As Qing Niao passed by, she reached out and grabbed her arm, her tone tinged with mild displeasure: “What were you two talking about?”

The air seemed thick with a sour tang, and Qing Niao couldn’t help but laugh. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she leaned in with a mocking grin, looking utterly insufferable: “Oh, are you jealous?”

The Eldest Princess’s expression remained unchanged, but her grip tightened abruptly, making Qing Niao yelp in pain. She immediately surrendered: “I was wrong, I was wrong! Let go! You’re going to break it!”

A small lesson was enough. The Eldest Princess released her hand as requested, though her expression remained grim.

But this was her usual demeanor; it was just that Ling Yue’s presence had brought more smiles to her face lately.

Qing Niao rubbed her sore arm, grimacing, and couldn’t resist complaining: “You heartless wretch. After all the times I’ve saved you, you could at least be a little more courteous.”

The Eldest Princess snorted coldly, “If it weren’t for that, do you think you’d be allowed to act so recklessly?”

She wasn’t wrong. Qing Niao was an exception, and the label “heartless wretch” wasn’t an insult but a statement of fact.

Knowing that the princess wouldn’t be satisfied without a proper explanation, Qing Niao, as her physician, felt it her duty to attend to her patient’s mental well-being. So, instead of leaving, she stepped into the Eldest Princess’s room.

She sat down in the spot she had occupied earlier, leisurely pouring herself a cup of tea. Noticing the Eldest Princess sitting across from her, she thoughtfully poured a cup for her as well.

The Eldest Princess had no interest in tea. She felt agitated, and this agitation seemed to have no rational cause.

Qing Niao found her tea growing increasingly flavorless. Anxious, she set the cup down and raised her hands in a gesture of surrender: “Alright, alright, I’ll talk. We were discussing serious matters. She’s your little general, how would I dare entertain any improper thoughts?”

Seeing that Qing Niao wasn’t lying, the Eldest Princess felt a wave of relief. In her eased state, she said, “You’re overthinking it. That’s not what I meant.”

“Right, right, whatever you say, Your Highness.”

Qing Niao fought the urge to roll her eyes, though she didn’t dare. She couldn’t understand how someone so decisive could be so hesitant in matters like this.

The Eldest Princess was well aware of Qing Niao’s sarcasm, but she herself couldn’t fully grasp her own feelings. At times, she feared this unfamiliar emotion. By her usual logic, she would have sought to eliminate anything so unknown and uncontrollable. Yet, the mere thought of doing so made her heart ache and brought inexplicable tears to her eyes.

She sighed softly. She had never encountered such a perplexing situation before.

Suddenly, she felt exhausted, a novel sensation in itself.

Resting her forehead in her hand, she spoke in a heavy tone: “Stay and talk with me for a while.”

Qing Niao had been smiling, but seeing the Eldest Princess like this, her smile faded, replaced by a flicker of fear.

Then she became serious, just as she had been when speaking with Ling Yue earlier. “What do you want to talk about?”

The Grand Princess rubbed her temples, unable to smooth away the worry. “I don’t know. You can say whatever you want to say, though I might not listen.”

Qing Niao found this amusing. What was the point of speaking if the other person wouldn’t listen? The Grand Princess really knew how to tell a cold joke. Still, Qing Niao had a lot she wanted to say.

Outside, it began to rain again fine, slanting lines of drizzle. Such scenes always reminded Qing Niao of unpleasant memories.

Her eyes darkened slightly as she suddenly recalled that she and the Grand Princess had also met in the rain. Back then, she had just lost her dearest friend and, in her dazed state, encountered the Grand Princess, who was severely injured and on the brink of death.

Fate was such a curious thing. Thinking back, it had already been ten years.

Qing Niao smiled. “Have you had any dreams lately?”

“No.”

The Grand Princess never dreamed. If she did, her dreams would surely be filled with those who held grudges against her.

Seeing how quickly she answered, Qing Niao sighed inwardly. “Do you remember your childhood?”

The Grand Princess slowly lifted her head. She rarely dwelled on such meaningless matters. The past was the past; all she needed to do was focus on the path ahead.

Besides, her memory was sharp. If she delved too deeply into recollection, she might inevitably touch upon sorrowful emotions, which she considered a sign of weakness.

The tea had gone cold, and the Grand Princess did not answer the question.

But Qing Niao was eager to talk about her own past. Propping her head in her hands, she smiled gently as she reminisced. “I still remember, my mother ran a fabric shop, and business was quite good. She often left me behind the counter. Back then, I was so short I couldn’t even see over it.”

Qing Niao had been lazy since childhood. She preferred listening over speaking, but this was often misunderstood.

Back then, she was too young to understand and exceptionally tolerant of pain. No matter how many renowned physicians she saw or how many acupuncture needles were used, she never spoke or made a fuss.

During the endless search for medical help, she gradually developed an interest in pharmacology, though at the time, it was merely a hobby.

Eventually, it became clear that she had a remarkable talent for it. To avoid wasting her gift, her mother arranged for her to study at the medical clinic across the street.

There was another little girl at the clinic, exceptionally mischievous skipping work, climbing trees, and raiding bird nests. Qing Niao disliked her intensely and always wore a cold expression.

Until one day, the girl rushed over holding an injured bird, her expression urgent. “Qing Niao, please save it!”

Noticing the bruises on the girl’s arm, Qing Niao’s pupils contracted. She grabbed the girl’s arm, intending to treat her first, but the girl refused.

Unable to persuade her, Qing Niao attended to the bird first. It wasn’t seriously injured just overheated. With a little care, it soon recovered.

“Qing Niao, you’re amazing! You’ll surely become a great physician one day, saving many people. My mother says it’s a kind of destiny, you might even become a bodhisattva someday.”

Qing Niao was observant and more mature than most children. After coldly treating the girl’s injuries, she spoke bluntly, “Your mother lied to you. Besides, I’m only interested in this, it doesn’t mean I’ll pursue it in the future.”

The girl widened her eyes, looking genuinely disappointed. “That’s such a shame, Qing Niao. Aren’t you happy?”

Qing Niao remained indifferent. “No. I can’t be bothered to be happy, so I can’t be bothered to smile.”

Usually after saying something like that, she would receive a speechless expression from the other person, but this time, Qing Niao found herself at a loss.

Because this little one widened her eyes and said loudly, “You’re so lazy, yet you’re willing to talk to me so much, I’m really happy.”

Qing Niao swore she had never been so dumbfounded in her life. To avoid making the other person even more excited, she didn’t respond with a single word for the rest of the conversation.

But the person who usually didn’t cling to her started following her around. Whether she was drying herbs or gathering them, the girl was right there, even though these tasks were quite dull.

Because they were often together, the girl’s mother asked Qing Niao to look after her.

At the time, Qing Niao thought it was a bother, but there was no way around it when under someone else’s roof, one has to bow their head.

Later, things changed. It became Qing Niao calling the girl back from climbing trees.

Gradually, Qing Niao discovered that the girl had a kind heart she would release the fish she caught back into the river, feed worms to the birds, and stand up for weaker children.

However, the girl wasn’t very strong herself. How could she possibly win a fight? She often ended up bruised and battered and Qing Niao would get hurt alongside her.

But this person was strange, every time she was beaten, she would shield Qing Niao.

“Ah, it hurts! Qing Niao, be gentle.”

Qing Niao ignored her. She was also injured, and her expression showed clear displeasure. “You never learn.”

The girl still grinned foolishly. She mysteriously pulled out a pendant, a blue bird.

Qing Niao couldn’t help but freeze, her hands stopping unconsciously. “You!”

With a face full of injuries, the girl smiled dopily, “I saved up for a long time. Doesn’t it match your name perfectly?”

Qing Niao didn’t accept it. She continued applying medicine to the girl, but this time her movements were much gentler, and she spoke more as well: “Why are you so good to me?”

The girl suddenly stood up, hanging the pendant around Qing Niao’s neck. As Qing Niao stared in shock, the girl laughed and said, “Because Qing Niao is a gentle person. You’re so smart surely you’ll save many people in the future.”

Qing Niao lowered her gaze and remarked, “Fool.”

The girl was used to being scolded. She tried to scratch her head but winced from the pain, her expression twisting before she held it back. “Ah, my mother says there are too few fools in this world, so I’m precious.”

“If Qing Niao ever meets a fool like me in the future, you have to protect them well.”

Qing Niao didn’t reply, only sighed and said, “Alright.”

Time passed, neither too long nor too short. Qing Niao seemed to have grown accustomed to such days, to the girl’s constant chattering.

She watched the girl grow up, watched her get married, watched the two of them live smoothly, and watched the girl have her own child.

Then she watched the girl die. She used every means at her disposal but couldn’t keep her alive.

A torrential rain poured down. Qing Niao walked through the storm, holding the girl’s child.

Life was so fragile, so easily broken.

She had studied for so long, yet it was all useless. As the child began to cry, she could no longer hold back her emotions and wept.

The Eldest Princess was hearing this story for the first time. She remembered that time when she was severely injured Qing Niao was walking in a daze, carefully cradling the child in her arms.

Back then, with her last ounce of strength, the princess had threatened Qing Niao to heal her.

At that time, Qing Niao shook her head in panic, repeating over and over, “I can’t heal you, I can’t.”

At that time, she thought the other person didn’t want to be treated, but now it seemed that the helplessness from her friend’s death had led to self-doubt.

But after all this time, Qing Niao wouldn’t bring this up just to explain what happened back then. She remained silent for a moment before asking, “What do you want to say?”

Qing Niao smiled bitterly. “Life is short. Be honest with your own heart.”

What Qing Niao didn’t say was that before the girl died, she had asked whether she was her best friend, but Qing Niao had been too reserved to say it out loud.

She had always regretted it, regretted not speaking up, regretted not mastering her skills well enough to save her.

Though she didn’t know what the Eldest Princess thought, she regarded her as a friend and didn’t want her to walk down the wrong path.

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