Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 287 Red Jade and the Coming-of-Age Ceremony

Listening to Madam Qin's rambling questions, her loving kindness overflowing and omnipresent, it felt as if a hand had appeared in her heart.

That hand smoothed out and cleaned up some things that had been gathering dust in the corner, allowing sunlight to gradually emerge from that corner.

This feeling was something she had never experienced before; it was incredibly magical, and the comforting sensation almost brought her to tears.

Gu Qingyue nodded with a sweet smile, and took Qin Shi's hand in return: "Mother, get well soon, shall we go shopping and see the scenery together?"

This is something a mother and daughter can do together, right? Gu Qingyue thought to herself.

"Good, good child," Qin Shi thought sweetly to Gu Qingyue calling her mother.

"Mom, get well soon. My Yue'er is all grown up. Whatever you want, Mom will buy it for you."

Gu Qingyue smiled, her eyes crinkling. Looking at those familiar eyes, Qin Shi suddenly remembered the person whose fate was unknown, and a dull ache swept through her heart.

After a moment, he composed himself and lovingly touched Gu Qingyue's face, saying, "My Yue'er is so beautiful, I wonder what kind of family she will marry into."

"I don't want to get married, I want to live with my mother."

Gu Qingyue secretly wondered if it was possible for her to marry Mu Yun Chu and keep her as a mistress.

She didn't really want to go to the royal court and be subjected to all those rules.

"Nonsense," Madam Qin stood up, gesturing for Gu Qingyue to follow.

Gu Qingyue was curious. When the two of them arrived at Qin's dressing table, Qin opened the bottom lid of the dressing box and took out a palm-sized sandalwood box.

Gu Qingyue watched Qin Shi's actions with curiosity and guessed that she was probably going to give her family heirloom jewelry.

Sure enough, when the box was opened, there was an exquisite jade hairpin. The jade was of excellent quality, translucent, warm and smooth, with a faint glow.

The hairpin is white, with a crescent moon at the top. The jade below the crescent moon has a faint blush of red, as if it has been infused with rouge. It is carved into begonia blossoms that set off the crescent moon. The carving is delicate and exquisite.

Gu Qingyue could say that she had never seen such a unique look since arriving here!

Along with the jade hairpin came two earrings of the same color, dangling with crescent-shaped ends.

Gu Qingyue was amazed.

Who could be so ingenious as to create this set of jewelry, which seems to have been tailor-made for them, perfectly matching their name?

Qin Shi pulled Gu Qingyue to sit down in front of the dressing table, put the earrings on Gu Qingyue, and looked at the girl in the mirror. Finally, she couldn't help but shed tears.

Startled, Gu Qingyue immediately stood up and turned to support Qin Shi's arm.

"It's alright, it's alright, Mother is just happy!" Qin Shi pulled Gu Qingyue to sit down again, and seeing Gu Qingyue's puzzled look, she said, "This is a coming-of-age gift from your father," and then she shed tears again.

Gu Qingyue: Mother, oh dear, why do you cry so much!

However, upon hearing that it was a gift from her father, Gu Qingyue felt a strange sensation in her heart.

"Coming-of-age ceremony?" Gu Qingyue asked, taking out a handkerchief to wipe away Qin Shi's tears.

Qin put her arm around Gu Qingyue's shoulder and said softly, "This was when I was pregnant with you and En'er. Your father was going to the battlefield, and he was afraid..."

Qin choked up for a moment.

He continued, "He prepared gifts for you all in advance. En'er's gift was a bow and an inkstone, and yours is this. This piece of jade is called 'Red Powder,' which your father personally dug in the jade mine many years ago. He spent a long time selecting before choosing this piece. The design, carving, and polishing were all done by himself, without any other person's involvement. En'er's bow was also made by him."

Qin's expression was somewhat wistful, with nostalgia and worry, and even a hint of reluctance and love in her eyes when she recalled those years.

She leaned on Gu Qingyue's shoulder, her gaze fixed on the void, as if she had returned to the scene from years ago, her eyes gentle as water.

Gu Qingyue turned her head and saw her eyes. She had never seen a woman's eyes so gentle and affectionate, as if they were about to overflow with a long and lingering story.

Gu Qingyue thought for a moment, then nudged her forehead toward Qin Shi, “Father must be a loving person. He loves this family, loves Mother, and loves us children. We will always love Father.”

Gu Qingyue never knew she had such a sentimental side.

If these words could bring a slight warmth to the woman's heart, which had been filled with longing for over a decade and was now barren, she would be willing to say even more.

Upon hearing this, a hint of warmth flashed in the woman's eyes, but as she lowered them, a fleeting trace of loneliness disappeared.

Madam Qin turned to Gu Qingyue: "Your father was a good minister and a good father. He was upright and honest throughout his life. Serving the Great Chu was his choice, although... please don't blame him. He also wanted to come back to see you..."

Qin lowered her eyes, and tears finally fell again.

Gu Qingyue helplessly hugged her shoulders and said earnestly, "Mother, we never blame Father, never. We only think of him and miss him. Although I never met him, I am proud to have had a father who protected the people and fought bloody battles. Mother, really..."

After finally calming Qin Shi down and saying a few more words, it was an hour later when they returned to Fei Yue Xuan.

Gu Qingyue placed the palm-sized box on her dressing table. She stared at it for a long time, touched the jade pendant on her ear, and felt the heavy love in it. Suddenly, an idea came to her.

She needs to find this father!

This is the father who prepared a coming-of-age ceremony for her even before she was born!

She could imagine the anticipation and love he felt as he awaited their arrival, and the reluctance he felt as he bid farewell to his pregnant wife and young children, a farewell that would never come again.

She had heard from her brothers that they suspected their father was still alive.

After all, no trace of his death on the battlefield had been found back then.

If only one soldier from the elite battalion led by the father said: "While covering everyone's retreat, the commander was shot in the shoulder by an arrow and fell off a cliff."

After that, countless soldiers were sent out to search the area repeatedly, but no bodies were found at the bottom of the cliff.

They couldn't even find the arrow; neither the living nor the dead were found.

In the end, we can only speculate whether it was caused by a wild animal... but that's just conjecture.

Gu Qingyue pinched the bridge of her nose. She was determined to find an opportunity to go to Nanzhao to find someone.

If he's still alive and was rescued... perhaps he has some unavoidable reason for not being able to return...

Of course, she wasn't just acting on a whim. Since her father had disappeared on the border of Nanzhao, he must be either in Nanzhao or Dachu. She was convinced that she could find him eventually!

Firstly, it was for herself and her brothers, but mainly it was for Qin Shi. The deep longing and loneliness in Qin Shi's eyes made her heart ache.

She wasn't actually a sentimental person, but she couldn't just stand by and watch that gentle woman wither away like a flower in some corner.

Isn't this Nanzhao Heavenly Ceremony a perfect opportunity?

"Master, the eldest young mistress has arrived," Zhu Qing's voice rang out from outside.

"Sister-in-law," Gu Qingyue stood up.

Wei came mainly to remind Gu Qingyue of some things to pay attention to when attending the Spring Festival banquet the day after tomorrow, but as soon as she entered, she was first attracted by Gu Qingyue's earrings.

"Moon, what about your earrings?" Madam Wei looked at Gu Qingyue's earrings with surprise. "Are they carved from pink jade? They're so beautiful!"

"Does your sister-in-law also know about cosmetics?" Gu Qingyue asked.