Chapter 9: Changing My Perspective: This Dandy Boy Isn’t That Bad After All…

Green locust trees cast shade, slender willows sway in the pavilion. Shen Yunshu accompanies Tutor Pei in playing Go in Jingle Hall. The old man starts to get confused halfway through the game, so Shen Yunshu switches to playing Gobang with him. Pei Huaian was originally eating fruits boredly on the side, but when he saw them start playing Gobang, he excitedly came over to instruct the old man on how to make a move.

In a simple game of Gobang, the grandfather and grandson won two games and lost three. The old man was a little tired, so Pei Huaian asked someone to send him back to rest. He sat down with his arms and legs stretched out, determined to win one more game before giving up.

Shen Yunshu had just given up two games for the sake of the old man, so now facing Pei Huaian, she naturally showed no mercy. In less than a quarter of an hour, she placed the fifth piece in a row.

Pei Huaian slapped the stone table in frustration: "One more round! I don't believe it..."

Shen Yunshu had nothing better to do, so she decided to play along to the end, winning seven games in a row. The young man opposite him went from high spirits to disbelief, then to self-doubt, and finally said listlessly, "I'm not as skilled as you, so I admit defeat." Then, to save face, he asked, "But I'm very good at tossing pots. How about we have a tossing pot competition?"

Suddenly, a breeze blew through the pavilion, carrying the scent of grass and earth. Shen Yunshu glanced at the sky outside. The sky, which had been clear just a moment ago, was now overcast with dark clouds. She knew it was going to rain, so she stood up and said, "I don't know how to play pot toss. It's going to rain. Let's go back."

The young man shouted anxiously, "Then I will teach you another day. When you have learned it, we can compete again."

Shen Yunshu smiled and left Jingle Hall first.

When the big raindrops fell, Shen Yunshu was still some distance away from her residence. The wind was getting stronger, blowing her clothes into a mess. If she continued walking, she would get wet and be seen. She had no choice but to find a nearby pavilion to avoid the wind and rain.

In the midst of the violent storm, Pei Huaian was seen running towards them in a panic, using his hands as an umbrella.

As soon as he stepped into the pavilion, he looked up and saw her. His wet face was startled for a moment, then he sighed, turned around and rushed into the wind and rain again.

After all, they are the future uncle and sister-in-law. Just now in Jingle Hall, they had maids serving them, so they didn't have to avoid suspicion. Now, if they were to take shelter from the rain in the same pavilion, not only would it be awkward for a single man and a single woman, but they would also be afraid of being seen and gossiped about.

Shen Yunshu watched the figure running away in the rain and felt that this dandy boy wasn't that bad after all. Although he was idle, uneducated, frivolous and dissolute, he wasn't a bad person at all. He didn't have the bad habits of those pampered young men who were philandering. Instead, he was self-disciplined, knew how to avoid suspicion, and was quite filial...

What's more rare is that he was born with a handsome and elegant appearance. No wonder he attracted the young maids in the farm and they threw themselves into his arms one after another.

The rain came and went quickly. The bluestone road under the pavilion was washed shiny by the rain. Shen Yunshu stepped on it with her cloud-toe shoes embroidered with pearls. She dodged the remaining raindrops on the bamboo leaves, admired the new scenery after the rain, and slowly returned to the courtyard where she was staying temporarily.

Tinglan and Qiongzhi were talking under the eaves of the corridor. When they saw the eldest girl coming back, they hurried to greet her.

"Tinglan?" Shen Yunshu originally left her at home to supervise her sister's studies. She never expected that she would come to the manor today. She thought something must have happened in the mansion.

Although Tinglan hadn't spoken yet, Shen Yunshu had already begun to worry whether it was related to Lu Yi.

As expected, Tinglan's next words made her feel a chill in her heart.

"My dear, the eldest son of Minister Lu, your elder brother, is interested in marrying the third young lady. The master has sent me to ask your opinion on this matter. Are you willing to agree to this marriage?"

Tinglan started serving Shen Yunshu after she came to Beijing, and she didn't know Lu Yi's true face. She had a smile on her face at this time, probably thinking that this marriage was a closer relationship, and she expected that she would not object.

However, Shen Yunshu's face turned pale in an instant, and her body seemed to be frozen by frost. She took two slow breaths before saying, "Go back and tell father that I don't agree with this marriage."

Tinglan was puzzled, wondering why the eldest girl would oppose such a good marriage: "If the master asks the reason..."

Shen Yunshu's expression was solemn, and her voice was slow but clear: "I will explain to father later. You just need to tell father that Lu Yi is not a good match, and he is not allowed to get close to my third sister in the future."

Tinglan agreed and went back to reply.

The air after the rain is so damp that even breathing feels heavy.

Shen Yunshu knew that Lu Yi was not really asking to marry the third sister, and that this was done to her in order to force her to show up.

After not seeing her for two years, her stepbrother was still as despicable as ever.

Since she had guessed Lu Yi's intention, Shen Yunshu naturally didn't want to do as he wished. If she went back at this time, it would be exactly what Lu Yi wanted.

But if I don’t go back…

Shen Yunshu thought back to twelve years ago when she hid herself in order to avoid being taken away by her father. She thought that as long as her father couldn't find her, everything would be fine. However, she didn't expect that her third sister would bear the pain of separation from her mother for her.

The same thing happened today. If she continued to hide to protect herself, what if Lu Yi was really so crazy as to marry her third sister...

The more Shen Yunshu thought about it, the more scared she became: she must not let Lu Yi get involved with her sister.

"Qiongzhi, come with me to change clothes." As she walked along, even though she avoided the bamboo leaves that stretched out along the roadside, a few raindrops still wet her sleeves, leaving several deep and shallow marks.

After changing into a clear mountain-colored jacket and crimson gauze skirt, Shen Yunshu took Qiongzhi to say goodbye to Old Madam Pei.

Mrs. Pei had grown accustomed to her company over the past few days, and when she suddenly heard she was leaving, she felt a little reluctant. But then, thinking that the wedding was only a month away, she thought it was time for her to go back and spend more time with her family, so she patted her hand and said, "That's fine. Go back and get married, and enjoy your time as a girl..."

Then, worried that she would not be safe on her way back, he asked someone to call Pei Huaian and ask him to escort Shen Yunshu and her servant back.

At the end, he even teased his youngest grandson: "You must be bored staying in the farm all day, you little monkey. Go back to the city and have some fun with your friends. Come and pick me and your grandfather up in five days. Your eldest brother will be returning to Beijing soon, so we need to speed up the preparations for the wedding..."

Pei Huaian agreed to this with a smile, and then went back to ask people to pack their luggage, prepare the horses, and harness the carriage.

Half an hour later, he met Shen Yunshu at the gate of the manor and walked down the mountain together.

"Why does my sister-in-law suddenly want to go back?" She was clearly enjoying playing chess with her grandfather in the morning, so why did she want to go home in the blink of an eye?

Shen Yunshu followed the old lady's words and said, "I'm going to marry your eldest brother soon. I'll go back and see how the dowry is prepared."

"Oh." Pei Huaian just asked casually, and then reminded her that the road was slippery after the rain and to be careful with her steps, and then he didn't talk about anything else.

Shen Yunshu sat in the carriage nervously, trying hard to calm down and concentrate, thinking about how to fight back against Lu Yi.

Pei Huaian originally wanted to escort her back to the Shen Mansion, but Shen Yunshu said that she wanted to go to Tianxiang Pavilion to check out the custom-made headwear, and asked him to take her to the vicinity of Chenxiang Pavilion.

She stayed in the Chenxiang Pavilion for less than a moment before she walked out of the back door wearing a curtain and went to the nearest brothel. She picked out a girl who was somewhat similar in figure to her, gave her a large sum of money, and asked her to do her a small favor in a few days.

Then he returned to the Shen Mansion and walked straight to Shen Youran's yard.

Shen Youran was studying hard in the room at this time.

Today she learned that Tinglan went to the Pei family's farm to look for her sister. In addition, her sister's wedding to Pei's eldest son was approaching, so she thought she would be back soon.

She had been running to the Lu family a few days ago and neglected her studies. Eighty percent of the homework assigned by her elder sister was not completed. Fortunately, her elder sister did not come back with Tinglan today, so she still had time to make up for it.

He was writing furiously when he heard the door open. Thinking it was Danruo coming in, he said without even looking up, "Danruo, please write 5,000 words for me today. Your handwriting is more similar to mine. By the way, how is Qinghe's handkerchief embroidery going? Tell her not to embroider it too well, otherwise it won't look like my embroidery..."

Shen Yunshu walked straight to her desk and saw that her cuffs were stained with ink, and even her fair hands and face were stained with ink. Her handwriting was a mess. She couldn't help but frowned: "Practicing calligraphy requires concentration. You are so impatient, why don't you practice..."

The pen tip paused, and Shen Youran suddenly looked up: "Sister, why did you come back today?"

"Is this how you did your homework during the month I was away?" Shen Yunshu raised her frightened little face and used a handkerchief to wipe the ink stains off her face.

It didn't wipe it clean and made my cheeks red.

Shen Youran felt the pain, but didn't dare to hide. She lowered her eyes guiltily: "Sister, I was wrong."

It’s like this every time. He admits his mistakes quickly but just won’t change.

Shen Yunshu sighed in anger, "You, oh oh, how long are you going to be lazy? If you get married in the future, will your husband's family allow you to be so lazy?"

"Why are you suddenly talking about getting married?" Shen Youran looked up at her with a look of panic, "Do you agree that I should marry Lu Yi?"

"Do you want to get married?" Shen Yunshu lowered her eyes and looked at her.

Shen Youran shook her head vigorously: "I don't want to, I don't want to. He is your brother, and also my brother. How can brothers and sisters be husband and wife?"

Shen Yunshu's expression relaxed a little, and the strength in her hands became much lighter: "It's good that you don't think about it." She was still worried that her naive and gullible sister would fall for Lu Yi's trick.

How can brothers and sisters become husband and wife?

Even his third sister understood the truth, but Lu Yi insisted on going against it. He was really crazy.

*

Shen Yunshu stayed in the Shen Mansion for two days. Although she did not tell her father Lu Yi's true identity, she persuaded her father to give up the idea of ​​marrying into the Lu family.

Then she returned to the Lu family and met her mother, brother, and Lu Yi who had been waiting for her for a long time.

Lu Yi wanted to talk to her alone, but she cleverly avoided him. At night, she slept with her mother, so Lu Yi didn't want to disturb them.

It wasn't until the next day when she deliberately sent Tinglan and Qiongzhi away and pretended to be alone that he found an opportunity and pulled her over: "Ah Shu, how long are you going to hide from me?"

"Even if my brother didn't come to see me, I would have gone to find him." Shen Yunshu stared at her stepbrother, trying hard to hide the disgust in her heart, and said to him indifferently, "I want to have a good chat with my brother about my third sister. But some things can't be said at home. I'll wait for you at Fengle Tower at noon today..."

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