Chapter 88 Today the east wind overwhelms the west wind, tomorrow the west wind will overwhelm the east wind

From that day on, Su Ying never set foot in the library again, and she even stopped attending Mr. Bai's classes. For this reason, Rong Shi even took her to report to the old lady.

Unexpectedly, the old lady didn't seem surprised. She simply put down her teacup, looked at Su Ying, and said with a smile, "From your Weibei calligraphy, I know you are quite knowledgeable. Mr. Bai's lessons are indeed a little shallow for you. I had some selfish motives at the time, hoping that you could guide Wanyi. I've reviewed all of Wanyi's articles, and you've indeed made considerable progress since you came."

"Since you have other plans, Grandmother can't always restrict you for Wanyi."

After saying that, he called Jinniang, who was pouring tea beside him, over and said, "Jinniang, you should take Ying'er's place and accompany Wanyi to attend the class."

Jinniang bowed and said "yes," then walked over to Su Ying and they exchanged greetings. As she stood up, she raised her hand to gently smooth her hair, revealing the scar on her forehead that hadn't faded.

"Grandmother, Second Aunt, Jinniang has something to ask of you."

The old lady smiled and teased, "Why? You've been taking care of Grandmother these past few days, and you feel a bit constrained. Do you want to go out for a walk like Ying'er?"

Jinniang smiled sweetly and shook her head: "Grandma, you're joking. Jinniang's injury hasn't fully healed yet. How dare I go out and make a fool of myself?"

She paused for a moment, then continued in a serious tone, "Jin Niang has often accompanied her father to the provincial school since she was young. I have some knowledge of the library there."

She changed the subject and looked at Su Ying gently, her tone filled with humility and sincerity: "I heard from Sister Wanyi that Sister Ying'er has put a lot of thought into organizing the bibliography. If you don't mind, Jinniang is willing to do her bit to help you during this period of rest."

She smiled slightly and continued, "To be honest, I always need to read to sleep at night. This time I went to the capital and couldn't bring many books with me. I didn't dare to ask my cousin to borrow them, for fear of disturbing his studies. Now I know there is a library in the prefecture. It would be great if I could go there and read a few books."

Her words sounded courteous and considerate, yet there was a hidden edge to them. Using Su Ying's name as a pretense of modesty, she made it seem as if every move was well-made and every word was thoughtful. As for the library's request, she couldn't refuse it for the moment.

Su Ying was about to speak when Rong Shi smiled and said, "Jin Niang, please stop praising her. She's just being too ambitious. She boasted that she could tidy up the library by herself, but now she's too tired to do anything. It's great that you're willing to help. What's the point of saying yes or no? Taoxi is in charge of the library. You've met her. With her here, if you want to go, go ahead."

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Jinniang said no more. After thanking Rong, she returned to the old lady's side. At first glance, she looked more like the old lady's granddaughter than Wanyi.

Because Rong had to go back to the side hall to listen to the report from the steward, she took Su Ying and said goodbye.

Jinniang walked silently behind the old lady and kept her eyes fixed on Su Ying while rubbing her shoulders.

When Su Ying turned around, she saw the light crimson tassels dangling from her waist. Jin Niang was stunned for a moment.

Although her father was a scholar at the provincial school, he often talked about military books. What she remembered most was the saying "Capture the king first to capture the thief". She knew that her cousin Heng had someone in his heart, and it would be impossible to capture him immediately, so she put all her attention on the old lady.

The results of today's conversation were self-evident, but she hadn't expected that the glimpse she had just taken would yield unexpected results. This was indeed a good omen. Her cousin had kept her promise and hadn't accompanied her to the doctor again. Now, it seemed she needed to see him.

Jinniang withdrew her gaze contentedly, with the corners of her lips slightly raised as she continued to rub the old lady's shoulders gently and tenderly, as if all her thoughts had not been revealed.

Just as Rong and Ying'er reached the door, Cheng came over with Songying. Rong called her sister-in-law, and Ying'er called her aunt. She thought Cheng would ignore her and go straight into the house, but unexpectedly, she pulled Su Ying to her side and said, "Ying'er, you have always been so well-behaved and sensible. The more I see you, the more I like you."

Although it was just a polite remark, it still surprised Rong and Su Ying.

Fortunately, Cheng's heart was only on Jinniang now. Before Su Ying could speak, she went into the house.

Before Su Ying and her aunt left the door, they heard Cheng Li's voice from the main hall: "Jin Niang, look what your aunt brought you."

"This is the Angelica Ointment recipe I asked someone to give me. It's specifically for treating facial scars. The pearl ointment I used last time wasn't very effective. I'm afraid you didn't follow your aunt's instructions. From today on, your aunt will come to supervise you every day. I guarantee that your scars will be gone within a month!"

Rong chuckled and shook her head. Although her sister-in-law was usually too narrow-minded, she could find no fault with Heng'er. She had been observing from the sidelines for the past few days, feeling that Jinniang was indeed trying to repay a favor. However, as the second aunt, she could only watch Cheng and Jinniang's nephew go back and forth in front of her mother-in-law, one day the east wind prevailed over the west wind, and tomorrow the west wind would prevail over the east wind.

The whole room is full of calculations, all for one brother Heng.

Rong sighed softly and looked at her niece beside her.

Fortunately, her Ying'er did not fall into this struggle.

......

On Du Heng's side, the Hu brush he usually used had become warm from being held in his hand, but the piece of rice paper that had been spread on the desk for a long time was still as good as new.

"So, Miss Cousin hasn't been to the library for several days?"

He did not write a single word, simply waiting for the spring to return.

Qingquan didn't dare to look into the Master's eyes, but nodded and said, "That's what Taoxi said. This is the book you asked me to find. The young lady has placed it in a corner of the desk."

Du Heng took the booklet in which he had written conversations with Su Ying, and his fingertips brushed over the blank beginning of the volume where no title was written, his mind filled with thoughts.

That day, after his mother's hints, he finally understood Ying'er's intentions. He wasn't a dull person, but he had never paid attention to trivial matters at home. Now, he had to see clearly.

Although his grandmother did not say anything explicitly, the main court often urged him to come back since he no longer accompanied the doctor to treat Jinniang every day.

Whenever this happened, Qingquan became the mouthpiece for the conversation between the main courtyard and the west courtyard. Du Heng, under the pretext of studying, never went there in person, but he never neglected anything, and he arranged everything necessary to deal with Jinniang's injury.

Therefore, he naturally could not go to the library at will, so he sent Qingquan to explore a few books every day under the pretext of borrowing or returning books.

At first, he thought that if he could find the right moment to talk things over with Ying'er, he could finally untie the knot in her heart. But day after day, Qingquan would always bring back the invariable message, "My cousin didn't leave today." Over time, he lost interest in preparing for the exam, and even when former classmates sent him invitations, he simply declined.

He had always encouraged himself by saying "haste makes waste" and had been suppressing his thoughts, urging himself to be patient. But ultimately, his mortal desires were hard to control, and after several attempts to see her, he finally couldn't sit still any longer.

So he asked Qingquan to bring back the book of correspondence from the library, and planned to let Taoxi send it to the side courtyard in the name of delivering a book so that Ying'er would know his intention.

He flipped open the book, and Ying'er's handwriting still moved him. After a moment's contemplation, he finally settled down and picked up his pen. At that moment, he heard the doorman come in to announce, "Master Xi has come in person to invite you. He's already waiting outside the mansion!"