Chapter 67 The Third Miss

When the tea was served, Gu Chunling personally handed a cup to Shanlai.

I see. Since she's willing to do good by serving tea, there's no reason not to believe her.

Shanlai stood up, took the tea, and said thank you.

"Oh dear, why are you up again? Did nails grow on this chair without my knowledge? Please sit down, you're too kind. I'm not good at socializing, and if you keep being so polite, I really don't know what to do."

Submissiveness and humility are the standard of the lowly, something they cannot be without for a moment. This noble lady is too young, lacks understanding of some trivial matters, and is too willful, which is why she said such things.

She had no ill intentions; on the contrary, she was quite...gentle and courteous.

Shanlai looked at her and thought that it must be because of his jealous nature that he was arguing with such a good person.

It's still a matter of personal calculation; outwardly, they're not worthy.

It's kind of ridiculous.

And he actually laughed.

A very submissive smile.

Let her do whatever she wants; what she says counts. The right thing to do is to make her happy. Just be careful not to leave any evidence against her.

"I am not a person who can be presented in public, please forgive me, Miss. Fortunately, you have given me guidance. If there is anything wrong, please do not hesitate to teach me."

After saying that, he sat down, took a sip of tea, and casually placed it on the table beside him. His movements were fluid and graceful.

Gu Chunling was satisfied. "This is much better. I can finally feel at ease." He then sat down and picked up some tea to drink.

After she put down her teacup, Shanlai smiled and said, "I'm not good at socializing, so I'll just speak frankly. May I ask what brings you here, Miss?"

Surely she couldn't really be asking for advice on skills. With her status as a young lady from the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, which prominent family in the world wouldn't she be able to invite into her home? Why bother with someone as unknown as her, who's just a servant and needs her master's approval to even leave the house? That would be too much trouble.

Of course not.

Shanlai was still self-aware; all they wanted her to do was draw a few flower patterns so they could make clothes.

Miss Gu is a very particular person when it comes to food and clothing. She doesn't seek wealth or status, but only something original and unconventional.

"Clothes? Silk or brocade for the inner layers, damask or satin for the outer layers. In summer, gauze; in winter, fur. That's about it. There's nothing else. We can only put thought into the style and patterns. But the style can't be too over the top; it has to be dignified… Only patterns remain. But what are they showing me? Butterflies among flowers, magpies on plum blossoms, phoenixes among peonies and bamboo bringing peace, even five blessings surrounding longevity—these are hardly for me! Over the years, plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums have been used extensively in clothing making, but lotus and other flowers… I really can't stand it anymore. I heard your young lady say that the things she wore that day were all designs you drew… Is that true?"

Could I possibly sabotage the prostitute?

“It was indeed my drawing. I happen to know a bit about painting, and the lady is kind enough to give me the opportunity to serve the young lady, so I can get more rewards.”

"You only get this opportunity because you did a good job! You really did a good job. The day I arrived at your place, I had just sat down when I saw your young lady's clothes. I thought to myself, 'Why am I not wearing such nice clothes?'" After saying the last sentence, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She laughed, and the maids around her laughed too, and Shanlai laughed along with her.

After laughing, Gu Chunling said, "I invited you here today with the utmost sincerity. Please use your ingenuity to make me two nice clothes. I will be very grateful to you." Then, remembering something, she added, "In the short time we've known each other, I've already figured out what kind of person you are. Please don't say anything like 'I'm not capable enough' or 'I can't do it.' That's too polite. It's not like I'll do anything to you if you can't produce anything or if I'm not satisfied with what you produce. You're a guest!"

Since that's what they've said, Shanlai couldn't refuse any longer, so he asked Gu Chunling what she liked.

"I don't care about the style, as long as it looks nice and unique, I like it. Even if I can't wear it out to show others, I can still amuse myself by looking in the mirror. And don't worry, if I don't have it today, just consider it as me inviting you to sit down, just so we can have tea and chat."

She's a nice person, approachable and without the airs of a noble lady, but Shanlai doesn't like sitting at her house, so it's better to finish her business as soon as possible.

“Since Miss is tired of flowers, then let’s embroider birds. A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, but without the phoenix, only a hundred birds, without adding anything else. Embroider a large area of ​​full embroidery on the hem of the skirt, and pay more attention to the color scheme. Also…” He paused here, then smiled and said, “I’m not good with words, I’m afraid I can’t explain it clearly, so I’ll draw it instead.”

Gu Chunling nodded and said, "It's good to draw it. You said I had to draw it in my mind, but now I can see it directly with my eyes. There are painters in my family, so we can have anything we need. To be honest, when my grandfather was alive, he would teach us younger generation painters when he had nothing else to do. But like my father, I have no talent and can't learn it, unlike..." For some reason, she stopped, her smile faded, and she looked rather sad. After a long while, she said again, "What do you need? I'll ask them to find it for you." After saying that, she lowered her head and instructed the maid beside her to listen carefully so as not to miss anything.

Shanlai replied, "The items are complicated. If they are cheap, I'll ask this sister to take me there. I'll find them myself, which will save some time. Maybe I can finish the painting today."

Shanlai felt that his request was not excessive, especially since it was for her sake. Why did the young lady in front of him seem so hesitant?

Gu Chunling did hesitate for a moment, but she really wanted nice clothes, so...

"Then go! Su Xing, you go!" She pointed to another maid and instructed her, "If they stop you over there, talk to them nicely. Your third uncle isn't home, so nothing will happen."

Su Xing responded with a "Yes".

Shanlai followed Suxing with his head down for a long time. Suddenly Suxing stopped. Shanlai was about to ask what was going on when Suxing turned around, pointed, and said to Shanlai, "It's over there. We've arrived."

Looking over, Shanlai saw a moon gate at the end of the bamboo forest, with four characters engraved on its top.

"Drawing in the moon and drawing in the wind..."

I read it out without even realizing it.

What beautiful calligraphy...

also……

"Sister, why aren't you moving?"

"Oh, here it comes."

They hurried after them.

After passing through the moon gate, there is a three-room open hall facing south, with black tiles and blue bricks, ebony railings and ebony doors. In front of the door is a crooked mimosa tree, graceful and spreading like a canopy, and under the tree is a large white porcelain jar.

When Shanlai saw the vat, it was as if a needle had been pierced into his mind, and his soul left his body in an instant...

"What?" Shanlai trembled and asked in alarm.

Su Xing looked puzzled and said, "I asked my sister what she said just now. It seemed like she was asking me a question, but her voice was too soft and I couldn't hear her. So I asked her back, but she didn't respond the first time, and she still didn't respond the second time. It was like she was being haunted... Luckily, she's alright."

He hadn't noticed it before, but after hearing Su Xing's words, Shan Lai suddenly felt a splitting headache and couldn't stand up. He squatted down on the ground, clutching his head, his expression contorted.

Su Xing panicked and rushed over to pull her away, "Sister, what's wrong? Should I call a doctor for you?" She was about to run back when Shan Lai stopped her.

"...I'm fine."

"Are you really alright?"

Su Xing was skeptical and thought it best to call a doctor.

"It's really nothing," Shanlai said with a smile, his face pale.

She refused repeatedly, so Su Xing couldn't insist any longer, but she still felt uneasy. It was only after she said those words that she acted that way. What exactly were those two vague words?

Upon reaching the entrance, Su Xing stepped forward first. The maid sweeping the floor stopped, greeted her with a smile, and after exchanging pleasantries, asked, "What brings you here, young lady?"

Su Xing said, "The Second Miss needs painting tools, so she asked me to come to the Third Master's place to find them."

The maid frowned: "It's not that I'm making things difficult for you, Miss, but everyone in the manor knows our master's rules. Please don't make things difficult for me, Miss."

Su Xing listened to her master's instructions and said in a polite tone, "Third Master is out and not at home. What could possibly happen? We used it and cleaned it up and brought it back. If it was missing or not, we made up for it. How could Third Master know? How could it possibly cause any trouble for you, sister?"

The maid hesitated, but Su Xing ignored her and pulled Shan Lai inside, lifting the curtain. The maid couldn't stop her and had to let her go. After all, she was the young lady. It didn't matter if her uncle offended her, but how could they, as servants, afford to offend her? Besides, they didn't know when their mistress would return. Perhaps nothing was wrong.

Shanlai entered the room, and the paintings and calligraphy hanging all over the place dazzled her. She stood there, looking at the paintings without moving.

Seeing this, Su Xing hurriedly urged her, "Good sister, snap out of it! Grab what you need quickly, or we'll have to rush you!"

Helpless, Shanlai had no choice but to look away, but his gaze lingered. When he saw a painting of a landscape under the moon, his mind suddenly felt like it had been pricked by a needle. He stared at it closely and was horrified to find it so familiar, as if he had seen it a thousand times before...

Seeing that she was stunned again, Su Xing hurriedly pleaded with her, "Good sister, let's think about our business. Look at all these things, which ones do you need? Tell me so I can pack them up."

Shanlai was restless and hastily packed her things back to Gu Chunling. Gu Chunling looked at them in surprise and said, "Why are there still brushes? Aren't these for painting landscapes?" Shanlai didn't know when she had taken the brushes. Suxing, remembering her previous strange behavior, also looked at her with concern.

A layer of cold sweat appeared on Shan Lai's forehead. Shan Lai suddenly smiled and said, "When I was on the way, I thought that perhaps I could embroider landscapes and withered trees on my clothes, and then put on a layer of gauze to resemble clouds and mist. The near and far, the real and the unreal, would appear and disappear. I think that would be quite interesting."

Gu Chunling thought about what she said and clapped his hands, laughing, "I knew it! Inviting you was definitely the right decision!"

That hurdle is now cleared.

Shan Lai measured Gu Chunling's clothing size, first sketching the base of the garment on paper with charcoal, both the front and back, and then using a wolf-hair brush to outline dense birds at the hem of the garment, each with different colors, each bird tightly covering its wings and flying away.

If this were made into clothing and worn, one can only imagine how magnificent it would be. Gu Chunling couldn't help but sigh, and the words of praise were about to come out, but suddenly they stuck in his mouth.

Because I saw people.

The painter was completely absorbed in his brushstrokes, as if the world consisted of nothing but the three feet of white paper before him...

Shanlai drew over a hundred birds on two sheets of paper. When he stopped, his wrists ached so much he couldn't move them. He had no choice but to beg that the drawing be taken back to be colored and then brought back when he was done.

Gu Chunling quickly agreed and instructed the maids to put the things away once the ink dried. She then took Shanlai's hand and asked her to sit in the hall.

Shanlai felt that Gu Chunling was being too close to her, to the point of making her feel slightly uncomfortable. However, there was a distinction between the noble and the lowly, and she was the lowly one, so she couldn't say anything.

Previously, Gu Chunling sat in the main seat, and Shanlai sat to her left. Now that they had returned to the main hall, Gu Chunling actually pulled Shanlai to sit with her. She sat in the main seat, and Shanlai sat in the second most honored seat.

Shanlai was baffled. Even if she had painted something that satisfied her, there was no need for such politeness. What was going on? Did she want something from her? Even if she did, there was no need for such a posture. She was just a servant girl; why should she be treated like this? Just as she was thinking this, she heard Gu Chunling instruct the maid to serve tea and snacks. That was fine. Then she asked the maid to go to her mother's place to tell her that she wouldn't be going over later. After the maid left, she happily grabbed Shanlai's hand and asked Shanlai to stay for dinner that night.

Shan Lai was utterly terrified.

Who wants to stay for dinner?

He quickly stood up and declined the offer to stay for dinner, repeatedly saying that he dared not accept it.

Gu Chunling was very kind-hearted and tried his best to persuade Shanlai to stay for dinner. He kept asking Shanlai what he liked to eat and ignored Shanlai's refusals.

Just then, a voice rang out, "What a lively scene!" Shan Lai turned his head to look and saw a beautifully dressed woman with an oval face, delicate eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a high nose, and thin lips. She exuded an imposing aura and must be one of the young ladies. A rather unapproachable one at that.

So he dared not be presumptuous any longer, took two steps back, and stood still with his hands at his sides.

Gu Chunling also quieted down, looked at the person who came, and after a long while, she managed a smile and said, "You're back so early? I thought you'd be a little longer. Have you paid your respects to your grandmother?"

The beauty curled her lip and said, "It seems my second sister isn't very welcoming to me."

Gu Chunling stopped laughing and said, "What nonsense are you talking about, Third Sister?"

Upon hearing the name "Third Sister," Shanlai realized that this was the third young lady of the Duke's mansion.

The third young lady's given name is Jiao, and her nickname is Songnian, which is the same as her sisters'.

Upon hearing Gu Chunling's words, Gu Songnian pursed his lips, then turned to look at Shan Lai standing to the side and asked, "Who is this?"

"They are my guests."

Gu Songnian said "Oh," and then pretended to realize something. "So you're a guest. No wonder I didn't recognize you. Second Sister didn't even introduce you or tell me who you are or what your name is. Now that I know you, we can sit down and have tea together in the future!"

Gu Chunling said with a forced smile, "Enough already, Third Sister, don't you know what kind of person you are? She's a delicate person, don't scare her."

Gu Songnian laughed and said, "What kind of fierce person am I, that flood or beast? How could I scare people? Second sister is bullying people, I'm going to tell the First Madam later." After saying that, he turned around and left.

Having made a fatal mistake, Gu Chunling gritted her teeth, but still smiled. She quickly pulled the girl back and sat her down in a chair, scolding, "How old are you now? Still saying such childish things. How could I possibly be making fun of you? Good sister, it's fine if you say these things to me, but please don't tell others, or they will really laugh at you!" As she spoke, she instructed the maid to prepare tea: "Third sister loves Yunshan Ganlu the most. Make it strong, and bring it over when it's well-colored." The maid agreed and went to do so.

Gu Songnian's smile became more genuine: "Second sister, please sit down. How can I sit if you're standing?"

Gu Chunling swallowed his anger and sat down.

Gu Songnian then looked at Shan Lai and said with a smile, "You should sit down too. Are you angry because I sat in your seat and you refuse to sit down?"

He said, "I dare not."

Gu Songnian then said, "I don't understand what you're saying. Since you're Second Sister's guest, how can you not dare to sit down? This is not how we treat guests."

They simply said no.

Seeing that Gu Songnian was getting more and more excited, Gu Chunling was extremely dissatisfied. She said to Gu Songnian in a dry voice, "Third sister, I haven't asked you yet, what exactly did you come to see me for?"

Gu Songnian raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and said, "I actually heard that you, Third Sister, led people to Liujin Zhuiyu, and I was curious, so I came to see what was going on."

Gu Chunling's expression suddenly became uneasy.