Chapter 84 It's Really About You

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I heard laughter; it was Madam Yue.

He seemed to be in a very good mood.

But Shanlai still dared not let his guard down.

Why won't you tell her? There's a saying that you should respond when you don't know, but this person clearly knows, but is unwilling to say it.

What exactly happened?

The maid went in to announce her arrival, and Shanlai stood under the eaves, waiting for someone to call her. At that moment, she heard a soft, melodious female voice, whispering and murmuring. It was Madam Yue speaking to her, and she smiled.

Perhaps the maid had finished speaking, for Madam Yue stopped laughing and said, "Oh? She's already here? Why isn't she coming in? Quickly, tell her to come in!"

Upon hearing this, Shanlai didn't wait for anyone to call him and went into the house with his head down.

Once inside, bow first, without shouting or raising your head.

These are the rules for servants.

"This is the arrival of goodness."

Mrs. Yue said with a smile.

Shanlai heard the rustling of fabric and the soft sound of footsteps. A moment later, two pearls appeared in her sight—a pair of white embroidered shoes. She took a step back and bowed again.

Before I could even stand up, my arms felt a slight weight lift off my shoulders.

The owner of the shoes reached out and supported her arm, allowing her to see the pair of jade bracelets on her wrist and hear their clear, clinking sound.

“This is Yunhui,” Madam Yue said with a smile. “She wants to go to the garden to take a look. You go and accompany her.”

Words are spoken in the name of goodness.

This is somewhat inexplicable.

Upon hearing this, Shanlai couldn't help but raise his head.

A beauty as pure as clear water.

The beauty nodded and smiled slightly at her.

Three people, Shanlai, Meiren, and Meiren's maid, walked along the path of Liu Mansion.

"It's just ahead, Miss, please watch your step."

Shanlai stopped, turned around and said humbly, taking two steps to the side.

Once they arrived at the garden, she couldn't go ahead anymore, so she stopped and waited. After her mistress passed by, she followed behind her, waiting for her mistress's instructions at any time.

"Okay." The young lady nodded and said, "I'll have to trouble you to do more."

"I dare not accept such praise."

The three people walked into the garden.

The garden was a riot of colors: peonies, herbaceous peonies, crabapple blossoms, roses, climbing roses, and more...

These were all Madam Yue's prized possessions.

But the young lady didn't seem very interested and didn't say a word.

Shanlai remained silent.

Of course she knew that the young lady had something to discuss with her, and being a patient person, she naturally waited for the young lady to speak first.

“I don’t find this place very interesting,” the young lady said. “Where do you live? Let’s sit at your place for a while.”

Knowing that she wasn't making things up, Shanlai didn't refuse at all and led the young lady to his residence.

Liu Min is still lying in bed, so taking her to Guangyi Hall wouldn't be a problem.

Upon arrival, he first said, "I am a servant, and my dwelling is humble; I have disgraced you, Miss." Only after saying this did he push open the door and invite her in.

The young lady nodded and smiled again.

Shanlai wiped a round stool for the young lady to sit on and then asked her what kind of tea she would like.

"That's not a big deal."

Then there was nothing to worry about, and Shanlai asked her to wait a moment while she went to bring tea.

The young lady continued to nod and smile.

The tea was quickly brought back. As a servant, Shanlai held up a cup with both hands to offer it to her mistress, but to her surprise, the mistress reached out to take it herself.

The young lady took the tea, took a sip, praised it, and then casually put it aside.

"My surname is Song, Song Yunhui."

"Miss Song."

Miss Song smiled slightly, then turned her gaze to the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.

A splashed-ink landscape painting, with just a few words written on it and a seal affixed.

"Your paintings and calligraphy are both excellent, exceptionally excellent."

That's what Miss Song said.

“This isn’t actually the first time we’ve met. I saw you two days ago at Huguo Temple, in the main hall…” She smiled slightly as she said this. “In a way, we are destined to meet. I went to Huguo Temple for you.”

"For your painting."

"The murals in the Mahavira Hall of Huguo Temple are very famous. Every time I go there, I stop to look at them for a long time. I even asked the monks about the artist, but they wouldn't tell me... I was really disappointed about that for a long time. So when I heard that the murals were painted by the concubine of the young master of the Liu family, I was overjoyed. It was a woman... After that, I went to Huguo Temple every day to see the murals. The day I met you, I was engrossed in looking at the paintings when I suddenly heard chanting. It was a very beautiful voice that drew me to listen attentively. After listening for a while, I realized that it wasn't a sutra being chanted, but a repentance text. The text was very well written, and the person reading it was very sincere. I became curious and secretly went over to take a look... What a beautiful person."

"I was captivated by this woman's beauty and couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her. Could I help her? So I had someone follow her carriage..."

"They told me that the person entered Minister Liu's residence through the side gate, and I understood almost instantly!"

"So I came here today."

She stood up, took off the two jade bracelets from her wrists, and then took Shanlai's hand, placing the bracelets in Shanlai's palm.

How could Shanlai dare to accept it? But he also dared not refuse, for fear of breaking it.

"This is a gift for you, please accept it." Miss Song said earnestly, "I asked Madam, and you are two years younger than me. I should call you sister. Sister, please accept it. I really like you."

After saying that, she turned to leave.

"I'm going home now, little sister, you don't need to see me off." She said as she walked out, her steps very light.

Shanlai should have chased after him, but he didn't.

Miss Song's words made her tremble all over, and a sense of panic washed over her. She felt as if she had fallen into an abyss, with nowhere to cling to, nowhere to turn...

She felt as if she were back in that nightmare, where the floodwaters engulfed her and she couldn't breathe.

No sooner had Song Yunhui left than Liu Shen returned to the Liu residence.

He had been summoned back by Madam Yue's servant, who told him there was an urgent matter at home and that Madam Yue wanted him to return immediately. Indeed, many things had been happening at home lately, so he dared not delay and hurried home. Only on the way did he remember to ask the servant what the emergency was. The servant shook his head, saying he didn't know and didn't tell him. He was a little angry, thinking, "Why is Madam so hasty?"

As soon as he entered the mansion, he immediately took off his hat, hugged it to his arms, and ran away.

"What's wrong? Is something wrong with Lian Si?"

He was panting heavily from running.

"Master, don't talk nonsense! What could possibly happen to Liansi?" Madam Le said with a hint of resentment. "Even if something does happen, it's a joyous occasion! A very joyous occasion!"

I was so happy, I almost danced with joy.

"The Song family, the officials in charge of the Court of Judicial Review, do you know their second daughter, sir? She's the one who was betrothed to the heir of the Prince of Pei. The betrothal was supposed to take place in a few months, but then the heir of the Prince of Pei caught a cold and died... That happened two years ago. After that, she never betrothed anyone else, I heard she was heartbroken. But today she sent a formal invitation to our house. This girl is quite decisive... After exchanging a few polite words with me, she mentioned Lian Si, full of praise, which startled me! Before I could recover, she asked about Shan Lai and said she wanted to see her... I could tell from her expression..." She didn't know what to say, so she skipped it, "I sent someone to call Shan Lai over and told them to come to the garden. As soon as they left, I quickly sent someone to call you back, sir..."

“I really didn’t misunderstand! She just left not long ago. Before she left, she told me that if I took a liking to her, I should find a matchmaker to go to their house…”

"What does the master think? I think it's good, really good! The master came back too late, otherwise we would have seen her! But even if we didn't see her, it doesn't matter. What kind of family is the Prince of Pei's mansion? How could someone who can be a princess have bad character? The Prince of Pei and his wife are not easy to deal with! They both nodded in approval, how could they be wrong?"

Liu Shen also thought it was a good idea. The Commissioner of Transmission was half a rank higher than the Transport Commissioner. If this marriage went through, all the bad luck from before would be swept away.

At the Song residence, Lord Song Bei was also urgently summoned home from his duty by his wife.

He wouldn't tell anyone on the way, and he was burning with anger as soon as he entered the door, so he would complain to anyone he met.

"You only said something big happened, but what's so big about it? What's wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? What good will it do you to worry me to death?"

Madam Chen was a formidable woman who never yielded to a sharp tongue. Normally, if Lord Song dared to speak to her like that, she would have retorted with a barrage of insults. But today was different; she was truly frantic with worry. She was so focused on discussing important matters with her husband that she talked non-stop, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube. After she finished speaking, she burst into tears.

"What should we do now?!"

His daughter went to someone's house and arranged the marriage herself, and then his wife asked him what to do.

What could he do?

This is truly unbelievable. Lord Song couldn't help but wonder, "Am I still recovering from my afternoon nap?"

No way, if it's a dream, it's too real...

So he bent down and pinched the back of his hand.

I woke up instantly.

Realizing he wasn't dreaming, he almost choked on his breath, pointing to the sky, his eyes wide and staring, staggering as if he might collapse at any moment.

Startled, Mrs. Chen quickly helped him to a chair and patted him on the back to help him catch his breath. "You can't fall! We're counting on you!"

After being patted for a while, Lord Song finally caught his breath, but his hand was still pointing and his eyes were still glaring.

"Where is she? Call her over here!"

The girl quickly went to call them.

Madam Chen started crying again, "Master, please talk to her gently, don't frighten her, she's had a hard life too..."

"Are you the only one who feels sorry for her? I'm her biological father! She's had a tough time, and I feel sorry for her too! But no matter how tough things have been, you can't do something like this! Is this acceptable?!"

An inconsiderate person arrived, calling out "Father" and then "Mother" in a slow, unhurried manner.

Acting like nothing happened.

Lord Song felt another surge of anger and blood rush to his head.

"Are you crazy?"

It was shouted out at the top of its lungs, filled with anger, but mostly with helplessness.

There was nothing they could do about their daughter.

"I've been begging you for over a year! I hope you'll be willing to find another marriage! I do want you to get married, but you can't go to the Liu family! Everyone knows they're the biggest joke in the whole of Xingdu now!"

Even he spends his days on duty watching the excitement with his colleagues!

Now look what's happened, you've made a spectacle of yourself!

"You dare go to their house! Don't you know he drove a young lady from a wealthy family to her death for a concubine? Are you tired of living?

"Father's words are biased. Isn't it clear to everyone? Miss Qiu brought this upon herself. How can she blame anyone else? Does she think she's allowed to harm others while others aren't allowed to seek justice? Who does she think she is?"

"Why do you care about her!" Lord Song exclaimed anxiously. "The important thing is his concubine! If she's like this now, what will she be like in the future? She'll probably be reduced to nothing! Everyone knows it's a pit of fire, how could you be so bold as to jump in! Are you crazy!"

"Because I also like his concubine. She is a very rare person. I can't compare to her in terms of looks or talent. If I could have someone like her to accompany me in the second half of my life, my days would definitely not be boring."