Chapter 15 is like...

Shi Teng didn't pressure her, since Huo Lan hadn't returned to Huo Garden yet, and Jiang Shiyuan could still enjoy some freedom for a short time.

"Which one do you prefer, the last one in the corridor? The window faces south and gets good sunlight. When you open the back window, you can see a dense bamboo forest. The environment is quiet and you won't be disturbed."

As Shi Teng spoke, he pulled Jiang Shiyuan's suitcase toward the innermost room.

After Huo Yuan connected with Meng Kong, he cleaned up the Wuzhu Pavilion.

Shi Teng had long guessed that Jiang Shiyuan wouldn't obediently return to Lingdang Xiaozhu, so he specially reserved this room and brought some of her old personal items from the Xiaozhu.

The warm yellow light in the room was turned on, and upon entering, one was greeted by the faint, lingering scent of ebony and sandalwood.

On the sandalwood table were hydrangea flowers that had been trimmed and placed in a celadon vase. The bed was covered with light purple silk bedding, which was soft and comfortable, and crystal bead curtains hung down from the bed canopy.

Shi Teng walked to the inside of the room and opened the lattice window at the back. The night breeze blew in, the bamboo forest outside the window rustled, and the beaded curtain swayed gently.

"Xiao Lan said before he left that he was going to pick up someone very important, and I guessed it was you."

Shi Teng is now thirty-eight years old. He has been Huo Lan’s personal butler since Huo Lan was in elementary school. When no one is around, he will occasionally call him Xiao Lan.

It was during the two years that Huo Lan took charge of the family business that Shi Teng began to address him as Mr. Huo, and he also rose from personal butler to the general manager in charge of the entire Huo Garden.

"Is it just to pick me up? Then why hasn't he come back even though I've already arrived at Huo Garden?"

Jiang Shiyuan knew that Huo Lan went to Linjiang to bring her back, but she didn't believe that he only wanted to bring her back.

Shi Teng simply smiled silently, offering no explanation.

"You can stay here for now, but after Xiaolan comes back, I'm afraid you'll have to travel back and forth between the two places, which will be very tiring."

Jiang Shiyuan remained defiant and said, "Even if he comes, I won't go."

*

The next morning at nine o'clock, Tang Tang started knocking on doors one by one, calling out to Old Chen that he needed to have a meeting.

In the reception room, everyone was already seated.

Holding a thick stack of documents, Old Chen began to explain the situation of Huo Garden's collection to everyone.

A rough inventory of the entire Huo Garden collection revealed that there are thousands of items, covering a wide range of categories.

The most damaged part of Huo Garden is Jinghe Garden in the northwest. It used to be the residence of Huo's great-grandfather's second concubine. Because no one lived there, it fell into disrepair over the years. There are some old objects and collections in the garden, which have been sealed inside.

The remaining areas with minor damage will undergo simple maintenance, which will require far less work than repairing broken items. Therefore, their main work area will be Jingheyuan in the future.

After explaining the general situation, Old Chen meticulously and earnestly took out the on-site photos taken from Jingheyuan and began to analyze the extent of damage to some of the collections.

Tang Tang couldn't sit still any longer and raised her hand to ask a question.

Old Chen thought she had some professional questions to ask, so he called her name. But the first thing she said was the "second concubine" that Old Chen had only mentioned briefly.

"Old Chen, tell us the story of the owner of Jinghe Garden. Why has the garden become so desolate after all these years? The Huo family is so rich, why don't they repair it?"

Jiang Shiyuan thought about the question for a long time.

She had asked Huo Lan a similar question before.

Huo Lan only said that his grandfather had forbidden him from entering Jinghe Garden since he was a child, and the older generation of the Huo family also had a very bad impression of the garden, so it had never been repaired and few people went there.

Jiang Shiyuan didn't know why Huo Lan suddenly wanted to take over the management of Jinghe Garden.

Old Chen couldn't answer Tang Tang's question; in fact, he was also very curious.

He learned from the old servants of the Huo family that a concubine of the Huo family's ancestors had once lived in this garden, but she didn't seem to be very favored. As for why the garden fell into disrepair over the years, that remained a mystery.

Old Chen shook his head and began to put on his boss-like airs, "Ask what you should ask, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Just do your job!"

Tang Tang pursed her lips and sat down, looking like she was about to reorganize the workplace again. "Knowing the story behind the items you're repairing will allow you to repair them with more genuine feeling, right?"

Old Chen glared at Tang Tang speechlessly and continued with the allocation of tasks for the repair work.

Because the studio had few staff members and a large number of artifacts to be restored, and because the restoration of bronzes, jades, ceramics and furniture was highly specialized and she lacked experience, Jiang Shiyuan could only provide assistance. However, the restoration of calligraphy, paintings and ancient books was entrusted to her full responsibility.

For the next week, everyone in the studio stayed at the Wuzhu Pavilion to study the restoration plan for Jinghe Garden.

Jiang Shiyuan also wrote more than a dozen pages outlining the restoration plan and specific scheme for the calligraphy and paintings in Jingheyuan.

She hadn't felt any anticipation from her work in a long time, and she couldn't wait to see Jingheyuan bring back its long-forgotten history through their restoration.

The profound and serene sense of meaning she gained from the restoration work was more important and captivating than the restoration itself.

Therefore, she must fly out of the cage that Huo Lan built for her, so that she can see more of the world and more stories that fascinate her.

Even at night, Jiang Shiyuan was still so engrossed in his work that he didn't even bother to drink water, looking at photos of the damaged paintings and calligraphy at Jingheyuan and adjusting the details of the plan.

Shi Teng knocked on the door for several minutes before Jiang Shiyuan snapped out of her work and hurriedly got out of bed to open it.

Seeing that she had finally left, Shi Teng breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the mechanical watch on his wrist, and smiled helplessly: "Mr. Huo sent you a message an hour ago, but you didn't reply."

Shi Teng continued, "It seems he's going to get angry again."

Jiang Shiyuan pouted, somewhat annoyed, "Why did you go back to Huo Garden so soon?"

After saying that, she ran to the bedside and picked up her phone, which she had already silenced.

Huo Lan didn't post many messages, just a simple sentence.

[Returning to Bell Tower tonight]

An hour had passed when a second message suddenly popped up.

[You're being naughty!]

Seeing this, Jiang Shiyuan was startled and quickly replied.

【Okay!】

On a cool early summer evening, Qiao Wei and Tang Tang were strolling in the garden when they saw Jiang Shiyuan and Shi Teng walking together, which puzzled them.

At times like these, Jiang Shiyuan never needs to find an excuse herself; Shi Teng has already come up with one for her.

"Shi Yuan and I are old friends, and I'd like to have a meal together and catch up."

After exchanging greetings, the group left. Before long, Jiang Shiyuan arrived at the bottom of Lingdang Xiaozhu.

This is a beautifully constructed three-story Chinese-style villa. When she first came to Huo Garden, it wasn't so exquisite and luxurious; it was just an ordinary one-story Chinese-style building.

As she stayed there longer, Huo Lan had people continuously optimize and expand the design of Bell Pavilion, which is how it became what it is today.

The servants in the small house gradually left, but the entire villa remained brightly lit.

Huo Lan stood in front of the glass window of the second-floor study, looking at Jiang Shiyuan. She saw her standing under the hydrangea tree in the yard, looking up at the large hydrangea flowers in full bloom.

After some time, when the temperature rises, the hydrangea will stop blooming.

She came back just in time.

Shi Teng saw Huo Lan's figure in the study, gestured for Jiang Shiyuan to look up, and then tactfully left Lingdang Xiaozhu.

Jiang Shiyuan broke off a sprig of hydrangea from the tree. Its snow-white petals clustered together, just like a bride's bouquet.

After entering the house, Huo Lan had already come out of the study. He rested his elbows on the second-floor railing, clasped his hands together, and lazily looked down at her.

"You've just gotten home and you're already causing trouble. You're naughty."

Jiang Shiyuan looked down at the bouquet of flowers in her hand and said, "There's a saying that goes, 'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, for time is still a-flying.' I agree with that."

Huo Lan seemed to be in an extremely good mood, and came downstairs with a smile. "Oh? What are you implying to me?"

Jiang Shiyuan then realized what was happening and pouted, saying, "It means exactly what it says!"

After saying that, she started looking for a vase and put the hydrangea into the crystal bottle on the living room table.

Before Jiang Shiyuan could even react, Huo Lan swept her up in his arms. Startled by the sudden lift, she quickly clung to his neck.

What are you doing?

"We should go take a shower."

After Huo Lan finished speaking, he walked steadily toward the bathroom.

Before the maid left, she had prepared all the items needed for the evening, including toiletries in the bathroom and pajamas to wear at night, all neatly placed aside.

After Huo Lan led Jiang Shiyuan to the bathroom and closed the door, he began to pull the zipper on the back of her dress. When the zipper was halfway pulled, Jiang Shiyuan suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly covered her chest.

"No...no, I'm not ready yet."

Do I need to prepare for a shower?

Huo Lan smiled wickedly and reached out to turn on the showerhead above Jiang Shiyuan's head, instantly soaking her completely. Her dress clung tightly to her body, outlining her breathtaking curves.

Huo Lan suddenly brushed aside the strands of hair on her face that were sticking together because of the water, and then held her neck and kissed her passionately again.

He and she got soaked underwater together.

The enclosed bathroom and the hot steam quickly made the two feel suffocated, but this suffocation was exciting enough.

With enough actions performed, we quickly got down to business.

The joy was so intense that Jiang Shiyuan suddenly realized her voice was hoarse and her throat hurt even when she hummed again.

After satisfying her needs, Huo Lan held her in his arms and gently coaxed her before placing her in the bathtub, which had already been filled with bath oil.

Jiang Shiyuan's face was flushed, and her body still felt the afterglow. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him.

But Huo Lan squeezed out even more foam and began to clean her up.

Jiang Shiyuan was so weak from the backache and leg pain that she had no strength left, so she had no choice but to let him do as he pleased, but she began to doze off in the warm and comfortable water.

After washing her up, Huo Lan lifted her out of the bathtub, dried her off, and changed her into pajamas. He gently continued to coax her, "Baby, let's get up and dry our hair, okay? Otherwise, we'll catch a cold."

Jiang Shiyuan gave a soft hum and stood up, though her eyes were closed.

After everything was tidied up, Huo Lan carried her back to the master bedroom upstairs and wrapped her tightly in the blanket.

But he still didn't want to leave, so he turned around and hugged her tightly, his chin gently rubbing against the top of her head, as if he were holding the most precious treasure in the world.

"Shi Yuan, I'm going to make a decision that I've been thinking about for many years."

He opened the blue velvet box on the bedside table and took out a huge, brilliant blue diamond.

Huo Lan carefully took Jiang Shiyuan's hand out from under the covers and then put the blue diamond on the ring finger of her left hand.

The moment the diamond ring fit snugly against her finger, it seemed to awaken suddenly, its brilliance shimmering.

It's like... he finally found his destiny.

A note from the author:

----------------------