0018 Horizontal Branch of Wood (Part 1) [Bonus Chapter for 200 Views]

"Brother Liang." Shu Fu suppressed her surprise and curtsied.

The young man's hair was tied up with a black jade crown, he wore a white silk robe underneath and an indigo robe on top, and a white jade buckle was fastened at his waist. His figure was elegant and graceful. In addition, he had a handsome and dashing appearance, exactly the kind of charming young man that women in Chang'an would fall for.

"Sister Afu." Liang Zhiyan was overjoyed to see that Shufu had indeed come here, and he couldn't help but take two steps forward to take her hand.

Shufu took two steps back and put her hands behind her back to avoid his touch.

The young girl wore a light blue gauze dress and her hair was loosely tied in a bun. At that time, the flowers on Chongnan Mountain were in full bloom, which made her look even more delicate and graceful, with a youthful face and tender teeth.

But she treated him with such coldness and indifference.

Liang Zhiyan lowered his hands dejectedly, his eyes filled with undisguised loneliness and disappointment.

"There were many misunderstandings surrounding what happened at the Xu residence that day. Would you please let me explain, Sister Afu?"

"Brother Liang, please speak. I'm listening."

Liang Zhiyan led Shu Fu to a stone pavilion, where various snacks and tea were already laid out on the stone table, clearly indicating that he had planned this in advance.

Shufu sat down opposite him but did not touch the delicate pastries.

Liang Zhiyan did not press the matter, but gently recounted: "At the Spring Festival banquet that day, I was drinking with a group of colleagues when your maid named A-Xing came to me and said that you wanted to see me."

"I thought that since New Year's Eve, we had not been in contact for almost a month, so I followed her to the small pavilion in the back garden without any suspicion. But when I got there, I found that it was not you who had come to meet me, but your sister."

His tone was full of remorse: "It's my fault for drinking too much at the time. When I entered that room, I felt extremely hot. Your third sister was also wearing red that day, just like you. I mistook her for you and that's why I did such a shameful thing."

Liang Zhiyan spoke rapidly, occasionally sipping a cup of tea to conceal his unease.

In fact, the moment he stepped into the small pavilion in the Xu family garden that day, he sensed that the pavilion seemed to have been tampered with.

Aphrodisiac incense was lit in the room, but it was clear that the person who planned this scheme had no way of finding better ingredients; the stuff they used only had the effect of arousing rather than inducing passion.

If he wants to leave, he can simply turn around and leave, and after a short rest, there will be no problem.

But just then, Shu Yinying pounced on her, looking all charming and innocent.

The young girl, her face flushed with tears, nestled in his arms, panting softly, and called him "Brother Liang" as she hugged his waist.

She and Shufu were blood sisters, and on that day she was wearing Shufu's favorite scarlet dress, which made their already three-tenths-similar faces look even more alike.

He had longed for Shu Fu for many years, hoping every day that she would grow up and marry into the Liang family. He even wanted to find several concubines in his room who resembled her.

If those ordinary beauties could make him lose control, how could he not be moved by Shu Yin's pounce?

Liang Zhiyan kissed her almost without thinking, fully enjoying the girl's tender spring.

...

Meanwhile, A-Jian anxiously found the abbot's room and her eyes lit up as she rushed inside.

Granny Li suddenly appeared from some corner and grabbed A-Jian's hand as she tried to open the door.

"Madam and her distinguished guest are talking inside. What kind of behavior is it for you to barge in like this?" Granny Li frowned and scolded in a low voice.

Ah Jian stamped her foot anxiously: "But I really have something urgent to do!"

"No matter how urgent the matter, we must not disturb Madam's mood. You may go and wait here. I will send someone to fetch you when Madam is free."

A-Jian knew that this path was not feasible, and the only way to ensure the girl's safety was for her to rely on herself.

But her strength alone was far from enough. At that moment, she suddenly remembered Alai outside the mountain gate and ran out.

...

The sunlight was about to fade, and the clouds and rosy hues blurred half the sky, stirring up a gust of wind on Chongnan Mountain, which swept up peach petals of varying shades of white and red all over the ground.

Shu Fu listened to Liang Zhiyan's endless chatter with a blank expression. After he finished speaking, Shu Fu glanced at the white foam at the corner of his mouth, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it in front of him.

Liang Zhiyan accepted it with delight, and then heard Shu Fu say, "Now that things have come to this, what are your plans, Brother Liang?"

He had anticipated Shufu's question and had prepared a response in advance.

Shufu was so angry with him simply because he had gotten together with her sister.

The customs of the people during the Dali era were more civilized than those of the previous dynasties. Most of the women were somewhat shrewish and jealous. Wasn't it precisely because of this that she demanded he promise not to take concubines before she would agree to marry him?

As long as Shufu believes that he would never value her sister more than her, this ordeal will be over.

Liang Zhiyan cleared his throat, his affectionate eyes gazing tenderly at Shu Fu, and said, "My feelings for Sister Fu are as clear as day and night. That day was truly an accident. But since I've touched Sister Shu San, I naturally have to take responsibility for it. After you've settled down in the manor, we'll find an excuse to secretly bring her in later. I swear to you, even if she really becomes one of my concubines, I will never lay a finger on her again. We'll just treat her well."

Shu Fu almost laughed in anger. She scoffed coldly, "Brother Liang, you don't think my sister deserves to suffer this injustice of being alone in an empty room, do you?"

Liang Zhiyan's grand speech revolved entirely around how to make her happy, without mentioning at all how to make amends to Shu Yin, as if taking her into the household was already a great favor.

But no matter what, Shu Yin is still her own sister, a respectable girl from the Shu family!

Liang Zhiyan's words did not bring Shu Fu any comfort; on the contrary, they made her feel annoyed by being insulted.

Liang Zhiyan, however, was completely unaware of Shu Fu's emotional change. Instead, he subtly pointed out that the incident that day was mainly caused by Shu Yin's frivolity.

"That day I was about to leave when, unexpectedly, Sister Shu San hugged me like that, and I was caught off guard, which is how she got her hands on me."

He secretly pondered that his words should tickle Shufu's sore spot. After all, what woman wouldn't love to hear that her husband was devoted to her and that all the unexpected events were just frivolous talk from intruders?

Liang Zhiyan was eagerly waiting for Shu Fu to change her current cold and hard attitude and speak to him in a sweet and charming tone as before.

To his surprise, after hearing his words, Shu Fu suddenly stood up, grabbed a teacup from the stone table, and smashed it at his chest!

Liang Zhiyan was unable to dodge in time and was splashed with tea.

He looked at her incredulously.

Shu Fu still felt a little guilty towards Liang Zhiyan because of Shu Wei's scheming, and only hoped that the two of them could calmly break off the engagement and let it go.

Who would have thought that Liang Zhiyan could come up with such a shameless argument, completely absolving himself of any wrongdoing.

Her voice was filled with rage, her eyes flashing like fire: "Liang Zhiyan, you are shameless! You are clearly blinded by lust, yet you blame everything on women! My sister is so frail and delicate. If you had any intention of refusing her, how could you not even push away a weak woman like her?"

Liang Zhiyan pursed his lips, momentarily speechless.

Shu Fu, however, spoke in a clear, tumbling manner as she rolled toward him: "What's even more ridiculous is that afterwards you had to put on an innocent and pitiful act, as if someone had wronged you!"

“I’ve made everything clear today. You’ve wronged not me, but my sister! How she compensates you is up to you, but our marriage is off. There’s no way the Shu family would allow sisters to share a husband. Go and tell your parents that it was all my fault.”

Having said all she wanted to say, Shufu turned to leave.

Before Liang Zhiyan could react to her sharp words, he caught a glimpse of her and saw that she was about to leave, so he hurriedly got up and grabbed her wrist.

He didn't know what she was upset about, but the girl's delicate wrists and soft skin easily stirred his heart.

Liang Zhiyan was flustered and wanted to take the opportunity to pull her into his arms and coax her gently.

He said urgently, "Sister Afu, that's not what I meant, please listen to me first..."

"Liang Zhiyan, shut up!" Shu Fu wasn't buying it at all. She angrily interrupted him, "What do you want to do? Let go of my hand first!"

The girl struggled desperately, her cheeks flushed with anger.

However, the two were of vastly different strengths. Just as she was about to be pulled into Liang Zhiyan's arms, at the critical moment, the hands that were holding her seemed to be struck by something, and the strength on her wrists suddenly went limp.

Shu Fu felt as if she had been granted a pardon and took the opportunity to run away to the outside of the stone pavilion.

Liang Zhiyan felt a small pebble fly towards him, hitting his wrist precisely and easily dissipating the force in his hand.

He looked around and saw that the peach grove was in full bloom, but there was nothing unusual about it, which puzzled him greatly.

By this time, Shufu was already several feet away from him, and he finally came to his senses and realized what he had just done.

The young man's face turned slightly pale, and he staggered back half a step.

He did not pursue her further, but stood alone in the pavilion, gazing at her sadly from afar.

"Sister Afu, I almost hurt you in a moment of impulsiveness," Liang Zhiyan said with deep remorse. "Don't blame me... Does your hand still hurt?"

Shu Fu stopped upon hearing this, but instead of answering his question, she focused her gaze on the incense sticks on the stone table, which were already mostly burned, and asked in return, "Liang Zhiyan, what are my mother and your mother doing right now?"

She stood beneath the gentle breeze and flowing flowers, her skirt fluttering in the wind.

Liang Zhiyan was momentarily captivated by the young woman's beauty and murmured, "We are currently discussing Zen with the abbot."

Shu Fu's eyes dimmed, and without saying another word, she quickly left.