Chapter 13 Gift

Lu Weiqing had always heard about the Xu family's strict education of their daughters.

After leaving Xu's house, seeing Jiang Ran still in a bad mood, Lu Weiqing couldn't help but ask, "Did Madam Xu hit you?"

"Hit me?" Jiang Ran quickly shook his head. "No, Madam Xu only hit Xu Roujia."

"Did she scold you?"

Jiang Ran pursed his lips and shook his head, "It's not really a scolding."

"Then she must have said something that made you very unhappy."

Jiang Ran sighed deeply and pretended to be relaxed: "It's not that bad, it's just that I have no one to educate me, and there is no elder to lead me when I get into trouble."

"Let me stay in peace and don't cause trouble."

"That's all. I'm used to hearing it. It's okay."

Lu Weiqing paused, letting Jiang Ran look him straight in the eye, and said sternly, "Jiang Ran, you're great. You're lively, cheerful, innocent, and straightforward. Just be yourself and you're fine. You don't need to learn those rules."

"It's not like you don't have elders. Your father, eldest brother, and second brother are all guarding the southern border. Because of them, countless people have been saved from displacement. They gave up their own families to ensure the peace and prosperity of our Great Zhou."

"Don't be afraid of any trouble you get into from now on. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you."

Jiang Ran, who had looked nonchalant just now, suddenly had tears in his eyes.

She blinked, trying to control her trembling voice, "But I always mean well but end up doing bad things. I cause trouble for many people. I've troubled my uncle many times recently."

Lu Weiqing took a deep breath and controlled his urge to vomit blood.

"Jiang Ran, you and Lu Yu have already drawn a clear line. Are you sure you still want to follow him and call me uncle?"

Jiang Ran sniffed, then suddenly realized, "Oh, it's indeed inappropriate. Then I'll just call you Lord Lu."

For the first time, Lu Weiqing felt that talking to people gave him such a headache.

"Am I very old?"

Huh? Jiang Ran hurriedly shook her head. Lu Weiqing was just older than her and Lu Yu. From what she could remember, he was only six or seven years older than her and Lu Yu.

"Are we not familiar with each other? Why do you have to call me so strange?"

Jiang Ran shook his head even faster. For such a big Buddha, only people would try to get close to him. Who would deliberately keep a distance from him?

"Now you can change your name."

Jiang Ran pondered for a moment, and under Lu Weiqing's frightening gaze, he uttered two words: "Brother Lu——"

Even Lord Lu, who remained calm even when faced with a catastrophe, had a crack in his perfect expression.

Lu Weiqing was stunned for a while and could only persuade himself.

That's all.

After all, we are of the same generation now.

Don't rush this matter, so as not to scare her.

Take the long view, take the long view.

Lu Weiqing prepared himself mentally for a long time before stiffly speaking two words through gritted teeth: "Very good."

"after……"

"I know. Brother Lu will protect me from now on." Jiang Ran jumped forward and continued with his hands on his hips.

Lu Weiqing nodded, that was roughly what he meant.

It feels good to have someone's support.

She stretched and felt better.

Oh, and that box of cakes.

Jiang Ran took the pastry from him, leaned over to smell it, opened it skillfully, and presented it to Lu Weiqing like a treasure.

"Where's the Chonghuafang Thousand Layer Cake? It should be freshly baked today. You'll have to queue up for at least an hour to buy it. Brother Lu, hurry up and try it."

"Well, I haven't tried it yet."

Lu Weiqing took a piece, put it in his mouth, and said in her expectant eyes, "It's okay."

He had actually eaten the thousand-layer cake from Chonghuafang and had queued up to buy it himself.

The first time I went too late, it was sold out before I even got there. The second time I went early in the morning and queued up, and I finally got one, after waiting in line for an hour and a half.

Lu Weiqing didn't like sweets originally, but seeing her always collecting delicious food from all over Chang'an, he thought of trying it when he passed by, and gradually he got used to it.

"Brother Lu, I'm embarrassed to owe you so many favors. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Jiang Ran thought for a while before speaking. With Lu Weiqing's status, there was probably nothing she needed to do.

"Yes, I have."

"What is it? I will definitely complete it very well." Jiang Ran was overjoyed and pricked up his ears to listen carefully.

"It's not difficult. What I want is a bookmark."

Lu Weiqing stopped by the letter-writing stall, drew a blueprint and handed it to her.

Jiang Ran took it and examined it carefully. The pattern wasn't complicated, so she had to find the most expensive materials, the best craftsmen, and meticulously craft it for 49 days...

"Please, A Ran, carve a wooden bookmark for me."

Jiang Ran didn't care about his address. He carefully dried the ink, folded the drawing and put it away. He patted his chest and said, "No problem. I'll take care of it."

This was the first gift she gave to Lu Weiqing, and he asked for it.

She had to do it perfectly.

The next day was another sunny day.

Jiang Ran lay on the chaise longue, holding up the blueprint and looking at it in the sunlight.

Wooden bookmark.

Carved by hand.

It doesn’t seem too difficult.

"What kind of wood should I look for?" she said to herself, frowning.

Manchurian ash? No, although the color is beautiful, it will easily deform if it gets wet.

Elm? No, it has beautiful patterns and colors, but it might be infested with insects and not suitable for bookmarks.

Rosewood? An inch of rosewood is worth an inch of gold. It is indeed valuable, but the color is too old-fashioned and does not match Lu Weiqing's temperament.

Jiang Ran pondered for a long time and felt overwhelmed.

Not only do you have to choose the wood, you also have to buy the tools and learn how to carve it.

If you think about it, it’s not simple at all.

Jiang Ran rolled back and forth on the couch for a few times and sighed to the sky.

What perfection, what I will take care of, it seems like she made such a boast.

Nanny Yue happened to come in with a vase. Seeing that Jiang Ran was lying down and looking at something again, she quickly came over and patted Jiang Ran twice, "Oh, Miss, sit up and look again. Don't complain about eye pain later."

"Hey, isn't this bookmark the one you made when you were a child?"

"When I was a kid?"

Jiang Ran sat up with a somersault, looked closely at the drawing and thought hard.

Now that she said that, she seemed to have some impression of it.

At that time, Lu Weiqing had just arrived in Chang'an, and she didn't know what the Gusu Lu family was.

She didn't even know that the Lu family had already prepared more than a dozen courtyards for Lu Weiqing in Chang'an for him to choose from. It was just that after visiting the Lu Mansion, he decided to stay here.

At that time, Jiang Ran thought that he was the kind of person who was alone and helpless and came to seek refuge with the Lu family's relatives, and he felt quite sympathetic towards him.

So that time, when she carved a wooden bookmark for Lu Yu, she also prepared one for Lu Weiqing.

But that day she sent Lu Yu away first.

When Lu Yu took the bookmark to Lu Weiqing to show it off, Lu Weiqing took a look and commented, "It's crude."

When hearing this, Jiang Ran was holding the bookmark that he was going to give to Lu Weiqing.

She was so angry that she broke the bookmark in half and threw it into the lake.

Since that incident, she never tried to get close to Lu Weiqing again.