Chapter 20 Heaven's Way is Kind and Unwavering: Cui Fuyu had no feelings for him...

The servants of the Cui family were carrying today's breakfast. The maids entered the hall in an orderly fashion, put the breakfast down slowly, and then left, making the hall even quieter.

With a smile, Cui Shihai helped Zhao Ying to her seat: "Madam, please take a look at today's breakfast. Is it to your liking?"

It was another table full of food that she and Cui Fuyu loved to eat.

Zhao Ying nodded in satisfaction: "He Xuan sent a letter yesterday, saying that he will be returning home soon. It just so happens that Fu Yu's birthday is coming up soon, so the whole family can have a good meal together."

Cui Fuyu is sixteen years old now, and will be seventeen after her birthday. She has grown into a beautiful young woman.

They were just talking about Cui Fuyu when, in the blink of an eye, the person was right in front of them.

As soon as Cui Fuyu sat down, Cui Shihai put a sweet rice cake on her plate, saying, "My dear girl, quickly try the new product from Zuixianglou."

Cui Fuyu picked up a piece of sugar cake and put it in her mouth. It was sweet but not cloying, and had a glutinous and refreshing taste: "Delicious."

Zhao Ying noticed that there were crumbs stuck to the corners of Cui Fuyu's mouth from eating, so she gently took out a handkerchief to wipe them off and asked Cui Fuyu what should be done for her birthday this year.

"Fuyu, your birthday is coming up soon this year. How do you plan to have a grand celebration?" Zhao Ying asked. "Your brother wrote to me yesterday asking about your recent situation. He should be coming back to celebrate your birthday with you this year. He'll be home soon."

Without hesitation, Cui Fuyu shook her head: "Every year it's a grand celebration. How about we invite a few close friends over for a simple birthday banquet this time? When is my brother coming home? He said he'd be back after the sixteenth birthday last year, but all I got was a birthday gift. I hope he won't lie to me again this year?"

Cui Hexuan was unable to attend her birthday celebration last year due to other commitments, thus missing it once in a row.

The person he loved most was Cui Fuyu. If he knew how much Cui Fuyu missed him, he would be furious.

They'll definitely say Cui Fuyu is heartless.

Knowing that she was worried that Cui Hexuan might not keep his word, Cui Shihai repeatedly explained, "Don't worry, your brother should be on his way. The academy has given him more than a month's leave."

Cui Fuyu was eating breakfast. She still had things to do. Today she was going to see Ru Niang. Ru Niang was now much better thanks to the care she received at the clinic. Since Ru Niang had no one to rely on in the capital, Cui Fuyu had the idea of ​​inviting her to stay at her home for a while.

She replied, "Sure, but my birthday is still more than half a month away, so there's plenty of time. As for the birthday banquet, I'll have to trouble you, Father and Mother, to take care of it. I have something to do today and need to go out."

Recently, Cui Fuyu has been going out a lot, and she has more things to do every day than her father.

Zhao Ying was worried about her, so she asked, "Why are you going out again? Can't you stay home?"

She then remembered that Cui Fuyu had been going out without Zhu Jin and Juning lately, so she added, "Remember to bring Zhu Jin and Juning with you, so you can deal with things if anything happens."

Although Cui Shihai and Zhao Ying have always let her do as she pleases, they are relatively strict about matters of principle and safety.

A young woman living alone in a foreign land has many things to consider. Although it is more peaceful under the emperor's nose, she still needs to be vigilant.

Cui Fuyu knew that her mother was also worried about her. "I know, Mother. It's good that Father is at home with you."

Cui Shihai added another dish to Cui Fuyu's meal, saying, "You really can't keep yourself at home. Things aren't very peaceful in the capital lately, so be careful when you go out."

She quickly finished her breakfast and thought about letting Ru Niang stay at home for a while. Her parents found out about this and told her the whole story about Ru Niang.

Zhao Ying felt sorry for her and told her that she could simply stay at the Cui residence.

Cui Shihai had no objections, only letting Cui Fuyu make the decision.

Thus, Cui Fuyu happily left Cui Shihai and Zhao Ying to go see Ru Niang.

Zhao Ying laughed helplessly, "This child is so focused on other things. I think it's time to find her a marriage to keep her in check."

Cui Shihai took his wife's bowl and made another bowl of sweet porridge. "I'm afraid you'll be even more reluctant to part with her than I am. No rush, no rush."

The couple exchanged a smile and then leisurely enjoyed their breakfast, wishing time would slow down.

——

This time, Cui Fuyu finally brought Juning with her on her trip, and the two of them rode in a carriage to the clinic.

Juning was more worried that Cui Fuyu might be deceived: "Miss, aren't you afraid that she might be a con artist if you bring her home so rashly?"

In fact, what Juning said made sense, but Cui Fuyu had a gut feeling that she believed Ru Niang, and besides, if Ru Niang were a liar, she wouldn't have hurt herself so badly.

Therefore, Cui Fuyu confidently declared, "She won't."

Cui Fuyu's words also dispelled Juning's suspicions about Ru Niang.

Soon, they arrived at the clinic. As soon as Cui Fuyu entered, she frowned at the strong smell of medicine. She had been there many times, and the doctors at the clinic all knew her.

"Miss Cui, you've come to see Ru Niang again."

Cui Fuyu nodded slightly to the doctor, "Yes, she should be able to leave the clinic fully recovered in a few days, right?"

The doctor was just about to change Ru Niang's dressing, so he went with her: "Yes, Ru Niang has a strong will to live, and her wounds are healing quite well."

The two entered the room, and Ru Niang, who had been lying on the bed, saw Cui Fuyu again and her eyes welled up with tears: "Miss Cui."

Cui Fuyu sat by the bed, watching the doctor change her dressing. Sure enough, the wound had healed considerably.

Cui Fuyu shared his thoughts with her, "Mother, you have no relatives or friends in the capital. Why don't you come and stay at the Cui residence for a while?"

"Furthermore, your matter is quite complicated, and appealing to the emperor will be more difficult than you think. You also don't know the identity of the person who harmed you. It would be better if you stayed at the Cui residence and we collected evidence first."

Cui Fuyu's suggestion was actually a very good offer for Ru Niang. Ru Niang didn't know why she was helping her so much, and she had no way to repay her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"How can I ever repay Miss Cui's kindness? I already owe her so much."

Cui Fuyu didn't actually need anything in return. She saved Ru Niang because she had a gut feeling that Ru Niang was very important to her and would definitely be useful in the future.

If it's useful to the Cui family, then saving Ru Niang's life won't have been in vain.

"Don't think too much about it, just focus on recovering."

It took Ru Niang a while to nod in agreement to stay at the Cui residence.

Juning looked Ru Niang up and down; she wasn't a bad person.

Her worries seemed a bit unnecessary, but thinking about it more can't hurt.

There are no classes at the academy this afternoon, and Chi Yanzhou noticed that Cui Fuyu's birthday is approaching, so he wants to make her a jade hairpin by hand and give it to the young lady.

However, Chi Yanzhou didn't know much about jade, so he approached Liang Xiaoyun, asking him to take a look at the jade market that afternoon and give him his opinion.

Chi Yanzhou called out to Liang Xiaoyun: "Brother Xiaoyun, do you have something to do this afternoon?"

Chi Yanzhou briefly explained why he had come to see Liang Xiaoyun, and Liang Xiaoyun agreed without hesitation, since he had nothing else to do that afternoon anyway.

Chi Yanzhou then invited him to dinner. On the way, he told him his budget, explaining that the money he was using to buy jade was money he had slowly saved up by painting for people day and night during this period.

When Liang Xiaoyun heard that it was to be given to Cui Fuyu, she was taken aback before saying, "Actually, you don't need to be so good to Cui Fuyu..."

He didn't finish his sentence; in fact, he didn't think highly of Cui Fuyu and Chi Yanzhou.

In particular, he keenly observed that Cui Fuyu had no feelings for Chi Yanzhou and was more like keeping him as a pastime to pass the time.

However, Chi Yanzhou had already plunged headlong into it.

Liang Xiaoyun wanted to advise Chi Yanzhou to consider her feelings more, but she didn't know how to bring it up.

Especially when he saw that Chi Yanzhou's heart and eyes were full of Cui Fuyu, he couldn't bring himself to say anything to persuade him.

To everyone's surprise, Chi Yanzhou said, "Ayu deserves it."

Liang Xiaoyun suddenly felt powerless. How could he not know that Chi Yanzhou, the blockhead, had suddenly fallen deeply in love with Cui Fuyu?

Perhaps in the eyes of lovers, the other person is the best.

Knowing that Chi Yanzhou didn't have much money, Liang Xiaoyun found a restaurant and ate a simple meal.

After having lunch, the two sat idly for a while before heading to the jade market in the east of the city.

The jade market is filled with vendors soliciting customers, with numerous stalls offering a dazzling array of jade.

The vendors' shouts were very lively. In addition to the vendors, there were also many shops on both sides of the street. Today, many people came to the jade market to buy jade.

Chi Yanzhou wandered aimlessly, picking up any jade pieces that caught his eye to examine them and asking Liang Xiaoyun's opinion. Some vendors even tried to sell them to him, but Liang Xiaoyun rejected them all.

Chi Yanzhou had no choice but to browse around. Jade is quite selective; if he didn't like it, Cui Fuyu probably wouldn't like it either. After all, this was the second time he had given her a gift, and it was a birthday present, so Chi Yanzhou was even more attentive.

Time passed slowly, and the two had already explored most of the jade market, visiting many finished product shops along the way, but to no avail.

Chi Yanzhou did have some jade material he liked, but it was a bit expensive. Liang Xiaoyun offered to lend him money, but Chi Yanzhou refused.

"Let's take another look," Liang Xiaoyun said. "Maybe there's something even better."

Chi Yanzhou nodded. So this is how difficult it is to give a gift to your sweetheart. It has to be the best, something he can afford, and something that he likes.

This was the first time he had ever felt anxious about money. If he had enough money, he could have given the young lady an even better jade.

Chi Yanzhou was somewhat dejected. He walked to the end of the stall and looked at the jade stones displayed on the stall. Suddenly, he was attracted to a long strip of jade stone. It was a translucent jade stone with a hint of green.

Chi Yanzhou took a liking to it at first sight, thinking that the young lady would definitely like it and that it would suit her style perfectly.

He had even figured out how to design the jade hairpin.

He picked it up and showed it to Liang Xiaoyun for his opinion: "Brother Xiaoyun, take a look."

Liang Xiaoyun took it and examined it carefully. The Tianshan jade, which was of a relatively translucent, glutinous ice type, was quite good, so she gave a fair opinion: "It's alright."

Chi Yanzhou immediately took the jade and asked the stall owner to wrap it up carefully.

Now that the jade has been purchased and there is still money left over, Chi Yanzhou smiled broadly, "Thank you, Brother Xiaoyun."

Seeing his expression, Liang Xiaoyun really wanted Chi Yanzhou to realize that Cui Fuyu seemed to be toying with him, but he didn't want to discourage him, so he could only say, "Whatever makes you happy."

Liang Xiaoyun only hopes that her friend will suffer less heartbreak in the end.

Having purchased the jade, the two left the jade market.

Meanwhile, at the clinic, Juning was packing Ru Niang's things, as Cui Fuyu was preparing to take Ru Niang to the Cui residence to recuperate.

The doctor said she was out of danger and just needed to be careful to change the dressing on her wound regularly. Since there was a physician at the Cui residence, Cui Fuyu simply told her to go directly to the Cui residence.

The carriage arrived at the Cui residence smoothly and quickly. Ru Niang lifted the curtain and looked at the people at the entrance of the Cui residence. She panicked instantly, her face changed drastically, and she questioned Cui Fuyu: "You...you are in cahoots with him!"

A note from the author:

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

Cui Fuyu: Don't try to sow discord between my husband and me!

Chi Yanzhou (love-struck): It's okay, I'm just a pampered pet dog [shut up]