Chapter 18 Purple Smoke Girl: Chen Junbai and that woman get to know each other?

The wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled over the uneven road, sending small stones flying in arcs.

Inside the carriage, four women looked at each other silently, their eyes meeting briefly before looking away.

Li Yang felt an itch in the silence and couldn't help but scratch his head. He smiled at the woman opposite him, but then felt embarrassed and the smile froze on his lips.

Earlier, everyone had gathered at the entrance of the village according to the appointed time. When Li Yang came out, Zhao Di's family had already sent her over. The little girl was dressed neatly, with two pigtails tied on both sides in a standard maid's bun. Her clothes, though not new, were without patches and were perfectly tidy.

When Zhao Di's mother led the person forward and handed her over, she seemed to feel a pang of parting sorrow, grabbing her daughter's arm and weeping uncontrollably, as if the heartless parents from yesterday were not her at all.

The scene of the mother and daughter parting was heartbreaking. Li Yang turned her head and saw a beautiful woman walking towards Chen Junbai's location.

The woman was slender and well-proportioned, wearing a lake-blue brocade robe trimmed with white brocade and embroidered with butterflies among flowers. In the sunlight, the robe moved like a painting, making her appear as graceful as a swallow in the wind.

Holding an ivory-handled fan in one hand and her embroidered shoes clasped together, she slowly walked up to Chen Junbai. "Mr. Chen, I've kept you waiting."

The woman spoke softly, like the blooming of jasmine; she was the same woman in red who had taught people how to "see the water" yesterday.

Li Yang kept asking himself: Who exactly is she?! Does Chen Junbo know her?!

Chen Junbo nodded and said, "Miss Ziyan."

Upon hearing the name, Li Yang was completely dumbfounded! How could someone be so good-looking, have such a pleasant voice, and even have such a beautiful name!

'The Goddess Nuwa must have been biased when she sculpted that woman, otherwise how could she have been born without any flaws!' Li Yang was still sighing to himself when Chen Junbo led his men toward him.

She curiously observed the woman. Her skin was delicate, her face like a peach blossom, her phoenix eyes slightly upturned, and a flower ornament adorned her forehead. Her long black hair was loosely tied into a bun, embellished with sparkling pearls and jade. Her face seemed to always wear a smile, her teeth were like melon seeds, and her features were delicate and alluring.

After exchanging a few words, the woman decided to go back to Songshan Town with the rest of the women in the carriage.

"Young Madam."

When Li Yang came to her senses, she saw Zi Yan nodding and smiling at her. "It has been inconvenient traveling together this time. I'm sorry to have bothered you, Zi Yan."

"It's alright, it's alright." Li Yang thought to himself: You are a guest of the Chen family, it's really unfair that you have to squeeze in with us.

Suddenly, the car lurched. She was thrown to the right, her ribs jolted, and she cried out in pain. After regaining her balance, she looked down and felt nothing but irritation: That damned swindler!

Because I dawdled until midnight last night, I didn't get up early today.

Looking back on this morning, when she woke up, it was already past 5 a.m., and Chen Junbo seemed to have been sitting at his desk studying for a long time.

"What are you looking at?" Li Yang finished washing up and came closer to him to prepare for the meal.

When Chen Junbo saw her coming over, he put down the book in his hand and said, "The accounts of the tea shop."

He peeked out and saw a huge stack of documents, piled up like a small mountain. Li Yang pursed his lips and continued to drink his porridge without saying a word.

Chen Junbo looked up and saw the indifferent expression on the person in front of him. Suddenly, the two turtles on the paper from that day came to mind. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly. "Bi Fang sent word that Zhao Di's family has already sent the person over."

Li Yang looked up, her starry eyes sparkling, "Really? That's great, thank you so much."

"You're welcome." Young Master Chen tapped his knuckles slowly on the table. "However, I need to trouble you to do something for me."

Upon hearing this, Li Yang, holding her bowl, looked up at him.

The man's gaze silently shifted to the small mountain of food piled up beside him, a pile that seemed to have been accumulated over many years... Li Yang dropped the spoon into the bowl, swallowed it, and pointed at himself with his index finger, "Me?"

The person opposite her looked at her leisurely, seemingly in a good mood.

Shady businessman!

After a long pause, he finally said, "That's right, you need to read through this stack of account books for me."

What a shrewd businessman!

But the unscrupulous merchant's gaze lingered on her face as he raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "How is it?"

"I know..." Her voice was languid, lacking any backbone. What could she do after her employer had spoken?

What does it mean to be "under someone's roof, you have to bow your head"? A thousand words in his heart turned into his appetite, and Li Yang fought with the porridge and dishes on the table in grief and indignation.

Chen Junbo saw her dark circles wandering around, swallowed a spoonful of porridge, her cheeks puffed up and then deflated, as if she saw a cat's paw lightly scratching at him twice, and he instantly felt that his suggestion was excellent.

At that moment, Li Yang saw the stack of documents in the carriage and felt indignant. But then he heard Zi Yan talking to Zhao Di, "Is Zhao Di going to come out of seclusion?"

“Yes, Sister Ziyan.” Zhaodi replied affectionately, “My mother said that the young mistress bought me, and I will follow the young mistress from now on and serve her like a slave to repay her.”

Li Yang's heart softened. This girl, what does it mean to be a slave? He doesn't need her to work herself to the bone. "Zhao Di, you don't need to do this. When you grow up, I'll let you go out and learn a skill to support yourself. As long as you can support yourself, that's fine."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Di knelt down in a panic and burst into tears, "Young Madam, Zhao Di will do her job well. Please don't abandon me. I will serve you like a slave."

The small carriage was nearly slammed shut by her kneeling, her forehead almost touching Li Yang's feet. Li Yang quickly pulled his foot back, bent down to help Zhao Di up, "Zhao Di, it's not that we don't want you, it's just that we don't need you to be our slave..."

“Young Madam, this child has just come from home and is still inexperienced. Why don’t you let her stay by your side for now and teach her slowly…” She looked up and saw Ziyan sitting opposite her, her voice full of smiles.

Li Yang paused for a moment. It made sense; Zhao Di had been raised at home all these years. What good could her parents possibly teach her? Perhaps Zhao Di was worried he was going to abandon her after what he'd just said…sigh…

Then, Ziyan reached out and touched Zhaodi's hair. "Zhaodi, you must stay by the young mistress's side from now on. You must listen to the young mistress and learn to do things diligently. The young mistress will not abandon you. Get up now."

Hearing her say this, Zhao Di stopped crying, tears still on her face, and went to look at Li Yang, not daring to get up.

Li Yang felt a sting in her eyes when she saw this. What a terrible little girl she had been raised by her mother! Now, she could only nod and say, "Don't worry, I'm not abandoning you. Come back to the Chen family with me. Get up now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the car fell silent.

Li Yang was twisting the hem of her dress when suddenly the carriage stopped, and the horse outside snorted. They had arrived at the Chen family's residence! She felt a sudden sense of relief, and then Mo Lian climbed out of the carriage. She turned around and helped Zhao Di get out of the carriage and stand firmly.

When she turned around, Chen Junbo had already walked over, and Ziyan helped him get off the car by stepping onto a stool.

As soon as they stopped, Chen Junbai said, "Miss Ziyan and I have some business to attend to. You may go back and rest on your own. I will return to my residence later tonight, so there is no need for you to stay for a meal."

Seeing that he was speaking to him, Li Yang simply said "Oh," thinking to himself: This person is quite strange; he has never talked to me about these things before. Besides, these matters have always been handled by the central kitchen. What does he mean by this? Is he sending me to the central kitchen to deliver a message?

Thinking of this, seeing that Chen Junbo and Ziyan had already left together in one carriage, he said to Mo Lian beside him, "Mo Lian, go and tell the kitchen what the young master said, and tell them not to prepare meals for the young master. Zhao Di and I are going out now and will return to the mansion in the afternoon. In the evening, we will ask the kitchen to prepare an extra meal for Lanxin Pavilion. From now on, Zhao Di will live in the Chen residence."

Upon hearing this, Mo Lian raised her eyes, then nodded and curtsied: "Yes, young mistress."

Having said that, he turned and went into the house.

Li Yang watched Mo Lian enter the Chen residence, and then heard Zhao Di speak softly in her ear, "Young Madam, please don't be angry. Young Master was just out on business with Sister Zi Yan."

"Why should I be angry?" Li Yang felt baffled: One is my employer, and the other is a guest of the Chen family. They can go wherever they want, so why should I be angry?

She turned to Zhao Di and said, "Come on, I'll take you to meet your sister Fang Yuan today. She's very capable; her family runs a teahouse."

The master and servant headed towards the main street.