Chapter 43 A Place (Added on September 24th) Chen Junbo's...

The following day, at midday, a black, flat-topped, ornately decorated carriage slowly drove out from Kangshan Street.

The horses' hooves clattered on the bluestone pavement, and as the carriage swayed, Li Yang swallowed the salted olive in his mouth and glanced at Chen Junbo, "What play did you see at Ruyi Pavilion today? Did Mr. Zheng also go to see a play?"

Chen Junbo said that day that Ruyifang was rehearsing a new play today, and that he could take this opportunity to take her to meet Mr. Zheng.

She got up early in the morning, dressed herself up, and even put a flower hairpin in her hair and a pair of pear blossom earrings. The beautiful white flowers swayed gently at her temples as the carriage bumped along.

Chen Junbo was gazing intently at the earrings when she asked him a question. He quickly looked back and said, "His Majesty will be making his southern tour next year. The town is preparing a new play to welcome His Majesty. Mr. Zheng is helping to work on the script and lyrics for this new play. I'm going to see him today so I can also check on how the new play is going."

"Aren't you a salt merchant? How come you're involved in the affairs of the opera troupe? Does the Emperor need you to handle his southern tour?" Li Yang asked, his eyes filled with confusion and his expression innocent.

Young Master Chen glanced at her, then teased her with a sly smile, “In this town, you’re probably the only one who looks down on me like this. Do you know that salt merchants are also imperial merchants, and this unassuming Young Master Chen in front of you is the head of the Lianghuai salt industry, the first commoner to befriend the emperor?”

As he spoke eloquently, Chen Junbo appeared smug, then chuckled self-deprecatingly and said seriously, "The salt industry accounts for half of the imperial court's tax revenue. Salt merchants are merely managing the salt affairs of their respective territories on behalf of the emperor."

Seeing the young lady nod slightly, he continued, "Don't you always like to talk about 'master and servant'?"

Li Yang, blushing, was about to retort when he heard him continue, "According to your statement, the Emperor is the boss of all the salt merchants in the world. When the boss comes to inspect, we salt merchants should do our best."

"Then you're a farmhand too," she joked with a smile.

Chen Junbo quickly glanced at her smiling face and coaxed her, "Yes, I am also a farmhand, just like Madam Chen, working for the master."

Seeing him teasing him like this, Li Yang was taken aback. He looked around, picked up an olive, put it in his mouth, and then lifted the curtain to look out.

The Ruyi Boat is located on the east bank of the canal. Not far from East Street, you can see a three-story boat, as big as five flower pavilions. Li Yang was stunned. "Is this the largest painted boat in Songshan Town?"

The painted boat's railings were adorned with flowers and colorful ribbons, creating a scene of singing birds and dancing butterflies. Beautiful women accompanied the people coming and going on the deck.

Li Yang turned around and looked Chen Junbo up and down, then frowned. "You talk business here every day?"

That look was hardly innocent or friendly, and Chen Junbo couldn't help but touch his nose. "It's not always here." His answer was both guilty and timid.

Upon hearing this, the young woman curled her lip, her eyes filled with a strange expression. "No wonder General Manager Chen has to go out to discuss business every day."

There was no way to respond to that, so Chen Junbo simply said "We've arrived," then jumped out of the car and helped the person down.

Seeing the Chen family's carriage from afar, Li Yuhan hurriedly came forward to greet them, "Ziheng, you've finally arrived." She bowed to them as a greeting, then turned to Li Yang and said, "Oh my, this must be your wife, she is truly a beauty. I am Li Yuhan, greetings to your wife."

Liu Yitong quickly followed behind him, "Hehe, I am Liu Yitong, greetings to my sister-in-law."

Li Yang didn't know how to respond, so he just said, "General Manager Li, General Manager Liu, greetings." He then quietly tugged at the sleeve of the person next to him. The person seemed to sense his presence and said, "She's young, don't scare her."

The two men seemed to have been waiting for these words, exchanging glances. Liu Yitong immediately turned his attention to his own brother, "Hey, Ziheng, it's one thing for you to be chivalrous, but why are you putting us down? We didn't say anything, and you're already protecting us."

"Who was it that insisted on discussing marriage back then, saying it was nothing but a losing proposition? And now, it seems you're experiencing a resurgence of romantic luck, like an old tree blossoming again."

He chuckled, making Li Yang's face flush and his palms sweat.

Seeing this, a brightly dressed old woman glanced at the group and walked forward with a smile. She took the young lady's hands and said, "This must be the young mistress. She is so lovely! Everyone here calls me Mama Sang. Look at her fair and tender face. I hope she doesn't get sunburned. Come on, let's not talk outside. The stage is ready. Please come in."

Having found their saviors, Li Yang lowered his head and followed closely behind them. The group went straight to the third floor. Unlike downstairs, this place was spacious, with only a long table in the middle, facing the stage in front of them.

As soon as they were seated, Ziyan gracefully walked over, nodded slightly to everyone, and sat down directly next to Liyang.

A man dressed as a scholar followed closely behind. Seeing Ziyan sit in the leftmost seat, he paused, then turned and sat down in the empty seat next to Chen Junbai.

Li Yang curiously observed the two of them. He noticed that when the teacher followed behind Zi Yan, he had a subtly obsequious manner. When he saw Zi Yan sitting on the chair on the left, he was clearly taken aback.

She looked at the teacher with suspicion. His long hair was combed back, with gray strands that matched his gray-white robe. His face was withered, but his eyes were bright and lively, a stark contrast to his overall demeanor. When the man sat down next to Chen Junbai, he ignored Chen Junbai's invitation to rise and greet him. Li and Liu also rose to greet him.

Who is this person? Since she married into the Chen family, Li Yang has never seen an outsider dare to be so disrespectful to Chen Junbai. Looking at Chen Junbai, he was even smiling and didn't seem angry at all.

Once everyone was seated, the show began.

The chirping of swallows and the warbling of orioles truly make one wonder, "How can one know the beauty of spring without visiting a garden?"

As the song ended, the audience erupted in applause.

Chen Junbo: "Mr. Zheng, thank you for your hard work."

Mr. Zheng?

Is this Mr. Zheng?

That painting, "Ink Bamboo," was created by him.

Li Yang stared wide-eyed at the gray-robed scholar a few more times. He saw a goatee as gray as his hair and as withered as his face... Could this be the famous Mr. Zheng from Songshan Town?

He showed no displeasure, gave a slight bow, and glanced at the person behind Li Yang. "Not at all, it's all thanks to Miss Ziyan's painstaking arrangement that we have this effect today."

These words were clearly meant to flatter Ziyan, but the lady of the house did not appreciate them. She simply turned her head away, lightly shook her painted fan, and let out a soft 'humph' from the tip of her nose.

This is tantamount to slapping someone in the face...

Li Yang's heart tightened, and he felt a pang of sweat on his hands for Zi Yan.

After being immersed in the world of bells for the past few days, she finally realized that in Songshan Town, or rather, in the entire Jiangnan region, the influence of literati was immense. That's why they were called the "talented scholars of Jiangnan."

Mr. Zheng's status among this group of talented men can be seen from the fact that the threshold of the flower garden has been worn down in the past few days.

Now Ziyan has actually embarrassed the other party in public...

Who knew that the teacher was also an extraordinary person. Despite embarrassing everyone in front of him, his eyes shone, and his withered face radiated vitality, as if a dead tree had come back to life... He actually felt quite pleased with himself.

Li Yang was dumbfounded. Those who knew knew that Mr. Zheng had been scolded, but those who didn't just thought that Zi Yan had kissed him, which made him so happy.

She glanced at Chen Junbo, her eyes secretly questioning him, but he simply smiled and closed his eyes, as if it were commonplace, and gently shook his head, indicating that she should talk to him later.

Once inside the carriage, Li Yang could no longer contain himself. "What's going on between Sister Ziyan and that Mr. Zheng?"

Chen Junbo, who had been resting with his eyes closed against the carriage, glanced at her sideways after hearing what she said and said, "Aren't you the best at judging couples? Today, you see how these two are doing?"

"You mean? Ziyan and Mr. Zheng are a couple?" Li Yang exclaimed in surprise. "My God! That's impossible! Sister Ziyan is so beautiful, even a teacher could be her father!"

Young Master Chen's lips curled into a smile. "Do you still think I have feelings for Ziyan?"

Here we go again!

Li Yang pouted, "No, how could they be a couple? These two are just too... Tell me quickly!"

Seeing that she was avoiding his questions and was focused on other people's business, Chen Junbo simply sat up straight and leaned closer to her, staring directly at her. "I asked you a question, why aren't you answering me?"

Li Yang felt her breath catch in her throat. On that day in the west room, Zi Yan had made it clear to her that there was absolutely no connection between the two of them.

In truth, due to the connection with Ruyi Pavilion, General Manager Chen could truly be considered Ziyan's former employer. Now, it's just a matter of one providing money and the other providing effort; it's merely a business transaction.

But she only heard these words herself, so how could she mention them to Chen Junbo?

Why is he getting so close...? Their eyes met, their breaths mingled, and her heart pounded in her chest as if it were about to leap into her throat. Suddenly, the man in front of her reached out, and she instinctively felt a slight tug on her hair. The man had already pulled back.

Li Yang reached out and touched her hair bun, taking off a glittering golden object, "A peach and bat hairpin!"

She looked up at the other person, then looked down at the hairpin in her hand. Her fingers stroked the gold hairpin, which was decorated with rose-red peaches, green bats, and gold threads, making it look lifelike.

"How did you know?" Her eyes welled up slightly, and tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke.

Chen Junbo raised his hand to stroke her cheek and said softly, "I gave you this hairpin not to make you cry."

The girl then removed another hairpin from her hair. The two hairpins were placed side by side and turned out to be a pair. The first gold hairpin was inlaid with gemstones and decorated with gold wire patterns, making it even more luxurious. The silver hairpin she then removed was finely carved and lifelike.

“I’ve never given you a gift before, and I don’t know what to give you. Bi Fang said that young ladies love gold and silver jewelry. Seeing that you wear this silver hairpin every day, I thought you liked it, so I had someone make one just like it.” Chen Junbai gently wiped her face with his sleeve and coaxed her softly, “Why are you crying? Your eyes will be swollen in a while.”

As he spoke, he gently took the hairpin from her hand and inserted it into her hair again, the gold and silver complementing each other perfectly.

Seeing his tender and gentle demeanor, Li Yang's eyes shimmered with tears, reflecting the flickering candlelight like ripples on a lake. "Chen Junbai, this silver hairpin was made by my father himself, and he planned to give it to me when I come of age."

Chen Junbo seemed unsurprised. When a girl comes of age, she is always adorned with a golden hairpin to accentuate her beautiful black hair. Now, his beloved is wearing the hairpin he gave her, which makes her look like a beautiful woman with cloud-like hair and a golden hair ornament. He was in a good mood at the moment and was just waiting for her to continue.

Li Yang lowered his head and sobbed, "Not long after, he disappeared..."

"Missing?" Chen Junbo asked in surprise.

"Yes, they went out hunting and never returned home. Within two days, my mother was gone too, leaving me alone in the back mountains... I waited for them at home, not going anywhere, not leaving even a step... I waited for three whole days, but they didn't come back... Did something happen to them? Will they ever come back...?"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, staining her clothes with dark spots.

Chen Junbo was stunned for a moment, never expecting to be caught off guard like this, and the words he had prepared over the past few days stuck in his throat.

After a moment's thought, he raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder. "Don't cry, I'll find someone to look for you."

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Author's Note: To ensure you receive an updated chapter every morning when you wake up, starting tomorrow, updates will be earlier, at 6 AM daily. [Purple Heart][Green Heart][Orange Heart][Yellow Heart][Green Heart][Pink Heart][Heart]