Chapter 105 (Storybook)

"You mean Fifth Sister?" Cao Yuan thought for a moment. "She's quite busy. She's busy at the food shop in the morning, and in the afternoon she either goes with Sanhua to make dresses or studies rouge and powder. Fifth Sister has been very fond of beauty lately."

Loves beauty?

Lu Zhao's brow twitched slightly, and Cao Yuan asked what was wrong.

"It's nothing, it's just that Qingjiu keeps mentioning that he hasn't seen Miss Qiao Wu much lately, so I just asked casually." Lu Zhao picked up a piece of pickled mustard greens with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. "This radish... no, this pickled mustard greens is quite delicious."

"It's a bit too sour today." Qingjiu also took a bite. "But I like it a bit sour, it's all delicious."

Cao Yuan explained that the weather was too hot during fermentation, which is why it turned a bit sour. "Take your time eating, and call us if you need anything."

She walked to the door, glanced back at Lu Zhao and the other two, and was called away to do something else.

After Lu Zhao finished eating, he called Qiao Mancang to pay the bill. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a matchmaker arriving. The matchmaker and Lin Shi went to a corner to talk quietly.

The hall was too noisy, and Lu Zhao couldn't hear what Lin Shi and the matchmaker were saying.

After leaving Qiao's Restaurant, Qingjiu saw his master lost in thought and ran ahead to ask, "Sir, what are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Lu Zhao was taken aback. "What do you think the matchmaker would say to Aunt Qiao?"

"What matchmaker? Is there a matchmaker looking for Aunt Qiao?"

Qingjiu was busy eating and didn't pay attention to who passed by. "However, it's obvious that the matchmaker is here to talk about the marriage of Miss Qiao Wu. Think about it, Miss Qiao Wu is the only one in the Qiao family who isn't engaged. What else can they talk about? They can't exactly arrange a marriage for Le'er, can they?"

Qingjiu finished speaking subconsciously, but did not notice that his master's expression froze. When he saw his master suddenly stop, he turned around to look.

Lu Zhao's heart pounded, and he suddenly felt very flustered. He raised his hand to touch it, and while he was still wondering why his heart was beating so fast, Wang Chuang suddenly called out to him.

Wang Chuang and Xu Mingxuan came together. They hadn't returned to the academy yet, so they often gathered together.

"Lord Lu, are you not on duty today?" Wang Chuang asked, noticing that Lu Zhao was not wearing his official robes.

After Lu Zhao said he had gone, his gaze naturally fell on Xu Mingxuan, and he felt inexplicably irritated. "Why didn't Scholar Xu go to the academy either?"

He knew that Wang Chuang was staying at home longer because Lin Xiahe was pregnant, but what was Xu Mingxuan's reason?

“My mother fell ill again after the spring. Although studying is important, as her son, I should take care of her,” Xu Mingxuan explained.

"Ten years of hard study are all for the sake of passing the imperial examinations. I advise Scholar Xu to focus on his studies. Even if he has to take care of his mother, he can still study at home."

Instead of going out and provoking others. Lu Zhao thought to himself, but stopped himself in time. The previous words were already meddling, and to say anything more would be rude.

Xu Mingxuan was taken aback. He didn't know much about Lu Zhao and wondered why Lu Zhao was suddenly concerned about his studies. Then he remembered that Lu Zhao had also studied but hadn't passed the imperial examinations, so he must have some regrets and couldn't help but offer some advice.

With this thought in mind, Xu Mingxuan said gratefully, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Lu. I will go back and study hard later."

Wang Chuang dared not utter a sound, fearing that Lu Zhao would also mention him, but Lu Zhao simply hummed in response and left with the green wine.

"Huh, what does Lord Lu mean? Does he know I'm not very well-read and won't even say a few polite words?" Wang Chuang asked.

"I don't think so..." Xu Mingxuan didn't know why either.

"Never mind, it's true that my grades aren't great." Wang Chuang told his family that he would take the exam this year and see. If he could answer some of the questions, he would continue studying; otherwise, he would give up. He knew his own limitations.

You have to give up something to gain something. Making this decision wasn't easy, but Wang Chuang was very clear about his abilities. In addition, he had always been optimistic and didn't want to spend his whole life studying, neglecting his family, and ending up with nothing.

“Brother Wang, there’s no need to belittle yourself. I believe that diligence can make up for shortcomings. As long as you persevere, you might get good results,” Xu Mingxuan said.

"Let's not talk about that. Let's go to the bookstore." Wang Chuang and Xu Mingxuan came out today to buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

When the two went to the bookstore, they saw Qiao Mianmian go in. Wang Chuang squinted and looked over, "Hey, isn't that my sister-in-law? What's she doing here?"

Xu Mingxuan also recognized Qiao Mianmian, and remembering her earlier question about drawing the notebook, his expression turned serious. Faced with Wang Chuang's question, he didn't know what to say.

Before he could think of a good answer, Wang Chuang ran inside first.

Qiao Mianmian came looking for storybooks, but she was startled by Wang Chuang as soon as she picked one up. "Fourth...Fourth Brother-in-law, what brings you here?"

"I came to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. I also wanted to ask you, why did you come here?" Wang Chuang asked.

"Is it strange that I came here to look for books to read?" Qiao Mianmian couldn't find a place to rent sketchbooks, but she and Zheng Sanhua pooled their money to buy some together. After they finished reading, they would sell them, so they wouldn't have to spend so much money.

Judging from Wang Chuang's tone, she sensed that he was very surprised to come to the bookstore. When she turned around and saw Xu Mingxuan, her heart skipped a beat. What a coincidence!

Xu Mingxuan also saw the storybook in Qiao Mianmian's hand—"The Fox Fairy and the Scholar." Although he hadn't read the book, he knew what it was about at a glance. His expression turned serious. "Fifth Miss Qiao, didn't I tell you that these are all miscellaneous and bad books? How could you..."

“Since it’s here for sale, I’ll buy it if I’m interested. I don’t think reading a storybook can corrupt me.” Qiao Mianmian didn’t like being lectured. On this matter, she and Xu Mingxuan couldn’t agree, so she didn’t want to say more to avoid unpleasantness.

She took the book, paid for it, and left.

"Hey..." Wang Chuang looked at Qiao Mianmian, then at Xu Mingxuan, and asked in confusion, "Brother Xu, my sister-in-law is just reading a storybook, you don't need to say it's bad, do you?"

He reads them too; storybooks are more interesting than policy essays. If it weren't for the academy's prohibition against reading miscellaneous books, he would sometimes read them as well. What he doesn't understand is why Xu Mingxuan is so angry about his sister-in-law's matter.

“Those storybooks are all frivolous. Where are there any spirits or monsters in the world? They are just the fantasies of bored people, used to deceive ignorant young men and women.” Xu Mingxuan’s fist clenched involuntarily as he looked in the direction Qiao Mianmian had left. “Brother Wang, as a family member, you should ask your sister-in-law to persuade Miss Qiao Wu that if she really wants to study, she should choose the classics.”

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Hearing Xu Mingxuan say so much at once, Wang Chuang was afraid he would say more, so he took him to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, not taking the matter to heart. After returning home, he only told his wife about it as an amusing story, "Actually, it's nothing. Others don't know that Fifth Sister reads it. The book is just about stories of love between men and women, nothing else."

"Judging from your tone, it seems like you've seen a lot?" Lin Xiahe looked over.

Wang Chuang quickly denied it, "I'm always at the academy, how could I have the opportunity to read these miscellaneous books?"

"Is the book really harmless?" Lin Xiahe was still a little worried, after all, that's what Xu Xiucai said.

"It's really alright. Think about it, if they had written something indecent, how could the bookstore dare to put it in such an obvious place?" Wang Chuang also had experience with this. "They would be kept in boxes or found in the backyard by a secret code. Most people wouldn't know about it."

He realized something was wrong after he finished speaking, and chuckled, saying, "I only heard it from someone else; I don't know what the code is."

"real?"

"Of course!"

Lin Xiahe didn't believe her and snorted, "You really should look in the mirror. Your lying is so obvious. Since there's nothing inappropriate, I won't say anything. It seems Mianmian is getting the age for teenage angst."

Wang Chuang nodded in agreement; he dared not say any more now.

"Aren't there any suitable candidates among your classmates?" Lin Xiahe asked, mentioning her mother's fortune-telling. "There are so many scholars in the academy, surely there must be some suitable ones."

Wang Chuang thought for a moment and realized he hadn't thought of it. "Songshan Academy doesn't accept just anyone. At the very least, you have to be a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination). Many people study for seven or eight years and still fail to pass the provincial-level examination. Brother Xu and I are considered relatively young in the academy. There aren't many unmarried people, and they also have to be good-looking and of good character. Those are even fewer."

Even if someone were perfect in every way, their family background would be too high. Come to think of it, he thought Xu Mingxuan would be the most suitable, but his sister-in-law said she had no interest in him, and he hadn't heard Xu Mingxuan mention this matter either.

Lin Xiahe sighed, "It's really difficult to find a good marriage partner."

"So, your husband is a particularly rare and ideal son-in-law." Wang Chuang hummed and hugged Lin Xiahe. The couple were still as intimate as when they first got married.

"Go ahead and praise me." Lin Xiahe smiled, but then she couldn't help but worry about her sister's marriage.

Meanwhile, Qiao Mianmian wasn't worried at all; instead, she and Zheng Sanhua were locked in the room reading storybooks.

Zheng Sanhua didn't know many characters yet, so Qiao Mianmian had to read them to her from time to time. The two of them were engrossed in reading when Zheng Sihua knocked on the door and asked Qiao Mianmian if she wanted to stay for dinner. Only then did Qiao Mianmian realize that it was getting late.

"No need, I'm going home to eat spring pancakes!" Qiao Mianmian rolled up her book and made a promise to Zheng Sanhua to meet again tomorrow.

She was allowed to take the book back, and her family wouldn't enter her room without permission.

Zheng Sanhua was still not satisfied. The scholar in the story was about to find out that the fox spirit was a demon. She held onto Qiao Mianmian reluctantly, saying, "Then come to the shop to find me tomorrow. Come early!"

"Okay, okay, I understand." Qiao Mianmian touched Zheng Sihua's face as she left, then ran back home.

She had a half-day off today and didn't need to go to the food shop. Thinking that her family had bought spring pancakes and she would have to go back to cook them, she ran faster. Suddenly, Lu Zhao appeared behind her and called out to her, startling her so much that she dropped her storybook.

Lu Zhao glanced down, picked up the storybook, and after seeing the title, dusted it off and handed it over naturally, saying, "Miss Qiao, this is your storybook."

"Oh, thank you." Qiao Mianmian looked at both sides. Luckily, there was no water on the ground, otherwise the book cover would have been wrinkled and affected the price.

Seeing that Qiao Mianmian had said thank you and was about to leave, Lu Zhao called out again.

Qiao Mianmian thought Lu Zhao was going to say something unpleasant about miscellaneous books, so she didn't have the patience to turn around.

“Miss Qiao, your second sister-in-law said you’re working with cosmetics. If you like these, I know a friend who frequently travels between Lin’an and Bianjing. Bianjing has the best and largest cosmetics shop; I can have him bring them to you,” Lu Zhao said.

Everyone has a love for beauty, and Lu Zhao thought it was normal. As for reading storybooks, it was harmless; it was just entertainment to pass the time on ordinary days. He looked at Qiao Mianmian, but before she could answer, Qingjiu spoke first.

"Yes, Miss Qiao, although I have never been inside the Rouge Pavilion, it is very big, about the size of the Spring Joy Pavilion. There must be a lot of things inside."

At this point, Qingjiu turned to look at her master with a puzzled expression, "But sir, when did you recognize..."

Before Qingjiu could finish speaking, Lu Zhao tossed the keys over, saying, "The water tank at home should be empty. Go and fetch some water."

Qingjiu: "No rush, I..."

Lu Zhao: "Go quickly!"

"Alright, alright, I'll go fetch water now." Qingjiu wanted to say, when did Master make friends like this? Even if he knew someone, they weren't close.

Sigh, he's been having trouble figuring out his master's thoughts lately. He feels that his master has changed a bit recently, but he can't quite put his finger on what's different.

Seeing Qingjiu leave, Qiao Mianmian was actually quite tempted. She had never been to Bianjing, but she knew without a doubt that the best rouge was in Bianjing.

Young ladies love beauty, and she also enjoys dressing up, but thinking that it would trouble Lu Zhao, she politely declined, "Thank you, Lord Lu, but I don't need that much rouge and powder. Besides, it must be expensive in Bianjing. It would be interesting for me to research some rouge myself. It's getting late, so I'll head home first. You should also go home soon."

“Eh…” Lu Zhao had just opened her mouth when Qiao Mianmian turned and left. The little girl had grown into a young woman, and even her back view was graceful and beautiful. As soon as the thought popped into Lu Zhao’s mind, her face flushed red.