startled bird
The evening breeze brushed against Lin Xu's cheeks, and the chilly air finally brought her back to her senses.
Zhou Weikan, courtesy name Jingze, was ostensibly the second son in his family and the most beloved grandson of Old Madam Zhou. Compared to the eldest grandson who helped manage the tea business in Jun'anli, he directly took over the Jinxiufang tea shop, which was dedicated to supplying imperial tribute, from the old lady. However, he was gentle and refined, not a ruthless person. Over the years, he had built up a wide network of good relationships in the business world. Therefore, instead of just the courtesy name Jingze, everyone in Mujing called him Master Zhou, which showed more respect for this young master.
But only the real Zhou family members knew that Zhou Er was just a cover-up.
Among the grandchildren, Zhou Weikan was not the second oldest. Besides his eldest grandson Zhou Weisi, Zhou Weikan had a second son, a year older than him, born to an unfavored concubine, who died in an accident at a young age. The matriarch of the Zhou family held power, and because the matter was too complicated to disclose, she kept the second son's background a secret, concealing everything. Thus, even many of the Zhou family's servants were unaware of the truth, simply calling Zhou Weikan "Second Master."
In their past life, when they were deeply in love, Zhou Weikan held her hand and whispered all the secrets that should have been family matters. Later, when she met him in private, she always liked to call him that.
"Master Zhou, when are you going to send someone to pick me up?"
“Master Zhou, the new satin from your Jinxiu Manor is so beautiful! It’s sold out everywhere in Mujing. I’ve heard that the Yunjin is so exquisite that it must be extremely beautiful to make clothes.”
She used to call him by his name without thinking, but now it has become a clue that he has noticed is strange.
She felt a deep sense of loss.
Facing those eyes, and having thought of all sorts of excuses, I suddenly didn't know how to explain myself. I could only furrow my brows slightly and murmur softly:
"Young master, could you please let go of my hand? You're... hurting me."
He gripped her slender wrist tightly, and even in the dim moonlight, the reddish handprint was still visible.
Zhou Weikan glanced down, but her hand remained firmly in her grasp. "This is a secret within my Zhou family clan. How did you know, young lady?"
Seeing Lin Xu's flustered expression, he suddenly moved closer, seemingly full of hesitation, his usually gentle voice now icy cold:
"—Who exactly are you?"
She had rarely seen Zhou Weikan with such a stern expression before, and was momentarily stunned. In her memory, he had always been as stern as a mountain, gentle and kind to her, and had never been harsh with her.
In her previous life, when Qi learned of Zhou Weikan's marriage proposal to her, she outwardly remained gentle and embroidered as usual, but secretly plotted to sow discord. She sent Zuizhi to spread rumors that Qi was fickle and only coveted the Zhou family's wealth.
At that time, Zhou Weikan's elder brother was discovered by his wife to be keeping a mistress in the suburbs of Mujing City. The matter escalated, and rumors spread that the mistress had embezzled a considerable amount of money from Jun'an Village, making it a notorious scandal. At that time, the Zhou family was a prominent and influential family among the imperial merchants. The old lady of the Zhou family was worried that the scandal would tarnish the reputation that the Zhou family had built up over generations. At the same time, she was also suspicious and worried that someone might interfere. If the old grievances were brought up again, the situation would become uncontrollable. Therefore, she first secretly dealt with the mistress, and then paid extra attention to the marriages of her grandsons. She secretly sent the head maid to inquire about Lin Xu's character from the south of the city.
Unfortunately, at that time, Lin Xu's reputation among the pampered young women of Mujing City was even worse than that of the daughter of Marquis Wencheng, who was constantly agonizing over Yao Sha.
There were many egregious acts of bullying merchants, making things difficult for teachers, and disrespecting stepmothers.
When the news reached her ears again, she heard that Old Madam Zhou listened to the detailed description from the nanny who was secretly investigating. In the end, the old lady's vision went black, and she fell straight to the ground, unconscious.
The usually capable and refined Master Zhou suddenly became the unfilial descendant of the Zhou family.
Even so, he risked having his legs broken by Old Master Zhou, but he never lashed out at her in the slightest.
Everyone thought the marriage was doomed, but Zhou Weikan spent a fortune to send several large boxes of gold and silver jewelry to the merchants who had been bullied by Lin Xu in the past to apologize. She also specially rented a storefront in the most prosperous area of Mujing City, South Street, saying that she wanted to open a library in her name for poor female students in Mujing City.
As for his stepmother, at that time, only Madam Qi remained in the inner quarters of the Lin family. Lin Xu had been poisoned by Madam Qi, suffering from frequent headaches and dizziness. He was also tongue-tied and unable to argue with Madam Qi, earning him the infamous reputation of disrespecting his elders. When Zhou Weikan learned of this, he specially sent a servant to deliver dozens of bolts of fine silk and satin to Madam Qi as an apology. These were the finest and most fashionable brocades in the entire capital, with a silky smooth feel and a lustrous, colorful sheen. Outside the capital, ordinary people would never dare to dream of such a thing. Madam Qi accepted the bribe and only then did she quiet down for a few days.
When the news reached the ears of the noble ladies of Mujing, it became a story about how the gentle and refined Second Master Zhou had been bewitched, and how Lin Xu had used her seductive beauty to seduce the usually mild-mannered Zhou Weikan...
Therefore, we can conclude that Master Zhou is truly pitiful, and Lin Xu is truly a despicable person.
Hearing the rumors, Zhou Weikan hugged the person in his arms even tighter, gently brushed her nose, and smiled with a rare ease: "So our Xu'er has such amazing seductive skills?"
At that moment, she buried her head in his chest like an ostrich, listening to the strong heartbeat in her ear. All she could think about was that Zhou family silk was indeed extraordinary. Her face felt soft and cloud-like when she touched it. When would Third Master send her more?
At that time, she was so engrossed in the love and pampering her husband had been so eagerly awaited by her youngest daughter that she was completely unaware of the secret affair between Zhou Weikan and Yao Su'an.
In this life, however, there is no one who is completely devoted to her, nor is there a safe haven that belongs solely to her.
Lin Xu lowered her eyes, her voice soft and gentle, fading into inaudibly at the end. "That day, we met by chance at the entrance of Lanye Alley. Fortunately, Young Master Zhou intervened and saved me. You left a message saying that if anything happened, I should go to the Zhou residence to find you. So I secretly sent someone to inquire about it... Perhaps I remembered it wrong?"
Zhou Weikan's brows and eyes were bathed in a serene moonlight, his lips slightly upturned, and a hint of warm mist lingered at the corners of his eyes. She was very familiar with this expression; it seemed gentle, but in reality, it was the faint pity that appeared in his eyes when he realized the other was lying.
In other words, he didn't believe a single word she said.
She was trying to figure out how to smooth things over.
The person before her still slightly curled the corners of his lips and loosened his grip on her hand. Zhou Weikan turned her head away, seemingly watching carefully as the flowers and plants swayed gently in the wind in the darkness. With a wave of her hand, a servant boy quietly approached from afar with a lantern.
Before leaving, he turned back and looked at her carefully one last time. His lips parted and closed again, but he finally managed to offer some words of advice:
"The person who was laughing and joking with the girl that night was not a good person."
.
As the moon set and the stars dangled in the sky, all was quiet. After washing up, she leaned against the soft couch. Granny Qin had already compiled the list of gifts from all the guests and specially made a copy for her to review in fine brushwork.
Just as Gao Youyi said, the gifts given by the Gao family this time were truly astonishing.
Five different Hetian jade ruyi scepters were given as gifts alone, not to mention the various gold and silver hairpins and ornaments, each a priceless and rare piece of jewelry. In addition, Madam Yang also gifted several powder boxes currently fashionable among the young ladies of Mujing, a carved sandalwood screen, two amber Buddha's hand bonsai, and a series of gold and silver hairpins. Each item was exquisite and unique, showing considerable thoughtfulness and charm.
Her two cousins and their wives each gave her a mutton-fat jade comb and a fine mink fur cloak, a specialty of Hecheng. The cloak was glossy and heavy, and felt incredibly warm to the touch. However, Mujing was located in the Jiangnan region, quite different from Hecheng, where the weather turned freezing cold as soon as autumn arrived. Presumably, she wouldn't be able to wear such a thick cloak unless it was deep winter.
Many of her father's friends and colleagues were literary talents, and they had prepared a number of famous poems, white jade chessboards, and calligraphy works by famous calligraphers. In her previous life, she would never have given these a second glance, but now she had a few maids send them to the storeroom to be properly stored away.
The gift Liao Yan sent wasn't particularly extravagant; it was simply a plain black lacquered wooden box with carved details. Inside, however, was a substantial soft whip inlaid with deer antlers and wrapped in gold thread. In a past casual conversation, Liao Yan had asked her if she knew how to ride a horse, and Lin Xu had truthfully replied that she didn't. When she had stayed briefly in He City as a child, she had tried several times, only to be thrown off by the little red-brown horse, ending up with bruises and swelling on her face. Several of her cousins had taken turns teaching her, but she hadn't been able to learn, and hadn't dared to try again. At the time, Liao Yan's expression had flashed with a hint of disdain, yet now she was giving her a soft whip as a gift on her coming-of-age ceremony—truly befitting of her style.
Lin Xu smiled slightly, her gaze continuing to sweep downwards, but when she saw a picture of a sparrow and loquat on the gift list, a few thoughts arose in her mind.
She vaguely remembered the painting.
Several small sparrows, their heads adorned with tiger-like faces, perched on a branch, huddled together. In the distance, the rain began to fall, and raindrops covered the bright yellow loquats, which resembled oranges. Some sparrows, oblivious to being soaked, suddenly flew to the branches to succumb to the fragrance of the fruit. It was a unique and unforgettable scene.
The painting of loquat and mountain birds has been repeatedly adapted and is already a well-worn topic. However, this painting by Zhang Zuo, a famous artist from the previous dynasty, became widely known because of the birds' endearing appearance and exquisite brushwork.
When my mother was still alive, she also copied this painting.
She was still young then, happily munching on freshly picked loquats, when Liang Shuangyu glanced at her with a smile as she sat on the chaise longue, then picked up her brush and began to copy this famous painting. She had glimpsed it a few times, too young to understand much, only knowing that her mother had wielded the brush for years, her strokes lively and powerful. She still remembered the chubby little sparrows, finding them quite amusing. At the time, the painting was considered a masterpiece.
Lin Xu ran his fingertips along Wen Qinian's name written after the painting of the startled bird and loquat, his brows furrowing as he recalled the elderly couple at the banquet earlier that day, and the rather shocked look in the old woman's eyes when she looked at him in a daze.
Before she could even settle her mind to think for a moment, she heard the sound of the beaded curtain being lifted. Having endured the day's events, Zhu Ling had already changed into new clothes, and now, with a look of relief, she served tea.
"Miss, the ceremony is finally complete today, which is a great relief. You must be tired now. Please have some hot tea to soothe your body."
Her handsome face had been cleaned up, but when she thought of how Zhu Ling had found her during the day, her face covered in blood and screaming in terror, she felt a pang of pity.
So he reached out and took the five-petaled lotus-shaped teacup. "Is your nose feeling any better?"
Zhu Ling didn't seem to care: "It's just a minor injury, it'll be fine in no time. Granny Pei felt sorry for me and even applied some medicine, so it doesn't hurt anymore."
After saying that, she spoke with a hint of heartache, "Miss, you're right. Today's events really frightened me. Those Yao family members are truly despicable, especially that Yao Sha. How dare he... how dare he..."
Being a young girl, Zhu Ling trembled with anger at the thought of Yao Sha's actions today, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything about what he had done because of her pride.
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