Chapter 44: Testing Sixth Brother, Do You Like Her Too? ...
Pei Huaian wrapped himself up like a silkworm cocoon and rolled to the innermost side of the bed, leaving only his head exposed. He spoke to Shen Yunshu, "Sister Shu, is this okay?"
"Alright, sleep here the same way you sleep on the Arhat couch," Shen Yunshu patted his blanket. "Come out quickly. It's not comfortable sleeping like this."
Pei Huaian then loosened the quilt and stretched his arms and legs.
As usual, Shen Yunshu left a small light on, but with someone else around her, she couldn't fall asleep for a while.
Pei Huaian was lying on his side, looking at her carelessly. Even though she was lying flat with her eyes closed, she could still feel his gaze.
Shen Yunshu turned over to face him and opened her eyes.
He immediately closed his eyes, but his eyelids were too tight and there was still a tremor.
"Give me your hand," she said.
When she found out that he was not asleep, Pei Huaian shyly opened his eyes and obediently extended his hand to her.
Shen Yunshu held him back, found an acupoint on his wrist bone, and began massaging it. "Someone once taught me that this place is called Shenmen acupoint. Pressing it can nourish the heart, calm the mind, and help with sleep..."
The force on her wrist was gentle and powerful. Pei Huaian looked at her without blinking: "Sister Shu, are you sleepy? Let me massage you too?"
"No, I rarely dream at night..."
She pressed for a while, then asked him to switch hands and repeat the same action: "How is it? Do you feel sleepy?"
At this time of day in the past, Pei Huaian would be sleepy as soon as he got into bed, but tonight, next to her, how could he feel sleepy at all?
But if he said he wasn't sleepy, wouldn't all her hard work and massage be in vain?
So he pretended to yawn and said, "I am a little sleepy, Sister Shu, no need to press it, let's go to sleep."
"Okay." The light was dim at the moment, and Shen Yunshu didn't realize that he was acting. She just thought that this massage spot was really useful. When she was about to withdraw her hand, he held it with his backhand.
"Sister Shu, can I hold your hand while sleeping?"
"Why?"
"When I hold your hand, I feel safe and maybe I won't have nightmares at night."
"Okay." It was just holding hands, not like before, where he held her hand and did that kind of thing.
Thinking of the previous incident, Shen Yunshu's face turned red and her hands moved unnaturally.
But he held her hands even tighter, holding her hands with both, raised them up, placed them on the side of his face, and closed his eyes in great satisfaction.
Shen Yunshu smiled: How could there be such a person? Innocent, scoundrel, and... a little cute...
*
The next morning, Shen Youran came to Ciyouyuan as usual and told her sister about what happened yesterday when her mother-in-law sent someone to ask for something on behalf of her cousin.
Although Shen Yunshu sympathized with the Meng cousin's plight, cousins were still cousins, not considered members of the family, and so they couldn't take things from the public sanctuary. The eldest lady must have understood this, which is why she deliberately sent someone to ask for things from the third sister while she was away. Ten pounds of charcoal was easy enough, but the cloth bill was difficult to settle unless the third sister made up for it with her own.
Fortunately, my third sister didn’t give it to me yesterday.
When the people from Haitangyuan came to withdraw something today, they didn't mention the cloth in front of her. Shen Yunshu pretended not to know about it and distributed ivory cards according to their daily expenses.
After finishing the morning's work, Shen Yunshu took her sister to the side hall to chat.
"Didn't Qilang say before that the First Lady originally wanted to marry that cousin from the Meng family to Big Brother, and now she has taken her back to her own courtyard? You should pay more attention. If the First Lady asks Big Brother to go to her courtyard, you should try to go along..."
Shen Youran naturally understood what her sister was worried about: "Are you worried that my mother-in-law will let Miss Meng become Pei Huaijin's concubine?"
"It's hard to say right now, but the Madam already has a prejudice against you, and that cousin is even more favored by the Madam. I'm afraid the Madam will have such thoughts..."
"That won't work. If she really has such a plan, she needs the approval of me, the principal wife. If I don't agree, no one else can enter Yunzhi Courtyard..."
If the eldest lady had such a plan when the marriage was just exchanged, Shen Youran would definitely pack up her dowry and leave without saying a word.
But now it's different. She has accepted Pei Huaijin as her husband, and she can't tolerate her husband getting close to other women.
Shen Yunshu saw that her sister took the matter very lightly, believing that if she didn't agree, others would have no other options. In reality, if the eldest lady really wanted to insert someone into her courtyard, she wouldn't come directly to her, but would use others to put pressure on her...
However, the eldest lady has not made any statement yet, so Shen Yunshu can't say too much. She can only remind her sister to pay more attention to Pei Huaijin's whereabouts.
After receiving her sister's reminder, Shen Youran paid special attention to Pei Huaijin for a few days. However, seeing that he went to the yamen as usual every day and returned on time in the evening, and her mother-in-law was so quiet and had not made any moves, Shen Youran gradually put the matter behind her.
Pei Huaijin acted as a matchmaker and rented his seventh brother's house in Wuyi Lane to Aunt Xiao. The house was fully equipped and after a little decoration, classes began.
Because Shen Youran had to learn housekeeping with her sister in the morning, the class time was chosen in the afternoon. After lunch, she would go out and arrive there in less than half an hour. She would study for an hour and it would be sunset when she returned.
There were four other young ladies taking classes with her in the afternoon, all of whom were unmarried ladies, and she was the only one who had been married.
After a little inquiry, they found out that she was the eldest grandson's wife of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, and the way they looked at her became subtle.
After all, everyone in the noble circle in the capital knew something about the marriage exchange, but they just didn't say it openly.
Shen Youran didn't have many friends before. Now the four of them kept their distance from her openly or secretly, but she didn't care. She came and left with a smile every day.
One afternoon, she had just gotten off the carriage and was about to go to class when she suddenly heard a crisp voice calling, "Sister Youran!"
Not many people call her sister, and Liang Qingluo is one of them recently.
Shen Youran looked in the direction of the sound and saw two people coming on horseback. After they stopped, Liang Qingluo jumped off the tall horse with a nimble leap, threw the rope in his hand to his brother beside him, and ran towards her happily.
"Sister Youran..."
"Sister Qingluo," Shen Youran looked at her with admiration, "You can also ride a horse?"
"I learned to ride a horse when I was ten years old. My sixth brother taught me."
At this time, Liang Xu had placed his horse and walked over. He was tall and handsome, and when he stood in the alley, he looked like a small mountain, attracting the attention of several noble ladies passing by.
But he only looked at Shen Youran: "Mrs. Shen San, are you also taking classes here?"
Shen Youran thought about his two times of helping her and felt quite fond of him: "Yes, I've been here for five or six days."
"Ninth sister is new here, please take good care of her in the future..."
"No problem," Shen Youran took Liang Qingluo's hand and waved to him with a smile, "Then let's go in..."
Liang Xu nodded at her and watched them go in.
In the following days, Shen Youran often saw Liang Xu. Sometimes he would come to send his sister to class, and sometimes he would come to pick his sister up at dusk.
Liang Xu seemed to love his sister very much. Every time he came to pick up his sister, he would bring some snacks that the little girl liked.
Shen Youran had a good relationship with Liang Qingluo, and Liang Xu always brought two portions of snacks, one for Liang Qingluo and one for her.
However, recently, Mrs. Yu Wu, the daughter of the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, has been trying to make friends with them. To be more precise, she wants to make friends with Liang Qingluo.
That day, before Aunt Xiao arrived, the Fifth Lady of the Yu Family pulled Liang Qingluo aside and whispered to her, "Sister Qingluo, does your Sixth Brother have someone he loves?"
Her sixth brother was tall and handsome, and often came to pick her up. Liang Qingluo knew that two of these noble ladies had fallen in love with her sixth brother, and the fifth lady of the Yu family was the bolder one.
"Probably not." If Sixth Brother had someone he liked, he would have chased that girl long ago. He would not have had the time to hang around his sister every day.
Upon hearing this, Lady Yu Wu's eyes lit up with joy, and she asked, "Then do you know what kind of girl your Sixth Brother likes?"
Liang Qingluo blinked and thought for a while: "I don't know what kind of girl he likes. Anyway, he has dated five or six girls, but none of them worked out. My mother is worried too..."
"Then can you please ask your sixth brother for me what kind of girl he likes?"
Liang Qingluo was straightforward and said with a smile, "That's too much trouble. I can just ask my sixth brother directly if he likes you like this, right?"
Madam Yu Wu blushed and shyly tried to deny it: "I'm not... I didn't, I was just asking for a friend..."
"Okay, then I'll go back and ask Sixth Brother."
On the way back that day, Liang Qingluo couldn't wait to ask his sixth brother while he and his sixth brother were riding slowly on horseback.
However, she didn't mention the Fifth Lady of the Yu Family directly. Instead, she tentatively asked, "Sixth Brother, you've been picking me up these past few days, so you should have seen the ladies who attend classes with me. Is there any one among them that you like?"
According to her understanding of Sixth Brother, although he doesn't like to talk much, he is very straightforward. If something is true, it is true, and if it is not true, it is not true.
If he said "no", then there would be no need for her to single out Madam Yu Wu.
She was expecting Sixth Brother's answer, but unexpectedly, after pondering for a moment, Sixth Brother did not give a direct answer. Instead, he asked her, "Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?"
call out……
Liang Qingluo's eyes suddenly changed: Something is wrong with Sixth Brother!
"That's right..." Liang Qingluo also learned from Mrs. Yu Wu's tricks at this time, "I have a friend who wants to ask what kind of girl you like?"
friend?
Liang Xu only knew that she had only one friend, Shen Youran, at Aunt Xiao's place.
So it was Shen Youran who asked his sister to ask him what kind of girl he liked?
"Why did she suddenly ask you to ask me this?"
"Huh?" Liang Qingluo was stunned. "I didn't even tell you who asked, and you guessed it?"
Liang Xu nodded: Who else could it be besides Shen Youran?
Since Sixth Brother had already guessed it, he must have noticed her before, so Liang Qingluo didn't hide it anymore and said directly: "She likes you, and wants me to ask her, do you like her?"
The hand holding the reins tightened, and Liang Xu was unable to sit still on the horse. His mind was in a mess: "She likes me?"
"Although she didn't say it explicitly, I can tell," Liang Qingluo said with a grin, "It's obvious that she likes you."
"This..." Liang Xu's breathing was slightly hot, and his eyes, which used to be dark, were now flickering. He was a little at a loss, "This is not good..."
"Why not?" Although Liang Qingluo still had six months until her coming of age, she knew a thing or two about this sort of thing. She could tell at a glance that something was amiss with Sixth Brother's expression. He said "not so good," but his eyes were clearly filled with joy. "Sixth Brother, do you like her too?"
This time, he still did not answer her question directly, but said: "Mother will not agree."
"Mother is a bit picky, but..." Liang Qingluo listed the good qualities of the Fifth Lady of the Yu Family, "The Fifth Lady of the Yu Family is pretty and has a good personality. Her father is the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple, a sixth-rank official..."
"Wait a minute," Liang Xu's face changed, and he interrupted her, "The Fifth Lady of the Yu Family? The person you just said liked me was her?"
"Yeah." Liang Qingluo noticed that his expression was different from before, and then realized that they were not talking about the same person. "Who do you think Sixth Brother thinks he is?"
"No one," Liang Xu looked away disappointedly, "I have no interest in the Fifth Lady of the Yu family. Let's not mention this matter again."
"Then who are you interested in?" She had just seen clearly that Sixth Brother clearly had a crush on a girl. "If it's not the Fifth Lady of the Yu family, then the Second Lady of the Feng family? The Fourth Lady of the Wei family? Or the Liu family..."
She mentioned the girls except Shen Youran one by one, but there was no ripple in Sixth Brother's eyes.
"Sixth brother, who do you like?" Why is it so hard to guess? "Or, what kind of girl do you like?"
"You're so young, don't worry about this." When they reached a place with few people, Liang Xu squeezed his horse's belly and whipped it to speed up.
Liang Qingluo followed him angrily.
The next day, the fifth lady of the Yu family came to talk to her. Liang Qingluo told her regretfully, "Sixth brother told me to concentrate on studying with Aunt Xiao and not worry about his affairs..."
This is considered a polite refusal.
Madam Yu Wu turned pale and stopped talking.
After that, she rarely got close to her and Shen Youran.
*
When the first snow of winter fell, someone suddenly arrived at the Lu residence, requesting to see Shen Yunshu. They brought bad news: her mother had accidentally fallen in the yard that morning, injuring her waist and was now bedridden. The doctor said she might become paralyzed...
As his daughter, Shen Yunshu naturally had to go back home to visit him since he was injured so seriously.
But thinking of Lu Yi, Shen Yunshu could only suppress her anxiety and asked the person from Lu's mansion to go back and tell him that she would take care of things in the morning and go back to visit her mother in the afternoon.
After the people from the Lu Mansion left, Shen Yunshu immediately asked Tinglan to get her cloak as she was going out.
There was a light rain mixed with the snow, which was still drizzling, and the air was very damp and cold.
Tinglan took out the crane cloak from the closet. It was sent by the third master from Quanzhou. There were two of them. One was given to the eldest young lady by the seventh master, and the other had been kept in the closet.
Shen Yunshu rarely goes out, so she has never worn it before.
It is snowing and raining today, so it is perfect to wear this crane cloak that is impervious to rain and dew.
Tinglan put the crane cloak on her daughter and said, "Young Madam, do you need me to go to Yunzhi Courtyard and tell the eldest young lady about this?"
At this hour, Shen Youran had not yet set out for Wuyi Lane.
"Don't tell Youran about this yet." The last time the two sisters returned home, Lu Yi had resorted to despicable tactics, nearly ruining the innocence of her third sister and Pei Huaian. If Lu Yi's handiwork was responsible for their mother's injury today, she didn't want her third sister to be implicated again.
Pei Huaian was still reading in the study. Shen Yunshu asked Tinglan to keep an eye on him in the yard and not let him go out. Then she asked someone to harness the carriage and took Qiongzhi out.
She did not go directly to Lu Mansion, but went to Dali Temple first.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Shen Yunshu's carriage arrived at the Dali Temple, and she sent someone in Pei Huaijin's name to convey the message.
Soon, she was invited in and met Xiao Ci as she wished.
Now she had no way of being sure whether Lu Yi would take advantage of this to cause trouble, so she didn't dare to ask him to borrow too many people and only dared to ask for two.
Xiao Ci thought for a moment and said, "I'll take six people and follow your carriage..."
He's going with you?
Shen Yunshu became increasingly anxious: "Master Xiao, if I'm overthinking and you guys come back empty-handed, wouldn't that waste your time?"
"It's okay. This matter is of great importance. We can't let go of any clues. Even if it turns out to be a false alarm, you don't have to blame yourself. It's very common for us to come up empty-handed when investigating cases and arresting people..."
"Thank you, Master Xiao."
Xiao Ci glanced at the clepsydra: "I'm going to mobilize some people now, it will take some time, please wait here, I'll ask someone to bring you some lunch..." She came here at this hour, she probably didn't have lunch.
"I'm not hungry, Master Xiao," Shen Yunshu said stiffly, "I've already caused trouble for you by coming here today..."
“You’re welcome. It’s just simple food. Please don’t despise it, Madam Shen.”
"Won't……"
*
When Pei Huaian went to the second room for lunch at noon, he did not see Shen Yunshu, and there was only one set of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
Tinglan told him the reason. Pei Huaian learned that his mother-in-law had fallen and injured herself. He thought that as a son-in-law, he should go and visit her. Why didn't Sister Shu tell him?
He planned to ask for leave from his teacher, pick out some gifts, and go to Lu's house in the afternoon.
Tinglan saw what he was thinking and reminded him, "My dear, the young lady asked you to concentrate on your studies and not go out."
Pei Huaian always listened to Shen Yunshu. Since she wanted him to concentrate on his studies, she would wait until he finished his afternoon classes before going to the Lu family to pick her up.
Shen Youran took a nap, and the snow outside had just stopped, but the sky was gray and it looked like there was more snow to come.
However, it is not the coldest time yet, and the snowflakes melt as soon as they fall to the ground, lightly wetting the ground, which does not affect travel.
Shen Youran asked Danruo to pack her things. Qinghe brought a crane cloak and wrapped her tightly. He also stuffed a hot water bottle into her hand before sending her out.
When she went to Wuyi Lane, she did not ask the two maids to follow her. Pei Huaijin left Qingjian to her, and Qingjian drove her back and forth these days.
Qing Jian didn't like Liang Xu very much. Every time she saw her talking to Liang Xu, her face would become long and she would stare at them coldly.
However, Liang Qingluo was very interested in Qingjian and often talked about him with her in private, asking her why this servant was always so serious. But he looked very powerful, so was his martial arts skills very high?
Shen Youran didn't know if he was a skilled martial artist. She had only seen Qing Jian boxing, never hitting anyone. As for why he was always so serious, it was probably because he followed his master's lead...
When the carriage was halfway through its journey today, small snowflakes began to fall from the sky again.
Shen Youran was completely unaware in the carriage. When the carriage stopped at Wuyi Lane, she got out and discovered that Qing Jian's hair and eyebrows had turned white.
The snow was heavier than when they left.
Shen Youran handed him the hot water bottle in her hand and told him to go to the carriage to warm up for a while.
At this time, Liang Qingluo came late on horseback, his cloak rustling in the wind.
Liang Xu didn't come today. After she tied up the horse, she shivered and snuggled into Shen Youran's warm crane cloak.
"Sister Youran, I'm freezing to death..."
"Why are you riding a horse in such a cold weather?"
"My family's carriage was used by my father and sixth brother today. I left home late at noon and didn't have time to hire a carriage, so I just rode here..."
Shen Youran tidied up her hair that was messed up by the wind, wiped away the melted snow on her eyebrows and eyelashes, and then pulled her in.
The weather became a little colder in the afternoon, and strands of cool air seeped into the room through the window gaps.
Although the fire in the side room was burning brightly, Aunt Xiao dismissed the class two quarters of an hour early because the weather was bad today.
The fine snow was blown all over the place by the wind, forming a layer of white on the ground.
It was impossible to ride a horse in such weather. Shen Youran pulled Liang Qingluo onto her own carriage and asked Qingjian to take her back to the general's mansion first.
The Liang family's general's mansion was in Yong'anfang, and Shen Youran remembered that her mother also lived there.
Shen Youran hadn't seen her mother since the last time she went back home, so she couldn't help but miss her.
After sending Liang Qingluo back to the General's Mansion, Shen Youran asked Qing Jian to take a detour. When the carriage passed by the gate of Lu Mansion, it left two tracks.
Shen Youran lifted the curtain and took a look at the door of the Lu Mansion, sighing silently in her heart: If it weren't for that bastard Lu Yi, she would definitely be able to visit her mother at the Lu Mansion more often...
The alley was long and narrow. Because of the snow, few people were out and about. The rumbling of wheels on the gravel road mixed with the clatter of horse hooves, and the jolting of the carriage made me feel drowsy...
Suddenly, Qing Jian let out a startled cry, the horse neighed, and the sound of the wheels stopped abruptly.
The carriage shook violently, and the suspended copper lamp hit the wall. Shen Youran leaned forward suddenly. At the moment when the curtain was blown by the wind, he saw Qing Jian in front of the carriage stand up, replacing the whip in his hand with a soft sword drawn from his waist...
Under the carriage, many people with their faces covered with scarves suddenly appeared.
There was a fierce look in their eyes, and they came with ill intentions.
Shen Youran was suddenly startled, her five fingers clutching her dress tightly, and her voice was filled with panic: "Qing Jian..."
"Young Madam, don't get out of the car."
There was a slight movement in front of the car, and Qing Jian jumped down with a sword in hand.
Immediately, the sound of blades piercing the wind, the humming of swords trembling, and the biting cold wind, carrying blood and snow, drifted into the carriage...
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The author has something to say: Let's go through the plot, about three or four chapters [glasses]
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