Chapter Eleven: Peach Blossom Curse
Jingwu looked at the cotton-padded coat handed to him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"For me?"
Shao Che nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Wearing new clothes is a festive occasion. Awu, the harvest at home wasn't good this year, but luckily we still have some cotton left over, enough to make a set of cotton-padded clothes for the four of you children."
Jingwu touched the meticulous stitches on the clothes, his eyebrows curving into a smile: "Thank you, Uncle, thank you, Aunt."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Ruan Chongyue paused in her work, a smile appearing in her eyes.
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and my older cousin Shao Chengrui returned before the New Year's Eve dinner. The family sat at the table, chatting happily.
Jingwu took a meat pie, eating it while sizing up the boy in front of him.
At eighteen years old, he wore a blue cotton coat, had a handsome face, and exuded a scholarly air.
She looked closely at his face, her expression showing surprise.
All three sons of the Shao family are destined for greatness; each has an excellent career and will surely rise to the highest ranks of officialdom.
Judging from his appearance alone, he is destined to be afflicted by a "peach blossom curse," which, though not affecting his career or life, will certainly cause him considerable trouble if not stopped.
Jingwu thought for a moment and decided that after finishing his meal, he would draw a talisman to ward off unwanted romantic advances and have him keep it close to his body.
With that in mind, after finishing her meal, she helped her aunt clear the table, then went upstairs, drew a talisman, and went downstairs to find Shao Chengrui.
Jingwu searched everywhere before finally finding Shao Chengrui and Shao Che in the backyard, where the two were sitting on a rock talking.
Shao Che looked at his son and asked seriously, "Rui'er, the girl you like is the daughter of your academy's teacher. Does she really not mind that our family is poor?"
“Father, she said she didn’t mind. The teacher also said that as long as I pass the provincial examination this year, he will personally arrange our wedding.” Shao Chengrui said with a smile, his handsome face flushed.
Upon hearing this, Shao Che remained silent for a long time before standing up and saying, "In that case, your father will rent two more acres of land this year to save up more dowry for you. We can't let the girl suffer."
"Thank you, Father." Shao Chengrui's smile widened, and he said excitedly, "Don't worry, Father, I will also copy books and write letters for others in my spare time to earn money and ease your burden."
Shao Che patted him on the shoulder: "Study hard, and your father will figure out a way to handle these things."
Listening to this conversation, Jingwu knew in his heart that the person they were talking about was that rotten peach blossom.
Judging from his appearance, my cousin's true love will only appear when he achieves success in his career. If this marriage doesn't happen, it will actually affect his luck.
She walked forward, pondering how to begin, when Shao Che said with a smile, "Once you pass the imperial examination, I'll have A-Wu match your birth dates and pick an auspicious day so we can get married happily."
Jingwu opened his mouth and then said, "Uncle, my cousin's face indicates that his true love will appear in five years."
"What?" Shao Che was taken aback, then asked, "Awu, do you mean this girl isn't Rui'er's destined partner?"
Jingwu nodded.
At this point, Shao Che unconditionally trusted his niece, so he looked up at the person in front of him and asked, "Rui'er, do you want to reconsider this marriage?"
Although Shao Chengrui had heard his two younger brothers talk about Jingwu's deeds, he hadn't witnessed them himself, so he only believed half of what they said. Now, seeing his father say this, he hesitated.
Looking at his expression, Jingwu guessed what was going on and asked with a smile, "Big cousin, what do you like about that girl?"
Shao Chengrui was about to speak when he hesitated. Yes, what was it about her that he liked?
Talent? Appearance? Temperament?
One by one, his good points popped into his mind, but he crossed them all out.
Shao Chengrui didn't know what he liked about her; he only knew that there was a command in his mind guiding him to like her.
All he knows now is that he really likes Awan and wants to marry her.
“Cousin, this person is not your destined partner, but rather a cursed lover. I just did a divination, and the person in her heart is not you, but the magistrate’s son who is by your side. She just wants to use you as a tool to marry into the magistrate’s household.” Jingwu continued without pausing as he watched his face grow darker and darker.
“If she succeeds, the magistrate’s son will definitely be angry with you, which will affect the provincial examination, and you will have to wait another three years, cousin.”
Upon hearing this, Shao Chengrui's expression immediately turned serious. He thought for a long time before saying, "Awu, this is no small matter. Let me think about it carefully."
Seeing the solemn look on his face, Jingwu guessed what was going on and handed him the talisman: "Cousin, keep this talisman close to your body. It can protect you from a calamity."
The moment Shao Chengrui received the talisman, the restlessness in his heart vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented calm.
He tucked the talisman into his chest, kept it close to his body, and thanked the girl with a smile: "Thank you, Awu, I will keep it close to my body."
After seeing that he had put it away, Jingwu didn't say anything more, turned around and went back to the pavilion to sleep. The spiritual energy was thin tonight, so he could get a good night's sleep.
Shao Chengrui slept on a makeshift bed on the floor in his younger brother's room. He had something on his mind and didn't sleep all night.
The next day, Jingwu got up at dawn as usual and did morning exercises with the Shao brothers, Shao Chengyang and Shao Chengmin.
Afterwards, she returned to the attic, recited a cleansing spell, wiped away the sweat from her body, and changed into the new blue cotton coat.
She put it on and found it fit perfectly, and went downstairs in a happy mood.
Jingwu went into the kitchen and helped Ruan Chongyue with her cooking.
Looking at the boiling chicken soup in the pot, I couldn't help but swallow.
Looking at her like this, Ruan Chongyue smiled indulgently, took a bowl, ladled out a bowl of chicken soup, and handed it to her.
"Try it first, be careful not to burn your tongue."
Jingwu immediately smiled, overjoyed: "Thank you, Aunt."
She couldn't wait to blow on it to cool it down, took a sip, and felt extremely satisfied.
After eating sweet potato rice soup for so long before the Lunar New Year, I finally got to drink chicken soup during the holiday.
Chinese New Year is so great!
After lunch, Jingwu consulted the oracle and then said to Shao Che, who wanted to rent land, "Uncle, your wealth star is in the southwest direction, and your aunt's wealth star is in the southeast direction."
Upon hearing this, Shao Che immediately understood. He quickly took the money and went to find the owner of the land in those two directions, and rented the land.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Shao Che's family was going to visit Ruan Chongyue's parents' home. He turned around to ask Jing Wu if he wanted to come along, but Jing Wu refused.
"Uncle, I have a business visit today and can't go with you."
Seeing this, Shao Che had no choice but to give up.
Jingwu was not lying; he did indeed have business coming in today.
Sure enough, not long after, a man and a woman walked into their yard.
Jingwu looked at the approaching maid Jing'er and was not surprised: "You've come."
A hint of surprise flashed across Jing'er's face, then she smiled, took out the silver note, and said respectfully.
"Master, your divination was very accurate. This is a thank-you gift from my daughter. Please accept it."
Jingwu didn't stand on ceremony. He took the note and saw that it was a ten-tael silver note. He smiled and said, "You came to see me for more than just this, didn't you?"
Jing'er looked up in surprise, not expecting that the master even knew this.
Then he introduced the person next to him: "This is the Wei family's steward. All the shops on South Street belong to the Wei family. He has come to see you today."
Jing'er smiled and explained that she didn't know why the Wei family was looking for the master, but she heard that the Wei family was haunted, so she hurriedly went to the master and asked him to find the master's residence no matter what. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, she took the Wei steward to the master's house.
Upon hearing this, Butler Wei stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said respectfully, "Master, our master invites you."
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