Zhao Zhi wandered aimlessly around the mansion, feeling increasingly bored, and before she knew it, she had reached the mansion gate. Just as she stepped out, she saw Cui Jiu walking towards her from afar.
She suddenly remembered that Cui Shenghe had told her he lived in Zhan Garden behind Liujiang Street. She also remembered that she hadn't returned his gift yet.
“Miss Zhao, my young master invites you to his residence for a chat,” Cui Jiu said, bowing as he saw Zhao Zhi.
Zhao Zhi nodded. "Alright. It's been a long time since I last saw my brother, and I've missed him a bit. By the way, Cui Jiu, what kind of things does my brother usually like? It wouldn't be right for me to come empty-handed."
Cui Jiu beamed with joy upon hearing this, and whispered in her ear, "My young master loves painting. Why don't you paint a picture for him, young lady?"
Zhao Zhi turned and walked back into the mansion. "Then I'll go back and get my things."
Cui Jiu quickly grabbed her, "Miss, Zhan Garden has everything. You just need to go and see the people."
Zhan Garden was not far from the Zhao residence. The two walked leisurely and arrived in no time.
Zhao Yun followed the two at a distance. After seeing Zhao Zhi enter an old-fashioned garden with a man, she found a shady spot in the teahouse diagonally opposite and waited there.
Cui Jiu led Zhao Zhi through the covered walkway, turning left and right, until they arrived at a pavilion.
The pavilion was built on a lake, with gauze curtains hanging around it to block out the scorching sun.
Many water lilies are planted along the lakeside. They bloom with yellow flowers, stretching as far as the eye can see, like a jade ribbon floating on the lake.
Cui Shenghe had been waiting there for a long time.
When Zhao Zhi arrived, Cui Shenghe pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea in front of her and said, "It's just right. Try it, do you like it?"
Zhao Zhi nodded, took a small sip, and found the fragrance lingering on her lips and teeth, but it wasn't the kind of overpowering fragrance that would annoy people.
She hadn't tried it before. "It's delicious, I wonder what kind of tea it is?"
“This is the tribute tea of Yunchao—Shefu,” Cui Shenghe answered slowly, while his eyes were observing Zhao Zhi’s expression.
"A snake?" Zhao Zhi spat out the tea she had just drunk.
The next moment, she looked at Cui Shenghe, whose face was covered in spit, and immediately panicked.
"Brother, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Hearing the commotion inside, Cui Jiu, who was waiting outside, moved his feet, wanting to rush in and see what had happened, but remembering his young master's instructions, he forcibly kept his feet rooted to the spot.
"It's alright." Cui Shenghe calmly took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, gently dabbed it on his face, and then stood up, saying, "I'll pour Zhizhi another cup."
"No need," Zhao Zhi hurriedly pressed his hand down, saying embarrassedly, "I can do it myself, I can do it myself."
Cui Shenghe's gaze lingered on the hand that Zhao Zhi was holding down. Zhao Zhi followed his gaze and quickly withdrew her hand.
Cui Shenghe wondered: What just happened? Why am I not averse to physical intimacy with Zhizhi?
Zhao Zhi poured herself another cup, nervously holding the teacup, and asked, "Brother, have you been to Yunchao?"
Cui Shenghe nodded, "The 'snake belly' here refers to the desires of the mouth on the tip of the tongue, not just the snake mentioned in the mouth. You must have misunderstood just now."
He poured himself another cup and said, "This tongue was sold to the royal family of the Yun Dynasty by me for ten or twenty thousand gold coins."
"Ten or twenty thousand gold coins?" Zhao Zhi thought to herself, "Well, as expected, I don't understand the world of the rich."
She drank a few more glasses.
"The day I met you, brother, was near Shangluo Mountain. I heard that the bandits of Shangluo Mountain were slaughtered by a group of Yun Dynasty people that day. Did you suffer any harm at their hands, sister?"
Zhao Zhi suddenly felt that the tea in her mouth no longer tasted good.
She thought to herself, "Why is everyone looking for that box?"
She was certain that Shen Hanshan and Yun Chao's group's intentions were related to that map.
But what about Cui Shenghe? He's a businessman, a businessman who's richer than a country, why would he need a box?
She suddenly remembered that on the day she first met Cui Shenghe, he had said that she looked a lot like one of his relatives.
She tentatively asked, "Brother, are you related to the royal family of Yun Dynasty?"
Cui Shenghe was taken aback. "Why do you ask that, Zhizhi?"
Zhao Zhi pursed her lips, hesitated for a long time, then took out the portrait of the beauty that she had originally planned to discuss with the teacher from her bosom and handed it to Cui Shenghe, saying, "Brother, look at this person, doesn't she look a lot like me? Could she be the relative you're looking for?"
Cui Shenghe was stunned for a moment, then took the painting. When he saw the beauty in the painting, his nose tingled and his heart suddenly ached. He slumped into the chair, gasping for breath.
Zhao Zhi panicked.
She strode to Cui Shenghe's side, placed her hand on his wrist, and patiently guided him, "Brother, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, yes, just like that."
After a while, Cui Shenghe's emotions calmed down a little.
He grabbed Zhao Zhi's wrist, his eyes red, and asked urgently, "Zhizhi, where did you get these paintings? I've been searching for them for so many years, so many years."
Zhao Zhi struggled to pull her wrist away, but Cui Shenghe pressed her down into a chair. Then, she vaguely heard a clear sound of a copper bell, and then she knew nothing more.
Half an hour later, Cui Shenghe called Cui Jiu in.
Cui Jiu stared in astonishment as he looked at Zhao Zhi, who was fast asleep in Cui Shenghe's arms.
"Young master, are you a germaphobe? Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's alright. Cui Jiu, quickly prepare a room for Zhizhi to rest in," Cui Shenghe instructed, and Cui Jiu obeyed and left.
Shortly after, Cui Jiu came over and said that the room had been cleaned up.
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