Theatrical siblings
The subtle fragrance of pomegranate blossoms drifted into the tent, but Xu, knowing he disliked it, closed the tent curtains tightly.
The jasmine fragrance of the cloud-patterned sachet is soothing.
"Do you want to play this afternoon?"
"I'm not going, I'm exhausted," Sui Zhixu said lazily, nestled on the couch.
"You came here just to rest? The months have worn you out and you've lost all your energy." Chaoyang said casually, propping his head up with one hand and picking up a piece of candied fruit from the table to eat in small bites.
Sui Zhixu didn't really want to hear Yueling's name right now, so she pulled the blanket up with both hands to cover her head completely.
"I want to die."
Life is meaningless enough, and having to study makes me want to die even more.
Sima Xian, could you please hurry up and die? If he dies, she will die immediately.
"If you die, who will the Sui family head pass the position to?"
After Xu remained silent, he lifted the blanket, looked up at the ceiling, and slowly said, "I'll die in a while."
This amused Chaoyang, who nudged her with his elbow and chuckled, "I must introduce you to A-Guan. He's quite interesting too. Oh, by the way, A-Guan is the prince consort's twin brother and A-Wan's second cousin. He's been very interesting since he was little, and you don't need to worry about his looks. He's one of the most handsome young men in Chang'an."
“No need. I don’t think Madam Chu wants to see her two sons, the elder becoming a prince consort and the younger one having to marry into the family,” Sui Zhixu said, slapping her arm away without expression.
Romantic entanglements are the most troublesome thing. Dealing with one nagging, spoiled, and crybaby Fan Lingzhang is troublesome enough; she doesn't want to have to deal with another one.
I politely declined.
Chaoyang thought about it and agreed. She had already taken her mother-in-law's eldest son into the palace, so she couldn't let her second son be bullied anymore. No matter how good-tempered a person is, they can't accept that both of their sons have been taken away by someone else.
But she said, "It's good to get to know more men. It'll be beneficial for you. Who says a wife can't get to know a few men? It would be terrible to marry someone without knowing any men. You should broaden your horizons. Besides, if I take Da Lang away, my mother-in-law will be counting on Er Lang to inherit the family business. The Chu family is a prominent clan in Jiannan."
Chaoyang squinted and patted Sui Zhixu's shoulder, "There are benefits, right, young master?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't like him. What kind of person do you like? Almost all the prominent young men in Chang'an come to my polo match. Take your pick, and I'll arrange it for you."
Chaoyang grinned mischievously.
Sui Zhixu turned his head and closed his eyes, utterly bored.
At this moment, the female official beside Chaoyang lifted the door couplet and came to the two of them.
"Princess, something has happened to Lady Cui."
Sui Zhixu and Chaoyang sat up straight at the same time. "What happened?"
—
Cui Family Camp
"Ahhh, you mean you tried to save the hero but ended up hurting yourself? Cui Awan, you're something else. You teased Yu Shao so much that you lost your mind and didn't even care about your own body."
As soon as Xu entered the Cui family's tent, he saw Cui Wan lying on the bed with her legs tightly wrapped in thick bandages, and her slender back.
"Second cousin! Oh, please stop talking, I know I was wrong, next time..."
"You want a next time?"
"No, no." Cui Wan couldn't move her legs, but she shook her head like a rattle-drum. "There won't be a next time, I promise! I swear!"
Cui Wan raised three fingers and swore to the heavens, "I, Cui Wan, swear to the heavens once again..."
"Instead of wasting time making oaths, you should focus on getting better. Do you think you can just make oaths like that?" Chaoyang walked up to Cui Wan with a stern face.
"Greetings, Princess."
Chaoyang didn't want to see Cui Wan bowing with her leg broken, so he frowned, waved his hand, and sat on the edge of the bed, asking his husband beside him, "Second Brother, tell me, where did Cui Wan go? She's injured like this."
Ning Yan and Pei Qinglian rushed over and went to Sui Zhixu's side. Together they listened to Erlang vividly reenact how Cui Wan saved Xi Yushao from being bullied by the other young men on horseback. The horse went crazy, and Cui Wan fell off the horse with him while trying to save him. Xi Yushao was not seriously injured, but Cui Wan broke her leg.
After saying that, Chu Shiguan couldn't help but scold Cui Wan, "Did your brain get hit by your uncle's pot or slammed in a door when you went out? What makes you think you're so great?"
"Does a rough, unrefined man like him need your help?"
"You think you're a servant of the princess, that you're dead? Why are you trying to act tough?"
"You're so skinny, now look what's happened. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, so you'll have to stay in bed. He's perfectly fine; he'll be sent out in a few days, and from then on, we'll be far apart, never to see each other again!"
Chu Shiguan was speaking enthusiastically, but Cui Wan had long since grown impatient. She covered her ears with her pillow and muttered, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you."
"Ah Guan, that's enough." A young man who looked similar to Chu Shi Guan entered the tent and gently dissuaded him.
Sui Zhixu guessed that he was Chu Shize, the eldest son of the Chu family and the son-in-law of Chaoyang.
"Aze, you've arrived."
Sui Zhixu tugged at Chaoyang's sleeve and walked over to Chu Shize.
"Danhong, go check on Awan. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself in other places after falling off the horse." Sui Zhixu said coldly, looking up to signal Danhong.
Dan Hong knelt down to take Cui Wan's pulse, then examined her legs again before standing up and returning to Sui Zhixu's side, nodding.
Xu nodded slightly and turned to face Cui Wan, "You should stay in the Cui residence and recuperate. As for Xi Yushao's matter, Minister Cui and Lady Chu will handle it themselves, so you don't need to worry."
Ning Yan pulled Pei Qinglian behind her and chimed in, "You don't trust them? Madam Chu dotes on you, she certainly won't make things difficult for him."
“But your coming-of-age ceremony is coming up soon.” Cui Wan grabbed Sui Zhixu’s hand.
Sui Zhixu patted him back, saying, "It's alright, it's good that you meant well."
"Don't worry, I'll go even if I have to be pushed in a wheelchair."
As Xu Zhixu's voice was gentler than usual, sounding extremely tender, Cui Wan couldn't help but wrap her upper body around her.
Seeing Cui Wan nestled in Sui Zhixu's arms, everyone exchanged glances.
Sui Zhixu: Keep her calm first.
Everyone: We understand.
Chu Shiguan was a little stunned, but quickly realized what was happening and gave her a firm look.
Cui Wan was flattered by Sui Zhixu's rare gentleness and couldn't help but chatter away with him.
The others also quietly withdrew.
Almost instantly, everyone's expression darkened.
Ning Yan retorted sarcastically, "You're really something else."
Pei Qinglian sneered and remained silent.
Chaoyang and Chu Shiguan's words were also barbed, and Chu Shize, like a good-natured person, tried to smooth things over on both sides.
Chaoyang said coldly, "Chu Shize, stop spinning. It's giving me a headache."
"My wife." Chu Shize smiled. Unlike his twin brother Chu Shize, who had a youthful air, he was calm and gentle, and his smile was like a spring breeze.
“Cui Wan is not young anymore and should know about things outside, instead of being immersed in the inner quarters. She only sees beautiful things and doesn’t think the outside world is as good as she imagines. She thinks the Sima family are good people, all because of the two of you spoiling her. I, Chaoyang, have been an upright person for many years, and I’ve had enough of meeting you.” Chaoyang turned and left.
Chu Shize chuckled, glared at his younger brother, and hurriedly caught up.
"Ah Qiao, Ah Qiao, wait for me, my wife..."
Ning Yan and Pei Qinglian pondered in their hearts, each looking for ways to investigate the Xi family siblings. The Cheng family banquet might have been an accident, but was the second one also an accident?
That's a lie.
Chu Shiguan was alone outside the tent, touching the tip of his nose, when he suddenly smelled a delicate jasmine fragrance.
Dan Hong lifted the curtain, and Sui Zhixu walked out and left, his pale blue figure flashing past her eyes.
It flew away as a bluebird, but Chu Shiguan still smelled a faint jasmine fragrance on the tip of his nose.
The jasmine, so languid and unapproachable, could it possibly bloom in winter? Chu Shiguan's throat bobbed, feeling like he was going crazy, forgetting all common sense. Apart from the rare winter plum blossoms that bloom in winter, what other flowers could survive the coldest months?
Chu Shiguan suppressed the pounding in his heart, but the pale blue figure lingered in his mind.
"My lady, what should we do next? Or should I..." Danhong made a choking motion, her face contorted with rage.
It means to poison him.
Sui Zhixu shook his head, "A first-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)."
As Su Zhixu rubbed her knuckles, her cold, stern face and serious expression made her sense something was amiss.
Prince Xuanping is cunning and scheming. Would someone like him place his chess piece on such an eye-catching position as the center?
Her eyelashes trembled slightly as her gaze fell upon the tent of Prince Xuanping. Xi Yuzhen happened to be walking out of it. If Xi Yuzhen hadn't bowed her head, she would have been a beautiful young lady.
Sui Zhixu's lips curled up. She was quite bold, knowing that she had no evidence to prove that they were the ones who did it in the middle of the night.
"It's getting late, Danhong, pack up and go home. It's your wife's coming-of-age ceremony in a few days."
Sui Zhixu's tone was somewhat unpleasant, and Dan Hong couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling; it was eerie, and her perfectly fine wife seemed to have gained a ghostly aura.
As Xu Zhixu's thoughts raced, she touched the cold metal casing of the sleeve arrow, feeling a slight chill envelop her.
She liked the feel of it; it helped her concentrate better on her next steps.
Will Prince Xuanping attend my coming-of-age ceremony?
—
"My lord, I saw it!" Afu hurriedly entered the tent with a copper basin and whispered in Fan Lingzhang's ear.
"Are you sure?" Fan Lingzhang was very cautious about this matter.
"Three years ago, A-Lu followed them to the Thirteen Territories and saw that big, clumsy guy. He only recently found them in that Hu Ji Tavern. A-Lu has seen the Princess Consort and Lady Gu before, so he won't mistake them."
"I just saw a lady enter the Princess Consort's tent. She was wearing a light purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and there was a Hu woman beside her. She was of medium height, about the same height as the county princess. Although I only saw half of her face, she was definitely not a famous lady from Chang'an. She had a baby face, and I couldn't tell how old she was."
Hu Ji, the princess's bedchamber attendant, with a baby face...
It's unlikely that the Princess Consort would marry Sima An off to someone else, given his baby face.
Fan Lingzhang remembered someone—the cousin of the Prince of Xuanping, surnamed Ye.
After his wedding to A-Ling, he returned to his parents' home. According to the customs of Chang'an, elders also have a certain status in the family, and the groom must pay his respects and offer greetings in accordance with etiquette.
The population on Lu Gong's side was simple, and since Lu Kou's mother was the Princess of Runan County, Fan Lingzhang met mostly people from the Xuanping County Prince's side.
Fan Lingzhang remembered mentioning Lady Ye, saying that she had a unique face that was not noticeable even though she was in her early thirties.
Especially since Lady Ye had no parents, mainly because they died during the change of power in the court, her only two relatives in the world were her cousin, Prince Xuanping, and A-Ling's mother.
It is said that she was free-spirited and unwilling to marry, so the Prince of Xuanping kept her in his residence.
But when Fan Lingzhang returned home, he didn't see her. A Ling explained to him that Lady Ye had gone home to worship her ancestors.
After that, Fan Lingzhang never saw him again.
Fan Lingzhang rubbed the jade pendant at his waist with his fingertips, and thought leisurely that he should give the jade pendant to A Ling, or the sachet, so that he could see A Ling again next time.
"Wait a bit longer. It's easy to alert them now."
Afu pouted and stood beside Fan Lingzhang without saying a word.
Fan Lingzhang retorted irritably, "You think I don't want to avenge Alu? I don't have much martial arts skill, do you?"
Afu shook his head.
"That's settled then. A-Lu is already injured, not to mention the two of us. It's possible that one of us will die if we go. Do you dare to go?"
Afu shook his head again.
Fan Lingzhang ignored him, crossed his hands behind his head, casually bent one leg, and lazily stretched out the other, completely disregarding his manners.
"Let me think about it. The enmity between us and them runs deep. We can't just ignore it. We need to find a way to settle it properly."
A smile still lingered on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"After all, we are just businessmen. What else would businessmen know?"
Afu understood. "Young master, I knew you had a way. You are amazing, truly worthy of being a member of the Fan family! You are truly..."
Fan Lingzhang closed his eyes, not wanting to see him. "Stop talking nonsense! Get out. You're always so impulsive. Let me make some more careful arrangements first."
"yes!"
His wife's coming-of-age ceremony is coming up soon, and he needs to think about what gift to give her.
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