Chapter 27: Heartbroken Jiang Tong still felt a bit...
In order to prevent the ointment from staining the calligraphy and painting, Jiang Tong sat on Su Guanqing's bed.
Su Guanqing stood in front of her, holding her hand, and gently and carefully wiped each of her fingers with a warm handkerchief.
Then he scooped a dollop of ointment and carefully applied it to her fingertips.
Jiang Tong thought there would be a tingling sensation, but the place where she touched it was a little cold, and there was no pain, only a numb feeling. As Su Guanqing's fingers moved one by one, the feeling gently landed on her fingertips, and then ran along her fingertips to the tip of her heart.
Jiang Tong had lived two lives as a human being, an experience she had never had before. She suddenly panicked and clenched her five fingers into a fist.
When she moved, Su Guanqing's finger touched nothing.
He froze for a moment, thinking he had misremembered the direction, so he used his other hand to feel around: "Tongtong, where is your hand?"
Jiang Tong didn't say anything, but just put her hand in his.
The ointment continued to be applied to her fingertips. As Su Guanqing moved, her fingers trembled and her heart trembled as well.
The study was extremely quiet, but Jiang Tong felt his heartbeat was deafening.
Zhong Wanci hurried in to see Su Guanqing wrapping a thin strip of cloth around Jiang Tong's fingertips. Her daughter, always as domineering as a little tiger, now restrained her fangs and quietly allowed Su Guanqing to bandage her.
Su Guanqing held her hand in his own, as if he were holding some rare treasure, with a focused expression and careful movements.
The indescribable atmosphere between the two of them made Zhong Wanci's already ugly expression even uglier, but Su Guanqing was sent by her after all, so she had no right to say anything. She just pursed her lips and said nothing.
Zhong Wanci's entrance broke the silence in the room. Jiang Tong breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason. She turned to Zhong Wanci and asked, "Mom? What's wrong?"
Zhong Wanci came back to her senses and scolded, "You are already a grown-up, and I applied the medicine myself when I was young, and you still bother me, Guan Qing!"
Jiang Tong felt extremely wronged. She didn't want to apply the medicine in the first place!
Su Guanqing said hurriedly, "I was the one who insisted on applying the medicine to Tongtong. I've injured my fingers playing the piano before, so I have experience in how to wrap fingers without affecting my work."
When he spoke in defense, Zhong Wanci felt that they were one and she was the outsider, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
But she opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. In the end, she just said, "Come here after you finish applying the medicine. Mom has something to tell you," and turned and left.
Su Guanqing could hear Zhong Wanyu's anxious tone and quickly quickened his pace. He wrapped everything up quickly and asked with a smile, "Do you think it's okay?"
Jiang Tong moved her fingers and saw that her ten fingers were like wearing ten small and cute hats. Sure enough, it didn't affect her movements. She couldn't help but laugh: "It's pretty good."
After finishing this, she went into the main house to find Zhong Wanci.
"Mom, what do you want from me?"
Zhong Wanci sat in front of the dressing mirror, holding the land deeds in her hands, looking anxious. When she saw her daughter come in, she said:
"Something happened! Two of the land deeds that Jiang Huaiyan had brought back earlier are missing!"
"Are you sure you counted correctly?"
"How could I be wrong? I've counted them dozens of times!" Zhong Wanci handed the land deeds to her daughter. "Originally there were eight, but now there are only six!"
Jiang Tong took it in her hand and counted it. There were indeed only six left. She looked up and asked, "Where did you put it?"
Zhong Wanci pointed to the dressing table in front of her and said, "I put it in here. I check it every day, and it was in there last night. How could a thief sneak into our house in broad daylight?"
Jiang Tong looked at the dressing cabinet. The cabinet was Zhong Wanci's dowry. The woodwork was very delicate. When the small drawer inside was opened, there was a secret compartment with a lock. The lock was intact and there was no sign of it being pried open.
Zhong Wanci suddenly lowered her voice: "Tongtong, do you think it could be your disciple?"
"Don't make wild guesses. Queshen has been by my side from morning to night. It can't be her."
"If it's not her, who else could it be? It can't be Guan Qing, right?" Zhong Wanci turned around in confusion, "Why isn't your father here at this moment?"
"Of course Dad is not here, because he is the one who got the land deed." Jiang Tong said in a heavy tone.
Zhong Wanci froze when she heard this: "No way?"
But she quickly realized: "Yes, only your father can get my key, only he..."
Then he became angry again: "Tell me, is he still thinking about saving that Jiang Ming? Is he getting naive? He doesn't care about his own family, but has to care about outsiders! Or, in his eyes, Jiang Ming is his Jiang family member, and we mother and daughter are outsiders!"
As she spoke and cursed, her voice began to cry.
Jiang Tong immediately thought of what A Qiao said. If Jiang Huaishan's indulgence of Jiang Tong's debauchery was all a cover, then what on earth did he do with the money?
If someone had something on him, why did he have to hide it from the mother and daughter?
"Mom, does Dad have any bad habits?"
"Ah?" Zhong Wanci looked at Jiang Tong with a pair of rabbit-like red eyes.
"Like eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and so on?"
"Your father is a decent man! How could he do such a thing!"
"What about keeping a concubine?"
Zhong Wanci's eyes widened: "Nonsense! How could your father have a mistress?"
...He doesn't have any bad habits, so what did he do with all the money he took away?
Jiang Tong really wanted to ask Jiang Huaishan directly, but since Jiang Huaishan was trying so hard to keep it a secret from her and her daughter, she would not get the truth by asking directly, and it would only alert the enemy. It seemed that she could only wait for news from Aqiao.
When Jiang Tong thought of this, he hugged Zhong Wanci and comforted her with a few words, telling her not to argue with Jiang Huaishan later, just pretend he didn't find out, and talk about it later. He also took away the remaining land deeds, saying he would keep them for himself.
Zhong Wanci didn't object either.
Before leaving, Jiang Tong turned around and asked, "Is anyone cultivating these fields right now?"
Zhong Wanci recalled for a moment and said, "Jiang Huaiyan said that there are already tenant farmers tending the fields."
Jiang Tong understood in her heart that the remaining land was just enough for their family to eat. It seemed that her father had considered something when he took the land deed.
She said nothing more and took the land deed back to her room to put it away before walking towards the study.
When comforting Zhong Wanci, she appeared calm and composed, but a myriad of thoughts were already tangled in her heart.
Compared with the mood when I applied the medicine just now, it was like heaven and earth apart.
Now she only wanted to see Su Guanqing. Even if she couldn't tell him about these troubles, just talking to him would make her feel better.
As soon as she stepped into the study, the first thing she did was to look for Su Guanqing. However, when her eyes fell on the bed, she was stunned - Su Guanqing was not in the room.
Jiang Tong's heart seemed to be empty in an instant. She looked towards the bedside eagerly. The bamboo stick that Su Guanqing often used was leaning against the wall. It seemed that he had not left the house.
Jiang Tong asked Zhao Quesheng, "Where is Guan Qing?"
Zhao Quesheng was concentrating on his training. He looked up blankly when he heard this: "I didn't hear any sound."
Jiang Tong took a deep breath, suppressed the urge to look for him, and returned to his chair and sat down: "Ignore him, let's continue."
"yes."
However, for some reason, without Su Guanqing, Jiang Tong couldn't concentrate. His mind was full of thoughts about whether he would fall or bump into something without his bamboo stick. He even tried to adjust the color several times, but it was either too light or too heavy, and it didn't work.
Just when her anxiety reached its peak, a dark green figure flashed outside the door, and Su Guanqing finally appeared at the door.
Like a cool moon appearing on a hot summer night, its bright moonlight spread across the sky and earth, and her restless mood suddenly calmed down.
Su Guanqing did not come in immediately, but asked softly at the door: "Quesheng, is your teacher back?"
Although his tone was his usual gentle and polite, there was an added layer of alienation and indifference in his expression.
That was an expression Jiang Tong had never seen on Su Guanqing's face.
Although she knew that it wasn't directed at her, Jiang Tong still felt a sense of inexplicable grievance in her heart. She asked fiercely, "I've been back for a long time. Where have you been?"
As soon as Su Guanqing heard her voice, the coldness on his face disappeared instantly.
"I'll go wash the towel I just used." Su Guanqing stepped in with a soft tone.
She frowned and started to pick a fight: "Why don't you use a bamboo stick? What if you fall?"
He still smiled and replied, "No, I'm very familiar with the house. I won't fall."
Before, Jiang Huaishan was bedridden and Zhong Wanci took care of him personally. The couple hardly left the house, and Jiang Tong also stayed in the study. In fact, he was the one who took care of the entire Jiang house. He was familiar with the structure of the courtyard and knew where various things were placed. He could come and go freely without using a bamboo stick to find his way.
"Who says you can be complacent just because you're familiar with something?" Jiang Tong glanced over and saw Zhao Quesheng timidly looking up at him. He then acted like a grandmaster and said, "Quesheng, remember, during the restoration process, you must never have the mentality of thinking that you can't make mistakes just because you've done it a thousand times. If you're not careful enough, a masterpiece could be ruined in your hands at any time!"
Zhao Quesheng was secretly watching the fun, but unexpectedly the topic suddenly turned to him. He was startled and quickly lowered his head and replied "Yes".
Seeing Zhao Quesheng's trembling silence, Jiang Tong belatedly realized that her tone and expression had been somewhat harsh, but Guan Qing...
She looked up and saw Su Guanqing walking towards his bed. He still looked calm and didn't show any displeasure at her inexplicable anger. It was as if no matter how she treated him, he was happy with it.
Su Guanqing didn't know Jiang Tong was looking at him. He readily reached for his bamboo stick and held it in his hand. Then he turned his head towards her and asked, "Tongtong, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
He stood there and didn't sit down, as if he would do it immediately as long as Jiang Tong gave an order.
Jiang Tong couldn't find anything else to nitpick, so he said, "It's nothing. I just have to go out to the fields to check on the situation after I finish repairing this painting. You can accompany me then."
It was as if a star fell into his eyes, and his dark pupils suddenly lit up.
The light was so insignificant, yet so dazzling that Jiang Tong opened his eyes unconsciously. He picked up the brush and put it into the water basin to wash it, making it even more obvious.
It was at this moment that the word "good" with an upward ending tone came into her ears through the sound of gurgling water.
Jiang Tong said nothing more, and continued painting. This time, her thoughts were no longer in turmoil. It wasn't until the sun gradually set that she breathed a sigh of relief and put down her brush.
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