Chapter 7 Exposing Red Lips
To express her gratitude to the old lady, Yu Wenxue decided to personally... find someone to cook a pastry for her.
It doesn't matter who did it, what matters is that she delivered it herself, so as to show sincerity.
When Ziyun saw her going out looking like this again, she quickly said "Hey" a few times: "Miss, you should at least dress up a bit before going out."
"I'm fine like this." Yu Wenxue turned around in front of the mirror, confident in her beauty.
Or is it that they have different aesthetic tastes?
Ziyun's attitude was assertive: "You dress so plainly every day, people who don't know better might think that I, as your maid, am not doing my job well."
“That’s true.” Yu Wenxue glanced at it casually, picked up the rouge on the table, and applied a little to her lips. “This time it’s fine.”
Chef Li, who runs the small kitchen, is a chubby middle-aged man who always has a smile on his face.
He was used to the girls' little schemes to please the old lady and the marquis, and he did not show favoritism but simply followed his duty.
After thanking him, Yu Wenxue headed towards the old lady's courtyard, following her previous memory.
As soon as I stepped out of the small kitchen, I heard a spoiled female voice: "Some people think they're so high and mighty on the surface, but aren't they just like us behind our backs?"
Looking in the direction of the sound, Chen Yuru was wearing a sky-blue, wide-sleeved gauze dress, the fabric reflecting shimmering light in the sunlight.
She didn't know where this Miss Chen's hostility towards her came from, and she didn't have time to argue with her, so she gave a polite smile and said, "Excuse me, Sister Chen, could you move aside?"
Chen Yuru fanned herself, her tone contemptuous: "You're just a bit pretty. Don't think that just because the Marquis rejected my sachet, he'll take a liking to you. Your father gambled away the family fortune, and your mother used her dowry to protect your brother. If it weren't for the old lady's kindness in taking you in, you'd probably be sold to some brothel by now."
This was the first time Yu Wenxue had heard about her "parents" from someone else.
A gambling father and a mother who favors sons over daughters—it's a perfect setup for cannon fodder.
"So?" she asked.
Chen Yuru was surprised by her calm expression, and even her prepared sarcasm was useless. She said angrily, "I'm advising you not to overestimate yourself. The Marquis is in love with the Lin family's daughter and will not like you."
Yu Wenxue was overjoyed: "Oh, that's wonderful!"
She saved herself some trouble.
Chen Yuru: "......"
Playing the lute to a cow!
Seeing that she wouldn't listen to reason, he stomped his foot and went back.
*
A faint floral fragrance filled the air.
When she arrived at the abandoned courtyard, Yu Wenxue couldn't help but stop. The gate was wide open, and she looked inside.
She hadn't seen Gu Yun Shen for several days since that day at Cangwu Mountain, and she didn't know what he was doing.
Forget it, why bother thinking about him? As long as she doesn't cause trouble for Gu Rongting and Lin Qingwan, she can still get along with him peacefully.
But......
His courtyard is far too dilapidated; doesn't he have a single servant to clean it?
Even the young ladies have several servants to wait on them in their courtyards. He, the second young master of the Marquis's mansion, is treated worse than an outsider like her.
Just then, Gu Yun Shen came out of the room, and the first thing he saw was her pair of luscious red lips.
Their eyes met briefly in the air before looking away.
Yu Wenxue quickened her pace, taking two steps at a time as she walked towards Hanbai Courtyard.
Mind your own business and do more tasks.
Gu Yun Shen slowly withdrew his gaze, his fingertips tapping the hilt of his sword.
Guan Nan jumped out from a hidden spot and said respectfully, "Young master, the medicine doctor said that there is no such medicine that can bring the dead back to life."
"No...?" Gu Yun Shen said in a low voice.
“I’ve investigated. Miss Yu’s heart condition was congenital. Because she’s a girl and frail, she was never valued by her family and was abandoned at a farm near Jingshan Temple. Some time ago, her father gambled away all the family’s wealth, and the farm was sold as well. Her mother ran away with the remaining dowry and her two sons…” Guan Nan sighed. “They planned to sell Miss Yu to a brothel, but the old lady found out and brought her to the capital.”
After saying a lot in one breath, Guan Nan realized that his master didn't seem to be listening. Feeling sorry for Yu Wenxue, he added a few more words: "Perhaps it is the feng shui of the capital that is good for people. I think her illness has improved a lot. She is not as weak as she was when she first arrived. She looks no different from an ordinary person."
Gu Yun Shen toyed with the peach blossom that had fallen into his palm and chuckled, "Mind your own business."
"When did I ask you to inquire about these things?"
Guan Nan choked.
Why did you listen to it even though you didn't want to?
If you didn't want to listen, why didn't you interrupt earlier?
He muttered to himself, "You brought her back twice, and I thought..."
"What did you think?"
"It's nothing." Guan Nan dared not presume to guess his master's meaning. The sketchbook hidden in his arms became a little hot to the touch, and he didn't know whether he should take it out or not.
Gu Yunshen noticed the unusual thing in his arms and asked, "Did you hide something?"
"This matter concerns Miss Yu. If you're not interested, then don't worry about it."
Guan Nan naturally dared not speak only after seeing it.
Filthy! Explicit! Unbearable to look at!
Although the social customs of this dynasty are open, it is still rare for a delicate young lady to do such a thing. The figure in the painting is lifelike and looks exactly like her master.
He dared not think any further.
Gu Yun Shen, however, became interested: "I can't look at her things?"
"No, it's just that please don't be angry when you see this."
He was afraid of getting his blood splattered all over him!
Guan Nan thought to himself.
A gentle breeze lifted a corner of the picture book, which Gu Yun Shen took and casually flipped to a page.
The figures in the painting overlap, their clothes barely covering their bodies, yet their outlines are clearly visible within them.
The small mole at the corner of her eye was depicted with cinnabar, making it even more captivating.
With a "thud," the picture album was thrown onto the stone table.
"Looks like someone doesn't want to live anymore."
Guan Nan glanced at Gu Yun Shen's expression and saw that his face was calm, but his seemingly peaceful gaze gradually hardened.
But those who know him well will notice that his slender fingers are rubbing his wrist, and the mechanism hidden under the white cloth is opening and closing, exuding a frightening and ruthless aura.
Those were concealed weapons used to kill.
Guan Nan, with his eyes closed and his nose focused on his heart, felt that this place was not suitable for him to stay any longer, and said with an awkward smile, "Young master, this subordinate takes his leave."
Guan Nan believed he was going to die on the spot.
Gu Yun Shen picked up the rather embarrassing picture book from the table and asked, "Where did you get this?"
"I noticed that Miss Yu had visited the brothel Qunfang in the city several times, and out of curiosity..."
"Curious." Gu Yun Shen smiled almost self-destructively, but his expression grew increasingly cold.
She secretly observes Gu Rongting, but secretly sketches his body.
Beneath the anger came a strange, indescribable excitement.
A few petals from the peach tree in the yard were blown off by the wind, landing on his upturned nose before sliding down again.
Guan Nan was caught in a dilemma: whether to leave or stay. He could only watch helplessly as his master flipped through the entire picture book.
With each page he turned, he wiped the sweat from Yu Wenxue's brow.
The boy had beautiful features, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, and an overall air of peace.
But he knew perfectly well what a treacherous heart lay hidden beneath that calm and collected facade.
Miss Yu, I'm so sorry!
Guan Nan shouted in his heart.
Gu Yun Shen finished looking through the picture album, then picked up a peach petal that had fallen onto the stone table, gently licked his finger, leaving a pale pink sap.
"The rabbit doesn't seem so timid after all."
*
Back home, Yu Wenxue lay on her bed, clutching her first paycheck, beaming from ear to ear.
She had found out that for just two taels of silver, she could disguise herself as a maid and successfully infiltrate the Lin family mansion.
Manager Wei of Qunfang Pavilion, who was the man who stopped her that day, said he could help her find a way, and the two agreed to meet tonight to discuss it in detail.
To complete the task, she locked herself in her room for three whole days and finally finished this "masterpiece".
Drawing is not difficult; what is difficult is having no reference and relying entirely on imagination.
The figures' arms are uneven in thickness, and the proportions of the three courts and five eyes are out of balance. What seems like a small amount of content was revised countless times before a satisfactory version was presented.
Open this brand new book, and the vivid characters leap off the page.
But the man's face in the painting has a strange sense of familiarity.
She couldn't quite place where it felt familiar, but the small mole at the corner of her eye was incredibly alluring; she couldn't quite place where she'd seen it before.
Perhaps it's because I unconsciously projected my image onto the face of some handsome guy.
When the appointed time arrived, Yu Wenxue appeared precisely at the entrance of the Qunfang Pavilion.
Wei Heng put down the calligraphy and painting he was holding: "You've come."
Yu Wenxue sneezed from the dust and rubbed her nose: "Are you still packing so late?"
Wei Heng said dejectedly, "Business has been bad these past few years. My grandfather is getting old, and my father wants to sell this place and go back to his hometown to retire."
"How could you bear to part with such a large family fortune?" Yu Wenxue looked at the several boxes of calligraphy and paintings on the ground with a hint of regret.
If this were in modern times, a blind box clearance sale would be a sure way to recoup costs.
"If I hadn't taken on some of those jobs on the side... I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it through the year." Wei Heng smiled sheepishly. "My family doesn't know what I do, so please keep it a secret, young lady."
Yu Wenxue is a modern person and is more accepting of this kind of thing. After all, making money is not shameful. She waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut."
Wei Heng clenched his fists, his face showing a conflicted expression: "I'm sorry, I may not be able to keep my promise to you."
With a loud "boom," a clap of thunder was heard.
Yu Wenxue stared wide-eyed at the bright moon, only to realize with a start that the thunder was just a thought in her head.
No way, really?
[System: Notification: There is less than one day left before the deadline for the hidden mission. Please complete it as soon as possible.]
Yu Wenxue: "The late emperor passed away before his great undertaking was fully completed..."
Wei Heng: "What?"
"Are there any other ways?" Yu Wenxue asked.
She doesn't want to die!
The answer was naturally no.
After staring blankly for a while, she noticed the dusty erhu in the corner and asked listlessly, "Can I borrow your erhu for a bit?"
At this moment, Yu Wenxue decided to play "Farewell" for herself in advance.
She had no friends in this world, and she didn't know if anyone would collect her body after she died.
After receiving permission, she couldn't wait to clean the erhu and move a chair to the doorway.
It's a pity I didn't bring a bowl, otherwise I could have asked for a tip.
The moonlight flowed quietly in the night, and the children's laughter drowned out the vendors' cries.
Yu Wenxue's erhu playing isn't particularly outstanding; she studied violin. As a child, she was mischievous and often secretly used her grandfather's erhu as a violin.
Although the technique is average, it excels in its rich emotion, which easily draws the audience in.
They're almost dead, how could their emotions not be overflowing?
Wei Heng, standing to the side, had tears in his eyes and said, "Hearing the erhu, nine out of ten times one feels sorrow. In this situation, I want to recite a poem..."
"...Shut up!"
Seeing that Wei Heng's tears were about to fall, Yu Wenxue immediately changed to playing "Horse Racing".
As long as you're not dead, there's still a glimmer of hope.
She doesn't want to say goodbye to herself in advance!
The moment the erhu played the imitation of horse hooves, it immediately attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
"Where did the sound of horses' hooves come from so late at night?"
As more and more people gathered, Yu Wenxue was so excited she was practically bubbling with excitement, while secretly regretting that she hadn't brought a bowl. What a waste of such a great opportunity to perform!
As the song ended, a familiar figure stood beside her, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Miss Lin?" Yu Wenxue sighed.
While wiping away her tears, Lin Qingwan held her hand and said, "Miss, this music is like heavenly music. Tomorrow is my grandmother's sixtieth birthday. Would you be willing to come to my home and perform a piece for her?"
This works?
The surprise came so suddenly that Yu Wenxue didn't react for a moment, standing there stunned and blinking.
She checked her heartbeat again; she was still alive.
It was only after Wei Heng reminded her that she realized what he meant and hurriedly nodded, "Yes, yes, I'd love to!"
Heaven is helping me!
Girls who smile a lot are sure to have good luck!
Not far away, a dark figure stood across the street, watching the commotion.
Gu Yun Shen gently stroked the horse's mane, his gaze falling on the smiling Yu Wen Xue, then looking at Wei Heng beside him with a face full of doting affection, his eyes gradually darkening.
A note from the author:
Daughter (scratching her head): You look so familiar, I can't remember, I don't want to think about it anymore.
Xiao Gu (DingDing version): She drew me because she cares about me.
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