14
Their final conversation ended with neither of them agreeing with the other's ideas.
Jiang Yunzheng wanted her to take his carriage home, but Jiang Yunshu was unhappy and insisted on walking back herself.
The two houses weren't far apart, and as she walked, her anger subsided a bit.
Just as she was pondering how to persuade Jiang Yunzheng to give up this path, someone called out to her with delight.
"Jiang Yunshu!?"
She raised her eyebrows and looked in the direction of the sound. What she saw was a fine horse with a man sitting on it, holding the reins with one hand. He leaned slightly forward, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and an upright posture.
His hair was tied up high, and he wore a black and white robe with cloud patterns, which made him look even more dashing.
His thick, dark eyebrows were slightly raised, and the corners of his eyes curved up in a smile as he rode up on horseback, his tone filled with joy: "It really is you!"
"Chu Shuangfeng?"
She was both surprised and delighted. When she was young, she skipped school with Chu Shuangfeng and Jiang Shuyue to play, and the group had formed a deep friendship.
Just a few years later, Chu Shuangfeng was sent by his family to learn martial arts, also in order to temper his temperament.
Later, she got married and moved far away from Jiangnan.
The two had no contact in their previous life, but they never expected to meet again in this life.
"I had heard that you had returned to Jiangnan before, but I thought they were just making things up. I didn't expect to see you here today."
Chu Shuangfeng dismounted nimbly, a smile on his face, his gaze tracing her features. When it swept over her neck, an unnatural glint flashed in his eyes.
"You're only back today?"
"Yes, I thought my family was going to leave me on that mountain for the rest of my life. Thank goodness I made it out!"
The place where Chu Shuangfeng was sent to learn martial arts was not a temple or school, but a deep mountain. When the master passed by the Chu family, he saw Chu Shuangfeng and immediately declared that Chu Shuangfeng was the one who would change the fate of the Chu family.
However, its malevolent energy is very strong, and it needs to be tempered in the mountains before adulthood to eliminate the malevolent energy in order to ensure the prosperity of the Chu family for a hundred years.
As far as I can remember, in my previous life, there were indeed members of the Chu family who served as officials in the imperial court. Later, when the third prince ascended the throne, several members of the Chu family were highly valued.
However, we haven't heard much news about Chu Shuangfeng since.
Looking at Chu Shuangfeng again, he had shed his boyishness and gained a more mature demeanor, but his eyes betrayed him when he raised his lips.
The two exchanged a few more words, and Chu Shuangfeng suggested going to a restaurant to catch up. She also wanted to catch up, but now was clearly not a good time.
So he bid farewell to Chu Shuangfeng and made a promise to Jiang Shuyue to have a proper get-together at Xiangyun Pavilion next time.
When he returned to the Jiang family home, neither his parents were there.
Qing Shuang placed the pastries on the table one by one. After thinking for a moment, she took some to A Yao's room.
Is Master Lin still alive?
Qing Shuang responded from behind her, "A Yao really likes Master Lin; he's still teaching in the room right now."
It's good that it's still there. She herself felt it was a coincidence. She had just heard Lin Yuliu talk about the Entwined Flower Dream when Heweiju happened to launch a new product.
As soon as I stepped outside the house, I heard the sound of reading coming from inside. Ayao's childish voice and Master Lin's clear voice instantly relieved me of a lot of pressure.
The heavy weight on my heart has also disappeared.
She went inside, and Master Lin looked up and saw her, nodding to her in acknowledgment.
That's all for today.
Ayao's eyes sparkled with excitement, and a smile played on her lips.
After leaving some homework for Ayao, Lin Yuliu began packing her things to leave.
"Master Lin, I bought some pastries at Heweiju today. Here you go."
Qing Shuang handed the pastries to Lin Yuliu, and when she did, she saw Lin Yuliu stare blankly for a while.
The gaze she gave her was complex, a mixture of gratitude, sorrow for the past, and other thoughts she couldn't quite decipher.
Lin Yuliu accepted the box and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Miss Jiang."
She waved her hand and said, "It's also a matter of luck. A new chef from Yunzhou has come to Heweiju. If Master Lin misses home in the future, he can go there to buy some pastries and fruits."
"Try it quickly and see if it tastes the same as the one from Yunzhou?"
She had never tasted Yunzhou pastries before, nor did she know what they tasted like. She was curious to see how Lin Yuliu, a native of Yunzhou, would react.
Lin Yuliu paused in her gaze, then opened the box, took a small piece, and put it to her lips, taking a small bite.
Smiling, she said, "This is the taste."
She smiled too, it seems that the chef He Wei Ju invited this time is a genuine Yunzhou native.
She's going to be very lucky from now on.
“Miss Jiang, you went to Heweiju after breakfast this morning. Yu Liu is just an ordinary person, why would Miss Jiang treat her with such care?”
Lin Yuliu looked at her apologetically and smiled, "Ayao will still need Master Lin's careful guidance in the future, so you don't need to do this. I was originally planning to buy some snacks, but it just so happens that I have the 'Entangled Flower Dream' snack."
"I'm glad you're enjoying your meal."
Lin Yuliu lowered her eyes, thanked her again, carefully put the box away, looked at her deeply for a couple of seconds, and then turned to leave.
Looking at Lin Yuliu's retreating figure, she felt even more desolate and lonely.
A woman lost her home. That day, Qingye said that Lin Yuliu was not married and returned home to a lonely lamp.
It's not easy for a woman to make her own way in the world. Even after her divorce, she still had her maternal family to support her. For a single woman like Lin Yuliu, protecting herself is even more difficult than her situation.
"Mother, Master Lin praised me for being very clever today!"
Ayao stared at her with her bright, sparkling eyes, her gaze secretly brimming with anticipation.
The other day at the Marquis's residence, the tutor never treated A-Yao kindly, and naturally he was stingy with praise.
In public, he would only praise Miss Shen and Shen Er for their intelligence, but when it came to A Yao, he would just call her a piece of trash.
She was displeased, but the Marquis always coaxed her, saying that A Yao should avoid the limelight for the time being, and that he would definitely find A Yao a good husband in the future.
But she forgot that Ayao was just a child of a few years old, who would lose sleep over the teacher's words, and whose self-confidence was gradually being crushed.
She smiled and reached out to pinch A Yao's cheek, her voice gentle: "Yes, our A Yao is the smartest girl in the world."
Ayao smiled contentedly, her eyes crinkling as if filled with starlight.
"Have some snacks, and then you can rest after you finish your homework."
Ayao squinted at the pastries in Qing Shuang's hand, her smile deepening. She jogged a few steps to Qing Shuang's side, carefully selected a pastry, and finally picked one up.
He turned around and handed it to her: "Mother, you eat first."
The soft, sweet voice melted her heart. She smiled, took the gift, and took a small bite: "It's very sweet."
Ayao watched her eat it before smiling and turning to get more, stuffing it into her mouth and eating it with great satisfaction.
However, Ayao wasn't very interested in these sweets. After eating two or three pieces, she stopped and said sweetly, "Mother, I'm going to do my homework now."
She nodded with a light laugh and left with Qing Shuang.
As she left A Yao's room, she suddenly realized that she should get A Yao a maid.
She couldn't keep an eye on Bailichuan all the time, but having someone by Ayao's side could help her keep an eye on things.
The Jiang family has many members, but not many servants, as Ruan Qingshang doesn't like having too many people in the house.
She just wants to send someone to Ayao, and she's currently buying one from a human broker.
After thinking about it, she decided to tell her mother first and ask her to find her a sensible man from a respectable family.
Thinking about this the whole way, she didn't notice the person standing in front of her until they bumped into her and she covered her head to look.
Ling Jingchu looked at her with a sinister gaze. Although it was broad daylight, she felt as if this person was a vengeful ghost that had crawled up from the underworld.
What are you doing here?
She rubbed her forehead, and her voice unconsciously became softer.
Ling Jingchu didn't speak. She looked at him in confusion, and what she saw startled her.
No wonder Ling Jingchu's eyes seemed sinister; it was the dark circles under his eyes that made them appear so.
Upon closer inspection, he looked utterly exhausted.
Just as I was about to ask him what he did last night, the image of the two of us crammed into a small space flashed into my mind.
There was a hint of unease on his face.
I didn't ask any more questions.
"Chu Shuangfeng is back."
Ling Jingchu's voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion.
However, she knew that Ling Jingchu had disliked Chu Shuangfeng since childhood, just like her father, both of whom felt that Chu Shuangfeng, this bad boy, had corrupted the two good girls in the family.
I never imagined that the three of them were just birds of a feather.
"Yes, you found out too?" she asked curiously. "Didn't he just get back today?"
Ling Jingchu's expression darkened further upon hearing her words, and his thin lips pressed even tighter.
His gaze lingered, seemingly casually, on her neck.
My heart felt like it was being pricked haphazardly by a dense network of needles, a sharp pain without any discernible pattern.
Chu Shuangfeng.
Chu Shuangfeng had only been back for a day.
In what way does he fall short compared to that纨绔 (playboy) Chu Shuangfeng?
First it was the Marquis, then it was Chu Shuangfeng.
His eyes darkened further, his expression carrying a hint of madness.
She has so many people around her, why can't she just focus on him?
Something slowly began to grow within him, swirling around his beating heart. Then he looked at Jiang Yunshu, her lips red and teeth white, a faint smile on her delicate face.
Her beautiful eyes looked at him, more like a silent invitation.
Does he need to lock her in the room so she can only look at him?
My gaze inadvertently drifted downwards. Should I break her legs so she can't go anywhere?
Only then can she truly look only at him.
He looked up and saw Jiang Yunshu still smiling, her eyes clear and her expression composed.
The red marks on her neck were openly displayed for him to see, and the more she did this, the more annoyed Ling Jingchu became.
He gritted his teeth and whispered, "The Chu family just sent someone."
She nodded. Although Jiang Jinhong didn't like Chu Shuangfeng, the relationship between the Chu family and the Jiang family was quite good.
"Then you..." She originally wanted to ask Ling Jingchu what he was doing here, but then she remembered Jiang Yunzheng's words, so she decided to take him to the room for a detailed talk.
"Come to my room, I have something to tell you."
She led the people to the door and gave instructions to Qing Shuang.
"I stay outside and watch out. If anyone calls me, that's fine."
Qing Shuang and Su Ye nodded repeatedly.
After closing the door, she sat on a low stool. Thinking of Jiang Yunzheng's words, she felt suffocated and depressed. She poured herself a cup of tea and drank it down.
Ling Jingchu walked slowly to the table and sat down.
My hands clenched unconsciously.
The last time Jiang Yunshu spoke to him like this was on her wedding day.
She said she didn't want to get married, but the man was a marquis, and they couldn't afford to offend him, so they had no choice but to marry him.
That night, he dug his fingertips into his palm, lamenting that he had accomplished nothing.
Seven years passed without seeing each other. Her words reached Jiangnan, and in her letters, she seemed to be the same as before. He always thought that Jiang Yunshu was doing well.
Until that letter arrived.
His eyes grew even deeper, his gaze settling on her neck, a hint of anger rising in them.
Could it be that Chu Shuangfeng forced her?
His breathing grew heavier, damn it.
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