Chapter 56
Since the last talk with Wang Shuhuai, Xie Yunchu no longer sent food boxes to the government office during the day, nor did he prepare ginseng soup at night.
She asked Nanny Lin to tell Minggui, "From now on, the Second Master will ask for anything he wants. We don't know if what we make and send will suit his taste."
In her previous life, Wang Shuhuai almost never told her his preferences, and always said yes to everything she asked. So she would carefully guess and test him, and put things that she thought were good in front of him, but he didn't care. She spent her whole life without knowing what her husband was thinking.
Now that we've talked it out, there's no need to act like a good wife anymore.
Just be casual.
After all, he no longer had any hope for her, so why bother pretending to be nice?
That night, Minggui got the news and told Wang Shuhuai with sweat all over his forehead.
"Master, are you going to drink this ginseng soup tonight? Second Madam is worried that it may not suit your taste. If you want to drink or eat something, just ask the kitchen to make it. She will not make the decision on her own."
Wang Shuhuai was pretending to sleep with his forehead propped up. After hearing this, a sinister sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.
No one even does superficial work.
"No need."
He would rather she face him honestly than pretend to be nice to him.
February 12th was Wang Shuhuai's day off. After returning from practice in the morning, Minggui brought a lunch box and placed breakfast on the eight-immortal table in the west room.
Wang Shuhuai went inside to change his clothes and came out. He took a glance and saw a plate of crystal sashimi.
He finished a bowl of bird's nest porridge and ate a few spring rolls, but never touched the dish.
After finishing breakfast and washing his hands, he returned to the desk and continued reading the official bulletin sent from Jiangnan.
Minggui came in to clean up the dishes, glanced at the intact crystal sashimi on the plate, and sighed.
"Doesn't Second Master like to eat this dish very much? Why haven't you touched your chopsticks recently?"
"This is Aunt Gui's specialty. Her cooking skills are not inferior to Second Madam's."
Wang Shuhuai's eyebrows twitched, and he pretended not to hear.
Minggui sighed inwardly. Wang Shuhuai hadn't been to the backyard for a long time, which showed that the couple was having a quarrel.
Minggui tidied up the Eight Immortals Table and came over to help him wipe the desk.
The spring light was long, flowing through the window lattice and slanting down onto the table, illuminating the hollow ivory ball. The ivory was translucent and emitted an orange halo. Minggui couldn't help but waved his iron hook at it. Layer after layer of different patterns turned under the bright light. When he turned to the innermost layer, he vaguely saw a word flashing before his eyes. Minggui blinked suddenly.
"Hey, Master, look, there are words engraved on the center of this ball?"
Wang Shuhuai was concentrating on reading the official newspaper. He asked without even looking up, "What's that?"
Minggui picked up the ball, stood in the sunlight and moved it back and forth. He looked at it closely for a long time and said, "It looks like the word '初'."
Wang Shuhuai was slightly stunned. He raised his eyes and frowned, "The word 'first'?"
How could there be a word "Chu" engraved on it?
Minggui handed him the ivory ball and said, "You have good eyesight. Take a look for yourself."
Wang Shuhuai discovered that there were words engraved inside when he played with it for the first time. He did not look closely at that time. After hearing what Minggui said, he took it and slowly moved it with an iron hook. Sure enough, he saw a word engraved between the innermost knots. It was a Lishu-style word "Chu" with beautiful and smooth lines, and a graceful and majestic beauty.
Each layer of the entire ghost ball symbolizes the harmony between husband and wife. Such a word must be related to the owner of the sculpture. No one knows who sold this item because he was short of money, and it was finally bought back by Wang Shukuang and others.
Wang Shuhuai suddenly lost interest in this ball.
Other people's things have nothing to do with him.
After replying the letter, Wang Shuhuai went out. At 3 p.m., he received a message saying that the Duke was waiting for him in the study, so he returned to the palace. When he entered, he saw his grandfather sitting in front of his desk, holding a birdcage and looking calm.
"Huai'er."
"Grandfather, why are you here?" Wang Shuhuai bowed quickly.
The Duke motioned for him to sit down and placed the bird cage on his desk. In the cage was a canary with colorful feathers that looked very lively. It chirped at the exquisitely crafted ball.
The Duke stretched out his hand and teased the bird. "Jiang Cheng has come to the capital. Have you visited the Jiang residence?"
Wang Shuhuai thought of Madam Jiang and said, "I went there once."
The Duke said, "Jiang Cheng has a little daughter, she is seventeen this year and has never been married. His Majesty wants to keep her in the capital. Your grandmother is interested in Jiang Cheng's daughter because Shu Xu has never been engaged. I came to ask you."
Wang Shuhuai thought of the relationship between Xie Yunchu and Madam Jiang and shook his head decisively, "No."
The Duke was surprised, "Why?"
"Jiang Cheng is the Governor-General of Liangjiang. He will be helpful to you in carrying out the national affairs in Jiangnan. I saw his little daughter in the palace yesterday. She is pretty and lovely, and a perfect match for Xu'er. His Majesty has already spoken, and now we just need your grandmother to give her the nod."
By leaving Jiang Cheng's two daughters in the capital, the emperor could rest assured that the Governor-General of Liangjiang could return to Jiangnan. This was the emperor's usual method of checking and balancing the local officials.
Wang Shuhuai frowned, "Grandfather, do you know that Yunchu's mother divorced Xie Jijiu?"
The Duke really doesn't know about this.
When the marriage was discussed, he only heard that she was the eldest daughter of Xie Jijiu, who was dignified and beautiful. He did not pay attention to the rest. He always thought that Xie Yunchu's mother had passed away.
Wang Shuhuai met his inquiring eyes, "She divorced and returned to Jinling, and later remarried Jiang Cheng, who is now Madam Jiang. If I marry her stepdaughter to the Wang family, what do you think Yunchu will think?"
The Duke frowned deeply upon hearing this.
"How do you explain this to your majesty and your grandmother?"
Wang Shuhuai held his forehead with his hand and said, "I'll think of a way."
The Duke was worried. "This is a tricky matter. Your grandmother heard that your daughter-in-law's birthday is in two days, and she intends to let Jiang Cheng's daughter come to the mansion to meet Xu'er. So she just sent a message to your third aunt, saying that she wants to prepare a birthday banquet for your daughter-in-law."
Wang Shuhuai's face froze for a moment when he heard this.
The Duke looked puzzled at his expression and asked, "Don't you know that your wife is going to have a birthday?"
Wang Shuhuai's expression was indescribable and he said nothing.
The Duke sneered, then looked at him earnestly, "You are busy, but you still have to take care of your wife. She is pregnant, so you should at least give her a generous gift to make her feel comfortable. If you don't think about it at all, it will be a waste of her managing your backyard for so many years."
Wang Shuhuai lowered his eyes, hiding all his emotions, "Grandson knows."
Among all the grandchildren of the Duke, Wang Shuhuai was the most important and he knew him very well. He looked at his face and said, "Have you encountered any troubles recently? Your face is always gloomy and ugly."
Wang Shuhuai's throat choked slightly, his dark pupils were like a bottomless abyss, and he said lightly, "No."
The Duke knew that his eldest grandson was a man of deep thoughts and tight-lipped. No one could get him to say anything he didn't want to say. He couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that Chu-chan could tolerate your temper."
The Duke was about to leave when his eyes fell on the ghost ball next to the rosewood pen holder. The ghost ball was milky white in color, with a light layer of turmeric patina on the outside. The Duke had a sharp eye and could tell at a glance that the ball was exquisitely crafted. He couldn't help but reach out and take it in his palm to play with it.
"This ball looks exactly like the one in your grandmother's study."
Wang Shuhuai suddenly raised his head, not knowing what he was thinking about.
He suddenly remembered that not long after he and Xie Yunchu got married, the princess summoned them to the palace. That was the first time he discovered the ingenious ball, which was also an ivory carving, in the princess's study.
On the way back, Xie Yunchu seemed to ask him if he liked this thing, and he nodded vaguely at that time.
A flash of inspiration came to his mind, so fast that Wang Shuhuai almost couldn't catch it.
The Duke noticed that he looked a little strange, "What's wrong?"
Wang Shuhuai stared at the devilish ball, his heart beating like a drum, but his face remained calm, "Nothing."
The Duke stood up and picked up the ball.
"Let me borrow this ball to play with for a few days. I will return it to you when I return to the palace."
Wang Shuhuai grabbed the ball without hesitation and held it in his arms, "Grandfather, ask the princess to borrow it."
The Duke looked at his grandson's expressionless face and glared at him angrily.
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