Chapter 8 Chapter 8 "You have become a family...
Ji Xu smiled slightly when he heard this, his tone gentle and elegant:
"I saw that the spring scenery was beautiful today, so I thought I'd go out for a walk and get some fresh air. I happened to hear you guys flying kites, so I didn't bother you."
Jiang Ci stood up upon hearing this, bowed slightly, and said in a gentle voice, "We are sorry to disturb Big Brother's peace. We are truly rude. A Fan and I will be leaving now."
Ji Xu waved his hand gently, his words were filled with calm and gentle persuasion:
"It's okay. The courtyard is already quiet, and occasional laughter adds a bit of liveliness."
His eyes fell on the broken thread in Ji Yunfan's hand, and he said:
"I just heard you say you wanted to paint a new one. I happen to have some brushes, ink, paper, and a few uncut pieces of silk in my yard. I'll have them all brought over so I can paint here. This will save Afan from running around. It's almost noon now, so we can have dinner when we're done."
Jiang Ci was slightly startled, with a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
After all, this is the inner courtyard of the eldest son of the Ji family. Although she is a married woman, she is a newcomer and should avoid suspicion.
She was about to decline politely, but Ji Xu seemed to have seen through her concerns, smiled faintly, and said calmly:
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I know the people in this mansion well, and no one dares to make irresponsible remarks."
"Besides, Zisu and I have always been close, and he has always loved Afan. If you take care of Afan, he won't say anything."
Jiang Ci thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "Then I'll bother you, big brother."
Ji Xu nodded, ordered the servants to move the small table in the courtyard to the corridor, and sent someone to get writing brushes, ink and tea.
Zhu Niang thoughtfully prepared snacks, and soon, paper, pen, painting silk, and tea cups were all ready.
Jiang Ci sat down beside the stone table in the courtyard. The sunlight passed through the shadows of the bamboo, bringing warmth.
Ji Xu walked slowly over, sat down opposite her, raised his hand to roll up his wide sleeves, and personally ground ink for her.
Jiang Ci looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"How dare I trouble my brother to do such a small matter?" She spoke softly, with a hint of discomfort in her tone.
Ji Xu just smiled, his voice as gentle as spring water brushing jade:
"It's all just idle business. I'm just sitting around doing nothing."
"I'm not good at leading troops in battle or wielding swords and spears, but I've been very familiar with grinding ink since I was a child."
He spoke little and behaved with moderation, with not even the edge of his sleeve touching the desk. The ink in the inkstone grew thicker.
Ji Xu looked at Ji Yunfan not far away, with a gentle expression and a slow voice:
"Since you're willing to play with Afan, I should be the one thanking you."
"My health has been bad, and I've been bedridden for years, so I can't stay with him for too long. He lives alone in this mansion. Although he's young, he's always too sensible... If his mother were still alive, he wouldn't be so lonely."
He spoke very softly, with a faint ending tone, but there was a hint of sadness that he almost didn't want to mention.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ci immediately said in a gentle voice:
"Don't worry, big brother. If I have nothing to do in my free time, I will take the time to chat with Afan and draw kites with him."
She paused, then added, her tone extremely gentle and considerate:
"In a few years, Afan will also follow Second Uncle into the military camp. With so many men in the camp, he will definitely not be lonely."
Before he finished speaking, Ji Xu's expression slightly restrained.
His knuckles tightened slightly under his sleeves, and a barely perceptible hesitation flashed across his eyes.
The word "joining the army" may be an honor for others, but for him, it may not be an expectation.
Jiang Ci's heart moved slightly, his eyebrows and eyes changed slightly without any expression, and a smile appeared on his lips:
"Afan, didn't you say you wanted a majestic eagle?"
The young master came forward with a plate of sesame snacks, took a bite of the crispy snack and said with a smile:
"I want something really fierce, with a fierce look and sharp claws!"
"I want the kind that flies up into the sky and scares everyone who sees it!"
Jiang Ci smiled and nodded: "Okay, then I will draw the most ferocious one for you."
She picked up the paintbrush, dipped it lightly in ink, lowered her head and started writing, her expression gradually becoming calm.
The ink spreads and water stains appear on the white silk, with each stroke rising and falling in a rhythmic manner.
Her eyelashes were drooping, her expression was focused, her lips were soft, and her hair was hanging lightly on her cheeks.
Ji Xu was sitting at the desk, his eyes originally on the inkstone. He raised his eyes unintentionally and his gaze fell on her eyebrows.
At that moment, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered his head, stretched out his hand to call for the servants to help him up, and walked to the long couch not far away in the yard and sat down.
Ji Yunfan stood around the table, staring intently.
Ji Xu was distracted for a moment, and suddenly the past that he never wanted to mention emerged in his mind.
That was nine years ago.
He was not yet an adult, and at that time Fengdu was in the midst of a spring banquet. He drank with several sons of noble families and listened to music. Being young at heart, he drank a little too much.
After three rounds of drinking, he felt hot all over, his blood was surging, his head was very dizzy, as if something was running around in his body, his limbs were weak, and his consciousness was gradually becoming blurred.
He remembered that he struggled to leave the table, but a hand held his arm and led him into a quiet room.
He couldn't remember what happened next.
He only remembered waking up the next day, sunlight streaming into the room, a thin blanket lightly covering him, and he was lying in dishevel on a fragrant couch, with a sleeping woman beside him.
She was not stunningly beautiful, but she had charming eyes and eyebrows, and her lips were slightly pursed, with an undisguised sense of pride. Ji Xu remembered her. She was a musician in a tavern.
He went to the tavern several times, but he always drank and listened to music with friends, and never asked women to accompany him.
He could never remember the woman's name.
After that day, he never returned to the tavern again, thinking it was a ridiculous plot and decided not to mention it.
Who would have thought that half a year later, the woman came to the Dongyang Marquis's mansion with a bulging belly, claiming that the child in her belly was of the Ji family's bloodline.
Madam Ji was furious upon hearing this, but she remained composed. The woman was pregnant after all, and she couldn't make it public, so she had to be placed in a separate courtyard and allowed to give birth within the palace.
But her background was not worthy of being included in the Ji family's concubines, and her status was in an awkward position.
When Ji Yunfan was born, the mansion provided her with the best food and clothing, but failed to give her the status she deserved.
She was never happy, and there was often resentment in her eyes.
When Yun Fan was three years old, she quietly left the house with a foreign merchant and never returned. Without even a goodbye, Ji Yun Fan once whispered, "Where's mother?"
He simply stroked the child's head and softly replied, "She's gone."
"It's done."
Jiang Ci's voice came softly, bringing Ji Xu back from his memories.
He was slightly startled and looked up, only to see Jiang Ci gently putting down the drawing paper in his hand with a gentle smile on his lips.
He smiled slightly and whispered, "Thank you."
Ji Yunfan carefully took the painted kite, ran towards Zhu Niang happily, and said loudly:
"Bamboo Lady, come and help me paste the bamboo strips on. I want it to fly the highest!"
Zhu Niang responded with a smile, leaned over and smoothed the corner of his clothes, and said softly, "Young Master, please wait a moment. I will ask someone to get some paste."
She turned and left with steady and quick steps, obviously she was already familiar with this kind of thing.
After a while, the kite was ready. Ji Yunfan held it in his hands and looked at Jiang Ci expectantly: "Sister Jiang, can we release it now?"
Jiang Ci shook his head gently and explained in a gentle voice:
"It can't be released today. We have to wait three days for the ink to dry and the bamboo skeleton to take shape before it can fly steadily."
The young master pouted, his tone full of disappointment: "Oh... okay then..."
Zhu Niang just came back, looked at them with a smile and said:
"It's almost time for lunch, Second Madam, why don't you stay and eat with us? I heard that you've been eating the special meals cooked by Wanniang these days and haven't tried our Fengdu dishes yet. Today is a good day to give them a try."
Ji Yunfan also grabbed Jiang Ci's arm and looked up, begging:
"Just stay here, okay? I want Sister Jiang to accompany me..."
Jiang Ci hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Ji Xu.
The latter nodded slightly, his brows and eyes gentle, and made a gesture of invitation, and said in a gentle tone: "The courtyard is quiet, why don't you sit together."
The three of them sat down together in the courtyard.
The breeze blew the shadows of the bamboos, and the stone table was covered with light-patterned white porcelain. The dishes were exquisite, with good color and aroma, which was very different from the rough and spicy taste of Liangzhou.
Jiang Ci originally just wanted to symbolically move his chopsticks twice, but he never expected that the refreshing and fragrant taste was much more appetizing than he had imagined, and he took a few more bites without realizing it.
Zhu Niang stood aside, watching her, who looked calm but actually enjoyed the meal. A meaningful smile quietly appeared in the corner of her eyes, and she turned to look at Ji Xu.
She smiled and said:
"The Second Madam usually eats alone. If I make something delicious in the future, you might as well invite her over to have a few bites with you. The young master will definitely be the happiest."
Her words were well-spoken, satisfying the child's wishes while also quietly showing mercy to her master.
Jiang Ci pursed his lips, smiled, and nodded slightly.
"Thank you for your kindness, Mother Zhu."
During the chat, Ji Xu was the first to speak, his tone as gentle as ever:
"I have never left Tingzhou."
"I often hear people mention Liangzhou. I wonder what the scenery there is like? Is there anything people praise about it?"
He asked lightly, but with a hint of genuine curiosity.
Jiang Ci was stunned for a moment, his eyes moving slightly.
She had thought that Ji Xu would, like Ji Yang, view Liangzhou as a place he didn't want to mention. After all, that was where Ji Yang had been held hostage, and it had once pitted the Ji and Jiang families against each other.
Unexpectedly, when he mentioned Liangzhou, his tone was calm and his eyes were clear, without any taboo.
She nodded gently and replied in a low voice, "Liangzhou is a vast land with a rich literary tradition. In spring, the ten-mile-long peach blossoms of Yuguan Pass spread across ten miles, and in autumn, the frosty forests of Huangdao Mountain are picturesque."
"A place of humanities values elegance and refinement. Scholars often admire the Chu Ci, and women love to embroider the Nine Chapters on their clothes..."
She didn't say much, and her tone was light, but every word and sentence carried a sense of clarity and remoteness.
Ji Xu listened quietly, a smile on his lips:
"Hearing you say that, I feel that Liangzhou is not only worth painting, but also worth traveling."
He paused, then smiled and said:
"Now that Liangzhou and Dongyang have suspended their hostilities and the situation has been initially settled, I still haven't had the opportunity to set foot there."
"If you don't mind, could you please choose some free time in the future to tell me everything you remember about Liangzhou? I'd like to capture every scene you describe in my painting. That way, it will seem as if I've been there myself."
Jiang Ci looked at him and felt something in his heart.
The gentle and quiet young master in front of him was trapped in the courtyard due to illness and could not take a single step out of the city walls of Tingzhou Fengdu; and his younger brother had once set foot in her hometown, but no one knew the suffering he endured.
One in the east and the other in the west, one sick and the other injured, one is trapped in the body and the other is trapped in the past.
She lowered her eyes and laughed softly:
"nature."
The afternoon sun is warm and the bamboo shadows are slanting.
Ji Yang hurried back to the mansion, followed by an elderly doctor.
"Go check my elder brother's pulse first." He ordered in a low voice.
Just as he reached the outside of Ji Xu's courtyard and was about to raise his hand to ask someone to pass the message, he suddenly stopped.
The courtyard door was half-closed. Through the gap, he saw three people sitting around the stone table in the courtyard.
Ji Xu, Ji Yunfan, and Jiang Ci.
There were maids standing not far away, and the dishes were arranged exquisitely and elegantly, and the aroma of food wafted through the courtyard.
The three of them occasionally talked in low voices during the meal. Ji Yunfan was laughing happily, and Jiang Ci responded with his eyes lowered, occasionally putting a piece of food into Ji Yunfan's bowl with his chopsticks. Ji Xu listened with a smile and occasionally poured tea for her.
The scene was dignified and gentle, just like a small banquet in an ordinary family, where the family was peaceful and happy.
Ji Yang narrowed his eyes and his gaze became a little gloomy.
The corners of his lips curled slightly, but his tone was as cold as a blade:
"You guys have become a family."
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