Chapter 16 Chapter 16 My sister’s snow neck, but no couple…
After lunch, Sheng Puzhu talked with his mother.
At first, she was concerned about Xie Zhiyan's presence and tried to restrain her usual coquettish behavior as a little girl at home.
Later, perhaps because time had passed, he drank his tea quietly from beginning to end, his maroon robe half hidden in the warm winter light. Only his eyes were calm and deep. He would occasionally raise his eyelids, and then look away when their eyes met.
Outside the flower hall, the figure of a raccoon catching a sparrow flashed by.
Sheng Puyao chattered about the lessons she would learn tomorrow, and also mentioned that her elder sister-in-law was returning to Fanyang to celebrate the birthday of her elders, and would bring her Fanyang's unique jujubes and silk flowers.
Sheng Puzhu took a bite of the flower-folded goose cake, which was filled with sweet fruit jam. The fragrance was refreshing to her lips and teeth, and the sweetness went all the way to her heart.
She subconsciously narrowed her eyes, leaned into her mother's arms, and said softly, "Mother, next summer, I will take you and Grandmother to the village below Tianchang Temple to escape the summer heat, okay?"
"The Princess likes to be lively, Grandma likes to play mahjong, and Grandfather likes to fish. It just so happens that the farm is located near the mountains and the water. I'll invite my sisters to come along when the time comes."
"We can also ask the village head to go to the mountains and hunt musk deer, and we can barbecue by the stream at night."
Madam Sheng couldn't help laughing. She gently tapped her forehead with her fingertips, and her pale lips curved up: "You're so old, yet you're still so childish."
Even so, he personally used a silver skewer to pick up a summer-season green plum and fed it to her: "Wait until midsummer, and if I feel better, I will go with you."
Sheng Puzhu opened his lips and took the green plum in, then touched it with the tip of his tongue. The sweetness was mixed with a refreshing sourness.
She liked this somewhat extreme taste. She used her teeth to crush the pitted green plums, and the extreme sourness spread between her lips and tongue. Sheng Bozhu felt happy and satisfied. She glanced at Xie Zhiyan out of the corner of her eye.
The man sat upright like a pine tree, holding a porcelain cup in his hand, his fingertips pressing silently on the rim of the cup, his expression calm and no emotion could be seen.
…
At about three quarters past noon, Sheng Puzhu stood up cautiously and waved to the nanny in the distance: "Mother is tired. Please bring a pillow and a cushion. The warm room faces south and the sun is just right. Let's rest here."
The old nanny smiled and responded, "Madam, you are so thoughtful. We will take good care of you."
After everything was settled, Sheng Puzhu led Xie Zhiyan out of the courtyard. She pointed to the corridor to the right of the hanging flower gate and said, "My dear, do you remember how to get to my elder brother's courtyard?"
"Go through the corridor and around the waterside pavilion, and you will see my eldest brother's courtyard."
The cold winter wind blew through the courtyard, lifting a strand of hair from her temple. In front of him, her tone and demeanor had returned to the dignified appearance that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xie family should have.
Xie Zhiyan frowned slightly. He was not good at expressing his emotions. Even if there were some strange things that were contrary to his cognition, it was ultimately due to his upbringing. He did not intend to privately explore why his considerate and generous wife behaved in two completely different ways in front of him and his family.
The couple separated in the small garden.
Sheng Puzhu led Sheng Puyao through the corridor on the left. As they walked, she said, "When I talk to your second sister later, you should find a way to get your aunt out of the way."
Sheng Puyao nodded: "I know, but I can't scare my aunt."
"After all, my uncle is still in office. Only my aunt and grandmother can make the decision on such a big matter."
Sheng Puzhu walked faster and faster, and when she reached the back she started jogging with her skirt lifted up.
The hem of her skirt spread out like ripples on water, and the twin lotus flowers embroidered with gold thread shone with colorful light in the sun. Her slender and graceful back was like the tender buds of a willow branch in early spring. She was also holding a young lady who was much shorter than her, like a fluttering butterfly, lively and beautiful.
Xie Zhiyan stood at the corner of the garden, and only looked away casually when the butterfly flew away.
He was a distinguished guest who came to the garden to enjoy the flowers and snow. There was no one around and no one knew how long he had been standing there.
"Second sister, third sister."
"Big sister is here." Sheng Puyao shouted loudly into the yard before she even went in.
Sure enough, not long after, Sheng Mingya ran out first, holding up the hem of her skirt: "Big sister."
Sheng Puzhu pulled Sheng Mingya over and looked her up and down: "Why have you lost so much weight?"
Sheng Mingya was about to say something when she heard her mother's weak voice behind her, "Puzhu, I'm busy today, and I'm afraid you'll be infected. I couldn't personally entertain you when you and your husband returned home together."
"Aunt."
"I heard from Grandmother that my second sister was ill, so I came to see her." Sheng Puzhu knelt and saluted. Before he could stand up straight, Madam Sheng's cold hands grasped them tightly. "Good boy, it's hard for you to come all the way here."
"Mingshu just woke up and now she doesn't even want to take the medicine. What is she trying to do? Is she trying to dig out my heart and liver?"
"Aunt, please help me persuade her."
The situation was obviously more serious than Sheng Puzhu had predicted.
It was obvious that my aunt was in good spirits when my eldest brother got married, but when I saw her today, she not only looked sick, but she was so thin that the clothes she wore were loose on her.
Sheng Puzhu lowered her eyes and held Madam Sheng's hand: "I'm going to go see Mingshu. Puyao just said she wanted to pick wintersweets from the garden. I'm afraid she might fall. How about Auntie help me watch her?"
Sheng Puyao immediately grabbed Madam Sheng's sleeve and said, "Aunt, please accompany Puyao. It's just right to pick a few fresh winter plum blossoms for Second Sister and put them inside the house."
Mrs. Sheng was stunned for a moment, then she understood. She moved her lips, but she couldn't say no after all.
"Okay, Auntie will go with you."
"Second sister." Sheng Puzhu walked around the screen and saw Sheng Mingshu leaning on the big pillow with a pale face. The maid was holding a bowl of warm medicine and was pacing around anxiously.
"Give it to me."
Sheng Puzhu reached out to take the medicine and stirred it gently with a spoon.
"What's wrong with you, second sister? I finally came back, and you are pretending to be sick and don't want to see me?" Sheng Puzhu sat down on the crescent stool beside the couch as if nothing had happened, still using that chilly tone.
As expected, no matter how weak Sheng Mingshu was, she still opened her eyes. The corners of her eyes were red, and she felt very wronged.
But then he said awkwardly, "When have I ever resorted to such childish tactics as pretending to be sick just because I didn't want to see my elder sister?"
Sheng Puzhu handed over the medicine bowl in his hand: "Drink the medicine, and I will believe you."
"I don't want to drink. I'd rather die of illness." Sheng Mingshu pursed her dry lips.
Sheng Puzhu was surprised and said, "Look, you said you were pretending to be sick just to avoid seeing me, and you even refused to take the medicine."
Sheng Mingshu felt that she was not angry to death, but was about to be angry to death. She angrily used her hands to support herself and try to sit up, but she had no strength at all.
"Second sister, let me support you, don't get excited." Sheng Mingya quickly helped the person up.
Sheng Puzhu put the medicine bowl into her hand at the right time.
"Tell me, what happened?"
"You went to Princess Changning's house to admire the plum blossoms, but you made yourself look like this. Even if we were at odds at home, I wouldn't let you break a single hair."
"Now that you're out there and being bullied like this, where's your cleverness in arguing with me gone?"
Sheng Puzhu said with regret that he was not as good as he thought.
Sheng Mingshu drank the medicine while crying, and gold lumps fell into the bowl one by one.
By the time I finished the medicine, I had cried enough.
Sheng Mingya wrung out the handkerchief and handed it to her: "Sister, just tell me what's going on."
"Mother and grandmother asked you, but you didn't want to say more. Now that big sister is back, you can finally tell her, right?"
Sheng Mingshu closed her eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"On the day of Princess Changning's flower viewing banquet, I was feeling a little unwell and had already been declined. However, the Prince of Pingxing said he had written a great poem, and the green-calyx plums in the plum garden were in bloom, so he told me not to miss it."
"Later, I drank too much tea and on my way back from changing clothes, I ran into a drunken young lady from the Duke of Fuguo's mansion who nearly fell into the water. I rescued her and asked my maid to take her to change clothes while I stayed by the lake admiring the withered lotus."
"In the end, someone bumped into me and I fell into the half-dried lake."
"Since it's a banquet, how could there be no one in such a big garden?" Sheng Puzhu sneered.
Sheng Mingshu bit her lip and lowered her voice, "Because it was getting dark, someone brought fireworks to the plum garden and set them off. I guess everyone was attracted by the excitement of the fireworks."
"My feet were stuck in the mud at the edge of the lake and I couldn't get out. The fireworks were so loud."
At this point, Sheng Mingshu covered her eyes: "Later..."
"Later, in the panic, a stranger pulled me up."
Sheng Puzhu looked at her without saying anything until Sheng Mingshu trembled. Then she asked, "Is it because of this that you are so sick?"
Sheng Mingshu shook her head: "If it's just this little thing, it's okay if my skirt gets wet."
"But I don't know who spread the rumor that I was having an affair with a wild man by the lake and even took off my clothes."
"Big sister, the person who said this is trying to force me to die, isn't he?"
Sheng Puzhu was also stunned for a moment: "Where did this come from?"
Sheng Mingshu shook her head, covering her face with her hands, her shoulders trembling. "I don't know. I was fine when Princess Changning personally sent me home that day. But when the wife of the Marquis of Xingping came yesterday and told my grandmother about it, it became like that on the day of the flower viewing, many people saw me in a disheveled state."
"Big sister, you know my personality. I have always been aloof and weak. How could I be such an unruly girl and do such shameless things?"
Sheng Puzhu felt that the matter might not be so simple. She said in a low voice, "Do you know who the man who saved you that day was?"
Sheng Mingshu shook her head. "On the day I returned home from drowning, my mother and grandmother sent people to inquire about him. Princess Changning also helped to investigate, but it turned out that there was no such man as I mentioned."
No wonder my aunt looks so haggard. If she can't find anyone to save her, that would be equivalent to confirming the rumors outside and implicitly admitting that there is such a shameful wild man.
Sheng Puzhu remained silent.
After a long pause, she asked, "What do you think of the marriage with the Marquis of Changxing?"
Sheng Mingshu tightened her grip on the handkerchief and lowered her head. "He sent me a letter today. He said he believed in the years of love between him and me, and that I wasn't such a bad girl."
"Even if...even if it affects my reputation in the future, he is willing to marry me."
"He said he wouldn't agree to cancel the engagement and asked me to wait a little longer. He would definitely find a way to convince her mother."
Sheng Puzhu slowly stood up and paced around the room. As usual, she took out her white jade abacus from her sleeve, but found nothing. Then she remembered that she had put it away last time when she almost broke Xie Zhiyan.
"Do you still want to marry him?" Sheng Puzhu asked.
Sheng Mingshu hesitated for a moment, then nodded seriously and said, "I have known him since childhood, and we got engaged after I came of age."
"Even in such an embarrassing situation, since he still trusts me, I naturally cannot let him down."
Sheng Puzhu turned around and asked: "Even if the wife of the Marquis of Changxing is a difficult person to get along with, will you be wronged if you marry into her?"
"Big sister."
"I'm going to marry him and live with him in the future. The wife of the Marquis of Changxing is not easy to get along with, so I'll try to avoid her. But he's the only legitimate son of the Marquis of Changxing, and I don't have to compete with anyone, so it won't be too difficult."
Sheng Puzhu looked at Sheng Mingshu's calm gaze and suddenly asked, "Since the Prince of Changxing believed in you, why couldn't he stop his mother when she came to humiliate you?"
"Why does he imply that you've done something wrong?"
"If he were a responsible husband, shouldn't he have immediately found a way to find out the cause of this incident, instead of writing a letter with a few frivolous verses, waiting for your reputation to be ruined before marrying you into his family and making you feel inferior to others for the rest of your life?"
"Is this what the Marquis of Changxing means by a love stronger than gold?"
She saw Sheng Mingshu remained silent, with her head lowered, as if she was about to burst into tears again.
She simply used her elder sister's authority and said, "Sheng Mingshu, you only read poetry and songs every day. Have you ruined your brain?"
"There are no such coincidences in this world!"
"You were so kind as to save someone, but you ended up falling into the water, and the maidservant beside you was also sent away."
"Since you've clearly informed me that you're unwell and won't be attending Princess Changning's flower viewing banquet, why did the Marquis of Changxing insist on inviting you to view that ridiculous green-calyx plum blossom?"
"Doesn't he claim to be a considerate and caring husband? So caring that he even ignores your health?"
"As a man of eight feet tall, all you do all day is write some flowery poems. You really think you're nothing but a toy. When you wanted to get engaged to him, I told you a lot, asking you to compare him with your brothers, but you refused to listen."
The more Sheng Puzhu thought about it, the angrier she became. Then she said unwillingly, "There are so many young men in Chang'an who are good at poetry, painting, and have good knowledge. Why did you have to pick someone ugly?"
Sheng Mingshu couldn't stand the word "ugly" at all. She cried out: "He's not ugly at all. He's just not very handsome."
"Not all the girls in Chang'an are big sisters. They don't care about their education or family background, they only care about their husband's appearance."
"I'm not as superficial as my sister, a girl who only cares about appearance."
Sheng Puzhu was not angry, instead she raised her chin proudly: "I can't help it, I am such a superficial girl, at least my appearance is clearly on the table for me to choose from."
"Besides, our family has our grandmother and grandfather to check on us. Do you think a man without family background and knowledge can be included in the Sheng family's husband selection book?"
"Oh, I almost forgot." Sheng Puzhu smiled coldly, "The young man from the Changxing Marquisate was not included in our Sheng family's husband selection book. The Changxing Marquis's son was chosen by my second sister herself at a poetry gathering."
Sheng Mingshu was not stupid. Since her elder sister had said so much, she was afraid that her falling into the water was probably the result of a plot by someone with ulterior motives.
Thinking of this, she covered her chest, which was about to suffocate, and said in a hoarse voice: "So, big sister, do you think I was wrong?"
"What could you possibly do wrong?"
"It's not your fault for saving someone, and it's not your fault for falling down. The ones who are at fault are those who used despicable means to scheme against you."
Sheng Puzhu leaned over, took Sheng Mingshu's cold hand, and said softly, "Leave this matter to me."
"I have some friendship with Princess Duanyang. Princess Changning is the legitimate daughter of Prince Ning, and Prince Ning and Princess Duanyang happen to be siblings born to the same mother."
"Can you find out?" Sheng Mingshu clenched her hands into fists.
Sheng Puzhu smiled, and it was obvious that he had made up his mind: "I will take care of it, you can put your mind at ease."
The two of them were close to each other, and from Sheng Mingshu's angle, she could just see her smooth and flawless neck. Because it was cold, she had a fox fur scarf buckled around her collar, and a snow-white part was exposed outside, like a pile of fresh snow, or like shiny white porcelain.
Sheng Mingshu looked at the dazzling beauty in front of her. Perhaps because she had been crying for so long, her mind suddenly became tense. Without thinking, she asked, "Sis, you haven't consummated your marriage with your brother-in-law since he returned to Chang'an, right?"
"Didn't my sister say that a couple can be loving just by looking at their faces?"
Sheng Puzhu's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly realized the implication of her words: "Why, you can tell that my husband and I are not in love just by looking at our faces?"
"Two sisters, weren't you talking nicely just now?"
"Why did you start arguing?"
Although Sheng Mingshu was weak, her voice was not low at all: "Don't talk for now, I'm asking my elder sister."
Sheng Puzhu snorted coldly, saying confidently, "Of course it's a loving couple."
"You're lying!"
"The day after my eldest sister-in-law and my brother consummated their marriage, I saw it clearly when I went to pay my respects to my sister-in-law. The underside of her dress was covered with red marks like plum blossoms from the consummation of her marriage."
"I even asked my grandmother about this privately. She said it was proof of the couple's love and told me not to spread it."
"There's not even a slight mark on Big Sister's neck, let alone a red mark."
"See, I told you so!"
"Just looking at your husband's face won't do."
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