Chapter 37 Ripples (15) That was a unique habit of Wei Yuanzhan...
Zhi Rou saw Jiang Luo Ya upstairs.
When she unexpectedly ran into a friend she hadn't seen for days, Zhi Rou couldn't suppress a smile. Hearing Wei Yuanzhan ask about Jiang Yun, she casually pointed and said, "He's here. Would you like to meet him?"
His gaze was still on Luo Luo; he wanted to greet her, but also wanted to wait and see when she would notice him.
Wei Yuanzhan's expression turned slightly cold; he was quite displeased with Zhi Rou's reaction. He lifted his robe and sat down again, glancing sideways at the long staircase, where he spotted the man in the Taoist robe.
Compared to the sons of other business families, he appeared much colder and more aloof. He didn't have a smiling face and even seemed somewhat dejected. He walked at a leisurely pace, and the courtesans would greet him with a smile, calling him "Young Master."
Jiang Yun seemed taciturn and did not respond, only a polite smile appeared on her lips as she slowly walked past them.
It wasn't until he stopped at the bottom of the stairs that that face came into Wei Yuanzhan's view with perfect clarity, like a sharp blade gleaming in the sunlight, making him pause in surprise.
Wei Yuanzhan had seen this face before.
More than once.
His fingers clenched on his knees, his brows furrowed for a moment, then relaxed, showing no sign of anything amiss.
Zhi Rou turned to look at him: "Do you need to see Jiang Yun? I'll introduce you?"
Wei Yuanzhan didn't even blink: "No."
He's not here to make friends, so what's the point of introducing him?
Zhi Rou had long been used to Wei Yuanzhan's inexplicable behavior; he had his own thoughts, and she couldn't control them.
She turned her head back to look down at the long staircase. Jiang Luoya stood there coldly, unaware of her presence.
Zhi Rou couldn't wait any longer and wanted to quickly share the joy of their encounter. She looked around and suddenly asked Chang Huai, "Are there any more paper balls?"
Back in the old family school, Changhuai often helped Wei Yuanzhan relay messages. Most of the time, it was when they were arguing, and Wei Yuanzhan had something to say but refused to speak, not even sparing a glance.
As Wei Yuanzhan's most capable subordinate, Changhuai had the duty to uphold his master's reputation and the obligation to do what his master wanted. Therefore, he copied down everything his master wanted to say, crumpled it into a small piece, and threw it on the Fourth Miss's desk.
This method has been used to this day, and Changhuai always carries a roll of paper and a pen with him. He took it out, handed it to Zhirou, and asked hesitantly, "What does Fourth Miss need the paper for?"
Zhi Rou said, "Call for help."
She tore off a palm-sized piece, held it in her hand, and before she could throw it down, a commotion suddenly broke out at the top of the stairs.
The draped Shu brocade beside the stage couldn't withstand the force of the person's fall. With a muffled "thud," a young man fell onto the Shu brocade, ruining the entire setup.
Jiang Yun stood before him, his strong, handsome eyes looking down at him with a half-serious, half-fake smile: "Last time, Young Master Qin lost his composure while drunk. How about this time? Still drunk?"
Xiaoyu was shielded behind Jiang Yun, half-turned, with her sleeves pulled up. Although her eyes were lowered, she had a somewhat aloof air about her.
It turned out that the young master Qin had made unwanted advances towards Xiaoyu, and Jiang Yun, enraged, had knocked him to the ground. The other guests also scoffed at the young master Qin's behavior; Chang Le Lou was not a brothel, but a refined place, and such a person's presence there was truly an affront to their senses.
Immediately, discussions arose, everyone's voices were low, but when they gathered together, they created a somewhat hazy commotion.
The young master Qin's actions had been exposed, and not once before. Yet, he felt a sense of shame. He staggered to his feet, pointed at Jiang Yun and said "you" three times. Finally, his face flushed red, he uttered, "You wait!" and fled.
Wei Yuanzhan watched silently, lost in thought.
Zhi Rou's gaze, like Wei Yuanzhan's, lingered on Jiang Yun.
Perhaps her gaze was too obvious, for Jiang Luoya's eyes, in a moment of distraction, fixed on her. Sure enough, her initial surprise turned to delight, and she said something to Jiang Yun before grabbing her skirt and swimming up the long ladder.
Jiang Yun glanced up at the window and saw a straight and upright figure disappear from the windowsill. The person sitting by the window was a handsome young man with a golden and jade-like appearance.
After their eyes met for a moment, Jiang Yun looked away from the slightly hostile gaze and ordered her servants to restore the place to its original state.
When Jiang Luoya came up, Zhi Rou immediately focused all her attention on her and ran to the outside of the room to wait for her.
The two were delighted to see each other and held hands affectionately. As they walked, Zhi Rou asked, "Can you see my second brother down there?"
"I ran into him. He seemed to have a friend downstairs, and he said he'd come up in a bit."
Upon entering, one sees three men in the room. The two older men stand by the table, their hands on their knives and their eyes downcast; they are clearly the attendants of the man seated above.
Jiang Luoya couldn't help but look at him closely.
The moment he made a move, he looked over, stood up, his gaze fixed on Zhi Rou, without glancing at her.
"The heir of the Marquis of Yining," Jiang Luoya thought to herself.
She had seen him before, several times at spring banquets and a few times at the Song residence. He was always like this, with particularly proper eyes that never strayed or looked around indiscriminately.
Jiang Luoya gave a slight curtsy, but did not utter any formal greeting.
Just now, Zhi Rou introduced them: "This is Miss Jiang, my good friend. This is the heir of the Marquis of Yining, my..."
Zhi Rou struggled to find the right words – "senior brother," "relative," or "enemy" – before finally managing a forced smile. Her words sounded rather perfunctory.
"A friend."
Upon hearing Wei Yuanzhan's startled cry, which was probably a laugh of anger, but given his upbringing, he wouldn't neglect a girl he had just met, so he raised his sleeve and returned the greeting.
Jiang Luoya seemed somewhat arrogant. She turned her gaze away from Wei Yuanzhan, pulled Zhirou to sit down on the couch, and praised her for her handsome appearance in men's clothing.
“I was looking at you downstairs just now and thought you were a relative’s brother. You looked familiar, but it took me a while to recognize you.”
Zhi Rou let her look at her openly: "Why did you come out today? Didn't your mother say you weren't allowed to go out after dark?"
Jiang Luoya pursed her lips: "Don't mention it, I didn't want to either, it's..."
At this point, after glancing at Chang Huai and the others for a while, probably keeping their mouths shut, he continued, "It's that young prince. He said that the Princess of Jiayang once heard Sister Xiaoyu perform music and loved it so much that she wanted to spend a lot of money to buy Sister Xiaoyu to the palace and have her be the Princess of Jiayang's teacher."
The young prince she spoke of was His Majesty's eleventh son. He was slightly mentally challenged, but his maternal clan, the Xie family, had rendered great service to the court. His Majesty felt guilty about this, so after the prince came of age, he chose a wife for him from the daughter of a meritorious official and granted him a residence in the capital, so that he would never have to serve as a prince in his fiefdom.
The young prince also has an older sister, who is the only princess among His Majesty's many children who did not die young.
His Majesty doted on her, and she had a deep affection for the young prince. As a result, no one in the entire capital dared to show any disrespect to this young prince who was still immature.
A dozen or so candles illuminated the room. Jiang Luoya smoothed her hair, her tone light and airy, yet tinged with a hint of resentment.
“Father is not in the capital, and the family business is all managed by my brother. Xiaoyu is the living advertisement of Chang Le Lou. How could my brother bear to let her go? I heard that the Princess of Jiayang is the same age as me, so my brother thought of sending me here to try to make connections.”
Zhi Rou remembered that Jiang Luoya had also mentioned going to socialize with Thirteenth Sister last time. Just thinking about living a life where she was being arranged for by others made her feel unbearable.
"You've worked so hard." Zhi Rou poured her tea, her gaze shifting a few inches to the side before settling on the swaying light and shadow.
Remembering something, she looked up and changed the subject, "Did you receive the gift I sent you last time?"
Jiang Luoya was startled; if Zhirou hadn't brought it up, she would have completely forgotten about it.
She didn't even open the wooden box to look at it, and directly told the nanny to take it away, and no one knows where she threw it away.
Jiang Luoya felt slightly awkward, her hands hanging limply on her dress, fidgeting and then opening them: "Ah... I received it. Why did you give me that? It's pretty, but I don't really need it."
"Really?" Zhi Rou asked softly, then added, "You don't like it?"
Jiang Luoya was stung by her sincere and clear gaze, and suddenly felt guilty, her smile becoming awkward.
It's not that I dislike it, it's just that it's not suitable.
The room was only so big, and every word of their conversation reached Wei Yuanzhan's ears. He glanced at Jiang Luoya a few times and tapped the table lightly with his hand.
The commotion was very small, but Zhi Rou noticed it. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she seemed a little irritated.
That was a habit unique to Wei Yuanzhan.
Whenever he heard someone lie, or when he was bored and wanted to stay somewhere for too long, he would bend his knuckles and tap them absentmindedly on the edge of the table.
At this moment, Zhirou was almost certain.
Jiang Luoya is lying to her.
Why? Zhi Rou couldn't figure it out, and her face showed some absent-mindedness.
Just then, the sound of a bamboo flute began, officially marking the start of the Dou Kui competition. Song Qizhang pushed open the door and entered, nodding to Jiang Luoya whom he had encountered again, before strolling to the window.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Luoya, feeling awkward, stood up and said to Zhi Rou, "I won't bother you any longer. My brother still needs me."
As she spoke, she glanced at the tea table again, "Young Master Wei, Young Master Song, please keep me company."
Wei Yuanzhan gave a perfunctory reply, and after everyone left, he straightened his posture a bit and asked Song Qizhang, "What is it that my cousin is looking for?"
Wei Yuanzhan had been gazing into the building, staring at Song Qizhang for a long time.
He didn't come to listen to music.
These words startled Song Qizhang, who lowered his head slightly: "What?"
With a pretentious air, Wei Yuanzhan stopped talking.
After a short while, Song Qizhang moved in front of Zhirou and said, "Fourth sister, let's go." He lowered his voice and said, "I ran into He Tingzhou downstairs."
He had just inquired with Jiang Yun and learned that Lan Wen hadn't come for some time, and as for the woman who had taken the pills, Jiang Yun had never seen her. Having gained nothing, he couldn't let his fourth sister stay here any longer and get involved in unnecessary trouble.
Unfortunately, as they went down, they ran into He Tingzhou.
Zhi Rou is disguised today, and unless you know her well, you would never know that she is actually a woman.
Song Qizhang tried to cover it up, but Zhi Rou hated the feeling of hiding, which easily stirred up her embarrassing memories of Luozhou.
She wanted to step forward and confront the problem head-on.
Before he could even take a step, an arm suddenly draped over his shoulder, and Wei Yuanzhan's voice came from above: "Just go."
To outsiders, they simply appear to be two teenagers walking arm in arm.
He Tingzhou passed by them with a displeased look, but he dared not provoke Wei Yuanzhan, that wicked star, again.
After a long while, he suddenly turned around, scrutinized the slender figure from top to bottom for a long time, chuckled, and, as if he had noticed something, said loudly, "Young Master Wei, have you been hiding something from me?"
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