Chapter 39 Ripples (Seventeen) Just half an inch away from slicing through her...
"Second brother, have you been drinking?" Zhi Rou asked, staring at his collar.
Song Qizhang raised his sleeve to smell it, then lowered it and smiled: "Is it very pungent? Tell Pei Cheng to stop the car and come over."
Zhi Rou remained seated, unmoving: "Did you two start a fight?"
Song Qizhang was a kind and gentle person, which was also true to the "Zhang" in his name. He could resolve conflicts with words. He never used martial arts, which is why, despite his tall stature, he was a truly frail scholar.
If He Tingzhou dares to bully her second brother, she will definitely take revenge. Zhi Rou thought to herself.
"No." Song Qizhang listened to her, lowering his eyes and straightening his robes. Just now in the building, He Tingzhou refused to exchange clothes with him, and he had nothing to say, so he picked up the pot, poured a cup of wine, and splashed it on himself.
Zhi Rou and Song Qizhang have been close since childhood. He may seem carefree and irresponsible, but if you had to pick the one in the Song family who is best at keeping secrets, it would definitely be his second brother.
"Really not?" she asked again.
Song Qizhang was amused by her suspicion: "Really, why would I bother arguing with that brute?"
Fearing she wouldn't believe him, he added, "We were just toasting each other, and when we were blocking the way, we got pushed and shoved, and some spilled. When have I ever hidden it from my fourth sister?"
Zhi Rou's bright eyes swept over his face for a moment, but he showed no sign of guilt. He raised one hand and gestured towards the window: "Is Cousin Wei seeing you off? He always does that?"
Zhi Rou then shifted her gaze and saw Wei Yuanzhan's robes through the swaying curtains.
She couldn't remember when it started, but he would always escort her home after dark. Just like now, he rode his horse, leisurely accompanying her all the way to the gate of the Song residence.
Zhi Rou felt a little relieved when she didn't answer correctly. She leaned against the corner of the car, closed her eyes, and hugged her arms to rest. When Song Qizhang called her to get out of the car, he realized that she had actually fallen asleep.
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Zhi Rou got up very early again and practiced energetically in the courtyard for an hour.
After breakfast, she and Song Hanjin entered the family school together. Song Hanjin did not let go of her hand and pulled her towards Song Qiyu's seat.
Zhi Rou didn't understand what she meant, but then she saw Song Hanjin already sitting down next to her, gesturing with her hand: "Sit down, what can you hear from behind?"
She frowned slightly: "This is not my seat."
“My brother will be staying at Tingsong Academy from now on and won’t be coming here anymore. Aren’t you going to sit here?” Song Hanjin glanced around and lowered her voice, “Should we give it to them?”
Those from the collateral branches never gave Zhi Rou a kind look, and some even sided with Song Peiyu, believing that she had used tricks to drive her away. Although they were not close to Song Peiyu either, it was very displeasing that a mere maid like her could wield such power in the family school.
Zhi Rou didn't care about any of that and chuckled lightly: "I'm used to sitting in the back, Third Sister. It makes me nervous to be so close to the teacher here."
Hearing this, Song Hanjin was furious at her for being so spineless, but upon reflection, she realized it made sense. Since joining the Song family, Zhi Rou's only goal had been to win over her grandmother; she never competed for anything else, accepting whatever was given to her without any desire whatsoever.
Song Hanjin sighed and let her go back. Seeing several members of the collateral branches looking at the empty seat, she glanced sideways and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Shortly after, Zhi Rou took her seat and greeted Sheng Xingyun and the others.
Wei Yuanzhan and Sheng Xingyun seemed to have reconciled. The two sat and stood, with Wei Yuanzhan casually holding a book, one hand resting under his other elbow, occasionally glancing at the door frame.
Sheng Xingyun leaned against the wall, raised an eyebrow, and said, "He is a bit strange, but he has a good heart. I have never met a businessman who is more loyal and righteous than him."
They were originally talking about Jiang Yun.
The Jiang and Sheng families are old friends. Sheng Xingyun and the Jiang siblings were childhood sweethearts and very familiar with each other.
Wei Yuanzhan lowered his gaze slightly and shook his head coldly: "So, you're wrong about people."
"What's the meaning?"
Wei Yuanzhan ignored the discussion, turned slightly to the side, and called to Song Zhirou: "Don't forget today."
"Forgot what?" Sheng Xingyun asked curiously.
Zhi Rou waved her hand at him: "I know."
She had to spar with him. Zhi Rou frowned; this was really troublesome.
His gun was heavy and sharp, making it difficult for her to defend herself, and besides, she didn't like guns.
Zhi Rou's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked up and glanced at Song Qiyu's seat for a moment.
The older brother also practices shooting.
It was springtime, and a light snow was still falling from the sky. A few scattered flakes landed on the gun, shimmering with a faint glow. Beneath the gun tip, Zhi Rou braced herself with her elbows on the ground, half of her body leaning back, as if she were suffocating.
His gun was just half an inch away from slicing through her jaw. So close, for the first time, Zhi Rou felt her life was threatened.
Song Qiyu looked down at her for a moment before stopping, using the tip of his sword to deflect her fallen sword.
"Your sword is not sharpened; it's nothing but scrap metal."
Zhi Rou remained standing on the ground, her eyes red-rimmed, her hands and lips tightly pressed together, forcing herself not to let the tears fall.
The fine hairs drifted through the doors and windows, revealing her fair face like ink wash painting.
Zhi Rou was instinctively afraid of guns and unwilling to reveal it, so she had no choice but to agree to Wei Yuanzhan's request.
Sheng Xingyun noticed that they had started speaking in a language only the two of them could understand, as if they were using a secret code. Even though he and Wei Yuanzhan had been friends for many years, he couldn't help but feel jealous when this happened so often.
He crossed his arms and strode over: "Hey Yuanzhan, can you change your habit of ignoring people all the time? What did you mean when you said I'm bad at judging people?"
The brocade robes came into view, and Wei Yuanzhan looked up and stared at him.
I really don't know how to say it.
Wei Yuanzhan and Jiang Yun were not acquainted, and he did not want to make his point too clear or openly belittle anyone behind their back.
Sheng Xingyun felt insecure under his gaze, and unconsciously grinned, revealing an unnatural smile: "Forget it, don't say it, I'm not curious."
“In my opinion, you are the most loyal and righteous person,” Wei Yuanzhan said calmly.
He felt flustered after being spoken to by Sheng Xingyun for a moment, and his steps faltered slightly, as if he had forgotten how to walk.
What Wei Yuanzhan said matched exactly what he had just said about Jiang Yun, except that Wei Yuanzhan wasn't referring to "businessmen".
When a friend he'd known for a long time suddenly praised him like that, Sheng Xingyun chuckled, completely unaware that it was an irrelevant answer. He didn't know whether he was flattered or something else.
Zhi Rou promised to practice shooting with Wei Yuanzhan, but ultimately didn't keep her word.
Upon returning to Longyue Pavilion, Xinghui presented a scroll to the table, saying, "Fourth Miss, this was sent from the Ling residence this morning as a gift for our first meeting."
Zhi Rou frowned and glanced at it. Wasn't she supposed to go to the Ling residence to paint it for her next time? Why did she bring it here herself? Is this Miss Ling determined not to go to her again?
Remembering how Ling Ziheng had lied to her, Zhi Rou's face darkened. She went behind the screen to change her clothes, and after a moment's thought, she called to Xing Hui, "Sister Xing Hui, could you help me open it and take a look at that painting?"
Xing responded and unfolded the painting, her gaze falling. She couldn't help but prop her eyelids open and turned to compare the painting with Zhi Rou's: "Fourth Miss, who painted this? It doesn't look quite like you... but the eyes and nose are somewhat similar, I can't quite put my finger on it."
Zhi Rou fastened her armbands, slowly stepped to the table, and glanced coldly at the person in the painting.
I really can't say for sure.
Perhaps the painting wasn't originally of her, so she naturally wouldn't look for similarities to herself, but as she looked at it, it did resemble someone... If her mother were a little younger, she would probably look about 70% like this portrait.
After a long silence, Zhi Rou suddenly scoffed, "Boring." She asked Xing Hui to take the painting away, picked up Xiao Jian, and headed towards Qi Yun Garden.
Meanwhile, when Xinghui was painting, she noticed a scarlet mark on the earlobe of the woman in the painting. She paused, then muttered, "Does Aunt Lin also have a scar like that..."
Lin He doesn't wear jewelry, and her hair, usually styled in a bun, always has a few strands hanging down to gently cover her cheeks. Even so, she doesn't appear weak or frail, and she maintains her dignified bearing.
Xinghui had worked at Xixiang Garden before. That day, the Fourth Miss was staying in Lin He's room. Xinghui went in to fetch water, and Lin He was wiping her hands and tying her hair up, cleaning the Fourth Miss who had a high fever.
The light and shadows were dim, and Xinghui, holding a candle, went to the bedside to check if the Fourth Sister was still burning up. It was then that she noticed a conspicuous scar on Lin He's ear. It wasn't frightening, but the fact that it was on her earlobe was rather unusual.
Upon hearing her words, Zhi Rou abruptly stopped, her surprised gaze falling on her face: "What did you say?"
As dusk approached, Zhi Rou arrived earlier than usual. Lin He glanced out the window, slightly puzzled: "Did you come back from Qi Yun Garden?"
"I didn't go to Qiyun Garden."
Zhi Rou landed on the plum blossom stool and looked at the candlelight on the table. The light was too weak, making the whole room look like a dark room with only a faint yellow light.
Doesn't Mother like bright places? Why is it always so dark when I come?
Her behavior was unusual, but Lin He didn't notice it in time. As usual, he asked her, "What did the teacher teach today? Did you understand?"
Zhi Rou replied, "It's still arithmetic, which is a bit difficult, but my third sister said she can teach me when she has time."
Lin He nodded slightly, about to say something, when she saw her point to her ear: "Mother, how did you get this scar?"
As she asked, she moved the plum blossom stool next to Lin He. In fact, she had heard the reason for the injury countless times, but she couldn't help asking again, as if she wanted to borrow her mother's memories to see her younger self in the past.
Lin He sat on the couch, her expression serene.
That scar was from when she was young and went out to play with Chang Yu, and she accidentally got it.
At that moment, Chang Yu was kneeling on the veranda, his long arm around her. He was terrified by the blood flowing from her earlobe into her collar. He wanted to cover it with his hand, but he was afraid that his hands would get dirty. He was so anxious that he almost cried.
Later, she was unharmed, but she was left with a scar on her earlobe. Her father had always disliked Changyu for being carefree and had led her astray.
When he saw him that day, he didn't show any kindness. General Chang said to his father, "Xiao Yu is naughty and has damaged Xi'er's appearance. Today I will leave him here for you to deal with as you see fit." After saying that, he left without looking back.
Her father really did beat him up. She watched from the side and saw that he didn't cry out or make a sound. The more she looked at him, the more heartbroken she felt.
"Didn't you ask?" Lin He pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at Zhi Rou's face. "I went to my friend's house with your father to play. I went through the window. I was young then and too playful. I didn't care about anything. I had just climbed onto the windowsill when I suddenly saw his wife writing inside. I lost my footing and fell down, hitting my ear."
“Since Mother and Father met so early on, they should have had a deep relationship. Why did he abandon us in Luozhou and not care about us for nine years?”
Zhi Rou asked this question many times, but dared not think too deeply about it. She believed whatever her mother said, fearing that if she thought too much, everything would not stand up to scrutiny.
Lin He lowered her eyes, and swallowed hard as she began to speak: "Your father... he has his reasons."
Zhi Rou raised her eyes and stared at Lin He without blinking.
"Mother, would you lie to me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
