Chapter 38 Ripples (Sixteen) The Fourth Sister's tail is wagging so high it's practically in the sky...
The Dou Kui competition at Chang Le Lou is held every three years, and every time it is held, the venue is packed.
The bamboo flute had already begun to play when, as was customary, the first musician gracefully carried her zither and calmly descended to the dance hall. With a flick of her fingers, the music began to resonate, captivating the audience below. Few noticed the commotion in the aisle.
As usual, Wei Yuanzhan casually put his arm around Zhi Rou's shoulder, just like he always did with his partner. The warmth of his palm seeped through her clothes and into Zhi Rou's body, giving her a strange sense of peace.
Zhi Rou glanced at him sideways, but said the opposite: "You don't need to do that, I'm not afraid of him."
Wei Yuanzhan chuckled lightly: "Who have you ever been afraid of?"
Zhi Rou's temperament can be both cautious and reckless.
If Wei Yuanzhan doesn't care about her, she won't suffer physically, but what about what people say? She already has a lot of gossip because of her identity. If someone recognizes her dressed as a man at Chang Le Lou, it will be another new topic of conversation.
Wei Yuanzhan didn't want her to be exposed, but He Tingzhou was really clueless.
Just as they were about to step out the door, a voice came from behind them. Zhi Rou felt a hand tighten on her shoulder, gripping it so tightly it hurt.
At this distance, He Tingzhou couldn't see the shorter figure clearly at first, but as he observed the figure closely, considering that Song Qizhang was here today, "he" could only be Song Zhirou.
Upon seeing Wei Yuanzhan, it was as if a raging fire was raging in his chest, ruining his good mood. He Tingzhou suddenly lost his temper and shouted at him, "Young Master Wei, have you been hiding my things?"
Chang Huai and Lan Ye also stopped at this moment, glancing at Wei Yuanzhan questioningly. He did indeed stop, a wicked smile appearing on his lips, indicating that he was angry.
Things. He Tingzhou referred to Zhi Rou as, "his, east, west?"
Wei Yuanzhan nudged Zhi Rou, letting her go first, then turned his back and looked at He Tingzhou.
Her voice held a flirtatious laugh: "Young Master He, why aren't you wearing the clothes I gave you? Don't you like them?"
Upon hearing this, He Tingzhou's expression changed drastically. His brothers who had traveled with him had also seen Wei Yuanzhan come to the He residence to deliver gifts.
Most of them only knew Wei Shizi and had never interacted with him. Suddenly, they recalled that day in the front yard of the He family mansion, when the young man was dressed in white, pretending to be docile, but his actions were shocking.
No one was willing to offend the Marquis of Yining's mansion and the arrogant Prince Wei for He Tingzhou's sake.
Naturally, she pulled her head back, awkwardly pinched He Tingzhou's shoulder, and gently advised, "It's already started, didn't we come to see Miss Tao Zhen?"
“Yes,” someone else said, “Lady Taozhen is looking this way, don’t be impolite…”
But young people are most impetuous. He Tingzhou felt his anger rise even more after hearing their advice. Regardless of the occasion, he shook off them and strode forward.
The sound of the pipa flowed like a rushing stream inside the building, accompanied by the soft chatter of people sipping their cups, making the scene at the entrance seem insignificant.
He Tingzhou didn't want to escalate the situation; he just wanted to vent his anger and regain some ground. Therefore, he didn't raise his voice, but Wei Yuanzhan could hear him clearly.
"So that's why Prince Wei punched me without asking any questions at the spring banquet that day. It turns out it was because of that bastard from the Song family."
There was just one thing he couldn't understand: weren't Wei Yuanzhan and Song Zhirou's relationship quite superficial? At the spring banquet two years ago, Wei Yuanzhan himself had said something that was just as barbed as what Song Zhirou had said.
Upon hearing the words, Wei Yuanzhan's expression suddenly darkened; he had been holding back his anger for a long time. Just as he was about to speak, a hand carrying a wine jug bumped into He Tingzhou from the side, spilling wine all over him.
"Sorry, sorry, there were too many people, my hands were sore from being jostled." Song Qizhang lowered his eyes and saw that He Tingzhou's clothes were stained with large patches of sweat. He reached out and carelessly dusted them off for him, while pretending to be polite.
"Oh dear, it's all wet... Here, take it off, I'll swap with you as an apology, okay?"
This made He Tingzhou lose face in public, so angry that he couldn't even speak. He could only brush away the hands on his body and straighten himself up.
Wei Yuanzhan smiled, exchanged a glance with Song Qizhang, and stepped outside the building.
The night was as dark as ink, and rows of lanterns hung from the eaves, their light illuminating the end of the street.
A few constables were sitting at a nearby stall. It seemed they had finished their shift and were here to drink. They borrowed a small door to listen to the melodious music wafting from Chang Le Lou, which was quite a unique experience.
Zhi Rou stood with her back against the painted wall under the long eaves, her hands clasped together, kicking the withered leaves on the ground listlessly.
For some reason, Wei Yuanzhan and her second brother always thought she needed someone to protect her, and whenever she encountered trouble, they would drag her out and push her far away. In fact, they didn't need to do that, since such protection couldn't last long. It would be better for her to solve those troubles herself, once and for all.
But Wei Yuanzhan had already pushed her away, so she wouldn't be ungrateful, nor would she cause him any trouble. She just stood there quietly and waited.
Wei Yuanzhan stepped out of the building and, out of the corner of his eye, caught a glimpse of a figure under the lantern.
She stood against the wall, her figure as slender as a green bamboo. The dazzling light fell on her face, making her both beautiful and aloof, with a touch of innate heroic spirit. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that she was still young and hadn't gained much weight, which explained why she could disguise herself as a man so convincingly that strangers couldn't tell the difference.
Realizing where his gaze was directed, Wei Yuanzhan was suddenly startled and quickly turned his face away, his eyelashes trembling more violently than ever before.
Just then, Zhi Rou turned her head and saw him: "Are you done? Where's Second Brother?"
As she asked, she glanced back into the room, but all she saw were piles of silks and satins; she couldn't catch a glimpse of Song Qizhang.
“It should be soon,” Wei Yuanzhan replied, his gaze still fixed to the side, standing like a stake, refusing to look at her.
The capital city at night is bustling, with all sorts of lively activities passing by, dispelling any negative emotions. Zhi Rou chuckled lightly, thinking that Luo Luo's deception of her was no big deal, and there was no need to overthink it.
So he changed his mind and set his sights on Wei Yuanzhan: "By the way, what did you originally want to see me for? Did Master send you?"
Before she came out after changing her clothes, Wei Yuanzhan came to the pavilion to find her, and he seemed to have something to say to her.
Wei Yuanzhan said, "My master said your swordsmanship is better than mine..."
He cut off the rest of his words, raised his chin, and said again, "Anyway, my master told me to train with you. I'll use a gun."
These words were much simpler than before, and somewhat fragmented, like two pieces picked up from a brocade spread across the ground and pieced together for her.
Zhi Rou raised an eyebrow suspiciously: "You use a gun?"
In close combat, his gun was far less agile than his sword.
His awkward demeanor... Zhi Rou slowly smiled, guessing what was going on, and deliberately exposed his shortcomings: "What exactly did Master say? Did he praise me?"
Wei Yuanzhan, concerned with his image, frowned and ignored her completely.
Changhuai and the others watched from behind, thinking that the Fourth Sister was like a puppy, wagging her tail in the air.
Wei Yuanzhan deliberately prevented her from taking his sights away, and it seemed as if he was doing it on purpose. She fluttered around him, which he found quite amusing.
"Tell me, Wei Yuanzhan, tell me, what exactly did Master praise me for? Tell me, okay?"
Zhi Rou was determined to succeed, and she had already started to pull at his sleeve, intending to drag him, face and all, towards her to answer her question.
She was just like a puppy, so enthusiastic that Wei Yuanzhan couldn't help but smile briefly when she wasn't looking.
Lan Ye, with her sharp eyes, noticed Wei Yuanzhan's expression and, as if she were seeing things, blinked.
He stopped laughing.
But the master, a man who was so particular about his appearance, actually let the fourth young lady do whatever she wanted to him, without doing anything at all.
Lan Ye furrowed his brow, instinctively unable to understand.
Wei Yuanzhan could no longer contain Zhi Rou's antics and grabbed her hand, saying, "Stop fooling around."
"What exactly did Master say?" she pressed, not intending to let him off easily.
Wei Yuanzhan had no choice but to look down at her and say, "I'll say your swordsmanship is superb and masterful, is that enough?"
He casually picked out two words, deliberately exaggerating them, and refused to repeat the exact words to her, even if it meant "death."
Zhi Rou curled her lips, feeling smug. She turned around and stepped aside, then sat down on a bench, lifting her robe as she scrutinized him.
"Are you really that unwilling to lose to me?"
Wei Yuanzhan did not respond.
He seemed to enjoy competing with her, always wanting to tease her. And sometimes, he was indeed very competitive; it wasn't that he didn't want to lose to her, but rather that he didn't want to lose.
He's been doing it this way all these years and hasn't found anything wrong with it; he'll probably continue doing it this way in the future.
Zhi Rou always knew how to provoke Wei Yuanzhan, and she gave him that sly smile again: "Fine, I'll have to give you a break to satisfy your extreme competitive spirit."
Wei Yuanzhan squinted and said, "Do I need you to give way to me?"
Just then, Song Qizhang's figure came into view. Zhi Rou quickly got up and walked past Wei Yuanzhan: "Second brother, shall we go back?"
Looking down, she noticed some water stains on Song Qizhang's body and that his clothes were slightly wrinkled. Zhi Rou couldn't help but furrow her brows and clench her fists.
Song Qizhang didn't seem to mind, maintaining his unruly demeanor. He exchanged a few words with Wei Yuanzhan before taking his leave.
Zhi Rou kept glancing at Song Qizhang, wanting to ask him something, but hesitated, carefully protecting her second brother's face.
When Pei Cheng brought the carriage, Zhi Rou didn't get in; she wanted to ride in Song Qizhang's. She still wanted to ask him something.
Once inside the car, Song Qizhang felt uncomfortable as Zhi Rou's gaze lingered on his face for a long time.
He cleared his throat twice, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves outside.
Song Qizhang was puzzled. He lifted the curtain and glanced outside. He saw Wei Yuanzhan riding a horse, which was moving slowly, following the rhythm of the carriage.
The Marquis's residence and their Song residence were not on the same route; they could only travel together for a short distance before parting ways.
Is Wei Yuanzhan really going to escort them even though it's such a short distance?
Song Qizhang turned his head to look at Zhi Rou, who was still staring at him.
"Fourth sister, tell me. What do you want?"
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