055
"Let's walk a little further," Qin Sang said, taking a step forward. "This way?"
The servant led her around the thatched huts that covered half the lake and into a dense bamboo forest.
The bamboo forest towers into the clouds, almost blocking out the sun, and wildflowers bloom profusely beneath it, like twinkling stars.
Walking through it feels like being in a sea of bamboo, with a gentle breeze blowing and the view stretching as far as the eye can see.
After walking for a while, suddenly the sound of a zither came from the woods, like a mountain spring, yet with a hint of mournful lament.
Qin Sang had never heard such unique music before, and couldn't help but stop and listen.
“What is this?” she asked.
The attendant stopped and replied, "Music. If you like, young lady, let's go this way." He gestured towards a side path.
The music was truly exceptional, and the musician's skill was superb. Qin Sang wanted to see who was playing the instrument, so she turned in the direction the attendant pointed.
The path is also in the bamboo forest. After walking for a while, you can vaguely see a bamboo platform and a white-clad musician playing the zither with his head lowered on the platform.
Behind the bamboo platform was a small bamboo and wooden hut, and Qin Sang naturally wondered what it was used for.
She thought to herself that if she were a man, she would probably be surrounded by all sorts of beautiful women wherever her servants led her.
When the musician saw someone coming, he did not stop playing. However, the music suddenly became louder and faster, with a tempestuous rhythm like a storm or a stampede of horses, which made people's hearts tremble.
After the song ended, he slowly withdrew his hand and raised his eyebrows to look at Qin Sang.
The musician was only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a handsome and serene face, eyes as deep and still as a pool of water, and a touch of gentle smile.
He asked, "Does my wife like my music?"
His voice was low, husky, and magnetic; it was pleasant to listen to.
She said, "I have never heard your music before, sir. It is very good."
The musician lowered his eyes and smiled, then reached out and stroked the zither. The music flowed out, and he said, "If you like it, my lady, come up and I will teach you."
Teaching someone to play the piano step by step—that's a really... tempting offer.
However, Qin Sang restrained herself from acting impulsively and politely thanked him.
Seeing her turn to leave, the servant was not in a hurry. He still smiled and led her back the way she came, back to the main stone path.
As she walked further, she could hear the sounds of pipa, stringed instruments, sheng and xiao, as well as flutes and zheng. Qin Sang resisted the urge to look at each instrument in turn and continued walking straight ahead.
She wanted to see the whole island of carefree joy, to know just how big it was, and to see what else was there besides these things.
The island has so many servants and entertainers, all of them handsome and skilled, and their boss must be incredibly powerful, having gathered them from who-knows-where.
They walked from the bamboo forest to the birch forest, and then to the pine forest. The scenery changed with each step, and the flowers, plants, and strange rocks were deliberately decorated.
Afterwards, the attendant led Qin Sang out of the forest, and the view opened up again, revealing a wide body of water, a clear lake nestled against the mountains.
Looking from afar, the hillside is dotted with many small wooden houses, their roofs resembling birds spreading their wings, as if poised to take flight from the cliff, which is quite interesting.
"Are we going to walk up?" She couldn't walk any further.
Then a servant waved his hand, and a sedan chair with a draped gauze curtain appeared out of nowhere. The sedan chair was not small; it was carried by four people.
The men carrying the palanquin, their muscular upper bodies bare and bulging as if about to burst, alighted in front of Qin Sang.
Qin Sang sat down calmly, immediately sensing a delicate fragrance wafting to her nose. The interior was decorated in a magnificent and elegant manner, and the sedan chair was steadily lifted up, heading towards the mountain.
Qin Sang asked the servant through the gauze curtain, "What's up on the mountain?"
The servant smiled and said, "I suppose the lady must be thirsty after walking around for so long. Let's go upstairs and get her some tea."
The art of tea, it seems, came into her hands.
Qin Sang nodded: "That's fine."
At this moment, another sedan chair carrying a person came down the mountain. As they passed each other, even through the gauze curtain, Qin Sang could vaguely see that the person sitting behind the curtain was a noblewoman who was no longer young.
She thought to herself that the owner of this Worry-Free Island was truly a talent, managing to poach lonely, wealthy women from secluded families. That must have been a money-making machine.
Thinking this, the sedan chair bearers moved quickly and arrived at the first bird-shaped wooden house in the blink of an eye.
Qin Sang said, "Let's go straight to the one with the best tea ceremony skills. There's no need to waste time."
The attendant nodded and gestured for people to continue upstairs.
Almost at the highest point of the mountain, they landed in front of a house with black walls and gray tiles, which looked the most magnificent.
In front of the wooden house is a small courtyard with a fence covered with white stones, as dazzling as snow, which contrasts sharply with the black and solemn wooden house.
She heard the sound of a piano and the sound of water rushing downhill, like a waterfall.
"Is this the highest point?" she asked.
The servant said, “Yes. Please go in, young lady.” He opened the fence.
Qin Sang paused for a moment, then finally stepped onto the snow-white cobblestones and headed towards the main hall of the house.
As soon as you reach the entrance, you can smell the rare aroma of tea. The main hall is open and connected to the mountain stream, extending out and half-suspended on the cliff.
A person sat in the hall, as if framed in a painting.
The man was no longer dressed in white; he wore a black robe with subtle patterns that hinted at wealth and status.
However, the man sat cross-legged in the hall, facing the valley, so Qin Sang could only see his back.
As luck would have it, the figure seemed somewhat familiar to her.
With these doubts in mind, Qin Sang quickened her pace and took a few steps forward.
****
Qin Sang thought that her portrait wouldn't dare to be taken to the Prime Minister's residence for verification, but she was wrong.
As soon as the portrait was produced, two copies were quickly made, and the teahouse owner sent people directly to the famous Right Prime Minister's residence in the capital.
Three henchmen each guarded a side gate. When they saw a servant coming out on business, they approached with a grin, took out a portrait, and respectfully asked, "May I ask, Granny, is this young man from your household?"
The old woman glanced at it and shook her head: "No."
Just then, at another side gate, Jinyun had just bought wontons for his young master when a servant came over with a portrait and asked with a grin, "May I ask, young master, is this young gentleman from your household?"
Jinyun assumed it was one of the servants from the manor who had gambled away money and was being chased to the door. He initially ignored it, but when he glanced at the portrait, he was taken aback.
The painter's skill was indeed superb, capturing Qin Sang's charm and beauty perfectly. Although she was dressed as a man, Jin Yun recognized her face at a glance.
His heart skipped a beat, and he asked the man, "What do you do? Why are you asking about her?"
The servant chuckled, "Young master made a purchase at our shop but didn't pay. His name was recorded, and the manager sent us to verify it. He said it was your esteemed son, Xie Sui'an..."
"Young Master Xie Sui'an?" Jinyun's eyes darted around, and he called out, "Then you all wait here."
He used his lightness skill to fly into the side gate in a flash, running through the flowers and leaves to his young master's study. Xie Sui'an was indeed studying hard.
"Young master, something terrible has happened!" Jinyun shouted anxiously as soon as he entered the room.
"Get to the point." Xie Sui'an didn't even look up, assuming that Jinyun was making a fuss again.
"Miss Qin Sang went out to buy things on credit using your name, and someone has come to her door!"
Xie Sui'an put down his book: "What? On credit? She's that poor?"
Jinyun: "It's true, she's still at the East Corner Gate. They even drew a portrait of her. Although she's dressed as a man, I could tell it was Miss Qin Sang the moment I saw her!"
Xie Sui'an slammed the book on the table, stood up, and walked over, saying, "This is outrageous! Fine, she bought on credit, but she dared to have her portrait painted! And using my name no less! Come on, where is she?"
Jinyun led Xie Sui'an to the East Corner Gate, but overheard two old women chatting in the garden—
"Don't worry too much. At least your son doesn't gamble. Just now when I came into the manor, I saw someone holding a portrait asking me questions. Heh, I wonder which rascal has borrowed money outside by using the name of the Prime Minister's manor. He's even come to the Prime Minister's manor here!"
Xie Sui'an had already passed by, but he remembered that these purchasing maids usually didn't come in through the east corner gate, so he went back and asked, "Where did you meet the person with the portrait?"
When the old woman saw Xie Sui'an suddenly appear, she was startled and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Reporting to Second Young Master, I met him at the West Corner Gate..."
Xie Sui'an frowned, a bad feeling creeping in.
He told Jinyun to go to the East Corner Gate, but he went to the West Corner Gate instead.
"Once you find them, stop them and bring them over for questioning!"
Jinyun nodded and left.
Xie Sui'an walked briskly while cursing, "They've got some nerve! I only didn't go to check on them for a day and they've already caused trouble. What a disgrace!"
After he exited the west gate, he saw no one.
At this moment, Jinyun also came over and said that the person had already left.
The two stared at each other, then Xie Sui'an pointed and said, "Let's go to the North Gate."
The master and servant hurried to the North Gate and, sure enough, saw a person squatting under the shade of a tree not far away, holding a scroll of portrait.
The north gate faces a deserted alley, where hardly anyone usually goes in or out.
Xie Sui'an patted Jinyun: "Go and capture him."
Jinyun nodded, then leaped over the high walls of the Prime Minister's residence and came out from the inside.
The man finally saw someone coming out, so he hurriedly grabbed the portrait and rushed over. As soon as he got close, Jinyun snatched the portrait away with a single move, and then subdued the man and pinned him to the ground in a few quick motions: "Our young master has some questions to ask. Be good, and I'll be gentle."
At this moment, Xie Sui'an came up and asked, "Where did the portrait come from? Where is the person in the portrait now?"
The man, who was being held down by Jinyun, said in a trembling voice, "I'll talk, I'll talk! He's on Worry-Free Island! But where is Worry-Free Island? I don't know either. If you want to find someone, you should go to our manager."
Worry-Free Island!!!
In an instant, Xie Sui'an's face darkened, and he shouted, "Lead the way!"
***
Amidst the wisps of smoke, Qin Sang bypassed the man and the tea table, walking to the opposite side of the man in black, only to find that this man was wearing a mask.
My gaze shifted downwards, and I saw that his fingers were long and slender, white as scallions, but his palms were rather large. For a moment, I was in a daze and couldn't tell whether the person in front of me was a man or a woman.
These beautiful hands were pinching tea leaves into the mortar and pestle, and then slowly pounding the tea with the pestle.
Qin Sang then watched as the brittle tea leaves slowly crumbled into powder in the mortar.
His hands are beautiful; the way he holds the tea mortar and pestle is also beautiful.
Seeing that she didn't move, the seated person finally said, "Aren't you going to sit, young lady?"
It was a male voice, clear and bright with a slight nasal tone, very alluring.
Qin Sang sat down and watched him crush the tea leaves and then use a small spoon to scoop them into the tea grinder to prepare for grinding. For a moment, she felt a little itchy to try it herself, perhaps because the other person's technique was so elegant that it aroused her interest.
She said, "Can I try?"
The hand grinding the tea stopped, and he gestured for it.
Qin Sang was about to move the tea grinder over, but then she saw the man move to the side, his meaning clear: he wanted her to sit down next to him.
Qin Sang paused for a moment, then stood up and sat down next to him.
The surrounding environment was very serene, with deep clouds and mist, and the faint, sweet fragrance of a man emanating from the person next to me, mixed with the aroma of tea, easily made one lose oneself in the intoxication.
For a moment, Qin Sang forgot where she was and focused solely on making tea.
Then, at this moment, she couldn't help but think of the days she had spent in heaven.
Once, she too sat among people on a cloud, discussing tea art in her spare time, her mind free of distractions.
In this situation, she recalled that person and that scene, and her heart trembled slightly for no reason.
It's a bittersweet feeling, tinged with a touch of sweetness.
It is an untouchable illusion, an unattainable delusion.
The sounds of birdsong, the rushing water of a waterfall, and the occasional rustling of the wind filled her ears. The person next to her was breathing softly and did not disturb her.
However, without anyone noticing, his hands suddenly covered hers, and together they turned the roller.
Qin Sang felt a warmth on her back; it was the warmth from the person's close proximity.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
