Chapter 14
After Lin Qingyu obtained half of the housekeeper's power, people came to see him in an endless stream every day.
The news that Shaojun had poisoned someone spread throughout the mansion. Everyone understood what a "femme fatale" meant, and they looked at Shaojun with awe. From big things like the distribution of monthly allowances in the mansion to small things like what flowers to plant in the yard, all had to be reported to the young master, and he dared not make any decisions on his own.
Lin Qingyu was annoyed. He had never been interested in the affairs of the mansion. Small matters like what flowers to plant and what midnight snacks to prepare for each room can be left to Mrs. Pan to decide. As for other important matters, it would be a good thing if you could keep them in your own hands.
Lin Qingyu found someone lying on a rocking chair, closing his eyes and listening to the rain, and ordered: "Find a few more trustworthy managers to handle the government affairs together."
Lu Wancheng opened his eyes and teased, "Oh? I remember you didn't seem to agree with this approach at first - 'You can't always rely on others for everything. When you are too lazy to eat, sleep, or get married and have children, do you also want others to take care of you?'"
Lin Qingyu paused and said calmly: "This is a different time.
Lu Wancheng smiled and said, "That's easy. I'll write another letter to my grandfather."
Lin Qingyu nodded: "Write."
"Then help me grind the ink."
Lu Wancheng made the remark casually, expecting that Lin Qingyu would ruthlessly reject him again. Unexpectedly, Lin Qingyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay."
Lu Wancheng was immediately flattered.
In the study, Lu Wancheng stood in front of the window sill, holding a pen in his hand; Lin Qingyu stood quietly on the side, grinding ink for him personally.
The scent of ink was strong, but Lu Wancheng could still detect the light medicinal scent on Lin Qingyu's body, and couldn't help wondering when his nose became so sensitive.
It rains a lot in spring, and the rain hasn't stopped for several days. Outside the window, the spring rain is drizzling and misty, like the entangled threads of love.
Lu Wancheng writes very slowly, and he doesn't seem to write often, but his handwriting is excellent. The letter was a private matter, so Lin Qingyu didn't read it deliberately, but just glanced at it casually.
It is said that handwriting reflects the character of the person. Lu Wancheng's handwriting is vigorous, flowing like clouds and water, free and fluent, and it is hard to imagine that it was written by someone who has been ill for a long time.
After writing a few sentences, Lu Wancheng began to feel lazy: "Ah, my hands are so sore, I'm so tired."
Lin Qingyu said: "You can sit down and write."
"That won't do. There's nothing elegant about sitting down and writing."
Lin Qingyu: “…”
Huan Tong came in to deliver snacks. When he saw the young marquis writing, he was quite frightened by the scene of his young master "adding fragrance with clean sleeves". It took him a long time to remember what he came for: "Young master, a box of plum blossom cakes was delivered from the kitchen."
Lin Qingyu said: "Leave it alone."
Huan Tong put the plum blossom cake on the table and saw Lu Wancheng's handwriting. She was surprised and said, "Young Marquis is so lazy, but his handwriting is so beautiful!"
Lu Wancheng said modestly: "Thank you for the compliment, it's just average looking."
Lin Qingyu said slowly: "Looking at your handwriting, it seems like you have practiced it deliberately."
"yes."
Practicing calligraphy is not a one-day job. Lu Wancheng has practiced calligraphy for at least several years. Lin Qingyu couldn't help but question: "You feel your hands are sore after writing a few words. Do you have the leisure time to practice calligraphy?"
"Alas, I was forced to do that. I was too active and lively when I was young. My mother heard that practicing calligraphy can calm the mind, so she spent a lot of money to hire a calligraphy master to teach me how to write and read ancient Chinese." Lu Wancheng lowered his eyes, with a look of nostalgia and pain on his face. "My mother is a very competitive person. Not only is she competitive herself, she also requires me to be proficient in everything, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and to take the first place in everything. Unfortunately, I was so young at that time, and I was either taking this class or that class. I couldn't even get enough sleep..."
Huan Tong sympathized and said, "Young Marquis is so miserable! He is in poor health and yet he is tortured like this. He is worse than us servants."
Lin Qingyu said indifferently: "He is talking nonsense."
Huantong's eyes widened: "Huh?"
"When did you ever see him call Liang 'mother'?"
Huantong scratched his head: "Yes."
Lu Wancheng did not refute, and smiled: "Ah, I've been seen through."
Halfway through writing the letter, Lu Wancheng was unsure of the grammar of a sentence and stopped writing to think. As he was deep in thought, his mind became distracted, his gaze gradually became unfocused, and his pen-holding posture also changed. But he held the pen casually, and with a force, the pen wrapped around his four fingers in sequence, from beginning to end, in one go.
In a flash, ink was flying everywhere, and Lin Qingyu and his servant standing beside him suffered greatly. Lin Qingyu was relatively better off, with only a few ink stains on him. Huan Tong was the most miserable one, a black mark ran across half of his face. He opened his mouth out of fright and had the chance to taste the ink. After he recovered, he immediately exclaimed “Pah, pah, pah.”
Lu Wancheng realized his mistake, quickly put down the brush, and apologized to the two: "I'm sorry, I forgot that this is a brush dipped in ink..."
Lin Qingyu said expressionlessly: "Can you be a normal person?"
Lu Wancheng wanted to laugh. But it would be too unkind for him to laugh at this time. He held back his laughter and said, "I really didn't mean it... I'll help you wipe it off." As he spoke, he raised his hand.
Those few ink stains happened to fall under Lin Qingyu's eyes, blending with his teardrop mole. When the hand reached out, Lin Qingyu blinked instinctively, and her long eyelashes like butterfly wings fluttered slightly, lightly brushing across Lu Wancheng's fingertips.
Slightly itchy and soft.
Lu Wancheng's hand paused, and he froze, and his breathing also stagnated.
Lin Qingyu didn't notice his strangeness, opened his hand, and said in a cold tone: "Can ink stains be wiped off with hands?"
"Oh, yes." Lu Wancheng came back to his senses and turned around to order, "Huantong, hurry up and get a handkerchief to clean your young master."
Huan Tong yelled, "I haven't even spit out all the liquid in my mouth yet!"
Lin Qingyu used the warm water from the floral dew to wipe her face clean with a wet towel. At this time, Pan's personal maid Hanqiao found Lin Qingyu and said, "Young Master, our aunt wants you to go to the front hall."
Lin Qingyu said: "I understand."
He and Mrs. Pan were of different genders. Although they worked together as housekeepers, they seldom met. Anything was passed on through servants. Mr. Pan came to invite me suddenly, probably because he needs to have a face-to-face meeting.
Lin Qingyu said to Lu Wancheng, "I'm going to be out for a while. Please finish writing the letter and send someone to deliver it to the Duke's Mansion as soon as possible."
Lu Wancheng responded absentmindedly. He went back to the window, looked at Lin Qingyu's back holding an umbrella in the rain, then looked down at his fingertips, chuckled and said to himself: "...What the hell."
Pan was originally a daughter of an official family, but unfortunately her family fell into poverty and she had to become a concubine to make a living. Her family was of little influence and she had no children, but the reason she was favored by the Marquis of Nan'an was not only because of her appearance, but also because she was of a calm nature, did not fight or compete, and never spoke too much in front of the Marquis of Nan'an. The events of the previous dynasty were already worrying enough. When Marquis Nan'an returned to the mansion, he just wanted to find a moment of peace. Pan's house was undoubtedly the best place to go.
In order to avoid suspicion, Lin Qingyu and Pan always brought a lot of servants with them when they met, and this time was no exception. Lin Qingyu never had a good impression of the people in the Nan'an Marquis' Mansion, but because Pan gave him and Lu Wancheng a wedding gift, and also sent him a plaster when he sprained his ankle, he didn't really dislike this person, he just simply felt indifferent to her.
Lin Qingyu patiently exchanged a few polite words with her, and said, "Aunt, if you have anything important to say, just tell me directly."
Pan nodded and said, "It will be Qingming Festival in a few days. The Lu family's hometown is in Lin'an, and the ancestor worship is handled by the Lu family's side branch. To show his filial piety, the Marquis lit two eternal lamps for his parents in the Changsheng Temple in the suburbs of Beijing. In the past, at this time, the lady would go to the Changsheng Temple to burn incense and pray for blessings, asking for the protection of the ancestors. Now, the lady is still ill, and the Marquis also..." Pan stopped and didn't say anything else.
After the birthday gift for Concubine Chen, Liang rarely appeared in public. It is said that he is recuperating, but in fact he is under house arrest. Marquis Nan'an has been in a high position for many years and is arrogant. He cannot stand the humiliation of being deceived by others. Liang’s fault was not small, but it was not big either. But she violated the taboo of Marquis Nan'an, so she had to suffer a lot.
Lin Qingyu said: "In this case, I'll trouble you to pray for blessings, Auntie."
Pan shook her head and said, "I am just a concubine, I cannot burn incense on behalf of the Madam. You are the young master married to the Marquis's mansion, and you are the only one who can burn incense for the Lu clan, besides the Madam."
Lin Qingyu remained noncommittal. If he were asked to burn incense to the ancestors of the Lu family, he would probably directly extinguish the eternal lamp that the Marquis of Nan'an had lit for more than ten years.
However, it would be nice if I could take this opportunity to go to Changsheng Temple and burn incense and pray for his family.
Lin Qingyu said: "Okay, I will arrange it."
Pan said, "The roads are slippery when it rains. You can wait until the rain stops before setting off."
Lin Qingyu nodded and said goodbye. Pan watched him leave and suddenly said, "Young Master, please stay."
Lin Qingyu asked: "Anything else?"
Pan walked forward, bowed to Lin Qingyu, and said, "Ten years ago, I had not yet entered the mansion. I depended on my mother for a living by washing clothes and weaving cloth. It was a bitterly cold winter, and my mother caught a cold. She didn't recover for many days and was dying. However, our family was penniless and we had no money to pay for medical treatment or medicine. I took a few copper coins and begged for money at Chang Xihe's pharmacy, but was harassed by a passerby. At that time, Lin Yuanpan was selecting herbs in the pharmacy, and fortunately he came to the rescue. Lin Yuanpan not only accompanied me home to treat my mother, but also paid for the medicine for us. He... is the lifesaver of my mother and me." After Pan finished speaking, she was already choking with sobs.
Lin Qingyu smiled faintly and said, "This is indeed what my father would do."
Pan turned aside and wiped her tears, saying shyly, "I am sorry to have made a fool of myself. I just wanted to say that if you need me in the future, I will do my best to help you and repay you for saving my life."
Lin Qingyu's slightly cold voice warmed up a bit: "You're welcome, Auntie."
After returning to Lanfeng Pavilion, Lin Qingyu ordered people to prepare for the Qingming trip. But the rain still showed no sign of stopping. The sky did not clear up for a long time, the house was damp, and there was rain everywhere outside. People's mood became inexplicably depressed.
Lu Wancheng had been depressed for a few days. When Lin Qingyu asked him what was wrong, he didn't say anything and just kept sighing to the rain. Lin Qingyu asked once and didn't get an answer, so he was too lazy to ask again and just let him do whatever he wanted.
That day, Lu Wancheng was in a daze on the bed again. Hua Lu brought him medicine and asked him to drink it, but he didn't respond. He looked like he had lost all desire to live.
Hua Lu turned to Lin Qingyu for help: "Young Master, this..."
Lin Qingyu said: "I'll do it, you go down."
After Hua Lu left, Lin Qingyu walked to the bedside, looked down at Lu Wancheng, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Lu Wancheng: “…”
Lin Qingyu showed displeasure and threatened: "If you don't tell me, I will let Huantong lift your quilt at dawn every day."
Lu Wancheng choked up: "I'm already like this, can you have some sympathy?"
"What's wrong with you?"
Lu Wancheng covered his face with his hands and said in pain, "Fuck, I don't think I can make it."
Lin Qingyu:?
"What do you mean by no?"
Lu Wancheng seemed to find it difficult to speak: "It just won't work. In the past, as long as I was awake, I would always... you know what I mean."
Lin Qingyu: “…”
Lu Wancheng looked down at his waist and said in a very sad tone: "It couldn't stand up these past few days."
Lin Qingyu said: "Oh, this is normal."
Lu Wancheng looked up suddenly: "Normal?"
"In order to improve the prescription, I added a lot of Pueraria root, Panax notoginseng and other herbs to your medicine." Lin Qingyu said lightly, as if he was just discussing what to eat for dinner. "Long-term mixing of such medicines will have some effects on men. After all, you won't be able to use them, so don't worry about it."
Can't use it?
No need to care? ?
Lu Wancheng almost vomited blood, and for a moment he didn't know how to refute such outrageous words. Get angry at Lin Qingyu, and even if he makes her angry, he will try to comfort her; try to reason with her - as everyone knows, a great beauty will not reason with mortals.
Lu Wancheng hesitated for a long while before saying, "I don't need it. But whether you need it or not and whether you can use it are two different things."
Lin Qingyu disagreed: "This is a matter of life and death, can you put away your useless self-esteem? Living well for another half a year is more important than anything else."
Lu Wancheng struggled desperately: "But..."
Lin Qingyu showed impatience: "No buts. Young Marquis, as a patient, the only thing you have to do is to follow the doctor's orders - drink the medicine."
Lu Wancheng looked down at the black medicine, hesitating to speak, and finally gave Lin Qingyu a thumbs up, and uttered two words that Lin Qingyu couldn't understand: "...Awesome."
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