Gifts
Lu Chang moved back to the Duke's mansion. He said that recently, there were many out-of-town scholars who came specifically for the imperial examinations, and their loud reading voices made it impossible for him to concentrate, so he had to come back.
The Duchess always felt she had no right to interfere in Lu Chang's affairs. Seeing that the old lady did not express her opinion, she let him be and focused on supervising the new tutor, Bo Jun.
So, Mingyuanzhai was tidied up again, and Lu Chang's personal painting table was brought in again, with brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and tall scrolls placed on it.
Because Master Ge took leave to treat his illness, apart from Bo Jun studying in his own courtyard, the younger members of the Gao family stopped coming to Mingyuanzhai altogether.
Gao Yun is a playful person who wants to go out shopping every day to buy clothes and jewelry. What she cares about most is having tea and chatting with her close friends.
Gao Shijun was the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion, and she was always busy with social engagements. She had no desire to study those few dead books every day, and she couldn't keep up with the number of invitations she received every day.
As for Gao Qian, he was naturally dull-witted. Wang Shi had long seen that this son was not cut out for studying. In addition, although her husband held an official position in the court, he had no real power, no money, and no authority, which made her look down on him. So she gave up the idea of letting her son take the imperial examination. Now that she had some free time, she took her son out to handle the affairs of the several shops she was in charge of, which could be regarded as letting Gao Qian get a taste of business affairs so that he could inherit the business in the future.
After all that, only Jingwan remained at Mingyuanzhai.
Right now, she is sitting at a small table on one side of the study, with her cousin facing away from her, holding a book in his hands.
She glanced at her cousin, who was engrossed in his book, and finally made up her mind. She lifted her skirt and prepared to sneak away.
I thought I had been quiet enough, but to my surprise, I had only turned around and hadn't even taken a step when I heard my cousin Lu ask, "Where are you going?"
Jingwan froze, turned her head to look, but her cousin didn't turn his head at all, still looking at his book.
She bit her lip and sat back down, not daring to even offer an excuse to pee.
Bo Jun is right. Don't let his sixteen years and refined appearance fool you; there's a fierce and intimidating aura about him.
A short while later, Lu Chang put down his book, pulled up a chair and sat opposite Jing Wan. He tapped the table with two fingers to remind her, and only then did Jing Wan put down the Three Character Classic that was covering her face.
Looking at Jingwan's nervously huddled face, Lu Chang wondered to himself what he had done to make his little cousin so afraid of him. When they first met, she was a lively and cheerful little girl.
He simply rolled up his trouser legs high, with a small bag of stones hanging from his waist and a small hoe on his shoulder, and proudly led the lost army up the mountain and across the river, acting as their guide.
She probably doesn't remember, after all, she was young at the time.
Lu Chang couldn't tell whether he felt more disappointed or relieved.
Knowing it was too late to escape, Jingwan timidly called out "Cousin".
Lu Chang tried to smile as much as possible so as not to frighten her.
He took the Three Character Classic and started reciting it, then asked Jingwan to continue. After she recited a few pages, he saw her stop and shake her head at him. Lu Chang knew that she had only learned this much, so he returned the book to her and read it aloud line by line.
Jingwan then realized that her cousin, who had the potential to become a top scholar, was going to teach her to read, and to read the same books that her cousin Lu had read when he was three or four years old.
This is an honor I never even dared to dream of.
Jingwan didn't dare waste her cousin's time, so she held the book and read along, albeit haltingly.
Compared to Bo Jun, her cousin, the tutor, was far more impressive. He disliked the dry explanations of word meanings and texts, and always preferred to explain the meaning in a joking manner, making Jing Wan laugh non-stop.
Sometimes, when he got tired of talking, he would tell Jingwan a strange story or a tale about the customs and culture of a place far away, leaving the little girl who was always fishing for jade in the river completely bewildered.
After half a month, Jingwan finally stopped finding her cousin scary. Before, it was just Lu Chang who kept talking about it, but now she could say a few words in response.
It seems like everyone just tacitly agreed to it, and no one brought up anything about their time in the Northwest.
Even in his study, Lu Chang always had two or three dried green fruits added to his teacup for flavor, but he never spoke of the past again.
It's not enough to just study; you also have to write.
Knowing that Lu Chang was going to teach her to write, Jingwan happily took out the writing set that Bo Jun had given her and wrote a few crooked characters, imitating her cousin's grip on the brush.
Lu Chang glanced at the small writing brush held in the girl's hand, said nothing, but simply placed a handkerchief on Jing Wan's hand holding the brush. Through the handkerchief, he placed his large hand on it, stood behind Jing Wan, and guided her to write stroke by stroke.
At that time, she was only immersed in the joy of learning to write, and being so young, she had no time for anything else. It wasn't until Jingwan grew up that she realized how close she was to Lu Chang.
She was unaware that her cousin possessed a level of skill that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Like the man himself, his calligraphy was imbued with a profound and awe-inspiring power, and his mastery of the brush far surpassed that of his decades of age.
Whenever Jingwan saw his handwriting, she would sigh that even if she had been born a few decades earlier, she still couldn't catch up.
Lu Chang forbade her from telling anyone that he had taught her to write, and he didn't explain why. Jingwan knew he had his reasons, so she listened obediently.
A few days later, when Jingwan had written the character "之" hundreds of times, a long, small brocade box was placed in front of her.
Lu Chang smiled and said, "Open it and take a look."
Having spent several days with her cousin, Jingwan was no longer the reserved and timid girl she had been at first sight. She instinctively felt that she had misunderstood her beautiful and kind-hearted cousin, and now she wanted to mend their sibling relationship. Without any hesitation, she opened the brocade box and took out a mixed-hair brush.
This mixed-hair brush has a jade tube with a round pouch carved on the top, making it exquisite and portable. More importantly, its brush has a balance of firmness and softness, making it perfect for beginners.
Jingwan fell in love with it at first sight and said she couldn't bear to use it.
Regardless of whether she was willing to part with it or not, Lu Chang took the pen and began to write.
Sure enough, once I wrote it down, I found it to be even better than the one Bo Jun gave me.
Thus, this brush pen became Jingwan's favorite, and she could write with it for hours on end.
Since her cousin gave her such a nice pen, Jingwan planned to reciprocate with a gift of her own.
"You give me a peach, I'll repay you with a precious jade," her cousin once taught her.
Jingwan thought it over and over, but she didn't know what her cousin was lacking or what he liked. Unwilling to be perfunctory, she finally asked Gao Yun to buy her a good piece of jade.
She had to study during the day and could only carve jade under the oil lamp at night. She was young, had light hands, and little experience, so carving was very difficult for her. It took her a whole month to finish the work.
She gave the pendant to Lu Chang.
That day, the girl was holding a bamboo-shaped jade pendant in her hand. The jade was a smooth white color, about the length of her index finger, and a little thick. The carving marks were not as exquisite as those displayed in large shops, which showed that its owner was still a beginner.
Lu Chang took the jade pendant, then looked at the smiling Jing Wan. He shook his head helplessly. How could such a young girl know what giving a man jade ornaments meant? But even so, he still held the jade pendant in his palm and said softly, "I like it very much."
Seeing that he readily accepted, Jingwan was the happiest. She said, "Bamboo has ten virtues, which are most suitable for a gentleman like my cousin."
She recited to Lu Chang, "I will share the rain and dew with the weeds and grasses, and I will eventually follow the pine and cypress to the frost and snow." After saying this, she looked at Lu Chang triumphantly.
My cousin thought of these two lines of poetry a few days ago. It was a stormy day, and he was standing by the window when he didn't feel like reciting them.
At the time, Jingwan only heard the gist of it, and she had to shamelessly ask Bojun for clarification before she realized that her cousin was reciting this line of poetry.
Bo Jun asked her where she heard it from. Jing Wan originally thought there was nothing to hide, but before she could finish speaking, she suddenly changed her mind and lied to Bo Jun for the first time: "I read it in a book, but unfortunately I don't know many characters, so I can't recognize all of them."
After listening to Bo Jun's detailed explanation, she got a general idea and had an idea in mind, so she carved this bamboo-shaped jade pendant.
Sure enough, Lu Chang looked at her with some surprise, wondering when she had taken his words to heart.
He couldn't help but pat his head and say, "Good boy."
Jingwan blushed instantly at the sound of "good girl".
As the year turned, Jingwan had studied at Mingyuanzhai for less than half a year when a new year arrived.
This year was the fourth year of the Jingyuan era.
It was still winter, but the weather was unusually nice. Although it was cold, the sun shone brightly, the sky was blue, and a gentle breeze was blowing.
Several younger members of the Gao family were about to leave the mansion to buy some light clothing suitable for early spring at the West Market.
Gao Yun pulled Shi Jun, wanting to go out together, but after thinking for a moment, the Duchess of the State decided to ask Bo Jun to go with them instead.
Firstly, it would allow me to look after the two girls, and secondly, it would give Bo Jun some fresh air.
This son has been working really hard studying lately.
As soon as Bo Jun came out, he called out to Jing Wan to leave.
Gao Yun pouted, looking unhappy. Shi Jun whispered to her, "Tell her to get us the packages." This finally made Gao Yun nod in agreement.
Since arriving at the Duke's mansion, Jingwan has never left the house!
Having been cooped up in the mansion for half a year, of course he was willing to go out.
So, apart from Lu Chang who left early, the younger members of the Gao family boarded a carriage and happily headed to the West Market.
Gao Yun did indeed treat Jing Wan like a maid following her around. After taking her measurements at the clothing store and ordering two new outfits, she also took a fancy to some ready-made clothes in the store. The shop assistant packed them up, and she asked Jing Wan to take them.
Bo Jun, impatient, snatched the package from Jing Wan's hands and threw it to Gao Yun: "Carry it yourself! This isn't for Jing Wan to wear."
Gao Yun was so angry that her eyes widened, and she put her hands on her hips, ready to curse. But before she could speak, Bo Jun preemptively said, "If you dare to cause trouble, we'll go home right now and talk to your mother!"
Gao Yun stomped her foot angrily and threw the package to the maid.
Unfortunately, after playing for a while, Bo Jun saw his friend and had to talk to her, so he had to part ways with the three of them temporarily.
Now that she had the chance, Gao Yun went on a shopping spree, leaving boxes of all sizes in Jing Wan's hands. By the time they left the jewelry shop, the boxes in Jing Wan's arms were almost blinding.
She walked slowly, unaware of the sound of horses' hooves behind her.
A man was cracking a whip at passersby, shooing them to the sides of the road so they wouldn't block his way.
Because she was carrying too many things, Jingwan couldn't react in time. By the time she turned around, the horse, just as ferocious as its owner, was already galloping towards her.
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