Chapter 56 Talking About Chu Xiao Behind His Back
Shen You was feeling unwell and rested in Wen Gui Courtyard for several days before feeling better and going out to Ruyi Embroidery Building.
At first, Bao Yunxiu felt that she was willing but unable to manage Ruyi Embroidery Building, but in recent days, the business has been booming, the operation has been smooth, and every day has been well-organized.
She has gained more confidence, and now she does indeed have the demeanor of a female manager.
When Shen You arrived, she was in the backyard house teaching a new embroiderer.
It rained today, and everything outside is wet.
Shen You wore a smoky-colored brocade dress with peony patterns, a brocade cape draped over her shoulders, and held an oil-paper umbrella. Her figure was slender and graceful, elegant and refined, like a woman who had stepped out of a landscape painting in Jiangnan in March.
She wore a thin veil over her face, but one could still tell from her delicate eyebrows and eyes what a beautiful girl she was.
The new embroiderer, curious, asked someone nearby, "Who is this?"
Others only said that he was a good friend of Miss Yunxiu, and said nothing more.
Shen You closed his umbrella and went up to the second floor of the embroidered building with Bao Yunxiu.
The two were already good friends, so they skipped all the formalities and went into the room, where they sat down together on the couch.
The windows were open, and a faint mist of rain seeped in, bringing a touch of coolness.
On the clay stove beside them, water was bubbling and gurgling.
Bao Yunxiu placed the account book in front of Shen You and said, "The steward Chen from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion came before and said that from now on, the patterns and designs for the Duke's mansion's seasonal clothing will all be produced by our Ruyi Embroidery Building."
Bao Yunxiu smiled happily as she recalled the events of that day, "Butler Chen offered a very high price."
She also knew that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion would entrust this business to Ruyi Embroidery Pavilion entirely because of Shen You's presence.
Shen You smiled slightly and nodded, "We should take the money that's offered to us."
“You’re right, young lady,” Bao Yunxiu agreed, adding, “Oh, and it’s not just the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion.”
"Madam Wen from the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion also came to Ruyi Embroidery Building yesterday, saying she wanted to order an embroidered screen from us," she said, handing Shen You the order form signed yesterday, which listed the specific design and dimensions.
Shen You looked at it carefully, and after confirming that there was no problem, he put the form back.
As the two were talking, there was a knock on the door.
It's wisteria.
"Miss, people from the Duke's mansion have arrived."
Chu Xiao's men?
Shen You was puzzled, but still said, "Let him in."
The door opened with a click, and Uncle Chen entered.
Shen You had met him.
The old steward, carrying an exquisite food box, stood to the side and bowed respectfully before saying, "Miss Shen, this is a medicinal meal prepared by the manor. The master instructed me to bring it to you before he left."
"Medicinal cuisine?"
Shen You was even more puzzled.
What kind of medicinal diet did she take?
Uncle Chen coughed lightly, looked up at Bao Yunxiu, and hesitated before speaking.
Shen You understood what he meant. "It's alright, Uncle Chen, just speak frankly."
“Previously, when the lord saw that you drank calming soup every day, he went to Baicaotang and learned that you did not want to take medicine, he asked Doctor Lin to prescribe some medicinal herbs that could be used in food. In this way, you can nourish and regulate your body, and the medicinal food will not be difficult to eat.”
Actually, Uncle Chen's words were quite tactful.
After learning that Shen You had taken the calming soup, Chu Xiao questioned Lin Gu in detail.
He was also worried that the contraceptive soup he had taken that day might be harmful to Shen You's health, so he went to Baicaotang again.
Lin Gu wrote a prescription, but he was worried that Shen You would find the medicine too bitter to drink, so he eventually changed it to medicinal cuisine.
Upon hearing this, Shen You's gaze instinctively fell on the food box.
Seeing this, Uncle Chen took out a small porcelain bowl from the food box.
The lid was opened, and wisps of steam rose up, along with a faint medicinal fragrance.
It's not bitter, and its aroma is comforting.
Shen You scooped a spoonful into his mouth with a porcelain spoon, and his eyes lit up slightly.
It's definitely not bitter.
It tastes pretty good.
She gladly accepted and thanked Uncle Chen, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Chen."
Uncle Chen chuckled and bowed, "Miss Shen, you're too kind."
"From now on, people from the Duke's Mansion will come to deliver medicinal meals to you every day. Please don't feel like you are disturbing us."
Shen You nodded slightly, letting Zi Teng see him out.
After Uncle Chen left, Zi Teng quickly returned and said, "Shi Ding Fang sent over a meal, saying it was ordered by the Duke of Zhenguo."
It's noon now, time for lunch.
Chu Xiao ordered food from Shi Ding Fang and had it delivered so that everyone at Ruyi Embroidery Building would receive a portion.
The embroiderers and servants downstairs were already eating.
Everyone assumed that the mysterious owner of the embroidered pavilion had ordered it for them.
Bao Yunxiu smiled and looked at Shen You, "We all benefited from the young lady's kindness."
This wasn't the first time Chu Xiao had ordered food for Ruyi Embroidery Building. He never explicitly said so, and others didn't know, but Bao Yunxiu was well aware of it.
She didn't know what Shen You and Chu Xiao had gone through to lead to their divorce, but she could see that Shen You's attitude towards Chu Xiao had softened over the past few days.
Upon hearing Bao Yunxiu's words, Shen You lowered her eyes, smiled slightly, but did not continue the topic.
After lunch, Shen You went to inspect the storeroom.
Bao Yunxiu had to attend to the business outside, so she had already gone to the front hall.
The man following Shen You was a handyman named Lu Hao, who delivered account books back and forth. He was someone Fang Shu had gotten from him, and he was reliable.
Inside the Ruyi Embroidery Building, only he and Bao Yunxiu knew Shen You's true identity.
Autumn is supposed to be a time of clear skies and crisp air, but today it rained, and most of the warehouse windows were closed, letting in some dampness.
Shen You ran her fingertips over the stored embroidery pieces and instructed, "After this rain, remember to take them out to air them."
“Okay,” Lu Hao replied in a low voice.
After inspecting the warehouse, Shen You returned to the side room on the second floor, with Lu Hao following along.
The door closed, and Zi Teng poured tea for Shen You and waited by his side.
Lu Hao cupped his hands in a respectful bow and said in a low voice, "Young lady, the person you asked me to keep an eye on has made some moves these past few days."
Shen You lowered her eyes and drank her tea, patiently waiting for him to continue.
Lu Hao was one of Shen You's men. He was transferred to Ruyi Embroidery Tower for two reasons: firstly, to help Bao Yunxiu, and secondly, to stay in the East Market so that Shen You could keep an eye on the people he wanted to keep an eye on.
Not far from Ruyi Embroidery Building on this street is a cricket fighting arena.
It's a lively place with people coming and going every day.
Those young masters in Lin'an who couldn't openly gamble would indulge their gambling addiction by playing cricket fighting.
Shen Linhui had previously been forbidden by Shen Yao from going to such places due to his gambling debts, so he recently became obsessed with cricket fighting.
Lu Hao was here to keep a close eye on Shen Linhui.
“In the past few days, Shen Linhui’s crickets have been losing repeatedly in the fighting arena. He spent a lot of money to buy several more, but it still hasn’t improved,” Lu Hao told him everything he had found out in the past few days. “Someone in the fighting arena suggested to him that he could go to Xishan to catch fighting crickets.”
In cricket fighting arenas, crickets are also divided into different grades, with the most aggressive and capable fighters being the best.
Shen Linhui was new to this circle and didn't understand the ins and outs, so he suffered losses several times.
I recently heard about the cricket fighting in Xishan, and I've been thinking about how to catch a few.
People in the arena are quite familiar with these things, so he's been coming to the arena much more frequently lately.
Lu Hao thought Shen You wanted to make Shen Linhui suffer in the arena, and asked, "Young lady, should we stop him?"
Shen You smiled, "Stop?"
“Not stop him,” she said, her smile not reaching her eyes, “but add fuel to the fire.”
"They said that there were other people in the fighting arena who wanted to go to Xishan to catch fighting crickets."
He would naturally be even more anxious if someone else were competing with him for it.
Once they enter the Western Hills, they will likely not return alive.
Lu Hao was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He nodded, accepted the order, and then turned and left.
After sitting in the Ruyi Embroidery Building for a while, Shen You returned to the Shen residence.
It was already late afternoon, and in late autumn it gets dark early. However, it had rained today, so there was no sunset. The sky was very low and dark.
As soon as she stepped over the threshold, Steward Liu came to greet her, saying hurriedly, "Young Miss, the Empress visited today."
"Your Majesty the Empress?"
"Yes," Butler Liu said in a low voice, "Her Majesty was dressed simply and said she just wanted to come and see you, but when she heard that you were not in the manor, she left directly."
"The lord said... that you should go to the palace tomorrow to apologize to the Empress."
Ye Mingyu arrived in a very low-key manner, and Butler Liu immediately summoned Shen Yao, but Ye Mingyu only wanted to see Shen You.
She wasn't there, and she didn't ask anyone to look for her. She just said she'd come back when she had time, and then left.
"I understand," Shen You replied in a low voice, and headed straight for Wen Gui Courtyard.
She will indeed enter the palace tomorrow, as for Shen Yao's request to apologize.
Oh.
What she did in the palace had nothing to do with him.
In the Wen Gui Courtyard, in the main hall's shrine—
Steam rises, the air is warm and fragrant.
Shen You took off her clothes and stepped barefoot onto the wooden stool into the bathtub.
Her black hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, and her fair and delicate body, with skin as smooth as cream, was all submerged in the hot water of the bathtub.
She had been outside for a long time today, and the warm water enveloped her, washing away all her fatigue.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered what Uncle Chen had said in the embroidered chamber.
As far as I can remember, Chu Xiao only climbed over the wall once, and it just so happened that Green Ivy was bringing her some calming soup.
Unexpectedly, he remembered it from that one time...
But whenever she thought of Chu Xiao, she remembered the night they spent together in the mountain cabin.
Although she was drugged, she remembered everything that happened at the time very clearly.
To this day, she still can't understand why the same person would behave so differently about the same things four years ago and four years later.
She didn't want to lie to herself; the only reasonable explanation was that Chu Xiao had been with other people during those four years.
Thinking about this, she felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her chest, making her feel extremely suffocated.
On a cold autumn night, the windows of the bathhouse were tightly closed, while the shadows of the trees outside swayed gently.
But inside, the sweltering heat seemed to choke her, making it hard for her to breathe.
Shen You pursed her lips, ultimately deciding not to stay in the bathtub any longer. She got up, put on her clothes, and returned to her bedroom.
Just then, Granny Zhao brought in a calming soup. Shen You stared at the brownish soup for a while before finally saying, "Granny, throw it away."
"We won't need to prepare calming soup anymore."
Granny Zhao was taken aback, but seeing her indifferent expression, she didn't ask any further questions, and turned to leave with the calming soup.
It was late at night. After drying her slightly damp hair, Shen You went straight to bed.
The candles outside had been extinguished, leaving only the floor candlesticks outside the gauze curtains, casting a dim light.
But she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
The thought that Chu Xiao might have had other women in the past four years, yet he was now pretending to be affectionate in front of her, made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
With her eyes closed, Shen You silently cursed Chu Xiao from beginning to end, but the more she cursed, the more energetic she became.
Finally, having no other choice, he got up and had Green Ivy quietly bring in the osmanthus wine.
Osmanthus wine is fragrant and mellow, not easily intoxicating, but it can help you sleep.
Shen You sipped several cups before putting them down and getting back into bed.
Meanwhile, in a city hundreds of miles away...
Chu Xiao returned to the inn under the cover of night, and Cui Yang reported on the findings of the day's investigation.
The moonlight outside the window was perfect, streaming down and falling on the table in front of the man.
The profile, with its cold, sharp lines, is hidden in the candlelight, creating a contrast between light and shadow.
The late autumn air was chilly, and a few yellow leaves had fallen in the courtyard.
A night breeze blew by, causing a corner of the Xuan paper on the table to flutter.
Chu Xiao glanced down and suddenly sneezed several times.
Seeing this, Mu Geng walked to the window and said, "My lord, you should close the window. You've been sneezing."
Chu Xiao glanced at him, his eyes cold and unreadable. "Does sneezing always mean you've caught a cold?"
"That might not be the case," Mu Geng paused, then muttered softly, "It's also possible that someone is insulting you..."
As for who has the audacity to badmouth Chu Xiao behind his back, it's easy to guess who it is.
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