Li Langzhong was deep in thought and didn't pay attention to Xiao Dong, so he nodded haphazardly.
Actually, he was hoping that Xiao Dong would go away and stop bothering him with questions.
Otherwise, I'm afraid that little secret won't be able to be kept.
Xiao Dong ran towards the outer courtyard with his short legs, calling out from afar, "Sixteenth Brother, Sixteenth Brother."
The servant next to Master Gu peeked out, glanced at him, and said disdainfully, "You have no manners. Be careful not to make a scene and disturb the Marquis."
Xiao Dong quickly fell silent, and only asked when he got closer, "Have you seen Sixteenth Brother?"
The servant said, "I'm watching over Sixth Master, I don't have time to look after him."
Master Gu had no idea what was happening around him. He was only focused on copying the picture book, and there were many discarded drafts beside him. There were also a few ink marks on his fair face.
Seeing his appearance, Xiao Dong knew that Master Gu must not have done the Five Animal Frolics today, so he whispered to the servant, "I have something to say to Master Gu Sixteen. You should remind him to change his clothes first."
The servant glanced at the hourglass in the corner of the room and reluctantly nodded.
Xiao Dong went to inquire outside the Marquis's study, but before he could get close, he was stopped by a servant who said, "This is the Marquis's study, a very important place. You can't just come here casually. Why don't you go look around somewhere else?"
Xiao Dong asked, "I'm looking for Gu Shiliu. Is he in this courtyard?"
The servant replied indifferently, "Not here."
"Do you know where he went?"
"I don't know."
Xiao Dong then asked, "Is the Marquis here?"
"They're not here either."
Xiao Dong had no choice but to turn back and wait for Master Gu.
When Master Gu came out of the house, he only tied up his loose hair. His clothes were a little wrinkled and there were ink stains on his cuffs, making him look rather disheveled.
The two practiced the Five Animal Frolics absentmindedly for a while.
During this time, Xiao Dong looked repeatedly towards the direction of the Marquis's study, while Sixth Master Gu stared blankly, seemingly lost in thought.
After resting for a while, Xiao Dong still hadn't seen Gu Shiliu and couldn't help but mutter, "I wonder where Gu Shiliu went."
Sixth Master Gu casually said, "Where else could he go? The mansion is sealed off now, so he's either in the outer courtyard or in the Wutong Garden."
Xiao Dong's eyes lit up, and he immediately took his leave, then went to Wutong Garden.
The old woman guarding the Wutong Garden was very strict. She made him wait outside and sent a maid in to report.
After waiting for quite a while, they finally said that the madam wanted to see Xiao Dong.
Xiao Dong burned incense and washed his hands before being led inside. However, perhaps because of his young age, he was not taken to the main hall, but directly to the main room.
"Senior sister, it's really not easy to see you," Xiao Dong pouted and ran to Qin Yuan's side in a few quick steps.
Qin Yuan sat at the table, flipping through the account book in her hand.
Seeing him arrive, he read out a few numbers and had Hongye write them down on a piece of paper before turning around and smiling, "Junior Brother, why are you all sweaty from running?"
Cuiming quickly handed over the handkerchief.
Qin Yuan took a handkerchief and wiped Xiao Dong's sweat. The handkerchief was scented, and Xiao Dong thought it smelled nice, so he said, "Senior Sister, what kind of fragrance did you put on it? It smells really good."
Cui Ming said, "This is lotus fragrance that Miss made. She found some lotus petals and other spices to make it."
Xiao Dong pulled over the handkerchief, sniffed it a few times, and said, "It smells really good."
"If it smells nice, I'll give you some. Use it to put in a sachet to scent your clothes."
Xiao Dong nodded quickly.
Hongye handed over tea and then set out a fruit platter, snacks, and preserved fruits.
Qin Yuan asked, "Why are you in such a hurry? What's the matter?"
Xiao Dong laughed and said, "You can't hide it from Senior Sister. I came to look for Gu Shiliu, but I couldn't find him in the outer courtyard. I heard from Sixth Master that Gu Shiliu might be in Wutong Garden. I was thinking that if I still can't find him, I'll ask Senior Sister to pass on a message to him."
Qin Yuan picked up a melon seed and cracked it open gently, laughing, "You little rascal, tell me, what important matter is it that you had to hide from your master and search for Sixteen?"
Xiao Dong blinked and said, "Senior sister, I don't know what happened either. Sixteenth brother came looking for my master, and the two of them chased me away to teach the old lady Tai Chi. When I came back, my master lectured me not to mess around with those princes, saying that Physician Liu was an example. He also said that if you have money but no life to spend it, it will be too late to regret it, and it might even implicate your descendants. When I went to get water, Qi Xiaoge's mother stopped me and whispered that Physician Liu was talking to the gatekeeper, saying that he was asked to do something. His mother didn't hear clearly, and she told me to go find Sixteenth brother, saying that I was too young and shouldn't ask too many questions."
Hongye couldn't help but say, "Brother Qi's mother's eyesight is failing, but her hearing is excellent. The other day I went to see her house and we exchanged a few words. The next time I went there, she knew I was coming from afar."
Qin Yuan said, "Perhaps they recognized your footsteps."
Hongye said, "The servant guarding Physician Liu's room should be a servant born into the household, so..."
Qin Yuan said, "Alright, let's keep this to ourselves. I already know what happened. Don't spread rumors. If the news leaks out, it will harm people."
Seeing how serious she was, Hongye quickly shut her mouth.
Qin Yuan asked Xiao Dong, "Does Brother Qi's mother usually stay in your courtyard? How come she could hear Doctor Liu talking to someone?"
Xiao Dong scratched his head and said, "If it were someone else, it would be fine, but Brother Qi doesn't like to talk, and his mother is even more so. She sits there quietly. Sometimes when my master and I are chatting, she suddenly interrupts and startles us, making us realize that there is someone sitting here. But as we talk, we forget about her again after a while."
Qin Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then said, "That is indeed strange."
She instructed Hongye, "Go and find a way to locate Sixteen and tell him to come quickly."
Hongye said, "I don't know where he goes all day, so I can only try randomly."
Cui Ming laughed and said, "Miss has something urgent for you to do, but you insist on putting on airs here. If you can't find Gu Shiliu, who else in this house can?"
Hongye blushed and went out.
Qin Yuan left Xiao Dong to play here. She didn't have any toys that boys his age liked in her room, so she simply took out paper and pen and taught him to draw.
The two people, one big and one small, huddled together, haphazardly sketching orchids, bamboo, and other traditional Chinese ink paintings, while chatting about their private matters.
Qin Yuan taught him how to write and asked him questions such as whether he remembered things from his childhood and where his parents were from.
Xiao Dong liked how close his senior sister was to him; she answered all his questions obediently.
"You have to draw this stroke like this, fold it over, so that the flowers and leaves look beautiful. It's similar to the strokes of a character. See? A few strokes bring out the elegance of the orchid," Qin Yuan whispered to him.
Xiao Dong, holding a calligraphy brush, said smugly, "Then I can also compete with Sixth Master once I've learned it. I went to see him recently, and he was always painting, his face covered in ink, looking like a cat with a clown. Sixth Master said he wants to make a living through poetry and painting, and he's even thinking about what name to choose. He plans to have someone carve a seal after he opens his own residence, so that when he paints or writes, he can stamp it with this seal and everyone will know it's his work."
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