Chapter 896 Three Women Make a Drama
Why isn't Jinghong saying anything?
At the courtyard gate, Li Wan watched the guests leave, a smile still on her lips. She glanced behind her and found no one there.
She went back into the house and saw Lu Jinghong sitting in his seat, holding a wine pot and pouring himself wine.
The young man with the sword silently drank cup after cup of the yellowish, cloudy wine.
"Nothing much."
Feeling uncomfortable under Li Wan's gaze, he shook his head and dismissed her with a somewhat impatient tone:
"Mother, get some rest."
Li Wan remained silent, her smile fading as she sat down at the table opposite him, her eyes glancing at her son almost imperceptibly.
The two sat facing each other for a while, one drinking and the other watching.
Lu Jinghong said somewhat irritably:
Why is Mother staring at her child like this?
Li Wan said leisurely:
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy? Is it because you feel jealous that an ordinary man who is inferior to you in every way has such a gifted younger sister who respects and treats you so kindly? Or are you resentful?"
Lu Jinghong immediately showed anger and said:
"What nonsense are you spouting, Mother? Nothing of the sort."
Li Wan glanced at him, then looked away, smiled, poured herself a glass of wine, and nodded slightly.
"Oh, it's not that. Then, it's even more pathetic. Is it that the Miss Song you care about seems to have some unclear feelings for this Brother Liu? And, what his sister said when she was jealous, seems to be true? It seems that Miss Song really is special to him?"
She narrowed her eyes slightly, and following the logic, she dissected her son's thoughts without any hesitation:
"Well, before, you didn't think much about it because you felt it was impossible, that he wasn't good enough for her, and that Miss Song wouldn't be so blind. But now, he has such an outstanding younger sister, who isn't as ordinary as she seems. Suddenly, it seems like there's a slight possibility."
"I always feel like I'm worrying unnecessarily, but the truth seems to be emerging, which makes me increasingly irritable? Yes and no, Jinghong?"
When Lu Jinghong first heard the beginning, he had a angry look in his eyes and wanted to refute it, but as he listened... the young man in brocade robes fell silent and lowered his head.
Li Wan looked at him with a smile.
The room was dimly lit, with only a single, flickering lamp on the table between the mother and son.
A moment later, Lu Jinghong looked up from the table, and Li Wan saw that his face seemed to show a deep weariness and haggardness.
His tone also carried a rare hint of frustration:
"Mother, am I being a useless child? Why am I getting so worked up over such a trivial matter?"
Li Wan immediately shook her head and began to comfort her gently:
"No, that's not true. My son is just too smart. This kind of sharpness can be harmful. This kind of keen self-esteem is actually a talent, but it can easily lead to self-harm."
"You need to know that you've already done a fantastic job. You came in first place among the young people of Zhutang in this assessment. How much more impressive do you want to be? Do you really want to be compared to Liu Qing, Chen Jiaxin, or even Song Zhian?"
She seemed to be a well-traveled and knowledgeable noblewoman, and let out a soft sigh:
"Jinghong, you must know that many things in this world are beyond your control. Many things are just like that, unchangeable. They are not as wonderful as you imagine. For example, Liu Aliang, such a rough and taciturn man, has a beautiful and enchanting younger sister. What can you do? Besides, why can't people have her?"
"So, just accept it. There's nothing you can't understand. What you need to care about is how to maximize your own interests after the facts are as they are, instead of getting caught up in it. Do you understand?"
"Even if, by the very most chance, Miss Song really does have some special feelings for Liu Aliang, so what? Is there anything that is forbidden or impossible? Does that mean that heaven decrees that Song Zhian absolutely cannot like anyone other than you? Do you think there is such a logic in the world?"
"Many things are beyond your control. What you need to do is not to have any naive expectations of others, such as Song Zhiruo, from the beginning, thinking that she is indispensable to you."
She patted the shoulder of the brocade-clad young man who was listening in a daze, and said in an unusually serious tone:
"It would be good for you to come south to Yunmeng. You can broaden your horizons, get to know these people, and grow a lot from it."
"Jinghong, remember this: after leaving home, you are no longer the protagonist in any historical novel, and the others you meet are not protagonists in historical novels either, but they are not supporting characters either. Don't be too self-centered, understand?"
Lu Jinghong remained silent for a long time, then lowered his head slightly and suddenly drank several more cups in a row.
"I understand, child."
He took a deep breath and said.
Li Wan then slowly nodded: "Indeed, my son has good comprehension."
She smiled again;
"So, when you get up early tomorrow, if you run into Brother Liu, take the initiative to greet him, apologize, and say that you were a little distracted tonight. Then, inquire about his relationship with his sister Liu Qing and resolve this small matter first."
"Yes, Mother."
Lu Jinghong nodded slowly: "I have made a fool of myself tonight."
"No."
Li Wan smiled, her words cruel: "Actually, no one paid much attention to you tonight. After all, you were just acting like a child, throwing a tantrum. Who cares? So Jinghong, there's no need to blame yourself."
Lu Jinghong: ...
He hesitated, then finally shut up and silently acknowledged his mother's words.
After a short while, he gave a self-deprecating laugh:
“Mother is right. If this were a historical novel, Brother Liu would definitely be the protagonist tonight.”
Li Wan nodded with a smile, then shook her head:
"Don't worry, your Miss Song doesn't actually like him, at least not in your mother's opinion."
"but……"
"You mean, the joke Liu Qing made with his brother sounded like he was asking Song Zhian something out of jealousy?"
Li Wan asked leisurely:
"Do you think that Miss Song shouldn't have remained silent at the time, as if someone had said the right thing?"
Lu Jinghong nodded.
Li Wan raised a finger and gently shook it:
"No, no, no, I can only say that you really don't understand women. That's actually a woman's... and it's a normal reaction for other young women, especially a woman like Song Zhian."
"Mother, what does that mean?"
Li Wan glanced at the teacup in front of her, and upon seeing this, Lu Jinghong immediately stood up and filled it with tea for her.
Li Wan raised her cup, took a sip, and breathed a satisfied sigh of relief before continuing:
“Song Zhian is actually very cautious and insecure. From the beginning, she subtly took the initiative to contact you, including Liu Aliang and Sha Ergou... This shows that she is actually very insecure.”
"Such a woman, if she is a little stupid, will seem too domineering. If Bingxue is smart, she will lead the team in a subtle and gentle way, just like her. So you can't feel her domineering nature. However, Jinghong, think about it carefully. In the team, is she the one who makes the decisions or guides you?"
"That's right, that's the kind of feeling that women like... having complete control and planning over the environment within a few steps around them."
"So, when Liu Qing appeared tonight and revealed the relationship between Liu Aliang and his sister, Miss Song must have felt very insecure at that moment, or rather, she was immediately on high alert, as if the territory of a tiger on the mountain had been invaded."
Li Wan slightly raised her chin, seemingly very understanding of women's thoughts, and chuckled softly;
"Although she often said she wanted to consult Miss Liu Qing, it was just something she said in private. When it actually happened and Liu Qing appeared in front of her, she felt that the matter was beyond her control and understanding."
"Just like your complicated feelings towards Liu Aliang, she also has complicated feelings... because, well, Liu Qing is a tiger even more powerful than her. She is a woman, and once she realizes this, she will be wary and have mixed feelings, a sense of being out of control."
"Well, when Miss Liu Qing asked her name at the courtyard gate at night, her first reaction was definitely not to refute her, nor was she as immature as you. Instead, she was observing carefully and discerning her identity."
"Sometimes silence is not an admission of something, but a weighing of the situation. In such cases, the most appropriate and intelligent response is silence, using stillness to control movement. Too much action can easily reveal emotional flaws, do you understand?"
Li Wan then laughed and said:
"You should learn from Song Zhian in this respect. Hmm, her silence back then was definitely different from your tantrums, Jinghong."
Lu Jinghong seemed to understand, but not quite, and nodded slowly.
At least one thing he understood was that Miss Song's reaction wasn't what he had pessimistically imagined, which relieved him:
"That's good, that's good..."
Li Wan asked slowly:
"Jinghong, you met Liu Qing and Chen Jiaxin separately tonight. What are your thoughts on them?"
Lu Jinghong pondered:
"This girl, Aqing, has a very good personality and should be easy to talk to and easy to get along with. Unlike Chen Jiaxin, who is simply incomprehensible."
"No."
Li Wan suddenly spoke, her tone intriguing:
"If we're talking about being easy to talk to, it's quite the opposite. If you think that Miss Aqing is easy to talk to, you're being deceived by appearances. She is indeed gentle, but that's only in ordinary times. This kind of girl is most persistent about things she cares about, and once she sets her mind on something, she'll see it through to the end... If you really touch her sore spot, nothing you say will work. Even if you try to beg her with favors or by playing the victim, she'll be as hard as iron."
"Chen Jiaxin is the same. She may seem difficult to talk to, a bit domineering, and hard to get along with, but she's actually very easy to talk to, provided that you make her feel like you're one of her own, like we're on the same path, and that you're someone who clearly distinguishes between love and hate..."
Li Wan paused, turned to look at Lu Jinghong, who was completely bewildered, and stared at him intently as she said:
"While we were chatting, I was reminded of my sister-in-law. Your aunt is like that too. Chen Jiaxin is a bit like her. She seems difficult to get along with, and it's hard for ordinary people to talk to her or dare to say much. But actually, she's very easy to talk to, as long as you're reasonable."
“Your aunt is strict and follows etiquette, but that’s precisely because she’s easily influenced and has to regulate her behavior. She’s strict with herself and others as well.”
Lu Jinghong listened in a daze, but he remained skeptical of his mother's rambling words, neither believing nor caring.
Li Wan naturally knew what her son was thinking, so she didn't press him further. But after a while, she heard him mutter:
"Mother, what about Miss Song? How should we speak to her?"
Li Wan's lips twitched slightly: "I don't know, you can guess for yourself."
Lu Jinghong choked on his words...
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Song Zhian and Yu Mili had just returned to the courtyard and stopped in front of the door.
After unlocking the door, Yu Mili looked back.
They noticed that Song Zhian was turning around and looking back at the dark road they had come from, with the direction of Brother Liu's courtyard faintly visible in the distance.
Yu Mili asked curiously, "What's wrong, Sister Song? What are you looking at?"
"No, it's nothing."
Song Zhian answered calmly.
The pretty young woman turned around, her complex expression hidden in her eyes, but a hint of bewilderment still lingered on her face, unseen by Yu Mili who was happily entering the room.
When Liu Qing questioned her today, a woman's intuition told her that there seemed to be something wrong with the relationship between Liu Qing and Brother Liu... they didn't seem like siblings.
What else could they be but siblings?
The sword-wielding girl's somewhat joking remark can naturally be interpreted as a younger sister's slight jealousy as she longs for her older brother's affection.
But a certain vague intuition arose without any apparent reason.
Completely baffled, Song Zhian looked at Fang Yumi's carefree back.
She gently shook her head, suppressing her wild thoughts, and walked into the courtyard...
Meanwhile, in Ouyang Rong's room, Liu Qing, who walked in with curiosity looking around, was completely unaware of the huge commotion her arrival would cause among her brother's friends that night.
Without waiting for Ouyang Rong's signal, she turned around and closed the door.
"Brother, have you been staying here all this time?"
Aqing asked.
"Um.
Ouyang Rong went and lit a candle.
The room became bright.
"It might be a bit messy. I'll go tidy it up. You can sit on that bench over there..."
As Ouyang Rong spoke, he turned around and saw that A Qing had already walked to his bedside, bent down, and nimbly made the bed and folded the quilt for him.
Ouyang Rong was a little embarrassed:
"Put it there, I'll do it."
Aqing shook her head as she turned away, her tone slightly complaining:
“Brother, why are you being so polite with me? I’ve made your bed before… Hmm, these bedding need to be aired out. I’ll come tomorrow and hang them out for you.”
Aqing bent down without any hesitation and carefully sniffed the sheets, her nose almost touching them.
Ouyang Rong looked slightly helpless.
He knew the girl was exceptionally stubborn in this regard and couldn't stop her. After a moment of silence, he touched his cuffs, then suddenly turned and went out, not knowing where he was going.
Soon, Ouyang Rong returned again, and A Qing was still making the bed, her profile serious.
He went straight to the bedside and helped make the bed.
"Phew, that's about it. That pile of clothes, you can wear to bed later, brother. Don't you dare sleep in dirty clothes that got sweaty during the day, brother, do you understand..."
Finally finished at the bedside, Aqing let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, and muttered something under her breath.
The dull-witted young man next to her didn't respond. She turned her head in confusion, only to see a large hand reach out and hand her something, which immediately filled her entire field of vision.
It is a half peach with clear water droplets hanging on it.
The peach flesh is unusual and has a wonderful aroma.
Ah Qing's small face froze instantly: "Brother..."
(End of this chapter)
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