Chapter 513: Everyone except her is reborn. (1)
It was a cold winter day, the ground was covered with snow and the weather was unusually cold.
On the soft couch in Yongning Pavilion, a woman with loose hair was leaning lazily with her lower body covered with a peacock blue velvet blanket. The room was as warm as a spring day.
The maidservant knelt respectfully beside the couch and used balsam juice to color her nails. Another maidservant massaged her shoulders and calves. There was also a female musician playing the piano to help her pass the time.
Zi Yuan walked in at this time, looked at the manicure done, waved her hand, and asked everyone to leave.
Ziyuan walked forward, closed the poetry book on the table and put it aside.
Qiao Wanyan slept until the afternoon. She sat up lazily but did not get up. She blinked her eyes but seemed not fully awake yet.
"Miss, you are awake. In a few days, King Jing will return to the capital and the Crown Prince will hold a banquet. The eldest lady will also go. Should we just go all out and stop her from going, so that she won't seduce the Crown Prince?"
When Qiao Wanyan mentioned this, her face changed slightly. "This fool is always hanging around in front of Your Highness. It's annoying just thinking about it!"
Zi Yuan suggested, "Miss, should we give her something so that she can't leave the house for a few days?"
Qiao Wanyan stood up and said, "I haven't prepared the hairpins and jewelry to match my dress for the banquet in a few days. Let's talk about it after I come back from Huibao Tower."
The carriage of the Shangshu Mansion was always ready to depart at any time, and the second young lady stopped at the door as soon as she wanted to go out.
Qiao Wanyan got on the carriage, and Ziyuan said, "Let's go."
The carriage slowly drove away.
"I don't know what happened. Huibaolou has never been closed. I don't know why it closed today."
"You don't know yet. I heard that someone bought Huibaolou at a high price. Now the owner has changed and is handing over the renovation today."
Inside the carriage, Qiao Wanyan lowered her eyes as she listened to the conversation of passers-by.
Bought by someone at a high price?
Zi Yuan asked: "Miss, do we still want to go?"
"Go, why not? It's not like all those hairpins, rings, and jewelry are gone just because the store is closed. Is there any reason to turn away guests?"
Huibao Tower was indeed closed. Ziyuan got off the carriage first and knocked on the door. The servant said that the owner had been replaced and was renovating the door so it could not be opened. Ziyuan refused to listen and insisted on going in.
The servant was in a great dilemma. Just as he was hesitating, a sound as cool as the sound of pine trees came from upstairs.
"Let them in. Everything upstairs has been cleaned up. Let them go upstairs and choose."
The servant then opened the door and said, "Then please come in, young lady."
Zi Yuan snorted, "You're smart."
After saying that, he went back and said something beside the carriage, and helped the beautiful woman down from the carriage and walked in.
The first floor has indeed not been tidied up yet and is a bit messy.
Qiao Wanyan went up to the second floor. The second floor of Huibao Building was a place she was very familiar with and she was a frequent visitor here.
But now, something is different.
There is no other change, except for a few more paintings on the wall.
The paintings are all of women, so stunning that one cannot take their eyes away, as if they are about to walk out of the paintings.
Even so, those paintings have no facial features.
Qiao Wanyan was stunned for a moment. She felt that these paintings were very familiar, but it was clearly the first time she saw them.
Zi Yuan spoke and brought Qiao Wanyan back to her senses.
"Are you the new manager of Huibao Tower? My daughter is from the Shangshu Mansion, and she used to be a distinguished guest of Huibao Tower."
Qiao Wanyan looked at the man with his back to her. His figure was as thin as a pine or cypress, just like the shadow of a crane in the clouds.
Qiao Wanyan looked him up and down and said, "Turn around."
The face did not disappoint.
"Are you the new shopkeeper here?"
The man raised his lips in a beautiful arc, "To answer Miss, that's right. My name is Xu Shujian, and I hope Miss will take care of my business in the future."
Xu Shujian?
It's a nice name.
Qiao Wanyan said, "I will attend a banquet in a few days and come to pick out some hairpins, rings and jewelry. Bring out the best ones so I can see them."
Xu Shujian waved his hand to let the servant who was about to come forward retreat, and walked over and took out a few trays, all of which were filled with rare treasures, new styles that had never been seen in the capital.
"Miss, you are beautiful. These hairpins and rings may be able to bring icing on the cake for you."
Qiao Wanyan raised her eyes and glanced at him.
Xu Shujian smiled, "I am not complimenting you. I have never seen a lady like you in my hometown. You are very beautiful. These hairpins and rings would be the finishing touch on an ordinary person, but they would overshadow your beauty if worn on your head."
Qiao Wanyan snorted, "I've heard these words so many times that my ears are almost callused. Do you really need to say something that everyone knows?"
Xu Shujian smiled softly, and seeing that she was obviously in a good mood, he said, "Miss, you are right."
It's still the same temperament, it has never changed.
Xu Shujian understood her, even though this was the first time he met her in this life.
The hairpins, rings and jewelry that were taken out at the moment were the most in line with Qiao Wanyan's aesthetic taste, and as expected, she bought them all.
“These paintings of yours…”
Xu Shujian followed her line of sight and said calmly, "The women in these paintings are the same person."
Qiao Wanyan was somewhat interested in these paintings and asked a few more questions, "Your wife?"
Xu Shujian said, "I have never married or had children. Miss may not believe me if I tell you this. The woman in the painting is the one I saw in my dream. It's just that I have never seen her real face, so these paintings do not have her facial features."
Zi Yuan frowned slightly, "I think these paintings are very similar to the young lady."
A hint of smile flashed across Xu Shujian's eyes. "Now that you mention it, young lady, it does look like them. I wonder if you would mind if I paint the facial features of the women in these paintings to look like yours."
He added, "But don't be afraid, young lady. I will give these paintings to you and will never display them here ostentatiously. I only ask that you have mercy on me and leave me a painting as a souvenir."
Qiao Wanyan didn't say anything when she heard this. After a moment, she turned around and stood face to face with Xu Shujian.
"Remember my face. If you draw it ugly, I will make sure you can't stay in the capital. Remember?"
Xu Shujian agreed obediently, "Thank you, Miss. The painting is ready. I will send it to your house so you don't have to make an extra trip."
Qiao Wanyan nodded slightly and turned to leave.
Zi Yuan said: "Send all the things to the residence of the Minister of Revenue, and someone will give you the money when the time comes."
Xu Shujian smiled and replied, "Yes."
Xu Shujian personally sent her to the door, and watched the carriage go farther and farther away without looking away, as if he had become accustomed to watching her leave.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally raised his head and looked at the cloudless sky.
It turns out that God also has mercy on me.
This life is the one in which he chooses how to live.
The fate and hatred that I carried have already been repaid in my previous life.
In this life, he is just Xu Shujian, not the Xu Shujian who has to move forward with heavy burdens on his shoulders.
In this life, he will gradually become her counselor.
As long as he is around, no one can marry her.
It’s good to be a saint, but when she is a saint, no one is worthy of marrying her.
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