Chapter 32 Lipstick Her lips were slightly red and swollen from his kiss. ...
Although Nanxiang is called an "alley", it is not narrow. This lane is worthy of being the most prosperous place in Huaicheng. The side streets can only allow two or three carriages to run side by side, while five or six carriages can run side by side in Nanxiang without any problem.
Early in the morning, Qiongyifang had already opened its doors. At this hour, even the Baihualou across the street had not opened yet.
Liu Rutang leaned against the fence and looked out at Baihua Tower.
Although she was already middle-aged, she had taken good care of herself and her face was almost wrinkle-free. If one did not look closely, her face would be no different from that of a young girl in her prime. Liu Rutang wore a jade-red satin skirt that highlighted her waistline, making her look extremely graceful.
Zhitao, who was sweeping the streets, complained, "Liu Niang! It's almost noon! Which clothing store would open so early? Even if it did, what young lady would buy clothes so early? Look! Even the Baihua Tower, where men go for pleasure, isn't open yet! Why are you so anxious?"
"Besides, a while ago, we had that incident..."
What Zhitao was talking about was naturally the incident where Qiongyifang was exposed by a customer for passing inferior fabrics as high-quality ones, which inadvertently led to the rise of Zhu Hao's Fu Yucai. No wonder Zhitao was resentful, for ever since these incidents arose, there were almost no customers in the shop.
There were no customers. The shop had to open early, under the pretext that the earlier it opened, the earlier the revenue would come in. Zhitao scratched his head, feeling baffled. There were no customers at all!
Liu Rutang stayed on the second floor every day, leaning against the railing and gazing at Baihua Tower, sometimes he would stare at it for a whole day.
Seeing that Liu Rutang didn't answer, Zhitao sighed and continued to tidy up the shop.
As expected, Liu Rutang stood there like this for another two hours without moving an inch. The Baihua Tower opposite was already filled with noise, and he could occasionally hear the flirtatious chatter of men and women. Looking up, he saw people coming and going on the long street, the rumble of luxurious carriages, and nobles on their way out.
At this moment, Zhitao rushed to the second floor in a hurry. With a smile on her face, she said repeatedly: "Manager Liu! Finally, someone is willing to buy this building! And offer this amount." Zhitao made the number three.
Liu Rutang shouted angrily, "How much?! Three hundred taels? Just three hundred taels? Who's crazy? I'll go meet her! This is South Lane! Does she understand the market? This place! It's always crowded with people? It's the best land in Huaicheng! And she only offered three hundred taels? Zhitao! Although I said before that if no one really wants this building, I might lower the price, but I never agreed to such a low price!" She raised her hand and made an eight, "At least this amount."
Zhitao exclaimed, "Mother Liu! It's three thousand taels! Three thousand taels! It includes all the clothes in the market! Even those of poor quality or poor quality are included!"
Liu Rutang was shocked when she heard this. She looked back at Baihua Tower, her eyes blurry. "Where is she? Has the person who came to visit the tower come? What's her name? Where does she live? Is she really going to be taken away?"
Zhitao thought for a moment and answered according to memory, "I think he lived in South Lane. What was his name, Zhu Hao? Hiss, or not? Yes, yes, Zhu Hao! Zhu Hao! Eh, why does it sound so familiar? Well, never mind." She chattered on and on, "Zhu Hao left a message. If Liu Niang finds this price acceptable, she'll discuss it with you in detail at Mingyue Tower tonight at 12:00."
"Bah!" Liu Rutang said viciously, "You should be familiar with her! Isn't she that little bitch from Fu Yucai? I'm going to teach her how to make a killing while I'm in trouble!" Then she said proudly, "She's just a little kid after all, and she actually opened a new clothing store in the deserted Beiwei Street! What a fool! I guess she already knows the problems here and plans to move to the South Lane..."
Tsk, she's not stupid. Three thousand taels? Zhu Hao has only been a trader for a year, how could he possibly come up with three thousand taels? He must be trying to trick her into showing up!
Liu Rutang's eyes dimmed slightly, "Tell Shopkeeper Zhu that this building has no chance with her."
Zhitao sighed secretly. It was obvious that ever since Liu Rutang's secret of selling inferior fabrics as high-quality ones was exposed, she had insisted on selling this house. A few days ago, it's not that no one was interested in it, but the bids were low, and Liu Rutang rejected them all. Now someone is willing to buy this house and old clothes for three thousand taels, but she refuses him?
It's really a case of trying to save face but suffering in life.
Zhitao didn't know what to say. She had originally thought that after the building changed hands, she would return to her hometown to farm the land. But now, she didn't know when it would end. Zhitao turned around with a worried face. Unexpectedly, after taking two steps, she bumped into a pretty girl.
"Hey! Did you look at the road?"
"I'm sorry." Zhitao apologized with her head down. When she raised her eyes, she saw the girl with two buns whispering in Liu Rutang's ear. Immediately, Liu Rutang's face changed drastically.
"Zhi Tao!" Liu Rutang said anxiously, "Tell Zhu Hao, Mingyue Tower...I'm here to accept the appointment!"
…
There are direct routes to Kyoto, both by water and by land. The water route is more convenient, the journey is shorter, and there are fewer bumps on the road. Therefore, Shi Chunsheng chose to travel by boat.
Based on the friendship between Shi Chunsheng and Zhu Hao since childhood, she came to see them off.
Zhu Hao handed the food box filled with cakes and fruits to Shi Chunsheng. "At least the journey will take two days, so don't starve. Although the food in the box isn't all delicacies, it's enough to fill your stomach."
Shi Chunsheng took it with a smile. She must have been in a hurry to go out today. The wind was blowing and the waves were high at the ferry, but she didn't bring a cloak to keep warm. Shi Chunsheng said, "Pianpian, it's windy here. You should go back early to avoid catching a cough."
"It's okay. The boat will start sailing soon anyway. Besides, shouldn't I be well now?"
Shi Chunsheng saw that Zhu Hao hadn't coughed, and because he harbored a bit of selfish feelings for her, he didn't continue to urge her. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "Pian Pian, in ten days or so, on March 22nd, the Huaixian parade will be held. I'll be back in the city then. On the night of the parade, Zhe'erzhai will be organizing a temple fair. If you... are free, I'd like to invite you along."
He felt a little nervous, fearing that this move was too bold, so Shi Chunsheng made up for it, "I saw that Pianpian was very interested in Huaixian, so..."
"Okay." Zhu Hao nodded and paraded the gods through the streets. The gods they were parading were Shi Chunsheng's ancestors, so he should indeed go back to the city to see them in person.
Zhu Hao felt that the relationship between Song Xiqing and Shi Chunsheng was subtle when he thought about it.
Shi Chunsheng was in high spirits.
Zhu Hao smiled back at him, and while looking around, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark blue robe in the distant alley.
Although they were clearly far apart, with a two-meter-long road in front of them, and many passers-by passing by, their eyes swept across the scenery, but their gazes collided steadily.
She saw that her husband looked haggard and was leaning against the wall of the alley.
Zhu Hao's heart trembled, "Chunsheng, I, I'm going to relieve myself."
After saying this, she gathered her skirt and ran straight to the far alley. But just as she stepped with her left foot, she was unexpectedly pulled into the inner alley.
Zhu Hao's head was protected by one hand and she was leaning against the wall of the alley. Song Xieqing's other hand wrapped her slender wrist tightly. His fingertips stroked the scar left by the fire last year. Zhu Hao suddenly felt itchy. She raised her head and smelled the fragrance of sweet pine on her face. Song Xieqing's lips brushed her jaw and then kissed her.
She didn't struggle, but she had nowhere to put her hands, so she rested them on his chest.
Song Xieqing kissed slowly and methodically, as if he had mastered the skill to perfection. However, each kiss only stayed on the surface. He never went deep into her world to disturb her, but only sucked and crushed her lips repeatedly.
Taking her size into consideration, Song Xieqing was half-supporting her, but Zhu Hao still felt uncomfortable. She felt her body stiff and her neck was tired from arching to accommodate him. Zhu Hao pushed him away, and while gasping for breath, she vaguely caught a glimpse of the curse thread under his neck that had not disappeared. Although the color was lighter, Song Xieqing's face was still pale.
She was too tired to stand on tiptoe or raise her neck again. When the two of them were silent, Zhu Hao suddenly raised her hand and grabbed his collar.
Song Xieqing was forced to bow down for this.
The two kissed again, and Song Xieqing leaned on the edge of the wall and trapped her inside.
The breaths intertwined and unknowingly penetrated deeper and deeper, making the inner alley ambiguous and difficult to distinguish.
"Wow! Mommy! Look! The big sister and big brother have no shame!"
Zhu Hao's cheeks burned hot. She hurriedly pushed Song Xieqing away. When his curse disappeared, she looked in the direction of the sound. It was a little girl with a pigtail tied up in her hair. She was carried away by her mother. She could faintly hear her scolding: "You know shame, yet you still look at me? What are you yelling at the top of your lungs for? What if you disturb your brothers and sisters? This is called inseparable! Deep love! Unlike your father? He knows nothing! So boring!"
Song Xieqing took two steps back and said, "Thank you."
Wish you well without saying anything, just spread out your hands.
Song Xieqing had tall eyebrows. After a long time, he transformed a gold ingot into something and placed it in her palm.
Best wishes: "..."
She touched her lips that were kissed by him, "Lip balm!"
Although she said this, Song Xieqing saw the young lady put the gold ingot into her pocket with a blushing face.
Thinking back to a few days ago, Song Xieqing said he would clear all obstacles for her. His words sounded nice, but in reality, they were all empty talk! There were countless rules, for example, you can't harm the innocent, you can't change your fate, you can't have it all, and, a disease like hers can't be cured.
She scoffed, "It's okay to turn into a box of lipstick, right?" Zhu Hao had just left with a smooth lip color. If she went back like this, Shi Chun would inevitably become suspicious.
Song Xieqing did indeed produce a box of lipstick and handed it to her. The porcelain box was quite exquisite, with a magnolia painted on it. It had the unique fragrance of her lipstick, and he could actually taste it.
Zhu Hao opened the box and took a look. He was stunned to see that the color inside the box was extremely ugly. It was neither red nor pink. Zhu Hao said, "It's too ugly. Change it."
Song Xieqing thought that girls were really troublesome. He then conjured up a whole handful of porcelain boxes and asked Zhu Hao to open them one by one. She paused for a moment and stared at Song Xieqing with a frown. She had never expected that he was so ignorant of girls' things, and each one was uglier than the other.
She simply said, "I will choose the color of your lips."
Zhu Hao pointed to his lips, and Song Xieqing looked at them as he was told - they were bright, plump, and slightly red and swollen from his kiss.
Song Xieqing chuckled and asked her, "I wish you good luck. Do you think there's still lip balm on your lips?"
Zhu Hao waved at him, "Lower."
Song Xieqing leaned over, and Zhu Hao took the opportunity to wipe his lips, "Mm."
He saw Zhu Hao printing Zhu Yinghong's lips with two fingers, and then he took out a box of lipstick of the same color.
Only then did the young lady in front of him feel satisfied. She used her fingertips to apply lipstick to touch up the color of her lipstick, concentrating quite deeply.
Zhu Hao evened out her lip color, turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly he put his arm across her front, and in just a moment, Song Xieqing transformed into a woman's cloak.
Zhu Hao glanced at him, took the cloak and stepped out of the alley. The spring breeze blew at the ferry, making the girl's water blue skirt flutter, like a surging green wave sweeping into someone's heart.
Song Xieqing was leaning against the wall of the alley, just able to see Zhu Hao and Shi Chunsheng standing opposite each other. The young lady was wearing a red cloak with red tassels, which made her look as beautiful as a peach or plum. She slightly turned sideways, revealing a neck that looked like it was carved from jade. Zhu Hao's lips shone in the sunlight, but she had no idea what interesting things the two were talking about. Song Xieqing was too lazy to use her divine power to explore, she only saw that the two of them lowered their heads, and she covered her lips with a smile.
Song Xieqing withdrew his gaze and put his palm to his lips.
His palm was stained with the young lady's lipstick, which exuded a faint magnolia fragrance, far more subtle than the one he had tasted on his tongue.
Song Xieqing looked into the distance again, and seeing how well-matched the two were, his eyes gradually dimmed.
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