Chapter 159: It seems unbelievable to instigate the people around you. …
Since that day when he got Ji Shubai's approval, Song Jin often wrote to Miss Pei, inviting her to his home to talk and have fun.
The Pei family hoped that she could get closer to Ji Shubai, so they would naturally not stop her and would attend every invitation.
Every time she came, Song Jin never told her about his brother's official position or Ji Shubai's busy life. He just pulled her to play cards and talk with the ladies.
Miss Pei is beautiful, well-mannered, good at poetry and literature, and smart, and she is very popular with all the ladies.
So much so that Song Jin thought that if she had not been born in this era, she would have been a very dazzling existence.
One day in early winter, Miss Pei suddenly asked Song Jin to go to Lingyan Temple outside the city to burn incense and pray.
Song Jin himself seldom went to the temple to burn incense, but the people here were very enthusiastic about it, so he did not refuse. He accepted the invitation and went out of the city together when Miss Pei came.
The road to Lingyan Temple was not easy to walk on, and the sedan chair was swaying all the way. After finally reaching the top of the mountain, Song Jin exclaimed at the beautiful scenery as soon as he got off the sedan chair.
The distant mountains were dark blue, with different shades of blue, layer upon layer, which made Song Jin, who had been staying in the government office for a long time, feel refreshed.
It has been a long time since I went out and walked freely like this. When I went out, I found that I was almost moldy.
Song Jin and Miss Pei held hands and walked inside to burn incense. It was not that she needed support, but she felt that Miss Pei needed support.
There was incense in the temple. After they lit incense and prayed, they walked out, intending to visit this famous temple again. As a result, they met a person drawing lots at the door, so Miss Pei said:
"Sister, let's draw one."
Before drawing lots, one should silently ask oneself questions in one's mind. Miss Pei was very clear about this. She picked up the lot box and began to shake it. A lot fell down and the maid picked it up for her.
"Sister, it's your turn."
Song Jin grabbed the stick tube, thought for a moment, and then started shaking it until a stick fell.
The two of them exchanged the sticks together. Miss Pei took her own stick first, looked at it carefully, and said softly: "The towering pagoda is unusual, and its eight sides are exquisite and shining..."
Before he finished reading it, he happily handed it to the monk who was in charge of interpreting the lots, asking him to help interpret them.
The monk still had Song Jin's fortune slip in his hand. He glanced at it and then looked at Song Jin.
Song Jin was dressed luxuriously. Although it was early winter, she was afraid of the cold and had to go up the mountain, so she wore a sable fur coat. The blue and gold satin surface of the coat was very eye-catching, not to mention the gold-studded headpiece on her head.
The monk handed over the lot with a smile. Seeing that he was a little slow, Song Jin tried to look at the lot, but after just a glance, he held it in his hand without asking for an interpretation.
Miss Pei realized that something was not right and did not ask any more questions. She only asked the monk what her fortune meant.
The monk smiled and said, "This is a very good fortune. You will get what you ask for."
Miss Pei was immediately happy and took the lottery ticket back.
"Sister, you must..."
"No, let's go."
Song Jin put the signature paper in his sleeve and went out. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he saw an acquaintance. He stopped and remembered an old story.
"Go wait for me outside, I'll be there soon."
Song Jin sent Miss Pei away and stood at the door waiting for Wen Ya and Wen Xin to approach.
Now, Wen Ya and Wen Xin were like mice seeing a cat when they saw her. They felt a chill on their backs but dared not run away. They could only come over and pay their respects.
Song Jin looked at the two of them with a forced smile, which made people feel numb.
"Madam, are you here to burn incense today as well?"
"yes."
"Master Wen is free today."
"I am not busy on weekdays, so it is only natural for me to accompany my aunt to worship."
Song Jin still smiled and said, "Then could you please accompany me for a walk, Master Wen?"
Wen Xin was stunned. The two of them didn't look like they could coexist peacefully, but since Song Jin invited him, he couldn't refuse. He temporarily said goodbye to Wen Ya and walked with Song Jin in the temple.
"What has Young Master Wen been busy with these days?" Song Jin asked casually.
"I'm not busy. I'm just serving my aunt."
Song Jin chuckled and said that she was serving him, but she just wanted to take advantage of him. She didn't ask much, but asked him what he was busy with on weekdays, whether it was tiring to serve Wen Ya, and what kind of business he was doing. When she learned that his business was difficult now, she felt sorry for him and looked very concerned, which made Wen Xin happy.
Then he asked him to call his aunt, saying that it was time to burn incense.
Wen Xin agreed with a smile and went.
As soon as the person left, Song Jin's face darkened and he reached out to straighten his collar. Du Juan said, "Madam, we should go back early. The mountain is different from the city. The mountain wind is cold and it would be bad if you catch a cold."
Song Jin shook his head and sat under the eaves. He had finally gotten out of the house and he had to see enough of the scenery on the mountain.
Soon, Wen Ya came over with the help of Wen Xin. Song Jin put on a smile and said, "I still want to talk to you privately. It seems that you are not very confident about me. You are afraid that I will bully you with so many people around you."
After hearing this, Wen Ya immediately sent everyone around her away. Song Jin then invited her to sit down with him and got straight to the point.
"I heard that when Master Ji and I were getting married, Madam sent someone to stop us. Is that true?"
Wen Ya's face changed drastically after hearing this, and she stood up hurriedly: "Madam, what are you talking about? The story between you and Master Ji was spread all over the city. Everyone knows that you two will become husband and wife. How could I send someone to stop you?"
Song Jin stared at her face. It didn't seem like he was lying, but he still lied to her:
"That's not the rumor I heard."
"Madam, no matter what happens, it has nothing to do with me. I have absolutely no intention of stopping you."
Song Jin lowered his head, neither saying that he believed it nor that he did not believe it.
"Wen Xin, wasn't it you who instructed me to mention my engagement to him in front of Master Ji?"
"Absolutely not, ma'am. I have never known about this. Otherwise, I would call my nephew and I would confront him face to face."
Wen Ya was about to go find Wen Xin and asked Song Jin to hold the button.
"I believe what my wife said, but..." Song Jin stood up and said slowly: "The people around you don't seem to be trustworthy."
After saying this, without waiting for Wen Ya to ask any questions, he left with his servants, leaving Wen Ya full of questions until she saw Song Jin bump into Wen Xin on the road.
Wen Xin nodded and bowed as he spoke to Song Jin, turning to look at her in the process and suddenly became furious.
Song Jin did not go down the mountain directly, but took Miss Pei for another walk on the mountain. It was a pity that it was winter. If it was spring, the mountain would be full of rhododendrons, which would be extremely gorgeous.
"Sister, can we come together again next spring?"
"OK."
That afternoon, Song Jin came back a little late. As soon as she entered the door, Lu Zhu came to tell her that the silversmith shop had delivered the items she had ordered earlier. She didn't know if it was what she wanted, so she kept it for the time being.
Song Jin went back to the room to see, it was a specially made silver pen.
The pen holder is made of wood, and the tip of the pen is embedded with a silver nib, which looks like an elongated pumpkin with a pointed end and deep S-shaped ridges growing on the body of the pumpkin.
So he ordered people to grind ink and pour all the ink into a small lacquer box, which he used as an ink bottle.
The ink flows smoothly, the nib is round and does not pull on the paper, making writing smoother. You no longer have to worry about accidentally bending the pen shaft, and the pen body does not carry the smell of ink and needs to be replaced frequently.
Song Jin was enjoying his writing when someone came to report that Mrs. Lin had arrived. Song Jin hurriedly dropped his pen and went to greet her.
She had come into contact with Mrs. Lin several times and knew that she was a kind-hearted person, so she couldn't help but show her extra respect and quickly invited her into the house to sit down and have some tea.
Madam Lin looked at her thick clothes and asked, "Are you going out today?"
Song Jin said, "Yes, I accompanied Miss Pei to the mountain to worship, so I wore something thicker."
"It's windy in the mountains, so you should wear something warmer." After saying that, he looked around the house and asked, "Why, did Miss Pei go back?"
"Yes, I went back after entering the city."
Mrs. Lin smiled and said, "I want to ask you something. Has Miss Pei told anyone about this?"
Song Jin understood what she had just heard: "I haven't heard her say that, so she probably hasn't promised to marry yet. If you want to know, I'll ask someone to ask her in person next time, okay?"
"You can ask for me if you want. I am thinking that Lord Lin and I are both in Suzhou now and cannot go back for a while. I am always worried about leaving Xinran alone to study in the capital. Besides, she is old enough and we didn't talk about marriage at the beginning. Now I think Miss Pei is not bad. It would be a good thing if we can get married."
Lin Xinran is Madam Lin's only son, and he is now studying at the Imperial College in the capital. She had heard her mention him at the card table, and she had also heard other ladies praise her son for his dignified appearance and good character, but she had never seen him in person.
Mrs. Lin came to mention this matter in person today, so she must be taking it very seriously, so I agreed to help her ask.
After seeing Mrs. Lin off, Song Jin sat in the porch in a daze, looking at the small door in the yard, waiting for Ji Shubai to come in from outside. He couldn't help but think of the mountains he had seen in the morning, and began to sigh in his heart.
The human heart is truly never satisfied.
When the last ray of light in the sky faded away, Ji Shubai walked in from outside the yard, and Song Jin stood up to greet him.
"Why are you sitting in the yard? Be careful not to catch a cold. I will be back after I finish my work."
Song Jin smiled and said, "I have nothing to do, so I am waiting for you."
It was really boring. Ever since she moved in here, she had to start playing the role of a fifth-rank lady. She always had to think about being polite and abiding by the rules, not overstepping the boundaries, not embarrassing Ji Shubai, and not getting involved in rumors again.
It’s so tiring to pretend.
Seeing Ji Shubai coming over to take her hand and go into the house to eat together, she couldn't help but think of the year when they went on tour together. Ji Shubai was busy during the day and often came back to have dinner with her at night. They would also talk about what happened during the day.
At that time, she felt that the relationship between them was like that of a workaholic husband and a stay-at-home housewife. She didn't expect that her words would come true and they actually lived such a boring life, which was really annoying.
"Today, Miss Pei and I went to Lingyan Temple to burn incense and draw lots. Miss Pei asked about marriage, and she drew a very good lot."
"She is about seventeen or eighteen years old, so she can get married."
Song Jin seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, very young.
Although seventeen or eighteen years old, Song Jin got married at the age of nineteen. She seemed to have no right to refute this point.
"This fortune is very accurate. When I came back this afternoon, Madam Lin came to ask me, saying that if Miss Pei hasn't decided on a marriage yet, she wants to marry her to her own son. What do you think?"
Ji Shubai put down his chopsticks, thought carefully and said, "The Lin family has a good tradition. I have met Mr. Lin several times when I was in the capital. He is handsome and well-educated. If Mrs. Lin is really interested, it would be a good marriage."
"but......"
"But what?"
Ji Shubai smiled and said, "But Mr. Lin is studying in the capital right now. If Miss Pei gets married, I'm afraid she will have to live in the capital in the future."
Song Jin thought, it would be good to go to the capital. As long as Master Lin didn't bully her, wouldn't he be more reliable than her parents and brother?
So he agreed and invited Miss Pei to his house in two days to meet and ask her some questions.
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