Chapter 22 022 A Surprising Encounter
When Lin Wan returned to the Su residence, she happened to run into her uncle, Su Shaohua, who was returning from court.
Although she had been living in the Su family for several months, she rarely traveled alone with her uncle. He was either busy with official business or working at the government office. This was the first time. Moreover, her uncle was usually very serious and rarely joked. He had a very imposing official presence that made people feel intimidated.
Su Shaohua glanced at the departing carriage, which bore the unique insignia of the Prince of Xiangyang's residence, making it instantly recognizable as his carriage. He then looked Lin Wan over and asked in a deep voice, "Is your injury healed?"
"Thank you for your concern, Uncle. I'm much better now."
Su Shaohua remained calm and said, "You haven't returned for many days, and your maternal grandmother is very worried. Go see her and put her mind at ease. Come to the study later; I have something to say to you."
Hearing this, Lin Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she felt inexplicably nervous. Could it be that her uncle saw the young master escorting her back to the manor and was going to scold her?
She walked through the veranda towards her grandmother's courtyard. A cool breeze gently dispelled the summer heat. After not seeing her for many days, returning here suddenly gave her a warm feeling of coming home.
Before she could even enter the courtyard, the old woman sweeping the yard saw her from afar and heard her stop sweeping and turn to call out into the yard: "Old lady, the young lady has arrived."
The old lady looked at her with a beaming smile, scrutinizing her closely. She knew that the girl had gone out perfectly fine that day, but when she returned, she said she was injured and needed to stay at Xiangshan Temple to recuperate. How could she not worry? She couldn't help but think of her poor mother: "It's good that she's back, it's good that she's back."
Lin Wan understood her worries, so she downplayed the situation and reassured her, "Grandmother, that Doctor Hua is really amazing. He healed my injury so quickly. Now we're just waiting for the wound to heal and the scar to fade. His medical skills are truly excellent."
Upon hearing this, the old lady frowned, her tone tinged with a hint of probing: "Did the young master send Physician Hua over?"
"Yes, I heard that's how it is."
"Has the Crown Prince also been at Xiangshan Temple?"
Lin Wan shook her head frankly, "No way, after my aunt and the others left, the young master left right after. Only Shiliu was left to keep me company until today. The young master happened to come over, and the physician Hua examined my injuries and said that I was fine and could come back. So I came back temporarily. I'm so glad that the young master was on the way. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to get down the mountain and back."
She concealed the incident of meeting the Crown Prince last night and did not tell the whole story. However, even if you asked anyone, all they knew was that the Crown Prince was only at the temple that day and today. He returned to the temple very late last night and hardly encountered anyone else.
Shi Liu is wholeheartedly dedicated to helping Lin Wan achieve happiness and would never casually reveal any other information.
Seeing this, the old lady tentatively asked Shiliu, who also gave the same response, so she was relieved and didn't ask any further questions. However, seeing Lin Wan's slightly pale face, she felt heartache and told her to come and eat with her more often, as she needed to take good care of herself after being injured.
By the time Lin Wan went to the study to find her uncle Su Shaohua, the sun was already setting, and the pale yellow sunlight spilled into the study, casting a warm glow.
Su Shaohua said, "I corresponded with your father before the New Year, and he mentioned that you are also very good at running and managing shops, and you often help out by going out to check on branch stores in other towns. Is that true?"
Lin Wan's eyes flickered slightly, not quite understanding what her uncle meant by those words: "That's because there are too many shops, and sometimes Father can't leave to take care of them, so he asks me to go over and lend a hand. I'm not very good at it either."
Su Shaohua didn't look at her, but smiled faintly: "No need to be nervous. It's just that your uncle happened to get a shop a couple of days ago, but I don't know what kind of shop to make. Your aunt and cousin are not good at this kind of thing, so I wanted to ask you."
He picked up a document from his desk and handed it to Lin Wan: "This is the shop contract that was just completed today."
Lin Wan: "Uncle, what do you mean by this?"
"If you were to run this shop, what would you do?"
Lin Wan was surprised, but she still smiled slightly and said, "If it were me, I would like to buy rouge shops. There are many shops in the capital. Both the poor and the noble ladies love to shop for rouge and powder to make themselves up. Women dress up for those who want to please them."
Su Shaohua rubbed his fingertips on the desk and said, "Alright, the shop is in your hands. Go check it out tomorrow, Uncle Wen will help you."
Lin Wan nodded in agreement.
"I heard that your injury is related to the Crown Prince, you and him..."
Lin Wan understood what he meant: "Uncle, I know I will be careful."
"There are plenty of good men in the capital. You can take a look. If your father pressures you about marriage, I will help you refuse."
After Lin Wan left the study, Shi Liu, who was standing nearby, asked in confusion, "Is Lord Su concerned about your marriage, Miss?"
Lin Wan looked at the shop contract in her hand and said self-deprecatingly, "No, it's just that they don't want me to be too idle and always go to the young master's place."
"Then what do we do?"
"Managing the shop is nothing to me; it's not difficult at all. As for the young master, isn't this shop a better excuse to go out? I think it's quite good."
-
The next day, after having breakfast with her grandmother early in the morning, Lin Wan had a carriage prepared and headed to the shop.
The shop was located at the entrance of West Market Street, surrounded by fabric shops, bookstores, teahouses, and other similar businesses. The shop itself was small, just a tiny storefront, but it was enough for Lin Wan's plan to open a rouge shop. After explaining some matters about the shop to Uncle Wen, the shopkeeper her uncle had found, she wandered around, keeping an eye on the other shops on the street.
Lin Wan strolled around, finding everything interesting. Fortunately, West Market Street wasn't long, and she could already see a bustling and lively restaurant at the end of the street.
Suddenly, several carriages drove by ostentatiously and stopped at the Yingkelou (Guest House) at the end of the street.
Shi Liu, with her sharp eyes, said, "Miss, look, it's the young master."
Lin Wan rarely paid attention to passing carriages on the street, but when Shi Liu reminded her, she looked up and saw that it was indeed him, accompanied by several young men from prominent families. They entered the Yingke Building one after another.
As he was about to cross the threshold of the restaurant, he turned back to look in her direction. In that brief moment, Xie Huaiyuan had already turned his gaze away and strode inside.
The two were not far apart, and Xie Huaiyuan's face was calm as still water, showing no surprise whatsoever at the sight of them meeting.
Lin Wan lowered her hand that she had raised to greet him, looked down, and felt a little disappointed. They had just met yesterday and even ridden in a carriage together, so why was she being so cold to her?
Shiliu, standing beside her, said indignantly, "Miss, look, that girl who was very close to the young master at the Peach Blossom Banquet last time also went in."
Lin Wan remained silent and did not respond. On the contrary, Shi Liu became more and more annoyed with her and asked, "Miss, do you want to go up and take a look?"
A waiter stood at the main entrance of the Yingke Building, and as soon as he saw new guests enter, he stepped forward with a big smile and asked Lin Wan and her companions, "Miss, would you like a meal or tea?"
Lin Wan looked around and spotted a private room upstairs. She lifted her skirt and headed up the stairs, but was stopped by a waiter.
"Miss, I'm so sorry, all the private rooms upstairs have been booked for today, and we can't serve any other guests at the moment."
Lin Wan pretended to be completely unaware and tried to go up the stairs, but she was stopped.
The waiter met Lin Wan's gaze, his face showing a hint of apology, and said, "Miss, I'm really sorry, but the guests upstairs today are all distinguished people from the capital, so we cannot entertain anyone else."
After a few moments of stalemate, Green Bamboo hurried downstairs and was particularly surprised to see Lin Wan. She asked in confusion, "Miss Lin, are you here to see the young master?"
Lin Wan smiled and said, "I just saw him and wanted to come and see him, but the shop assistant said that we can't go upstairs unless we're serving other customers."
Before Green Bamboo could respond, a melodious female voice came from behind: "Of course, the private rooms at Yingke Tower are indeed not open to outsiders today. And who are you?"
Lin Wan recognized her; it was Princess Li, whom she had met briefly at the Peach Blossom Banquet.
"Oh, so it's you. Don't tell me you want to go up and find the Crown Prince?" Princess Li glanced at her up and down with displeasure, her tone sarcastic. "You think you can climb up to the Prince of Xiangyang's mansion and become the Crown Prince's wife?"
Princess Li resented her. Why did she get Xie Huaiyuan's attention? On the night of the Peach Blossom Banquet, not only did he come to check on her in time when she missed a polo shot, but they were also together in the peach grove. She felt extremely disgusted by any woman who dared to get close to Xie Huaiyuan.
Lin Wan had only intended to come and visit, and did not necessarily have to see Xie Huaiyuan, but being ridiculed for no reason made her feel a little sad.
Seeing Lin Wan's aggrieved and red-eyed appearance, Green Bamboo said softly, "Miss Lin, why don't you wait a moment while I go and ask?"
Seemingly waiting to see Lin Wan make a fool of herself, Princess Li did not leave, standing at the top of the stairs, directly blocking Lin Wan's view.
Soon, Green Bamboo returned, looking slightly embarrassed, and hesitated before saying, "Young Master said he wouldn't see any outsiders."
Lin Wan sneered inwardly upon hearing this.
He really is a blind and heartless block of ice!
Was she really an outsider, a complete stranger? I was annoyed with her.
Upon hearing this, Princess Li chuckled and said, "You're just someone who has a bit of looks and wants to get close to the young master. How ridiculous! There are many people in the capital who admire the young master. You, who just popped out of nowhere, don't even know your own worth before daring to get close to him."
Lin Wan was furious. She never expected that after spending so much time and energy on Xie Huaiyuan, he was still just an "outsider." Even though she confessed her feelings repeatedly, could he not even be considered a friend?
Green Bamboo couldn't bear to see Lin Wan's pale face filled with grievance, so she gently advised, "Young Master is too busy to spare any time."
Princess Li, who was standing to the side, turned around and walked upstairs with a beaming smile, not forgetting to add, "Brother Crown Prince is very busy, but he just happened to have time to see me today."
Shi Liu looked at Lin Wan with a troubled expression: "Maybe she really is busy."
After a long silence, Lin Wan walked out of the bustling Yingkelou and headed back to her shop in the sunlight, stopping and starting along the way.
Her relationship with Xie Huaiyuan had stagnated, which troubled her for a long time.
But what happened today?
If Xie Huaiyuan truly only sees her as an "outsider" as he claims, then being refused an audience today should help her close the distance between them and add fuel to the fire for her to seduce Xie Huaiyuan.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com