0001 Wuling Colors (Part 1)
In the sixth year of Chongde, in the first month of spring.
Empress Sun, the current emperor, especially loves peach blossoms. Since Emperor Chongde, the second emperor of the Dali era, ascended the throne six years ago, the people of Chang'an have been pursuing the empress's beauty and have made it fashionable to plant peach trees in the courtyard and outside the eaves.
Over the years, it has become the magnificent scene of "spring breezes sweeping ten miles, revealing the colors of Wuling everywhere".
In early spring, the sky is extremely high and blue. Sunlight breaks through the thin, gauze-like clouds and spills down, rolling into the half-closed peach petals, brewing a soft and dense spring day.
On the 23rd day of the first lunar month, the Xu family of Xinghua Lane held a Spring Festival banquet. It was a time of slow singing and dancing, laughter and chatter, when a young girl in a pink spring dress emerged from a side gate, accompanied by her servants.
She held a round fan in her hand, barely covering her beautiful face, and only opened the fan when she hurriedly walked to a green-walled carriage.
The maid, Ah Xing, opened the carriage door for her. After she got in, she wanted to follow and serve her, but the young girl stopped her with a cold shout.
Shu Fu was already seated in the main seat of the carriage, gently fanning herself, and coldly glancing at the people outside.
"For now, Miss Xing will have to come along in the carriage. Once we get home, your mother will decide what to do with you."
Ah Xing's face turned pale, and she hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Miss, I was bewitched and deceived by you, but I would never dare to harm you..."
Shu Fu, however, did not want to hear her explanation and closed the car door from the inside.
Ah Xing felt a deep sadness in her heart, knowing that she had no room for maneuver with Shu Fu. Now, she could only pray that Madam Luo would have some compassion and show her some leniency.
But when you think about it, you really can't blame Shu Fu for being heartless.
Today, the Xu family is holding a spring banquet, and most of the nobles in Chang'an and their respective wives have come. They are supposed to be enjoying wine, pitch-pot, strolling in the garden and appreciating the flowers, and the guests and hosts are having a great time.
Just then, Shu Fu's half-sister's personal maid came to her and said that the Third Miss was missing, asking her to take people to look for her.
At that time, Shu Fu was playing pitch-pot and had just hit the bullseye, receiving cheers from the audience. But now they wanted to ask Shu Fu to leave. The ladies and young women present were naturally unhappy and insisted on helping her find him so that they could come back and continue the game as soon as they found him.
So a large crowd rushed into the garden and finally found Shu Fu's half-sister, Shu Yin, disheveled and cuddling with a man in a waterside pavilion.
If it were any other man, it wouldn't be so bad. After all, the Dali Dynasty was newly established, and the people were more open-minded. It would just be a bit embarrassing, and they could simply prepare a dowry to cover it up after she got married. But that man was none other than Shu Fu's fiancé, Liang Zhiyan. The two of them had been engaged when they were eleven years old, and the betrothal ceremony was about to take place in the last two years.
The women present immediately changed their expressions; some looked at her with pity, while others mocked her.
Shu Fu blushed instantly, as if she had been burned by fire, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Madam Xu, being a capable woman, instinctively sensed that something was amiss. Why were the male guests, who should have been entertained by the Xu family's master in the front courtyard, in the back?
Furthermore, given the disgraceful incident at her banquet, she lost face and ordered a thorough investigation, the results of which shocked everyone.
This matter was indeed orchestrated by someone behind the scenes, namely Shu Fu's half-sister, Shu Wei.
Shu Wei was the eldest daughter born to the first wife, while Shu Fu was born to the second wife. Although the two were not close, they were by no means enemies. Shu Fu couldn't understand why her mother would do such a thing to her.
The eldest daughter of the Shu family and the third daughter of the Shu family were at odds. The eldest daughter of the Shu family plotted against the third daughter of the Shu family and the future husband of the second daughter of the Shu family, and even made the second daughter of the Shu family catch them in the act.
What a wonderful plot! Even storybooks wouldn't dare to write it like this.
The most innocent Shufu became the most humiliated person, and was subjected to many pitying glances for no reason.
The proud and arrogant Miss Shu could not bear the pitying gazes directed at her, so she apologized to Madam Xu and pretended to be unwell and had to go home first.
She finally got into the car, and the surroundings were blocked by the car walls, so no extra light could see through, which allowed her to breathe a little easier.
Shu Fu flipped over the overturned white porcelain teacup, took the warm teapot from the small stove, poured herself a cup of tea, and was about to drink it.
Just then, the carriage suddenly jolted, and Shu Fu's teacup slipped from her hand and hit the wooden floor of the carriage. Although it didn't break, it wobbled a few times, and the rim of the cup was facing down, so not a drop of the emerald-green tea was spilled onto the floor.
Shufu: "..."
When a person is down on their luck, they can't even get a cup of hot tea.
Helpless, Shu Fu could only bend down to pick it up, preparing to pour another cup. But just as her fingers touched the teacup, she keenly heard a very faint inhalation coming from under the floor, like the sound of a person.
She was filled with doubt and surprise, when she suddenly remembered that there was a hidden compartment under the carriage, usually used to store some travel utensils. It was about a foot high①, enough for a thin adult man to lie down with his legs curled up inside!
Shufu's heart was pounding. She picked up the pot again, poured half a cup of steaming tea into the cup, and then poured it onto the floor.
This time, although she didn't hear any gasping sounds, she clearly realized that there was definitely someone in the interlayer.
The sound of the hot tea dripping down didn't sound like it was dripping onto the wooden planks at the bottom of the carriage; it sounded more like it was dripping onto human flesh!
Shu Fu put down the pot and cup together, picked up her small round fan again, and slid the handle across the floor to find a slightly protruding spot. She then used the handle to catch it and suddenly flipped it up!
Without the baffle covering it, the air in the interlayer became instantly fresher.
Bright sunlight streamed in through the gauze-covered windows, swaying slightly with the movement of the carriage.
Zhan Yaoguang was genuinely surprised when she suddenly lifted the partition, and the bright light shone in unexpectedly, causing him to instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes.
Even so, Shufu could still see his face clearly.
The boy was only seventeen or eighteen years old, but he had an extremely handsome face.
Her eyes were dark and bright, her lips were red and lustrous, and her beauty was radiant and natural, without any artificiality. She was like the unmelted snow on an endless plain, dazzling in the sunlight.
Shu Fu was stunned for a moment, but the fear in her heart unconsciously dissipated a little.
As Shu Fu looked at him, Zhan Yaoguang's eyes adjusted to the light, and he lowered his hand to peer at her.
The girl was around sixteen years old, probably a little younger than him. She wore her hair in a cute and childlike double bun, with a white jade butterfly hairpin inserted in each bun, and light peach-colored tassels hanging down, trembling gently.
Her hands, as white and slender as jade, gripped a sandalwood fan tightly. Her eyes, which were looking at him curiously, were round and bright. They weren't quite almond-shaped, because the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, making them look more like cat eyes.
Wow, what a beautiful young lady!
The coldness and defensiveness in Zhan Yaoguang's eyes gradually faded, turning into a faint joy and curiosity. He stared at her without blinking.
Shu Fu's face flushed as she was stared at by the other person's direct and intense gaze. A blush quickly spread across her cheeks, and even the corners of her sharp eyes seemed to hold a hint of romance.
Yes, this makes it seem even more vibrant and adorable than before.
———
①This uses the measurement system from the Tang Dynasty, where one chi (尺) is approximately 30 cm, and a chi plus is slightly more than 30 cm.
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