0006 Little Lilac (Part 2) [Bonus Chapter for 50 Followers]
Shu Fu put down her pen, rubbed her stiff neck, and looked out the window. The sun had already set, and flocks of birds were chasing the sunset.
Because she had previously forbidden the maids from entering her room at will, she now had to light the lamps herself. This task was not difficult, except for one thing that caused her some worry—the last lamp was placed behind the small couch, and it was usually lit by a maid kneeling on the couch.
Zhan Yaoguang was already asleep on the couch, his tall and muscular frame taking up almost half of the space.
In order not to wake him, Shu Fu had to carefully take off her shoes in front of the couch, trying to avoid him stepping onto the couch, remove the lampshade, and hold the candlestick to transfer the light to the wick.
The boy awoke in the flickering candlelight, his vision blurry at first, but he saw a crimson figure swaying in front of him. He instinctively called out, "Afu?"
Shu Fu turned her head in surprise at the sound: "Did I wake you up?" She saw the boy looking at her with hazy eyes, his cheeks marked with faint red sleep marks, and his eyes as black and bright as snow.
Her heart skipped a beat for no reason, but then she remembered something and didn't have time to dwell on her emotions. She simply said, "It's good that you're awake. Could you get me the candlestick?"
Zhan Yaoguang glanced around the room and saw that all the lights were already on, so the candlestick was no longer needed. But he didn't ask any questions and simply reached out and took it.
The next moment, the girl suddenly leaned down, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her head in his chest.
Zhan Yaoguang was stunned, and almost dropped the candlestick.
Fortunately, he managed to steady himself in time, and the candlestick remained intact, preventing any major disaster. However, his limbs were still weak, and his throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, rendering him unable to utter a single word.
I thought the people of southern Xinjiang were very free-spirited, and the women there were the most daring of all. Is it the same in the Central Plains?
Why did she suddenly hug him? Should he hug her back?
Zhan Yaoguang thought that if the candlestick in his hand hadn't been in his way, he might have unconsciously embraced her.
The boy was torn between his thoughts and his own mind, but Shu Fu let go of his hand. He thought that his slow response had annoyed her, and subconsciously reached out to pull her away. But then he heard her voice in his ear: "Now I have a general idea of your size. I'll go to the tailor shop another day and have some clothes made for you. You can make do with your current clothes for the next few days, okay?"
Zhan Yaoguang seemed to wake from a dream, a surge of heat rising to her cheeks, and she could only nod stiffly.
For reasons unknown, Zhan Yaoguang asked again, "Is this how clothes are made in the Central Plains?"
"How could that be? In our household, we have embroiderers who come to our door to take measurements for our clothes. But I can't bring the embroiderers to see you, so I have to use this method."
As for why this method was chosen, we have to start with Li Miao.
Li Miao kept a lion cat at his residence. It was pure white and incredibly beautiful. Perhaps it had developed human-like traits, as it had quite a temper.
One time, Li Miao was in high spirits and summoned several embroiderers to make clothes for the cat. However, the cat refused to be restrained by the embroiderers to measure its size and instead scurried into Li Miao's arms. In the end, Li Miao held the cat and gestured to get a rough size, then asked the embroiderers to make clothes accordingly. Fortunately, the embroiderers were skillful and clever, and they managed to make clothes that were almost perfect.
Upon receiving Shu Fu's reply, the young man lowered his head slightly, casually said "Oh," and then got off the bed to set up the candlestick for her. He then glanced at the box of jade beads and added, "You still have some beads that haven't been picked up. I'll pick them up for you tomorrow."
Shu Fu responded, but sensed a hint of dejection and unhappiness in his words. She couldn't quite figure out what she had done to upset him.
Fortunately, at that moment, A-Jian's voice came from outside the door, presumably she had found out the news and come back to report.
Shu Fu felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She got off the bed and hurried to the door. Zhan Yaoguang, on the other hand, wisely hid in the west room so that no one would see anything when the door was opened.
Shu Fu opened the door, and the chill of the spring night suddenly crept onto her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. But she paid no heed to it and asked eagerly, "What have you found out?"
A-Jian's thoughtful gaze shifted away from the girl's unconscious rubbing of her arms, and she respectfully replied, "I took the excuse of delivering pear syrup candy to Madam and stood under the corridor of Yunxian Residence for a while. I only heard Madam say that the eldest young lady had a hard time attending the banquet with her two younger sisters today, and that she should go back and rest. That was all."
Shu Fu's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Mother clearly knew the truth, yet she didn't punish her elder sister at all, not even for a single harsh word.
This is not hard to understand. As a stepmother, her mother already faces many difficulties, so how could she expect her mother to be fair in everything?
Fortunately, my grandmother will be returning from her fast at the nunnery soon, and I will inform her then and ask her for her opinion. I think that although my grandmother raised my eldest sister single-handedly, she is not so incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.
Since that's the case, Ah Xing can't rush to sell herself off.
Shu Fu gave A Jian some instructions, asking her to make another trip to Yunxianju to convey to Madam Luo her wish to keep A Xing for a few more days.
...
At Yunxian Residence, Madam Luo naturally smiled and agreed when A-Jian brought her daughter's wishes.
After A-Jian left, Madam Luo's smile faded, and she said to Granny Li, "A-Fu sent a maid to Yunxian Residence under some pretext to probe, as if she knew nothing. She's just worried about how I'll deal with her elder sister. This girl is quite clever when it comes to trivial matters, but she's still too green when it comes to things in the inner quarters."
As Li Mama massaged Luo Shi's shoulders and neck, she said softly, "It's because Madam dotes on the Second Miss that she's raised her so tenderly. Those two, one without a mother and the other with a mother, are practically the same as those without, which is why they've developed such cunning."
Luo snorted: "Can I protect her for the rest of my life? Who knows how that old hag will torment her after she enters the Liang family? Not to mention that Liang Zhiyan's harem will definitely have many descendants. What will Afu use to fight against those people?"
"Fine, I'll use this incident to teach Afu a lesson, so she'll know that the inner quarters are a deep and dangerous place, and she can't act so impulsively. She'll learn her lesson this time so that she won't fall into a trap in the future."
Granny Li remained silent, but her massage movements became even more meticulous.
...
Shu Wei returned to her courtyard accompanied by her maid, Xu'er.
Crabapple blossoms sleep soundly at night, peach and plum blossoms dot the night sky, and warm, bright light shines through the window lattice, gently enveloping the spring night.
The maids bowed to her and welcomed her inside, serving her tea and fetching water in an orderly manner to relieve her of the day's fatigue.
It wasn't until Xu'er moistened her hands with a handkerchief and placed it on her hands that she felt grounded.
She has truly returned, back to her carefree teenage years.
Those long, lonely nights were still far, far away from her, and her half-sister, who had almost ruined her life in her past life, was now disgraced by her. More importantly, at this moment, that person was also devoted to her.
She refused to believe that without Shu Yin's meddling, she would never end up like a estranged couple with him.
Xu'er wiped Shu Wei's hands clean. Seeing that Shu Wei's expression was a mixture of joy and sorrow, Xu'er thought that she was still thinking about what happened today. She wanted to comfort her, saying, "Miss, are you still thinking about what happened today? Madam Xu has already kept it a secret. Even Madam Xu hasn't said anything to you. You can put your mind at ease."
Shu Wei finally came to her senses and scoffed, "You see, Madam is telling me to rest well with a kind face, but she's actually implying that I should stay in my room these next few days and not go anywhere. Isn't that just a disguised form of confinement? She's always been all smiles on the surface but bitter on the inside. This time I ruined her daughter's good marriage, and she's probably holding a grudge against me. If I pretend not to understand her and go out in the carriage as usual tomorrow, you'll see what excuse the driver comes up with."
Xu'er panicked and subconsciously asked, "What should we do? Didn't you and that person agree to meet tomorrow...?"
Shu Wei stopped her from speaking: "You don't need to worry about this. I have my own way of getting out."
If she can't get out, someone else will.
———
As for why I'll add an extra chapter if I get 50 likes... well, it's because I want to write it QAQ
One more thing... could you occasionally interact with me in the comments section? (ì_í)
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