0014 Nine-flowered Gardenia (Part 1)
After that night, no one mentioned those two kisses again.
Zhan Yaoguang tacitly accepted that he had earned the right to share a bed with her, and every night he would consciously bring his pillow and bedding to her bed.
In the end, Shu Fu was too lazy to chase him away, and simply treated him as a giant heater. The two of them spent a few days together peacefully.
For days, spring rains have been falling, so Shu Fu has stayed inside the Spring Festival Gala building, not venturing out for a moment.
She went through all the documents she could find, but when Li Miao asked her to write a policy essay, she could only manage a few awkward and ineffective sentences.
Not to mention its incisive and critical effect on current affairs, even she herself would criticize it as flowery and impractical after reading it again.
This matter caused Shu Fu a great deal of trouble, but fortunately, Zhan Yaoguang was there for her.
Zhan Yaoguang was an extremely lively person. He not only lived a carefree and happy life in the Spring Festival Gala, but also added countless fun to Shu Fu's stagnant life in her boudoir.
The spring rain continued intermittently until early February before finally stopping.
On the morning of the first day of the second lunar month, the sky cleared, and a rainbow arched across the clouds. Days of rain had thoroughly washed the sky, revealing a bright, translucent blue luster. The golden sun rose, its warm rays spreading far and wide, and the 108 wards of Chang'an were gradually filled with life.
As A-Jian was standing in front of the Spring Festival Gala building, instructing the maids to bring out the items that had become damp indoors due to the recent rain to air them out, she suddenly saw a well-dressed old woman walking by.
A-Jian stopped what she was doing and greeted her with a smile, "What brings you here, Granny Li? Is there anything Madam would like to tell you, Miss?"
This person was none other than Granny Li, Luo's capable servant.
Granny Li smiled at her and said, "It has been raining for several days in a row. Madam is worried that the young ladies may be tired from resting at home. The young master has been away in the southern border for some time without any news of his return. Madam is also worried about him day and night. So she thought that since the weather is fine today, she would take the young ladies to Xiangji Temple outside the city to pray for the young master's well-being."
After listening, A-Jian led Granny Li to sit in the main room on the first floor, ordered several maids to serve tea and snacks, and then went upstairs to inform Shu-Fu.
...
Shu Fu, however, begged Zhan Yaoguang to demonstrate again how he solved the ten-linked rings puzzle.
Two days ago was the day I had arranged to deliver the clothes to Huashangfang. Zhan Yaoguang disguised himself and, carrying the token, pretended to be Shufu's servant to collect the clothes from Huashangfang.
When she returned, besides a few clothes and some snacks for Shufu, Zhan Yaoguang also brought back a string of ten linked rings.
The boy from southern Xinjiang found everything fascinating, and once he spotted something he liked from the peddler, he bought it immediately.
Shu Fu had played the seven-linked rings before, so she solved the ten-linked rings with ease.
She was certain that Zhan Yaoguang had never tinkered with this kind of thing before and was already prepared for a tough battle.
Shu Fu looked with satisfaction at the boy's furrowed brows as he pondered, then turned and went back to the west room to continue working on her policy essay.
She ground the ink, dipped the rabbit hair brush in the ink, and continued writing from yesterday's content. Before she had even finished writing half a page, the young man's quick and cheerful voice rang out: "I've solved it!"
Shuf was incredulous and immediately dropped her pen to run to his side.
The boy looked at her with a bright and lively expression, the ten-linked rings on the table already completely solved.
Shu Fu was incredibly curious, so she quickly took off her shoes, climbed onto the couch, sat down next to him, and took his hand, begging him to perform it again.
Zhan Yaoguang's brow twitched slightly. Before he could say anything, his keen senses alerted him to someone coming up to the second floor. So he quickly raised his hand and covered the girl's rosy lips.
Shu Fu blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering as the dappled spring light filtered through the windowpane.
Her soft breath brushed against his hand, and Zhan Yaoguang felt a slight unease in his heart. He lowered his voice and said, "Someone's coming."
At the same time, A-Jian's voice rang out from outside. Realizing that A-Jian had no intention of entering the room, Zhan Yaoguang stopped hiding and listened with Shu Fu as A-Jian relayed Li Mama's words.
Upon hearing this, Shu Fu was also surprised to realize that she had been confined to her room for many days. So she instructed A Jian to reply to Granny Li that she would go to Yunxian Residence to meet her after she had washed up.
After A-Jian left, Zhan Yaoguang looked at Shu Fu with resentment: "Are you going to leave me here alone again?"
The handsome young man undoubtedly had the charm to make people's hearts soften. It was hard to refuse him when he made that expression, especially since he added a reason she couldn't refute: "Besides, your leg isn't fully healed yet. Should I apply medicine to it for you today?"
Shu Fu gave in: "Then how am I supposed to get you out of here?"
He couldn't just swagger out with her like that...
Zhan Yaoguang's eyes lit up, and he leaned close to her ear and whispered something.
Shu Fu's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. After pondering for a long time, she hesitantly nodded.
...
A-Jian accompanied Shu-Fu all the way to Yun-Xian Residence to meet up. The women, surrounded by a group of servants, went to the back gate to board a carriage and leave the mansion.
The Shu family had a total of four carriages. One of them went to the nunnery with Madam Li, so there are now only three carriages available for dispatch.
Having just recovered from a long illness, Luo was afraid that the lingering effects of her illness might infect the younger generation, so she naturally rode in one car alone, while the remaining three sisters had to ride in two separate cars.
Because of the incident at the Xu family's Spring Festival banquet, Shu Wei and Shu Yin were already irreconcilable enemies and could not ride together. Only Shu Fu was left to choose a car to ride in.
Shu Fu glanced at Shu Wei and noticed that she seemed to want to invite her to ride with her. Remembering what happened at the First Floor, she had A Jian help her into Shu Yin's car before Shu Wei could speak, muttering, "Is it alright if I ride with my third sister?"
Shu Yin was flattered and quickly said, "I am naturally happy to be with my second sister."
Seeing this, Shu Wei said no more and boarded the carriage herself. The group drove out of Yongle Ward and headed out of the city.
After the carriage had been traveling for a while, A-Jian, who was sitting on the carriage shaft, suddenly opened the door and poked her head in: "Are you cold, young lady? I put a blanket in the compartment of this carriage earlier. If you are cold, take it out and cover yourself with it."
A-Jian wasn't sure if Shu-Fu had a problem with being sensitive to cold, but she remembered that on the night of the Spring Festival banquet, when she went to report what she had inquired about from Yun-Xian Residence, Shu-Fu and she stood on the railing on the second floor, with Shu-Fu constantly rubbing her arms.
I wonder if the girl will be willing to use what she prepared...
Seeing Shu Fu nod with a smile, A Jian jumped for joy and happily closed the car door.
The driver was a young servant named Alai, who, like Ajian, had served in the Shu household since childhood and were childhood sweethearts who grew up together.
He casually remarked, "You're so attentive to the Second Miss."
A-Jian smoothed her hair, which was ruffled by the spring breeze, and said earnestly, "Second Miss has done me a great favor before. It is my great fortune to be able to serve by Second Miss's side. How can I not take it seriously?"
Inside the carriage, Shu Fu wasn't sure which carriage Zhan Yaoguang was hiding in, fearing it might be the one she was in. So, she used her body to block Shu Yin's view and carefully opened the compartment.
Sure enough, a figure appeared in the partition and handed over a stack of scarlet red felt after hearing the noise.
Shu Fu reached out and took it, but Shu Yin's voice rang out from behind: "The maids that Madam left for Second Sister are indeed very clever, and they consider even the smallest things so carefully. Unlike the ones I was given, who are younger than me and are always reckless. I'm just grateful that they don't cause any trouble."
Shufu shook off the felt and draped it over her legs, frowning slightly upon hearing her words.
Her words sounded like an accusation that her mother was biased, keeping the clever ones for her own daughter while giving the dull and simple-minded ones to her illegitimate daughter to do.
In reality, although Lady Luo was not as gentle and kind as she appeared, she was not one to mistreat her illegitimate daughter.
The maids around Shu Yin have all been with her since childhood, so their loyalty goes without saying. As long as they get older and are given some training, they might be useful.
After the incident with Ah Xing, Shu Fu had already prioritized loyalty over Ling Li, but Shu Yin clearly did not understand this principle.
“There are plenty of clever and charming maids in the market, but a truly loyal one is hard to find even with a hundred pieces of gold,” Shu Fu reminded her silently.
Shu Yin didn't dwell on it and instead smiled, "Let's not talk about that anymore. I'll make some tea for my second sister."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
