0104 Jade Waist Slave (Part 3)
The weather has been clear these past few days, with the sky as vast and boundless as the sea. In the front garden of the villa, there is a wet, snow-white pear tree.
Hu Congtong told Liang Zhiyan that this tree was transplanted from the residence of a retired minister. The old minister loved wine and, regardless of the season, always liked to brew wine under the tree. The pear segments had also consumed wine for many years. Now, the wind blew them to the ground, turning them into a heavy, cool, white moon.
Liang Zhiyan was fond of refined tastes and knew that Shu Fu also liked them. So he specially asked Liang Xing to set up a brocade tent under the tree, make a small circle around it, prepare a soft felt mat, and set up a small table with various cakes in green, pink and white colors on it.
He was just waiting for Fu'er to bring Shu Fu over so he could coax her gently again, hoping that this time she would calm down a bit.
He waited for a long time, until noon, when the sun rose from the sky and shone brightly in the heavens. The shade of the pear trees could no longer hide the oppressive heat, but Shu Fu still had not arrived.
Sweat beaded on his body, his blue robe stained in several places; only a few birds chirped and flew overhead, creating a desolate scene.
Liang Zhiyan couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and turned to Liang Xing, who was attending him, and said, "Go to the door and see if Fu'er has arrived yet?"
Liang Xing responded with an "Yes," and was about to get up and walk outside when a rustling sound suddenly came from outside the curtain.
Liang Zhiyan's eyes flickered, and he subconsciously looked up at the sound, calling out, "Afu—"
A figure in a crimson dress swayed in, and upon closer inspection, it was Fu'er.
Upon seeing that it was her who entered, and that there was no one else beside him, the joy in Liang Zhiyan's eyes was abruptly extinguished before it could fully unfold.
"Fu'er, why did you come alone? Afu, she..."
Fu'er slowly walked to his side, and before Liang Zhiyan could finish speaking, she readily knelt down on the ground.
"My lord, it is my incompetence that I failed to bring Miss Shu here," she replied softly, her eyes lowered.
Liang Zhiyan was stunned, and it took him a long time to recover: "Did you fail to find her, or did she refuse to come? What did she say..."
Fu'er remained silent for a moment, her head still bowed, refusing to glance at him from beginning to end: "It's because the Second Miss didn't want to come."
The young man's face turned pale. His fingers, which were holding the cup, trembled slightly, causing the amber wine inside to ripple. Finally, the cup was smashed on the ground with a "crack," and the celadon shattered, splattering everywhere.
Fu'er felt a sharp pain in her ankle. Looking down, she saw that a shard of porcelain had grazed her. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, and only a little blood was seeping out.
She slightly propped herself up, trying to lean to the other side to avoid pressing on her injured leg.
Liang Xing, who was standing on Liang Zhiyan's other side, immediately cried out anxiously upon seeing the situation: "My lord! Are you alright? Did you get scratched by any shards of porcelain...?"
“I’m fine,” Liang Zhiyan waved his hand irritably. “Get out of the way and clean up the mess so the princess doesn’t notice.”
Liang Xing nodded in agreement, and Liang Zhiyan then turned to Fu'er expectantly: "Did Afu really say she didn't want to come? Or was it because you said something unpleasant... Even if she doesn't want to this time, there will be another opportunity next time. Observe her expression, is there any sign of her softening?"
No, there was no sign of wavering. A woman like that would never stoop to serve a man like Liang Zhiyan.
"...This servant is unaware, please punish me, my lord." Fu'er thought to herself, but on the surface she remained calm and obedient.
Upon hearing this, Liang Zhiyan's brows furrowed even more deeply. After a long silence, he finally said, "Forget it. I was in the wrong first. It's forgivable that she's a little temperamental... Fu'er, come here and pour me some wine."
Fu'er crawled forward on her knees, picked out a celadon cup to hold the wine, then looked around and saw that Yan had placed a jar of Pear Blossom Spring wine. She carefully picked it up and was about to open the lid when Liang Xing, who was cleaning up the broken porcelain in the distance, suddenly spoke up:
“My lord, this Miss Shu has quite the temper. You have already humbled yourself to make peace, but she still holds her temper. It is truly unbecoming of our family.”
"Shut up! Who gave you permission to speak ill of her!" Liang Zhiyan raised his head upon hearing this, his sharp gaze sweeping down on him.
Liang Xing did not dodge or flinch. He wrapped several pieces of broken celadon in a brocade handkerchief, casually placed it aside, and knelt down next to Liang Zhiyan.
“Even if you forbid me from speaking, I will still speak!” he said indignantly. “I have grown up with you since I was a child, so I know how deeply you love the Second Miss and how you cannot tolerate anyone offending her. But now she not only does not appreciate your kindness, but she has also forgotten all the good things you have done for her. Even I, as a servant, feel sad for you.”
Liang Zhiyan frowned and glanced at him: "What is the purpose of all this talk?"
Liang Xing gritted his teeth and suddenly took a step back, his forehead hitting the ground heavily: "If my lord is willing to listen to me, then seriously consider what I said to you at Xiangji Temple that day! Miss Shu is just a woman, and she dares to act so defiantly now, only because of my lord's love and tolerance. But if you want her to have no choice but to become your wife, how could she be so willful and capricious!"
Fu'er stood silently to the side. Upon hearing this, her wrist trembled involuntarily, and she almost lost her grip on the heavy wine jar in her arms. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and did not show any abnormality. She still kept her oval face down, carefully counting the pattering of the wine.
Upon hearing Liang Xing's words, Liang Zhiyan felt a surge of warmth in his heart and couldn't help but turn to look at Fu'er. He met the curve of the girl's fair face and felt as if he were seeing a different person.
—If we do that, will it really make Afu change her mind?
Even if it damages his reputation, as long as he treats her twice as well from now on...
Liang Zhiyan's gaze was fixed on the vast expanse of snow-white pear blossoms until Fu'er's cry of "My lord" finally snapped him out of his reverie.
Fu'er said, "My lord, the wine has been chilled with ice for a while, so it's refreshing and delicious. Please drink it slowly."
He then came to his senses, horrified by the shock he had just felt. He immediately gulped down a few mouthfuls of cold wine to disguise it, but in a flash, he didn't forget to scold Liang Xing.
"You bastard, what did I say last time? If I hear such filthy thoughts again, don't blame me for breaking your leg!"
Liang Xing was sweating profusely and dared not say another word.
"Fine, you've been with me for so many years, so I'll leave this leg for now, but I'll punish you with half a year's salary."
...
That night, Fu'er slept alone in the side room. For some reason, she didn't close the window completely, letting in a small sliver of light, through which one could vaguely see clusters of pear blossoms outside.
The moon's shadow was obscured by the pear tree, making it difficult to see clearly. It was probably like wet, heavy pear petals soaked in fermented wine, and the moonlight that was poured out was also pale and white, like sparse wine.
She lay on her side in bed, her eyes open, looking at the pear tree outside the window while counting Liang Zhiyan's footsteps from the next room.
—It was so late at night, yet he still wouldn't sleep, pacing back and forth, hesitating several times, unsure of what he wanted to do.
A breeze blew by outside, carrying a delicate fragrance, as if one could smell a pinch of yellow pear flesh within a pear petal.
Fu'er dared not sleep too deeply, always afraid of missing something. After all, what Liang Xing and Liang Zhiyan said at noon was truly horrifying; they were so filthy in their schemes against a young woman.
She took out the small golden cicada from the purse sewn into her undergarment, held it in her palm, and soon it warmed up, faintly dancing in her hand, just as she had felt during the day.
She didn't consider herself a very good girl, and even a bit selfish—if it weren't for what happened today, and if a kind lady like Miss Shu Er were to be her mistress, her life wouldn't be so difficult, and she wouldn't have objected much; on the contrary, she would have looked forward to it.
But today she rode Miss Shu's horse, and Miss Shu even gave her this little golden cicada. The golden cicada was exquisitely carved, lifelike, and her palm felt hot and sore from being pressed against it. Suddenly, she didn't want the other woman to be the mistress of the Liang family anymore.
That night, Liang Zhiyan paced back and forth in his room, barely sleeping. Fu'er also leaned against the headboard, half-asleep until dawn.
At the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), Liang Zhiyan finally pushed open the door of his room and went to the other side room to discuss matters with Liang Xing.
Fu'er was startled awake by the creaking sound of the door to the next room being pushed open. Her heart pounded in her chest.
She got up, put on her outer robe, slowly stepped out of the room, glanced quietly at the tightly closed door, and then turned and ran out.
At that time, the sky was still dim and the stars were not visible. The cicadas chirped intermittently along the way, making the scene desolate and unpleasant. She started by jogging, but later she even ran wildly. Finally, she found Li Miao's residence before the fields were fully bright.
Li Miao was still asleep when Mianmian, who was keeping watch under the eaves, saw a figure rushing towards her. Her mind immediately cleared, and she immediately assumed a vigilant posture, shouting sharply, "Who's there!"
Fu'er, her cheeks burning and breathless from running, heard Mianmian's words and knelt down with a thud, presenting the golden cicada hairpin as proof:
"This servant is from Liang Zhiyan's household. This matter concerns the second young lady of the Shu family. I request an audience with the Princess!"
———
Updated! (°з°)-
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
