Chapter 16: Straight Man Slowly Trains and Teach
As soon as Zhou Tinglan entered the room, she saw Xie Zechuan standing beside her desk, his eyes fixed on the table, not knowing what he was looking at.
"What are you looking at so intently?" Zhou Tinglan walked over and asked. She remembered that there were only a few planning documents on the table.
"Looking at the strategy... document you wrote, although I don't know exactly what Lan'er is going to do, I know that Lan'er must have considered it."
"And Lan'er, what is this, and what are the words written on the paper?" Xie Zechuan picked up a black object on the table.
He wondered why there were so many strange objects on Lan'er's desk, and the handwriting of Lan'er was... well, weird.
When Zhou Tinglan heard what Xie Zechuan said, she looked at his hand and saw that Xie Zechuan was holding the simple charcoal pencil she made, with an expression of disgust that he could not hide.
She reached out and took it, saying, "I made the charcoal pencil. The words on the drawing were written with it."
Zhou Tinglan was dissatisfied that Xie Zechuan actually dared to look down on her. Charcoal pencil is much better than that broken brush.
"Lan'er doesn't like using a brush?"
If not, why would they make this object called charcoal pencil? Xie Zechuan was puzzled.
"I'm not used to using brushes, charcoal pencils are just right for me." Zhou Tinglan was angry when she saw that Xie Zechuan not only disliked the charcoal pencils she made, but also asked her in a tactless manner if she didn't like charcoal pencils.
Xie Zechuan said in a muffled voice: "If Lan'er really likes it, I can also help Lan'er make it."
But the words Lan'er wrote with it are so ugly!
"If Lan'er is not used to using a brush, then don't use it. If you want to use it, I can teach you how to write or write for you."
Zhou Tinglan rolled her eyes when she heard this. She wondered what he meant and indirectly said that her handwriting was ugly.
Her heart is cold, she needs to warm it up.
Ignoring Xie Zechuan, Zhou Tinglan went straight to the heater in the office to warm him up. Xie Zechuan, her fiancé, was given to her by the old emperor and could not be returned.
Xie Zechuan also realized at this moment that he had said the wrong thing. It was his first time getting along with a woman, and his words often made Zhou Tinglan angry because of their straightforwardness.
He tried to divert Zhou Tinglan's attention. He glanced at the table and saw a small paper object. He pointed at it curiously and said, "Lan'er."
Zhou Tinglan turned around and said unhappily, "What strange things did you find again?"
She asked him to come to her office and wait for her, not to go treasure hunting.
Xie Zechuan held it in his palm and walked up to Zhou Tinglan: "Is that a little bird you made?"
It didn't look like it. Xie Zechuan had seen similar things before, but he had never seen such an exquisite and small thing like the one on Zhou Tinglan's desk.
"It's a thousand paper cranes."
The origin of the thousand paper cranes is still controversial until modern times. Some people say that it was folded by Li Bai, but most legends come from the Edo period in Japan.
Zhou Tinglan was certain that the Dazhao Kingdom she was currently in did not possess such a thing. She told Xie Zechuan, "I learned this from Ming Youxian in the past. They regard it as the patron saint of love. They carry the thousand paper cranes given by their lovers with them, symbolizing a lifelong love relationship."
"Where is that wandering immortal?"
Zhou Tinglan opened his eyes and made up a story, "After he taught me how to make a thousand paper cranes, he left. He probably retired to the mountains to practice Taoism."
Xie Zechuan felt a little regretful. If he could meet Youxian, he would like to ask more questions about the thousand paper cranes.
"Let's go. Didn't you come to me to enjoy the lanterns?" Zhou Tinglan was not really angry with Xie Zechuan.
If she was really angry about the straight man's remarks like Xie Zechuan's, she would be pissed to death. It doesn't matter. I will have time to teach him a lesson in the future.
The two walked out of the office, and the items on the desk returned to their original places, except for the small paper crane.
**
Zhou Tinglan looked angrily at the man who suddenly appeared opposite her. She had guessed the riddles successfully and was about to get the Flower King. Where did this man come from?
He is even less tactful than Xie Zechuan.
Recalling that before, she and Xie Zechuan left the office and went straight to the street, where both sides of the street were filled with various fresh flower-related objects.
Zhou Tinglan watched the embroiderer embroidering a crabapple flower handkerchief at the embroidery stall on the east side of the street, bought some freshly baked plum blossom cakes on the west side, and while eating the cakes, ran to the flower vendor to buy a wreath to wear on her head.
She was having fun in front. Xie Zechuan put half a bag of plum cakes in his hand into the flower basket, touched his pocket, and followed Zhou Tinglan.
"Xie Zechuan, please walk faster." Zhou Tinglan turned around and urged.
"Here he comes." Xie Zechuan looked at Zhou Tinglan who was running towards the candied haws stall again.
Zhou Tinglan munched on the candied haws in his hand contentedly and walked forward with Xie Zechuan.
"You're walking so slowly." Zhou Tinglan complained, pointing to a jewelry store ahead: "Let's go over there and take a look."
Near the shop door, a figure walked out of the shop with his head down and bumped into Zhou Tinglan. He whispered an apology to her, then left quickly and soon disappeared in the crowd.
Xie Zechuan hurried forward to support Zhou Tinglan: "Are you okay?"
Zhou Tinglan waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and looked in the direction where the figure disappeared: "What a weird guy, let's go ask him."
As soon as she entered the jewelry shop, the shopkeeper came up to greet her warmly, "Miss Zhou, General Xie, welcome to our shop. Come and take a look. We have purchased a lot of fancy jewelry for the Flower Goddess Festival, which is perfect for lovers like you."
Thinking of what happened at the door, Zhou Tinglan asked, "Boss, who was that person who just left?"
"I don't know. He asked a bunch of inexplicable questions and ended up leaving without buying anything." The shopkeeper seemed upset when he mentioned the man, but when he saw Zhou Tinglan and the others, he smiled and said, "Don't mention those unlucky things. Come and see what kind of jewelry you want to buy."
Various kinds of jewelry were placed on the table. Zhou Tinglan picked up a lotus earring and placed it next to his ear to gesture.
She asked Xie Zechuan, who was standing beside her, "How about this earring?"
"nice."
Seeing this, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "Miss Zhou, you have good taste. These lotus earrings are fresh goods that just arrived in the store this morning."
"And that one." The shopkeeper then pointed to another earring: "The one with a peach blossom pattern."
Zhou Tinglan picked up the peach blossom earrings that the shopkeeper pointed to and asked Xie Zechuan again, "How is it?"
Xie Zechuan took a look and slowly spoke: "It looks good."
Zhou Tinglan: “…”
What a straight guy! I won’t ask him anymore. I guess she’ll look good no matter what she asks him.
She turned back in anger, only to see the shopkeeper raising an eyebrow at her and Xie Zechuan. Zhou Tinglan coughed lightly, "Shopkeeper, do you have any other jewelry recommendations?"
"Miss Zhou, would you like to see some hairpins?" The shopkeeper pointed to the other side of the counter and said meaningfully, "Hairpins are selling very well in our shop lately. They are very popular among the young men and women in the city."
Before Zhou Tinglan could respond, Xie Zechuan beside her took the lead and said, "Look, shopkeeper, please introduce a few to us."
This time it was Zhou Tinglan's turn to be confused, huh?
She walked over and saw Xie Zechuan and the shopkeeper choosing hairpins at the counter.
"Thank you, General. Look at this peony hairpin. It's perfect for you and Miss Zhou."
Xie Zechuan looked at the peony hairpin introduced by the shopkeeper and seemed to think it was good. He placed it in front of him and examined it carefully.
Zhou Tinglan also came over. The warm jade was carefully carved into the shape of a peony flower, and the edges of the peony petals were inlaid with gold wire. It was luxurious and not vulgar. It was a fine jade hairpin.
Xie Zechuan caught a glimpse of Zhou Tinglan's eyes filled with surprise and admiration, and said to the shopkeeper, "I want the hairpin."
After he finished speaking, Zhou Tinglan stared at Xie Zechuan's actions with wide eyes. He...
The peony hairpin in Xie Zechuan's hand suddenly appeared above Zhou Tinglan's head. Zhou Tinglan heard Xie Zechuan say in her ear: "I have never bought you a hairpin since we got engaged. This peony jade hairpin suits you very beautifully."
Zhou Tinglan was eventually led out of the jewelry store by Xie Zechuan, and the lotus earrings and peach blossom earrings were bought by him together.
The shopkeeper watched the two people leave with a smile. Miss Zhou and General Xie have a really good relationship.
Zhou Tinglan's flushed cheeks were blown by the cool breeze from the street, and he immediately became much more sober.
Was Xie Zechuan's behavior just now a declaration of love to her? How could she not know the meaning of giving hairpins as gifts in ancient times?
"Xie Zechuan." Zhou Tinglan called softly with a smile on his face.
Xie Zechuan glanced at her sideways, waiting quietly for her words.
"I like the hairpin very much, thank you."
"It suits you very well."
Just like you, I hope our future days will be as blooming as peonies and full of happiness.
The noise caught the attention of the two. Zhou Tinglan looked towards the source of the sound and said in surprise, "It's the lanterns. Xie Zechuan, let's go guess the lantern riddles."
She had secretly inquired about the answers to many lantern riddles in previous years in Beijiang City, and the answers were almost the same as those in modern times. Zhou Tinglan had full confidence.
Zhou Tinglan squeezed into the crowd and signed up to participate directly. According to the practice in previous years, the person who solved the most riddles would be awarded the Lantern King of this year.
The riddles were written on the lanterns, and Zhou Tinglan answered them all smoothly.
Like one of the four gentlemen among flowers that are unafraid of frost and have a strong will, she knew the answer to the riddle was chrysanthemum at a glance.
"Xie Zechuan, these lantern riddles are so simple." Zhou Tinglan shook Xie Zechuan's hand and proudly pointed at the lantern riddles she had guessed.
Xie Zechuan tapped her forehead and praised: "Well, Lan'er is the smartest."
As she was about to reach the end of the Lantern Road, Zhou Tinglan seemed to see the Lantern King right in front of her, but suddenly a man appeared who had guessed the same number of answers as her.
The man was wearing a blue cloth shirt, nothing special about it, and looked like an ordinary citizen from Beijiang City.
What puzzled Zhou Tinglan was that she had never seen this person before when she and Xie Zechuan came here, but this person said that he had unleashed all the lanterns just like herself.
If she had met this person before, she would still believe that he was also a master of riddles and could compete fairly with him for the Lantern King.
Zhou Tinglan asked suspiciously, "May I ask how many puzzles this gentleman has solved, and when will he solve them?"
The man said bluntly, "Of course, at the same time as you. So, are you allowed to guess the riddle?"
"Everyone in Beijiang City has the chance to become the Lantern King." Xie Zechuan noticed the man's unfriendly tone and protected Zhou Tinglan behind him. "We're just a little confused."
"General Xie, this is not pleasant to hear. My guess would have made you suspicious, but I think Miss Zhou's guess would have been even more suspicious."
The man tried to seize the initiative. He said to the people watching the excitement, "Everyone is here today. Why don't we discuss the etiquette?"
The people around were confused, so the steward of Beijiang City stepped forward to persuade the man, "Don't be angry, my dear. The winner of the Lantern King every year is the one who guessed the most lanterns. Why don't you compete with Miss Zhou in a one-on-one match?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tinglan agreed and said, "I agree with the steward's proposal. That's it. Let's ask the steward to preside over the match and start over again."
The man refused, his eyes looking somewhere in the crowd.
He was panicking. If he compared again, wouldn't what he had done today be exposed?
Zhou Tinglan noticed the man's gaze towards the crowd, and looked over, only to see a pink hem of clothing hidden behind the crowd.
She couldn't help but frown. Who was that person?
"Everyone in the city knows the names of General Xie and Miss Zhou. Who knows if the steward has been bribed by you?"
Just when the stalemate was about to begin, a strange male voice was heard from the crowd.
"Since the steward could be bribed, what about me?"
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